ContentAsia October 2023

OCTOBER 2023

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NTENT

Thailand: High drama

Indonesia’s Kamila Andini on Cigarette Girl for Netflix

Plus Singapore’s short-form shifts, APAC streaming leaders & more

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A CELESTIAL JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY

contents...

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Asia formats leaderboard

Where there’s smoke Netflix’s Cigarette Girl (Gadis Kretek) is an epic series that is as sprawling & ambitious as the hopes & dreams it carries for Indonesia’s filmmakers. Codirector Kamila Andini talks about a show that was on her wish list for more than a decade.

ContentAsia’s latest Formats Outlook shows Banijay Rights in the formats distribution lead in Asia by volume – albeit with far fewer titles – for the first nine months of this year.

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Risks & rewards

Only just begun

Netflix’s Southeast Asia content

A teen gunman in Bangkok may have forced BEC World/Channel 3’s glitzy showcase off stage in a real-life October drama. But, even if the show didn’t go on that night, the party is far from over for Thailand’s storytellers, producers, commissioners and rights holders.

director, Malobika Banerji, speaks about focus, vision & calculated risks as the streamer scales up in Southeast Asia.

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Prime cuts

10

Cigarette Girl, Netflix

18

Kissed by the Rain, BEC World

Rights to win

Comedy Island Philippines, Base Entertainment for Prime Video Philippines

Prime Video’s activity in South-

Warner Bros Discovery will launch

east Asia has so far been lower

streaming service, Max, in Asia

key than many hoped it might

sometime after the Paris Olym-

be. By all accounts, that’s about

pics in 2024. While the company

to end. Roll on 2024...

clearly has rights, the question is whether these are the right rights to win in a region where the

24

Shorts shift Singapore’s short-form filmmakers and platforms are taking a whole new look at domestic issues that would once have been considered taboo, challenging stereotypes and putting topics such as suicide, mental health,

30

death, dying and homelessness

Love and Grief, Viddsee

contentasia october 2023

28

overwhelming appeal is local.

front and centre of their work.

Control, command, shift Content costs are out of control and pay-TV in Asia is “yet to be meaningfully disrupted”, Media Partners Asia’s (MPA) Vivek Couto says in his annual state-

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of-the-industry address.

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editor’snote

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O-K not okay I was asked recently whether I thought a very large investment in a K-drama series in Korean with high-priced U.S. talent made sense. “Are you hoping for a U.S. audience?”, I asked, to be told: “Of course, and everywhere else”. Ah, I thought, not for the first time wishing I had a dollar for every time anyone told me they were making content for international audiences.

This outsize, sprawling, ambition to produce content for the ‘international market’ is divided into a few groups. One group means: Sell to the U.S. The other group means: Sell for a lot of money to a global streamer, which will take it to the U.S. And there’s nothing wrong with either of those, except they might actually die trying. There’s a third group that’s more practical, but that wasn’t the question. Not even Netflix or Prime Video say they are targeting international audiences. They may hope, but they both prioritise deeply local domestic stories and say, if these are made well enough, they will resonate elsewhere.

“Ask yourself this,” I replied. “How many Korean dramas have actually enjoyed the kind of success you will need – in the U.S./‘international’ – to justify your investment?” Squid Game was on the U.S.

Editorial Director Janine Stein janine@contentasia.tv Assistant Editor Malena Amzah malena@contentasia.tv Events Manager CJ Yong cj@contentasia.tv ContentAsia Awards Heather Berger heather@contentasia.tv Design Rae Yong Research Rhealyn Rigodon iyah@contentasia.tv Associate Publisher (Americas, Europe) and VP, International Business Development Leah Gordon leah@contentasia.tv Sales and Marketing (Asia) Masliana Masron mas@contentasia.tv

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top 10 for 11 weeks in 2021. All of Us Are Dead was on the U.S. top 10 for five weeks in 2022. That’s two in three years. We’re not talking about adapting Korean IP for American audiences. There have been more than a few successful adaptations. The Good Doctor. Masked Singer, although by now everyone knows it was Workpoint TV’s Thai version of that caught the eye of EP Craig Plestis and not MBC’s original. I Can See Your Voice is another one.

K-drama had me at Jewel in the Palace/Dae Jang Geum in 2003, and it hasn’t been difficult at all to roll around in the K-echochamber, fuelled by the well-oiled K-publicity machine. And there’s nothing wrong that; I like it there, as it happens. Yet the data – or at least the data I have access to – tells a different story.

Thanks to Netflix (and who does K-drama better on this scale and is confident enough to disclose performance data?), it’s easy to find out how popular titles are compared to how popular publicists are paid to tell us they are. And the answer is: U.S. audiences watch enough foreign TV a week to put one, two at the most, series on their top 10. And most often, that foreign title is not Korean (or even Asian). Often the U.S. is MIA on non-English-language TV rankings.

The breakdown of non-English titles on Netflix’s U.S. top 10 for this year is (Asian titles are marked in red below): 25 Sept -1 Oct: Dear Child. Nothing from Asia. Or at least none that I found on Netflix’s lists. 18-24 Sept: Dear Child. 11-17 Sept: Dear Child, Thursday’s Widows. 4-10 Sept: Dear Child. 28 Aug-3 Sept: Ragnarok S3. 21-27 Aug: The Chosen One, Ragnarok S3. 14-20 Aug: The Chosen One. 7-13 Aug: zero. 31 July-6 Aug: A Perfect Story.

24-30 July: Baki Hanma S2. 17-23 July: zero. 10-16 July: nothing. 3-9 July: zip. 26 June-2 July: nada. 19-25 June: The Surrogacy, Sleeping Dog. 12-18 June: Bloodhounds, The Surrogacy. 5-11 June: Fake Profile. 29 May-4 June: Fake Profile. 22-28 May: zero. 15-21 May: Muted, La Reina del Sur. 8-14 May: nothing. 1-7 May: more nothing. 24-30 April: Rough Diamonds, The Nurse. 17-23 April: The Marked Heart S2. 10-16 April: zero. 3-9 April: zero too. 27 March-2 April: Who Were We Running From. 20-26 March: The Glory, Who Were We Running From. 13-19 March: The Glory. 6-12 March: The Glory, Wrong Side of the Tracks. 27 Feb-5 March: Triptych, Wrong Side of the Tracks. 20-26 Feb: Triptych, Physical 100. 13-19 Feb: Physical 100. 6-12 Feb: Physical 100. 30 Jan-5 Feb: The Snow Girl, Physical 100. 23-29 Jan: Women at War. 16-22 Jan: zero. 9-15 Jan: Zero. 2-8 Jan: nothing.

And there you have it: Exactly three Asian titles have appeared on the U.S. non-English language top 10 TV list this year so far. Clearly, Korean content is a tough sell in the world’s richest market. Is the risk on a K-drama targeting the U.S. worth taking? I would say, based on what I know today, no.

