FourFourTwo magazine – which was originally launched in Malaysia in 2004 – will be published by Measat Publications in both Malaysia and Singapore from the September issue.
Measat Publications is the magazine publishing arm of Astro, Malaysia’s leading subscription satellite television and terrestrial and satellite radio network, which broadcast its first 30-minute FourFourTwo show last week.
Astro’s capability to work across platforms means that the new licence could generate many firsts for Haymarket in Asia, says its Asian licensing manager Edward Marr.
“This is the first time a licensee has been able to exploit one of our brands on television in the region,” he said. “With Asia’s rapidly changing media landscape we are keen explore any areas other than print into which our partners can grow their licensed brand in their market be that TV, online, mobile or events.”
The show, which is on the Astro SuperSport channel every Tuesday at 9.30pm, is hosted by sports journalist Jason Dasey and radio DJ Jay Menon (pictured). It features in-depth interviews with local and international football personalities plus in-house experts as well as match reviews and highlights.
Haymarket’s UK-based FourFourTwo editorial team will also contribute to the show with phone interviews – “a great chance to reach Asia’s many football fans, and to collaborate with one of our global partners,” says Martyn Jones, FourFourTwo’s publishing director at Haymarket headquarters in England.
Lee Choong Khay, head of Sports Business at Astro, said the launch fits with the channel’s aim to be the number one choice for sports content. “We believe that the programme will be relevant to football fans, considering that it coincides with the much anticipated English Premier League.”
According to Marr, Haymarket is also in discussions for other editions of FourFourTwo in Asia in time for World Cup 2010. Measat Publications is Haymarket’s third licence partner in Malaysia after MTM Multimedia (Autocar Malaysia/Singapore) and Catcha Media Group (Stuff Malaysia).
Measat Publications also publishes local editions of FHM, Top Gear and Men’s Uno.
