Singapore Telecommunications Limited, (SingTel) rolled out this last weekend the launch of its IPTV service. The new service, named mio TV, boasts a large range of video-on-demand titles with movies from major Hollywood movie studios including Sony Pictures Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox and Disney. mio TV allows customers to search for content by genre, title or actor's name.

mio TV's a la carte price plans allow customers to pay only for what they want to watch.

mio TV is one of the first to introduce on-demand channels to the Singapore market. This option allows viewers to choose from up to 25 selected movies for unlimited viewing for only $12 per month. That's right--movies, anytime, for as low as 50 cents each.

All mio TV customers will receive one free on demand 'movie-of-the month' - every single month. Starting 1 September 2007, anyone with a mio TV set-top box will be able to access this movie whenever they want, as many times as they want.

SingTel also inked a deal with Sony Pictures Television International that brings viewers Sony's upcoming slate of feature films at the same time as the DVD release and before they are seen anywhere else on TV. The deal also includes key titles from Sony's catalogue of feature films.

High Definition fans can also get an extensive range of HD content, ranging from blockbuster movies to high quality channels from SingTel's partner Mega Media, one of Asia's largest HD companies. Partnering with VOOM HD Networks, the channels will include a line-up of HD programming selected from VOOM"s 15 HD channels and the first made-in-Singapore HD channel - Sling HD. Viewers can look forward to HD content that includes documentaries, travel, music, arts, fashion and lifestyle programmes, among others. VOOM is the largest producer of HD content in the world.

In addition to MediaCorp's suite of free-to-air channels (Channels 5, 8, U, Channel Newsasia, Suria and Central), MediaCorp's anticipated HD5 will also be available on mio TV. This will be the first free-to-air HD channel in Singapore which subscribers with HD-ready displays can enjoy, as all mio TV Set-Top Boxes are HD-ready at no extra cost. Singapore is among the world's first to have a free-to-air HD channel carried on an IPTV platform.

Singaporeans will also receive two brand new BBC channels. Making its global debut, BBC Knowledge will feature documentaries and reality programmes that have never before been seen in Asia. BBC Lifestyle will also bring a wide range of exciting content ranging from food and health to fashion and design. To complete the suite of high quality entertainment to the family, BBC is also launching CBeebies - UK's number one kids channel - on mio TV.

Hong Kong movie buffs will love the Mei Ah TV channel, Singapore's first Cantonese movie channel that features Cantonese-only content between noon and midnight. Selected movies will premier simultaneously on mio TV and Hong Kong cinema screens.

Subscribers who opt for the Set-Top Box with DVR function can pause, rewind and record live TV programmes so that they no longer have to miss anything. The mio TV website allows subscribers to programme their recordings even when they are not at home, and an upcoming service that will enable them to do it via their mobile phones.

The interactive and flexible mio TV platform will open up even more opportunities for innovative services in the future. Subscribers will have much to look forward to, including the possibility of communicating using video conferencing and instant messaging, displaying photos and playing music from their PCs, all on the TV set.

SingTel will continue to invest in the development of innovative content and services for mio TV subscribers in Singapore.

Such content will engage consumers on multiple levels, for example, watching it on TV, blogging on PC, and interactive voting on mobile. This will definitely appeal to the engaged youths of today, who are already spreading their free time over all these multiple entertainment devices.

Said Dr Christopher Chia, Chief Executive Officer, the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA): "We believe the launch of mioTV will open up more channels for interactive content creation and media services, benefiting both consumers and industry with greater choice and content flexibility."