Ross Pollack Senior Vice President, Distribution, Asia, Sony Pictures Television InternationalRoss Pollack is SPTI’s Senior Vice President, Distribution, Asia, a position he assumed in 2004. Based at SPTI’s regional headquarters in Hong Kong, he heads SPTI’s Licensing group Asia-wide and is responsible for distribution of all Sony Pictures filmed entertainment, acquired product and SPTI-produced product content in the region. Prior to his promotion, Pollack was Senior Vice President, Business Development, Asia, working closely with the regional team to identify and develop new business opportunities in Asia for SPTI’s three main lines of business – licensing, international production, and international networks. He was previously Managing Director of Buck Consultants in Hong Kong from 1993 to 1996. From 1987 to 1993, he was employed by Hewitt Associates, first as an International Human Resources Consultant from 1987 to 1990 based in Chicago and Santa Ana, CA, followed by a stint as Manager, International Consulting at Hewitt Associates’ Tokyo office.With new media platforms accounting for around 20percent of new business in Asia, Pollack says SPTI has been very proactive toward emerging technologies. “This is not a reactive measure, as we are also a technology company. We initiated a world first in ‘day and date’ VOD movie release,” he says, whereby On-Demand subscribers can see a movie the same day and date as it is released for home entertainment.Pollack says content providers are looking for long-term strategic partnerships with platforms, accompanied by sustained marketing and promotional efforts, content protection, a willingness to experiment and be creative, and to share data. With many operators new to the TV business, Pollack says SPTI offers significant marketing support to platforms offering new services.Among the challenges facing content providers, Pollack points to rampant piracy; the need to support new platforms with programming, marketing and technical expertise; managing the compressing of windows; and partnering with platforms to find a win-win’ economic model. “Change is not constant, it’s accelerating,” he said. “Models are challenged, some are broken and new ones are needed. The younger generation wants content when, how and where they want it, preferably free.”Linfi eld Ng Senior TV Manager, BBC Worldwide AsiaAs Senior TV Manager – BBC Worldwide Asia, Linfield Ng is responsible for the distribution of BBC Worldwide’s catalogue to Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Macau. Ng licenses content, across all genres, for a wide range of platforms including TV, IP-TV, VoD, S-DMB and mobile, and has introduced landmark BBC brands such as Planet Earth, Charlie and Lola, Top Gear and Doctor Who to broadcasters and content platforms across Asia. Linfield began his career at Warner Brothers in 1998, as Sales Executive for Singapore. In 1999 he was promoted to Asian Operations Manager at Warner Brothers, managing the distribution of all theatrical releases across Indonesia, India, Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. In August 2004, Linfield joined BBC Worldwide Asia as Territory Manager and was promoted to his current role in 2006.According to very recent figures from BBC Worldwide (BBCW), in Taiwan, digital media business accounts for roughly 48% of the company’s overall sales in this current financial year (07/08) so far. In Korea, digital media sales accounted for 16% of overall sales in financial year 06/07, while in financial year 07/08 they already account for 25% of BBCW’s overall sales. And in Singapore, digital media sales accounted for 54% of overall sales in financial year 06/07. “The viewing pattern is changing completely, and above all, we want to be wherever and whenever audiences want to consume content,” says Ng. BBCW has licensed over 130 hours of content to KT for its IP VoD service; over 230 hours of BBC programming to Hanaro Telecom for its IPTV VoD service; more than 200 hours to Singapore’s M2B World and struck a VoD deal with Astro for Doctor Who.“We’ve also got a branded channel on YouTube, containinghundreds of clips from BBC programmes – over 4 million videos were viewed in its first month of operation.” He says the company is embracing local platform technologies like S-DMB and DVB-H which don’t exist in the UK, and BBC Worldwide was the firstUK distributor to provide entertainment content to an Asian mobile TV broadcaster’s S-DMB service. “But it’s a two-way street, and clients are having to adapt themselves to take advantage of the digital media revolution too, growing in ambition, moving into new areas and taking on larger budgetsJames Ross Regional Director Asia, Granada InternationalBased in the company’s Hong Kong office, Ross is responsible for building a local presence for Granada International and ITV Worldwide throughout the Asia Pacific, by establishing strategic partnerships with clients and partners and