Chunghwa Telecom wins rights to broadcast 2008 Olympic Games over IPTV and mobile platforms

November 28, 2007 – Taiwanese telco Chunghwa Telecom has won the rights to broadcast the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing over IPTV and mobile TV platforms in Taiwan, according to local reports.

The broadcasting franchise was issued by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and according to Chunghwa executives, the telco is the first broadcaster to win the exclusive franchise to broadcast the games on the Internet, IPTV and mobile TV.

Analysts have suggested that the franchise will bring Chunghwa Telecom lucrative advertising revenues and also allow the opportunity to promote its IPTV and next-generation network services.  Four Taiwanese TV operators including China Television Co. have already acquired the broadcasting rights for the games on traditional pay-TV platforms such as cable.

Chunghwa Telecom expects to increase the number of subscribers for its Multimedia on Demand service from the current 350,000 to 1mn by next year.