The Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) has picked Big Street as its out-of-home (OOH) advertising company for Mumbai's first-ever 'skywalk'.

Big Street is the out of home advertising platform for Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group and manages outdoor advertising on billboards, street furniture, multiplexes and malls formats as part of Pits portfolio offerings to clients.

A number of Anil Ambani's recent businessess plans the prefix "Big", including his FM radio initiative which has been rolled out nationally.

Reports in the media indicate that the tenure of the contract would be a decade, and the agency is reported to have paid Rs79 crore to MMRDA for the deal. Competing agencies, according to reports, included Jaikumar Asociates and Supri Outdoor Media, both having bid Rs51 Rs36 crore respectively.

Mumbai's first SkyWalk extends for 1.3 kilometres, from Bandra station to Kalanagar in Bandra east.

What makes the acquisition interesting from the point of view of the arch rivalry between the Ambani brothers, is that elder brother Mukesh Ambani's corporate headquarters at Bandra Kurla complex is just a stone's throw from the SkyWalk, and in fact, once developed, advertising slots on Anil Ambani's ad spots on the SkyWalk would be visible from the upper floors of buildings in the Reliance corporate headquarters.

The bidding process reportedly attracted around 16 outdoor media bidders, of which only six were shortlisted, viz. Times OOH, Supri, Big Street, Rajdeep Publicity, Jaikumar Asociates, and DS Mittal & Das Offshores.

A number of these firms exited the bidding process during the initial stages, as the bid process demanded a minimum upfront payment of Rs13.68 crore.
Setting a precedent of sorts, MMRDA has for the first time asked for an upfront payment from media owners for the entire 10 year period of the contract.

Additionally, the company that gets the advertising rights will also pay for costs including two lifts or elevators, closed circuit television system, and facilities such as water tanks, lavatories, along with the 10-year running costs of security, maintenance and electricity.