Singapore, 16 June 2006 – StarHub, the official broadcaster of the 2006 FIFA World Cup™, is pleased to offer football fans in Singapore four additional ‘live’ 2006 FIFA World Cup™ matches free-of-charge via its Preview Channel, Channel 01. The matches will be made available to virtually all households in Singapore who are connected to StarHub’s cable network, regardless of whether they are subscribers of StarHub's cable TV services.
In May, StarHub announced its agreement with the local Free-To-Air broadcaster to air the Opening Match, two Semi-Finals and the Final of the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ ‘live’ to the public. With StarHub’s latest offering, all cabled households in Singapore will be able to enjoy a total of eight free ‘live’ 2006 FIFA World Cup™ matches via StarHub's Preview Channel and a local Free-to-Air channel.
The four additional matches that will be aired on StarHub’s Preview Channel include:
With the exception of the 3rd/4th Place match, the matches that will be aired on StarHub’s Preview Channel will all take place during primetime.
Mr Patrick Lim, StarHub's Vice President for Cable TV Services said, “We signed a contract with the local Free-To-Air broadcaster to air four key World Cup matches in mid-May. Since then, we have been working towards offering more matches to local viewers, and ironing out various operational and technical details, so as to give soccer fans who have yet to subscribe to our service a chance to sample more of the spectacular moments on the field.”
“We anticipate that the soccer frenzy will reach a feverish pitch from the Semi-Finals onwards. With both Semi-Finals and the Final being aired on a local Free-To-Air channel, and the 3rd/4th Place match being aired on StarHub’s Preview Channel, local viewers will not have to miss the headiest moments of the World Cup!” Mr Lim added.
Existing subscribers of StarHub Digital Cable can enjoy the Preview Channel on Channel 01, while others can tune their TV sets manually to UHF frequency 527.25 Mhz.
The manual tuning-in procedures will vary according to different TV set models, and viewers are advised to refer to their TV operating manuals for specific tuning-in instructions.
The generic tuning-in procedures are:
Viewers can call the public hotline at 6873-2828 for technical clarifications. They can also refer to StarHub’s special World Cup website, available at www.starhub.com/worldcup for the schedule of the matches.
About StarHub’s 2006 FIFA World Cup™Pay-Per-View
The 2006 FIFA World Cup™ is offered on StarHub Digital Cable as a Pay-Per-View package (“2006 FIFA World Cup™ Pay-Per-View”) via four dedicated channels. Existing customers of StarHub Digital Cable’s Sports Group who wish to subscribe to 2006 FIFA World Cup™ Pay-Per-View only need to pay a one-time flat fee of $15.75 (with GST) to receive the full coverage of all 64 World Cup matches ‘live’.
Customers of StarHub Digital Cable who want to enjoy 56 ‘live’ and eight delayed World Cup matches without subscribing to the Sports Group will be able to do so via 2006 FIFA World Cup™ Pay-Per-View for a one-time flat fee of $26.25 (with GST).
Existing customers can purchase the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ Pay-Per-View package by submitting a form online at www.starhub.com/worldcup, faxing in their orders to 6725-2112, or calling 1633 to follow a simple step-by-step sign-up process.
