ContentAsia November 2014 by ContentAsia

issue five 2014

c C

NTENT ntentASIA

India: achievement, challenge, change

Who’s who: Myanmar

PLUS: Entertainment channels slug it out, kids channels, interviews, updates & the industry in numbers

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contents

NTENT ASIA

what’s inside...... What’s going on in... 8

New channels...

Malaysia’s Astro ups its channels game and Singapore production house Moving Visuals enters a whole other space with new factual channel Spark Asia, which launches in early 2015

Rights, releases & commitments

Asia’s regional channels are slugging it out for pole position in Southeast Asia’s measured markets, with bigger bets on new seasons, the biggest-ever play for day-and-date releases, and the most significant commitment to original programming in history.

Original production 68% of mainland viewers involved

Sony Pictures Television’s networks business is making its biggest programming bets in Asia, including early releases for Hollywood hits for the new Sony Channel.

in an online entertainment format would give up sex rather than their internet connection. How does Chinese online platform Tencent know this? Via its local version of entertainment format Are You

12 Myanmar

Normal?, which is part of a whole

Who’s who in... Myanmar

By 2015, one of Asia’s oldest regional channel brands, MGM, will disappear, replaced by a brand known for shows such as Mad Men and Breaking Bad. The new AMC channel is promising original first-run content, more programming flexibility, beginning with Halt and Catch Fire and The Divide. Halt and Catch Fire, AMC Asia

new original content strategy.

There isn’t anyone in the business right now who doesn’t want first-run narrative fiction series.” Bruce Tuchman, AMC Global and Sundance Channel Global

Interview India’s Prasar Bharati chief executive, Jawhar Sircar, on some of the thinking behind what’s next for the free-TV behemoth

page 18

India

More than half of India’s 160 million TV homes are digital. But pay-TV operators are still waiting for the rest of the pieces – full digitisation and addressability – before the benefits of the complete digital picture start emerging.

Kids: Channels Asia’s young audiences are spoiled for choice – and that’s not only because they’re screened-up to the max and swiping to their hearts’ content.

ZooMoo

Young audiences are pretty important because they are related to one of our visions – educating the nation.” Julio Sanjaya, General Manager, PT. MNC SkyVision, Indonesia

page 34

issue five, november 2014

... & more new channels

18 Rebrands

Galen Yeo, Moving Visuals; Rohana Rozhan, Astro; Patrick Hörl, Spark/Autentic

Carnation, NHK

42 InNumbers South Korea’s jaw-dropping connection speeds, Vaicom JV Colors’ Bigg Boss boost, where Photo Face-Off put A+E Networks’ History, and being online in the Philippines... Plus other numbers that count in Asia right now

The gem of Asian Entertainment Featuring star-studded cast from Asia!

Incisive Great Teacher Emergency Couple Bride of the Century Loving, Never Forgetting Dragon Dance For Distribution sales enquires Call +65 6622 8722 www.GEMtvasia.com SonyPictures Television

editor’snote

NTENT ASIA

Top of the world At the beginning of this year, we launched a series of profiles and in-

drama to Gotham, The Strain, Marvel’s Agents

terviews with online/over-the-top (OTT) platforms in Asia – one in every

of S.H.I.E.L.D., Homeland, How to Get Away With

issue of ContentAsia’s pdf newsletter until they were all covered. How

Murder, Outlander, Criminal Minds, Z Nation, The

many were there across Asia? Seven? Eight? A dozen maybe? We

Goldbergs and Modern Family, to name a few.

actually had no idea. How many would fall over before the ink was dry

There’s more, much much more. Research

on the story? We had no idea on this one either (it turns out that none

company Media Partners Asia (MPA) stresses that

of them have, at least not yet). 21 platforms later we’re still going, and

Asia’s OTT battlefield is still at an early stage. Key

then going some more.

developments in 2015 include platform rollouts in

We are serving three billion video views a day and there is an explosion of paid content. China’s 700 million internet users are really eager to see great content“.

Many of the new platforms belong to well-

four Asia markets by Singapore telco SingTel as

known players – Astro On The Go from Malaysia’s

well as a new direct-to-consumer service in India

biggest pay-TV platform Astro; Tonton from Ma-

from Star India. In Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan,

laysia’s dominant free-TV broadcaster

local providers of Korean and Chinese entertain-

Media Prima; Toggle from Singapore

ment content are on the hunt for partnerships with

monopoly free-TV broadcaster

pay-TV and broadband operators to develop

MediaCorp; TrueVisions Any-

in-country OTT platforms, MPA notes, adding that

where from Thai platform True-

the new platforms are likely to be rolled out next

Visions; StarHub TV Anywhere

year as these joint ventures are firmed up.

Charles Zhang Founder, Chairman, CEO, Sohu Inc

by Singapore’s biggest cable

China too is on a roll and the love will be

player StarHub; iWant TV from

spread wide despite regulations that will limit

multi-platform operator ABS-CBN

foreign content to 30% of online slates and the

in the Philippines; Solar Entertain-

spectre of more official interference as mainland

ment’s Blink in the Philippines; VTV

powers attempt to reign in online freedoms.

Plus from Vietnam Television Cable Cor-

The new rules kick in in April 2014. Sohu Inc boss

poration and tech partner Medianet Corporation,

Charles Zhang, who currently serves three bil-

among others.

lion video views a day, says he isn’t worried in

Some are new brands making a play for audiences who are not get-

the slightest, not least because everywhere he

ting what they want on legitimate platforms elsewhere for whatever

looks he’s seeing growth, expansion, solutions

reason. Crunchyroll (Japanese anime, Asian content), Spuul (Indian

to problems and opportunity.

content to global, combo free/ad supported and subscription), and YuppTV (Indian content to multi-screens), among others. And then there are the mainland Chinese platforms – Youku Tudou, Sohu, Tencent – which are vibrant and fabulous and serving between

Few in the content world are complaining. As CBS Television Studios’ president David Stapf said during Mipcom in October, “for us, the more platforms out there the better”. Absolutely.

600 million and 700 million internet users with everything from domestic

C Editorial Director Janine Stein Assistant Editor Malena Amzah malena@contentasia.tv Research & Production CJ Yong cj@contentasia.tv Editorial Aqilah Yunus aqilah@contentasia.tv Design Rae Yong

NTENT ASIA

INTERNATIONAL Associate Publisher (Americas, Europe) and VP, International Business Development Leah Gordon leah@contentasia.tv ASIA Sales and Marketing Manager Masliana Masron mas@contentasia.tv

What is ContentAsia?

ContentAsia is an Asia-based information resource that refines today’s info-deluge into usable, digestible, and reliable intelligence about entertainment content creation, funding, financing, licensing, distribution, design and branding and technology across the Asia-Pacific region. ContentAsia’s range of products include electronic, print and online publications.

To receive your regular free copy of ContentAsia, please email i_want@contentasia.tv Copyright 2014 Pencil Media Pte Ltd. All Rights Reserved MCI (P) 111/06/2013 Printed by: Print Dynamics (S) Pte Ltd 21 Tai Seng Drive #03-01, Trivec Place, Singapore 535223

Published by: Pencil Media Pte Ltd l 730A Geylang Road, Singapore 389641 l T: +65 6846 5987 l F: +65 6742 9683 l W: www.contentasia.tv

issue five, november 2014

BBC World News Cbeesbies BBC BBC earth BBC entertainment BBC Knowledge BBC lifestyle The World’s storyteller Distribution East Asia: Monty Ghai, Senior Vice President & General Manager, SEA, monty.ghai@bbc.com Greater China: Otto Leong, Director, Distribution & Development, otto.leong@bbc.com India: Sunil Joshi, Regional Account Director, sunil.joshi@bbc.com Korea: Jee-Yeon Kim, Manager, Affiliate & TV Sales, jee-yeon.kim@bbc.com Advertising Sales: Sunita Rajan, EVP Asia & Australasia, sunita.rajan@bbc.com

what’sgoingonin...

