ASIA TV FORUM
Indian broadcasters earmark 1- 3 Dec for Asia TV Forum
MUMBAI: The Asia Television Forum (ATF) and Asia Film Market and Conferences (AFMC), which is scheduled to be held from 1 – 3 December 2004 at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore, looks set to soar with a host of leading media companies participating in the event for the first time. These companies include Buena Vista International Television, CBS/ Paramount International Television, Lions Gate Entertainment, NBC Universal and Sony Pictures.
On the other hand, the elite list of India buyers includes: Cidalc International, Dish TV, ETV Network, In2 Infotainment, Innovision Communications Pvt Ltd, Jakarb Telefilms, Jaya TV, Om Shanti Channel (Pvt) LTD, Sahara India Mass Communication Limited, SET India Pvt LTD, Shringar Films, Star Entertainments, Sun TV Private LTD, and Zee Telefilms Ltd.
Sellers at the market have flocked from countries like Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Monaco, The Netherlands, Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and USA.
The participation of these industry heavyweights has spurred fresh interest in the annual event. Indeed, aside from the heightened excitement and buzz, the presence of these major media houses affirms the dominant position of ATF|AFMC as Asia’s preeminent media marketplace.
The spokesperson from Buena Vista International Television Asia Pacific, the distribution arm of Walt Disney Television International Asia Pacific, commented, “We are excited about participating at the ATF for the first time. We recognise that ATF is a market that has continued to grow from strength to strength in regional and international standing. We are committed to providing the best content and service to our Asian clients and the unique value proposition offered by ATF enables us to accomplish both.”
ATF|AFMC has benefited from the relentless growth of burgeoning Asian economies like China and India, as well as renewed interest in rich, diverse and creative content by the East. Many industry bigwigs have strongly echoed great confidence in Asia’s recovering growth potential.
A recent report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2004 – 2008) projected that “spending in Asia/Pacific (to acquire media content) will increase from $13.3 billion to $17.3 billion in the five-year period, growing at a 5.4 percent compound annual rate.” This is a sentiment shared by many sellers and new participants at ATF|AFMC. Not only are there more buyers registered for this year’s event, ATF|AFMC continues to attract the top buyers from more than 11 key Asian markets including China and India.
CABLEready, USA director of programme marketing Sabrina Sanchez, who is a first-time participant at ATF observed, “Asia and Pacific Rim are regions where programme sales have flourished in recent years. ATF makes doing business with Asian television companies convenient by bringing together people from the entire region to one place.”
“We believe that Asia has been under-served and that the region has great potential,” added BKN New Media managing director Ben Heng, who was also participating in ATF|AFMC for the first time.
ATF|AFMC is the key business platform where international programme sellers converge to network and do business with Asian buyers and partners. The 2004 edition will feature a special showcase on Animation, iTV and locations with a comprehensive line up of conferences delivered by key professionals in the media business, including a new conference on media financing. The new highlights and features at ATF|AFMC, reflecting the current and latest trends in the media industry, have to date brought about a 30 per cent increase in new participants. Some of the country pavilions present at the event include Australia, Canada, China, France, Spain and Singapore.
“We have expanded the scope of this year’s event to broaden and deepen the content offered. In addition to buying, selling and distribution activities at the marketplace, Reed Exhibitions has launched the Media Financing Forum, which explores financing and co-production issues, in order to provide a matchmaking platform for independent production companies to meet potential investors. We are encouraged to learn that the industry has responded very positively to the expanded event profile. It is also heartening that the strong industry support and presence of major companies reflect well on our decision to relocate the event to a more accessible venue in response to customers feedback. We are confident that this year’s event will surpass previous presentations in terms of the value of transactions made as well as CO-production opportunities explored,” said Reed Exhibitions Singapore vice president Michelle Lim.
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.
