Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) today kicked off its five-year partnership programme with Manchester United signed earlier in March this year – which made TM the Official Integrated Telecommunications partner of Manchester United in Malaysia – by officially making MUTV, the official TV Channel for Manchester United, available in Malaysia.
The partnership enables TM to exercise various licensing rights, intellectual property (IP) and dealership rights to produce and distribute selected merchandises bearing the Manchester United crest and team images. But the most interesting aspect of TM’s partnership with the football giant is that it has made it possible for MU fans and TM customers in Malaysia to get access to the long awaited rich football content on Manchester United such as latest news, statistics and much more –with the arrival of MUTV.
Present at the event was Dato’ Sri Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa, Group Chief Executive Officer, TM; Rozalila Abdul Rahman, Chief Marketing Officer, TM; Jeremy Kung, Executive Vice President, New Media, TM; Nick Humphreys, Relationship Director, Manchester United and Jon Naspe, Sales Director, Manchester United, along with Manchester United team legend Bryan Robson.
Dato’ Sri Zamzamzairani shared, “Manchester United has a huge following here in Malaysia. TM is making access to both MUTV and MUTV Online a reality for all 4 million diehard fans of Manchester United. MUTV will be available on TM’s IPTV service – HyppTV, whereas MUTV Online will be accessible through its broadband TV portal, Hypp.TV (http://www.hypp.tv/manutd). This ground breaking partnership will bring the action of Manchester United direct to its more than 4.2 million fans of the Club in Malaysia. Streaming on broadband connection powered by TM, this is indeed a great way to share the excitement of the English Premier League with football fans and TM customers.”
Already a phenomenon in other countries such as Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Hong Kong, the MUTV channel offers the best of football to Malaysians with a range of club-related news and matches, exclusive behind the scenes interviews, chat shows, series and documentaries on the club and its players, and much more exciting MU programmes which are specifically targeted to MU fans in Malaysia.
Also held in conjunction of the celebration of the partnership, was a five (5) day showcase of various TM products and services. Among the attractions during the showcase held from 28 July till 31 July 2010, was the experiential walk through for the public where they had the opportunity to find out more on TM’s High Speed Broadband (HSBB) service, UniFi residential and business packages, and also the on-going Blockbuster Deals promotion. Visitors to the showcase who purchased or subscribed to selected TM’s products and services were also entitled to receive exclusive Manchester United premiums.
Back by popular demand, TM also once again organized the “TM Fanatic Kick Challenge”, where the participant with the most goals scored within an allotted time walked away with RM2,000 in prize money. To participate, the public were required to subscribe to UniFi, Blockbuster Deals package of 1Mbps or higher or purchase the RM30 iTalk pre-paid calling card. The challenge was opened to all new TM customers only.
TM further treated football fans to a personified experience by bringing in a living MU legend – Bryan Robson. Affectionately known to fans as Captain Marvel, the former player and current Global Ambassador for Manchester United was seen signing autographs and thrilling diehard fans with his mere presence.
Dato’ Sri Zamzamzairani also stated, “At TM, we have consistently played a leading role in identifying opportunities and providing platforms for positive transformation of youths through football. This new partnership with the world's most famous football club will no doubt give impetus to the young football players in Malaysia to also become world stars. No stranger in the local football scene, TM also sees the partnership as a way not only to give back to the customers but also part of its contribution towards the development of football in Malaysia. TM has been the title sponsor of Liga Malaysia, the national football league, since 2005. TM will continue to explore opportunities to satisfy the people’s deep passion for football and we believe that we can enrich such experience by making it possible for fans to meet their club heroes and watch them play.”
Various other activities were lined up during the 5-day event. Among the notable ones were, Manchester United Museum and Old Trafford 100 years Exhibition (which includes current players Park Ji Sung and Dimitar Berbatov’s football boots, a match ball from the 2010 Carling Cup final, Jackie Blanchflower’s 1957 Cup final shirt, and Shay Brennan's 1968 European Cup final shirt, and much more!). Also on display was a copy of the Manchester United Opus (one out of 10,000 copies in the whole world signed by Sir Alex Ferguson himself!).
The event also featured interactive fun and games – where visitors can show off their skills at foosball and Playstation 3 games, football trivia challenges, football juggling plus a sales counter for TM’s products and services such as UniFi and Streamyx packages.
For further information on TM or MUTV, visit www.tm.com.my or www.manutd.com.my.
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