| The agreement with HBO expires in 2014 and includes
HBO, HBO Signature and Cinemax, while the agreement with Star expires
in 2011 and comprises 11 channels (including Star Chinese Movies,
Star Movies, Star World, Fox News and Hindi-language Star News and
Star Plus), according to Hong Kong-based media analyst firm Media
Partners Asia (MPA).
In addition, to ESPN-Star Sports, which NOW secured exclusive access
to last year, NOW also reported an exclusive distribution agreement
with Mei Ah TV (Chinese-language movies) and distribution agreements
with Time Warner's Turner Broadcasting (CNN Headline News and Boomerang);
Eastern Broadcasting in Taiwan (ETTV news and entertainment channels)
EuroNews and the Asian Food Channel.
The news further reinforces NOW's position as the platform of choice
for major international channels and foreign residents in Hong Kong.
Prior to July, HBO's one-year carriage on NOW had produced far
higher take-up when compared with its premium distribution on the
i-CABLE platform, where its numbers have stagnated for the past
five years, MPA said.
Both HBO and STAR have also been drawn to attractive minimum-guarantee
agreements with NOW and its significant marketing capabilities.
NOW's distribution of HBO and Star movie channels and Galaxy's
(SuperSun)continued carriage of Celestial Movies will also exert
greater pressure on i-CABLE in Hong Kong to programme a successful
movie channel of its own.
Management at i-CABLE indicate that the company will remain focused
on the local demographic by investing further in its news and entertainment
channels (and, in the future, movies) and maintaining its sports
franchise (EPL Soccer, World Cup soccer and more).
However, PCCW is also gradually building up its own localized franchise
(ATV news channel already on board; local financial news channel
to be next) and is likely to bid against i-CABLE (along with ESPN-Star
Sports) when EPL Soccer comes up for renewal in 2006.
Along with i-CABLE, Galaxy will also lose the distribution of HBO
channels, another impediment to the long term growth of its fledgling
service.
As of year ended December 2004, NOW had signed up 416,000 homes
with an installed STB base of 361,000. About 53 per cent of the
installed base or 192,000 customers subscribed to NOW's a-la-carte
pay channels and/or mini packs with monthly average return per user
(ARPU)at HK$105 or US$13, MPA stated.
Going forward, MPA quoted PCCW as saying that it plans to drive
STB installs to approximately 500,000 and, at the same time, increase
its pay TV conversion rate from Y/E December 2004 levels of 53 per
cent.
|
