AXN is No.1 International Channel in Southeast Asia for 2010

AXN has been Southeast Asia’s leading international channel for the past years especially in the key markets of Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Viewers have considered AXN as one of their favourite entertainment destinations. And as 2010 comes to close, AXN further strengthens its position as Southeast Asia’s number one international channel with an average of 10.2 million viewers every month to taking the top spot in results tabulated from January to October 2010.

Moreover in Malaysia, AXN 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. 

Further in Singapore, AXN leads all English pay-TV channels 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.

“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,” says Mr. Ricky Ow, Senior Vice President and General Manager, SPE Networks – Asia.

Expect an exhilarating run 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 Steve McGarrett (played by Alex O’Loughlin) in the reboot of the TV classic.  Viewers will be awed as the original series did 42 years ago. 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:

Hawaii Five-O Cast

In Singapore, Hawaii Five-0 won 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!

Similarly 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 Season 4 also put in some stellar performances.  Its season-to-date ratings is ahead of the next highest-rated English channel by a whopping 175%! This won in its timeslot among all international ad-supported channels, and saw an increase of 71% in average ratings over the previous season. Led by Richard Hardin and Richard Herrera, Team Philippines won this season of The Amazing Race Asia.

Team Philippines Won The Amazing Race Asia 4

*Source: Kantar Media Singapore / Philippines, AGB NMR Malaysia.

“I would like to sincerely thank our viewers, ...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...We have enjoyed a good year, and it is my promise to all our viewers that next year will be even more exciting.” adds Mr. Ricky Ow.