ContentAsia September 2014

issue three 2014

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NTENT ntentASIA

Formats: Top 5

A-Z of online and OTT platforms in Asia

PLUS: Numbers update, What’s going on where & who’s saying what about information and social media

Elementary The Millers ET Beauty & The Beast Under the Dome The X Factor Extant RTL CBS Asia Entertainment Network CELEBRATES ITS FIRST YEAR ANNIVERSARY RTL CBS Entertainment HD RTL CBS Extreme HD

CELEBRATES ITS FIRST YEAR ANNIVERSARY

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4

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contents

NTENT ASIA

what’s inside What’s going on in...

8 InQuotes

10 Channels

12 Production

iConcerts launches its new re-

Ideate Media is about to showcase the first finished episodes of a series it backed. CEO Zainur Aminullah talks about what else is sailing around the world alongside Bubble Bath Bay.

Who’s saying what about

gional Asia service on 1 Septem-

social media and its impact

ber, with a whole new ramped

on information in Asia

up local slate.

&

industry shorts in 100 words max

PLUS Asia’s pay-TV has been make-over central recently.

Here’s the wrap...

20

Bubble Bath Bay, Essential Media and Entertainment

Who’s on top?

Analysts might not be over the moon about the short/medium term profit prospects of OTT, but there’s no shortage of companies in Asia willing to give multi-screen options a go. Malena Amzah spoke to 19 online/OTT platforms in the region about what they have, what they would like to have, and the biggest things they think are standing in their way.

We are expanding our platform distribution with partnerships so the application is easily accessible.”

Lin Shu Fen, StarHub TV Anywhere

page 39

More and more content owners have decided to go OTT, which will potentially fuel further market growth.”

Manish Agarwal, Reliance Entertainment Digital

page 26

issue three, september 2014

We discovered that consumers in the Philippines were actually unfamiliar with watching content on multiple devices and we had to step back and teach them how to subscribe and navigate the site.”

Ronan DeGuzman, Omni Digital Media Ventures

page 28

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Taiwanese singer and dancer Jolin Tsai, iConcerts

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NTENT ASIA

5

Gogglebox©, Studio Lambert & All3media International

Asia’s top 5 formats challenges

Finding great big characters and shouting loudly enough about new and fabulous ideas are the biggest challenges formats producers and distributors face in Asia at the moment. And then there’s money, talent and local values... The feature has been adapted from ContentAsia’s first Formats Outlook, published for the ContentAsia Summit. Formats Outlook 2015 is part of ContentAsia’s year-round focus on all aspects of content in Asia.

In-depth analysis will be enhanced through 2015 with a dedicated formats’ platform online, in print and face-to-face.

Korea’s Next Top Model, CBS Studios International

How to Make It: Culinary Dreams, AFC/Scripps Networks Interactive

1 vs 100 Korea, Endemol

It is all about giving Filipinos the freedom to choose the way they want to enjoy content.”

The growth in mobile has been overwhelming in the past one year.”

Ralph Menorca, iWant TV

Lam Swee Kim, Media Prima Digital

page 34

page 41

46

In numbers RTL CBS Entertainment turns 1, Malaysia’s Astro has committed to 18,000 hours out of Pinewood Iskandar, and 73% of Taiwan’s netizens admit to pirating and know it’s wrong... plus other numbers making Asia’s industry go round right now.

Spuul

issue three, september 2014

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editor’snote

NTENT ASIA

Great Stories, Well Told This year’s ContentAsia Summit takes place at a strange time in Asia’s

ground because they’re free. Many of them

television/video entertainment/channels/platforms industry. There’s

work. The interface on the most popular ones is

only a little money (or a lot spread very thin) in what seems to be the

intuitive. Users don’t need to speak the language

most logical move forward into online/mobile/everywhere/multiscreen.

or read the characters to get around. These guys

Going back is not an option. Standing still for a while and waiting to

get what viewers want: an easy way in and an

learn from others’ trials and errors? Maybe. Slowly and cautiously for-

effortless way to stay in. It’s so depressing.

ward, launching channels with unique concepts, putting more energy

Insiders tell me the worst piracy in Asia has

into content brands, and hoping like hell that platforms get the distribu-

nothing to do with Hollywood, although the

tion and the technology right? Could work too.

studios continue to make the most noise. Hong

Maybe. Except where it doesn’t and legit custom-

Kong, China, Thailand, Indonesia... bad, bad

ers are left hanging on while customer service tells

and even more bad.

What’s the next big media breakthrough for Asia? The thing that goes pop and will continue to crackle? If it’s out there and it’s legal, I’m not being told about it by enough people.

Or maybe I haven’t listened hard enough?

What I think I should be hearing is all about major spend on great content and strong storytelling to build great big wonderful local libraries with long lifespans.”

them how valuable they are and how

Between this rock and hard place are all the

important their calls are. Lowering

subscription dollars exiting the Asian market in

margin and making brave, bold,

search of uncensored content from other parts

great big investments in local

of the world not easily available in Asia. A lot of

content? Many will say channels

money is going on VPNs. That’s money that might

haven’t gone far enough by

stay at home – or rather, come home again –

half, but some are doing more

with good enough reason. Is enough money

than others and, for regional

being invested into the kind of local content that

programmers at least, consumer

would redirect spend, that will build valuable

brands seem to be doing the

collections of IP that mean, no matter what the

most. Or not. Multi Channel Networks

platform, there will be content to spread across

(MCN)? Love them, but it’s too early in Asia to tell who will live/prosper/disappear.

This year’s ContentAsia Summit was pro-

What’s the next big media breakthrough for

grammed against this backdrop. If a New Next

Asia? The thing that goes pop and will continue

Big Thing isn’t clear, I have stuck with the Big

to crackle over the next five or 10 years? If it’s

Thing that has been our Big Thing since the day

out there and it’s legal, I’m not hearing it from

we opened. For all none of us know about the

enough people. Or maybe I haven’t listened hard

future, here’s a bet I’m willing to make. The

enough? What I think I should be hearing is all about major spend on

Big Thing, now, next and forever, will always

content to build great big wonderful local libraries with long lifespans.

be Great Stories. As for the “Well Told” part of

What is clear today is that a very very attractive option going forward is illegal. But here’s the thing. Pirate platforms are not only gaining

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

it? Many say not nearly enough.

our theme this year, we’ve gone to the best. If anyone can, they can.

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 three, september 2014

D A V I D

D U C H O V N Y

David Duchovny Aquarius ITV Studios Global Entertainment itvstudiosge.com

itvstudiosge.com

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what’sgoingonin...

NTENT ASIA

news&socialmedia

Thailand’s military coup uncovered a few ironies, some surprises and a whole lot of soul searching among the country’s media. Speaking during the Asia session at this year’s Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum in Bonn, Sae Yong Thepchai, group editor in chief of the Nation Multimedia Group, said Thailand’s mainstream media had to overcome a crisis of trust to deal with new social realities. networks that share common political beliefs. And that in

The day that the military took over and issued

a way suggests that from now on the mainstream me-

an order clamping down on the media, there were messages of ‘you deserve it’

dia needs to take into serious account how they can

from social media users as if they be-

overcome what I call the crisis of trust among the peo-

lieved that the media was also responsible for what

ple. A survey a few months back showed that up to

happened. We are operating in a tough environ-

40% of Thai consumers think the mainstream media

ment... every night our broadcasts start by saying

haven’t been objective enough... they don’t trust

that we are operating under an order imposed by

mainstream media.”

the military junta, which means there are restrictions “Under the present circumstances, where the junta has

on what we can report. Everyone in the business knows

total control of the country, things may look bad from the

exactly what they should avoid, what they should not say.

In short it’s a very ironic and challenging situation that the Thai

Sae Yong Thepchai

media in general are facing”.

outside. But in practise it is ironic, in a way, that the junta, which came to power in a coup, wants to project an image of being a

democratic junta. They know they can survive only with public support, “Thailand has always been a bright spot in Southeast Asia with occasional

and that support comes, surprisingly, through social media. It doesn’t mat-

domestic problems but all of a sudden things fell apart and the country

ter what the mainstream media may say about the junta, the power sei-

became so politically polarised... the media in the eyes of most people

zure. We may come up with editorials questioning the legitimacy of the

became part of the problem. Previously, in political crises the media was

present junta but social media in general is very protective, and distances

seen as part of the solution. So there is a sea change for the role of media

itself from the stand taken by mainstream media. This is a very big chal-

and the ongoing conflict that culminated in the military coup came as a

lenge we face at the moment.”

shock to most people. Believe it or not, the media had a part to play and to be blamed. This happened as social media came to play a very signifi-

“How do we, the Nation Group, continue to play the role of mainstream

cant role in the media as a whole. In fact, I have no hesitation to say that

media, sticking by professional principles, and also trying to reach out to

the mainstream media, us included, no longer monopolise the influences

social media users who are mostly people who don’t read newspapers or

shaping public opinion.”

follow news on television anyway. We can look at this from a negative or

What was ironic was that the day the junta put a blanket censorship on mainstream media, there was not a single outcry from members of the public. But a week after that, when they tried to block social media for only half an hour, there was a huge uproar...

People care more about their freedom to express themselves than about what the media can or cannot report.”

“Social media has been able to shape public opinion on many important social issues. At the height of the conflict they were able to mobilise up to a million people – Thailand’s biggest demonstration ever – bypassing mainstream media, using just social media. These people have their own

issue three, september 2014

positive point of view. We can look at these people as potential viewers and readers.”

“The country was so politically polarised that people expected mainstream media to reflect their views. So if they didn’t get what they wanted to read from newspapers they would rather go to their own close circle of friends who share their ideas. The crisis of trust was caused by a combination of factors – partisan, state control, commercial interests.”

“We ask ourselves what should we be doing to regain the public trust? In the past, in all the political crises, people would look at the mainstream media as part of the solution. There is no other way than to go back to the basics of journalism – report facts, reflect a range of views, be professional and be objective. The problem that led to the crisis of trust was the lack of all these.”

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what’sgoingonin...

NTENT ASIA

catch-up

music

the industry in 100 words max PRODUCTION Asia’s biggest production news at the moment is Astro’s commitment to 18,000 hours out of Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios over five years. It’s not necessarily new hours, more like a shift of about 40% of Astro’s current production out of Kuala Lumpur. But the platform has significant ambitions to up relevance and there’s no doubt that the massive facility just over the border from Singapore will drive output across the board.

FORMATS Asia’s Got Talent is a go. The only thing the industry is waiting for is the official announcement, the date and who the broadcaster is (most bets are that it’s AXN, but AXN’s not saying anything and neither is FremantleMedia).

Astro chief executive Rohana Rozhan confirmed during her address at the signing of the Astro Productions/Pinewood Iskandar agreement that the company is finalising a deal with FremantleMedia on the big-budget production. The other big one for 2015 is Asia’s Next Top Model on Fox International Channels’ Star World. We hear there may be a new production team involved, but nothing official yet.

SINGAPORE Word on the street is that Singapore’s monopoly broadcaster MediaCorp has brought in some heavy-hitting international know-how to execute a resurrection master plan that will – if it works – breathe new life into English-language free-TV service Channel 5. No details have been made public yet.

THAILAND The growth of attractive, vernacular content on free satellite (Freesat) platforms in Thailand “remains the most disruptive competitor to pay-TV”, Media Partners Asia says.

What about the merger between pay-TV platforms GMM Grammy and CTH? Won’t alter the market’s fundamentals. The pair lost a combined US$140 million last year and even together have “modest scale”, MPA says.

issue three, september 2014

Mathieu Sibille, Transmedia Communications

Taiwanese singer and dancer Jolin Tsai

iConcerts launches its new Asia service on

(Char, The Bonez) and Malaysia (Shila Amzah,

1 September, with at least 10% of the schedule

Goldkartz).

dedicated to Asian content, the entire service

Sibille says that in India, where the service is

scheduled for Asia and Asian prime times, and a

a partnership with undisclosed private investors

concerted effort to acquire new live music con-

who have access to Bollywood live music rights,

tent from local promoters and music labels.

more than 30% of the content is now local.

