YouTube wants partners

28 Sep 2012 – In a keynote at The Next TV Summit, Alex Carloss, head of entertainment at YouTube/Google, stressed that the company is looking to partner with traditional content providers as well as fund new source of online content as part of its YouTube channel initiative.

He argued results have been very promising, with around “20 channels now averaging one million views a month and maybe 25 channels have [signed up] 100,000 subscribers since launch.”

Carloss also focussed on a shift to mobile consumption that would impact their approach to creating original digital content over the next year. “The transition to mobile will change how to program to these audiences.”

Thai TV license fees too high?

28 Sep 2012 – Television and radio broadcasters have raised concerns that they will face higher operating costs if the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission imposes a 2-per-cent licence fee.

Dialogue on this issue became heated among broadcasters and related business operators at a public hearing held by the NBTC yesterday on the draft regulations for broadcast-licence fees.

If the regulation comes into effect next month, radio and television broadcasters – including digital terrestrial, satellite and cable television operators – must pay 2 per cent of their gross revenue for the licence and another 2 per cent to the Universal Service Obligation fund. The USO fund is for research and development into broadcasting and telecommunication services, overseen by the NBTC.

Industry representatives said the proposed licence fee would add a high cost to their businesses, possibly causing some of them to fail in the near future.

Astro’s IPO

22 Sep 2012 – PETALING JAYA: Few recent initial public offerings (IPO) have stirred quite as much polemics as the return of Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd.

While industry observers say the new RM3 retail price for the comeback listing of Malaysia’s largest pay-TV operator is “fairer” compared to the indicative RM3.60 set for bumiputra investors, the investment community is still largely divided on the stock.

One fund manager told StarBizWeek that despite Astro’s historical price-to-earnings ratio (PER) shrinking slightly to 24 times based on the retail price and net earnings of RM629.6mil for the financial year (FY) ended Jan 31, 2012 he remained unconvinced and would not be subscribing for the shares.

India: No early analogue switch-off

25 Sep 2012 – NEW DELHI: The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Arbitration Tribunal (Tdsat) has scuttled a proposed move to switch off genre-wise analogue signals of television channels before the 1 November deadline for digitisation in the four metros.

The Tdsat has sent a strong message to multi-system operators (MSOs) that they cannot switch off analogue delivery of any popular channel to force cable TV consumers to buy digital set top boxes (STBs) well in time for a complete switch over to digital delivery from 1 November.

TDSAT has directed that a senior official of the Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd (BECIL) be appointed to make surprise checks at the premises of MSOs named in a petition by ESPN Software.

Licences set for CabSat ops

September 27, 2012: The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission is expected to award licences to operate broadcasting networks and services in early October for businesses that do not use frequency spectra for their service, such as cable and satellite TV operators.

The NBTC is expected to have the regulations for granting broadcasting licences for network providers, network facility providers, and service providers published in the Royal Gazette next month, said Pasu Srihiran, the commission’s acting executive director of broadcasting resource management and research bureau.

The network-provider, or “multiplexer”, licence is for those operating a network for beaming television programmes to homes, while the facility licence is for those providing basic infrastructure such as transmission networks, and the service-provider licence is for operating a TV channel.

He added that such companies as PSI Holdings, GMM Grammy, RS, Cable Thai Holding and TrueVisions could apply for these licences but only for their cable and satellite TV businesses.

The NBTC is expected to grant network-provider licences for those businesses that use spectra in December, pending its development of the regulations for this segment. It is expected to award licences for provision of terrestrial digital TV programmes in February, pending the regulations on programme arrangement and for auctioning of the digital-TV spectra. Those wanting to broadcast on the digital TV system will be required to bid for a spectrum on which to offer service.

www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Licences-for-cable-satellite-TV-operators-30191186.html

NBTC’s 2% licence too high?

September 28, 2012: Television and radio broadcasters have raised concerns that they will face higher operating costs if the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission imposes a 2-per-cent licence fee.

Dialogue on this issue became heated among broadcasters and related business operators at a public hearing held by the NBTC yesterday on the draft regulations for broadcast-licence fees.

