Airtel subscribers in India will now have the freedom to access information on and follow football matches to be played at the Fifa World Cup 2006 in June, as Bharti Airtel has tied up with ESPN Mobile, Singapore, the sole distributor of mobile value-added services for Fifa.
Starting June 9, 2006, Airtel subscribers all over the country can get two-and-a-half-minute preview clips on every World Cup 2006 match to be played till July 9, 2006. These will include match analysis and predictions, highlights and team news.
Subscribers can also download football games, wallpapers, ringtones and video clips on their mobiles. Subscribers would have to pay Rs 10 to download wallpapers, Rs 15 for ringtones, Rs 30 for videos, between Rs 50 and Rs 99 for games.
Customers can opt for an entire World Cup package for Rs 99, which would include goal alerts, match updates and match fixtures.
Airtel plans to take soccer to the streets of soccer-crazy metro, Kolkata, during the World Cup.
The company has planned roadshows, which will include trucks with screens telecasting the matches live.
It has planned to put up giant screens in public places like shopping malls, where soccer fans can enjoy the matches while they move about, said Hemant Sachdev, director, marketing and communication, Bharti Airtel Ltd.
Airtel is also tying up with pubs in Bangalore, Pune and Mumbai to have live telecasts of the matches. In Delhi, the company will visit colleges and have shows and quizzes.
It launched a contest -- GOAL -- whereby subscribers can dial 646, select a mode and scream 'goal' into the mouthpiece. The winner of this contest will be flown to the person's favourite football nation after the World Cup.
To attract new customers, both in the pre- and post-paid segments, Airtel will give out Adidas T-shirts in team colours of nations participating in the World Cup. Pre-paid customers will also enjoy the advantage of seven new recharge vouchers in the range of Rs 58 to Rs 430.
Airtel is also lowering tariffs. Local Airtel-to-Airtel calls will now be charged at 30 paise a minute for pre-paid customers, local calls to other mobile service providers at 60 paise a minute and STD calls at Rs 1.49 a minute.
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