{"id":3352,"date":"2015-03-02T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-03-02T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/2015\/03\/02\/asiaa%c2%80%c2%99s-got-drama\/"},"modified":"2016-01-22T10:51:06","modified_gmt":"2016-01-22T15:51:06","slug":"asiaa%c2%80%c2%99s-got-drama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/asiaa%c2%80%c2%99s-got-drama\/","title":{"rendered":"Asia’s Got Drama"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"This article originally appeared in the ATF 2014 issue of <\/em>TV AsiaPac.<\/em><\/p>\n

Asian distributors are seeing increased interest in their drama series across the region and around the world.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Korean wave has seemingly finally made its way to the U.S. media business. Two broadcast networks, CBS and ABC, are in development on their own versions of Korean drama series; cable network SundanceTV is on the lookout for a show from a Korean storyteller; and DramaFever, a U.S.-based streaming site specializing in Korean content, raised some $12 million in funding and was being eyed for purchase by Barry Diller\u2019s IAC before it was snapped up by Japanese telco SoftBank.Asian audiences, however, have been enthralled by Korean serials for years, and the demand does not appear to be slowing. Indeed, Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific sees so much potential in the genre that it is launching Oh!K\u2014its first new general-entertainment channel in years\u2014solely focused on Korean fare. The continued interest in Korean content comes as Asian drama in general is seeing improved fortunes, with some high-profile backers. HBO Asia recently premiered its second Asian scripted production, the horror miniseries Grace<\/em>, and FOX International Channels\u2019 STAR Chinese Channel this year nabbed the global rights to the Chinese drama Tiger Mom<\/em>.<\/p>\n

For distributors of Asian drama, interest from international players, digital platforms and the pan-regional behemoths is translating into a wave of new opportunities.<\/p>\n

The Korean entertainment conglomerate CJ E&M, a prolific producer of drama series for its portfolio of pay-TV channels, has seen the strongest interest from platforms in Hong Kong and Thailand, according to Jang Ho Seo, head of international sales and acquisitions. China, meanwhile, with its wave of streaming platforms like Youku Tudou and Sohu seeking out niche content for their subscribers, has become an increasingly lucrative market. \u201cOur titles are introduced to Chinese viewers immediately after broadcast in Korea,\u201d Seo notes.<\/p>\n

For Seo, CJ\u2019s success outside of Korea stems from its positioning in the domestic market, where, as a pay-TV channel operator, it has been working hard to deliver titles that are different from what viewers would find on the big terrestrial broadcasters. \u201cThe audience appreciates our trendy, innovative and high-quality content,\u201d Seo states. \u201cTake our most recent title Misaeng<\/em> as an example\u2014it depicts the everyday lives of average office workers in the city. The planning phase itself took three years and it would not have been possible in any other place but at CJ E&M. Misaeng<\/em> deviated from the usual romantic attributes of typical Korean drama and does not have top star casting.\u201d Nevertheless, Seo says, the series has been very popular with viewers, topping viewership for the hit web comic on which the drama was based.<\/p>\n

However, romance is still CJ\u2019s top-selling scripted export, Seo notes. \u201cThe close chemistry and sweet exchanges between male and female characters exemplify the essence of Korean drama and appeal to a wide range of audiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

CJ has a diverse slate on offer at ATF, including the historical drama The Three Musketeers <\/em>and the telenovela Family Secrets<\/em>, based on the Chilean series Missing<\/em>. \u201cPropelled by the past success of CJ\u2019s telenovela lineup, such as Ice Adonis<\/em>, it is already seeing increased attention,\u201d Seo says of Family Secrets<\/em>.<\/p>\n

In neighboring Japan, Nippon TV has found that contemporary dramas are resonating best with both local and international audiences. Shigeko Chino, senior director of international business development, notes that one of the best-selling Nippon TV dramas currently is Woman: My Life for My Children,<\/em> about the struggles of a single mom. Another top seller has been Hanasaki Mai Speaks Out<\/em>, which Chino describes as \u201ca story about female empowerment that [gives] the viewers an inside look at bank bureaucracy, fraud and scandal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chino says that Taiwan and Hong Kong have traditionally been Nippon TV\u2019s best markets for drama sales, but she has seen a pickup in interest from Thailand, Vietnam and South Korea over the past year. \u201cWe would like to be doing more business with our dramas in markets like France and Latin America,\u201d Chino adds.<\/p>\n

