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  • BBC Entertainment enters Malaysia on Astro

    BBC Entertainment enters Malaysia on Astro

    MUMBAI: India may still remain a significant absentee but Malaysia has just been added to the list of countries beaming BBC Entertainment.

    An official communique announced the launch of BBC Entertainment on Malaysia’s dominant Astro direct-to-home (DTH) platform. The BBC-branded general entertainment channel reportedly started beaming on Astro (Channel 26) as of 28 December, 2006.

    BBC Entertainment’s line up of British shows include Doctor Who, Footballers’ Wives, Waking the Dead and comedies like Extras, Suburban Shootout and My Family.

    BBC Global Channels Asia, the part of BBC Worldwide that handles the roll-out of the Corporation’s recently relaunched package of international channels, first launched BBC Entertainment in Asia, replacing BBC Prime on StarHub in Singapore, UBC in Thailand, Skylife in South Korea and Now TV in Hong Kong on 8 October, 2006.

    “We are delighted to be part of the Astro platform and to be reaching new viewers in Malaysia,” Christine Leo-McKerrow, BBC’s SVP of global channels for Asia has been quoted as saying. “BBC Entertainment has had a great reception from both critics and viewers around the region, and we are sure viewers in Malaysia will respond in the same way.”

    The launches are part of a global rollout of four new TV channels that will include preschoolers’ channel CBeebies and BBC Knowledge and BBC Lifestyle. The plan is that all four channels will be broadcast across all media: linear TV, VoD, mobile and online.

    NO WORD STILL OF INDIA LAUNCH TIMELINES
    In India meanwhile, there is no official word yet on the launch status of BBC Entertainment, as too CBeebies, which according to the announcement made in early September, are the two channels that will be making their entry in the country in the first phase.

    Present indications though are that the BBC is looking at an April-May launch window. The man in charge of operations here is creative head content and production India Saul Nasse.

    The BBC is looking at further rollouts in Europe, Africa and the Middle East in the course of the year, replacing BBC Prime in these markets.

  • BBC Entertainment enters Malaysia on DTH platform Astro

    BBC Entertainment enters Malaysia on DTH platform Astro

    MUMBAI: BBC Global Channels Asia has announced that Astro, Malaysia’s direct-to-home (DTH) satellite TV platform will add BBC Entertainment to its pay-TV line-up.

    Astro will now be home to BBC Entertainment’s line up of drama, comedy and entertainment programming from the UK. These will include Doctor Who, Footballers’ Wives, Waking the Dead and comedies including Extras, Suburban Shootout and My Family.

    The channel will replace BBC Prime that was aired on several Asian platforms, BBC Entertainment was launched last October in Hong Kong (via NOW), Thailand (UBC), Korea (Skylife) and Singapore (StarHub).
     

  • ESS wins South Asia broadcast, mobile & internet rights to EPL soccer

    ESS wins South Asia broadcast, mobile & internet rights to EPL soccer

    MUMBAI: In a bidding battle that finally became a three-horse race, ESPN Star Sports has won exclusive broadcast rights for the Barclays English Premier League (EPL) for the Indian subcontinent for the next three seasons through to 2010.

    Incumbent ESS beat back bids by Zee Sports and Nimbus Sport to secure the EPL rights. Yes TV, which is owned by Malysian firm Astro and had made a pan-Asian bid, withdrew from the bid process in the last round.

    The agreement grants ESS the right to broadcast 370 matches per season throughout India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Mongolia and the Maldives via television, broadband and mobile technologies.

    Commenting on the acquisition, ESS managing director Jamie Davis said: “Our Company has been the catalyst for increasing the popularity of the EPL in India, ordinarily a cricket crazy nation. Our world class studio shows, intensive marketing campaigns, and localisation efforts including the introduction of Hindi commentary have made the EPL a highly watched sports property. We are very excited to continue our efforts to deliver the best of English football to the growing breed of football fans across India and the subcontinent. Our strong relationship with the FA Premier League has been built on our commitment to grow the EPL brand via live matches and over 400 hours annually of original, football programming.”

    Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said: “ESPN Star Sports has indeed played a key role in growing the EPL brand in India. Their commitment to sports and to the EPL specifically gives us the confidence that this is the right partnership for the Premier League. As we move into an age of new media and all the flexibility and possibilities that come with this new technology, we are certain that this relationship will continue to flourish to the benefit of fans across the subcontinent.”

    ESS’ array of original support programming for the EPL includes Nokia Football Crazy, Football Focus, Goals, Tiger FC Locker Room, Here We Go, Tiger First Edition and Football Extra. Over 200 million viewers across Asia tune into the EPL matches and packaged programmes each week. This season’s addition of Club EPL, Paula’s Perfect Ten and Jamie’s Greatest Hits further expands the overall football demographic to target women and youth.

    “Keeping the young fans in mind we plan to enhance our EPL offering on mobileESPN substantially. Football fans can look forward to getting live scores, match schedules, player statistics, contests and much more from mobileESPN going forward,” said Sricharan Iyengar, vice-president, New Media and Marketing, ESPN Software India.

    ESS has also extended its agreement with the FA Premier League to 12 other countries; Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, North Korea, Brunei, The Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Taiwan and Macau. These rights also include television, mobile and internet platforms.

    The lucrative territories where ESS has lost out include Singapore, where pay TV operator Starhub won and Hong Kong which went to PCCW. ESS has also not managed to retain the rights for China and Thailand, which went to Guangdong Soccer channel and UBC respectively.

  • Casbaa expresses concern over signal piracy during soccer World Cup in Hong Kong

    Casbaa expresses concern over signal piracy during soccer World Cup in Hong Kong

    MUMBAI: As the Fifa World Cup 2006 draws to a close on Sunday 9 July, the Cable and Satellite Broadcast Association of Asia (Casbaa) says that the unlicensed screening of the top-line matches in bars and clubs has been alarmingly widespread in Hong Kong.

    Such blatant breaches of copyright are a worrying issue and a significant hurdle for Hong Kong’s efforts to position itself as a genuine “World City”.

    While the World Cup has boosted Hong Kong bar revenues by up to 50 per cent independent estimates suggest that at least one-third of the cash has been generated by screening pirated TV programming from markets such as the Philippines and South Africa.

    Casbaa chairman Marce Fenez says, “We are very concerned with the ongoing tolerance of widespread piracy in one of the world’s most advanced economies – Hong Kong. Despite efforts by Hong Kong to champion its world class status, when it comes to the basics of sports and entertainment intellectual property rights protection, it still lags behind other media hubs such as Singapore, Sydney, Seoul and Tokyo.”

    According to The World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Ranking 2005-2006, Hong Kong dropped seven places to 28 out of the 117 economies measured in the study. A weakening in the protection of intellectual property rights was partially attributable to the decline in Hong Kong’s ranking.

    Fenez adds, “Collaboration on all fronts between the government, industry, bar and club owners and the general public is central to rectifying the situation and protecting Hong Kong’s reputation.

    “Casbaa has been monitoring the market on behalf of its members and legal actions are planned against establishments screening unlicensed sports programming.”

    Casbaa has also issued a public notice to reinforce the message that screening pay-TV services without legal subscriptions is against the law and that legal actions will be taken against bars and clubs that refuse to cease these activities.

    Under Hong Kong law, bars and clubs may only display pay-TV channels under an appropriate subscription from Hong Kong licensed pay-TV operators such as Hong Kong Cable, now Television and TVB Pay Vision.

    Overseas pay-TV operators such as Dream of the Philippines, MultiChoice of South Africa and UBC True of Thailand are authourised to offer pay-TV subscriptions in their respective jurisdictions and they cannot and do not offer subscriptions in Hong Kong. The display of overseas pay-TV channels in Hong Kong by bars and club owners, using special decoders is illegal.