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SINGAPORE: At the Asia TV Forum today, the chairman of the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (FINAS) spoke about the Malaysian government’s "aggressive" efforts to expand the country’s content industry. Datuk Md Afendi Datuk Hamdan led a delegation of some 50 companies to the ATF. At a networking lunch today, …

SYDNEY/NEW YORK: The television continues to be the central hub for Australians’ screen activity, according to the latest Australian Multi-Screen Report, which shows that viewers in the country are watching around 100 hours per month of broadcast TV on a traditional set. The report, which combines data from OzTAM, Regional TAM …

MUMBAI: HBO Asia and Eros International are bringing two new pay-TV movie channels to India, HBO Defined and HBO Hits. The movie channels are free of advertising and bring together the best of Hollywood and Bollywood to "redefine the pay-TV movie space in India," a statement from the companies said. Further …

SYDNEY: SBS International has landed the distribution rights to the feature film Mabo and the hit series Classical Destination, both of which are being presented by the company this week in Singapore at the ATF. Starring Deberah Mailman and Jimi Bani, Mabo tells the story of Eddie "Koiki" Mabo, a Torres …

HONG KONG/BANGKOK: A trio of now TV branded channels are headed to Cable Thai Holding’s pay-TV platform as of February 2013. The Chinese-language now International, now Mango and now HaiRun will be available in Thailand to customers of Cable Thai Holding. now International features a number of cooking, lifestyle and travel …

SYDNEY: Foxtel is simplifying its movie service as of January 1, with the Foxtel Movies & Premium Drama package to replace the Showtime and Movie Network offerings. The package will include seven Foxtel movie channels and the dedicated premium drama channel showcase: the home of HBO as well as World …

SINGAPORE: This year’s Asia TV Forum and Market (ATF), which ended in Singapore on Friday, saw a record number of attendees and business deals. A total of 3,917 individuals from 52 countries were in attendance, marking a 14-percent increase from last year’s market. For the first time ever, the conference, which …

SINGAPORE: Cooking without Clothes, a romantic comedy from Singapore’s Ochre Pictures, has been purchased by Public Service Television (PTS) Taiwan. Starring Joseph Zhang and Ann Kok, Cooking without Clothes tells the story of an aspiring chef who leaves his day job to become the host of a cooking show. The …

SINGAPORE: BBC World News, BBC Entertainment and CBeebies are making their inaugural debut in Burma on the Forever Group’s pay-TV platform in January. All three channels, along with BBC World Service in Asia in English, will launch on January 1, 2013. This is the first carriage these channels have in Burma. The launch …

JAKARTA: CASBAA has wrapped up the final leg of its TV Upfronts tour of Southeast Asia, hosting an event in Jakarta, Indonesia last week. The attendees included representatives from Activate, Aegis Media, GroupM, Mediacom, Mindeshare, Starcom Media and clients such as Honda, L’Oréal Indonesia, Mayora Indah and Prima Food. BBC …