(21 June 2008 4:00 pm)

MUMBAI: MediaCorp, which is Singapore’s national free-to-air TV operator, and Singaporean pay TV operator Starhub have announced their latest collaboration.

Mediacorp’s High Definition (HD) TV channel - HD5 - will be carried on StarHub’s cable television platform in July 2008, signalling yet another step forward in the growth of HD TV services in the city state.

HD5, a simulcast of MediaCorp TV’s Channel 5, is the only free-to-air HD channel in Singapore. HD5 airs blockbuster movies, international drama series and local English productions.

HD5 will be available at no additional cost on Channel 300 to all StarHub Digital Cable customers who have an HD-ready TV set and StarHub’s HD set-top box. As at end March this year, there were about 508,000 households subscribing to StarHub Digital Cable.

Starhub CEO Terry Clontz says, “We are thrilled to be able to offer our cable TV customers easy access to HD5. StarHub was the first operator in Southeast Asia to offer commercial HDTV services. Our tagline for HD services from Day One was See more, Hear more, Feel more. Indeed, with education, lifestyle, sports and soon English entertainment in HD, our customers can truly immerse themselves in the superior audio and visual HD experience”.

Mediacorp CEO Lucas Chow says, “ With HD5 available to StarHub Digital Cable subscribers, viewers will now have more choices to watch HD5 across several platforms. I am also pleased to say that from 8 to 24 August 2008, HD5 will carry a daily telecast of 16 hours of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, in true HD, from 9am to 1am – live and recorded”.

Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) CEO Dr Christopher Chia says, “It has only been two years since we introduced HDTV into Singapore with StarHub and MediaCorp rolling out the first HDTV trials. We are very glad that the superior media experience made possible by HDTV services has become a way of life for many local viewers so quickly.

" This partnership between Starhub and Mediacorp is a milestone in the deployment of HDTV in Singapore and enables HDTV services to be enjoyed by more consumers in Singapore.”

With the upcoming introduction of HD5 on StarHub’s cable TV platform, the number of HD channels carried by Starhub will be increased to four. It offers National Geographic Channel HD, Discovery HD, HD Showcase and a HD channel dedicated to the Uefa Euro 2008.