ContentAsia September 2015

issue three 2015

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NTENT ntentASIA

Life online: Who’s who & who’s new in Asia

Factual: High drama & the Hollywood effect

PLUS: MTV retools, what DreamWorks is hoping for in Asia and sentiments worth noting

OPEN YOUR MIND. LIMITLESS FIRST AND EXCLUSIVE RTL CBS ENTERTAINMENT HD XPRESS FROM THE U.S. FIRST AND EXCLUSIVE

©2015 CBS TELEVISION STUDIOS IN ASSOCIATION WITH K/O PAPER PRODUCTS AND RELATIVITY TELEVISION.

“ADDICTIVE” -NY TIMES “WICKEDLY ENTERTAINING” -US WEEKLY “SPLENDIDLY REALIZED DRAMA” - Los Angeles Times “It’s twisted, compulsive viewing” -The Observer “The best summer show on TV” -Playboy “Binge worthy” -Michigan Daily “A real game-changer” - ET Online “A dark, edgy brilliantly satric show” -Examiner

UnREAL Renewed for season 2 A+E Studios International An A+E Networks Brand sales.aenetworks.com/ At MIPCOM Stand P3. C10/ Season 1: 10x1 hour

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editor’snote

NTENT ASIA

Stranger in our midst If I thought last year was a strange time in Asia’s television/video en-

career at News Corp’s Star India, raised a fair

tertainment/channels/platforms industry, this year has to be even

amount of millions from, among others, Singa-

stranger. A bit because, among other things, there’s no telling really

pore’s Temasek Holdings, to launch a broad-

how the splintered and increasingly complicated content licensing en-

casting empire that was going up against

vironment will play out. But really because – while we’ve had the best

Rupert Murdoch and everyone else. Allegations

reality television year ever in the history of reality television in Asia – it

are that a whole lot of cash may have been

has been real life that has united the universe (and particularly the me-

skimmed off the top of the fund and parked/

dia universe given that it’s our own who are involved) in obsession.

hidden with various family members. Tempers

The craze started when Star India’s former boss Peter Mukherjea’s

apparently flared when sister-daughter Sheena

wife Indrani was carted off to jail accused of murdering her sister, who

Bora refused to return the money, effectively

turns out to be her daughter by one of her previous husbands, who

sealing her fate. At least in her sister-mother’s

Peter says he knew nothing about, who was having an affair with his

mind. That’s one angle to the story in this trial

son by a previous wife, which she didn’t like, he didn’t either, but the

by press, during which no comma and excla-

kids were both adults and there’s not a lot any of the parents could

mation mark is going unreported. Another has

do about it. The sister-daughter disappeared without a word in 2012,

been promised by Sheena Bora’s brother, also

reportedly to the U.S., and that’s the last anyone heard from her. Un-

said to be sister-mother Indrani’s offspring pos-

til some charred human remains, found in a forest, were identified

ing as a sibling, who said in late August that if

as the poor girl’s by police, who were led there by sister-mother

his mother didn’t confess soon, he was going

Mukherjea’s driver, who confessed out of the blue three years

to expose her. Can there really seriously be any

later, having been hauled in for something else entirely.

more? Peter, meanwhile, says he know naught,

There’s a second ex-husband involved too. He’s also

and seems to be putting as much distance be-

been arrested. And then it turns out she may have

tween himself and his beloved wife as he can.

been pregnant. The father? Allegedly, someone very

I am trying my best to hold fast to the concept

very close to mother-sister Indrani. Who? No names

that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. At

mentioned at press time, but speculation is through

the same time, whoever did or didn’t do it, the

the roof. The truth? Who knows.

allegations make for an atrocious but irresistible

And, oh no, that’s not all. As the media scandal of the cen-

story that’s going to keep everyone gripped for

tury raged at the end of August, the whole sorry INX/9X saga burst

months and maybe even, given the Indian le-

into the open, picked over by a frenzied press and a public hungry to

gal system that we know and love, years.

know what on earth the dead girl had done, apart from living with her

What else is strange about the industry this

brother-in-law/step-father’s son, to deserve being strangled, dumped

year? Lots. But against Real Life (and death)

and burned. Or burned and dumped, her body having been kept in

with the Mukherjeas, nothing seems that strange

the trunk of a car parked at the Mukherjea’s home overnight.

after all.

Turns out that the senior Mukherjeas, having leveraged Peter’s stellar

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

NTENT ASIA

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

What is ContentAsia?

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

To receive your regular free copy of ContentAsia, please email i_want@contentasia.tv Copyright 2015 Pencil Media Pte Ltd. All Rights Reserved MCI (P) 111/06/2013 Printed by: Print Dynamics (S) Pte Ltd 123 Genting Lane, #02-01, Singapore 349574

Published by: Pencil Media Pte Ltd l 730A Geylang Road, Singapore 389641 l T: +65 6846 5985 l W: www.contentasia.tv

issue three, september 2015

Bumbling

Couch

Potato

Bumbling Couch Potato or Hidden Adventurer? #WhatsYourstory?

or Hidden

Adventurer

A fearful, couch potato who has led a sheltered urban life is challenged to take on outdoor adventures.

