Soccer from space: Eutelsat and Rai broadcast first of seven Euro2016 matches in live Ultra HD

Viewers receiving Tivùsat platform offered first quarter final, between Poland and Portugal, in Ultra HD

Paris, Rome, 1 July 2016 – Yesterday’s first quarter-final of the Euro2016 marked the kick-off of seven matches that Rai, Italy’s national public broadcaster, and Eutelsat (NYSE Euronext Paris: ETL) are offering Italian TV homes. The initiative with Eutelsat marks Rai’s most ambitious foray into Ultra HD that represents the next big leap forward in broadcasting.

Unprecedented Ultra HD broadcasts delivered to Tivùsat homes by Eutelsat’s HOTBIRD satellites

Images of the match were filmed by 14 Ultra HD cameras located by UEFA at the Vélodrome Stadium in Marseilles and sent to the International Broadcasting Centre (IBC) in Paris where they were forwarded to Eutelsat’s Paris-Rambouillet teleport. A temporary studio set up by Rai at the teleport added live commentary, after which the special Rai 4k channel was encrypted and uplinked to Eutelsat’s HOTBIRD satellites. Tivùsat homes equipped with an Ultra HD screen and a CAM certified by Tivùsat were able to watch the first quarter-final which will be followed on1, 2 and 3 July by the three other quarter finals, the semi-finals on 6 and 7 July and the final match on 10 July.

These live broadcasts of European Championship matches constitute Italy’s most significant broadcast of live sport in Ultra HD and prefigure the launch of regular channels. With the take-up of Ultra HD screens in Italy expected to hit one million units by end 2016, the market for higher resolution TV is rapidly taking shape.

The special broadcasts also involve the support of industry-leading technology partners, including DBW COMMUNICATION and V-Nova that is providing the P.Link 4K, a software-based contribution encoding and decoding system that can contribute the highest signal quality from the IBC.

About Eutelsat Communications

Established in 1977, Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL, ISIN code: FR0010221234) is one of the world’s leading and most experienced operators of communications satellites. The company provides capacity on 39 satellites to clients that include broadcasters and broadcasting associations, pay-TV operators, video, data and Internet service providers, enterprises and government agencies.

Eutelsat’s satellites provide ubiquitous coverage of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Americas, enabling video, data, broadband and government communications to be established irrespective of a user’s location.

Headquartered in Paris, with offices and teleports around the globe, Eutelsat represents a workforce of 1,000 men and women from 37 countries who are experts in their fields and work with clients to deliver the highest quality of service.

For more about Eutelsat please visit www.eutelsat.com

Press
Vanessa O’Connor Tel: + 33 1 53 98 37 91 voconnor@eutelsat.com
Marie-Sophie Ecuer Tel: + 33 1 53 98 37 91 mecuer@eutelsat.com
Violaine du Boucher Tel: + 33 1 53 98 37 91 vduboucher@eutelsat.com

Investors and analysts
Joanna Darlington Tel. : +33 1 53 98 35 30 jdarlington@eutelsat.com
Cédric Pugni Tel. : +33 1 53 98 35 30 cpugni@eutelsat.com

30 June, 2016

Welcome to News Views, CASBAA’s news round-up culled from sources across the industry for the week ending June 30th. Curated by CASBAA, News Views keeps you in the loop. We always value your feedback, so tell us what you think!

Brought to you by:

Christopher Slaughter

CEO

A week after Britain’s vote to leave the EU, the country’s TV production industry is still reeling. Or for that matter, still grieving… the words that keep coming up are “disastrous” and “devastating.” Oh well, at least Game of Thrones will continue to be filmed in the UK despite the vote; but whether the UK (if it stays united, of course) will see more blockbuster productions post-Brexit is another question.

Kevin Jennings

Vice President, Programme

As-yet-unconfirmed reports are circulating suggesting Netflix offline viewing may finally arrive later this year. The move, which would match what some competitive streaming services are already offering, has analysts abuzz in what was generally viewed as an open secret. When asked about the shift Netflix merely said “No Comment”, although that’s already a paradigm shift from two years ago when they said it would never happen.

Mark Lay

Vice President, Singapore

Vidcon, the big online video gathering (kinda like the Digital Matters for the US) took place late last week in Anaheim. With 30,000 attendees it is bigger than ever and definitely breaking into the mainstream. Apparently it has “gone Hollywood” with the likes of Nickelodeon, NBC, Paramount, Universal Pictures and Netflix all in attendance. Susan Wojcicki, YouTube CEO, talked a lot about “freedom” and believes that “digital media and traditional linear media are blending together.” Digiday closes this piece off with an interesting article where they asked online video executives and personalities what keeps them up at night.

John Medeiros

Chief Policy Officer

The FCC has been considering forcing cable operators in the US to “unlock the box” and allow internet companies access to proprietary cable networks. Cable operators hate the idea of course; MPAA and others also opposed the FCC proposal on the grounds it would “import the piracy problem from the internet search world into the pay-TV world by mixing pirated content with authorised content,” and make it all easily searchable. (Sort of the way the internet search engines serve up easy access to pirate content now, on computers.) Then the cable and content industries formed a “Future of TV” coalition which put forward the idea of “ditching the box” entirely. The way forward for TV is via apps, said the coalition. Allow consumers to ”ditch their set-top boxes and access live and on-demand programming via boxless apps compatible with a wide range of retail devices…” No surprise…..think-tanks funded by search engines scoffed. But the new proposal has gotten considerable traction, with praise from one of the FCC Commissioners. And now there are reports that Chairman Wheeler may have to beat a retreat.