Copyright 2023 Pencil Media Pte Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

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contentasia october 2023

Entertaining

Visit us at Croisette 14

Formats: leaderboard ContentAsia’s latest Formats Outlook shows Banijay Rights in the formats distribution lead in Asia by volume – albeit with far fewer titles – for the first nine months of this year.

Others 21%

Banijay Rights 21%

Warner Bros Discovery 3% Paramount Global Content Distribution 3% Workpoint Group 3%

ITV Studios 13%

All3Media International 3% KBS Media 5%

Fremantle 10%

BBC Studios 5% NBCUniversal 6%

Pictures (clockwise): Duranga 2, Zee5 Global; Luruhnya Bunga Cinta, TV3 Malaysia; Keys to the Heart, Netflix

CJ ENM 8%

Asia had at least 145 adaptations commissioned/under way or on air the first nine months of this year, according to ContentAsia’s latest Formats Outlook.

Banijay Rights leads distributor rankings with 30 titles (21% share) from January to September 2023. Banijay topped January-December 2022 format distribution charts as well, with 47 titles for the full year.

India has been Banijay’s strongest formats market by volume this year so far, with nine titles commissioned/on air to end September. These include multiple versions of Big Brother, including Big Brother Marathi S4,

was ITV Studios’ strongest market with four titles, followed by Nepal (3), Sri Lanka (3) and Vietnam (3).

Fremantle had 14 (10%), including five talent show formats and five game shows. The rest were three singing-based formats and one dating show – the Thai remake of Take Me Out Thailand S18 on BEC World’s Channel 3.

CJ ENM Korea accounted for 11 (8%) titles – five commissioned in Thai-

Big Brother Tamil S6 and Big Brother Hindi S16 (aka Bigg Boss Hindi).

land, two each in India and the Philippines, and one each in Malaysia

Of Banijay’s 30 formats, seven were game shows, including Puzzle

and Japan. Five of the 14 titles were drama, including season two of Du-

Masters China S6 and Lego Masters Japan S1; seven cooking shows,

ranga, the Indian remake of Korea’s 2018 crime thriller, Flower of Evil, and

all remakes of MasterChef (two each from Indonesia and Myanmar,

Keys to The Heart, the Philippines adaptation of the 2018 Korean film.

one each from India, Thailand and Singapore); and six singing formats,

NBCUniversal reported nine titles, BBC Studios and KBS Media had sev-

including All Together Now Malaysia S2, Killer Karaoke Mongolia S1, Your

en each, All3Media International and Workpoint Thailand had five each,

Face Sounds Familiar Vietnam S9/Kids S5, and Don’t Forget The Lyrics

and Paramount Global Content Distribution and Warner Bros Discovery

Myanmar S1.

reported four titles each.

ITV Studios accounted for 19 (13%) of the total 145 formats, with 14 singing-related formats, including 13 versions/seasons of The Voice (three each from Nepal and Sri Lanka, two each from the Philippines, Mongolia and Vietnam, and one each from Japan and Cambodia). Mongolia 6

Source: Distributors/rights holders, titles/seasons either on air or commissioned in Jan-Sept 2023 by broadcasters/platforms/companies in 18 countries in Asia.

Note: All distributors and formats rights holders were given equal opportunity to participate. Data as of September 2023.

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Compelling dramas, stand-out formats and premium documentaries

Dian Sastrowardoyo as Dasiyah in productioninterview Cigarette Girl, Netflix

Where there’s smoke Netflix’s Cigarette Girl (Gadis Kretek) is an epic series that is as sprawling & ambitious as the hopes & dreams it carries for Indonesia’s filmmakers. Co-director Kamila Andini talks about a show she had on her wish list for more than a decade.

November 2 can’t come fast enough for Kamila Andini, the Indonesian

Why did you

co-director of period drama, Cigarette Girl. A project more than three

choose Gadis

years in the making and hovering on her wish list for years and years

Kretek and what

before that, the Netflix original drama series, now less than a month

does this project mean

away from its premiere, carries with it the hopes, dreams and ambitions

to you? “It’s quite a long

not only of its creators, but also of an entire creative Industry that has

story actually. The story came

Korea-style global stardom in its sights but knows how tough it is going

to us – me and my co-director, who

to be to get there.

Kamila Andini is also my husband, Ifa Isfansyah.

Ifa was so in love with the novel. It’s

Based on Ratih Kumala’s 2012 novel, Cigarette Girl (aka Gadis

one of the novels that we kept talking about. He had this big passion

Kretek) stars Dian Sastrowardoyo (Sri Asih) as Dasiyah, a woman

to make it into a film, and gave it to many producers over the years.

ahead of her time who is passionate about the perfect formula for

But this is a story that starts in two periods of time with so many charac-

clove cigarettes. Decades after her encounter with Soeraja, played

ters, set against a backdrop of the clove industry, which is the biggest

by Ario Bayu (The Bridge), Soeraja’s son Lebas (Arya Saloka), meets

industry in Indonesia, and also the backdrop of our political situation,

Arum (Putri Marino), and together they trace the past and uncover

with romance and drama. So everything is there basically. But it was

buried secrets.

so hard for us to find anyone who wanted to make this. It’s a big can-

Helmed by Kamila Andini (The Mirror Never Lies) and Ifa Isfansyah

vas and we knew it wasn’t going to be easy to find money for it. So for

(Before, Now & Then), the series is produced by Base Entertainment

many years it just lay there. One day, Ifa gave the novel to Shanty and

with showrunners Shanty Harmayn and Tanya Yuson. Ratih Kumala

Tanya [from Base Entertainment] and they loved it. So they came to

and Tanya Yuson also served as screenwriters along with Kanya K. Pri-

Ifa and asked if we want to make it into a series. We were like ‘really,

yanti and Ambaridzki Ramadhantyo.

it’s happening after so many years?’?

We spoke to Andini during the ContentAsia Summit at the end of August as the first trailer for the series was released...

10

“Shanty and Tanya asked me to co-direct it with Ifa. We’ve never worked together as directors before. He’s always been my producer

contentasia october 2023

Ario Bayu plays Soeraja in Cigarette Girl, Netflix

productioninterview

for my movies. So, this story is our first time directing together. We were quite excited but nervous. But this is a story that’s been in us for many years and we just wanted to see the characters come alive... and here we are.”

How is this different from anything/everything you’ve done before? “I always see my work as my own child and every child is very different from the others. I’m sort of reborn each time I do something. Cigarette Girl speaks to me and about me, and Ifa as well, at this time and it reflects us at this certain time and context. We are like new again after making this as a creator and it’s been amazing.”

I always see my work as my own child and every child is very different from the others.

I’m sort of reborn each time I do something.”

Kamila Andini Co-director, Cigarette Girl (Gadis Kretek)

Do you have a favourite scene from Cigarette Girl? “A lot, it’s a bit hard because I have to answer without spoiling. There are a lot of heartbreaking, but also beautiful, revelation moments in this series. Some-

ters that I think can be very intense sometimes because maybe also the

thing about secrets of the past and also the passion and the romance...

character could be 100 degrees different than their real character.”

