STAR Launches Channels in Japan

HONG KONG/TOKYO, November
1: STAR is launching five Indian channels, plus Fox News and Sky News, on
“World on Demand” (WoD), a new IPTV and community platform that serves
expatriate communities in Japan.

WoD is owned and operated
by The New Media Group (TNMG), which is using WoD and this new portfolio of
channels—Star Plus, Star One, Star News, Star Utsav, Vijay, Fox News and
Sky News—to provide popular media services to targeted user communities.
TNMG wants to offer them more choice and the freedom to access what they want
and the opportunity to interact with other WoD users. WoD users can watch the STAR
channels and communicate in real-time with others on the IPTV and community
platform.

“We are excited to expand
our channel offering to viewers in Japan through TNMG’s World on Demand IPTV
platform,” says Deane Sadler, STAR’s VP for advertising sales and distribution
for Japan. “By partnering with TNMG, East Asian communities in Japan can now
enjoy STAR’s innovative and record-breaking Indian programming that their
fellow countrymen see everyday back home. They can also catch top-rated news
programming from the U.S. and the U.K. on Fox News and Sky News respectively.”

“The right formula is to
be multiplatform in delivery, and to be community-oriented in marketing,” adds
Randy McGraw, the president of TNMG. “By delivering recognized brands to users
while offering the best interactive tools and most convenient billing options
available, users have both flexibility and a true community platform. At World On Demand, users can watch
Star News, for example, and chat or IM their groups in real-time while they
watch the latest breaking news from India, or send valuable information back to
STAR about the award-winning dramas on Star Plus. How powerful is that?”