ContentAsia November 2021

NOVEMBER 2021

C

NTENT

Interview: Indonesia’s Manoj Punjabi

SOUND ON Industry leaders take the mic

PLUS: Taiwan’s TAICCA from the inside, streaming insights & more

contents...

what’s inside...

Police in a Pod, Nippon TV

Top cop

Share prize

Japan’s top commercial

Global streamers command

broadcaster, Nippon TV, topped

more than half the demand for

online platform TVer’s Q3

series/originals in Asia Pacific,

rankings with its Wed night cop

says data science company

comedy, closely followed by

Parrot Analytics.

TBS, which took five of the top 20 spots for the quarter against

4

Nippon’s three.

Sound on

Surge party

Asia’s video entertainment

Indonesia’s MD Corp is at the centre of Southeast Asia’s streaming hotbed, the company’s founder and chief executive, Manoj Punjabi, talks about dealing with the surge in demand, how he views the shifts in release windows, production partnerships, and what comes next after blockbuster earnings reports.

leaders talk about everything from production and problem solving to content travelability and longevity.

10

24

8

Our mission/ goal established is first to industrialise, second is to internationalise, and third to integrate.”

Alice Chang, Vice President, Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA)

page 28

First among equals Taiwan is on a creative mission.

And no-one, least of all the local industry, is complaining.

TAICCA VP, Alice Chang, talks about goals in a market already considered one of Asia’s most

28

creative.

Switch On, Century UU Entertainment Thailand

Formats: Thailand Asian drama influences continue in Thailand, which is proving to be a fertile – if nascent – environment for scripted formats from Korea, Japan and China.

30 Editorial Director Janine Stein Assistant Editor Malena Amzah malena@contentasia.tv Research & Production CJ Yong cj@contentasia.tv Design Rae Yong Research Assistant Rhealyn Rigodon iyah@contentasia.tv

INTERNATIONAL Associate Publisher (Americas, Europe) and VP, International Business Development Leah Gordon leah@contentasia.tv

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contentasia november 2021

datajapan

Police in a Pod, Nippon TV

Top cop Japan’s top commercial broadcaster, Nippon TV, topped online platform TVer’s Q3 rankings with its Wed night cop comedy, closely followed

by TBS, which took five of the top 20 spots for the quarter against Nippon’s three.

Japanese commercial broadcaster Nippon TV’s Wed-night cop/comedy drama, Police in a Pod (Hakozume: Tatakau! Koban Joshi), emerged as

TVer’s Overall Most-watched Programmes (July-September 2021)

the most-watched programme on domestic online catch-up service, TVer, with 19.01 million total views from July-Sept this year, according to

Rank

Genre

Broadcaster

1

Police in a Pod

Drama

Nippon TV

19.01

2

Tokyo MER: Mobile Emergency Room

Drama

TBS

18.65

3

She Was Pretty

Drama

Fuji TV

17.34

4

Night Doctor

Drama

Fuji TV

13.63

5

Promise Cinderella

Drama

TBS

13.61

6

#bemyFamily

Drama

TBS

10.1

7

Voice - 110 Emergency Control Room 2: Last Call

Drama

Nippon TV

9.47

8

I’m Just Not Divorced

Drama

TV Tokyo

9.26

9

Emergency Interrogation Room

Drama

TV Asahi

8.13

10

Chijo no Kiss

Drama

TV Asahi

7.56

11

Saretagawa Blue

Drama

MBS TV

7.391

12

I Fell in Love With My Murderous Intention

Drama

Nippon TV

7.191

13

Boys Over Flowers Next Season

Drama

TBS

6.951

14

My Fair Prince

Drama

Fuji TV

6.561

15

Wednesday’s Downtown

Variety

TBS

6.241

16

The Drifter

Drama

TV Asahi

5.7

17

London Hearts

Variety

TV Asahi

5.4

18

Hitoshi Matsumoto no Sake no Tsumami ni naru Hanashi

Variety

Fuji TV

5.2

19

Cyber Crimes Unit

Drama

TV Asahi

4.95

20

Ukiwa: Tomodachi Ijo, Furin Miman

Drama

TV Tokyo

4.94

audience measurement agency Video Research’s latest “Programme Playback Ranking” report.

The quarterly report measured total videos viewed on TVer, set up in Oct 2015 by five Japanese commercial stations – Nippon TV, TV Asahi, TBS, TV Tokyo and Fuji TV. TVer’s highest audience was 19.79 million total views from April to June this year for TBS’ Friday-night romantic comedy, Rikokatsu (aka How to Get A Divorce for the Whole Family).

The latest report, released by TVer in early Nov, tracked videos played

Total views (million)

Programme

between 1 July and 30 September.

Drama led, with 17 of the top 20 slots. The rest were variety shows.

Nippon TV aired the nine-episode Police in a Pod at 10pm (7 July to 15 Sept) with an average 11.4% TVR (source: Video Research, Kanto Region). Two special episodes aired in August.