Industry representatives said the proposed licence fee would add a high cost to their businesses, possibly causing some of them to fail in the near future.

Nipon Naksompop, president of the Satellite Television Association of Thailand, said the association’s members had called for a flat Bt20,000 annual fee.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Proposed-2-NBTC-licence-fee-too-high-broadcast–30191270.html

FOX International Channels wins top awards at the 64th Emmy Awards

FIC triumphs with 10 Awards in top-tier categories across multiple channels

Hong Kong / Southeast Asia, September 27, 2012 – At this year’s 64th Primetime Emmy Awards, TV programs broadcasted by FOX International Channels (FIC) across Asia Pacific won 10 top Awards. As Asia’s leading pay-TV network, FIC brings to viewers some of the most popular channels in the region including FOX, home of all the top US series, and FOX Movies Premium, the premier destination for Hollywood blockbuster movies.

FOX Movies Premium’s Homeland and FOX’s Modern Family were the big winners of the night taking home 4 Awards each, including ‘Outstanding Drama Series’ and ‘Outstanding Comedy Series’ respectively. It is Modern Family’s third year in a row winning best comedy series, while Homeland broke Mad Men’s (FX) four year winning-streak on the best drama series award. Other highlights include American Horror Story, one of FX’s groundbreaking shows, taking home the award for ‘Outstanding Supporting Actress’ for Jessica Lange’s chilling performance; and Louie, another first and exclusive show from FX, winning ‘Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series.’

These stunning achievements at this year’s Primetime Emmy Awards reinforce FIC’s long-standing commitment to providing viewers in Asia with the best in entertainment content on television.

The full list of award-winning shows includes:

FOX Movies Premium – Homeland (4 Awards): Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actor – Damien Lewis, Outstanding Lead Actress – Claire Danes, and Outstanding Writing.

FOX – Modern Family (4 Awards): Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Directing, Outstanding Supporting Actor – Eric Stonestreet, and Outstanding Supporting Actress – Julie Bowen.

FX – American Horror Story (1 Award): Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie – Jessica Lange.

FX – Louie (1 Award): Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series.

– End –

FOX International Channels

FOX International Channels (FIC) is News Corporation’s international multi-media business. We develop, produce and distribute 350 wholly- and majority-owned entertainment, factual, sports and movie channels across Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa, in 37 languages. These networks and their related mobile, non-linear and high-definition extensions reach over 1.1 billion households worldwide. We also operate a global online advertising unit .FOX (“dot-fox”) specialized in online video and display, and four TV production houses.

In Asia, FIC operates or distributes 32 channel brands, including the FOX, STAR and National Geographic brands, with over 100 feeds across 14 markets, As the leading pay-TV network in the region, FIC reaches more than 550 million cumulative subscribers across Asia Pacific and the Middle East with offices in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Australia, New Zealand and the UAE. For more information, please visit www.foxinternationalchannels.com.

This press release is distributed by Fleishman-Hillard on behalf of FOX International Channels. For more information and high-resolution images (media only), please contact:

Fleishman Hillard
Shirley Lam
Tel: +852 2111 3173
Email: Shirley.Lam@fleishman.com

FOX International Channels
Kelly Jang (Asia)
Tel: +852 2621 8875
Email: Kelly.Jang@fox.com

CASBAA: Regulations are “Over the Top”

Hong Kong, 27 September 2012 – With markets, providers and consumers racing to deliver multichannel video anywhere, anytime and on any device – regulatory frameworks are not keeping up.

However, a new CASBAA study, A Tilted Playing Field: Asia-Pacific Pay-TV and OTT, provides a comprehensive review of the gulf between pay-TV guidelines and current over-the-top (OTT) television regulations.

The findings show governments imposing heavy burdens on traditional multichannel TV content delivery systems (cable TV, DTH, “walled garden” IPTV, etc.) which must compete with largely unregulated internet-based TV services including “catch-up” TV, live streaming, “TV Everywhere” offerings, video-on-demand streaming and user-generated uploads.

