Partners shutter: FantasticOne ahead of rollout

<p>SINGAPORE: Asia's convergent media sector has suffered another blow </p><p>with the news that Singapore-based broadband entertainment company </p><p>FantasticOne has been shut down by its joint venture partners. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Singapore Press Holdings AsiaOne Ltd, the internet arm of the country's </p><p>largest media group, and Swiss software company, the Fantastic </p><p>Corporation decided to disband the media company seven months after its </p><p>set-up and ahead of the service's rollout. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>FantasticOne was formed in April 2000 to create content for </p><p>entertainment-focused broadband networks and it was due to rollout </p><p>commercially in September. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The company was headed by Paul France, former president of CNBC Asia, </p><p>and employed 20 people in Singapore and another five regionally. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>News of the closure came almost within weeks of the collapse of </p><p>multimedia travel and learning company Alive Networks and in the same </p><p>week as business-to-business media firm XS-Media (see media-i, p14 and </p><p>analysis, p24). </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>France said: "It's been very tough to raise money, and it's one of those </p><p>situations where the timing was a problem. It's disappointing for the </p><p>team." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>FantasticOne employed around 20 people. France added that the company </p><p>still had "substantial funds" at the time of the liquidation. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>