By Paul Nicholson
September 1 – Indonesian telecom operator Indosat has signed official telecom partner deals with three of Europe’s club giants – Arsenal, Barcelona and Inter Milan. The two-year deals will deliver exclusive content, breaking news and video to Indonesian fans.
Indonesia is the sixth largest mobile market in the world with 106 million unique subscribers and Indosat is the second largest cellular operator in Indonesia with more than 55 million subscribers.
The deal with the European clubs (Indosat also has access to Paris St Germain content via its Ooredoo ownership) provides a number of benefits for Indosat customers including exclusive mobile content, Indosat presence on digital platforms, including partner pages, banner ads and social media posts, plus the opportunity to win tickets and hospitality for home matches.
Indosat says it will make rechargeable phone cards with pictures of players as collectable item.
Indosat has not released any values for the deals but this first step into European football recognises the growing consumer interest in the country for the Europe’s leading clubs. Indosat CEO Alexander Rusli said: “We are very proud to collaborate with these three international football clubs representing the Italian, Spanish and English leagues respectively. It is a manifestation of our commitment on providing best value and experience for football lovers, especially our customers. We also believe that this partnership will encourage FC Internazionale Milano, Arsenal FC and FC Barcelona to grow in Indonesia.
Inter Milan has been owned by Indonesian businessman Erick Thohir since 2013 and has been building its fan base in the country. Thohir also owns DC United in the US.
Richard Lamb, Inter’s Managing Director Asia, said: “Inter are very pleased to have signed Indosat as our Oficial Telecom Partner in Indonesia. Indonesia is a huge market for us where we boast a large fan base and our biggest Inter Club with over 9,000 members has just celebrated its 12th anniversary. This agreement gives Inter’s Indonesian fans access to exclusive content from the club via mobile, plus a number of other benefits that will bring them even closer to Inter and our players.”
Arsenal, via the Premier League and its own marketing efforts, have a larger presence in country. “Arsenal has a huge following in Indonesia and following our 2013 pre-season tour, which saw the team travel to Jakarta, the fan base has grown significantly,” said Vinai Venkatesham, chief commercial officer at Arsenal.
“More Indonesian fans follow Arsenal on Facebook than in any other country and we are delighted that our commitment to, and popularity in, Indonesia has been recognised through this agreement.”
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