“We first acquired the NFL rights in 2008 and syndicated the live games to local sports platforms. Market feedback indicated that there was good demand for such programming, and we felt that the rights would be better utilized on a channel that was focused on American sports. At the same time, we realized that most North American sports content was available in High Definition format so we decided to launch the channel in HD as well as SD to deliver the best quality sporting experience to our viewers,” explains Yes TV CEO Thomas Kressner. “So through further top American sports acquisitions, the ALL SPORTS NETWORK (ASN) was created and launched in September 2008 as syndicated blocks on most of the Pay TV platforms in Asia, StarHub in Singapore, Now TV and ATV in Hong Kong, Astro in Malaysia, UBC in Thailand and in January 2009 – we launched the full channel offering Asian television households more American sports programming than ever seen before in this region (over 350 Live games per year) and delivering this in crisp High Definition quality. The channel and programming is now available on a number of pay-TV platforms in Asia, HK with Now TV and Hong Kong Cable TV and in Singapore with StarHub and we expect to roll out two new territories before the new season starts in August 2009, as well as being syndicated on local sports channels. The feedback has been excellent, particularly on the production quality, and we are working with our affiliates to further develop the channel and delivering more entertainment value to viewers.” Kressner says Yes TV had identified under-served segment of the TV audience in the Asia Pacific region. “We did extensive market research and found that there was a demand for key USA sports like NFL, NHL and college sports on regular basis and not just sporadic offered by other channels. We also understood that we need to offer a very high quality product so it was natural for us to launch the first HD 24-hour sports as the content was available and the platforms were looking channels to help drive their take up of HD deployments. There is also a need to offer HD sports to advertisers that like to promote the HD format. Available on TV, broadband and mobile platforms, ASN is positioned to fast become one of Asia’s leading action sports channels based on the initial targeting of primarily North American, European and Commonwealth expatriates in the region as well as a significant and growing local population of particularly US-educated returnees. Also, as the number of installed HDTV sets continues to grow, we expect to play a key role in boosting HD content services as the only pan-Asian HD Sports network.” At ESPN STAR Sports, executive vice president, programming and production Craig Dobbs says, “While football continues to be a popular sport, viewers in Asia continue to demand for a wide variety of sports. Over the years, we have seen emergence of ‘multi-sports fans’ in the region and the increasing popularity of various sports amongst them. On the basis of viewing habits, we have broadly segmented the market in three regions – South Asia, South East Asia and North Asia.” “Football continues to be the most popular sport in South East Asia with the BPL leading the ratings. However, other football properties and regional leagues in Asia are increasingly becoming popular and this shows the market’s appetite for football content other than the BPL, such as the FA Cup which continues to appeal as the world’s oldest football knockout competition The National England football team continues to attract fans that follow their international matches played at Wembley.” Dobbs says that motorsports continues to draw audiences in South East Asia and the Formula One is now experiencing tremendous growth and opportunities. “We have seen emergence of new Asian circuits, and the sport is popular amongst Asian audiences, especially with the favorable viewing times for F1 GP live races.” In South Asia, unsurprisingly, cricket enjoys a huge following with ESPN STAR Sports one of the biggest investor in the game in the world with the ICC, Cricket Australia, England and Wales Cricket board and the Champions League T20 rights as well. “We recognize that various formats of cricket develop and broaden the appeal of the game across new markets and demographics.” “At the same time, South Asia is steadily developing into a multi-sports market and football and motor sports are developing high traction with fans, while tennis, hockey and golf are increasingly becoming more popular and gaining viewership as well. Football has been big in India with our top-flight football programming. As an indication of the growing popularity of football in India, the 2006 FIFA World Cup was watched by over 50 million people in India alone, says Dobbs.” In North Asian markets, basketball, baseball and tennis are the most popular sports amongst the fans. In Chinese Taipei, ESS offers NBA and MLB live games every week with full Mandarin commentary. Concludes Dobbs, “There is a good following in Asia for top-class local events and other sports events such as the AFC Football, HSBC Asian 5 Nations Rugby, the Asian Tour and the Monsoon Cup. We have also seen how localized properties organized by ESS Sports Event Management have garnered a huge following such as the recently concluded KIA X Games Asia which attracted more than 54,500 visitors and broke attendance records in Shanghai. Similarly, many other events organized by our Event Management such as the popular Guinness 9 Ball Tour, the KL World 5s and the World Pool Championships have also seen a lot of interest and traction in the region.”