(20 July 2006 2:35 pm)

MUMBAI: JumpTV, a global player in the delivery of international television over the internet, has entered into a strategic partnership with Cutting Edge Media, one of India's independent media sales company, to expand JumpTV's presence in South Asia.

JumpTV will work with Cutting Edge Media to secure new broadcast agreements using internet protocol; enter into distribution agreements for JumpTV's global TV roster with Indian cable, mobile telephony, and IPTV providers and build on JumpTV's existing menu of South Asian television content.

Currently, JumpTV has signed internet-broadcast agreements with Indian channels: Sony Entertainment Television Asia, India TV, Punjab Today and Balle Balle.

Other South Asian channels the company has roped in are: OnTV, Channel i, RTV from Bangladesh;TV One and HumTV from Pakistan.

Cutting Edge Media oversees brokering distribution, advertising and subscription deals for foreign media companies entering the Indian markets and those Indian outlets looking to grow their international audiences. Its clientele includes Cartoon Network, CNN, Reality TV, The Hallmark Channel and Channel News Asia.

"South Asia is an incredibly vibrant media market. Television stations create and broadcast truly innovative programming, which is closely followed by a passionate viewer base living all over the world. By partnering with Cutting Edge Media, JumpTV will develop new relationships and deepen existing relationships with leading broadcasters from the sub-continent, serving as a platform to internationalize their content over the Internet," says JumpTV's Asia Pacific general manager, Kevin Foong.

He adds, "While our Asian lineup of more than 25 channels includes highly popular South Asian broadcasters such as India's SET Asia, Pakistan's TV One and Hum TV, Jaya TV, as well as Bangladesh's leading stations nTV and Channel i, we are always looking for new ways to serve the vast Pan-Asian communities living away from their respective homelands."