ASIA TV FORUM
Media cos give the edge to India over China
SINGAPORE: India vs China! That was the theme of one of the sessions at the Asia Television Forum. And guess what? It was India that came out with flying colours as the market thats working for media companies.
Panelists were clear in their opinion that India is amore media friendly market. As expected.
CNBC senior executive VP distribution and channel strategy Greg Creevey said, “India is fertile ground. There are lower barriers to entry. Even if the regulatory environment is chaotic, it can work in your favour. You can define your strategy better. The advantage with India is that it is market lead and not government lead.”
Wuhan TV CEO Liu Fei, was almost apologetic about the fact that even large foreign media companies have failed to make a profit in China. “I know it is a difficult market But you cant ignore it.”
Beijing TV director Chen Hu pointed out that China offers lots of opportunities for companies which are willing to look at the medium to long term time frame. According to Odyssey Media Investment chairman Rowan Simmons the 2008 Olympics in China are going to spark off a media boom for Chinese media. “Already several international companies are planning documentatries on China as a run up to the Olympics. And these are huge budget ones. China is in for a media explosion.”
He pointed out that you cannot but be in China. “1.3 billion people, A 9.5 billion dollar TV advertising market. 190 million C&S homes. 300 million mobile phone users. 30 million broadband consumers. Can it get any more attractive?” He added that there is demand for TV Dramas, Documentaries and formats in China.
However SET India vice-president Sunil Lulla stated that it is Indias has lower C&S numbers that are making it more attractive. “We have 250 million homes and only 40 million of them are on cable. That is a tremendous opportunity,” he elucidated.
“Today TV is a necessity. Earlier it was not so,” he added. “Anyone coming in will probably follow the following model. At least we have historical evidence to show it., First year, you will enter, the second year you will restructure and by the fifth year, you will be in the black. But you need to understand the Indian viewer.
“TV accounts for 70 per cent of the entertainment industrys revenues in India,” Lulla opined. “But it is films that drive international perceptions. This is ironical.”
Dish TV chief Sunil Khanna pointed out that the lack of regulation in India cannot go on forever in the area of television. “It has been a free for all so far. But this cannot continue for long. The Indian regulators are slow to move, but they are very sure. In the next few weeks I expect to see a downlinking policy coming in place, a digitization policy for cable. This will help bring a lot more sanity in the cable and satellite business in India.”
CO-PRODUCTION STRATEGIES
What is the ideal strategy if international companies want to get into coproductions in India? What works? What has the experience been so far?
SET India programming head Tarun Katial provided some insights to this in a session on coproductions at the ATF forum here in Singapore Shangri- La Hotel.
You need to bring in different interest groups with different skill sets. Indian Idol is a striking example., Katial said.
We have Sony Entertainment as the broadcaster providing the platform to showcase Indian Idol. It financed Indian Idol and creatively led it. Miditech brought in the experience it has with reality show. Optimystix has worked for years on studio-based format shows. They brought in that richness.And Fremantle, which licensed the format to us, well it has several years of knowledge creating successful programming worldwide. They all brought different skill sets to the table. You put them together, and you have a show like Indian Idol which gets amazing ratings for Sony.
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.
