The highly anticipated series will be headlined by ‘Prince of Ratings’ Joo Won and Oh Yeon Seo

Singapore, 25^th April 2017 — Viewers in Asia are in for a treat this May with the premiere of new drama series My Sassy Girl at the same time as Korea on top-rated Korean entertainment channel ONE. Headlined by A-listers Joo Won (The Gang Doctor) and Oh Yeon Seo (Please Come Back Mister), the television adaptation of the hit movie of the same name will premiere on 29 May and air every Monday and Tuesday at 9pm, with localized subtitles in English, Chinese and Bahasa Malay.

“The incredible success of Scarlet Heart in the region proves the existence of strong viewer demand for same-time-as-Korea offerings.  As part of our commitment to provide a premium viewing experience for our audiences, we are thrilled to announce the simulcast of the next big drama series My Sassy Girl on ONE,” said Virginia Lim, Senior Vice President and Head of Content, Production and Marketing, Sony Pictures Television Networks, Asia. “The 2001 movie was a box office hit and is loved by audiences around the world.  Backed by its strong cast and experienced production team, we believe that viewers will be thoroughly entertained by this remake.”

Though the original movie has seen various adaptations over the years, including a Japanese drama series and an American film remake, the new blockbuster television remake introduces a twist – it will be set in the Joseon era instead of the modern-day.  The 16-episode drama is helmed by director Oh Jin Seok (The Gang Doctor) and will be fully pre-produced.   Anticipation for the drama is heightened as it is set to be lead actor Joo Won’s last drama series before his mandatory military enlistment.  He will be reuniting with Director Oh in their second on-screen collaboration since the hit series The Gang Doctor, which aired on ONE in 2015 and propelled the channel to become the top international channel during its premiere timeslot.[1]

My Sassy Girl will feature Joo Won as a handsome and intelligent scholar who is ‘full of himself’, while leading lady Oh Yeon Seo plays the beautiful but eccentric Princess Hyemyung.  The series will present a light-hearted romance between the two leads set against the backdrop of political intrigue in the Joseon era.

My Sassy Girl premieres on ONE on 29 May and airs every Monday and Tuesday at 9pm, at the same times as its Korean telecast.

[1] Source: Kantar Media Singapore/Malaysia DTAM Consolidated Activities
Period: 6th August to 2nd October 2015 Thursdays and Fridays 8.50pm to 10.10pm

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

Make-A-Wish Singapore is the beneficiary of PCCW Global’s 4th annual charity run

HKT (SEHK: 6823) – HONG KONG / SINGAPORE, 24 April, 2017 – PCCW Global, the international operating division of HKT, Hong Kong’s premier telecommunications service provider, announces that Make-A-Wish Singapore is the beneficiary of its annual charity run to be held on May 24 at Gardens by the Bay (Silver Leaf). Funds raised will be used to assist Make-A-Wish Singapore in fulfilling the wishes and dreams of children with life-threatening medical conditions.

PCCW Global has a strong commitment to the communities in which it operates and its Singapore Charity Run is a highlight of the company’s corporate social responsibility program. The Charity Run is open to the public and to teams registered by corporations and partners in the telecommunications industry. It offers a meaningful opportunity to come together to support a worthy cause, and in doing so to give back to society.

This year’s Charity Run will once again see the well-known Yellow Fellows, a group of regular charity runners dressed in bright fluorescent yellow, taking part. Included in this group of fitness enthusiasts are celebrities such as local media personality Randall Tan, sports TV presenter Paul Sng, and many others. They are also ambassadors of Make-A-Wish Singapore and a perennial sight at many local running and sports events, where they help to raise awareness, promote and raise funds for children in need.

Mr. Marc Halbfinger, Chief Executive Officer of PCCW Global, said, “We are delighted to hold the PCCW Global Charity Run 2017 in Singapore again this year. This fourth edition is a continuation of our vision to continue giving back to society and we hope that through Make-A-Wish Singapore, we will bring a smile to the faces of these beautiful, strong children.”

Ms. Judy Lim, Chief Executive Officer of Make-A-Wish Singapore, said, “Make-A-Wish Singapore is heartened to be selected as the beneficiary for this year’s PCCW Global Charity Run, which will go a long way in helping us grant wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions. We hope PCCW Global’s support will inspire commitment from other corporates to our cause of bringing hope, strength and joy to every medically eligible child when they need it most.”

The first PCCW Global Charity Run took place in Singapore in 2014 and the annual event has seen enthusiastic attendance grow year-on-year. Registration for this year’s Charity Run has begun and will be closed on May 10 or once all running slots are sold out.

