Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but not when it involves copyright infringement and intellectual property piracy. Seeing one's cheaply copied content, or consumer products, for sale on a market stall in Southeast Asia or Greater China may be encouraging evidence of brand popularity – but it more often indicates an ongoing erosion of licensing revenues.

Which is one reason why TV brand-holders are increasingly exploiting ancillary rights in the digital marketplace. For Licensing 2007 International, Fremantle Media announced its intention to build a presence in the new media space.

The Price Is Right and Family Feud, for example, have already moved beyond the small screen, including live stage shows in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, video games, toys, board games and lottery tickets. "The online and mobile platforms have proven extremely successful for these brands and we'll continue to grow them in these platforms that keep the properties exciting and relevant to younger and older fans alike," said David Luner, Senior Vice President, Interactive & Consumer Products, North America.

Plans Stateside for The Price is Right include a new downloadable online game from Ludia, Inc along with electronic tabletop and handheld games from iToys. Family Feud is already a popular mobile game from Mobliss and an online 'daily' game from iWin.

While there are no immediate plans to roll out such ventures in Asia, Fremantle Media Enterprises has expanded its Asia Pacific team – reporting to Sydney-based Jon Penn, Vice President - Asia Pacific. "(This) is an increasingly important ancillary rights market for us and these appointments and promotions are indicative of how seriously we view the region," said Penn. Malti Peplow assumes the newly created position of Director, Sponsorship & Interactive, Asia. She is charged with exploiting FME's brands - including Idol in Indonesia, Singapore and India, The Price Is Right, Family Feud, The Mission - across consumer products, telephony and voting, live events, interactive and wireless and sponsorship. Peplow will also be focusing on driving advertiserfunded television and digital programmes, developing the roll-out of participation TV and establishing a gaming and lottery licensing business in the region.

In addition, Ben Liebmann becomes Vice President – Australia & New Zealand,overseeing FME's brand licensing, sponsorship, interactive and mobile businesses. Olivia Arnold has been promoted to Manager, Licensing & Sponsorship, Australia & New Zealand and Melbourne-based Emma Gordon has been promoted to Editor of www. neighbours.com

"Merchandising traditionally refers to consumer products and hard goods, brand licensing," Penn explains, "but issues of piracy means there is little opportunity for 'mugs and t-shirts'-type revenues in the region." He says the slew of new appointments is part of a drive to exploit FME's brands in other ways, "To grow the adfunded and advertising leveraged revenues – like licensing a format to an advertiser for their promotional purposes – to create a web version of a show for example." The other revenues FME is looking to increase in the region are those arising from participation TV, interactive shows which are effectively funded by the interactivity as viewers participate on-line and on-mobile.

A recent example of a show that is combining both advertiserfunding and interactive revenues is Vietnam Idol for which i- POP Networks and Gapit Communications will provide the mobile services. Working in congruence with FremantleMedia, national broadcaster HTV9, and the show's title sponsor Unilever - i-POP and Gapit will manage the end-to-end telephony. This includes in-program SMS and telephone voting, mobile alerts, Idols mobile games, content creation and downloads (eg wallpapers, screensavers, ringtones), mobile contests, and produce exclusive made-formobile videos.

Vietnam Idol is also Fremantle's first production to have been fully under-written by an advertiser – in this case Unilever. "It's easier to do those deals in

Asia, the region is ripe for such deals," explains Penn, adding that discussions are currently underway for an ad-supported version of Project Runway.

Penn also refers to FMX, Londonbased new media division, which is actively growing the business from a traditional media organization by seeking out new media opportunities. "Atomic Wedgie (with the tagline 'painfully funny'), for example, is a mobile comedy channel and Fremantle's first foray into the channel space and we're looking to launch it in the region," Penn explains. Another interesting application is EnAct, an AI software that enables you to add your face to a piece of drama – paying FME for the privilege. "You could add your face to Neighbours, for example, and pay a set price for the clip and its usage."

Taking viewer participation even further into the realms of virtual reality came Endemol's announcement at MIPTV 2007 of a creative partnership with games giant Electronic Arts (EA). This will see the development of Virtual Me, a new digital entertainment concept bridging the divide between traditional TV and videogames. The all-new online offering is being prepared to debut in Endemol's top-rated Big Brother.

Combining EA's avatar creation technology with popular TV formats from Endemol, players will be able to meet, compete and socialize in online digital worlds. Avatar creation includes astonishingly life-like cyberclones, which can participate in virtual versions of TV talent shows like Fame Academy and Operacion Triunfo, game shows like Deal Or No Deal and 1 vs 100 and to form real relationships with other virtual avatars on the web.

Endemol International has appointed Andy Ward to head up the Virtual Me team as Director of Business Development, reporting directly to Endemol International's Senior Executive Director, Creative & Commercial Affairs Mike Morley. Morley describes Virtual Me as a "venture that we believe can revolutionize the way audiences young and old interact with major entertainment brands," as well as revolutionizing the ways in which Endemol can monetize its brands. "While merchandising is an old term, these new developments are born of the same consumer demand – to sample our brands offscreen," he explains. "It started with apparel and board games, but these are mere bedrock rubble compared to the real magma of digital and interactive brand extensions."

