SingTel Clinches Disney, Warner Bros., Fox Deals

SINGAPORE, July 23:
SingTel’s mio TV IPTV platform has clinched agreements with Disney-ABC
International Television, Twentieth Century Fox and Warner Bros. International
Television Distribution that bring a host of top American series to subscribers
as early as a day after their U.S. broadcast.

The new service, Season
Pass, launches this September following the start of the U.S. fall season. The
platform will deliver on demand, new seasons of shows such as Grey’s Anatomy, Lost,
Criminal Minds, Prison Break, Bones,
24, Ugly Betty, Without a Trace, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Supernatural and Samantha Who?,
among others, on a subscription basis.

“This agreement comes at a
great time as we are celebrating mio TV’s first anniversary,” said Allen Lew,
SingTel’s CEO. “Our subscribers will now have more exciting channels and
programs to look forward to. Consumers are getting increasingly demanding. They
want to get the latest TV hits ahead of anyone else and now, mio TV is filling
this gap with our latest offering. We see this as the next big wave of content
consumption in Singapore.”

The agreement with
Disney-ABC International Television covers seasons three of Ugly Betty and Brothers & Sisters; the fifth seasons of Grey’s Anatomy, Lost
and Desperate Housewives;
season two of Eli Stone; the
fourth season of Criminal Minds;
and season four of Kyle XY, as
well as Dirty Sexy Money, Private
Practice and Reaper, among several others.

“Singapore fans will be
the first in Asia to get their must-watch shows like Lost and Grey’s Anatomy so close to the U.S. air date,” said Rob Gilby,
the senior VP and managing director of Disney-ABC International Television
(Asia Pacific). “At Disney-ABC we understand that consumers want convenience
and flexibility to watch their favorite shows when and how they want. By
partnering with a new-media pioneer such as SingTel’s mio TV, we keep viewers
needs front-and-center.”

The alliance with Warner
Bros. International Television Distribution covers up to 60 titles, among them Chuck, One Tree Hill, Without a Trace, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Supernatural and Gossip Girl. “We
are thrilled to be in business with SingTel as it launches its mio TV service
to bring our series to Singapore viewers in this most unique SVOD environment,”
said Jeffrey R. Schlesinger, the president of Warner Bros. International
Television.

In the run up to the
launch of Season Pass, mio TV has unveiled Favourites-on-Demand, allowing
customers to access ten popular series between now and October 16, for S$9.99 a
month. Warner Bros. series to be featured in this service include Smallville, Nip/Tuck, Supernatural, The
Bachelor, Cold Case and Without a Trace, as well as the Singaporean premiere of Gossip
Girl.

Mio TV’s alliance with
Warner Bros. also covers Pushing Daisies, the highly anticipated new J.J. Abrams series Fringe and the upcoming final season of ER.

The Twentieth Century Fox,
deal, meanwhile, offers up season seven of 24, the fourth season of Prison Break, Joss Whedon’s upcoming Dollhouse,
as well as The Ex-List, Do
Not Disturb, Boston Legal, Bones
and Burn Notice.

"The availability of
Twentieth Century Fox’s top slate of TV series soon after the U.S. release is
an exciting new concept that has significant potential to engage viewers on a
whole new level,” said Jamie McCabe, the executive VP of worldwide PPV, VOD and
EST at the studio. “Now in our second year with SingTel, we are excited to
build on that success with mio TV’s Season Pass."

SingTel had 45,000 mio TV
customers as at the end of June.

—By Mansha Daswani