More in store for cable TV customers
Singapore, 2 June 2006 – On the heels of its High Definition Television (HDTV) trial announcement, Singapore's most innovative infocommunications company today offered a glimpse of the exciting services that it has in store for local consumers in the pay TV area.
Leading Entertainment On The Gogglebox
StarHub has constantly introduced new products and services to enhance TV viewing experience and offers more choice and flexibility to local TV viewers. In the past two years alone, StarHub has launched its digital cable platform which made possible innovative features and applications such as the On-Screen TV Guide, eTV (enhanced TV), Auto Tune, Video Mosaic, TV Games, and Smart TV, a new interactive service that provides instant recording and control over live TV via an integrated digital video recorder set-top box. During this period, 33 new international channels, in addition to 28 Demand TV channels and 12 Karaoke TV channels, were also added to StarHub's channel line-up.
Going forward, TV viewers in Singapore can look forward to even more exciting and innovative offerings from StarHub.
StarHub will be the first pay-TV operator in Southeast Asia to launch a public trial of HDTV. This trial will commence on 10 June, and about 1,000 trialists will be the first in the region to catch the 'live' telecast of all 64 2006 FIFA World Cup matches in full HDTV splendor. The rest of the avid TV viewers will not have to wait very long either as StarHub plans to launch its HDTV service offering in the near future.
StarHub Offers Choice And Flexibility
In keeping with its continuing efforts to give customers more control and flexibility over their viewing choices and times, StarHub will offer a variety of services that give customers maximum flexibility to choose what they want and when they want to watch it; so that TV viewing will be personalised for each individual. The recently launched Smart TV service enables users to record and playback their favourite programmes and events so that they can watch them according to their personalised schedule, not the programmer's. StarHub also intends to introduce many more features to the Smart TV service in the near future, such as Video-On-Demand and Chat. Among the features and benefits Smart TV users are already enjoying are the convenience of a one-touch recording, TV SMS and access to their i.Mail email accounts.
StarHub is also working to introduce a flexible new service that is similar to the FlexiSurf package that its MaxOnline customers are presently enjoying. FlexiSurf allows StarHub's online users to pay a smaller pre-paid fee for broadband access over a short period, ranging from three to 25 days. Once launched, StarHub’s FlexiWatch service will offer similar options for cable TV, and once again place StarHub amongst the first in the world to offer a radical and innovative departure from the way cable TV is traditionally packaged. This will add even more options for customers on top of StarHub’s already flexible programming line-up and low entry price of just $22 (including rental fee for an analogue set-top box) per month.
"Even though we are the only pay-TV operator in Singapore, we have never rested on our laurels and we always strive to compete against the many other lifestyle and entertainment options vying for the time and attention of local viewers. We know that you make the choices of how to spend your time, and we are focused on offering more choice and flexibility for you to control what you want to watch and when you wish to watch it. Those familiar with StarHub Digital Cable would know that we have regularly been introducing new cable TV offerings for the benefit and enjoyment of our customers. The months ahead will be no exception, and we will continue to delight TV viewers with many exciting new plans. StarHub is not only looking at introducing new products and services, but we will also enhance existing ones to further revolutionise TV viewing in Singapore. And of course, we are looking at introducing new content as well. There are quite a few new and attractive channels out there and we will be adding a number of them to our line-up in the near future," said Mr Mike Reynolds, StarHub's Head of Integrated Products and Marketing.
For more information on StarHub's cable TV services, visit www.starhub.com/cabletv.
