It's a December day in Loyang, and the rain is hitting the roof so hard the crew is worrying it will be audible on the recording. But the brightly-coloured set and cheery personalities of the young cast form a very welcome contrast to the monsoon raging outside. And the Singapore version of format As the Bell Rings is to be Disney Channel Southeast Asia’s first made-for-mobile production. A short-form, live action series, it launches March 2008 on StarHub’s Disney Mobile Xtra service … [Read more...] about Disney rings the bell for mobile
Channel: Genre
The start-up upstarts
NBC Universal (NBCU) are finally set to deliver on their promise of new channels, with general entertainment Universal Channel, Sci-Fi and 13th Street slated for roll-out in the second quarter of 2008. The hold-up thus far is believed to have stemmed from the internal tussle for content between the proposed channels and NBCU’s (estimated US$8billion) syndication business. Indeed it will be interesting to see the new channels’ programming line-up given that many of NBCU’s most … [Read more...] about The start-up upstarts
India in focus
In the continued proliferation of new satellite TV channels and increasing competition from several other ‘screens’ be they Internet, mobile phones or outdoor, TV as a mass medium in India is being challenged to brace itself for future. The role of TV in the overall communication strategy remains as critical as ever before. Especially considering the fact India has 219million households with 112million TV homes (64million color TV homes and 68million homes have access to cable and … [Read more...] about India in focus
Sweet sold music
Asia's largest online and mobile music company, with 50-plus partner stores attracting the majority of online and wireless purchases, Soundbuzz also operates its own on-line store, www.soundbuzz.com, as well as providing content and/or technology infrastructure. The company has licensing agreements with all 4 major international music majors plus more than 45 major domestic labels and independent music labels. As a spokesperson explains, “In markets like India, labels like Saregama … [Read more...] about Sweet sold music
Trio of STAR channels to debut in the US on GekTV
San Francisco/Hong Kong – STAR and GekTV will launch three Mandarin language STAR channels on the GekTV IPTV service in the US on March 15, 2008. The channels are Taiwan entertainment channel STAR Chinese Channel, Taiwan music channel Channel [V] Taiwan, and Hong Kong movie channel STAR Chinese Movies 2. Partnering Tai Seng Media (Asia), a division of US-based Tai Seng Entertainment Group, GekTV will deliver the three STAR channels to subscribers in the US via its proprietary set-top box … [Read more...] about Trio of STAR channels to debut in the US on GekTV
BBC Worldwide deals for Japan
Brighton, UK – Japan’s biggest broadcaster NHK has picked up four BBC Worldwide titles: Hustle, Hotel Babylon, State Within and State of Play. BBC Worldwide Japan Limited’s manager programme sales Miyuki Kinoshita told Television Asia Plus of the deals, admitting that the opportunity for sales of non-factual genres to NHK arose from the WGA Writers’ Strike – which has since been resolved. And as part of British Year in Japan, LaLa TV picked up a range of BBC dramas … [Read more...] about BBC Worldwide deals for Japan