Dated: 30 October 2003
The Media Development Authority (MDA) has awarded a six-month Video-on-Demand (VOD) Trial Service Licence to Cyber Business Network (Singapore) Pte Ltd. The licence allows the company to conduct trial VOD services.
CBN plans to provide movies, dramas and online games through the Internet. It plans to offer its trial services on a pay-per-view basis, and users can view these contents from the website http://cstar.tv. The company expects the trial to attract more than 8,000 Internet users.
Mr Lim Hock Chuan, Chief Executive Officer of MDA, said, "We are excited to see companies coming forward to test new media products and services. This adds vibrancy to our media scene. We will continue to facilitate such trials of innovative products and services. If these initiatives take off, we can expect to see the creation of jobs and more media choices for the public. This will bring us a step closer towards our Media 21 vision of developing Singapore into a vibrant media city where the industry can thrive and the public can enjoy a whole slew of exciting products and services."
Ms Caroline Ee-Lee, Chief Operating Officer of CBN, said, "MDA’s facilitative approach through granting us a trial VOD licence has made CBN’s VOD project possible. We have planned and worked on this project for a long time and our aim is to bring interactive entertainment content to households at a low cost. At the same time, we also provide a cost effective electronic platform to any content owner who wish to test and showcase their productions like movies, television movies, television drama series, digital movies or entertainment programmes to netters. We are very excited about this new venture that CBN is embarking on."
There are currently three VOD service licensees, they are Singapore Telecommunications Ltd, M2b.com Pte Ltd, and Intertainer (Asia) Pte Ltd.
.webp)