Cricket Australia and Perform confirm online Ashes content partnership deal for ePlayer
Deal ensures cricket fans can stay in touch with the best action online from down under
London, United Kingdom(26 Oct 2010)
Perform, the international sports media company, has today confirmed a deal with Cricket Australia to stream content, including match highlights, behind the scenes content and special features, throughout the 2010/11 international season of cricket on ePlayer, its premium sports video on demand broadcast platform.
The deal has been announced ahead of a bumper international programme that includes what promises to be one of the closest Ashes series to be played in Australia in more than 20 years.
The streaming of 2010-11 Vodafone Ashes Series highlights, which will be available on every national newspaper website in the UK, is part of a broader deal in which Perform will host and manage CATV – the official broadband TV service of Cricket Australia that also includes highlights from Tests, One-Day Internationals, Twenty20 and Interstate matches.
ePlayer broadcasts official sports highlights and news globally on 595 leading websites for free and reaches in excess of 35 million unique viewers every month. The global deal will have CATV content, including match highlights from each home Vodafone Ashes Test, Commonwealth Bank Series One-Day International and KFC Twenty20 International made available for distribution across ePlayer after the close of play.
“This is a significant deal” commented Oliver Slipper, Joint-CEO of Perform. “The Ashes is a huge event and we’re delighted to be able to provide the millions of cricket fans around the world and our network of publishers with this content, which includes up to date match highlights, behind the scenes content and special features.”“Online sports viewing is now the norm” added Slipper. “You just need to look at the volume of viewers who followed the recent FIFA World Cup online to realise that and today’s announcement is another step forward in the evolution of online sports broadcasting.”
Current highlights and news content available on ePlayer include FIFA and UEFA football internationals, NBA Basketball, ATP and WTA Tour tennis, Aviva Premiership and RBS Six Nations Rugby, England home cricket internationals, LV= County Championship cricket and European Tour Golf.
Perform is the world leader at broadcasting and commercialising sport in digital media. Through industry leading production, technical and publishing solutions, Perform powers hundreds of digital channels that distribute content in a number of forms - video, editorial, audio and data – across multiple platforms, to millions of sport fans around the world. Perform currently owns or manages 358 digital channels and streams over 15,000 live events, distributes 15,000 editorial stories and 8,000 video news stories every year.
About ePlayer
ePlayer is the world’s largest premium sport VOD broadcaster with 595 publishers in 11 territories, offering advertisers the ability to reach and engage a global audience in excess of 35 million every month.
The power of ePlayer is driven by the synergy between premium content, embeddable video technology and our revolutionary distribution model which, when combined, provides unique opportunities for global advertisers. ePlayer is owned, operated and sold by digital sports specialists Perform. www.e-player.tv
About CATV
Cricket Australia TV (CATV) is the home of Cricket Australia’s online video content. Found at www.cricket.com.au/catv, it includes match highlights, exclusive behind the scenes access to Australian cricket players, and also live streams cricket matches where rights allow. CATV is currently streaming live all Weet-Bix Sheffield Shield matches globally, free of charge, and is streaming Australian international cricket into selected territories. For enquiries on CATV please contact chris.derrick@cricket.com.au.