January 11, 2012 – On Monday the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism set up an inspection team to look into the football broadcasting contract signed by the Vietnam Football Federation and the Audio Vision Global (AVG) Company last year.
The decision was made given the on-going conflict between AVG and the Vietnam Professional Football (VPF) company on football broadcasting rights.
Celestial Tiger Entertainment Appoints Industry Veteran Todd Miller as President and Chief Operating Officer
New Asian Media Company Unveils Management Team and Board of Directors
HONG KONG (January 11, 2012) – Celestial Tiger Entertainment (CTE), the Asian media company launched last month by Celestial Pictures Limited, Saban Capital Group and Lionsgate, unveiled today its senior management team, led by industry veteran Todd Miller, who will serve as President and Chief Operating Officer. CTE also announced the members of its Board of Directors.
Miller brings over two decades of management and media experience to CTE and will lead the company and drive its core businesses of branded pay-TV channels, content creation and content distribution across Asia and beyond. He joins CTE following a 17-year stint in Asia at Sony Pictures Television where he served most recently as Executive Vice President, Networks, Asia-Pacific.
While at Sony, Miller oversaw and managed a diverse portfolio of more than 25 of Sony’s television networks and channel investments across the region. In addition to branded pay-TV channels, Miller also led Sony’s licensing and local production businesses in the region as Managing Director, Asia, including oversight of Sony’s pioneering digital content distribution business as well as its Sino-American TV production joint venture.
The senior management team reporting to Miller and based at the company’s Hong Kong headquarters is comprised of highly seasoned media executives with experience stretching from Hollywood to Asia. It includes:
In addition to the senior management team, the company also announced the structure of its channel distribution team. Keith Mak, Director, TV Networks Distribution, will primarily oversee China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia while Sorel Roget, Director, TV Networks Distribution, will primarily oversee Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
“Todd’s experience, achievements and relationships in Asia and beyond is exactly the leadership we are looking for to help realize our goals for Celestial Tiger Entertainment,” said Adam Chesnoff, President and Chief Operating Officer of Saban Capital Group and Chairman of the Board of Directors of CTE. “We have great confidence that the management team we assembled will build a high-growth business with Celestial Tiger Entertainment’s complementary and vertically integrated businesses of branded pay-TV channels, content creation and content distribution across Asia.”
Miller said, “Celestial Tiger Entertainment is uniquely positioned as Asia’s largest regional pay TV broadcaster dedicated to Asian entertainment. I am honored to work with this highly capable team in creating and distributing distinctive channels and content for audiences in the world’s largest pay-TV market.”
CTE also announced the appointment of its Board of Directors with representatives from Saban Capital Group, Celestial Pictures and Lionsgate. Besides Chairman Adam Chesnoff, the Board of Directors include Jon Feltheimer, Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Lionsgate; Sumeet Jaisinghani, Director, Saban Capital Group; Ralph Marshall, Executive Deputy Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer, Astro Holdings Sdn Bhd; Ross Pollack, Chief Executive Officer, Celestial Pictures Limited; and Niveen Tadros, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Saban Capital Group.
In addition, the company announced today that founding partner and Chief Executive Officer of Tiger Gate Entertainment, William Pfeiffer, will assume a senior advisory role to the management team of CTE.
Chesnoff added, “We would like to thank William for his efforts and contributions. We look forward to benefiting from his entrepreneurial vision in his new role and wish him well on his future endeavors.”
###
For enquiries, please contact:
Pauline Poon
Public Relations Manager
Tel: +852 2626 8131
pauline.poon@celestialtiger.com
About Celestial Tiger Entertainment
Celestial Tiger Entertainment (CTE) is a diversified media company dedicated to entertaining audiences in Asia and beyond. The company focuses on the operation of branded pay television channels, content creation and content distribution targeted at Asian consumers.
CTE operates a powerful bouquet of distinct pay television channels including: Celestial Movies, the most broadly distributed 24-hour Chinese and Asian movies channel in the world; Celestial Classic Movies, the gateway to an unparalleled array of Chinese movie masterpieces; Celestial Movies On Demand, Celestial’s subscription video on demand service; KIX, the ultimate in action entertainment; Thrill, Asia’s only horror and suspense movie channel; and KIX HD, featuring the best of action with a late-night dose of thrillers in high definition.
As one of Asia’s largest vertically integrated entertainment companies, CTE produces original content which complements its channels business. CTE is also the exclusive sales agent of content in all media in Southeast Asia and China from independent Hollywood studio Lionsgate.
