Highest Audience Ratings for new HISTORY™ Series in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines

(Singapore, 14 December 2012) – HISTORY™, owned by A+E Networks™ across South East Asia, continues to dominate the region’s factual entertainment segment on the back of two highly successful original productions, according to research conducted by Nielsen. The global premiere of Mankind The Story of All of Us and local production, Hidden Cities: Extreme, drew an increased viewership for the channel, propelling HISTORY™ ahead of its competitors.

HISTORY™’s epic series Mankind The Story of All of Us drew top audience ratings, with shares of 44% in Singapore, 54% in the Philippines and 38% in Malaysia on December 5. The series, which was two years in the making, is the most ambitious series ever produced by the channel.

In addition, another local production, Hidden Cities: Extreme, was the top program in Singapore and Malaysia for its timeslot in the Education Pack. The episode that went Extreme in South Korea was a ratings winner in Malaysia, making HISTORY™ #1 of all English international channels on Astro.

Hidden Cities: Extreme drew a combined average audience of 106,703 (or 1.21 Rating %) for Astro 15+ on HISTORY SD and HD channels, making it the #1 programme on HISTORY this year.

“Whether it’s telling our 100,000 year history of mankind in a truly thrilling and cinematic way, or our very own Simon Yin getting down and dirty with the most extreme cultural past times and pratices of Asia, HISTORY™ is yet again proving that we deliver fascinating and entertaining programming to our audiences. We will continue to push the boundaries and challenge ourselves to deliver the best in factual entertainment” said Michele Schofield, SVP Programing & Marketing.

These latest achievements prove once again that HISTORY™ is on top of its game in the region’s factual channels, and continues to be a household favorite.

*Sources: Nielsen, The Philippines, Period: 1 October – 31 October 2012, Ranking based on prime time and whole day average rating among viewers 2+ on Mega Manila; Prime time : 2000hr-2400hr.

Kantar Media

*Channels on the Education/ Learning Pack: Animal Planet, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, National Geographic WILD, BBC Knowledge, TLC

About HISTORY™ and HISTORY HD™

HISTORY™ and HISTORY HD™ are the leading destinations for revealing, award-winning original non-fiction series and event specials that connect history with viewers in an informative, immersive and entertaining manner across multiple platforms. Programming covers a diverse variety of historical genres ranging from military history to contemporary history, technology to natural history, as well as science, archaeology and pop culture.

Among the network’s programme offerings are hit series such as The Pickers, Kings of Restoration, Hidden Cities, Swamp People, Pawn Stars and Top Shot, as well as acclaimed specials including America The Story Of The US, Titanic: Mystery Solved, The Malayan Emergency, WWII Lost Films and 102 Minutes That Changed America.

For more information, please visit
Homepage www.historyasia.com
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/HistoryAsiaTV

About AETN All Asia Networks

AETN All Asia Networks is a joint venture between A+E Networks and ASTRO All Asia Entertainment Networks that owns and operates the channels HISTORY and HISTORY HD, Bio.™ and Crime & Investigation Network™ across South East Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

For Press Enquiries:

Strategic Public Relations Group 
Regina Yeo 
+65 6325 8232 
regina.yeo@sprg.com.sg 

Strategic Public Relations Group
Nicole Su
+65 6327 8267
nicole.su@sprg.com.sg

AETN All Asia Networks
Hazel Yap 
+65 6837 8921 
hazel.yap@aetnallasia.com 

THE MOST OF ANY NETWORK FOR THE 12TH YEAR IN A ROW

SINGAPORE, DECEMBER 14 2012 – HBO received 17 nominations for the 70th Annual Golden Globe® Awards, the most of any television network for the 12th year in a row. This was announced by The Hollywood Foreign Press Association in the U.S. on 13 December.

GAME CHANGE was the most-nominated program with five nods while THE GIRL received three nominations. HBO Original series BOARDWALK EMPIRE, GIRLS, THE NEWSROOM and the HBO Original Movie HEMINGWAY & GELLHORN each had two nominations while VEEP received one nomination.

5 nominations for GAME CHANGE – Catch the HBO Original Movie in January 2013 on HBO SIGNATURE (StarHub TV Ch 603).

• Best Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made For Television
• Best Performance By An Actress In A Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made For Television (Julianne Moore)
• Best Performance By An Actor In A Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made For Television (Woody Harrelson)
• Best Performance By An Actress In A Supporting Role In A Series, Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made For Television (Sarah Paulson)
• Best Performance By An Actor In A Supporting Role In A Series, Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made For Television (Ed Harris)

3 nominations for THE GIRL – Premieres in 2013 on HBO (StarHub TV Ch 601) and HBO HD (StarHub TV Ch 655).HBO.

