Singapore – On February 25, StarHub will become the first pay-TV operator outside of Japan to launch Hello! Japan, an all-Japanese entertainment and lifestyle channel. The channel, which will be offered as a FreeView channel on StarHub TV (making it available to all customers free-of-charge on StarHub TV Channel 149), will offer viewers a line-up ranging from documentaries and dramas to movies and variety shows produced by top Japanese TV stations such as NTV, TBS, TV Asahi and TV Tokyo.
Hello! Japan, owned by Japanese broadcaster J Food & Culture TV, will broadcast round-the-clock on StarHub TV in its original language with English subtitles. It will also be made available on Anytime TV, a new pay-as-you-watch cable TV plan exclusively for home broadband customers who do not have a StarHub TV subscription.
The entertainment channel adds to StarHub TV’s stable of Japanese programming, which comprises Animax (Channel 532), a channel dedicated to anime and youth lifestyle programmes; NHK World Premium (Channel 147), a 24-hour entertainment and lifestyle channel; NHK World TV (Channel 148), a news and lifestyle channel; as well as E City (Channel 111/825), a general entertainment channel that showcases popular Japanese titles. Some key titles viewers can look forward to on Hello! Japan are Athletic Fire, an award-winning variety show that invites famous athletes and celebrities to compete against one another; Hungry Hoppers, which features a trio from Hokkaido travelling around Japan in search of delectable gourmet; and Music Station, a programme which focuses on the Japanese music scene.
“We are pleased to be the world’s first to bring in such premium content that has never been seen outside of Japan, to our local audience. The addition of Hello! Japan will strengthen StarHub TV’s offerings of Japanese line-up, reinforcing its leadership in Asian content. As part of our commitment to provide the best value for our customers, we will be offering Hello! Japan as a complimentary channel,” said Lee Soo Hui, Vice President of Media Business Unit StarHub.