The series is set back-to-back in two time periods. So I love every time both of the periods connect, even though they never actually meet.

How involved do you, as a director, get in script writing?

That’s actually what is beautiful about the series... that connection with-

“I’m a writer/director, so I have always been involved in everything and

in time without actually meeting is actually very beautiful.”

creating the story together story wise and visually. So I’m used to creating the visuals during the development, the writing and the treatment. In

How long do you like to spend in rehearsals with talent before shooting?

Gadis Kretek, Base Entertainment already has a team of writers, headed

“As long as I can, it depends how many months I can do. Perhaps, if I

by Tanya at that time and [the novel’s author] Ratih, who was one of the

am given a year, I will do it for a year. But it’s very different in each of the

writers in the writers room. I like to get involved in terms of visual treatment

stories, and it’s also very different in each of the characters. Every direc-

during the development. Tanya and Shanty gave me room for that...

tor has their own approach and every actor also has their own approach

gave us the script quite early and asked me and Ifa for ideas about the

and prepping with them, it’s always been a magical time for me be-

characters and how we want to shape them... we were involved in the

cause we get to know each other and how we are going to shape this,

script writing as well. For me, I got the time to talk with the team, the ac-

in each of our differences and preferences. So for me, there are charac-

tors... and also to start thinking since early stages”.

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contentasia october 2023

productioninterview

Risks & rewards

Netflix’s Southeast Asia content director, Malobika Banerji, speaks about focus, vision & calculated risks as the streamer scales up in Southeast Asia.

Netflix continues to scale up in Southeast Asia, adding Indonesian director Kamila Andini’s TV series, Cigarette Girl, which premieres on 2 November, to Sitisiri (Dome) Mongkolsiri’s Hunger – the #1 film on the global non-English movie top 10 earlier this year – and Timo Tjahjanto’s 2022 chart topper – action-comedy blockbuster, The Big 4 – to name the top few. Originals from Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines are expected to flow freely in 2024.

Almost eight years after Netflix launched in Southeast Asia, Malobika Banerji, the streamer’s director of content for the region, talks about the quest to put Southeast Asian content on an entertainment map dominated by Korea and Hollywood.

“As a Southeast Asia local content team, one of the things we have been focused on is figuring out if our members will embrace local content in similar fashion [to Korea and Hollywood] if we programme a great variety and quality of them.

We are very happy to see that our efforts are already bearing fruit,” she says.

Original titles are top 10 regulars in their home countries, and licensed films, such as Marla Ancheta’s Doll House (2022) and Seasons (2023) from the Philippines and Indonesia’s Photocopier (2021), have been well received.

All the original titles have been on the top 10 lists in their home countries for a few weeks at least. “So that’s a big testament,” she says.

Doll House, starring Baron Geisler as a man who takes on the job of caring for a little girl, the daughter he left behind years ago, was on Netflix’s global nonEnglish top 10 for two weeks last year and was a top 10 non-English film in 11 countries for at least a week. Seasons, starring Lovi Poe, went one better, staying on the top 10 globally for three weeks, although it was only on the top 10 in seven countries. Wregas Bhanuteja’s Indonesian thriller, Photocopier, did even better, spending three weeks on the global top 10 non-English films, and earning a place on the top 10 in 26 countries.

“We feel confident that we are on the right path and we will continue investing in both licensing and commissioned projects,” Banerji told delegates at the 2023 ContentAsia Summit.

At the same time, she emphasises that these are early days of local programming. “We are testing and learning as we go. At this point in time, we are programming across a wide range of genres and formats, trying to really get a sense of what members want to watch on Netflix,” she says.

For example, in Thailand, films like The Murderer and Hunger, and series like Delete, sit alongside the latest theatrical releases, with some linear TV programming as well as unscripted titles. “So it’s really a full range... we are trying to get a sense of what resonates with audiences,” she says.

There’s some risk involved. But, Banerji says, “we are taking those bets... trying different things.” Before Hunger, “we absolutely did not have any signal or idea that our members would connect with a strong character drama”. The film premiered on 6 April 2023, making #2 on the non-English global top 10 films for the week of 3-9 April with 11.23 million hours viewed and a place on the top 10 films in 43 countries. The following week, Hunger was at #1 with 43.6 million hours viewed and on the top 10 films list in 91 countries, including the U.S. Similarly, in Indonesia, Timo Tjahjanto’s The Big 4 was the horror/action director’s first foray into action comedy. “This was the first time he was trying

14

contentasia october 2023

productioninterview

Once Upon a Star

something new,” she adds. “We felt that the material was compelling

Banerji says the response was something of a surprise. “It’s hearten-

enough for us to give it a try and see how it resonates with audiences.

ing to see that, ok, if we try something, people are willing to give it a

And we were very happy to see that his base actually expanded be-

chance. The only thing we can do is make the best version of any bet

yond his core action and horror fans.”

we are taking and then just leave it to the audiences to tell us.”

“Making content is always a risk... The only thing we can do is to make

In a production universe obsessed with ‘being international’, Netflix’s

sure that we understand what we are trying to make and the people

priority is local. “Our local language strategy is local for local,” she says.

who are trying to make it, whether they have the ability to pull it off,”

”We want to make sure that whatever local titles we make resonate

Banerji says.

with our members in that country in the biggest way possible... a hit in

The success of The Big 4, for instance, was by no means a foregone conclusion. “It was not that when we saw it, we knew it would be a hit.

the home country is the biggest win for us.”

“As a content executive, my aspiration is that every title is seen by the

To be honest, internally we knew it would be 50/50.... Because core

world. That’s why we are making content. But we know from history that

Timo fans might be disappointed that this is not hardcore action, and

there is only a handful of titles that break out in that way. What we have

then comedy fans will be like, ‘why is there action here?’. So it was a

learned from those is that if it is authentically local [and well-made],

risk. But when we looked at the material overall and we saw Timo’s pas-

there is a big chance that it will find audiences outside,” she says.

sion for the project, it was clear that it was a bet worth trying. If it didn’t

New TV series include the eight-episode Thai drama, Delete, about

work out, okay, we would then know that he had a niche audience

two lovers in an extramarital affair who plot a new life together after

and he should stick to that.”

finding a phone that can erase other people. The series, co-written and

“If we don’t try new things, we don’t learn, right? And I think the best

directed by Parkpoom Wongpoom (Alone), released on 28 June and

part of our journey in Southeast Asia has been that as much as we are try-

spent two weeks on the global non-English TV top 10. The series was on

ing new things, the audience is also trying to open up to this experimenta-

the top 10 TV lists in 29 countries. Banerji points to Wongpoom’s reputa-

tion. They are also giving it a try. Otherwise people may not have watched

tion for horror/thrillers. “He’s done a bit of genre blending in this series,

Hunger the way they did, right? So that’s very heartening to see.”

so that was a risk for us,” she says.

Wisit Sasanatieng dark comedy, The Murderer, is another example.