For ATF, Chino has high hopes for a new series from Kazuhiko Yukawa (who penned the 2011 hit I\u2019m Mita, Your Housekeeper<\/em>) about a seemingly perfect wife and popular TV anchor who is hiding a dark secret.<\/p>\n

FAMILY AFFAIR<\/strong>
\nFamily dramas and romance have proven to be the best-selling genres for the Philippines\u2019 two dominant content creators, ABS-CBN Corporation and GMA Network.<\/p>\n

For ABS-CBN International Distribution, popular dramas recently have included Got to Believe<\/em>, which featured local stars Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Bernardo, \u201cwhose unique and quirky characters viewers rooted for and identified with,\u201d says Evelyn \u201cLeng\u201d Raymundo, VP of integrated program acquisitions and international distribution at ABS-CBN. Raymundo also mentions the success of The Legal Wife<\/em>, about infidelity and betrayal, and Be Careful with My Heart<\/em>. \u201cOur traditional family dramas with strong romance arcs continue to do well,\u201d Raymundo notes. \u201cThe biggest buyers of dramas from the Philippines are still Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia. Other territories such as Myanmar and Brunei also have increased appreciation for our dramas. Africa has steady demand for Filipino content for [broadcasters\u2019] prime-time programming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Raymundo is targeting Indochina as a key area of expansion, as well as other Asian territories and the Middle East.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are able to hit a chord among our international buyers because always at the core of our dramas are beautiful love stories,\u201d Raymundo notes. \u201cWe are able to use this universal theme as a vehicle for tackling social issues, like we did in The Legal Wife<\/em>, or combine it with intense themes like revenge in Tomorrow Belongs to Me<\/em>. The audience continues to be thrilled by how love defies the boundaries of class or social standing.\u201d<\/p>\n

At ATF, Raymundo will be introducing her clients to Tomorrow Belongs to Me<\/em>; Pure Love<\/em>, an adaptation of the Korean drama 49 Days<\/em>; and the brand-new Forevermore.<\/em><\/p>\n

At GMA Worldwide, the distribution-and-acquisitions arm of GMA Network, \u201cdramas with romantic themes and family subject matters\u201d have always done especially well, particularly in Southeast Asia, according to VP Roxanne Barcelona. Best-sellers have included Carmela<\/em>, My Paradise<\/em>, The Borrowed Wife<\/em>, Wealth and Passion<\/em> and Rhodora X<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur dramas highlight compelling story lines, center on original themes and feature our country\u2019s most talented artists,\u201d Barcelona notes. \u201cWe are backed by production teams that incessantly strive to improve the quality of our content. GMA\u2019s assortment of titles portray ideas, characters and settings that reflect real life, which is why our diverse clientele is able to enjoy and identify with our shows.\u201d<\/p>\n

ATF will see GMA Worldwide focusing on The Secret of Annasandra<\/em>, Memories of Love<\/em>, Another Chance<\/em> and the historical drama Ilustrado<\/em>.<\/p>\n

MADE IN SINGAPORE<\/strong>
\nBest known for its documentary and animation exports, Singapore is looking to become an increasingly prominent player in the Asian drama game. Local broadcasting behemoth MediaCorp is leading those efforts with its English- and Chinese-language output. \u201cSingaporean drama has generated a lot of interest in Southeast Asian countries like Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam,\u201d says Tang Yun Leung, VP of content distribution. \u201cIn addition, Malaysia is one of the biggest consumers of our content.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pointing to the success of shows like The Dream Makers<\/em>, The Journey: A Voyage<\/em> and C.L.I.F. 3<\/em>, Tang says that \u201caction and melodramas do well in these Southeast Asian markets. And, because their culture and consumption patterns are similar to those in Singapore, Malaysian viewers also enjoy family and investigative dramas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tang has set his sights on China and Taiwan as key markets for expanding MediaCorp\u2019s drama business, \u201calthough it is getting increasingly competitive.\u201d<\/p>\n

He is also keen to expand MediaCorp\u2019s format-sales business. \u201cWe have been seeing increasing interest in our drama formats, mostly from developing countries such as Vietnam, where their local productions are picking up, but the industry is still lacking in scriptwriting talent.\u201d<\/p>\n