NTENT ASIA

channels

Astro ups channels game, Moving Visuals enters new space When new factual channel Spark Asia goes up in early 2015, Malaysia’s pay-TV platform Astro takes yet another step into a future that may be Malaysia-based but has a very deﬁnite global angle. Astro is backing the new pan-Asia/global documentary channel in partnership with Singapore-based production house, Moving Visuals International, and European factual entertainment joint venture, Spark GmbH. The new all-HD channel launches with a lineup of Asian and global HD content available

From left: Galen Yeo, Moving Visuals International; Rohana Rozhan, Astro; Patrick Hörl, Spark/Autentic

as a linear service with digital add-ons. Global content, including science, tech,

“A lot of the ZDF content has not been exploited in Asia,” she adds. The original productions

exploration, history, nature and wildlife, will

with production partner Moving Visuals “are an opportunity to own IP relevant to global consum-

be sourced from Spark JV partners – Autentic,

ers,” she says.

a joint venture of Jan Mojto’s Beta Film and

Moving Visual’s managing director and executive producer, Khim Loh, says the local original

Spark chief executive Patrick Hoerl, and ZDF

content slate will involve a broad base of production expertise in Asia. Spark is Moving Visuals’

Enterprises, the commercial arm of German

ﬁrst channels venture.

broadcaster ZDF.

The production house’s titles include Undercover Asia: Cyber Casanovas, which explores “the brazen world of international cyber criminals who trawl dating sites for

There is a huge opportunity in Asian factual content that resonates not only with audiences in Asia but around the world.”

Won’t Forget, which marks the 40th anniversary in 2015 of the end of the

Rohana Rozhan, Chief Executive Ofﬁcer, Astro

war in Vietnam. The documentary tells the story of the conﬂict from the

single career women”, based on real cases; and Making Mao, which looks at the people and events responsible for the massive propaganda campaign that made Mao Zedong a star. Autentic’s latest catalogue includes titles such as Vietnam – The World

perspective of those who experienced it, including entries from the diSpark Asia will also drive a strong local production initiative, including training for docu-

ary of a young North Vietnamese doctor murdered in 1970 interspersed with interview accounts from contemporary eye witnesses.

mentary producers on the ground across Asia.

Autentic Distribution’s Little Train, which offers a view of China, is part of the travel slate. The show

The partners say the new channel will “pro-

reports from mountainous regions famous for pandas and earthquakes, where the most important

mote knowledge, celebrate Asian values and

means of transport is a decrepit steam locomotive that once transported coal and now brings kids

traditions and bring Asia to the world in an ex-

to school, commuters to work and pigs to market. Another travel title is Fascinating India, which

citing way”.

goes behind northern India’s exotic facade. Fascinating India is ﬁlmed in 3D and 4K.

Astro chief executive, Rohana Rozhan, says

Astro’s Rozhan, speaking during the Spark Asia launch at Mipcom in Cannes in October, said

Spark Asia is “not a Malaysian channel, or a

there was a “huge opportunity in Asian factual content that resonates not only with audiences

Singapore channel”, but a global factual

in Asia but around the world”.

channel with an Asian perspective.

“In line with our strength in the creation of IPs and content brands, we believe that the aggre-

Speciﬁc titles have not yet been disclosed,

gation of Asian-centric stories and factual content in an Asian-branded documentary channel is

but Rozhan says the channel will involve ac-

timely and has tremendous potential,” she said, adding, “This joint venture with like-minded part-

quisitions as well as original content.

ners enables Astro to take a stake in content that will resonate in Asia and around the world”.

issue ﬁve, november 2014

the network that changed the way stories are told the network that changed the way stories are told coming soon to asia

coming soon to asia amc something more

AMC Networks International Asia-Pacific

what’sgoingonin...

NTENT ASIA

channels

Sony Pictures Television is making its biggest play ever for Asia’s female audiences Sony Pictures Television’s networks business is making its biggest programming bets in Asia, with new general entertainment Sony Channel up and running from 15 October and lines around the block in cities all over Asia of wouldbe stars queueing up to be part of the region’s biggest and most expensive talent format, Asia’s Got Talent, on ﬂagship channel AXN in early 2015 (ContentAsia, October 2014). Sony Channel – SPT’s biggest play yet for Asia’s female audiences – went up with all the carriage of Sony Entertainment Television (SET), which went dark across Southeast Asia on the same day. SET was the regional network’s ﬁrst attempt to woo female audiences in Asia. Platforms include Cambodia’s PPCTV; Hong Kong’s now TV and TVB Network Vision; Indonesia’s Indovision, BiG TV, Transvision and Innovate; Philippines’ SkyCable,

Clockwise from above: Analeigh Tipton and Jake McDorman in Manhattan Love Story;, Tea Leoni as Elizabeth McCord in Madame Secretary; Hui Keng Ang, Sony Pictures Television Asia

Destiny digital and analogue, Cignal Digital TV and Cablelink; and Thailand’s TOTiPTV and Triple T Networks. The one hold out – Singapore’s

premiered on ABC in the U.S. on 25 September. This

SingTel Mio TV – closed at the 11th

was followed by CBS Studios’ Madame Secretary,

hour, giving the new brand a platform

which premiered on CBS in the U.S. on 21 Septem-

in its home market.

ber, on Thursdays at 8.50pm, Jane the Virgin on

SPT’s bosses have gone big on exclu-

Sunday nights at 8.50pm, and romantic comedy

sive early release windows for Sony Chan-

Manhattan Love Story (Sundays, 9.45pm).

nel. This will be followed by day-and-date

Other titles on the schedule include medical

releases or telecasts in the same week as

drama The Night Shift, Cupcake Wars, Top Chef

the U.S. for series that premiere from now. De-

Masters season four, Desperate Housewives season

tails of the costs involved in the massive programming upgrade have not been disclosed. Hui Keng Ang, Sony Pictures Television’s Asia senior vice president and general manager, networks, talks about the focus on smart and edgy series driven by strong women.

eight, Necessary Roughness season three and game show Minute to Win It (Tuesdays to Thursdays, 7.55pm). The regional channel had eight new titles on air by 28 October, including Manhattan Love Story (Sundays, 9.45pm), the new season of Nashville (Tuesdays, 8.50pm), Scandal and Ghost Whisperer. The new channel enables SPT to tick the box on platforms’ insistence for releases closer to in-

Tentpole titles are A-list Hollywood drama, ABS

ternational airdates. It also give SPT its best shot yet at besting female-focused rivals such as Fox

Studios’ How to Get Away with Murder (Wednes-

International Channels’ Star World, A+E Networks Asia’s Lifetime and NBCUniversal Channels’ Diva.

days, 8.50pm, double episode premiere), which

Why the big push for women’s attention now? Maybe the better question is what took so long?

issue ﬁve, november 2014

Lose Yourself

To Find Yourself Lose Yourself To Find Yourself

100% first run, fresh and exclusive original programming A network of Multi Channels Asia T: +65 6246 4354 E: tellmemore@multichannelsasia.com www.multichannelsasia.com

countryprofiles

NTENT ASIA

who’s who in... myanmar 4TV

Carnation, NHK

Forever Group was established in 1995 as a computer graphic training centre and launched digital payTV services in 2005. The pay-TV platform offers about 80 channels, including 10 in HD, to about 250,000 subscribing households. International services include

Princess Atsu, NHK

Celestial Classic Mov-

Myanmar National TV (MNTV)

ies, HBO and BBC

Commercial free-TV satellite service, Myanmar National TV (MNTV), was

World News. Monthly

established in 2012 by media conglomerate Shwe Than Lwin Media

packages cost from

Group. The idea is to deliver new and fresh content, including indepen-

MMK7,500/US$7.60

dently produced local news. MNTV acquires a small amount of content

for 60+ channels to

from regional and international partners, including BBC World (10-minute

MMK8,100/US$8 for

news BBC Burmese) and Japanese public broadcaster NHK (drama series

all channels. One-

Carnation and Princess Atsu).

time set top-box fee

Who’s who... Nan Mouk Laung Saing President, MNTV/Managing Director,

is MMK45,000/US$45.

