productioninterview
Live action KC Global Media Entertainment is part of a rising breed of indie live curated channels operators in Asia. Six months after buying Sony Pictures Television’s business across much of Asia, co-founder, president and chief executive, George Chien, talks about the business and where to next. Backstreet Rookie, KC Global Media
AXN All-Stars is something of a coming-out party for one of Asia’s oldest
Indonesia, Taiwan, Philippines,
live video channel brands, officially under new management since May
Singapore and Japan – and
this year. The special goes live on Saturday, 28 November, with a mix of
hosts from Indonesia, Singapore,
celebrities from shows such as Asia’s Got Talent, The Elements: Cosentino
the Philippines and the U.S.
and Cyril: Simply Magic, and a slew of new hosts and performers. AXN All-Stars demonstrates a few things: ongoing pulling power some
AXN All-Stars comes six months after KC Global Media took over most of
George Chien, President & CEO, KC Global Media
thought AXN may no longer have after Sony Pictures Television sold to
Sony Pictures Television’s networks business
indie outfit KC Global Media Entertainment; the ability to attract title
across Southeast Asia, Korea, China, Australia/New
sponsors for original production; the will to even do original production in
Zealand and South Asia (excluding India).
a wickedly shrivelled regional channels environment where most others
The sale, involving four channel brands (AXN, Animax, ONE and Japa-
have fallen back; the EQ to tap into a desperate need for hope and op-
nese channel Gem) was followed up in July with the acquisition of a
timism at the end of a hideous year, sidestepping most of the nauseating
bundle of Korean drama rights for Indonesia from Korean broadcaster
platitudes of companies hijacking real sentiment.
SBS, which wanted out of its own Indonesia channel. The new arrange-
While KC Global Media said from the start that original production was
ment expanded ONE’s footprint in Indonesia.
part of its playbook, no-one would have held them to it through a year
“When we bought this, our focus was really on how we were going
of upended plans and vanishing advertising support. And so, it turns out,
to make this company more efficient,” says co-founder, president and
no one needed to...
CEO, George Chien, who, along with KC Global Media’s Andy Kaplan,
AXN All-Stars goes live on AXN Asia’s Facebook and YouTube channels, with appearances by Afgan, Anggun, Cosentino, Cyril Takayama, David Foster, Michael Bolton and Mel C, guest performers from five countries – 8
was a fixture in Sony Pictures Television Networks Asia for almost two decades. “We felt like there was unfinished business there,” he adds. “We don’t believe that linear TV is dead. We do see that there are contentasia november 2020