11 May 2009

Singapore , 11 May 2009 – Have you ever missed the first few minutes of your favourite programme and regretted that you had not tuned in earlier? Or have you ever missed an entire programme or episode due to a busy schedule and felt frustrated? All these will be a thing of the past with StarHub TV’s On Demand Channels and the launch of a ‘Start Over’ feature that allow viewers to conveniently catch up on their favourite shows.

Starting from today, StarHub TV customers using the HubStation and HubStation HD DVR set-top boxes can catch up on the programmes they have missed with two services: On Demand Channels for catching up on shows after their telecast, and a 'Start Over' feature that allows the re-start of a programme during its first telecast.

With the On Demand Channels, viewers can access a programme anytime, up to seven days after it is first aired on the pre-scheduled linear channel. This will be a complimentary service to all StarHub TV subscribers of TVBJ (Channel 48), VV Drama (Channel 55) and E City (Channel 56) who would just need to tune in to the respective On Demand Channels - TVBJ On Demand, VV Drama On Demand and E City On Demand, to catch selected shows at their convenience within seven days after the show is aired on the corresponding linear channels. StarHub TV’s Sports Group customers will also enjoy the same catch up benefit with BPL On Demand and WWE Series On Demand Channels that are complimentary with their Sports Group subscription.

TVBJ On Demand and VV Drama On Demand were previously available to subscribers of TVBJ and VV Drama at a monthly fee of $4.28 (with GST) each, while BPL On Demand is available at no additional cost to Sports Group customers. TVBJ On Demand and VV Drama On Demand will now be offered free to TVBJ and VV Drama subscribers, while the two new On Demand Channels – E City On Demand and WWE Series On Demand will likewise be extended to respective E City and Sports Group subscribers at no additional cost.

“StarHub is delighted to be the first in Southeast Asia to introduce the innovative ‘catch up’ concept. This is part of our ongoing efforts to offer more interactive features to benefit our customers. We are aware that many of our customers lead hectic lifestyles, so we want to make our quality content even more accessible to them. To give them greater value, we have decided not only to introduce two new On Demand Channels, but also to give TVBJ and VV Drama subscribers complimentary access to TVBJ On Demand and VV Drama On Demand respectively,” said Ms Ong Bee Lian, StarHub's Vice President of Home Solutions.

In addition to these complimentary On Demand Channels, StarHub TV will also roll out a ‘Start Over’ feature for selected programmes on TVBJ, VV Drama and E City. With this feature, viewers who have missed the beginning of a show during its first telecast can choose to re-start the programme immediately and enjoy other playback functions such as pause, rewind and fast forward while the programme is airing on the linear channel. Viewers can conveniently identify which programmes come with ‘Start Over’ when they see a blue ‘Start Over’ icon on the top left corner of the TV screen. ‘Start Over’ will be launched later in the second half of the year.

In addition to these innovative concepts, StarHub TV customers also can enjoy an enhanced On-Screen TV Guide which displays programme information for a longer period of up to seven days as compared to the previous three-day period. This enhanced On-Screen TV Guide will be rolled out to all StarHub TV customers, including those using the Digital or HD set-top boxes, progressively from today till end of May. Customers using the HubStation or HubStation HD DVR set-top boxes will also have the added benefit of being able to pre-set programme recordings up to seven days in advance.

Existing StarHub TV customers can dial 1633 to sign on more channels, while new customers can call 1630 to take up a StarHub TV subscription plan. For more information on StarHub TV, visit www.starhub.com/tv.

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