More local collaborations, such as the part-

Social media activity is way up as a result.

nership with Taiwan’s Golden Melody Awards

“We have seen that by broadcasting a greater

and Korea’s Green festival, are also on the

diversity of music genres and origins, we also

playlist, says Transmedia Communications’

engage viewers in a more powerful way,” he

group chief executive, Mathieu Sibille.

adds.

The Asia launch, with more than 25 Asian

The channel doesn’t carry advertising, but

artists on the schedule for September, comes

runs limited promotional partnerships, such

three years after iConcerts rolled out its interna-

as the campaign with Gibson where viewers

tional feed across the region.

could win Gibson guitars and exclusive access

Asian artists on the launch line up include Jolin Tsai and The Bonez along with international artists such as The Black Eyed Peas and R.E.M.

packages to the Montreux Jazz Festival.

In addition to India, iConcerts is carried in South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia,

The Asia launch follows an eight-month initia-

Thailand, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Mon-

tive to ramp up coverage of Asian artists during

golia, Taiwan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal,

weekend specials on the international chan-

Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Maldives and China, where

nel. This included K-pop (Idiotape, Dynamic

content is offered on-demand in partnership

Duo), Canto pop (Mayday, Jolin Tsai), J-pop

with the Shanghai Media Group.

1 VIRUS, 6 BILLION DEAD. DON’T BREATHE. THE LAST SHIP FIRST & EXCLUSIVE New series premiere September 2, Tues 9pmSIN/8pm JKT WBTV WarnerTV 2014 TNT Originals, Inc. All Rights Reserved

12

what’sgoingonin...

NTENT ASIA

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re/branding

funding

Malaysia’s Ideate Media sails into

novels about a

the last quarter of this year with

detective with a

completed episodes of animated

“belief in the funda-

kids series Bubble Bath Bay, an

mental interconnectedness

option on Douglas Adams’ Dirk

of all things, a unique relationship

Gently’s Holistic Detective Agen-

with the laws of probability and

cy novels, and advanced plans

physics, and a love of cats and

on two other initiatives that will roll

pizza”. Max Landis (Chronicle,

out by the end of the year.

American Ultra) will write and

Max Landis

The projects come about 18

executive produce the pilot. IDW

months after Ideate was estab-

Publishing and Ideate Media will

lished by Malaysian media com-

also develop Dirk Gently comic books for release next spring.

pany Astro and the Malaysian government’s investment

In the local space, Ide-

arm Khazanah Na-

ate has committed to the strategic acquisi-

sional.

Bubble Bath Bay, an animated preschool series produced Zainir Aminullah

is Ideate’s biggest invest-

Adapt or die

tion of rights to the

Asia’s pay-TV industry has been make-over central recently. Fox Sports

books by Malaysia’s

went boom on 15 August, moving even further away from its ESPN Star

top sci-fi/crime/thriller

Sports joint-venture legacy and shoring up its defences against whatever

author. Aminullah talks

by Australia’s Essential Media and Entertainment,

Bubble Bath Bay, Essential Media and Entertainment

ESPN attempts to do in Asia after the post-split blackout period ends.

about the opportunity

The three repositioned sports brands are Fox Sports, Fox Sports 2 and Fox

inherent in the strong char-

Sports 3. The region’s sports action came two weeks after Discovery’s

ment so far. The 52-part 11-minute

acters and heroes in different

factual play, launching new brand Eve (factual for women) as part of a

series, which debuts during Mip

times and worlds. Development

rebirth the regional network says is its most significant portfolio renewal

Junior/Mipcom in October, follows

includes feature films and ancil-

in more than a decade. Discovery Home and Health and Turbo were

Ideate’s announcement that it

lary products, and the intention is

jettisoned, making way for new brands – Dmax and ID. Dmax replaced

was collaborating with European

to use the range of multi-media

Turbo. ID has launched in India and will roll out across the rest of the re-

indie, Off the Fence, to create

options to make for a bigger

gion at some point. TLC was made over, with a broader programming

factual content for the global

global conversation.

remit including reality and bridal. MGM is being put out of its misery in

Although key local initiatives

Asia, to be replaced by an AMC-branded channel that’s making big

are critical for Ideate’s success,

promises. The team at NBCUniversal has unveiled a goodie bag of new

find strong IP and underlying

purely domestic projects are not

stuff, following a new look for Diva earlier this year. One of the bigger

material and turn it into a com-

part of the plan. Aminullah says

changes is the first branded Telemundo telenovela block stripped across

mercial proposal,” Ideate’s chief

he sees little benefit in target-

Diva’s weekday afternoons. Out of Hong Kong, WarnerTV has been swal-

executive Zainir Aminullah said

ing the small Malaysian market,

lowed up by Turner, which looks like it has enough on its plate with the

shortly after announcing the co-

which already has successful

new MBC Korea service and seems to be leaving the former HBO Asia-

funding/co-production agree-

producers and players and set

managed channel well enough alone for now. Coming up soon is A+E

ment with U.S.-based IDW Enter-

audience segments. “We thought

Networks Asia’s shift from Bio to FYI, and, in 2015, an all new DW Asia out

tainment to option worldwide

about it for a while and decided

of Germany. No word yet on what Turner is doing with the unloved truTV.

rights to Douglas Adams’ stories.

only to be involved in the local

Something? Anything? As for the truly dead... RIP Big RTL Thrill.

U.S. production house Circle of

space if it was part of a strategic

Confusion (The Walking Dead) is

perspective... to transform a local

on board to executive produce

piece into something that is inter-

the series, based on Adams’

nationally feasible,” he says.

marketplace.

“Our mindset is to be able to

issue three, september 2014

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formats2014

NTENT ASIA

Asia’s Top 5 formats challenges Finding great big characters and shouting loudly enough about new and fabulous ideas are the biggest challenges formats producers and distributors face in Asia at the moment. And then there’s money, talent and local values...

Finding characters

pines/Nielsen Media Research Malaysia/Arianna).

Challenges now include spreading the family’s fame beyond the

Casting is a universal challenge, from modeling

Philippines. Will viewers in the rest of Asia care? The ingredients are all

and food shows such as Hell’s Kitchen Indone-

there, says NBCUniversal International’s L.A.-based programming senior

sia and How to Make It: Culinary Dreams, to

vice president, Gracia Waverly. “With the right combination of people

dance contests, charity series and factual/

and the right story, it doesn’t matter if they are known or not,” she says,

reality such as Mom’s Time Out. But perhaps

adding: “It’s about their issues and their story.”

the biggest challenge in Asia has been finding

For A+E Networks Asia, the challenge was finding families comfort-

big-personality Duck Dynasty/Pawn Stars-

able expressing themselves in English on camera for Lifetime Asia’s first

style characters and families with whom

original production, Mom’s Time Out. Michele Schofield, A+E Networks

to develop multi-series entertainment

Asia’s senior vice president, programming and marketing, says the net-

properties with cross-border appeal.

work “needed three families that were comfortable with cameras fol-

NBCUniversal’s channels group in Asia has made a regional start with It Takes

and bad situations”.

Gutz to be a Guttierez, which is in its

The five-part half-hour reality series, which premiered on 28 August

second season for E!. The Kardashian-

at 9pm, featured families from Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines

style series follows Philippines’ celeb

bidding farewell to wives/mothers and leaving husbands/fathers to

family – Eddie, Annabelle, Ruffa, Ray-

take care of home, hearth and kids. “We wanted to explore the idea

mond and Richard Guttierez – “as

that being a mom is an attitude and not just a biological relation,” says

they give audiences an unfiltered

Chris Humphrey, director, production for A+E Networks Asia.

look at their incredible personal and professional lives”. channel’s

most-watched

Producers of reality shows such as Next Top Model also talk about the cultural challenges of contestants opening up and sharing feelings in

Overall, season one was the

front of the camera.

pro-

Scripps Networks Interactive’s Asian Food Channel (AFC) goes one

gramme in the Philippines since

further. For The Amazing Food Challenge: Fun in the Philippines, the net-

January 2013, when measurement

work’s programming team says that one of the challenges was “finding

began. At its peak, Gutz made E!

contestants who not only are adventurous and have on-air charisma,

the number one channel during

issue three, september 2014

lowing them for a week, as well as being open and expressive in good

but also possess culinary skills to compete in the challenges”.

the show’s 9pm-9.30pm timeslot

The biggest challenge for AFC’s How to Make It: Culinary Dreams was

among key demographics (To-

casting a credible talent looking to venture into the food business. The

tal Viewers, Adult 16+, Women

show, now in its second season, features a celebrity, who is also an

16+) out of 24 English-language

aspiring restaurateur, thrown into six-week crash course at a culinary

general entertainment/lifestyle

school to see what it really takes to succeed in the food business.

channels in the Philippines. The

The talent may be different, but the challenge was the same for Red

series also performed well in

Arrow International’s Schiller Street, made for China Central Television’s

Malaysia, where it ranked as

(CCTV) flagship CCTV-1 channel. Red Arrow says it was “absolutely cru-

the number two programme on

cial to find a group of comedians who could work well together, who

E! for the week of 15-21 June.

could play off each other well and – most importantly – who could

(Source: Kantar Media Philip-

improvise”.

Asia’s Next Top Model season two, Star World/Fox International Channels Asia

6.3 million ts all3mediainternational.com mobile participan From the multi-award winning Gogglebox phenomenon to the per AYN shiny floor game show with 340 million views – reveal the true nature of your nation with these extraordinary formats.

China episode Watching your country watching TV Average Behaviour?

BEST REALITY & CONSTRUCTED FACTUAL PROGRAMME BAFTA Awards 2014

Average

BEST REALITY & NOMINATED CONSTRUCTED FACTUAL GRIERSON AWARDS 2014 PROGRAMME EDINBURGH TV FESTIVAL 2013 BAFTA Awards 2014 RADIO TIMES AUDIENCE AWARD 2014

Behaviour?

BEST FACTUAL ENTERTAINMENT FORMAT NOMINATED 2014 C21 GRIERSON FrapaAWARDS Format EDINBURGH TV FESTIVAL 2013 Awards 2013

RADIO TIMES AUDIENCE AWARD 2014

BEST ORIGINAL PROGRAMME Broadcast Awards 2014

BEST FACTUAL ENTERTAINMENT FORMAT C21 Frapa Format Awards 2013

Asking what is normal in your nation

340 million views (and counting) for the first series of AYN China Asking what is normal in your nation BEST ORIGINAL Watching your country watching TV

40.9 million views overnig ht on AYN China’s first episode

PROGRAMME

40.9 million views overnight onBroadcast AYN China’s first episode 6. 3 million mobile participants per AYN China episode Awards 2014 Content 340 million views all3media international

From the multi-award winning Gogglebox phenomenon to the shiny floor game show with 340 million views – reveal the true nature of your nation with these extraordinary formats. all3mediainternational.com

(and counting) for the first series of AYN China

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16

formats2014

NTENT ASIA

Game Kampang Za Strike (Crazy Wall Strike Game/Body Bowling), Channel 7 Thailand

You Deserve It, VTV Vietnam

Shock of the new

ences were less familiar with opera than they were with other forms of

Global track records in acquiring domestic format rights

other to become opera singers, premiered on VTV3 at the end of De-

are critical for local broadcasters. But that’s only a starting

cember last year and ran through to early 2014 on Sundays at 9pm.

music. The format, which challenges popstars to compete against each

point. Domestic audiences need major amounts of mar-

Other genres are up against the same shock of the new. The biggest

keting and cajoling and introducing new formats can be

challenge – and the unique selling point – for the creators and produc-

challenging, programmers say.

ers of Gogglebox is that “it’s a very new concept and not a traditional

As popular as they are elsewhere, dance formats – and

studio entertainment programme”, says rights owner All3Media. Once

particularly ballroom dancing – can be hard going be-

that hurdle is crossed, the format is easily adaptable in any country as

cause it’s all so unfamiliar in many parts of Asia. Broadcast-

domestic TV content is at the heart of the format.

ers such as Cambodian Broadcasting Service’s CTN say

The creators of science entertainment show, Ultimate Brain/Gokuno

this is exactly what makes Dancing with the Stars (Strictly

face the same challenges as creators and rights holders with less brainy

Come Dancing) so appealing. The format is scheduled to

ideas. Ultimate Brain/Gokuno involves university professors, geniuses with

air on CTN in November this year.

an IQ of over 148, junior high school students and celebrities competing

Dance also plays second fiddle to singing in China, and making audiences fall in love with dancing is challenging, says So You Think You Can Dance China’s Star China/Starry Production.

in a brain-twisting game show. The biggest challenge is that the format contains scientific experiments that are rare in some Asian countries.

