John Dykes returns to Singapore TV screens with a dynamic team of locally-based hosts
Football shows to be produced in Singapore with IMG as production partner
Tiger Beer and Samsung sign on as sponsors of Singtel’s broadcast of the Barclays Premier League
‘Once in a Lifetime’ opportunities for fans
Singapore, 1 June 2010 – Singtel mio TV today celebrated the launch of the Barclays Premier League (BPL) on mio TV and unveiled a range of exciting plans that includes engaging local productions, enhanced interactivity for mio TV viewers, and exciting competitions that promise fans a once in a lifetime experience.
“mio TV is now home to the three biggest football competitions in the world – the Barclays Premier League, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League,” said Mr Edward Ying, Chief, Content & Media Services, Singtel. “We have been working passionately to ensure Singapore football fans get to experience coverage of the competition that is second to none and are proud to share our plans today.”
The best in football production
The Barclays Premier League, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League will all be available together on a new channel called ‘mio Stadium’, which will replace ‘Football Frenzy’.
Singtel is also pleased to announce that IMG Sports Media has been engaged to be the production partner for mio Stadium. IMG has served as the Premier League’s international production partner since 1997 and is now setting up in Singapore. This will bring back the local flavour of football coverage, and also allow mio TV to leverage off IMG’s global experience and relationship with the Premier League to bring a global quality production to Singapore.
Mr Richard Scudamore, Premier League Chief Executive said, “Singtel's new sports channel, mio Stadium, will provide excellent coverage of the Barclays Premier League, as well as news, magazine programmes and classic Premier League matches to our many fans in Singapore.'
IMG will be working with mio TV to produce four new original programmes produced in Singapore for the BPL (see appended Fact Sheet), and fans looking for a Premier League fix can count on a fresh and exciting programme to tune in to every night of the week. The seven-day broadcast schedule will feature programming that caters to a broad range of viewers – from the newly converted supporter to the die-hard fan.
Mr Graham Fry, Managing Director, Worldwide Production, IMG Sports Media said, "IMG Sports Media are delighted to have the opportunity to be a part of Singtel's new Barclays Premier League experience. IMG has engaged a number of senior professionals in Singapore to handle all aspects of production which combined with the company's football expertise in London, we hope, will make a compelling product for football fans in Singapore.”
Interactivity and Graphics that make everything pop
Graphics and analyses will be enhanced with the use of three-dimensional illustrations known as ‘3D Telestration’, which allows viewers an in-depth analysis of particular plays.
mio Stadium will introduce a brand new feature that offers viewers an extra element of interactivity. Fans can now press the green button on their remote while watching the games to access statistics, facts, live scores and other information. They will be able to access the latest developments without any disruption to the viewing experience.
Introducing the hosts
Returning to local screens is the man who has been sorely missed by Singapore football fans - John Dykes, who will be back after a three-year absence from presenting the ‘live’ games. He will now present all the weekend ‘live’ games direct from IMG’s studios in London and play host to a pantheon of high-profile pundits and ex-players.
“Based on understanding the needs of Singapore fans and the importance that the presenter plays, we’ve brought back John Dykes, who is now based in the UK, to anchor our Premier League live shows,” said Mr Ying. “John is a credible and well-respected personality here in Singapore and we believe that bringing him and his team back will greatly enhance the BPL experience for fans.”
Patrick Kinghorn comes on board as mio Stadium’s anchor man after three successful years working for ESPN STAR Sports in London and throughout Asia. An established television and radio anchor, Patrick cut his broadcasting teeth covering sports on Channel Four in the UK before moving to talkSPORT, Britain's only National commercial sports radio station, where he hosted 'Drivetime', and the station's coverage of the 2006 World Cup from Germany.
Joining Patrick will be three other bright young locally-based hosts - Dominic Lau, Soo Kui Jien and Melody Chen - their diverse personalities and TV experience adding an extra edge to the team.
Once in a lifetime opportunities for fans
A weekly SMS competition co-sponsored by Tiger Beer will be launched in the first week of the season where two lucky fans will win a trip to England to watch a BPL game every single week. This means that over the course of the season, over 60 mio TV viewers will be sent on an all-expenses paid trip to the UK to experience the adrenaline of watching a BPL game in the flesh.
Singtel will also engage football fans in Singapore by ‘bringing the game to the fans and bringing fans to the game’. This will include monthly viewing parties to give a taste of that ‘big game’ feeling at venues around Singapore.
Throughout the course of the season, mio Stadium will run three ‘Once in a Lifetime’ competitions, the first to start in August and run through to November. The winner of this competition will win a trip to the UK to watch a BPL game and their trip will be filmed for broadcast on mio Stadium. As part of our broadcast team, winners will enjoy exclusive access to the BPL – attend a press conference, experience what goes on at a club’s training ground, visit the IMG production facility and catch John Dykes in his UK studio.
Each of the three ‘Once in a Lifetime’ competitions will target different elements of Singapore’s fan base to ensure as many people as possible have a chance to win the big prize. The first competition, for example, sees the mio Stadium team setting out on a mission to find Singapore’s best amateur football pundit or commentator.
Mr Ying said, “Bringing the Barclays Premier League to our customers is something we have been looking forward to since we won the rights, and our main focus is bringing fans right up close to the action.
With the exciting competitions that we have in store, viewing parties, great hosts and engaging up-to-the-minute content that is produced right here in Singapore, we look forward to bringing fans a truly unforgettable BPL experience.”
Tiger Beer and Samsung have come on board as sponsors of Singtel’s broadcast of the BPL on mio TV.
