Accedo, the global market leader in TV Application Solutions, will be previewing navAgility™ – Accedo’s new TV UX platform for managed video services at IBC 2015.

Read more at Multichannel

Amazon wasted little time pitching HBO Now to customers after extending support for the standalone OTT offering to Fire TV boxes and the Fire TV Stick.

Amazon, which also supports HBO Now on its Fire tablets, emailed a promo on Sunday to customers with the subject line: “Get HBO Without a Cable Subscription” – a message that is obviously targeted to cord-cutters and consumers who have never taken a pay TV subscription, but might be inclined to tap into the OTT offering to gain access to Game of Thrones, True Detective, Ballers and other HBO originals…

Read more at Multichannel

Hong Kong, March 31, 2006 — The ABU, CASBAA and UNICEF are now inviting Asia-Pacific broadcasters and producers to submit entries for the Asia-Pacific Child Rights Award 2006.

The ABU CASBAA UNICEF Child Rights Award, launched in 2001, is given each year in recognition of the best television programming on a child rights issue produced in the Asia-Pacific region. It recognises the efforts of broadcasters in pursuing both the production of top-quality children’s programming and news coverage of children’s issues.

Programmes both for children and about children are eligible and can cover any child rights issue. Entries can include documentaries that detail the plight of children, dramas that help break down stereotypes and discrimination, or animation that teaches and entertains.

Entries, which are free, must have been broadcast between August 2005 and July 2006, and must be received by 25 August 2006. The Award will be presented at the ABU Annual General Meeting in Beijing in November 2006. The winner will be flown to Beijing for the ceremony.

Past winners include:

2005: Juvenile Injustice by Philippine broadcaster ABS – CBN Channel 2
2004: Hong Kong Connection: Children In Need by Radio Television Hong Kong
2003: Angels in Prison by Philippines GMA-7 Channel
2002: Child Soldiers by Radio Television Hong Kong
2001: Children Will Grow by Japans Mainichi Institute
To obtain further information on the award, please visit www.childrightsaward.org or contact kjirathun@unicef.org. Further details on the Convention on the Rights of the Child can be found on www.unicef.org/crc.

Note to the Editors:

Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU)

The Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) is a non-profit, non-government, professional association of broadcasting organisations, formed in 1964 to facilitate the development of broadcasting in the Asia-Pacific region and to organise co-operative activities amongst its members. It currently has over 150 members in 55 countries, with its broadcaster members reaching a potential audience of about 3 billion people. It organises many activities and projects to promote excellence in broadcasting, and to improve the programmes, skills and technologies of its members, including the ABU Children’s TV Programme Item Exchange

www.abu.org.my

Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA)

The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia is an industry-based advocacy group dedicated to the promotion of multi-channel television via cable, satellite, broadband and wireless video networks across the Asia-Pacific. CASBAA represents some 110 Asia-based corporations, which in turn serve more than 3 billion people.

www.casbaa.com

UNICEF

For 60 years UNICEF has been the worlds leader for children, working on the ground in 155 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The worlds largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

www.unicef.org

For further information, please contact:

ABU (Kuala Lumpur)

Craig Hobbs

+603 2282 3592

craig.h@abu.org.my

CASBAA

Rebecca Kennedy

+852 2854 9913

pr@casbaa.com

UNICEF Bangkok

Madeline Eisner

+66 2 356 9406 or +66 1 701 4626

meisner@unicef.org

Kritsada Jirathun

+66 2 356 92 49 or +66 9 1749525

kjirathun@unicef.org

March 29, 2006, Manila Philippines – The Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) and the Philippine Cable Television Association (PCTA) yesterday signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that reinforces their partnership to promote and protect intellectual property rights in the pay-TV industry.

CASBAA is a regional industry association dedicated to the promotion of multi-channel television via cable, satellite, broadband and wireless video networks across the Asia-Pacific. CASBAA represents some 110 Asia-based companies and organisations. The PCTA is composed of the countrys biggest cable operators as well as medium and small cable operators. PCTAs member cable operators serve 90 percent of the total cable subscribers in the Philippines.

The MOA signifies the commitment of CASBAA and the PCTA to advance their mutual goal to arrest the growing piracy problem in the country. Both have been trying to build public concern over signal theft in the Philippines, a problem that has now reached epidemic proportions.

Our commitment to support the growth of the domestic market in the Philippines and to protect its viability in the face of rampant piracy gains strength with our partnership with the PCTA. Through cooperative efforts, CASBAA and the PCTA aim to attain real results in the coming months, said CASBAA CEO Simon Twiston Davies.