Conspicuous displays of wealth on television – even if it’s for a good cause – stand between the creators of factual entertainment show Se-

It’s no different in Korea, where CJ E&M is fighting the

cret Millionaire and their goal. Zodiak Rights says the biggest challenge

good fight for attention for new, home-grown dance com-

was the embryonic environment for charity/volunteering organisations.

petition show Dancing9.

Other challenges for producers of the show, which premiered on Shang-

Ditto in Malaysia, where producers of dance reality show

hai Media Group’s Dragon TV in June this year, were sensitivity of the

Asian Battleground 2014 say the country’s hip hop dance

social issues tackled and the extensive travel required across different

scene is less strong than in other countries such as Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and

cities. Secret Millionaire also explores new models of audience interaction in China, with donations through social

Singapore and judges, performance

networks.

artists and DJs had to be flown in.

The creators of Japanese factual-entertainment

If dance distributors gaze wistfully

format Old Enough (produced in China as Daddy,

at singing properties, not all singing

Mommy, Look at Me) say The concept of fac-

formats are created equal.

tual entertainment (documentary with

The biggest challenge for

an entertainment touch) is new in Asia

Vietnam’s Cattiensa and

so it is important to convey “what it

ITV Studios Global Enter-

takes to depict reality and create a

tainment in producing

touching story from what you have

Popstar to Operastar in

filmed”.

Vietnam was that audi-

issue three, september 2014

It Takes Gutz to be a Gutierrez, E!/NBCUniversal

La academia kids It’s time for children to shine!

Comarex Worldwide Media Distribution sales@comarex.tv (5255) 5251 1410 www.comarex.tv TV azteca

get your copy Get your copy Formats Outlook c 2014 ntent

The what, where, why, when and how of Formats of Asia 150+ formats trends & challenges profiles Contact CJ Yong at cj@contentasia.tv or call +65 +846-5987 for details

Formats Outlook 2015

The what, where, why, when and how of Formats in Asia

150+ formats • trends & challenges • profiles

Contact CJ Yong at cj@contentasia.tv or call +65 6846-5987 for details

C

NTENT ASIA

19

Money So what’s new, except maybe in China, although few will say this is so.

Across the region, acquisition and commissioning execs are laser focused on keeping distributors realistic about local industry practices and rates; sustainable license fees is the rallying cry of many a broadcaster committed to original production and to keeping licensing costs down.

Production budgets for regional shows aren’t growing as fast as many producers would like, and, at least for formats going out across different markets, sponsors aren’t leaping on board as eagerly as broadcasters wish they would.

Emergency tops-up to prevent shows from falling over are still fresh in the regional

Dr Oz Indonesia, TransTV

industry’s mind, and caution rules. Most

challenge across its shows is the gap in local

formats are only commissioned once spon-

skill sets with international standards, and main-

sorship is locked in, and for many the gap

taining or raising the bar to meet international

between what is and what they need is just

production qualities. This is, however, “an improving situation with continuous development and

too large to risk. Evidence of the pressure un-

extended consultancies and time spent with original

der which all parties operate is the pixilated tissue box of a non-sponsored tissue brand in an early episode of Asia’s Next Top Model season two.

Hidden Cities Extreme, History, A+E Networks Asia

format producers”, Shine execs say.

getting formats on air, especially the bigger, more expensive ones. The issue

Culture & local values

is not new – and it’s not likely to go away in 2015.

Drama format owners put adapting story lines to accom-

The funding gap is probably Asia’s biggest challenge in

Asia’s formats-related advertising/sponsorship scenario seems bright-

modate local culture at the top of their list of challenges.

est in China, where season two of The Voice of China set a new advertis-

Xavier Aristimuño, Telemundo Internacional’s senior vice

ing record of more than US$600,000 for a 150-second spot, according

president, international business development and digital

to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Global entertainment and media outlook

media talks about keeping in mind “customs, religion, and

2014-2018. The exclusive naming rights for I am a Singer 2014 was sold

traditions, while maintaining the structure so distinctive of

for something like US$39 million. There’s a big “but” to China’s format

a Latin American telenovela”.

competition mania, however – tighter regulations. Current controls limit

The biggest challenge for cooking format The Taste,

reality TV competition programmes a year to 10 across the country, and

which premiered on China’s CCTV-2 in November last

satellite broadcasters are restricted to airing one foreign format TV pro-

year, was the difference in culinary heritage in China and

gramme annually, and only outside prime time (7.30pm-10pm).

the West. This meant the set had to be adapted accord-

Whatever the argument about price, rights holders stress that there’s a

ingly, for example to include woks instead of frying pans

format for every price point, and that there’s a lot that can be done for

and pots. Filming angles also had to be reworked to ac-

less. This is provided expectations are properly managed, particularly in

commodate different equipment, producers say.

smaller territories with budgets that don’t stretch across all the elements

The challenge isn’t smaller when distance is shorter, and

of the original format. Many producers are aware of their budget limita-

Asian producers say adapting titles from within the region

tions, and say they cut their cloth accordingly.

can also be difficult. For instance, the biggest challenge in producing the Malaysian version of Japanese action/

Talent

adventure/special effect drama series Ryujin Mabuyer was adding local values and relevance, says Malaysian pro-

Asia’s talent pool may be growing, but by many accounts there’s a long

duction house Digital Vision’s business development direc-

way to go. Commissioning editors in Asia still say it’s a challenge to find

tor Lim Siu Min.

production houses familiar with reality formats. Local teams, well aware of the advantage that in-depth domestic insights give them, are working

Adapted from ContentAsia’s Formats Outlook 2015, pub-

hard to narrow the creative and technical knowledge gap between lo-

lished for the ContentAsia Summit in September. Please

cal and international productions. Much public and private money is go-

contact CJ Yong at cj@contentasia.tv for details.

ing into training and knowledge transfer. Shine International says its biggest

issue three, september 2014

20

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By Malena Amzah

Who’s on top?

Analysts might not be over the moon about the short/medium term profit prospects of OTT, but there’s no shortage of companies in Asia willing to give multi-screen options a good go. This includes established free- and pay-TV broadcasters, who are moving lock, stock and tech barrel into non-traditional delivery, leveraging the rights they own in new spaces and creating – or hoping to – original content for online services.

Channels and acquisitions execs are also pushing hard for as many rights as possible, hoping to drive online viewership, engagement and revenue.

What are these and their stand-alone online platform rivals most concerned about? Interviews with 19 platforms* in Asia showed that piracy is the top concern along with access to and cost of rights, and censorship, which drives users away. Priorities include presenting a simple and easy-to-use entertainment service, available everywhere with broad content choices at the right price models and designs that serve multiple user groups’ needs. Here’s what else they said... issue three, september 2014

* All information and opinion was supplied by the platforms themselves and fact checked for accuracy as far as humanly possible.

ContentAsia has not road-tested all the platforms and offers no opinion on how well any of them work or what the strengths and weaknesses are from a consumer perspective.

“A testament to how much richness can be produced with great writing, a handful of inventive actors guided by sensitive directors and cinematographers with great eyes.”

-Entertainment Weekly Season 2 Premieres October 2nd

“A beautifully shot and unusually meditative show in the Southern Gothic tradition, steeped more in mood and character arc than action and violence.”

-Indiewire First and Exclusive, only on Sundance Channel “This SundanceTV drama was oneshot, of movingly “Beautifully 2013’s most pleasant surprises, and continues in that veinperformed.” in this new -Los Angeles Times 10-episode run.”

-Variety

“A testament to how much richness can be “It doesn’t matter howwith great writing, a handful of produced inventive actors guided by sensitive slowly it takes to tell this directors story — it remains as and cinematographers with great eyes.” riveting and -Entertainment unique as ever.”

Weekly -The Hollywood Reporter “Beautifully shot, movingly performed.”

-Los Angeles Times “This SundanceTV drama was one of “A beautifully shot and unusually 2013’s most pleasant surprises, and meditative show in the Southern continues in that vein inmore this in new Gothic tradition, steeped 10-episode run.” arc than action mood and character and violence.”

-Variety -Indiewire “It doesn’t matter how slowly it takes to tell this story — it remains as riveting and unique as ever.”

-The Hollywood Reporter For distribution in Asia, please contact Mr. Keith Mak - keith.mak@amcnetworks.com Mr. Alex Zecha - Alex.Zecha@zone.amcnetworks.com

Season 2 Premieres October 2nd For distribution in Asia, please contact Mr. Keith Mak - keith.mak@amcnetworks.com Mr. Alex Zecha - Alex.Zecha@zone.amcnetworks.com

First and Exclusive, only on

22

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acTvila acTVila is a video portal owned by Actvila Corporation in Japan. Billed as a “no.1 smart VOD” service, acTVila is accessible via multiple internet-enabled devices, such as tablets, PCs, connected TVs and smartphones. The service is geo-blocked for Japan and has no plans to expand into other countries.

When did acTVila launch? In February 2007, backed by appliance manufacturing companies Panasonic (56.4%), So-net Corporation (36.4%), Sharp Corporation (2.4%), Toshiba (2.4%) and Hitachi (2.4%).

Target users? acTVila was created to be accessible by all demographics in Japan.

The offering… The platform offers more than 82,000 titles, including 23,000 karaoke songs and

The challenges we face are almost similar with what the other video portals in this region are experiencing.

These range from censorship to content rights.”

Hironori Sakashita, Director/Executive Officer of acTVila

39 subscription video-on-demand titles from 69 content partners. The offering ranges from Hollywood movies, to local comedy, animation and drama series. There is no live streaming of TV channels. Numbers of new titles added monthly are not disclosed.

issue three, september 2014

Biz/pricing models… Monthly subscription rates

What have you found to be the biggest challenge? “I believe the chal-

are from ¥500/US$5 to ¥3,500/US$34. VOD titles

lenges we face are almost similar with what the other video portals in

cost from ¥100/US$1 each episode (only local

this region are experiencing. These range from censorship to content

drama series) to ¥500/US$5 each episode (lo-

rights.” [Hironori Sakashita]

cal and Hollywood movie titles such as Captain

Why did you call it acTVila? “acTVila means ‘open the door’, which

Philips and Grand Illusion).

also represents the opportunity for viewers in Japan to watch content

Who is driving the initiative… Takashi Kozai, presi-

on our platform. The letters ‘T’ and ‘V’ in the middle are capitalised to

dent and chief executive officer; Shinji Mitsui,

emphasise television.” [Hironori Sakashita]

executive vice president and executive officer;

Total number of TV, blu-ray disc recorder, set top-box connections...

Hironori Sakashita, director/executive officer

5.38 million

What are you hoping to achieve? “The aim is to

Total number of internet-connected devices (tablet/PCs/smartphone/

provide an exciting service and give the best

TV)... 48.7 million

satisfaction to our customers by providing them

What are the most-watched titles so far? Travelogue How Do You Like

with content they want to watch and a wide se-

Wednesday?. This is one of the famous local TV programmes on Chan-

lection of content. We have also, over the years,

nel Hokkaido and acTVila acquired rights to deliver the show imme-

adjusted our pricing models to better suit our us-

diately after it broadcast on TV. An early episode was so popular the

ers’ spending power.” [Hironori Sakashita]

servers were jammed for more than 10 minutes.

What kind of rights do you buy? “Nothing spe-

How are you using social media to expand your online presence? “We

cific, we are open to any rights being offered, in-

are using Facebook and Twitter to inform our users of the latest video-

cluding first and exclusive.” [Hironori Sakashita]

on-demand titles.” [Hironori Sakashita]

The Story Cat Leading-Edge The Latin Major Televisa

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astro on the go Astro on the Go (AOTG), launched in Malaysia in May 2012, is operated by Malaysian media company Astro Malaysia Holdings. The OTT/ mobile entertainment platform offers 32 live channels, catch-up and VOD via internetconnected devices (computers, smartphones, tablets).