For more information about the race, registration and race pack collection, please visit http://charity.pccwglobal.com/ or email to pccwgrun@pinkapple.com.sg.

About PCCW Global

PCCW Global is the international operating division of HKT, Hong Kong’s premier telecommunications service provider, which is majority-owned by PCCW Limited. Covering more than 3,000 cities and 150 countries, the PCCW Global network supports a portfolio of integrated global communications solutions which include Ethernet, IP, fiber and satellite transmission solutions, international voice and VoIPX services, managed network & security services and our expanding “as-a-service” solutions including OTT video and Unified Communications.
PCCW Global is headquartered in Hong Kong, and maintains regional centres in Belgium, China, France, Greece, Japan, Korea, Singapore, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. To learn more about PCCW Global, please visit www.pccwglobal.com.

About HKT
HKT (SEHK: 6823) is Hong Kong’s premier telecommunications service provider and leading operator in fixed-line, broadband and mobile communication services. It meets the needs of the Hong Kong public and local and international businesses with a wide range of services including local telephony, local data and broadband, international telecommunications, mobile, and other telecommunications businesses such as customer premises equipment sales, outsourcing, consulting, and contact centers.
HKT offers a unique quadruple-play experience in Hong Kong delivering media content on its fixed-line, broadband Internet access and mobile platforms jointly with its parent company, PCCW Limited.
HKT also provides a range of innovative and smart living services beyond connectivity to make the daily lives of customers more convenient, whether they are at home, in the workplace, or on the go. For more information, please visit www.hkt.com.
About Make-A-Wish Singapore
Established since 2002, Make-A-Wish Singapore was founded with the mission to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experiences with hope, strength and joy.
It is our goal to grant a wish to every medically eligible child in Singapore. To date, we have granted over 1,290 magical wishes. Whether it’s flying a plane, being a dancer or meeting a Formula One racing driver, the benefits of a wish are tangible. Research has indicated that a child whose magical wish had come true showed significant improvements in hope, positive emotions and health-related quality of life.
As we target to grant another 132 wishes this year, we need the unwavering support of our donors, volunteer wish granters, corporate benefactors, ambassadors, wish families, medical partners and our other stakeholders. Be it donating, volunteering or referring a child, your support for Make-A-Wish will make an impactful difference in the lives of children and families in need. Share the Power of A Wish today!

For more information, please contact:
Ivan Ho PCCW Group Tel: +852 2883 8747 Email: ivan.wy.ho@pccw.com
Li Xian Seow / Imran Khan
SPRG Tel: +65 6325 8232 / +65 6325 8260 Email: lixian.seow@sprg.com.sg / Imran.khan@sprg.com.sg
Issued by HKT Limited.

Elemental Technologies becomes AWS Elemental, brings video processing leadership and cloud expertise to NAB conference and exhibition

Portland, Ore. – April 18, 2017 – AWS Elemental, an Amazon Web Services company, today announced that it will spotlight innovations in video production, distribution and asset management as it debuts its new brand at NAB Show 2017, April 24 to 27 in booth SU2202 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The company will share insights into the future of the video ecosystem across a series of conference sessions, technology demonstrations and other educational events as well as unveil several new solutions to help content providers take full advantage of next generation video processing workflows.

“The NAB Show gathers the industry’s brightest minds to inspire new ideas at the convergence of technology and entertainment,” said Keith Wymbs, chief marketing officer, AWS Elemental. “It’s the perfect venue to share forward-thinking developments that will help media and entertainment companies better conceive, deliver and monetize their creative brilliance, not to mention an ideal backdrop to launch our new brand to the world.”

Exploring the Future of Video

AWS Elemental will join fellow industry leaders as part of panel sessions throughout the conference. One such session, Reaching for the Stars: Connecting to the Future with NASA and Hollywood, will take place Wednesday, April 26, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. in Room N249-N251 and will feature Sam Blackman and Khawaja Shams of AWS Elemental joining astronauts, filmmakers and technologists to explore the advanced video and cloud workflows that power deep space research and ignite imaginations around the world.

Co-produced by Amazon Web Services, NAB, and NASA, the Super Session will feature the first-ever live 4K video stream from space in an interactive discussion between Blackman and NASA Astronaut Peggy Whitson. The entire event will be available to the public for multiscreen viewing in live 4K and down-converted high definition (HD) video at https://live.awsevents.com/nasa4k.

