StarHub Offers Immersive Barclays Premier League Experience

Free access to ‘live’ streaming of Premier League games via broadband and mobile for cable TV Sports Group customers subscribing to StarHub’s MaxOnline and post-paid Mobileservices

StarHub Digital Cable Sports Group customers who sign up for a new StarHub service or any HubStation promotion will receive $10 off their monthly Sports Group subscription for a year       

Singapore , 1 August 2007 – StarHub today announced that it will add two more channels - Goal TV 1 [1] (Channel 107) and Goal TV 2 (Channel 108) to its cable TV Sports Group package from 11 August 2007. Together with its new dedicated Barclays Premier League channel – Football Channel (Channel 27), these additions bring the number of channels available in the Sports Group from four to seven.

Taking Hubbing to a new level, StarHub will also stream Premier League matches on Football Channel ‘live’ via its broadband and mobile platforms, notching another first for the company and for sports fans in Singapore. Customers of StarHub Digital Cable’s Sports Group can watch Premier League matches ‘live’ on i.View [2] and MobileTV Xtra [3] at no extra charge till the end of the Premier League season in May 2008.  i.View and MobileTV Xtra are StarHub’s value-added services for its broadband and mobile customers respectively.

Ms Tham Loke Kheng, StarHub’s Senior Vice President of Content and Marketing said, “With StarHub now streaming Premier League matches 'live' across TV, broadband and mobile platforms, sports buffs can get their soccer fix on-the-go, and round-the-clock. We are committed to providing value for Sports Group subscribers, by upping the number of channels in the group from four to seven, and by providing the 24-hour Football Channel on broadband and mobile platforms as free additional services."

StarHub Digital Cable takes viewers to the heart of Barclays Premier League action with up to 10 Premier League matches weekly, and a total of 370 ‘live’ and delayed Premier League games this season

StarHub will air 370 matches this season, and will offer viewers up to 10 Premier League matches weekly, whereby up to eight of these matches will be aired ‘live. Most of the matches will be televised on Football Channel, with the simulcast matches to be aired on StarHub’s other self-packaged sports channels, SuperSports (Channel 22) and SuperSports Plus (Channel 21). Up to three ‘live’ Premier League matches will be aired concurrently on Saturday evenings - a first for sports fans here.

A total of four ‘live’ and two delayed matches will be aired on Saturdays, with another four ‘live’ matches to be scheduled on Sundays and Tuesdays. In addition, fans can also look forward to supplementary Premier League programmes that will add depth to StarHub’s Premier League coverage (please see Annex A below for schedule and programme information).

Free i.View and MobileTV Xtrafor StarHub Digital Cable’s Sports Group customers

Completing the immersive soccer experience, Football Channel will be streamed ‘live’ via StarHub’s broadband and mobile content platforms - i.View and MobileTV Xtra.

MaxOnline and StarHub Mobile customers who are subscribers of StarHub Digital Cable’s Sports Group will receive i.View and MobileTV Xtra for free when they sign up for these value-added services.

MaxOnline customers who have subscribed to StarHub Digital Cable’s Sports Group package will be able to receive free access to all six channels on i.View from 11 August. These channels are Football Channel, Goal TV 1, Goal TV 2, Fashion TV, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL and NAT GEO ADVENTURE.

MaxOnline customers who are not subscribers of the Sports Group may enjoy all six channels on i.View for a monthly fee. With the inclusion of Premier League content, the monthly fee for i.View will be adjusted to $25 ($26.57 with GST) from 1 October. StarHub currently offers i.View free to its MaxOnline Ultimate [4] customers, who will continue to receive all channels on i.View for free till end 2008.

