Oscars to Air Across Asia Pacific

HONG KONG: Disney Media Distribution has signed broadcast deals to bring the 83rd Academy Awards to 28 territories across the Asia Pacific.

The event, which honors outstanding achievements in film for 2010, is set to air on February 27, with co-hosts James Franco and Anne Hathaway. The Oscars have been licensed to free-TV channels Channel Nine (Australia), ABS-CBN (Philippines), CCTV6 (China), TVB (Hong Kong), Fiji TV (Fiji), and pay TV platforms Fox International Channels (India, SE Asia and Taiwan), The Movie Network (Australia), Sky Network (New Zealand), CJ/OCN (Korea),  Velvet (Philippines) and True Visions (Thailand). Hanoi TV (Vietnam) and Mediacorp (Singapore) will be airing the 90-minute international version of the Oscars.

This year, Fox International Channels, CCTV6 and Channel Nine will feature red-carpet coverage, bringing live interviews with the stars and other news direct from Hollywood.

“The suspense and glamor of the Academy Awards appeals to a wide range of viewers across the region, reflecting a universal love of movies,” said Amit Malhotra, the VP of program distribution for the media distribution sector at The Walt Disney Company (Asia Pacific).  “We are extremely proud to have the biggest night in entertainment as part of our programming portfolio and to work with partners who share our passion for celebrating this pre-eminent event in the movie industry calendar.”