Optus deal will put Mardi Gras on world stage

February 23 2012, 9:52 am | BY Lynchy | 4 Comments

greg1.jpgIndependent brand entertainment company mixitup, Optus and Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras have today announced a groundbreaking deal whereby Optus has become the official digital rights partner for the 2012 Sydney Mardi Gras Festival.

 

The deal is a major coup for the iconic Sydney Mardi Gras, with Optus signing on to produce and distribute exclusive video programming, including a special onehour package of the world famous Parade, behind the scenes footage and festival highlights.

 

The Sydney Mardi Gras festival will be showcased to a global audience for the first time at mardigrastv.org.au from this Monday. The world famous Parade will be distributed on-line on Sunday March 4 at 7.30pm.

“The new digital rights partnership with Optus demonstrates that there is a new game in town. The production of original video programming specifically for the web suggests that online video is challenging TV,” said Greg Segal (pictured),managing director of mixitup, who devised the Mardi Gras TV concept and partnership.

Segal added: “Optus’ decision to become the Mardi Gras’ digital rights partner followed the telco’s vision to lead the industry in customer experience by delivering exciting content anywhere, anytime and on any device.”

 

The world famous annual event, now in its 34th year, is made up of the parade, party and a 22-day festival. It places the international spotlight on Sydney and is a major draw card for over 20,000 international tourists eachyear.

Segal concluded; “The agreement with Optus now means distribution of this year’s event will also be global. In America alone there are 100 million people who access online video on an average day, up 43% from last year, so the potential audience for mardigrastv is enormous.”

 

Segal said that the Sydney Mardi Gras was a unique Australian story, a celebration of equality and diversity and beacon of hope and inspiration for LGBTQI communities all over the world. mixitup has been proudly managing brand partnerships for Sydney Mardi Gras since 2006.