StarHub Rewards Cable TV Customers With Two Free Channels New sports channel free for all cable TV customers

StarHub Rewards Cable TV Customers With Two Free Channels
New sports channel free for all cable TV customers

Free access to Eurosportnews for all cable Tv customers

Lower sports package pricing

Singapore, 6 November 2009 – Come 2010, StarHub will reward all its cable TV customers with free access to not one, but two sports channels! This marks the first time a local pay TV operator is announcing complimentary sports channels for its customers.

StarHub will launch a new self-packaged 24-hour sports channel which will be available free to its entire cable TV base from January 2010. This channel will carry a wide variety of sports content including football, wrestling, tennis and local sports. Viewers can look forward to at least one football match and one wrestling match each week.

To complement the new sports channel which will feature sporting events, all StarHub’s cable TV customers will also enjoy a free 24-hour sports news channel from July 2010. Eurosportnews, presently offered as part of StarHub’s Sports Group, will keep viewers updated on the latest in the international sporting scene.

“Sports is a universal language with mass appeal. We value our customers and are delighted to offer this channel free to all our cable TV subscribers so that everyone can enjoy some sports content. This will give them the opportunity to sample the wide variety of sports we offer on our pay TV platform,” said Ms Ong Bee Lian, StarHub’s Vice President of Home Solutions.

All StarHub’s cable TV customers are presently enjoying five international and regional complimentary channels. These are Arirang TV, Australia Network, Deutsche Welle, KBS World and TVRI. They also have access to Interactive TV and Hub TV, two interactive channels that enable viewers to chat with one another and retrieve information such as stock prices, 4D and TOTO results and cinema showtimes.

“With the addition of the two sports channels to our complimentary line-up, StarHub TV customers can enjoy as many as 26 channels at entry level. This works out to less than a dollar per month for each channel, which is certainly the best deal in town! Our offering is even sweeter bearing in mind that we have many branded popular channels across different genres available at entry level. This reiterates our commitment to offer great value to consumers in Singapore,” added Ms Ong.

Existing StarHub’s Sports Group customers will also have reason for cheer. StarHub has pledged to reduce its pricing for the Sports Group by more than 50 percent from July 2010, and the new price will be unveiled in the coming months. Currently, StarHub TV customers can add the Sports Group for a monthly subscription fee of $25.

From July 2010, the Sports Group will comprise Football Channel, SuperSports, SuperSports Plus, Sports HD, Goal TV 1, Goal TV 2, Golf Channel, Eurosport, La Liga On Demand and WWE On Demand. Sports fans can look forward to ‘live’ telecasts of premium football leagues such as the La Liga and Bundesliga, as well as telecasts of exciting sporting genres like tennis, wrestling, basketball, motor sports and golf. In addition, StarHub’s Sports Group customers will enjoy access to delayed telecasts of selected Barclays Premier League and Champions League matches.

“StarHub provides the widest sports coverage in Singapore, being the operator offering the highest number of channels dedicated to sports. Our commitment to bring quality content to Singapore at affordable prices remains steadfast. In that regard, we will continue to acquire content responsibly with a view to try to hold down retail prices, both in the short term as well as long term. Therefore, the pricing for our sports content will be reduced to align with the reduction of content costs when BPL and ESS channels move over to a competitor's network. We are confident that sports fans in Singapore will welcome our new Sports Group pricing, which will give quality sports content at great value to them,” said Ms Ong.

StarHub will announce more information on its new sports channel and new Sports Group subscription rate in the first half of 2010.

StarHub ‘happy to host BPL’ Set-top box offer for SingTel pay-TV shows.

Straits Times has publish the following article. Starhub is willing to talk to Singtel to have BPL delivered both on Mio TV and as a channel on Starhub TV. This would allow existing customers to subscribe to the channel (but pay to Singtel) and stay on using the same set top box without the need to install another set top box from Singtel.

This is a smart move of Starhub but I doubt Singtel will take the bite. They might for example do that for certain areas that are not within their coverage though. Again, Singtel would also deliver it via DVB-T encrypted.

Of course, if Starhub has something to offer to Singtel, for example the whole suite of Star TV channels, BBC or TVB series of channels to be delivered via Mio tv platform in exchange, maybe that would work out.

Don't forget the companies that sells the exclusive contracts would not let Starhub or Singtel do that.

