A vast region comprised of up to 44 countries, Asia contains four main territories (Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia), followed by four other growing countries (Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore). Australia and New Zealand are excluded from the area. China, though an economic giant, has a relatively small market — in terms of entertainment output — comparable to that of Malaysia. In addition, China has issues of censorship and a quota system. Thailand is mainly just a good production location. A trade show that should reflect the growth and opportunities of the region is the Asia TV Forum (ATF), which is taking place December 10-12 at Singapore’s Suntec Convention Centre. ATF dodged a bullet earlier this year when plans for a rival Asian market, AMAZIA, were put to rest. The nineyear-old convention boasts recordbreaking numbers, buyers from over 32 countries, status as the only program market in the region, and a brand new venue. After eight years of taking place at hotels (most recently at Singapore’s Shangri-La), ATF ’08 will be held at a convention center. Although ATF is the only “show in town” for some companies, it is not yet the “best show” in town. In addition to the difficulties of dealing with Asian program buyers, the market suffers from a dearth of top-level acquisition executives. Reportedly, the ATF has not yet been able to offer exhibition companies the kind of support mechanism that a difficult territory, such as Asia, would require. For this reason, companies that are keen on the territory, but are not participating in ATF are embarking on a more grueling, if more rewarding, market-by-market visit. It has been pointed out that DISCOP, the market for Central and Eastern Europe, faced the same problems, and that only time was able to resolve that market’s main issues. Racquel Mesina, director of International Sales for Toronto-based Cinemavault, said that, “We are taking a booth at the exhibition center,” adding that the new venue will help her company. Mesina also pointed out that ATF is an important market for her team because it allows them to connect with clients who don’t attend MIPCOM or MIP-TV. Many key Asian buyers forego the Cannes events, thus making an appearance in Singapore is vital to Mesina, who strives to stay in “ongoing contact with our current clients, which keeps them aware of our latest product and helps us maintain a personal relationship despite our geographical distance.” Mesina also suggested that Asia is gaining prominence as a region as DVD and theatrical sectors in the U.S. slow down and companies are forced to look elsewhere for profits. Where content is concerned, Mesina predicted that action, adventure, and thriller titles will garner the most attention from buyers at this year’s market, as they are the region’s most popular genres at the moment. However, she also remarked that “some dramas and romantic comedies with strong and recognizable casts to the Asian market still appear to be of interest to broadcasters.” A different forecast was offered by Sharon Tann of ATF organizing company Reed Exhibitions. “From surveys conducted with buyers attending the market, genres including animation, documentary and family entertainment come up tops consistently,” she said. Additionally, Tann noted that highdefinition content is really taking off across the region. MDA’s Chia explained that following seeing an increase in buyers from the new media and telecommunications sectors. A two-hour ATF forum on the topic reinforces the idea that mobile TV will be a trend to watch. Besides HD and mobile technology, Chia thought that some of the convention’s most popular products would be “pan-Asian productions that tap into Asia’s rich culture and feature Asian subjects.” He also projected a rising number of co-productions between companies from Asia with those from other regions. Recently, MDA has had success selling a slew of programming to buyers outside of Asia, including animated Chinese series Tao Su – The Warrior Boy and Little Big Dreams, a documentary about a Chinese Olympic athlete. Predictions aside, the consensus among companies was that the one thing that can be counted on is that Singapore is a prime location for an Asian market. Chia referred to the city as “an East-West gateway,” emphasizing that in the future it could play an important role in bringing together companies from all corners of the world. Singapore’s forwardthinking approach to technology, its good infrastructure, tight copyright laws and reasonable accommodations create a prime convention atmosphere. Also, as Tann explained, many of Asia’s top cable and satellite broadcast networks are based in Singapore, including Discovery, CNBC Asia, MTV Asia, ESPN and a host of others. Plus, companies in the Southeast Asia region are known not to travel much to international markets, so it provides exclusive access to many firms. In addition to the usual wheeling and dealing, ATF participants can look forward to keynotes from Shine Group and Electronic Arts. A full day seminar in conjunction with the U.S. Motion Picture Association will address Asia’s growing piracy problem and an awards ceremony will bring the three-day event to a close. V I D E O • A G E NO V E M B E R/ DE C E M B E R 2 0 0 8 (Continued from Cover) Asia TV Forum 22 an HD trial that was launched in Singapore two years ago, the “pay-TV sector is abuzz with the entry of new players and innovative programming.” He also pointed out that “in Asia, almost everyone is exclusively on HD and also more interested in content to be distributed on mobile devices.” Stefan Knobloch, managing director of Singapore-based company Six-SixEight, likewise stressed the growing popularity of HD, noting that along with mobile content, he expects it to be “quite strongly represented.” He added that “you can get a better sense of new trends at ATF” due to the region’s openness to new technology. Asia’s willingness to embrace mobile platforms is a factor that sets it apart from other regions, where the technology has yet to be fully adopted. According to a recent study by Multimedia Intelligence, Asia has the vast majority of mobile television subscribers. Chia and company consider the “prospects for growth in the mobile TV market to be very promising” and expect the trend to be reflected at ATF. Indeed, Tann remarked that while most of the event’s buyers are still from traditional television, organizers are Cinemavault’s Racquel Mesina MDA’s Christopher Chia Pictured below: the Suntec Convention Centre Singapore’s forward-thinking approach to technology, its good infrastructure, tight copyright laws and reasonable accommodations create a prime convention atmosphere.
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