ATF Buyer Profile: MediaCorp’s Joy Olby-Tan

November 28, 2011 World Screen Top Stories

PREMIUM: Movies, scripted series, reality shows and entertainment events top the shopping list at MediaCorp’s Channel 5 in Singapore, says its VP of acquisitions, Joy Olby-Tan.

What have been some of your most successful acquisitions recently?
Live or near-live content always gives the channel a great buzz: we air The X Factor USA day and date; the World Cup Qualifier football matches featuring the Singapore team were also taken live. Good ‘ole creature features have worked well, alongside series like Primeval and Undercover Boss.
 
How much do you buy annually?
Channel 5’s content mix is still predominantly acquired in nature, and we buy upwards of 2,000 hours annually.
 
What are some of the slots you’re currently looking to fill?
We have slots in prime time that need to be filled with movies, scripted and non-scripted series, entertainment events… There are also untapped opportunities in non-primetime that we are open to exploring with enterprising parties.
 
What kinds of formats are you looking for?
Formats that we acquire need to have a strong intrinsic brand value. Because MediaCorp has an active and successful creative arm, it only makes sense that we buy IP and creative expertise that value-add to what we currently have.
 
Are you interested in co-production opportunities?
Co-pro is an exciting new area that Channel 5 is looking to move into. The genres need to fit into the channel’s mass entertainment positioning, the final broadcast language needs to be in English and of course the business model needs to work for all parties.
 
Are you increasing your programming budget?
We plan to keep to current budget levels. If there is a clear business case, we are not averse to incremental investments.