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MARCH - APRIL 2021
March - April 2021 Television Asia Plus
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March - April 2021 Television Asia Plus
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Editors Note EDITORIAL/PUBLISHER Keen Whye Lee Publisher Raymond Wong Publishing Director raymond@harvest-info.com Monina Eugenio Editor editor-tva@harvest-info.com Arjay Alivia Layout and Design OPERATIONS Mari Vergara Head of Operations mari@asiantvawards.com SALES
Dear Reader, I welcome you to Television Asia Plus’ first issue of the year in time for the much-awaited FILMART Online. This month, we’ve focused on the growth of Asia’s homegrown streaming platforms and where it’s headed in 2021 featuring exclusive interviews from Viu, Viddsee, iQiyi, ZEE5 Global, and Dimsum Entertainment. For our C-level spotlight, we’ve got an exclusive feature on the newlylaunched Biiggbang Amusement in India headed by Sudip Mukherjee, and a feature on the recent appointment of A+E Networks’ Liz Soriano. We’ve also put the spotlight on the content offerings from the newlylaunched Disney+ platform in Singapore, as well as a distributor spotlight on GoQuestMedia. Meanwhile, our amazing contributors this month have pitched in stories relevant to the current shifts and trends in the media industry. Amazon Web Services’ Shweta Jain wrote how the media and entertainment industry can benefit from using the cloud; while Epic Games’ Arvind Neelakantan reimagines the future of Asia’s film, media and entertainment sector; and finally, Rakuten Advertising’s Stuart McLennan’s op-ed gives fresh insights on how Asian entertainment is projected to grow in popularity in 2021.
Monina Eugenio Editor
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Simon Lee Hong Kong, U.S.A., and Europe sales@harvest-info.com Chua Chew Huat Asia Pacific sales-sg@harvest-info.com MARKETING Franco Rafael mktg@harvest-info.com TECHNICAL SUPPORT Michael Magsalin tech@harvest-info.com Harvest Information Pte. Ltd. 1100 Lower Delta Road #02-05-8, EPL Building Singapore 169206
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Contributors Shweta joined Amazon Web Services (AWS) in January 2018 and heads the business development for its Media & Entertainment business across APAC. With two decades of industry experience across broadcasting and digital media, Shweta brings insight and capability to the growing APAC media customer base to help them harness the power of AWS, using the world’s broadest range of services, including compute, storage, databases, networking, analytics, media services, and machine learning.
Shweta Jain
APAC Media & Entertainment Business Development Manager, AWS
Prior to joining AWS, Shweta was at New Delhi Television Ltd, a pioneer in India’s news television and digital media, where she double hatted as their Senior Vice President, Software Solutions, overseeing broadcast workloads, automation, and enterprise IT applications, and as the Founder Managing Director of a digital business in the content discovery and recommendations space.
Arvind specialises in games and in empowering film/animation studios using real-time tech. Epic Games is a leading interactive entertainment company and developer of the Unreal Engine, the world’s most open and advanced real-time 3D tool.
Arvind Neelakantan Evangelist, Epic Games Southeast Asia and India
Prior to Epic, Arvind was the Head of Technology (Indian Subcontinent) for Unity Technologies where he drove innovation strategy and provided technology leadership. He served as Disney India’s lead software architect and was responsible for driving innovation through R&D activities and oversaw games/ interactive content development. Prior to Disney, Arvin was a full-stack game engineer at Nickelodeon in Los Angeles for six years. There, he developed MMORPGs and played a key role in the company’s technology business during the major transitions to cloud-based computing.
Stuart is in charge of leading the growth of Rakuten Advertising’s business in the Asia Pacific region. He ensures that the right people, processes, and products are developed to help clients and partners grow their businesses by reaching and converting new customers. With over 13 years of experience, Stuart has a proven track record of scaling digital marketing teams to meet the fast-paced demands of the industry, as well as overseeing the performance marketing strategies of the world’s most prestigious brands such as Adidas, Gucci, and Burberry.
Stuart McLennan
Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific, Rakuten Advertising
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Prior to joining Rakuten Advertising, Stuart built and managed the UK’s largest specialist paid social advertising team, as well as tripled the size of its Singapore business.
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NEWS PLATFORM
M6 International debuts in the Middle East with the launch of du in the UAE
THEMA, a Canal+ Group company, in collaboration with UAE-based content licensing management company, SAWA Rights Management (SRM), is proud and delighted to announce the launch of M6 International channel on du’s TV platform in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – a leading national telco provider part of Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC) PJSC. M6 International has joined the successful du multithematic French Package, addressing the French expatriate, francophone and francophile communities living in the UAE. M6 international is now part of du French Package, which is available to du subscribers as an add-on package for AED 69 per month and includes the best variety of French TV Entertainment. M6 International, whose distribution is handled by THEMA, brings together all the best programmes from the M6 Group TV channels, with contents from the renowned M6, W9,
6ter, Paris Première and Téva. With a diversified program selection gathering culture, entertainment, cooking, reality TV, news, politics and lifestyle, UAE French speakers and learners have now access 24/7 to a TV channel tailor-made for them. With the launch of its international flagship in the UAE, the M6 Group, editor of 19 channels already available in more than 80 countries, significantly strengthens its international presence, notably in the Middle East.
Saregama inks licensing deal with short video platform Josh
France 24 broadcasted to over 2 million homes in Hong Kong
French international news channel France 24 struck a new distribution agreement with operator Hong Kong Cable, which provides the English and French channels in its basic offer, available to its 800,000 subscribers. France 24’s roster of shows that are broadcasted in Hong Kong includes Access Asia; The 51 Percent; Down To Earth, and French Connections. Serge Schick, the Executive Vice-President Member of the board in charge of international development said, “It is a great opportunity for France 24 to extend its distribution to Hong Kong. We hope that the citizens of Hong Kong will appreciate the channel’s content which is dedicated to international issues such as climate change, the transformation of economics, and the equality between people, women, and men.”
One of India’s largest music labels, Saregama announced a licensing deal with made-in-India, short video app, Josh by VerSe Innovation. The deal allows Josh users to access old and new songs from the Saregama library with over 1,30,000 songs to create innovative content that spans diverse Indian languages such as Hindi, Bhojpuri, Tamil, Marathi, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Punjabi, and Gujarati, among others. facebook-f TVAPlusMag | twitter TVAsiaPLus | linkedin-in television-asia-plus
March - April 2021 Television Asia Plus
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NEWS CONTENT
iQIYI announces its star-studded lineup for Youth With You Season 3
iQIYI announced the full mentor lineup for their NextGen variety franchise Youth With You S3. The mentors include BLACKPINK’s Lisa as Dance Mentor; Chris Lee as Youth PD, Ronghao Li as Vocal Mentor; and Will Pan as Rap Mentor.
Nippon TV’s Anime Department secures key sales for worldwide distribution of TSUKIMICHI -Moonlit Fantasy-
Leading Japanese multiplatform entertainment powerhouse Nippon TV announced that it has secured sales for TSUKIMICHI -Moonlit Fantasy-, the first international anime series to be produced by the company’s new Anime Department. Nippon T V has secured sales with Crunchyroll for worldwide distribution excluding Asia, along with T V stations and platforms in the region through the Ani-one platform by Medialink and on the T V station Aniplus T V and platform aniplus.tv by Aniplus, shortly after its broadcast in Japan.
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The third season of Youth With You builds on the second season’s success. During the two-month broadcast of Youth With You S2, the official Youth With You 2 related videos attracted over 300 million views on YouTube, with 73 video clips reaching over a million views each. The third season will also introduce a global twist where fans from across the world will be able to support their favourite contestants through the iQ.com website or iQIYI app. In addition, the third season of Youth With You will be available to international audiences for free on the iQIYI International website and app. The show will also have subtitles in Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, English, Thai, Bahasa Melayu, Spanish, Korean, and Arabic.
Viddsee launches satirical comedy AI Love K-Drama
Viddsee debuted the five-part comedy series AI Love K-Drama that centres around a failing studio who buys a state-of-the-art AI, nicknamed SANGW00, to write and direct the ultimate K-drama. Although its lead actress Tia Tan (played by Michelle Wong), thinks the idea is terrible, she goes along with it as a way to cope with a devastating failure from her past. AI Love K-Drama is produced by Viddsee Studios and Zhao Wei Films and written by film producer Huang Junxiang together with playwright and improv comedian Luke Somasundram. The series is directed by several promising Singaporean filmmakers such as Tan Wei Ting, and twin brothers Wong Zhen Jiang and Zhen Hai. AI Love K-Drama, which premiered on 5 February on Viddsee.com, is the sixth Viddsee Original series to debut in 2021, and the latest in a long line of original films and series since Viddsee Studios began in 2017.
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Tales of Arcadia: 3Below premieres on DreamWorks
NENT Studios UK places three entertainment formats in Vietnam
NENT Studios UK has partnered with Dong Tay Promotion for three of NENT Studios’ entertainment formats including The Generation Show, 12 Stars and Married To A Celebrity: The Survival Guide to be remade in Vietname for broadcast on both VTV and HTV. Vu Nguyen from Dong Tay Promotion said, “NENT Studios UK has a rich and varied catalogue of formats so we are excited to have established this new relationship and look forward to working with Emmanuel to develop these three titles in Vietnam. Our local audiences love celebrity formats, especially those providing an opportunity to find out more about their favourite stars.” Dong Tay Promotion is Vietnam’s largest international TV content show provider and has previously introduced series such as Vietnam Idol, So You Think You Can Dance and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? to domestic broadcasters with great success.
