An expected 12,000 professionals will arrive at MIPTV hoping to win some of the expected US$4 billion worth of business. Television Asia hears from the selling end at the annual audiovisual and digital content fiesta in Cannes
1 April 2007
Monica Veiga Director, Sales Asia & Latin AmericaCCI Entertainment has continued to achieve considerable success with animated properties. Korea stood out as our strongest market in 2006, amidst much activity in other countries in Asia Pacific. In terms of children's content, comedies, edutainment for pre-schoolers, and families' co-viewing titles are in strong demand for 2007. We expect sales to go up this year with a number of new products available. India, Malaysia and Japan are key markets which we see most business coming from. For 2007, pre-school series Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs and CGI animated comedy Erky Perky are our top offerings. Also, Frankenstein's Cat which will be launched at MIPTV is also expected to be popular. Our foray into the new media scene is in its initial phase as we have begun to create content specifically for mobile and online games. We are trying to get around obstacles of regulations and high costs in dubbing for IPTV, and costs associated with editing for the mobile platform. However, we are certain these platforms will be beneficial in the following years for content owners, as exemplified by developments inKorea.Terry Mak Executive Vice President, Distribution and Television NetworksCelestial Movies increased carriage in Indonesia from two to three platforms and launched WaTV, a mandarin infotainment channel in Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. Our Shaw Brothers' film library increased distribution to nine countries in the Middle East, but Malaysia and Indonesia remain the strongest markets. Indonesia saw a surge in competition with a rise in marketing and sales activities from incumbent operators due to the entrance of a new player. Its free TV market is experiencing an increase in local drama production and a slow down in acquisition. WaTV echoes current trends with Chinese reality shows Super Girl and Let's Shake It, original talk shows Today's Topic and variety show Happy Walala. We see Vietnam as an emerging market with great potential and will launch Celestial Movies in the country this year. Action titles from the film library are popular with the Middle East and Latin America. VOD is important to Celestial as IPTV has the potential to bring considerable returns as broadband penetration increases. We are already in a number of VOD deals and provide content to several key markets within and outside Asia. Christine Fellowes Managing Director, Asia Pacific, E! Entertainment Hong KongE! Networks' Asia Pacific syndication business expanded around 25% in 2006. Our strongest market was Korea, having launched S-DMB and VOD adding to business with major programme providers. Japan and India fared well while deals were sealed with Creative Program's lifestyle network and Solar Entertainment's ETC and ETC 2nd Avenue in the Philippines. Also, China's Shanghai Media Group acquired Live from the Red Carpet: Academy Awards Special for its News and Entertainment Channel. In 2007, Hollywoodfocused entertainment specials, reality and countdown series return with renewed vigour with Paradise City, Love Ride, Extreme Hollywood and High Maintenance 90210 expected to sell well. Short-format webisodes are in demand for channels' websites to complement long-format programmes as Style Her Famous Bonus Makeovers segments from Style Network. In addition, XPlay, The Block and Holy @#$*! are our new offerings catering to young males. E! established a specialized department, SPANC (Short Form Programming and New Content) a year ago to produce content for website The Vine @Eonline, as well as mobile and broadband platforms. As we own most rights to our content, we can market short format programmes quickly for new media outlets. Edward Sharples Managing Director, Endemol Thailand2006 saw Vietnam take up the most deals: Deal or No Deal for HTV7 and Hanoi TV, Suc Song Moi for VTV1, The Birthday Show for HTV7, and Brainteaser Da Nang for VTV. The Philippines picked up Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity and Teen editions, Pinoy Dream Academy, and Deal or No Deal was taken by ABS-CBN. Game shows are popular regionally especially Participation TV. Our hottest shows for 2007 are Big Brother, Deal or No Deal, 1 vs 100 and Participation TV. Even as reality seems to be on the downturn in Thailand, it remains strong in the Philippines. Overall, sales should go up, as we expect returns from working with Malaysia's Media Prima and Astro, and its first collaboration with Singapore's Mediacorp in Deal or No Deal. The Philippines is running second seasons for a number of shows with new ones to make their debuts. Ties with Indonesia's RCTI and