NOVEMBER 2020
C
NTENT
Taiwan: A New Story
INdepth: Daphne Yang, George Chien, Dennis Yang, Tony Qiu
Daphne Yang Catchplay Group
TV5MONDE INFO TV5MONDE VOD TiVi5+ TV5MONDE PACIFIQUE TV5MONDE The best of French TV available in more than 120 million homes in Asia Pacific apac.tv5monde.com
editor’snote
Hot is as Hotstar does Disney’s streaming app Hotstar went live in Singapore in early Novem-
where consumers can get all their apps. Like Jio, in India, which today
ber with a breathtakingly simple mobile OTP-based sign-on (no pwd re-
is offering 12 apps (Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar, Zee5, SonyLiv,
quired), a social-media-based helpline chat in case you need it (which
etc). Or StarHub, which now offers seven apps. The thinking is that con-
I didn’t, but no harm testing and finding out that the response time is
sumers don’t want to – and won’t – subscribe to individual services scat-
less than five minutes) and eight languages – seven Indian and English
tered all over the place. And maybe that’s true.
– plus a robust slate of Indian drama, ranging from adaptations of inter-
Except here’s where it could all go horribly wrong. How many subscrip-
national scripted series such as BBC Studios’ Out of Love (Doctor Foster),
tion video platform/telcos can execute customer service for a Netflix-in-
to long-running mythological series Jai Hanuman, even-longer-running
fused generation? Pay-TV operators and telcos tried. And it was hard, and
Hindi soap Mere Angne Mein and short-form horror series Shockers. Plus
too many messed up. Add legacy tech, legacy content deals not neces-
thousands of hours of Tamil content. And cricket. Of course. The finals
sarily structured for local industry growth, etc... And then along came Net-
of this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) were offered free to anyone
flix. Being consumer-obsessed is still hard, but Netflix can
with the app; seven days in, Disney announced the acquisition of the
and everything else sounds like a pathetic excuse.
India Tour of Australia, which starts at end Nov, as well as rights to next
If you were a shiny new streaming app, would
year’s IPL. If you subscribe to StarHub’s India pack, you get Hotstar for
you want your relationship with your users to be
free. Or you can access the app directly for S$69.98/US$52 a year (paid
put into the pay-TV customer care dead zone?
up front, no refund) in Disney’s first experiences with direct-to-consumer
Would you take the risk of adding yet another sor-
streaming in Singapore. ie. The Future.
ry story to the noxious crust of consumer neglect
The Singapore service and strategy is very different to Indonesia,
that has for years helped erode the links in the
where a tailor-made product – Disney+ Hotstar – rolled out in early Sept
value chain? Maybe not. Unless you have no
with a US$37-million (our estimate) slate of local rights, including direct-
choice. But consumers do have the choice.
to-streaming theatrical titles, a relationship with telco Telkomsel for
I don’t know how this plays out. The idea
Rp199,000/US$14 a year (with data bundles that could bring the price
of an aggregator is great. But I would rather
down to US$1 a month) or direct for US$2.77 a month. ie. The Future.
poke myself in the eye with a sharp stick
The strategy for Disney apps (either Disney+ Hotstar, Disney+ or Hot-
than put myself back into the traditional
star) will be adjusted for each market, with distribution/billing partners
hotline environment I have come to know
where necessary and practical, customised content, and control over
and hate. What I do know is that a lot of
its own customer care. Across every market, Disney is playing hardball
programmers – including live/linear chan-
with who controls what, and there are no prizes for guessing how the
nels – have great offerings for a curated
conversations close. The apps are either standalone... or nothing, which
video environment. They don’t need
means you won’t find them ingested into any other user interface.
their own hotlines and shouldn’t have
And here’s where future of the new subscription universe in Asia
to worry that viewers are being driven
gets more difficult to predict with any certainty. Disney can, given the
away. So, for their sakes, I’m looking to
strength of its content, the size of its purse and the will of its leadership,
the fairies and making some wishes for
stand alone. Others, not so much. Traditional pay-TV platforms are the
2021: world peace, the end of Covid, and cus-
natural choice as future super-aggregators, a one-stop environment
tomer-centric service.
Editorial Director Janine Stein Assistant Editor Malena Amzah malena@contentasia.tv Research & Production CJ Yong cj@contentasia.tv Design Rae Yong
INTERNATIONAL Associate Publisher (Americas, Europe) and VP, International Business Development Leah Gordon leah@contentasia.tv
What is ContentAsia?
ASIA Sales and Marketing Manager Masliana Masron mas@contentasia.tv
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coming soon www.contentasia.tv contentasia
contents...
what’s inside... Hong Kong: what’s ahead
AXN All-Stars
KC Global Media Entertainmentis part of a rising breed of indie live curated channels operators in Asia. Six months after buying Sony Pictures Television’s business across much the region, president and chief executive, George Chien, talks about the business and where to next.
Hong Kong’s entertainment and media digital segments – including streaming video, games, music, radio, podcasts – are thriving through Covid-19. That’s PwC’s most optimistic observation, laid out in its new Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2020-2024.
6
Tony Qiu, SVP & GM – East & Southeast Asia, Discovery
Live action
The joint content initiative with Alibaba/ Youku and Shanghai Media Group is an ecosystem play, an ecosystem that consists of long-form series and also mobile short-form, live shows probably and instant clicks and buys via e-commerce, offline events, and IP derivatives on multiple screens in multiple territories at a global scale as well.” Tony Qiu, Discovery
page 16
Taiwan play book
Into the wild
8
Discovery has ramped up content creation in China and Korea in partnerships and funding alliances with the Shanghai Media Group, Alibaba/Youku and KT. Is it enough to reclaim the global network’s standing in Asia’s video entertainment environment? Head of East/SE Asia, Tony Qiu, talks about what’s ahead...
12
George Chien, President / CEO, KC Global Media The World Between Us, HBO Asia / Catchplay
Asian streaming platform Catchplay has unveiled a Taipeibased production subsidiary, Screenworks Asia, with six projects in development from the get go and plans to produce 100 hours a year of mini-series, movies and factual entertainment for audiences across Asia and the rest of the world. CEO Daphne Yang talks about the company’s evolution, development and direction.