STARHUB has offered to carry SingTel’s pay-TV content on its set-top box, which could mean that pay-TV subscribers will not need to switch set-top boxes or get another one to watch content from Singapore’s two pay-TV players.

SingTel has yet to give an answer though, and said this was the first it had heard of the offer.

When news broke last month that SingTel had won the rights to pay-TV’s crown jewels – ‘live’ Barclay’s Premier League broadcasts, as well as sports channel ESPN – from StarHub, football fans complained that they would need a set-top box for StarHub programmes and a SingTel box for sports.

Pay S$23 to watch EPL on Singtel Mio Tv starting next Aug

It is good news that you need to pay only S$23 to watch EPL and S$2 more for ESPN etc as according to the press release from Singtel and news sources ASIA1. For those who just watches football and nothing else, it is a good news.

Now wait, if you do your sums correct, it is not just S$23. You probably forgot the S$8.33 fix line. If you have ported your Singtel number over to Starhub, you will need to resubscribe a fix line just for that purpose. Of course if you ues MIO HOME and triple pay, it might be waived off.

There are also some other "hidden" costs that you ought to take note as discussed at this link below.

Link

No penalty for cancellation after July 2010 for Starhub Sports Group subscribers

FOR subscribers of sports packages who signed their contracts before Oct 1, StarHub will not levy early termination fees if they cancel the service after July next year.

StarHub still holds the exclusive broadcast rights for the current English Premier League (EPL) season, as well as ESPN Star Sports (ESS) until mid-2010. The rights that SingTel won begin only with the August 2010 season.

By mid-2010, StarHub will revise the pricing for its sports content to reflect the absence of the EPL, also known as the Barclays Premier League (BPL), and the two ESS channels.

Can Starhub TV stay afloat after Singtel wrestle away ESPN and EPL

The dust is settled and Singtel won the exclusive rights to broadcast the EPL from next year onwards. At the same time, it also wrestle away ESPN channels from Starhub.

This double blow is hard to take for Starhub and current customers of Sports Group on Starhub TV. This is because most of the sports crazy customers would have sign up 2 yrs contract with Starhub during exhibitions held every quarter.

Although I am a Starhub TV subscriber, I never subscribe to it's Sports group as it would easily cost me S$50 over dollars just to enjoy 3 basic groups and 12 sports channels. The three basic group are the Education, News and Chinese infotainment which entertains my whole family. If you wanted HD, that would easily cost more as you would need to add a HD decoder or HD Hubstation and subscribe to the Education HD pack for S$8. SPorts HD is provided free if you subscribe to the SPorts group. That adds up to over S$60+.

Not only are Sports Group expensive. Watching basic channels aren't cheap too.

In 2007, I subscribed to Mio TV too, just for the sake of enjoy a singe HD channel known as Equator HD. Although it is a no contract subscription, it was a hassle trying to buy a modem (not provided) that will work (ADSL2+). There were lots of hiccups and I hate the 2 min start up time of the mio decoder box! I also subscribe to other channels almost every month to make up the S$16.05 basic fees.

There weren't much to watch except the Hokkien and Cantonese video on demand programmes which appeal to me and my parents. Alas, we get back the dual sound with Cantonese or Hokkien programming only on Mio TV.

Starhub follow suit with their own VOD programmes in Hokkien and Cantonese. I did not have a hubstation and I wasn't able to watch it. So, I changed to a hubstation and incur more costs just to catch VOD titles.

The funniest thing is that the ever popular VV Drama, a popular channel with tons of TVB productions was only available in Mandarin. Starhub started another VOD channel, allowing you to watch it in Dual Sound but you have to pay an additoinal S$4 to watch it on hubstation. They then decided to remove the S$4 for the VOD channel and it is now back to Mandarin only, with a collection of the past 7 days screened shows.

Sometimes I just hate VOD. Both Starhub and Singtel made the same mistake, putting only 10 or 20 episodes per month. That is probably what they want to get you subscribed to the VOD channel. It is really irritating when you wanted to watch the final 10 episode but you have will have to wait for another 1 more month before you can view it.

I can understand that free to Air channels have national obligations to use Mandarin. Why is it so for PAY TV channels? Why make it so difficult for the elderly to enjoy a good show without paying so much ?