Headquartered in Hong Kong, CTE is a joint venture among Saban Capital Group, a leading private investment firm specializing in the media, entertainment and communications industries; Celestial Pictures, a major Asian entertainment company wholly-owned by Astro, the owner and operator of the leading DTH platform in Malaysia; and Lionsgate, the world’s largest independent filmed entertainment studio.
For more information, please visit www.celestialtiger.com.
January 14, 2012 – The Asian pay-TV market is fast coming of age, and local adaptations of unscripted formats look set to play a key role. Andrew McDonald reports.
Improvements in technology and infrastructure and a growing middle class have seen the pay-TV market rise rapidly across Asia in recent years. In October, regional pay-TV body Casbaa said multi-channel TV distribution had grown 12% in the past year, and that there are now more than 420 million non-terrestrial TV connections in the Asia-Pacific region. This is more than in the rest of the world combined, according to researcher SNL Kagan.
This boom has produced growth in channel numbers and new opportunities for content owners – both locally and further afield. But with a glut of Western channels already filling Asian EPGs, how important is local content in attracting subscribers in the region? And what role will international formats play in feeding that demand for local content?
To view the complete article, please visit http://www.c21media.net/archives/74722?utm_source=C21Media&utm_campaign=833069385c-&utm_medium=email
January 6, 2012 – Delhi High Court has published a permanent injunction stopping any cable operator from illegally airing ESPN Star Sports’ ongoing telecast of India’s cricket tour to Australia.
The notification forbids cable operators, hotels and Internet websites from unauthorized broadcast of the series in any manner.
Earlier, ESPN Star Sports’ (ESS) had filed a permanent injunction against cable ops before the Delhi HC claiming the defendants, approximately 63 named cable operators, hotels and Internet websites may take unauthorized connections and may access signals of ESIPL without taking license from the company.
To view the full article, please visit http://www.mediamughals.com/News/1/1/Article/8864/Delhi_HC_forbids_cable_ops_from_unauthorized_airing_of_Ind-Aus_Series.htm
AXN is India’s No.1 English General Entertainment Channel of 2011
Singapore / Mumbai, 10 January 2012 – AXN has topped viewership charts in India to be the undisputed No. 1 English General Entertainment (GE) channel of 2011. AXN took the top spot in both ratings and reach among CS (cable & satellite) 4+, the advertisers’ core target audience of CS SEC (socio-economic class) AB 4+, and India’s elite CS SEC A 4+ audiences across India.
On the national level, AXN reached a total of 115 million viewers in India last year, of which, 21 million were CS SEC A viewers, which is 23 per cent more than the next English GE channel.[1]
“We are proud to be the top rated English GE channel in 2011 within an increasingly competitive marketplace. We thank Indian audiences for making AXN their favorite once more. We are already working on delivering an even better viewing experience to create a more thrilling AXN in 2012,” said Mr Ricky Ow, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Networks, Asia Sony Pictures Television.
In 2012, AXN is poised to build on its success in India with a fresh slate of exciting shows including the most anticipated and popular new and returning drama series and reality shows as well as a blockbuster line-up of box-office hit movies.
Leading the slate is the new AXN original series The Firm starring Josh Lucas (A Beautiful Mind, Glory Road) and Juliette Lewis (Natural Born Killers, Cape Fear), based on John Grisham’s best-selling novel of the same title. AXN viewers will also enjoy the latest seasons of supernatural action series Teen Wolf and Supernatural; heist series Leverage starring Timothy Hutton (Kidnapped); the world’s most-watched drama franchise, CSI; as well as crime and investigation series NCIS: Los Angeles.
Reality offerings will include the returning season of Emmy-winning So You Think You Can Dance; the fresh, wacky and unexpected 101 Ways to Leave A Game Show; new seasons of obstacle course contest franchise WipeOut;; mystery and supernatural investigative series Destination Truth and Ghost Hunters, as well as the same-day-as-US telecast of the second season of The Voice, featuring Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green and Blake Shelton.
Topping the AXN 2012 line-up of hit films are legal thriller The Firm, the Mission Impossible franchise and War of the Worlds, all starring Tom Cruise; period epic 300 starring Gerard Butler (The Phantom of the Opera); the Transformers sci-fi action film franchise; and action flick Shoot ‘Em Up featuring Clive Owen.
