CASBAA Convention/Hong Kong – Comcast International Media Group (CIMG) unveiled plans to expand its local production activities in the Asia Pacific beginning in 2010, with increased investment in localized entertainment, specials and interstitials, announced Christine Fellowes, managing director, Asia Pacific, CIMG. As part of the initiative, CIMG’s first localized production will be E! News Asia scheduled to launch in Q2 2010. “The Asia Pacific region is one of the global media industry’s most exciting areas of growth,” said Fellowes. “The expansion of our activities to include local production is the next stage of our business’ evolution as viewership reaches critical mass and advertisers seek to interact more closely with the brand. E! News is one our network’s most highly rated and long-running productions, covering the latest celebrity and entertainment stories. Successful localized versions have already launched in Italy, France, Germany, Poland and Latin America. We believe we’ll see similar success in Asia.” A weekly, half-hour show featuring local Asian hosts, E! News Asia will recap the latest celebrity news from Hollywood and Asia and offer up relevant stories from key Asian entertainment hubs. Additionally, CIMG will increase subtitling for E! Entertainment programming in such key markets as Bahasa Malay, Bahasa Indonesia and Thai.