The world’s largest wholly-owned fibre network will ensure a brilliant F1® racing experience for Sky viewers across Europe, regardless of Grand Prix location
London, UK, May 04, 2016
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London, UK – Wednesday, 4 May, 2016 Tata Communications, the Official Connectivity Provider of Formula 1®, announces that it has been selected by Sky to deliver the live broadcast feeds of all 21 Grands Prix starting with the 2016 FIA Formula One World ChampionshipTM season over its global superfast fibre network – the world’s only wholly-owned fibre network encircling the globe. The deal, which is part of Sky’s strategy to create Europe’s leading entertainment company following its acquisition of Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland, will ensure a seamless race experience for viewers in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Italy, regardless of Grand Prix location.
All video feeds of the 2016 FIA Formula One World ChampionshipTM season will be distributed live in high-definition to Sky viewers using Tata Communications’ Video Connect service. Sky teams based in the UK, Germany and Italy will work in close collaboration with Tata Communications’ experts at race tracks and its remote operations teams, ensuring a seamless delivery of each race to people at home. Video Connect enables broadcasters to deliver live video feeds from anywhere in the world over Tata Communications’ IP network, with connectivity to over 240 countries and territories. Underpinned by the world’s largest wholly-owned subsea fibre network, it ensures the highest quality viewing experience for F1® fans.“The integration of our operations in Europe is focused on accelerating innovation and serving our viewers better – and Tata Communications’ global fibre network will help us do just that,” says Keith Lane, Director of Operations at Sky. “It’s crucial that we’re able to bring our viewers action-packed, high-quality F1® racing experiences from Grands Prix around the world. And, as the way people experience F1® is constantly evolving thanks to technological advances that rely on superfast connectivity, there is scope for us to tap into Tata Communications’ global fibre network as we continue to drive innovation in F1® broadcasting.” “With half a billion viewers globally, F1® is the world’s most popular annual sporting series – but with races in locations as diverse as the streets of Singapore, the hills of São Paulo and the deserts of Abu Dhabi, it is also a hugely challenging environment for broadcasters,” says Mehul Kapadia, Managing Director of F1® Business at Tata Communications. “Bringing fans brilliant, glitch-free viewing experiences requires more than just reliable, superfast connectivity on a global scale. As fans increasingly want to be part of the action unfolding on the track, we look forward to exploring future game-changing technologies with Sky to drive innovation in F1®broadcasting.” The deal with Sky builds on Tata Communications’ expertise in F1® content delivery and highlights the company’s central role in the F1® ecosystem, working in close partnership with Formula One Management, The MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One™ Team, and many leading F1® broadcasters. Last year, the company was also chosen by Formula One Management to provide broadcast services globally for the GP2™, GP3™ and Porsche Supercup racing series. “This deal cements Tata Communications’ position as a world-class media services provider,” says Rangu Salgame, Chief Executive Officer of Tata Communications’ Growth Ventures and Service Provider Group. “Our success lies in our razor-sharp focus on innovation, delivering cutting-edge services for live sports and entertainment, and harnessing our global superfast fibre network to usher in a new era in the media industry.”
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Tata Communications was the Official Connectivity Provider of Formula 1® between 2012 and 2019. Tata Communications was also the Official Managed Connectivity Supplier to Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, and Official Digital Transformation Partner to ROKiT Williams Racing until the end of the 2019 season.
About Tata CommunicationsTata Communications Limited (CIN no: L64200MH1986PLC039266) along with its subsidiaries (Tata Communications) is a leading global provider of A New World of Communications™. With a leadership position in emerging markets, Tata Communications leverages its advanced solutions capabilities and domain expertise across its global and pan-India network to deliver managed solutions to multi-national enterprises, service providers and Indian consumers. The Tata Communications global network includes one of the most advanced and largest submarine cable networks and a Tier-1 IP network with connectivity to over 240 countries and territories across 400 PoPs, as well as nearly 1 million square feet of data centre and collocation space worldwide. Tata Communications’ depth and breadth of reach in emerging markets includes leadership in Indian enterprise data services and leadership in global international voice. Tata Communications Limited is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India. https://www.tatacommunications.com Forward-looking and cautionary statementsCertain words and statements in this release concerning Tata Communications and its prospects, and other statements, including those relating to Tata Communications’ expected financial position, business strategy, the future development of Tata Communications’ operations, and the general economy in India, are forward-looking statements. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including financial, regulatory and environmental, as well as those relating to industry growth and trend projections, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements of Tata Communications, or industry results, to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The important factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from such forward-looking statements include, among others, failure to increase the volume of traffic on Tata Communications’ network; failure to develop new products and services that meet customer demands and generate acceptable margins; failure to successfully complete commercial testing of new technology and information systems to support new products and services, including voice transmission services; failure to stabilize or reduce the rate of price compression on certain of the company’s communications services; failure to integrate strategic acquisitions and changes in government policies or regulations of India and, in particular, changes relating to the administration of Tata Communications’ industry; and, in general, the economic, business and credit conditions in India. Additional factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from such forward-looking statements, many of which are not in Tata Communications’ control, include, but are not limited to, those risk factors discussed in Tata Communications Limited’s Annual Reports. The Annual Reports of Tata Communications Limited are available at www.tatacommunications.com. Tata Communications is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements. www.tatacommunications.com | @tata_comm © 2017 Tata Communications Ltd. All rights reserved. TATA COMMUNICATIONS and TATA are trademarks of Tata Sons Limited in certain countries. |