Shwe Than Lwin Media U Zaw Thet Maung General Manager, MNTV

Who’s who... Winn Maw Chief

Weekly television use: 51% (2013) 15,830 mobile subscribers

1.3 million pay-TV homes issue five, november 2014

Executive Officer Khin Maung Htay Director and Cofounder

56 million people Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV) Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV) was

Myawaddy Television (MWD)

established in 1980 by Myanmar’s Ministry of

Myawaddy Television

Information (MOI) and started broadcast-

(MWD) was estab-

ing a year later. MRTV has five public TV

lished in March 1995

channels, including Myanmar International

by Myanmar’s Ministry

Channel, the Farmers Channel and National

of Defence. MWD

Races Channel. MRTV reaches about

broadcasts seven

92% of the population via 233 trans-

TV channels offering

mission stations and uses analogue

news, sports and enter-

system NTSC-M. Most of the remote

tainment. The broad-

stations use VHF band with only some us-

caster, which migrated

ing UHF band. MRTV plans to complete its

to DVB-T in November

digital migration (DVB-T2 standard) by 2020

2011, transmits via 13

and hopes to become a public broadcast

high-power stations

service provider by the end of 2015.

reaches about 60% of

Who’s who... U Tint Swe Director General

Myanmar.

The World’s Only International Video Gaming Entertainment Channel

The World’s Only International Video Gaming Entertainment Channel Ready to play GINX Video Gaming TV A network of Multi Channels Asia T: +65 6246 4354 E: tellmemore@multichannelsasia.com www.multichannelsasia.com

ready to play A network of Multi Channels Asia T: +65 6246 4354 E: tellmemore@multichannelsasia.com www.multichannelsasia.com

countryprofiles

NTENT ASIA

583,564 internet users SkyNet Direct-to-home (DTH) satellite pay-TV operator, SkyNet, carries more than 70 SD channels and six HD channels via the Apstar-7 satellite. SkyNet is also an active broadcaster of international sporting events, including the 2014 FIFA World Cup, English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, Europa League, DFL Bundesliga, Spain La Liga, Italy Serie A TIM, France Ligue 1, the Football Association Challenge Cup, Major League Soccer, Brazillian League, Japan J-League,

10,889,348 households

Korea K-League and Australia A-League. The multi-play service was launched in November 2010 by Shwe Than Lwin Media Group and has more than 200,000 subscribers. Who’s who... Daw Myint Myint Win

MRTV-4/Channel 7

Senior Managing Director

MRTV-4 was launched in May 2004 by the Forever Group and state-

U Zaw Thet Maung

owned MRTV, with a two-hour daily schedule. The general entertainment channel became a 24-hour free-to-air TV station in September 2010, offering news, lifestyle content, variety shows, game shows, kids, drama series and talk shows, among others. Content is mostly local and produced in-house. Minimal hours of foreign content on MRTV-4 include drama series from Korea. The Forever Group has also operated an inter-

Senior General Manager

Internet penetration: 1.1%

national version of MRTV-4 since 2006. The Forever Group’s second freeto-air service, Channel 7, launched in 2012 with Thailand’s BEC Tero. The 24-hour Channel 7 targets younger audiences. Content is 90% local and produced in-house. The Forever Group is also actively involved in the lo-

How old is everyone...

calisation of international formats such as Myanmar’s Got Talent, Family

0-14 years: 26.4% (male 7,498,179/female 7,209,588)

Feud and Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader.

15-24 years: 18.3% (male 5,163,399/female 5,037,117) 25-54 years: 43.1% (male 11,930,777/female 12,073,741)

GDP: US$111.1 billion (2013 est) GDP per capita: US$1,700 (2013 est)

55-64 years: 5.3% (male 1,836,463/female 2,059,482) 65 years and over: 5.2% (male 1,277,919/female 1,659,588 (2014 est.)

Source: CIA The World Factbook, Nielsen Myanmar Marketing Research and Development Corporation (MMRD), NationMaster

issue five, november 2014

the most-watched news channel in Europe

see the world in perspective tv - mobile - radio Euronews

The most-watched news channel in Europe See the world in perspective TV – Mobile – Radio Euronews.com Euronews Apps euronews.com/apps

euronews.com

euronews.com/apps

what’sgoingonin...

NTENT ASIA

formats

Mainland Chinese online platform Tencent powers up its original content agenda

68% of mainland viewers involved in an online entertainment format would give up sex rather than their internet connection. How does mainland Chinese online platform Tencent know this? Via its local version of entertainment format Are You Normal?.

Teenagers nowadays are very aggressive and are eager to be part of the game. They want to express their thinking and want people to agree with them.” Benny Luo, Deputy Creative Director, Video, Tencent China

The All3Media International/ Zoo Productions format, which Tencent has just renewed for a second season, debuted on the platform in April this year. Season two is scheduled to debut in the ﬁrst half of 2015. The Chinese version’s

ticks the video content box for Tencent and its quest to differentiate the platform from rivals across the media landscape, including traditional broadcasters. “Tencent Video should put more video content with a ‘social media’ gene on screen to differentiate it from other internet video sites such as Youku and iQIYI and the traditional broadcasters such as Hunan TV and Zhejiang TV,” Luo says.

ﬁrst season has recorded more than 330 million

Tencent’s technical team integrated Are You Normal? into WeChat with a plugin app. After that,

views and attracted 114 million unique views so

consumers were encouraged to join the survey and to recommend participation to their friends in

far. Tencent said this was a record for a video-

exchange for small gifts. “Once a person answered all the 10 questions in a topic such as ‘relation-

on-demand show in China.

ship’ and ‘everyday behaviour’, their answers were scored and they could share their scores with

Benny Luo, Tencent’s deputy creative director,

others and they could continue to another topic if they wanted to,” Luo says.

video, describes Are You Normal? as “the per-

The main adaptation for the Chinese series is versioning the questions. Luo says 30% to 40% of the

fect choice” for Tencent. The game show polls

original questions in season one could be used for China, and the rest had to be created using the

viewers on various behaviours and then asks

existing list as a guide. The China version also pairs up a celebrity and a ‘regular’ person instead of

them whether they think this is normal or not.

teams of two ordinary people.

Luo says the use of social media plays to

Luo adds that season two will be similar to season one with a set and visual identity that is “even

Tencent’s WeChat and QQ social networking

younger, fresher and cooler”. The basic rules of the game and the use of Tencent’s social chat

strengths. New shows involve not only voting

platform WeChat will remain the same. In addition, “we will keep using celebrities because young

but interaction with contestants. “Social media

audiences are eager to know the ‘secret habits’ of their idols,” Luo says. Live “telecasts” are also

plays a very important role... teenagers nowa-

an option, although Luo says the commercial case for ‘live’ has not yet been made.

days, especially those who spend most of their

Are You Normal? is part of a rising generation of survey-based programming, driven by technol-

time on new media, are very aggressive and

ogy and interactivity and maximising the use of social media. Does Luo think this is a start of some-

are eager to be part of the game. They want

thing much bigger and longer running? “Absolutely”.

to express their thinking and want people to agree with them,” he says. “With WeChat and QQ, our survey easily reaches millions of Chinese... the show is funny

And it’s by no means the end of the platform’s plans. A key content priority for 2015 is producing local versions of additional formats as well as co-developing new formats with international partners. The idea is to combine acquisitions with original content and, of course, to stay within new regulations that cap foreign acquired content on online platforms.

and people discuss the right answers and the

The biggest original production challenge going forward is to balance “the artist versus the tech-

results. The effect of the show goes back to so-

nologist”. Luo says China is awash with producers shifting from jobs with linear television stations into

cial media, that’s brilliant!,” he says.

over-the-top platforms. “The challenge is they may not necessarily be concerned about proﬁt but

The added beneﬁt is the big data collected

care more for their idea. But most of the OTT platforms are concerned about whether the idea is

from participants, including age, gender and

making money,” he says, adding: “It takes time for producers to digest the new ways of working

where they live. Luo says Are You Normal? also

with OTT platforms”.

issue ﬁve, november 2014

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what’sgoingonin...

NTENT ASIA

channels

The new AMC channel closes an era in Asia By the end of December this year, one of Asia’s oldest regional channel brands, MGM, will disappear, replaced by a brand known in the region for shows such as The Walking Dead, Mad Men and Breaking Bad. Clockwise from above: Halt and Catch Fire, Bruce Tuchman, The Divide

The channel switch was widely expected after U.S. company AMC’s acquisition

MGM, says Tuchman, who heads up AMC’s Asia Pa-

of Chello Media and its rebrand-

ciﬁc operating unit as president, AMC global and

ing to AMC International earlier this

Sundance Channel Global and president, AMC Networks International, Asia Paciﬁc.

