02 April 2008

All matches available in high-definition quality

Four key matches will be made available to all viewers in Singapore

Singapore, 2 April 2008 – StarHub, Singapore’s official broadcaster of the UEFA EURO 2008™, announced today that it will offer all UEFA EURO 2008™ matches ‘live’ across all three of its platforms - cable TV, mobile and online. StarHub will also make available the entire tournament in high-definition. The highly-anticipated event, one of the world’s most-watched sports events, will take place in Austria and Switzerland from 8 June to 30 June 2008. Viewers in Singapore can catch all the spectacular UEFA EURO 2008™ action with the “STARHUB UEFA EURO 2008™ Season Pass”, available for purchase from 2 April 2008.

“We seek to offer the ultimate footballing experience for the diehard fan. With StarHub’s UEFA EURO 2008™ package, viewers in Singapore will not only be able to enjoy the sporting action in immersive high-definition splendour, they will also be able to experience the games beyond their homes, at any time and place, with our ‘live’ streaming of the matches onto mobile phones,” said Mr Adit Harinasuta, StarHub's Head of Services and Solutions.

StarHub’s Sports Group [1] customers receive greater value, with a discount off the regular price

The “STARHUB UEFA EURO 2008™ Season Pass” is available for a one-off fee, and customers of StarHub Digital Cable Sports Group who place their orders for the Season Pass on or before 8 May will enjoy the special early-bird price of $10 ($10.70 with GST). Sports Group customers who purchase the Season Pass on or after 9 May pay $20 ($21.40 with GST), while non-Sports Group customers may purchase the Season Pass for $50 ($53.50 with GST).

Mr Harinasuta commented on the special offer for Sports Group customers, “Like most key sports properties, the UEFA EURO 2008™ broadcast rights did not come cheap. Nonetheless, we are constantly looking at ways to reward our loyal Sports Group customers with better value, and are pleased to offer them significant savings with our early-bird discounts.”

Full coverage of the games on four StarHub Digital Cable channels and on StarHub’s mobile and online platforms

The “STARHUB UEFA EURO 2008™ Season Pass” offers full coverage of the games on four StarHub Digital Cable channels [2], and on all three of StarHub’s platforms. The four StarHub UEFA EURO 2008™ cable TV channels include:

  • UEFA EURO 2008™ StarHub Premium (Channel 30)

StarHub Premium will telecast the main feed for the event. All matches, with the exception of four simulcast Group Stage matches, will be aired ‘live’ on this channel. The channel will also air primetime repeats of the games and daily highlights.

  • UEFA EURO 2008™ StarHub HD (Channel 304)

StarHub HD is accessible via StarHub’s HD set-top box and a HD-ready TV set, and will telecast all matches ‘live’ in high-definition quality, with the exception of four simulcast Group Stage matches. The channel will also air primetime repeats of the games in high-definition.

  • UEFA EURO 2008™ StarHub Tactical (Channel 118)

StarHub Tactical will telecast a bird’s-eye view of the pitch during ‘live’ matches, allowing audiences to analyse the tactical strategy of the teams.

  • UEFA EURO 2008™ StarHub Highlights (Channel 119)

StarHub Highlights will telecast replays of key moments from the matches, so that fans who have just tuned in will not miss any of the exciting soccer action.

To add colour and richness to its UEFA EURO 2008™ offerings, StarHub will telecast a Highlights Show every morning after each match-day, and air a Preview Show at primetime on the main UEFA EURO 2008™ channel, StarHub Premium, featuring analyses of the previous day’s matches and a preview of the upcoming matches.

In addition, StarHub will also offer a special UEFA EURO 2008™ enhanced TV (eTV) service to customers using the HubStation, digital or HD set-top box. Users of the service can access multi-camera views of the matches, along with a bundle of exciting UEFA EURO 2008™ content including team line-ups, half-time and full-time scores, statistics on ball possession, shots on- and off- target, corners, free kicks, fouls, group information, top scorers, team and player profiles, as well as fixture listings and telecast details.

StarHub MaxOnline broadband customers and Mobile post-paid customers with the Season Pass will be able to enjoy the ‘live’ telecast of UEFA EURO 2008™ matches over their computers and mobile phones at no additional cost. MaxOnline customers can access the ‘live’ feed of the games on their computers, while StarHub Mobile post-paid customers with any 3G or 3.5G (i.e. HSPA-capable) handset can view a ‘live’ stream of StarHub Premium, with 27 ‘live’ and four delayed UEFA EURO 2008™ matches, via a dedicated UEFA EURO 2008™ portal, accessible through StarHub’s Gee! portal. Users will not incur GPRS charges when viewing the ‘live’ streaming of UEFA EURO 2008TM matches on their mobile phones as customers can view and surf sites on StarHub’s Gee! portal for free. Mobile customers with the Season Pass may opt in for the service by sending an email to activate the service, by calling 1633, or by visiting any of the StarHub Shops or Customer Service Centres at VivoCity, Plaza Singapura, OUB Centre, Tampines Mall and IMM Building.

Four UEFA EURO 2008™matches will be made available to all viewers in Singapore

Four UEFA EURO 2008™ matches - the Opening Match, the two semi-finals and the final, will be made available to all viewers in Singapore. StarHub will announce more details of the platform where these telecasts will be available at a later date.

Mr Harinasuta explained, “While StarHub offers the complete UEFA EURO 2008™ viewing experience for soccer buffs, we understand that there are viewers out there who would merely like to have a taste of the tournament and are content to catch the key matches. We will like to assure all viewers that they will be able to catch the ‘live’ screenings of the four key matches of the games for free.”

The opening match between Switzerland and the Czech Republic will kick off at 12 midnight on 8 June (Singapore time). StarHub will telecast UEFA EURO 2008™ preview programmes from 6pm, before the ‘live’ match, on all four StarHub UEFA EURO 2008™ cable TV channels. During the group stages of the tournament, StarHub will air two ‘live’ matches at 12 midnight and 2.45am daily.

Four simulcast UEFA EURO 2008™ Group Stage matches will be aired ‘live’ on SuperSports (Channel 22), and made available to all customers of StarHub Digital Cable’s Sports Group. The matches will be replayed on the UEFA EURO 2008™ channels. For updated telecast schedules of the event, viewers may refer to the On-screen TV Guide or StarHub’s UEFA EURO 2008™ Online Programme Guide from 2 April onwards.

Existing StarHub Digital Cable customers can call 1633 to purchase the “STARHUB UEFA EURO 2008™ Season Pass” from 2 April, while new customers who wish to subscribe to StarHub Digital Cable can call 1630.

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[1] New customers can enjoy the Sports Group for $25 ($26.75 with GST) per month, upon subscription to a minimum of three Basic Groups from StarHub Digital Cable’s subscription plan. The Sports Group comprises ESPN (StarHub Channel 23), Football Channel (Channel 27), Goal TV 1 (Channel 115), Goal TV 2 (Channel 116), Golf Channel (Channel 26), STAR SPORTS (Channel 24), SuperSports (Channel 22) and SuperSports Plus (Channel 21). 

[2] Due to limited capacity on the analogue platform, StarHub Digital Cable customers with the analogue set-top box will only be able to receive one UEFA EURO 2008™ channel, “UEFA EURO 2008™ StarHub Premium (Channel 30)”, which airs the main feed for the tournament. Cable TV customers with the digital set-top box or HubStation will be able to receive three UEFA EURO 2008™ channels, while cable TV customers with the HD set-top box will be able to enjoy all four UEFA EURO 2008™ channels. Cable TV customers who are on the digital platform constitute 81 percent of StarHub’s total cable TV customer base, as at end December 2007.