The 20th edition of the Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) wrapped in Singapore last week with more than 5,700 attendees from 60 territories, marking a 5-percent increase from the 2018 edition.<\/p>\n
The overarching theme of this year\u2019s event was \u201cStreaming the Future,\u201d with digital platforms having a significant presence at the market, including Youku, Hoichoi, HOOQ, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Viu.<\/p>\n
\u201cATF has cemented itself as a must-attend in the international media and entertainment world\u2019s calendar of events,\u201d Yeh Chien Ee, president for the Asia Pacific at Reed Exhibitions, said at ATF\u2019s opening ceremony on Wednesday<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ahead of the market\u2019s official kick-off, the ATF Leaders\u2019 Summit opened with a keynote address by Dr. Gong Yu, the founder and CEO of the leading Chinese OTT service, iQiyi<\/a>. The platform had 105 million paid members as of Q3 this year, Gong said. Between free and pay, the platform streams 350 million hours a day.<\/p>\n \u201cSome consider us as the Netflix of China,\u201d Gong said. \u201cThat is not accurate,\u201d he said, explaining that iQiyi is more of a hybrid of Netflix, Hulu and YouTube business models. What also makes iQiyi distinctive, he went on to say, is the platform\u2019s diversity of revenue models. Original content has become increasingly important to iQiyi, Gong continued, especially as prices for licensed content continue to rise. \u201cOriginal content is a must because we can control our costs and our users are much younger [than traditional TV audiences]\u2014they don\u2019t want to just see content moved from TV and films to our platform. They have different needs.\u201d More than a third of iQiyi\u2019s content investments are in originals and this is set to rise.<\/p>\n Giorgio Stock, the president of distribution and ad sales for EMEA and AsiaPac at WarnerMedia Entertainment Networks, also delivered a keynote during the ATF Leaders\u2019 Summit. He discussed the consolidation of the HBO and Turner businesses in the region and the importance of franchise management. Across the portfolio, a key focus has been on making sure the brands live on all the platforms consumers are engaging with today in linear and digital, particularly at Cartoon Network. \u201cAnd it\u2019s about doubling down on local content,\u201d Stock said. HBO Asia, for example, has doubled its slate of original content in the region.<\/p>\n On the potential in AsiaPac, Stock said<\/a>, \u201cWe have very fertile ground on which to build,\u201d given the level at which the company\u2019s brands resonate with audiences in the region. \u201cAcross the board, I see a spirit of enterprise, [a large] youth demographic, a propensity to use technology and an aspiration for a better tomorrow. That creates an amazing opportunity for us.\u201d<\/p>\n Stock also addressed WarnerMedia\u2019s streaming strategy for AsiaPac, which at present includes authenticated apps for its linear channel brands as well as the continued expansion of HBO GO as a standalone service. Of note, last week HBO GO announced its rollout in the Philippines as a standalone<\/a> OTT service.<\/p>\n In other streaming news, Viu unveiled its latest scripted-format-based original series, Black<\/a><\/em>, based on a Korean drama<\/a>, and HOOQ announced a pact with IMDA to co-fund productions. That deal with the Southeast Asian streamer is part of a raft of talent initiatives unveiled by Singapore\u2019s IMDA last week. \u201cSingapore is well placed to play a catalytic role in the growth of Asia\u2019s media ecosystem, particularly in Southeast Asia,\u201d S Iswaran, Singapore\u2019s Minister for Communications and Information, noted. \u201cAnd beyond our traditional role as a business, financial and technology hub, Singapore\u2019s media ecosystem is vibrant and growing.\u201d<\/p>\n In a bid to promote international alliances, IMDA inked partnerships with CJ ENM Hong Kong, HOOQ, Tencent\/VS Media and Viacom International Media Networks. \u201cWe are pivoting away from \u2018Made by Singapore\u2019 to \u2018Made with Singapore\u2019 in three important areas: content, financing and talent,\u201d Iswaran said.<\/p>\n IMDA is also setting aside S$20 million in its call for media fund partners to jointly support projects<\/a>. \u201cWe have embarked on a series of initiatives on developing the market, developing our talent, and supporting the evolution of the financial aspects of the industry,\u201d Iswaran said. \u201cThe convergence in tech and media is undeniable and unrelenting\u2014but it is opening up new markets, enabling disruptive models and fueling demand for new content through digital channels. In these exciting times, I want to encourage everyone to think Asia, and think Singapore.