START’S Sherlock: The Russian Chronicles heads to Japan
NHK Enterprises, Inc., the business arm of Japanese public broadcaster NHK, has bought START’s Sherlock: The Russian Chronicles. The 8x52’ series began airing on AXN Mystery on 14 February. The series was a huge success in Russia where it premiered on the streaming platform START that produces a record amount of original high-end drama series. Sherlock: The Russian Chronicles is a TV series adaptation of the tale following the world’s most famous private investigator. Set in 19th Century St. Petersburg, the story unfolds against a backdrop of the country’s most famous sites and landmarks as Sherlock Holmes attempts to track down Jack the Ripper, who has fled to Russia. The series was produced by Yellow, Black and White’s local production arm and streamer START, in coproduction with Sreda. It is directed by Nurbek Egen and written by Oleg Malovichko.
NBCUniversal International Networks’ 24-hour channel dedicated to kids and family entertainment DreamWorks has premiered the new 13-episode series Tales of Arcadia: 3Below on 1 March. 3Below is the second story in visionary Guillermo Del Toro’s award-winning “Tales of Arcadia” trilogy, a saga of shared stories about a seemingly ordinary town filled with unexpected heroes who rise to fight the dark forces that reside there. In a battle of heroes and villains, Tales of Arcadia: 3Below will follow two royal teenage aliens and their bodyguard as they flee a surprise takeover of their home planet by an evil dictator and crash land in Arcadia. Now, on the run from intergalactic bounty hunters and prying humans, they struggle to blend in and adapt to the bizarre world of high school all the while attempting to repair their ship so they can return and defend their home planet. Loaded with action and adventure, Tales of Arcadia: 3Below highlights the power of friendship and family with a touch of fish-out-of-water comedy. Tales of Arcadia: 3Below joins a lineup of fan favourite shows on DreamWorks, including The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants, The Boss Baby: Back in Business, and Kung-Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny; as well as Trolls: The Beat Goes On!, Dragons: Race to the Edge, The Adventure of Puss in Boots, and All Hail King Julien.
Operated by Sony Pictures Entertainment, AXN Mystery is a Japanese entertainment channel specializing in the genre of mystery. AXN Mystery delivers a trove of quality mystery dramas from all over the globe.
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March - April 2021 Television Asia Plus
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NEWS OTT
Toonz Media Group launches new OTT platform MyToonz Addressing the need to create a safe and engaging entertainment platform for kids and families in the digital landscape, Toonz Media Group has launched a new OTT platform for kids and family called MyToonz. The MyToonz library launched with over 1,500 half hours of content, with new content added every week. The library includes movies and episodic content across different
genres. Besides English, there are also dedicated playlists in Spanish, Russian, and Hindi languages. Meanwhile, the content on the platform has been categorized to be targeted at pre-schoolers, upper preschoolers and early teens. MyToonz is available on iOS, Android and Android TV playstores, as well as the Roku Video-on-Demand platform, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV.
U-NEXT enters licensing partnership with ViacomCBS for a selection of new series from SHOWTIME® to premiere in Japan
Entertainment content distributor ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group entered into a licensing partnership with Japanese OTT player U-NEXT to exclusively launch a selection of premium drama series from SHOWTIME.
Aldis Hodge; Halo, an epic sci-fi action series based on the video game franchise; Ripley; The First Lady (working title), which will feature dramatisations of Michelle Obama and other historical figures; and Yellowjackets.
The drama series that are included in the partnership includes the Golden Globe-nominated Your Honor starring Bryan Cranston; City on a Hill starring Golden Globe winner and Emmy nominee Kevin Bacon and Screen Actors Guild award winner
In addition to the premiere titles licensed from ViacomCBS, viewers will also get to enjoy popular original series including David Lynch’s masterpiece Twin Peaks and the 2017 SHOWTIME original Twin Peaks: A Limited Event Series.
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Viu experiences subscriber growth in Southeast Asia
Viu announced that it has achieved 45 million monthly active users and 5.3 million paid subscribers as of December 2020. On top of that, the OTT video streaming service ranked no. 1 in terms of the number of users and ranked second in both paid subscribers and streaming minutes amongst major streaming platforms in Southeast Asia, according to a Media Partners Asia (MPA) report. Viu also announced that in 2020, subscribers grew 47 percent year-on-year. They also saw high growth in monetization with overall revenue up 30% with subscription revenue as the key driver which increased by 62 percent year-onyear. In addition, Viu also beat Greater Southeast Asia (GSEA) OTT video market growth rate with 63% revenue growth as compared to the overall GSEA OTT market revenue growth of 17%, according to MPA. The company’s engagement and growth are supported by its strong content lineup with premium content from Asia and original productions such as Pretty Little Liars, My Bubble Tea, and The Bridge Season 2.
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NEWS PAY TV
Discovery Networks Asia Pacific and SCMP partner to showcase new food series on Asian Food Network
tvN debuts on DStv for African audiences this March On 1 March 2021, Korean entertainment channel tvN Africa launched on DStv with a feed customised specially for African audiences. The presence of tvN Africa marks the first foray of one of Korea’s top entertainment brands in the continent. DStv entertainment platforms, which consists of DStv, GOtv, Showmax and the DStv app has approximately 20 million subscribers in the African market, and DStv subscribers across 14 key markets in Africa will have access to tvN.
Similar to tvN Asia, the channel will be presented in Korean and include programs with English subtitles and a dedicated drama slot dubbed in English. Some of the content that viewers can look forward to includes the romantic series Another Miss Oh and Cheese In The Trap; Korean variety music programs like I-Land and NCT World 2.0; K-drama Encounter; and crime thriller Signal.
TechStorm enters partnership deal with Timothy Draper’s Meet The Drapers Show Tech-centric entertainment channel TechStorm announced an exclusive network partnership deal with renowned capitalist and American billionaire Timothy Draper for his Meet The Drapers show across panAsia. This is the network’s first-of-its-kind exclusive deal with the show runners to bring the reality investment pitch series into TechStorm’s rapidlygrowing multi-country distribution footprint.
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TechStorm is widely available in nine Asia countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Brunei, Sri Lanka and Taiwan across 100 platforms, reaching 43 million viewers region-wide.
South China Morning Post and Discovery Networks Asia Pacific reached an exclusive agreement for the broadcast rights for Eat China. The series is set to air across 39 territories in the APAC region and will also be available across nonstandard TV platforms including AVOD and SVOD. Eat China is produced by Goldthread, SCMP’s video-first culture publication focused on exploring trends and human interest stories in today’s China through its food, people, and travel. The show will air on the Asian Food Network. The multi-year is SCMP’s first acquisition deal with a broadcast network and the agreement comprises four episodes per season. Eat China began its broadcast on 5 February. Apart from Eat China, AFN will feature episodes and recipes from Goldthread’s Chef’s Plate series across its digital properties, including its website and social media channels.
March - April 2021 Television Asia Plus
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NEWS TECHNOLOGY
Abu Dhabi Media switches to Dejero for live news reporting as part of News Department upgrade
Abu Dhabi Media has rolled out Dejero EnGo 260 mobile transmitters, Dejero WayPoint receivers, and Dejero CuePoint low latency return video servers, following a 2020 tender that was won by local systems integrator and Dejero partner, Ideal Systems. The UAE public service broadcaster makes use of Dejero to enhance its live news reporting capabilities across the country. Dejero’s technology has been central to Abu Dhabi Media’s successful live coverage of a number of events since it was rolled out. For instance, the use of Dejero EnGo 260 transmitters, WayPoint receivers, and CuePoint return servers allowed the national broadcaster to capture high-quality, flawless coverage of a fireworks display. Such coverage is notoriously complex to accomplish with lowlatency but was achieved using the Hybrid Encoding Technology built into the Dejero kit.
MBC broadcasts COVID-19 special with TVU Networks’ Live Contribution Technology
Munhwa Broadcasting Corp. (MBC), South Korea’s second-largest broadcaster used three integrated remote production technologies from TVU Networks to bring in 64 guests via remotes for a special COVID-19 broadcast. MBC relied upon the TVU Anywhere mobile broadcasting app, TVU Partyline cloud-based videoconferencing platform, and TVU Receivers to support remote contribution; integration of live shots into the program; and real-time, interactive communication among hosts and guests. Guests on the program used the TVU Anywhere app on their smartphones and other digital devices from their remote locations, while MBC producers used the broadcaster’s TVU Receivers to take in and manage those shots.
disguise endorses Mo-Sys’ StarTracker for XR
Mo-Sys Engineering, the world leader in precision camera tracking solutions for virtual production and image robotics, announced that its partner disguise has a number of customers and partners adopting StarTracker technology for XR and virtual production. disguise customers have been adopting StarTracker systems with disguise xR technology, and disguise has seen strong demand in the fast-growing APAC market for the combined solution. StarTracker is Mo-Sys’s precision 6-axis camera and lens tracking system, designed for use with XR stages, LED volumes, and green/blue screens, for broadcast or for film VFX production. Along with real-time photo-realistic
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At the MBC studio, TVU Receivers decoded all incoming TVU Anywhere streams. The receivers gave the studio complete control over the TVU Anywhere transmissions and made it possible to integrate them into the show. Located in an MBC sub-control room, the receivers fed their SDI output into the inputs of the broadcaster’s routing switcher. Producers in the production control room accessed those sources from their production switcher to take guests to air as required.
graphics, and real-time compositing, these three technologies have enabled the current explosion in virtual production for both VFX-heavy feature films, television series, and sports production. Virtual production, according to multiple industry reports, is set to grow substantially throughout 2021. Key cost savings over traditional production workflows include savings on locations, as these can be scanned using photogrammetry techniques and recreated as highly detailed real-time 3D environments. In addition, by capturing VFX shots in-camera, post-production compositing is either reduced or removed entirely.