18
Daphne Yang CEO, Catchplay
Find the gap, please
Taiwan has good production, but we don’t know how to sell outside Chinese markets.”
Dennis Yang, CEO and managing partner of Taipeibased Studio76 Original Productions, talks about finding stories and directors with unique visual styles, experimenting with genres and formats, and Taiwan’s advantages and challenges as a content centre.
22
contentasia november 2020
Dennis Yang, Studio76 Original Productions
page 22 Fly The Jumper, Studio76 Original Productions
5
analysis
Hong Kong: what’s ahead Hong Kong’s entertainment and media digital segments – including streaming video, games, music, radio, podcasts – are thriving through Covid-19. That’s PwC’s most optimistic observation, laid out in its new Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2020-2024. Overview: Entertainment & Media Outlook – Global and Hong Kong
Like many places, some of Hong Kong’s entertainment and media segOTTvideo video maintains rapid growth at 10.2%, with Mainland OTT maintains rapid growth at 10.2%, ments – including streaming video, games, music, radio, podcasts – are with Mainland China at 12.2% by 2024 China at 12.2% by 2024 thriving through Covid-19. Others not so much. In its latest Global Enter-
Segment CAGR 2020-2024 Segment CAGR 2020 - 2024
media industry has been “deeply impacted” by the pandemic. Revenue • Resilient segments are those will be down 11.8% leveraging digitalbetween platforms,2019 as and 2020 – a bigger margin compared evident for Hong Kong, Mainland to other parts of the world. Like everywhere, streaming video consump37.4% 26.7% China and global - OTT video, tion has by more mobile video consumption and supportvideosoared, games driven and Internet 19.89% 13.2% advertising. ed by HD content Segment Segment dive: deep OTT video dive: OTT video and better user experience, PwC says. 15.3% deep
OTT video Internet advertising Video games and esports Cinema Out-of-home advertising
10.58% 10.4% 9.24%10.4% 6.7% 8.0% 13.88% 3.5% 1.8% 2.90% 1.2% 2.3% 0.4% 5.2%
Music, radio and podcasts
TV advertising
-4.22%
Traditional TV and home video
-2.53% -1.3% -0.65%
Newspaper and consumer magazine
-10% -5%
• OTT video growth in Mainland China is faster than Global and Hong Kong
OTTOTT videovideo revenue revenue in Hong in Hong Kong Kong will incre will OTT video revenue in Hong Kong will increase at a 10% CAGR from into 2020 to fromfrom US$254mn US$254mn in 2020 inUS$254mn 2020 to US$373mn US$373m in
Business-to-business
Books
tainment & Media Outlook, PwC says the territory’s entertainment and
10.4% 12.2% 10.06% 6.6% 7.7% 3.46% 6.0% 5.5% 6.23%
0%
China Hong Kong
OTT videorevenue segment revenue 2015-2024: APAC Hong KongKong OTT video OTT segment video segment revenue 2015-2024: 2015-2024: APAC vs.APAC Hongvs. vs. Kong Hong
0.2%
Segment deep dive: OTT video Note: 2019 is the latest available data. 2020-2024 values are forecast projections
• Global entertainment and media revenue will rise at a 2.8% CAGR from 2020-2024 US$2.45trn US$373mn in at2024
Global
5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 2020-2024 CAGR
Source: PwC Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2019-2024, www.pwc.com/outlook
OTT revenue 2015 – 2024 and 2020-2024 CAGR: Hong Kong 700 500
-2.5%
400 300 200
+10%
100 0
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
OTT
2021
2022
2023
2024
2.7
31.9
30 25 19.6 19.6 20 15.0 15.0 • 15 OTT video in Hong Kong will see significant growth of 10% CAGR 10 2.7 to 2024, with expected from 5 2020 revenue of US$373mn by 2024. -
400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0
2015 2019 2024 2015 2019 2024 shift • This2020 is driven by2020 behaviour
373 373 400 350 300 254 254 250 209 209 200 150 49 100 49 50 0 2015 2019 2020 2015 2024 2019 2020 2024 Hong KongHong Kong
APAC APAC preference to around consumer
access content at anytime and anywhere) and over 80% penetration rate. Segment deep dive: OTT video Increasing • Increasing broadband broadband speeds and speeds penetration and penetration are fuelling arethe fuelling growing thedemand growing for demand OTT
Traditional TV, video
•
New trend
Note: 2019 is the latest available data, 2020-2024 values are forecast projections Source: PwC Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2019-2024
Revenue $mn USD
600
14
Revenue $mn USD
OTT revenue 2015-2024 and 2020-2024 CAGR: Hong Kong
30 25 20 15 10 5 -
Revenue $bn USD
Revenue $bn USD
Global E&M Outlook 2020-2024: Hong Kong summary
Revenue $mn USD
OTT toto bypass traditional TV and OTTvideo video bypass traditional TV video and video by 2024 31.9 by 2024 reaching US$373mn reaching US$373mn 35 35
Hong Kong SVOD revenue will overtake box Mainland China podcast revenue reached • Homegrown • Homegrown player ViuTV player increased ViuTV increased its strategy in strategy 2019 ininresponse 2019overtake in response to movesbox to bymoves Netflix Hong Kong SVOD revenue will offib Mainland China podcast revenue reached US$193mn in 2019 andits office spend in 2020 to hit US$231mn in 2020 Asia Pacific. Asia Pacific. US$193mn in 2019 and is the second largest • Hong Kong traditional TV and video will see 2020 to hit US$231 mn in 2020 largest market in the world by 2024 ais dropthe of -2.5%second CAGR from 2020-2024, • 5G will hasten existing trends toward Hong Kong SVOD vs box office revenue, 2015-2024 (US$mn) 2020-24 CAGR market in the world by 2024 while Asia Pacific will have a flat growth . personalisation• andTVB’s enable more consumption •own TVB’s OTTown service, OTTmyTV service, SUPER, myTV continues SUPER, continues to grow with to grow weekly withtime weekly spent time watch spe • Hong Kong OTT video segments will experience significant growth of US$119 million from 2020 to 2024.
• OTT video will grow at +10 CAGR, which is slightly lower than Asia Pacific +13% CAGR. Hong Kong OTT will bypass traditional TV and video by 2024.