Subscribers About 600,000 registered users

We originally thought that most of the usage for AOTG would occur out of home... but what we’ve learned is that there are many users choosing to watch AOTG at home, suggesting that it’s being used as a second screen.”

Who’s driving the initiative… Shaiful Subhan, vice

Shaiful Subhan, Vice President, Astro on the Go

Targeting… Everyone who constantly access entertainment content via their connected devices anytime and anywhere Pricing… Signing up is free, with selected channels and content available for all. Free for Astro subscribers with specific packages while others pay from RM100/US$32 a month

president of Astro on the Go The offering… Live streaming of 32 local and international channels, TV shows and movies on demand as well as live sporting and enter-

2014 added features include... “We launched Malaysia’s First Multi-

tainment events (concerts, sporting events and

lingual TV guide and user interface for AOTG users in February 2014.

special coverage). Provides up to 2,000 hours

In addition, for our biggest event yet – FIFA World Cup 2014 – AOTG

of catch-up video-on-demand content at any

streamed all of the World Cup games live.” [Shaiful Subhan]

given time, with approximately 500 hours add-

Take-up expectations for 2014... “We have over one million downloads

ed monthly

and 600,000 registered users. With the continuous product improve-

The goal... “While pay TV caters to a household,

ments, expansion of content line-ups, as well as increasing smart de-

Astro on the Go meets the digital lifestyle of the

vices and broadband adoption, we expect user adoption to grow

individuals within the Astro households. AOTG

healthily this year.” [Shaiful Subhan]

is brought to market because we realised that

What AOTG’s average video viewing time? Approximately 104 minutes

customers demand access to their TV and en-

weekly, a 160% increase over last year

tertainment everywhere they go, and not be

What is the most-watched content so far? “We have seen live sporting

limited to when they’re in front of their TV in the

events such as the recent 2014 Thomas Cup final between Malaysia and

living room. In addition, we also hope to make

Japan, and also the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, to be the most watched

available our channels and content to the digi-

content so far.” [Shaiful Subhan]

tally savvy generation.” [Shaiful Subhan]

Is there anything that has surprised you about usage? “We originally

The biggest challenge... “To come up with a de-

thought that most of the usage for AOTG would occur out of home –

sign that meets multiple users’ needs. We believe

thus the name Astro on the Go. But what we’ve learned is that there are

we have made the first of many steps towards

many users choosing to watch AOTG at home, suggesting that it’s being

building a delightful experience for our custom-

used as a second screen.” [Shaiful Subhan]

ers. We gain a lot of satisfaction from learning

How are you using social media to expand your online presence? “Our

how our customers use our services and are al-

social properties include Facebook and Twitter. With these two platforms,

ways working on making the next version bet-

we provide our fans and followers the latest updates on the service and

ter.” [Shaiful Subhan]

channels as well as customer support.” [Shaiful Subhan]

issue three, september 2014

Your video experiences: personalized, synchronized, delivered to any screen.

Cisco Videoscape: Connecting Experiences Your Way Cisco Videoscape empowers service

providers and media companies in all markets.

It makes sure they can create and connect

new synchronized, personalized, and intuitive multiscreen experiences—at the speed of now.

To learn more about Cisco Videoscape, visit cisco.com/go/videoscape.

Cisco Videoscape:

Your video experiences: Connectingpersonalized, Experiences Your Way synchronized, delivered to any screen.

Cisco

Cisco Videoscape empowers service providers and media companies in all markets.

It makes sure they can create and connect new synchronized, personalized, and intuitive multiscreen experiences—at the speed of now.

To learn more about Cisco Videoscape, visit cisco.com/go/videoscape.

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28

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Blink Blink is an online video service offering blockbuster movies and TV series via regular web browsers and multiple device applications (Blink-now for iOS and Android). Launched at the end of October 2013, Blink is owned and operated by Omni Digital Media Ventures, a subsidiary of Philippines’ TV content provider/channel operator Solar Entertainment.

Available right now in... Geo-blocked for the

The business/pricing models The platform offers both pay-per-view mov-

Philippines, with plans to roll out in Malaysia and

ies at Ps170/US$4 a title (with 48 hours to watch or seven days expiry,

Indonesia. Solar is also looking at joint ventures

whichever comes first) and monthly subscription of Ps450/US$10 for TV

and partners on the ground in various Asia-Pacific

series (30 days unlimited access).

markets, including Hong Kong and Australia.

The offering 23 TV titles and 193 movie titles, ramping up to 800 hours of

Who’s driving the initiative... William Tieng, chair-

TV shows a month and 200 movie titles. Carries movies and TV content

man of Solar Entertainment; Wilson Tieng, presi-

from Paramount, The Walt Disney Company, CBS Studios, Sony Pictures,

dent/chief executive officer of Solar Entertain-

Warner Brothers and 20th Century Fox, and is expanding into sports and

ment; and Ronan DeGuzman, chief operating

regional content, including Korean drama. Titles include Smurfs, Grown

officer of Omni Digital Media Ventures

Ups 2, Pacific Rim, Breaking Bad, Blue Bloods, CSI: NY, Hostages, Dexter,

Targeting... Young, working, upwardly mobile

The Big Bang Theory and Elementary. Blink also offers live streaming of in-house channels ETC, Jack City, Second Avenue, BTV and Home Shop-

We discovered that consumers in the Philippines were actually unfamiliar with watching content on multiple devices and we had to step back and teach them how to subscribe and navigate the site.”

Ronan DeGuzman, Chief Operating Officer, Omni Digital Media Ventures

ping Network.

How many new titles a month? An average of 15-20 new movie titles and about two new TV titles Content rights Rights include exclusive, day and date rights. Some of the movies have exclusive rights of two to three months after theatrical viewing Most-watched titles so far Movies G.I. Joe: Retaliation and Argo as well as drama series C.S.I. and Last Resort Hopes and wishes “As a media company, it is not our intention to bundle Blink with other services… the aim is to deliver quality entertainment and for the users to have the freedom and more options to watch whatever and whenever they want.” [Ronan DeGuzman] The biggest challenge “The education of consumers to support this new viewing habit.” [Ronan DeGuzman] The biggest surprise “We discovered that consumers in the Philippines were actually unfamiliar with watching content on multiple devices and

adults from 21-35 years old.

issue three, september 2014

we had to step back and teach them how to subscribe and navigate

The platform had 10,000 reg-

the site, etc.” [Ronan DeGuzman]

istered users signed up in the

The social media angle “We are using Facebook and Yahoo Philippines

first three months of operation

to stir user interaction. Within three months, we went from zero to 43,000

and targets 25,000 by the end

fans on Facebook. We run promotions on Facebook and give away pre-

of 2014.

miums, among others.” [Ronan DeGuzman]

Average viewing time Users

Priorities “The aims include ingesting all content and making all the nec-

spend about 45 minutes a

essary versions for broadcast, archive, asset management and future

day on the platform.

monetisation.” [Ronan DeGuzman]

The Hidden Camera Ambush Comedy Celebrity guests pull pranks on unsuspecting contestants 18x30’ more episodes coming soon Executive produced by Howie Mandel for TBS Deal With It Keshet International @KeshetIntl KeshetInternational Catalogue: www.keshetinternational.com Contact us: info@keshetinternational.com

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crunchyroll Crunchyroll is a video streaming platform focusing on Japanese anime and Asian content. The service is available on the Crunchyroll website, iPhone, iPad, Android, Kindle, Playstation3, Playstation4, PlaystationVita, Xbox 360, AppleTV, Roku, internet-enabled TVs and set-top boxes.

Launched Officially launched in

producers directly to viewers translated in multiple lan-

2009. Based in San Francisco, with

guages within minutes of TV broadcast. Most of the offering

offices in L.A. and Tokyo. Has more

is anime. The rest is Korean drama and live-action. Content

than 70 staffers in the U.S. Target users Anime and Asian drama fans around the world. Has more than 300,000 pre-

issue three, september 2014

partners include TV Tokyo, Aniplex, Nippon Television Network, Kun Gao

MBC and KBS. Crunchyroll also offers eCommerce, news, community features and a free/premium digital manga offering.

mium global subscribers

Pricing Free streaming and premium from US$6.95 a month. Premium sub-

Who’s driving the initiative... Kun Gao, co-founder

scription offers same-day access for simulcast titles, up to 1080p quality and

and CEO; Brady McCollum, COO; Vincent Shortino,

no advertisements

EVP, Crunchyroll Japan Channels

Priority for 2014 “To continue to expand Crunchyroll’s content offering and

Geo-blocked Some content is geo-blocked but

global reach”. We recently announced our partnership with Fuji TV to offer

many of the titles are available worldwide.

21 Japanese drama titles. We also launched kdrama.com, a Korean drama

Why did you call it ‘Crunchyroll’? “‘Crunchyroll’ is

streaming site currently available in the U.S. and Canada.” [Kun Gao]

a California roll that has been breaded with Panko

New titles About 50 simulcast titles, mostly updated every week

and deep fried. When you bite into it, there is a

What rights do you buy? All rights

‘crunch’. We like to think that we are taking sushi,

Three most-watched shows Naruto Shippuden, Attack on Titan and

which is very traditionally Japanese, and adapting

Bleach

it for international tastes.” [Kun Gao]

What would you like to add? “We are already simulcasting more than 90%

The aim “Our goal is to focus on providing all

of our targeted anime series broadcast in Japan. We hope to bring more

Japanese anime shows within minutes of original

Japanese drama titles and more catalogue anime titles… In-house produc-

TV broadcast in high quality and professionally

tion is definitely something on our mind and we hope to bring original con-

subtitled.” [Kun Gao]

tent to our users in the near future. Crunchyroll currently has user-generated

How it started “Originally it started as a community

content under ‘pop’ section.” [Kun Gao]

video platform. The community contributed a lot of

Social media Facebook and Twitter, managed by a dedicated social

content that was not accessible outside of the con-

media team

tent’s country of origin. We realised that there was a

The biggest challenge “Delivering the same level of services to users in

huge demand for watching anime right after original

international regions.” [Kun Gao]

Japanese TV broadcast, and went to Japan to meet

The best thing that has happened to the OTT industry in Asia so far this year

with all the broadcasters and anime creators. They

is... “The increasing support of legal streaming among users.” [Kun Gao]

were extremely supportive of our platform, and gave

The best thing that’s happened to Crunchyroll in Asia this year... “We are

us licences to stream the content. They saw Crunchy-

excited to exclusively bring Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure to audiences worldwide

roll as a way to reach their international audiences in

outside Japan.” [Kun Gao]

a way that was not possible before.” [Kun Gao]

What do you think will have the most impact on the OTT industry in Asia in

The offering Delivers more than 25,000 episodes and

2014? “The proliferation of smartphones and tablets will indeed facilitate

15,000 hours of licensed content from Asian media

the growth of OTT industry in Asia.” [Kun Gao]

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ditto tv Ditto TV is an Indian over-the-top platform offering live TV and on-demand content on internet-enabled devices, including mobile phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, entertainment boxes and connected TVs. Ditto TV was created by Zee New Media, the digital arm of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL).

Aims to Revolutionise “the way TV and VOD con-

Rights Exclusive and non-exclusive

tent is delivered and enjoyed, spurring the transi-

New titles Catch-up TV catalogue is refreshed with all on-air daily episodic

tion from traditional appointment TV viewing to a

content. Adds about 500-600 hours of content a month

more flexible, customisable alternative”.