In The Reluctant Outdoorsman, Derek takes an expected journey filled with emotion, frustration and comedic misadventures.

Outdoor Channel.

A fearful, couch potato who has led a sheltered urban life is challenged to take on outdoor adventures.

In The Reluctant Outdoorsman, Derek takes an expected journey filled with emotion, frustration and comedic misadventures.

WhatsYourstory

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contents

NTENT ASIA

what’s inside......

8

14

millennials drive the new MTV

How do we get the non-linear world back into the broadcast in seamless fashion?”

from 1 September as the Asia

Paras Sharma, MTV/Comedy Central

stand online

channels

New and established enter-

Self-focused (and selfie-focused)

tainment providers continue to flock online in Asia.

page 14

network switches from “I want my MTV” to “I am my MTV”.

Dragons: Race to the Edge

16

CHANNELS

DreamWorks Animation’s channel boss, Eric Ellenbogen, talks about the power of pandas, dragons, gronckles and going beyond the borders of Berk, binge viewing, changing everything, putting all his eggs into one basket and the pros/cons of launching a linear channel as part of a multi-screen strategy from day one.

20

Factual: High Drama National Geographic is taking docs into high-drama and even higher production values. Kavita Daswani talks to some of the people driving a new age of adventure, exploration and investigation.

Breakthrough is coming from a different place. It’s basically trying to walk the line between the hardcore science and the personal stories, and trying to play up the human drama.”

Kurt Sayenga Asylum Entertainment

page 24

issue three, september 2015

Linear is the ultimate discovery vehicle.”

Eric Ellenbogen DreamWorks channel

page 18

Breakthrough

26 In Numbers Southeast Asian consumers remain the most optimistic in the world, even though optimism levels in some markets have dipped from previous highs

Local heroes need global insights Give your audience the information they need – with DW. Our new television channel is based on in-depth analysis and quality journalism – and developed with local heroes in mind.

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

Local heroes need global insights Give your audience the information they need – with DW. Our new television channel is based on in-depth analysis and quality journalism – and developed with local heroes in mind.

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

dw.com

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NTENT ASIA

online

Stand online Singapore’s largest pay-TV platform, StarHub, unveiled its OTT platform in the middle of August, becoming, for a few minutes, the newest player in Asia to embrace the future of video everywhere. And that’s just among the established pay-TV platforms.

The line for new online players, big and small, in Asia is as long as ever. Netflix and Amazon Prime lead the pack this month. On 2 September, Netflix Japan launches, partnering with one of Japan’s largest mobile carriers Softbank. Softbank customers will be able to sign up for the video streaming service through their existing accounts.

Also in September, U.S.-based Amazon Prime rolls out streaming video services in Japan. Critics are counting the days until the Japanese market chews up and spits out this latest slew of American players; Forbes called Netflix’s record high share price, which added US$3.9 billion worth of shareholder value following the announcement of the September launch, “an overreaction and overvaluation” of Netflix’s prospects in Japan. “If those buyers and sellers had been operating with more complete information... they probably would have sent the company’s share price in the opposite direction,” Forbes’ Rob Cain said in his column, adding that “Japan is a notoriously difficult territory for American media companies to crack”. Cain also pointed out that Netflix’s comments on China showed how “woefully ignorant” the company is about operating in China.

There’s little doubt that Netflix will launch in other Asian markets. iflix, which has launched in Malaysia and Philippines, will roll out in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam before the end of the year. Singtel’s Hooq is on the march. Word is that Hong Kong’s PCCW has something stunning rolling out soon.

The response to the efforts by established platforms, such as StarHub in Singapore, to follow their audiences is being greeted more enthusiastically. Although no one pretends the task of finding and keeping paying subscribers in a new world of “one click in, one click out” is easy.

In an ongoing effort launched at the beginning of 2014 to track the development of premium video services online, ContentAsia profiles four more players (in addition to the 32 major platforms already covered) in the space – dTV Japan, Genflix Indonesia, OnAir Mongolia and tving in South Korea. This is what they said...

issue three, september 2015

Clockwise from top: dtv Japan, OnAir Mongolia, tving Korea and Genflix Indonesia

A resounding Success in Malaysia and the Philippines and Coming Back Bigger and Tougher in 2016!

RUTE R U Touch Enough?

Aaron Aziz R U Tough Enough? Ambassador Malaysia #RUTOUGHENOUGH DANIEL MATSUNGA R U TOUGH ENOUGH? Ambassador Philippines KIX KIX, the ultimate destination in action entertainment, presents R U TOUGH Enough? More than just a tough men and women competition, R U Tough Enough? is a 360° engagement campaign uncovering the everyday heroes among us. Join the search for greatness today.

