SATELLITE & CABLE: Huang to head new ESPN Star Sports office in Taiwan

<p>ESPN Star Sports (ESS) has set up a sales office in Taipei, headed </p><p>up by sales director Simon Huang. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Previously, the company's advertising sales were handled by the Star TV </p><p>ad sales department. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The restructure is part of ESS' strategy to offer a comprehensive </p><p>service to clients, dubbed "the 4 Os", which integrates on-air, </p><p>on-ground, online and off-air assets to innovative marketing </p><p>solutions. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"ESS is much more than a vehicle to deliver advertising branding </p><p>messages," said ESS senior VP, advertising and integrated sales, Chris </p><p>McDonald. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"We can also help clients drive sales, interact with customers, provide </p><p>sampling opportunities and generate positive relationship-building </p><p>activities in local communities." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mr Huang was previously with Star TV Taiwan, where he was involved with </p><p>various advertising sales activities for the ESPN and Star Sports </p><p>channels, as well as other Star channels. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Formed in 1996, ESS is a 50:50 joint venture between Star TV and ESPN </p><p>Inc. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>ESS recently scored with viewers in Taiwan last month, with the </p><p>broadcast of the World Professional Pool Championship 2000 (WPPC). </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The WPPC was the most-watched sports programme on all cable networks </p><p>across Taipei in July, thanks largely to the participation of a local </p><p>player, Chao Fong-Pong, who went on to win the championship. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Over the course of the tournament, a cumulative reach of more than 2.2 </p><p>million viewers was achieved. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Star Sports' Wimbledon coverage also proved successful, attracting a </p><p>cumulative viewership of 1.8 million in Taipei. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>As a result of both events, 63 to 83 per cent of all Taiwanese sports </p><p>viewers watched Star Sports or ESPN during primetime over the first 10 </p><p>days of July. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Audience profiling was found to be skewed towards upmarket professionals </p><p>and those with tertiary education. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>ESS managing director Rik Dovey attributed the ratings success to a </p><p>combination of market-specific programming, quality presentation and </p><p>comprehensive marketing and PR support. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>For the WPPC, ESPN broadcast live from the UK, with popular local </p><p>presenter Mats Hsu acting as commentator for the Mandarin-language </p><p>broadcasts for this and the Wimbledon events. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The ESS subscriber base grew by 33 per cent over the 12-month period </p><p>leading up to May this year, with total regional figures of 53,079,742 </p><p>for ESPN and 53,131,818 for Star Sports, according to data from </p><p>ACNielsen. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>