FRANCE 24 is putting Asia-Pacific at the forefront of its global roll-out strategy. Thanks to the free-to-air satellite broadcast of its English-language service on the ASIASAT 2 (now ASIASAT 5) platform since early 2009, FRANCE 24 has been able to conclude its first distribution agreements with major cable and IPTV platform operators, and is available in more than 50,000 international hotel rooms throughout Asia-Pacific. To support its distribution effort on the ground, FRANCE 24 also mandated TV5 MONDE ASIA (via its Hong-Kong-based office) to prospect, promote and distribute FRANCE 24 on the residential and out-of-home markets in the key countries of the region. For the first time this year, FRANCE 24 showcased its English-language service live at the CASBAA Convention, directly from ASIASAT 5.