There isn’t anyone in the business right now who doesn’t want ﬁrst-run narrative ﬁction series.” Bruce Tuchman, President, AMC Global and Sundance Channel Global

Branding and design is based on the AMC kit from the U.S. with customisation for Asian markets. Dubbing/ subtitling will be the same as MGM – Mandarin, Thai, Bahasa Indonesia. “MGM will remain part of the mix and there’s a lot of value in some of the titles,” Tuchman says, adding that the movie slate will be expanded by acquisitions from other studios.

year. AMC Networks’ chief operating ofﬁcer,

MGM titles headed for AMC so far include Raging Bull, War Games, Fargo and Blue Velvet.

Ed Carroll, said during the August announce-

Tuchman talks about more programming ﬂexibility and the ability to acquire and schedule

ment that the intention was “to replicate our

original ﬁrst-run content. “There isn’t anyone in the business right now who doesn’t want ﬁrst run

successful U.S. strategy, extending the AMC

narrative ﬁction series,” he says, adding: pay-TV in Asia is “a maturing business. Everyone has to

brand worldwide and creating a broad pipe-

up their game”.

line for our original content”.

AMC Asia will air ﬁrst-run and exclusive product from AMC Studios in the U.S., beginning with

The AMC Asia channel, rolled out by AMC

two titles – Halt and Catch Fire and eight-part legal drama The Divide, which premiered on WE TV

International Networks Asia under Bruce Tuch-

in the U.S. in July this year. Halt and Catch Fire, an IT drama set in the 1980s, aired on AMC earlier

man, joins Sundance Channel, WEtv and Jim-

this year and has been renewed for a second season. Schedules and other acquisitions will be

Jam in Asia. The global roll-out of the AMC

made public closer to the launch date.

channel – the ﬁrst AMC-branded channel outside of North America – kicks off in Latin America at the end of October. AMC

International’s

ﬂagship

AMC will “expand the MGM base and offer something completely modern”, complemented with authenticated VOD and streaming, Tuchman says. The Asia channel will be programmed in Singapore and will acquire programming from mul-

channel

brands in Asia will be AMC (more mainstream

tiple sources. The idea is to maintain the existing fan base and to broaden the appeal to include a younger demographic, he adds.

content) and Sundance (festival/indie line-up,

“There is a huge amount of content we are trying to get onto our channels. Sundance will carry

more edgy, unconventional and younger).

indie, unconventional titles,” Tuchman says, adding: “We would like to see AMC as more widely

Strategies for WEtv and JimJam have not yet

appealing, targeting families as well, and keep Sundance as more unconventional”.

been disclosed. The new AMC Asia, with the tagline “something more”, will continue to air MGM movies as part of a long-term licensing deal with

issue ﬁve, november 2014

Mezzo Live HD The Ultimate Concert Hall The Leading music channel for Classical Dance Jazz Now in Asia 100% HD Contact: James Ross james@lightninginternational.net Lightning Lagardere active

what’sgoingonin...

NTENT ASIA

india

India’s Prasar Bharati chief executive, Jawhar Sircar, on the way forward for Doordarshan, including maximising the public broadcaster’s unrivalled terrestrial/transmitter network across the country. Speaking during German broadcaster Deutsche Welle’s Global Media Forum earlier this year, Sircar said...

were supposed to be dull – and I’ve had to challenge that.” “Recruitment is one of our challenges... DD’s programming capacity is severely limited. In house programming depends station to station. We have 15 regional stations and in many there are not mobile streaming using DVBT-2 Lite.

enough people to man the pro-

No one can replicate our infra-

grammes or even to cover out-

We have already jazzed up [Doordarshan’s] news operation.

structure, it’s just too costly. Using

door. That’s one area we are trying

The problem is the entertainment content. There is a dichot-

our existing 1,000-odd transmission

to focus on.”

omy. People think that a public broadcaster is supposed to

towers should give us 18 channels. I

be mission-based – mission girl child, mission ethnic groups, etc – and not

won’t use all 18 channels. The idea

entertainment.

is to allow the free-to-air channels

“That is one issue. On the other hand, there is the issue of how to earn

of other companies to lease those

our keep. We get about half our earnings from government and the other

lines. Once we get those up, to a

half we have to earn. It’s a bit of a trap. If we don’t put on good attractive

large extent we focus our econom-

programming, we don’t get viewership, without viewership we don’t get

ics on carriage and transmission,

advertising, without ads we fall short of sustainable targets.

which is our forte, and convert a

“So we have more or less decided that we will have three hours of primetime entertainment, which will be reasonably on par with other channels. These three hours will be replayed the next day, which leaves us with 18 hours of other content, so there is no compromise on that issue. That break up is good. This will be a job for the new board.”

“Three hours of good content should not be that impossible. It’s a question of direction. There is a confusion as to what is being sought. Other than the six hours [three original plus repeats], we can have a half hour or hour devoted to the girl child, wildlife, to other causes and things that are not awfully sexy in entertainment terms.” “There is a chance of a breakthrough in technology, which is happening all over the world... India has about 200 million smartphones, which will rise to 300 million in 18 months. One huge section of India’s population will be looking at entertainment over mobile... We are focusing on free-to-air

issue ﬁve, november 2014

weakness to a strength. That’s the whole idea.”

Where do we get content? One way out is to permit advertiserfunded programmes. We never focused on them before. There has been a general lack of direction and focus for the past 10 years, which took me some time to understand. The problem was taken to be a fact of life, and these facts of life needed to be questioned. The attitude was that we

“We are moving towards 120 channels on our Freedish TV platform by the end of this year... That makes it enough for a household.” “Our strategy is always to make the service free to the consumer. One of my issues is the costing. How to make it free to the consumer because there are no free lunches for me. We have to cross-subsidise.”

“I wouldn’t describe this as a whole new Doordarshan yet. It’s still under repair”.

“TV is dog-eatdog. India can’t afford this many channels.”

Nourish your brain With such a wide selection of choices, it’s easier than ever to find reliable information and real stories. DW brings the news to life. Deutsche Welle | Asia Representative Ms. Mee Fung Lee | T +60(3).2093-0866 meefung.lee@pikfilm.com.my www.dw.de

Nourish your brain With such a wide selection of choices, it’s easier than ever to find reliable information and real stories. DW brings the news to life.

Deutsche Welle | Asia Representative Ms. Mee Fung Lee | T +60(3).2093-0866 meefung.lee@pikﬁlm.com.my

www.dw.de

what’sgoingonin...

NTENT ASIA

rights

who got what

Asia’s rights environment has shifted in a big way this year Asia’s regional general entertainment channels are slugging it out for pole position in Southeast Asia’s measured markets, with bigger-than-ever bets being made on new and returning seasons of series, the biggest-ever play for day-and-date (or at the very least the shortest window possible) releases, and probably the most signiﬁcant commitment to original programming in the region’s multichannel history. Asia telecasts as close as possible to U.S./U.K. releases are becoming a hygiene factor. High-demand dramas from markets such as Hong Kong and Korea are also part of this play. For one, platforms don’t want stuff that’s done the rounds on pirate or other platforms. Also, buzz about hot new shows goes global in a nano-

Hong Kong movie studio Media Asia’s new titles are

soon after domestic telecasts are an issue, clearly many think it’s worth the additional layout, and their ratings performance against rivals in the space bear them out. Logistics challenges – including language customisation and censorship – are being resolved by, for example, U.S. studios reworking domestic delivery dates to accommodate demand for day-and-date releases in international markets. All the major entertainment players are headed in the same direction, some even with speciﬁc “express” branded banners for their day-and-date initiatives. Many of the new seasons went out in Asia very quickly this year, including Scorpion and The X Factor (RTL CBS Entertainment), Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (FOX), Gotham (WarnerTV), The Voice and The Blacklist (AXN), Scandal (Star World), Resurrection (Lifetime), Downton Abbey (Diva) and I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here (ITV Choice). And, of course, there’s Fox International Channels’ global release of The Walking Dead in October. The premiere of season ﬁve broke ratings records across Asia, outperforming the season four premiere by 57% in the Philippines, by 32% in Singapore and by 95% among all people 4+ in Taiwan.

issue ﬁve, november 2014

sole preserve of high-end

headed for Celestial

studio content. Earlier this

Tiger Entertainment’s

year, Malaysian platform

movie channels in

Astro added simultane-

Malaysia, Brunei,

ous releases for drama

Indonesia and

from Hong Kong’s Tel-

Singapore as part

evision Broadcasts Ltd

of an exclusive

(TVB). TVB’s new period

multi-year/multi-

drama, Ghost Dragon

platform output

of Cold Mountain, was

deal. Titles include

the ﬁrst title to be offered,

action ﬁlm Helios, and

comedy Don’t Go Breaking My Heart 2.

