FOXCrime Asia

World Screen Weekly, October 9, 2008

COUNTRIES: Hong Kong, Indonesia, Maldives, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Philippines and Taiwan

LAUNCH DATE: 2006

OWNERSHIP: Fox International Channels

DISTRIBUTION: 9.5 million homes worldwide

DESCRIPTION: FOXCrime Asia’s schedule satisfies its viewers’ need for programming on everything from catching serial killers to cracking challenging cases.

SENIOR MANAGEMENT:

Managing Director & Executive VP: Zubin Gandevia

Senior VP, Ad Sales & New Media Partnerships: Avinash Himatsinghani

Senior VP, Programming & Broadcast Operations: David Gunson

Senior VP, Marketing, Southeast Asia: Sonia Jackson

Director, Programming, FX & FOXCrime, Southeast Asia: Rupi Sagoo

PROGRAMMING STRATEGY: From legal dramas to police investigative shows, FOXCrime Asia boasts a schedule packed with “the best crime fiction franchises that feed the voyeuristic curiosity of viewers who enjoy this genre,” says Rupi Sagoo, the director of programming for FX and FOXCrime in Southeast Asia. “We also want to launch new shows to the region and turn them into appointment-to-view shows.”

To differentiate itself from its competitors, notably the AXN channels and STAR World, FOXCrime Asia has created a genre-driven schedule structured around the key Prime Crime hour at 10 p.m. The channel’s best crime fiction series are broadcast during this time slot on weeknights. “Our competitors are either more mainstream, general entertainment with themed nights or focusing on different genres that appeal to a similar target audience,” Sagoo notes.

Targeting 18- to 49-year-olds, the network is on a constant search for crime fiction dramas and factual content from the main Hollywood studios and a variety of distributors. Although the current slate consists entirely of acquired programming, the first in-house Fox International Channels drama is currently in production with Fox Television Studios.

The channel has picked up shows such as the Golden Globe-nominated Dexter, a drama about a blood splatter expert for the Miami police department who carries out his own brand of justice by murdering criminals, and the third season of NCIS, which focuses on special agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, who travels the world with his team investigating crimes with Navy or Marine Corps ties. Other dramas include CSI: NY, which revolves around a team of crime-scene investigation experts. The channel has also revived the award-winning NYPD Blue, which is based on two partners facing the gritty reality of life in a New York City police unit.

FOXCrime Asia factual content offerings include Under Fire, a half-hour series that gives insight into the stories behind dangerous face offs and high-risk car chases, and Mastermind, which examines some of the most complicated capers in history and the police effort it took to expose these scams. The show Cops features real police officers on patrol and the criminals they take down.

WHAT’S NEW: FOXCrime Asia will soon launch a revamped website. “As the medium for us to proactively communicate with our viewers, we will focus on user-centric design to give our viewers a better online experience and help them to keep up with the latest news,” Sagoo notes. “We will also introduce more fun elements and everyone who loves crime shows can use our website as a place to meet and talk to each other.”

With a move away from a heavy reliance on factual content to a schedule driven by fictional shows, upcoming programming highlights include the second season of Brotherhood and the hit USA Network show Burn Notice, which follows a blacklisted spy who struggles to put his life back together and find out why he has been burned.

WEBSITE: www.foxcrimeasia.com

—By Jackie Stewart