Christopher Slaughter

CEO

Measurement giant Nielsen has released its Total Audience Report for the first quarter of 2016, with the news that 50% of US households now have access to streaming services. Oh, and everyone seems to be lying about not watching TV any more. In fact, for some Americans, watching TV is the equivalent of a full-time job.

Kevin Jennings

Vice President, Programme

South Korean cable TV group D’Live (formerly C&M) , has narrowly avoided defaulting on its debt and loan repayments, amid earlier worries in May that may have seen it being managed by its creditors. The company’s major shareholders, including the Korean National Pension Service, agreed on a debt settlement to convert 800 billion won of debt into equity and rolled over the repayment by a further three years with more favourable refinancing terms. MBK, a private equity firm founded by former Carlyle Group managers, which leads a consortium that has held 92.5 per cent of C&M/DLive since 2008, have not been successful in the search for a buyer after putting the company up for sale last year.

John Medeiros

Chief Policy Officer

In Thailand, the legislature is considering a package of eight bills concerning the digital economy. There’s a fair degree of unhappiness about several aspects of the bills. Among other reforms, a new Digital Economy and Society Ministry will be established, and the existing National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission will be restructured. Critics complain that the new structure for the NBTC doesn’t make enough room for real-world industry expertise. One thing is clear: the government will take back from the NBTC the real cash cows (aka mobile frequency auctions).

John Medeiros

Chief Policy Officer

Meanwhile, the existing NBTC is going about its duties, pushing digital multiplexers to increase DTT coverage to 100% of the country by 2018. And the Commission also decided to reduce fees paid by licensed broadcasters along a sliding scale. The full rate of 4% will now only be paid on revenues over a billion baht. Well, the downward trend is in the right direction – back in the now-vanished days of a UBC monopoly, the pay-TV broadcaster had to pay 6.5% of the gross! (But CASBAA’s complaint is still that governments see licensed pay-TV broadcasters as cows to be milked, ignoring their competitive challenge from unlicensed internet content providers.)

Kevin Jennings

Vice President, Programme

Pakistan regulator PEMRA has announced it has approved IPTV licensing and will start issuing IPTV licenses to private firms across the country. In another move PEMRA also approved the long-awaited “loop holding” which allows wider retransmission of channels. This means that individuals will be able to offer cable TV services without any infrastructure investment while at the same time hopefully giving distribution service providers to a broader audience base and an upturn in subscriber revenue. PEMRA is hoping that with loop holders’ licenses in place, digital TV will also grow in more remote areas of the country.

John Medeiros

Chief Policy Officer

The process of selecting new members of Indonesia’s Broadcasting Commission (KPI), moved forward with the announcement by a Ministry of Communications screening committee of the names of 27 candidates. These now move for further scrutiny to the House of Representatives (DPR), which has to choose nine to act as KPI Commissioners for the next three years.

Andrew Lin

Regulatory Assistant

CASBAA’s members in Singapore attended a lunch presentation by the Asia Digital Alliance a couple of weeks ago on Remote Access Trojan malware (one of the lovely things consumers pick up when trolling piracy sites). For those who couldn’t be there, this article in the Manila Bulletin lays out the whole issue. And while we’re talking about nasty stuff waiting for you online, here’s word of a study concluding that half the ads on livestreaming sites are loaded with malware.

John Medeiros

Chief Policy Officer

And in Delhi, a letter-writer says “Never-ending TV serials make viewers psychologically sick…” and wants the government to regulate so series can’t be tooooo long. Sheesh. (You see? The bureaucrats don’t come up with all their crazy ideas on their own……who was it that invented cross-carriage, anyway?)

Some additional links you might be interested in:

Member News

Election Day 2016 Unrivalled Coverage and Analysis Saturday July 2

Australians will head to the polls this Saturday and SKY NEWS will deliver the most comprehensive multi-channel and multi-platform LIVE coverage and analysis of Election 2016.

SKY NEWS Political Editor David Speers and Chief Political Reporter Kieran Gilbert will spearhead coverage which will feature an unmatched line-up of political insiders and the biggest names on the Australian political landscape. Paul Murray, Peta Credlin, Peter Beattie, Laura Jayes, Peter van Onselen, Kristina Keneally and Peter Reith will offer unprecedented insight this Election Day as Australia decides and the verdict is revealed.

SKY NEWS Election Day 2016 begins at 5:00am on SKY NEWS LIVE (Channel 601) and continues throughout the day with LIVE coverage as the leaders vote, along with the latest breaking news, commentary and analysis as Australians have their say.

From 7:00am Kieran Gilbert and his First Edition co-anchor Brooke Corte will lead the morning coverage as both leaders campaign up to the last minute.

SKY NEWS’ non-stop election coverage continues at 4:00pm anchored by Kieran Gilbert and PVO NewsDay anchor Peter van Onselen.

As the polls close, Political Editor David Speers will anchor Election 2016: The Verdict from the SKY NEWS Election Centre from 6:00pm AEST. David will be joined by a panel of expert guests and SKY NEWS political commentators to help crunch the numbers on election night including Peta Credlin, Michael Kroger, Kristina Keneally, Alan Jones and Bruce Hawker. The panel will also be joined by Attorney-General George Brandis and Shadow Immigration Minister, Richard Marles.

Kieran Gilbert, Laura Jayes, SKY NEWS anchor Patricia Karvelas, SKY NEWS Political Reporters Tom Connell and Dan Bourchier and SKY NEWS anchor Ashleigh Gillon will bring viewers LIVE reports from Liberal, Labor and Green party headquarters throughout the evening.

Coverage will also feature an exclusive SKY NEWS EXIT POLL conducted by OmniPoll examining the issues that affected how people voted.

After the dust has settled, a special Election 2016 edition of Paul Murray Live will take a fresh look at what it all means from midnight to 2:00am.

