Star and Taiwan's Koos complete cable digitisation deal
(Posted on 3 May, 8:45 pm)
Finally closing a deal which has been in the making since
last October, Star and the Koos Group of Taiwan today announced
an agreement to digitise cable systems in Taiwan.
Star's investment in the deal will enable it to obtain an equity
interest in the cable systems concerned, a company release says.
The digital rollout plan will commence in the second half of
the year and the first digital cable services will be launched
in early 2002. Taiwanese cable subscribers will soon be able to
enjoy through digital set-top boxes high-quality digital broadcast
cable signals, as well as an array of enhanced television functionalities
such as parental control and a Chinese-language electronic programme
guide, the release states. The digital boxes are also capable
of receiving interactive premium channels and e-commerce services.
Chester Koo of the Koos Group said: "The penetration rate of
Taiwan's cable TV is among the highest the world over - 80 per
cent of Taiwanese households have cable TV. ...This partnership
between Koos Group and Star is also a manifestation of the recognition
we have been receiving from international media groups."
Star chairman and CEO James Murdoch said: "In Asia where digital
and addressable cable systems are so rare, this deal further sets
Star and our partners ahead of other players in the market. Partnering
with Koos is a perfect match for us to roll out digital cable
infrastructure in Taiwan, paving the way for the first large-scale
market launch of digital set-top boxes in Asia and the introduction
of interactive services in Taiwan, clearly setting the pace for
the development of the pay TV business in the region."
It was in October that the Koos group's broadband Internet
access and content provider GigaMedia Ltd and Star agreed to form
a joint venture that would focus on developing interactive television
services in Taiwan.
At the time GigaMedia and Star signed a binding memorandum
of understanding to form a 50-50 jointly owned company that would
operate independently.
But at the end of March the agreement was modified where Star's
investment was to be for the digitisation of headends and the
rollout of digital set-top boxes.
Although both parties claimed they remained committed to developing
the Taiwanese interactive television market, they said the priority
was to upgrade and digitise the network infrastructure.
In money terms this meant that the original plan where GigaMedia
was to have injected $ 50 million into the interactive television
project stood shelved.
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