Another edition of the Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) is upon us, set to take place December 9 to 12 at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. The 2014 edition is tracking well ahead of last year in terms of attendance, according to Hui Leng Yeow, the senior project director for ATF at event organizer Reed Exhibitions. \u201cWe are confident that we will deliver a bigger and busier market this year,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n
Attendance at last year\u2019s ATF saw a 10-percent increase on the prior year, with a record of 16 official delegations. There was a significant increase in buyers from South Korea, Hong Kong and China, along with first-time buyer participation from Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon and Myanmar.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have been investing a lot of resources in recent years to build a strong learning component customized for the Asian market,\u201d says Yeow of the 2014 agenda. \u201cOur conference strategy is working well, and we are very encouraged by the strong attendance last year. We presented a total of 69 international speakers last year.\u201d<\/p>\n
This year, the speakers include Jonathan Spink, the CEO of HBO Asia; Ricky Ow, the president of Turner International Asia Pacific; Zubin Gandevia, the president for the Asia Pacific and the Middle East at FOX International Channels; and Robert Gilby, the managing director of The Walt Disney Company (Southeast Asia). Other speakers set for ATF include Maria Kyriacou, the managing director of ITV Studios Global Entertainment and Rest of World Production; Alon Shtruzman, the CEO of Keshet International; Avi Armoza, the founder and CEO of Armoza Formats; Tracy Forsyth, the genre director of factual entertainment and entertainment at BBC Worldwide; and many others.<\/p>\n
Attendees can also look forward to a change in location this year, says Yeow. \u201cWe will still be at the Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre, but we will be moving the market and majors\u2019 hospitality suites from levels 1 and 3 to level 5 of the convention center. The layout on level 5 allows us to put everything on one floor and makes business networking more efficient. This new space also offers an exclusive immaculate view of the Singapore skyline, and will definitely provide a more pleasurable business experience for all attendees.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the market front, Yeow says attendees can expect more big brands participating this year and a better variety of content from Asian countries such as Japan.<\/p>\n
ATF will again be co-located with ScreenSingapore, benefiting attendees who operate in both the TV and film space. MIPACADEMY, a joint collaboration by Reed Exhibitions and Reed MIDEM, which organizes MIPTV and MIPCOM, is back as well. \u201cThe introduction of MIPACADEMY last year was welcomed by the regional producers, most of whom don\u2019t travel to international markets,\u201d says Yeow. \u201cMany commented that it is an insightful platform for them to learn from the industry experts, given the increasing possibilities in the formats and factual programming space.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year, MIPACADEMY returns to the basics of factual and formats production and how-to in terms of localizing,\u201d Yeow continues. \u201cSome of the sessions include Creating a Format Bible, How to Draft the Perfect Treatment, How Do You Prolong a Successful & Long-Running Format, The 10 Golden Years of Real Variety, Localising Asian Formats: Insights on How Japanese Formats are Adapted for Thailand, Delivering Stories in the Digital Age, How to Create Successful Scripted Format & Drama, and Turning Disadvantage into a Critical Edge.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 1-to-1 Format Session is new to MIPACADEMY this year. It is a series of 30-minute closed-door consultations prearranged with Alexis de Gemini, the founder and CEO of A2G Studios, or Tim Crescenti, the president of Small World International Format Television.<\/p>\n
Building on the success from last year, ATF Animation Lab returns bigger this year as well. A total of ten commissioners (there were seven last year) will be reviewing submissions from regional producers. \u201cThe essence of Animation Lab is still pitching,\u201d says Yeow. \u201cTo better the know-how of the producers, we will introduce Up-Close with Commissioners this year, which will allow producers to get a glimpse into each commissioner\u2019s programming plans for 2016\u201317.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have also curated more kids\u2019 conference sessions for producers this year, which will take place on day two of the market,\u201d Yeow continues. \u201cWe will be addressing topics such as content production, consumption trends in Asia and digital. All in all, the Animation Lab aims to better prepare our Asian production community through a 360-degree perspective of the animation business.\u201d<\/p>\n
Above all, Yeow hopes that ATF can serve as a venue for content distributors to establish new contacts and make sales. For the producers, she hopes that ATF can provide valuable knowledge to them that they can apply in their work and also present business possibilities with commissions attending the market. Yeow also hopes that attendees who are new to Asia can gain new insights into the content business in this part of the world. \u201cThat is the main essence of ATF and ScreenSingapore: buy, sell, learn and network with Asia,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Another edition of the Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) is upon us, set to take place December 9 to 12 at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. The 2014 edition is tracking well ahead of last year in terms of attendance, according to Hui Leng Yeow, the senior project director for ATF at event …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3227,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[247],"class_list":["post-3226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-profiles","tag-atf-2014"],"yoast_head":"\n