Speaking to Television Asia from Endemol's HQ in the Netherlands, Morley says the Deal or No Deal handheld game was a huge seller in the US. "While this was verging on digital media, there are a multiplicity of games arising from our TV products. And we're now experiencing with edgier games." Based upon the Exposed TV show, in which suspicious partners can uncover lying friends or lovers, viewers will be able to download an online application akin to the Layered Voice Analysis key to the TV show's lie-detection system. "Viewers could then phone whomever they choose, using the LVA to find out if they are telling the truth."

As for the brand extension opportunities afforded by Virtual Me, Morley says the avatar creation is highly sophisticated, employing the same imagery as today's top electronic games. "Your avatar will be able to enter specific TV brands – to compete in virtual Big Brother, Deal or no Deal (localized to feature the host in your territory) – or EA games like FIFA soccer. "We're looking at multi-player Big Brother games, in which you'll be housed with other Big Brother fans and compete for prizes." Morley says the advertising implications are also very promising, opening up opportunities for new in 'house' or in-site. "In some markets you could play Deal or no Deal gambling for real money," he says – adding that Virtual Me affords interesting and sexy windows for new games and formats. "In a dating-game, for example, you could use the software to age someone else's avatar – to see what they will look like in 30 years time, or use splicing technology to predict what your offspring would look like," he adds mischievously.

At the newly-launched 2waytraffic International, which incorporated Celador of Who wants to be a Millionaire? fame, Managing Director Ed Louwerse agrees that formats afford multiple revenue streams beyond traditional merchandising.

"Numerous revenue streams have emerged, what they are varies from format to format and territory to territory, bu examples include interactive TV,mobile and online games, and sponsorship," says Louwerse.

"The term merchandising refers to products sold through retail, and is too narrow to apply to the many ways in which we can leverage our brands across other platforms. It all sits under the umbrella term of 'ancillary rights' but things like online games are extensions of our formats via digital platforms which the industry refers to as interactive applications. At 2waytraffic International we have both a consumer product licensing department and an interactive department. Between them, they cover all areas of licensing and ancillary revenues, apart from formats and completed programmes."

Louwerse says it's too early to divulge specifics, but says the company is constantly looking into creative and innovative ways to provide partners and clients with interesting new business models, and is aiming to develop interactive gaming possibilities into all its IP. "Promotions with third parties and advertiserfunded progammes are also a strong proposition at the moment," he says.

As to whether ancillary revenues are factored in from the onset of format creation, he says entertainment content is created with an eye on the needs and wants of the market. "It depends on the format and territory when these come into play. It may be from the outset, or it may be at a later stage in the life-cycle of the format. In acquiring a format like Millionaire, we're looking to create new opportunities using our experience and expertise. Market and technical developments can also, of course, bring new insights at any point in the process."

Continues Louwerse, "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Is phenomenally successful in terms of ancillary revenues. It really broke new ground in that respect, and was the first format to have such an extensive and successful licensing program surrounding it, extending into a range of hugely popular consumer products and pioneering interactive applications. I can't think of any other format that has replicated that. To give just a few examples, the first PC game was the fastest selling ever at the time, the board game sold over 1 million units in the UK alone in its first two years and the mobile game has launched in over 30 countries with over 400 million subscribers around the world."

He agrees with FME's Jon Penn that product piracy can be a deterrent to traditional merchandising in the region. "In Asia, there are constraints in terms of merchandising due to the fact that pirate products enter the market so quickly and at such low prices. This makes digital exploitation an even more attractive proposition for a TV format because we can exercise greater control. In terms of interactive and digital opportunities in South East Asia, there's a lot of scope for growth, which makes it an exciting territory."

More upbeat about traditional merchandising however, is Simon Wong, Senior Licensing Director Asia for the Playboy brand. The primary objective of the merchandising is to establish Playboy as a fashion lifestyle brand within the region's major retailers. "In the past four years we have launched Playboy apparel in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand, we're now looking at Singapore and Malaysia." Wong says 70% of their customers are young women, aged 18-25, who see Playboy as a fashion label rather than as an adult content brand. "We have a complete collection, and now have 180 shop-in-shops within major department stores." Priced in the mid-range, a women's t-shirt retails at around US$30 – 35. Wong says Playboy takes brand piracy very seriously and the Asian office has enough autonomy to react very quickly, and is working in conjunction with customs departments in individual territories.

Growth, says Wong, has been very encouraging, doubledigit year on year. Apart from other luxury goods in the pipeline, he says a recent licensing deal with a company in Hong Kong saw the creation of a custom-made Playboy yacht. Retailing at around half a million US$, it sounds the perfect accessory for the Asian businessman aspiring to the Hugh Hefner lifestyle.

And although there are no immediate plans to roll out this new consumer product line in Asia, it's a range worthy of mention for lovers of nostalgia the world over. It was one of the biggest television shows of the '90s and soon became one of the most recognizable programs in the world earning a Guinness World Record as The Most Watched TV Show of All-Time. Now Baywatch, the show that made both David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson household names and running slow-motion down a beach acceptable, is heading to retail shelves across the US. FremantleMedia, producer and licensor for the popular series, will translate the iconic program into a line of apparel, swimwear, calendars and more just in time for summer.

"Baywatch was a pop culture force in the '90s and has always been among the most asked about properties in our catalog. We recognize that there is a certain 'nostalgic humour' with this property and we're embracing it with a tongue-in-cheek approach," said David Luner, Senior Vice President, Interactive & Consumer Products, FremantleMedia's North American licensing team. "With summer right around the corner and people dreaming about beaches, this is the perfect time to launch a merchandising program around this timeless summer icon."

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