10 ATF: Asian TV Market in Search of Top Executives to Reach Top Content Buyers At the end of October 2025, just four weeks before the start of the Asia TV Forum and Market (ATF) in Singapore, reps at market organizer RX still seemed a little hazy on the specifics of the event. They announced that there would be a Leaders Dialogue on December 1, and that the market and conference would take place December 2-4. But when asked the number of stands and expected number of buyers at ATF 2025, an ATF spokesperson said, “We are unable to advise on the figures at this point, as registration is still ongoing.” Clearly, exhibitors’ and buyers’ commitments have been trickling in slowly, possibly affected by the fact that the ATF, has, of late, been unable to attract many top-level executives to the market floor. What was available, however, was the conference schedule and the speakers’ line-up. The official program calls for a total of 26 conferences and 42 speakers, including Dentsu’s Clay Schouest, chief strategy office, APAC; Dreamworks’ Scott McCarthy, vp; and TikTok Korea’s Matty Lin, general manager. Both the conferences and market floor will be housed inside the Singapore Convention Center at the Marina Bay Sands next to the Sands Hotel’s towers, where the opening rooftop party will be held on December 3. The conferences will touch on most of the usual television industry topics, like branding, AI, FAST, children’s television, and technical issues (e.g., connectivity). For perspectives on a variety of countries, the ATF’s conferences will feature in-depth looks at Thai television and Turkish productions. Micro-dramas are getting special attention, with three distinct conferences, while the streaming session promises to be a challenging one since, as explained on the ATF website, it will explore the somewhat premature idea that “online video would rapidly transform global TV and video by pushing viewers away from traditional TV… Yes, it is true that some pay-TV customers in major global markets like the U.S. are cutting the cord and moving towards streaming alternatives, but in reality, the lifetime of traditional linear TV looks relatively secure for the foreseeable future. In the coming decade, TV viewers will still be navigating between broadcast TV alongside free and paid streaming services and social media platforms.” As for micro-dramas being the TV industry’s flavor du jour, VideoAge’s October 27, 2025 newsletter pointed out that for those viewers who have a short attention span and like to watch TV on their cell phones, Hollywood has refined the concept first developed by Quibi in 2018 (which was shut down at the end of 2020 by its creator Jeffrey Katzenberg, after investing $1.75 billion). Today, Hollywood is back to banking on micro-dramas of up to 90 minutes, which are transmitted in installments of one to three minutes to be displayed vertically on mobile devices. The budgets for micro-dramas are relatively inexpensive, but popular with young viewers, (especially in China), and TV production companies like DramaBox, ReelShort, MicroCo, and GamaTime are all betting on this vertical video markets, now estimated at $8 billion and expected to reach $25 billion worldwide by 2030. The micro-drama business utilizes the freemium model, where a few episodes are free, and the rest are available via subscription or purchase. When asked about the many changes afoot at the event, Singapore-based veteran ATF participant Sonia Fleck, founder and CEO of Bomanbridge (pictured above), explained that “ATF isn’t really a ‘window-shopping’ market. Many are repeat participants who come with purpose and clear goals. [But] the attendee profile [has changed]. We’re now seeing a stronger presence of players with interest in local production and co-production.” As far as Bomanbridge is concerned, “ATF remains an important market for us not just to sell our slate, but also to identify great regional content and co-production opportunities.” MIP Cancun will be taking place during a time of change for LatAm, with Argentina’s Telefe returning to its origins with its acquisition by Grupo Televisión Litoral, the Rosario-based company of Gustavo Scaglione and Jose Luis Manzano. Telefe was founded by Rosario-based Pedro Simoncini in 1989, and sold to Viacom (now Paramount) in 2016 for U.S.$345 million. On October 23, 2025, Televisión Litoral paid an estimated $100 million for Telefe, Argentina’s most watched TV network. Televisión Litoral owns some 30 other media outlets, including newspapers, TV channels, radio stations, and streaming services, but to manage Telefe, Televisión Litoral is expected to form a separate holding company that it will retain control over. Moving north, Colombia is also dealing with some drama as U.S. President Donald Trump imposed economic sanctions on Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro, and froze some of the $377 million in funds designated for Colombia following Petro’s criticism of Trump and support of Venezuela’s strongman Nicolás Maduro. At the same time, however, Netflix is increasing its production investment in Colombia, benefitting from the country’s generous tax rebates. Indeed, Patricia Daujotas, director of Content for Canal 10 Uruguay, commented: “In general, events like MIP Cancun offer the perfect platform to keep up with changes, establish new partnerships, and reflect on shared challenges and opportunities.” To Doris Vogelmann, VP programming for Miami, Florida-based VME networks, “One of [MIP Cancun’s] greatest advantages is its preset meeting format, which removes an entire layer of stress. This system has revolutionized the way we plan our meetings. At larger Bomanbridge’s Sonia Fleck Maria Perez-Belliere, MIP Cancun’s director (Continued on Page 12) A LatAm TV Trade Show Where Developments Shape Up VIDEOAGE November 2025 Market Previews
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