Shopping List

April 2008

It’s been more than a decade since the Asian economic crisis crippled acquisition budgets across the region. And while license fees in all territories are, on average, still lower than most distributors would like them to be, broadcasters have regained a strong appetite for international content across a wide range of genres.

The cable landscape has been particularly receptive to foreign fare, and one of the biggest pan-regional buyers is the Hong Kong-based STAR. As president of entertainment, Todd Lituchy oversees programming for all of the company’s English-language outlets, including four feeds of the general-entertainment STAR World, four feeds of STAR Movies, plus the youth music network Channel [V] International. Lituchy notes that for STAR World and STAR Movies, about 90 percent of the content is acquired, and recent breakout successes have included NBC’s Bionic Woman and Heroes on STAR World. “Bionic Woman launched in February and was the highest-rated drama on cable in Singapore,” Lituchy says. “Both Heroes and Bionic Woman air on STAR World before our terrestrial competitors.”

The bulk of STAR’s English-language content comes from the U.S. “However, we also have Canadian and British content and we are looking at doing more acquisitions outside the U.S. if we can get the product exclusively in our markets,” Lituchy says.

His acquisitions strategy for the year covers movies, comedies, dramas and reality shows. “Prime time is our focus,” he adds. “But as we refresh our channels we will need programs for all day parts. We will also be doing a lot more stunting going forward.”

BBC Global Channels has emerged as a new customer in the region, following the Asian rollouts of BBC Entertainment, BBC Lifestyle, CBeebies and BBC Knowledge. Ryan Shiotani, the director of programming in the Asia Pacific for BBC Worldwide’s Global Channels division, says that BBC Lifestyle acquires about 60 percent of its content from third-party distributors, as compared with 40 percent for CBeebies, 20 percent for BBC Entertainment and just 15 to 20 percent for BBC Knowledge. Not surprisingly, the bulk of the BBC channels’ acquisitions come from the U.K., but, Shiotani notes, “There have been some acquisitions of Canadian and American programming primarily for BBC Lifestyle.”

The trend will continue, and Shiotani is looking to acquire content from the Asian region in the future. As he heads into MIPTV, Shiotani says he’s on the lookout for “new lifestyle formats for BBC Lifestyle, more Asian stories for BBC Knowledge and preschool programming for CBeebies.”

PAY-TV PICKUPS

Beyond the pan-regional platforms, cable and satellite networks in traditionally difficult markets like Korea have also opened up new opportunities for distributors. In Korea, a key buyer is CJ Media, which operates eight thematic networks, including the movie channels Ch.CGV and XTM and the lifestyle outlet O’live. Seung Ae Sohn, the head of acquisitions at the broadcasting division of CJ Media, cites The Tudors as one of the most successful purchases for Ch.CGV, along with Hollywood blockbusters like Spider-Man 2, Fantastic Four and Shrek 2. Sohn says that the Hollywood majors are a key source for CJ, alongside British and Japanese distributors.

Indian cable and satellite channels, which are expanding at a rapid rate, are also becoming sought-after customers. Zee Café, for example, programs its entire schedule with English-language content, “encompassing all genres: drama, sitcoms, action, reality, fashion, lifestyle, music and movies,” according to Neil Chakravarti, the executive VP and business head for English channels at Zee Entertainment Enterprises. He comments that for the first time on Indian TV, Zee Café, which buys about 80 percent of its content, is presenting current-season U.S. network series, including The Big Bang Theory, Gossip Girl, Aliens in America, Pushing Daisies and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. The Hollywood studios are Zee Café’s biggest supplier, Chakravarti explains, but he has also bought from independent distributors in the U.S., the U.K., Canada and Australia.

The ABS-CBN subsidiary Creative Programs Inc., meanwhile, has stocked up on a host of international titles from Disney-ABC International Television and Comcast International Media Group, among others, for its recently launched cable networks, which include the female-skewing Lifestyle and Velvet and the male-skewing Maxx.

In Japan, NHK does most of its buying for two of its satellite channels, where 32 percent to 37 percent of the grid is acquired content, according to Seiji Miyamoto, the head of acquisitions at the pubcaster. In contrast, the flagship terrestrial network acquires just 3.3 percent of its schedule. American drama is a key genre in the NHK buying strategy, with successes that have included Ugly Betty and ER. Documentaries from the likes of the BBC, such as Wonderful World of Albert Kahn, have also been important to the schedule, Miya-moto says. His mandate for the coming year is more high-definition content, as Japan gears up for the analogue switch off in 2011.

