Hong Kong, November 9, 2005 – National Geographic Channel (NGC) won four awards -two awards and two Certificates of Merit at the Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) Pay TV Awards 2005 held in Hong Kong on October 28, 2005. It was by far the most awarded Pay TV channel at the awards this year. ShowReal Asia 2 sponsored by Sony won the Best Use of Sponsorship category and the DHL campaign on the Channel won the Best Business / Corporate Campaign category. Certificates of Merit were won by HP Portraits of Colours Contest / Vignettes for Best Technology Campaign and Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) Uniquely Singapore for Best Travel & Tourism Campaign.

CASBAA received more than 130 entries for the eight awards categories in 2005. “We are delighted with both the enthusiastic response and the quality of the entries this year. Having demonstrated tremendous growth, Asia Pacific’s US$3 billion Pay TV advertising market continues to be promising and to offer, clients, the advertising industry and Pay TV channels colossal opportunities for the years to come,” said Marcel Fenez, Chairman of CASBAA.

ShowReal Asia 2 which is a series of feature documentaries produced by Singapore based and other Asian filmmakers/producers through a collaboration between National Geographic Channels International and the Singapore Economic Development Board to cultivate Asian filmmaking talents. Sony, being at the forefront of digital technology, came in as a natural partner as the presenting sponsor of the series. The integrated marketing activities included on-air, online and on-ground components and gained extensive publicity and media coverage.

“As leaders in the consumer digital era, we see the sponsorship of ShowReal Asia on the National Geographic Channel as a great fit with Sony's mission of being at the forefront of the Sony DVD World - Shoot, Burn and Share culture. We are honored to be part of this collaboration to cultivate Asia’s filmmaking talents in producing award winning documentaries” says Charlotte Low, Assistant Manager, Marketing Communication Division, Sony Electronics Asia Pacific.

For DHL, National Geographic Channel provided a unique solution to enhance DHL’s campaign message of how they make ‘Importing’ easier, faster and reliable for today’s businesses. National Geographic Channel created a series of short 20 second vignettes focusing on the history of importing goods still in use today, drawing a comparison with ancient methods of travel/delivery, and how it has changed from the past to present. The vignettes demonstrate that “DHL = Import”.

Jacqueline Cheong, Regional Brand and Marketing Communications Manager, DHL Asia Pacific said “We are happy to work with the medium to come up with the best possible way to translate our campaign message. In this campaign, we tapped into NGC’s wealth of knowledge on history and the present, to come up with past and present messages on “Importing”. DHL “Import Export” is a service which provides several benefits to customers, whilst we employed the print media to explain each benefit, we also needed to address the over-arching message that customers can use DHL to “import” their goods. To do this effectively meant working with the channel and genre within that channel, to best get our message across.”

National Geographic Channel and HP brought to life the "Portraits of Colour" campaign with a series of on-air vignettes, featuring the travels and photographs of National Geographic photographer Michael Yamashita which were combined with on-ground photo exhibitions shown across the Asia Pacific and supported by an online contest. Yamashita's photographs were featured in the various vignettes created by NGC – each focused on a particular colour, was brought to life using the HP Photosmart 8750 photo printer.

“Through leveraging National Geographic Channel’s rich heritage of professional quality visuals and its world-renowned photographers such as Michael Yamashita, HP have been able to effectively reach out and communicate with target audiences across 14 countries,” said Han Kong Leong, Vice President of HP Consumer Imaging and Printing, Asia Pacific and Japan. “In partnership with National Geographic Channel, HP offers professional photographers, such as Michael, as well as photo enthusiasts, simple and rewarding digital photography experiences with products that promise to deliver superior photo quality, ease-of-use and affordability.”

The media solution provided by National Geographic Channel to Singapore Tourism Board for their ‘Uniquely Singapore’ brand campaign involved 3 world renowned national Geographic photographers going on assignment to capture on film ‘A Uniquely Singapore’ experience promoting unique aspects of the city’s food, culture, arts, architecture, history and nature. Each photographer picked a topic of interest and their experiences were translated into 30 second vignettes on air National Geographic Channel and advertorials on National Geographic Magazine.

“I am pleased with the success of the Singapore Tourism Board’s Uniquely Singapore campaign on National Geographic Channel (NGC). The concept of having world class photographers share their unique Singapore moments with audiences worldwide was at once refreshing and personal. Each advertisement was a compelling showcase of our unique blend of the modern world and rich cultures; and the enriching experiences they provide Singapore's visitors.” said Bill Ang, Director Brand Management, Singapore Tourism Board.

He adds ”We are happy to have partnered with NGC on this exciting campaign and congratulate them on their endeavor to provide a gamut of innovative and creative media solutions for its advertising partners.”

Avinash Himatsinghani, Vice President, Advertising Sales and Partnerships, National Geographic Channel Asia says “National Geographic Channel has evolved from just another regular media option to a key player in building partnerships with regional advertisers across the Asia Pacific and globally. We are dedicated to offer innovative, creative and integrated solutions for clients seeking an effective communication platform. We are delighted that four of our advertising partner campaigns have been recognized at CASBAA. Sony, DHL, HP and STB have been key partners for the channel amongst others and we thank them and their agencies for their continued support and faith in the channel performance and our capabilities. The awards won at CASBAA are a testament to the innovation, creativity and the relevance of the media solutions that we deliver for our partners.“

"The Awards clearly demonstrate the flexibility and creativity of the Asia Pacific's leading pay-TV networks and set a new benchmark for our industry." said Simon Twiston Davies, CEO of CASBAA.

Together with the four awards won at CASBAA, National Geographic Channel Asia has received a total of 13 awards including six Golds and three Silvers at PROMAX & BDA in New York in June this year.

About CASBAA
The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia is an industry-based advocacy group dedicated to the promotion of multi-channel TV via cable, satellite, broadband and wireless video networks across the Asia-Pacific. CASBAA represents some 110 Asia-based corporations, which in turn serve more than three billion people. Members include ABC Asia Pacific, ABN AMRO, AETN, AsiaSat, Astro, Bloomberg Television, China Entertainment Television, CSG Systems, Discovery Networks Asia, EMC, HBO Asia, IBM, MTV Networks Asia Pacific, Nokia, now Broadband TV, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Sony Pictures Television International, STAR Group, Sun Microsystems, Turner International Asia Pacific, UBC, Walt Disney Television International, Zone Vision, AGB Nielsen, Anytime, Arianespace, Asian Food Channel, BBC World, Celestial Movies, CSM, E!, ESPN Star Sports, Harmonic, Irdeto, MEASAT, National Geographic, Nagravision, Tom Group, PanAmSat, Paul Weiss, Scientific Atlanta, Synovate and Time Warner.

About National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channels International (NGCI) invites viewers to re-think the way they see television - and the world - with smart, innovative programming. A business enterprise owned by National Geographic Television & Film (NGT&F), FOX Entertainment Group and the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), NGCI contributes to the National Geographic Society's commitment to exploration, conservation and education.
Globally, National Geographic Channel (including NGC U.S. which is a joint venture of NGT&F and Fox Cable Networks Group) is available in over 260 million homes (including day-part households) in 160 countries and 27 languages.

For further information, please contact:

National Geographic Channel
Jenny Yip
Tel: (852) 2621-8607
Fax: (852) 2621-8822