Demonstrating Next Generation Cloud-Based Video Solutions

The company will demonstrate a variety of innovative workflows and technologies in booth SU2202, all of which run in the cloud:

• High Dynamic Range – Broadcast of HDR 10 and HLG channels using any combination of HLG, HDR 10 and SDR source content with AWS Elemental Live, enabling broadcasters to launch HDR channels with a mix of existing SDR and HDR content, including promotions, advertisements, motion graphic overlay and program content;
• Live Channel Playout – A software-based approach to linear 24/7 broadcast channel creation that reduces video workflow complexity, improves resiliency and lowers operational costs;
• Managing massive VOD libraries – Spotlighting the simplified management of massive VOD content libraries as a single AWS Elemental Delta node manages one million VOD assets, stored in Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) and each associated with a thumbnail and metadata;
• Frame accurate live-to-VOD functionality – Frame accurate live-to-VOD clipping will show how content providers can create broadcast quality assets from a live stream, achieve immediate availability of catch-up and clipped assets, and save time and cost by only transcoding assets as needed;
• Cloud-based ingest services – AWS Elemental will showcase a range of integrations with cloud-based solutions for ingest, including AVC and HEVC codecs using RTMP and RTP with forward error correction as well as integrations designed to promote J2K TR-01 contribution, allowing standard contribution sources to be ingested into cloud services.

Partner Expertise at the Ready

AWS Elemental will host several partners, including members of the AWS Elemental Technology Partner Program, who will share their AWS Elemental-enabled solutions for file storage, digital asset management, cloud video distribution, video editing, digital supply chain management and more; in addition, AWS service teams will join the booth to discuss the media and entertainment capabilities of Amazon S3 and Amazon Glacier storage solutions, the Amazon CloudFront content delivery network and Amazon Rekognition image analysis.

4K 4Charity Fun Run

An NAB Show tradition in its fourth year, the 4K 4Charity Fun Run brings the industry together to celebrate its achievements and raise awareness and funding for charitable causes. This year, the 4K 4Charity series will dedicate its proceeds to the vital cause of diversity and inclusion, with proceeds going to Women Who Code and Mercy Corps. The NAB Show Fun Run begins at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 25 at beautiful Sunset Park in Las Vegas; to register, visit 4K4Charity.com.

The Debut of AWS Elemental

AWS Elemental today unveiled its new name and brand to reflect the combined resources and cloud computing capabilities of Amazon Web Services with the video processing leadership for which Elemental Technologies has been known since it pioneered the market for software-defined video processing and distribution. The new brand can be seen today on a fully redesigned website at elemental.com and will be unveiled to the industry in person at the NAB Show.

“The name ‘AWS Elemental’ is the best summation of who we are and what we bring to our customers,” said Keith Wymbs, chief marketing officer, AWS Elemental. “Simply put, AWS Elemental combines deep video processing expertise with the virtually limitless resources of the cloud to power our customers’ video processing workflows and give them the tools to perfect the media experience. We look forward to sharing our new brand and the vision it represents at the NAB Show.”

About AWS Elemental

AWS Elemental, an Amazon Web Services company, combines deep video expertise with the power of the AWS cloud. Solutions from AWS Elemental allow broadcast TV and multiscreen video to be customized, originated and monetized at global scale. Flexible, software-based video processing and delivery gives global media franchises, pay TV operators, content programmers, broadcasters, government agencies and enterprise customers the ability to deliver highly differentiated viewing experiences and the freedom to focus on what matters: transforming ideas into compelling content that captivates viewers. Learn more at elemental.com.

Press Contact                                         

Leila Hrycyszyn
AWS Elemental
hrycyszy@elemental.com
+44 7469 707 355

 

Emerging Chinese filmmakers awarded at MPA-BFM Film Workshop pitch competition

BEIJING/SINGAPORE – On April 20, the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) and its Academy, and the Motion Picture Association (MPA) Asia Pacific officially renewed their successful partnership at an event held during the MPA-BFM Film Workshop at the 7th Beijing International Film Festival, announcing the eighth round of the MPA APSA Academy Film Fund open for submissions.

Chairman of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards and its Academy, Michael Hawkins said, “As we celebrated APSA’s 10th edition in November, the APSA Academy passed 1,000 members, comprised of the exceptional filmmaking talent from this diverse region. With the support and partnership of the MPA, we now enter our 8th year of supporting those Academy members with script development grants, to tell the stories of Asia Pacific. I know the members of the APSA Academy are very grateful, as am I, to the MPA for the opportunities that these grants provide.”