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PEOPLE
Discovery, Inc. promotes Lynn Ng to Vice President, Head of Content, Asia Pacific Discovery, Inc. announced the promotion of Lynn Ng to Vice President, Head of Content, Asia Pacific. In this role, Lynn will continue to spearhead the region’s Content Strategy and Acquisitions, as well as Content Curation, Media Planning and Creative.
Lynn joined Discovery in 2002 and has been involved in the evolution of Discovery’s portfolio of products and content offerings, starting when Discovery pioneered non-fiction original productions out of the Asia Pacific, where she executive produced several award-winning series for Animal Planet.
Lynn Ng
The Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific announces leadership team
Jessica Kam-Engle
The Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific announced a number of executive appointments regarding the APAC leadership team for the Company’s Media and Entertainment Distribution segment, which includes direct-toconsumer, studio distribution, media networks, and content distribution businesses across the region. All these roles report to Luke Kang, president, The Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific with immediate effect. A new appointment on the APAC leadership team is Jessica KamEngle, who joins as Head of Content & Development, APAC and will lead the Company’s initiatives to deliver worldclass, locally relevant original content across the Asia Pacific region. Content & Development teams in each APAC market will report to Jessica as well as their respective in-market leaders and will be responsible for developing, producing, and acquiring content to expand the Company’s direct-toconsumer offerings.
The following appointments to the APAC Tom Oh is newly appointed as General leadership team reporting to Mr. Kang were Manager and Representative Director, also announced: The Walt Disney Company Korea. Vineet Puri is newly appointed as General Market leaders: Manager, The Walt Disney Company Indonesia. Kylie Watson-Wheeler remains Managing Director, The Walt Disney Company Mr. Kang will continue to manage Australia/New Zealand and will also take Mainland China directly. on expanded dual responsibility as Head of ESPN & National Geographic, APAC. Business leaders: Carol Choi remains Managing Director and Representative Director, The Walt Disney Company Japan and will also take on expanded dual responsibility as Head of Franchise Marketing, APAC.
Jay Trinidad expands his remit as General Manager, Direct-to-Consumer, APAC.
John Hsu expands his remit as General Manager, Studio Distribution, APAC (including Theatrical, Music & Live David Shin expands his remit as General Entertainment) and will continue to have Manager, The Walt Disney Company direct responsibility for the business in in Taiwan/Hong Kong and Southeast Mainland China. Asia (excluding Indonesia) with dual responsibility as Head of Media Networks, Angela Wang expands her remit as APAC. General Manager, Content Sales, APAC and will continue to have direct responsibility for the business in Mainland China. Following the successful launch of Disney+ Hotstar Indonesia and Disney+ Singapore and laying the foundation for future direct-to-consumer strategy across Southeast Asia, Amit Malhotra will take on a new role as the Head of Commercial Development, APAC. Amit will report directly to Luke and advise on key commercial deals across the region. David Shin
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C-SUITE
Television Asia Plus (TVA): As a seasoned entrepreneur in various industries such as trading and food processing, what motivated you to make the jump into the media industry with Biiggbang Amusement? Sudip Mukherjee (SM): I have been in the media industry for a long time. I produced a few films like Sweater and Archie in Bengali, and Salt, which was a Hindi film with A-listers. What really motivated me in life is ‘content’. We all know that in India, content is one of the biggest pillars that attracts the audience, and given my interest and experience in the field, I came up with the idea of launching Biiggbang Amusement.
TVA: Who are the owners or stakeholders behind Biiggbang Amusement?
Sudip Mukherjee: Creating a Biiggbang in the Indian OTT space By Monina Eugenio Entrepreneur Sudip Mukherjee has worn many hats. His career spans two decades across leadership and management roles in leading startups in various industries such as trading and food processing. Sudip is making a jump into the media industry with a brand-new OTT service dubbed Biiggbang Amusement. Launched in January, the service offers compelling stories in short-form content delivered through seamless online entertainment. To anyone who isn’t familiar, the media industry runs in the family. Sudip is related to Bidhayak Bhattacharya, the writer of hit Bengali films Deya Neya, Dhuli, and Bhranti Bilash. Sudip has also produced a few films such as the Bengali film Sweater and Archie and the Hindi film Salt.
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SM: Along with me being the CEO, we have Biiggbang’s co-founder Mr. Shrikant Agarwal, a chartered accountant having a decade of experience in the industry. There are a few other big names from the industry who are already associated with the company’s board which we will be announcing soon.
TVA: What is the level of investment in USD that you are planning for content acquisition? SM: Our investment plan for the next three to four months is around $10 million to $15 million dollars while we are also planning to invest about $80 million to $100 million in the coming year.
TVA: With many OTT players in India, what sets Biiggbang Amusement apart from its competitors? SM: Biiggbang Amusement has identified various existing gaps for audiences in the digital entertainment space that nobody has filled. We are looking to bridging that gap with our premium short-form content as well as films with an upper limit of 120 minutes, par-excellent technology and interface, and a disrupting introduction of a subscription model that stands at only Rs 1, making it affordable for everyone—from students, homemakers and to working professionals.
TVA: Who are competitors?
Biiggbang
Amusement’s
direct
SM: Biiggbang is creating its own space. We are coming up with a format that isn’t primarily dominant at this moment yet, but it is the future. People will have access to more snackable content along with short films and web series in more than 20 languages in the coming days. We don’t see a direct competition with the other OTT platforms, as we are coming up with a distinct format. We are also projecting ourselves as a family entertainment OTT service focusing on teenagers and the type of content we are coming up with is slightly different from what is available online at the moment.
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TVA: Can you tell us more about Biiggbang Amusement’s foray into streaming shortform content? Why did you choose this format? SM: Shorter formats are available in other entertainment categories and are extremely popular today. Cricket is an excellent example of the same. As mentioned, there is a gap that we have identified for the audiences in the OTT industry. Time is a crucial factor at present, as we believe that not everyone has the time to binge-watch 10 long episodes in one go for four to five hours. We have observed that typically, sequels do not happen to enjoy the same popularity as the first season, and interest levels tend to shoot down thereafter. We want to give the Indian youth the kind of entertainment they are looking for without demanding much of their time. For the majority of the audience, content is like a snack that they can consume during breaks and then back to their chores or routine. Shorter format content is the future of entertainment as it lets the audience consume more in less time.
TVA: In what ways are you expecting Biiggbang Amusement to grow in the coming months?
TVA: In terms of content, what can viewers expect to see more of? SM: We are bringing in content from across genres and languages. You can anticipate immersive content from the North East and Nepali language on our platform as well. We have engaging content across the most arresting genres including thrillers, drama, comedy, and sci-fi, among others. We have collaborated with big directors and actors ad we promise to deliver endearing content to audiences across ages and geographies.
TVA: How many hours of content is Biiggbang Amusement rolling out in the next three months? SM: We plan to roll out about 125 to 130 hours of content in the next three months.
TVA: Can you list any content deals or partnerships that you will be associated with? SM: We are in talks with leading content platforms and advertising partners to crack interesting deals and partnerships which we will be announcing soon.
SM: Our best-in-class technology is the backbone of Biiggbang Amusement. We also have huge marketing plans and tie-ups in place. We are in talks with various distribution platforms as well to increase our presence. We have our teams in place who are dedicated to driving users to our platform from day one.
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March - April 2021 Television Asia Plus
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C-SUITE
Television Asia Plus (TVA): In your new role as SVP of International Programming at A+E Networks, what is in the pipeline to further expand the company’s global programming services? Liz Soriano (LS): Despite the impact of COVID on production throughout the past year, A+E’s pipeline has remained robust, enabling us to enter the market with a competitive catalogue featuring a volume of ongoing franchises, new series, and documentaries across all of our successful genres. One thing we’re very proud of is that, domestically and abroad, all of our brands and channels have established clear identities. For example, the History brand has earned its reputation as a continual hit-maker in factual entertainment, with its shows in the skills, and thrills, artifactual. Unsolved history, UFO, and core history spaces. We’ve bee n fortunate to be able to partner with incredible name talent to our shows who share our passion in all things history. The spring catalogue features series with Tim Allen, Laurence Fishburne, Morgan Freeman, and William Shatner, just to name a few.