Revenue (US$bn)
600
Revenue US$mn
200
400
2,000 1,500 1,000 500
Revenue US$mn
800
Hong Kong SVOD vs box office revenue, 2015-2024 (US$mn) 2020-24 CAGR and higher quality video entertainment on SVOD s exceeding 20mn man-hours 20mn man-hours at the endatofthe June end2019. of June The2019. service Thehad service turned had profitable turned p mobile devices. Podcasts revenue USvsvsMainland Mainland China CAGR) Podcasts revenue 2015-2024: 2015-2024: US China (2020(2020-24 – exceeding 2024 CAGR) 400 • COVID 10.5% during 2018. during 2018. Note: 2019 is the latest available data. 2020-2024 values are forecast projections Source: PwC Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2019-2024, www.pwc.com/outlook platfor 350 SVOD to overtake box • Smartphone usage and smart speakers Global E&M Outlook 2020-2024: Hong Kong summary 23 office revenue in 2020 are driving 300consumption of podcasts. • In 201 689available Note: 2019 is the latest Note: 2019 is the data. latest 2020-2024 availablevalues data. 2020-2024 are forecastvalues projections are forecast projections was 7 250 • Chinese revenue reached Source: PwC Global Source: Entertainment PwC Global & Media Entertainment Outlook 2019-2024, &podcast Media Outlook www.pwc.com/outlook 2019-2024, www.pwc.com/outlook SVOD 1,673 19.9% US$193mn in 2019. On the back of US$ 2 Global E&M Outlook Global 2020-2024: E&M Outlook Hong2020-2024: Kong summary Hong Kong summary 200 expanding listener numbers, revenue is set to rise strongly at a 37.3% CAGR from 150 • Box o 2020 to 20204 to total US$689mn in 2024. see a 100 764 708 will no 193 • Mainland China will remain as the fastest 194 levels 50 growing player in the podcast market. 106
0
0
0
15
2015
2015
2019
2019
2020
2020
2024
2024
Note: 2019 is the latest available data. 2020-2024 values are forecast projections
2015
2019
2020
Mainland China
2024
• Mainland China’s 2015leading 2016platform 2017 is2018 2019 Ximalaya FM, which has a 50%-plus podcast market share. In 2016, it also Subscription VOD revenue began moving heavily into paid-for professional content. Note: 2019 is the latest available data. 2020-2024 values are forecast projections
Source: PwC Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2019-2024, www.pwc.com/outlook
Source: PwC Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2020-2024, www.pwc.com/outlook
Global E&M Outlook 2020-2024: Hong Kong summary
Global E&M Outlook 2020-2024: Hong Kong summary
6
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
Box office revenue
34
contentasia november 2020
THEMA A CANAL+ GROUP COMPANY medici.tv mezzo live HD A+ CANAL+ MYANMAR FlixSnip Heritage Insight TV Luxe.TV museum TV Stingray Studio+ meet us online at AVIA 2020, 10-12 November Alexandre Bac - Managing Director AsiaPacific - alexandre.bac@thematv.com Philippe Rouxel - EVP Distribution - philipperouxel@thematv.com www.thematv.asia
productioninterview
Live action KC Global Media Entertainment is part of a rising breed of indie live curated channels operators in Asia. Six months after buying Sony Pictures Television’s business across much of Asia, co-founder, president and chief executive, George Chien, talks about the business and where to next. Backstreet Rookie, KC Global Media
AXN All-Stars is something of a coming-out party for one of Asia’s oldest
Indonesia, Taiwan, Philippines,
live video channel brands, officially under new management since May
Singapore and Japan – and
this year. The special goes live on Saturday, 28 November, with a mix of
hosts from Indonesia, Singapore,
celebrities from shows such as Asia’s Got Talent, The Elements: Cosentino
the Philippines and the U.S.
and Cyril: Simply Magic, and a slew of new hosts and performers. AXN All-Stars demonstrates a few things: ongoing pulling power some
AXN All-Stars comes six months after KC Global Media took over most of
George Chien, President & CEO, KC Global Media
thought AXN may no longer have after Sony Pictures Television sold to
Sony Pictures Television’s networks business
indie outfit KC Global Media Entertainment; the ability to attract title
across Southeast Asia, Korea, China, Australia/New
sponsors for original production; the will to even do original production in
Zealand and South Asia (excluding India).
a wickedly shrivelled regional channels environment where most others
The sale, involving four channel brands (AXN, Animax, ONE and Japa-
have fallen back; the EQ to tap into a desperate need for hope and op-
nese channel Gem) was followed up in July with the acquisition of a
timism at the end of a hideous year, sidestepping most of the nauseating
bundle of Korean drama rights for Indonesia from Korean broadcaster
platitudes of companies hijacking real sentiment.
SBS, which wanted out of its own Indonesia channel. The new arrange-
While KC Global Media said from the start that original production was
ment expanded ONE’s footprint in Indonesia.
part of its playbook, no-one would have held them to it through a year
“When we bought this, our focus was really on how we were going
of upended plans and vanishing advertising support. And so, it turns out,
to make this company more efficient,” says co-founder, president and
no one needed to...
CEO, George Chien, who, along with KC Global Media’s Andy Kaplan,
AXN All-Stars goes live on AXN Asia’s Facebook and YouTube channels, with appearances by Afgan, Anggun, Cosentino, Cyril Takayama, David Foster, Michael Bolton and Mel C, guest performers from five countries – 8
was a fixture in Sony Pictures Television Networks Asia for almost two decades. “We felt like there was unfinished business there,” he adds. “We don’t believe that linear TV is dead. We do see that there are contentasia november 2020
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Afgan
Michael Bolton
productioninterview
David Foster
Anggun
tremendous headwinds. There are obviously a lot of linear channels go-
The expansion of ONE in Indonesia two months after the sale closed
ing away, but there’s definitely a marketplace for this. We saw a brilliant
was a happy opportunity rather than part of the original strategy. ONE, a
opportunity with the strong brands. It wasn’t an oversized portfolio. We
part of Sony’s original bundle in Indonesia, rolled out a separate Indone-
didn’t feel like we had a lot of fat that was sitting there,” Chien says.
sia feed a few years ago when Korean broadcaster SBS pulled its rights
That was before Covid-19. “Externally and internally, there were going
back so that it could launch its own Indonesia channel. A change of
to be challenges when we took this business over, but with Covid, every-
heart at SBS meant rights became available again and KC Global Me-
body’s dealing with the same thing... it made it that much easier to have
dia was able to step back in. The new era kicked off with first-run rights
the various conversations. We had to be innovative, smart, efficient.”
to Backstreet Rookie, an SBS title sold by A+E Networks outside of Korea.