Social media “Ditto TV being a completely digital medium, social media

Who’s driving the initiative Manoj Padmanabhan,

campaigns help us connect well with our users.” [Manoj Padmanabhan]

business head, Ditto TV

Biggest challenge in 2014 “A recurring challenge is collecting payments

Users More than four million

from users. To work around this, we have moved to a 360-degree payment

Geo-blocked Content is geo-blocked for different

mechanism. Rather than having just an online payment mechanism, we

regions

have started various offline methods as well. We offer prepaid cards and

Business/pricing model Subscription-based model.

virtual cards wherever internet services or devices are sold, and also work

Ditto TV pays a per-subscriber fee to content pro-

with distribution and payment collection solution providers like Oxigen,

viders. Users download the app for free but pay

besides mobile operators. We are trying to partner with every company

a fee based on the package they choose. Offers

that a customer is likely to have a billing relationship with. There is also a

daily, weekly and monthly packages, which com-

cash-on delivery model, where Ditto TV prepaid cards are delivered to

prise a mix of free and paid content.

the doorstep.” [Manoj Padmanabhan]

The offering105 live multi-genre channels from the

Priorities for 2014 “With increasing screen sizes, and the increase in number

Times Group, TV Today Network, Sony Entertainment

of handsets, we will be looking at bundling with handset providers and

Television and BBC, among others. Also offers catch-

mobile phone operators. We are also working on technology that will al-

up TV content from general entertainment channels

low users to view content on rent, so that they can pay to watch only a

such as Zee TV and Colors along with regional chan-

particular content.” [Manoj Padmanabhan]

nels. Content includes TV shows such as Comedy

The best thing that has happened to the OTT industry in Asia so far this

Nights with Kapil, Balika Vadhu, Dance India Dance,

year is… A greater willingness to partner and a growing understanding

Jodha Akbar; classic MTV Bakra, MTV Coke Studio,

of OTT as a value add. “This is a big shift towards bringing content directly

Hum Paanch (featuring Vidya Balan); and movies

to consumers’ screens and it is very encouraging... on the whole.” [Manoj

such as Chennai Express, English Vinglish.

Padmanabhan]

Content wishlist Planning to acquire ethnic/local

What do you think will have the most impact on the OTT industry in Asia

content in each market

in 2015? “The ecosystem is growing very fast and we are optimistic that improved and better quality bandwidth as well as reduction in internet

With increasing screen sizes, and the increase in numbers of handsets, we will be looking at bundling with handset providers and mobile phone operators.”

rates coupled with the penetration of mobile phones and tablets, is going to have a very positive impact on the OTT industry in Asia.” [Manoj Padmanabhan] The best thing that has happened to Ditto TV this year is The Ditto TV revamp and the new interface that allows users to directly login to the website from their user ID, thus surpassing the need to download the app to their desktops.

Manoj Padmanabhan, Business Head, Ditto TV issue three, september 2014

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Liza Wang and Adam Cheng.

How many new titles are added each month? “For the launch, we select-

GOTV

ed about 10,000 episodes of drama, which include the all-time-favourite titles, the top five rated titles for the past 15 years, long sequels, as well as titles from the past three years. We will progressively increase the archive size in two phases: first, the current titles after the finale is broadcast;

A paid multi-platform video-on-demand online service, GOTV offers drama series from Hong Kong’s Television Broadcasts Ltd (TVB). The platform is available to subscribers via web browsers and mobile iOS/Android apps. GOTV was launched by tvb.com, TVB’s online unit, on 14 January 2014, and had more than 26,000 users by end June.

and, second, a quarterly increment of about 1,000 episodes from TVB archives. We are diligently consolidating our non-drama archives and target to provide non-drama content this year.” [Wayne Lam] What are you hoping to achieve with GOTV? “Through GOTV, we hope to bring TV lovers a new experience of watching TV. In addition to the traditional terrestrial linear broadcast channels, we facilitate users to choose their favourite titles to revise, anywhere, anytime on any device.” [Wayne Lam] What would you like to add to the offering? “We are focusing on TVB dramas for now. In the short term, we will offer our non-drama titles as

Available right now in... Geo-blocked for Hong

well and in the long term, we will seek the opportunity to offer foreign,

Kong, with plans to “extend the service to all TVB

acquired content.” [Wayne Lam]

content lovers worldwide”

The biggest challenge... “To generalise our service to all age groups, par-

Targeting... Fans of TVB programmes, including

ticularly the elderly demographic. We believe that the older our custom-

drama and non-drama

ers are, the more content they are likely to revisit. So the key challenge

Pricing... Subscribers pay HK$59/US$7.60 a month

was to consider the best user interface that is manageable (by all age

or HK$499/US$64 a year. In April 2014, GOTV start-

demographics) and can easily be extended to cover various screens.”

ed offering a recurrent, open monthly contract

[Wayne Lam]

priced at HK$59/US$7.60. The hope is to offer a

Why did you call it GOTV? “Simple, easy to memorise, and with the key

pay-per-title service by the third quarter of 2014.

element ‘TV’.” [Wayne Lam]

Who’s driving the initiative... Kenneth Wong, chief

What are your take-up expectations for 2014? “As the service is new, we

operating officer, tvb.com; Wayne Lam, senior

are closely monitoring the market in order to adjust our expectation on

product manager, tvb.com

take up.” [Wayne Lam]

The offering The service is based on TVB’s 46-

The social media angle... “tvb.com already has a very strong online pres-

year-old drama archive, including 10,000 epi-

ence... We also rely on the different marketing platforms TVB is on (TV

sodes from more than 300 selected dramas such

commercials, online, Facebook) to draw attention.” [Wayne Lam]

as The Bund I, Legend of the Condor Heroes

Most-watched titles... “As expected, our all-time-favourites titles, includ-

series and Triumph in the Skies series, etc. The

ing Triumph in the Skies series and The Greed of Man.” [Wayne Lam]

promise is the opportunity to view mega stars’

The biggest surprise... “That our past titles are still high in demand.”

and actors’ past performances. Celebrities in-

Priorities for the next six months... “Collect market feedback, expecta-

clude Chow Yun Fat, Dodo Cheng, Lydia Shum,

tions and enhance our service to make it a perfect one!” [Wayne Lam]

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countries. Hulu added Nippon TV dramas and animation from 1 April 2014,

Hulu japan Hulu Japan is an online video service with unlimited access to over 13,000 premium programmes on multiple devices, including PCs, TVs, tablets, smartphones and gaming consoles. Premium content includes, but is not limited to, Hollywood films and TV shows, Japanese films and TV shows, anime and documentaries. Content is geo-blocked for Japan.

and plans to add more. Content includes dramas such as I’m Mita, Your Housekeeper, My Little Nightmare; and animation series La corda d’Oro – Blue Sky and The World is Still Beautiful. There’s no set number of new titles a month but the plan is to add more and more.

Content rights Varies from title to title, including first/exclusive content Live streaming Nippon TV is considering live streaming the Nippon TV channel on the platform, but no definite plans have been announced.

The aim... Nippon TV hopes to “develop Hulu into the leading subscription video on demand (SVOD) platform in Japan, and that Hulu will become known not as ‘Nippon TV’s Hulu’, but as ‘Japan’s Hulu’ where users come to watch high-quality content when and where they want. In addition to terrestrial broadcasting and BS/CS broadcasting, Nippon TV will maximise content value by acquiring a path to deliver content through the internet, responding to users’ preferences”.

The biggest challenge… The subscription VOD is still a new business model

the U.S. Hulu’s Japan business was acquired by

It is a challenge to get viewers to subscribe and pay a monthly fee for the content they watch.”

Japanese broadcaster Nippon TV in February 2014.

Nippon TV

Launched in September 2011 by Hulu LLC out of

Financial details were not disclosed.

Target users In the past two and a half years, the

in Japan, where terrestrial television is free of charge and viewers are used

main target has been fans of Hollywood films and

to watching premium content for free. Nippon TV says “it is a challenge

television series. The plan is to include families, kids

to get these television viewers to subscribe and pay a monthly fee for the

and other age groups by expanding content,

content they watch. This has been a challenge so far and it is still a chal-

including local programmes.

lenge,” company execs say.

Subscribers/registered users Not disclosed, but

Total number of internet-connected devices (tablet/smartphone/TV): 90

Hulu in Japan ended the 2013 fiscal year with more

million devices (PCs not included)

than double the number of subscribers from the

Most-watched titles Hulu users watch various genres of content, not only Hol-

beginning of the year.

lywood TV series and films, but also Japanese TV series, films and anime.

Rates ¥933/US$9 a month

The biggest surprise on usage It was not really a surprise for Nippon TV,

Who’s in charge Buddy Marini, chief executive

but programmers are very happy that subscribers have been watching

officer of HJ Holdings, which operates the Hulu

Hulu on multiple devices.

service in Japan

Social media Uses Twitter and Facebook

The offering More than 13,000 assets of premium

Priorities for the next six months Adding more content targetting a wider

video content from Hollywood, Japan and other

range of users.

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iWant TV iWant TV, part of the Philippines’ ABS-CBN empire, launched in December 2010 as an online video service offering content from ABS-CBN, SkyCable, ABS-CBNmobile and other subsidiaries. Content is streamed on-demand and live.

SkyCable subscribers have access to cable channel content. ABS-CBNmobile subscribers have access to content produced exclusively for mobile. The service is geo-blocked

It is all about giving Filipinos the freedom to choose the way they want to enjoy content.”

for the Philippines.

Available on Desktops, smartphones and tablets. The iWant TV

Ralph Menorca, Head of iWant TV, Digital Head of Access

mobile app launched in Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store in November 2013.

Targeting iWant TV’s free tier was opened to all online users in December 2012. The

What’s offered on demand? Episodes of all shows from ABSRalph Menorca

platform has about 2.4 million registered

issue three, september 2014

CBN Channel 2, ANC. Select content from ABS-CBN regional channels, ABS-CBN Sports + Action, E!, Kix/Thrill, Knowledge Channel and Nick, as well as exclusively produced content from

users, of which 200,000 are paying subscribers of

ABS-CBNmobile.

ABS-CBN’s pay-TV and mobile platforms.

How many new titles are added a month? “On-demand content is mostly

Who’s driving the initiative Ralph Menorca, head

catch-up, so content is updated daily. New content, particularly for ABS-

of iWant TV, digital head for access; Connie Lopez,

CBN, is in sync with broadcast launches.” [Ralph Menorca]

head of digital partnerships and ecosystem man-

What’s the biggest challenge? “Online video piracy” [Ralph Menorca]

agement; Richard Reynante, head of content

Take up expectations for 2014 “We hope to double the number of reg-

for access; Tina Rita, platform manager; Joyce

istered users by the end of 2014, driven by the growth of mobile internet

Villasor-Villaflor, content manager

access and usage.” [Ralph Menorca]

Biz/pricing models The free tier carries advertising.

What’s the average viewing time? “The typical iWant TV user finishes at

SkyCable and ABS-CBNmobile subscribers are pro-

least one episode (about 20 mins) per session.” [Ralph Menorca]

vided access to ad-free premium and exclusive

What are you hoping to achieve? “It is all about giving Filipinos the free-

content.

dom to choose the way they want to enjoy content. Our goal is to provide

What about paid services? “iWant TV is constantly

the best online viewing experience by offering the best lineup of shows,

evolving... Currently, we feel our content is best

and by providing access in the platforms most relevant to them. We hope

made available on a free basis. However, paid

that in the near future, iWant TV will become top-of-mind as the primary

services [for iWant TV only] may be considered

venue for Filipinos to watch their favourite shows, in the same way as

in the future, when we see that our [online] users

traditional TV is today.” [Ralph Menorca]

have developed the appetite for paid, premium

Most-watched titles Be Careful With My Heart, Ina Kapatid Anak, Gan-

content.” [Ralph Menorca]

dang Gabi Vice, MMK and Got To Believe

Live linear streamed channels ABS-CBN Channel 2,

Is there anything surprising about usage? “One of the surprises is the

ABS-CBN News Channel, DZMM TeleRadyo and MOR

habit of repeating an episode again and again. Another is our Comment

101.9 for all users. SkyCable subscribers have access

Boards, becoming a venue of fans to converge, discuss and even create

to Al Jazeera, Asian Food Channel, Basketball TV, the

small communities. Both phenomena were most evident among Be Care-

Biography Channel, Bloomberg, Cartoon Network,

ful With My Heart viewers.” [Ralph Menorca]

CNN, Food Network Asia, History Channel, Jack TV,

How are you using social media? “We utilise Facebook and Twitter to

Lifetime Channel, National Geographic Channel,

keep our users abreast with the latest launches and featured shows. We

Nick, RTL-CBS Entertainment Channel, Solar Sports,

also use social media to gather feedback and address any issue that our

Telenovela Channel and WarnerTV

users may have.” [Ralph Menorca]

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mnc play media MNC Media’s MNC Play Media was founded in January 2013 by Indonesia’s MNC media conglomerate, which also operates the country’s largest pay-TV platform and a bouquet of free-TV channels. The trial service on the broadband cable/fibre-based network started in June 2014 in some areas in Indonesia. The official launch date has not been announced.