A+E Networks’ Liz Soriano helps to deliver factual programming at its finest By Monina Eugenio An accomplished media industry veteran with 30 years under her belt, A+E Networks’ Liz Soriano has helped to build A+E into a world-class provider of content and a top creator of global IP. One of Liz’s contributions to A+E Networks included the launch of the Lifetime Movie Network Channel in Australia in September 2020 and her involvement with HISTORY U.S. on the international co-production with Hulu Japan on the documentary Hiroshima: 75 Years Later. Apart from these achievements, Liz is also a champion of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the workplace where she serves as a member of A+E Networks’ Multicultural Advisory Council and Employee Resource Group Advisory Council. In January, Steve McDonald, the President of Global Licensing & International at A+E Networks announced Liz’s promotion to Senior Vice President of International Programming. Liz talked to Television Asia Plus on A+E Networks’ expansion of its global programming services, what we can expect in terms of content slate, and more.
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As for Lifetime, it continues its commitment to movies and series for women. Globally, the popularity of Lifetime continues to grow, thanks to its fulsome movie slate, and super entertaining series in the real love and relationships space, as well as relevant justice for women specials.
TVA: What does A+E have in store for the next coming quarters in terms of programming? LS: From The History Channel, Laurence Fishburne and Morgan Freeman are hosts of new series called History’s Greatest Mysteries and Great Escapes, respectively. Actor and comedian Tim Allen is reunited with his Home Improvement co-star Richard Karn on a new, invention competition format called Assembly Required, and the legendary William Shatner is back for a new season of The UnXplained. We’re also excited to premiere the next instalment of The Food that Built America and the return of Modern Marvels. In addition to some fantastic, edge-of-your-seat thrillers, Lifetime will soon introduce the latest chapter in our V.C. Andrews book adaptation, the four-part Ruby Landry series, following the massive success of 2019’s Casteel Family saga. We are also super excited about a number of Lifetime projects fueled by strong, diverse talent including Wendy Williams and Vivica Fox. A+E has plenty in store, especially for the insatiable global crime and investigation audience: the latest seasons of Nightwatch and The First 48, new spinoffs The First 48: Critical Minutes and Court Cam: Under Oath, the return of Cold Case Files, and a brand-new series called I Survived a Crime which features harrowing stories about people who were victims of crimes and how they lived to tell their tales. Also, under our Biography Presents umbrella, this year we have incredible, nostalgic and revealing documentaries on the Osbourne family and the legendary band KISS, among others. We will also be unveiling some new series in the big character space, stay tuned.
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TVA: Can you please tell us more about your involvement in the recent launch of the Lifetime Movie Network channel in Australia? LS: Our longtime partner, Foxtel, was interested in launching a Lifetime Movie Network on their services. It was a natural fit, and we were able to offer them an untapped portfolio of content to serve their audience’s needs. A+E Networks is set to premiere The Food That Built America.
TVA: How do you plan to further A+E Networks’ growth as a top creator of global IP? LS: Both in the US and globally, A+E is committed to keeping its factual and movie pipeline strong. Our international channels are constantly building localised expressions of our brands through their own regional adaptations of our popular series. For example, in Latin America we have Spanish-language adaptations of Forged in Fire and The UnXplained, featuring stories and characters from the region. Across Asia, our channels continue to develop their own original slates and invest in original productions with local appeal and international export potential. In Korea, A+E will debut a handful of local original unscripted entertainment series this year, as well as daytime studio-style projects. Japan is investing heavily in original mega-docs, while Southeast Asia recently came out with a timely and relevant documentary on the COVID crises.
A+E’s brand new series I Survived a Crime features harrowing stories of people who were victims of crimes and how they lived to tell their tales.
TVA: As someone who supports Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) in the workplace, what have you done so far as a member of A+E’s Multicultural Advisory Council and Employee Resource Group Advisory Council? LS: Over the past year, A+E has really amplified its commitment to positively impacting DEI in the workplace, in our content and in our communities. We have all been charged to improve the way we run our businesses and put DEI into active practice in everything we do. For example, our Multicultural Advisory Council regularly reviews and advises on programs, promos, and other content to ensure they are inclusive and appropriate, and we also offer ideas on other creative and editorial to further enhance our brands’ programming slates. We meet monthly but also review content as needed. It’s been a full and busy year of good work in this service.
Laurence Fishburne is the host of the upcoming series History’s Greatest Mysteries on The History Channel.
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As for the Employee Resource Group Advisory Council, this is a team responsible for creating peer-led community spaces for A+E employees. Among the many of these community groups that will launch this year, is ACE— the Asian Community Excellence ERG, which will bring together employees of East Asian, Southeast Asian, South Asian, Pacific Islander and Middle Eastern descent (and their allies) to educate, celebrate, empower, support, and promote Asian cultures. In fact, this is happening in real-time with urgency given the recent issues of violence that have affected the AAPI community in the US. With the full support of the senior leadership team at A+E, we have chosen action and not just lip service to making a real DEI impact.
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COVER STORY
Proudly Asian: A look at five of Asia’s best homegrown streaming platforms By Monina Eugenio Every month, various kinds of content are being pushed by production outfits, distributors, and media platforms, giving today’s consumers a plethora of content to choose from. Now that the world is already a year into the COVID pandemic, it’s undeniable that a lot of tech-savvy individuals are opting to stay home turning to their phones, tablets, and laptops to binge-watch content served up by media platforms, especially, streaming platforms. “In Asia, the growth of online streaming platforms has been driven by evolving
technologies supported by the growing proliferation of high-speed internet, connected devices, and cloud technologies,” said Hrushikesh Mahananda, a Senior Analyst of Telecoms Market Data and Intelligence at GlobalData. Hrushikesh added that rising broadband access and smartphone penetration, as well as the growing middle class and a tech-savvy population, have led to the growth of online streaming platforms particularly music, video, particularly live TV and over-the-top (OTT) media
and short videos. This has resulted in consumers opting for internet streaming platforms over the traditional medium, owing to the rich and diverse original content. In addition, Hrushikesh said that the rollout of 5G networks in emerging markets will further aid the growth of online streaming services by offering a seamless streaming experience to consumers.
What Asia is streaming MOST POPULAR ASIAN STREAMING PLATFORMS
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PLAYER
GEOGRAPHICAL PRESENCE
NETFLIX
APAC
Paid memberships in the APAC region accounted for 25.5 million subscribers
DISNEY+ HOTSTAR
India, Indonesia, Singapore (Launched as Hotstar)
24 million paid subscribers as of 2 December 2020
ALT BALAJI
India
2.5 million paid subscribers as of 16 January 2020 More than 1.7 million active direct subscribers Over 8.5 million monthly active users
ZEE5
India Presence in 190+ countries across the world (except markets like China and the United States)
35 million cumulative subscribers. As of December, 2020 its global MAUs and DAUs stood at 65.9 million and 5.4 million, respectively, in December 2020
SONYLIV
India, Pakistan Presence in 16 markets across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
VIU (RANKED NO 1 IN TERMS OF NUMBER OF USERS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA)
Presence in 16 markets across Asia, Africa and the Middle East. In APAC: Hong Kong, Singapore, India Indonesia (1.5 million, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines)
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KEY FACTORS
45 million monthly active users 5.3 million paid subscribers in 2020 14 million monthly active users in Southeast Asia (According to AMPD Research)
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PLAYER
GEOGRAPHICAL PRESENCE
KEY FACTORS
IQIYI
Everywhere via iq.com
119 million paid subscribers as of March 2020
V LIVE
China, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam
IFLIX
Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Brunei, Maldives, Myanmar, Pakistan, Vietnam, Nepal, Cambodia and Bangladesh
25 million subscribers
TENCENT VIDEO/WETV
China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam
112 million paid subscribers as of Q1 2020
*Source: GlobalData
As streaming services offer better content and a friendlier user experience, one can’t help but wonder what kind of content Asia is streaming right now. According to Hrushikesh, there are four types of content that are popular among Asian viewers: local content, original content, live sports, and live streaming. For local content, Hrushikesh said that the Asian market is diverse and web streaming service providers are continuously aiming to offer a varied range of exclusive and original content across multiple languages, which has been a major hit among consumers in the region. Hrushikesh said, “OTT players focus on market-specific language content to win subscribers.” An example of this is Viu, which offers content in over 10 languages and is perceived to be the hub for Asian content due to its library of Korean dramas targeted at Asian audiences. Recent titles such as True Beauty and Mr. Queen are two of the top-ranking titles in Southeast Asia, and it’s interesting to note that Korean content has also garnered great interest among Indian millennials. Meanwhile, original content is seen facebook-f TVAPlusMag | twitter TVAsiaPLus | linkedin-in television-asia-plus
as a growth driver in all streaming service providers, and OTT players are continuously investing on the creation of original content production to offer to Asian audiences. Hrushikesh noted, “Netflix plans to double its investment for original content in the Asian region in 2021. Regional viewership for Korean content quadrupled in 2020, and Japanese anime doubled year-overyear, which are some of the main drivers attributing Netflix’s growth in the region.” Live sports is another popular content streamed across Asia. Hrushikesh said, “Live sports has always been the magnetic power across all distribution platforms and streaming service providers are investing heavily for sports rights.” An example of this is Hotstar in India, which streamed the Cricket World Cup in 2019, while Tencent in China included live NBA basketball games as part of its content portfolio. Also attracting the demand among younger viewers in the region is live streaming. Various platforms are offering local and original content offerings in Hindi, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, which is seen to drive consumption and attract the Asian audience market.