“If anything, Covid accelerated the mindset changes that were re-
Today, ONE in Indonesia is again part of ONE’s regional play, with,
quired for us to be successful,” Chien adds. “I think... we’re getting to the
of course, its own language feed. “We’re going to do what’s right and
place we wanted to be in maybe three to six months earlier than we had
what’s necessary for ONE to continue to be a powerful linear channel,”
initially anticipated.”
Chien says.
At the same time, he acknowledges the challenges. “Do we still see
While the output deal with SBS remains in place, Chien says Korea’s
there are tremendous headwinds? Do we still have adjustments that
production environment today is “very different” to what it was when
need to be made? Absolutely,” he says.
the original ONE agreement was sealed. “We need to pause and under-
KC Global Media sees the linear/live channels environment playing out differently market by market in Asia. “Some markets are going to fade a lot faster and face a lot stronger headwinds,” he says. Like, for instance, Singapore, and others with high
stand the dynamics,” he adds. “The output deal is still the same, but the dynamic behind the output deal has differed. So that’s what makes it a little bit more challenging, but we’re still going to deliver.” What about content supply from Sony? “Some of our best-rated shows
broadband penetration and a taste for VOD/SVOD services. Advertising
come from Sony,” Chien says, mentioning Lincoln Rhyme, Black List, LA’s
support for linear services in Taiwan, however, remains “pretty strong”.
Finest and acknowledging, along with everyone else, content and price
10
contentasia november 2020
Cosentino
Cyril Takayama
Mel C
AXN All-Stars celebrities
rationalisation. Everyone, he says, is “open to dialogue... They understand the market. They understand what’s happening here. They understand the changes that are happening... there’s an abundance of supply, especially for the linear pay-TV space. There’s not many of us still standing.”
also looking at scripted, both long-form and short-form” across platforms, including social media and drawing on in-house creative talent, he says. Podcasts could also be part of the mix eventually. Whatever is added to AXN’s line up, the channel will continue to be action oriented. “The brand has been in the market for two-plus de-
The big-budget original productions of old, led by The Amazing Race
cades,” Chien says. “The formula works. We have a core audience and
Asia and Asia’s Got Talent, are not coming back anytime soon. At least
operators who want the channel. We’ve always been known as an ac-
not to KC Global Media. Chien says the competitions shows are still on his
tion-adventure adrenaline-filled brand, and we are not going to stray
agenda. “The question is when.”
too far away from that”.
“We love those regional bigger productions and IP formats, but it’s
KC Global Media also took over Japanese channel Gem, launched
really really challenging to do those,” he says. Covid/travel restrictions/
across Asia in October 2015 with a focus on high-profile Japanese dra-
production protocols/social distancing make it even more difficult, never
mas, such as Death Note and Angel Heart, and eight carriage deals
mind the sponsorship challenges and “finding the right revenue model to
in four markets. The channel was a joint venture with Nippon TV, which
go along with these big budgeted regional OPs”.
decided not to continue the venture after the channels were sold. Chien
KC Global Media has no immediate plans to join the production rush in Indonesia. Chien says the Singapore-based regional network may not
says Gem will continue to carry Nippon TV content, along with other Japanese content rights holders.
have the expertise – yet – to pull off originals in Indonesia. But never say
Whatever happens next, Chien, like other indie channel operators in
never. “Should we see the opportunity and think we could pull it off. We
the space, believes “there is a place for linear TV. Is it going to shrink?
will absolutely go for it”.
The answer is yes. Are the streamers going to have a place in the living
As evidenced by AXN All-Stars, Chien remains committed to production. “We have a lot in the pipeline, and not only non-scripted. We’re
room? Absolutely. At the end of the day, it’s about who is relevant. With the strength of our brands, we believe we’re going to be relevant”. 11
interview
It Takes a Village, Studio Discovery Korea
Into the wild Discovery has ramped up content creation in China and Korea in a series of partnerships and funding alliances with the Shanghai Media Group, Alibaba/Youku and Korea’s KT. Is it enough for the global network to reclaim its standing in Asia’s future video entertainment environment? The network’s newly appointed head of East/SE Asia, Tony Qiu, talks about the JV studio in Seoul, plans in China, and the region’s participation in the evolution from a factual channels business into an end-to-end content hub. Over the last seven years, Discovery in Asia has taken a leadership
the U.S. network’s long history in the region. Qiu, promoted in Septem-
position for whiplash management changes, with more bosses than in
ber this year to SVP and GM – East & Southeast Asia and head of global
the previous 18 years since its 1994 launch; shrivelling linear prospects,
location based entertainment business, is one of three Asia heads now
shrinking affiliate revenue and guesses that annual profit is nowhere
reporting into Asia-Pacific president, Simon Robinson, in the U.S. The
near the US$150 million of days gone by; streaming platforms up and
other two are Megha Tata for India/South Asia and David McDonald
running in Japan and India, and coming to the rest of Asia, but with no
for Japan.
official timetable as of early November and some doubts about its ability to drive a direct-to-consumer business in Asia...
Announcing the latest reorg in September, Robinson said consolidating Discovery’s East and Southeast Asia roles was a simple one, de-
Meanwhile, original production is led by China, with recent shows like
signed to “prioritise simplicity and speed of decision making, new digi-
First Man Out season two, and India, where a few solid performers like
tal capabilities, and efficiencies that will enable further investment in
Into the Wild with Bear Grylls and Akshay Kumar have replaced the
our two most important priorities: content & products”.
overblown, inflated, unrealistic and ultimately unachievable ambitions
The new structure runs alongside a freshly minted US$40 million-US$50
of Discovery’s previous India plan. Southeast Asia, once the home of
million partnership with Alibaba/Youku and Shanghai Media Group
landmark shows like Tim Lambert’s The History of Singapore (2005) and
(SMG) in mainland China to build a food-related ecosystem, as well as
the hub that gave rise to Man Made Marvels Asia, has pretty much
the launch on 1 September of Discovery’s joint venture channel with
dropped off the originals map.
