India's Tata Sky to Launch Tata Sky+ PVR Service Based on NDS XTV™ DVR Technology

NEW DELHI, India — NDS Group plc (NASDAQ:NNDS), the leading provider of technology solutions for digital pay-TV, has been chosen by Tata Sky to supply its industry leading XTV™ DVR solution for Tata Sky+, the advanced new-age service that offers full Personal Video Recorded (PVR) functionality and is a true breakthrough in the Indian pay-TV market.

Tata Sky+ (Tata Sky Plus) combines elegant style with a range of unique in-built functionality that offers a viewer the power to plan and control his TV viewing experience with features such as Record Live TV and Pause & Rewind Live TV. It features MPEG4 technology, and a memory capacity that can accommodate recording of programmes and movies.

With this move, Tata Sky joins over 18 other major pay-TV operators located around the world that have chosen NDS solutions to introduce the unique flexibility of the PVR to their subscribers. In independent research commissioned by NDS in August 2008, owners of DVRs overwhelmingly agreed that their enjoyment in watching TV was significantly enhanced by the DVR. Tata Sky expects the same reaction from viewers in India.

Tata Sky originally introduced its national satellite television service in August 2006. Within the first year, it had reached one million subscribers and it achieved the two million mark in less than two years. Tata Sky now has more than 2.7 million connections and forecasts 8 million connections by 2012.

Before introducing the Tata Sky+ service, Tata Sky offered Indian viewers the most advanced television viewing experience available, powered by a suite of NDS solutions including VideoGuard® conditional access, MediaHighway® middleware, an advanced multilingual electronic program guide (EPG) as well as NDS market leading interactive TV infrastructure.

Mr. Vikram Kaushik, Managing Director and CEO of Tata Sky Ltd, said: “The introduction of PVR technology will revolutionise the TV viewing experience in India. The PVR’s recording and playback features will allow our subscribers to time-shift their TV viewing, and thanks to the pause and rewind features, viewers can be sure that they won’t miss any of their favourite shows any more, and that they can catch all the action in live TV broadcasts.”

Ms. Sue Taylor, Senior Vice President and General Manager of NDS Asia Pacific, said: “NDS technology, supported by our strong local presence in India, has enabled Tata Sky to deliver the highest quality of TV service as well as giving them the freedom to develop exciting new options to be implemented in the future. NDS is proud to play a pivotal role in providing Tata Sky with an innovative platform that helps them enhance the viewer experience.”