Fox International Channels (FIC) plans to launch a cloud service for its subscribers in Taiwan by early next year that will allow users to watch FIC shows at their convenience.
The cloud service, called “Fox Play,” will store movies, documentaries and television series broadcast by FIC for up to one month so that subscribers can download the shows via apps on their laptops, cellphones or other electronic devices, Mel Chen, senior vice president at FIC’s Taiwan office, said on Tuesday.
So far, the broadcaster has reached agreements with the providers of two local platforms, one of which is Chunghwa Telecom’s multimedia-on-demand (MOD), to extend the cloud service to their subscribers, he said.
He said the service will be launched either at the end of this year or at the beginning of next year.
FIC will become the first digital television channel operator in Taiwan to provide this type of service, FIC’s senior executive publicist Jenny Pan said.
Although FIC is a foreign operator, “we see ourselves as a local business,” said Ward Platt, president of FIC’s Asia-Pacific and Middle East division.
The network also tries to live up to “the very high standards set by local channels,” he added.
Chen said the network, which extends to 35 countries, uses its international experience to get an idea of what its Taiwanese and global viewers like to watch.
Drawing on its experience in broadcasting the popular reality cooking show MasterChef Australia and US musical comedy-drama series Glee, FIC is working on producing a cooking show and a musical drama set in Taiwan, he said.
The network said it holds a 10 percent share of Taiwan’s paid TV viewership market and offers 24 channels to its viewers, 15 of which are high-definition.
In the Taiwanese market, FIC has a higher percentage of viewers in the 15-year-old to 44-year-old age group than some local channel operators, which is an advantage because people in that age bracket have stronger consumption, Chen said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it