Celcom’s Escape brings BPL to multiple screens, including mobile

• Part of Celcom strategy to branch into the mobile, fixed and nomadic consumption channels
• Subscribers enjoy integrated football experience, can ‘pause and play’ across multiple devices

ESCAPE Axiata Sdn Bhd, a fully owned subsidiary of Celcom Axiata Berhad, has signed a Barclays Premier League (BPL) broadcast sponsorship partnership with Astro SuperSport and Fox Sports that it said would bring to Malaysian fans an integrated football experience packaged to suit a digital mobile lifestyle.
 
Celcom describes Escape as a subscriber’s ‘personal entertainment space’ that follows you anytime and anywhere, with a unique feature to ‘pause and play’ seamlessly across multiple devices.
 
Operating on Android, iOS, Mac and PC platforms, Escape offers a seamless and unique viewing experience for movies, TV series, live broadcasts and events, the company said in a statement.
 
Content is curated to include long- and short-length formats to meet the entertainment needs of the modern mobile consumer, and users can view and purchase content via any device with Internet connectivity, including smartphones, tablets, laptops and PCs.
 
With the BPL partnership, subscribers would be able to watch live broadcasts in high resolution, and also enjoy highlights of past matches with Escape’s ‘pause and play’ feature.
 
“Escape continues to be a revolutionary digital service that is changing the way Celcom customers enjoy seamless digital entertainment whenever they are,” said Celcom chief executive officer Shazalli Ramly.
 
“As Celcom continues to work toward refining Escape’s integrated services, we know that by partnering with Astro SuperSport and Fox Sports, we will jointly deliver the best standard of a seamless experience in digital entertainment,” he said at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur on Jan 22.
 
Astro chief operating officer Henry Tan described the partnership as “the first of many win-win collaborations between Celcom, Fox and Astro SuperSport, signalling a positive development not only for the industry, but also for Malaysian sports fans.”
 
“As the largest sports producer in the country, Astro SuperSport remains committed to bringing the best of live football events like BPL matches, in HD (high definition) and on-the-go,” he added.
 
Meanwhile Fox International Channels Malaysia general manager Keertan Adyanthaya said that “this is an opportunity to position our brand here in Malaysia, by catering to the growth of integrated and digital entertainment in the country.”
 
Meanwhile, Celcom said that while its core business remains mobile telephony, it is branching out with solutions for all three content consumption channels – nomadic, fixed and mobile.
 
Escape allows the subscriber to take advantage of all three, simultaneously – subscribers can watch the highlights on their PC at home, pause and continue on a tablet at a local coffee shop, and finish the last bit on their commute from work through their mobile phones.
 
The company said it would continue to adapt, collaborate and cooperate with content partners.
 
“Even as a major mobile telecommunications player in Malaysia, we recognised early on that we cannot be competitive within an ‘ego-system’ – rather, we are evolving within an ecosystem of other service providers, local producers and international content to provide the best personal entertainment experience to our customers,” said Shazalli.
 
Escape is available for Android and iOS devices as a free downloadable app, and is already on the Celcom First, Xpax and Celcom Frenz services. Mac and PC users need only surf to www.ESCnow.com.
 
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