TAIWAN: Bloomberg Television is set to boost distribution in Taiwan through a partnership with the ERA Group to provide regional and international finance news, information and analysis to the Group's 24-hour cable TV news channel, ERAnews.

The agreement gives Bloomberg Television access to Taiwan's 5.2 million cable households, in the key morning financial news slot of 6am to 8am (Taiwan time), seven days a week. During weekday mornings, ERAnews will broadcast Bloomberg Television's market-moving Bloomberg International and Moneycast Asia programmes. A strong line-up of international weekend money programmes will ensure weekend viewers get their finance fix.

Bloomberg Television will also be streamed over ERA Group's Taiwanese broadband service, IDTV, which is a joint venture with Pacific Century Cyberworks Limited (PCCW).

In addition to the programming partnership, ERAnews will be using Bloomberg's news and data within its own programmes to keep viewers on top of the latest global financial market developments.

Bloomberg Television's Asia-Pacific distribution manager, Bill McHugh said, "Our agreement with ERAnews and the rapid growth we have experienced throughout the Asia-Pacific region is testament to the importance audiences are placing on receiving up-to-date and in-depth global business news reports. The morning time-slot is a key tune-in time for Asia's finance professionals as it enables them to catch up with the close of the US markets and provides the information they need to prepare for the business day ahead."

The ERA agreement comes on the back of Bloomberg Television's announcement last month that it had been awarded one of only two licence applications this year to broadcast on the Chinese government-run direct-to-home satellite TV platform.