CASBAA Convention Hails Strength of Pay-TV Market

HONG KONG, November 17: For the 1,700-plus attendees of the CASBAA
Convention in Hong Kong, a key theme was the continued growth of Asia's pay-TV
market in the face of the global economic downturn.

The event, organized by the Cable & Satellite Broadcasting
Association of Asia (CASBAA), was held in Hong Kong from October 28 to 31.
Speakers included Darren Childs, the managing
director of BBC Worldwide Channels; Ben Pyne, the president of global
distribution at Disney Media Networks; Dr. Abe Peled, the chairman and CEO of
NDS; Barry Diller, the chairman and CEO of InterActiveCorp; and Bill Roedy, the chairman and CEO of MTV
Networks International, among others. Other highlights included a panel with
representatives from pay-TV platforms in Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, South
Korea and Indonesia.

"We now have a customer base of 300 million pay-TV
connections across Asia Pacific creating a minimum annual turnover of more than
$20 billion year," said Simon Twiston Davies, the CEO of
CASBAA. "While the Asian TV ad spend may stumble in the coming months, we
see few signs of a slow down in subscription revenues."

—By Mansha Daswani