Asia-Pacific News

PumpTV Partners with BP Australia

philsandberg — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 23:51:18 +0000

Marketers will soon be able to reach more than five million Australian consumers as they watch TV while filling petrol at stations fitted with PumpTV screens owing to a newly signed partnership between BP and PumpTV.
The partnership will see PumpTV launch 1200 screens across the BP network in Australia in the coming year; bringing them closer to achieving their goal of 4800 screens reaching over 15 million consumers per month in 2012. The company currently has more than 600 screens reaching over two million consumers per month across petrol stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.
Along with content partners Channel 7 and Yahoo!7, PumpTV delivers news, sports, weather and lifestyle updates and advertising content to consumers at petrol stations through 19” sunlight readable LCD screens with full audio.
Advertisers on the PumpTV platform include AAMI, Amex, Hyundai, Cadbury, Schweppes, Myer, Pacific Magazines and Coca-Cola.
“We are very excited about the opportunity and potential the BP partnership provides us as we continue our rapid growth across Australia. We look forward to working with BP to create a complementary outdoor TV advertising platform that translates into revenue for companies and brands. It is exciting to be able to offer more companies the chance to enjoy solid return-on-investment like the 80% and 48% increase in instore product sales experienced by Cadbury Bubbly and Solo respectively after they advertised on PumpTV*,” said David Parker, CEO of PumpTV.
Research conducted by McNair Ingenuity, found that 88% of consumers recall advertisements aired on the PumpTV network and 26% say they would respond to one or more of the advertisements. An overwhelming 90% of the consumers commented that they enjoyed the break that PumpTV screens provided to the task of filling petrol.
Launched in November 2009, PumpTV delivers content and advertising to their proprietary LCD TV screens situated on petrol pumps at petrol stations, engaging an ‘on-the-go’ audience for up to four minute intervals.
* According to sales figures collated from instore sales at PumpTV fitted petrol stations running advertising campaigns and comparison with instore sales without PumpTV screens.
Visit http://www.pumptv.com.au

Project Factory Invests in Panoramic Video

philsandberg — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 05:24:32 +0000

Australian interactive company The Project Factory has announced a move into online video production with the acquisition of a stake in the 360 video company, Panoramic Video.
The Project Factory is a digital entertainment company specialising in
multiplatform productions for movie, television and digital media
companies. The deal sees The Project Factory taking a Board position and 25% ownership of the company based on future targets.
Panoramic Video has developed a unique technology that allows online video viewers to view a complete 360 view of streamed video, showing all angles of the action, in front and behind the camera. The technology has been deployed for music videos, festivals, real estate companies, news websites and tourism.
Guy Gadney, Director of The Project Factory says “Panoramic Video is a radical technology that changes the way we view online video completely. It creates a fully immersive video experience that is currently lacking online.
“Panoramic Video is the most exciting online video technology we have come across and will be putting it at the core of the projects we are working on for the movie and television industries. It will revolutionise behind‐the‐scenes video for movies and television shows, adding a totally new dimension to exclusive online content and DVD extras.
“Needless to say, the advertising opportunities are game changers with the ability to embed clickable interactive ads in the video itself.”
Dean Poore, Founder and CEO of Panoramic video says “Having a strategic alliance with The Project Factory gives us a great step up into the movie and television industry. We have spent significant time and energy developing our technology into a unique 360 online experience.
“Alongside The Project Factory, we are now looking forward to implementing panoramic video onto all entertainment sites that count video as a key part of their strategy.”
Visit http://theprojectfactory.com

ESPN STAR Sports Scores Asian Cup Soccer Rights

philsandberg — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 05:15:37 +0000

