i-CABLE enters e-games

Hong Kong- Pay-TV group i-CABLE is giving local viewers the "TV remote" to watch the Beijing Olympic Games free via its official Olympic website.

Under the joint effort with Hong Kong Applied Science & Technology Research Institute (ASTRI), i-CABLE yesterday announced the launch of the website on the Olympics opening ceremony day, which will be available to more than 2.7 million local viewers in approximately 800 public WiFi hotspots around town.

Along with TVB and ATV, i-CABLE won the local online contract to broadcast the Beijing Games.

Through ASTRI during the Games, the TV signal is first encoded and compressed in real time and streamed to distributed users in the internet in a P2P manner. The programming will be delivered through at least four channels including live channels via the interactive platform.

PCCW, i-CABLE's rival in the pay-TV industry, on the other hand, teamed up with China Network Communications (CNC), the official partner of the Games, to provide connectivity solution to free-to-air network Television Broadcast, but interactive features for the Games are not accessible for viewers.