Sky and Telecom Italia have signed an agreement under which Sky’s dedicated Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics channels will be broadcast over TIM’s broadband and ultra-broadband networks.
The two parties have also signed a Letter of Intent to examine the feasibility of a next-generation IPTV platform over which Sky’s entire offer may be distributed.
The Sochi offer will see TIM customers who buy Sky’s Ticket Big Events/Grandi eventi 2014 package being able to access content on their smartphones and tablets, live and on demand, via the 3G and LTE platform.
Following the Winter Olympics, there is the possibility that other major Sky-branded sporting events of national interest will follow.
Commenting on the deal, Marco Patuano, Telecom Italia’s CEO, said: “We are particularly pleased with this major agreement. It reflects our strategy of focusing more closely on leading-edge services and, in particular, consumer market entertainment. It allows us to offer our customers the finest choice of major, exclusive, top-quality events via our applications and network infrastructure. As a result of this partnership, Telecom Italia’s technological expertise and Sky’s content know-how come together to offer the prospect of implementing a new business approach to accessing audiovisual content ‘over-the-network’.”
Andrea Zappia, CEO of Sky Italia, added: “We are very pleased with this agreement. It marks the start of a significant partnership between two companies that are leaders in their respective fields. In a continuously evolving market, it should give an even broader access to what is probably the best television offer available on the Italian market. It is a project that is consistent with Sky’s strategy, which has always been to work to distribute its channels over the best-performing platforms. Telecom Italia’s fibre optics expansion plan in Italy is a significant factor for making Sky content available also where satellite signals are hard to receive, all the while ensuring that the quality remains high. Sky and Telecom Italia’s different areas of expertise may help creating a next-generation IPTV platform to rival the world’s best.”
