Simon Twiston Davies

World Screen Weekly, July 1, 2008

CEO

Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA)

“Subscribe to the Future—All Eyes Are on Asia” is the theme of this year’s CASBAA Convention, which will be held in Hong Kong from October 28 to 30. The phrase reflects a prevalent sentiment in the entertainment business today—that the Asia Pacific is expected to be the focal point for tremendous growth in the years to come. According to a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers report, the media and entertainment market in the Asia Pacific will total $508 billion in 2012, a 52-percent gain on last year. ZenithOptimedia, meanwhile, has forecast an 8.5-percent growth rate for adspend in the region this year, with advertising revenues expected to reach $111.5 billion. By 2010, Japan will be the second-largest advertising market in the world, and China the fifth.

The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA), an industry trade body that represents more than 130 companies, will be celebrating these gains at its annual convention. Keeping pace with the increased activity in the business, the CASBAA Convention is moving to a new location this year. “We’ve outgrown [the previous] venue,” notes Simon Twiston Davies, CASBAA’s CEO. “Our industry is growing, our market is still very strong and we’re getting very good take-up from outside of Asia by those who are looking beyond their own domestic markets for growth.”

The result, Twiston Davies says, was the creation of the CASBAA Dome, which is being constructed specifically for the three-day event. The “large exhibition and conference area,” he says, “will make [for] a very unique experience for the delegates.”

CASBAA is also promising a comprehensive lineup of speakers and panels that will address the region’s success stories and tackle the challenges and opportunities ahead, particularly in the new-media arena. Highlights include a keynote speech by Anne Sweeney, the co-chair of Disney Media Networks and president of Disney-ABC Television Group. As Twiston Davies notes, The Walt Disney Company has ramped up its efforts in the region as of late, particularly in lucrative markets like India and China. “The story that Disney has to tell about the development of their online communications and their online strategy will help to set the scene for the show, and will also give some indicators of the future for the development of pay television and broadcast video of all kinds.”

Also among the keynote speaker lineup is Darren Childs, the managing director of BBC Worldwide Channels, which has a five-channel pay-TV bouquet in several markets in the region, as well as SVOD services.

Rounding out the confirmed schedule of speakers is Abe Peled, the chairman of NDS, the conditional access company that was in the headlines this week with its planned privatization by News Corporation and Permira. The session, Twiston Davies says, “will give us further insight into the digital world and how we can protect our content but also make sure that it is available on a the widest number and type of platforms possible. NDS will talk about content protection, but they’ll also talk about content management. Abe has a global view of the technologies that are taking off around the world.”

The convention schedule also features a range of sessions, including one on the variety of channels in the Indian landscape, and another on Korea’s emergence as a content powerhouse. In addition, there will be a special look at the European channel brands available in the region. “Lots of European content is coming into Asia and being developed for Asia,” Twiston Davies says. “EuroSports, EuroNews, TV5, BBC, RAI, all have channels and distribution in Asia. We’re trying to bring in as many of the presidents or CEOs for an afternoon to give us some light on their strategy for Asia and what they’re looking for from Asia.”

Twiston Davies says that CASBAA is adding some new panel formats to the conference program this year, including what he calls “double headers,” which will “bring together the platforms and the content providers—so content meets carriage. Our game plan is to have the leading MSO from India speaking on the same platform as one of the leading broadcasters in India. Or Korea, or Malaysia, or Thailand. It’s a dual view of a particular market and the way it’s developing.”

In another session, five or six speakers will have ten minutes each to deliver a dynamic, interactive presentation on media planning and advertising opportunities. New-media technologies, meanwhile, will be under the spotlight in 18-minute sessions that will pepper the entire conference schedule.

“Asia is still a very healthy market,” Twiston Davies says. “We’ve seen some declines in the economy in the U.S. and in Europe. Asia Pacific is still seeing growth, both in terms of economics, but also in the media markets. We don’t want to be patting ourselves too hard on the back. From our perspective we know we need to work harder and be more creative than ever before—and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”

—By Mansha Daswani