A Starry Night
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News Release For Immediate Release A Starry Night 星光依旧灿烂 goes international and multiplatform in Singapore and China Catch the first subway drama in the trains, online, cable television, mobile downloads and outdoor digital screens Singapore, 24 July 2009 – Coming to a train or a train station near you, on cable television, the internet, bus shelter displays, outdoor digital screens and through mobile downloads is the first subway drama – A Starry Night 星光依旧灿烂 – which will broadcast simultaneously across nine cities in Singapore and China (Beijing, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Nanjing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Tianjin) from 27 July to 2 October 2009. Reaching out to audiences across an array of media platforms, the Mandarin 50-parter is a collaboration between the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA), Singapore media company Ufinity, and Chinese company Prime Time Entertainment. The series is supported by media platform owners SMRT Media, StarHub, The Straits Times RazorTV and At-Life Pte Ltd in Singapore; and Digital Media Group (DMG), Page 1 of 14 Youku.com and Sina.com in China; and produced by Singapore’s Threesixzero Productions. Singapore commuters will be able to enjoy the drama on more than 250 television displays in the train stations along the North-South, East-West and Circle lines. Following each daily broadcast of the two-and-a-half minute episodes in the train stations, the drama will be available on the internet (www.razortv.com.sg); cable TV (E City, StarHub Channel 56), mobile (StarHub Mobile Gee! portal), and 300 At-Life outdoor digital screens (located in QB House, McDonald’s, Delifrance Bistros and elevators in prime Central Business District buildings). In addition, My Paper will carry daily episodic synopsis for audiences to keep abreast of the drama’s developments. In China, the drama will be screened on television screens within the trains, train stations and bus shelter displays managed by DMG Media Group. As with Singapore, the daily episodes will be available on Youku.com, China’s top, fastest growing website; and Sina.com, the largest Chinese-language infotainment web portal. Together, the series will reach out to commuters on more than 1.4 million daily passenger trips in Singapore and 15 million commuters in China. The outdoor digital screens will reach out to 13.4 million viewers across Singapore while online portals will also reach out to at least 1.7 million viewers in Singapore and 9.8 million viewers in China. The drama tells of a love story between a Singapore singer (Singapore Project Superstar alumna Kelly Poon 潘嘉丽), and a Shanghai youth (Taiwanese actor Robert Fan 范植伟) who pursues his studies and music aspirations in Singapore. Through the former, the Singaporean sees her hometown with a fresh pair of eyes. Filmed mainly in Singapore, the series presents the best of Singapore’s picturesque locations and heritage as well as an international crew including director Lisa Chen 陈秀玉 (Taiwan), and casts Mei Xin 美心 (Singapore), Nathan Lee 李承铉 (Korea), Ivan Huang 黄阅 (China), Lawrence Wong 王冠逸 (Singapore), Johnny Jiang 姜育恆 (Taiwan) and Sky Wu 伍思凯 (Taiwan). The series’ soundtrack also features Singapore singers and songwriters. Plans are also in place to expand the drama into a feature film for theatrical release in late 2009. Page 2 of 14 Said Dr Christopher Chia, Chief Executive Officer, MDA: “ A Starry Night is a significant milestone as Singapore’s first subway drama which will also be repurposed for Singapore and Chinese audiences to enjoy on multiple media platforms. Besides increasing the avenues for Singapore-made content to be enjoyed, the series also showcases our many iconic locations and talents from production to music composition. Boosting this multiplatform project is the involvement of regional talents from China, Korea and Taiwan which may herald the way of things to come in the future.” Added Ms Teo Chew Hoon, Managing Director, SMRT Investments Pte Ltd: "SMRT Media is proud to launch the subway drama series A Starry Night on our platforms. With more than 1.4 million passenger trips daily, our network of 58 train stations is a good platform to reach out to the masses. We are delighted our commuters will be the first to catch the subway drama in Singapore, as SMRT's daily broadcast is an episode ahead of other channels. Through the wide range of media platforms on our extensive network, we will continue to enhance the travelling experience of commuters on the move." Said Mr Felix Soh, Digital Media Editor, Singapore Press Holdings: “Razor is proud to be part of this ground-breaking and innovative project. As the online portal, we provide an additional platform to enjoy the series. It promises to be a very successful endeavour. I myself watched the first few episodes of A Starry Night and I’m already addicted to it!” Said Mr Chan Kin Hung, Head of Products and Solutions, StarHub: "We are excited to partner MDA and Ufinity to experiment with the innovative 'bite-sized' drama serial A Starry Night , that is specially