Spotify teams up with Sky for Ashes advertising deal

At last, an inventive advertising idea which utilises Spotify to its full potential. From Media Week:

Sky has struck a deal with music-streaming service Spotify to promote the pay-TV broadcaster’s online coverage of the upcoming Ashes series via Sky Player, with regular test updates throughout the series.

In a first for Spotify, which confirmed its UK users will surpass the two million mark this week despite only going free-to-all in February, the company will stream messages updating users on the current state of play, with clips from Sky Sports cricket commentator David Lloyd, followed by the message: “However good it sounds, it’s even better when you see it live online on Sky Player.”

We like the sound of this. Is there any other platform which offers this kind of deal to advertisers? I can’t think of one.

In other, techier news, Swedish users should enjoy a more reliable service soon as Spoitfy has teamed up with TelecityGroup to provide streaming. From Business Wire:

Spotify has taken colocation services at TelecityGroup’s second state-of-the-art Stockholm data centre, Sköndal. The premium facility gives Spotify a secure and reliable environment to house its infrastructure, maintained by experienced engineering staff, and direct access to the Swedish Internet exchange Netnod which is also hosted by TelecityGroup. In addition, the Sköndal data centre is one of the most energy efficient facilities in Europe, using innovative design techniques including free-air cooling and energy supplies from renewable and clean sources.