• Best Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made For Television
• Best Performance By An Actress In A Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made For Television (Sienna Miller)
• Best Performance By An Actor In A Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made For Television (Toby Jones)

2 nominations for BOARDWALK EMPIRE – Season 4 premieres in 2013 on HBO (StarHub TV Ch 601) and HBO HD (StarHub TV Ch 655).

• Best Television Series – Drama
• Best Performance By An Actor In A Television Series – Drama (Steve Buscemi)

2 nominations for GIRLS – Season 2 premieres on February 11 at 11pm on HBO (StarHub TV Ch 601) / 10pm on HBO HD (StarHub TV Ch 655).

• Best Television Series – Comedy Or Musical
• Best Performance By An Actress In A Television Series – Comedy Or Musical (Lena Dunham)

2 nominations for THE NEWSROOM – Season 2 premieres in 2013 on HBO (StarHub TV Ch 601) and HBO HD (StarHub TV Ch 655).

• Best Television Series – Drama
• Best Performance By An Actor In A Television Series – Drama (Jeff Daniels)

2 nominations for HEMINGWAY & GELLHORN – Catch the HBO Original Movie in January 2013 on HBO SIGNATURE (StarHub TV Ch 603).

• Best Performance By An Actress In A Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made For Television (Nicole Kidman)
• Best Performance By An Actor In A Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made For Television (Clive Owen)

1 nomination for VEEP – Season 2 premieres in 2013 on HBO (StarHub TV Ch 601) and HBO HD (StarHub TV Ch 655).

• Best Performance By An Actress In A Television Series – Comedy Or Musical (Julia Louis-Dreyfus)

The winners of the 70th Annual Golden Globe® Awards will be announced on January 13, 2013 in Los Angles.

About HBO Asia

Singapore-based HBO Asia is able to bring the best of Hollywood to Asia first because of its exclusive licensing deals with major Hollywood studios – Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Universal Studios and Warner Bros. In addition to the proprietary and award-winning HBO Original programs that are produced exclusively for HBO viewers, HBO Asia works with a large number of major independent production companies to secure exclusive rights to a host of quality movies. HBO Asia offers five subscription movie channels with uninterrupted programming – HBO, HBO SIGNATURE, HBO FAMILY, HBO HITS and CINEMAX – as well as a subscription video-on-demand service, HBO ON DEMAND, four high-definition channels including HBO HD, the first regional movie channel to broadcast in high definition in Asia, HBO SIGNATURE HD, HBO FAMILY HD, HBO HITS HD, available in selected territories. HBO Asia is a joint venture of HBO (a Time Warner company) and Paramount. Log on to www.hboasia.com for more information.

# # #

For more information, please contact:

Karen Lai | Communications Director | HBO Asia
DID +65 6381 1796 | Mobile +65 9111 2655 | Fax +65 6287 2210 | www.hboasia.com

APMI Press Release October 23, 2012

BANDUNG – The laws on piracy and illegal cable broadcasts have ensnared Sujiono, the owner of PT Mandala Haji Vision. His case has now progressed to the level of the High Court, as the West Java Prosecutor’s Office continues the legal process. An appearance of the suspect along with his case file was held on Thursday 11/10, in the High Court of Bandung.

The West Java Police have accused Sujiono with piracy and illegal cable TV broadcasts. He is alleged to have violated Law No. 19 (Year 2002) on Copyright, by distributing a channel / channels re-broadcast without permission from the official broadcast pay TV operators in Indonesia. The suspect was also charged with violating Law No. 32 (Year 2002) on Broadcasting, because it does not have a broadcast license.

Responding to the course of these proceedings, the Association of Multimedia Indonesia (APMI) expressed appreciation for the performance law enforcement officers in West Java. Speaking for the subscription television industry, the Association declared this to be a very good effort in law enforcement, especially relating to the Copyright Act and the Broadcasting Act.

“We strongly support and encourage the continued efforts of law enforcement like this. The legal process should continue against those who have broken the law and hurt the legitimate industry,” said APMI’s Legal Coordinator Handiomono to reporters on Thursday (11/10).

