ASIA-PACIFIC, SEPTEMBER 1, 2010 – Strengthening its local management capabilities to escalate growth in Asia, Fox International Channels (FIC) has appointed Edwina Ngao as Vice President and Territory Head for Mainland China; and Byrd Bunnag as Territory Head for Thailand.
Building on several years of strong growth in China, Edwina Ngao will aggressively expand the network’s Mainland business. She will specifically support FIC’s leading factual entertainment brand National Geographic Channel, as it seeks to create more high-quality local programming in China in collaboration with local filmmakers such as Shanghai Media Group and China International Television Corporation.
Edwina will report to Joanne Tsai, Senior Vice President, General Manager – China & Taiwan, Fox International Channels.
Commenting on Edwina’s appointment, Joanne Tsai said, “Edwina brings tremendous drive and commercial acumen to FIC’s world-class team in the region, and she will help us build our burgeoning business on the Mainland.”
Edwina transfers to Beijing from Hong Kong, where she was Vice President of Affiliates Sales and Partnerships, Asia for FIC. During her two years in this role, Edwina successfully expanded the network’s channel distribution across Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, covering pay-TV, new media and mobile channels for all its 17 brands, including the Fox, Star and National Geographic Channels.
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Taking the helm as Territory Head of FIC in Thailand, Byrd Bunnag will extend the leading channel network’s local business by strengthening its affiliate relationships, expanding its channel portfolio, boosting advertising sales and ensuring that its offerings are localized and marketed to the discerning Thai audience.
FIC has a strong and growing presence in the Kingdom, with leading factual and entertainment channel brands like National Geographic Channel, STAR Movies, STAR World and the recently launched tvN – Korean general entertainment channel, in addition to Channel [V] Thailand, it’s JV partnership with TrueVisions and GMM Media.
Byrd Bunnag will report to Avi Himatsinghani, Senior Vice President, General Manager – Southeast Asia, Fox International Channels.
“As Thailand’s pay TV scene becomes more dynamic and competitive, FIC is preparing to aggressively pursue growth by offering more top-quality channels, localized for Thai tastes. With broad experience in the media and entertainment business and an energetic management style, Byrd is the ideal leader to take us to the next level in this exciting market,’ said Avi Himatsinghani.
In a career that spans more than 20 years across Thailand, Australia, Hong Kong and the US, Byrd has held management roles in television, radio and the music and film production industries. Earlier in his career, Byrd launched Channel [V] Thailand in 1996 before becoming Vice President of Programming for Channel [V] International.