David Speers, Kieran Gilbert and Laura Jayes will be back on Sunday July 3 from 5:00am to guide us through in Election 2016: The Morning After, followed by Australian Agenda with Peter van Onselen at 8:30am.

At 9:00am David Speers, Kieran Gilbert and Laura Jayes return for Election 2016: The Morning After together with an expert SKY NEWS line-up including Paul Murray, Kristina Keneally, Peter van Onselen and Chris Kenny to recap the highs and lows of the campaign.

Sunday night’s prime time programming will include special editions of Karvelas with Patricia Karvelas at 7:00pm, Viewpoint with Chris Kenny at 8:00pm and Paul Murray LIVE with Paul Murray at 9:00pm.

As Australians cast their votes on Saturday July 2, the SKY NEWS ELECTION CHANNEL 606 will replay the election campaign Leaders’ Debates, reliving every moment as it happened. Then from 6:00pm, the SKY NEWS ELECTION CHANNEL will feature a rolling display of election results from each seat as they come in live across the country.

SKY NEWS online will provide unparalleled choices for people to access its premium online coverage with more opportunity to interact with Election 2016 coverage on social media platforms than ever before.

Expert views, breaking news and in-depth analysis from SKY NEWS are available anytime and anywhere at SkyNews.com.au/Election2016.

On Election Day the powerhouse line-up of SKY NEWS political experts will come together at SkyNews.com.au with minute-by-minute updates as the votes come in throughout the day and night.

A live-stream of SKY NEWS LIVE will be made available online at SkyNews.com.au and highlights from the day will be available in a live blog.

Predictions and comments from the expert SKY NEWS political team, including content produced exclusively for social media, will feature across social platforms Sky News Australia (Facebook), @SkyNewsAust, @SkyNewsAusPol and @SkyBusiness.

The international community can watch the SKY NEWS election coverage live and on demand and also access leading SKY NEWS political and opinion programs across five different channels on Australia Channel. To subscribe visit www.australiachannel.com.au and follow Australia Channel at AustChannel (Facebook) and @AustChannel.

*All times are AEST

Media Contact: Emma Van Der Aa

Communications Manager – SKY NEWS

02 9886 8049 | 0434 001 589

evanderaa@skynews.com.au

About SKY NEWS

The SKY NEWS channels are owned and operated by Australian News Channel Pty Ltd; a joint venture company of Nine Entertainment Company, Seven West Media and Sky PLC. It operates SKY NEWS LIVE, SKY NEWS Business, SKY NEWS Weather, SKY NEWS Multiview, A-PAC Australia’s Public Affairs Channel, SKY NEWS New Zealand and Australia Channel.

Cisco sets out Digital Survival Guide for Service Providers

Suite of technologies key to IoT success for Region’s Service Providers

Mobile World Congress Shanghai, 29 June 2016 – As digital disruption intensifies and telcos increasingly search for relevance in a complex, hyper-connected world, Cisco says, its expanding suite of technologies will simplify transformation into next-generation IoT service providers

The technologies, a combination of hardware and software, provide a one-stop shop for telcos to capitalize on the estimated $11 trillion value at stake from the “always on” IoT world. New hardware like the LoRaWAN solution will not only take networks to places where they have never been before but also enable new IoT services that existing cellular and Wi-Fi technologies cannot address, such as smart parking and connected trash bins. This will open up new markets and generate new revenue streams for service providers.

As the massive explosion of connected devices exerts greater pressure on current networks, service providers are being forced to make real time amendments or additions to their network that software solutions are best placed to satisfy. With an anticipated three-fold increase in APAC Internet traffic by 2020, service providers are also set to be required to handle and manage massive volumes of data and then transform it into intelligence that powers new services, customer experiences and business models.

The virtualization and analytics features in Cisco’s portfolio, not only fulfils the management and analysis requirements of this new and complex world but will also anticipate trends and usage patterns. Capacity and resources can then be automatically adjusted to address the change, and the enhanced agility allows telcos to cost effectively manage and maintain their network.

“Once again, Cisco is leading the way in digital transformation. With an anticipated 11 billion devices set to be connected, each with different requirements, operating systems and language, our technologies are setting service providers up to succeed and allowing their consumers to reap the benefits,” said Chris Heckscher, Cisco’s Vice President, Service Provider Sales for Asia Pacific and Japan.

Service providers now have the right tools and capabilities to help their private and public sector customers tap into the enormous potential and opportunities that IoT and digitization brings, allowing them to launch, manage and upgrade new applications and smart devices in timescales that were unimaginable even a few years ago.

As service providers strive to make sense of the digital era, technologies and software will be key to keeping them affordable, efficient and adaptable so that they can stay relevant in the digital future.

END

Service Provider Survival Guide

Cisco’s Latest Solutions for SPs

LoRaWAN solution

The new LoRaWAN solution allows service providers and enterprises to connect devices with low power and low throughput over a long distance.

Approximately 45% of all IoT devices are battery-operated and require long-range connections. This disruptive technology enables businesses to cost-effectively network billions of these devices though wireless connectivity in the unlicensed spectrum, allowing them to bring intelligence to even the most mundane items.

The LoRaWAN solution will not only take networks to places where they have never gone before but also enable new IoT services that existing cellular and Wi-Fi technologies cannot address, such as smart parking and connected trash bins. This will open up new markets and generate new revenue streams for service providers.

Cisco Jasper

The Cisco Jasper platform allows enterprises to connect their devices to the cellular networks of top global service providers, and then automate, manage and monetize IoT services. It enables organizations to create new business models by transforming their connected assets into connected services, allowing them to produce new and recurring revenue sources.