TPI will grow, and pace of the Vietnamese market should quicken. Endemol's digital media operations grew in 2006 and will bring experience and expertise from Europe to Asia to cater to new platforms.Ganesh Rajaram Sales Director, Asia, Fremantle Media 2006 was phenomenal for Fremantle Media as Prehistoric Park, Janice Dickinson Modelling Agency, and returning brands American Idol, Project Runway, Jamie Oliver and The Apprentice all found success. The strongest markets in Asia-Pacific were Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore, although we saw growth across all our markets. For 2007, I see a continued demand for reality programming with American Idol season 6, Project Runway, Apprentice and Janice Dickinson's Modelling agency to be our popular picks for the year. Factual program, Nigel Marven wildlife shows, and lifestyle programming including Martha Stewart, Jamie Oliver, and Bill Granger should also be well received along with comedy series Mr. Bean. Fremantle has been monitoring the media landscape and is constantly looking to new media platforms for opportunities. A division to produce content specifically for new platforms has already been established in the newly-formed FMX. Creation of new entertainment brands and concepts for mobile, broadband, games consoles and Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) is FMX's specialization.Raphael Corrêa Netto Sales Director, Globo TVIn 2006, Globo TV comercialized 64 productions for 73 countries, and participated in eight international trade shows. Launches of 2006 include telenovelas Belissima, Soul Mate, Taste of Passion and series JK, Mad Maria and Carandiru. Especially successful was the series City of Men which was exhibited in 78 countries. We re-opened the Chinese market with Shades of Sin premiering in April 2007 to reach about 1 billion viewers and will provide CCTV with 82 live games of the Brazilian and São Paulo soccer championships. Productions introduced to Asia were selected after studies with partners on audiences' habits and relevance. For MIPTV 2007 we will bring telenovelas Pages of Life, Little Missy, Snakes & Lizards and Like a Wave, and new interactive format It's Your Call which allows audiences to decide the ending via telephone and the internet. For new media, our studios are fully digital and can produce in HD and for multiple media platforms. Globo is currently identifying productions to be reworked for new media outlets.James Ross Regional Director, Granada International, ITV WorldwideJapan and Korea are important markets as the latter ended a stand-off between broadcast and telecom industries to launch IPTV, leading to strong demand for Granada international's Hell's Kitchen, Pocoyo, and Dracula. Southeast Asia remains strong with the launch of our regional office while we expect more from maturing markets of China and India. The growth of local productions is significant while the multi-channel and multiplatform landscape creates fragmented audiences. As localized programmes create relevance and hold audiences, we offer scripted formats and remake rights to broadcasters to make local versions. Highlights for 2007 include dramas Instinct, Durham County and the final series of Prime Suspect, Granada international TV movie Deep Rescue, disaster movie Swarm, entertainment format An Audience with... and quiz format War of the Words, HD wildlife documentary Natural Mysteries and children¹s programming Supernormal. We are working with partners as new media opportunities emerge in Asia. Much of our content is tailored for the multi-platform environment including terrestrial, cable, satellite, IPTV, VOD, digital terrestrial and mobile services.Antonio Huab Vice President - Asia Pacific, HIT EntertainmentHIT Entertainment set up its Hong Kong office to manage TV, video and consumer products licensing and distribution across Asia Pacific. Japan, Australia, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong are strong markets for US. In programming trends, the increased availability of platforms and new media, particularly in technologically advanced markets, together with growth of service operators looking to expand subscription base and diversify portfolios with specialized programming, are offering specific choices to various consumer segments. Sales will go up due to advances in IPTV, VOD and mobile platforms, and most Asia Pacific markets should see increases. For 2007, Thomas and Friends, Bob the Builder and Barney are our hottest picks. We see markets going quickly to digital, and how VOD affects the current cable business will be interesting. We will monitor Korea's television technology and observe changes to the landscape in 2007. As HIT's core business is content production and distribution we are definitely producing for new media platforms. Our Asia office will move in tandem with new media.developments in our US and UK markets.Leena