Football fans across Asia can look forward to more soccer excitement as ESPN STAR Sports (ESS) has announced successful acquisition of exclusive Pay-TV rights for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup Qatar 2011, the continent’s top football event, across its footprint covering 24 countries in Asia.
Through this deal, managed by World Sport Group (WSG), the AFC’s exclusive marketing and media partner, fans will enjoy a comprehensive and engaging experience on ESPN STAR Sports with the AFC Asian Cup 2011 available live on multiple platforms for the very first time.
In addition, leading up to the event, ESPN STAR Sports will broadcast the 16-episode programme, “Road to Doha”, highlighting the teams and their preparation as they gear up to compete in Doha, Qatar from 7 to 29 January 2011 for the most coveted trophy in Asia.
According to Craig Dobbs, Executive Vice-President, Programming and Production, ESPN STAR Sports, “We are delighted to continue our longstanding partnership with the AFC. With our focused approach and commitment to build Asian Football over the years, the property today has a high level of traction and immense appeal across our broadcast footprint with devoted fans across the region following their favourite teams and players. The region’s appetite for Asian football has been showing definite signs of growth, and our plans to enhance the broadcast and interactivity of the matches underline our commitment to football fans, which will provide coverage like they have never seen before.”
“These are very exciting times for Asian Football. For the first time in the tournament’s history the fans can watch the Action in high definition quality,” said AFC President Mohammad Bin Hammam. “I am very excited about our partnership with ESPN and STAR Sports and believe that this will take the experience of the Asian Cup to new heights. I am especially pleased about all the various ways the technology allows us to take the game to the fans.”
“Our partnership with ESPN STAR Sports provides us with greater opportunities to enhance the fans’ experience and reach the widest possible audience across the region. With extensive coverage across multiple media platforms, fans can access the very best of Asian football action in virtually every part of Asia at any time of the day. This will also provide AFC Asian Cup 2011 partners opportunities to extend their reach to larger audiences of potential customers,” said James Clarke, Senior Vice-President, Content, World Sport Group.
The acquisition augments ESPN STAR Sports’ Asian football offering, and reinforces its reputation as the home of football. All 32 matches will be broadcast on television across ESPN and STAR Sports networks, and for the first time fans can watch the high-definition broadcast of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 on ESPN HD. The event will also be available online live and on-demand on ESPN Player - ESPN STAR Sports’ broadband network that offers anytime, anywhere access to live sports content, and a fully online interactive experience for users to enjoy their viewing experience with other sport fans. In addition, football fans on the move can catch daily news and goals from the event on mobileESPN.
The AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 features the top 16 teams in the region, including defending champions Iraq and the four Asian contenders in the recent FIFA World Cup – Korea Republic, Japan, Australia, and DPR Korea. China and India have also qualified for the competition.
Visit http://www.espnstar.com

Star CJ Launches Indian Shopping Channel

philsandberg — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:18:48 +0000

STAR CJ Network India has launched STAR CJ Alive, a 24-hour home shopping channel which aims to revolutionize the shopping scenario in India. The launch follows a successful pilot phase launched last year as a 6-hour slot on STAR Utsav.
STAR CJ Network India is the result of a strategic partnership between STAR (India’s leading television network) and CJ O Shopping (South Korea’s most successful home shopping business). It offers Indian consumers a comfortable, entertaining and lifestyle-changing shopping experience without having to move out of the comfort of their homes.
Mr. Uday Shankar, CEO, STAR India Pvt. Ltd. said, “STAR is a diversified media conglomerate with varied interests. We have built alliances with an array of entities to augment our business and increase our offerings to our audience. We are very pleased to launch STAR CJ Alive, our round-the-clock dedicated premium home shopping channel. Given the immense popularity STAR enjoys and the response that the channel has received since its launch last year as a 6-hour slot on STAR Utsav, we are confident that STAR CJ Alive will soon be living up to its promise of transforming lifestyles for its audience.”
Mr. Jung Seo, MD - Global Business Division, CJ O Shopping Co. Ltd. said, “We are very excited to be able to offer the number one home shopping channel in Asia to Indian viewers through the launch of STAR CJ Alive. Our channel will bring to Indian consumers a great variety of brands and products through quality programming content. India is the second largest broadcasting market in terms of viewership which makes it a vital market on the global platform and it was just a matter of time before we crossed into this vibrant and high-potential market. STAR is broadcasting giant in Asia and we are proud to have embarked on this wonderful new venture with them.”
Mr. Paritosh Joshi, CEO, STAR CJ Network India Pvt. Ltd. added, “Launching STAR CJ Alive as a 6-hour slot a year back worked to our advantage by giving us an opportunity to study the market and its needs along with the consumer behaviour pertaining to the home shopping industry in India. We realized that even though the industry is still in its nascent stage, there lies a huge potential in the years to come, given the increasing discretionary income of Indian consumers.”
“With the launch of the round-the-clock premium home shopping channel, we only see this pie growing as the awareness level among consumers continues to rise,” he further added.
During the pilot phase, STAR CJ Alive witnessed 40,000+ consumers using its services. Renowned premium brands like Satya Paul, Adidas, D’damas, LG, Corelle, Samsung, Benetton, Canon, Philips, Morphy Richards, Tanishq, Reebok and Olay among others are the channel’s brand partners. With the round-the-clock launch, STAR CJ Alive aims to continue offering great value in a hassle-free, secure and entertaining environment.
Visit http://www.starcj.com/homepage/index.htm