Cisco Jasper’s strength also lies in the network of services providers and enterprises on its platform. There are currently 27 global service providers groups with more than 100 mobile networks and over 4,000 enterprises connected to its platform. This extensive network on Cisco Jasper’s platform will allow telcos and enterprises to easily and rapidly expand their IoT services to any part of the world, into any verticals.

Ultra Services Platform

Ultra Services Platform is a virtualized mobile solution that allows service providers to transform their mobile networks into a mobile cloud, increasing their reliability, agility and scalability.

This software-driven solution is the only 5G-ready mobile services core in the market and mobile operators can capitalize on its benefits today. A 5G-ready network design can reduce 50% more operating costs than virtualization and cut down more than two-third of new services deployment time.

Besides reduced costs and increased agility, Ultra Services Platform can also handle over 2 Terabits p/s of traffic and over 20 million connections, giving service providers the ability to cope with the massive scale that IoT will bring.

END

Additional Supporting Resources

RSS Feed for Cisco: https://newsroom.cisco.com/rss-feeds

Cisco Media Contact

Lim Choon Hong

+65 6317 5228

chonglim@cisco.com

About Cisco

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide technology leader that has been making the Internet work since 1984. Our people, products, and partners help society securely connect and seize tomorrow’s digital opportunity today. Discover more at newsroom.cisco.com and follow us on Twitter at @Cisco.

Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Cisco’s trademarks can be found at www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company.

GEM Expands Channel Distribution to Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore

Premieres First Original Production: “We are Asia – Dean Fujioka & Friends”

Set to Broadcast Nippon TV’s “The Music Day 2016 – Beginning of Summer” Live from Japan on July 2

SINGAPORE (June 29, 2016) – GEM, the joint-venture entertainment channel between Sony Pictures Television (SPT) Networks and Nippon Television Network Corporation (Nippon TV), announced today the expansion of its distribution to Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore, making the channel available to viewers on over 10 pay-TV platforms across six markets in Asia.

Since its launch in 2015, GEM has carved a niche in the premium Asian entertainment space offering first-run and exclusive dramas, comedies and variety entertainment shows from Japan and other northeast Asian markets. Earlier this month, the channel made its foray into original production with the global premiere of “We are Asia – Dean Fujioka & Friends”, a five-part entertainment documentary series featuring Dean Fujioka and rising star Shuhei Nomura, rock band WEAVER, and video projection dance sensation Siro-A.

Ang Hui Keng, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Sony Pictures Television Networks, Asia, said, “GEM is gaining traction in Asia as it cements its position as the top destination for high quality, express content from Japan and northeast Asia. We’re focused on taking GEM beyond the screen and into the lives of fans across the region via talent tours, local filming and fan meets. Our new series, ‘We are Asia – Dean Fujioka & Friends’, marks the first original series for GEM, and will pave the way for more localized content in the future.”

Atsushi Hatayama, President, International Business Development, Nippon TV, said, “We are happy to know that GEM and its lineup of compelling content have been well-received by our viewers and pay-TV platforms across the region. We are looking forward to welcoming new viewers in the Philippines and Indonesia where Japanese content has not been shown before on this scale. The Singaporeans have a great appreciation for Japanese content, and can now watch it without delay. We are dedicated to bringing express telecast shows to GEM so viewers should look forward to catching the latest shows close to the Japan broadcast.”

In addition to the channel’s first original production, viewers can look forward to Japan’s hottest music event of the year, Nippon TV’s “The Music Day 2016 – Beginning of Summer”, which will be broadcast live and exclusive for the first time on GEM from 5:00pm until 10:00pm on Saturday, July 2, 2016. This annual music event brings together Japan’s top artists in a festival that celebrates the very best of J-pop.

Fans of Japanese and northeast Asian entertainment can now enjoy GEM on the following pay-TV platforms in Asia:

Indonesia: Indovision, MyRepublic, Nexmedia, Skynindo and Transvision
The Philippines: Via ACCION’s distribution network of provincial cable affiliates
Singapore: Launching August 1, 2016 on Singtel TV

GEM is already available on PPCTV in Cambodia, nowTV in Hong Kong and TrueVisions in Thailand.

Jennifer Doig
Executive Director, Marketing & Communications, English Content
Sony Pictures Television Networks, Asia

10 Changi Business Park Central 2, #03-01

Hansapoint@CBP, Singapore 486030

T: 65 6622 4278 M: 65 9852 1459

a Sony Company

www.SonyPicturesTelevision.com

HBO Asia releases first episodes of “THE NIGHT OF” and Season Two of “BALLERS” for non-subscribers to watch on HBOasia.com

Sample two new HBO Original Series for free this July

SINGAPORE, JUNE 28, 2016 – Known and loved by fans worldwide for its premium Emmy^®-winning shows, HBO Asia has just announced that the network will release the first episodes of its new miniseries, THE NIGHT OF, and the new season of BALLERS, with subtitles where available, for non-subscribers in *19 Asian territories including Singapore and Hong Kong, to sample for free this July.

hbo
THE NIGHT OF

From July 18 for a week, the first episode of THE NIGHT OF will be on HBO Asia’s website (www.hboasia.com) and YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/HBOAsia) for all to watch.

A riveting new eight-part HBO Original miniseries about the intricacies of a complex New York City murder case with cultural and political overtones, HBO subscribers get to watch THE NIGHT OF first, when it premieres in Asia the same time as the US – Monday, July 11 at 9am (8am Thai.Jkt), with a same day primetime encore at 9pm (8pm Thai.Jkt) on HBO.