Mike Ellis, President and Managing Director Asia Pacific MPA, said, “It is a pleasure to launch the MPA APSA Academy Film Fund for 2017 in what is now its eighth year. As the body of work produced by the fund grows in size, as does the APSA Academy, the anticipation of what new projects will be submitted is also greatly increased. The MPA is enormously proud of the Asia Pacific stories it has helped realise with this fund and is greatly looking forward to again working with APSA to provide the opportunity for another round of projects to be developed for the screen.”

The MPA APSA Academy Film Fund was created to support, at script stage, new feature film projects originated by APSA Academy members and their colleagues across Asia Pacific. The fund awards four development grants of US$25,000 annually. The 8th round of the Fund will bring the total number of projects funded to 32. The recipients of the grants will be announced during the 11th Asia Pacific Screen Awards Ceremony on Thursday 23 November 2017 in Brisbane, Australia.

A snapshot of MPA APSA Academy Film Fund success stories:

• Kazakh filmmaker and 2010 recipient, Sergey Dvortsevoy (Tulpan), is currently in production on his film AYKA (My Little One).
• The first completed film, from the inaugural round of the Fund in 2010 was Asghar Farhadi’s A SEPARATION which went on to win over 100 awards internationally including an Oscar®, Golden Globe®, Golden Bear and APSA for Best Film.
• 2011 Fund recipient Maryam Ebrahimi’s NO BURQAS BEHIND BARS was recognised worldwide, winning awards at major festivals around the globe, including the biggest TV award in Europe – the Prix Europa Award for Best TV Documentary and an International Emmy Award.
• Shawkat Amin Korki’s MEMORIES ON STONE began its development as a 2011 Fund recipient and since completion, has garnered more than a dozen international awards including the 2014 APSA UNESCO Award. The film had an official screening at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris and at the MPAA headquarters in Washington and was Iraq’s official submission for the 88th Academy Awards® for Best Foreign Language Film.
• Completed MPA APSA Academy Film Fund projects A SEPARATION, NO BURQAS BEHIND BARS and MEMORIES ON STONE have received special screenings at the MPAA headquarters in Washington DC.

The Film Fund was launched during the MPA-BFM Film Workshop, which involved: A Warner Bros panel discussion on “Best Practices in Filmmaking” featuring WB’s Richard Fox in conversation with Cary Cheng, Assistant to the President of Wanda Culture Group, Vice General Manager of Wanda Media, Andrew Lazar, Producer American Sniper, Chantal Nong, VP Feature Development and Production, Warner Bros. Pictures, Tao Kun, Producer CFK Pictures, Shan Tam, Producer Finding Mr. Right, and Lionel Wigram, Producer Harry Potter series and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them; a panel discussion on “Revenue Sources and Business Models for Web Movies”; and a third panel discussion on “The Characteristics of Web Movie Content Production”. The MPA-BFM feature film pitching competition was won by Zhang Chi and Zhu Jie for their film Cosplay. The two will attend a five-day film immersion course in Los Angeles in November, thanks to the MPA. Zhang Hansheng was awarded the President’s Special Recognition Prize for his film Forest of Tumor, winning a trip to the Asia Pacific Screen Awards in Brisbane, Australia, in November.

The 4^th US-China Film and Television Expo also announced their events for 2017. The organization will hold the UCFTI Expo in Los Angeles from October 19-20 and the 2^nd Golden Screen Awards, in partnership with the MPA, China Film Coproduction Co. and the Hollywood Reporter on October 29. The U.S. China Film Summit will be held Oct 30-31.

Images of the events are available here.
For more information on the MPA APSA Academy Film Fund, please click here.

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MPA APSA Academy Film Fund recipients 2010 – 2016

2016 Haifaa Al Mansour, (Saudi Arabia)

Joo Young Park, (South Korea)

Rolf de Heer, (Australia)

Emir Baigazin, (Kazakhstan)

 

2015 Ami Drozd, (Israel)

Annemarie Jacir, (Palestine)
Cliff Curtis, (New Zealand)

Surabhi Sharma (India)

 

2014 Signe Byrge Sørensen, (Denmark)

Dror Moreh, (Israel)
Panah Panahi, (Islamic Republic of Iran)

Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, (Bangladesh)

 

2013 Ainsley Gardiner, (New Zealand)
Jeannette Hereniko, (Marshall Islands)

Reis Çelik, (Turkey, Iraq)

Garin Nugroho, (Indonesia)

 

2012 Kath Shelper, (Australia)
Mohammed Rasoulof, (Islamic Republic of Iran)

Suha Arraf, (Israel)

Zeynep Özbatur Atakan, (Turkey)

 

2011 No Burqas Behind Bars, Maryam Ebrahimi, (Afghanistan)

Payman Maadi, (Islamic Republic of Iran)

