{"id":9431,"date":"2016-11-30T10:27:45","date_gmt":"2016-11-30T15:27:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/asia-gets-real\/"},"modified":"2016-12-01T09:32:36","modified_gmt":"2016-12-01T14:32:36","slug":"asia-gets-real","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/asia-gets-real\/","title":{"rendered":"Asia Gets Real"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"JC-Tha-Barber\"<\/a>The demand for factual content, from lifestyle fare to high-end docs, remains high across Asia.<\/em><\/p>\n

This November, the Chinese video platform Tencent aired, day and date with the British broadcast, BBC Worldwide\u2019s ambitious new blue-chip series Planet Earth II<\/em>. It marked the first time that BBC Worldwide had co-produced a documentary with a video platform in China, and the deal is reflective of the significant shifts under way in Asia\u2019s factual programming business.<\/p>\n

Factual has always been an in-demand genre in Asia, where free-to-air broadcasters routinely place docs in prime time and where brands like Discovery, National Geographic and HISTORY command a significant share of pay-TV viewing. There have been a few developments over the last year, however, that are pushing the genre to new heights, notably the proliferation of digital platforms, the rollout of 4K and increased interest from services for factual fare about Asia.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a huge appetite for factual programs, and it keeps growing continuously,\u201d says Ralf R\u00fcckauer, the VP of ZDFE.factual at ZDF Enterprises.<\/p>\n

\u201cFactual is making a comeback,\u201d adds Sonia Fleck, the CEO of Bomanbridge Media. \u201cIn the past, a lot of doc features and the more award-winning factual titles, while getting pickups and some deals done, may not have been as commercially viable. The SVOD services are starting to look for this kind of 90-minute factual. That\u2019s different from last year when they wanted more straight-up 50-minute-episode series.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rapid proliferation of OTT players has seen traditional buyers take a more \u201caggressive approach to rights acquired and holdbacks requested,\u201d observes Natalie Lawley, the managing director of Escapade Media. OTT platforms themselves, meanwhile, \u201chave opened up more avenues for content that may not find a home on linear channels. Also, the leading platforms are paying for premiere rights, but overall it feels like the region is still in the set-up phase, and obviously these services are greatly impacted by the broadband available.\u201d<\/p>\n

Digital platforms have created a \u201cfantastic second window for our content,\u201d notes Roger Vanderspikken, the sales manager for Asia and in-flight at Fred Media, as well as slots for \u201ctitles that would be more niche or too risky for some broadcasters.\u201d<\/p>\n

ZDFE.factual\u2019s R\u00fcckauer says that digital platforms \u201chave an enormous need for programming. Just recently, we signed huge package deals with Tencent in China and One TV in Hong Kong for various Southeast Asian territories.\u201d<\/p>\n

DEFINING THE FUTURE<\/strong>
\nFor Blue Ant International, the launch of new platforms has helped drive demand for its 4K natural-history slate. \u201cA lot of the OTT services are acquiring native 4K content,\u201d says Solange Attwood, the company\u2019s senior VP. \u201cFrom a linear perspective, South Korea and Japan are the leaders in 4K.\u201d Other broadcasters in the region are also looking at 4K content as they prepare for impending rollouts of the ultra HD format.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe interest in 4K has been twofold,\u201d explains Escapade\u2019s Lawley. \u201cOn the one hand it feels specific to those territories\/platforms already able to broadcast in 4K, but we have had buyers researching content for when they change to 4K. There is a definite widespread feeling of \u2018it\u2019s coming\u2019 but not quite there yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

IN THE WILD<\/strong>
\nThe interest in 4K is part of the continued appetite for blue-chip natural-history series. ZDFE.factual\u2019s best sellers in the region hail from the wildlife and nature segments of its catalog, R\u00fcckauer says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere has always been a demand for science programs, for example Mammoths: Giants of the Ice Age<\/em>, and programs dealing with space, such as World War A: The<\/em> Human Chronicles<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re getting a lot more requests for blue-chip,\u201d states Bomanbridge\u2019s Fleck, prompting the company to acquire a raft of high-end content ahead of the market, including multiple From Above<\/em> documentaries from Yann Arthus-Bertrand.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are really at the forefront of absolutely fantastic 4K technology, and the locations are socially relevant,\u201d Fleck notes, adding that she’s been taking on several titles that showcase the diverse cultures and landscapes of the Middle East and North Africa, plus a wealth of natural-history content. At ATF, Bomanbridge will also be launching arts docs from the Italian outfit Nexo Digital and its partners Sky 3D, Sky Arte HD and Magnitudo, including Florence and the Uffizi Gallery 3D\/4K<\/em> and St. Peter\u2019s and the Papal Basilicas of Rome 3D<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese award-winning programs, while they are a lot more expensive to acquire, are really in the limelight at the moment,\u201d Fleck continues.<\/p>\n