For branded contest integration, contact: Nadia Hwang (nadia.hwang@celestialtiger.com) and Magdalene Cheung (magdalene.chung@celestialtiger.com)

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online

NTENT ASIA

dTV, Japan

Genflix, Indonesia

dTV is a video content distribution service owned and operated by To-

Genflix is an OTT extension of DTH satellite pay-TV service Orange TV, of-

kyo-based Avex Broadcasting and Communications. The platform offers

fering live linear TV channels and VOD content. Geo-blocked for Indone-

about 120,000 titles (original content, international movies, Japanese

sia, Genflix, operated by PT Festival Citra Lestari, is accessible via mobile

dramas/movies, animation, foreign drama series, Korean drama, Chi-

phone apps and a website on internet connected devices. The service,

nese drama, kids, culture, variety, music programmes) on 13 channels,

launched in September 2013, relaunched in June 2015, with an update

geo-blocked for Japan and accessible via internet-connected devices.

in July 2015.

Launched on 11 November 2011 as d-VIDEO/BeeTV and relaunched as

Subscribers About 100,000 registered users since June relaunch Who’s driving the initiative… Greeny Dewayanti, director;

dTV in April this year.

Subscribers/registered users 4.51 million (as of 31 May 2015)

Harianto Tan, head of IT; Artine Utomo, chief content of-

Who’s in charge Rieko Muramoto, board member/head of pro-

ficer; Andreina Lusia, senior content manager

gramming; Yoshio Yanagisaki, visual product creative; Tomomasa

Offering Primarily sports (powered by Orange TV), in-

Yamashita, GM, Business Operations

cluding English Premier League (2013-2016), Serie A Italy

Rates/Packages ¥500/US$4 a month. Some content is offered as

(2013-2016), Spanish league Copa Del Rey and French

“rental” (TVOD) and charged by title/format. One SD title is typically

Ligue 1 (2013-2016), via linear channels BeIN1, 2 and 3.

¥400/US$3.30.

Genflix also carries more than 1,000 VOD local/internaOriginal content On the cards are projects with Italian film

Greeny Dewayanti

director Giuseppe Tornatore and local director Kazuaki

Mak (Thailand), Kollegiet (Denmark), Araf (Turkey), Deadly

Kiriya. Original dTV titles include live-action drama se-

Hitch (France), Ditto (Korea), ATM2(Thailand), MMA Road Fighting Cham-

ries Attack On Titan (starring Satomi Ishihara) based

pionship (South Korea), drama Autumn’s Concerto (Taiwan) and MMA

on the manga titles, premiered in August 2015.

Bellator Fighting Championship (U.S.).

Key titles Attack on Titan, The Walking Dead season

Price/rates US$2 a month for unlimited content

five, Shinjuku Swan Major content partners Japanese (local) TV networks, Rieko Muramoto

tional movies and TV series. International titles include Pee

film companies, local publishers, music record labels

How much content is also on Orange TV? “We have different content from Orange TV since we are aiming different target markets” (Greeny Dewayanti).

Greatest challenge/s Developing Zapping UI (a feature that auto starts

Rights/windows? “We aim for the shortest possible theatrical window.”

trailer videos while flipping through different channels) and the set top-box

Original content On the agenda eventually

terminal, which are critical in providing a new video streaming experience.

Target demo Indonesian youth who want to consume premium content

The best thing that has happened to the online/over-the-top (OTT) in-

on the go. Genflix is available to everyone in Indonesia, including non-

dustry in Japan this year is... “Japan is still at a developing phase in

Orange TV subscribers and is accessible on all networks (Wifi, 3G, 4G from

terms of OTT. However, we believe that growth and development in

any operators) in Indonesia.

this field will be quite rapid as it was in the U.S. and other countries”

Challenge “OTT is still new in Indonesia but we are embracing 4G and

(Reiko Muramoto).

seeing a tremendous growth in smartphone usage and adoption here.”

What do you think is the biggest impact on the OTT industry in Asia (and

Priority “Market penetration on both small and big screen users.”

Japan) in the next 12 months… “Asia will also see a rapid growth and

The best thing that has happened to Indonesia’s OTT industry this year... “The

development in this area. There is yet to be a dominant player (service)

emergence of new OTT players as well as the roll outs of 4G and FTTH net-

in Asia, and we are very excited to see who that will be.”

work infrastructures that contribute to a bigger and better ecosystem.”

issue three, september 2015

Offering a world of experiences As only one network can Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific Discovery Channel TLC Animal Planet Discovery Kids DMAX eve Discovery Turbo Discovery Science Investigation Discovery Discovery HDWorld Eurosport Eurosport News Setanta Sports Food TV Living Channel

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online

NTENT ASIA

OnAir, Mongolia

tving, Korea

OnAir is an OTT TV service trial launched in February 2015 in Mongolia by

tving is a four-year old OTT, online TV/video service of Korea’s CJ HelloVi-

KhulanContent, a subsidiary of Mongol Mass Media Group, offering mostly

sion. Geo-blocked for Korea, offering real-time TV channels from T-DMB/

local TV series, movies and music via Android TV, Chromecast and other in-

cable TV operators and VOD movies/TV shows via PCs, smartphones and

ternet-connected devices. The platform targets all internet users. Mongo-

tablets. tving started off as a sub-menu for a video service under Gom TV

lia had 1.9 million internet users, 1.7 million smartphone users and 127,000

in May 2010. In March 2011, the service re-launched as tving, a separate,

IPTV subscribers in 2014 (source: Communication Regulatory Commission

independent service. tving has seven million registered users.

of Mongolia).

