Petra Schneider

In March, the German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle launched its second channel in Asia, DW-TV Asia+. Expanding beyond its traditional German-language, news remit, DW-TV Asia+ features 18 hours of programming in English per day, "with an increased focus on culture and lifestyle programming," says Petra Schneider, who heads up the distribution of Deutsche Welle services and content. "This is just another step in our regionalization process, as we are actually going to have two dedicated channels to help us reach our audience in Asia even better. The reaction has been really positive so far. There is a lot of interest in DW-TV’s content and the higher percentage of English programming offered by DW-TV ASIA has been met with a lot of enthusiasm."

Schneider has high hopes for DW-TV Asia+, noting that the company is already "well-positioned" in the region. The company has been similarly successful in Latin America, and recently has expanded its presence in the Middle East. "We are extremely proud of our market share in Egypt—where it is very competitive. We have worked on a wide range of projects with other broadcasting partners, as well as social and educational institutions. For example, Youth Across Borders, a co-production from Deutsche Welle and the Egyptian television station ERTU, has 1.1 million viewers weekly and a market share of 12.5 percent."

The success of DW, Schneider says, comes from the channel’s ability to "offer a unique perspective on different issues, interests and trends. We are also a source for quality infotainment with programming that covers everything from fashion and design to business and politics. I see it as a channel for everyone who is interested in seeing the world from a different point of view as well as insights to the latest issues and the newest trends. For those viewers who are looking for what’s new, fashionable and interesting in Germany and throughout Europe, they will be able to find all of the details on DW-TV."

In addition to distributing the full 24-hour channel, Schneider heads up efforts to sell DW content to third-party broadcasters, with the DW-TRANSTEL brand. "We sold more than 2,000 hours of programming in 2008," Schneider notes. "DW-TRANSTEL offers everything from award-winning documentaries to the most popular shows on DW-TV."

Highlights for the company at MIPTV included factual series such as Food for Everyone: A Losing Battle and Guardians of Nature and the kids’ show The Peppercorns.

As she continues to build the DW brand in territories across the globe, Schneider sees room for expansion on new-media platforms, noting, "We are working hard to offer tailored content for different platforms and make sure our content is present on the Internet and on mobile devices."

Another key strategy, Schneider continues, is "regionalizing all of our offers to meet our customers’ needs in each market. This means making the most-watched content available in the right language and with the correct partners. We are also looking into the development of projects with strong regional partners. By working with them, we can create programming relevant for the region and put together a really unique package for our viewers."