Police in a Pod, based on Miko Yasu’s 2017 manga series Hakozume: Koban Joshi no Gyakushu, stars Erika Toda (Scarlet) as a detective and Mei Nagano (Ichikei’s Crow: The Criminal Court Judges) as her rookie partner. TVer said the series was watched by all age groups.

TVer’s second most-watched show was Tokyo Broadcasting System Television’s (TBS) medical drama, Tokyo MER: Mobile Emergency Room, with 18.65 million views. Tokyo MER is about two doctors with opposing ideologies who become involved in a much larger political game. The 11-episode series garnered an average 13.6% TVR (Video Research, Kanto region) during its broadcast on TBS from July to September this year.

TVer’s top variety shows for the quarter were long-running Wednesday’s Downtown (since 2014) from TBS, followed by TV Asahi’s London Hearts (since 1999). In third place was Fuji TV’s Hitoshi Matsumoto no Sake no Tsumami ni naru Hanashi (April 2021). All three are still on air.

Variety shows, traditionally favoured by men, had for the first time more than 80% female viewers for Nippon TV’s The First – BMSG Audition 2021.

The talent search, which aired from 2 April to 13 Aug this year, ranked fifth in the latest chart for variety programming.

The six-year old TVer streaming app, which captured 16% of all premium video streaming for the first eight months of this year (source: Media Partners Asia/AMPD Research), leverages local free-to-air dramas, variety, news and sports. The ad-supported TVer offers 400 catch-up titles and hit 40 million downloads in August 2021, with monthly active users of 34.8 million in July 2021.

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Source: Video Research “Programme Playback Ranking July-Sept 2021” report, released by TVer on 4 November 2021

contentasia november 2021

datademand

Share prize

Global streamers command more than half the demand for series/originals in Asia Pacific, says data science company Parrot Analytics.

Demand share by original series: APAC, Q3 2021

Demand share for series by corporate owner: APAC, Q3 2021

Methodology note: Originals demand share is the total demand for all series where the most recent season first aired on this platform. Where appropriate, related platforms have been combined eg FX and FXX, HBO and HBO Max.

Methodology note: Corporate demand share is the total demand for all series where the most recent season first aired on this platform controlled by each corporate entity. For example: ABC, National Geographic and FX original series will all count towards the Disney share

Just under half of audience demand for original series in the Asia-Pacific

its live action Marvel series.

region in the three months to end September went to shows outside of

Parrot Analytics said that, collectively, the six largest media corporations

major global networks/platforms, according to data science company

controlled almost three quarters of U.S. demand for TV series. 29.2% of audi-

Parrot Analytics.

ence attention went to originals from other platforms in the quarter.

Of today’s largest global programmers, Netflix, with 10.9% share, com-

The highest share (20.1%) of U.S. audience attention in Q3 2021 was

manded more than double the demand of its closest rivals, led by HBO/

paid to series ultimately from the Walt Disney Company – including Hulu,

HBO Max (4.8%), CBS (4.5% share), and BBC Studios (4.3%).

Disney+ and Hotstar – with ViacomCBS content holding the second

The latest figures show Netflix, Viacom and WarnerMedia neck and neck in share of demand for digital/streaming across Asia Pacific in the

largest share (13.4%).

Also in its Q3 report, Parrot showed that Netflix’s share of global and

third quarter of this year, well behind Disney and at a fraction of the

U.S. demand for digital originals hit a record low, down to 45.8% globally

consolidated demand on a slew of domestic platforms.

and 43.7% in the U.S. In Q2 2021, Netflix was at 48.3% globally, and 46%

Amazon Prime Video remains the second most in-demand streaming service for original content globally at 12.1% – boosted by the high global demand of its Indian originals.

Off the success of Ted Lasso, Apple TV+ is now the fourth most in-de-

in the U.S. Parrot said total global demand for Netflix originals grew 3.3% in Q3 compared to Q2 2021, and was up 74% in the two years since Q2 2019.

“However, global demand for original content from Netflix’s competi-

mand streaming service for original content globally, with 6.1% demand

tors grew 14.3% in Q3 2021, and is up 196% since Q2 2019 – before com-

share in Q3 2021.

petitors like Disney+, HBO Max, and Apple TV+ entered the market,”

Apple TV+ leapfrogged Hulu (5.5%), but still trails Netflix (45.8%), Amazon Prime Video (12.1%) and Disney+ (8.4%).

In the U.S., Amazon Prime Video fell to third place for the first time, ending the quarter at 8.6%, behind Disney+’s 8.9%, driven by success of

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the report said, adding that “this matters because demand for original content is a key leading indicator of subscriber growth, so Netflix may be able to grow its subscriber base while its dominant position in the market continues to erode.”

contentasia november 2021

HIT DRAMA SERIES AND ENTERTAINMENT SHOWS!!