The good news is that, if you are into those dialect programmmes, you can subscribe to their tv stations and watch it first hand rather than to wait for the pay tv operators to bring them in 6 mths or later.

Back to EPL. With Singtel being the dominant sports pay tv provider, it will surely convert a portion of the sports fan. This is true for the pubs, clubs, coffeeshops. Existing Starhub customers would most likely stick with it with the 3 basic tier groups. In fact, Singtel mio TV has not as much interesting channels as compared to Starhub.

In fact, the same thing happened in Hong Kong a couple of years ago. The TV operator is still around but repackaged their programming with their own productions and source for more interesting programmes that can be bundled with their mobile plans. Unless one day, TVB, HBO, Star, BBC all these major networks defect to Singtel, Starhub will survive and learn how to survive better by fine tuning their cable tv packages.

Don't forget Starhub's bidding price of EPL S$250 million can now be channeled into having more interesting channels or promotions. Perhaps it is time to introduce a Chinese HD channel or adding dual selectable subtitling to different channels.

SingTel wins rights to EPL, ESPN STAR Sports

SingTel wins rights to EPL, ESPN STAR Sports

SINGAPORE: Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (SingTel) has won the rights to air Barclays English Premier League matches across its platforms, as well as exclusive broadcast rights to ESPN STAR Sports for mio TV.

In a statement released on Thursday, SingTel said the rights would allow it to broadcast EPL matches on mio TV, the Internet and mobile applications for three years starting August next year.

Asia's leading telecommunications company said it has also secured rights to a suite of sports networks and services from ESPN STAR Sports for its mio TV customers.

This means it will have the rights to show programme offerings under ESPN, which include the FA Cup, Formula One, the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open Golf Championship.

A new 24-hour sports news channel, called ESPNEWS, is also slated for broadcast on mio TV from next month.

SingTel said other exclusive sports services will be unveiled soon.

SingTel Singapore CEO Allen Liew assured viewers that charges will be comparable to what sports fans are currently paying to their cable TV operator.

So will you switch operators from Starhub to Singtel soon ?

M1 launches no-contract plan packed with postpaid benefits

M1 launches no-contract plan packed with postpaid benefits

SINGAPORE, 29 September 2009 - M1 has launched a new and innovative tariff plan that will allow customers to enjoy the benefits of postpaid mobile services without the contractual commitments normally required for such services.

Customers who sign up for the new SuperPac plan will be the first in Singapore to be able to make unlimited free outgoing calls and surf unlimited data between 12 midnight and 10am daily. They will also enjoy unlimited free incoming calls and per second billing. In addition, customers get free IDD calls to 19 destinations and free caller ID display.

To start enjoying these super benefits, customers can take up either one of 2 plans; S$25 (comes with S$30 worth of value) or S$38 (comes with S$60 worth of value).

These benefits are valid for 30 days. At the end of the 30 days, customers simply have to reload their SIM cards to continue to enjoy the services. Reload Cards that cost S$25 and S$38 but give S$30 and S$60 worth of value respectively can be purchased for this purpose. Unique to the SuperPac plan, unused credits will be rolled over.

“With the launch of the SuperPac plan, we have demolished the notion that one needs to be tied down to enjoy postpaid mobile services. This plan will appeal to the segment of customers who are cost conscious and who like to track their mobile spending without foregoing the benefits of the postpaid plan that they are accustomed to,” said P Subramaniam, Chief Marketing Officer of M1.

“Many of our younger customers who are on the go 24/7 will also find the SuperPac plan’s unprecedented offer of unlimited free calls and data surfing in the early hours of the morning irresistible. It is the perfect plan to meet their communication and entertainment needs any time of the day,” he added.

The SuperPac plan will be available from tomorrow at all M1 Shops and exclusive retailers.
__________________

Singtel bids for EPL for the period August 2010 to May 2013

SINGAPORE Telecommunications Ltd (SingTel) and Starhub on Tuesday announced separately that they have submitted bids for the lucrative broadcast rights to the EPL for the period August 2010 to May 2013.

If they are separate bids, a head-to-head battle between the two warrings sides looks inevitable.

Presently, Starhub holds the rights.

There has been much speculation among media experts about the possibility of a joint bid by the two sides saying that it would be the way to go.

Such a move could stem escalating pay-TV subscription fees, which have drawn widespread complaints from sports fans here.

