6 October 2014: 6+The number of new and returning series headed for Sony’s new Sony Channel in Asia. First and exclusive headliners are How to Get Away with Murder, Madam Secretary, Manhattan Love Story and Jane the Virgin, along with returning seasons of The Night Shift and Nashville. The launch schedule will also include Cupcake Wars and The Millionaire Matchmaker. Sony Channel replaces SET (not to be confused with Sony India’s totally different channel of the same name, which is a regional winner) in Southeast Asia at 7am on 15 October.48 hoursThe rights window on ITV Choice’s flagship series, I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, in Asia. The 20-part series premieres on Tuesday, 18 Nov, at 7pm in Indonesia, 8.30pm in Thailand and Korea, 9.30pm in Taiwan and 10.30pm in Malaysia and Korea.$523bThe rapid development of digital advertising technology will help the global ad market grow 5.3% in 2014, up from 3.9% in 2013, ZenithOptimedia says. Growth will remain strong over the next two years, at 5.3% in 2015 and rising to 5.9% in 2016. Global adspend will reach US$523 billion this year. Internet advertising is by far the fastest-growing medium, forecast to expand by 17.1% this year as improving digital ad technology makes internet advertising cheaper and more effective. ZenithOptimedia expects internet advertising to command 23.6% of global ad budgets this year, exceeding the combined share of newspapers and magazines (22.7%) for the first time.1stScripps Networks Interactive’s HGTV appears in Asia for the first time in December. The debut carriage deal is with Singapore’s StarHub. No details on packs or pricing yet. This is the first time a 24/7 HGTV channel has travelled outside of North America. The launch schedule in Asia includes Property Brothers, Kitchen Cousins and The High Low Project. Channel bosses say a local version of Extreme Homes has been locked in for the Asia feed, followed by a local edition of I Love This...4.2 million The total number of Astro subscribers in Malaysia at the end of July, including 678,000 free subscribers through the NJOI platform. Astro’s newest initiative is day and date releases (via linear and on-demand) of seven U.S. titles – The Walking Dead season 5, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D season 2, Scandal season 4, Revenge season 4, The Blacklist season 2, Boardwalk Empire season 5 and Resurrection season 2.$37bThe size of India's entertainment and media industry by 2018. This represents 15% growth a year between 2103 and 2018. Pricewater-houseCoopers’ India Entertainment & Media Outlook 2014 says ad revenue is expected to grow at 13% (CAGR) and will exceed Rs600 billion/US$9.8 billion in 2018 from Rs350 billion/US$5.7 billion in 2013. Internet access has overtaken the print segment as the second-largest segment contributing to the over- all pie of entertainment and media sector revenues. Internet access and internet advertising have been the fastest growing segments with annual growth rates of 47% for inter- net access and 26% for internet advertising.2 The number of extra years India’s government has given for the final phase of the country’s digital cable roll out. The Info and Broadcasting Ministry’s new timetable extends the phase-three deadline to end Dec 2015. The revised phase-four deadline is end Dec 2016. Domestic manufacturers are being pushed to meet the massive set-top box demand for the final phases. Insiders say regulators would much rather go local than flood the country with imported boxes.ContentAsia Issue Four