tailored to entertain busy individuals with each episode created to last only two-and-a-half minutes. We know that our customers lead active lifestyles and by offering this drama serial on our mobile and cable TV platforms, we make the content readily accessible to busy individuals. They can view the content at their convenience either on the mobile phone anywhere, anytime or catch several episodes at one go in the comfort of their home via cable TV." Said Mr Srikanth Ramachandran, Managing Director, At-Life Pte Ltd: “We are pleased to partner MDA and Ufinity in promoting the drama A Starry Night . As a first-of-its-kind in Singapore, A Starry Night provided us an opportunity to showcase our capabilities in Interactive Digital Outdoor Media. Most importantly, it has also provided advertisers Page 3 of 14 unique opportunity to wrap their messages around the content in a meaningful and measurable manner.” Please see: Annex A for broadcast information, synopsis, production details and stills. # # # For more information, please contact: Tessa Monteiro (Ms) John Ng Bu Soon (Mr) Manager, Communications Vice President, Marketing Media Development Authority Ufinity Pte Ltd Tel. : +65 9726 3152 Tel. : +65 9633 9878 Email : [email protected] Email : [email protected] Ivy Yap (Ms) Executive, Media and Marketing Communications Corporate Marketing and Communications SMRT Corporation Ltd Tel. : +65 9138 4299 Email : [email protected] Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) Formed in 2003, the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) plays a vital role in transforming Singapore into a Trusted Global Capital for New Asia Media. MDA spearheads initiatives that promote industry growth in film, television, radio, publishing, music, games, animation and Interactive Digital Media. At the same time, in ensuring clear and consistent regulatory policies and guidelines, MDA helps to foster a pro-business environment for industry players and increase media choices for consumers. For more information, visit www.mda.gov.sg and www.smf.sg. Ufinity With origins dating back to 1996, Ufinity is a leading solution provider in interactive media and convergence services with innovative solutions spanning across the Telecommunications/ISP, Finance, Government and Media industries. Recent projects include Singapore’s first Web TV Portal "The Straits Times Razor TV” (www.razortv.com.sg) and ST iPhone application; which became 'Top Free Applications' in Singapore AppStore. With offices in Singapore and China, Ufinity has customers from across Asia in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and the Philippines. For more information, please visit www.ufinity.com. Prime Time Entertainment Prime Time Entertainment Co., Ltd, the leading company that encompasses creativity, culture, fashion, entertainment and other resources was founded in 2007 with a niche focus on the Chinese market. Past projects spanned across movie production, new media production, concerts, PR and events, Artistes Management, Media and Publicity Planning, etc. To date, Prime Time Entertainment has successfully managed many high-profile projects which included the subway operas, “A Sunny Day” (2007) and “Dancing Without You” (2008). Page 4 of 14 SMRT Media SMRT Media is a subsidiary of SMRT Corporation Ltd, Singapore's premier multi-modal transport service provider offering integrated island-wide transport services. A leading transit advertising operator and consultancy provider, SMRT Media offers a wide range of media platforms at our stations, bus interchanges and on board our trains, buses and taxis. Working closely with our clients, SMRT Media delivers innovative and attention-grabbing campaigns that reinforce its appeal as a preferred outdoor advertising partner. Digital Media Group (DMG) DMG (Digital Media Group) is China’s leading operator of digital media inside subway systems. DMG delivers quality entertainment, information, advertising and its proprietary Passenger Information System (PIS) to over 15 million passengers a day through 16,452 digital screens. DMG’s network consists of 30 subway lines in nine cities including Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Nanjing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Tianjin as well as bus shelters in Shanghai. DMG is headquartered in Shanghai with its R&D activities based in Beijing. DMG group companies include Beijing Eastlong Technology Development Company Limited, Beijing Eastlong Advertising Company Limited and six DMG operating subsidiaries. For more information, please visit www.dmgtv.com. About Singapore Press Holdings Ltd Main board-listed Singapore Press Holdings Ltd (SPH) is Southeast Asia's leading media organisation, engaging minds and enriching lives across multiple languages and platforms. It publishes 17 newspaper titles in four languages and over 100 magazine titles in Singapore and the region. Every day, 2.9 million individuals or 79 percent of people above 15 years old, read one of SPH’s news publications. SPH’s internet editions of its major newspapers enjoy over 150 million page views with 9 million unique visitors each month.