Complimentary viewing of revamped E City packed with stronger content line-up
Enhanced primetime belts on VV Drama and TVBJ for drama enthusiasts
Showcasing the best of Korean content on ONE, ONE HD and KMTV Channel
5 April 2011 – StarHub today announced a series of initiatives to boost its line-up of Asian offering, giving StarHub TV viewers greater satisfaction and a wider choice of entertainment for the whole family. Leading the charge is the revamp of its home-grown Chinese entertainment channel, E City (都会台) (StarHub TV Channel 825).
Mr Chan Kin Hung, Head of Products and Solutions at StarHub, elaborated, "E City will be showcasing a line-up enhanced with top-rated primetime soap dramas, Korean variety and a shorter telecast window for its staple of leading Taiwanese variety shows. To widen the reach of E City, we are pleased to offer our base of 538,000 StarHub TV customers a complimentary viewing of E City simultaneously on both channel 825 and channel 111 from 25 April 2011 to 31 December 2012."
"TVB fans can also look forward to more exciting programmes as VV Drama (娱家戏剧台) (StarHub TV Channel 855) and TVBJ (翡翠卫星台) (StarHub TV Channel 838) will be boosting their primetime programming to meet the demands of an increasingly discerning TV audience. VV Drama will extend its Taiwanese soap drama timebelt on weekdays while TVBJ will introduce for the first time, a same-time telecast of a first-run TVB drama with VV Drama on weekday primetime slots. TVBJ will also anchor its primetime with a ‘live’ simulcast of its hugely popular and highly-rated TVB nightly news timebelt at 6.30pm and 11pm. Last but not least, fans of K-Pop culture and soap dramas will see the footprint of this increasingly popular genre grow in size and stature on StarHub TV’s content line-up as we will be launching three new Korean channels – ONE and ONE HD in April and KMTV Channel," said Mr Chan.
Complimentary viewing of revamped E City packed with stronger content line-up
To boost the mass appeal of E City, StarHub launched a revamped E City on 1 April 2011. E City has been packed with a strong line-up of Asian content for everyone in the family.
The revamp includes the introduction of new programming such as Korean variety shows featuring the biggest Korean celebrities to cater to younger audiences; soap dramas from Taiwan and Korea to appeal to heartland audiences; and educational and entertainment programmes for children aged four to 14 years. E City’s foray into Chinese programming targeted at children aims to meet the increasing demand for enriching and educational Chinese content for children.
In addition to a stronger content line-up, StarHub adjusted the timings of selected programmes to cater to the viewing habits of the various target audiences. For example, idol dramas which are currently showing on weekdays, are shifted from 7pm to 10pm, as the majority of idol drama viewers are youths or working adults who prefer to tune in to TV programmes later in the night.
Mr Chan added, "E City, which is StarHub’s home-grown channel, has the potential to grow as a mass entertainment channel offering 24-hour non-stop Asian entertainment for the whole family. With the revamp of the channel, viewers can look forward to the latest range of the best programmes from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan, as well as the widest coverage of 'live' or first-run regional award ceremonies and shows."
To reward StarHub TV customers for their support and allow viewers to sample the new content available on E City, StarHub will offer complimentary viewing of E City from 8am on 25 April 2011 to 31 December 2012. E City is part of the Chinese Entertainment Basic Group.
Enhanced primetime belts on VV Drama and TVBJ
StarHub will be working with TVBI Company Limited to bolster its content on two existing channels - VV Drama (StarHub TV Channel 855) and TVBJ (StarHub TV Channel 838) by end of 2011.
Plans are in place to refresh VV Drama’s primetime belts with TVB dramas anchoring weekend programming at 8pm. The broadcast of weekday Taiwanese soap dramas will also be extended to two episodes each evening to satisfy viewers who want to catch more of their favourite shows. Customers who are ardent fans of TVB dramas will also be able to enjoy non-stop viewing of the dramas on weekdays from 8pm to 12 midnight.
