du BROADENS IPTV APPEAL THROUGH ON DEMAND GROUP WITH LAUNCH OF SUBSCRIPTION VIDEO-ON-DEMAND SERVICE

LONDON & DUBAI (July 12, 2010) – In partnership with du, the UAE’s integrated telecom service provider, On Demand Group, a three-screen video enabler for premier content and operations brands, announced the launch of a fully managed subscription video-on-demand offering.  The new SVOD TV service adds to the transactional video-on-demand (TVOD) service launched by du in December 2009.

The new SVOD service, which launched as “Unlimited Video on Demand,” will include a wide range of favourite TV series, comedy, dramas, documentaries, kids programming, classic movies, and the latest blockbuster music videos acquired and packaged by On Demand Group. The Unlimited Video on Demand service will be available for a single price of AED 75, for which consumers will be able to watch the content whenever and as often as they want with full DVD-like control to pause, rewind and fast-forward.        

New content available in both SD and HD will be added to the service every week and an exciting programme of new suppliers and content will be launched onto the service throughout the second half of the year to consolidate the service as the leading on-demand television service in the UAE.

“The new subscription video-on-demand service, which we launched in collaboration with On Demand Group, will play a pivotal role in our aggressive service expansion and will allow us to quickly capture the leading edge in time-shifted subscriber options with the absolute best content,” said Farid Faraidooni, Chief Commercial Officer, du.  

SNL Kagan research sees UAE as the Middle East’s largest IPTV markets and forecasts the region’s overall IPTV revenues to grow at a 36% compound annual growth rate by 2013.
“We are very pleased to be working with du on its new SVOD service,” said Tony Kelly, CEO, On Demand Group.  “This deal further demonstrates the content aggregation strategy that we have successfully developed in the U.K., France, German-speaking countries, southern Europe and now the Middle East, to provide increased efficiencies, cost savings, programming and marketing expertise, and speed to market for multiple clients in multiple territories.”

On Demand Group develops and manages the on-demand and pay-per-view businesses of a growing roster of market leading service providers such as Virgin Media and 3 UK in the UK, SFR Neuf in France, OTE in Greece, TTNet in Turkey and, through its joint venture On Demand Deutchsland, it supports Kabel Deutchsland, Unity Media, KBW and Telekom Austria and others – from day-to-day operations, to content library management, and full service on-screen and off-screen marketing.  On Demand Group’s London-based service and technology suite, including the exclusive VZ and Adrenalin content management platforms, is engaged whole or in part by the service providers who are today proliferating high-quality streamed video to millions of cable, IPTV and mobile subscribers.  The organization produces and process movies, programs and promotions in English, French, German, Greek, Turkish and Arabic.  

About du        
du, the integrated telecom service provider in the UAE, launched mobile telecommunication services in February 2007 across the UAE, in addition to internet and pay TV services that du provides in some of the free zones of Dubai. Call Select, du's nationwide fixed line services for voice telephony, was launched in July 2007. By the end of 2008, over 3 million people in the UAE chose to become du customers.

Among du’s many firsts is its historic Number Booking Campaign for both individuals and business, Pay by the Second billing system, Mobile TV, Mobile Payments, first of its kind ‘WoW’ recharge card (which offers customers the choice between more credit, more time and now ‘more international’ recharge option with additional credit on international calls) and Self Care.

About On Demand Group
Based in London and serving cable, telco and mobile operators globally, On Demand Group uniquely combines its unparalleled stable of studio relationships and extensive regional content rights portfolio with comprehensive retail marketing and business development capabilities to create some of the world’s largest and most successful video-on-demand services.  The Company specializes in content lifecycle management, from acquisition through full monetization, today enabling the highest quality video-on-demand services across millions of TVs, phones and broadband connections.  On Demand Group is a subsidiary of video-on-demand, IPTV and advertising software and systems leader SeaChange International (NASDAQ: SEAC).