MPP Online Payments Technology Provides Gifting Capabilities To Sky Songs

    WARRINGTON, ENGLAND, December 11, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Current Sky customers can choose to gift a subscription of either 1, 3, 6 or 12 months, which then permits the recipient to download an album (or 10 tracks) each month for free.

The gift uses a promotional code, which links to the Sky Songs website and uses MPP's ewallet to protect the privacy of the credit card details used to pay for the subscription. Once a customer of Sky Songs, subscribers can then also create compilations, playlists, listen to radio stations and access exclusive content. All subscriptions provide customers with unlimited streaming and the ability to listen to over 3 million tracks whenever they want.

MPP's iPay powers the online billing systems behind the comprehensive range of Sky's online services. It includes a suite of Account Manager pages, which enable customers to register payment details, self-manage subscriptions and review their order history. It also enables recurring monthly subscriptions and a-la-carte payments via a post-pay model, so that customers can navigate the site and simply purchase music as they go. iPay also rolls multiple payments into a single transaction against pre-stored credit card details.

The gifting facility required changes in a number of areas, including subscription creation, offers table and voucher usage and required regression testing by all parties. Importantly, there were no requirements from Sky Songs to change the user interface of SkyPayments.

"It's important for us that the online payments and packaging services provided by MPP were seamlessly integrated within Sky Songs," said Neil Martin, Business Development Director of BSkyB. "Customers who have signed up to Sky Player and other Sky.com services do not need to re-register for Sky Songs, which makes it easy for them to subscribe."

Paul Johnson, MPP's CEO, commented: "We developed iPay to support Sky across a broad range of online services. It is gratifying that our macro-, micro- and recurring-payment platform continues to enable Sky to launch new online services quickly, and with the minimum of fuss."

Sky recently applied iPay to sell subscriptions to Sky's iPhone app, Sky Packages and Sky Freesat cards online and iPay also continues to power Sky's live and on demand TV service Sky Player.

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Notes for Editors:

About MPP;
http://www.mppglobal.com

About iPay Developer;
http://www.mppglobal.com/iPay-online-payments-subscriptions/1-collect-payments-subscriptions-online.asp

MPP Global Solutions was established in March 2000 to provide clients with shopping and payment services, which use its eWallet, payment, product, micropayment and mobile technology platform. MPP is the first company to launch an integrated shopping basket solution, which enables consumers to purchase physical, digital, subscriptions and mobile products from a common shopping basket and single transaction.

MPP works with over 100 of the biggest names in UK sport, music, media and entertainment including content providers, rights holders, media organisations, publishers and sporting governing bodies.

About Sky Songs

Sky Songs is Sky's online music service offering access to over four million tracks for download and ad-free streaming. The service includes new release and back catalogue material from; EMI, Sony Music Entertainment UK, Warner Music UK and Universal Music Group, plus a range of independent labels and distributors - including the Beggars Group (representing 4AD, Rough Trade, Matador and XL Recordings), PIAS Entertainment Group (representing over 100 leading independent labels), The Orchard, IODA and VidZone Digital Media. Sky Songs is licensed by PRS for Music in the UK.

Sky is the UK's leading entertainment and communications company, operating the most comprehensive multi-channel television service. More than 9.5 million homes - a third of households across the UK and Ireland - enjoy the entertainment, movies, news and sports channels. In delivering entertainment through the TV, PC and mobile, customers have more control and flexibility over what, how and when they watch. Around 6 million Sky homes now enjoy the control and flexibility of Sky+ and 1.6 million homes have already joined Sky+HD, which provides access to 35 amazing high definition channels, that's 28 more than anyone else.

Sky is also the UK's fastest growing broadband and fixed-telephony provider with 2.3 million customers taking Sky Broadband and more than 1.9 million customers taking Sky Talk.

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