CASBAA and the PCTA plan to jointly organise a Philippine Pay-TV Summit this year in order to raise industry and public sector awareness on intellectual property issues for cable, satellite and broadband markets in the Philippines. They have also agreed to work with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) on an educational training scheme designed to help Philippine law enforcers and government officials with the enforcement of intellectual property laws.

We at the PCTA have long been vocal in the campaign against all forms of copyright infringement, said PCTA President Antonio Selda. Signal theft, in particular, has a negative impact on the industry in the long-term. Legitimate cable operators are finding it difficult to survive in this climate, and the industry as a whole stands to suffer if piracy continues. Increasingly piracy stunts the industrys growth in terms of programming and technological development.

Mr. Selda said the number of illegal cable connections now threatens to exceed the number of legal ones, a phenomenon that clearly hurts legitimate cable operators and even the government, which loses a substantial portion of its revenues because pirate cable companies dont pay taxes and license fees.

The MOA between CASBAA and the PCTA will allow the two organisations to share relevant information on industry issues and developments, collaborate on public and government education efforts to raise awareness on piracy and jointly educate the Philippine public and especially the Philippine government about the long-term benefit of respecting copyright not only for industry players but for the Filipino cable subscribers and the country as a whole.

###

To view a photo of the signing please click here. High resolution photos are available upon request.

ABOUT CASBAA
The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia is an industry association dedicated to the promotion of multi-channel television via cable, satellite, broadband and wireless video networks across the Asia-Pacific region. CASBAA represents some 110 Asia-based corporations, which in turn serve more than 3 billion people. Member organisations include ABC Asia Pacific, ABN AMRO, AETN International (History Channel), AsiaSat, ASTRO (Malaysia), Bloomberg Television, Comverse, Discovery Networks Asia, EMC, HBO Asia, IBM, MTV Networks Asia Pacific, Nokia, NOW Broadband TV, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Sony Pictures Television International, STAR Group, Sun Microsystems, Turner International Asia Pacific, UBC (Thailand), Walt Disney Television International, Zone Vision, Asian Food Channel, BBC World, China Entertainment Television, CNBC Asia, Dream, ESPN STAR Sports, Harmonic, Indovision, Kabelvision, SkyCable, TimeWarner, Anytime and TVBI.

CONTACT
Rebecca Kennedy / Katie Wong

Communications, CASBAA

Tel: +852 2854 9913

Fax: +852 2854 9530

Email: pr@casbaa.com

March 28, 2006, Manila Philippines — Rampant piracy and restrictive regulatory guidelines inhibit domestic and foreign investment in the Philippine pay-TV industry. These are the findings of a study on the Philippines regulatory environment released today by the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA), a regional industry body of 110 pay-TV companies.

The report, entitled Regulating for Growth: Effective Regulation of the Pay-TV Industry in the Asia-Pacific, was undertaken by CASBAA in association with research firm Media Partners Asia. The results are based on an assessment of regulatory regimes in 11 Asian markets along with two international benchmarks (the United States and the United Kingdom). Effective regulation was measured by evaluating 10 key aspects of the pay-TV regulatory framework: national regulatory body, copyright protection, level playing fields for convergence and competition, program distribution, rate regulation, program packaging, advertising, content, program supply, and non-domestic investment.

The report revealed that the Philippines continues to have underdeveloped pay-TV markets because of piracy and weak regulatory structures. However, it held out hope that if pay-TV policy changes are adopted they should help the Philippines to leapfrog other markets and enjoy substantial benefits within a relatively short period.

In the meantime, enforcement of copyright law remains weak; signal piracy by rogue cable TV operators is theoretically a criminal offense but cases brought by the authorities are rare, the report said. It notes that license suspension or revocation as a sanction for copyright violators has not been effectively applied and this can be directly related to the lack of a clear mandate and resources for the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

It (the NTC) issues cable operating licenses without examining whether programming is misappropriated and resold, the report indicated.

Although some features of the Philippine regulatory regime are pro-market – such as an absence of restrictions on tiering of program offerings, advertising, or rate regulation, industry players cannot fully leverage these and make successful investments either in content or technology because the end product C program content C is at risk of being stolen and re-sold while the government appears unable to address the problem.

