Exclusive Interview: FremantleMedia’s Ian Hogg

PREMIUM: Ian Hogg, the CEO for the Asia Pacific at FremantleMedia, tells World Screen about what’s in store for the company in the Asia-Pacific region in 2013.

WS: What have been some of the major developments in FremantleMedia’s Asian business in the past year?
HOGG: We’re finding that our holy trinity—our Idols and our X Factors and our Got Talents—continue to do really well. Those three big formats are shows that we’re immensely proud of. We spend a lot of time making sure that the production of those formats year on year evolves.

WS: What are your plans for rolling out scripted formats?
HOGG: We see the Indian marketplace as a very big opportunity for scripted programming. Likewise in Indonesia. The Indonesians have been producing scripted programming as their staple diet for a very long time. And China is the other big scripted market. It’s obviously a little more difficult in China. We don’t have a production business there yet but we’re looking at that in the next 12 or so months. There’s a renewed focus within FremantleMedia in the scripted space. In our Australian business we’re doing a lot more in that space and our visibility in the next 12 months is going to be even greater.

WS: You have a format development deal with Fuji TV in Japan, which has been the only Asian territory so far to really make its mark on the global format business. Why do you think there are so few format ideas on the international market that originated in Asia?
HOGG: It’s not an Asian thing, I think it’s a broadcaster thing. It’s confidence from the broadcasters. But we have shows coming into ATF that are from seven, maybe eight different countries. Now it’s not just about U.K. programming or U.S. programming, it’s about a great idea. As Asian broadcasters become more sophisticated in their production techniques and their storytelling, companies like us are very keen to grab those [concepts] and put them onto the world stage. One of the unique things that FremantleMedia has is a great [distribution] business. We’re very proud of that and we’ve got very good relationships in all our key production territories to sell those programs.

WS: What opportunities are you pursuing in terms of digital media in Asia?
HOGG: There are enormous opportunities. It’s a question of time. The broadcasters in a lot of ways aren’t as mature in their digital strategies as some Western countries; some are more evolved. The Korean market is an example. Over time I think it will mature. The numbers are still small, but for companies like ours it allows us to showcase our content in so many different ways. That’s a great thing for us as content producers and it’s a great thing for our partners to see that we can actually get their programming distributed online, on tablets, on mobile, on television, at any time. That’s one of the real challenges of our business moving forward. To make sure we can get that [business] to a mature place.

WS: What are some other growth areas for FremantleMedia in Asia?
HOGG: You’ve hit the main ones, which are digital and scripted. But it’s also getting back to basics. I mentioned the holy trinity at FremantleMedia. FremantleMedia has been very good for a very long time at keeping shows on air, keeping them fresh and working with our customers. That’s a real focus for us at the moment; making sure that as we look forward, we’re still looking down. It’s very easy not to do that. We all change in life and things evolve, and new things come in and out. We’re organized to think at a group level and at a regional level about what we’re doing now, how we can make it better, but in that environment, where can we grow? Clearly digital and scripted for our business at the moment are the two areas for growth.