Who’s in charge Kim Jin-seok, CEO; Jung Ji Hyun, GM business team; Park

Who’s in charge Amundra Amartuvshin, CEO; Erkhembaatar Mungun-

Hun Ju, GM, tech team Offering 140+ real-time channels and 110,000+ local/international

gadas, CTO Average viewing time Approximately 20 minutes daily per user

VOD titles. 80+ channels for free. Content partners include

Upgrades Developing an app upgrade to include remote features

broadcasters (KBS, MBC, SBS), cable channel E&M and

on wearables (smartwatches, Apple Watch, Android

JTBC. Original content is on the future agenda; early ef-

Wear) and connected car supports (Android

forts were scrapped as low appeal and high cost.

Rates Won2,900/US$3 a month for all real-time chan-

Auto and Apple’s CarPlay) Users Since trial, OnAir has 15,000 registered

nels. Won4,900/US$4 a month for unlimited VOD. PPV TV

accounts.

2015 take-up expectation 400,000 registered accounts (free accounts) and 40,000 premium subscribers Erkhembaatar Mungungadas

Price/plans Free. The plan is to start a premium package for

drama costs Won1,000/US$1 per title. Latest movies cost Kim Jin-seok

Won10,000+/US$10+ per title and old movies range from Won1,000/US$1 to Won4,000/US$3 per title.

Looking for... Big-screen content to drive the TV-connected tving stick, launched last year.

MNT5,000/US$2.60 a month for TV archives and premium con-

Priorities “Preparing expansion to TV screens in earnest. As the OTT indus-

tent (without ads) soon. The free services will continue to include streaming

try becomes more competitive and less profitable, the TV screen will be

of all live TV channels and select movies and videos (with ads).

a foothold to seek new opportunities.” (Kim Jin-Seok)

The offering 40 live local TV channels, 14-day TV archives (drama, kids,

The best thing that has happened to Korea’s OTT industry: “There is less compe-

documentaries), music videos and movies. Most of the offerings are local

tition in OTT now, especially the subscription business model, since we learned

content. International titles include localised format Million Dollar Money

that the strategy is pricing. To compete with traditional pay TV, where the en-

Drop on Edutainment TV and movies A Family Portrait, Step, Be My Val-

try price is about US$3-US$7/month, tving charges US$3. This pushes advertisers

entine, Dersu Uzala and Only Old Men Are Going To Battle. 50 new titles

and emerging home shopping channels to choose OTT platforms. Online/

are added monthly.

mobile ads and transaction margins from TV shopping channels are critical in

Top shows NBA (SportBox HD channel), Korean drama Jang-Bo Ri is

profit earnings for OTT service providers.”

Here! (Edutainment TV) and Mongolian wrestling competitions (TV9).

The biggest impact on the OTT industry in Asia… “Netflix’s aggressive ex-

Challenges Bottlenecks in server capacity and network bandwidth. Plans

pansion into Asian market, armed with original content. It is expected

to upgrade bandwidth from 1Gbps to 10Gbps and connect to MIX (Mon-

that Netflix’s original content will be injected with Asian casts and/or

golian Internet Exchange), a centralised switch for all Mongolian ISPs.

Asian backgrounds/settings to attract the Asian viewers. Just like how

What do you think is the biggest impact on the OTT industry in Asia in the

YouTube became an influential online video player with nearly 70% share,

next 12 months…“The biggest impact is the penetration of Netflix into new

it is a concern how local video platforms would struggle harder as Netflix

countries especially the Chinese market” (Erkhembaatar Mungungadas).

enters the Asian pay-TV market.”

issue three, september 2015

Discovery a new style of living Z Living The Lisa OZ Show PeggyK’s Kitchen Cures The Incurables Rock Your Yoga India’s most admired formats Dance India Dance Home Minister Zee Bollyworld Your market for Indian entertainment content For more information, Contact: zeecontent@zee.esselgroup.com Visit: www.zeebollyworld.com|www. zliving.com

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channelsmtv

NTENT ASIA

Me me me on TV

Self-focused (and selfie-focused) millennials drive the new MTV from 1 September as the Asia network switches from “I want my MTV” to “I am my MTV”.

For Viacom International Media Networks-owned MTV Asia, like MTV everywhere else in the world, there was no question that a brand reinvention had to follow millennials wherever they’re going... and spending. In Asia, Viacom is working off figures that show Asia millennials’ current purchasing power at about US$907 billion and forecasts the region to be home to 60% of the world’s millennials by 2020.

The global “brand evolution”, which arrives in Southeast Asia on 1 September, follows MTV’s worldwide switch from the 1980s “I want my MTV” to “I am my MTV”. MTV Asia will also follow the MTVbump user-generated-content (UGC) initiative, which was created for international networks only and does not run in the U.S. Hanli Hoefer and Alan Wong in the fourth season of The MTV Show

How do we get the non-linear world back into the broadcast in seamless fashion?”

line space where users upload their own videos or images using provided “enhancements” (think meme-ifying tools and super-saturated pastel paints) to make them broadcast-ready. This UGC is curated by MTV’s team. Users may see their content on the network within hours, running

Paras Sharma, MTV/Comedy Central

alongside network promos, which are now 15 seconds max.