Fox Sports News Upgrades Quantel Platform

philsandberg — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 23:34:21 +0000

Australian sports broadcaster Premier Media Group (PMG) has purchased a Quantel Enterprise sQ system to provide a platform to help it continue to meet the new challenges of the fast-evolving, multi-resolution media landscape over the coming years.
FOX SPORTS NEWS has been produced using Quantel server-based production technology for a number of years. “While our existing Quantel system has served us well over the years, production imperatives have changed and we now need to be able to handle a range of formats including HD, in addition to speeding material to air, ” said Tony Scanlan, PMG Chief Technology Officer. “We, of course, reviewed all the broadcast manufacturers’ systems very carefully before making our choice,” Scanlan continued. “In the end though, it was a very straightforward decision - Quantel has by far the fastest flight time from ingest to air, produces great looking pictures, and has comfortably the most versatile and easy to use editing tools. It also allows us to mix HD and SD material on the same server - or indeed, on the same timeline - without having even to think about it.”
The new system at PMG FOX SPORTS NEWS will be built around four Quantel sQ servers, offering approximately 1000 hours of SD storage (or 280 hours of HD). This will support 18 sQ Cut desktop editors and four sQ Edit Plus craft editors; a Quantel sQ Load application will look after ingest operations.
Visit http://www.quantel.com

Australian Broadcasting Financials Published

philsandberg — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 04:16:21 +0000

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has released its Broadcasting Financial Results 2008-09 report. The publication is available on the ACMA website.
The commercial television sector reported AUD$3,784.4 million in broadcasting services revenue in 2008-09, a nine per cent decrease from 2007-08. The commercial radio sector reported $1,039.4 million in revenue, a decrease of four per cent on 2007-08.
Total reported broadcasting service profit was $223.2 million for commercial television, a 29.8 per cent decrease over the previous financial year, and $122.5 million for commercial radio, a 53.9 per cent decrease.
Reported overall expenditure on Australian commercial television programs was $950.6 million, a 2.4 per cent increase over the previous financial year. Reported overall expenditure on overseas programs was $430.3 million, a 7.9 per cent increase.
The Broadcasting Financial Results report is based on information supplied by the licensees of 55 commercial television licences and 273 commercial radio licences, operating as at 30 June 2009.
For commercial radio services, information is provided on the financial performance of AM and FM services in national, state, capital city and regional markets. With respect to the regional markets, further information is available on the basis of larger, medium-sized and smaller markets.
The financial performance of commercial television licensees is broken down by state, mainland capital city, multi-station and solus regional markets, networks and affiliates.
Financial results provided in the years up to 2006-07 had merged data for television networks and their affiliates. From the year 2007-08 onwards, these have appeared as separate categories.
The ACMA and its predecessors have produced the annual Broadcasting Financial Results report since 1978.
Visit http://www.acma.gov.au

iPhone 4 Launch for Telstra

philsandberg — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 04:39:48 +0000