While free TV across Asia has been a tough arena to crack, there are a number of broadcasters that have become major clients for international distributors over the years, including MediaCorp in Singapore, which operates an English-language general-entertainment outlet, Channel 5.

According to Christopher Tan, the programming manager for network programming and promotions, about 70 percent of Channel 5’s schedule is acquired. “In recent years we have had great success with Ghost Whisperer, Prison Break, American Idol, Heroes, Desperate Housewives, CSI.” Blockbuster features have also been ratings winners, among them the Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Spider-Man franchises.

Tan notes that the primary source of content for Channel 5 is the U.S., and he is looking to pick up more dramatic series and movies, as well as variety and reality titles. “We’re also on the lookout for more sitcoms and game shows,” he adds.

American series have also been a part of the buying strategy of Malaysian terrestrial ntv7, which targets an “affluent, well-traveled and discerning” viewership aged 25 and up, according to Teo E Ling, the urban brand manager at the commercial network. About 40 percent of its schedule is acquired; key U.S. offerings for ntv7 recently have included the long-running CBS reality hit Survivor and ABC’s hospital drama Grey’s Anatomy.

Another Asian broadcaster that has drawn solid ratings with American series is ABS-CBN in the Philippines, which has two terrestrial channels, Channel 2 and Studio 23, and a slate of cable channels. Studio 23 is the primary home for acquired U.S. fare and buys about 30 percent of its schedule. U.S. drama acquisitions have included Desperate Housewives, Lost and Grey’s Anatomy.

ABS-CBN is the dominant terrestrial broadcaster in the country and has a broad viewing audience, according to Leng Raymundo, the head of acquisitions at the group. As such, she looks to acquire a large variety of genres. “In the Philippines, more than seven out of ten homes have only one TV in the household,” she says. “This phenomenon is a significant challenge for ABS-CBN, as it means a channel has to cater to different targets. We have to make sure that there will be something in our grid that will capture each member of the family.”

According to Raymundo, ABS-CBN programs animation for its younger viewers, reality and anime for the teen set, soap operas and talk shows for female audiences and news and current affairs and comedy content for male viewers. “We may have child-friendly programs in prime time with themes that the whole family will enjoy,” she adds. “We also have variety shows that are designed to do the same. Some soaps would have elements meant to be equally attractive to males” and females.

In terms of soap operas, ABS-CBN has been looking to Latin America since 1999, when the broadcaster acquired Televisa’s Rosalinda. The series was a “phenomenal hit, with almost a 70-percent audience share when it aired,” Ray-mundo notes. Other novelas that have performed well for ABS-CBN include Televisa’s Rubí and Inocente de ti and Telemundo Internacional’s Pasión de Gavilanes.

ABS-CBN’s primary competitor, GMA Network, has also had some novela successes over the years. Marimar, from Televisa, was one of the biggest, according to Roxanne Barcelona, the VP at GMA Worldwide, who acquires for GMA-7, a family-friendly, mass-market outlet with a heavy skew toward local content, and QTV-11, a slightly more upscale, female-friendly channel. She adds, however, that the importance of Latin American novelas on the GMA schedule has been eroded somewhat by Korean dramas. “We’ve had all the big ones, Jewel in the Palace, Full House, Winter Sonata. We’re now showing Coffee Prince, which is doing quite well, almost rating 30 percent every night.”

KOREAN WAVE

Korean dramas also continue to fare well on the ABS-CBN channels, and successes in the past have included Princess Hours, It Started with a Kiss, The Truth and Lovers in Paris, among many others. Content from neighboring Asian countries remains a priority for Raymundo. She cites the 2003 success of the Taiwanese youth-skewing drama Meteor Garden, which averaged a 35-percent rating over its four-month run in an afternoon slot, as having “paved the way for the success of Korean and other Asian series.”

Raymundo’s team acquires about 1,500 hours per year for ABS-CBN’s flagship terrestrial network, Channel 2, predominantly animation and series from other Asian markets.