I’m Mita, Your Housekeeper.

Mr.Hiiragi’s Homeroom

Tokyo Tarareba Girls

Life’s Punchline

Born to be a Flower

Your Turn to Kill

Weakest Beast

Death Note

Overprotected Kahoko

Pretty Proofreader

Love You as the World Ends

Hotarunohikari

Cursed in Love

MOCO’S Kitchen

The Queen’s Classroom

inquotes

Sound on

Asia’s video entertainment leaders talk about everything from production and problem solving to content travelability and longevity.

“We see our role as enablers to grow this ecosystem. Some of our films, like Gulabo Sitabo, Shakuntala Devi and Coolie No.1, have become the mostwatched movies on Prime Video, not just in India, but also outside. Our locallanguage movies became the most watched movies in their respective languages, with 50% of viewership coming from outside home states... Good content transcends geographical barriers and this builds confidence among our creators, our producers, that this model is working.”

Aparna Purohit, Head of India Originals, Amazon Prime Video

Free to air still plays a significant role in Thailand... Consumers have started to pay for VOD, but for [pay-TV] linear channels?

I don’t think so…”

Janice Lee

“We’re learning our audience has a bigger appetite for content not originated in their own

Anne Jakrajutatip, CEO, JKN Global Media

language. Viu original,

(Thailand)

Pretty Little Liars, was

Aparna Purohit

produced in Indonesia “When we make local content, it’s more for the Indonesian audience. I don’t focus

Manoj Punjabi

but drew great audiences in Malaysia. Similarly,

on what the international appeal would be

Thailand’s Praemok

because I can’t win both worlds... Indonesian

did really well for us in

content is very Indonesia-centric right now,

Malaysia. So language is

unless it’s a festival movie... We get accepted

really not a barrier and

in the region, in Malaysia, Singapore...

we’re trying to explore

Sometimes our content, like Habibi, can go to

and allow for cross-

Germany and other countries. But very little

pollination of content

content travels. If you are focusing on what we

between markets. This will

are doing, original series, movies here, it has to

open a bigger opportunity,

be Indonesia centric. That’s how I see it.”

not just for us as a

Manoj Punjabi, Founder & CEO, MD Corp (Indonesia)

platform, for us as content producers, but also for the creative industry

“The idea is to use technology to solve important, quality

Anne Jakrajutatip

of life problems for the other three billion... This is a vast under-

as a whole.”

innovated chunk of the world’s population... people talk about

Janice Lee, CEO,

the digital divide, but we’re focused on the data divide, which

Viu & MD, PCCW

limits consumption for 90% of the population in our markets.

Media Group

They have limited data budgets. They’re not data starving.

They watch short form. They do social media, but they are data malnourished. Buying those gigabytes is a thoughtful allocation of their household income. That’s what we’re focused on.”

Barrett Comiskey, Founder/CEO, Migo Source: ContentAsia Summit 2021 10

Barrett Comiskey

contentasia november 2021

inquotes

“We have a continuous effort for another type of co-development. The aim is not only to show the programme in countries involved, but to target the worldwide market from the beginning... We are ready and open to be working with partners from any part of the world... A ‘one IP multiuse’ is key for a company like ours; we’re a broadcaster but not just a broadcaster. We have live experience, live entertainment, animation production, manga...”

Fumi Nishibashi, International Business Development, Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) Japan

Sameer Nair

“We are getting a chance to tell better stories, a chance to explore taboo themes, a chance to look at both sides of the coin, be more gray rather than black or white, to talk about uncomfortable things and we’re getting to

“Live sports offers huge spikes in traffic to Sooka. It’s providing the lion’s share of subscription revenue for the service. It is also providing a very significant uplift for entertainment [content]. We have about a 20% uplift in engagement with entertainment assets, because of that sports user. The behaviour around that 20% is something that we are very keen on growing and understanding.

There are obviously audiences who just want entertainment. And our job is to serve them as well as possible...We are basically double dipping [into sports and entertainment audiences] and trying to make that as seamless as possible.”

Fumi Nishibashi

Mark Francis, Chief Content Officer, Sooka (Malaysia)

do it well. Audiences are reacting well to it...

“We all see the potential of strategic partner-

Audiences are changing. It’s

ships, such as the one with TrueID. These

putting more pressure on

partnerships give TrueID users access to

us as storytellers in that we

the few first episodes of our top shows on

have to be smarter, we have

iQiyi. This not only expands the user base

to be more intelligent, we

of both platforms, but also exposes

have to be more mindful.

Chinese content to people who have

Entertainment is one thing

never had the chance to be exposed to

but there’s also got to be some degree of sensitivity, gender equality, things like

Mark Francis

Chinese content earlier.”

