OFC join forces with Skylite

OFC and Fiji-based media company Skylite Productions have strengthened their ties after the successful distribution of recent football content across the Pacific. Skylite managing director Richard Broadbridge, left, and OFC President Reynald Temarii shake hands on an agreement. Skylite founder and managing director Richard Broadbridge, who oversees MAI TV and MAI Life magazine, officially signed on as an OFC Consultant on Thursday and will be tasked with developing a broadcast business plan in line with the 'OFC Vision 2011-2018'. OFC General Secretary Tai Nicholas says OFC is delighted to have Broadbridge onboard. "We've worked closely with MAI TV this year to provide free-to-air coverage of the FIFA World Cup to millions across the Pacific in 15 different territories. More recently, we distributed the OFC Futsal Championship via online streaming and through our regional broadcast partners," says Nicholas. "It makes sense to formalise this relationship and work closely with Richard Broadbridge to develop a long-term strategy that will see fans enjoy even more football content on television and radio. This will include A-League matches and the All Whites games in October." The recruiting of Broadbridge follows on from the successful coverage of this month's OFC Futsal Championship in Fiji which drew interest from football fans all across the world. Fiji 2010 represented the first OFC event to be streamed live online via oceaniafootball.com, thanks to the support of MAI TV and Suva-based internet company Unwired Fiji. Oceaniafootball.com had impressive figures throughout the tournament with 22,448 hits from 110 countries/territories while the online streaming itself attracted over 7,000 unique visitors from 54 different countries. Broadbridge is pleased to see that so many people watched the action. "We know we can get a global audience for Fiji and Pacific products and these results definitely show that content from Fiji is of interest," Broadbridge says. "We're particularly pleased to have recorded hits from as far away as Poland, Saudi Arabia and Spain." Nicholas is also pleased with the results. "It is fantastic that football fans from all over the world were able to watch every match from an OFC event live. It is the first time this has been the case and it will not be the last," Nicholas says. Not surprisingly, most viewers came from Solomon Islands while New Zealand fans also showed huge interest, along with Fijians and Australians. The statistics suggested that 60% of viewers were returning to the streaming daily while 40% of all visits were new. In addition to the live internet streaming, all matches were broadcast free-to-air within Fiji while a highlights show has been sent out to OFC broadcast partners around the region for futsal fans to enjoy.   ---------------------------------------------------------