HONG KONG -- Yes Television has pacted with Malaysian production company Network Guidance to launch its interactive television service, Fine TV, in the territory in the next few months.
Network Guidance has licensed Yes' technology platform for five years, with payment tied to subscriber uptake. It will use Yes Media services to help secure content.
Fine TV will combine video-on-demand, high speed Internet access and broadcast television. It will be delivered into homes via ADSL lines and a set-top box. "I am confident our solutions will enable Fine TV to build a successful business by capturing a substantial proportion of the pay TV market," says Thomas Kressner, chairman and CEO of Yes Television.
That may be optimistic. Measat Broadcast's satcaster Astro has been around for six years and has held a monopoly on pay TV in Malaysia since rival Mega TV closed in 2001.
Astro boasts 850,000 subscribers for its 40 channels, which include major international offerings like CNN, BBC and Star, as well as extensive local programming. It also plans to add interactive services.
Fine TV will face tough competition.
"The critical thing is what core content they have," says Vivek Couto, analyst with Media Partners Asia. "All these value-added services are great, but they will only work if they've got strong content in place."
He points out that Yes' interactive television service in Hong Kong, which soft-launched in February, has not taken off.
Yes says head-to-head competition with Astro is not the idea. "In fact there's been talk about buying some of Astro's programming," says spokesman Nigel Harper. "But there is a desire to do niche programming."
Contact the Variety newsroom at
news@variety.com