A new breed of high tech gaming now on Tata Sky!

Now one doesn't need to own a gaming console!! The thought of playing on your TV never existed before, until now. With an aim of making home the new playground, Tata Sky Ltd., the joint venture between the TATA Group and STAR today launched its most awaited gaming service ' Actve Games in association with Hungama Game Studio, part of South Asia's leading digital entertainment company Hungama Digital Media.

All Tata Sky subscribers can now subscribe to exciting games created by Hungama Game Studio and an action packed virtual world of adventure and surprises. There are different games across a wide variety of genres like Sports, Action, Adventure, Arcade, Cards, Racing amongst many more that would keep the players totally gripped.

The most thrilling of these is the Yuvraj Singh Cricket Championship which is exclusively available on Tata Sky. Conceptualized and developed by Hungama Game Studio, and Yuvraaj Singh himself, the players get an opportunity to step into the shoes of the cricketer, and are exposed to various challenges, which are derived from real situations in Yuvraj Singh's cricketing career.

The Yuvraj Singh Cricket Championship was unveiled by none other than the Cricketer himself, Yuvraj Singh along with Vikram Mehra, Chief Marketing Officer, Tata Sky Ltd. and Neeraj Roy, MD & CEO, Hungama Digital Media Entertainment Pvt. Limited.

Vikram Mehra, Chief Marketing Officer, Tata Sky Ltd. said, "The key hallmark of Tata Sky has been the bouquet of interactive services being offered to our subscribers with Education being a key focus area. These services are no longer just value-added services; they are fast becoming the core business, which is why Tata Sky continues to innovate and build on its core offering of interactivity. With DTH gaining a very strong foothold into the Indian pay-TV market, Gaming could be the next big step after Education."

"At present, the games offered on most DTH platform are quite basic. As a leader in offering superior technology, Tata Sky is introducing a completely new breed of TV gaming on Actve Games platform. The advantage with Tata Sky's gaming service is that it is easily accessible, affordable and can be enjoyed by every member of the family with no age bar. This opens up a large market, not only in the larger cities, but also in the Tier II-Tier III cities and small towns." added Mehra.

A delighted Yuvraj Singh said, "I am thrilled and excited to have a game designed around me and the real life situations around my cricketing career. To play in real life and on TV is fun and equally engrossing while competing against oneself. It is making me go jingalala playing it on TV at my home with my friends and family members as it is very addictive."

Commenting on the partnership, Neeraj Roy, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Hungama Digital Media Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. says, "The concept of gaming has caught up well in India and is gaining rapid pace. The worldwide gaming market is expected to reach USD 42 billion by 2010, growing at a CAGR of nearly 18 percent over 2006-2010. At Hungama Game Studio we have created a bouquet of games that are engaging and addictive for the average gaming enthusiast. Since the launch, the Actve Games pack has been getting an overwhelming response and with the availability of fresh content every week we at Hungama Game Studio hope to provide them with the ultimate gaming experience in the comfort of their own home."

The service aims at providing a total of over 50 different games which will be available throughout the year on Tata Sky Actve Platform, with at least 6 of them for the subscribers to enjoy daily. The games developed by Hungama Game Studio cater to all ages and are intelligent in nature. Tata Sky will constantly update the catalogue for its growing subscriber base of over 6 million connections.

In a short time, Tata Sky has carved a niche in the rapidly growing Indian pay TV market by taking on the singular and onerous responsibility in creating a platform offering world-class entertainment.

In a record time, Hungama Game Studio has made noticeable and significant inroads into the world of gaming; recalibrating the benchmark in DTH gaming, redefining and trendsetting the gaming experience, cornering the mobile gaming market, and being an established player in internet gaming.