Interventionist regulatory guidelines such as those prohibiting exclusivity of channel supply and a ban on foreign investment in pay-TV platforms further contribute to the stunted growth of the Philippine pay-TV industry. No foreign ownership is currently permitted in cable TV or DTH (direct-to-home) platforms; only China, where media ownership is controlled for political reasons, equals the Philippines strict ban.

Among the 11 Asian economies evaluated in the report, the Philippines ranked 9th in terms of pay-TV investment.

Annual pay-TV programming investment remains low (US$28.44 million) primarily because programmers are discouraged by the flagrant copyright infringement. The country is likewise lagging behind many other Asian markets in terms of investment in infrastructure and technology (US$49.25 million). This explains why much of the Philippines pay-TV infrastructure remains outdated while many countries are now enjoying the advantages of digital delivery systems and moving toward high-definition television and value-added interactive applications.

The CASBAA report warned that Filipino consumers would not be able to enjoy greater pay-TV choice, improved content and the benefits of new digital technologies unless intellectual property protection is improved.

The results of the study demonstrate a direct relationship between effective regulation and increased investment and sector value, said Simon Twiston Davies, CASBAA CEO.

According to Mr. Twiston Davies, countries with stronger regulatory mechanisms promoting competition have realized rapid increases in investment and industry developments. For example, Japan and Hong Kong, which are commended for having open regimes that promote competition while protecting intellectual property rights, enjoy robust pay-TV investment and growth.

Malaysia is another good example. With strong enforcement of copyright in broadcasting, Malaysia is enjoying rapid industry growth and now boasts Southeast Asias most successful pay-TV operator, with relatively high levels of investment in both content ($108 million) and infrastructure ($167 million).

Mr. Twiston Davies said the pay-TV industry in the Philippines has huge untapped potential to contribute significantly to national income. If the regulatory environment is improved, through legislative efforts and increased attention to intellectual property rights, it will create a business friendly environment characterized by vigorous competition and substantial investment coming from both the domestic and international fronts, he said.

###

ABOUT CASBAA
The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia is an industry association dedicated to the promotion of multi-channel television via cable, satellite, broadband and wireless video networks across the Asia-Pacific region. CASBAA represents some 110 Asia-based corporations, which in turn serve more than 3 billion people. Member organizations include ABC Asia Pacific, ABN AMRO, AETN International (History Channel), AsiaSat, ASTRO (Malaysia), Bloomberg Television, Comverse, Discovery Networks Asia, EMC, HBO Asia, IBM, MTV Networks Asia Pacific, Nokia, NOW Broadband TV, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Sony Pictures Television International, STAR Group, Sun Microsystems, Turner International Asia Pacific, UBC (Thailand), Walt Disney Television International, Zone Vision, Asian Food Channel, BBC World, China Entertainment Television, CNBC Asia, Dream, ESPN STAR Sports, Harmonic, Indovision, Kabelvision, SkyCable, TimeWarner, Anytime and TVBI.

CONTACT
Rebecca Kennedy / Katie Wong

Communications, CASBAA

Tel: +852 2854 9913

Fax: +852 2854 9530

Email: pr@casbaa.com

Hong Kong, April 27, 2006-C The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) will hold the sixth annual CASBAA Satellite Industry Forum in Singapore on Monday June 19, 2006. The CASBAA Forum traditionally acts as a curtain-raiser for the CommunicAsia trade show in Singapore.

Issues to be addressed at the conference include the impact on satellite markets of mobile TV, IPTV services and the roll-out of HDTV while navigating a complex regulatory environment. As always, there is a strong focus on Asia and this year DTH operators from some of the fastest growing markets in the world – India, Indonesia, Korea and Malaysia – will share their insights.

The impact of the new technologies is having a profound impact on Asias satellite industry as new demand builds for IPTV, mobile, DTH and HDTV services. The industry is only now feeling the clear benefit of these changes, said CASBAA CEO, Simon Twiston Davies.

Meanwhile the regulatory environment underpins our industry and a close examination of that environment will provide new insights on the future of the Asia-Pacific market.

The CASBAA Satellite Industry Forum is the premier forum in Asia for satellite market strategy discussion, said William Wade, Deputy, CEO of AsiaSat and Chairman of CASBAAs Satellite Industry Committee. This year we expect in excess of 200 high-end decision makers to participate.

Confirmed speakers include CEOs and decision-making executives from Asia, North America and Europe including ISRO, Intelsat, Discovery Networks, PT Direct Vision (Indonesia), Tata Sky (India), DREAM (Philippines), AsiaSat, Intelsat, NHK, Panamsat, Rainbow Media, SES IP Prime, and law firm Freshfields.

