Airtel signs multi-million dollar deal with Manchester United

Manchester, May 9 (PTI) India's top mobile company Bharti
Airtel has entered into a multi-million dollar deal with
Manchester United, under which its 100 million subscribers
would get exclusive access to the mobile content related to
one of the world's richest football clubs.

"Footbal is definitely seeing a growing interest amongst
the young population in India. Therefore, we are making a
pioneering effort to bring to them rich football content on
their mobiles, participation in soccer schools and also an
opportunity to watch football matches across Europe," Bharti
Airtel Deputy CEO Sanjay Kapoor said after signing the deal.

Asked about the financial details, Kapoor said that it is
a multi-million dollar deal, but did not divulge further
details.

There will be revenue sharing between Manchester United
and Airtel for retrieving the contents on mobile phones.

The deal was announced in the presence of renowned soccer
players like Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez and Darren Fletcher of
MUC.

"The deal has two parts-– fixed component to be paid by
the company over a period of five years and variable component
which would depend on the amount of revenue generated through
this deal," Kapoor said.

Bharti Airtel, which had last year announced its plans of
setting up a football academy at an investment of Rs 100 crore
with the aim of making India eligible for the World Cup 2018,
is the first Indian company to sign such an exclusive deal
with Manchester United.

As part of the deal, Airtel will be able to bring to its
customers rich and exclusive content such as video clips of
matches, classic goals and highlights of games of MUC.

On the pricing of contents, Kapoor said no decision has
been taken yet but assured that it would be in line with the
company's affordable tariff policy.

Commenting on the deal, Machester United Club CEO David
Gill said, "I know that cricket is the top game of the moment
in India. We are delighted to know that football is most
popular after cricket and its fan following is growing among
the youth.

"If curry can become number-one dish in the UK, then why
football cannot become number one game in India," Gill added.

"We are very proud to have Bharti Airtel as the first
Indian company to partner with the club. This partnership will
bring the action and the passion of MUC directly to the
millions of fans of the club across India and other Asian
countries."

The contents would be available to all Airtel subscribers
in India, Sri Lanka and Seychelles, Kapoor said adding that a
few lucky Airtel customers would also get an opportunity to
travel with Manchester United first team during their
Champions league matches.

Pursuant to this deal, Football enthusiasts among Airtel
customers will get an opportunity to train at one of the
Manchester United Soccer Schools run at Hong Kong, Seattle,
Toronto and Dubai.

There are 330 million supporters of MUC and of this 12
millions are estimated to be in India. This partnership with
Airtel would further strengthen fans in the Asian
subcontinent. PTI