Meeting The Winners of Amazing Race Asia 4

Thanks so much to Azrael for inviting me and to Joyce of PR Asia for organizing the lovely lunch setting at Basix in Dusit Hotel.

If you don’t know yet, the winners of the Amazing Race Asia 4 is non other than our own Philippine representatives – Richard Hardin and Richard Herrera.

Bloggers and the media were there to interview and ask questions.  It was really inspiring how both of them worked together smoothly in the entire show.

photo credits to Azrael

I won some Lee GCs yaye! and photo ops with Richard Hardin.  The other Richard couldn’t make it ‘coz he went home to his province

Pinoy Pride!

Also, congratulations to aXN for being the number 1 International Channel in Southeast Asia.

AXN Wraps Up 2010 as THE No. 1 International Channel in Southeast Asia

For many years now, AXN has been claiming the top position as Southeast Asia’s leading international channel.  Especially in the key markets of Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines, viewers have embraced AXN as one of their favourite entertainment destinations.  As the year 2010 is coming to an end, AXN once again cements its position as Southeast Asia’s number one international channel, averaging 10.2 million viewers every month to take the top spot in results tabulated from January to October 2010.

Malaysia, in particular, is a star performer.  Not only is AXN the top international network, it is also the most-watched channel on Astro, leading in average monthly viewer reach at 5.9million.  Amongst English channels, AXN beats the next closest competitor in primetime ratings by 24%, and out of the 14 first-run shows that AXN aired in 2010, 10 premiered at the top of the ratings chart.

Likewise, AXN is ahead of all English pay-TV channels in Singapore in primetime ratings among cable 15+; while in the ultra-competitive market of Philippines where all channels are offered on the basic tier, AXN leads in the English general entertainment category among cable 16+ audience.

Says Mr. Ricky Ow, Senior Vice President and General Manager, SPE Networks – Asia, “Our report card for the first 10 months shows some really great result for the year as a whole. Especially with superb ratings from two key shows in the last quarter – The Amazing Race Asia and Hawaii Five-0 – it is pretty much a foregone conclusion that AXN will finish strongly as Southeast Asia’s top English channel for 2010.”

Indeed, viewers can expect an exhilarating run to the finish-line in the fourth quarter, starting with a chart-topping performance from the highly-anticipated premiere of the re-imagined Hawaii Five-0 that airs Sundays 9PM on AXN.  The elite team of crime-fighters led by Alex O’Loughlin as Steve McGarrett in the reboot of the TV classic certainly mesmerized viewers as the original series did 42 years ago, passing the ratings test with flying colours.  Asia’s very own reality production, The Amazing Race Asia, is another favourite that never fails to thrill viewers across the region.  Here is how each market fared with these two marquee shows so far:

In Singapore, Hawaii Five-0 captured the hearts of both young and old viewers, winning the timeslot during its premiere on 14 November among all English channels on StarHub, and beating the next closest competitor by 20%. Subsequently, episode two on 16 November rated higher and even broke the record to become the top programme of the year… not just on AXN, but amongst all premiering English drama series in 2010 on StarHub!

In Malaysia, the Hawaii Five-0 premiere ratings surpassed all English pay-TV networks during the timeslot, out-performing even the Formula 1 final race which aired at the same time.  The Amazing Race Asia also put in some stellar performances since the latest season premiere in September.  Its season-to-date ratings is ahead of the next highest-rated English channel by a whopping 175%!

With Team Philippines led by Richard Hardin and Richard Herrera winning this season of The Amazing Race Asia, this AXN Original Production won in its timeslot among all international ad-supported channels, and saw an increase of 71% in average ratings over the previous season.

Ow continues, “I would like to sincerely thank our viewers, as well as our cable partners and sponsors, for all the support we have received in making AXN the number one international channel in Southeast Asia. It is precisely because of their great support, that we have been able to expand our AXN family of channels, which today includes Animax, AXN Beyond, Sony Entertainment Television, as well as ONE.  With the expanded suite of channels, we will be able to cater to even more viewers, provide greater variety and deliver a diverse range of programmes to suit the whole family’s viewing preferences.  We have enjoyed a good year, and it is my promise to all our viewers that next year will be even more exciting.”