Rob Gilby

November 20, 2009 World Screen

It’s been a busy few months for Disney-ABC International Television (DAIT) Asia Pacific, with a host of deals signed with broadcasters and platforms across the region. FOXTEL’s Fox 8 and W channels in Australia picked up ABC Family’s Make It or Break It and the TNT legal drama Raising the Bar, among other shows. Malaysia’s Media Prima Berhad signed up for a package of features, dramas—including FlashForward—and animated titles for its TV3, ntv7 and 8TV channels. In Indonesia, MNC, which operates RCTI, Global TV and TPI, also opted for a multi-genre package crossing DAIT’s entire portfolio. In addition, DAIT renewed its longstanding agreement with the pan-regional Star World, and clinched a new movies and live-action-series deal with Zee in India. Rob Gilby, the senior VP and managing director of DAIT in the Asia Pacific, is leading the distribution of the studio’s content to traditional and new-media outlets. His remit also includes the distribution of Disney Channel and Playhouse Disney to platforms in Asia. He tells TV Asia Pacific about how DAIT is taking advantage of all the new opportunities emerging across the region.

 
TV ASIA PACIFIC: With all signs pointing to an ad recovery in Asia in early 2010, are you seeing that buyers are ready to start increasing their programming budgets again?
GILBY: Everyone is still a little cautious. However, we have seen some positive signs of recovery in some markets. Even though advertisers always take a little bit of time to come back, DAIT still sees great growth opportunities across Asia. Whether we are speaking with free-to-air broadcasters, pay-TV broadcasters or cable and satellite and IPTV platforms, they all want to maintain their competitive position and edge while retaining their relationships with consumers. And the best way to achieve this is to provide consumers the right shows, with the best content, stories and characters.
 
TV ASIA PACIFIC: Are you seeing more multiplatform deals in Asia, with broadcasters picking up online catch-up or VOD rights to your programming?
GILBY: We see amazing growth potential and new business opportunities across the region fueled by the rapid evolution of digital technologies. We are actively pursuing digital media opportunities and some [of our] partners have moved quickly, some not quite as quickly. This year, though, across the board people have fully embraced new technology to the point they are entering into deals and asking, what else can we do?
 
DAIT has had great success with both catch-up TV and VOD deals across the region from Australia to Korea. Free-to-air and pay-TV broadcasters were some of the first to use catch-up TV. For example, we have done a variety of online catch-up deals with TVNZ, TVB and MediaCorp, to name a few. We believe free-to-air broadcasters can benefit from these new technologies. ABC.com, with our ABC network in the U.S., is a great example of this. We have successfully demonstrated that these new technologies can help retain audiences. From our perspective, it’s additive and it does not have to cannibalize. In fact, we have evidence that the number of episodes people watch increases when they have the catch-up service. In addition, you reach different demographics and are able to get new audiences to connect with your shows. ABC’s average demographic is around 42, but ABC.com’s is around 28. This, in turn, broadens our relationship with advertisers. It’s these types of learnings and insights that we are sharing with our partners as they look to develop digital-media strategies to drive their business forward.
 
With the digitization of cable and DTH services on the rise, TV broadcasters in Asia are also looking beyond just linear channels and realizing the potential of subscription video-on-demand services. DAIT has done very well on a number of digital platforms, like IPTV, for transactional VOD. If you look at the forecasts for Asia’s pay-television platforms, one of the key trends that is going to happen over the next couple of years is the digitization of pay-television platforms. Looking at the region, a large majority of what we have is cable, but DTH is emerging very rapidly. In addition, analogue cable is converting in countries like China and Korea, with long-term potential in India.
 
Disney, as a company, has openly and aggressively embraced emerging technologies. We believe the consumer is king, but before you serve them you have to understand them. And by understanding how audiences in Asia use digital media, it gives us and our partners an opportunity to connect with consumers in new ways. We conducted a digital-media study last year in Australia, Hong Kong, Korea and Singapore. The study targeted digital natives and how they consume TV content, what devices they use, and their preferences. We found a number of interesting trends. Firstly, they want to choose what they watch and when they watch it. Secondly, there is a desire to own it and share it. The idea of sharing is all about the consumer’s excitement for their favorite TV show, its characters and how the story is developing. We are working with our partners to develop innovative digital-media business solutions that allow consumers in legitimate ways to enjoy their favorite content. For example, last year we announced a digital-media deal with mioTV in Singapore so that its viewers could have access to their favorite ABC prime-time series on demand 24 hours after the U.S. broadcast. Additionally, we are exploring potential opportunities for electronic sell-through for some of our titles.
 
In Asia Pacific, digital-media-platform adoption is at early stages in some markets, but in other markets we see quite advanced trends. So even though we approach different markets in different ways, the focus remains on working with our partners to provide consumers with the best entertainment experience.
 
TV ASIA PACIFIC: What are some of the new programs you are offering to your Asian clients?
GILBY: We are very focused on shows that have premises that are different, compelling and really stand out. The hot show of the moment is FlashForward,which has been picked up in more than 100 countries worldwide. We also have Cougar Town, the comedy starring Courteney Cox, and the new drama Happy Town. We also have a couple of ABC Family shows: Make It or Break It and 10 Things I Hate About You, both incredibly successful in their target demographic of 18- to 35-year-olds. Disney Channel has got the most phenomenal track record now, whether it’s series like Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place or the Disney Channel original movies. Also, with the successful launch in the U.S. and a number of European territories of Disney XD, which is an aspirational, boy-targeted channel [we have] Zeke and Luther and Skyrunners. On our movie slate, we’ve got A Christmas Carol coming with Jim Carrey and Alice in Wonderland with Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter. It’s a phenomenal slate of movies and TV series which we’re really proud of and excited about. Our clients also trust the brand and they trust the individual programming.
 
TV ASIA PACIFIC: In addition to program distribution, you oversee the rollout of the Disney channels. What are the advantages of managing both sides of the business?
GILBY: It means that we can offer our business partners an incredibly compelling portfolio of content for audiences of all ages across Asia. It enables us to work more closely and collaboratively with our partners. We are not just selling shows. We are using our vast portfolio to work together with our partners to generate value and provide services that consumers want.
 
TV ASIA PACIFIC: What are your priorities for the channels business in 2010?
GILBY: Over the last few years, we have significantly increased the reach of Disney Channel and Playhouse Disney in Asia Pacific. This has provided an important platform to launch and build hit properties such as Wizards of Waverley Place, J.O.N.A.S., Sonny with a Chance and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. In 2010, we will continue to work closely with platform partners across the region to support the growth of their subscriber base as well as introduce key new shows such as our latest animated series, Stitch, that was produced in Japan. We are also exploring the potential for Disney XD, an exciting multiplatform brand that hyper-targets boy. Last year we successfully launched Disney XD in the U.S. and Europe and it has been extremely well received by business partners and viewers alike. Another priority for us in 2010 will be to work with our partners to continue to build and expand our multiplatform strategy, providing multiple consumer touch points for our properties and brand.