The rights to screen EPL matches in football-mad Singapore are seen as a key asset to both telcos, who have traded punches in recent years.

In 2007, StarHub was estimated to have paid a record $250 million to fend off SingTel and secure EPL broadcasts rights in Singapore until 2010.

This is believed to be four times more than what it had paid previously. Last year, SingTel hit back by landing the exclusive deal to show Uefa Champions League matches here until 2012.

Samsung 12 megapixel camera phone SCH-W880

Samsung has followed up their Pixon 12 or M8910 with the SCH-W880 or M8920. This new model is essentially like the first, which is a cellular phone with a camera that is much better than most cell phone cameras. In fact, it’s a lot more like a digital camera that also happens to have phone capability as well.

The SCH-W880 comes with a 12 megapixel sensor, as well as a mode dial, shutter, zoom, Xenon flash, and HD video at 30fps. It also has a 3.3 inch AMOLED WGA screen with Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth, as well as a microSD slot.

AMD Radeon HD 5870x2 spec and picture surface on the net

Radeon HD 5870x2

Pictures have started surfing around, of what is codenamed as 'Hemlock'. It seems to be slightly longer than the HD 5870, so it will come in at around 11.5" long (!). It is powered by a 6+2 pin and a 6 pin PCI-Express power connectors. It it will perform at roughly 80% more than it's single card counterpart, depending on the game.

Intel Light Peak to merge merge the future of both USB and display interfaces such as DisplayPort and consolidate USB , serial and parallel ports.

Intel has plans to consolidate all the wired connections on your PC to a single 10Gbps optical cable it calls Light Peak. It's working with Sony's Vaio group to roll out a controller to drive the interface sometime next year, reports EETimes. Light Peak is said to be essentially an effort to merge the future of both USB and display interfaces such as DisplayPort. It parallels the efforts years ago to consolidate serial and parallel ports on USB.

Intel last week demonstrated an early version of the link carrying uncompressed high-definition video over 40 metres from a notebook computer to a monitor at the Intel Developer Forum. The technology could run at distances up to 100 metres, executives said.
"The reason we showed it in a notebook is the number of connectors you need limits the size of the system," said Dadi Perlmutter, GM of the Intel Architecture Group. in a keynote address.
Light Peak is well ahead of demand. The 5GHz USB 3.0 is due to emerge in products next year, and DisplayPort, an interface that is replacing analog VGA and DVI, is now becoming mainstream on PC products.

"It will take years for this technology to be mainstream," admitted Perlmutter.

Link

Looking for Comex offers brochures flyers and offers?

Looking for Comex offers brochures flyers and offers?
Check out this http://forums.ocworkbench.com/forumdisplay.php?f=81
It seems to have the most comprehensive list so far.

M1 acquires Qala

SINGAPORE, 4 September 2009 - M1 today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, M1 Net Ltd, has entered into an agreement to acquire all the issued and paid up ordinary shares of Qala Singapore Pte Ltd (Qala).

Qala is an established Internet Service Provider with a track record of nine years in the business. It offers a full suite of data and communications products and services to corporate, enterprise and public sector customers in Singapore. It also holds the rights to provide both indoor and outdoor seamless wireless broadband access under IDA’s Wireless@SG programme.

“This acquisition will allow M1 to enter the corporate fixed broadband business quickly by leveraging on the presence and experience of Qala in this market. We will use this ready platform to derive synergies and further grow the business as a full service operator,” said Ms Karen Kooi, Chief Executive Officer of M1.

“There will also be opportunities for us to enhance our range of products and services in order to better meet the diverse needs of our customers in this segment,” she added.

M1, Singapore's most exciting and innovative mobile, broadband and IDD service provider, was launched in April 1997. Since then, it has made significant inroads into the local mobile communications market, gaining considerable brand presence and market share. M1 aims to be the leader in personal voice, business and data communications, focusing on value, quality and customer service. More information on M1 is available at www.m1.com.sg

Starhub scores exclusive broadcast rights for La Liga for the upcoming three seasons till 2012.

SINGAPORE: Singaporean cable platform StarHub has secured the exclusive broadcast rights for La Liga for the upcoming three seasons till 2012.