KT in Korea. Qiu, who joined Discovery in 2018, drove both. What’s the
Enter Tony Qiu, part of a new team charged with the next phase of
12
plan now, we asked...
contentasia november 2020
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interview
Discovery Channel Korea Survival Bible, Discovery Channel Korea
What’s the plan for Korea? “Discovery has been in Korea for a long time...
What level of output are you looking for from Studio Discovery Korea?
the most obvious change over the years has been Korean content,
“At this stage, we are looking at over 100 hours a year. In addition, we
which travels really well and is widely accepted across Asia. Over the last
have locked down co-production contracts with other local platforms
year, we have worked with our Korean partner, KT, to establish a channel
and partners, so that could bring over 200 hours a year.”
owned by Discovery but distributed by KT, as well as a production house, Studio Discovery Korea, jointly owned by Discovery and KT. The channel
Where else will you distribute your content? “Our partner in Studio Discov-
launched in September and Studio Discovery is already in production for
ery is KT, which owns a number of channels in Korea. So those channels
four original titles.”
could be a source for distribution. And in addition, we are locking down contracts with other major channels and platforms in Korea and the con-
Why now? “Traditionally, Discovery is better known as an apparel brand
tent could be distributed across their platform.”
in Korea. However, our media business has never taken off. Six or seven years ago, we attempted to establish a locally operated Discovery
You have four shows in production already... “We have survival shows, which
Channel in Korea. It was positioned as a pure factual channel with not
are traditional Discovery type of programmes, with a Korean element, food
much entertainment content and no local original content, so it wasn’t
and reality, with and without celebrities. All are skewed towards entertain-
a huge success. In the past year, we have found a very strong local part-
ment, that’s the content direction we will be taking in Korea.
ner – KT – who can distribute our channel, and we are now determined to invest in local content in Korea, so we are in a much better position to
Are you obliged to utilise Discovery’s formats? “Our priority will be to le-
launch the channel and to expand our content business in Korea.”
verage Discovery’s existing formats across all our channel brands, including TLC, Food Network and HGTV. We will also develop original content.”
What genres is the studio focusing on? “At the start, the studio will primarily be serving the need for the local channel because we need original
Is there an option for you to work with production houses elsewhere in
content, which will primarily be factual-based entertainment content.
Korea or in the region? “Absolutely. Our studio in Korea is a full-fledged
But we are not ruling out any possibilities. As we go and as we expand
production house, but we have the ability to bring in other producers.
our linear business in Korea into digital, we may need to incorporate
We are also very open to co-productions. That model has been going on
more genres.”
successfully in China for a number of years.”
14
contentasia november 2020
interview
The joint content initiative with Alibaba/Youku and Shanghai Media Group is an ecosystem play, an ecosystem that consists of long-form series and also mobile short-form, live shows probably and instant clicks and buys via e-commerce, offline events, and IP derivatives on multiple screens in multiple territories at a global scale as well.” Tony Qiu, Senior Vice President & General Manager – East & Southeast Asia, Discovery
You’ve got significant new investment in China, with Alibaba/Youku and
Is the venture’s investment confined to China? “ It’s not going to be just
Shanghai Media Group. What does your expanded China business look
limited to China. We want the content to work both in China and outside
like? “The joint initiative between Discovery, Alibaba/Youku and SMG is
of China as much as possible.
for food-related programming and production, and is probably the largest food content initiative in China or even across the region for a long
You talk about the joint food initiative as more than programming... “We
time. The China business is trending very healthily. Even for this year, we
are doing this as an ecosystem play. An ecosystem that consists of long-
are not impacted much by the Covid situation. In some areas, such as
form series and also mobile short-form, live shows probably and instant
branded solutions or content co-production, we are seeing mid double-
clicks and buy via e-commerce, offline events, and IP derivatives on mul-
digit growth. And that’s been the case for almost three years in a row.
tiple screens in multiple territories at a global scale as well. It will offer a
We are investing quite heavily in people, in digital initiatives and also
compelling marketing and sales tool to our content sponsors as well as
content.”
better monetisation opportunities for partners. This is about building up a food-related ecosystem.”
How much money is involved in the new initiative? “US$40 million to US$50 million over the next three years, including this year, from 2020.”
How are you exploiting the IP rights to the new content coming out of
How will the food programming commissioning/production work? “The
works in other parts of the region, both linear and digital. We are also
three major partners will manage the pool of funds to be invested in
considering distributing the content on other platforms across Asia. It
food-related content and there will be opportunities for production
could be a second window or a same-time premiere, that’s up for dis-
house partners to work with us on this initiative. The setup is almost like a
cussion. We are also looking for formats that we could work elsewhere in
JV where the decision is co-made by three parties in terms of how the
the region”.
North Asia? “Primarily the content will be output to Discovery family net-
money is going to be spent, what shows we are going to do and which partners we are going to choose.” 16
contentasia november 2020
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interview
Taiwan play book Asian streaming platform Catchplay has unveiled a Taipei-based production subsidiary, Screenworks Asia, with six projects in development from the get go and plans to produce 100 hours a year of mini-series, movies and factual entertainment for audiences across Asia and the rest of the world. CEO Daphne Yang talks about the company’s evolution, development and direction. What drove Catchplay’s shift into production company Screenworks
good stories in the sense that they make people cry, make people laugh
Asia? “It is a milestone for us, but it’s actually not a sudden decision or
and make people think. At the minimum, they would appreciate the
shift. If you look at what we’ve done in the past couple of years, we
content. People’s time is the most precious thing now. There is so much
started from distribution and from there it was a natural evolution. As
to watch... We don’t want to create a number of hours just for the sake
a distributor, when you see minimum guarantees for some projects for
of number of hours. It has to be good storytelling to start with and we trust
just one country or one territory bid up to US$1 million or US$2 million...
