Wildwave launches digital TV channel for Asia


15 Mar 2007

Irish digital entertainment company Wildwave has forged a joint venture in Malaysia to launch an indie music TV channel for digital networks called Independent Asian Music TV.

The multi-platform TV channel, launched as part of an alliance with Kuala Lumpur-based Music Kampany, will be known as i-amtv and aims to bring Asian indie music to 3G mobile phones, personal media players, IPTV and online video networks.

The channel will be aimed at a young, discerning and digitally savvy audience inside and outside Asia.

Wildwave chief executive Stephen McCormack said that the company forged the alliance with Music Kampany because of its connections across China, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan and Korea.

He added that in Asian markets, despite the popularity of European and North American indie music, there was a pent-up demand for local acts.

He said that the service will run both as a video-on-demand service and as a continuous channel. It will also provide real-tones, full track downloads and wallpapers.

Music Kampany’s founder and CEO Genervie Kam is also a much sought after arranger and performer of classical music with a Fellowship of the Trinity College of London for piano and a Licentiate for violin.

“We saw there was a burgeoning indie music scene in cities like Singapore,” McCormack told siliconrepublic.com, “but no one was catering for it. We spoke to a couple of labels and saw there was a great interest in the idea.”

By John Kennedy