The Spanish football matches begin airing on StarHub this weekend, with up to four live matches weekly on Football Channel, SuperSports and SuperSports Plus. In addition, from September 12, all live matches will also be available in high-def on Sports HD. There will also be magazine programs such as La Liga, reviewing the week's matches, and La Liga Report, previewing upcoming fixtures, including player profiles, fans, press conferences and the match of the week.

Ong Bee Lian, StarHub’s VP of home solutions, said: “La Liga is one of the most competitive professional football leagues in the world, and sustains a keen level of interest among viewers in Singapore, especially after the recent high profile signings by the Spanish clubs. We are elated to bring La Liga exclusively to viewers here for another three seasons.”
StarHub is also adding La Liga On Demand to its offerings.

StarHub MaxOnline Premium customers will receive an extra speed boost of up to 100Mbps* when they use a DOCSIS 3.0** cable modem to access online cont

StarHub unleashes 100Mbps surfing experience locally for MaxOnline Premium customers- New Home Hubbing Pack Premium Comes Bundled with MaxOnline Premium, StarHub TV and Digital Voice for only $81.32 (w/ GST) Per Month - Singapore, 17 July 2009 – More online users in Singapore will soon experience ultra-high local Internet surfing speeds as StarHub unleashes its MaxOnline Premium service to meet the demands for bandwidth-intensive next-generation applications and content. From today, StarHub MaxOnline Premium customers will receive an extra speed boost of up to 100Mbps* when they use a DOCSIS 3.0** cable modem to access online content hosted locally in Singapore. With higher local bandwidth, StarHub’s MaxOnline Premium customers can now enjoy a better surfing experience – with smoother video streaming, faster downloads, quicker access to office Intranets, and better gaming experience. Ms Ong Bee Lian, StarHub's Vice President of Home Solutions said, “As an award-winning broadband player in Asia-Pacific***, we continue to push the envelope in delivering more value on our service offerings to our customers. This new upgrade will empower our MaxOnline Premium customer base to experience true next-generation broadband speeds now.” Industry partners in Singapore agree that StarHub’s initiative to boost the local broadband speeds of MaxOnline Premium customers will help accelerate the online adoption of the next-generation of applications and content. “We have been working closely with StarHub for many years to ensure that our dedicated gaming community can enjoy our popular MMOGs such as MapleStory, Audition and CABAL Online seamlessly. The new enhancement for StarHub's MaxOnline Premium customers will further boost their enjoyment of these games, with faster download times for the game clients and updates, and an even better gaming experience than before,” said Mr Gerry Ung, managing director of Asiasoft Online. “Gamers today demand speed and quality in connectivity. We welcome StarHub’s speed upgrade for MaxOnline Premium as it will allow more gamers to spend less time waiting for the online game client to download and more time actually playing these games. This enhancement is timely for the launch of our latest MMOG game Dragonica, as well as for our other games such as EA SPORTS™ FIFA Online 2 and IMC’s Granado Espada where gamers will be able to have high speed access, lower latency and thus a more enjoyable online experience as they interact with countless other players,” said Mr Roland Ong, CEO of IAH Games. To experience the full speed boost, MaxOnline Premium customers are advised to upgrade their cable modem to a DOCSIS 3.0**-compatible one. MaxOnline Premium customers using DOCSIS 2.0 cable modems should be able to experience a speed bump up to 32Mbps to access online content hosted locally in Singapore. There will be no change in access speeds for users using DOCSIS 1.0 or earlier cable modems. MAXONLINE PREMIUM + STARHUB TV = BETTER VALUE FOR FAMILIES The upgrade comes hot on the heels of a new Home Hubbing Pack Premium bundle to be introduced tomorrow. The new bundle gives new MaxOnline Premium customers an opportunity to experience many of the services that StarHub offers. The Home Hubbing Pack Premium retails at $81.32 (with GST) and comes packaged with the following services: • MaxOnline Premium, delivering speeds of up to 12Mbps (up to 100Mbps locally with a DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem) for 24 months;• StarHub TV service with any three Basic Groups of up to 21 channels for 24 months;• Additional upsized channels from the Basic Plus Groups for six months;• VV Drama OR Star Movies for 24 months; and• Complementary Digital Voice service with unlimited local calls. In addition, MaxOnline Premium customers can choose one of the following two solutions as part of their package - 1. Protect your PC and home network for 12 months with Norton 360 version 3.0, the industry’s leading all-in-one security solution for protecting users’ PCs and all their online activities. The latest version of Norton 360 includes security and performance enhancements that keep PCs protected and running at peak performance, and increased online backup flexibility for safeguarding users' most important files. Norton 360 now further extends protection to online activities with the full-featured version of the new Web site ratings service, Norton Safe Web. 2. Help your children improve their studies by accessing ASKnLearn's popular interactive e-learning tool. New customers will be able to view numerous tests, quizzes and school revisions on one subject of a single primary or secondary school level, for 12 months. ASKnLearn is a Pan-Asian provider of education solutions, providing e-learning solutions, multimedia content and consultancy services to over 180 institutions across the region. This Home Hubbing Pack Premium bundle offers tremendous value to families with kids as it combines the MaxOnline Premium residential broadband plan with a wide selection of StarHub TV channels and the complementary Digital Voice service at the same price of $81.32 (w/GST).

