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NEW DELHI: ESPN STAR Sports (ESS) has renewed its deal for the exclusive broadcast rights to all Football Association (FA) Cup matches for the next six years for the South Asian region.  The multiplatform pact covers TV, Internet and mobile until 2018 for territories such as India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, …

HONG KONG: CASBAA continues to build out its membership base with several new additions, including VTC from Vietnam.  VTC Digital Television has 20 self-produced channels as well as a bouquet of international services. Also joining the CASBAA membership roster is Sky Net of Myanmar, a direct-to-home and multiplay service system provider.  …

SINGAPORE: MP & Silva has signed a pact with SBS Australia to distribute the media rights for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil in all territories in Oceania, excluding New Zealand.  The package includes all 64 live matches and ceremonies of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil as well as …

HONG KONG: The number of multichannel in homes in the Asia Pacific now stands at 446 million, reflecting a 57-percent penetration, CASBAA announced as its Convention kicked off in Hong Kong. "The Asia Pacific remains a global engine room for the multichannel TV sector," said Simon Twiston Davies, the CEO of …

HONG KONG: Celestial Tiger Entertainment—the joint venture between Lionsgate, Saban Capital Group and Celestial Pictures—has inked new carriage deals for its slate of channels in Cambodia, the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore. In Cambodia, cable operator PPCTV will add Celestial Classic Movies to its lineup, as will DTT provider One TV. In Singapore, …

SYDNEY: Ten Network Holdings has signed a new and unconditional agreement to sell Eye Corp. to Outdoor Media Operations.  The deal sees Eye’s operations in Australia, New Zealand, the U.K., the U.S. and Indonesia under new ownership. Outdoor Media Operations, which is controlled by Champ Private Equity, is the owner …

HONG KONG: Simon Twiston Davies, who is stepping down as CEO of CASBAA as of December 31, has been honored with the annual CASBAA Chairman’s Award at the final day of the Convention in Hong Kong.  The new CEO, Christopher Slaughter, steps into the role at the start of 2013. …

MELBOURNE: Shareholders of Consolidated Media Holdings (CMH) have approved News Corporation’s AUS$1.94 billion ($2.01 billion) takeover of the company, giving it an increased presence in the Australian pay-TV market.  The deal sees News Corp. doubling its stake in Foxtel, to 50 percent. It also takes on full ownership of Fox …

SINGAPORE: Cable platform StarHub is set to roll out five new on-demand services, delivering programming from the National Geographic Channel, STAR World, FOX Crime, FOX and FX brands in Asia. As of November 9, StarHub customers will have access to National Geographic Play, STAR World Play, FOXCRIME Play, FOX Play and FX Play, …

HONG KONG: LI TV Holdings has scored three new carriage deals for Life Inspired (Li), bringing the channel to TVB Pay Vision in Hong Kong as well as Topas TV and max3 in Indonesia.  The channel is now available within the basic pack of TVB Pay. On Topas TV, Li …