\u00a0Content producers and digital platforms are pivoting more decisively towards the East; many of them building on earlier successful ventures with Asian talent and companies. Asia, particularly Southeast Asia, has much to offer the rest of the world beyond just being a market. I invite the world and industry players to discover the exciting voices of Asian storytellers and also our diverse talent\u2014both off-screen and on-screen.\u201d<\/p>\n Leading Singaporean content-creation company Mediacorp, meanwhile, inked a deal to co-produce two Chinese-language titles with ViuTV<\/a> and unveiled the first title to emerge from its alliance with Wattpad.<\/p>\n While the Asian scripted business dominated headlines at ATF, the region remains a vibrant one for international drama acquisitions. Of note, all3media international announced a Japanese deal on Fleabag<\/em><\/a> last week, with the acclaimed British series headed to WOWOW together with Liar<\/em> and Baptiste<\/em>.<\/p>\n In the non-scripted space, meanwhile, Passion Distribution landed an Indian slot for Dynamo: Beyond Belief<\/em><\/a>, in addition to closing a raft of other deals in the region. The popular magician traveled to Singapore for ATF to launch the new series. And Nippon TV announced a partnership with The Story Lab<\/a> to co-develop non-scripted formats for the international market.<\/p>\n On the kids\u2019 front, several leading buyers weighed in on trends in the market during an ATF panel<\/a>, including Hopster\u2019s Nick Walters, Amazon Prime Video India\u2019s Vijay Subramaniam, WarnerMedia\u2019s Leslie Lee and Vivek Bhutyani of Lattu Kids.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve seen two significant shifts as it relates to content,\u201d said Amazon\u2019s Subramaniam. \u201cThe sheer convenience of programming now, especially in the nonlinear world. Given that most kids are digital natives, born into this digital environment, makes it super interesting to tell stories that are super specific, that have great identity and great inspiration. You\u2019re no longer conforming to the traditional norms of ratings. Linear television pushed a certain kind of storytelling because it was ratings-led. [On digital] you can cater to various communities of kids and bring on these stories, unburdened in terms of duration, format, animation style. Now, more than ever, there\u2019s a huge opportunity to tell really authentic stories to kids and not worry about the mainstream or will this find an audience of 5-year-olds as well as 9-year-olds. This is the new normal.\u201d<\/p>\n For Lee at WarnerMedia, one of the biggest changes in content has been episode durations. \u201cFive years ago, we were dealing with the traditional 22-minute, 11-minute format. These days, you don\u2019t have to stay in that format anymore.\u201d The other key trend, he said, is kids\u2019 response to production qualities. \u201cKids are watching quirky, interesting formats, genres. It doesn\u2019t have to be high quality, as long as it\u2019s well-told, funny and engaging. They can get user-generated content on YouTube, quality doesn\u2019t matter to them, it\u2019s about engagement.\u201d<\/p>\n Walters talked about Hopster\u2019s emphasis on content with educational values. \u201cWe want to help kids learn through the stories they love. We have a strong learning mission. We think there\u2019s going to be a split between generalist SVOD\u2014Netflix, Amazon\u2014the big store where you can get everything and very specific. Digital lets producers unshackle themselves from formats. It\u2019s much more important for us to have something that really drives our mission and supports our mission and that our users are going to care about than it is to have something a mass audience will be OK with. We want things that will resonate deeply with our audience.\u201d<\/p>\n Lattu Kids is also a learning platform, Bhutyani noted, geared to children 3 to 8 in India and Southeast Asia. \u201cWe are seeing huge consumption of content on smartphones. Kids are consuming content for the first time on smartphones. Some of these kids don\u2019t have access to a television in the home but they have a smartphone. Kids want interactivity, they want to interact with the characters as they watch and learn at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n The latest entrant in the Indian kids\u2019 OTT space, VOOT Kids, announced a deal for a slate of CBeebies<\/a> shows last week.<\/p>\n