“The new way of thinking is first to collapse the breaks,” Paras says. “Peo-

Finding what really matters to its young audi-

ple want to watch content? We will get content to content. And within the

ences has driven surveys such as asking 800K Fa-

transition, as against the traditional way of idents or promos, we will have

cebook followers which of 10 trending topics from

this content which people have created themselves,” he adds.

2014 mattered most to them. From options ranging

Another focal point of the rebrand is for MTV Asia to be platform agnos-

from war in Syria to flight MH370 to the ice bucket

tic. “When we look at content we look at content on-air, content digital;

challenge, users selected “selfie”. MTV translated

within digital we look at content for our website, content for social, and

this into a focus on users starring as themselves.

content for on ground,” he explains. “They [millennials] consume content

Paras Sharma, vice president of MTV and Comedy Central brands, and digital media, Asia, says the

change,” he says.

team’s mindset is moving away from simply giving mil-

New format, Say it in Song, which premiered on MTV Asia 19 August,

lennials what they are looking for to, instead, “How do

plays to the digital and social push with its ready-made viral videos. The

we now take a step forwards and almost become a

series has participants surprise a friend or loved one flash-mob style with a

reflection of them, so they become a part of the pro-

song that reveals a personal secret or expresses a hidden emotion.

cess as against only being the recipients?”

With the rebranding push, MTV Asia hopes to build on the first half of the

It’s a huge responsibility, he says. “If we are in-

year’s rating growth. For first half 2015, the network has seen year-on-year

deed to become ‘I am my MTV’, we should be able

improvements across markets, with standout improvements in the Philip-

not only to reflect what our audience is but enable

pines (+122%) and Singapore (+96%) in particular*.

them to become a part of this process,” he adds.

Making the users part of the process will be done largely through new platform MTVbump – an on-

issue three, september 2015

– they don’t consume TV content. And content definition therefore has to

Going beyond ratings, Paras hopes “when the audience wakes up on the first of September... they see the first time a linear television [channel] is not only talking to them, but shaking hands with them.” – Emily Seibel

* Source: Kantar Media (Singapore, Philippines), AGB Nielsen (Malaysia), CSM (China), JCom (Japan).

Age 12-24 (Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, China and all Japan). January-June 2015 vs January-June 2014.

430 million views (and counting) for the second series of AYN China

430 m illion v iews (and c ountin g) for the secon d serie of AYN s China

The quiz show in a taxi

The quiz show in a taxi Cash Cab Are You Normal?

The national studio survey all3media international all3media international wonderful for formats

wonderful for formats Gogglebox The nation’s reactions to TV The nation’s reactions to TV

The Cube The physical challenges in a cube

The physical challenges in a cube

From studio challenges in The Cube to innovative multiplatform entertainment, we have a huge variety of shows to suit the Asian market. @all3media_int all3mediainternational.com MIPCOM Stand No: R8.C20 From studio challenges in The Cube to innovative multiplatform entertainment, we have a huge variety of shows to suit the Asian market.

MIPCOM Stand No: R8.C20 @all3media_int all3mediainternational.com

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channelsdreamworks

NTENT ASIA

Training dragons DreamWorks Animation’s channel boss, Eric Ellenbogen, talks about the power of pandas, dragons, gronckles and going beyond the borders of Berk, binge viewing, changing everything, putting all his eggs into one basket and the pros/cons of launching a linear channel as part of a multi-screen strategy from day one.

Dragons: Race to the Edge

Eric Ellenbogen has two priorities in rolling out

relationship between content owners and platforms. “We don’t know

DreamWorks Animation’s first kids/family channel

where audiences are going to end up... and we need partners able to

in Asia. The first is that content, ultimately, has to

take them there,” he says.

be on every screen. The second is a preference,

A full suite of online, on-demand, apps and games as well as options

where possible, for exclusive partnerships; the ap-

such as ‘download to go’ run alongside the linear channel. Consumer

proach, he says, is to “put all our eggs into one

access points include free online/mobile video shorts, games and some

basket and watch the basket carefully”.

content and range up to full content-rich apps authenticated with sub-

Ellenbogen, co-head, international TV and DreamWorks Classics, says DreamWorks Anima-

“We aim to make our content very easily accessible,” Ellengbogen says,

tion’s new subscription offering, which includes

adding his voice to broad industry opinion that “making content ubiqui-

the company’s first linear channel ever, has been

tous, available everywhere, is the best defence against piracy”.

designed for a multi-screen universe, with all

Being late to Asia is being presented as an advantage. Ellenbogen says

rights across all platforms available to partners

the benefit of being “late” into the market is that “we arrive without legacy

in Asia. “It’s not only TV,” he stresses, adding that

issues... we have a complete set of rights available for all markets”.

distribution conversations are part of an evolving

issue three, september 2015

scription partners.

The channel has announced one carriage deal – its first in the world – at

Great Formats For Great Audiences.

Dance if you can!

A kids Mom! Dad! Help Me Succeed!

