Television Asia Plus | November-December 2023

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NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2023

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November – December 2023 Television Asia Plus

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Editor’s Note EDITORIAL/PUBLISHER Keen Whye Lee Publisher Mathew Chan Editor editor-tva@harvest-info.com Arjay Alivia Layout and Design OPERATIONS Mari Vergara Head of Operations manager-ph@harvest-info.com SALES

Dear Reader, Welcome to the last issue of 2023 of Television Asia Plus!

The historic Hollywood strikes have been resolved and America has fast tracked the production of the their biggest shows and movies that were on hold. A lot of things did not survive the months long strike and Asian Content was often used to help fill the void and we are sure to see this continue this 2024.

Deals of ATF have proven that there is a big thirst for Asian Content worldwide and everyone is looking to partner and invest to produce more content. The Global lines of content continue to blur and it will be interesting to see what 2024 has to offer.

On this issue’s cover & cover story we have an exclusive piece by Philippe Wetzel, CEO and founder of VITEC, who discusses the carbon footprint productions place on to the world.

For our first feature story, we have a look at Prefiry and their Edge technology as they try to help process unprecedented yet ever growing volumes of data.

And our final feature story gives insight if in this world of streaming, can ad-based tiers be the solution in this new atmosphere and be a way for sustainable advertising.

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NEWS CONTENT

Santhanam’s terrific OUTtv commissions Tamil horror comedy season two of Sew ‘DD Returns’ is Fierce streaming exclusively on ZEE5 Global

OUTtv, has commissioned a second season of its hit competition series Sew Fierce, an OUTtv original produced by Sonic Nursery. The new season started production this month and is set to launch on OUTtv in Spring 2024.

ZEE5 Global expands its library with Tamil blockbuster DD Return’.

The movie celebrated huge success in theatres with astounding performance and dialogue delivery which made the audiences smile throughout the movie. DD Returns traces the journey of Sathish [Santhanam] who is desperate to save his girlfriend which leads him to a haunted house.

Produced by RK entertainment and directed by S. Prem Anand, the film is one of the best Tamil comedy films in recent times with a pinch of horror.

The acclaimed movie is currently streaming on ZEE5 Global.

The movie features an ensemble cast that includes Santhanam, Surbhi, Redin Kingsley, Lollu Sabha Maaran, Pradeep Rawat, Masoom Shankar, FEFSI Vijayan, Rajendran and Munishkanth. The horror comedy chronicles around Sathish and his quest to find and rescue his girlfriend – Sofia when her predicament spirals into a door-die situation. Satish and his team are forced to play a dangerous game called ‘Win or Run’ organized by the ghosts inhabiting the palace. The cryptic ghosts who devised the lethal game during their lifetime designed it to brutally kill contestants upon failure to advance. Will Sathish and his team emerge victorious and escape the ghosts? Or will someone meet an unfortunate end at the hands of the phantom game designers?

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The eight-episode second season will see design mentor Jaime Lujan, aka Lucinda Miu, return to the show, they will also be joined by a new co-host, the London-based drag legend, Crystal. Showcasing the craft of drag, Sew Fierce sees eight drag designers at the top of their field compete in weekly challenges to create new looks, in the hopes of winning a cash prize and a sewing suite from SINGER®.

The first season of the hit series launched internationally on the OUTtv platform earlier this year, the first of its kind providing a never-before-seen look at the craft and design of drag.

Each week the designers will create a look based on a theme, and will then complete a photoshoot to showcase their designs modelled by up-and-coming drag artists.

The judges evaluate the looks based on the appearance and construction of the garments, eliminating one designer each week.

November – December 2023 Television Asia Plus

Malaysia’s 8TV and Taiwan’s SET & CTV collaborate to produce Mr.Player Special Edition;

8TV has collaborated with Taiwan TV Station, Sanlih E-Television (SET), and China Television Company (CTV) to create a new special project for the Taiwanese reality game show Mr.Player. This collaboration is in conjunction with 8TV’s 20th Anniversary and it was filmed in both Taiwan and Malaysia, and four hosts from 8TV, Rickman Chia, Orange Tan, Natalie Ng, and Ash Lu participated in the recording of the show for the first time, injecting new vitality into the show!

