Tata Communications on Thursday said that its wholly-owned subsidiary Tata Communications (Netherlands) will acquire US-based live video production company The Switch Enterprises for Rs 486.3 crore. With this acquisition, the company aims to extend its portfolio into live video production and gain a strong presence in the Americas media and entertainment market.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals. For Switch, the involvement of Tata Communications will help it reach over 190 countries and territories with its end-to-end live video production and transmission solutions for companies.
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“The Switch production infrastructure as a service model will allow Tata Communications customers to accelerate adoption of remote production from any event around the world,” said Tri Pham, chief strategy officer of Tata Communications.
Tata Communications is already serving some of the largest global sports federations, broadcasters and OTT platforms for managing their next generation digital media businesses. The company will now develop holistic, scalable solutions encompassing live and scheduled programming for television, leveraging pre-recorded and filed videos for new content creation as well as all post-production, it said.
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“As the media industry evolves, The Switch has an ever larger role to play in the future of live sports and entertainment and in helping our customers maximise their lucrative content. With Tata Communications we will accelerate this journey providing stability, investment and vision in support of future growth,” said Eric Cooney, president & CEO at The Switch.
Post the completion of the deal, The Switch will join the media and entertainment services business of Tata Communications.