Starring John Turturro and Riz Ahmed, and based on the British drama series, “Criminal Justice”, HBO’s THE NIGHT OF is created by Steven Zaillian (“Schindler’s List”) and Richard Price (HBO’s “The Wire”), executive produced by Zaillian, Price, Jane Tranter, Peter Moffat and the late James Gandolfini. Directed by Zaillian and James Marsh from teleplays by Price and Zaillian.

hbo2
BALLERS

From July 25 for two weeks, the first episode of BALLERS will be released on HBO Asia’s website (www.hboasia.com) for all to stream.

Looking at the whirlwind lifestyles and real-life problems of former and current football players, BALLERS stars Dwayne Johnson as ex-superstar Spencer Strasmore, who has reinvented himself as a financial manager for today’s players in sun-soaked Miami. Andy Garcia joins the show this season as a new cast member.

Created by Stephen Levinson (HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire”), HBO’s hit comedy series kicks off its ten-episode second season in Asia the same time as the US – Monday, July 18 at 10am (9am Thai.Jkt), with a same day primetime encore at 10pm (9pm Thai.Jkt) on HBO.

THE NIGHT OF and BALLERS will also be on HBO GO and HBO On Demand (in territories where available). More information on these titles can be found in the press releases attached.

*19 Asian territories:

Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

# # #

ABOUT HBO ASIA

Singapore-based HBO Asia brings the best of Hollywood to Asia first through its exclusive licensing deals with major Hollywood and independent studios, including Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Universal Studios, Warner Bros. and Lionsgate. HBO Asia has proprietary and award-winning HBO and HBO Asia Original programmes that are produced exclusively for HBO viewers. Wholly owned by HBO (a Time Warner company), HBO Asia reaches 23 territories across Asia and offers a bouquet of channels and services including 24-hour commercial-free subscription movie channels in standard-definition and high-definition – HBO, HBO SIGNATURE, HBO FAMILY, HBO HITS, CINEMAX and RED by HBO – as well as HBO GO and HBO ON DEMAND. HBO Asia is also the exclusive distributor of BabyFirst and the DreamWorks channel in Asia. Log on to www.hboasia.com for more information.

HBO and Home Box Office are service marks of Home Box Office, Inc. Used with permission

For more information, please contact HBO Asia:

Karen Lai

Director, Communications

Tel: (65) 6381 1796

Email: karen.lai@hboasia.com

Angela Poh

Manager, Communications

Tel: (65) 6381 1838

Email: angela.poh@hboasia.com

Chan Zi Ning

Executive, Communications

Tel: (65) 6381 1746

Email: zining.chan@hboasia.com

24 June, 2016

Welcome to News Views, CASBAA’s news round-up culled from sources across the industry for the week ending June 24th. Curated by CASBAA, News Views keeps you in the loop. We always value your feedback, so tell us what you think!

Brought to you by:

Christopher Slaughter

CEO

As of July 1, China is strictly curtailing TV programmes based on overseas formats. A new policy issued by the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television (SAPPRFT) imposes a bevy of restrictions on how channels can make use of foreign formats, restricting the number of such programmes and the times they can be shown. Commentators noted this was the latest continuation of SAPPRFT’s crackdown on the Chinese satellite TV space. The justification is simple: “Only self-innovated TV programs with Chinese cultural inheritance and characteristics can better carry the Chinese Dream themes, the socialist core values, as well as patriotism and Chinese fine traditions.” And just in case broadcasters are tempted to favour ratings over patriotism, SAPPRFT head Tian Jin followed that edict with a stern warning in The People’s Daily the next day — toe the party line or face disciplinary action.

Anjan Mitra

Executive Director, India

Indian Government relaxed foreign investment norms in various sectors, including media by bringing carriage services under automatic route for investments. But opinion is divided on whether it would attract actual investments; especially when the whole eco-system continues to be a challenging one with various policy measures, at times, working at cross-purpose. However, USIBC feels these reforms likely to boost India-US ties, though the organisation’s plea to relax foreign investment norms in news media sector went unanswered — for the time being at least.

John Medeiros

Chief Policy Officer

The music industry enlisted an A-list of well-known artists, including Taylor Swift, U2 and Paul McCartney, to implore the U.S. Congress to make changes in the DMCA Copyright Act. The “take-down” procedures envisioned by the act don’t provide real-world protection, they said, and besides “It’s impossible for tens of thousands of individual songwriters and artists to muster the resources necessary to comply with its application.” Some cynics said this all had to do with ongoing Youtube negotiations with music companies. Maybe yes, maybe no…..but it’s interesting that just a couple weeks ago the British music industry was saying the same thing. Anyway, there is a very real legal issue about old laws mandating unworkable copyright procedures in the digital age….and we hear the exact same thing about YouTube from many Asian video producers! (But of course, if you want to believe The Masters of the Universe (aka Silicon Valley), it’s all about a few greedy musicians.)

Mark Lay

Vice President, Singapore

A whole lot of streaming video news this week. At Viacom there is more playing than just the Sumner-Shari-Philippe Show, they have launched their first direct-to-consumer VOD platform. Xumo, (who?, yes, exactly, and that’s the point) Streams in Two More OTT Channels. BitTorrent is now looking to launch a TV news network. Vanity Fair believes that the Days of Cord-Cutting Nirvana May Be Over. Variety wants to coin a new name for online content, “community programming.” Hmmm…brings back memories of Bob and Doug McKenzie. And this gent has found a solution to “too much TV”, watch it at 1.6x the speed. Check it out. He may be onto something

Kevin Jennings

Vice President, Programme

Samsung has announced it has acquired the Canadian digital advertisement startup AdGear, The AdGear acquisition comes on the heels of an earlier report form the WSJ outlining Samsung’s push to expand advertising initiatives. The acquisition of the media software and ad services company could have far reaching consequences with Samsung expected to increase ads as it expands the Smart TV service and looks at ways to verify TV audiences across digital and mobile.

