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July Systems' Mi™ Channel Powers Network 18's Cricketnext.com on Mobile

Popular Cricket Portal Offers a Unparalleled Experience for Cricket Fans with Superior Navigation, Access and Live, Interactive, Multi-Media Services

Mumbai – October 16, 2008 – July Systems has launched India’s leading cricket portal, Cricketnext.com, on mobile (http://m.cricketnext.com) . Cricketnext.com is a major online destination for the game, and is part of Network 18 – among the country’s top media houses.

July Systems is a leading mobile media company, and is a Mobile 2.0 pioneer with several major media brands among its customers. July’s Mi™ Channel is the industry’s first Mobile 2.0 Platform, and powers channels for popular news, sports, business, and entertainment brands. It now offers Live, Interactive and Multi-Media Services for fans on Cricketnext.com.

The Cricketnext.com Difference on Mobile
With Mi™ Channel, Cricketnext.com is a made for mobile portal that offers an advanced experience not available on other cricket portals. These include:

    • Quick and Easy Navigation
    • Significantly Faster Download Time
    • Availability of News Videos
    • In-depth Game Analysis
    • Mobile Launcher for Quick Access from a Phone
    • Picture Gallery with Rich Content
    • Device Specific Formatting

Compared to other cricket portals on mobile, Cricketnext.com is far superior in detecting and rendering pages based on the device’s screen size.
“Cricketnext.com is the latest among July Systems powered Network 18 mobile properties, and we’re excited to partner with them. The launch of this top cricket portal means a mobile internet channel that results in highly increased usage, advertising inventory for publishers, and an engaged opportunity for advertisers,” said Rajesh TS Reddy, CEO, July Systems. “Mi™ Channel means Live, Personalized, Interactive, and Multimedia experiences for fans, and is key to exponentially increased usage of the mobile internet”

“With the Mi™ Channel Platform, Cricketnext.com on mobile has seen markedly increased traffic. The site allows for quick and easy navigation, with instant access to live game information for cricket fans,” said Rahul Pandey, Head, Mobile 18. “Cricketnext easily offers the best user experience on mobile. It is built specifically for mobile users, unlike rudimentary offerings from other cricket web sites. In partnership with July Systems, we’ll be rolling out more advanced features soon.”

Current Season Sees Major Spike in Traffic
With the start of the 2008-09 season, Cricketnext.com on mobile has experienced a significant spike in traffic. During the first match of the current India-Australia test series, the mobile portal registered a ten-fold increase over off-season page views, with the thrilling final day accounting for a further 25% rise in viewership over the previous match days. “It’s also heartening to see the steady surge in traffic during the non-match days. This proves the point that rich content is highly appreciated by the cricket enthusiasts on the Mobile Platform. This gives us immense confidence in building up a loyal user base visiting the site on regular basis,” added Rahul Pandey.

Powered by Mi™ Channel, the Cricketnext mobile portal also offers the following enhanced features:

    • Live: Users can view live scorecards of all current games including Live Match View
    • Player Search: Displays the latest statistics when users search for players by name.
    • Interactive: Users are able to rate and comment on stories featured on Cricketnext’s mobile site, and participate in polls - allowing for a more involved experience.
    • Multimedia:  Detailed video stories and reports are available on Cricketnext mobile. 

Availability and Access:

About July Systems | Mi™ - My Mobile Internet
July Systems is a leading mobile media company. July’s Mi™ Channel, the industry’s first mobile 2.0 platform, powers direct to mobile channels for media, sports, business, and entertainment brands. These user-centric mobile internet channels result in significantly increased usage, advertising inventory for publishers, and an engaged opportunity for advertisers. For consumers, Mi™ Channel provides live, personalized, socially networked, interactive and multi-media experiences. Mi™ RevCentral is a comprehensive monetization program for mobile portals that comprises the technology platform, management tools and business relationships required to maximize revenues from mobile inventory.

Pioneers in mobile internet products, July Systems’ multi-domain team has over a decade of experience in building and launching mobile internet products worldwide. July Systems is privately held and operates out of offices in New York, Los Angeles & Bangalore. The Mi™ Channel Platform powers some of the most popular brands in the world. They include in the United States: CBS Sports, Vh1, Fox Entertainment Group – Fox Mobile, Fox.com, Fox Reality, FX, Speed, National Geographic, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, Indy Racing League, Lifetime, and in India: NDTV - NDTV Profit, NDTV Cricket Network 18 – Inline, Moneycontrol, CricketNext, and HT Media’s Mint – an exclusive partner of the Wall Street Journal.
www.julysystems.com

Contact:
Shimonti Sikdar
Director, Marketing Communications
July Systems
shimonti@julysystems.com

About Network18
Network18 [BSE: 532798,NSE: Network18] is one of India's leading full play media conglomerates with interests in television, print, internet, filmed entertainment, mobile content and allied businesses. Through its holding in Television Eighteen India Ltd (TV18) [BSE: 532299, NSE: TV-18], Network18 operates India’s leading business news television channels, CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz. It also runs one of India’s largest Internet players - Web18, as well as one of India’s leading real time financial information and news terminals - Newswire18.

CricketNext.com was launched in 2000 by Walchand CricketNext.Com Limited and has been recently acquired by Network18 and also forms part of Web18. It offers volumes of information and opinion, not to speak of contests and loads of fun. CricketNext.Com recognizes the fact that the medium allows ready interactivity. The interactive features include a daily poll question, celebrity chats and discussion boards besides encouraging cricketizens to express themselves by writing in their own columns.

It has a team of writers that combines youthful enthusiasm with a dedication to honesty, a fresh dynamism with values that uphold the best traditions of journalism. Its specialist weekly columnists include former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar. The site continues to be a proactive portal that will answer every cricket fanatic's needs for ball-by-ball live coverage of matches, prompt updates and news-breaking stories.

It has to its credit of having sponsored key cricket matches in the past & also being nominated as the official internet partner for important cricket tournaments. It has been the recipient of the 'Best of Asia and Pacific' awarded by Sintercom, Singapore & also, the 'Golden Mouse Awards' for the Best Sports Site of the Year.

Contact:
Rahul Pandey
Head, Mobile 18
+91 99877 77998 | rahul.pandey@network18online.com