Malaysia’s ntv7 is also looking to other countries in the region for content, and has found success with anime, especially Doraemon, and Chinese-language series from Hong Kong. Animation and Asian feature films have been a priority for the Indonesian broadcaster Global TV, which targets kids, teens, young adults and those who are “young at heart,” according to Endah Hari Utari, the general manager of programming at the station. “As the mainstream channels mostly provide a local drama in prime time, we are offering viewers a different alternative, such as Western and Eastern box-office movies and animation in the early prime time.”

Utari notes that successes for Global TV, which acquires about 60 percent of its schedule, have included shows from Nickelodeon, anime titles and Asian football events. This year, she is on the hunt for more animation, plus movies, documentaries and reality shows.

One of Global TV’s competitors, ANTV, acquires about 30 percent of its schedule, says Gunawan, the head of the program-acquisitions section. His buys have consisted mainly of movies, dramas, animated series and documentaries from distributors in the U.S. and the U.K., as well as from other Asian markets, notably India, Hong Kong and Japan. Among the acquisitions currently airing on ANTV are the FOX drama Prison Break and Kkavyanjali, a serial from STAR in India, while kids’ fare includes Atomic Betty and Captain Flamingo. ANTV also features a host of sports content, including English football action with matches from the FA Cup. As Gunawan prepares the schedule for the rest of the year, he is on the lookout for additional animated series for kids, plus documentaries and movies and more formats after the success of Super Deal 2 Milyar, which is based on Let’s Make a Deal. “We’re open to reality and game shows from anywhere,” Gunawan says.

GMA’s Barcelona, too, has now turned her attention to formats, both scripted and unscripted, to fit into a schedule that is about 90 percent locally produced, she says. On the game-show and variety front, recent acquisitions include Idol, with Pinoy Idol launching this April, as well as Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, Identity, Whammy! and Family Feud. “All the canned versions of the formats we buy are on QTV 11 and the local versions are on GMA 8,” Barcelona explains.

Barcelona is also targeting novela formats to develop shows that can sit alongside the network’s “telefantasy dramas.” She says tht “those are unique to GMA.” The broadcaster already netted big ratings for Marimar, based on the classic Televisa novela of the same name. The local version, Barcelona notes, “is the number one prime-time show in the Philippines at the moment. It’s [getting] 45- to 49-percent [shares] every night.” Next up to take Marimar’s slot in the afternoon schedule is Rosalinda, also an acquired Televisa format.

At ABS-CBN, meanwhile, “Pinoy Big Brother is very big in the Philippines, and so is Deal or No Deal,” Raymundo says. “Wheel of Fortune recently launched. We are also on the lookout for anything new that can bring freshness to our lineup of programs.”

And Ling at ntv7 says that she is planning to ramp up that network’s local content and has her eye on game shows and reality series to add to the schedule, as well as lifestyle magazines.

Channels across the cable and terrestrial landscapes are increasingly factoring new-media rights into their negotiations with distributors. BBC Global Channels’ Shiotani says he’s already buying pay-TV, on-demand and IPTV rights, and is “exploring mobile and some online rights.”

“We would like to start offering viewers the option to catch up on programs that they missed out on, online,” says ntv7’s Ling. MediaCorp’s Tan says that he, too, has added new media into the mix during his buying process, as has Zee’s Chakravarti.

CONTENT COLLABORATION

Co-productions are also on the planner for broadcasters region-wide. Raymundo notes that one is in the works at ABS-CBN, with another Asian broadcaster as a partner. According to Ling, ntv7 has “several projects in the pipeline.” Sohn at CJ Media says the Korean company is keen to display its production prowess to international partners: “We are open to every opportunity.” MediaCorp’s Tan, meanwhile, is looking to collaborate with international partners on drama, variety and sitcom projects.

As they devise their programming strategies for the near future, the big question on the minds of many buyers—and distributors—is which Asian market to attend this year. With Reed MIDEM due to launch the multiplatform event Amazia in Hong Kong in November, and Reed Exhibitions relocating the Asia TV Forum to a bigger convention hall in Singapore in December, sellers and broadcasters are trying to figure out what their budgets can afford this year. The good news for distributors, however, is that broadcasters are committed to making some room on their schedules for international content. As media companies across the region continue to expand their brands further into the multichannel landscape, that positive trend looks set to continue.