Endemol Sets Up New Malaysian Office

CANNES, October
13: Endemol South East Asia is expanding into Malaysia, relocating its regional
headquarters to Kuala Lumpur from Bangkok, Thailand.

In setting up its
new operation, Endemol has been working with MDeC (Multimedia Development
Corporation), which runs the MSC Malaysia media initiative. Endemol South East
Asia has licensed more than 30 programs in six countries across the region,
including a local version of Fear Factor in the Philippines that was shot on location in Argentina for ABS-CBN.
In Cambodia, Deal or No Deal has
been commissioned for its first run by CTN, while in Thailand 1 vs.
100 has had it first season extended on
Channel 3. Other recent commissions in the region include 1 vs. 100 on RCTI and The Last Passenger on Trans TV in Indonesia.

Marco Bassetti, the COO of Endemol, said, “Since launching
in 2005 Endemol South East Asia has undergone substantial growth. By establishing this new base in
Malaysia we are now widening our presence and increasing our leverage
throughout the region, opening the door
to further expansion.”

Ed Sharples, the managing director of Endemol South East
Asia, added: “The launch of our new
Malaysian office represents a significant further commitment to South East Asia
by Endemol. This not only considerably strengthens our local foothold but will
also enable us to better serve our broadcast partners here. We are
extremely grateful for the support we have had from the Malaysian Government
via MDeC which has been pivotal in helping us to achieve this goal.”

MDeC’s CEO, Dato’ Badlisham Ghazali, stated: “We are very
proud to have the presence of large, reputable companies such as Endemol, which
will be a catalyst for Malaysia's entertainment media industry to grow further.
This also further reiterates MSC Malaysia’s position as a key destination for
investment and relocation for creative content companies to serve the Asian
market.”

—By Mansha Daswani