StarHub Revamps Pay-TV Offerings

SINGAPORE, May 29:
Singaporean pay-TV operator StarHub will offer its customers a refreshed
packaging format that includes the addition of a new Basic
Group—Lifestyle—along with a new tier—Basic Upsize—and
four new channels.

The new Lifestyle Basic
Group, rolling out tomorrow, brings the total number of Basic Groups to seven.
Lifestyle will be comprised of six channels—Asian Food Channel, Discovery
Home & Health, Discovery Real Time, Discovery Science, E! Entertainment and
the Biography Channel.

A new tier, Basic Upsize,
will also roll out tomorrow. As part of the new tier, each of the seven Basic
Groups—Chinese Entertainment, Chinese Infotainment, Education,
Entertainment, Kids, Lifestyle and World News—will have a corresponding
Basic Upsize Group, allowing customers of the different Basic Groups to add
more channels of their favorite content genres to their subscription packages.
As the channels in the new groups
are mainly made up of channels presently in Family Plus—a collection of 21 channels of
various genres—and Chinese Plus II digital groups, StarHub will cease to
offer Family Plus and Chinese Plus II in their current forms, effective
immediately.

The introduction of the
Lifestyle Basic Group will give
consumers a wider selection at entry level, and also enables StarHub to package
the channels in different Basic and Basic Upsize genre groups that complement
one another. At StarHub’s pay-TV entry level, all customers must take on a
minimum of three Basic Groups.

Additionally, StarHub has
secured four new channels that will be part of the Basic and Basic Upsize
tiers. StarHub is currently offering a six-day free preview of AXN Beyond and
the Biography Channel through June 1. Viewers who desire continued availability
of these two new channels can add the Entertainment Basic Upsize Group (for AXN Beyond) and Lifestyle Basic Group (for the Biography Channel).
AXN Beyond offers a mix of content that includes genres such as sci-fi, mystery
and fantasy, horror and suspense, paranormal and supernatural, while the Biography
Channel gives exclusive peeks into the lives of public figures.

Following a deal with NBC
Universal’s Global Networks division, two more new channels will join StarHub’s
group of pay-TV channels in July: SCI FI and Universal Channel. These two
networks will be part of the Entertainment
Basic Upsize Group. More details on the introduction of SCI FI and Universal
Channel to StarHub Digital Cable will be announced at a later date.

Finally, starting July 1, Eurosportnews,
an existing channel offered as part of Family Plus, will be added to the Sports
Group at no additional cost. The channel will be accessible by all Sports Group
customers using the digital set-top box, HubStation or high-definition set-top
box. Eurosportnews is a sports news channel where fans can receive live
information on all the major sports with preview reports, post-event analyses,
results, standings and statistics. With the addition of Eurosportnews, the
number of channels in the Sports Group will be increased to ten.

“Customers want to be able
to choose what fits their lifestyle and passion,” said Patrick Lim, StarHub’s
head of cable TV services. “StarHub has continued to bring more quality content
choices and with the new additions announced today, we will have 159 channels
on our lineup. With so many choices, it has become important to keep it simple
so that customers can easily choose what is right for them and their family.
Our new Basic Group and Basic Upsize tiers will empower customers to Pick
It, Pack It, Watch It and build
their very own favorite packs.”

—By Irene Lew