Pryas Gupta, (India)
Memories on Stone, Shawkat Amin Korki, (Iraqi Kurdistan)

 

2010 A Separation, Asghar Farhadi, (Islamic Republic of Iran)

Lee Chang Dong, (Republic of Korea)
The Cremator, Peng Tao, (People’s Republic of China)
Ayka/My Little One, Sergey Dvortsevoy, (Russian Federation)

 

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ABOUT THE ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS & ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN ACADEMY

The Asia Pacific Screen Awards, based in Brisbane, are presented by Treasury Casino & Hotel, supported by Brisbane City Council and managed by economic development board Brisbane Marketing. APSA has the privilege of a unique collaboration with Paris-based UNESCO and FIAPF-International Federation of Film Producers Associations, and recognises and promotes cinematic excellence and cultural diversity of the world’s fastest growing film region: comprising 70 countries and areas, 4.5 billion people, and is responsible for half of the world’s film output.

 

APSA and its Academy is committed to its ongoing partnerships with UNESCO, FIAPF, the European Film Academy (EFA), the Motion Picture Association (MPA), NETPAC (the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema), the Asia Pacific Screen Lab (APSL) and Griffith Film School.

 

All nominees, International Nominations Council, Nominee Selection Panels and APSA International Jury members are inducted into the APSA Academy presided over by President, Australian screen legend Jack Thompson AM PhD. The Academy boasts over 1000 of the region’s leading filmmakers and provides exclusive networking, development and funding opportunities available to Academy members through the MPA APSA Academy Film Fund, and Academy mentoring opportunities for the next generation of Asia Pacific filmmakers through the Asia Pacific Screen Lab. The APSA’s Academy partner, the European Film Academy shares the common interest of presenting pan-International Awards that promote and award excellence in cinema.

###

 

About the MPA:

Promoting & Protecting Screen Communities in Asia Pacific

The Motion Picture Association (MPA) and the Motion Picture Association International (MPA-I) represent the interests of the six international producers and distributors of filmed entertainment. To do so, they promote and protect the intellectual property rights of these companies and conduct public awareness programs to highlight to movie fans around the world the importance of content protection. These activities have helped to transform entire markets benefiting film and television industries in each country including foreign and local filmmakers alike.
The organizations act on behalf of the members of the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc (MPAA) which include; Paramount Pictures Corporation; Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.; Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation; Universal City Studios LLC; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures; and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. The MPA and the MPA-I have worldwide operations which are directed from their head offices in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. and overseen in the Asia Pacific by a team based in Singapore. For more information about the MPA and the MPA-I, please visit www.mpa-i.org.

 

For more information, please contact

Stephen Jenner

MPA Asia-Pacific
(65) 6253 1033

 

June Tan

MPA Asia-Pacific
(65) 6253 1033

• To specially customise its dedicated Bollywood film and entertainment channel, Zee.One for the Polish market
• Appoints Pawel Kolasa as Country Manager – Poland

Mumbai, India, / Warsaw, Poland, April 21, 2017: With an aim to grow operations by expanding into new markets, leading Indian content company, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) today announced its foray into Poland. The company has appointed Pawel Kolasa as Country Manager – Poland and he will report to Neeraj Dhingra, CEO – ZEE Network Europe. The channel will also shortly launch a specially customised version of Zee.One, its dedicated Bollywood film and entertainment channel for Polish audiences.

Amit Goenka, CEO – International Broadcast Business, ZEEL said, “In the past few years, we have focused our efforts on expanding and strengthening our position internationally. With a wide range of television channels, on-line platforms and film productions, we now reach more than one billion viewers across five continents. After the successful launch of Zee.One in Germany last year, we want to further strengthen our presence in Central Europe and Poland is the market with the highest potential in this region.”

Neeraj Dhingra, CEO – ZEE Network Europe said, “We are the first Indian media and entertainment conglomerate to enter Poland. We are confident that our entry into this market will play a key role in the development of our business in this part of Europe, giving a new dimension to our company’s expansion keeping in line with our motto of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – The World is My Family’.”

“With over 22 years of experience in the television industry, we are confident that Paweł Kolasa would add significant value to our organization through his extensive experience in developing strategic partnerships with key operators of digital platforms and cable networks as well as in B2B marketing. For the past seven years he has managed, created and implemented a distribution strategy for NBCUniversal, achieving success in a highly competitive market. We are pleased to welcome Pawel to the ZEE family and we wish him many successes,” Neeraj further added.