Staying in South Korea, the cable broadcasting company D’Live (part of C&M ) has announced it has signed an exclusive STB licencing deal with Netflix for its service in Korea . The Korea Times had reported that negotiations had failed a few months back for a Netflix-exclusive deals with SK Broadband and LG Uplus over profit sharing disagreements. D’Live is Korea’s third-biggest cable TV operator and subscribers will be able to access Netflix services by clicking a Netflix-only button on the remote control.

John Medeiros

Chief Policy Officer

Thai pay-TV Operator CTH announced a cessation of most pay-TV operations on August 1. It’s been a long and difficult road for the company, which started as a cooperative of cable operators buying a few foreign channels, and morphed several times, finishing as a DTH operator. Its moment of glory came in 2012, when it won the Premier League 3-year contract with an unprecedentedly high bid. But that proved to be its undoing, as it never succeeded in recouping the outlay. After BeIN sports won the latest EPL contract award, droves of CTH’s subscribers fled. Regulators are worried, saying 40,000 remaining customers could be left in the lurch. And for now, it’s very unclear what will happen to them.

Meanwhile, in Singapore, there’s whining in the Straits Times: Omigod, soccer prices are high… My reaction is: “Qu’ils regardent du tennis.” Or, they could watch a more Asian sport, like Sepak Takraw.

Jane Buckthought

Advertising Consultant

Thinkbox UK, the marketing body for commercial TV in the UK responds to the dubious research faucet that has been sponsored by YouTube. It has been leaking all over the industry says Thinkbox. YouTube’s latest claims are obviously for the benefit of advertisers, but let’s examine the advertising opportunity closely. 0.6% of video advertising is seen on YouTube; 94% is seen on TV, in full and with sound

Christopher Slaughter

CEO

It was only a couple years ago that analyst Benedict Evans declared “Mobile Is Eating The World”… now he’s updated that presentation, starting with a simple but critical grammatical change in the title: “Mobile Ate The World.” He makes a lot of solid points in the presentation, and expands further in his 16 Mobile Theses. Among my favourites: “We should stop talking about ‘mobile internet’ and ‘desktop internet’ — it’s like talking about ‘colour’ TV as opposed to black and white TV.”

Kevin Jennings

Vice President, Programme

In what many might consider being a little late to the party, the social media network Tumblr has announced it will add live video. The update should help the Yahoo-owned social network compete with Facebook, Twitter, Amazon and YouTube and it claims to differentiate itself. Users will be able to share live video to Tumblr from YouNow, Upclose or YouTube after they connect those accounts with their Tumblr account. And while we’re on the subject of being late for the party… Amazon is thought to be planning to enter the Indonesian market and has a rumoured war chest of some US$600M to be used in the first year. While the move would beprimarily focused on e-commerce the inevitable question for us is will they be bringing Amazon Video to the market – Indonesian government regulations on OTT notwithstanding.

John Medeiros

Chief Policy Officer

European officials be warned: After India, the Internet shock troops are aiming in your direction. “Fight for the Future,” a US-based net lobbying group funded largely by companies selling VPNs and other services that ride on the top of the internet, is promoting an “internet slowdown day” on June 28th.. They’re pushing widgets for people to put on their websites, social media, etc. that will not only have cute graphics but will (surprise surprise) generate mass copycat emails to the committee of European regulators considering how to implement their version of net neutrality. (I’m betting the officials will give “due regard” to the mass-generated emails……but anyway Fight for the Future will surely quote in its fundraising how many millions it generated!) Their position has non-credible statements like “For too long, Europeans have been stuck with inferior Internet access because ISPs have been allowed to create fast lanes and slow lanes.” (Really? It’s fast lanes that did it all???) And so there you have the essence of modern internet lobbying: cute graphics, sweeping slogans, and click-and-run advocacy.

Christopher Slaughter

CEO

A roundup of stories this week on various industry Big Names: The Murdoch Brothers make changes at Fox, Viacom boss Philippe Dauman makes his “last stand”, ex-DreamWorks boss Jeffrey Katzenberg has thoughts on 3D, and Disney’s Bob Iger talks China and more.

John Medeiros

Chief Policy Officer

Here’s a lovely closing thought: even when the US elections are finished, we may not be rid of Donald Trump. Besides the disturbing possibility that he might win……it seems that if he loses, he wants to come back to the TV industry!

Some additional links you might be interested in:

Member News

Eutelsat First in the World to Achieve New Quality Certification From World Teleport Association (WTA)

WTA awards Tier 4 Certification to Eutelsat’s Paris-Rambouillet teleport

New York City, Paris, 23 June 2016 – The World Teleport Association (WTA) today announced that Eutelsat Communications (NYSE Euronext Paris: ETL) has achieved Full Tier 4 Certification for its Paris-Rambouillet teleport in France under WTA’s recently launched Teleport Certification Programme. Tier 4 is the highest of four quality tiers and the Paris-Rambouillet Teleport is the first in the world to achieve that level of Certification.

Foundation of quality of service

The Certification programme involves a rigorous assessment of teleport facilities, technology and operating procedures, which together form the foundation of quality of service. The programme begins when the teleport operator completes a +170-item questionnaire covering business continuity, transmission chains, satellite and terrestrial connectivity, safety, security including cybersecurity, and the network operations centre. Procedural questions examine satellite and terrestrial capacity management, service continuity, physical and cybersecurity processes, and change management.

WTA analysed the company’s completed questionnaire and issued a Provisional Certification in April. Eutelsat then hosted a 2-day site audit by a WTA-approved engineering consultant in May. The audit had three goals: to validate the self-reported information in the questionnaire, to note positive and negative variances, and to offer recommendations for improvements in facilities and procedures. The resulting Tier 4 Certification of Eutelsat’s Paris-Rambouillet Teleport will remain in effect for three years before re-certification is required.

