The Weekly News Update is a weekly roundup of business news from around the Asia-Pacific region, covering Fusion Consulting's core industry practices: chemicals, consumer & retail, financial services, industrial & logistics, information & communication technology, life science and media & leisure. If you have colleagues or friends who may be interested in subscribing, please forward this email to them and copy knowledge@fusionc.com.     2008 Asia-Pacific pay-TV operators survey, 4th edition   Programmers, find out what the major cable, satellite and IPTV platforms in Asia  and Australia think about your channels and support, their programming plans and  their hopes and fears for the future of the industry. This survey targets  programming managers at 50 major carriers in 16 countries across the region,  focusing on the largest players in each country. In cooperation with ContentAsia.  Request more information. Media & leisure

China - MediaCorp to buy 23% stake in Chinese outdoor advertising firm Source: Channel NewsAsia, 15 February 2008 Singapore's MediaCorp is buying a 22.7% stake in Dahe Media, making its equity foray into Chinese media. The move makes MediaCorp the largest single shareholder in the mainland's sixth biggest advertising company. China's advertising market is expected to hit a whopping US$20 billion in 2008, a 30% jump from a year ago, thanks to aggressive marketing and higher rates with the upcoming Beijing Olympics. While television might get the lion's share, outdoor media, such as billboards, account for 17% of the market. MediaCorp is keen to buy into a piece of this growing pie, and Dahe Media offers a one-stop shop for billboard advertising in China. India - Disney ups stake in UTV Source: The Telegraph, 18 February 2008 The Walt Disney has increased its stake in Indian TV and movie content firm UTV Software Communications to 32.1% from 14.9%. At the same time, Walt Disney will also acquire a 15% stake in group company UTV Global Broadcasting Limited. This partnership across movies, TV content, interactive and broadcasting endorses Disney's leadership position in India and Southeast Asia. This deal comes less than a month after NBC Universal inked a deal with Indian broadcaster New Delhi Television for a 26% stake in the firm's overseas unit that offers entertainment and lifestyle channels. Many experts estimate that the Indian market will be Asia's most lucrative TV market by 2015. Malaysia - Astro bids for UK's Virgin Radio Source: The Edge Daily, 18 February 2008 Malaysian pay-TV operator Astro All Asia Networks has joined the bidding to buy radio broadcaster Virgin Radio from British media group SMG. Astro is competing with three British bidders for Virgin Radio: Global Radio, Absolute Radio and UTV Media. Given the limited domestic market size, Astro has ventured to Indonesia, India and China to enhance its earnings. But the United Kingdom is a mature market with several hundreds of players in the media industry, including 837 radio stations, 513 television channels, 1,596 newspapers, and 1,930 magazines. Analysts expect a long gestation period before any meaningful impact can be seen. View an example of our experience in this industry. Back to list of articles.  Visit our website to sign up for free intelligence on Asian markets.

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