The Southeast Asia team is making similar bets in television as it

“People love movies from the Isan region in Thailand, and we have

has in movies. “We are taking risks with both movies and television.

been seeing that for a while,” Banerji says. The Murderer script, with its

Because series have a longer lead time, in our first slate you see

blend of murder mystery, dark comedy and highly stylised visuals, was

mostly films.” TV titles that have been in the works for the last two years

different from the regular simple Isan rural comedies. The question, then,

release in 2024.

was whether the same audiences would be willing to open up to some-

At the end of the day though, the format is secondary. “What’s really

thing different. The Murderer topped the Thai film list for two weeks from

important is that it’s the best format to tell the story, whether it’s a series

24 July to 6 August this year, and stayed on the top 10 in the country for

or film... It’s not trying to be differentiated for the sake of being differen-

three weeks although, according to Netflix’s published rankings, doesn’t

tiated, there is a real vision and a story that the storyteller wants to tell...

seem to have made an international impact.

So that’s what we are focused on.”

16

contentasia october 2023

productioninterview

Only just begun A teen gunman in Bangkok may have forced BEC World/Channel 3’s glitzy live showcase off stage in an early-October real-life drama. But, even if the show didn’t go on that night, the party is far from over for Thailand’s storytellers, producers, commissioners and rights holders.

Anticipation was running high at BEC World on Tuesday, 3 October.

If things go according to plan, this could be the dawn of a new era

The Thai broadcaster, enjoying extended moments in the global spot-

for Prime Video in Thailand. The October campaign followed the 31

light as its well-oiled production machinery delivers a steady stream of

August premiere of original series, Comedy Island Thailand. Prime Video

good-looking stars and story lines, was preparing to showcase the 13

does not release performance data, but says, amid mixed consumer

dramas that will lead the schedule and international sales for the rest

and industry reviews, that it is happy with the engagement.

of 2023 and 2024. Talent and fans had already begun gathering for the

There’s also the expectation of glory days to come under the newly

two-and-a-half-hour live extravaganza in Bangkok. Inside the hall, final

installed Gaurav Gandhi/Aparna Purohit leadership team, with Darin

rehearsals were wrapping and talent was counting down to curtain up.

Darakananda heading originals for Thailand. Gandhi, Amazon Prime’s

The station’s senior executives were either already there or on their way.

APAC VP, and Purohit, India/Southeast Asia head of originals, are cred-

Everything was on schedule, which was, perhaps, the most unusual

ited with Prime Video’s success in India, where the platform commands

thing about the afternoon in a city where traffic can upend the best-

a 21% share of the country’s US$1.7 billion premium video on demand

laid plans. Until a lone 14-year-old gunman, opening fire in the crowded

revenues (including SVOD & premium AVOD), according to Media Part-

Siam Paragon mall, brought the evening’s events to a screeching halt.

ners Asia (MPA).

Chaos ensued as the area was evacuated, police neutralised the

At the very least, for now, Prime Video says the Thai acquisitions rein-

shooter, and shocked guests, shoppers and bystanders were sent home

force its commitment to local content investment. Prime Video South-

in the pouring rain.

east Asia’s content acquisition senior manager, Chaitanya

While the active shooter drama forced BEC World off stage for the night, for Thai content, the party is far far from over.

Thai IP leads series pickups and streamer attention in Southeast Asia at the moment. This is as much for its production infrastructure, rising val-

Divan, calls the latest Thai slate “a significant milestone in the history of Prime Video in Thailand” and “a testament of our commitment to the creative community”.

So far, Amazon hasn’t disclosed anything about the Thai originals that

ues and volume, as for local broadcasters’, platforms’ and producers’

will come after Comedy Island, which was commissioned under the

determination to expand stories and storytelling skills to serve broader

previous content regime led by Erika North. There’s also no word on a

regional – and hopefully international – audiences.

renewal.

The initiative is wide ranging, including tapping into Asian and interna-

What we do know is that Prime Video is determined to skirt the same-

tional scripted formats. Korean scripted IP continues to be adapted into

old. Speaking during the ContentAsia Summit at the end of August, Da-

Thai series by Korean/Thai joint venture, True CJ Creations, joined by Ben

rakananda said the platform was “looking for content that’s distinct”, a

Lai’s Yam Cultural, which is adapting mainland Chinese IP into Thai dra-

category she described as “content plus”.

mas. In the past few years, titles such as Turkish drama Eternal the U.K.’s

“So whatever genre we’re working on, like romance or horror, it

Doctor Foster and Japan’s Mother, among others, have been adapted

should be romance plus, horror plus... it has to have that X factor, where

for domestic audiences.

it feels familiar, where the Thai audience would be like, ‘I’ve kind of

Quite apart from producing in Thai, rights holders in the country have proved to be willing to experiment with windows and distribution in a bid to figure out what best suits a combo streaming/broadcast/online universe at home, in the region, and elsewhere.

The day before BEC was forced to abort its glitzy multi-million dollar

seen this before, but there’s an interesting twist that I haven’t seen anywhere else’,” she said.

The quest, of course, is to boost subscription. “Thai audiences are so incredibly savvy. If you just churn out a regular romcom, they’re going to know exactly what is going to happen. But what will get them to

showcase, Prime Video, in a star-studded event of its own in Bangkok,

become a Prime subscriber? What will get them to become part of the

unveiled a multi-genre slate of Thai acquisitions for a 13-week content

Prime family is, ‘oh, this is something with a little nuance that is so inter-

campaign. The “unbox Thai entertainment” campaign, which runs from

esting, that I haven’t seen anywhere else’. So that’s the thing that we

5 October to the end of December this year, is by far the streamer’s

look for. And that’s always really hard to put your finger on. But once

biggest in Thailand to date.

you read a concept and you’re like, wow, I haven’t really seen this any-

At the same time, Prime Video said that more than 70 new Hollywood

where else... that’s the Prime brand.”

and other titles slated for launch in the first quarter of 2024 would be

Prime Video’s acquisitions team received and read the same memo.

available with Thai dubbing and subtitles, all part of a refreshed effort to

Included in the new slate are the first the two series produced by the

woo Thai audiences.

Together, BEC World and Prime Video put 26 coming-soon Thai titles in the spotlight in the same week.

18

new BEC Studio, set up in 2021 as an independent studio separate from BEC World’s domestic commissioning team focused on local stories for free-TV network Channel 3.

contentasia october 2023

Love Destiny 2

19

productioninterview Kissed by the Rain

BEC Studio’s sole remit, under president Apicha Honghirunruang, is to create Thai content for the international market, which means figuring out, first and foremost, what global and regional streaming platforms want.

So far, Honghirunruang seems to be getting the Southeast Asia piece right. His first two titles –

Director of Kitty the Killer, Lee Thongkham

The Office Games and My Undercover Chef – will stream on Prime Video in Thailand and across neighbouring countries. The Office Games, starring Chalida Vijitvongtong and Chanon Santinatornkul as ordinary office workers who struggle to cope with life’s vicissitudes, will stream on 16 November. Also 16-episodes, My Undercover Chef, stars Chantavit Dhanasevi as a detective who goes undercover as a sous-chef. The series premieres on Prime Video in Southeast Asia on 21 December.