Australian telco Telstra has announced that it will launch iPhone 4 in Australia on July 30.
The iPhone 4 features FaceTime – which makes video calls over Wi-Fi to other iPhone 4s possible – and Apple’s new Retina display, the highest resolution display ever built into a phone, resulting in super crisp text, images and video. iPhone 4 also features a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, HD video recording, Apple’s A4 processor, a 3-axis gyro and up to 40 percent longer talk time on 3G when compared to iPhone 3G S — in an all-new design of glass and stainless steel that it says is the thinnest smartphone in the world. iPhone 4 comes with iOS 4, which is designed with over 100 new features. The App Store provides access to more than 200,000 apps including the new iMovie app built just for iPhone 4.
“We are looking forward to bringing the next generation of iPhone to Australians on the country’s largest and fastest national mobile network – the Next G network,” said Executive Director Telstra Consumer, Rebekah O’Flaherty. “Our customers are counting down to the launch and we have some great value Cap Plans to make the most of iPhone 4 when it arrives in Australia. We know our iPhone 4 customers will love the speed and coverage available on the Next G network as they browse the mobile net, update their social networks and send email on the move.”
Customers can purchase iPhone 4 16GB model at no upfront cost on an AUD$79 Cap Plan or above when signing up to a 24 month plan, which offers a great combination of standard national calls, text and picture messaging - up to $750 per month - to customers on any Australian network plus 500MB included data to use in Australia.
Visit http://www.telstra.com/iphone4

CASBAA Expands Indian Footprint

philsandberg — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 04:34:23 +0000

The Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia, CASBAA, has announced an expansion of its Indian agenda with the addition of three market leaders as members of the Association.
The new CASBAA Corporate members are telecoms-to-media services specialist Bharti Airtel, leading news content provider NDTV and media and entertainment giant Star TV India.
In line with this market growth, as a regional body with a domestic agenda, CASBAA continues to increase its commitment to India through undertaking conferences, issuing reports and regularly engaging with policy-making government bodies on key industry issues.
“As a leading DTH player, we are committed to collaborating with world leaders in bringing innovative technologies,” said Ajai Puri, Director & CEO - DTH, Bharti Airtel. “We are confident that CASBAA, leading the evolution of ecosystems and technologies that enable cable, satellite and broadcast industry, will impact positively on some critical structural changes to help digitize India rapidly.”
K V L Narayan Rao, Group CEO and Executive Director, NDTV said “We are delighted to become members of CASBAA. As the market-leading news broadcaster in the region, we look forward to working with CASBAA for what can only be mutual benefit.”
Anupam Vasudev, EVP - Marketing, Star India added that “as the country’s leading television network, we are committed to working with reputed industry bodies on initiatives that can help develop and move the broadcasting industry to the next level. We look forward to our partnership with CASBAA to create successful programs to achieve this objective.”
“Certainly, the additional memberships bring extraordinary new value to CASBAA’s contribution to the Indian pay-TV market,” said Marcel Fenez, Chairman of CASBAA. “With our extended footprint the Association looks forward to joining hands with all its Indian members and partners.”
According to Anjan Mitra, the CASBAA Executive Director, India, “as part of our communications strategy we have been telling the ‘India Story’ to the international broadcasting and investment communities, the new partnerships with Bharti Airtel, NDTV and Star TV India will benefit all parties.”
By almost every measure India is a dynamic pay-TV market with almost 10% growth every year over the past five years. In the next 12 months it is expected to overtake China as the biggest pay-TV market in Asia.
Supported by 92 million cable and satellite (C&S) homes, including 23 million DTH households and 4 million digital cable homes, India’s C&S subscriber base has grown by over 20 million in the past 12 months. The number of India’s mobile subscribers stands at 617.53 million at the end of April this year, up from 601.22 million in the beginning of the month, which itself is an impressive growth story.
Other CASBAA members within India include Amarchand Mangaldas, B.A.G. Network, CONAX, IMCL (Incablenet and Indigital), Tata Sky, Zee TV and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Visit http://www.casbaa.com