José Sanchez, Eutelsat’s Director of Service Operations, said: “The achievement of the Tier-4 WTA certification represents new international recognition of Eutelsat’s customer service standards, complementing our ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certifications. To be awarded this highest level of certification shows the commitment of our teams to providing the highest quality of service to our customers and the remarkable performance of our facilities at the Paris-Rambouillet teleport in terms of infrastructure, security and operational procedures.”

“The success of our Certification programme depends on its adoption by teleport and satellite operators,” said WTA executive director Robert Bell. “It is their participation and support that translates a comprehensive quality programme like this one into a global standard, which in turn drives quality improvements that benefit customers around the world. In that context, Eutelsat’s Tier 4 Certification at its Paris-Rambouillet teleport is good news for the entire industry, and we are grateful for the leadership shown by Eutelsat.”

A new benchmark for teleport operators worldwide

WTA’s Teleport Certification Programme aims to serve both teleport operators and their customers by creating an objective, transparent, and internationally accepted method for teleport operators to document the quality of their operations for customers and strategic partners. It also aims to provide a means for customers to select teleport vendors delivering the price-performance level that is appropriate for their applications.

Click here for a list of certified teleports.

For more information about the Teleport Certification Programme, visit http://www.worldteleport.org/?page=Certification or email WTA Membership Director Randall Barney at rbarney@worldteleport.org.

About World Teleport Association
Since 1985, the World Teleport Association (www.worldteleport.org) has focused on improving the business of satellite communications from the ground up. At the core of its membership are the world’s most innovative operators of teleports, from independents to multinationals, niche service providers to global carriers. WTA is dedicated to advocating for the interests of teleport operators in the global telecommunications market and promoting excellence in teleport business practice, technology and operations.

For more information
Matthew Owen, Communications Manager,
World Teleport Association
mowen@worldteleport.org
Tel: (+1) 212-825-0218 x105

About Eutelsat Communications

Established in 1977, Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL, ISIN code: FR0010221234) is one of the world’s leading and most experienced operators of communications satellites. The company provides capacity on 39 satellites to clients that include broadcasters and broadcasting associations, pay-TV operators, video, data and Internet service providers, enterprises and government agencies.

Eutelsat’s satellites provide ubiquitous coverage of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Americas, enabling video, data, broadband and government communications to be established irrespective of a user’s location.

Headquartered in Paris, with offices and teleports around the globe, Eutelsat represents a workforce of 1,000 men and women from 37 countries who are experts in their fields and work with clients to deliver the highest quality of service.

For more about Eutelsat please visit www.eutelsat.com

Press
Vanessa O’Connor Tel: + 33 1 53 98 37 91 voconnor@eutelsat.com
Marie-Sophie Ecuer Tel: + 33 1 53 98 37 91 mecuer@eutelsat.com
Violaine du Boucher Tel: + 33 1 53 98 37 91 vduboucher@eutelsat.com

Investors and analysts
Joanna Darlington Tel. : +33 1 53 98 35 30 jdarlington@eutelsat.com
Cédric Pugni Tel. : +33 1 53 98 35 30 cpugni@eutelsat.com

Turner’s Cartoon Network Greenlights Sixth Season of the Amazing World of Gumball

Season Five of Award-Winning Series from Cartoon Network Studios EMEA Returns

(LONDON & LAS VEGAS) June 23, 2016 – Cartoon Network today announces that it has greenlit a sixth season of the global hit animated series, The Amazing World of Gumball, further building on the studio’s hugely successful comedy slate and the show’s outstanding performance to date. Produced in the UK and Germany, the mixed media family sitcom has become a global favourite since it first launched in 2010.

The multiple award-winning series has scooped 28 international awards to date including six BAFTAs and an Emmy®. Production began this month at Cartoon Network’s EMEA studio, Great Marlborough Productions, in Shoreditch, London. Season five is slated to begin airing from September 2016 internationally and is set to premiere next year in North America.

Now in its fourth season, The Amazing World of Gumball cleverly combines live action with 2D and 3D animation to chart the adventures of the energetic and fearless blue cat – Gumball – and his idiosyncratic family, the Wattersons. The series is created by Ben Bocquelet, executive produced by Sarah Fell and series-directed by Mic Graves.

The show reached more than 165 million viewers globally in Q1 2016. Additionally it has an increasingly strong presence across digital platforms, with the latest global mobile game launch Agent Gumball reaching #1 overall in the iTunes charts on iPad in five countries and #1 in the Kids category in 27 countries. Last year’s EMEA-developed app Rainbow Ruckus also ranked number one in the iTunes paid apps chart in 27 countries across the globe and a top #5 paid app in 65 countries in its launch week. To date, Gumball has produced almost 7 million app downloads worldwide, attracted more than 9 million Facebook fans and has generated 8 million views on its YouTube channel this year alone. Added to this, awareness and affinity among the channel’s core audience is at an all-time high and is growing among girl audiences too – in other words, kids love it!

Patricia Hidalgo, Senior Vice President, Chief Content & Creative Officer, EMEA Kids & International Kids Strategy at Turner commented: “The Amazing World of Gumball is a great example of how a European production can establish itself as a top performing kids’ animation around the globe and a pillar to Cartoon Network’s ratings and DNA globally. We continue to be thrilled by its performance, not just on our linear channels but on multiple Cartoon Network platforms right across the world and there was really no question that we’d be taking Gumball’s amazingly imaginative world into a sixth season.”