Paweł Kolasa, Country Manager – Poland, said, “I am extremely excited to be a part of ZEE and lead the organization’s growth in this region. We plan to bring the best of Bollywood to viewers in Poland. Going forward, we will also be looking at creating local Polish productions.”

Zee.One, a film and entertainment channel, promises to bring top-quality Bollywood content, specially customized for Polish audiences. The channel will feature high-budget movies and series: action films, thrillers, comedies and musicals. The programming line-up will also include lifestyle programs inspired by the rich Indian culture, dedicated to popular topics such as culinary, travel or yoga.

The channel’s schedule, adapted to the local market, will be created by the Polish team. The channel will launch in Poland later this year.

==============================ENDS=================================

 

Note to Editors

 

About Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL):

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited is one of the leading global content companies. With an extensive content library housing over 222,000+ hours of television content and rights to more than 3,818 movie titles from foremost studios and of iconic film stars, ZEE entertains over One Billion viewers across 171+ countries. ZEE has a strong presence across the media and entertainment value chain including Broadcasting, Films, Digital, Theatre, LIVE Events & Talent. ZEE also operates multiple digital offerings like Ditto TV, OZEE and India.com.

More information about ZEE and its businesses is available on www.zeetelevision.com.

 

Official Social Media Platforms:

Twitter                 :               ZEECorporate/Twitter.com

Facebook            :               ZEECorporate/Facebook.com

LinkedIn               :               Linkedin.com/Company/ZEECorporate

 

About Zee Network Europe:

ZEE Network Europe, launched in 1995, was the first South Asian Entertainment Network of its kind.  Since then, it has grown in popularity and has become synonymous with South Asian entertainment at the highest level. ZEE Network Europe is constantly evolving, providing viewers with a unique combination of high quality, locally tailored and innovative programs. As a pioneer in all genres of entertainment, the company has been the source of some of the most beloved television shows for its viewers. In Europe, ZEE’s channels are present in the UK, Ireland, The Netherlands, France, Portugal, Russia, Germany as well as several other countries. In 2007, ZEE Network Europe expanded its presence in Russia, reaching more than 20 million households. In July 2016, Zee.One channel was launched in Germany, with a great host at the opening – the Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan.

 

=============================================================================

Media Contact:

Jayshree Kumar / Arantxa Gonsalves

Corporate Communications – Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL)

Mobile: +91 9769286661 /9820336890

Email: jayshree.kumar@zee.esselgroup.com / arantxa.gonsalves@zee.esselgroup.com

A premium Chinese-language miniseries to be released in the fall of 2017

 

HONG KONG, Apr 24, 2017- FOX Networks Group Asia (FNG) and Focus Television (Focus TV) announced today that Tencent Penguin Pictures (Tencent) will join forces with them in bringing The Trading Floor, the premium Chinese-language miniseries, to viewers across the globe.
The Trading Floor, setting in Asia’s financial hub Hong Kong, is a 5-episode series following a crack team of financial mercenaries in their attempt to conquer the financial market. It is produced by Hong Kong superstar, Andy Lau’s Focus TV with KK Wong (Director of The Election 2014) as scriptwriter and director.

The series has netted a cast of feature-film talent including award-winning HK actor Francis Ng, Taiwanese hearththrob Joseph Chang and Yu Nan; also co-starring Poon Chang Leung, Jacky Cai , Carlos Chan and Jiang Qilin with special appearance of Patrick Tam.

Scheduled to be released in the fall of 2017, The Trading Floor will be broadcast on SCM, FNG Asia’s leading Chinese movie channel. It will also be made available to viewers in mainland China on Tencent Video on a day and date basis.

Andy Lau, the producer of The Trading Floor, said “With its innovation in storytelling and multi-dimensional characters, we truly believe The Trading Floor will have great appeal to global drama viewers. We hope the series will create a new dimension to the Asian television production industry.”

Cora Yim, SVP and Head of the Chinese Entertainment at FNG Asia, said, “We are thrilled to partner with Tencent and Focus TV, and in particular, to have Andy Lau as the producer for The Trading Floor. Together with the amazing on-and off-screen talent and crew, we are bringing high value, top quality Chinese content to our fans.”

Jeff Han, vice president of  Tencent Penguin Pictures, General Manager of Video Content Cooperation  Department of Tencent Video, states: “Fox is well-known and influential  around the world. On the other hand, Tencent  Penguin Pictures, which benefits from Tencent Video’s magnificant  internet traffic, also  produced many successful and famous TV shows. I  believe that the cooperation between Fox and Tencent Penguin Pictures  can benefit each other and generate more than  simply  puting our resources together. Meanwhile, we hope that this can be a  good example for Chinese TV shows industry in the future.”