TVBJ will be revitalising its line-up of content by replacing the current delayed news telecast with 'live' news from Hong Kong during weekday primetime belts of 6.30am and 11.00pm. To cater to audiences who prefer to watch TVB dramas in the original Cantonese language, TVBJ will be creating a new time-belt to feature drama series concurrently aired on VV Drama. The channel also intends to enhance its range of content to include more up-to-date variety and lifestyle programmes from existing TVB channels in Hong Kong.
"We are appreciative of the strong support from local viewers who have watched TVB productions faithfully since the inception of VV Drama and TVBJ. To better cater to the viewing preferences of viewers and widen our viewership base, we are pleased to work with StarHub to enhance our programming line-up and add value to our offering," said Mr Sherman Lee, Controller of Telecast Licensing Division, TVBI Company Limited.
VV Drama and TVBJ are available under the Chinese Add-on Group at a monthly subscription of $8.56 per channel [1].
Showcasing the best of Korean content on ONE, ONE HD and KMTV Channel
StarHub will be launching three new Korean channels –ONE (StarHub TV Channel 823), ONE HD (StarHub TV Channel 876) on 9 April 2011 and KMTV Channel (StarHub TV Channel 846) in upcoming months, to augment its Asian offering and bring viewers the best from Korea.
ONE is a 24-hour channel that showcases first-run and exclusive SBS (Seoul Broadcasting System) dramas as recent as three to five weeks from the premiere in Korea; variety shows with top Korean celebrities, and popular Korean concerts and music shows. ONE HD is a simulcast of ONE in high definition. Programmes aired on ONE and ONE HD will be in Korean language with Chinese subtitles. For 5 days a week, there will be a two-hour daily belt dubbed in Mandarin.
StarHub TV customers can look forward to sampling ONE via a free preview from 9 April to 6 May 2011. For Chinese Entertainment Basic Group subscribers with HubStation HD, HD Interactive or HD set-top box, they are also able to sample ONE (HD) from 9 April to 30 September 2011 [2]. Chinese Entertainment Basic Group currently comprise channels such as STAR Chinese Channel, TVB8 and TVBS-News.
Following the previews, ONE will be added to the suite of channels in Chinese Entertainment Basic Group. Existing Chinese Entertainment Basic Group customers will be able to enjoy the additional content at no additional charge. At the same time, they are also able to subscribe to ONE HD as part of the Basic HD Upsize Tier, at a monthly subscription of $8.56.
"We are very excited to bring ONE to Singapore and would like to thank StarHub for helping to make this possible. ONE will offer the best in Asian entertainment, and viewers in Singapore will be able to watch some of the most popular Korean entertainment first on the channel. We are confident ONE will quickly become a hit among viewers here as we are offering ONE in Chinese and HD format. Our goal is to be one of the must-watch channels in Singapore," said Mr Ricky Ow, General Manager, SPE Networks – Asia.
KMTV Channel is a 24-hour Korean channel which offers an array of high quality programming with a focus on music and live performances, variety shows and idol dramas. The channel also features music series such as "M Countdown", "Live Power Music" and "M Super Concert", awards shows like "Golden Disk Awards" and "Seoul Music Awards", idol reality shows featuring Wonder Girls, Super Junior, Girls’ Generation, SHINee, 2PM, 2NE1, Big Bang and many hottest and latest music videos from Korea.
"We are delighted to launch KMTV Channel in Singapore on StarHub platform, as Korean artists and music have become increasingly popular in Asia in recent years where they have massive loyal followers. We look forward to providing a 24-hour K-pop channel to fulfill the needs of many devoted fans in Asia, particularly Singapore," said Mr Byun Kwang-Min, CEO of KMTV.
Existing StarHub TV customers can contact StarHub at 1630 or press the blue button on their remote controls (for HubStation, Hubstation HD or HD Interactive set-top box) to subscribe to additional channels.
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[1] Prices quoted are with GST.
[2] The free preview of ONE HD is available only to Chinese Entertainment Basic Group customers with a HubStation HD, HD Interactive or HD set-top box.