Handiomono said the legal action is a form of protection for the sustainability of the subscription television industry in Indonesia. He said the growth of illegal cable TV has been very high and is potentially detrimental to the authorized operators. “It certainly cannot be allowed that cable TV operators who operate illegally without a license, then hijack premium broadcast channels, which they redistribute for personal profit,” he said. Therefore, he said he hoped the High Court would work in a professional and transparent manner, following the laws that ensnared Mandala Haji Cable Vision.

According to Handiomono, Mandala Haji Vision is one of several cable TV network operators whose operations in West Java are substantially illegal. In addition to operating in the region of Cileunyi, Sujiono has also been expanding the company’s business up to Garut. “The number of recipients has reached more than 500 customers and it has lasted over a year,” he explained.

“We are optimistic that these legal proceedings will run in a transparent and professional manner. We hope that these proceedings will set a positive precedent and an example for similar law enforcement efforts in other parts of Indonesia,” said Handiomono.

Furthermore, he also noted, such proceedings also rely on the care and consideration of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in providing broadcasting license (IPP) to the (legal) cable TV operators.

For information, similar legal processes are already underway in other parts of Indonesia. In Bangka Belitung a piracy case concerning broadcasts by cable TV operators there have already entered the trial stage, while in Pare-Pare a cable TV operator has had his case sent to the courts by the police.

Machine Translation – Original release can be found here:http://www.apmi.or.id/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=59:apmi-dorong-kejaksaan-proses-hukum-kasus-tv-kabel-ilegal&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=50

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RELATED STORY

Riau Police Check A Case Witnesses Illegal Cable TV

Tuesday, February 22, 2011, BATAM – MICOM: Kepulauan Riau Regional Police moved quickly to follow up control of some illegal cable TV operators in the area of Batam. A number of witnesses began to be called and examined by investigators Polda Riau Islands to the continuation of legal proceedings against cable TV operators who do broadcast piracy.

Summoning and examination of witnesses has been made on Thursday (17 / 2). A number of witnesses to be examined is the customers cable TV, ranging among household up to five-star hotel manager who also gets supplies from cable TV broadcasts illegally in Batam.

As reported previously crowded, Riau Islands Police in cooperation with the Association of Multimedia Indonesia (APMI) has also conducted a number of investigations and raids against cable TV operators in the area of Batam. As a result, broadcasting is still very rampant piracy occurs in Batam. Even allegedly almost all hotels in Batam region supplied by the cable TV broadcasts illegally.

Secretary-General APMI Sinulingga Mahendra Arya said, testimony of witnesses is very necessary to know how the piracy of illegally broadcast by cable TV operators in Batam. “From the investigation it was found that they (the witnesses) as a customer and enjoy the broadcast from the party that is not the legitimate owners of broadcasting rights,” said Mahendra Arya, in a press release on Friday (18 / 2).

According to Arya, APMI has been also been indicated that many five-star hotel in Batam is a subscriber and get a supply of broadcasting illegally from the cable TV operators. As a result, members of APMI which is a subscription television providers suffer losses that are not small.

“I think the hotel has also become victims of pirate operators of this release. Thus the description of them would very significantly assist law enforcement in the disciplined cable TV industry in Batam,” he said.

Dir Kepri Adjunct Criminal Police Commissioner Wibowo via Adj I Adjunct Commissioner Asrial Kurniansyah states witness examination process necessary to determine the extent of the law against copyright violations and subscription television broadcasting rights have been dilangga by illegal cable TV operators in Batam. The assessment was made clear tesebut witness a violation of law by the cable TV operators to hijack broadcast and broadcast illegally redistribute to its customers. (OL-5)

http://www.mediaindonesia.com/read/2011/02/22/204972/126/101/Polda-Riau-Periksa-Sejumlah-Saksi-Kasus-TV-Kabel-Ilegal

ENGLISH-LANGUAGE WEBSITE FEATURES ORIGINAL CONTENT, LIVE PERFORMANCES, ARTISTS PROFILES, MUSIC VIDEOS, NEWS AND EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS WITH THE PERSONALITIES SHAPING J-CULTURE

CREATED IN COLLABORATION WITH DENTSU INC., CHARTER ADVERTISERS INCLUDE INTEL AND DAIICHIKOSHO

Tweet this: @mtv_81 launches to bring #Jpop and #J-Culture to a global audience

Tokyo/Singapore/London/New York, 12 December 2012 – Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN), a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB) today announced the international launch of MTV 81 (www.mtv81.com), an English-language advertiser-supported digital platform designed to showcase Japanese artists and pop culture to international audiences.