 

###

Media Inquiries:
HONG KONG-

Valerie Lee
Assistant Manager – Marketing | Fox Networks Group Asia
valerie.lee@fox.com | +852.9151.0002

 

CHINA-
Punny Wang
TV Series Production Department/Program Manager | Tencent Penguin Pictures
punnywang@tencent.com |  +86-136.0982.2921

‘Bolt of Talent’ follows the legendary Michael Bolton on his search for Asia’s top musical talent – exclusively for Star World

 

April 20, 2017 – Hong Kong – FOX Networks Group (FNG) Asia announces the opening season of Bolt of Talent – an original series that documents the search for undiscovered gifted singers across Asia. Under the guidance of American singer-songwriter and pop culture icon Michael Bolton, worthy contestants will battle it out for the ultimate life-changing Grand Prize: a dream record deal and World Tour with the legendary man himself.

 

The seven-part series takes the talent contest to four major cities: Kuala Lumpur, Taipei, Manila and Bangkok, in an original production to air exclusively on Star World.

After finding inspiration on a recent sold-out tour of Asia, international music legend Michael Bolton is on a quest to discover the most deserving of raw Asian talent. A relentless seven-week journey across Asia will culminate in four musically gifted finalists being hand-picked by Michael.  Contestants will be asked to reinvent, rearrange and recreate a range of Bolton’s greatest hits in hopes of striking a chord with not only the audience, but most importantly, the man behind the music. To determine a winner, their performances and skills will be dissected with the help of a local superstar from each of the four cities, who will join Michael in the decision making.

With this once in a lifetime opportunity, the four aspiring performers must impress judges and prove that they possess the Bolt of Talent.

Dean Dezius, Vice President of Entertainment Channels, said, “We are incredibly excited to announce the launch of a brand new original series on Star World: Bolt of Talent. FNG is very much looking forward to working in partnership with Subaru to bring Michael Bolton and local industry leaders together, uncovering and harnessing Asia’s raw musical talent. This promises to be a memorable production that we hope will inspire budding singer songwriters across the region to share their compelling stories and journeys to the top.”

“Subaru has always been a huge supporter of nurturing aspiring talents in Southeast Asia and we’re excited to be able to work with Michael Bolton to present Bolt of Talent”, said Mr Glenn Tan, Executive Director of Tan Chong International Ltd. “With his diverse, prolific singing and songwriting experience, he continues to be an inspiration to many individuals who will now have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn from the internationally-renowned music legend himself.”

Creation of the newly commissioned entertainment reality series will fall in to the capable hands of IFA Media, one of Asia’s leading factual and drama producers. The multi-award-winning outfit boasts a number of Asia’s highest rated prime-time TV series across several genres.

Marc Heal, Sales Director at IFA Media commented, “IFA has worked closely with FNG for many years and we are now delighted to be partnering with Star World and Subaru on this exciting new show. It’s thrilling to bring an international star such as Michael Bolton to Asia and we are looking forward to discovering some major musical talent.”

 

About FOX Networks Group

FOX Networks Group (FNG) is 21st Century FOX’s international multi-media business. We develop, produce and distribute 300+ wholly- and majority-owned entertainment, sports, factual and movie channels in 45 languages across Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa. FNG’s core channel brands include FOX, FOX Sports, FOX Life, FOX+ and National Geographic Channel. FNG’s movie channels include FOX Movies, FOX Movies Premium and SCM (formerly Star Chinese Movies). Our non-linear brands include FOX Play, FOX Play+ and Nat Geo Play. These networks and their related mobile, non-linear and high- definition extensions, reach over 1.825 billion cumulative households worldwide. In addition, FNG owns and operates two production studios and produces thousands of local programming hours for its wholly owned channels and third parties.

About StarWorld

StarWorld is FOX Networks Group’s most established western GE channel focused on delivering the best entertainment content with programming that appeals to a broad cross section of female and companion viewing audiences of Asia. The channel offers exclusive access to premium dramas, comedies, reality shows, special live events, leading global award shows and features exclusive original productions created with Asian audiences in mind.

StarWorld is available in 11 million homes, reaching 17 countries and territories across Asia and the Middle East.

About IFA Media

IFA Media is one of Asia’s premier factual and drama TV producers, creating award-winning content that rates across the world. From multi-series ratings-winner Monster Fish for NG Wild USA, to the chilling I Wouldn’t Go In There for Nat Geo, IFA Media has been the recipient of over 40 nominations and awards from global industry bodies, including Peabody, Cine Golden Eagle, BAFTA, Royal Television Society, Amnesty, New York TV and the Asian TV Awards. IFA has offices in Singapore, Bangkok and Taipei plus a partner company IFA China, based in Beijing.