Parnsuk (Poppy) Tongrob, Director of Content for Thailand, iQiyi

that. We have to address the social issues that

“We are shifting and opening

surround us, not in a

and broadening our pipeline...

preachy way but we

in Asia, we have done some

can’t be blind.”

development that is going to be

Sameer Nair, CEO, Applause

Laura Abril

the basis of our future growth, specifically for kids and animation. We have a couple of strong cases that were born in Asia, Deer Squad and Shark Dog, which are now travelling the world and are very good success stories that correctly represent the region’s ambition for us, and that hopefully will be applied to other genres and formats. Moving forward, that’s our ambition and aspiration.”

Laura Abril, Head of ViacomCBS International Studios (VIS) EMEA & Asia

Poppy Tongrob 14

contentasia november 2021

“We believe that content exclusivity is crucial for any OTT platform to dominate in the long run... starting from as early as next year, we will treble – if not more than that – our original titles to Indonesian audiences...

We haven’t done what some of our competitors do where they put the episodes on pay and two or three weeks later they put it on free. We don’t believe in that. We believe that eventually people have to appreciate this as a premium pay service.”

Sutanto Hartono CEO, PT Surya Citra Media, which owns/operates Indonesian streaming service, Vidio

contentasia november 2021

15

Period, Romance, Drama | 15 x 85' (TBC) Release year: 2022

For more information, please email inter-sales@becworld.com

HIS TRUE LOVE COMES FROM A MIRACLE...

INN SARIN

JOB THUCHAPON

BL, Fantasy, Drama | 14 x 85' (TBC) Release year: 2022

Visit www.ch3plus.com/contentlicensing (User ID & PW are required)

inquotes

“In the past, when you had a major title, you knew which clients were going to take it and you had the windowing all planned out even before you brought the show to market. Now, you can’t afford to do that. There is a bespoke, customised solution for each client. Even in one territory, you can have four or five different conversations about a particular project. And you can potentially do three or four deals for a particular show... it’s becoming more bespoke and about being able to offer a solution for even the smallest client.”

Ganesh Rajaram, General Manager, EVP Sales – Asia, Fremantle

“There’s so much energy, so many players, so much more competition. The place to be right now is not in the comfort zone... we’ve been doing a lot of work with producers and local platform to look at alternative formats. Not everything needs to be prime-time and with incredibly high budgets.”

Sabrina Duguet, EVP Asia Pacific, All3Media International

Joanne Tsai

“Taiwan+ is editorially independent and reflects Taiwan’s values, including freedom of speech...

The beauty of Taiwan democracy is that we allow all the different voices to be heard... same sex marriage, human rights, those are the things that we care about and want to give a voice to on our platform. My

Sabrina Duguet

Ganesh Rajaram

Rashmi Bajpai

personal goal for doing this is to make Taiwan’s voice heard around the world.”

Joanne Tsai, CEO, Taiwan+

“The appetite and attraction in Asia for European stories is a lot higher... [In the past] there were fewer territories in Asia that would take risks with these stories... now, new viewing patterns are taking us to places that we perhaps would not have gone before... There has been huge shift in the demand, which is very welcome.”

Rashmi Bajpai, Executive Vice President, Sales, Asia, Banijay Rights “What I see moving forward is the concept of ownership is shifting tremendously in the [social content creation] industry. Not just the ownership of yourself as a brand but the information that you transmit, to the content that you produce… you are a creator who wants to make your own merchandise, who wants to have their own brand, who wants to transmit their own values, from how they specify the shirts they sell, the houses that they design, the finances that they advertise for... that ownership of what they are as a single unit of content creation has grown tremendously. So before it would be, ‘I am parroting or I am mimicking a brand that is working with me. I can transmit my message through my content’. Now. It’s more ’no, I have my values. You guys match with my values and then I can transmit my message through my content. So they don’t want to alienate their audience so much as they used to.”

Diogo Martins, Lead, Bloomr.SG, Mediacorp

Diogo Martins 18

contentasia november 2021

@all3media_int all3mediainternational.com

BASED ON THE WORLDWIDE BEST-SELLING NOVELS, THIS IS PROGRAMMING WITH HEART

P L AY G R O U N D

Heart-warming dramas and edge-of-your-seat thrillers

LARGER THAN LIFE FAMILY ADVENTURES IN THE PICTURESQUE ENGLISH COUNTRYSIDE

inquotes

“Local and Asian [content] is very very important for freemium consumption.

And it has definitely led the way in places like Indonesia, and also in Thailand, ... Korean content is a big driver of consumption and subscription growth in Southeast Asia... It’s still early, but we’re very encouraged to see big use cases develop for consistent and recurring subscriber acquisition and particularly for what customers want to pay for.”

Vivek Couto, Co-founder and Executive Director, Media Partners Asia (MPA)

“The biggest change is kids and how they access our content... how we think about what kind of shows that we want to make for them.”

Carlene Tan, Director of Original Production & Development, Kids – APAC, WarnerMedia Vivek Couto

What can Malaysia creators do to command a bigger share of global attention? “There are certain sensitivities in Malaysia,

Christopher Ho

topics that are censored, through self- or literal censorship...

