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