The deal with Amazon signals a major shift for BEC Studio’s listed parent company, which has had to get its head around a regional business after decades of deeply domestic free-to-air focus. This is the first time ever that BEC-linked originals will stream in Thailand ahead of their broadcast date on BEC’s free-TV service, Channel 3.

Honghirunruang, who previously ran joint-venture Thai/Korean production house, True CJ Creations, says the Studio’s titles were created from scratch to address universal themes, with an international look and feel. “The market is open. So now we have to grab the opportunity... do something that may not be similar to anything else in the market right now,” he insists.

For Prime Video, the latest acquisitions push the envelope in terms of size and genre... and perhaps spend, although budgets have not been disclosed. Broadly, Prime Video’s acquisitions budget is level with Netflix’s with a premium of perhaps 10% for exclusivity.

The first Thai title to stream in Thailand/Southeast Asia as part of the new Prime Video deal was director Lee Thongkham’s (The Maid) girls-with-weapons action comedy, Kitty The Killer, which kicked off the campaign on Thursday (5 October). The 2023 film, which premiered in June at the New York Asian Film Festival, stars Ploypailin Thangprapaporn and Somchai Kemglad in the story of a band of female assassins who hide in plain sight until they are summoned by a secret clan of men called the Guardians.

Six of Prime Video’s new titles – four films and two series – will be available to Prime 20

contentasia october 2023

Life, the Universe and Almost Everything The effects of migration, living on the moon, cryptocurrency … We search for the answers to some of life‘s biggest questions — what have you been afraid to ask?

Contact us to add this and other award-winning titles from DW Transtel: meefung.lee@pikfilm.com.my

dw-transtel.com

Never Enough productioninterview

Video audiences globally. The four films are life-after-death comedy

line of nobility. Two of the series are made by Good Feeling, and the

Ghost Rookie (19 October), Ranee Campen starrer Congrats My Ex (23

other three are from Maker Y, Metta & Mahaniyom and Act Art Gen-

November), village adventure 3 Idiot Heroes (30 November), and The

eration.

Adventures of Rung (28 December). The two series are 10-episode cryp-

Among the brand new titles for 2024 are Mario Maurer starrer, Kissed

to-drama, Coin Digger (2 November), and supernatural series, Curse

by the Rain, and Never Enough from Bad Romeo director and Con-

Code (7 December).

tentAsia Awards 2023 best director, Ampaiporn Jitmaingong. Starring

Three concerts are part of the Prime Video campaign, kicking off with PP Krit – Lit & Glitter The First Fan Meeting concert recorded live in March

James Jirayu, Bow Maylada and Ice Paris, the coming-of-age series is a friends-to-lovers tale with a promised triangle twist.

2023, and followed by Grammy x RS: Hit 100 Concert and Grammy x RS:

If BEC World is ahead in putting Thai drama in front of audiences in

2K Celebration Concert, which will stream in Thailand only. The PP Krit Lit

Southeast Asia/China, globally, Netflix has drawn ahead in putting Thai

& Glitter will stream in Southeast Asia.

films and series on the global map.

For BEC World, the new slate that was to have been unveiled on that

Sitisiri (Dome) Mongkolsiri’s Hunger in April was followed in September

fateful night in Bangkok milks the country’s quest for love and penchant

with 6ixtynin9 The Series, an adaptation of Thailand’s Pen-Ek Ratanaru-

for romcoms, and leverages proven blockbuster properties.

ang’s 1999 movie. The six-episode series was one of Netflix’s top 10 non-

Leading the list of new dramas is the long-awaited sequel to 2018

English-language shows for the week of 4-10 September 2023, debuting

romcom, Love Destiny, which was followed by blockbuster movie, Love

on the chart at #8 with 6.5 million hours viewed and 1.4 million views.

Destiny: The Movie, last year.

Written/directed by Ratanaruang, 6ixtynin9 The Series stars Mai-Davika

Picking up from where season one left off, the 26-episode Love

Hoorne (Pee Mak) as Toom, who loses her job during the pandemic. A

Destiny 2 (พรหมลิขิต / Prom Likit) stars Ranee Campen as Pudtarn, a

box filled with cash mistakenly delivered to her doorstep sets off a chain

confident modern woman who opens an ancient chest and is magi-

of ill-fated encounters.

cally transported to a different time and place. There she meets and

Hunger, which was on Netflix’s top 10 for six weeks earlier this year,

eventually falls in love with Rid, played by heartthrob Thanavat (Pope)

was a milestone for Thai drama. “Hunger changed the perception by

Vatthanaputi. Love Destiny 2 premieres on Channel 3 in Thailand on 18

showing that a strong character drama set in Thailand can travel,” says

October, with simultaneous streaming releases.

Netflix content director for Southeast Asia, Malobika Banerji.

Another return is five-part romance anthology, Dhevaprom, the se-

Thai coming-of-age feature film, GDH’s You & Me & Me, also popped

quel to 2013 blockbuster, The Gentlemen of Jutathep. Scheduled for

on Netflix’s top 10 global non-English films. Released theatrically in Feb-

early 2024, Dhevaprom features five women whose lives and histories

ruary this year, You & Me & Me is about identical twin sisters who share

are intertwined with the noble Jutathep male heirs. The complete an-

everything – until a boy walks into their lives and puts their bond to the

thology runs to 73 episodes, mixing romance, action and fantasy set in

test. The film was viewed for 1.38 million hours around the world, giving it

the 1960s, when marrying well was still considered essential for the last

8th spot on the list for the week of 8-14 May.

22

contentasia october 2023

At the same time, two of BEC/Ch3’s tentpoles – season one of Love Destiny and The Betrayal, the local version of BBC Studio’s Doctor Foster – top Thai rankings on Netflix and, anecdotally, on regional streamer Viu, which boasts its own list of Thai originals, including Wannabe and Finding the Rainbow.

BEC Studio’s Honghirunruang highlights a rising flexibility that runs alongside the bid for a regional/international business. “We have to understand which platform wants what kind of content, how many episodes, the genres, the gaps, the trends... we need to listen to the audience. That’s the most important part”.

As Thai storytellers look outwards, the fiveyear-old Bangkok-based Thai-Korean joint venture, True CJ Creations, remains committed to bringing Korean IP home, in cinematic quality, primarily for the True platform with additional distribution on Netflix. Successes so far are led by Voice and, more recently, Bad Guys. New projects are led by a Thai adaptation of KBS drama, Good Doctor, which is currently in post-production.

Co-CEO, Ari Arijitsatien, says the most important learning about the meeting point between Korea and Thailand remains interpreting and bridging cultural differences. She notes a newfound Covid-driven willingness by film directors to play in the TV space. “This,” she says, “shifted the way of production in Thailand”.

23 Pattarasaya Kreuasuwansri plays Faglai in Ghost Rookie

Comedyproductioninterview Island Philippines

Comedy Island Philippines, Base Entertainment for Prime Video

Prime cuts

Prime Video’s activity in Southeast Asia has so far been lower key than many hoped it might be. By all accounts, that’s about to end. Roll on 2024...