Malaysia’s stories, like the turmoil that we’ve gone through, the events that have made headlines around the world... aspects of those stories, the inner workings of Malaysia... that’s the opportunity.

These are stories that should be told, stories unique to Malaysia.

We just have to make sure that we can find the right partner and platform to tell those stories.”

Carlene Tan

“We don’t have separate teams for linear and on-demand... there’s no competition. Programming ‘ambidextrously’ means we are collectively responsible

Zainir Aminullah, Founder & CEO, Revolution Media

for content strategy across

“What has changed is that creators have become the first port of call

content, whether it’s

when it comes to seeking out information... creators go the extra mile to make sure that they’re being relatable, that they’re completely honest. They share so much about themselves. They put themselves out there... the relationship that audiences have with those creators is more one of being a friend rather than being a fan.”

Gunjan Arya, CEO, OML Entertainment (India) “Streaming is transforming the distribution of content. Global and local content is now sitting side by side on the same platforms.

Streamers are trying to grow subscription. They’re investing a lot

platforms. It’s the same from the U.S. pipeline or content we acquire to top that up or content that we produce. There’s a consolidated strategy.”

Christopher Ho, Senior Network Director, Kids Content, Southeast Asia/Pacific & Korea, WarnerMedia

more in regional content, in local content, because that’s what drives consumer engagement. All of this leads to demand for Zainir Aminullah

higher quality production, higher quality content, not just in the stories and the storytelling but also from a technical perspective in audio and video quality. There is a lot more language capability; platforms can stream 20 or 30 language versions of a show today. This is changing the landscape. The capability of devices has also grown significantly. Consumers are constantly upgrading. They want the best entertainment experience on their devices and platforms want to make sure they deliver. All of this together is resulting in a place where local stories need to be told to a local and a global audience with global quality. So I think that’s what’s really driving the demand for innovation and improvement in quality.”

Gunjan Arya

Pankaj Kedia, Managing Director, Emerging Markets, Dolby Laboratories Pankaj Kedia

20

contentasia november 2021

stv.com

www.hit

V T T S E B E C THALEL IN ONE PLA ervice annel S . OTT h C ic s a p Asia’s B. HD . Catch-U Linear

www

ov i .hitsm

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Ser annel h C s e Movi . OTT Basicinear . HD s ’ a i L As

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A REWIND NETWORKS PRESENTATION

inquotes

“One thing I’ve learned is never to compare Thai Lakorn to K-dramas. It’s almost like if you know you’re going to be served chicken, you shouldn’t be expecting it to taste like pork. And another thing that I realised about Thai dramas is that anyone who watches tends to go for the romance and also for the chemistry of the leads. So casting is very important.”

Indra Suharjono, Senior Media Erik Matti

Adviser, JKN Global Media PLC & Co-

Indra Suharjono

founder, I.E. Entertainment

“From early on, I wanted to root my films in

“We all love Korean dramas. We started the Hallyu wave in the

something very Filipino,

Philippines with Autumn in my Heart. And it worked very well. First we

but with a universal story...

aired it in the afternoons and then moved to prime time. As the years

if you keep the balance

went by, acquiring Korean drama has become more competitive. That

really well, you can come

encouraged me to look for alternatives, from China and, of course,

up with something true to

Taiwan was already there. And when I saw [Thai] Lakorn, I thought it was

your country of origin but

a good alternative.”

also something others can

Jose Mari R Abacan, First VP, Program Management, GMA Network &

identify with.”

Project Director, GMA Network Films (Philippines)

Erik Matti, Producer/Director, On The Job

“I started bringing Korean drama to Latin America 15 years ago, and decided to build on this with other Asian dramas... In Latin America, we love drama, we love to cry. Love is in any place. You love the same in India or in Korea or Peru. And then I moved on to Indian dramas, Filipinos dramas. And then I decided two years ago, when I started reading the news and seeing that Thai drama was coming up, to take a look and I fell in love with them.”

Jose Mari R Abacan

Jose Escalante, CEO/Director, Latin Media Corporation “To enjoy more global success, like Korean drama, I feel Thai producers need to find a way to break through [the current structure where so many actors and creators are tied to big TV stations or entertainment companies], to think about the distribution of talent and how to foster a more balanced and competitive market. I believe this will be key to attract foreign companies to invest

Jose Escalante

COMING SOON CONTENTASIA DECEMBER 2021

more in Thai content... [our activities in Thailand] began five years ago with remakes of CJ ENM content – variety shows and drama – from Korea. That was phase one. In phase two, we are still producing drama, but we also need to develop our own original IP.” Michael (MJ) Jung, MD, CJ ENM Hong Kong & COO, True CJ Creations (Thailand)

Who’s saying what about post-production in Asia, the latest on podcasts in the region, the making of The Mole: Undercover in North Korea & a whole lot more.