Ben Bocquelet, Series Creator, The Amazing World of Gumball, added: “Gumball, Darwin and the Watterson family have so much more to give and I’m excited to be working with our fantastic team at Cartoon Network Studios here in London to create a sixth season of The Amazing World of Gumball. We have big plans for the show and are already working on new episodes that we hope will have audiences laughing louder than ever. Thank you to Cartoon Network for truly supporting the show and our creative vision, and apologies once again to my family who are about to be the butt of another series of jokes.”

The Amazing World of Gumball follows the Wattersons, a totally normal family. Dad is your regular 6’4” pink rabbit who stays at home while Mom works in a rainbow factory. Their kids are pretty standard too—there’s Gumball, a blue cat with a giant head; Anais, a four-year-old genius bunny; and Darwin, a pet goldfish who became part of the family when he sprouted legs. At the heart of the show is Gumball who faces the trials and tribulations of any twelve-year-old kid—like being chased by a rampaging T-Rex, sleeping rough when a robot steals his identity, or dressing as a cheerleader and doing the splits to impress the girl of his dreams. Simple everyday issues we’ve all been through.

The Amazing World of Gumball is an animated family sitcom for kids that offers a warm hearted, funny and surreal kid perspective into everyday life, in a way that they and their families can relate to. Season Four is currently airing on Turner channels across the globe and Season Five is set to roll-out from September 2016.

-Ends-

For further information, contact:
James Moore

Director of Communications, Turner Asia Pacific

+852 3128-3720 / James.Moore@turner.com

About Cartoon Network

Cartoon Network, the number one kids’ channel in Asia Pacific, offers the best in original animated content including the multi-award-winning global hits Regular Show, The Amazing World of Gumball and Adventure Time and new comedy We Bare Bears. In 2016, the network welcomes back new series of popular franchises Ben 10 and The Powerpuff Girls. Cartoon Network is available in 31 countries throughout Asia Pacific and is currently seen in more than 88 million pay-TV homes. Internationally, it is seen in 192 countries and over 370 million homes, and is an industry leader with a global offering of the best in award-winning animated entertainment for kids and families, known for putting its fans at the center of everything by applying creative thinking and innovation across multiple platforms. Cartoon Network also reaches millions more through its websites, games and apps, including Cartoon Network Watch and Play and Cartoon Network Anything.

About Turner Asia Pacific

Turner Asia Pacific creates and distributes award-winning brands throughout Asia Pacific. In the region, Turner Asia Pacific runs 63 channels in 13 languages in 37 countries, including CNN International, CNNj, CNN, HLN, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Boomerang, POGO, Toonami, World Heritage Channel, Warner TV, Oh!K, TCM Turner Classic Movies, truTV, MondoTV, TABI Channel, and HBO and WB in South Asia. It manages the business of Pay- and Free-TV-channels, as well as Internet-based services, and oversees commercial partnerships with various third-party media ventures; it teams with Warner Bros. and HBO to leverage Time Warner’s global reach. Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific, Inc. (“Turner Asia Pacific”) is a Time Warner company.

HBO’s Highly Anticipated Game of Thrones Season Finale Premieres in Asia the Same Time as the U.S.

Monday June 27 at 9am and 9pm, exclusively on HBO

GOT610_103015_HS__DSC8861
WATCH: A preview of the final episode: https://youtu.be/FONvhJKo2C8

SINGAPORE, JUNE 23, 2016 – The season six finale of HBO’s epic series, GAME OF THRONES, premieres the same time as the US – this Monday, June 27 at 9am, exclusively on HBO (StarHub TV Ch 601), with a same day primetime encore at 9pm. The series will also be available on HBO On Demand.

Titled “The Winds of Winter”, the season finale is written by D.B. Weiss and directed by Miguel Sapochnik, also responsible for this week’s phenomenal penultimate episode, “Battle of the Bastards”.

As GAME OF THRONES concludes its sixth season, binge viewers can relive the excitement by watching all ten episodes back to back anytime on HBO On Demand (StarHub TV Ch 602 / StarHub Go) or on HBO Signature’s (Starhub TV Ch 603) July 9 and 10 weekend marathon, from 12pm daily.

Based on George R.R. Martin’s popular book series “A Song of Ice and Fire”, HBO’s Emmy^® and Golden Globe award winning fantasy series chronicles an epic struggle for power in a vast and violent kingdom. The HBO series has won 26 Emmys^®, among many other awards.

Returning series regulars on GAME OF THRONES this season include: Emmy^® and Golden Globe winner Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister), Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister), Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen), Aidan Gillen (Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish), Diana Rigg (Lady Olenna Tyrell), Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark), Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) and Jonathan Pryce (the High Sparrow).

The executive producers of GAME OF THRONES are David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Carolyn Strauss, Frank Doelger and Bernadette Caulfield; co-executive producers, Guymon Casady, Vince Gerardis and George R.R. Martin; supervising producer, Bryan Cogman; producers, Chris Newman, Greg Spence and Lisa McAtackney.

# # #

About HBO ASIA

Singapore-based HBO Asia brings the best of Hollywood to Asia first through its exclusive licensing deals with major Hollywood and independent studios, including Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Universal Studios, Warner Bros. and Lionsgate. HBO Asia has proprietary and award-winning HBO and HBO Asia Original programmes that are produced exclusively for HBO viewers. Wholly owned by HBO (a Time Warner company), HBO Asia reaches 23 territories across Asia and offers a bouquet of channels and services including 24-hour commercial-free subscription movie channels in standard-definition and high-definition – HBO, HBO SIGNATURE, HBO FAMILY, HBO HITS, CINEMAX and RED by HBO – as well as HBO GO and HBO ON DEMAND. HBO Asia is also the exclusive distributor of BabyFirst and the DreamWorks channel in Asia. Log on to www.hboasia.com for more information.

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