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

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channelsdreamworks

NTENT ASIA

Copyright DreamWorks Animation LLC. All Right Reserved

The DreamWorks channel will also present a daily morning pre-school block, DreamWorks Junior, featuring new productions such as Raa Raa The Noisy Lion, which is part of the Chapman Entertainment U.K. slate that DreamWorks Animation acquired in 2013, and Guess with Jess.

DreamWorks Animation’s original series for Netflix, Dragons: Race to the Edge, inspired by the How to Train Your Dragon theatrical franchise, build out the schedule in the fourth quarter of this year.

Pro-social advertising options are being explored for about five minutes an hour.

The decision to launch a linear channel as part of a multi-platform, multi-media offering rather than prioritise programme licensing/sales was made because of the amount of content DreamWorks has available.

In the original announcement made in December 2014, DreamWorks Animation promised “more original content than any other kids channel in the region”. The company also said the channel would tap more Kung Fu Panda 3

than 2,000 hours of existing DreamWorks TV content in addition to more than 1,000 half-hours of original animation the company currently has in

Linear is the ultimate discovery vehicle.”

Eric Ellenbogen, co-head, international TV and DreamWorks Classics

production.

“Our slate has more than 1,000 original half hours. The [licensing] market cannot absorb that amount of content,” Ellenbogen says.

A combined linear/online/on-demand offering opens up limitless opportunities... The second screen has no shelf space limitations, and that is very attractive to us,” he adds.

The linear channel remains an anchor. Ellenbogen calls linear services “the ultimate discovery vehicle... it will always be there”.

The channel arrives in Asia with its local production box already ticked.

Two new series are in the works in Korea (details are not yet available). The

press time. DreamWorks launched in Thailand at

new season of George of the Jungle, the co-production with Singapore-

the beginning of August as part of an exclusive

based August Media, is already on air.

carriage deal with Thai pay-TV platform CTH. The

Asia is part of DreamWorks Animation’s global production network, in-

channel went up in English, adding a fully dubbed

cluding the U.K. France and Canada. “We are working all over the world

Thai schedule at the beginning of September.

to deliver content for the channel and are completely open to the idea

CTH subscribers can access the DreamWorks channel anywhere from THB99/US$2.84 to THB499/

channel in different day parts,” Ellenbogen says.

US$14 depending on their subscription packages.

If Asia’s patchy broadband infrastructure may – temporarily – be an

CTH says it expects the channel to have 500,000

impediment to online ambitions, Ellenbogen is optimistic about the con-

subscribers in six months and a million by the end of

nected experience. Kids and family, he says, keeps churn down and is a

the first 12 months on air. “It’s not that ambitious,”

big subs acquisition and retention driver for Netflix in the U.S.

CTH executive chairman, Chirdsak Kukiattinun

Ellenbogen expects all the shows to end up on OTT, and says the multi-

said, adding: “Most of the time kids control the

screen unit is the beneficiary of DreamWorks Animation’s theatrical efforts.

remote control”.

“The synergies are tremendous,” he says, adding: “Audiences come to

The HD channel is distributed across the region

by HBO Asia, which will also handle marketing and technical services out of Singapore.

DreamWorks’ signature originals, such as All Hail King Julien and The Adventures of Puss in Boots,

issue three, september 2015

of locally produced content as well as acquisitions that may work for the

OTT because of the movie titles but they stay there because of the television series... Binge viewing has become a cornerstone of OTT.” The new channel’s competitors are not only the slew of well-established and powerful kids programming incumbents in Asia. Ellenbogen lists toys, games, short attention spans...

have been included in the launch grid, along with

“From a programming perspective, we have something different from

adventure series Casper’s Scare School, and new

what’s out there. I’m not saying it’s easy, because it’s never easy, but we

original action series Dinotrux, which premiered on

don’t have the task of explaining How to Train your Dragon. Chances are

Netflix on 14 August.

the audience knows about it already”. – Janine Stein

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High drama National Geographic is taking docs into high-drama and even higher production values. Kavita Daswani talks to some of the people driving a new age of adventure, exploration and investigation.

Wild Yellowstone

In Warlords of Ivory, the documentary on el-

ming. This is NGC’s slick and modern new face, with programming

ephant poaching premiering on National Geo-

predicated on intrigue and drama, and with top-of-the-line Hollywood

graphic Channel (NGC) in Southeast Asia and

production values.

Hong Kong later this month, fake tusks made of

NGC chief executive, Courteney Monroe, says she and her team are

resin hiding satellite-tracking technology make

focusing on a more radical type of documentary programming. The

their way across three countries to a kingpin’s

impetus comes from the success of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, the

lair. In the jungle, correspondents armed only

2014 award-winning 13-episode series, helmed by popular astrophysi-

with cameras run into AK-47-wielding military

cist Neil deGrasse Tyson.

men, navigate their way through live grenades and encounter human remains.

Welcome to the new world of factual program-

issue three, september 2015

“Cosmos demonstrated to us that smart and entertaining and highquality (programming) with distinctively Hollywood story-telling and Hollywood production techniques can draw an audience,” Monroe says,

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adding: “Over the last six months, we have really crystalised this vision and the desire to have the channel really up to the promise and expectation of the National Geographic brand.”