Source

http://forums.ocworkbench.com/showthread.php?p=449736#post449736

StarHub introduces mobile TV service with four ethnic language channels in Mandarin, Bahasa Indonesia, Hindi and Tamil to mobile pre-paid customers in

StarHub introduces mobile TV service with four ethnic language channels in Mandarin, Bahasa Indonesia, Hindi and Tamil to mobile pre-paid customers in Singapore

CTI TV, MNC -The Indonesian Channel, Vannathirai Channel and Zee TV are available to StarHub Mobile pre-paid customers
for an affordable rate of $2 for 24-hour viewing of all channels

Singapore, 17 July 2009 - StarHub today announced that from tomorrow, 18 July 2009, its mobile pre-paid customers will be able to tune in to four selected StarHub TV channels, namely CTI TV, MNC -The Indonesian Channel, Vannathirai Channel and Zee TV (See editor's notes for channel information) from their 3G mobile phones.

This is the first time mobile TV service is made available to Singapore's mobile pre-paid users who are mostly foreigners working here. StarHub TV on Mobile brings the exciting world of StarHub's cable TV entertainment to mobile pre-paid customers anywhere, anytime on their 3G handsets.

"We are pleased to extend StarHub's cable TV entertainment on selected ethnic language channels to delight our mobile pre-paid customers who speak Mandarin, Bahasa Indonesia, Hindi or Tamil. We believe they will welcome and enjoy this service offering and feel at home watching their favourite television programmes in their respective languages on 3G mobile handsets," said Mr Chan Kin Hung, StarHub's Head of Products and Services. "Moving forward, we are looking at adding more ethnic language channels to our mobile TV channel line-up to cater to our mobile pre-paid customers from other ethnic groups. Stay tuned!"

StarHub TV on Mobile channels are available on StarHub's Gee! portal from any supported 3G mobile devices with a StarHub Mobile pre-paid 3G SIM card.

Access to the line-up of channels is affordable. It is rated daily at only $2 for unlimited 24-hour viewing of all channels without additional charges for mobile data usage. This means customers can watch the channels freely without worrying about incurring hefty mobile data charges.

To celebrate the launch of the StarHub TV on Mobile service over its mobile pre-paid platform, customers can pick up an LG KT520 HSPA mobile phone and a StarHub Mobile 3G pre-paid SIM card (valued at $15) for only $158. This special offer starts tomorrow and will be available at all StarHub Shops and Exclusive Partners' outlets.

Editor's notes

CTI TV
CTI TV reaches out to Mandarin-speaking viewers around the world 24 hours a day. Focusing on excellent and unbiased news coverage, in-depth analyses on political, social, economic and lifestyle issues, the award-winning channel also offers the hottest entertainment programmes.

MNC - The Indonesian Channel
MNC is a 24-hour channel that brings the best Indonesian programmes by providing one-stop family entertainment with more than 80,000 hours from a wide variety of genres. Viewers will enjoy top-rated programmes from the most popular Indonesian’s terrestrial TV stations: RCTI, TPI and Global TV.

Vannathirai Channel
Vannathirai a 24-hour movie channel showcasing the best of Tamil blockbusters and exclusive premieres with local programmes. It is the most talked about Tamil Channel among Singaporean Indians.

Zee TV
18 countries, 4.5 million viewers, 90,000 hours of programming content, 6,000 movie titles across all genres, Zee Asia Pacific reigns supreme. Since its launch in 2004, Zee Asia Pacific treads the path to scale newer heights in the world of entertainment with its programming and extravagant events.