The offering The IPTV platform over Fibre To The

Play Media because ‘Play’ is identical to entertainment and these are

Home (FTTH) provides a quadruple-play integrat-

the main objectives of our services – to entertain our subscribers with

ed service consisting of interactive cable TV with

many varieties of content and internet data services. Ultimately, we also

130+ channels HD ready, interactive new media

want to deliver quadruple play.” [Ade Tjendra]

(featuring home automation, interactive home

Do you offer on-demand content? “Initially, the main TV service offer-

shopping, interactive stock trading, etc), 2.5 Gbps

ing consists of linear and HD channels. We have yet to prepare for vid-

ultra speed internet and telephony/video calls.

eo-on-demand services, but it is within our plan to do so in the future.”

Prices To be announced

[Ade Tjendra]

Targeted users MNC Play Media targets retail

Where does your content come from? “We share content with pay-TV

and/or residential segments, SOHO (small office/

platform MSKY, which operates three pay-TV brands – Indovision, Top

home office) and corporate clients.

TV and Okevision. Using S-band satellite technology, MSKY has more

Who’s driving the initiative Ade Tjendra, chief

than 120 channels in its portfolio (of which around 33 are exclusive

commercial officer/director; Gunawan Wicak-

channels), including Fox Action Movies, Waku-Waku Japan, ZooMoo

sono, chief technology officer; Lidia Muchtar,

and Hits.

What’s missing that you would like to add? “Since Play Media

chief financial officer Geo-blocks MNC Play Media IPTV

runs on the FTTH platform, capacity is no longer an issue. It

service can only be delivered to

can carry more HD channels, probably later on we can

users within its own FTTH network

also customise channels for each city with its local TV

infrastructure in Indonesia.

channel. In the long run, Play Media will carry more on-

Tech partners Cisco for core net-

line content.” [Ade Tjendra]

work infrastructure, ZTE and Hua-

Is there anything that has surprised you about the way people are using Play Media? “It is still too early [for] sig-

wei for FTTH distribution and ZTE for

nificant feedback from subscribers.” [Ade Tjendra]

IPTV middleware What’s behind the name? “We call it

Ade Tjendra

How are you using social media to expand your online presence? “Social media has always been a very important aspect of the online presence, especially in Indonesia where people use

social media to interact and refer products and services. It is a way to

Capacity is no longer an issue on the FTTH platform.

We can carry more HD channels... later on we can also customise channels for each city.”

Ade Tjendra, Chief Commercial Officer/Director, MNC Play Media

encourage word of mouth, secondly, with forum; it has enabled us to directly interact with potential subscribers as well as getting real feedback.” [Ade Tjendra] What’s the biggest challenge you have faced in 2014? Obstacles include permits to install the network infrastructure, especially in local communities, which have to be incentivised to support the network build and to take up the services.

What are Play Media’s priorities for the rest of 2014? “Our priority is building the best network and launching it in 2014.” [Ade Tjendra]

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Letv Established in November 2004 by Le Shi Internet Information and Technology Corporation, online video portal Letv offers Chinese TV shows and movies via multiple internet-connected devices. The Letv group’s ecosystem brings together “Platform + Content + Device + Application”. Letv deploys more than 300 CDNs (content delivery networks) to ensure cred-

SuperTV and set-top boxes), and applications

In-house production has been one of our strategic plans since last year... we are targeting 800 episodes this year.”

(Letv Store carrying more than 3,000 apps),

Tin Mok, Vice President, Le Shi Internet Information and Technology Corporation

ibility in online video experience. Besides online video service, Letv is also involved in contentmaking (movie production LeVP and Flower Pictures, electronic devices (Letv branded

among others. The Letv group was founded in 2004 and has been publicly traded since 2010.

Targeted users “Our first stage users are below 50 years old. However, it doesn’t mean we are not catering to groups above 50. We have Who’s driving the initiative Le Shi In-

an exclusive TV channel presenting the most popular videos, like entertainment shows, dramas, etc., which has content

ternet Information and Technology

for users from different age groups.” [Tin Mok]

Corporation’s Jia Yueting, chief executive officer, and Tin Mok,

Average viewing time 8,728.2 seconds/user/month (May

vice president

2014, I-research)

The offering More than 5,000 Chi-

Acquisitions The plan is to buy more popular movies

nese films and 100,000 episodes

and entertainment shows from different countries and regions.

of Chinese TV series/animation (HD available, music content excluded)

Tin Mok

for an annual fee of RMB490/US$79

Geo-blocked All content accessible to Hong Kong market can be viewed without any limit.

Social media “We have millions of Letv fans on Weibo now

in mainland China. Brand new movie titles cost RMB5/US$0.80 each. There will be a

and have started our Facebook page in Hong Kong. Actually, we did not

different set of pricing for Hong Kong and other

push our brand on social media deliberately. The focus was on our prod-

markets outside mainland China.

ucts, content and services to provide better user experience but there

Top three titles Home Coming, Empresses in the

was overwhelming response from online Letv fans, who came together

Palace and Expendables

and created a club called ‘the society of Letv fans’.” [Tin Mok] content

What’s the biggest challenge you have faced in 2014? “2014 is a big

“We are more focused on in-house productions

year for Letv. We will explore overseas markets with both content and

this year. It has been one of our strategic plans

hardware. Hong Kong is the first platform to connect China and foreign

since last year. We provided more than 300 epi-

countries. It is a challenging market for Letv. We also need more techni-

sodes of in-house online dramas last year and are

cal experts to help us solve backend problems.” [Tin Mok]

targeting 800 episodes this year. Some of them are

Priorities for the rest of 2014 “For the overall financial income of Letv Hold-

extremely popular and have gotten some online

ings, we hope to reach RMB10 billion/US$1.6 billion, which is triple that of

fans and loyal video chasers in mainland China.

last year… we also target our videos and TV products to rank top three in

In the future, more and more self-productions will

the relevant industries.” [Tin Mok]

be released on a basis of various needs in accor-

The most impact on the OTT industry in China is “The possible government

dance to different countries and regions.”

interference to filter out unlicensed OTT providers might have the most

Subscribers/registered users 50 million unique visi-

impact on the OTT industry in China. Letv will not only adjust accordingly,

tors (UV) a day, including users of website, mobile,

but also work closely with state-owned companies for the good of the

tablets, SuperTV and set-top boxes

whole industry.” [Tin Mok]

In-house

production/user-generated

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Buys content rights for “Whatever makes sense”, including online day and date.

Spuul

How many hours of content will you acquire in 2014? The plan is to add more than 5,000 hours in the year.

How many new titles are added a month? 30-40 titles, including the latest blockbuster movies and TV series immediately post telecast. In August

Spuul is an online ad-supported subscription

2014, Spuul added short-form movies and a comedy vertical showcasing

service that legally provides film and television

popular comedy programmes.

content globally. The service currently offers

Most-watched Titles like Ankhon Dekhi, streamed on the same day as

both free and paid Indian content delivered

theatrical. Recent releases like Dhoom 3, Zilla Ghaziabad, Jackpot, Ragini

via internet-connected devices – smart TVs,

MMS, Shadi Ke Side Effects have seen good numbers.

web, tablets and mobile (iOS, Android).

The aim “Spuul wants to reach out to maximum users with quality content to be the destination for the Indian consumer. We take our user feedback seriously and the content strategy is dynamic. The idea is to make consumer content experience worthwhile as well as convenient. The user is presented with features like high definition, subtitles, resume across devices and offline sync. Offline sync backed by military encryption allows the user to watch content without the internet connection and this combats the challenges of infrastructure in developing markets. One can enjoy movies on the go without having to think about internet availability.”

[Prakash Ramchandani] The biggest challenge “Online piracy has always been a big challenge. We are trying to address this through various antipiracy campaigns but ultimately content

Launched in Services launched in April 2012.

owners and regulators have to join forces. This needs immediate attention

Founded in 2010 in Singapore by Sudesh Iyer

for legit platforms to be a high revenue driver to unlock the value of content.

(founder of Sony Entertainment TV in India), Subin

In addition, content owners should look at shorter release windows to reach

Subaiah (banker associated with Bankers Trust, Bank

a wider audience across households consuming through various devices.”

of America, Standard Chartered) and S Mohan

[Prakash Ramchandani]

(founder of Accellion, buUuk and other technology/

Priorities “Ambitious plans but one focused step at a time. Spuul is deliver-

venture companies).

ing the promise of new blockbuster movies. Shortening content windows

The offering A mix of new blockbusters, popular/

for movies, TV content, premiering worldwide films has worked and we will

evergreen classics, kids and TV content for family

continue to learn and invest. Before we go broader to serve the Indian

viewing. Some content is geo-blocked but most is

consumer with a variety of genres, we want to claim the one-stop shop for

available globally.

Target users Mainly Indian viewers,

specific Indian content – movies and TV. Our content, tech and product engine is constantly thinking ahead to serve targeted geographies.”

including in India, non-resident Indians

[Prakash Ramchandani]

and international viewers who enjoy

The best thing that has happened to the OTT industry in Asia this year

Indian content. Users are mostly young

“Better infrastructure. More people converting to smart mobile us-

and affluent.

Subs base Targeting a minimum of six million users by mid-2015. Platform bosses say they are on target to achieve that.

Biz/pricing models Free streaming and pay-per-view spe-

age. It’s not just video consumption but the range of OTT ideas that are springing up making it more convenient and user-friendly. With respect to online videos, the perspective of the provider is now changing and OTT video consumption is pretty much in the consideration set of the content owner and the end user.” [Prakash Ramchandani]

cials (from US$0.99) and a

The best thing that has happened to Spuul so far

premium monthly subscrip-

“We are growing, the team is growing and we

tion service for US$4.99 a

are doing our part to contribute. We are hungry

month.

and better things are yet to happen!” [Prakash Ramchandani]

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Starhub TV anywhere StarHub TV Anywhere is Singapore telco StarHub’s OTT service offering streaming of linear, in-house channels, on-demand/VOD content and Red Card Sports Radio, which offers ‘live’ English Premier League match commentary, real-time match updates, live scores, team line-ups and statistics. The service is geoblocked for Singapore.

Available since June 2012 with 12 channels. To-

What are you hoping to achieve? “With the proliferation of smart de-

day, the service carries more than a third of the

vices and increasingly busy lifestyles, we are seeing a fast shift in the

content offered through the set-top box.

way people consume content,” Lin says. This drives StarHub to provide

Targeting StarHub TV subscribers. Also seeking out

not only wider choices of content, but also to improve accessibility to

new segments and customers. “This platform al-

content across multiple platforms. She adds that StarHub is sparing no

lows us to do more targeting and personalisation

effort to ensure the experience across TV and devices is seamless and

of service propositions”. [Lin Shu Fen]

consistent. She also promised that customers can expect more in terms

Biz/pricing models The service currently comple-

of the quality and experience of the content stream. One of the live

ments the main StarHub TV subscription and offers

streamed events has been the StarHub TVB Awards.

some content a la carte.