-Ends-
About AXN India
Backed by the powerhouse of Sony Pictures Television (SPT), AXN is the first 24 hour cable and satellite TV channel in Asia exclusively dedicated to action and adventure programming. Launched in 1998 in India, it is a leading English general entertainment destination among upscale, affluent adults aged 18-44. The channel delivers four distinctive types of programming which includes the latest global hit series, action movie blockbusters, latest seasons of adventure-reality and lifestyle sports programs and innovative AXN original productions. The channel not only enjoys a high penetration and viewership in the metros, but is also popular in tier II and tier III cities and reaching 110 million viewers in India yearly. As promised by the brand, AXN brings to its viewers intelligent, edgy, exciting, unpredictable, high energy and an unparalleled entertainment experience.
AXN India is wholly owned by Sony Pictures Television, and managed by SPT Networks, Asia. Visit www.axn-india.com for more information.
For further information please contact:
AXN Networks India Pvt. Ltd.
Apoorva Bakshi @ +91 9920417904
Perfect Relations
Namrata Kumar @ +91 9833408903
January 6, 2012 – Reinforcing remarks mid-December that creative technology and creative content were “absolutely essential to each other”, Senator Chris Dodd, Chairman and CEO of the MPAA has stated that the future of commerce and content on the Internet will be guided by technology companies and the entertainment industry growing together.
Speaking on Bloomberg TV’s Bloomberg West, Dodd talked about the importance of Congress acting now to pass legislation to target foreign criminal websites that profit from stolen American goods and content at the cost of American jobs.
To view the complete article, please visit http://advanced-television.com/index.php/2012/01/06/mpaas-dodd-targeted-legislation-needed-for-rogue-sites/
January 10, 2012 – PEMRA – the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority – has revealed that enforcement teams raided numbers of cable TV networks in various parts of country on January 5, 2012 in a bid to stop illegal satellite and CD channels shown by the cable operators, despite repeated warnings to stop them. According to PEMRA, excessive CD channels on cable networks are not only a peril to social fabric but also a main source of content piracy and plagiarism which PEMRA was addressing seriously.
To view the complete article, please visit http://advanced-television.com/index.php/2012/01/09/pakistan-regulator-acts-against-illegal-services/
Evergreen Ben 10 celebrates 5th year of ‘Hero Time’ in Asia Pacific
HONG KONG (9 January, 2012) – Ben 10, voted one of the world’s Top 10 Boys’ Action brands in 2011, this year celebrates five years of going hero in Asia Pacific. In 2012, he looks set to power-up even more with over 300 million products expected to be sold across the region.
At the Hong Kong International Licensing Show today, Dulce Lim-Chen, Vice President of Cartoon Network Enterprises Asia Pacific was joined by Charles M. Riotto, President of the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association (LIMA), and Angela Ho, Senior Service Promotion Manager from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. They congratulated a life-sized Ben Tennyson on his ultimate success and celebrated with a birthday cake resembling the Omnitrix, Ben’s famous alien-morphing device.
Ms. Lim-Chen said, “We’re thrilled to be celebrating this milestone today as the Ben 10 franchise has enjoyed continued success in the Asia-Pacific region over the past five years. In the three animated series so far, Ben 10, Ben 10: Alien Force and Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, we’ve witnessed Ben and his aliens go from onscreen heroes to global, multiplatform icons.
“The popularity of Ben’s three live action and animated movies – in addition to this year’s release of his first CGI movie – Ben 10: Destroy All Aliens – are further examples of Ben’s evergreen appeal,” Ms. Lim-Chen said.
The Ben 10 franchise has experienced half a decade of consecutive growth since bursting onto Cartoon Network screens in early 2008. He continues to be an action hero powerhouse, achieving US$1 billion in toy sales globally since launch with almost five million Ben 10 toys alone sold just in Asia Pacific during 2011.
Last year, fans in Asia also purchased five million publishing titles and 1.5 million DVDs, with 500,000 kids and their parents visiting Ben 10’s live shows which included Ben 10 Live: Power of the Omnitrix, Ben 10 Time Machine, Omnitrix Overload and Vengeance of Vilgax.
In 2012, Ben Tennyson is heading towards his biggest year yet. Ben 10: Destroy All Aliens will air in early 2012 and is set to be the television movie of the year as Ben 10’s legions of fans around the world unite to watch him, cousin Gwen and Grandpa Max save the world from evil with awesome, never-before-seen CGI effects.