MTV 81 – with ’81’ referencing the international calling code for Japan – offers original content including live performances, artist profiles, news and interviews with those shaping Japanese pop culture and trends. Targeting 18-34 year olds worldwide, MTV 81 will leverage MTV Japan’s connection to music, fashion and pop culture whilst offering an internationally focused insiders point of view on what is shaping the pop culture landscape in Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima and other cultural hot spots.

For images, logo, embeddable video, links and more, click here.

To celebrate the official launch, MTV 81 will feature an exclusive interview with Isao Tomita, the 80 year-old composer considered to be the father of Japanese electronic music. Tomita’s latest work, “Symphony Ihatov,” debuted this month at Tokyo Opera City and featured Hatsune Miku, the immensely popular computer-generated avatar from Yamaha’s singing-synthesizer software program, Vocaloid 2. Hatsune Miku performed alongside the 300-member Japan Philharmonic Orchestra at the sold-out concert, and Tomita talks to MTV 81 about staging his latest work, using the latest music technology in an orchestral environment, and how the world of author Kenji Miyazawa inspired the symphony.

Ji Hee Nam, Vice President of Digital for Viacom International Media Networks Asia said, “MTV 81 was designed to provide a curated connection to Japanese pop culture for audiences all over the world. MTV’s insights and editorial expertise can cast a bright spotlight on the artists and influencers who are shaping the Japanese pop culture landscape and take it out to a wider, global audience.” Nam continued, “2012 has been a watershed year for Asian music, and Japan has often been cited as a hotbed for creative inspiration. We see MTV 81 as a way for Japanese artists to develop a stronger and more passionate global following and broaden their international fan base.”

MTV 81 was created in collaboration and partnership with Dentsu Inc., the largest advertising agency in Japan. With a broad client portfolio of some of Japan’s biggest brands, Dentsu Inc.’s investment in MTV 81 and the production of original content creates opportunities for advertisers seeking to connect with international audiences. MTV 81 launches with advertising support from Intel and Daiichikosho.

“We are very proud to be collaborating and partnering with Denstu, Inc. on MTV 81, as they share our vision of taking Japanese artists to a wider, global audience,” said Akinori Makino, Vice President of Advertising Sales and Digital Media, Viacom International Media Networks Japan. “We both see MTV 81 evolving into a international brand that offers consumers around the world unique access to Japanese pop culture, and I look forward to working with Dentsu Inc. and their clients on the many opportunities MTV 81 presents.”

The editorial team for MTV 81 is lead by music journalist and editor Mark Jarnes. The pool of contributors comprises of music writers, bloggers, label executives and editors at some of Japan’s leading English-language publications including The Japan Times and Time Out Tokyo. MTV 81 original productions are supported through a partnership with 2.5D, the Shibuya-based digital production and studio facility. 2.5D will work with the MTV 81 editorial team to produce artist and performance specials such as MTV 81’s beta-phase launch event featuring performances from Miyavi and FPM.

MTV 81 content offers J-culture fans current and timely insight from the world of Japanese pop culture. Content produced during the beta phase and currently live on the site includes:

• A look at the movers and shakers of J-Music in 2012
• Five J-Music Scenes Not to be Missed
• The Three Corners of Modern J-Culture: Anime
• An exclusive interview with Miila and The Geeks
• Highlights from a live performance by The Novembers at the Liquid Room in Tokyo

About Viacom International Media Networks

Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN), a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), is comprised of many of the world’s most popular multimedia entertainment brands, including MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, BET, Paramount Channel, VH1, VIVA, COLORS, Game One and Tr3s: MTV, Música y Más. Viacom brands are seen globally in more than 600 million households in 170 territories and 37 languages via more than 200 locally programmed and operated TV channels and more than 550 digital media and mobile TV properties. For more information about Viacom and its businesses, visit http://www.viacom.com. Keep up with Viacom news by following Viacom’s blog at blog.viacom.com and Twitter feed at http://www.twitter.com/Viacom

For more information, please contact:

Todd Phillips 
Viacom International Media Networks 
todd.phillips@vimn.com 
M +61 410 992 480 

Masami Minemura
MTV Japan and MTV 81 
PR@vimn.com 
P: +81 3 6434 3467 

(12-12-2012) In response to what it calls the growing demand for secured high quality video service in India, SMIT has opened a new office in New Delhi.

The leading conditional access module (CAM) supplier said the new office will enable it to work more closely with its local partners and market its solution and service to a wider market.

Read more at Rapid TV News