Singtrel mio TV to launch 4 new chanels, Granda TV and Football Frenzy Channels 1,2,3

Singtel mio TV will launch 4 new channels soon in Jul and August.
The first will be Ch 23 Granada TV. It comprises of combination of contemporary dramas, cool comedy, cutting edge reality and best in talk and entertainment shows.

Next is Ch 61, 62 and 63 Football Frenzy Channels 1,2,3
CH 61 will carry European footabll and UEFA coverage and Italian Series A

Ch 62 and 63 will simulcast LIVE matches from UEFA champions and Europa League and Italian Serie A.

SingTel unveils portal for UEFA Champions League

SingTel unveils portal for UEFA Champions League

SINGAPORE - SingTel has launched Football Frenzy, billed as the country's first multimedia social football experience, giving viewers coverage of the UEFA Champions League club football tournament across the company's online, mio TV and mobile platforms.

Edward Ying, chief of the content and media services group at SingTel, said: “When we won the exclusive rights to the UEFA Champions League games last year, we said that sports - and football in particular - would be a key driver for content take-up. The launch of Football Frenzy is a reinforcement of our commitment to become a major player in the market.”

Football Frenzy will kick off with the upcoming UEFA season in mid-August to offer viewers all 146 UEFA Champions League matches both ‘live’ or via on-demand, and up to 149 UEFA Europa League matches.

Among other new features, a web portal featuring a virtual ‘SingTel stadium’ will be launched in early August for viewing of all live and replay matches and access to exclusive football content online. Visitors are also encouraged to sign up and participate in virtual fan clubs of the teams to create a social networking style of environment. The portal was developed by OgilvyOne Singapore.

Viewers can also get updates on-the-go via SingTel’s IDEAS mobile portal, which will offer previews and highlight shows as well as live matches.

SingTel currently holds the rights to the Italian Serie A, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. All three tournaments will be included in the new offering.

StarHub holds the rights to the Barclays Premier League tournament. Bidding for the rights to the highly-popular English football league is expected to come into play by the middle of next year.

H1N1 : Pay up to S$2000 to treat H1N1

We take a break from our usually blogging of tech.

Today, I saw some interesting discussions on the net and would like to know your opinion about whether it is worth risking yourself in getting H1N1 ?

If you are down with flu, and you call 993, the first thing you will have to pay the following :

S$90(or S$100) for the ambulance
S$214 for the H1N1 checks.
S$xx for expired Tamiflu tablets.

The bulk would be the 7 day average stay in "Hotel Hospital" costing at least close to a thousand. Even if you are insured under medishield, can that be claimed, i do not know.

So, get ready to pay S$2k if you are confirmed H1N1 case. This are just my estimates, the bill might be smaller than the estimated if 'subsidised'.

Singapore’s Ministry of Health has sent expired Tamiflu supplies to the general practitioner’s in Singapore

Singapore’s Ministry of Health has sent expired Tamiflu supplies to the general practitioner’s in Singapore. Tamiflu, which comes in boxes of 10 pills each, is the anti-viral drug for th H1N1 flu. According to the report and to my own sources as well, these Tamiflu meds hve expiry dates of 2007, and was manufactured in 2003. MOH has added a sticker that says that these meds can be used beyond their shelf life - to 2010.

MOH’s circular to the GPs say this:

We would like to assure you that the extension is with the approval from the manufacturer (Roche), U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and our Health Sciences Authority. This extention is made possible due to our stringent conditioning and maintenance requirements in our storage facilities. The efficacy of the drug is not compromised in any way and is fit for usage.
Straits Times has done really well to get doctors to give their response.

Dr Wong Tien Hua, a general practitioner in Sengkang, said an expiry date can vouch for a drug’s effectiveness only for that period. ‘If it is past the expiry date, the effectiveness of the drug might not be good,’ he said, adding that someone with the H1N1 virus might take longer to recover if given ‘expired’ medication. (from ST)

Agreeing, Dr Vincent Chia, deputy director of Healthway Medical, said although it is a national stockpile, the onus will still be on the doctor to explain to patients. ‘Tamiflu is not without its side effects…so when that happens we won’t know if it’s because the drugs are expired or because of the side effects,’ he said. (from ST)