NEWS
Rewind Networks' Hits Now debuts on 6 Feb on Singtel; live Grammy Awards kicks off new regional entertainment channel
05 January 2023
Singapore-based regional channels operator, Rewind Networks, launches 24-hour linear channel, Hits Now, on 6 February, adding current U.S. and U.K. premium series to its established entertainment portfolio of best-of classic U.S. TV shows and movies.
The new brand’s first affiliate deal is with Singapore’s Singtel, which will offer the channel on Singtel TV packs as well as on streaming platform Cast.
Hits Now, with a broad content profile ranging from reality and talent shows to premium drama, fills a gap created by the death of, among others, the old Fox/Star linear entertainment channels, and a shift in programming strategy by remaining linear programmers.
The channel kicks off with the live broadcast of “The 65th Annual Grammy Awards” at 8am on 6 February with an encore performance at 8pm. For years, the Grammys aired on Fox’s Star World/Foxlife channels. Star World transitioned to Fox Life in October 2017 before Disney shuttered Fox-branded channels – including Fox Crime and FX – at the end of September 2021.
Rewind Networks has also acquired new titles not available on other channels in Asia, including Paramount’s new “Fire Country”, legal drama “So Help Me Todd” and upcoming police procedural “Alert”, along with well-established franchises such as Fremantle’s “American Idol”, “Britain’s Got Talent”, “America’s Got Talent” and “Project Runway”.
The line up also includes long-running entertainment news show, “Entertainment Tonight”, game shows “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune”, “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?” and “Celebrity Family Feud”, and comedies including “The Goldbergs” and “Ghosts”.
Talking about the decision to add current entertainment to Rewind’s portfolio, CEO Avi Himatsinghani said Hits Now “fulfills a significant need gap in the entertainment space [with programming] that won't be available elsewhere… we believe it’s time to shift gears”.
Hits Now’s new/first-run schedule puts Rewind Networks in play against regional entertainment channels such as KC Global Media’s AXN and Rock Entertainme...
Singapore-based regional channels operator, Rewind Networks, launches 24-hour linear channel, Hits Now, on 6 February, adding current U.S. and U.K. premium series to its established entertainment portfolio of best-of classic U.S. TV shows and movies.
The new brand’s first affiliate deal is with Singapore’s Singtel, which will offer the channel on Singtel TV packs as well as on streaming platform Cast.
Hits Now, with a broad content profile ranging from reality and talent shows to premium drama, fills a gap created by the death of, among others, the old Fox/Star linear entertainment channels, and a shift in programming strategy by remaining linear programmers.
The channel kicks off with the live broadcast of “The 65th Annual Grammy Awards” at 8am on 6 February with an encore performance at 8pm. For years, the Grammys aired on Fox’s Star World/Foxlife channels. Star World transitioned to Fox Life in October 2017 before Disney shuttered Fox-branded channels – including Fox Crime and FX – at the end of September 2021.
Rewind Networks has also acquired new titles not available on other channels in Asia, including Paramount’s new “Fire Country”, legal drama “So Help Me Todd” and upcoming police procedural “Alert”, along with well-established franchises such as Fremantle’s “American Idol”, “Britain’s Got Talent”, “America’s Got Talent” and “Project Runway”.
The line up also includes long-running entertainment news show, “Entertainment Tonight”, game shows “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune”, “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?” and “Celebrity Family Feud”, and comedies including “The Goldbergs” and “Ghosts”.
Talking about the decision to add current entertainment to Rewind’s portfolio, CEO Avi Himatsinghani said Hits Now “fulfills a significant need gap in the entertainment space [with programming] that won't be available elsewhere… we believe it’s time to shift gears”.
Hits Now’s new/first-run schedule puts Rewind Networks in play against regional entertainment channels such as KC Global Media’s AXN and Rock Entertainment for the first time.
Sister channels – Hits and Hits Movies – are available in 14 countries in more than 24 million homes.
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