Singapore – BBC Worldwide has announced the launch of BBC World News HD on three platforms in Southeast Asia – TrueVisions in Thailand, and two platforms in Indonesia – First Media and Big TV. The channel is broadcast in native HD from source. Earlier this year the channel started broadcasting from the heart of the BBC Newsroom in the new High Definition studios in the BBC’s London headquarters.
In Thailand, TrueVisions made the permanent move of its BBC World News service from Standard Definition (SD) to High Definition (HD), and will be available via the platform’s TV Everywhere service when it launches next year.
In Indonesia, First Media will augment its current SD channel with the HD version, as well as offer it on its multi-screen TV Anywhere service next month. Big TV will broadcast BBC World News in both SD and HD when it officially launches on November 1, 2013.
“We are excited to be able to extend our relationship with both TrueVisions, First Media and Big TV to launch BBC World NewsHD and expand our reach and impact in these territories,” said Colin Lawrence, Distribution Director of BBC Global News Ltd. “These partnerships are an essential part of our ongoing commitment to Asian audiences to bring them the highest quality global news service. Our investment goes beyond HD however, with our new weekly business show Talking Business with Linda Yueh launching October 4th, and the revised Asia Edition of bbc.com/news debuting in the same month.”
“We have a strong commitment to the region, to bring quality content to our Asian audience. The deals with TrueVisions, Big TV and First Media are part of this commitment,” said Mark Whitehead, Senior Vice President, General Manager & Channels Lead, BBC Worldwide Asia. “With the addition of BBC World News HD, the entire suite of BBC channels is now available in Indonesia and Thailand.”
Attaphon Na Bangxang, Chief Programme and Content Officer, TrueVisions commented on the deal: “We are very proud of the long-term partnership with BBC and value their confidence in TrueVisions. We are pleased to be the first pay-TV operator in Thailand to bring BBC World News HD to its viewers. With the addition of BBC World News HD to the family, we now carry all of BBC’s channels on our platform. BBC Knowledge, BBC Lifestestyle, BBC Entertainment and CBeebies are also popular on TrueVisions.”
“We are pleased that First Media and Big TV will be the first platforms in Indonesia to offer BBC World News HD to our viewers,” said Iris Wee, Chief Marketing Officer at First Media. “With the launch of BBC World News HD, First Media will have a total of 50 HD channels on our platform. We have always been a strong supporter of BBC World News on our platform, and are excited that we can provide stronger visual complement to the depth of content provided by BBC World News. We are confident that with the continued support from BBC, we will be able to engage an even wider audience here in Indonesia.”