MJ Jung 22

contentasia november 2021

“We’re adding creative layer on top of creative layer.

We know if we listen to audiences, if we work with them during the development process and adaptation, and listen to the parts they loved and then at the end of it, go back and let them know that this is coming out on this day at this time, we’re really closing that fan ecosystem.

All of a sudden, you see that the success of future entertainment is not just about story. It’s about the currency between story, creator and the fans themselves.”

Aron Levitz, President, Wattpad Webtoon Studios

contentasia november 2021

23

productioninterview

Surge party Cinta Fitri

Indonesia’s MD Corp is at the centre of Southeast Asia’s streaming hotbed, with at least 13 feature films streaming across platforms, new original series and titles sold to virtually everyone: Disney+ Hotstar, WeTV, Viu, Netflix, Vidio, Migo and Telkomsel Maxstream. The company’s founder and chief executive, Manoj Punjabi, talks about dealing with the surge in demand, how he views the shifts in release windows, production partnerships, and what comes next after blockbuster earnings reports.

How have you changed your business to deal with the surge in de-

My Lecturer My Husband, immediately

mand? “For the last four years, we focused on feature films, but I’m a

became number one... That

huge fan of OTT. The pandemic really changed the situation... we’ve piv-

shows that one local title can

oted 100% to OTT, across everything, including series. We have 22 original

change a platform, it shows

series in the making and so many OTT movies. This is the future.”

the power of local content. And again, Antares, is

What are you forecasting about the level of demand for Indonesian con-

number one of all time. It’s

tent? Do you think the demand for content you’ve seen during the pan-

breaking records.”

demic will continue even as things open up? “I think this will continue and grow. OTT is inevitable, it’s everywhere, and the high demand for local

With all this demand,

content will remain in countries like Indonesia, India and China, which

have production bud-

have huge populations. Local content will not be stopped. Foreign con-

gets and talent costs

tent still has a 60% market share in cinemas against 40% local. But in OTT,

increased

the ratio will be 80:20 in favour of local. Or maybe even 90:10. We’re at

cantly? “Budget will

a very early stage. Many players are not here yet. But even now, with

increase

a couple of big players, there’s already a huge change. I believe this

what’s required. It just

growth for Indonesian content is not going to stop here, that will be the

can’t increase for the

game changer. For example, our first original series release on WeTV,

sake of ‘I just want to in-

24

signifibased

on

contentasia november 2021

COMING SOON Work closely with our partners and advertisers to grow consumer demands across sectors.”

For the pandemic to finally abate and for our industry to get back to what it was.”

Nini Yusof, Deputy CEO, Media Prima Television Networks & Primeworks Studios, Malaysia

Ganesh Rajaram, General Manager, EVP Sales – Asia, International, Fremantle

#Onehope 2022 Media execs with Asian businesses share their single biggest business hope for 2022 Delighted clients, outstanding business, increased local production and agreeing on a deal around a tea or glass of wine!”

Sabrina Duguet, EVP, APAC, All3Media International

That the demand for bold and unique content grows both from platform and audience.”

Amit Jethani, Group Chief Executive Officer, Multivision Plus (MVP) Indonesia

Our formats thrive on live audience participation. I hope we see a massive return to in-person, large-scale productions across Asia.”

Successfully localise global renowned content in the age of digital technology that is shifting the industry to another dimension…we look forward to even greater partnerships next year.”

Ayesha Surty, SVP Asia, ITV Studios Global Entertainment

Ankhbayar Ganbold, CEO, Central TV, Mongolia

10

Brings unlimited Hong Kong memories and creativity to Hong Kong audiences, extending our services from entertainment to shopping platform.”

Winnie Ngai, Chief Marketing Officer - OTT Content & Digital Marketing, MyTV Super, TVB Hong Kong

Korean content becoming mainstream worldwide and for CJ to continue to expand its market and global presence in 2022.”

Sebastian Kim, Director for Content Sales and Acquisitions, CJ ENM Korea

contentasia december 2021

#Onehope 2022

Media execs with Asian businesses share their single biggest business hope for 2022 In the next issue of ContentAsia online For editorial info, contact Janine at janine@contentasia.tv To advertise in any of ContentAsia’s publications or online, contact Masliana at mas@contentasia.tv (Asia, Australia and Middle East) or Leah at leah@contentasia.tv (Americas and Europe)

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productioninterview

crease’. We are using film actors, film crews, film directors. All these ele-

You mentioned feature films. There’s a lot of debate on the long-term im-

ments are very different from the usual soap opera/sinetrons, where one

pact on the theatrical business of cinema closures during Covid and the

episode takes a day to shoot. Instead of a two-hour feature film, we’re

direct-to-streaming releases. How do you think the theatrical and OTT re-

making 10 or 15 hours of almost the same quality for a series. So that’s a

lease windows might develop and what are you preparing for? “From my

difference. It increases the budget but it’s still manageable. Covid pro-

side, it is very simple. We have 20 movies that were meant for theatrical

tocols have increased our budgets seven or eight percent. We can still

that have gone direct to streaming. I have another nine ready. I still want

make things happen and I don’t want to compromise on the quality. This

to wait for the cinema. We are ready to release those movies in 2022. We

is not what you get on free TV. There has to be that difference”.