second and there’s value in maximising the attention. While the additional costs of delivering content so

Shorter windows are not the

followed by modern thriller Don’t Go Breaking My Heart 2

Mongolian broadcaster Mongol

Black Heart White Soul. The titles premiered in Malaysia at the same time as their debuts on Hong Kong’s leading

TV has acquired 50 Miramax movies,

free-TV channel TVB Jade.

ahead of the launch of a second linear

racy, it’s an on-going effort on our part to protect

boosting its ﬂagship channel schedule

service in the ﬁrst quarter of 2015. The Ulaanbaatar-based operation has also upped its original production with a

“Whilst this move is no silver bullet to combat piintellectual property, industry, jobs and revenue,” HBO Asia chief executive, Jonathan Spink, said

new travelogue focusing on Mongo-

earlier this year when HBO Asia said it would be

Mongol TV chief executive, Nomin

emax Originals – including The Knick and Olive Kit-

lian communities around the world.

squeezing Asia release windows for HBO and Cin-

Chinbat, said the Miramax library

teridge – to less than 24 hours after U.S. airdates.

Frida, was the biggest movie licens-

(Fargo) and Richard Jenkins (Six Feet Under), pre-

deal, including Life is Beautiful and

ing agreement she has signed since launch in June 2009.

FremantleMedia International has

sold 25 formats to seven Asian mar-

kets in the last year. The deals include the ﬁrst major international format to Laos broadcaster LNTV3, which will

produce a local version of Got Talent,

Olive Kitteridge, starring Frances McDormand mieres in Asia on 3 November, a day after the U.S. Parts one and two of the four-part miniseries premiere back to back, followed on 4 November by the ﬁnal two parts. All four parts will be released on HBO On Demand from Monday, November 10. “By offering viewers legitimate content in a timely and more convenient manner, we hope to be able to continue to encourage viewers to sup-

as well as the ﬁrst international talent/

port the ﬁght against online piracy,” Spink said.

bodia. Broadcasters in Philippines,

dustry in Asia has changed this year. The ground

picked up various titles such as Hole

cation environment elsewhere as well, reworking

singing formats in Myanmar and CamSingapore, Malaysia and Taiwan also in the Wall and Family Feud.

Early windows are but one of the ways the inis also shifting under the region’s licensing/syndirelationships and reshaping channel competition.

SonyChannelAsia.com

SonyChannelAsia.com /SonyChannelAsia HOLLYWOOD HAS A STUNNING NEW HOME MADAM SECRETARY How to get away WITH murder

/SonyChannelAsia

HOLLYWOOD HAS

A STUNNING NEW HOME

For advertising and distribution opportunities, please email adsales@spe.sony.com or call (65) 6622 4289

© 2009 Sony Pictures Television Inc. All Rights Reserved. | © 2014 SPE Networks – Asia Pte. Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Madam Secretary: © 2014 CBS Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved. | How To Get Away With Murder: © 2014 ABC Studios. All Rights Reserved.

MADAM SECRETARY

For advertising and distribution oppurtunities, please email adsales@spe.sony.com or call (65) 6622 4289 © 2009 Sony Pictures Television Inc. All Rights Reserved. | © 2014 SPE Networks – Asia Pte. Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Madam Secretary: © 2014 CBS Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved. | How To Get Away With Murder: © 2014 ABC Studios. All Rights Reserved.

How to get away WITH

murder

what’sgoingonin...

NTENT ASIA

Old output deals are/have broken apart, letting in new buyers and allowing former partners, to some extent, to cherry pick titles they know will work. It’s not something studios or buyers shout about from the rooftops, but the end of the Disney-Fox International Channels (FIC) output deal was obvious when Sony Pictures Television launched its new Sony Channel in Asia with ﬁrst and exclusive rights to How to Get Away With Murder. The output deal was clearly replaced by some sort of package arrangement, and FIC remains a signiﬁcant buyer of Disney television series. New titles on FIC channels include the season two premiere of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in Asia 12 hours after the U.S on 24 September. The show won Fox the night in Singapore against western general entertainment services during primetime (6pm-midnight) among males and females aged 15-49. Fox’s line up also includes Criminal Minds season nine. With the FIC/Disney rights arrangement now obvious, attention has turned to the new rela-

Express delivery (clockwise from top): Scorpion on RTL CBS Entertainment, The Newsroom season two premiered on HBO Asia less than 24 hours after the show aired in the U.S., as did fourpart mini-series Olive Kitteridge

tionship between NBCUniversal distribution and the Universal channels group in Asia. Speculation has been rife that the long-term output deal dating back to another time, another age and a whole different attitude was wending its way to a merry end.

premiere rated 0.98% among

And then came October’s re-org, which puts Justin Che

viewers 15+ in subscription TV

in charge of both the channels and the programme licensing

households, making it 2014’s

businesses in Asia as managing director, NBCUniversal International

top show so far across all of

Television Asia Paciﬁc. All eyes are now on how Che balances the

Singapore’s factual entertain-

needs of both to the best advantage of each.

ment channels during prime time

The ofﬁcial line from NBCUniversal International Television Distribution

(source: Kantar Media Singapore).

and Universal Networks International president, Belinda Menendez, is that

The Bible was also the number one show

the consolidated structure “aligns with NBCUniversal’s overall strategy

among factual entertainment channels in Thai-

to integrate our portfolio of television assets in a more holistic way in key

land for the time slot (source: Neilsen Thailand). The Bible is not aired on

growth markets”.

History in Malaysia.

Another inﬂuence on Asia’s evolving regional entertainment environ-

A new factor is A+E Studios International, which launched at Mipcom

ment is rising competition from factual player A+E Networks Asia, which

in Cannes in October. The new structure means that A+E Networks Asia is,

has shifted into the entertainment space in a much bigger way, with

for the ﬁrst time, trimming third-party acquisition of A+E titles and buying

shows such as The Bible, by Roma Downey and Mark Burnett for History

directly from the year-old A+E Studios and its new international unit. “Our

Channel in the U.S., and local competition series Photo Face-Off.

channels will buy from us. They have access to the best ideas and content,

The premiere of ﬁve-part mini-series The Bible, made History the top

which is key,” said Sean Cohan, A+E Networks’ executive vice president,

channel across both factual entertainment and general entertainment

international. Cohan added that in a past life, “some of our own channels

channels in Singapore between 10pm and midnight on 8 October, beat-

sometimes didn’t have the ability to get in line for some of our content”. In

ing general entertainment market leaders AXN, WarnerTV and Fox. The

the new world, “our best content will end up on our channels”.

issue ﬁve, november 2014

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pay-tvindia

NTENT ASIA

Piece treaties

The world’s second largest TV market is going through cataclys-

Population

mic changes. The twin forces of consolidation and digitisation are

1.24 billion

playing havoc with the way the US$7.7-billion Indian TV industry, which reaches 800 million people, has done business so far. Consolidation has meant that more than 65% of all TV viewing in India is now controlled by five large networks – Star (owned by

Households 192 million

TV households 160 million

Digital TV homes

bound to be tough. As things stand, digitisation is complete in the top three metros and 38 towns of India. However most pay-TV operators reckon that this digitisation is symbolic since complete addressability hasn’t come in yet. India then has this unique situation where the satellite

21st Century Fox), Sony, Zee, Viacom18 and Sun. So content costs

86 million

pay-TV operators are way ahead of the curve on every-

have been a challenge for most pay-TV operators.

TV audience

thing to do with packaging and pricing. However they

800 million

compete, in large measure, with cable platforms that

On the other hand, digitisation is causing havoc and bringing hope too. In 2011, India’s government mandated digitisation of television and set the all-India deadline for December 2014. This was recently extended to December 2015. More than half of India’s 160 million TV homes (about 86 million

Internet users 151.6 million/ 12.6% penetration

Online video users 100 million

have just about installed boxes in homes and are far from understanding what it takes to package or market TV signals. Then there is a free DTH operator – DD’s Freedish from the

homes) are currently digital. The bulk of the digital households,

Mobile subs

state-controlled Prasar Bharati Corporation – giving them

about 62 million, are satellite TV homes. This was a huge and

59.05 million/ 4.9% penetration

a hard time in semi-urban and rural India. Add another

growing number even before digitisation became mandatory. It is at the cable end that digitisation faces roadblocks. For a system long used to not declaring all the money it made, shifting to 100% transparency on subscribers and rates was always

issue five, november 2014

TV industry worth... US$7.7 billion

TV channels 800+

dimension to this – online video. At 100 million users and counting, online presents both an opportunity and threat. The net opinion? Times are both good and bad for pay-TV operators in one of the world’s largest consumer markets.