Opposition to Opposition to Broadband ‘Plan’

philsandberg — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 04:30:45 +0000

Australia will languish in the ‘Dark Ages of broadband’ under the Federal Opposition’s plan to shut down the AUD$43 billion National Broadband Network (NBN) project, telecommunications specialist Comscentre says.
Established in 2002 and headquartered in Brisbane, Comscentre has grown
into a leading telecommunications company with offices across Australia.
It specialises in providing one-stop communication solutions and
business connectivity services to small and medium-sized enterprises.
Comscentre managing director Ben Shipley has urged the Liberal Party/National Party Coalition to spell out its alternative plans for improved broadband services after vowing to scrap the nation’s biggest ever infrastructure project.
“We’ve got a very clear and concise plan from the Labor Party but we’ve got nothing from the opposition except a threat to shut down the NBN,” Mr Shipley said. “Are they going to throw away the billions that have already been spent and take us back to a Telstra monopoly, or are they going to do nothing and leave Australia like a Third World country? Without the NBN, Australia will stay in what has now become the Dark Ages of broadband.”
Mr Shipley said affordable high-speed broadband would decrease business costs, increase productivity and give people the ability to work from home.
“Australia is well behind the rest of the world in relation to broadband affordability and high-speed connectivity and that has huge implications for business,” he said.
Additionally, plans to shift Australia’s growing population away from the cities and into the regions would fail without the NBN, Mr Shipley said.
“The only way to attract the lawyers, doctors, IT professionals, innovators, manufacturers and other professions into the regions is for these people to be able to easily communicate with our cities and the rest of the world, and that means fast, affordable and reliable broadband,” he said. “Without it, that population plan is a pipedream.”
Visit http://www.comscentre.com

ABC iView Upsizes to Bravia Internet Video

philsandberg — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 04:16:32 +0000

ABC TV’s catch up television service, ABC iView has taken the next step, moving off the computer screen and onto an internet-connected television service for the first time –going live on BRAVIA Internet Video, Sony’s IPTV service.
ABC iView’s debut on BRAVIA Internet Video comes at a time of great growth for the catch up service. June was a record month, in which iView recorded 2.235 million visits - its highest number of monthly visits ever. 581,000 visitors came to the service, 55% of whom visited once and 45% visited more than once.
Throughout the month, more than 250 programs were offered via iView – the most popular being Doctor Who, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Grand Designs Revisited, The Colbert Report, QI and Voyage to the Planets.
ABC TV’s Head of Multiplatform, Arul Baskaran, says the launch marks an exciting moment for ABC TV.
“iView’s move to Sony’s IPTV service sees the merging of two great entertainment platforms – with lots of benefits. As more and more people are choosing iView as a way to enjoy ABC TV’s great content, we want to make accessing the service as easy as possible – which is what this joint project with Sony delivers.”
“Sony focuses on providing the widest range of IPTV channels and video content. The launch of ABC iView on BRAVIA Internet Video strengthens the Sony offering further with a wealth of compelling catch-up TV programs,” said Paul Colley, Technology Communications Manager, Sony Australia. “We’re anticipating iView will be one of our most popular BRAVIA Internet Video channels.”
ABC iView is accessed on Sony’s IPTV-enabled devices through the XrossMediaBar on the TV. These devices include BRAVIA TVs as well as Sony Blu-ray players and home theatre systems. The service will be metered.
The joint project between Sony and ABC TV was first announced in April. iView is also available through the PlayStation3 service.
Visit http://abc.net.au/iView