When Darin Darakananda took to the stage at the ContentAsia Sum-

nounced in another life (circa July 2022), including Sal Kim’s Wattpad-

mit in Bangkok this year, she was 100% focused on the pending global

based Three Idiots and A Ghost with Jungka Bangkok in Thailand; script-

premier of Prime Video original, Comedy Island Thailand, at the end of

ed series Metal Casket from writer/director Banjong Pisanthanakun, and

August. As Prime Video’s head of Thai content, she talked about push-

How to Fake It in Bangkok from Halo Productions with actor Ananda

ing the creative envelope, being brave enough to try new things, and

Everingham (The Betrayal) executive producing.

the ‘plus’ factor essential in every pitch.

A month later, at Media Partners Asia’s (MPA) confer-

There has been a lot more activity on the acquisitions front, including the 13 titles announced this month (see page 18). A year ago, Prime

ence in Bali at the end of September, the streamer’s

Video acquired Korean director Bae Jong’s fantasy action series,

new-ishly installed Southeast Asia leadership spoke

Island, for its global platform (ex Korea). Island followed the acquisi-

about being more than an SVOD platform, about chan-

tions of Korean romantic comedy, Love in Contract. Licensing will

nels and aggregation, differentiators and partnerships.

continue to be a major part of the offering, says Southeast Asia direc-

But still, other than Comedy Island adaptations for the

tor David Simonsen, who joined Prime Video in mid-2022

Philippines and Indonesia, details are thin if non-existent.

Total quiet so far on the Southeast Asia projects an-

after a long career at HBO Asia.

So it’s not like nothing has been happening in Southeast Asia. But on the whole, he activity has just

We are more than just a SVOD service. We are an entertainment hub.”

been lower-key than many had hoped it would be by now. And the reason is... on Prime Video’s calendar, it’s only been a year.

Simonsen counts the platform’s wins over the past 12 months, led by establishing the regional team in Singapore. He describes this as “a big win in year one”. With the regional infrastructure that has come online in the last six months,

Gaurav Gandhi, VP APAC, Prime Video

“we’ve touched millions of customers across the region. We’re learning a lot all the time about

24

contentasia october 2023

productioninterview

Comedy Island Thailand

our engagement strategies and acquisition strategies...

consumers from basic pay-TV to SVOD, the hunt for gaps

we’re happy with that growth,” he said at APOS.

into which Amazon can step, creating categories

Product infrastructure issues, including pay-

“where we believe there’s an opportunity” such

ments, which “took us a while”, were in place

as rentals in India, and – a favourite of his –

in Q2 this year and “has made a big impact

broadening linguistic palettes.

on the business”. In short, he says, 2023 will

The strategy will be different in each mar-

go down as a “foundational year”.

ket. In Japan, for example, Amazon/Prime

“We’re just getting started,” says Gaurav

Video offers about 60 services, with major

Gandhi, who shifted to Singapore this year

anime players, sports properties and rights

after his April promotion to vice president

owners, local broadcasters and platforms,

for the Asia Pacific. He’s bringing with him

including Fuji TV On Demand.

Prime Video India veteran, Aparna Purohit,

Gandhi says the Japanese platform offers

as head of originals for Southeast Asia, a role

more than 300,000 titles with 100 plus partners.

she holds in addition to her India responsibilities.

Over the past seven and a half years in India, Purohit is credited with building Prime Video India

In India, we have “a more curated strategy” on Aparna Purohit Head of Originals, India/SE Asia, Prime Video

originals from the ground up, including The Family Man,

TVOD designed to build the category. He seems happy with the result. “Almost 90% of the catalogue is rented at least once every month,” he says.

Mirzapur, Farzi, Inside Edge, Made in Heaven, Mumbai Diaries, Rohit

TVOD channels are on their way to Southeast Asia. “The way we

Shetty’s action drama Indian Police Force, factual series Dancing on

think about this is that we are going to be a great enabler for the cat-

the Grave, Sons of the Soil: Jaipur Pink Panthers, Mind the Malhotras,

egory overall for our partners for the region,” he says.

Four More Shots Please... plus bigger ambitions for original movies.

“We always start with what the customer really needs and under-

In India today, Prime Video has a 21% share of the country’s US$1.7 bil-

standing that requirement and then looking at whitespaces around it,”

lion premium VOD revenues, level with JioCinema and one point behind

he says, adding: “We are very clear about building the most loved en-

the troubled Disney+ Hotstar, according to MPA.

tertainment service for our customers in each territory”.

Industry talk is that others from Gandhi’s India dream team will fol-

There’s more. “We also are very clear that we are more than just a

low him to Singapore, maybe with dual roles, like Purohit, maybe not.

SVOD service. We are an entertainment hub for our customers”. That

That’s one to watch...

means, among other things, bringing channels and TVOD to this part of

In the meantime, Purohit talks about “creating cultural moments”, characters that become part of the zeitgeist, about creative invest-

the world as part of broader industry partnerships. “That’s a big differentiator for us,” Gandhi says.

ment and marketing muscle. “Developing original content takes time,

Simonsen says a focus is “to get more out of what we already have

and requires enormous creative investment, and we don’t shy away

and what we’re producing everywhere”. Questions the team is asking:

from any of that,” she says. The strategy in Southeast Asia is, as it is ev-

How do we get more out of what we’re producing in India? In Japan?

erywhere, to build “very authentic, rooted stories”, recognising and

Simonsen says that “APAC flywheel is really critical for us and we’re see-

respecting nuances in each market.

ing some exciting response”.

“We cannot talk about a video streaming business without talking

When will all of this emerge in Southeast Asia? Purohit promises a ro-

about the quality of the content. That’s the starting point,” Gandhi adds.

bust development slate in Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia. But

He also talks about aggregated businesses in Japan and India that

still no details or timetable yet. As Simonsen stressed, it’s only been a

include channels, TVOD, being the home of anime and sports, moving

26

year. We will, of course, stay tuned.

contentasia october 2023

editor’snote

4

contentasia october 2022

Rights to win Warner Bros Discovery will launch Max in some parts of Asia in 2024/5, after the Paris Summer Olympics. While the company clearly has rights, the question is whether these are the right rights to win in a region where the overwhelming appeal is local, they’re late, and the fight is fierce.

Warner Bros Discovery’s streaming boss J.B. Perrette wants Max up and

their premium offerings even if they’re not paying the premium they

running in Asia (ex Japan and India, where cold hard rights acquisitions’

used to.

cash trumped streaming ambitions) after the Paris Olympics in Summer

Now wholly charged with streaming, Monteiro joined HBO/Max SE Asia

2024, after Latam in the first quarter and Europe before the Olympics.

in Jan 2022. Six months later, he joined Schwebig’s team as head of inte-

“Asia continues to be critically important but we have to [roll out Max]

grated marketing (including creative services) across the region and all

in that sequence. We’ll get to Asia before the end of next year with our

lines of business. In early Sept 2023, the APAC streaming business was put

existing markets and then we’ll move on to new markets again, starting

squarely under him, sloughing off marketing and creative services activi-

in 2025,” Perrette said in a session at Media Partners Asia’s (MPA) APOS

ties in favour of a single-minded focus on streaming. Monteiro reports

event at the end of September.

directly to Perrette.