Arguably, however, the most dangerous challenge comes from providers of illegal, unauthorized offshore OTT services. “The pirate video transmission business is the most international, least law-abiding, and lowest taxpaying of any segment of the global media business,” said John Medeiros, Chief Policy Officer, CASBAA

“The pirate model is now dominating the commercial conversation. Steps must be taken to block growth of the illegitimate OTT sector – to prevent offshore pirate video operators from continuing to grow business models based on misuse and theft of the legitimate industries’ content.”

The report draws attention to the difficult task facing traditional pay-TV operators in the face of competitive challengers – legal as well as pirate – that don’t face the same burdens from government regulation. Across the 14 markets** covered by the CASBAA study, most Asian jurisdictions’ OTT services remain subject only to relatively loose regulations applied to internet services.

Governments which allow this “tilted playing field and unhealthy competitive environment to persist will see their own creative industries damaged, local broadcasters weakened, and investment in networks and content impaired,” added Marcel Fenez, Chairman of CASBAA.

Join the further conversation on online piracy at the CASBAA Convention in Hong Kong on October 31st at 9.45AM for ‘After Megaupload – Online Piracy in Asia and Beyond’. In this panel, content owners and pay-TV platforms compare notes about the problem, what it’s doing to their respective businesses, and what might be done about it. For more information on the CASBAA Convention visit: http://events.casbaa.com/convention2012/

A Tilted Playing Field is available for download at www.casbaa.com.

** Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam

# # #

About CASBAA – www.casbaa.com

Established in 1991, CASBAA is the Association for digital multichannel TV, content, platforms, advertising and video delivery across Asia. Spanning 18 geographic markets, CASBAA and its Members reach over 420 million connections through a footprint ranging from China to Australasia, Japan to Pakistan. The CASBAA mission is to promote the growth of multichannel TV and video content through industry information, networking exchanges and events while promoting global best practices. To view the full list of CASBAA members please visit here.

Asian Fear Fest to Thrill Viewers This October

(Hong Kong, 27 September 2012) – The Hungry Ghost Festival in Asia may have just ended but the terror continues to reign on our TV screens as Thrill, Asia’s first and only movie channel dedicated to the widely popular horror, thriller and suspense genres, presents eight tales of horror from across the region in the channel’s first Asian Fear Fest.

Featuring films from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines, Asian Fear Fest presents masterfully told thriller, horror, and suspense stories guaranteed to keep viewers on the edge of their seats. The festival plays every Friday and Saturday night at 9pm (8pm JKT/TH) on Thrill during the month of October.

“Thrill has always provided fans of horror, suspense and thrillers in Asia with the best of the genre. With our first Asia Fear Fest, we would like to showcase lesser-known titles from Asia, which are just as thrilling, to audiences on a pan-regional level. At Thrill, we believe ‘fear is fun’ and these tales of terror will definitely scare and entertain our fans at the same time,” said Ofanny Choi Executive Vice President, TV Networks, Celestial Tiger Entertainment.

The repertoire of films viewers can look forward to include, Tormented, a Japanese horror flick directed by Takashi Shimizu, the first Japanese director to top the U.S. box office in 2004 with his film The Grudge; The Road, a Filipino psychological horror that gained positive reviews and was the first Filipino film to have a mainstream release in the United States; Ab-normal Beauty, a creepy movie about an art student obsessed with death from director Oxide Pang of the famous Pang brothers; Fragrant Night Vampire 1 & 2, based on the terrifying urban legend of the Pontianak spirit from acclaimed Malaysian director Shuhaimi Baba; Nightmare, a thriller from Hong Kong about a man haunted by a female ghost connected to a murder he witnessed; Evil Spirit: VIY, a trio of spine-tingling short stories from Korean director Jin Sung Park; and finally Ghost On Air, about a Singaporean radio DJ, who loves to tell ghost stories and begins to experience hauntings similar to his eerie tales.