[ends]About Cartoon Network Enterprises
Cartoon Network Enterprises, the licensing and merchandising arm of Cartoon Network, works towards driving long-term value for the Network and its properties such as Ben 10, Ben 10: Alien Force, Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, Gwen, The Powerpuff Girls, Generator Rex, Toonix, The Amazing World of Gumball, Regular Show and Adventure Time with Finn and Jake. The division is specifically responsible for setting up new businesses leveraging the equity of the characters via consumer products, promotional licensing, home videos, interactive games, publishing, themed entertainment and events. Cartoon Network Enterprises works with a host of partners in the Asia-Pacific region, including Bandai, Mattel, Lego, D3 Publishers and Activision among others.
Cartoon Network is a subsidiary of Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific, Inc., which is a member of Turner Broadcasting Systems Inc., a Time Warner company, in Asia. Time Warner is a major producer of news and entertainment products around the world and is a leading content provider in the basic cable industry.
CartoonNetworkAsia.com
For media enquiries:
James Moore
Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific, Inc.
Tel: (852) 3128 3720
Email: james.moore@turner.com
ASIA BROADCAST SATELLITE APPOINTS SCOTT SPRAGUE AS CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
Hong Kong, 9th January 2012 – Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS) announced the appointment of Scott Sprague as Chief Operating Officer (COO). In this new position, Scott will be responsible for managing the global sales, marketing, and operations of value added services. Mr. Thomas Choi, Chief Executive Officer of ABS said, “We are absolutely delighted with the appointment of Scott Sprague as our Chief Operating Officer. From its entrepreneurial beginnings, ABS has grown to become one of the fastest growing satellite operators in the world. With the upcoming launch of ABS-2 in early 2013 as well as anticipated further expansion of our fleet, we sought out a world-class executive to bolster our executive management team for the next evolutionary phase of our growth. Scott Sprague who just recently resigned from SES brings a myriad of experiences to our organization and most importantly the experience of successfully running a sales organization of a global satellite operator. Aside from serving as a member of the Executive Management Team, Scott will be principally responsible for managing the global sales and service operations of ABS. It is my sincere belief that we could not have found a better candidate for this role and we are looking forward to working with him to better serve the needs of our ever expanding list of customers.”
Prior to joining ABS, Scott Sprague was Senior Vice President, Global Sales for SES. During his tenure at SES, he was responsible for global revenue, led a sales team and built a portfolio of businesses for media, enterprises and customers around the globe.
Mr. Sprague held various senior management positions including: Vice President of Enterprise Sales from KPNQwest, Vice President of Channel Management for Infonet Service Corporation and General Manager for AT&T. He oversaw functional activities, sales and revenues.
“I am very excited to be joining the ABS senior leadership team. My passion is working with customer-centric organizations. Clearly ABS has established itself as one of the most creative and flexible satellite service providers in the industry. I look forward to leveraging my global experience with the entrepreneurial spirit of ABS. I firmly believe that by expanding the ABS ‘customer first’ philosophy on a worldwide basis we can drive shareholder value. The regions that the ABS fleet currently covers and their stated expansion plan centers on the high growth markets of the world. I am very familiar with the dynamics of these markets and feel confident that we can provide best in class support to our customers any where they do business,” commented Scott Sprague.
Mr. Sprague earned an MBA in International Business from Western International University and a BS degree in Business Administration from Illinois State University.
About Asia Broadcast Satellite
Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS) is one of the fastest growing premium satellite operators in the world. ABS offers a complete range of End-to-End solutions including Direct to Home (DTH), Cable TV distribution (CATV), Cellular Backhaul, VSAT and Internet Backbone services with diverse IP transit through its European and Asian internet gateways. ABS currently host over 180 TV channels making it as one of the fastest growing and top satellite distribution platforms and broadcaster of TV channels in Asia Pacific.
ABS has grown from a single satellite operator to operating four satellites in orbit (ABS-1, ABS-1A, ABS-3, ABS-7) and its fifth satellite (ABS-2) currently under construction.
ABS-3 at 3˚West provides affordable high powered C and Ku-band satellite coverage over the Sub-Saharan African region to serve Africa’s growing communications requirements.
The ABS-2 satellite (scheduled 2013) will be located in geostationary orbit at 75˚East. Fitted with 89 active C, Ku, and Ka-band transponders, it will provide optimized direct TV broadcast, multimedia applications, telecommunications and data transmission services for Asia Pacific, Russia/CIS, Africa and the Middle East.
The ABS satellite fleet covers four-fifths of the world’s population across Asia Pacific, Africa, E. Europe, the Middle East, CIS and Russia.