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pay-tvindia

NTENT ASIA

Harit Nagpal Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer Tata Sky What would you say your ma-

What were the big learnings? “New customers need

jor achievements as a pay-

more handholding for selection, use or upgrade,

TV operator have been this

than in the past. This is where digitisation in phase

year? “The first achieve-

one and two has failed. It was meant to put in

ment is that from being a

infrastructure which helped the whole process

linear provider of TV via

and choices, but it did not enable choice. We

satellite we have made

got badly circled by collecting forms and putting

the shift to providing vid-

in boxes. We can’t say that digitisation has im-

eo-on-demand and then

proved ARPU, the lowest price remains the lowest

broadband to the box in

price. If cable was selling at Rs200 (about US$3.4 a

the last couple of years. We

month), the basic package is still for Rs200.”

now offer the same content What do you see as the big challenges in the next 12

to devices anywhere through Everywhere TV [Tata Sky’s OTT brand]. “The

second

achievement

Harit Nagpal

has

months? “Regulation, regulation, regulation. Does the government want access or not? You can’t keep milking the guys

been the starting of HD in regional channels. The first phase of HD was in knowledge channels, the next was sports and the third in Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs). “The fourth phase of HD has gone down south. Gemini [a channel in Telugu, the language spoken in Andhra Pradesh, South India] and Udaya [a channel in Kannada, the language spoken in Karnataka, South India] are now available in HD. “There was a lot of scepticism about entertainment channels going HD, but it gives a boost (to viewership and ARPU). Especially because the sets on shows aired on Hindi general entertain-

The big challenges in the next 12 months are regulation, regulation regulation. Does the government want access or not? You can’t keep milking the guys who digitised voluntarily and then expect them to compete with analogue with its wonky costs. We [digital pay-TV operators] are at a higher cost and are competing with guys who are not paying taxes.”

ment channels are rich and they get enhanced in HD. [GECs across languages get more than half

who digitised voluntarily and then expect them to compete with ana-

the total viewing time spent on Indian television].

logue with its wonky costs. We [digital pay TV operators] are at a higher

60% of our new add-ons are in HD and 30% of our

cost and are competing with guys who are not paying taxes.”

base [of nine million active users] is now HD. It has been a big investment from our end and it opens

What about the composition of your revenues and changes/trends in

up the future.”

costs, revenues, margins or ARPU? “Ninety percent of our revenues are subscription fees. On costs there are no major trends. One-third is content costs, one-third goes to the government (as taxes) and one-third of our

Tata Sky is a joint venture between the Indian conglomerate Tata Sons and Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox. The privately held satellite pay-TV operator was the second major platform to launch in India in 2006 and currently has nine million active subscribers. It also has the reputation of having the best margins in the business.

issue five, november 2014

revenues are used to run our business. The big constraint is that of having to fight with the cable guy who doesn’t pay taxes. I fight him with onethird of what he makes.”

Lifestyle TV The Only Men’s Asian Lifestyle Channel Racing Queen Hero wears Suit Mad Men FoodEssay How to tie a bow tie Please contact our Asia Pacific Representative, Lanny Huang at MIPCOM and CASBAA Tel: +852 2607 4400 Website: www.lifestyletv.biz Email: lanny.huang@playboyplus.com

pay-tvindia

NTENT ASIA

Tony D’silva Group Chief Executive Officer, Hinduja Group Media Companies, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer IndusInd Media & Communications Ltd You took over in February this year and received

What have the big learnings been this year? “The DAS (digital address-

your HITS (headend-in-the-sky) license in March.

able system or digitisation) process has not proceeded the way it should

Tell us more about the HITS service you are plan-

have. The manner of STBs (set-top boxes) and configuration make it more

ning. “We are planning to launch our HITS services

difficult to implement digitisation the way it was envisaged. And after all

by the end of this calendar year. It will be a white-

the hype about HD, there is no real effort to install high-definition instead

label service, not a full-service. A full-service HITS

of standard-definition boxes. MSOs (multi-system operators) are invest-

platform is like a DTH or cable operator who does

ing huge amounts of money in STBs and the backend but they have not

the bundling, etc, and sells to last-mile operators

recovered enough of the money. And broadcasters are demanding an

(LMOs) and/or consumers. We will be a nominal

increased share of revenues without realising this.”

service that does the backend, customer-management software, packaging and bundling as

What do you see as the big challenges in the next 12 months? “The in-

per our customers – who are the last mile opera-

troduction of pre-paid. Also the regulator should realise that we are not

tors. The ownership vests with them. They negoti-

in this business for fun, he should give us time. Some appreciation from

ate with the broadcasters. Both LMOs and MSOs

broadcasters and their support would be nice. They have to accept a

can be my customers and they pay me for back-

dip in revenues before the results of digitisation start showing.”

end services only. The quality of service will be better because we are on C-band.”

Have there been any major changes/trends in costs, revenues, margins or ARPU? “The fee paid to broadcasters has increased and they

What’s the investment? “We are investing about

have started adding sports to the new pricing. But the fact is sports is

Rs500 crore/US$84 million.”

event-based. There is one big event every six months or so. So why should people pay the same price for sports through the year. Unless there is transparency, revenues will always be under pressure. Margins are better in HITS since we are only a service provider in that business.”

Some appreciation from broadcasters and their support would be nice. They have to accept a dip in revenues before the results of digitisation start showing.” Tony D’silva

IndusInd Media and Communications, a part of the US$128-million Hinduja Ventures, has two pay-TV brands – InCable and InDigital. The company claims to have eight million subscribers across 36 cities in India. Of these, 2.5 million are digital cable subscribers. The media business of Hinduja Ventures had a topline of US$105 million in March 2014, though it is not clear if this was all from its pay-TV business. According to its annual report, “Grant Investrade, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company has been granted permission by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in India to launch HITS. HITS would principally offer infrastructure services of retransmission and backend services to hundreds of Local Cable Operators (LCOs) without disturbing their current status. HITS project is expected to go live by the fourth quarter of this fiscal and have a full year’s operation in FY 16”.

issue five, november 2014

New series Itv choice I’m a celebrity Get me out of here First & Exclusive broadcast within 2 days of the uk premiere Starts 18th November Email us to find out more: international.channels@itv.com Itv-choice.com /ITVChoice

pay-tvindia

NTENT ASIA

R.C. Venkateish Chief Executive Ofﬁcer, Dish TV What do you see as the big challenges in the next 12

What would you say your ma-

months? “The challenge for the whole industry is the

jor achievements as a payTV operator have been

botched up digitisation of phase one and two. It is

this year? “This year has

a botched up digitisation because it is without ad-

been good. In March we

dressability and billing. The LCOs (last mile cable

launched our second

operators) are still charging the same old rates.

brand, Zing, in Odisha [a

And the whole unlocking of economic value is

state in Eastern India]. It

stuck, making it a big drag on the sector.”

then rolled out to West Bengal,

Have there been any major changes/trends in

Maharashtra,

costs, revenues, margins or ARPU? “The biggest

parts of the North east and

element of costs is content and that has seen single-

now Andhra Pradesh.”

digit inﬂation, so it is reasonable. Our content costs are Why Zing? “Zing was launched to

R.C. Venkateish

around 28%.” – twitter.com/vanitakohlik

deal with digitisation. It is a brand meant for ﬁrst-time digital users converting from analogue. The packaging and content is different from the normal Dish TV offering. It is very local. For example, the base pack in Odisha has 26 Oriya [the local language] channels. All DTH platforms are national and view the subcontinent through a national lens. There are national channels, rest of India and a South pack. With Zing, the idea is to localise everything

Our biggest challenge in the next 12 months for the whole industry is the botched up digitisation of phase one and two. It is a botched up digitisation because it is without addressability and billing.”

from the box to packaging and content. We found that in semi-urban and rural areas, the content consumption is local. They buy a national DTH brand and then buy local channels a la carte. We reversed that and now give local channels in the base back. And national channels are the addon. Because of this our content costs are lower. So even though the ARPU on Zing is lower, the gross margins are much higher than Dish. We have also regained momentum on Dish. We plan to continue rolling Zing out in non-Hindi markets.” What have the big learnings been? “India is a very fragmented market and you need a different strategy for different markets. Our thinking was spot on.”

issue ﬁve, november 2014

Dish TV, launched in 2003, was India’s ﬁrst DTH service. The platform is part of Subhash Chandra’s Zee Group, the media conglomerate that owns one of India’s largest broadcasters – Zee Entertainment. In March 2014, Dish TV had revenues of US$418 million. It claims to have a total of 12 million subscribers across its major brands – Dish TV and Zing.

