Singapore , 5 June 2009 - StarHub and BBC Worldwide Channels have sealed a deal that makes StarHub TV the exclusive pay TV platform in Singapore to carry five BBC branded channels. On 1 August 2009, StarHub TV will add BBC Knowledge (StarHub TV Channel 74), BBC Lifestyle (StarHub TV Channel 83) and CBeebies (StarHub TV Channel 31) to its Education Basic Group, Lifestyle Basic Upsize Group and Kids Basic Upsize Group respectively at no additional cost. These three additions will join BBC World News and BBC Entertainment which are presently offered by StarHub TV.
At launch, BBC Knowledge will be added to the Education Basic Group to join Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, Discovery Travel and Living, HISTORY and NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL. BBC Lifestyle will join BBC Entertainment, FX, MGM, The Style Network and Turner Classic Movies in the Lifestyle Basic Upsize Group while CBeebies goes into the Kids Basic Upsize Group to join JimJam and Boomerang.
"We warmly welcome BBC Knowledge, BBC Lifestyle and CBeebies to the StarHub TV family. With BBC World News and BBC Entertainment already on our platform, I am excited that the rest of the channels under the BBC brand name will soon come together under one roof from August, and further strengthen the offerings in our Education Basic Group, Lifestyle and Kids Basic Upsize Groups. It has been our commitment to provide viewers, especially families with kids, safe and quality entertainment. Thus I believe our viewers will be pleased to hear of this news as they will soon get to enjoy more of such programmes from the different genres at no extra cost," said Ms Ong Bee Lian, StarHub's Vice President of Home Solutions.
Commenting on the launches, Mr Mark Whitehead, BBC Worldwide Channels’ Senior Vice President and General Manager, said, “Today’s announcement builds on BBC Worldwide Channel’s long-term relationship with StarHub. Strategically, Singapore is an important part of our expansion strategy in Asia. We are excited that our entire suite of channels will be offered together on one platform in this key market.”
He added: “From 1 August, viewers will be able to enjoy a greater range of programming from BBC’s Worldwide’s channels– including acclaimed and award-winning non-fiction and factual programme from one of the world’s foremost producer of non-fiction and documentary programming on BBC Knowledge; engaging and compelling programmes that inspire viewers to get more out of life on BBC Lifestyle; and providing a safe environment for pre-schoolers (0-6) to learn through play on CBeebies. These three new channels complement BBC World News and BBC Entertainment, which are already on StarHub’s pay TV platform.”
At launch, viewers can look forward to catching the exclusive premieres of programmes such as the latest series of Top Gear and the new BBC science series Earth - Power of the Planet on BBC Knowledge; brand new seasons of Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares USA, and the popular Gok Wan, British fashion consultant, author and television presenter on Gok's Fashion Fix on BBC Lifestyle; and In The Night Garden, which is the new multi-award winning series from the creators of the phenomenally successful Teletubbies on CBeebies.
To enjoy BBC Knowledge, viewers must first subscribe to a minimum of three Basic Groups, including the Education Basic Group. Viewers who wish to watch BBC Lifestyle and CBeebies will need to subscribe to Lifestyle and Kids Basic Plus Groups respectively, which consists of Lifestyle and Kids Basic Groups and their corresponding Upsize Groups. Existing StarHub TV customers can call 1633 to add new groups or channels while new customers can call 1630 to take up a StarHub TV package. For more information on StarHub TV services, visit www.starhub.com/tv.
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