Beyond movies, this October, Thrill will also premiere, first and exclusively, the mysterious Japanese drama ‘Sacred Monsters’. Starring acclaimed actress Miki Nakatani (Jin 1 &2), and up-and-coming idols Omasa Aya (Buzzer Beat) and Hasegawa Hiroki (Boss), the series centres around a mysterious birth at a hospital by an anonymous pregnant woman on a stormy night. The young doctor who performed the delivery manages to save the baby, but not the mother. Unbeknownst to the young doctor, the situation links to a dark past involving a strange miscarriage, a distraught sister, and a crumbling marriage. Two episodes of Sacred Monsters will air back-to-back every Thursday from 10pm to 12pm (HK,SG,PH)/ 9pm to 11pm (JKT/TH) starting October 25.

######

Media Contact:
Pauline Poon
Celestial Tiger Entertainment
T: 852 2239 6131
E: pauline.poon@celestialtiger.com

About Celestial Tiger Entertainment

CELESTIAL TIGER ENTERTAINMENT (CTE) is a diversified media company dedicated to entertaining audiences in Asia and beyond. The company focuses on the operation of branded pay television channels, content creation and content distribution targeted at Asian consumers.

CTE operates a powerful bouquet of distinct pay television channels including: CELESTIAL MOVIES, the most broadly distributed 24-hour Chinese and Asian movies channel in the world; CELESTIAL CLASSIC MOVIES, the gateway to an unparalleled array of Chinese movie masterpieces; CELESTIAL MOVIES ON DEMAND, Celestial’s subscription Video On Demand service; KIX, the ultimate in action entertainment; Thrill, Asia’s only horror and suspense movie channel; and KIX HD, featuring the best of action with a late-night dose of thrillers in high definition.

As one of Asia’s largest vertically integrated independent entertainment companies, CTE produces original content which complements its channels business. CTE is also the exclusive sales agent for Hollywood studio Lionsgate in Greater China and Southeast Asia, and represents Lionsgate’s television content and vast feature film library in Japan and Korea as well.

Headquartered in Hong Kong, CTE is a joint venture among Saban Capital Group, a leading private investment firm specializing in the media, entertainment and communications industries; Celestial Pictures, a major Asian entertainment company wholly-owned by Astro, the owner and operator of the leading DTH platform in Malaysia; and Lionsgate, the world’s largest independent filmed entertainment studio.

TV5MONDE renews presence in Mongolia and extends coverage in Cambodia

Hong Kong, Sept 26th, 2012 – French-language network TV5MONDE announced today that it renewed its carriage agreement with Mongolian power player Sansar Cable LLC.

Comments Alexandre MULLER, Managing Director APAC : “Sansar Cable was one of the first platforms in Asia to carry our channel, soon after its launch in 1996.We are very pleased and grateful for Sansar Cable’s continued support of our channel.”

Back in 1995 Sansar Cable LLC was the first company to provide multi-channel cable television services in Mongolia. Today Sansar carries more than 90 digital cable TV channels and offers a basic package (78 channels @ USD 8.5/month) and a premium package (94 channels @ USD 13.5/month) to more than 62,000 subscribers in the greater Ulaanbaatar area.

Besides “TV5MONDE Asie” is widely available on Mongolian pay-tv platforms, including major offerings such as Khiimore Cable, Unitel, SkyC&C and SBN, for an estimated total of 200,000 subscribing homes and a 69% penetration of the Mongolian pay-tv market.

In Cambodia TV5MONDE will be available at launch in all of pay-tv newcomer OneTV’s packages to an estimated 70% of Cambodia’s population, or 8.3 million individuals.

OneTV is the property of Royal Media Entertainment Corporation Limited (RMEC), a joint-venture between Cambodian holding Royal Group of Companies and Russian company General Satellite. OneTV will launch a pay DVB-T service of 60 Khmer and international channels in Oct 2012 and cover Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Sihanoukville and 6 more provinces around the country.

“TV5MONDE Asie” has also been available on analog terrestrial in the greater Phnom Penh area since 1996, serving an estimated 2 million individuals, and is widely available on cable platforms throughout the country.

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