are not in a hurry. If a movie is a huge theatrical hit, we have a potential of part two. If you go to streaming with the big titles, you don’t have

You remain very active in film as well as premium series. Are you still in-

that potential of going to part two or part three, of creating a universe

volved in the sinetron side of the business? “No. I’ve moved up the ladder.

for that particular movie. That’s something that is very not favourable

If I’m doing sinetron and doing this, I would be contradicting myself. We

to me... We have a four months/120-day window to OTT after theatrical

decided not to proceed with sinetron three years ago in order to focus on

[but with Covid-related cinema closures and uncertainty]... it’s too early

feature films and to plan for series, which we are now doing.”

to decide what the windows will be. I think distributors and exhibitors are going to have to be flexible. If we are stubborn or trying to play an ego

Returning seasons, which are happening in the premium space in In-

game, both will lose.”

donesia, are obviously important because they’re priced at a premium.

How successful have you been with renewals and what are you hoping

What’s your production target? “My target is to produce 50 original series

for? “I look at that differently; it’s not only the premium price. Our first

a year, up to 500 to 800 episodes a year of original series.”

series, My Lecturer My Husband we are making season two... we are already preparing either season two of Antares or a feature film. This is what we are debating; sometimes a good drama series goes into a feature film. That’s how I see the value. We have committed to 22 original series this year so far (to end August). That’s how I see the value. For MD, it’s about scale. The other benefit is that, with returning seasons, the universe expands, and

Would you ever go back to producing sinetron? “I’ve produced up to 2,500 hours of drama series a year for sinetron. I have that capacity... If an opportunity comes I’m always open. I’m a very practical person in terms of how we do business. [00:16:01] We should be able to bend ourselves like an eraser but not break. Right now the strategy is focus, focus, focus on series and feature films.”

that’s exciting to me... This is what I’ve been waiting for.

When people call the stars by their character names, that’s when I see we have hit the jackpot.”

Antares

26

contentasia november 2021

My Lecturer My Husband S1

We make content more for Indonesian audiences. I don’t focus on what the international appeal would be because I can’t win both worlds.”

Manoj Punjabi, MD Corp

Where are regional and international production and co-production partnerships on your list of priorities this year? “I don’t think anything will happen in 2021. It’s in my pipeline, it’s at the back of my mind. It’s always something I want to do, but at the right time at the right place, that’s the plan. Right now, not for this year, for sure.”

Do you foresee more Indonesian content being exported outside of Southeast Asia? And do you think the quality, or even the stories, are relatable to global consumers? “When we make local content, it’s more for the Indonesian audience. For MD, I don’t focus on what the international appeal would be because I can’t win both worlds. It’s a very different world. Indonesian content is not like Bollywood content, or even European content that has traveled more lately. I would say that Indo-

Do Indonesia’s content regulations pose a challenge in, say, stories that

nesian content is very Indonesia-centric right now, unless it’s a festival

deal with subjects, such as LGBTQ+ or politics? “I like positive contro-

movie, which caters to an international market. So to be realistic, no.

versy. It creates a sensation. I try to stay miles away from negative con-

I’m catering to the Indonesian audience. Sometimes the subject might

troversy. Feature films are more controlled, you can still include subjects

be universal, might appeal to other markets. Or maybe we would cap-

that would be too sensitive for original series. The viewers are different,

ture the Indonesians living outside Indonesia. We are accepted in the

the sensitivity levels are different. Let’s say this: we are very particular in

region, in Malaysia, Singapore, for instance. It travels that far, that’s for

how we handle topics such as LGBTQ+ or politics. It needs to be done

sure. Sometimes our content, like Habibi, can go to Germany and other

in the right way.”

countries. But very little content travels... What we are doing, original series, movies, it has to be Indonesia-centric. That’s how I see it.”

Do you keep all the rights to your series? “Yes.”

contentasia november 2021

27

productioninterview

Alice Chang, Vice President, Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA)

First among equals Taiwan is on a creative mission. And no-one, least of all the local industry, is complaining. TAICCA VP, Alice Chang, talks about goals in a market already considered one of Asia’s most creative.

In the past year, Taiwan’s Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) has been,

At the same time, TAICCA is aware of a “new normal” for content

along with Korea’s much older KOCCA, more proactive, visible and

in a post-pandemic environment. Chang talks about the challenges

effective than any other government-backed agency in the region.

of a transformation that encompasses virtual environments and online

Set up in mid-2019, TAICCA had by the end of 2020 seen NT$328.75

content.

million/US$12 million of private funding promoted through its Cultural

One of the local industry’s other bigger challenges is integrating the

Content Investment Project, including investment in ContentAsia Awards

wider genre demands and production specs of international streaming

winner Studio76, and helped cultural content enterprises raise funding of

platforms. Chang says the entry of international platforms into Taiwan

NT$954.85 million/US$34.4 million.

presents “great challenges and impact” on the local film and TV industry.