exploring new opportunities to further develop the business. His role encompasses Granada International’s programming sales, licensing and formats activity as well as new media opportunities. Ross has lived in Asia since 1996 when he joined Bloomberg Television’s launch team in Tokyo as a TV Reporter and Anchor.After becoming Programme Manager, he moved to the business side as Media Marketing Director. He relocated to Hong Kong and was promoted to Media Marketing and Distribution Director in2004. He was responsible for marketing Bloomberg’s channel throughout the Asia Pacific region and negotiated Bloomberg launches in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines. In a presentation made at BCWW in Korea, Ross outlined the future of content in an online world. Phase one, which he describes as ‘Back to Future’ involves nonexclusive deals; niche platforms; small licence fees but larger packages of content; as well as acknowledging the often small, but growing, subscriber bases of newer operators. “Minimum guarantees and revenue-sharing are necessary for smaller players. But our advice to them, essentially is that you have to differentiate your platform with its content – the content is the brand.” In the long term, Ross says it will come down to survival of the fittest whereby platforms either have to merge to survive, or steal subscribers from their competitors. He says success will depend on two factors – a solid understanding of the client base and ensuring a good customer experience for the viewer – with choice of the right good quality content key to both of those factors.Low Ka Hoe Director, mio TV and Content, SingTel Consumer GroupKa Hoe joined SingTel in April 1995. He has held various management roles in different business units, from managing M&A activities in SingTel Strategic Investments, holding the role of COO of SingTel Global Offices, to managing all of SingTel’s consumer sales points. Before his current role, Ka Hoe was posted to Telkomsel in Indonesia where he assumed the role of VP for Products and Mobile Data Services. In May 2006 he was posted back to Singapore to assume his current role as Director, mio TV and Content. In this role he is responsible for SingTel’s mio TV and content businesses as well as driving new media and converged services. Ka Hoe holds a Master in Engineering degree, as well as a Master of Science in Management degree from the Stanford University.Michele Schofi eld Director of Content – Programming, Acquisitions & Production, AETN All Asia NetworksSchofield develops and implements content strategy for The History Channel and Crime & Investigation Network in South East Asia. Schofield manages programming and production for the linear TV channels, web sites and other platform content, including long and short-form acquisitions, co-productions and original commissions. She also oversees the content production team responsible for localization and formatting.Schofield was formerly Head of Acquisitions and Development forTurner Entertainment Networks Asia, where she focused on acquiring and developing new content for the Asia Pacific market for the company’s networks, including Cartoon Network, Boomerang and Pogo, and sat on the International Green Light Council of Turner Broadcasting. Schofield also served as Director of Programming & Acquisitions at Turner and as Program Manager for Cartoon Network Australia/ New Zealand. Prior to joining Turner, Schofield held positions with Paramount Pictures, Discovery Networks and LAbased production companies.Mabel Tan Senior Manager, StarHub LtdMabel Tan leads the integrated content business development team that manages the strategic content partnerships and develops key content propositions across StarHub’s Cable TV, Mobile and Online platforms. Prior to her current appointment, Mabel was incharge of the development and management of all mobile content services for StarHub. In this role, she was directly responsible for the content lineup for StarHub’s mobile rich media offering. Tan has previously managed StarHub’s Internet platform with the Interactive Services division.“Because we now approach content from an integrated perspective, many of our key content deals are now planned and negotiated wholistically across platforms. This allows our key content partners to plan for their own roadmap of services and maximise the offerings in line with our overall ‘hubbing’proposition and marketing initiatives.”“As a triple-play service provider, we approach each of our content partnerships and offerings from an integrated perspective of how the content can be best consumed by our customers over the TV, Mobile and Online platforms. We have worked with many of the industry’s best brands and like-minded partners where their content USPs are extended from traditional TV viewing to mobile data on-the-go, as well as complementary access online through PC etc.”

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