Singarajah Vice President – IMG Media; Head of Factual & Entertainment, AsiaHighlights for IMG in 2006 were entertainment programmes Keith Barry: Extraordinary, Sounds of Style, Nobel Peace Prize Concert, Road to the Academy Awards, and format Chef v Britain. We enjoyed success with India, Australia, Indonesia, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and pan-Asia networks. I see continued interest in 2007 for music-related shows and specials. Demand for documentary and factual programmes should pick up pace especially for those produced in HD, and lifestyle programmes could see sing interest. Sales should increase in 2007 with the release of new titles from subsidiaries Tiger Aspect Productions and Darlow Smithson Productions. HD lifestyle shows After Hours with Daniel and Beer Nutz; documentaries A Day in the Life of the Kamikaze and Hero Gene;format Make Me A Supermodel and dramas Benidorm, Roman's Empire and Coming Down the Mountain are some of IMG's top offerings for the year. Interest has come from pay- TV channels launched in Asia – BBC Global Channels, Fox Crime and FX. IMG is currently producing for multiple platforms as exemplified by our variety of fashion content which goes out to broadband and online platforms.Peter Kim Producer, Global Strategy Team, Korea Broadcasting System Costume drama Hwangjini did best for KBS in 2006, having been sold to Japan, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. For regional sales, Japan has traditionally been our best market accounting for over 50% of overseas sales. Taiwanese and Malaysian markets also grew considerably in 2006. Markets in Indochina should pick up pace in 2007 as demand for drama and formats from Vietnamese terrestrials and cable operators is expected to increase while Cambodian and Burmese partners will be acquiring from KBS. The sizeable Asian population in North America will also drive demand. With new programming genres to be launched by KBS, sales volume will be up in US, Central Asia, the Middle East and especially in Japan. Drama Full House and costume dramas Hwangjini and Emperor of the Sea are our most popular offerings for 2007. For new media, KBS has seen demand come from mobile, internet, VOD and IPTV platforms. We have already tailored shorter versions of our content which are currently going out to mobile providers in Japan. Ross Pollack Senior Vice President, Distribution at Sony Pictures Television InternationalSony Pictures Television International (SPTI) represents Sony Pictures Entertainment which set a record US$1.5 billion in US box office receipts and US$3 billion worldwide last year. Notably, SPTI acquired Korean drama Hyena and anime MaskMan, as well as Japanese miniseries Tokyo Friends programming for distribution across Asia in 2006. There was increasing demand from Korea and China, and we opened an office in Seoul last February to better meet clients' needs. Movies Spider-man, Anaconda, Kung Fu Hustle, and series Kidnapped did well, as formats licensing surged ahead with Blackjack Bowling in Taiwan, Gong Show in Indonesia and Pyramid in Vietnam proving successful. Growth in new media platforms and evolution in on-demand entertainment will provide opportunities and challenges for SPTI's team specialized in licensing content to new media platforms. Following the success of mobile content from James Bond movie, Casino Royale, SPTI is offering Afterworld, a 2.5D animated episodic property from Emmy-nominated producer Stan Rogow in 2007. 130 two-minute episodes will be distributed across TV, web and mobile utlets to depict life on earth after a global event renders technology useless and most of the population missing.Joanne Azzopardi Sales Executive - Asia & South Africa, Southern Star InternationalMost of Southern Star International's business in 2006 came from pan-regional broadcasters including Australia Network, Nickelodeon and Discovery, while Korea and Singapore were strong markets. Drama McLeod's Daughters, crime franchise Wire in the Blood and pre-school series Hi-5 were successes. Demand for children's programming, wildlife documentaries lifestyle programming should grow for not only pan-regional broadcasters and but also terrestrials. As our animation has fared well, we are expecting success from The Sea Princesses and The Beeps launching in 2007. Documentary Lemur Street, mini series Rain Shadow and travel show Getaway are highlights of SSI's new properties. We are watching the emergence of new media platforms and are keen to exploit these rights, but we hope to see proven returns for producers before proceeding. Now, SSI is working increasingly with VOD rights through IPTV in Asia, rights are sold only if an advance and revenue share is the business model, and the projections justify it as a viable option. We are also creating digital assets, mainly marketing materials, to promote our programmes on new media platforms.