There’s no question WBD has the rights and the franchises to launch;

Meanwhile, the Asia team is settling into the latest re-org that puts Dis-

Game of Thrones, Succession, The White Lotus, Euphoria, Friends, The Big

covery lifer James Gibbons in charge of a united APAC. In addition to

Bang Theory... and Barbie.

his previous responsibility for Japan, Australia and New Zealand, Gibbons

What Perrette, WBD CEO and president, global streaming and games,

takes over the territories – the awkwardly dubbed INSEAK region – that

didn’t address on stage in Bali that Wednesday was the bigger question:

used to be under Clement Schwebig, who exits for a role in charge of

Are these the right rights to win in Asia, where local content has already

Western Europe and Africa. Gibbons was appointed president/MD of

proved to be a deal breaker for subscribers? If they aren’t, how fast can

Japan, Aus/NZ in April 2022. He shifted to Singapore this year. If there

the programming/production team resuscitate HBO’s Asia originals am-

was an overwhelming response to the latest changes from the change-

bitions formerly known as gung-ho? And/or, how quickly can the team

battered rank and file, it was that they no longer have to say INSEAK to

muscle its way back into the furiously competitive acquisitions race?

talk about a geographic unit that comprises India, Southeast Asia, Hong

What he did say was that WBD may look for “clever ways to partner with

Kong, Taiwan and Korea.

local players... not just invest entirely ourselves, but there may be creative

At APOS, held just ahead of the latest reorg/s, Perrette described the past decade as one of “great oversupply and great underpricing”.

ways to partner with existing local players”.

Details of Max programming plans in Asia, led by former iflix/HBO Max

He talked about “a period of rationalisation” and said “the great re-

exec Jason Monteiro, have not been made public, and we have no reli-

aggregation is well underway”. This aggregation, he added, “is both

able visibility on what the Max Asia development slate looks like. There’s

structural, with consolidation… and then there’s re-aggregation in the

talk that Korean acquisition/s is in the works; it’s not a huge leap of faith

re-bundling”. He also highlighted widespread pricing rationalisation,

to believe this to be true. It’s also not clear yet whether Monteiro will be

saying: “Unfortunately for the last decade, the industry went on a con-

building his own stand-alone streaming team. Even if he does, Perrette

tent oversupply bender”.

was clear about leveraging WBD’s long-established, deeply traditional

Predicting three to five big global players in the next five to 10 years, in

resources/relationships/networks – now under the newly promoted James

addition to “local champions in individual markets”, Perrette was “very

Gibbons – in the region to roll out Max.

optimistic” that streaming could get to decent margins in the next few

In Asia, WBD still operates the

years. “While the business

is challenged today… our

old HBO Go streaming service,

measure of success are

different to some others in

which will be re-platformed

the industry,” he said,

adding: “We have three

as Max. The traditional busi-

metrics. We have

profitability, we have share,

ness also includes linear

and we have scale.

We have always said that

channels widely distrib-

we would rather be

profitable and in fewer

uted on platforms in a region

households

than have more house-

where pay-TV hasn’t been dis-

holds

and be losing billions of dollars.”

rupted in the same way as in other parts of the world. Platform bosses in Asia mostly like and rate HBO, which remains part of

28

Jason Monteiro

J.B. Perrette

James Gibbons

contentasia october 2023

editor’snote

6

contentasia october 2022

productioninterview

Love and Grief, Viddsee

Shorts shift Singapore’s short-form filmmakers and platforms are taking a whole new look at domestic issues that would once have been considered taboo, challenging stereotypes and putting topics such as suicide, mental health, death, dying and homelessness front and centre of their work.

Suicide, eating disorders, mental health, dementia, homelessness and

manner of ills, families under pressure and raw emotion front and cen-

immigration are part of Singapore’s latest video conversation, with

tre of their work.

filmmakers surfacing a social underbelly that would once, in a shiny

Over the last two years, premium short form programming in Singa-

country proud of its development and modern advantages, have

pore has seen a wave of content such as born-in-Singapore digital

been taboo. Led by young homegrown talent, Singapore’s new wave

platform Viddsee’s Uncomfortable Questions and Love & Grief, while

of short-form programming is unafraid, unflinching and sometimes

Our Grandfather Story (OGS) – another homegrown platform – has of-

confrontational, putting unvarnished reality, including survivors of all

fered series such as Can Ask Meh? and TBH (To Be Honest).

Even mainstream CNA, the international 24-hour current affairs channel owned and operated by national broadcaster Mediacorp, is

We saw the opportunity for a very different offering to what’s on broadcast television... raw stories, a kind of confession of something personal.”

Michele Schofield, SVP, Commercial, Viddsee

30

on board, with, for instance, three-part series, Homeless in Singapore.

Each episode on CNA’s YouTube channel received more than 300,000 views. In a country where 89.3% of residents own a home – one of the highest home-ownership rates in the world – this docu-series provides challenging insights to the day-to-day lives of rough sleepers.

“It seemed to us that a lot of Singaporeans were vaguely aware that homelessness exists in Singapore,” says Sharon Hun Ee Lin, Mediacorp’s deputy chief editor of current affairs. “But the true nature and magnitude of the issue were unfamiliar territory for them,” she adds.

“Our first challenge was finding profiles who were willing to appear onscreen without having to conceal their identities. We wanted to challenge the stereotypes that people have about the homeless,” Lin says.

Viddsee, which first started in 2013 as a platform curating short films, moved into producing original content telling “raw, unfiltered stories on taboo topics” after witnessing the boom of short-form video content on social media platforms.

contentasia october 2023

Hidden Hustles: Life in Death, OGS

productioninterview

Today, Viddsee has more than one million subscribers on its main YouTube platform, while also running a separate Nuggets by Viddsee account focused on bite-sized content targetting Singaporean youth.

“TikTok is not really a social platform like Facebook and Instagram, where you’re connected with your friends. When you go on TikTok, you’re scrolling to watch content,” says Michele Schofield, Viddsee’s senior VP of commercial.

“We saw the opportunity for a very different offering to what’s on broadcast television. People have found it moving to watch these raw stories, which are a kind of confession of something quite personal.

The key is ensuring you tell the story responsibly.”

Kai Yuan Ng Co-founder, Our Grandfather Story (OGS)

That content tends to do quite well and goes viral,” she says.

A key consideration is avoiding exploiting topics for the sake of

murdered by the family’s domestic helper when she was six years old.

clicks. The balance is increasingly difficult to achieve in a media land-

Schofield says that if Viddsee had called the episode My Helper

scape where platforms have to optimise engagement and views for

Murdered My Mother, social media engagement may have soared.

financial survival, and one where algorithms prioritise content that draws strong and extreme reactions.