Find out more about the Forum on the CASBAA website www.casbaa.com.

Taipei, 22 February, 2006 – A communications industry forum in Taipei today gave renewed support for a transparent, even-handed approach to regulating Taiwan’s pay-TV and broadband industries.

The high-level meeting was organised by the regional Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA), the US-Taiwan Business Council (US-TBC) and the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei (AmCham), which exchanged views and information with scholars, leaders of the legal community and representatives of government and the private sector. Among those participating were speakers from National Chiao Tung University and Yuan Ze University as well law firms Shay and Partners and Tsar and Tsai, along with accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

At the summit conclusion, the private sector was united in its support for a new approach to regulating for Taiwan’s multi-channel television and broadband industries through the implementation of the National Communications Commission (NCC).

“Taiwan is now at a cross roads at a time when the worlds communications industry is booming thanks to digital deployment,” said Marcel Fenez, the chairman of CASBAA and the Asia Pacific head of PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Entertainment & Media Practice.

The establishment of a new converged regulatory apparatus (the NCC) offers a chance for Taiwan to take its rightful place as a communications innovator. Meanwhile, we believe Taiwan needs a technology agnostic, open, competitive and market-based structure to promote industry growth, noted Mr Fenez.

“This is the time for a new beginning,” said Richard Vuylsteke, the Executive Director of AmCham. “This is a fresh chance for Taiwan to take back its rightful leadership role at the head of Asias communications and technology revolution.”

Underlying the meeting was one incontestable fact,” said John Medeiros, the CASBAA VP for Government Relations and Regulatory Affairs, “The current Taiwan environment does not meet community demands for the latest technologies and the highest quality content.

According to CASBAA, broadcast channels supported by bandwidth-hungry high definition TV and interactive telecommunications services cannot be deployed unless there is significant new investment and an openness to new ideas.

The meeting of more than 60 industry leaders and government officials debated the opportunities for cable and satellite services that are emerging as Taiwans communications sector digitises and introduces new consumer opportunities. “But without updating government policy, Taiwan’s communications industry will under-perform on the promise of the digital revolution,” said Mr Medeiros.

#ENDS#

ABOUT CASBAA — www.casbaa.com
The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia is an industry-based advocacy group dedicated to the promotion of multi-channel TV via cable, satellite, broadband and wireless video networks across the Asia-Pacific. CASBAA represents some 110 Asia-based corporations, which in turn serve more than three billion people. Members include Taiwan Broadband Communications, EMC, CNS of Taiwan, as well as ABC Asia Pacific, ABN AMRO, AETN International (History Channel), AsiaSat, Astro (Malaysia), Bloomberg Television, China Entertainment Television, Comverse, Discovery Networks Asia, HBO Asia, IBM, MTV Networks Asia Pacific, Nokia, now Broadband TV, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Sony Pictures Television International, STAR Group, Sun Microsystems, Turner International Asia Pacific, UBC (Thailand), Walt Disney Television International, Zone Vision, AGB Nielsen, Anytime, Arianespace, Asian Food Channel, BBC Prime, Celestial Movies, CSM, ESPN Star Sports, Harmonic, Irdeto, MEASAT, MindShare, National Geographic, NDS, Tom Group, PanAmSat, Paul Weiss, Synovate and Time Warner.

ABOUT AMCHAM Taipei C www.amcham.com.tw

The American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei (AmCham) is a non-profit, non-partisan business organization dedicated to promoting the interests of international business in the Republic of China. In the 50-plus years since its founding, AmCham has become the largest, most effective business organization in Taiwan. With more than 800 members representing nearly 500 companies, AmCham speaks with collective authority on international business matters in every sector of the economy.

ABOUT USTBC – www.us-taiwan.org

The US-Taiwan Business Council is a membership-based non-profit association

founded in 1976. The Council provides its members with business intelligence, access to a network of companies involved in business between Taiwan and the United States, and serves as a vital representative in dealing with investment, business development, and intellectual property matters.

CONTACTS

Rebecca Kennedy / Katie Wong

Communications, CASBAA

Tel: +852 2854 9913

Fax: +852 2854 9530

Email: pr@casbaa.com

Anita Chen

Director. Government Relations

AMCHAM Taipei

Tel: + 886 2581 7089 x 511

Email: anitachen@amcham.com.tw

Judson Payne

USTBC

Tel: +1 703 465-2930

Fax: +(703) 465-2937

Email: JPayne@us-taiwan.org