Under the Ministry of Culture and overseen by Taiwan’s Congress,

TAICCA has an ambitious remit across 10 fields, including film, animation

TAICCA’s many investments also include support for local production

and publications, all of which present challenges of their own. “The

house Screenworks Asia, for LGBTQ+ streaming platform GagaOOlala;

ecology and value chain of each field are different,” she says. “Therefore

built a full-scale medical film studio to fill gaps in the country’s locations;

we must have a variety of different strategies. This is our big challenge”.

and stepped up to fund multiple incubation, development and designed to boost Taiwan’s film and television output.

At the end of the five-year mark in mid-2024, TAICCA is aiming for a much bigger international footprint.

This has, the agency says, laid the foundation for a forward-looking,

“At present, our IP production volume is gradually increasing because

innovative and market-orientated ecosystem for Taiwan’s content

we have different strategy mechanisms in various fields, and we use various

industry. “Our mission/goal established is first to industrialise, second is

funds and assistance on international channels. Therefore, our production

to internationalise, and third to integrate,” says TAICCA vice president,

volume is constantly assisting the industry to improve,” she says.

Alice Chang.

Not long after TAICCA was established, along came Covid-19. If the pandemic upended the production in some markets, Chang says the

Among the highlights of the past year is showcasing Taiwanese content at France’s Séries Mania, which Chang says is an important part of TAICCA’s international partnership network.

impact in Taiwan was not as devastating as in other parts of the world.

She talks about elevating Taiwanese stories beyond domestic scenarios,

Production was never officially halted as part of pandemic containment

cultivating and nurturing talent, co-producing with international partners,

measures, and, while scaled back with some delays, the shows pretty

and exposing Taiwan’s industry to global creative environments. Some

much went on.

might say done, done, done and done.

28

contentasia november 2021

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productioninterview

Switch On, Century UU Entertainment Thailand

Formats: Thailand

Thailand

Singing contest 7%

Asian drama influences continue in Thailand, which is proving to be a fertile – if nascent – environment for scripted formats from Korea, Japan and China.

Drama Romance/comedy 13%

Reality - Modelling 7%

Reality - Dating 13%

When Switch On (Game Rak Salub Miti) – the Thai remake of Korean romantic/fantasy drama W – Two Worlds Apart) premieres on Friday, 19 November, Thailand takes another step beyond its predominantly homegrown stories and into a future of blended influences.

The remake, which airs in a blocktime deal by Century UU Entertainment Thailand on free-TV network Channel 3, follows Thai versions of Korean,

Reality - Cooking 13% Game Show 47%

Chinese and Japanese dramas such as Bring It On, Ghost (CJ ENM, Korea), Mother (Nippon TV, Japan) and Put Your Head on My Shoulder (Tencent Video, China), among others.

Produced by Century UU Entertainment, the Thai version of Switch On

Thailand’s formats breakdown by genre in 1H 2021. Source: ContentAsia’s Formats Outlook. Data gathered from rights holders & broadcasters in June/July 2021.

stars Aom Sushar Manaying (Yes or No, Bangkok Breaking) as Nisa, the surgical resident who gets entangled in a murder mystery after entering

game shows. 2021/2 titles include Project Runway Thailand, Korean

the virtual world of a webtoon called W, created by her father.

comedy/romance drama series Bring it On, Ghost and Let’s Eat, and

Gee Sutthirak Subvijitra (Classic Again) is cast as the video game character A-Kin, who is on a quest to avenge his father’s death.

The original Korean series, aired on MBC in July-September 2016, stars Han Hyo Joo as Nisa and Lee Jong-suk is cast as the fictional character in a webtoon world called W. The series was produced by Chorokbaem Media (The Penthouse: War in Life, Memories of the Alhambra).

Japanese cooking competition Iron Chef.

According to ContentAsia’s Formats Outlook for the first half of this year, Thailand aired/commissioned 15 formats – 21 titles less than we counted in the first six months of last year.

This put Thailand in third place (behind India and Vietnam) among the 18 markets tracked for ContentAsia’s Formats Outlook.

The Thai remake switches things up by moving the setting from the

In the first half of 2021, game shows totally dominated Thailand’s

original webtoon comic world to a video game world, called Better

formats count with 47% of the total, followed by cooking, dating and

World. The rest of the storyline follows the original format.

drama (neck and neck at 13% each). The remaining 14% is split between

Switch On joins a host of Thai adaptations, generally dominated by

30

modelling and singing formats.

contentasia november 2021

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August 2022

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