ASIAN HOMEGROWN STREAMING PLATFORMS HAVE THEIR SAY Dimsum Entertainment
Malaysian-based Dimsum Entertainment, which offers video-on-demand services currently operates in Malaysia, Brunei, and Singapore. Lam Swee Kim, Chief Marketing Officer of Dimsum Entertainment said that the company constantly has new content offerings as they have partnered with SBS in Korea, SETTV in Taiwan, Huace in China, and Shemaroo on Demand in India to provide more varieties to their current offerings. The platform has also incorporated linear news partners such as Channel News Asia and Al Jazeera, as well as offering bite-size content that comes in the form of news and lifestyle. The brand has been working closely with its telco partners to create brand March - April 2021 Television Asia Plus
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COVER STORY
Yanxi Palace and its Lights On franchise that houses unconventional noir-style suspense dramas such as Bad Kids and the NextGen variety show and international breakout hit, Youth With You 2.
awareness and affordable packages to drive subscriptions. Lam shared, “We have partners like Huawei Video where Dimsum Entertainment is made available to Huawei devices. This collaboration has so far been effective and fruitful. In 2021, a new partner, Maxis TV, will be bundling our content with their mobile data packages.” The service also has affiliate partners where it jointly runs promotions for subscription drives, namely Visa, HSBC, and Bonuslink.
Zhang shared that the year ahead will be an exciting one for iQiyi with many firsts coming up in the next few quarters. Youth With You 3, which began streaming in February, now gives the chance for international iQiyi users to vote for their favourite contestants to engage their international audiences. iQiyi will also premiere Ferryman: Legends of Nanyang this year which stars its VIP ambassador Lawrence Wong and local actors like Qi Yu Wu and Jeanette Aw. Apart from these, iQiyi is also strengthening its Korean slate with two Korean dramas––Jirisan starring Jun Ji-hyun and Ju Ji-hoon and My Roommate is a Gumiho starring Jang Ki-Young and Hye Ri.
Staying true to providing the best Asian content to the market, Dimsum Entertainment has successfully created and built the Thai wave when Thai content wasn’t available to the regions they operate in. Lam said, “We saw the opportunity in their offerings and starting building hype on Thai dramas since 2018. To date, we offer the largest Thai dramas in Malaysia and Singapore, and we have gone further to bring Thai artists for their first showcase in Malaysia in 2019.” In terms of content, Dimsum Entertainment has added education titles as well. Lam shared, “With COVID-19, e-tuition is becoming the norm. There is a need for a safe environment where parents can feel stress-free on unsolicited advertising served to their child. Our education vertical features content starting from preschool and follows the national curriculum for primary and secondary schools. The format allows students to study at their own pace and choose which subjects to study and replay if they miss out any points rather than being forced to keep pace in a live online classroom.” • My Husband In Law (Thailand) • The Crown Princess (Thailand) • Deceitful Love (Thailand) • The Twin Flower Legend (China) • Ming Dynasty (China) • Love of Thousand Years (China)
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Zhang said, “iQiyi’s international expansion is happening at an interesting time. The streaming industry is fragmented with multiple players and a fickle audience. In an increasingly competitive space, a challenging aspect is a high cost to licensing and original production, especially Korean content.”
iQiyi iQiyi, who is spearheading innovative content, aims to be the home of beloved Asian content. Zhang Minsi, Director of Content Marketing at iQiyi International said that the company’s focus is to build a great slate of content, both original and licensed. The platform has been successful in establishing niches such as period costume romance dramas like Story of
iQiyi promises to compete by going the extra mile for the shows that they bring to their international platform, such as A+E Networks’ Backstreet Rookie. Zhang shared: “We promise Korean producers that when they choose to put content on our service and make it available to watch, what iQiyi does would be to position it as one of our leading titles with marketing campaigns and influencers promoting it internationally.” Zhang noted that amid the surging interest in streaming entertainment services around the world, global
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players continue to garner major attention while more local and regional players seek to establish themselves as homegrown heroes. She added, “iQiyi’s international ambitions straddle these two arenas: simultaneously seeking to be a truly global service while retaining our credibility as an entertainment leader born and bred in Asia.” • Jirisan • Youth With You 3 • My Roommate is a Gumiho
Derek Tan, Co-Founder of Viddsee said that they take pride in making, discovering, and highlighting new stories that resonate with fellow film lovers. He said, “As our platform matured, we began to better understand what local audiences wanted through the audience and engagement data, which in turn, helped us to deliver and create content that our audiences are more likely to engage with.”
Viddsee Original comedy that was previously an exclusive on Indonesiabased MAXstream. • Adulting • Outside The Box
When it comes to retaining and gaining new audiences, Derek believes that one of the key factors of engaging the audience is by offering something new. With its commitment to curating and delivering short films submitted by filmmakers, along with the establishment of Viddsee Studios in 2017, the platform is able to deliver a new Viddsee Original short film, series or documentary each week.
Viddsee Specialising in short premium content, Viddsee was founded in 2013 by passionate filmmakers as a way to discover and connect through films. Boasting a library of 5,000 short films, series, and documentaries, Viddsee has something new to watch for everyone.
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Derek said, “Newness isn’t the only factor; a large part of Viddsee’s uniqueness and appeal to new audiences is our focus on local content and community engagement.” He shared that Viddsee’s content often comes from storytellers who are passionate about a subject, which draws in a particular community. Derek cited examples of recent projects such as Outside The Box which focused on how Design Thinking was used to improve local Singaporean businesses, providing a way for local entrepreneurs to engage with them; and Kat & Fish, a comedic mini-series poking fun at influencer culture that was shown on TikTok to draw in a younger audience. On the content front, Derek shared several upcoming projects on Viddsee. The platform will continue to push out more content from Viddsee Originals, as well as the roll-out of the fourth season of Scene City, the world’s largest short film anthology with 40 short films by the end of the year. There’s also Unscripted Man, a popular
Viu Staying attuned to local audiences is at the heart of what Viu does. Janice Lee, CEO of Viu and Managing Director of PCCW Media Group said that Viu invests in talent and operations in every market that they operate in and is backed up by data analytics based on user engagement and interactions with their service. She explains, “This enables us to make better decisions in our content development and more precisely acquiring and creating premium original content with our Viuers in mind.” Viu invests in stories that focus on three areas such as local adaptations of globally acclaimed shows like Pretty Little Liars (Indonesia-Malaysia), creating original Asian productions such as Zodiac (Egypt), and innovating new production concepts such as Voice in the Rain (Thailand).
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COVER STORY
Apart from this, Viu is focused on offering highly-anticipated, simulcast and first-on-Viu Korean content. Janice cited examples such as 11 Korean dramas that were showcased in February and March such as River Where The Moon Rises, The Penthouse 2, Times, Mouse, L.U.C.A: The Beginning, Dear. M, Great Real Estate, Summer Guys, Love Scene Number, Breakup Probation, A Week and Beyond Evil. By executing these strategies, Viu saw fruitful results in December 2020 when the service achieved 45 million MAU (monthly active users) and paid subscriber growth of 47% to 5.3 million. In addition to these, Viu is number one in terms of the number of users and ranked second in both paid subscribers and streaming minutes amongst major video streaming platforms in Southeast Asia, according to the latest Media Partners Asia report. To stand out in the market, Viu has developed a robust model with dual revenue streams based on a free/ advertising-supported tier as well as a premium subscription, allowing the platform to be accessible to users while monetising video views and minutes from year one while the SVOD market was building up. Janice said, “At Viu, we’ve always been strategic in our approach to content. Our content acquisition and Viu Original productions are based on data insights from behavioural clustering and rich metadata, such as scene and actors, and this has served us well.” Always on the lookout for opportunities that best fit the interest of Viu’s online audience, Janice shared, “We continue to deepen our penetration in some of our fastest-growing markets such as Thailand and Indonesia, which continue to present huge market potential. We will selectively assess
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new markets if they make sense for our business.” • Luca The Beginning • Dear M • The Penthouse
ZEE5 Global Boasting a massive library of 130,000 hours of content featuring a range of languages, categories and genres, ZEE’’s offerings appeal to people across different language communities and demographics. Archana Anand, Chief Business Officer at ZEE5 Global said, “We always look to address our consumers not as a whole but each as a segment of one so that they’re constantly engaged through targeted communication, and this is driven through deep personalisation and recommendations on the back of our extensive analytics.” Touted as the only global OTT platform that offers the largest bouquet of content across South Asia, ZEE5 Global is home to a Bollywood and regional movie library attracting not just South Asia but mainstream audiences across markets. Archana shared that the platform also has a strong slate of Pakistani and Bangladeshi content including Originals that have found global audiences like Mainker Chipay, WTFry, and Churails. In terms of the challenges of the business, Archana said that as prolific creators of content, driving awareness about ZEE5 Global’s new launches and content library among consumers in a crowded market is a challenge and it’s something that they are constantly improving on. Archana shared, “The distribution and marketing partnerships we have in place in all key markets also play a critical role in driving targeted visibility and awareness about our content including latest releases.” She added that apart from these, ZEE5 Global is working with the bestin-class technology to improve its content discovery on the platform itself. Speaking on genres, Archana said that ZEE5 Global’s most popular genres include drama, romance, thriller, and action, and said that they
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are exploring newer genres and formats as well. She added, “Our focus is to bring our audiences the best stories from across borders, and we see both the content creator communities and audiences across markets becoming much more experimental with content storylines and formats, and that’s what we are bringing on to our platform.” • Lahore Confidential • Nail Polish
Streaming for the future As Asia’s homegrown streaming platforms aim to deliver more compelling content to their target audience, it comes as no surprise that COVID-19 has played a role in transforming consumer streaming habits. Digital adoption has increased dramatically across all sectors, becoming more vital than ever and is likely to give consumers a new digital environment for years to come, Hrushikesh noted. With the ease of use and obtaining access to a pool of desired and varied content, more and more people throughout the Asia Pacific are spending more screen time hours at home consuming all forms of online streaming media, particularly, digital video. “There will be a shift in digital consumption as more people select video streaming platforms focused on niche groups. Content providers ought to buckle up for the likelihood of permanent shifts in consumer streaming patterns. Robust demand for a new stream of online entertainment will be witnessed soon where consumers might invest in upgrading their online streaming or home entertainment services,” Hrushikesh added.