What’s the biggest challenge? “One of the challenges is obtaining

Who’s driving the initiative… Lin Shu Fen, head of

rights for OTT delivery. Another is trying to reduce the gap in the window

entertainment and SmartLife

and original format of the content offered on this platform to ensure

How many new titles are added a month? Not dis-

we offer a compelling proposition. This is important for us to fight online

closed. Lin only says that the number of streams

piracy.” [Lin Shu Fen]

being delivered has more than tripled since last

What is the most-watched content so far? Education and sports chan-

year “and is growing significantly monthly”. She

nels. “Kids’ [content] is big simply because of the ‘digital nanny’ phe-

also mentions improved quality HD streams and

nomenon. Our ‘free-to-cable’ channel, SuperSports Arena, does phe-

promises “more new service features this year

nomenally well, especially for ‘live’ sporting events.” [Lin Shu Fen] How are you using social media? “We will soon announce our

that will enhance the way our customers en-

social sign-in service that allows users to use their social net-

joy the content”.

working logins to manage their service credentials... In addition, our second-screen app, StarHub TV Buddy,

We are expanding our platform distribution with partnerships so the application is easily accessible.”

allows our customers to share their favourite programmes via Facebook. The app houses an electronic programme guide and gives users access to additional content, which complements our programming in real time. Available on Android and iOS, it serves as a content engagement platform.” [Lin Shu Fen]

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

Why did you call it StarHub TV Anywhere?

Priorities for the next six months… “We are expanding our platform distribution with partnerships so the application is

“The name is simple, easy to remember and con-

easily accessible. Customers can expect announcements of new ser-

veys the service proposition well.” [Lin Shu Fen]

vice features and content – on linear and on-demand – on this platform

Take up expectations for 2014 Utilisation is ex-

and we are already working with content providers in this area. We are

pected to reach at least half of StarHub’s

also building up the a la carte content, which can be sold to anyone in

535,000 subscriber base.

Singapore and not just StarHub customers.” [Lin Shu Fen]

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Toggle

Original-produced content plays a very important part in our overall programming strategy.”

Toggle is the online platform of Singapore’s William Lee, Senior Vice President, Toggle

monopoly broadcaster MediaCorp. The service offers entertainment, news and information to viewers across multiple devices, including smart phones, tab-

Targeted users General public, especially women

lets and connected televisions.

in their 30s and 40s Subscribers/registered users 352,000 registered users (July 2014) Price plans SG$9.90/US$8 a month for all access. The catch-up TV service of local original content, free live streaming of Channel NewsAsia (Singapore feed) and Channel 8 (6.30pm-10.30pm daily) is offered for free.

Upgrades In June this year, Toggle unveiled a new look, calling the fix “Toggle V2”.

The aim was to “enhance discoverability and navigation” by adding innovative features that allow quick access to the programmes or add programmes to a favourite list, among others. The fix also includes kids’ space KidsZone and notification feature to alert users about new episode of series in their

Launched February 2013

favourite list. The future plan is to offer a download-to-watch capability

Who’s who William Lee, senior vice president, Toggle

on the Toggle app.

The offering More than 20,000 on-demand titles

Geo-blocked Only available in Singapore

and 30 channels. Packages include Toggle it-First,

Where do you place original-produced content in your overall program-

where subscribers can watch advanced episodes

ming strategy? “Original-produced content, which is our Toggle Original

of the latest MediaCorp dramas and variety shows;

Productions, plays a very important part in our overall programming

The MediaCorp Collection, for classic MediaCorp

strategy. It is one of the USPs (unique selling points) of the platform.” [Wil-

content; Toggle Original Productions, an offering of

liam Lee]

original Toggle-branded content; KidsZone, which

How are you using social media to expand your online presence? Through

offers kids movies, channels and series; and Catch-

social media marketing and Facebook.

up TV, which currently carries international TV series

Most-watched content The most-watched content is Toggle’s Catch-Up TV

The Walking Dead season four, talent show Britain’s

offering: MediaCorp TV content and Channel 8 primetime programmes.

Got Talent and The Real Hustle U.S.A. Toggle also

2014 priorities “To bring a seamless brand user experience online, on the

offers live news streaming of Channel NewsAsia

apps and on smart TVs. To also enhance the suite of programme offerings

(Singapore feed) and Chinese-language Channel

with more original Toggle productions.” [William Lee]

8 primetime (6.30pm-10.30pm daily) as well as free

The best thing that has happened to Toggle so far this year is... “The

live streaming of national events for Singaporeans

introduction of the new user interface online and on the apps, which

residing overseas, via section SGLink.

havebeen well received by users so far.” [William Lee]

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tonton Tonton is an over-the-top service offering catch-up and premium video content, including drama, entertainment talk shows, docudramas and movies. Content comes from free-TV broadcaster Media Prima’s national terrestrial networks – TV3, TV9, ntv7 and 8TV – as well as studios around the world. Tonton is operated by Media Prima Digital. cludes eight one-minute “Wit-A-Minute clips. Media Prima Digital billed the show as “the first of its kind on an online platform”.

How many hours of new content a month? 190 hours a week. 760 hours a month Launched in Tonton launched in August 2010.

Three most-watched shows so far Top dramas from TV3 Love You Mr. Ar-

Why did you call it ‘Tonton’? “Tonton means

rogant, Ariana Rose and Teduhan Kasih

‘watch’ in the Malay language.”

Who’s driving the initiataive Lam Swee Kim, group general manager, Me-

Revenue model Free video-on-demand, transac-

dia Prima Digital

tional video-on-demand (TVOD), advertising sup-

Geo-blocked or not “Syndicated content will be geo-blocked for Malay-

ported

sia according to the licence terms but selected local content is available

The price Transactional video-on-demand (pre-

for global access.” [Lam Swee Kim]

mium) titles cost from RM8/US$2.50 each for a

Content rights Non-exclusive catch-up, live stream, library. Period: one

48-hour window. Most of the shows are free, with

to two years

some migrating to a premium tier after the initial

Is there anything that has surprised you about usage? “The growth in mo-

free 30-day window.

bile has been overwhelming in the past one year.” [Lam Swee Kim]

Subscribers Tonton’s 2014 target is four million reg-

The biggest challenge so far Cost and revenue

istered users, and the platform is optimistic about

How are you using social media to expand your online presence? “Daily

reaching this goal.

and campaign updates” [Lam Swee Kim]

Users Urban market ages from 15-35 years old

What are Tonton’s priorities for the next six months? The priority goes to Ton-

The offer Local content includes drama, re-

ton music, a brand extension into the music industry. Media Prima Digital,

ality, lifestyle, kids, news, movies and talk shows. Foreign content covers

in collaboration with Media Prima Radio Networks (MPRN), launched Tonton Music, a music portal on 26 January this year in conjunction

drama, movies and documentary

with TV3’s music competition, Anugerah Juara Lagu (AJL28). The

Live streams Media Prima terres-

aim is to have one of the largest local music content libraries in

trial TV channels TV3, ntv7, 8TV and

the industry, with more than 700,000 songs, including International

TV9

music, by the end of 2014. Tonton Music is also the first music portal

Newest features... Tonton Original Se-

in Malaysia to offer a free mobile streaming service and the first to

ries, Tonton Comedy (offers come-

have a fully integrated digital music service in the world.

dy programmes) and Tonton Music. The Tonton Original Series slate includes Stand Up, which premiered in May 2014, with new episodes every Wednesday and Friday. The eight-part 15-minute episode series features 14 stand up comedians, including Jonathan Atherton, Papi Zak, Andrew Netto

The growth in mobile has been overwhelming in the past one year.”

Lam Swee Kim, Group General Manager, Media Prima Digital

and Joanne Kam. The series also in-

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Truevisions anywhere TrueVisions Anywhere is an online TV service, carrying live-TV streaming, catch-up services

The people in Thailand are so used to pirated services that are either cheap or free. We need to find an appropriate business model to win this competition.”

Soothi Na-Ranong, Senior Manager, Product Development, Business Development, True Visions Group

of local and international channels and transactional video-on-demand offering Hollywood movies, via web

US$3.10 each. The plan is to have 10 new, current titles

browsers and mobile iOS and

each month.

Android apps.

What’s the goal? “The goal is to minimise piracy and ultimately be the sole legal online TV application provider in Thailand.” [Soothi Na-Ranong] What kind of rights do you buy? “We’re hoping for first

Launched...

TrueVisions

Anywhere

and exclusive.” [Soothi Na-Ranong] The biggest challenge… “The greatest challenge for us is pi-

was launched by Thai communications and media company, True Visions

Soothi Na-Ranong

Group, in 2012, with live streaming of 40

vices that are either cheap or free. We need to find an appropri-

local and international channels. The service re-

ate business model to win this competition. Business model in terms of the

launched in May 2013 with 120 channels.

right pricing and exclusivity (content), accessible everywhere in Thailand

Targeting… All demographics

and a user interface design that is simple and easy to use by all ages.”

Pricing… TrueVisions Anywhere is accessible for

[Soothi Na-Ranong]

free to TrueVisions’ pay-TV subscribers via web

Why did you call it TrueVisions Anywhere? “It is straightforward and sim-

browsers and mobile iOS and Android apps. Non-

ple to understand by all.” [Soothi Na-Ranong]

subscribers pay THB200/US$6 a month for the

How many subscribers or registered users do you have? “There are cur-

basic package, consisting of 53 local and two

rently about one million downloads and 160,000 registered subscribers

international channels. Five TrueVisions-branded

(watching the channels they subscribe to).” [Soothi Na-Ranong]

channels are offered for free to the public.

What are your take-up expectations for 2014? ”We are targeting about

Who’s driving the initiative… Nantanee Wongum-

180,000 registered subscribers by end 2014.” [Soothi Na-Ranong]

nitkul, business development director, and Soothi

What’s the average viewing time? 10-15 minutes daily

Na-Ranong, senior manager product develop-

The biggest surprise? “We found that our users are mostly children.”

ment, True Visions Group

[Soothi Na-Ranong]

Available right now in… Thailand and hopes to

How are you using social media to expand your online presence? “We

extend to Burma, Vietnam and Cambodia.

have our own social media team consisting of six people. We have about

The offering... Live streaming of more than 150

890,000 likes to our Facebook page, where we also promote our content

local and international channels, which include

to watch on Anywhere. We are also on TrueVisions’ official Twitter and

RTL CBS Entertainment HD, Food Network HD,

Instagram.” [Soothi Na-Ranong]

Travel Planet HD and Motor Visions HD. Features include time-shift (rewind live TV up to two hours) and catch-up TV (two days archive). The platform launched its transactional video-on-demand (TVOD) service in February, offering about 140 Hollywood movies. The TVOD slate includes The Rise of

Planet

of

the Apes, The Devil Wears Prada, Need For Speed and Rio 2. Titles cost from THB90/US$2.80 to THB100/

issue three, september 2014

racy, because the people in Thailand are so used to pirated ser-

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43

vtv plus VTV Plus is an over-the-top (OTT) and secondscreen TV application allowing users to watch TV content on multiple devices, including Android-, iOS-, window- and web-based devices. The aim is also to offer viewers interactivity over some of the live TV shows on VTV Plus.

Target users VTV Plus mostly targets youth and white-collar workers.

What is the average daily viewing time? One hour Owned by Vietnam Television Cable Corporation and technology partner Medianet Corporation Is the service geo-blocked? Most of the in-house content is available globally Why did you call it VTV Plus? “We called it VTV Plus because we can bring to the online audience more than just online TV, in terms of the content and the user experience. It is more than just a TV.”