 

Media Inquiries:

Karen Tsang

Assistant Manager, Marketing | FOX Networks Group Asia

karen.tsang@fox.com | Telephone: +852 2621 8205

New Season Of GAME OF THRONES Premieres Same Time As The U.S. On
Monday, July 17 at 9am (SIN) On HBO. Also Available Online On HBO GO.

 

SINGAPORE, APRIL 20, 2017 – Russian artist and sculptor of the GAME OF THRONES A Pencil Microsculpture Exhibition (#GOTPencilArt), Salavat Fidai, is in Singapore for a limited time to demonstrate his craft and promote the exhibition. The exhibition, exclusively in Singapore, is organised by HBO Asia (#HBOAsia) and K+ (#kplussg) and opens to public from 22 April to 4 June at K+ Curatorial Space at Scotts Square. Admission is free.

HBO Asia has commissioned Fidai to produce 16 themed sculptures from the HBO Original hit series, GAME OF THRONES (#GameofThrones), into the tips of fragile graphite pencils. The 16 pencils on display will include the microsculpture carvings of the Iron Throne, sigils from House Stark, House Targaryen, House Greyjoy, House Baratheon and House Lannister, as well as the Hand Of The King pin, Cersei’s new crown, Drogon the dragon, the Three Eyed Ravel, the Night’s King, a White Walker, the Titan of Braavos, the Weirwood tree, and two swords – Brienne of Tarth’s Oathkeeper and Jon Snow’s Long Claw.

Fidai is world-renowned as one of the leading experts in the field of miniature sculpture, creating intricate and detailed art on tips of pencils with diameters between 2mm to 5mm. Using an X-Acto knife, a microscope and an illuminated loupe, Salavat can take anywhere from 12 hours to 14 days for a microsculpture to be completed.

“The Iron Throne was definitely one of the most challenging one I’ve done,” says Fidai. “It took me almost two weeks to complete it as I had to make sure every intricate detail was accurately carved.”

He further adds, “I am a huge fan of GAME OF THRONES – I love how unpredictable the plot is, and I particularly love shows about war and knights. I was absolutely thrilled when HBO Asia approached me to work on some of the most recognisable icons from the hit series.”

“HBO Asia loves bringing innovative ways for new and existing fans to connect with the series. This collaboration with K+ and Salavat Fidai is really our way of letting fans see GAME OF THRONES from a new perspective,” says Magdalene Ew, HBO Asia’s Head of Marketing, Creative and Content.

“In the past, we have organised a Game of Thrones Mondo Art Exhibition as well as an interactive The Game of Thrones Experience: Worlds of Westeros Exhibition event which included the Game of Thrones: Ascend the Wall 4D virtual reality experience, actual weapons and original storyboards from the series, as well as a replica of the Iron Throne,” says Ew. “This time, in continuing our efforts to bring the hit series to fans in an experiential way, we went with an art form which juxtaposes the magnitude and enormousness of the series which is a worldwide phenomenon onto the tiny, delicate and intricate tips of pencils.”

 

Details of the Exhibition:

Event Name:     GAME OF THRONES A Pencil Microsculpture Exhibition by Salavat Fidai

Organiser:        HBO Asia and K+

Venue:              K+ Curatorial Space, Scotts Square #03-11/12/13, 6 Scotts Road, S’pore 228209

Date:                22 April till 4 June, 2017

Time:                11:30am to 8:30pm

Ticketing:          Free Admission

 

Based on George R.R. Martin’s bestselling book series “A Song of Ice and Fire”, HBO’s hit Emmy^® and Golden Globe award-winning fantasy series chronicles an epic struggle for power in a vast and violent kingdom.

 

The seventh season (#GoTS7) of the HBO Original series GAME OF THRONES premieres the same time as the U.S. on Monday, July 17 at 9am (SIN) exclusively on HBO with a same day primetime encore at 9pm (SIN). The series will also be available on HBO GO.

 

 

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.

 

GAME OF THRONES, HBO and Home Box Office are trademarks of Home Box Office, Inc. Used with permission

For more information, please contact HBO Asia:

Karen Lai
Senior Director, Communications
Tel: (65) 6381 1796
karen.lai@hboasia.com

 

Cheryl Foong
Manager, Communications
Tel: (65) 6381 1838
cheryl.foong@hboasia.com

 

Chan Zi Ning
Executive, Communications
Tel: (65) 6381 1746
zining.chan@hboasia.com