At Tricon Films & Television, Nick Solowski, senior director of international sales and acquisitions, is witnessing \u201ca continued desire for high-end, glossy content, but with an increase in audience takeaway.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vanderspikken at Fred Media says that \u201csafe\u201d content in the travel, food and male-skewing areas continue to drum up the most activity for the Australian company. \u201cOur clients are still on the lookout for animals, science, arts, technology, \u2018how-to\u2019 and docudramas,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

JUST THE FACTS<\/strong>
\nEscapade\u2019s Lawley is witnessing a growing need for factual-entertainment shows with broad appeal and cross-media elements. \u201cThe request for titles that have web-based VR has increased, and we have received significant interest in our factual titles that cover fresh and original subject matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

The company arrives at ATF with shows like JC Tha Barber<\/em>, focused on the celebrity barber and his high-end clients from the film, music and sports worlds, and Steve Backshall & The Vertical Mile<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Vanderspikken says that Southeast Asia, Japan and pan-regional broadcasters have been among the company\u2019s best customers. \u201cWe would love to work more in Indonesia, India, China and the Philippines,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur strongest relationships continue to be with the pan-Asian buyers and the Australian and New Zealand broadcasters,\u201d says Tricon\u2019s Solowski. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen some nice bumps in activity in Malaysia and Vietnam. We\u2019d like to see more in every territory!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had a lot of success in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, mainland China and Singapore,\u201d says Blue Ant\u2019s Attwood. \u201cWe\u2019ve had great success pan-regionally. We want to continue to focus on those territories. But there is great activity happening with some of the emerging markets. Certainly Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand continue to be interesting territories. Our aim is to always be doing business with everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

One major growth area for Blue Ant is Asian co-production. Attwood mentions new opportunities emerging in India, among other territories. \u201cWe want to produce more content and co-produce more content across Asia. We are already in the process of doing that with some of our natural-history slate. We\u2019d like to be co-producing across all genres.\u201d<\/p>\n

PARTNER POTENTIAL<\/strong>
\nZDFE.factual has been a long-standing co-production partner of NHK in Japan, recently collaborating on two episodes of Deep Ocean<\/em>. \u201cWe would like to meet new partners and explore new possibilities in the linear and non-linear area,\u201d R\u00fcckauer says. \u201cIt is a vibrant market with many chances for a company like ZDF Enterprises. Our goal for the future is to achieve co-productions with partners in other major territories in the region, such as South Korea and India.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lawley says that conversations are ongoing with production houses across Asia for factual fare. \u201cThese opportunities involve both Escapade looking for co-production partners for some of our titles in development, but also looking to be the co-production partner for a number of Asian projects.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tricon has been adding Asian content to its slate, partnering with Li TV and MediaCorp on a range of titles.<\/p>\n

Solowski expects to maintain this approach as Tricon continues to diversify its factual offerings.<\/p>\n

At Bomanbridge, an important new strategy has been \u201ccontent curation,\u201d Fleck states. \u201cAsia is looking at subjects that are coming from Asia. The content that we\u2019re starting to see get picked up here is centered on origination from the region, or at least has a subject angle on the region. We\u2019re curating a portion of our catalog, hitting the sweet spot in terms of what the broadcasters want in the genre.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pictured: Escapade’s<\/em> JC Tha Barber.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The demand for factual content, from lifestyle fare to high-end docs, remains high across Asia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":9432,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-features","category-top-stories","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nAsia Gets Real - TVREAL<\/title>\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\/tvreal\/asia-gets-real\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Asia Gets Real - TVREAL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The demand for factual content, from lifestyle fare to high-end docs, remains high across Asia.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/asia-gets-real\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVREAL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-11-30T15:27:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-12-01T14:32:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2016\/11\/JC-Tha-Barber-1116-e1479848067580.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"471\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"370\" \/>\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=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/asia-gets-real\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/asia-gets-real\/\",\"name\":\"Asia Gets Real - TVREAL\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-11-30T15:27:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-12-01T14:32:36+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/asia-gets-real\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/asia-gets-real\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/asia-gets-real\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Asia Gets Real\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/\",\"name\":\"TVREAL\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad\",\"name\":\"Mansha Daswani\",\"description\":\"Mansha Daswani is the editor-in-chief and associate publisher of World Screen. 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