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March - April 2021 Television Asia Plus
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ANALYSIS
Moving the media and entertainment industry to the cloud By Shweta Jain
Amazon Web Services (AWS) CTO, Werner Vogels recently predicted that this year, the cloud would become ubiquitous. In the media and entertainment (M&E) industry, as demand for content increases and consumers shift between platforms faster than ever, businesses have already embraced cloud technology, including the use of AI and machine learning, to enable remote production and distribution of content, providing an enhanced customer experience at scale. With cloud technology becoming accessible to businesses of all sizes, and customers demanding a seamless experience across platforms, media companies are now looking to unify their workflows for broadcast and digital. In doing so, these companies are achieving increased efficiencies across content acquisition and processing as well as in content distribution. As the benefits of cloudbased workflows become apparent during the pandemic, the use of cloud technology will last beyond it.
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Shweta Jain, APAC Media & Entertainment Business Development Manager, AWS
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Production workflows going virtual on the cloud M&E businesses needed a way to accelerate the production and delivery of new content as demand spiked during the pandemic. The creation of visual effects is resource-intensive, with artists needing dedicated, powerful workstations. However, because of social distancing, artists were unable to access the tools they needed to work. By using cloud-based virtual workstations for Visual Effects (VFX), animation, and video editing workflows, production studios can provide their artists with access to the computing power they need for creating images, rendering video, and storing assets. For example, using AWS, Method Melbourne, the Australian branch of global visual effects company Method Studios, was able to meet the demanding VFX requirements for the movie Jumanji: The Next Level. The company created 164 out of the 280 VFX shots the project required with the cloud, scaling up the render capacity of its internal, 10,000-core farm by four times. This cloud-based approach allowed artists to explore more creative iterations with faster rendering while helping the company control its licensing costs. Going on the cloud Traditional M&E companies, including broadcasters, are now transforming to go beyond satellite and cable distribution to reach new audiences. These companies have adopted mobile streaming options and ondemand service models to distribute highly localized content, mirroring how OTT platforms operate. By adopting a single cloud platform for their OTT services, M&E companies can leverage prebuilt solutions that help speed up development, instead of coding from scratch. They can focus on content and marketing, while the cloud service provider manages storage, compute, and other infrastructure requirements.
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Because cloud solutions are scalable, businesses can provide high-quality digital experiences at scale, while only paying for the infrastructure in use with customer influxes. Businesses can also go global in minutes by ingesting video near the content owner and serving video close to the audience. The time to market for a product is vastly reduced, providing businesses with greater flexibility than they would have with on-premise infrastructure. As an example, Astro Malaysia started its digital transformation with AWS in 2017 and today has over 10 petabytes of its content on AWS. In 2020, the company launched an enhanced video experience for its subscribers using AWS Partner Synamedia’s Infinite solution on AWS, and its subscribers now have access to IP-enabled UHD set-top boxes with a new, enhanced UX as well as access to Synamedia Cloud DVR. Cloud technology has also changed the dynamics between companies in the M&E industry. Pay-TV and telecom operators are actively collaborating with OTT service providers—who are perceived as their competitors—to provide a combined, more compelling content offering to their audiences. Channel production and playout in the cloud Consumers today have the freedom to shift between platforms, including PC and mobile, faster than ever. There is also increased demand for localised content across these platforms.
Consumer expectations, including factors such as personalisation and latency, are at an all-time high. Using the cloud, broadcasters can deliver reliable, broadcast-quality video and offer world-class media experiences without the time, effort, and expense required to run specialized video equipment in a traditional data centre. Broadcasters now have the ability to launch and decommission live channels any time they want, making it possible to test new markets without worrying about the costs associated with such experiments in an on-premises environment. AWS partner Amagi, which offers cloud-based playout solutions, is now streaming 400 channels globally, up from the two linear channels it hosted in 2014. The company has added about 150 streaming channels in the last year alone. While pandemic-induced constraints forced many broadcasters to switch to remote live production in 2020, the industry is beginning to fully realize the reliability and scalability of cloud-based production. With the ability to leverage talent from anywhere in the world, while experimenting with new content formats and enhancing their audience reach, remote production capabilities are now a key part of an M&E business’ production strategy.
March - April 2021 Television Asia Plus
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FEATURE STORY
Disney+ is bringing the magic to Singapore
Hot shows and films to start watching now:
By Monina Eugenio On 23 February, Disney+ officially opened its virtual doors in Singapore, the first region in the market globally to launch the brand with all six iconic content brands including Disney, Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, National Geographic, and Star. Amit Malhorta, Regional Lead, Emerging Markets at The Walt Disney Company APAC said, “We are excited to officially introduce several distinguished titles that will soon be available in Singapore on Disney+ as we continue to deliver high-quality content and captivating stories, even on the small screens. From iconic Disney classics to brand-new features from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars galaxy, and to documentaries and dramas; we are advancing the subscription video-ondemand experience with an unparalleled catalogue of entertainment.”
Raya and The Last Dragon
Wanda Vision
The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers
Big Sky
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier
Grey’s Anatomy
(new weekly episodes, sameday launch as the U.S.)
International Women’s Day
Celebrate International Women’s Day with the many amazing women on Disney+
Offering an expansive selection of over 650 films and 15,000 episodes of content from The Walt Disney Company, Disney+ showcases its must-watch movies and shows this March:
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Mulan (2020)
Taylor Swift’s ‘Folklore:
Captain Marvel
Jane
Moana
Frozen 1 & 2
The long Pond Studio Sessions’
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Your favourite TV shows
Feel-good TV series to keep you company 24/7
The Mandalorian S1 & S2
Family movie night
Own The Room
Secrets of Sulphur Springs
Solar Opposites
Family Guy
The Simpsons
Gather the family for a night of Disney+
Flora & Ulysses
Black Beauty
Hamilton
Documentaries
#Throwback to the greatest moments from the 80s and 90s.
Maradona Confidential
The 80s Greatest
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The 90s The Last Great Decade?
March - April 2021 Television Asia Plus
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FEATURE STORY
GoQuest Media: Where East meets West By Monina Eugenio
GoQuest Media has enjoyed great success with its Ruby Ring series.
Mumbai-based GoQuest Media has grown exponentially since its inception in 2013. Beginning with the distribution of local content, the independent distributor has evolved as one of the leaders in the global entertainment landscape, specialising in the distribution of international dramas and scripted formats. Apart from Mumbai, GoQuest Media has established its footprint in the United Kingdom, Vietnam, and a local sales presence in Istanbul and Tel Aviv. The company is also aggressively expanding its reach in Southeast Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and European markets. Most recently, GoQuest Media struck a deal with Serbian telecommunications and cable TV operator Telekom Serbija in January 2021 for a distribution deal for Serbian spy thriller Civil Servant and mystery drama Debt to the Sea.
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In Asia, GoQuest Media has enjoyed great success with its Ruby Ring series, and the company has noticed a strong appetite for its catalogue content that fits more into the European premium content space. Meanwhile, the critically-acclaimed Rats has been well-received in Europe and the US. The series, which is based on a true story and made in collaboration with the Anti-Drug Centre of the Czech Republic, has piqued the interest of the company’s clients in Asia. Jimmy George, the Vice President of Sales and Acquisitions at GoQust Media tells Television Asia Plus that the company’s strategy has been focused on genres such as crime, thriller and romance. In the latter part of the year, GoQuest Media’s slate will expand to the comedy and family genres. Meanwhile, for unscripted formats, GoQuest Media plans to continue its strategy of cherry-picking the best from the game show and entertainment genres.
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Expansion markets
into
international
GoQuest Media has established its presence in Turkey for handling Turkish and Middle Eastern activities, as well as its Tel Aviv office handling business development in Europe and the United States, with plans of expansion to Latin America. Jimmy said, “We believe that much of our content will resonate with the Latin American TV audience, and the growth of digital platforms there makes it a perfect region for our territory-wide content strategy.” For instance, in December 2020, GoQuest Media concluded a package deal in the Hispanic television and media space with Olympusat. Part of the deal includes three Ukrainian drama series produced by Media Group Ukraine for romance dramas Eclipse, Secrets, and Rainflower. Apart from GoQuest Media’s expansion plans to Latin America, the content distributor is also planning to add the best-scripted dramas from local markets in Europe, allowing the company to give the best-licensed content from the world to its clients, along with remake titles. Moving forward, Jimmy said that GoQuest Media is working with some of its long-term content partners on co-production and co-development opportunities to bring some interesting concepts to the screen. In addition to this, Jimmy revealed plans of investing in the adaptation of their existing IP for local markets in Asia. Jimmy shared, “With our expanding catalogue, we see great opportunities for deals in markets like Japan, Korea, and Australia, especially within the developing streaming market.”
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The critically acclaimed Rats has been well-received in Europe and the US.
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TRENDING
Reimagining the future of Asia’s film, media, and entertainment sector By Arvind Neelakantan
The film, media, and entertainment sector experienced widespread disruption in 2020. The pandemic saw TV and film production halted and movie theatres shuttered, leading to billions in lost revenue for broadcasters and filmmakers. Though some level of production has since been allowed to resume, new safe management practices mean that the industry could be navigating the fallout of the pandemic for many years to come. Filmmakers and producers worldwide have risen to the challenge of adapting creative remote processes in their film and TV storytelling—a show of the industry’s unfettered determination and resilience to create, even amid ongoing restrictions. In 2020, high-profile shows such as The Mandalorian, Westworld, and His Dark
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Materials leveraged virtual production techniques in their filmmaking processes. In-camera visual effects (ICVFX) also grew in popularity around the globe as more filmmakers wove real-time visual effects into their production sets. As remote and virtual filmmaking techniques continue to gain traction, we expect to see more innovative projects in Asia this year, transforming how we create, communicate, and interact with audiences. Here are Epic Games’ top three predictions for the industry in 2021. More broadcasters will tap real-time for compelling engagement and education The number of film and TV projects utilizing the Unreal Engine software doubled in 2020 — an indication
of the industry’s keen interest in the technology, and growing adoption rates. Across the world, over 150 TV networks (from ESPN, Fox Sports, Aljazeera, MBC, CCTV and NHK) now leverage 3D real-time software in their programmes, a number that is only expected to rise. News broadcasters will leverage AR graphics and immersive mixed reality elements for daily news broadcasts. The Weather Channel (TWC), for example, has broken new grounds with its true-to-life visual depictions of dangerous weather phenomena such as hurricanes and floods. By plugging behavioural weather data into the Unreal Engine, TWC was able to provide viewers with an unprecedented simulation of extreme weather situations, while presenters (safe in the greenroom) explained the changes in the environment as they unfolded. The
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result is a visceral sense of what it would be like for viewers to experience the weather event first-hand, charting new ways to engage and inform audiences with realistic simulations. Furthermore, these segments were recorded live-totape, just a few hours before airtime, with little post-production required. More filmmakers play with AR and VR to create interactive movie experiences In 2021, more filmmakers will turn to AR and VR, leveraging the technology to flex their creative storytelling capabilities. For instance, Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), leveraged real-time virtual reality (VR) to produce a critically acclaimed documentary, Meeting You, to reconnect a grieving mother with her deceased daughter. The first of its kind, the film illustrated how technology could be used as a powerful storytelling asset, inciting important conversation around our shared human experiences. This is just the tip of the iceberg in exploring how the media and entertainment industry can leverage XR to innovate. As more professionals now look to explore and incorporate the power of real-time in their productions, we believe that we will begin to see the technology embraced as a core tenet to creative storytelling, rather than a mere tool in the process. Virtual event experiences will evolve to be as engaging as real-life events or more In 2021, immersive, personalized, and virtual entertainment experiences will be the name of the game. The pandemic’s in-person restrictions have made it impossible to produce live attendance concerts, shows, and other events. As a result, we have seen a boom in the virtual entertainment sphere, with people seeking out online the up-close experiences they can no longer have in real life. Many event organisers have added a real-time twist to their events to enhance viewer experiences at home.
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This includes the spectacular XR environment for League of Legends Worlds 2020, MLB stadiums filled with virtual fans, or zeitgeisty festivals like Burning Man. We predict that this trend is set to persist well into 2021 and beyond, as creators refine virtual entertainment offerings to provide ever-more engaging shared digital experiences. In Asia, Korean digital media production studio GIANTSTEP Inc. is reimagining the virtual concert experience with Beyond Live AR concerts and SM Entertainment’s k-pop boybands, NCT127, SuperM and SuperJunior— complete with hyper-realistic graphics and virtual stage sets that draw livestream audiences in. Similarly, Japanese creative studio, Rhizomatiks, leveraged real-time to develop a virtual multimedia experience for Ryuichi Sakamoto’s live concert, enhancing both the performance and viewer experience. These projects showcase the novel and innovative ways we can reimagine the live entertainment experience. Where direct-to-consumer streaming is on the rise, virtual entertainment experiences also present fresh ways of engaging and involving audiences (even over a screen). We expect to see
continued interest and adoption in this area, especially as live entertainment experiences are unlikely to see a return to pre-pandemic normalcy anytime soon. With real-time workflows developing apace across the film, media, and entertainment industry, one thing is certain—it’s an incredibly exciting time for the industry to pivot with new ways of content creation. Regardless of whether you’re a filmmaker wanting to express your creativity in exciting new ways, or an entrepreneur looking to leverage new potential business opportunities, virtual production should be in your toolbox. We believe that the growing adoption of virtual production will create new opportunities for everyone—and with the cutting-edge innovations from virtual production companies today, it isn’t hard to envision entire industries cropping up alongside these technological advancements. We hope that you’ve been inspired by the possibilities and are now thinking of ways to leverage virtual production across the work that you are already doing, or newer projects in the pipeline. We are just beginning to discover the possibilities this game changing technology can present, and we could not be more excited to see what you’ll create when you join our community!
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TRADESHOW HKFILMART
Hong Kong International Film and TV Market features best-in-class content from around the world By Monina Eugenio
The Hong Kong International Film and TV Market (FILMART Online) is set to take place virtually from 15 to 18 March 2021. Organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the second virtual run of FILMART features a wide range of film and TV productions and connects major players from the global film and TV industries, creating new business opportunities through a unique online platform. Apart from giving the opportunity for industry professionals to connect, FILMART Online will also host a number of webinars covering a wide range of themes and topics relevant to the industry. The speakers include: • Saurabh Doshi, Director for Entertainment Partnerships, Asia Pacific at Facebook, will speak on Facebook Watch’s global and Asia Pacific consumption trends and how Facebook can help content creators and publishers in the region; • Kaichen Li, Head of WeTV and iflix at Tencent, will shed light on the two companies’ market priorities, content and brand positioning and how they forge pan-regional partnerships to bring their content to the rest of the world; • Ali Hussein, CEO of Eros Now, will share the company’s global expansion roadmap, original content strategy and the application of technological innovations on its platform. Other speakers will include Lester Hu, Head of Formats & International Business at Hunan TV; Sakti
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Parantean, Co-Managing Director, Fremantle Indonesia; Kuen-bum Lee, Director of Global Business at Munhwa Broadcasting Corp.; Kuek Yu-Chuang, Vice President for International Business, iQIYI; David Simonsen, SVP of business and Digital Distribution, Asia, Warner Media; Kazufumi Nagasawa, Managing Director & Chief Content Officer, Hulu Japan; Ruby Chen, Co-Founder and CEO, CNEX; Rudy Buttingol, President & CEO, Knowledge Network Corporation; and Vikram Channa, Vice President, Head of Content & Products for East and South East Asia, Discovery, Inc.
Content Online
offerings
at
FILMART
This year’s FILMART Online gathers around 600 exhibitors and over 6,000 industry representatives. Exhibitors such as Mainichi Broadcasting Corp. (MBC), (insert others here) are set to promote their content to potential buyers.
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Mainichi Broadcasting System, Inc.
Three Star Bar in Nishi Ogikubo Drama, Food/Cooking
Synopsis: With good cocktails and canned food, three men give encouragement and a gentle push on the back to those who are experiencing some hardship.
Captivated, By You Drama
Synopsis: Based on the original manga that became hugely popular on Twitter and Pixiv, Captivated, By You tells the silly and asinine daily lives of high school boys. It gives a detailed view of boys who go to a school that combines junior high and high school--a fleeting surreal page of youth.
Deliveries from the Heart - True Stories from Mercari Drama
Synopsis: People sell items they no longer need and people buy those items. This is a touching drama of people connecting with one another through those sentimental items.
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Winsing Animation GG Bond
Kids, animation Synopsis: A thrilling show targeted at 4 to 8-year-olds in which one hero, a superpowered piglet, fights numerous threats to his world with the help of his friends. This year, Winsing Animation starts a new theme in the undersea world–– Undersea Wonders and Undersea Journey, which helps boost kids’ undersea knowledge.
GOGOBUS Kids, animation
Synopsis: An animated kids’ series for 2- to 5-year-olds based on Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), revolves around an AI school bus that can transform into several different vehicles to protect the children’s safety.
Team S.T.E.A.M.!
Kids, animation
Synopsis: Made up of six amazing kids who each use a different STEAM-based area of expertise to solve the problems they face.
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TRADESHOW MIPTV
Digital MIPTV: Presenting fresh content from around the world
From 12 to 16 April, the Digital MIPTV will take place virtually as major studios participate in Spring’s biggest annual content showcase. Built on MIPTV’s promise of discovery, connection, and inspiration, this year’s programme will feature exclusive market intelligence and insights; first look factual, documentary, and drama showcases; as well as high-profile keynotes from Marc Anthony, David Beckham, and The Crown producer Suzanne Mackie.
addition of two new Fresh TV sessions focusing on young adult content and esports, podcasts, and brands; Factual and Documentary Showcase; Formats Accelerator, where five major formats companies present an in-depth look at their most compelling upcoming format in development; and MIPDrama, a premium drama showcase that offers international buyers an exclusive first-look at 12 anticipated series in production around the world.
This year, MIPTV’s content showcases include Fresh TV, which features the latest programming trends from around the world for formats, fiction, and kids, along with the
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TRADESHOW MIPTV
Featured content at Digital MIPTV Media Ranch Media Ranch President & Founder Sophie Ferron announced that the company is launching several new formats for MIPTV. Among its offerings is Fish Bingo, a live interactive game format on fishing where 90 fishermen/women, each wearing a number go fish while a live TV audience plays bingo using those numbers; Here’s Your Hit, a music entertainment programme exploring what makes a hit; and Mom, He’s A Dane, a factual program highlighting the many challenges migrant families face in a new country, especially when dating local, outside of their own community. Fish Bingo
Something Special The Seoul-based international format agency’s MIP catalogue features both unscripted and scripted formats. For the first time, Something Special will be representing KBS’ music competition formats such as HITSMASH, which invites musicians to take an original song and mash it with another musicians’ original song, breathing new life into classic hits and Sing-Along Playroom, a unique spin on favourite childhood songs. Meanwhile, for scripted formats, Something Special will be presenting My Heart is Beating, a romantic comedy/fantasy show and Fearsome, based on true stories passed along in Asian countries. HITSMASH
Beyond Rights Spearheading Beyond Rights’ factual content slate at MIPTV is the documentary Caroline Flack: Her Life and Death. The documentary was produced by Curios Films for Channel 4 and aired to critical acclaim when it premiered on 17 March 2021. Created as a tribute to TV presenter Caroline Flack, who was well-known for hosting Love Island, the documentary combines never-before-seen footage with testimony from Caroline’s family and her closest friends that celebrate Caroline’s life and legacy. Caroline Flack: Her Life and Death
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Connect with us on our social media channels: @TVAPlusMag
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POST EVENT: ATF
First virtual Asia TV Forum & Market a resounding success
Winsing Animation shares their ATF Online+ Experience
Mornings with Industry Leaders: (L-R) Adam Lewinson, Dr Michael Gryseels, Archana Anand, Jon Penn, Jimin Fang, Priya Dogra and Jacques du Puy. Courtesy of ATF Online+.
From 1 to 4 December 2020, ScreenSingapore and the Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) unveiled the first digital edition of ATF Online+, which was part of the Singapore Media Festival. The event’s official opening on 1 December was broadcasted live from the MBS Hybrid Broadcast Studio in Singapore. Present at the official inauguration were Mr. Yeh Chien Ee, President of Reed Exhibitions in APAC, and Mr. S. Iswaran, Minister of Communication and Information Singapore who delivered the opening remarks. Mr. Iswaran said, “These are extraordinary times. For the first time, the ATF is hosting its programme— which comprises virtual trade markets, conferences, and businessmatching opportunities—all entirely online. I think it is an apt reflection of the extraordinary times we are living in. In the face of COVID-19, we have been compelled to make profound shifts and also adapt to new operating norms. I think it is also important to recognise that the pandemic has also catalysed innovation and generated new and exciting opportunities as well.” The Singapore Media Festival, which was hosted by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) announced initiatives and capability development programmes to develop innovative content, nurture
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local media talent, and cultivate fresh opportunities for international collaborations. The conference also saw a refreshed programme schedule, specifically tailored for the global online audience. Segmented into five broad areas, each component focused on bite-sized discussion specific to the various pillars within the industry. ATF Online+ featured Mornings With Industry Leaders, where decisionmakers from the media, telecoms, and entertainment industry took centre stage as they shared their insights and thought-leadership on navigating the tides ahead and staying relevant amid the changes. Several other features at ATF Online+ included Lunchtime Buying, where key buyers took over the lunch hour session to give an insiders’ viewpoint and perspective on today’s buying strategies; a Coffee Hour Content Showcase, where top sellers showcased the latest entertainment content and industry updates; Production Afternoons, where format experts, creative leaders and decision-makers addressed issues and presented user cases to advance production capabilities in the industry; and the Southeast Asian Film Financing Forum, an annual film-focused forum that discussed Southeast Asian partnership in media, cutting across content, connectivity, and capability.
China-based Winsing Animation is engaged in the production and distribution of film and TV series, along with licensing and merchandising activities. The group participated in ATF Online+ and shared their firsthand experience. “ATF provided an important platform for us to meet our friends in the media. In the online fair, we introduced our brand new property, Team S.T.E.A.M.! and got some potential buyers,” said Amanda Hwang, an Overseas Media Specialist at Winsing Animation. Amanda noted that following ATF Online+, Winsing hopes to sign new deals in 2021 and hopes that in the future, Winsing will walk in step with the international animation market and enrich their IPs and provide more excellent content to the world.
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THE FINAL WORD
Crash landing on Connected TV By Stuart McLennan
Scores of critically-acclaimed Korean series took a lockeddown Asia by storm in 2020. With more compelling, homegrown content available, advertisers are at a critical juncture to capitalise on more engaged audiences, brand-safe environments and targeted measurement through CTV. Take a paragliding accident, star-crossed lovers and the world’s most secretive country, and you’ve got yourself one of the biggest TV phenomenons in Asian history. Premiering in February 2020, South Korea’s Crash Landing on You has become one of a multitude of Asian dramas providing a distraction to the ensuing chaos and boredom that has defined 2020. Now, with months of continued uncertainty on the horizon, Asian drama is primed for another meteoric year with cord-cutting and connected television (CTV) at its very centre. Korean drama has ranked huge in popularity across Asia since the 1990s, but never before have audiences had so many viewing options that cross borders and nationalities throughout the continent. From Japan’s Alice In Borderland, China’s Love O2O and scores of Korean dramas, Asian viewers have been spoiled for content these last 12 months.
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Stuart McLennan, Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific, Rakuten Advertising
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Meanwhile, in smartphone-saturated South East Asia, the television industry has seen explosive growth of over-thetop (OTT) and streaming players, with US behemoth Netflix competing with the likes of Viu, iQiyi, GoJek GoPlay and HBO Go Asia. According to a recent report by The Trade Desk, last year, audiences watched eight billion hours of streaming content per month or seven hours per day, all largely watched on their smartphones. Meanwhile, US giant Netflix signed up 9.3 million paid subscribers in 2020. As of 2019, mobile internet user penetration was at 48%, equating to 2 billion users, and is forecasted to reach 61% in 2025 in the Asian region and is one of the main ways that users will engage with video content moving forward. While these statistics are good news for both audiences and marketers in terms of a greater array of content and advertising outlets, the challenge is now bringing these fragmented platforms together and giving both sides a more seamless experience. This is where CTV has a crucial role in bringing all these different streams together. Utilising the wealth of data available from these platform subscriptions, marketers now have the ability to bring personalised advertising that cuts across devices and speaks to both a household as a whole and the individuals within. With CTV, brands can tailor ads to the audience’s demographics or interests: from pre-rolls to midway ads, and the choice to make them unskippable. The result is millions of viewers who are engaged at the moment, paying close attention to the screen, and allowing advertisers to reach consumers in a brand-safe environment of high-quality content. Being able to segment audiences is one of the key components of CTV, especially in terms of building
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stronger connections with the targeted audience. With segmentation, you can distinguish who’s watching content across different genres such as action and rom-com, by identifying fans of shows including True Beauty, Itaewon Class and It’s Okay Not To Be Okay. With Gen-Z forming the bulk of K-drama audiences (68%) marketers are able to leverage the power of wider Korean culture fandom, resulting in millions of viewers engaged at the moment. For example, through Rakuten Viki’s streaming platform, we worked with a global automobile company to launch their latest entry-level model, bringing the brand in front of young and passionate fans who are interested in test drives. Similarly, brands that are able to immerse themselves not only with the content but the fan cultures and communities surrounding them will gain the most from CTV in Asia. This fan engagement can help bring brands closer to consumers who are immersed, boosting the overall impact of their omnichannel marketing strategy. The season of addressability For many months, viewers have been watching shows in isolation with the pandemic putting an end to mass public viewings, which became popular during the last few seasons of Game of Thrones.
However, COVID-19 has prompted the rise of new habits such as virtual watch parties, where groups watch content at the same time, allowing fans to keep the sense of community alive. Watching online has never been easier with the multitudes of platforms to hand, from global giants Netflix and Amazon Prime to niche players such as Rakuten Viki, Kocowa and AsianCrush. The mixture of ad-supported videoon-demand (VOD) and subscriptionbased VOD does pose a challenge for marketers trying to reach audiences across such a spectrum of channels. However, CTV makes this easier than the past of free-to-air TV due to the amount of first-party data accessible from these platforms. Not only does this mean lower costs than traditional broadcasting, but real, addressable advertising that reaches young audiences with much more certainty than with linear TV. Having skyrocketed initially in the United States and Europe, CTV is now making waves across Asia as audiences become increasingly immersed in the diverse offerings of these VOD platforms. But by capitalising on this early on, brands have a golden opportunity to be hyperfocused and reach a highly-soughtafter youth audience like never before.
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