Warlords of Ivory, which airs in Asia on Saturday, 26 September, at 8pm, was among NGC’s star rollouts at the Television Critics Association in Los Angeles in July. The 60-minute episode marks the return of the channel’s critically praised Explorer series, which garnered more than 50 Emmy awards over its 25-year run. The series ended in 2010.

“Explorer was the creative trailblazer in that documentary strand,” says Tim Pastore, NGC U.S. president of original programming and production. “So not only is (Warlords) moving us forward with those platforms and those iconic strands that we have always had success with, but again it’s just as we move forward to become that premium network in adventure exploration and investigation”.

In Warlords, executive produced by NGC’s Robert Palumbo, investigative correspondent Bryan Christy and co-producer JJ Kelley tell the story of an ongoing crisis in a new and radically enhanced way. Renowned taxidermist, George Dante, was brought on board to create a pair of lifelike tusks with a compartment inside for a tracker. The tusks were taken to Africa and embedded with a shipment of real ivory, allowing Christy and his team to follow the trail.

“We’d get shot if we tried to walk in the door,” Christy says. The idea behind the fake tusks was

lifelike that Kelley was arrested at Tanzania airport for attempting to

to “create what is in effect a suitcase of money,

smuggle ivory out of the country. That footage was recorded on his

put a tracker inside, let them carry it”, sometimes

cellphone.

through known terrorist territory. Commercial satellites were used to track the tusks.

says that the finished show proves that the killing of elephants for their tusks is no longer the work of random poachers. “It is militarised slaugh-

But he denies doing it “to tell a cool story. I’m do-

ter,” he says. “Entire herds are being gunned down, potentially from a

ing it to make a difference”.

helicopter.” Their investigation also uncovered young women being

Christy is also the founder of National Geo-

traded as sex slaves, boys as soldiers and terrorist regimes being funded through the sale of illegal ivory.

and says that the advocacy continues long after

Kelley says the use of hidden cameras – including button and pen-

the programme has aired; online content will con-

cameras – created visuals that would have been impossible to attain

tinue to be delivered to show viewers the progress

otherwise.

of the decoy tusks, where they end up, and what happens to those at the receiving end.

issue three, september 2015

Kelley describes the production as “results-oriented journalism”, and

“I want to go after the worst guys,” Christy says.

graphic Magazine’s Special Investigations Unit,

Wild Yellowstone

The making of the show had its own challenges: the tusks were so

This avant-garde approach to factual programming underscores other NGC shows bowing later this year.

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Warlords of Ivory

The two-hour Wild Yellowstone uses techno-

bighorn sheep battling for a female mate, bears and wolves lunging at

logically advanced drone, time-lapse and infra-

one another for the fresh meat off a deer carcass. The programme also

red camerawork to capture never-before-seen

shows the harshness of winter in the park. The action, much of it close-

footage of the sprawling 3,472-square-mile Yel-

up and vivid, is captured in high-definition, the narration dramatic.

lowstone National Park in Wyoming and its 100-

But perhaps the most evident example of the fusion between NGC’s

odd wildlife species. The cameras zero in on the

traditional factual programming platforms with glossy Hollywood aes-

fight for survival among the park’s many breeds:

thetics lies in Breakthrough, a six-episode series involving industry heavyweights such as Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, two of the executive producers. Each hour-long episode was directed by a Hollywood luminary: filmmakers Howard, Peter Berg and Brett Ratner, actor Paul Giamatti and actress Angela Bassett and Oscar-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman.

“This series is what I’d like to call a little nerd bait with a touch of muscular curiosity,” Pastore says, adding; “It’s a premium lens for science and has a real heart. And each director gravitated towards a theme or topic that they truly were passionate about.”

Breakthrough’s subjects are wide-ranging. Bassett’s episode, Water Apocalpyse, focuses on drought and what a handful of visionaries around the world are doing to mitigate its effects. In Fighting Pandemics, Berg examines a revolutionary vaccine that replaces the needle with a treatment the size of a postage stamp. Giamatti explores the future of technologies that can give average people superhuman skills.

In Energy from the Edge, Goldsman investigates potent alternative energy supplies. Howard tackles The Age of Aging, and asks if aging is indeed inevitable, while Ratner’s The Brain: The Final Frontier, probes the

Breakthrough

workings of the brain.

issue three, september 2015

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Wild Yellowstone

Breakthrough is coming from a different place. It’s basically trying to walk the line between the hard-core science and the personal stories, and trying to play up the human drama.”

Kurt Sayenga, Executive Producer, Asylum Entertainment

one day be replaced by folders of these edible strips, housed in nothing larger than a file cabinet. In The Age of Aging, viewers meet Laura Deming, a science wunderkind who was accepted into MIT at 14 but dropped out to focus on revolutionary protocols to halt aging.

Ratner says what makes these shows different is that they’re being directed and made by narrative filmmakers, filmmakers who are used to making television or theatrical films that have great characters in them,” Ratner says.