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channelskids

NTENT ASIA

Spoiled for choice Asia’s young audiences are being hyper-served with linear channels, more and more multi-screen options and a wealth of edutainment and hard-core learning. Are there any gaps? Sure, but only if...

Sofia the First, Disney Channel

We are always looking at new ways to enhance the breadth and depth of our offering. In addition, it is important to not only provide wider choices of content but to also improve accessibility to content across multiple platforms.”

Asia’s young audiences are spoiled for choice – and that’s not only because they’re screened-up to the max and swiping to their heart’s content. Riding parents’ commitment to wholesome entertainment environments and education, pay-TV platforms everywhere have created robust children’s packs of up to 15 channels. For most of them now, the linear job is pretty much done. At least for basic tiers. Will they never again add anything else without dropping something to make space? Platforms are not saying never, but it’s clear that adding kids channels in the current environment is going to take a truly unique angle and a lot of persuading. The biggest opportunity now seems to be in premium value-add options, high levels of interactivity and emerging over-the-top (OTT) players. WHAT PLATFORMS SAY ABOUT THEIR KIDS OFFERING... Children’s channels on Malaysia’s most powerful platform have enjoyed double-digit growth in total reach for the past two consecutive

Lin Shu Fen, Head of Entertainment and SmartLife, StarHub, Singapore

issue five, november 2014

years across all platforms – education, entertainment and edutainment. Data released by Astro shows that eight out of 10 Malay children have

channelskids

NTENT ASIA

watched Astro TVIQ, nine out of 10 Chinese kids have watched Astro Xiao Tai Yang, and nine out 10 Indian kids have watched Astro Chutti TV. Astro’s current position is that its young audiences are fully served on basic packs, with additional content

Young audiences are pretty important because they are related to one of our visions – educating the nation.” Julio Sanjaya, General Manager, PT. MNC SkyVision, Indonesia

available on on-demand services such as Astro Best and VOD.

general manager, PT MNC SkyVision Tbk/Indovision.

In the Philippines, direct-to-

Sanjaya says the next step will be continual improve-

home (DTH) satellite TV provider

ment on the kids offerings, starting with the addition of

Cignal TV is open to adding kids channels to its current bouquet of seven third-party linear channels (Disney XD, Cartoon Network, Disney Channel,

new channel ZooMoo. Global channel ZooMoo launched in Asia in April this year with a 24-hour linear channel, a TVanywhere streamed channel and a synchronised secondscreen app. Content is 100% original and either created by sister pro-

Animax, Disney Junior, Toonami, Nickelodeon).

duction houses or commissioned from independent producers. ZooMoo

The platform says it is also looking at adding on-

launched on Indovision in August this year.

demand and over-the-top options, plus anything else that comes along to drive engagement. “Kids play a big role in content choice so we always consider this market in every initiative. This

Sanjaya says ZooMoo adds “a lot more interaction between the target audience and the channel they watch”. He adds that ZooMoo also completes the subscription package and the platform’s commitment to offering quality shows for the whole family.

is evident in the channel viewership rankings – kids

Kids-based on-demand options are being considered for the next

channels come out in the top 10,” says Cignal’s

round of content/tech enhancements. Indovision offers VOD for other

head of channel management and marketing,

audience segments. “For the time being, targeting kids with on-demand

Guido Xavier R. Zaballero.

services is not urgent, yet we are keen to see this as good opportunity,”

In Indonesia, leading satellite pay-TV platform

Sanjaya says, adding that “young audiences are pretty important be-

Indovision’s young audiences, from babies to

cause they are related to one of our visions – educating the nation. We

teens, are now fully served, says Julio Sanjaya,

are working on this segment seriously and will gradually add what’s necessary based on subscribers’ needs”. In Singapore, telco SingTel added Nickelodeon and Disney Channel

to its Mio TV line up in the past 18 months. Head of content, Anurag Dahiya, says the Mio team “will continue to regularly review our content offering and make changes that benefit our customers”. StarHub, Singapore’s biggest platform with 535,000 subscribers in mid-2014 says its Kids Basic Tier covers a comprehensive range of channels that catering to children of all ages and growing stages from infants to tweens. StarHub says more than 80% of these channels are available on the StarHub TV Anywhere platform, ing

provid-

multi-screen

experiences wherever

au-

diences

are.

Kids add-on

issue five, november 2014

Coming Soon! c

ntent

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channelskids

NTENT ASIA

ChiChi and ChaCha, Astro Ceria

We feel the need to strengthen the kids genre on our digital line-up.” Peter Pan, Senior Vice President, Content and Sales, Taiwan Broadband Communications (TBC), Taiwan

“We do feel the need to strengthen the genre on our digital line-up,” says Peter Pan, TBC’s senior vice president of content and ad sales. These are most likely to be full linear channels; TBC does not currently offer ondemand services. J:Com says its young audiences are fully served with seven linear channels (AT-X HD!, Animax HD, Kids Station HD, Cartoon Network HD, Disney Channel HD, Disney XD, Disney Junior) and one VOD package (Baby TV). WHAT’S TRENDING

channels provide supplementary content, such

The biggest shifts in young audiences’ video consumption involve multi-

as Chinese enrichment with Rediffusion TV, Chi-

screen usage, which adds second-screen engagement to the linear ex-

nese infotainment with momokids Asia, and inter-

perience. And not necessarily in that order. The second-screen is often

active wildlife channel ZooMoo.

the first screen for young viewers in terms of content discovery, with linear

“We are always looking at new ways to en-

following. Platforms point out that young audiences’ viewing habits are

hance the breadth and depth of our offering. In

part of a broad shift among all audiences to multiple screens and that

addition, it is important to not only provide wider

this will only increase as smart-device penetration rises. Social networking

choices of content but to also improve accessibil-

platforms, such as Line in Japan, are a popular way for young audiences

ity to content across multiple platforms,” says Lin

to spend time.

Shu Fen, StarHub’s head of entertainment and SmartLife. In North Asia, Japan’s J:Com says its young audiences are fully served, while in Taiwan, pay-TV platform Taiwan Broadband Communications

diences is driven in part by the “digital nanny” phenomenon, where parents rely more on technology to occupy and entertain their children. In Malaysia, Astro says the new multi-screen generation actively seeks content information before or while watching TV programmes.

(TBC) says new channels will “probably not” be

Astro also notes that young audiences prefer watching short-form con-

added to the analogue package because of

tent on their mobiles. This is because mobile devices are less regulated by

capacity issues. However, the operator is look-

parents, and therefore more private and discreet. Astro says content has

ing at strengthening the kids offering on its digital

to be tailor-made to address this shorter attention span.

platform.

issue five, november 2014

In Singapore, StarHub’s Lin says multi-screen take up among young au-

StarHub’s Lin sees on-demand content for kids as a category with high

Astro, Malaysia

StarHub, Singapore

Indovision, Indonesia

SingTel mio TV, Singapore

i-Cable, Hong Kong

NTENT ASIA

How many

In-house

Brought in

14 channels targetting 4 to 14 year olds. 13 of the channels are in SD and one (Disney XD) is in HD

6 Astro-branded channels: Astro Ceria, Astro TVIQ, Astro Tutor TV UPSR, Astro Tutor TV MR, Astro Tutor TV SPM and Astro Xiao Tai Yang

8 channels: Chutti TV, Nickelodeon, Disney Junior, Disney Channel, Cartoon Network, Disney XD (SD), Disney XD (HD) and Baby TV

momokids Asia, ZooMoo, Rediffusion TV, BabyFirst, BabyTV, Cartoon Network, Cbeebies, Discovery Kids, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney on Demand, Disney XD, Nick Jr, Nickelodeon and Toonami

1: MNC KidS

11. Five channels are exclusive (Disney XD, Cbeebies, Baby TT, Yoyo TV and Zoomoo). The other six are Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Disney Junior, Disney Channel, Toonami and Discovery Kids

Disney Channel, Disney On Demand, Disney XD, Disney XD On Demand, Disney Junior, Disney Junior On Demand, Nick Jr, Nickelodeon, Discovery Kids, ETTV Yoyo, BabyTV, BabyTV On Demand.