FOLLOW THE SCRIPT<\/strong>
\nDrama distributors across Asia are starting to see an uptick in interest in scripted formats as broadcasters look to tailor stories to the needs of different local audiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have keen interest in expanding [our] format business,\u201d says CJ\u2019s Seo, particularly as local adaptations remove the language barrier that has made it difficult to crack many markets with Korean dramas. \u201cIn the past, the majority of meetings at international content markets such as MIPCOM were primarily about finished programs. At present, close to half of the meetings relate to formats. American and European markets especially are showing increased interest in formats.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nippon TV\u2019s Chino says she has seen particularly strong demand from Korean and Chinese broadcasters for Japanese drama formats. \u201cIn 2013, three of our drama series were remade in South Korea: I\u2019m Mita, Your Housekeeper<\/em>, The Pride of the Temp<\/em> and Queen of the Classroom<\/em>,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

For ABS-CBN\u2019s Raymundo, as the original versions of Asian dramas gain in popularity, so too will demand for the remake rights. \u201cNews travels fast among industry buyers. The success of our canned programs translates into the interest from format buyers in the rest of Asia, in parts of Latin America and with some U.S.-based independent producers.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article originally appeared in the ATF 2014 issue of TV AsiaPac. Asian distributors are seeing increased interest in their drama series across the region and around the world. The Korean wave has seemingly finally made its way to the U.S. media business. Two broadcast networks, CBS and ABC, are in development on their own …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":3353,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[76],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-features"],"yoast_head":"\nAsia\u00e2\u0080\u0099s Got Drama<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Asia\u00e2\u0080\u0099s Got Drama. Asian distributors are seeing increased interest in their drama series across the region and around the world.. Author - Mansha Daswani\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/asiaa\u0080\u0099s-got-drama\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Asia\u00e2\u0080\u0099s Got Drama\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Asia\u00e2\u0080\u0099s Got Drama. Asian distributors are seeing increased interest in their drama series across the region and around the world.. Author - Mansha Daswani\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/asiaa\u0080\u0099s-got-drama\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVASIA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-03-02T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-01-22T15:51:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2015\/09\/49300.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"244\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"138\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mansha Daswani\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mansha Daswani\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/asiaa%c2%80%c2%99s-got-drama\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/asiaa%c2%80%c2%99s-got-drama\/\",\"name\":\"Asia\u00e2\u0080\u0099s Got Drama\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-03-02T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-01-22T15:51:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad\"},\"description\":\"Asia\u00e2\u0080\u0099s Got Drama. Asian distributors are seeing increased interest in their drama series across the region and around the world.. Author - Mansha Daswani\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/asiaa%c2%80%c2%99s-got-drama\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/asiaa%c2%80%c2%99s-got-drama\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/asiaa%c2%80%c2%99s-got-drama\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Asia’s Got Drama\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/\",\"name\":\"TVASIA\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad\",\"name\":\"Mansha Daswani\",\"description\":\"Mansha Daswani is the editor-in-chief and associate publisher of World Screen. She can be reached on mdaswani@worldscreen.com.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/author\/mdaswaniworldscreen-com\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Asia\u00e2\u0080\u0099s Got Drama","description":"Asia\u00e2\u0080\u0099s Got Drama. Asian distributors are seeing increased interest in their drama series across the region and around the world.. Author - Mansha Daswani","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/asiaa\u0080\u0099s-got-drama\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Asia\u00e2\u0080\u0099s Got Drama","og_description":"Asia\u00e2\u0080\u0099s Got Drama. Asian distributors are seeing increased interest in their drama series across the region and around the world.. Author - Mansha Daswani","og_url":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/asiaa\u0080\u0099s-got-drama\/","og_site_name":"TVASIA","article_published_time":"2015-03-02T00:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-01-22T15:51:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":244,"height":138,"url":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2015\/09\/49300.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Mansha Daswani","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mansha Daswani","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/asiaa%c2%80%c2%99s-got-drama\/","url":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/asiaa%c2%80%c2%99s-got-drama\/","name":"Asia\u00e2\u0080\u0099s Got Drama","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-03-02T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2016-01-22T15:51:06+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad"},"description":"Asia\u00e2\u0080\u0099s Got Drama. Asian distributors are seeing increased interest in their drama series across the region and around the world.. Author - Mansha Daswani","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/asiaa%c2%80%c2%99s-got-drama\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/asiaa%c2%80%c2%99s-got-drama\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/asiaa%c2%80%c2%99s-got-drama\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Asia’s Got Drama"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/#website","url":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/","name":"TVASIA","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad","name":"Mansha Daswani","description":"Mansha Daswani is the editor-in-chief and associate publisher of World Screen. She can be reached on mdaswani@worldscreen.com.","url":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/author\/mdaswaniworldscreen-com\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/290"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3352"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3352\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}