August 14, 2006:  The Heroes Project, the largest nongovernmental public service campaign in India and STAR India, the leading television network in India, announced a two-year extension of their HIV/AIDS stigma reduction and prevention campaign. Launched in 2004, the Heroes Project has been instrumental in mainstreaming HIV/AIDS messaging in the country. The extension of the campaign through 2009 will provide the Project with $9.26 million worth of airtime bringing STAR India’s five-year commitment to a total of $23.16 million. The announcement was made at the XVI International AIDS Conference.

Richard Gere, Co-Chair of the Heroes Project said, "Our partnership with STAR demonstrates the strength of collaboration and the distinct leadership role media can play in dismantling stigma associated with HIV/AIDS. We are honored STAR has supported us in creating a great model of guidance we feel will prove invaluable to the prevention of HIV and AIDS, a model that also puts us in a position to directly alter the impact of the disease in Asia." He added, "It is with great happiness we announce the extension at the International AIDS Conference because this is where the Project began."

The relationship with STAR India, conducted in partnership with Avahan - the India AIDS Initiative of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation has helped the Heroes Project reach an estimated 70 million viewers.  The Project’s award-winning Public Service Announcements (PSAs) have aired over 11,500 times in three languages across STAR India properties including its popular channels STAR PLUS and STAR ONE. The collaboration has also incorporated HIV/AIDS messaging into several primetime shows such as Kaun Banega Crorepati’s mega-hit series starring revered icon Amitabh Bachchan.

As STAR India’s 2004 pledge draws to a close, the company happily announced the campaign’s extension. Peter Mukerjea, CEO, STAR Group, India said, “Our partnership with the Heroes Project has been a fulfilling experience for us. We are extremely happy with our extended involvement and believe it will not only strengthen the campaign but will ultimately allow us to send HIV/AIDS messaging to a broader audience more effectively. As one of India’s leading media companies, STAR takes its corporate social responsibilities very seriously and we hope that our efforts will help make positive changes in the lives of citizens throughout the country.”

“We feel STAR India has not only shown exceptional leadership in the media community but has also created an incredible model of corporate engagement towards HIV/AIDS. It is our hope that others will come to the table and offer their support.” Ashok Alexander, Director, Avahan added.

One of the most innovative highlights of the partnership has been the “SMS” (text messaging) campaign developed by STAR India’s creative team. This interactive campaign was launched in two phases and drew an extraordinary response of approximately 200,000 hits over a three-month period; 90,000 of which were unique numbers. This response has reinforced STAR India and the Heroes Project in their decision to extend the media campaign and has paved the way for the positive evolution of the partnership.

“Since its inception, the Heroes Project has been a powerful force in the fight against HIV/AIDS in India,” said Matt James, Senior Vice President, Kaiser Family Foundation.  “In our work on HIV prevention campaigns around the world, we envisioned efforts that would be ultimately run by local organizations and media companies – STAR’s and the Heroes Project’s announcement today of a continued partnership achieves that goal.”

With the campaign’s extension, the STAR India and Heroes Project partnership will continue to explore innovative ways to create HIV/AIDS messaging through television programming, employee sensitization programs and interactive gaming programs via SMS.

According to Ms. K Sujatha Rao, Project Director, National AIDS Control Organization, “In a very short time, Heroes Project has reached out and connected to key segments of the Indian population, through effective use of mass media and celebrities. The organization has successfully forged unique media partnerships, and inspired opinion leaders and key influencers to play an active role in the fight against AIDS.”

About the Heroes Project – www.heroesprojectindia.org:  The Heroes Project is a national initiative targeting the HIV/AIDS epidemic through the reduction of stigma and discrimination through mass media and societal leader programs. A program of Healing the Divide, the project found its beginnings in “A Time for Heroes”, an event held in Mumbai, India in December 2002 that raised funds for pediatric AIDS. The Heroes Project is the largest nongovernmental media campaign garnering nearly fifty-percent of the media exposure on HIV/AIDS in India. The Project has engaged nearly one hundred celebrities and trained nearly five hundred writers and producers in creating HIV/AIDS messaging.

About STAR - www.startv.com: STAR is a leading media and entertainment company in Asia. The company has committed to incorporating social responsibility into their daily operations through its philanthropic arm STAR CARE. STAR broadcasts over 50 television services in nine languages to more than 300 million viewers across 53 Asian countries. STAR channels cover all genres including general entertainment: Star Plus, Xing Kong, Star Chinese Channel, Star One, Star Utsav, Star World, Vijay, Phoenix Chinese; sports: ESPN, Star sports; movies: Star Chinese Movies, Star Gold; music: Channel [V]; and news and current affairs: Star News, Star Ananda and Phoenix InfoNews Channel. STAR controls over 20,000 hours of Indian and Chinese programming and also owns the world’s largest contemporary Chinese film library, with more than 600 titles, featuring superstars including Jackie Chan, Chow Yun Fat and Bruce Lee. In partnership with leading companies in Asia, STAR businesses extend to filmed entertainment, television production, cable systems, direct-to-home services, terrestrial TV broadcasting, wireless and digital services; STAR is a wholly owned subsidiary of News Corporation.

About Kaiser - www.kff.org: The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation is a non-profit, private operating foundation focusing on major health care issues. The Foundation is an independent voice and source of facts and analysis for policymakers, the media, the health care community and the general public. Information on the Foundation’s HIV/AIDS policy work, journalism training programs and media partnerships to educate the public about HIV is available at www.kff.org; daily news summary reports, webcasts, and other online content on developments in HIV/AIDS are available on www.kaisernetwork.org; and country-level facts and data are available at www.GlobalHealthFacts.org.

About Avahan - www.gatesfoundation.org/avahan: Avahan is the India AIDS initiative of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It is a $200 million, five-year program that provides community-driven HIV prevention services to those most vulnerable to HIV: commercial sex workers and their clients, men who have sex with men and injecting drug users. The program focuses on India’s six high prevalence states (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Manipur and Nagaland) which are home to 70 percent of India’s HIV cases, and along 8,000 kms of India’s national highways. Avahan currently operates in 76 districts across 535 towns, providing services to over 270,000 key population members and over 3,000,000 male clients.