ASIA TV FORUM
Asia’s millennial generation will pave the digital roadmap
SINGAPORE: After DJ Lee set the tone for the day’s proceedings, it was Maker Studio’s René Rechtman’s turn to elaborate on the ‘Development and Expansion in Asia’s Digital Marketplace’ at the 16th Asia TV Forum & Market.
Sharing some interesting market shifts and trends in the digital ecosystem in Asia, Rechtman also touched upon the background growth story of Maker Studios in the region, sharing new initiatives about the product, programming and distribution categories within the Asian contingent.
Entertainment is changing. Millennials are living a mobile, social, on-demand life. Specialising in short-form video reaching this diverse, tech-savvy group, Maker Studios attracts more than 10 billion views on YouTube every month with over 650 million subscribers.
“Digital is growing exponentially, be it for content creation or consumption, there is no end to it. We have looked at a few research studies and it’s amazing to see a 247 per cent year on year growth at the consumption end of the spectrum. And it’s the millennial generation that is setting the pace for it,” Rechtman shared.
With 55,000 independent creator partners from more than 100 countries, Maker Studios is home to top digital stars, channels, and content.
Rechtman further added that 50 per cent of the population that’s consuming content digitally is from the age group of 13-34 years; and the same group was four times more active socially. “Most of the content consumption is in the way of watching videos and engaging on social media,” he said.
“YouTubers are major influencers in today’s age for millennials to even select their brands. Audience is now the creator and the creator is also the audience; that’s how the cycle of digital content creation functions,” he added.
According to a study, 84 per cent of millennials don’t trust traditional advertising; whereas they prefer brands promoted by YouTubers almost 1.8 times.
Rechtman also stated that the duration of short form videos have reduced over the last two years, and it’s an important aspect to keep in mind for newer and seasoned content creators who wish to gain more eyeballs. The time duration, which was at around 5.1 minutes back in September, 2013 is now down to 3.8 minutes in September this year.
Speaking from Maker’s perspective, Rechtman said that data analytics plays an important role for their strategy and the company always looks for partners who dare to act local, while thinking global.
MUMBAI: The Asia TV Forum (ATF) is drawing to a close amid much fanfare. The event saw several activities such as an exciting round of on-stage pitches wherein producers from all over Asia presented their ideas. The winners of the inaugural Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) Animation Pitch were also anounced and the unveiling of the second ATF Formats Pitch took place on 30 November 2017.
Reed Exhibitions and global partner Green Gold Animation announced studio2 Animation Lab as the winner of the first-ever ATF Animation Pitch. The animation concept, titled “The Western Journey of Pigsy”, wowed the on-stage jury for its creativity and strong appeal to children. The line-up of judges, which comprises some of the biggest names in kids’ animation and entertainment, also saw strong potential for the concept to be exported and extended to a series.
Targeted at creators and producers of innovative concepts for new and original kids’ animation, ATF Animation Pitch is aimed at facilitating the exchange of ideas and talent between leading international television, distribution and Asian-based producers. In total, 61 entries were received from all over Asia.
“I am thrilled and excited to be named the winner of the inaugural ATF Animation Pitch. We had a unique concept and we felt that it allows viewers to experience the journey in the west story in a contemporary way. Moving forward, we will work towards developing the script for the concept,” said studio2 Animation Lab director Chiu Li Wei.
Chiu Li Wei and Grace Chuang from studio2 Animation Lab received a $19,000 prize from GreenGold Animation. This includes a $2,500 cash award, and a consultancy package worth $16,500 that is tailor-made for them to further develop the winning animation, making it ready to pitch to broadcasters.
After a closely contested fight between five finalists, leading independent distributor all3media International and ATF announced that Gamaliel Paulus (Gammy) from Indonesia, came out on top, winning $3,500 in cash and a $16,500 (both Singapore dollars) consultancy package tailor-made to develop the format, making it pitch-ready for broadcasters.
ATF Formats Pitch is the premier Asian pitching competition designed to discover innovative concepts for new and original non-scripted entertainment formats from the pan-Asian region. This platform showcases the best of Asia, and exposes ideas for export and development within and even outside of the region.
In its second year, the competition received more than 50 entries from 13 countries and only five finalists were selected to pitch their concept during the live on-stage judging session which concluded earlier today. Formats were evaluated based on creativity, originality and capacity to return for multiple series. The winning concept must also have the capability to resonate with audiences globally.
Portraying all these qualities was the winning format, Ranking. It is a game show where participants have to guess the correct order of a ranking in return for prizes. Besides the excitement value that comes with game shows, it also serves to dish fun facts and information to viewers. The judges loved the simplicity of the idea and felt that it had great potential for further development.
“As many people are familiar with rankings, I believe my format will appeal to any country. Also, I have not seen it in the form of a game show concept. As a producer myself, I understood that for a format to do well, it has to be simple. I am very thankful for the win, I didn’t expect it at all,” said Gamaliel Paulus (Gammy).
To further develop the format and make it ready for pitching to broadcasters, Gamaliel Paulus (Gammy) will work closely with all3media International. This follows the success of “Hit It” from XTREME Media, which won at the inaugural ATF Formats Pitch last year, and has received its first local commission for a debut in February 2018.
Aside from the ATF Animation Pitch and ATF Formats Pitch, ATF and ScreenSingapore is also home to another pitching competition, the Southeast Asian Film Financing Project Market.