good teams because good stories told or produced by mediocre teams
I started thinking, 'wouldn’t it be nice if I could invest in content that I
are probably not as good... We believe in execution.
truly feel I could control from the very beginning'. We wanted to try, so
“We also need a commercially sustainable way of doing business.
we went into co-production and financing deals with Hollywood. We did
We focus a lot on pre-selling co-production. We want something that
the Revenant, Assassin’s Creed by New Regency and then we did Twenty
can be discussed very early on, even at just the concept. We talk to our
Once Again with CJ Entertainment. And so it’s a very natural evolution.
partners; co-production partners or potential partners on what they think
“A couple of years ago we also found that our film library had not been
about a project, whether it will work for their market, especially interna-
monetised enough and we wanted to try to see what we could do with
tional partners and also we hope that it will be able to generate profits
the library and with all the rights we’ve acquired – 2,000 titles over 10
and in the best-case scenario, hopefully be able to recoup 60% even be-
years – after theatrical and home video. We decided that we needed to
fore the principal photography starts. That’s the discipline that we have
do more in digital, and licensing it to the digital platforms just doesn’t re-
for this company.”
ally do it. So we set up our digital platform. Then when you have a digital platform, you start to realise you need sticky content and films are not
What are the first projects you have rolled into Screenworks? “There are
the kind of sticky content that get people to come back and watch a
two projects I want to mention. The first is a Hong Kong-Taiwan co-pro-
few hours every day. So we needed drama series and we ventured into
duction, Mystify in Dust, a 15-part crime thriller brought to us by ViuTV in
drama series last year. We did The World Between Us with WarnerMedia
Hong Kong. The entire production is shot in Taiwan, with a producer and
and then The Making of An Ordinary Woman.
director from Taiwan, and a top cast from Taiwan. We like how it’s struc-
“Last year we talked to TAICCA, the Taiwan Creative Content Agency established by the Ministry of Culture. They trust our capabilities to handle
tured, we think the production budget is sensible. We like the crew and so we just said, ‘let’s start with this’.
projects at these scales. So we proposed the idea to them. After nine
“The second one, a co-production with CTS in Taiwan, is the second
months, the venture was approved. At the same time, we were working
season of The Making of An Ordinary Woman. Season one was rated
on six projects, because we didn’t want to wait. Finally, in late July, we
probably the second strongest Mandarin-language show last year.
announced the establishment of Screenworks Asia, which will be focus-
Catchplay was very proud to be able to present it exclusively on our
ing 100% on original content production.”
platform in Taiwan in 2019. The show won eight Golden Bell nominations... we’re very glad we were able to convince the director and the produc-
How does Screenworks Asia’s funding work? “What’s really important in
er and all the cast to come back and do the second season.
production is risk management. We don’t want to do it in a style where it’s
“There are four other projects in earlier stages. We probably will start
a gamble, where you believe in something so much that you just invest
shooting in 2021. One is a sci-fi project, which is quite a big adventure. And
the money without knowing how to recoup. To us partnership is always
then some factual entertainment as well, in English and also Mandarin. We
the best way. So we talked to TAICCA, which was specifically set up to
want to try and see what we can do in the field of high-quality premium
fund content or creative initiatives that can leverage Taiwanese IP or
factual entertainment for the new generation, millennials or Gen Z.
talents. We agreed on a 51% investment from Catchplay and 49% from TAICCA. Altogether, we are looking to at least kickstart six to 10 projects
“We also have two films in the scripting stage. One is a crime drama and another is a love story for Gen Z.
in the next two years, and hopefully after that, it will be self-sustaining.
“So that’s about all the six projects. It’s quite a big variety of genres
The projects have to be able to make money to fund the next projects.”
ranging from budgets of about US$100,000 per hour to about US$300,000 per hour for drama series and factual entertainment. For films, we are
What’s the best-case scenario? “We hope to be able to establish a self-
looking at the moment at between US$1 million and US$5 million as the
sustainable platform for good storytelling. We have to be able to create
total production budget.”
18
contentasia november 2020
A lot of OTT platforms really believe in local content to the extent that they are giving quite unreasonable offers and creating unnecessary competition... it's an unhealthy way of running the business for local content. So we try to avoid that. Anything that looks like it is turning into a bubble, we try to avoid.� Daphne Yang CEO, Catchplay
interview
Taiwan is not known for being able to produce premium sci-fi. What gives
Asia if possible. And so there’s that and also see if that IP is worth a re-
you the confidence to be a trailblazer in the space? “I’m a sci-fi fan. I know
make in different versions. That’s something that we are looking for as
what good sci-fi looks like but that’s not the main reason. The main reason
well. But probably not pure financial investments.”
is we found a team that has done something similar. We think they are the closest to be able to pull it off and the story is fantastic. The script is being
Is everything Screenworks makes headed for Catchplay first? “Obviously
written and hopefully we’ll be able to find co-production partners who
we set up Screenworks so that we can somehow leverage or try to cre-
can add value and try to bring it to a bigger scale if possible. It’s not spe-
ate some synergy. Otherwise, we don’t need to do it but we’ll be glad if
cifically for a Taiwanese audience. It is something that we think will be able
Screenworks can produce enough hours of quality content that can pre-
to travel and that’s why we think we need bigger partners.”
miere on Catchplay the platform first.
You mentioned co-production partners, like HBO Asia and ViuTV. How
handle it and try to distribute it in theatres in Taiwan or in Asia or work
“If it’s a movie, then of course the Catchplay distribution team would broadly are you looking and will most of your productions be made in
with partners in Asia and try to maximise the value. We probably would
Taiwan? “We are looking at co-production partners from everywhere in
keep it for certain exclusive window, but it doesn’t mean that there is no
the world. There’s one IP from France; it’s a great story that we would be
license fee involved. Catchplay still needs to pay Screenworks Asia a cer-
able to remake in Mandarin and try to find a co-production partner in
tain amount of reasonable licence fee... we welcome co-premieres in
Southeast Asia. The projects that we’re doing don’t necessarily have to
order to create more success or a bigger scale of impact for the content,
be shot in Taiwan, but because of our JV with TAICCA we want to have
like we did with HBO Asia for example. So I would say, in comparison,
some leverage of Taiwanese talent or Taiwanese IP if possible.
we’re not Netflix. We don’t keep everything to ourselves and use content
“If projects don’t work for Screenworks Asia, we can still do them
as a tool just to create a success of the platform. It’s not the case for us.
through Catchplay... For example, we have a co-production film project
We want the content to be successful first. Although at the moment, our
with CJ in Thailand and for the market of Thailand to start with and South-
platform is probably not as big so that’s why we would look into working
east Asia. It doesn’t use any Taiwanese talents or Taiwanese money, it’s a
with other platforms on co-premieres. So more people get to watch it or
Catchplay project rather than a Screenworks project.”
get to be able to see even on TV.”
