IBM on December 22 said it had signed a 10-year outsourcing deal with Indian cable and broadband distribution firm Digicable, which will make an initial payment of $83 million. IBM already has contracts with Indian media companies Sun TV and Tata Sky, K.S. Raghunandan, its director of solutions for India and South Asia, told reporters he expected significant growth in deals in the sector.
"This is the minimum commitment. As Digicable grows, there is significant potential for this to grow," he said of the Digicable deal. IBM has annual revenue of $2 billion globally from the media and entertainment industry, he said.
Digicable, in which British investment firm Ashmore owns a 49 percent stake, has more than 8 million subscribers in 70 cities of India. IBM will support the integration of the Indian firm's digital media content delivery and value-added services such as video-on-demand, interactive TV and Internet services on TV, it said in a statement.