U>direct , the UK’s leading independent pay-per-view broadcaster, has acquired exclusive UK TV rights to broadcast the two ‘Challenge series’ of one-day cricket internationals between Australia and South Africa in April and August. The ground breaking pay-television deal will enable viewers to watch top quality cricket on a pay-as-you-go-basis without having to subscribe to a sports channel.
The first series of three matches will take place in South Africa on 12th, 14th and 16th April. They will be broadcast live on u>directsports (channel 820) to over two million Sky digital homes. The April 12th and 14th matches will broadcast from 1.15pm – 9.30pm and the match on the 16th April will broadcast from 8.45am – 5pm. The price for the series of all three games will be only ú7.99, giving cricket fans 20 hours of first class cricket over three days for one all-inclusive price. As with all u>direct services, viewers will only be charged for the series and will not be required to make any kind of monthly commitment or pay an ongoing subscription.
‘We’re excited about delivering another first for pay-as-you-go television,’ said Richard Brooke, Chief Executive of the digital broadcasting company (dbc), the company behind u>directsports. ‘These are probably the two best one-day teams in the world today and are sure to provide fans with cricket of the highest order. We believe that the pay-as-you-go concept can provide sports events to our customers on a fair basis because you only pay for what you watch.’
U>directsports is currently available on the Sky digital platform. Customers using u>direct for the first time can receive the service by calling on 08700 111 800 and making a free, one-off registration. Customers who register for U>directsports will automatically gain access to directfilms, the 12-channel pay-as-you-go movie service also available on Sky digital. Newly registered customers get a free film that can be watched at a time of their choice.
About the digital broadcasting company
U>directsports is owned and operated by the digital broadcasting company (dbc) the UK’s leading independent pay-per-view broadcaster.
The company’s leading shareholders are Pearson Television, Deutsche Bank and Nomura International plc. Richard Brooke, Chief Executive of dbc, is the former Group Finance Director of BSkyB.
In July 1999, u>directfilms, the UK’s first independent pay-as-you-go movie service, was launched on Sky digital. direct has since gained a reputation for consistently offering high quality films across its 12-channel service, with movies ranging from the mainstream of Hollywood to award-winning independent films and popular classics. The service is scheduled on a near-video-on-demand basis, with films starting as often as every 30 minutes to maximise convenience to the viewer.
More information is available on the directfilms website; www.udirect.co.uk
About the One Day International series:
World champions Australia will play South Africa in the three-match, one-day cricket Challenge series on 12th, 14th and 16th April in South Africa. The series is the two teams’ first meeting since their dramatic tie in the semi finals of the 1999 World Cup in which Australia went on to beat Pakistan to claim the title.
The three-match series will start on 12th April in Durban, continuing on 14th April in Cape Town and concluding on 16th April in Johannesburg.
A further three-match one-day international series will take place in August, indoors at the Colonial Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.
Since their World Cup victory last year, Australia has gone on to win a number of one-day games including, the Carlton & United Series at home against Pakistan and India, and most recently a 4-1 win over New Zealand on the Coca-Cola tour.
South Africa recently lost their latest limited-overs series in India, but will have the advantage of meeting the Australians at home for the April matches.
One-day cricket competitions are played either as ‘series’ between pairs of international teams, round-robin competitions between groups of international teams, or round-robins between domestic teams. A World Cup one-day competition is played between all the Test nations every four years.
For more information about u>direct, please contact:
Liz Boultby
Joe Public Relations
020 7237 4003
lizb@joepublicrelations.co.uk
or
Catharine Kidd
Joe Public Relations
020 7237 4023
catharinek@joepublicrelations.co.uk