What would you like to add? “We consider VTV Plus a cable TV service

[Dr Pham Anh Chien, director of VTV Digital]

on-the-go. We hope to develop a new, customised, exclusive internet TV

Launched Preparation took about six months and

channel – maybe an entertainment or sports channel – featuring short-

the platform officially launched in January 2013.

form content for mobile users.” [Dr Pham Anh Chien]

What was your aim in creating VTV Plus? “Our

Subscribers/registered users Over three million subscribers after one and

aim is to personalise and improve TV user experi-

a half years in operation

ences. Moreover the internet infrastructure and

Take-up forecast by the end of 2014 Four million subscribers

the mobile market in Vietnam now are better and

Is there anything that has surprised you about the way people are using VTV

stronger, enabling our product to be available any

Plus? “We got a lot of positive feedback from users because it is a brand

time, any where and on any device.” [Dr Pham

new TV experience for them. They especially like to use the second-screen

Anh Chien]

feature/VTV Plus for interaction with other users. There is also the time-shift

The offering 70 TV channels, including 40 VTV-

viewing (12 hours). One example is the interactive feature we programmed

branded channels. VTV Plus currently offers live

on one of VTV6’s entertainment quiz shows called Happy Lunch. Users were

streaming TV channels such as news, entertain-

happy because with VTV Plus they were able to discuss with one another

ment, sports and education channels. Interna-

and be entertained at the same time.” [Dr Pham Anh Chien]

tional channels include several digital Russian and

What’s the biggest challenge you are facing in 2014? Copyright/piracy

Korean channels. The video-on-demand service

issues. “We are also facing infrastructure challenges. We need to prepare

will be available soon.

a strong backend structure to withstand peak hours, where there could

Subscription/pay-per-view rates Subscription is

be 100 times the number of viewer traffic than during offpeak periods. We

free for all VTV-branded TV channels and a list of

need to foresee technical challenges to ensure there is no interruption

Vietnamese in-house channels. Users pay US$2

and the service runs perfectly.” [Dr Pham Anh Chien]

a month for a premium subscription package to

The best thing that has happened to VTV Plus in Vietnam so far this year

watch all 70 channels.

is... “There are more users using the service now not only in Vietnam but

Three most-watched genres News, films and sports/

Vietnamese living around the world. VTV Plus is like their portable TV, TV

football channels

on the go.” [Dr Pham Anh Chien]

issue three, september 2014

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Youku Tudou Mainland Chinese online video platform Youku Tudou was formed by the merger of China's rivals Youku and Tudou in 2012. The services continue to operate separately and cater to different audiences and advertisers. Youku targets the more "mainstream and positive" users while Tudou focuses more on the "young and eggy" users. The two multi-screen video apps and website platforms are available via PCs and all internet-enabled devices, including tablets and smartphones. Users of Youku Tudou made up of approximately 80% of China's online video users.

Users/subscribers Youku Tudou has 380 million users on PC and 115 million users on mobile according to iResearch.

Three most-watched shows on Youku: Chinese TV series Special Forces Phoenix Nirvana and Let’s Get Married, as well as South Korean TV series

Who's in charge.. Victor Koo, chief executive officer/chairman of Youku Tudou Inc; Dele Liu,

Biggest surprise “The number of users on mobile devices has exceeded

senior vice president of Youku Tudou Inc

that on TV, mobile contributes to more than 65% of the total video views,

and president of Youku.com; Weidong

and on average, a user’s video view count on mobile is 2.5 to three

Yang, senior vice president of Youku

times of that on PC. Long-form content like TV shows, variety shows, and

Tudou Inc and president of Tudou.com

animations make greater contribution to total video views on mobile than

have international rights are geo-blocked

issue three, september 2014

Average viewing time 73.6 million hours a day, Youku and Tudou combined

president of Youku Tudou Inc; Frank Wei,

Geo-blocked Some shows that don’t

Victor Koo

The Heirs

for China

PC.” [Victor Koo] Outlook on the on-demand business in China in the next 12 months “Ondemand business in China is in its early stage, it’ll double or triple in terms

'Youku' is “What’s best and what’s cool” in

of subscribers in the next 12 months.” [Victor Koo]

Chinese

Priorities “From a content perspective, Youku Tudou’s main priority is to

Monthly subs rates RMB20/US$3.2 (Youku) and

develop differentiated original content for each of our platforms: Youku

RMB10/US$1.6 (Tudou)

and Tudou, and also to explore different genres of content that capture

The offering Youku is a free on-demand platform

the mindshare of Chinese audience.” [Victor Koo]

with pay-per-view and subscription-based services

Social media “In July 2013, Youku Tudou’s content has been promot-

on premium tier Youku Premium. Programming is

ed throughout Weibo. The promotion takes multiple forms including

a mix of licensed content + in-house production

through personalised recommendation section embedded between

+ user-generated-content. Tudou’s offering is

micro-blogging posts. Search results for movies and TV dramas will pro-

the same as Youku's, but differs in content focus.

vide direct thumbnail links to watch the title instantly. ‘Home page’

Together, Youku and Tudou offer 25,152 titles at

for each title will be set up to provide direct links to watch it on Youku

any one time.

or Tudou platforms and feature reviews, mentions of that title from

Content rights Mostly of the content rights on You-

other Weibo users, and other information that users might find useful.”

ku are non-exclusive.

[Victor Koo]

Content partners Licensed content are mostly from

The best thing that has happened to the OTT industry in Asia so far this

TV and movie studios in mainland China, Hong

year is... “Continued technology improvements and upgrades in inter-

Kong, Taiwan, South Korean/Hollywood studios/

net-enabled devices to connect different screens together, which in re-

distributors such as Warner Brothers and Disney

turn increase the adoption of OTT by the users.” [Victor Koo]

Media Distribution. In-house are user-generated-

The best thing that has happened to Youku Tudou in Asia so far this year

content (UGC)

is...“The further penetration of mobile internet in China has broadened

Hours of new content on Youku Tudou One million

the scale of Youku Tudou platform, which increases Youku Tudou’s media

hours are added monthly (including UGC)

influence and enhances our value with our partners.” [Victor Koo]

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Largest Indian Movies Collection in World

45

YuppTV launched new Movie-on-Demand service on 4th July’13 with more than 800+ blockbuster movies which users can watch at their own convenience anytime, anywhere…

Features

YuppTV

HD Movies Secured Delivery Geoblocking YuppTV provides converged OTT live and VOD Multiple Devices services, offering South Asian programmes Dynamic Reporting over six screens (smart TVs, blu-ray players, STBs, Movies added on PC/Mac, smart phones, tablets). The platform weekly basis reaches out to six million viewers globally,

mostly South Asian diaspora. South Asian countries, the U.S., Europe, Australia and Canada are its main markets. YuppTV was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Atlanta, U.S., with Content is subject to availability only in the regions where it is permitted offices in Hyderabad and Bangalore.

Confidential

Who’s driving the initiative... Uday Reddy, chief

Hindi, Highway and Shahid

executive officer/founder

Target users Fans of South Asian programming

The offering YuppTV delivers more than 180 live TV

Subscribers/registered users YuppTV has about 100,000 paid subscribers

channels, 4,500+ videos (added daily) and mov-

and about one million registered users.

ies-on-demand titles through a paid subscription

What is your expectation on take-up for 2015? “We expect to have

model. Channels include Zee TV, Star Plus, Colors,

250,000 paid subscribers by the end of 2015.” [Uday Reddy]

Sony Entertainment, NDTV and Asianet. YuppTV

Average viewing time/user/daily About five hours

offers content in 12 major South Asian languages

Social media More than 425,000 YuppTV fans on Facebook. Ranked

(including Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malay-

8,612th (globally) and 941th (India), according to Alexa Traffic

alam, Marathi, Bengali, Oriya, Punjabi Gujarati,

Technology partners Rackspace, Nokia, Intel, Telestream, Wowza Media

Urdu and Bangla). At present, it offers free-to-air

Systems, Roku, Samsung

channels in India. The YuppTV application is avail-

Is there anything that has surprised you about the way people are us-

able on smart TVs (more than 4.8 million down-

ing YuppTV? ”We have observed that the minutes of usage via TV screens

loads on Samsung TV and 290,000+ on LG Smart

are still higher than smartphones and tablets.” [Uday Reddy]

TV), PlayStation 3/4 and is also set to be launched

The biggest challenge “Content rights negotiations have been our big-

on Microsoft’s Xbox, among others.

gest challenge as these deals are very complex for each individual terri-

Price plans Three monthly plans, from US$9.99 to

tory.” [Uday Reddy] Priorities for 2015 “The 2015 missions are: continue to make YuppTV a

US$19.99

In 2015, OTT in Asia will take off and will be realised as a mainstream technology to deliver TV content.”

Uday Reddy, Chief Executive Officer/Founder, YuppTV

simple TV service and yet, available anywhere and anytime; expand our content offerings to other ethnic markets like Latin America; and officially launch YuppTV in India in 2015.” [Uday Reddy] What do you consider as the best thing that has happened to the OTT industry in Asia this year... “The best thing that has happened to the over-the-top industry in Asia this year is that more people now realise the potential of OTT and are em-

How many new VOD titles do you add a

bracing OTT as a medium to deliver TV content.” [Uday Reddy]

month? “We have 1,000+ movie titles avail-

The best thing that has happened to YuppTV so far this year is... “YuppTV

able from almost all the major pro-

easily handled 10 million customers on its platform with one million si-

duction houses in India and we add 10-15 titles every month.”

[Uday Reddy] Three most-watched content Kochadaiiyaan-The Legend-

multaneous streams on the day of the election results.” [Uday Reddy] What do you think will have the most impact on the online TV/OTT industry in Asia in 2015? ”In 2015, OTT in Asia will takeoff and will be realised as a mainstream technology to deliver TV content. OTT penetration in Asian markets will increase in 2015.” [Uday Reddy]

issue three, september 2014

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innumbers

NTENT ASIA

10%

Astro talent at the Pinewood Iskandar signing ceremony

18,000 ...the number of hours Malaysian media company Astro has committed to making out Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios. In return, Astro gets an exclusive five-year deal to provide TV equipment and production services at the 50-acre facility backed by the Malaysian government’s investment arm, Kazanah. Astro produces about 9,000 hours of content a year in-house and commissions another 2,000 hours. The Pinewood Iskandar deal involves 4,500 hours a year for two years and another 3,000 hours a year for the next three years. To date, Astro has produced more than 50,000 hours of content in addition to two sports and news channels.

The market for digital pay-TV in Asia Pacific will grow at a robust 10% a year between 2013 and 2018, new research from Media Partners Asia (MPA) shows. Digital pay-TV subs will grow from 312 million in 2013 to 503 million by 2018 and digital penetration of pay-TV homes expands from 62% to 83% over the same period. Much of this growth will be driven by digitisation in China and India, followed by Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam, MPA says. By 2023, digital pay-TV subs will expand to 599 million, a gain of 96 million over 2018.

MPA also forecasts that the market for HD digital pay-TV will rise from 60 million subs in 2013 to 221 million by 2023.

Total revenues from valueadded-services will be US$7 billion in 2023.

RM600m

Malaysia’s creative industry is expected to contribute RM600 million/US$190 million in content export revenues this year, says the

country’s communication and multimedia minister, Ahmad Shabery Cheek (pictured), speaking at the Pinewood Iskandar/Astro Productions signing ceremy.

issue three, september 2014

Scorpion

ONE

Happy 1st birthday, RTL CBS Entertainment! The scheduling fairy at the top of this birthday cake is waving her wand over the day-and-date/first-and-exclusive telecast of Scorpion at 9pm on 23 Sept. Joining Scorpion’s nerdy think-tank solving mind-boggling national threats on the anniversary schedule are Under the Dome season 2 on 9 Sept, X Factor U.K. live via satellite (31 Aug, 1 Sept), and celeb news show The Insider, also within 24 hours of its U.S. telecast.

73% 1.3b

... the percentage of Taiwan’s netizens who admit to pirating movies/music – and know it’s wrong. According to a study by Sycamore Research earlier this year, 81% agree that piracy is wrong and 75% said more regulation was required to block streaming/downloads of pirate content. More than 75% of Taiwan’s population is online. Most time – 1.65 hours a day – is spent on social media. 1.45 hours are spent on search, with emailing third at 1.28 hours.

Asia’s total internet

30%

global average of

The stake San Miguel Corp president and COO Ramon S. Ang is said to be taking in Philippines’ free-TV broadcaster GMA Network. Loads of rumours, but no confirmation by press time.

users hit 1.27 billion – 31.7% penetration – at the end of 2013, InternetWorldStats’ latest figures show.

Asia makes up 45.1% of the world’s internet users, but the region’s penetration rate is still the second lowest in the world after Africa (21.3%) and well below the 39%. China has the highest number of internet users at 621 million, followed by India at 195 million.

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BDA has created and produced content for a wide range of clients and an even wider range of audience - from TV networks to Youtube channels, from promos to programme content.

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On-Line On-Ground Singapore Paula Mason +65 6732 3300 paula.mason@bdacreative.tv Manila Mailee de Guzman +63 2 531 6179 mailee.deguzman@bdacreative.tv Jakarta Paul Newman +62 811 1131 165 paul.newman@bdacreative.tv www.bdacreative.tv

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