Would you be willing to invest in somebody else’s production as a pure
How much of a priority is Indonesia? “Indonesia is paramount. We started
investment partner? “We would, but I think we would look at the strategic
the journey four years ago. We are very very thankful for all the part-
value for us. We don’t do just pure financial investments. We would look
ners we have there who are supporting us. We made a good decision a
at the story and see if there’s an opportunity to distribute in Taiwan
couple of years ago. When everybody was talking about mobile first, we
theatrically or on the platform, or take it to our platform across Southeast
didn’t believe that. Mobile is... not where all the value is, it’s not where
20
contentasia november 2020
The World Between Us
people pay for premium content. We tried something on mobile, but
of content, but at the same time start to try a bit more in original content
then we switched very quickly to big screens. So all our major partners in
where we weren’t used to that much previously.”
Indonesia at the moment are big-screen partners and through our deep relationships, we’re now seeing very good take up and very good pay
You said you pivoted from mobile to big screen pretty quickly when
rate from the subscriber base in Indonesia mainly from big screens... We
you realised that the value was in big screen, and you also highlighted
have started conversations with Indonesian producers about co-produc-
a sensible approach to paying for content that’s going to provide value
tion. We acquired the movie Bebas, an Indonesian production, exclu-
for your platform. What have your other big learnings been from the
sively for Catchplay in Indonesia. Before Bebas, there were other films
streaming environment? “I think taking risk is important and for the past
that we acquired exclusively, but I think it’s probably time that we go a
years if you compare us to a lot of the other OTT players that are probably
little bit deeper and look into co-production opportunities.”
not there anymore or are fading, we are quite happy to say that the idea that this is going to be a marathon and the belief that we need to do it
Has all the competition in Indonesia made it more difficult to acquire
in a sustainable way is right.
content? “A lot of OTT platforms really believe in local content to the
“But taking risk is still important. So the risk for us to go abroad, from Tai-
extent that they are giving quite unreasonable offers and creating
wan to venture into Singapore, to venture into Indonesia, it’s something
unnecessary competition... it's an unhealthy way of running the business
that we needed to do in order to create – or try to create – economies
for local content. So we try to avoid that. Anything that looks like it is turn-
of scale, to hopefully make this business make sense. Managing risk is also
ing into a bubble, we try to avoid... So that’s why we were facing chal-
very important.
lenges getting content. We may do one exclusive title in Indonesia say
“Commitment and perseverance is something we’ve learned as well.
once or twice in a quarter or half a year, but we are not able to say ‘hey,
It’s not always who’s the smartest, it is always who’s there and who’s al-
I’m going to buy 10, 12 original titles for Indonesia in a year’. We just don’t
ways there and who’s trying harder and who’s trying to make things work
think that budget makes sense. But I hope that things will come back to
in a healthy way rather than a quick shortcut or something.
a more sensible situation, where people agree to a more sensible way of doing business and trying to run it on a long-term basis.”
“And integrity... it’s very important that we keep that in mind. We are in this business, in a platform business, we want to do good things. We want the audience to be able to get something from it rather than us trying to
What international content are you acquiring? “We acquire quite a lot
just make money out of it and nothing else. So I guess at this time of the
of international content, and have output deals with the studios; Disney,
big environment we do see integrity playing and I hope more and more
Warner Brothers, Paramount, Sony as well for Indonesia... We also acquire
people pay attention to that.”
quite a lot from Korea for Indonesia as well, and some Japanese content as well and I think this year we’re going to keep acquiring a good variety
21
datatrends
Find the gap, please Dennis Yang, CEO and managing partner of Taipei-based Studio76 Original Productions, talks about finding stories and directors with unique visual styles, experimenting with genres and formats, and Taiwan’s advantages and challenges as a content centre.
Dennis Yang, CEO & Managing Partner, Studio76 Original Productions
Taiwan’s Studio76 Original Productions launched just ahead of the pan-
span of genres? “We want to try
demic with an ambitious three-year slate, a high appetite for experi-
out as many genres as possible.
mentation, a horror debut targetting audiences that mass market TV
We have very strict budget control
broadcasters aren’t accommodating, tapping online communities and
on every title that we produce. There
fanbases for stories, and trying to expand Taiwan’s footprint overseas.
is some drama we cannot do, but there
CEO & managing partner, Dennis Yang talks about experimenting with
are a lot of good stories that we can bring into
formats, finding stories, and Taiwan’s advantages and challenges as a
production and show to people saying, ‘hey, here’s a
production centre.
good original story we’re trying to tell from Taiwan’. In general. we are trying to do as many genres as possible in our first year. So probably in the
Tell us how a six-month-old company went into this pandemic... “We’re quite
second and third years, we will be focusing more on selected genres. But
lucky actually because the first three titles we produced wrapped production
now in the first year I want to try as much as possible.”
before January 2020. So pretty much when the pandemic hit, we were already in post production. Probably the only impact was our ability to
Where did the first stories come from and why did you decide
launch the titles on schedule because they had to be supported by on-
on these for your debut? “Firstly, we want to show people that
ground events, particularly basketball story, Fly The Jumper.”
Studio76 is trying to do something different. That’s why we selected horror, because this is a genre that normally TV stations will not touch.
