PR99319

NEW YORK and MUMBAI, India, Dec. 22, 2022, /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/--

Expands reach to top tier US sporting event venues and gains strong foothold in

North America; Extends media and entertainment services portfolio with live

video production and transmission making it uniquely positioned in the entire

global content value chain

Tata Communications, a global digital ecosystem enabler, today announced it has

entered into a definitive agreement through its wholly owned international

subsidiary Tata Communications (Netherlands) B.V. to acquire The Switch

Enterprises LLC. New York-headquartered, The Switch is a leading global

end-to-end live video production and transmission services provider with reach

to top tier sporting venues in North America. With this transaction, Tata

Communications will gain a strong foothold into the Americas media and

entertainment market, extend its portfolio into live video production and

become uniquely positioned as an end-to-end media ecosystem player in the

entire content development value chain globally.

Under the terms of the agreement, Tata Communications has agreed to acquire

100% equity stake in The Switch Enterprises, LLC and certain of its

international assets for a value of approximately US $58.8 Mn (Rupees 486.3

Crores) in a cash (subject to customary closing adjustments) only transaction.

The closing of the transaction is dependent upon regulatory approvals. With

both companies coming together, Tata Communications will support The Switch

customers with global reach to over 190 countries and territories and The

Switch will bring state of the art live production capabilities helping

organisations to produce high quality, more immersive content faster and more

efficiently.

Announcing the acquisition, Tri Pham, Chief Strategy Officer, Tata

Communications said, "Our combined forces of The Switch's strong presence in

North America and Tata Communications' global position will create a formidable

powerhouse in the global media ecosystem helping enterprises harness emerging

digital consumption patterns to drive innovation and disruption. In addition,

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."  

Dhaval Ponda, Global Head of Media & Entertainment Business, Tata

Communications added, "The global media & entertainment industry is at a

once-in-a-generation digital transformation driven by a fundamental change in

consumer consumption behaviours. Tata Communications is already helping some of

the largest global sports federations, broadcasters and OTT platforms manage

this disruption through our next generation digital media platform. With The

Switch team, we will now be able to 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. The Switch and Tata Communications teams, together will help

the industry evolve to the next level of at-venue and at-home fan engagement."

Speaking on the occasion, Eric Cooney, President & CEO, The Switch said, "The

team at The Switch has worked hard creating a market leading live production

and transmission offering in the US and beyond. We are extremely proud of our

achievements and the trust that Tier 1 media companies place in our services.

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. I am excited for the future of The Switch and the opportunities that

this brings to our team and customers."

On completion of the transaction, The Switch Enterprises will join the Media

and Entertainment Services (MES) business of Tata Communications under Dhaval

Ponda.

About The Switch Enterprises

In the action-packed world of live video production and delivery, The Switch is

always on and always there – setting the industry benchmark for quality,

reliability and unmatched levels of service.  Founded in 1991 and headquartered

in New York, The Switch has been connecting viewers around the world to live

events for almost three decades, bringing them the content they want across

linear TV, on-demand and streaming platforms – on multiple screens and devices.

The Switch's comprehensive production platform combines mobile and remote

services to enable its customers to cost-effectively capture, edit and package

compelling, high-quality live coverage. The Switch's delivery network connects

production facilities with 800+ of the world's largest content producers,

distributors, and sports and event venues, seamlessly linking rights holders,

broadcasters, streaming platforms, media outlets and web services – and

turning-on live content across the world.  For more information, please visit

www.theswitch.tv 

About Tata Communications

A part of the Tata Group, Tata Communications (NSE: TATACOMM; BSE: 500483) is a

global digital ecosystem enabler powering today's fast-growing digital economy

in more than 190 countries and territories. Leading with trust, it enables

digital transformation of enterprises globally with collaboration and connected

solutions, core and next gen connectivity, cloud hosting and security solutions

and media services. 300 of the Fortune 500 companies are its customers and the

company connects businesses to 80% of the world's cloud giants. For more

information, please visit www.tatacommunications.com 

Forward-looking and cautionary statements

Certain words and statements in this release concerning Tata Communications and

its prospects, and other statements, including those relating to Tata

Communications' expected financial position, business strategy, the future

development of Tata Communications' operations, and the general economy in

India, are forward-looking statements. Such statements involve known and

unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including financial, regulatory

and environmental, as well as those relating to industry growth and trend

projections, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements of

Tata Communications, or industry results, to differ materially from those

expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The important factors

that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ

materially from such forward-looking statements include, among others, failure

to increase the volume of traffic on Tata Communications' network; failure to

develop new products and services that meet customer demands and generate

acceptable margins; failure to successfully complete commercial testing of new

technology and information systems to support new products and services,

including voice transmission services; failure to stabilize or reduce the rate

of price compression on certain of the company's communications services;

failure to integrate strategic acquisitions and changes in government policies

or regulations of India and, in particular, changes relating to the

administration of Tata Communications' industry; and, in general, the economic,

business and credit conditions in India. Additional factors that could cause

actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from such

forward-looking statements, many of which are not in Tata Communications'

control, include, but are not limited to, those risk factors discussed in Tata

Communications Limited's Annual Reports.  

The Annual Reports of Tata Communications Limited are available at

www.tatacommunications.com . Tata Communications is under no obligation to, and

expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking

statements.

© 2022 Tata Communications Ltd. All rights reserved.

TATA COMMUNICATIONS and TATA are trademarks or registered trademarks of Tata

Sons Private Limited in India and certain countries.

SOURCE: Tata Communications