“So the process of achieving that through the casting process, picking people who are going to be dynamic, interesting stories, inter-

Breakthrough: Fighting Pandemics and Break-

esting characters, the set pieces – treating it like a mini-movie instead

through: How Long Can We Live air in Asia in No-

of treating it just like a documentary on something scientific. It’s about

vember this year.

the humanity and the characters and not just the science of it all,”

“We were looking for significant issues,” says

Sayenga says his overall objective was to try to humanise science.

Entertainment, which partnered in the produc-

“The team I assembled... had a lot of documentary experience as

tion. “We’re looking at people who were actu-

well as narrative film experience. One thing also is that we’re based

ally trying to change the world for the better,”

in Hollywood as opposed to a lot of documentary film production,

he adds.

which tends to be in the East Coast [of the U.S.], and it’s coming from

Each segment pulls in experts and human

a different place. It’s basically trying to walk the line between the

stories, laid out in the way that a scripted show

hard-core science and the personal stories again, and trying to play

might: each has an arc and an evolution, but

up the human drama.”

with scientific heft.

issue three, september 2015

Ratner adds.

Kurt Sayenga, executive producer of Asylum

A high-end aesthetic is perhaps inevitable given the Hollywood clout

Fighting Pandemics focuses on the work of Dr

behind the series. “It’s not just the photography and the way you light

Maria Croyle, a professor of pharmaceutics at

it,” Ratner says. His big-budget motion-picture colorist, for instance, was

the University of Texas. Croyle has created a vac-

part of his post-production team. “So it’s going to look great as well,”

cine that is like a tiny square of film. In her vision,

he says, adding: “It’s going to feel like it has high-production value and

entire warehouses of pharmaceutical drugs can

is not going to look like just a regular television show.”

AAS heads to Jeju Island

We are extremely pleased to annouce that the fourth-annual Asian Animation Summit will take place this year on Jeju Island in South Korea from December 7 to 9.

Make plans to join us just after Asia Television Forum on this stunning South Korean island def ined by its volcanic landscape, and discover Asia’s best new TV animation concepts for kids first.

Registration is now open! w w w. a s i a n a n i m a t i o n s u m m it .c om Joel Pinto • jpinto@brunico.com • +1-416-408-2300 x650

Hosting partner:

Presenting partners:

Supporting partner:

Communications partner:

Media partner:

consumers in Thailand (90%), Malaysia and Vietnam (86%), Philippines (85%), Indonesia (8 26

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Singapore (62%) have adjusted ​their spending habits over the past 12 months in a bid to what’sgoingonin...

household spending.

numbers

More than six in 10 consumers in Malaysia (64%) and Singapore (62%), Vietnam and the Ph

(60%) are spending less on new clothing, while 52% of Thais are cutting down on out-

entertainment and 50% of Indonesians are delaying technology upgrades in their effort to household expenses. (See Chart 3).

While consumers remain conscientious toward securing their finances, an increasing num

splurging on holidays, including nearly half of Singaporeans (49%), 45% of Thais and Indonesi two in five Malaysians (40%). (See Chart 4).

Consumer optimism dips in Southeast Asia

Chart 1: Nielsen Consumer Confidence Index, Southeast Asia, 2015

Nielsen Consumer Confidence Index, Southeast Asia, 2015 Southeast Asian consumers remain the most optimistic in the world, even though levels in some markets have dipped from previous highs, Nielsen’s Consumer Confidence Index for the second quarter of 2015 shows.

The Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam have maintained their top 10 ranking as the most optimistic consumers globally.

However, the Philippines was the only market where consumer sentiment increased, ending the quarter at the highest levels on record.

Nielsen says the continued influx of foreign investments and a robust domestic consumption base is driving optimism in the Philippines.

Vietnam and Malaysia both dropped.

Nielsen says Vietnam’s optimism is being dampened by declining foreign direct investment and “a struggling retail environment”.

The index measures 30,000 respondents with

Source: Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions, Q2 2015

Top2:concerns six months, Southeast Chart Top concerns over over thethe nextnext six months, Southeast Asia, Q2 2015

Asia, Q2 2015

internet access in 60 countries.

Southeast Asian consumers continue to cite the economy as a top concern in the coming months, Nielsen reports, particularly those in Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

As general cost of living continues to increase across the region, the majority of consumers have adjusted their spending, cutting back on new clothing, out-of-home entertainment and technology upgrades.

An increasing number, however, splurge on holidays – Singaporeans (49%), Thais (45%), Indonesians (45%) and Malaysians (40%).

Source: Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions, Q2 2015

Top three actions Southeast Asian consumers have taken improve Chart 3: Top three to actions Southeastsaving Asian consumers have taken to improve saving

Still, the region’s consumers continue to be among the world’s most conscientious savers, with Vietnam ranking as the top savers globally, followed by the Philippines and Indonesia in second and third.

In addition to saving, Nielsen says Southeast Asian consumers are also planning for their financial futures by investing, doing so with increasingly diversified strategies.

Source: Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions, Q2 2015 Source: Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions, Q2 2015

Chart 4: Top areas consumers are spending their spare cash, Southeast Asia, Q2 2015 issue three, september 2015

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