Despite Covid-19, you are on track with your three-year timeline. What
Mostly they do love stories. There’s a limitation on horror stories on TV.
other productions are you planning? “When we started the company,
In Taiwan, you can only show horror stories after 10pm. So we thought,
the aim was to produce 30 titles in the next three years... and we are on
‘okay maybe it is a good genre to start with’. Horror is actually a popu-
track. So far, we have finished four titles, and are busy with four more by
lar genre, especially for OTT or digital platforms. So we started looking
the end of the year, so we have good momentum. There are more and
at discussion forums in Taiwan. On PTT, one of the top forums in Taiwan,
more partners in the region right now. They are working with us in co-
there’s a series of 36 ghost stories with a large fanbase by one writer. A
production and also in the distribution. We are planning to enter script
Taiwan publisher put all 36 stories into three books and published the
competitions as well in order to discover more good stories in Taiwan.”
series in Taiwan and China to a much bigger fanbase. We contacted the writer and publisher, and agreed to adapt four stories, which led
Your first four productions are very different from each other. There’s hor-
to 76 Horror Bookstore – Tin Can of Fear.”
ror, sports, crime & investigation. What’s the thinking behind the broad
22
contentasia november 2020
76 Horror Bookstore - Tin Can of Fear
Essentially an adaptation of fan-based fiction? “Exactly”
the days in KKTV, I produced three titles, each was 90-100 minutes in total run time. And then we chopped that into eight episodes and we played
What about basketball story, Fly the Jumper, which is very different.
one episode per day and we saw that our audience was building. So we
Where did that come from? “The idea came from our target audience.
said, ‘okay this is a nice experiment’... Everyday, when we showed a new
Before I started Studio76, I was a co-founder of KKTV, a SVOD platform in
title, more people joined. So we started talking to the production compa-
Taiwan. So we understand that the core audience for digital platforms/
nies, and we found that maybe if we extended that to 25 minutes per epi-
OTT services is actually 25- to 35-year old females, especially in Taiwan.
sode, the story might be more solid and more interesting, so that’s why we
Horror Bookstore is right on target for 25-35 year-old females, and we
turned that concept into 25 minutes per episode. with a hundred min-
thought, ‘how about bringing that target audience down to 15-25?
utes total run time, we can have four episodes. So there are several ways
What kind of formats or what kind of stories might attract them?’ So we
to present that for the platforms. Platforms that license this title have two
thought we should try sports teen drama, which is a popular genre in
edits to choose from; one edit is 25 minutes per episode and the other is
Taiwan. Also a lot of the production companies in Taiwan… love comedy
a 100-minute full-length version. As long as the story is interesting there is a
teen dramas. So we went looking for a good sports teen drama, and we
market, regardless of Covid-19. Our idea is to produce stories that fit into
found an original story and developed that into a 100-minute TV movie.”
the formats of digital platforms as well as TV, so we need a total run time of not less than 90 minutes, which can fit back into the TV format. Now
Your third one is Kill for Love, which again is very different... “This one comes
we have a lot of demand from the TV stations in Taiwan, China, Malaysia,
from the idea of a famous scriptwriter in Taiwan. This script was awarded
Singapore, Indonesia and Korea as well. We are preparing to license to
one of the best scripts back two years ago in Taiwan. The story is inspired
Japan as well.”
by a real crime event 20 years ago, which was a very popular case. We thought crime stories were a good direction for us to explore, especially
How do you think demand from streaming platforms has impacted
crime stories based on female murderers. This is a good sub genre under
production in Taiwan? “Taiwan is quite lucky because there was no
crime investigation. We worked with the script writer who also wanted to
lock down. There were several weeks of working from home and the
be the director, and brought the production team together.”
government asked companies to try to keep social distancing in March and April, but after that everything went back to normal. Of course the
There’s something quite unusual about the series lengths you have chosen
demand from OTT platforms and TV stations is increasing, especially from
– all are four episodes of about 25 minutes per series. Why did you decide
China, so during this period we actually got good demand coming from
on this format? “When we started out, we understood the direction of our
China asking for our content. We know that they’re not only asking us.
productions; we wanted to do as many 100-minute TV movies first. Back in
They also asking other production companies in Taiwan and also the li-
contentasia november 2020
23
datatrends
Fly The Jumper
Taiwan has good production, but we don’t know how to sell outside Chinese markets.” Dennis Yang, Studio76 Original Productions
What do you see as the biggest creative (or other) challenges for Taiwan’s content industry? “Taiwan used to work very closely with Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Malaysia in Chinese content. Most production companies, most licensors, in Taiwan are not used to selling their content outside of Chinese markets. I think that’s the biggest challenge for us. Yes, we have good production, but we don’t know how to sell it outside the Chinese markets. So this is why we are producing very genre-based
censors in Taiwan, because there’s stronger demand coming from China
stories. That is the way for us to reach further to markets like the U.S. or
and there is lower supply. The good thing about what we are producing
Europe. We would love to sell our content even to the Middle East... we
in Taiwan is that it’s all in Mandarin and we can sell it to China, Hong
want to explore as many new markets as possible even though the lan-
Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, to the Chinese markets.”
guage we use is Mandarin.”
Has this increase demand made access to talent and resources in Tai-
Taiwan has plenty of talent. There’s plenty of demand and also you have
wan more difficult for you? “Not really, because there’s a good supply of
very strong government support for the creative industry. Would you call
talent in Taiwan in script writing, in acting, in production, and also there’s
distribution your biggest challenge? “Yes, I would say that. There’s also
one thing unique to Taiwan; if you look at Taiwan, China, Hong Kong,
some very strong supply of Chinese content coming from China and from
Taiwan is probably the only market that has a good supply of directors for
Hong Kong... Taiwan's creative industry has strong government support.
music videos. So that’s actually a good place for us to start choosing new
TAICCA, one of the creative agencies backed by the government, is
directors with unique visual styles. This is what we are trying to cultivate.”
trying not only to support more production companies and projects, but also trying to match original IP from the publishing industry. Taiwan pub-
What’s your view on co-productions and partnerships? “We are open
lishes many books every year that can be adapted into TV dramas and
at any time to any ideas for co-production partnership... and we are
movies. The government is putting a lot of resources and support right
willing to share our experience and to create more and more cross-
now into matching those original ideas and stories and IPs and trying to
border, cross-culture, co-production and trying to use the rich talent pool
create much bigger synergies in all these creative industries. I think this is
coming up from Taiwan and also from the region.”
something good for Taiwan.”
24
contentasia november 2020
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