Alive falls victim to market downturn

HONG KONG: Multimedia travel and learning company Alive Networks has failed in its attempts to attract new funding and has ceased operations seven months after it was launched (media, May 11). The company had been talks with the Dah Sing Bank about a rescue package. But the discussions ended without any deal being struck. Co-founder and chief executive Ian Henry said the closure was due to the fact that "our ability to raise additional funds has been crippled by the current worldwide market downturn and lack of investor appetite for new and innovative businesses". A veteran broadcasting industry observer added: "Alive has been likened to a dotcom and investors are wary about putting money into a company like it in this economic climate." Alive was launched amid much fanfare at the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting' Association of Asia annual conference in Singapore. Using television, print, personal handheld devices and the internet, Alive's rationale was to sell travel-related products, with, for example, a viewer watching Alive's TV service then going online to book a customised travel package. Media directors said Alive suffered from the fact that it had little or no support from the travel industry. OMD China managing director Robert Fitzgerald said Alive's business proposition was solid since a similar operation in the UK, TV Travel Shop, is thriving. "Travel Shop is doing very well because the travel industry is pumping holiday packages through it. Alive didn't have this type of support and so it fell by the wayside." Alive was set up to leverage Asia's USdollars 500 billion travel industry. Its downfall has been attributed to a poor investment climate and a higher than expected burn rate, said to be more than USdollars 1 million a month.

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