“Tiger has been involved in bringing world-class action from the BPL to fans here since 2002 and we are thrilled to continue our association with one of the world’s most popular leagues for another three years. As a large majority of our consumers are ardent fans of the game, we are pleased to partner an equally committed and supportive partner in Singtel, to bring new and more exciting football experiences to fans here,” said Michael Chin, General Manager for Asia Pacific Breweries in Singapore.
"Through our co-sponsorship of Singtel's broadcast of the Barclays Premier League on mio TV this year, we hope to bring to consumers a truly immersive viewing experience through various platforms, be it up-scaled to 3D on our latest 3D TVs, or on mobile phones with SUPER AMOLED screens," said Mr Moon Sung Hyun, Managing Director, Samsung Asia.
Mobile and Internet Options
Fans will be able to live the excitement of the BPL on their mobile phones through customisable content offerings, such as exclusive goal clips and match highlights, as well as exclusive news, goal alerts and other compelling sports content. BPL content applications will also be made available on selected smart phones to enhance the user experience.
The Football Frenzy website will get a facelift and move to www.miostadium.com in time for the start of the season, promising a whole new level of great new interactive features and an improved user experience.
The BPL package on mio TV does not include the Internet and mobile offering and prices for these will be announced later.
How to Subscribe
Customers can call 1800 737 1111 or purchase online at http://mio.singtel.com/miotv/signup_intro.asp or instantaneously via their mio TV Menu by pressing the <Menu> remote control button, and selecting <Buy>, <Channels>.
The BPL 2010/11 season is priced at $24.61 per month (including GST) and the BPL 2010/11 with ESPN STAR Sports Channels costs $26.75 per month, but customers will not be billed for their sports content until August 2010. Existing Football Frenzy customers can also upgrade their subscription in order to enjoy the offers.
Customers who sign up for the BPL 2010/11 or sports pack on top of a new 10Mbps and 15Mbps mio Home contract will receive an additional 10 per cent discount off all mio TV content (including the sports packs), as well as two months off their mio Home subscription.
About mio TV
mio TV is the innovative digital pay TV service offering from Singtel. Launched in July 2007, the service offers customers value and full flexibility to watch what they want, when they want. Within three years, mio TV has signed up over 200,000 customers.
Currently, mio TV offers a total of 56 channels, of which 21 are on-demand channels. Content on mio TV covers a wide range of genres as well as Singapore’s largest range of video-on-demand titles and High Definition content.
Singtel is Asia’s leading communications group providing a portfolio of services including voice and data services over fixed, wireless, pay TV and internet platforms.
Together with its regional partners, it serves over 293 million mobile customers in eight markets. For more information, visit www.singtel.com/miotv.
Fact Sheet
Made-in-Singapore shows on mio Stadium
IMG Sports Media has been commissioned to be the production partner for mio Stadium and will produce four engaging made-in-Singapore programmes based around the Barclays Premier League.
TIGER ‘GOALS ON SUNDAY’
Time: Sunday Morning show (11.00-12.00)
Hosts: Dominic Lau and Melody Chen
This one-hour review show gives viewers the chance to see all the action and incidents they may have missed on Saturday night. Dominic and his pundits review every game, every goal and all the breaking news that develop overnight.
The show features extended highlights from every game and these will be analysed in depth by Singapore-based pundits such as Abbas Saad and R Sasikumar. Also on the show will be the stats and facts around each game and results and news from the other major leagues around the world such as the Italian, Spanish and German Leagues.
TIGER ‘PASSPORT TO THE PREMIER’
Time: Monday (22:00-23:00)
Host: Patrick Kinghorn and Soo Kui Jien
This is the BPL show for the fans and we want to hear their voices. The show’s hosts invite viewers to call, text, write and tweet their opinions about the week’s biggest Premier League stories, a format which guarantees an exciting and colourful start to the week.
Want more? How about a weekly all expenses paid trip to London to catch a top BPL match? The capital sees the week’s biggest games – be it Chelsea against Manchester United or Arsenal versus Liverpool. This is the show where fans can quite literally pack their ‘passport to the premier’ as our hosts question the lucky finalists who have made it to the studio. We will test the public’s BPL knowledge to the max as we - for the first time ever - bring a quiz show element to the Barclays Premier League.
‘THE GOAL MOUTH’
Time: Wednesday (22.00-23.00)
Host: Patrick Kinghorn
Ever wondered what the pundits really think? Catch ‘The Goal Mouth’ for a no-holds-barred debate about the Barclay Premier League’s burning issues. Get on board with the midweek mayhem as Patrick and his team bring you up to date with the matches.
Viewers who missed the mid-week games can tune in to see it all on ‘The Goal Mouth’, along with news from the heart of the action as the team are joined by ex-BPL players ‘live’ via satellite from the UK as they give us their unique take on the biggest league in the world!
‘The Goal Mouth’ also offers viewers the chance to win possibly the best BPL prize ever – they and their family could join the mio TV production team onsite at the UK’s biggest games. On match day itself, the winner will be treated to a truly ‘once in a lifetime’ experience as we take them behind the scenes of the BPL where they get the chance to sit in on a press conference, visit the training ground, meet John Dykes, drop in on the UK broadcast studios, and most importantly, relive the experience by appearing live on ‘The Goal Mouth’!
SCORE!
Time: Friday Night Show (22:00-23:00)
Host: Patrick Kinghorn
This weekend preview show launches the viewer straight into the BPL weekend by bringing him up to date with all the latest news regarding injuries, suspensions and team selection.
The show will also include all the latest from the UK press conferences ahead of the weekend games, as well as all the trends and statistics that are relevant to each game.
Even better, fans get the inside information on who’s hot and who’s not as UK-based gaming experts provide an insight into the weekend’s hottest predictions, giving mio Stadium viewers all the information they need to ponder and predict the outcomes of these games before the big kick off.
* Details subject to changes