“I asked myself if we were being insensitive towards the subject by calling the video that, are we exploiting her and her story with that ti-

“This is a tricky thing to balance because we operate in the social

tle for it to go viral,” she says. “That’s what you have to weigh up when

media space. Especially on YouTube, we think about thumbnails and

you are putting the keywords in there without seeming like you’re ex-

titles,” says OGS co-founder, Ng Kai Yuan.

ploiting the subject.”

Hidden Hustles: Life in Death (2022) for instance, is a three-part miniseries featuring jobs in the death industry – an embalmer, a funeral director, and volunteers who give a final bath to the terminally ill. The

The platforms use different systems to gather ideas and commission videos.

For OGS, Ng says the team works like a “publisher”, with an internal

aim is to encourage conversations about enabling dignified deaths,

monthly meeting for the creative team to look at story pitches that

OGS says.

come in from video journalists. Most videos take four to eight weeks to

Ng says “the key is ensuring that you tell the story responsibly. You

produce.

could, for example, have a title that is a bit sensational but eventually

Ng says that it is advantageous that most of OGS’ team members

it’s how you tell the story within the video itself. That takes it in a differ-

are in their 20s and 30s, which provides helpful firsthand insight into

ent direction. We could go via a very sensational route or we could go

what topics and stories will do well among their audience.

a very educational route”.

“For example, in TBH, we are trying to tackle problems from a millen-

Schofield points out that the Viddsee team works hard for balance.

nial perspective,” Ng says. “We have a core audience that’s around

For example, episode two of Viddsee’s original series, Love & Grief, is ti-

that age looking for content like that. The past couple of episodes that

tled To My Lost Mum, and tells the story of a woman whose mother was

are out are doing pretty decently.”

32

contentasia october 2023

Homeless in Singapore; Roselan takes a nap at a void deck of an apartment block while charging his e-bike at a nearby socket.

We wanted to challenge the stereotypes people have about the homeless.”

Sharon Hun Ee Lin Deputy Chief Editor of Current Affairs, Mediacorp

a more SEO-rich title or flag if a series feels similar to another series.”

One of Viddsee’s priorities is opening opportunities to filmmakers across Singapore, and, in addition to being constantly on the lookout for ideas, the platform does regular call-outs to factual filmmakers.

“We’ll give them the format and duration that we’re looking for and the rest is up to them to pitch,” Schofield says. The production cycle for these videos ranges from three to six months.

For CNA, Hun’s team has to be open to evolving docu-series beyond the original brief to show, for instance, how the homeless community hacks the lack of convenient facilities, including potable water, washing clothes or dealing with the lack of privacy at shelters.

“We quickly realised that the hacking wasn’t just a feature of homelessness. These were symptoms of deeper issues that have resulted in them falling into systemic gaps,” she says.

“Another mis-perception is that the biggest problem the homeless in Singapore face is where to sleep at night. But in fact, Singapore provides shelters. So actually, their biggest challenge is what to do in “Darius”, a minor with a difficult family relationship, does not have access to public rental housing because of his age.

the day.”

Looking ahead, OGS aims to expand beyond Singapore and tell stories about Southeast Asia, although Ng admits that the “fragmented” nature of the Southeast Asian market is a challenge.

Ng says the push in the past two years has been for YouTube and

The first video in the TBH series investigates how much rent a young adult can save by living in Malaysia’s Johor Bahru instead of Singapore. As of end September, the video had received 357,000 views since its premiere in mid-July 2023.

For Viddsee, studio head Kenny Tan does most of the commissioning. The platform also has a “greenlight council” made up of the commercial and marketing teams, which provide feedback.

TikTok, with longer former videos of 20-25 minutes replacing microdocumentaries of three to five minutes.

For Viddsee, Schofield says that the platform plans to increase its volume of content by 30% in the next year, expanding the team, and growing its TikTok audience.

Viddsee’s experience in the social space continues to evolve... and to surprise. “Our short dramatic films have performed really well on

“We sit there to say what we think the audience is going to respond

TikTok,” Schofield says, explaining that Viddsee adapts its short films to

to,” says Schofield, who draws on experience from her previous content

a vertical format. “You would think that everyone there wants infotain-

and marketing roles at A+E Networks Asia, One Animation and Turner En-

ment and that short films would be a hard genre, but we found quite

tertainment Networks. “I weigh in on ideas and sometimes say that I need

the opposite,” she says. – by Sara Merican

contentasia october 2023

33

datastreaming

Control, command, shift Content costs are out of control, pay-TV is “yet to be meaningfully disrupted”, MPA’s Vivek Couto says.

5 players control Asia’s premium VOD market

Five players control Asia’s premium video-on-demand market, with Net-

sports rights over the last 18 months. Sports is projected to constitute 30%

flix in the lead in three of them and running neck-and-neck with Prime

of content investment in India by 2028.

Video in the largest US$6.1-billion Japanese market.

Couto highlights overwhelming engagement with services such as

Analysis from Media Partners Asia (MPA) puts Netflix’s premium VOD

YouTube and TikTok. Paid premium VOD users in parts of Asia spend up

(incl SVOD/premium AVOD) revenues in five markets – Australia, Japan,

to 90% of their screentime outside of the subscription environment, MPA

Korea, India and Indonesia – at US$3.12 billion against Prime Video’s

says. Premium VOD attracts 7% of paying subscribers’ share of screentime

US$1.7 billion and Disney+/Disney+ Hotstar at US$827 million.

in Japan, rising to 8% in Indonesia and 10% in India.

The next five years will have to be about “more measured” content

MPA expects APAC video industry revenue, excluding China, to in-

costs, which have spiralled, MPA executive director/co-founder, Vivek

crease to US$92 billion by 2028, up from US$62 billion in 2023. Online rev-

Couto, says. “Local and Asian content drives the streaming economy,

enue’s percentage will increase 8.8% (CAGR), while TV will drop 1.1%.

but costs are clearly out of control,” he adds, suggesting that “as online

Couto says pay-TV is “yet to be meaningfully disrupted in key mar-

video penetrates deeper, per unit content costs needs to be rational-

kets”, and that as subscription growth slows, advertising and price

ised and subsidised with ads”.

increases were “key for the future” in Japan, while in Indonesia “price

Content aggregation and smart service bundles will be critical to

increases and rationalisation will drive sustainability”.

drive subscriber growth. From January to August 2023, local and Asian

Pay-TV disruption varies across the region, from India, “where

content drove 79% of premium VOD viewership in Korea, dropping to

disruption won’t occur in probably five years”, to Indonesia, where

68% in Japan and 48% in India. In Indonesia, local content drove 15% of

“there wasn’t really a pay-TV market to begin with”, and where on-

viewership over the same period, MPA’s latest research shows.

line video players are growing the premium category from scratch,

MPA expects content investments in India to double over the next five years, primarily driven by sports, following US$11 billion of concluded

34

Couto says, describing the situation as “challenging but they are succeeding slowly”.

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