VITA.L Regulatory News (VITA)

29 Nov 2005 07:00

Cellcast plc29 November 2005 Press Release 29 November 2005 Cellcast plc ("Cellcast" or "the Company") Cellcast launches India subsidiary Cellcast expands operations into India, one of the world's fastest growing markets for digital entertainment Cellcast plc (AIM:CLTV), a global interactive digital broadcaster, is expandingits international reach with the opening of a new subsidiary, CellcastInteractive India PvT Limited, based in Mumbai. In March this year Cellcast launched a 24/7 interactive channel called Play TVon the Zee Network in partnership with the Essel Group. Since Play TV's launch,premium rate SMS traffic has doubled month on month and the channel nowbroadcasts over 10 hours of live interactive programmes daily. The Chief Executive of Cellcast Interactive India, Pankaj Thakar, has overtwenty years' experience of building and managing companies in the computer,telecom and wireless sectors. Pankaj Thakar said: "India's consumers are primed for the kind of innovativeparticipation-TV programming which Cellcast has developed so successfully in theUK and other leading markets. With 85 million TV households, over 65 millionmobile phone subscribers growing by 2.5 million new users every month, and asustained rise in consumer spending power, India promises to become a leadingworld market for convergent entertainment services in a very short time". The newly established subsidiary will help Cellcast address the rising demandfor interactive entertainment in India. The Company's programmes and technologyplatform enable broadcast partners to capture new revenue streams that areindependent of subscription income and advertising, and build new audiencesamong the highly sought-after youth demographic. A global leader in thissector, Cellcast's proven business model is highly scalable, from smallsatellite channels to major terrestrial broadcasters, and is generatingsignificant revenues for existing broadcast partners in the UK, Europe, theMiddle East and Asia. Cellcast Interactive India will also shortly open a Development and TechnicalSupport Centre in Mumbai. Initially, the production and development facilitywill support programmes and applications distributed in the India market. Overtime, the Centre is expected to play an increasing role in international productdevelopment. Commenting on the launch of Cellcast Interactive India, Andrew Wilson, CEO ofCellcast plc said: "We recognise the huge potential in India, and Cellcast isexcited to participate in the growth of this market. The success of PlayTV hasshown the high demand for our interactive services, and we look forward tolaunching new programmes and applications to build on this success. "Cellcast is one of the few companies with an end-to-end interactive televisionsolution, combining state of the art technology with compelling programmingwithin a proven business model. With experience drawn from several continents,our expertise, programme portfolio, applications and technology platform delivera distinct advantage to our broadcast and telecom partners in this rapidlyexpanding sector." - Ends - For further information:Cellcast plcAndrew Wilson, CEO Tel: +44 (0) 20 7190 0300andrew@cellcast.tv www.cellcast.com Daniel Stewart & Company PlcMarc Young, Corporate Finance Tel: +44 (0) 20 7776 6550marc.young@danielstewart.co.uk www.danielstewart.co.uk Media enquiries:AbchurchHenry Harrison-Topham / Tania Wild Tel: +44 (0) 20 7398 7700henry.ht@abchurch-group.com www.abchurch-group.com Notes to Editors: Cellcast plc is a leading international provider of participation televisionapplications and interactive mobile content in the fast-growing multi-platformdigital entertainment sector. Headquartered in London, with associatedoperations in Paris, Beirut, Mumbai, Hong Kong and Buenos Aires, Cellcast'sapplications and programming are distributed on the Sky Digital platform in theUK and broadcast partners include Canal+ in France; Future TV, LBC, MBC, DubaiTelevision and Rotana in the Middle East; Telefe in Argentina, and Zee TV andStar TV in India. Cellcast's revenues streams are independent of both advertising and subscriptionfees. With a network of revenue sharing agreements with telecommunicationscarriers and aggregators across five continents, Cellcast receives a share ofthe call revenue every time a consumer uses a mobile or fixed-line phone toparticipate in its interactive entertainment, revenue which is retained orshared with its broadcast partners. Cellcast's programme formats andproprietary Interactive Platform (CIP) also facilitate delivery of content tomobile phones, the internet and broadband-delivered IPTV. This enables viewersto continue participating in a programme away from the TV, generating 24/7revenue opportunities. Cellcast plc joined the AIM market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange on 21September 2005. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange