TV Asia ATF Edition 2019

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TVASIA

WWW.TVASIA.WS

DECEMBER 2019

ASIA TV FORUM EDITION

Kids’ Content / Drama Trends / Mediacorp’s Loke Kheng Tham / Hunan TV’s Cheng Ding IndiaCast’s Anuj Gandhi / WarnerMedia’s Leslie Lee

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CONTENTS

Screen Options

FEATURES 22 PLAY TIME! Leading distributors discuss what kinds of kids’ shows are selling well across Asia.

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I always end up watching really terrible movies on long-haul flights. Mostly because the films and series I actually want to watch are not the ones I feel like I can enjoy on the tiny screen built into the seat in front of me.

Ricardo Seguin Guise Publisher Anna Carugati Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani Editor Kristin Brzoznowski Executive Editor Chelsea Regan Alison Skilton Associate Editors David Diehl Production & Design Director Phyllis Q. Busell Art Director Simon Weaver Online Director Dana Mattison Senior Sales & Marketing Manager Genovick Acevedo Sales & Marketing Coordinator Andrea Moreno Business Affairs Manager

Ricardo Seguin Guise President Anna Carugati Executive VP Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development TV Asia ©2019 WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, #1207 New York, NY 10010 Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website: www.tvasia.ws

On my daily subway commute, I regularly see people watching the latest episode of something on their phones (squeezing in as much screen time as possible to get through the endless array of content options we have these days). It’s just not for me; I even get annoyed watching shows on my decent-sized tablet and laptop, preferring the comfort of my remote control over a swipe and a click. And between my broadband-connected TV with built-in Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu, and an Amazon Fire TV Stick that gives me access to loads of other apps, my entertainment needs from the comfort of my couch are pretty much covered. I’m not alone—most OTT viewing happening in the U.S. is on a big-screen TV. This is less the case in large parts of Asia, where mobile is the first and often only screen for online content. And in that situation, a platform eager to expand its user base is not only dependent on its own marketing and content curation strategies; it’s reliant on telcos’ pricing strategies. “The average iflix customer will only have mobile data four to five times a week,” iflix’s co-founder and CEO, Mark Britt, told me recently. “On the days they have mobile data, if we can bundle iflix with it, they’ll consume an average of 1.5 hours a day. When we don’t do that effectively and they are fearful of mobile data charges, they’ll consume 25 to 30 minutes. About 80 percent of our consumption is on a mobile device.”

It’s no wonder Netflix has introduced a lower-cost mobileonly option in India and Malaysia; expect further expansion of this tier as it chases scale in Asia’s still emerging markets.

Meanwhile, for developed markets like Singapore and China, “traditional” media groups are using a variety of strategies to maintain relevance; we hear from Mediacorp’s Loke Kheng Tham and Hunan TV’s Cheng Ding in this edition. Digital is a crucial focus for Viacom18/IndiaCast Media Distribution with the expansion of Voot on the horizon, according to Anuj Gandhi. This issue of TV Asia also looks at the latest developments in kids’ programming with an in-depth survey of distributors and a Q&A with WarnerMedia’s Leslie Lee. Plus, we explore how drama sellers are faring across the region.

—Mansha Daswani

GET DAILY NEWS ON THE ASIAN REGION

32 DRAMATIC HORIZONS Asian and European drama sellers share what’s driving their businesses across the region.

INTERVIEWS

38 Mediacorp’s Loke Kheng Tham

42 Hunan TV’s Cheng Ding

46 IndiaCast’s Anuj Gandhi

48 WarnerMedia’s Leslie Lee

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Clifford the Big Red Dog

9 Story Media Group Book Hungry Bears / Clifford the Big Red Dog / Moon and Me Book Hungry Bears, a new preschool series on offer from 9 Story Media Group, covers an array of important developmental themes and follows four bears—Crystal, Boomer, Melody and Scout—who love picture books. Every day they go on adventures in a papercraft world in search of a book they can share. The revamp of the classic Clifford the Big Red Dog series, with an original song in every episode, is also available from 9 Story. Moon and Me, meanwhile, comes from the creator of Teletubbies and is inspired by tales of toys that come to life when nobody is watching.

“With friendship at its core, Moon and Me explores how the characters demonstrate kindness, empathy and consideration to each other, and teaches these values to children worldwide,” says Federico Vargas, VP of distribution.

“We are focused on working closely with our distribution and consumer-products divisions in order to build our IP in Asia.”

—Federico Vargas

ABS-CBN Corporation The Killer Bride / Mea Culpa / The Heiress The Killer Bride, on offer from ABS-CBN Corporation, is set in Las Espadas, a town that’s been haunted by the ghost of a murderous bride for years—most of its residents tell stories of encountering her still in her bloody wedding dress and veil. Mea Culpa, meanwhile, tells the story of six friends who, after a night of partying, get in a car accident that has fatal consequences and decide to bury the evidence. Lastly, the family drama The Heiress follows the affluent Mondragon clan and the power struggle tearing them apart. “These shows’ fast-paced storytelling and the excellent acting of their stars are what continue to draw viewers, and we think that the buyers will see that as well,” says Wincess L. Gonzalez, sales head for Asia and Latin America.

The Heiress

“We produce great dramas and films, but we have equally good content in genres such as lifestyle, factual, kids and sports.”

—Wincess L. Gonzalez

Albatross World Sales Beasts and Witches / Out of Europe—A New Story of Human Evolution? / Paradise Preserved Albatross World Sales’ Beasts and Witches tries to debunk some of the myths surrounding animals and looks at the real-life behavior of the species living among us. The series mixes wildlife footage with animation, including artwork by John Howe (The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit). Out of Europe—A New Story of Human Evolution? is being released at the same time as the scientists featured in the documentary are publishing their work, which challenges what we know about the origins of humanity. Paradise Preserved provides an outlook on how to deal with some of today’s most pressing issues as it explores how nature and humans can coexist. “Representing many awardwinning production companies, we offer handpicked programs with different visual approaches and storytelling,” says Polina Axenova, senior sales manager for Asia, MENA, Africa and CIS.

Paradise Preserved

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“Meeting our Asian buyers and connecting to new potential clients in the documentary world at ATF is always a highlight for us.”

—Polina Axenova

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Transformers: Cyberverse

Allspark Micronauts / My Little Pony: Pony Life / Transformers: Cyberverse Allspark, a Hasbro company, is presenting the newly greenlit third season of Transformers: Cyberverse, which sees Bumblebee and friends continue to fight Megatron and his Decepticons. Another classic brand is back in My Little Pony: Pony Life, which sees the Mane 6—the group of equine female leads from the series—return for new adventures. “My Little Pony: Pony Life and Transformers: Cyberverse offer viewers a fresh take on the franchises that they love, jam-packed with action and comedy,” says Nuno I, sales director for the Asia Pacific. Also on the slate is the allnew series Micronauts, inspired by the eponymous toy line and subsequent comic book series. “With Micronauts, we are introducing a new Allspark franchise that we hope will excite fans,” he adds.

“Our franchise shows are renowned in the AsiaPac region and broadcasters are familiar with their ability to draw in audiences.”

—Nuno I

ARTE Distribution The Private Life of Sharks / Leonardo’s Rediscovered Masterpiece / Losing Sleep The Private Life of Sharks, on offer from ARTE Distribution, intends to challenge the preconceived idea that sharks are violent and blood-thirsty killing machines by revealing the lesser-known, gentler aspects of their nature. The company is also bringing to the market Leonardo’s Rediscovered Masterpiece, a documentary co-produced with NHK that explores whether Leonardo da Vinci could have, in fact, painted the artwork Madonna of the Yarnwinder. Losing Sleep follows the new methods available to fight insomnia, narcolepsy and sleep apnea. “This investigation deals with a universal problem: the lack of sleep and how it affects our immune system and places our body in a state of constant stress,” says Isabelle Monteil, sales manager at ARTE Distribution. “We’re confident this topic will interest most of our clients.”

“Our distribution catalog has almost 4,000 hours of factual covering all themes.”

—Isabelle Monteil Leonardo’s Rediscovered Masterpiece

Lifeline

ATV The Ottoman / Hercai / Lifeline Burak Özçivit, known from such hits as Magnificent Century, takes on the role of Osman, the father of the great Ottoman Empire, in the ATV highlight The Ottoman. Müge Akar, content sales deputy manager at ATV, believes that the show’s high production values will be a draw for international buyers. “Preproduction of the series took a very long time, paying attention to the finest details,” she notes. “A huge set location was built in the suburbs of Istanbul, which will teleport you back centuries.” ATV’s hit drama Hercai, which tells a love story rooted in revenge, has a second season on offer. There’s a third season of Lifeline, which centers on a strong female character. “The story in Lifeline raises social awareness about violence against women,” Akar says.

“With our new highlights, we believe that we are the right point of contact for buyers seeking love stories and historical drama series.”

—Müge Akar 46 WORLD SCREEN 12/19

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Gigantosaurus

Cyber Group Studios Taffy / Bananimals / Gigantosaurus Cyber Group Studios is bringing to the market Taffy, a Boomerang original slapstick comedy series. The company is also presenting to the Asia-Pacific market a bunch of nutty animals with silly problems in the comedy-edutainment series Bananimals. Cyber Group has completed the series Gigantosaurus, featuring a foursome of dinosaur friends who explore the world and learn about the biggest dinosaur of all. “These series are very different from one to the other, and we strongly believe they will catch the attention of Asian buyers,” says Raphaelle Mathieu, senior VP of sales, acquisitions and new media at Cyber Group. “With this diverse content, we have the ambition to collaborate with different yet complementary players.”

“Each of these series has high-end designs that are very diverse and complementary.”

—Raphaelle Mathieu

Entertainment One Family & Brands Ricky Zoom / PJ Masks / Peppa Pig Entertainment One (eOne) Family & Brands is bringing its portfolio of children’s properties to ATF, including the brandnew animated preschool series Ricky Zoom. The show “offers age-appropriate storylines that are relatable for kids and will gain endorsement from parents,” says Monica Candiani, executive VP of content sales for eOne Family & Brands. The company is also presenting fresh content in production for both PJ Masks and Peppa Pig, the latter of which celebrated the Year of the Pig with its first nationwide cinema release in China as part of a bespoke Chinese New Year campaign. “In India, Peppa also led an extremely popular campaign this summer to get families excited about the Cricket World Cup,” says Candiani, adding that EBS in South Korea recently acquired seasons five, six and seven of the series.

“Our award-winning shows deliver highcaliber entertainment value and have proven their ability to attract audiences around the world.”

Peppa Pig

—Monica Candiani

Cleaning Masters

Global Agency Cleaning Masters / The Legend / Glam Squad Global Agency’s Cleaning Masters sees five contestants compete to see who can clean a house the best in a week’s time. Glam Squad also showcases players battling to be crowned number one, with four teams of two—a hair designer and a makeup artist—going head to head to see who can make their model look the best. “Both Glam Squad and Cleaning Masters are very appealing for producers and channels given their huge ratings success in Turkey,” says Işil Türkşen, the company’s sales director for Asia. “Both of these daily strip reality-competition formats have a modern, flowing, addictive and extremely cost-effective structure that will appeal to buyers.” Also on offer is The Legend, a talent-show format that sees the contestants choose each other’s fates.

“We will try to reach many buyers from across the region at the market, and we hope to make new contacts.”

—Işil Türkşen 48 WORLD SCREEN 12/19

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Infocomm Media Development Authority Singapore Media Festival / Singaporean content & collaboration Asia is seeing dynamic growth with the rise of new business models and the rapid expansion of OTT and streaming platforms in the region. “Singapore is well-placed to ride on this wave, being located at the heart of this growth in Asia and home to where East meets West and tech meets media,” says Howie Lau, chief industry development officer at Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). He adds that IMDA is heartened to see the international community and world-renowned platforms recognizing the value of the talent and content from Singapore. “As the world continues to watch Singapore and Asia, we want to continue to ride on this wave and celebrate the best in Asian talent and content through events like the Singapore Media Festival and create a platform to showcase the best of Asia to the rest of the world.”

Akanga Film Productions’ A Land Imagined

“The world is starting to notice Singapore as a place for content and talent, with globally recognized productions that are loved and watched by people all over the world.”

—Howie Lau Hayat

Inter Medya Ramo / The Light of Hope / Hayat A highlight for ATF, the Inter Medya drama Ramo follows a man ready to fight his friends and foes alike as he’s tested by his love for the daughter of his archnemesis. “The story encompasses the deep conflicts of family, justice, revenge, friendship and love, and is, therefore, suitable for audiences across the globe,” says Can Okan, founder and CEO of Inter Medya. A family is torn apart in The Light of Hope after a pregnant young woman’s cousin and his wife lay a trap that sends her husband to prison. Hayat centers on handsome businessman Murat and the beautiful yet clumsy Hayat. The series, “which we have successfully sold in Central Asia, will no doubt steal the hearts of the Southeast Asian audience,” says Okan. “We licensed Hayat, our first dramedy series, to Sri Lanka and it had great ratings from the first day.”

“We believe that Asia has great potential when it comes to Turkish content distribution.”

—Can Okan

MarVista Entertainment Back of the Net / Seven Stages to Achieve Eternal Bliss / Kindred Spirits Shot in picturesque Australia, the MarVista Entertainment ATF highlight Back of the Net is a family feature starring Sofia Wylie (Andi Mack) as a science student who ends up at a prestigious soccer academy after a transportation error. “This movie is fun for the entire family and truly captures the fever and excitement of women’s soccer, as well as touches on themes of friendship, competition and overcoming challenges,” says Jody Cipriano, head of global distribution at MarVista Entertainment. The offbeat comedy Seven Stages to Achieve Eternal Bliss, which was featured at the Tribeca Film Festival, centers on a small-town couple that finds the perfect apartment in the big city—but soon learn it’s home to an absurd cult. Kindred Spirits is a sinister thriller starring Thora Birch (American Beauty, Affairs of State).

“We continue to increase our distribution pipeline, and we are excited to present a slate of approximately 15 new titles at ATF this year.”

—Jody Cipriano 50 WORLD SCREEN 12/19

Back of the Net

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The New Silk Road—Road to Russia

Mediacorp The Good Fight / Last Madame / The New Silk Road—Road to Russia Mediacorp’s ATF slate features such highlights as the actionpacked The Good Fight. “The action genre is evergreen in its appeal as it never fails to excite and keep people on the edge of their seats,” says Jesslyn Wong, head of content distribution at Mediacorp. “We are confident that The Good Fight will be a hit—pun intended—with viewers everywhere, but especially so with those in Asia, where many forms of martial arts originated from and remain popular today.” Wong calls Last Madame a “saga sizzling with sexual intrigue, scheming spies and show-stopping suspense.” Based on China’s One Belt, One Road plan, The New Silk Road—Road to Russia shines a light on how the trillion-dollar initiative is shaping present-day geopolitics and what it means for countries along the China-Russia economic corridor.

“Mediacorp is open to collaboration, and we are constantly on the lookout for partners in the creative ecosystem.”

—Jesslyn Wong

The Mediapro Studio Distribution The Head / The Paradise / The Dinner of a Lifetime Leading The Mediapro Studio Distribution’s ATF slate is the psychological thriller The Head, which centers on the conflicting testimonies of the last two survivors of an Antarctic mission. As three separate timelines unfold, viewers will have to determine what really happened and who can be trusted.

In The Paradise, two murders shake the remote Finnish community of Fuengirola on the shores of the Mediterranean, leading veteran crime detective Hilkka Mäntymäki to travel from Helsinki to help the local police on the case that soon adds to its list of victims. The gastronomic-entertainment series The Dinner of a Lifetime follows three-time Michelin Star-winning chef Quique Dacosta as he tries to capture the essence of his six international celebrity guests and cook their emotions into a single menu.

The Paradise

Monster Entertainment

Earth to Luna!

Wow! Wow! Rolling Friends / The Day Henry Met…? / Earth to Luna!

Monster Entertainment’s first series from South Korea, Wow! Wow! Rolling Friends is set in a town where everything is made out of blocks. “We believe that it has very strong appeal in the Asian market,” says Ania Rozenszprung-Clinton, Monster Entertainment’s head of sales and acquisitions. The Day Henry Met…?, which sees the titular Henry encounter something new each day, is available on Nick Jr. in 178 countries in addition to a number of free-TV channels and VOD platforms. Rounding out Monster Entertainment’s ATF highlights is Earth to Luna!, a STEM-based series. The program “is already very strong in the Asian market, being available in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, etc.,” according to Rozenszprung-Clinton, who adds, “Our business in Asia is expanding fast.”

“This is our third attendance at ATF, and we hope that it will be the most successful one.”

—Ania Rozenszprung-Clinton

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Studio 100 Media 100% Wolf—Legend of the Moonstone / Wissper / Tip the Mouse The new Studio 100 Media production 100% Wolf—Legend of the Moonstone tells the story of Freddy Lupin, an heir to a proud line of werewolves who gets a shock during his first “warfing” when he transforms into a poodle. “He is a pink poodle in a world full of werewolves,” says Dorian Bühr, head of global distribution at Studio 100 Media. “That guarantees a lot of humor and lots of laughter and doesn’t leave out the difficulties that our hero Freddy faces.” Studio 100 Media is also presenting at ATF the second season of Wissper and the third season of Tip the Mouse. Further, the company is collaborating with China’s Fantawild Animation and Little Airplane Productions, Studio 100 Group’s animation studio in New York, on Doctor Space, a new animated comedy series.

Tip the Mouse

“A large portion of our hit shows are born out of co-productions with partners across the Asia Pacific.”

—Dorian Bühr

Viacom18/IndiaCast Media Distribution Ram Siya Ke Luv Kush / Chhoti Sardarni / Bahu Begum

Bahu Begum

Among the ATF highlights from Viacom18/IndiaCast Media Distribution are Ram Siya Ke Luv Kush (Sons of Lord Ram & Sita), which charts the journey of Lord Ram and Goddess Sita through the lens of their sons, Luv and Kush; and Chhoti Sardarni (The Brave Hearted), about a woman pregnant with her lover’s child out of wedlock. Bahu Begum (Web of Love) follows three individuals entwined in one marriage, while Vidya (The Accidental English Teacher) centers on an illiterate army widow who begins to teach English. “With the top-rated show Chhoti Sardarni and upcoming launch of Naagin 4—our most popular series in India and across international territories—we have a strong lineup to showcase at ATF,” says Debkumar Dasgupta, senior VP and business head for syndication.

“Our stories based on themes of love, mystery and mythology are known to resonate strongly with audiences.”

—Debkumar Dasgupta

Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart

WarnerMedia Asia Pacific Cartoon Network / Boomerang / POGO The WarnerMedia Entertainment Networks Asia Pacific bouquet includes Cartoon Network, which counts among its new series Victor and Valentino, DC Super Hero Girls and Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart. There’ll also be fresh episodes of the Cartoon Network originals Apple & Onion and OK K.O.!

Let’s Be Heroes. Meanwhile, Boomerang is celebrating ScoobyDoo’s 50th birthday with the guest-star-laden Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?, which features big names such as Ricky Gervais, Sia and Batman. POGO’s highlights include Kalari Kids, which has been a ratings success in India. “Aside from plenty of content coming through the Warner Bros. and Cartoon Network pipelines from Burbank, we’re busy commissioning originals and working on our own co-productions in the Asia Pacific,” says Leslie Lee, VP of kids’ content.

“New to Cartoon Network is a great mix of the unusual, the surprising and the ridiculous.”

—Leslie Lee 54 WORLD SCREEN 12/19

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9 Story’s Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.

Play Time!

Leading distributors weigh in on kids’ content acquisition trends across Asia.

By Mansha Daswani

T

he consensus among leading kids’ content executives heading to the Asia TV Forum is that streaming players have dramatically altered the landscape in the region. It’s no surprise, given how much Netflix, Amazon and others have reshaped the children’s media business everywhere else. But the speed with which it has happened in AsiaPac was somewhat unexpected, and it’s not even the global giants making the loudest noise.

Indeed, it’s the Chinese players that have made the most headlines in the kids’ business lately. Of note, this past MIPCOM, Alibaba announced it was coproducing Genius Brands International’s Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten, and its streaming platform Youku landed the rights to 100-plus hours of CBeebies preschool content.

“The most important change we are seeing is that the nonlinear business is growing dramatically at the 56 WORLD SCREEN 12/19

territory level, with new platforms increasing at quite an impressive pace,” observes Dorian Bühr, the head of global distribution at Studio 100 Media.

DEMANDING TIMES Raphaelle Mathieu, senior VP of sales, acquisitions and new media at Cyber Group Studios, reflects a similar sentiment, noting: “In all the countries in Asia, digital is becoming stronger than ever and we have to adapt to this new broadcasting structure.”

Nuno I, sales director for the Asia Pacific at Hasbro’s Allspark, says the company has positioned itself as a key supplier to new digital services eager for “well-known iconic shows to bolster their kids’ offering. We have some of the biggest names in our catalog, which puts Hasbro content in high demand.”

While digital is becoming an increasingly lucrative part of the value chain for distributors, “pay and free TV continue to play a major part in our

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Ricky Zoom is among eOne Family & Brands’ highlights.

360-degree strategy as we work with them to distribute franchise and new programming,” Nuno I notes.

Indeed, “television remains our main focus for the first window,” reports Studio 100’s Bühr. “It continues to be the most important medium for creating a high level of awareness of a property and thus remains crucial, especially for our merchandising and licensing partners.”

the new media landscape. With a property like our Emmywinning Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, for example, we are finding that a multiplatform approach is an optimal way to build a brand, ensuring linear TV, YouTube and territoryspecific digital platforms play a crucial role.”

Bühr adds, “We are more cautious when selling a new show, especially with regard to ‘free’ VOD content. However, depending on the region, AVOD can coexist with television at the beginning of [a show’s] life cycle without jeopardizing each other.”

“The most important change we are

seeing is that the nonlinear business is growing dramatically at the territory

Cyber Group’s Mathieu observes that working with traditional linear broadcasters in their requests for more digital rights is an additional complication.

“We are, of course, ready to take this turn and are open to new business models, but these new partnerships need to be fruitful for both [sides] and we need to work to structure new models. Working only on revenue share, as many OTT players are suggesting, is not the best option for an independent production-and-distribution company like we are, and probably not the most sustainable business model.”

From linear to digital, there’s a broad range of kids’ genres in demand across AsiaPac. “Each territory in Asia has its own taste and particularity,” reports Mathieu. “Even though we can see that comedydriven shows and CGI productions are performing well, we also notice that some broadcasters are looking for more

level, with new platforms increasing at quite an impressive pace.”

— Dorian Bühr, Studio 100 Media Federico Vargas, VP of distribution at 9 Story Media Group, echoes Nuno I’s perspective when he says that working with digital platforms requires “careful attention to brand management and a tactical approach to building recognized IP through our distribution and merchandising and licensing divisions. We are keen to take advantage of the ability to work across digital platforms, like YouTube, as well as territory-specific platforms.

Traditional partners and linear channels, too, still play a crucial role and are important to us as they evolve with 58 WORLD SCREEN 12/19

RIGHTS AWARE

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Cyber Group’s Taffy airs on Boomerang around the world, including in Asia.

arty and educational content. This is what makes this market so interesting and dynamic: a plurality of genres and diversity of needs.”

Vargas at 9 Story agrees: “Despite the ever-changing media landscape, audiences across AsiaPac have always responded positively to excellence in animation in all genres, whether it’s preschool, 4-to-9 or 6-to-12. This is extremely beneficial for us because of our extensive library of over 4,100 half-hours of distribution content.”

At Studio 100, Bühr cites the strong demand for “curriculum-based content for preschool children, always in combination with fun and comedy elements. Buyers are looking for shows that have a central character, friends, positive role models and a sense of humor. For preschool and kindergarten, it is also always good to offer elements such as enchantment, adventure and action that appeal to girls and boys alike. In addition, and above all, every story must contain positive values such as friendship, loyalty and honesty.”

“This last year has been very lively in the Asia-Pacific region.”

As for where business has been most active, Bühr mentions China, Korea, India, Indonesia, Japan and Thailand. “However, it’s our policy to target all territories across the region,” he adds. “We put a lot of effort into dealing with broadcasters from smaller Asian countries, and we have noticed an increase in demand from Southeast Asia.”

China, meanwhile, has become increasingly vital for Studio 100, Bühr continues. “For example, UYoung is our partner for licensing and merchandising for our brand Mia and me. We are very pleased with our successful collaboration with UYoung and its ongoing efforts in bringing Mia and me to China’s state-owned broadcaster, CCTV. It licensed Mia and me for its children’s channel CCTV-14, which reaches over a billion viewers.”

China has also emerged as a significant territory for 9 Story, Vargas reports, “and continues to be an important market despite current challenges. We are seeing tremendous growth and proliferation with OTT outlets.”

Peppa Pig has been key to cementing Entertainment One Family & Brands’ positioning in China. “This year a bespoke Chinese New Year campaign saw the brand’s first nationwide cinema release in China and exclusive

— Raphaelle Mathieu, Cyber Group Studios With a slate at ATF that includes the new preschool series Book Hungry Bears, Vargas adds, “Shows with large IP and pedigree, like Clifford and Moon and Me, are also particularly standout performers in Asia and seem to get the most considerable traction. At the end of the day, universal storylines resonate with children all over the world.

This is true of Daniel Tiger, which has been sold to over 180 territories and performs particularly well in AsiaPac.” Ania Rozenszprung-Clinton, the head of sales and acquisitions at Monster Entertainment, highlights “preschool big edutainment brands,” such as the company’s own The Day Henry Met...?, shows based on a STEM curriculum, like Earth to Luna!, and non-dialogue properties such as Jungle Beat.

For Allspark, key drivers have been the boy-targeted Transformers: Cyberverse and the more girl-skewing My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, which Nuno I says features “relatable storylines.”

HOT MARKETS

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JOIN US AT ATF 2019 Stand E17

312 x 5’ 2D Animation + 4 specials 65 brand new episodes in production © ABD Ltd/Ent. One UK Ltd 2003.

208 X 11’ THE HIT SUPERHERO SHOW FOR PRE-SCHOOLERS SERIES 5 IN PRODUCTION PJ Masks ©Frog Box/Ent. One UK Ltd/Disney 2014.

52 x 11’ Launched in fall 2019 in the US, UK, France, Italy, LATAM, China, and already a great success Series 2 in production Ricky Zoom © Frog Box & Entertainment One UK Limited 2019.

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Studio 100’s Doctor Space is a co-production between its Little Airplane Productions studio and Fantawild Animation in China.

merchandise to celebrate the Year of the Pig,” notes Monica Candiani, executive VP of content sales. The beloved Peppa is also building strong momentum in India and recently landed a volume deal in Korea with EBS. China has also been a key focus for Monster Entertainment, Rozenszprung-Clinton observes, and the company has an eye on growing its business in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

Allspark’s Nuno I is also focused on expanding the company’s business in Southeast Asia, notably Indonesia and the Philippines, while building on its brisk trade in China, India and Korea.

“Taiwan, Singapore, Korea and India are markets we have strong relationships with and we want our collaboration to continue,” says Cyber Group’s Mathieu. “We have also been very pleased to start strong partnerships with Myanmar, which is a territory open to acquiring international animation. For the year to come, we have the ambition to build new partnerships with Indonesia and Malaysia, and, of course, Japan is a key market for us; we are working to strengthen our relationship with the different actors.”

known as BASE), a full-service CGI animation studio located in Indonesia. “Now rebranded as Brown Bag Films Bali, the studio bolsters our production pipeline and cements our commitment to the AsiaPac territory,” Vargas says. “Indonesia is a key area of focus for us after establishing Brown Bag Films Bali, which demonstrates our wholehearted dedication to growth in Indonesia as well as all of AsiaPac.” Co-producing with Asian animation houses is another potential avenue of growth for some leading kids’ distributors. “Our animation studios Flying Bark Productions in Sydney and Studio 100 Animation in Paris have been very active and have been co-producing in the region for years,” says Bühr. “A large portion of our hit shows are born out of co-productions with partners across the Asia Pacific.”

Bühr highlights Doctor Space, a collaboration between Fantawild Animation in China and Studio 100’s Little Airplane Productions. “We plan to co-invest in the production

LOCAL TALENT While tapping into opportunities with new buyers, several distributors are also looking to AsiaPac as a hub of talent. “Over the past 12 months, we’ve seen an explosion in original content production and local IP in the kids’ space across the AsiaPac region as audiences mature and reach for more and more new content,” says Allspark’s Nuno I. Of note, 9 Story Media Group acquired PT Bali Animation Studio and PT Bali Animasi Solusi Ekakarsa (collectively

Monster Entertainment represents the South Korean title Wow! Wow! Rolling Friends.

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My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic has been a hit for Allspark in Asia.

of this brand-new TV series and IP initiated by Little Airplane,” he says.

“We are open to co-production with Asian players,” notes Cyber Group’s Mathieu. “We know this market has a lot of skills and expertise in the animation field. Aside from coproduction, we would also be glad to partner on a distribution model with Asian producers.” Cyber Group already represents a number of series that involve animation houses in Asia, among them Purple Turtle.

and Wales that was nominated for an International Emmy Kids Award.”

Vargas adds that with the creation of Brown Bag Films Bali, the company will explore “potential co-productions down the road. We look forward to the opportunities that the studio will open up.”

On the company’s overall expectations for its AsiaPac business, Vargas adds, “We expect to continue building as a brand-management company and expanding regional awareness of our core IP through distribution and merchandising operations. We also expect growth among pedigree IPs and series, like Daniel Tiger, Clifford and Moon and Me, as we know those resonate within the territory.”

“Despite the ever-changing media

landscape, audiences across AsiaPac

have always responded positively to

excellence in animation in all genres.”

Cyber Group’s Mathieu is also feeling upbeat about prospects for the company’s business across the region. “This last year has been very lively in the Asia-Pacific region. Year after year, we have to adapt to the market evolution. While historical partners have shut down or are reshaping their kids’ dedicated channels, we were happy to notice other partners are coming to the market with a stronger and bigger [approach] oriented to kids.”

Mathieu adds, “It is also essential to pay close attention to the diversity of players in Asia. This past year we got the chance to meet new partners with whom we want to establish long-term partnerships. Asia is a keystone market for us, and we are more than glad to bring high-end productions to it and see the strong interest of the broadcasters growing.”

— Federico Vargas, 9 Story Media Group IT TAKES TWO Many other distributors have been looking to Asia for IP to take to the global market. Monster Entertainment, for example, arrives at ATF with the South Korean animated series Wow! Wow! Rolling Friends.

“IPs we currently distribute do have partners from AsiaPac as cornerstones of the productions,” says Vargas at 9 Story. “For example, our new distribution property, Book Hungry Bears, is a co-production between New Zealand’s Pukeko Pictures, Canada’s Breakthrough Entertainment and China’s Hengxin Shambala Kids. [Our] Chinese-based property Luo Bao Bei is a co-production between China 64 WORLD SCREEN 12/19

WHAT’S NEXT?

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Dramatic H

Inter Medya’s Endless Love.

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Horizons Mansha Daswani hears from regional and international distributors about drama acquisition trends across Asia.

L

ocal, local, local. That’s the refrain from Asia’s biggest streaming platforms about their scripted acquisition needs. The likes of Viu, HOOQ and iflix have been buying up shows from Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand, among other markets. Even Hulu Japan, which has acquired mainly from the U.S., has broadened its remit, picking up the Indian historical epic Porus from One Life Studios. But in Asia’s busy media landscape, there are opportunities for all kinds of scripted shows, from glossy U.S. network dramas to brooding Scandi noir, Turkish romantic comedies and everything in between.

“Asia is slowly developing into a market that is hungry for different kinds of content given the growing number of OTT platforms debuting around the region,” reports Nixon Yau Lim, the head of Asia Pacific at Eccho Rights.

“Even though Asia is still a new region for us, we have seen an increasing demand for Turkish content in Central Asia especially, and Southeast Asia,” adds Can Okan, the founder and CEO of Inter Medya.

HOMEGROWN HITS In terms of content from the Asia Pacific, Korean dramas continue to dominate, but opportunities remain for suppliers from elsewhere in the region.

“We have a consistent business in Myanmar, which continues to grow, while clients from Vietnam, Brunei, Thailand and Malaysia acquire content on a regular basis,” says Roxanne J. Barcelona, the VP of GMA Worldwide in the Philippines. “We aim to increase our presence in India and China.”

Barcelona notes that some 95 percent of the company’s regional business is with traditional linear channels. “While we entertain inquiries from digital platforms, business is limited as mostly they prefer a revenue-share arrangement.”

According to Barcelona, Filipino dramas resonate in many parts of Asia “because of the similarity in our cultures, the look of the cast being similar to how other Asian people look, and of the unique storylines.

We find that stories that revolve around individual courage, perseverance and familial love are acceptable to viewers in these markets.”

Contemporary and romance dramas are among GMA’s top sellers, with the company arriving at ATF with a slate that includes Beautiful

Justice, A Place in Your Heart and The Gift. “Current content trends show that viewers are looking for non-traditional dramas that revolve around themes of crime, the supernatural and suspense,” says Barcelona on the appeal of the company’s ATF lineup.

Over at ABS-CBN Corporation, “Our content is currently being well-loved and widely accepted in Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia and even in the islands of Fiji and Papua New Guinea,” says Wincess L. Gonzalez, sales head for Asia and Latin America. “In the coming months, we are also eyeing to enter the hearts of viewers from our neighboring Asian countries such as Sri Lanka, Mongolia, India and Korea.”

Gonzalez is of the opinion that ABS-CBN’s content has been able to travel widely because of its “family values. We always make sure to produce content that gives every viewer a charter they can relate to and learn from. Every dramatic scene of pain, sacrifice and triumph is meticulously told to enthrall the emotion and sympathy of the viewers. We also make sure to inject social relevance in every story.”

Family dramas revolving around romance tend to be the most popular, Gonzalez observes, “but that does not stop us from experimenting with new breeds of stories that feature crime themes.” At ATF, for example, The Killer Bride is among the company’s lead highlights.

INDIAN EPICS India’s One Life Studios, meanwhile, is promoting costume dramas such as Porus and Chandragupta Maurya this December in Singapore.

“Costume dramas have always attracted audiences and broadcasters because of their elaborate sets, costumes and empowering storylines,” says Rahul Kumar Tewary, producer and managing director at One Life Studios. “They are a perfect blend of all elements, ranging from action, thriller, love and revenge to fantasy and family values.”

Thus far, Southeast Asia has been One Life’s biggest market for scripted, notably Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. “Indian dramas have always resonated with audiences in these territories due to the similarities in the culture, history and Indian legacies that have always been considered epic,” Tewary explains.

“We also believe that audiences across the globe are now more open

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My Sweet Lie is a Turkish drama series that Eccho Rights will be showcasing to its Asian clients this December in Singapore.

to experimenting with far and away content and cultures they have not heard of before. In that sense, one could anticipate a more positive response from Europe for Indian content.”

Tewary is also hoping to find new opportunities in China and Latin America.

TURKISH DELIGHT

importer of Turkish dramas in the Asian market, however we have very good connections within a number of countries now, including Bangladesh and Malaysia.”

Guliyev says that audiences can easily connect with the values in Turkish dramas. “The audience can find something to empathize with, and thanks to these unique features, our dramas touch their lives and become more popular by the day.”

On offer from the company at ATF will be highlights such as The Girl Named Feriha, Our Story, Forbidden Fruit and Woman, itself based on a drama from Nippon TV. Fellow Turkish company ATV is showcasing the historical epic The Ottoman starring Burak Özcivit at ATF, alongside Hercai and Lifeline, which Müge Akar, content sales deputy manager, says will have particularly strong resonance among female audiences.

“We believe that with our new highlights, we will be the right point of contact for the buyers seeking love stories and historical drama series,” Akar says of her ambitions for the Singapore market this year.

Turkish distributors have already conquered Latin America and are looking to do the same in Asia, a region that has long loved telenovelas and daily soaps.

“Following the U.S., Turkey positioned itself as the world’s secondbiggest TV series exporter in recent years,” says Inter Medya’s Okan. “Over the last decade, the popularity of Turkish TV series and feature films has skyrocketed across the globe.

Turkish series are particularly popular in these markets because audiences can relate to the strong characters and stories.”

Inter Medya’s regional successes to date include selling the dramedy Hayat into Sri Lanka. “It had great ratings from day one,” Okan reports. “Hayat was particularly popular in this region because of its unusual comedic spin and romantic story.”

Also, the International Emmy Award–winning Endless Love was acquired by an OTT platform in India, Okan says. “This deal was very exciting to us as it was our first digital agreement in Asia,” Okan notes. “We cannot wait to see what the new year will bring!”

At Calinos Entertainment, Asli Serim Guliyev, international sales director, says, “Indonesia used to be the largest The Ottoman leads off ATV’s lineup of hit Turkish dramas this ATF. 68 WORLD SCREEN 12/19

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GMA Worldwide is offering up Filipino dramas such as The Gift.

Two new Turkish dramas headline Eccho Rights’ ATF portfolio, Everywhere I Go and My Sweet Lie. “Asia is still a huge follower of good, light romantic drama,” says Yau Lim. “Aside from that, the main actors in both series are the kind that make Asian audiences swoon and fall head-over-heels for. The Asian buyers who were at MIPCOM reacted positively when they saw both these titles. I’m certain that other Asian buyers will be equally thrilled when we launch these two titles at ATF.” Eccho Rights is also home to a slate of Scandinavian dramas, among them the recently renewed Swedish crime series Honour. “There are some Asian OTTs that are into dark, gripping, and edgy series,” Yau Lim says. “Honour is our answer.”

is creating a partnership, like a symbiosis of force and traction that can create state-of-the-art productions.

Turkish stories will always be attractive to people from all corners of the world as they contain the perfect ingredients that constitute a good drama—unshakable patriarchal values, love triangles, family dramas and unsolvable dilemmas. Products like this can easily flow in a competitive world. We are currently working with a few countries and territories such as Bulgaria, Hungary, Spain, the Far East and Latin America.”

Whether for tape sales or formats, there is plenty of opportunity for drama distributors in Asia, Eccho Rights’ Yau Lim notes. “Asia is still a developing market for Eccho Rights, but we see so much potential in it.”

SCRIPTED SAVVY

Eccho Rights is not only selling Honour as a ready-made show, Yau Lim continues. “It has huge potential as a remake for certain markets like India and perhaps even Thailand.”

Scripted formats are indeed an expanding opportunity for drama distributors worldwide, including in Asia, but thus far, India has been the most responsive. “The opportunities in other countries [in the region] are not as vast,” says One Life Studios’ Tewary. “We definitely see potential in territories like Turkey and China.”

“We submitted scripted deks to clients in Myanmar, MENA and Latin America,” says GMA’s Barcelona. “We have sold seven scripted formats to Mexico through our partner, Latin Media Corporation.” Barcelona also notes that GMA is “experiencing an increase in the number of inquiries for co-production.”

Interest in Turkish scripts is picking up, according to Inter Medya’s Okan. “Since we’ve been attending ATF in recent years, we have seen an increase in demand for scripted formats, especially from Asian countries,” Okan explains. “We hope to license one of our products in this region soon.”

Calinos’s Guliyev has also noticed this trend. “There are quite a few Turkish formats that have been remade and are currently in production. Turkey is a factory of dreams and the world knows about it. For us, selling formats

The revenge series The Killer Bride is available from ABS-CBN.

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Loke Kheng Tham

Mediacorp or the last two years, Loke Kheng Tham has been tapping into her vast experience in the Asian television ecosystem, across free and pay, to reinvent Mediacorp, Singapore’s largest content creator and media platform. From ushering in innovative storytelling methods to pioneering new partnerships, Tham has been focused on making the public broadcaster—with assets across television, radio, digital and content production—a “bigger, better, bolder launchpad for the creative ecosystem.” She speaks with TV Asia about her strategy for Mediacorp in the year ahead.

By Mansha Daswani

F

TV ASIA: When you came into the post at Mediacorp, what was the strategy you felt you needed to put in place to help the group navigate a changing media ecosystem?

THAM: At my first town hall, I shared with my colleagues that in a changing media landscape, what we needed most was not a new business strategy but a client-focused mindset and culture. All of us have clients that fall into three groups: firstly, consumers of our products across multiple platforms; secondly, commercial clients who invest in our advertising solutions, and thirdly, the larger creative ecosystem with whom we partner.

If we designed our services and our processes around our clients and put their wants and needs front and center, we could do remarkable things.

TV ASIA: How are you maintaining the relevance of your linear channel brands?

THAM: Mediacorp is Singapore’s national media network and delivers our content across multiple platforms, including over-the-top, digital, television and radio. We’ve made the shift from broadcaster to fully transmedia company, going where our audiences go. More than 4.2 million people or 91 percent of people here engage with our network weekly.

While TV is still a very important platform and delivers mass audiences very efficiently, we have shed traditional TV as our marker of success. Instead, we are opting for a multiplatform distribution model that reflects the range of consumption habits today. This includes partner platforms like YouTube.

With this multiplatform model, we see accretive audience growth. Free-to-air television is holding ground and digital reach and engagement are growing very well across video, audio and editorial platforms.

Video is the fastest-growing segment, not only in content consumption but also in advertising. Mediacorp now

offers clients transmedia video solutions across an unmatched combination of TV, Toggle and YouTube.

TV ASIA: How have you and your teams innovated in your original programming efforts?

THAM: We are creating IPs and adapting them in formats that suit the audience segment in their preferred consumption platforms across the day. We have consciously designed all of our content to exist on at least two platforms, providing different entry points to a story.

This requires us to really know our consumers—their tastes, preferences and consumption habits. At the same time, we carefully consider how an IP can be experienced across platforms. That way, we engage our consumers— and our clients—in ways that relate to them.

Thoughtful extensions of the content allow for continuity across multiple mediums, from digital to TV to radio. Our content now moves with our consumers wherever they may be.

One clear example is how we have made the CNA brand a truly transmedia one. We leveraged the perception of CNA as a provider of credible, essential information to build a number of extensions: radio channel CNA938 and digital brands CNA Lifestyle and CNA Luxury. The CNA938 radio channel is linked to the newsroom for live interaction between the video and audio extensions of the brand. This way, we are also better able to cater to morning commuters who can watch CNA on TV at home before tuning in to CNA938 during their commute to work. By expanding the genres associated with the CNA brand to include luxury and lifestyle, we have significantly increased CNA digital consumption. In a digital-first initiative, CNA Luxury premiered episodes of its Remarkable Living series online prior to telecast on CNA TV. Subsequently, the CNA TV episodes provided material for some 40 feature articles on CNALuxury.asia.

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Set in a hawker center food court, 128 Circle is a multilanguage drama intended to reflect the diversity of Singaporean society.

Podcasts are another touchpoint in our transmedia approach. MeRadio (soon to be renamed meLISTEN) has had about 70 podcast programs amounting to 1,200 hours of content this year. For example, building on the IP of our multilingual drama 128 Circle, we produced a tongue-incheek podcast about how to get the best deals at Singapore’s hawker centers.

We are using our IPs to meet clients’ marketing briefs, too.

Our recently concluded Star Search, a talent discovery platform, provided an engaging, highly appealing IP for our clients, including Samsung, to create powerful brand stories around.

By training our teams to think horizontally across different mediums, we are structuring our production processes such that a single topic can yield multiple pieces of content, amplify stories and engage target audiences in the most relevant ways.

TV ASIA: How important are alliances, both within Asia and elsewhere, to your original programming efforts?

THAM: We have co-produced current affairs and entertainment content with regional partners over the years. The most recent is the high-concept series All Is Well, a co-production of Mediacorp, Taiwanese production house Eightgeman and Taiwan Television Enterprise. The interwoven series has parallel plotlines, one set in Singapore and the other in Taiwan, and its story hinges on a real-life, high-profile hacking of ATMs across Taiwan. In each series, the seismic cybercrime occurs in the first episode, after which events diverge in dramatically different directions. In August, All Is Well was launched and simulcast on Toggle and our Chinese-language Channel 8 as well as on Malaysia’s 8TV and Vietnam’s HTV. We are also building alliances across the creative ecosystem. “Lights. Camera. Singapore.” is a collaborative initiative where we partner with local playwrights to bring their works from stage to screen. Through it, we have produced highly successful adaptations of Dick Lee’s Fried Rice Paradise and Michael Chiang’s Mixed Signals and are currently producing the screen retelling of another iconic Singapore play, Titoudao.

Beyond co-productions, we are innovating our formats in a variety of ways. We commissioned a multilingual drama in 74 WORLD SCREEN 12/19

English, Malay, Tamil and Chinese, 128 Circle, set in a hawker center, to depict a microcosm of Singapore’s multicultural society.

We’ve also commissioned a telemovie about the mythical monster Rakshasa terrorizing local waters in two languages, Malay and English. Originally we commissioned the production for our Malaylanguage channel Suria but saw the potential for licensing to partners in the region.

Mediacorp wants to tell not only local and regional stories but global stories, too. We’re working with Wattpad to identify stories from their rich depository and bring them from written word to screens.

Wattpad is using its Story DNA Machine Learning technology to find exceptional stories from the over 500 million uploads shared on the platform. We will leverage the same technology throughout the development process, extracting audience insights and perspectives to guide each project.

We’re open for business and look forward to working with like-minded partners who share our passion for storytelling, creativity and quality.

TV ASIA: Are you investing in sports rights?

THAM: As the national media network, we provide coverage of key sporting events of national interest, for example, the Olympic Games and SEA Games. We are the “Singapore stadium” for these events. We have secured broadcast rights to Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 and will deliver multiplatform coverage—live, delayed and via catch-up—over-the-top, digitally, on TV and over radio, on outdoor displays and social media. Partnerships are vital to expanding this offering and serving the interests of sports fans. Investing in partners like beIN Sports, we can offer a wide range of live sporting action on Toggle, like UEFA Champions League, La Liga, Ligue 1 and ONE Championship.

TV ASIA: How are you positioning Toggle?

THAM: Mediacorp will be renaming our digital products to reflect our commitment to designing experiences around our consumers. In January 2020, we will be bringing Toggle, MeRadio and MeClub under an umbrella “me” branding, emphasizing the increasing personalization of our services.

Toggle will be renamed as meWATCH and revamped into a total video destination. meWATCH offers Mediacorp’s rich original content as well as a broad catalog of other content aggregated from partners like HBO, tvN Movies and beIN Sports. Mediacorp will fulfill its role as Singapore’s Olympic network and be the home of the 2019 SEA Games, including special coverage of Team Singapore, largely through meWATCH. Through subscriptions, we may offer fans further coverage of the Games and more options to follow their favorite sports, events and athletes.

TV ASIA: What are your primary goals for Mediacorp in 2020?

THAM: To be a launchpad for the creative ecosystem.

Mediacorp has always played a key role in Singapore’s media industry. What we want to do now is create stronger IPs, explore every potential, build more robust partnerships and become a bigger, better, bolder launchpad for the creative ecosystem, taking it from Singapore and together succeeding in the region.

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Cheng Ding Hunan TV

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ne of China’s top-rated channels, Hunan TV has carved out a niche in a competitive landscape with its locally developed prime-time entertainment shows. With its Biu Project, Hunan TV has been fostering Chinese IP development, while also collaborating with global content powerhouses, among them Fremantle and Endemol Shine Group, to co-create concepts that can work domestically and globally. Cheng Ding, the president of the company, tells TV Asia about how Hunan TV has shifted its focus from format acquisitions to developing homegrown ideas as it looks to position China as the next big format creator on the global market.

By Mansha Daswani TV ASIA: Tell us about Hunan TV’s positioning in China.

DING: Hunan TV is one of the most popular entertainment content producers and broadcasters in China, particularly among female and younger audiences. We have successfully maintained a leading position for the last 22 years in terms of both ratings and advertising revenues. Housing 27 production studios and teams, we produce more than 500 hours of nonscripted content a year. Like the channel’s tagline, “Happy China,” we are committed to conveying positive values and uplifting messages to the public through our passion for creating innovative, entertaining and buzz-worthy content.

TV ASIA: What makes Hunan TV’s content innovative in the Chinese landscape?

DING: The Biu Project, Hunan TV’s original content development pipeline, is working out nicely. We created an environment for innovation, with pilot production opportunities where new ideas get pitched, developed, tested and eventually commissioned on a regular basis. With successes like The Sound and Super-Vocal, the Biu Project has become a driving force for Hunan TV’s original content innovation.

Meanwhile, we actively seek creative partnerships from around the world, brainstorming with international masterminds for new ideas for our audiences. Sing or Spin, a codevelopment format with Endemol Shine, and Dance Smash, a collaboration with Armoza Formats, are weekend prime-time entertainment shows that are winning their time slots with impressive ratings. Our in-house production talent understand what the viewers of their own ages want on television. That’s why the initiative of “Under 30” was set up to discover young talent and encourage out-of-the-box thinking. Last year, we sent a couple of winning ideas from the “Under 30” initiative to the ATF Formats Pitch and won second place. We are doing this again this year.

TV ASIA: There are many digital platforms in China; how are you maintaining such large viewership on Hunan TV’s linear channels?

DING: Social responsibility is at the center of our content creation. We are known for high-quality entertainment shows and our IP, but behind the surface, there is an ongoing quest for meaning. We insist on this and put our hearts into it, so people want to follow our storytelling and truly care about what we have to offer. Digital technologies bring challenges and fragmentation, but only content with social values will resonate with people. The other advantage we have in facing competition from the fast-growing streaming services is the role that Hunan TV plays in shaping Chinese youth culture.

It’s a branding we have carefully built for over 20 years with content that entertains, enlightens and empowers generations of youngsters, and that’s not going to be easy to beat. Having said that, we try to see digital players as partners rather than competitors. Being a content powerhouse, our goal in today’s media environment is to maximize the commercial value of our IP across all platforms, including our own SVOD service, Mango TV. The way we measure our content is changing as well, from traditional real-time ratings to aggregated crossmedia viewing, as well as social media data.

TV ASIA: What did you learn from your experience running Mango TV? DING: What’s changed is the way I look at content distribution and what we can do about the fact that we are operating linear channels and one of the nation’s top streaming platforms at the same time. We granted Mango TV the exclusive rights for online streaming of our content and very recently picked up a few titles they produced to fill our daytime slots, building an ecosystem for viewers across platforms. This strategy has proved successful in driving audiences together. Regardless, content is king and that will never change. Creating innovative content will always be on the top of my list, no matter where I go.

TV ASIA: Why has it been important for Hunan TV to focus on original IP development, rather than licensing concepts from the global market?

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expand our creative alliance and work with a higher number of talents from across the world. The call for entries starts this December.

TV ASIA: What are your goals for Hunan TV’s format development and sales division?

DING: I understand that co-developing formats with global partners or selling formats outside of China isn’t the easiest job to do, given the differences we have in cultures and industrial practices. In the case with Endemol Shine, for example, we had our ups and downs during the two years of hard work before the success of Sing or Spin. It’s important to be patient, learn from each other, and believe in what we do until things work out for both sides. The format launch of Sing or Spin at MIPCOM has made quite some noise. I’m happy with what the R&D center has achieved so far. I believe these experiences are invaluable as we aim to continue the partnership and explore new ones in the coming year.

Hunan TV worked with Endemol Shine Group on Sing or Spin.

DING: We were one of the first Chinese broadcasters in the international licensing business, leading to “format fever” in the Chinese television industry for around ten years. From Western hits like Strictly Come Dancing and Your Face Sounds Familiar to Asian concepts like I Am A Singer and Where Are We Going, Dad?, we had many stories of success.

As the market kept changing, we realized that format acquisition isn’t all-powerful. We have to offer more original ideas that can reflect what’s going on in our lives and resonate with local audiences. For example, the idea of The Sound came from a celebrity text-reading performance on a traditional variety gala we did; and the idea for The Rocking Bridge came from a viral video on a local live-streaming app. These methods of original development worked out extremely well for us. So when the fever of international formats started to cool down, we quickly took another step forward and focused back on original IP creation. Now we have signed some option deals for international production, trying to take Chinese formats to the global market. I hope we will soon make some exciting announcements.

TV ASIA: How did the Biu Project come about?

DING: In 2016, we reorganized the R&D division of the channel. One of the goals was to fully unleash the creative potential of the 27 in-house studios and support the channel’s original content development. The Biu Project started as a monthly pitch competition where creative studios competed for a chance to launch their new programs. Later on, we introduced a pilot production system. Having something we can actually watch and discuss helps us make the best possible commissioning decisions. It also allows us to turn more ideas into reality and learn from our mistakes, which is a considerable boost to in-house content innovation. Now 80 percent of our non-scripted content is incubated through the Biu Project.

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TV ASIA: Are you looking at opportunities to bring Hunan TV dramas to the global market?

DING: Many of our dramas have already gained popularity among the overseas Chinese community. This business is carried out by individual affiliated companies and maintains a solid revenue stream for the group. At this moment we are looking at if we can work together with international scriptwriters to create new original dramas in China, a model similar to non-scripted format co-development.

TV ASIA: What can broadcasters worldwide learn from Hunan TV’s IP development?

DING: Most of the non-scripted content on Hunan TV is produced in-house. Each of the studios we own has its field of expertise, talent resources and management staff. All levels of the channel are there to support them, forming a highly effective working system centering around IP creation. For example, the other job of the R&D center is to conduct global market research to provide insights on content trends and build a network of creative resources. The programming department offers all-media viewing data and shares audience analysis.

While all the information is communicated through a mobile app, it’s my job every day to sit down with one of our producers and discuss their ideas. With that kind of support, a national hit [can be] made within two months, from an idea on paper to grand premiere. But that’s never enough. We can always do better. That’s another reason why international partnerships such as content co-development are mutually beneficial. We keep fine-tuning our ways of working and learning new ways of thinking and exploring what we can achieve in the future.

TV ASIA: What are your hopes for China becoming a global leader in the export of content around the world?

DING: China is a big market and full of energy and opportunity for creativity. With the fast-changing technologies and social development, I believe we are capable of coming up with original concepts that can travel far. Yet there is still a lot to do. We will continue to make efforts in international exchange and cooperation, with a strong sense of responsibility to share with the world our innovative content and cultures.

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By Mansha Daswani

A

joint venture of India’s TV18 and Viacom18, IndiaCast Media Distribution was created to serve as the contentmonetization arm of its parent companies, distributing a wide bouquet of channels, domestically and internationally, and syndicating a broad slate of programming to platforms across the globe. With a portfolio that includes the flagship Colors, IndiaCast’s channel-distribution team has been working with pay-TV operators to cater to South Asian communities worldwide, while the content-syndication group has been creating fans of Indian serials from Central Europe and Southeast Asia to Latin America, Africa and beyond. Today, the team is also looking for opportunities to bring Voot, Viacom18’s successful Indian streaming platform, to the international market. IndiaCast group CEO Anuj Gandhi shares with TV Asia the opportunities, and pitfalls, facing the company in the landscape today.

TV ASIA: Tell us about TV18 and Viacom18’s partnership for IndiaCast Media Distribution.

How is the company being positioned domestically and internationally?

GANDHI: The basic premise was to set up a company to monetize content and [handle] the distribution of channels and content across all

platforms, across the world. TV18 has its own channels and Viacom18 has its own channels. We thought it would be better if one entity acted as a sales organization that can take care of the international business and domestic distribution and content monetization.

TV ASIA: We know pay-TV operators are under pressure in some markets. How is your channel-distribution business faring?

GANDHI: In India, our dominant market—75 percent to 80 percent of our revenues—[the channels segment is] still growing. This is a market that is growing for us in share.

And a new tariff order came out, so we’re seeing some benefits in terms of revenues; it’s a correction of old equations that were being unfair towards broadcasters.

Because that equation is being set right, we see definite gains. So the domestic business in distribution is growing.

We are having challenges in the international business.

Piracy is beating us hands down in some markets—Canada and Australia are prime examples of that. Other markets are not growing but are at least steady. One market that has taken a significant beating for us in terms of distribution and advertising sales is the Middle East. The economy is not doing that well and OSN, the largest operator in the region, shut down their South Asian business a few months back. That has had an impact.

TV ASIA: What role can Voot play in trying to fill that gap in markets where platforms are culling back their South Asian offerings?

GANDHI: We are now in the process of launching Voot across the world. The only issue is, when pirates are doing business, it’s highly competitive. We are talking to other like-minded players to see how we can do this together.

The consumer is used to seeing all channels. Take Canada as an example. Say I’m from India and am now living in Toronto and I’m a Rogers Cable subscriber. I go to my retail corner store and the owner says, drop Rogers because it’s charging you too much money and you only want the Indian channels. Here’s one pirate box with all your channels. I get to see Star, Zee, Sony, Colors, everything. If Voot is to replace [a pay-TV subscription], the customer will ask, What about other content? Voot can fill in some gaps, but the consumer wants aggregation—Roku or Apple TV or an Amazon Fire TV Stick. We are talking to all these players in the market for Voot. We are talking to Sling for Voot integration. Clearly, our future in most of these markets would be the aggregation of apps and Voot will be one of them, rather than an aggregation of channels.

TV ASIA: In India, Voot is AVOD at present—are you looking to add a subscription tier?

GANDHI: Currently, it’s in AVOD, but the Voot team at Viacom18 is working toward an SVOD launch soon.

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TV ASIA: Streaming is such a competitive space in India right now—to what do you attribute Voot’s success?

GANDHI: Life in India is life pre-Jio and post-Jio. Before September 2016, the cost per GB was almost $3; the consumption was about 0.5 GB a month.

Today the price is 10 cents per GB. The number of 3G and 4G customers was about 70 million; today, it’s 500-plus million. So the digital ecosystem today is entirely different. From YouTube to Voot to Hotstar to even Amazon, everyone has ridden the wave of Jio. The challenge in the Indian market is the linear business on digital or even long-duration content.

In the U.S., a lot of Netflix consumption is on the big screen. India is a smallscreen phenomenon. Snackable, shortform content does very, very well. The next phase of digital, where the growth will come from, is when Jio gets into fiber to the home. Most telcos are saying they will get into it, even some of the cable companies. We’ll get more fiber to the home access. As India gets into a more evolved ecosystem, the kind that Apple TV or the Fire TV Stick enjoys globally, there will be more consumption on the big screen. That’s where the growth will come from. That will lead to a higher time spent on the digital app ecosystem than today. On Voot for example, the average time spent per viewer is 50 minutes a day and I’m sure it’ll be higher once the ecosystem is further evolved.

TV ASIA: What are your thoughts on how the Hollywoodbacked direct-to-consumer platforms will fare in Asia?

GANDHI: The jury is out, and we will know in the next two or three years. But I believe in all countries it will be [between the] FAANGs and the dominant local broadcaster networks. In the U.S. case, that’s probably the studios—Disney+, ABC, etc. For India, it will be Hotstar, Voot, SonyLIV, ZEE5. And then the FAANGs. I don’t think there’s any more place for anyone else in the market. So what the studios will do is either ride on the FAANGs or broadcast. Today HBO has a deal with Hotstar. Other studios may do a deal with Voot. In India, I don’t think [the Hollywood D2C services] independently will be hugely successful. The core demand will be fed by FAANGs. FAANGs like Amazon or Apple get into your life for reasons other than pure SVOD. TV ASIA: How is your syndication business doing? In what markets is Indian content doing well?

GANDHI: I’ve been actively involved in that business for eight or nine years now. Clearly, markets are very well defined now. Content coming out of South Korea does very well in Far East Asia. European content is doing very well in markets like Latin America. Most Indian content does very well in culturally similar countries. So the belt of Central Asia through the Middle East—we have some problems with Pakistan now—going up to Sri Lanka and Indonesia, does extremely well for Indian content. We have some joint history, especially with the mythologicals. This is the belt where we do most of our business. We’ve been trying to enter Latin America; we’ve had some breakthroughs.

TV ASIA: Looking ahead to 2020, what are the key areas you’ll be focusing on?

GANDHI: The expansion of Voot is a play we’ll be extremely focused on. The growth of the fiber ecosystem in India and how [we take advantage of that] will be our next big thing.

The next two or three years will define that ecosystem, and there are lots of opportunities there, not only in terms of what will happen to our existing business but also the new content opportunities it will throw up, like 4K. The third priority will be for us to focus on working with our competitors in the market to slow down piracy.

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Mythological dramas like Ram Siya Ke Luv Kush are on offer from IndiaCast’s syndication team.

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Leslie Lee WarnerMedia

By Mansha Daswani

I

ndia landed its first-ever International Emmy Kids Award nomination this year, with Lamput up for the best kids animation award. The Cartoon Network Asia commission is heading into its third season and reflects the success of the channel’s efforts to cultivate and promote animation talent within the region.

As VP of kids’ content for WarnerMedia Entertainment Networks Asia Pacific, Leslie Lee is leading the charge to spot compelling IP from Asia that can supplement the global originals coming out of Cartoon Network Studios. Lee speaks to TV Asia about his programming strategy for Cartoon Network, Boomerang and POGO. TV ASIA: How does the content strategy differ across Cartoon Network, Boomerang and POGO? LEE: Cartoon Network and Boomerang are our regional plays.

With Cartoon Network, we are slightly more boy-skewing, with lots of way-out comedy; it’s very quirky, surprising and funny. There is some action-adventure, but always with a layer of comedy. [The shows are] always character-led. We want Boomerang to be more accessible to generational coviewing. There’s a lot of non-dialogue and physical humor.

It’s the home for a lot of our Warner Bros. animation—things like Tom and Jerry and Looney Tunes.

POGO is only in South Asia. It’s very much a local proposition that we’re trying to build. I’m looking at local IP. We’ve had some successes with shows like Chhota Bheem. We want to add a few more of these local IPs. We have two new originals that we’re looking to launch next year and more after that. We’ve appointed Abhishek Dutta as senior director 82 WORLD SCREEN 12/19

and network head for kids in India. He’ll be overseeing Cartoon Network and POGO [in South Asia]. That will help to strengthen our leadership and place in the Indian market.

TV ASIA: Are you supplementing the global originals and acquisitions with regional and local buys?

LEE: We look at things that supplement our originals pipeline.

Certain markets are more dependent on acquisitions than others, but by and large, acquisitions serve a specific niche in our channel proposition, and that is looking at things that are not necessarily dialogue-driven comedies. A lot of the Cartoon Network originals are very character-led, with an emphasis on verbal comedy. We try to build upon the comedy angle by looking at other things in the market. Oggy and the Cockroaches and Mr. Bean are great examples of things that we are currently not doing on the original slate [so work well as acquired titles internationally]. Similarly, on Boomerang, Taffy and Grizzy & the Lemmings are shows that everyone in our programming teams across the globe love and think have a place on our channels. Another layer we look at is anime. It’s a very interesting genre of content that we acquire. Not a lot of international kids’ channels do that. We understand that kids in our territories love good anime. We look at one or two a year, at the most.

TV ASIA: Which of those layers does Super Shiro fall into?

LEE: Super Shiro is an interesting case study of an acquisition and a collaboration with TV Asahi in terms of getting the

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sensibility of the show right for our channel. We worked very closely with TV Asahi in terms of the creative direction. At the same time, in the whole way it was negotiated, it’s not a production that [we commissioned]. It’s more of a pre-buy collaboration model. Actually, these days, categories like that don’t really matter. It’s more important for us to be able to find a comfort level in terms of collaboration with all our creative partners.

TV ASIA: How complicated have negotiations become as you seek to acquire the entire suite of rights you need for multiple platforms across your footprint?

LEE: As much as possible, we try to negotiate for all rights, all territories. That doesn’t always happen, so we’ll need to sacrifice some markets or some windows, or look at a longer holdback on exclusivity. It’s more about negotiating and being flexible and looking at what works for our platforms.

TV ASIA: Tell us about your original programming strategy.

LEE: Lamput is continuing, Monster Beach is continuing in terms of production. We’re working on a couple of shows in India for 2020. There are a couple of other long-term productions that I’m looking at for India for 2021. And then from a regional level for APAC, I’m working on some new things. It’s really about franchise-building and IP ownership. And then the originals that come out of Cartoon Network Studios and Warner Bros. will remain a big priority for us.

TV ASIA: How do you craft your premiere and marketing strategies in a fragmented landscape?

LEE: We’re doing really well on the linear side with campaigns on air like Shriektober. We have So Much Christmas coming up in December; that does a lot of fronting of our tentpoles.

When we premiere a big show, like DC Super Hero Girls, we create many assets and we cross-promote across all our sister channels and make the premiere an event that drives buzz for us, [not only with our audiences but also with] kids who have not tuned into our channels yet but want to come into the tentpole. For example, with DC Super Hero Girls, we’re promoting it with Warner TV. The other component is the reach and engagement beyond the channel. So we’re looking at a multiplatform strategy, working with partners such as HBO GO to drive awareness and tune-in to our shows.

And then the third point would be about characters, franchises and brandawareness beyond linear, so it’s working with retail, with our affiliates, with our cable partners, on events on-air and on the ground. It’s a three-pronged approach.

first episode of Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart was made available on YouTube before the linear broadcast. It helped with driving awareness with a new audience. Research has shown that there’s very little duplication between the linear and digital audience, so [a YouTube premiere] helps to build awareness and drives tune-in to upcoming episodes. It’s not just about putting an episode up on a nonlinear platform and then hoping that people will discover it. It’s also about creating content for new shows and putting that on our social media platforms and YouTube.

TV ASIA: How are you sourcing new talent, and what will you be looking out for at the ATF Animation Pitch this year?

LEE: We have a very long history of nurturing new talent, and we’re looking at fine-tuning the ecosystem of productions in Asia. We have Cartoon Network Imagination Studios, one of our tentpole events [in which our original production and development teams meet with animators], which we’ve done in Singapore, Malaysia and Australia. Some of the things that have come out of Imagination Studios will see light next year, specifically one or two projects that were sourced and discovered out of the Singapore event. ATF is a great platform for us to look at discovering new talent. I also work with associations and organizations like MDEC and IMDA on getting referrals and introductions to new and up-and-coming production houses and animators and creators. I want them to come to us as the first port of call for any new projects that they have. The other thing is working with universities, looking at masterclasses, to nurture and develop the ecosystem a bit more in our region. There’s a lot of untapped potential when it comes to creators. We want to look beyond Malaysia, Singapore and Australia. Where else can we find talent? The Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand are probably the next horizons we should be looking at when it comes to creative talent as well as ideas. India is another big territory that we are always very interested in.

TV ASIA: Do you sometimes do digitalfirst premieres?

LEE: We’re experimenting with different premiere methods. In the U.S., the 12/19 WORLD SCREEN 83

Produced out of India, the Cartoon Network Asia original Lamput was nominated for an International Emmy Kids Award.

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