StarHub Mobile customers who have subscribed to StarHub Digital Cable’s Sports Group package will be able to receive free access (no subscription and data usage charges) to six ‘live’ channels on MobileTV Xtra from 11 August. These channels are Football Channel, Goal TV 1, Goal TV 2, Channel NewsAsia ‘Live’, CNN ‘Live’ and CNBC ‘Live’. The six 'live' channels will be available on StarHub's 3G and High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) mobile network. A StarHub 3G customer with any 3G or 3.5G (i.e. HSPA-capable) handset will be able to view these mobile TV channels upon registering for the value-added service. StarHub Mobile customers who are not subscribers of the Sports Group may subscribe to MobileTV Xtra for a monthly subscription of $25 ($26.75 with GST).

More added value for sports fans with Goal TV 1 and Goal TV 2

With the additions of Goal TV 1 and Goal TV 2 to StarHub Digital Cable’s Sports Group, Sports Group customers with a digital set-top box, HubStation or High Definition set-top box can catch exclusive ‘live’ soccer from the French, Dutch and Scottish leagues, as well as unprecedented original programming and behind-the-scene footages from four of Europe’s top football clubs - Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Barcelona.

Produced by the clubs themselves, the club programming will include exclusive interviews with the players, breaking news, and in-depth pre- and post-match expert analyses of the matches involving the clubs.

Both Goal TV 1 and Goal TV 2 were previously offered by StarHub Digital Cable as part of its Football Favourites package (an add-on package to the Sports Group) and priced at $8 ($8.56 with GST). With the revamp of StarHub Digital Cable’s Sports Group, Football Favourites will no longer be offered. Existing customers will continue to enjoy Goal TV 1 and Goal TV 2 without interruption, under the Sports Group.

Replays of Premier League matches on ;Play Video [5]

In offering an inclusive approach to pricing for all sports fans, StarHub will offer up to seven Premier League matches each week on its ;Play Video portal. MaxOnline customers who miss the matches or do not have a cable TV Sports Group subscription can rent videos of delayed Premier League matches via ;Play Video at $3 ($3.21 with GST) per match, just hours after the matches are aired on cable TV.

From 11 August, customers of StarHub Digital Cable’s Sports Group who sign up for a new StarHub post-paid Mobileor MaxOnline service, and those who take on or renew their StarHub’s HubStation contract will enjoy $10 off the monthly Sports Group subscription of $25 ($26.75 with GST) for a year.

Fans of the Premier League can refer to the On-screen TV Guide or StarHub’s Online Programme Guide from 11 August, for the telecast details. New StarHub Digital Cable customers can call 1630 to subscribe to StarHub’s cable TV service, and existing customers can call 1633 to add the Sports Group to their cable TV subscription packages.

Annex A

Barclays Premier League Match Schedule on StarHub Digital Cable

‘Live’ Premier League Programming

‘Live’ Premier League matches and magazine programmes will be produced by TWI, the FA Premier League's official producer and distributor, and fans can expect popular commentators such as Martin Tyler, Ian Darke, Peter Drury, Alan Parry, John Champion, Steve Banyard and Richard Kaufman, and co-commentators including Robbie Earle, Efan Ekoku, Gary O'Reilly, Nigel Winterburn, David Pleat and Paul Walsh.

Football Channel will carry magazine programmes produced by TWI, including:

“Premier League World” – A half-hour programme on the Premier League, featuring interviews with sports personalities, stories on the Premier League, and community projects carried out by the Premier League around the world.

“Premier League Preview” – A half-hour segment premiering 11 August, featuring news updates from clubs, press conferences, interviews and previews of the weekend matches.

“Premier League Review” – A one-hour segment premiering 13 August, featuring news updates from clubs, press conferences, interviews and previews of the weekend matches.

Fans can also look forward to pre-match, half-time, and post-match studio programmes – ‘Kick-Off’, ‘Half-Time’ and ‘Final Whistle’ respectively.

Produced in Dubaiby Goal TV, in association with Ten Sports, the shows will be hosted by Joe Morrison, who, during his tenure at Ten Sports, has been joined by some of the biggest names in English football, including John Barnes, Bobby Robson and Alan Shearer.

Confirmed studio guests for the upcoming Premier League season include former Englandinternationals such as Peter Beardsley, Carlton Palmer, Kevin Campbell and Rod Marsh.