15. 10 are also available on StarHub TV Anywhere

12, including 4 on-demand channels

1: i-Cable Children Channel, offering education and entertain- Cartoon Network, Animax, Toonami, Disney Channel, ment, with a mix of cartoons and Disney Junior, Nickelodeon, CBeebies specially produced programmes

8, including 1 VOD

7 linear: AT-X HD!, Animax HD, Kids Station HD, Cartoon Network HD, Disney Channel HD, Disney XD, Disney Junior. 1 VOD package: Baby TV

Cignal, Philippines

Disney XD, Cartoon Network, Disney Channel, Animax, Disney Junior, Toonami, Nickelodeon

Taiwan Broadband Communications

6 (5 analogue, 1 digital)

J:Com Japan

5 analogue: Cartoon Network, Disney channel, MOMO Kids, YOYO TV and Animax. 1 digital: Baby TV

HyppTV, Telekom Malaysia

BabyFirst, Cbeebies, Discovery Kids, Nick Jr

Now TV, Hong Kong

Watch n Learn, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Discovery Kids, Toonami, Cbeebies, BabyTV, Nick Jr

TrueVisions, Thailand

1: True Spark

Disney XD, Cartoon Network HD, Toon Channel, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Discovery Kids, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, CBeebies, True Spark

SkyCable, Philippines

Disney Junior, Toonami, Cartoon Network, Hero TV, Nickelodeon, Animax, Disney Channel, Nick Jr, JimJam, Cartoonito, Discovery Kids, BabyTV Source: Platforms

issue five, november 2014

channelskids

NTENT ASIA

Junior Bake Off season two, CBeebies

We will continue to regularly review our content offering.” Anurag Dahiya Head of Content, SingTel Mio TV, Singapore

Education is a strong driver. Singapore’s Rediffusion TV, for instance, is a subscription video on-demand (SVOD) channel that offers Chinese enrichment programmes for primary one to six students. The Rediffusion TV syllabus is curated by Eduplus Language Centre and mirrors lessons taught in Singapore schools, allowing students to continue their Chinese education at home. For a monthly subscription, parents can choose from a range of lessons categorised according to education levels. Astro’s education channels, customised with tutorials to help students with the exams, are particularly well-received, the platform says. Astro makes education videos from Tutor TV and TVIQ channels available online, including on YouTube. This includes bite-size informative fillers as well as long-format videos for more intensive revision. Astro is also planning to offer mobile videos for exam revision on the go. Since launch, more than 1.3 million students have watched Astro Tutor TV (SPM) channel, which

growth potential. “Currently, kids titles make up

offers tutorials for Malaysia’s major exam. One of the Tutor TV channels

a smaller portion of our on-demand catalogue.

(UPSR exam) has seen total viewership surge from 616,000 to 1.6 million.

However, we see this is as a growing segment and

Astro hit the genre out of the park with Oh My English!. The series had

will certainly add more titles as the demand in-

3.6 million viewers in season one, 5.2 million in season two, and 2.7 million

creases,” she says.

and 2.5 million for two special telemovies. Oh My English! also continues

Innovative services are driving take up. “We are also seeing new innovative channels such as

issue five, november 2014

to be popular on social media, with 616,000 Facebook fans, 82,000 followers on Twitter and 13 million YouTube views.

ZooMoo, a kids wildlife channel that uses a fully

While there have been no major shifts in kids viewing in the Philippines,

synchronised second-screen app to let viewers

Cignal’s Zaballero says “we have noticed though that one of the chan-

collect animals featured on the TV screen and

nels that is viewed frequently on OTT is for kids”.

bring them to life on their tablet or smart phone.

In Japan, J:Com says on-demand kids content is important and that

The second-screen app also gives kids the oppor-

the platform’s focus is on a TV Everywhere strategy that delivers pro-

tunity to learn at their own pace. As a result, the

graming on demand to tablets and smart phones. It is this, the platform

tablet becomes an extension of the channel, en-

adds, that has value for its subscribers and will increase satisfaction levels.

hancing the viewing experience,” Lin says.

Among kids as, indeed, it will among everyone else.

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innumbers

NTENT ASIA

A+E Networks Asia hit paydirt in Malaysia and Thailand with local photography competition Photo Face-Off (10.30pm, 23 Sept) and the premiere of the new Storage Wars. The two put History in top spot among Astro’s regional Englishlanguage Jejak Rasul: Rihlah 2 Daie, Primeworks Studios entertainment/ Judy Ann Santos, Bet on Your Baby Philippines factual entertainment channels Malaysia’s Primeworks Studios has sold season 20 of flagship in prime time Islamic factual series, Jejak Rasul, to Indonesia’s Kompas TV. Photo Face-Off, (6pm-midnight, History Season 20, Rihlah 2 Daie, will air on the free-TV network during the 15+, Nielsen Philippines’ free-TV network ABS-CBN’s Muslim holy month of Ramadhan in 2015. The new 15-episode Malaysia). A+E said average total day audience share season follows two missionaries on a spiritual exploration across Jordan and the two beat the prePalestine. Kompas TV’s pick up follows TransTV’s acquisition earlier this in September. Rival GMA, however, mieres of The Voice year of seasons 12 (30 half-hour episodes dedicated to the Prophet Muhamand The Blacklist still rules in Mega Manila. Nationwide, mad) and 13 (30 episodes charting the stories of the first four Caliphs of among all individuals ABS-CBN had a prime-time share of Islam) and Radio Televion Brunei’s acquisition of season 19 (Ramadhan in 15+ on Astro for the 48% (6pm to midnight), and 44% in the Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Palestine). The long-running series debuted in 1995. night. Photo FaceOff, a production afternoon 3pm to 6pm block. Afternoon with Fremantlemedrivers included returning format Bet on dia Asia, doubled Your Baby. ABS-CBN’s drama anthology History’s prime-time average audience Maalaala Mo Kaya was the country’s Total viewership of and made History the South Korea’s average connection speed, top show for the month. Viacom’s joint venture top factual enterwhich is the highest in the world. The tainment channel in Colors channel in India global average connection speed grew Thailand on the night. for the week the new to 4.6 Mbps in the second quarter of this season of Bigg Boss premiered. Season eight’s year, according to the Q2 2014 State The number of hours consumers in the Philippines debut ep on 21 Sepof the Internet (SOTI) report respend online for personal reasons every week. tember clocked viewerleased by Akamai Technologies. Nielsen’s South Asia Cross-Platform Report with ship of 7.6 million. Bigg Four Asian countries qualify for video advertising platform Videology put Boss, the local version of Singapore in second spot with 25.12 hours the “high broadband” club Endemol’s Big Brother, is stripped weekdays a week, followed by Thailand (23.30) and – South Korea, Japan, Hong from 9pm to 10pm with Indonesia (23.12). Malaysians clocked 20 Kong and, newest entrant, specials on weekends. hours and Vietnam 15.30 hours. Even if it Singapore. Entry means an But neither Bigg Boss nor came last by number of hours, Vietnam average connection speed host Salman Khan could topped the list for online video consumption topple market leader above 10 Mbps. Hong Kong (91% watch at least weekly) and simultaneous Star Plus, which ended has the highest average peak use of screens, with 84% using three screens the week with 593 million connection speed at 73.9 Mbps. at the same time and 96% using two screens. viewers. Long-running The largest increase in peak connecsoap Diya Aur Baati Hum Simultaneous use was lowest in Singapore at 59% tion speed over the past year was seen in was #1 with viewership using two screens and 87% using three screens. of 8.1 million. Indonesia, with an increase of 107%.

43%

24.6 Mbps 431m

26.42 hours

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