For more information, please visit the Company’s website at www.absatellite.net
ABS Contact:
Penny Hill
Asia Broadcast Satellite
Tel: +65 81898835
Email: penny@absatellite.net
Raj TV Network’s 11 Channels Join AsiaSat 5
Hong Kong, 9 January 2012 – Asia‟s leading satellite operator Asia Satellite Telecommunications Co. Ltd. (AsiaSat) is pleased to announce that Raj Television Network of India has signed a lease agreement for C-band capacity on AsiaSat 5 to broadcast a TV bouquet of 11 satellite channels in the Asia-Pacific region.
Raj Television Network‟s comprehensive channel offerings on AsiaSat 5 include its flagship Tamil entertainment channel „Raj TV‟; Tamil movie channel „Raj Digital Plus‟; Telugu entertainment channel „Vissa‟; Hindi entertainment channel „Raj Pariwar‟; music channels in South Indian languages Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Telugu; and news channels in Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam. Raj has plans to launch a Kannada-language news channel and HD channels in the future.
“AsiaSat has an excellent reputation for quality service and superior penetration. Our new partnership with AsiaSat will further consolidate our market leadership position in South India entertainment and enable us to grow our business regionally. AsiaSat 5 offers unprecedented access to all major cable headends and DTH platforms in India and numerous pay TV operators across the region, it is the right choice for us to expand our audience base in southern India and nationally as well as in international markets,” said Dr. Ravindran M, Director of Raj Television Network.
“Raj Television Network is a leading brand in southern India. We are pleased that Raj‟s exciting range of TV programming has commenced broadcasting on AsiaSat 5. Raj‟s diverse offerings in news, music and entertainment content have further enhanced AsiaSat 5‟s capability in delivering high quality programming to audiences in India and to the South Asian community across the region,” said William Wade, President and Chief Executive Officer of AsiaSat.
Raj TV Network‟s 11 channels are now available on AsiaSat 5 in C-band with the following reception parameters:
Orbital Location : 100.5 degrees East
Transponder : C1H
Frequency : 3643 MHz
Polarisation : Horizontal
Modulation : QPSK
Symbol Rate : 18.8085 Msym/sec
FEC : 3/4
# # #
About Raj Television Network
The Raj Television Network was started in 1994 in Chennai, India with the launch of its first Indian 24 hours entertainment channel. Positioned itself as The People‟s Channel, the Network presents to its viewers a broad range of programming content on entertainment, news and music in multilingual Indian languages that appeal to people of all age, and of all backgrounds. Raj group of channels are one of the leading channels among competitive channels in India. Rajtv presents best of the program in south regional ahead. For more information, please visit www.rajtvnet.in
About AsiaSat 5
AsiaSat 5 is a Space Systems/Loral‟s 1300 satellite launched in August 2009 and replaced AsiaSat 2 at the orbital location of 100.5 degrees East. AsiaSat 5 carries 26 C-band and 14 Ku-band transponders, and has a design life of 15 years. Its powerful C-band footprint covers over 50 countries and regions spanning from Russia to New Zealand and from Japan to the Middle East and parts of Africa. The Ku-band coverage consists of two high powered fixed beams serving East Asia and South Asia, as well as a steerable beam currently positioned over Indochina.
About AsiaSat
AsiaSat, the leading regional satellite operator in Asia, serves over two-thirds of the world’s population with its four satellites, AsiaSat 3S at 105.5ºE, AsiaSat 4 at 122ºE, AsiaSat 5 at 100.5ºE and AsiaSat 7. The AsiaSat satellite fleet provides services to both the broadcast and telecommunications industries. Over 500 television and radio channels are now delivered by the company’s satellites offering access to over 620 million TV households across the Asia-Pacific region. AsiaSat also provides telecommunications operators and end users services such as voice networks, private VSAT networks and broadband multimedia. AsiaSat has ordered two more satellites, AsiaSat 6 and AsiaSat 8, planned to be launched by early 2014. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Asia Satellite Telecommunications Holdings Limited, a company listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (Stock Code: 1135). For more information, please visit www.asiasat.com.
Media Inquiries:
Raj TV
Dr. Ravindran M, Director
Tel: (91 44) 2436 3766, (91 44) 2436 4690
Email: paychannel@rajtvnet.in, transmission@rajtvnet.in, ravindran@rajtvnet.in
Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited
Sabrina Cubbon, Vice President, Sales and Marketing
Tel : (852) 2500 0899
Mobile : (852) 9097 1210
Email : scubbon@asiasat.com
Winnie Pang, Manager, Corporate Affairs
Tel : (852) 2500 0880
Email : wpang@asiasat.com