This is a major milestone for Malaysia’s leading Chinese-language television channel, known for its high-quality localized content that nurtures and provides a steady platform for local talents. This collaboration is sure to take 8TV’s content to a brand new level whilst also providing opportunities for their home-grown talents to gain valuable experience and exposure.

Resorts World Genting and GINVERA, as partners, have brought together celebrities from Taiwan and Malaysia for this special project, which will officially premiered on 8TV every Sunday night at 9:00PM beginning last October 29th. The Mr.Player Exclusive Partnership ceremony was held on 5th September, where the three hosts Jacky Wu, Kid Lin, and Ken Hsieh led a group of artists in making appearances and sharing interesting shooting stories with the media. facebook-f TVAPlusMag | twitter TVAsiaPLus | linkedin-in television-asia-plus

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Sunshine By My Side clinches the #1 spot globally, as the most popular modern workplace drama on iQIYI Co-starring fans’ onscreen crushes Xiao Zhan and Bai Baihe, Sunshine

by My Side has been seeing soaring popularity ever since its release on 1 September 2023, clinching the No. 1 spot as the most popular modern workplace series on iQIYI. Xiao Zhan plays a newbie, Sheng Yang, who stepped into the advertising industry so as to woo his girl crush Jian Bing and popular advertisement director (played by Bai Baihe). developing a romantic relationship as they grow together as a pair and individuals.

As the series almost perfectly reflects the many aspects of life — the harsh working environments, the unseen parts of marriage life, the thought process one has after entering their 30s, the way parents might be fighting at home and the typical words that come out as fights happen, such as “Have I really enjoyed life after marrying you?” and “Have you even helped me around the house before?” etc. These situations have led to fans asking, jokingly, if the director had installed cameras around their house.

yes Studios and Applause Entertainment extend partnership for second season of FAUDA adaptation in India, TANAAV

yes Studios announced that the format rights for the second season of its global hit thriller series Fauda have been secured by India’s Applause Entertainment, the content studio of India’s Aditya Birla Group.

The first season of Fauda was adapted by Applause Entertainment as Tanaav and premiered to much acclaim on SonyLIV in November 2022. Set against the idyllic backdrop of Kashmir, Tanaav tells the story of a Special Task Group and weaves tightly knit action with the emotional stories of compelling characters caught up in the fight against terrorism in the region.

Season one of Tanaav featured a stellar Indian cast, including Manav Vij, Sumit Kaul, Rajat Kapoor and Shashank Arora and was directed

by Sudhir Mishra (Serious Men) and co-directed by Sachin Mamta Krishn (Hostages). Details about season two will be made available in due course. extraordinary tale of courage, conflict, and camaraderie as we embark on this exciting new adventure.”

Fauda, which follows the work of a team of elite Israeli undercover agents, was created by Avi Issacharoff and Lior Raz. It has won numerous awards, including Best Series at the Israeli Academy TV Awards, and has been critically acclaimed in press across the world. Fauda is produced by L. Benasuly Productions and yes TV, with yes Studios distributing the series and format.

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ABS-CBN’s hit romantic series 2 Good 2 Be True and He’s Into Her now broadcast Outisde of the Philippines ABS-CBN, the Philippines’ leading content provider, continues to make Filipino content available globally as two of its most talked-about romantic series, “2 Good 2 Be True” and “He’s Into Her,” are now airing in Vietnam and Africa, respectively.

“2 Good 2 Be True,” a widely viewed romantic comedy series on Philippine TV in 2022, is now seen in Vietnam.

The series has been dubbed in its local language and is now being broadcast on the pay TV channel ONCINE on weeknights at 8 PM. Alongside “2 Good 2 Be True,” other ABS-CBN titles also recently made their way to Vietnamese audiences via ONCINE, including “Love in 40 Days” and “Marry Me, Marry You”—marking the return of more Filipino titles in Vietnam.

Meanwhile, another romance hit from ABS-CBN, “He’s Into Her,” is being raved by African audiences as it currently airs in 41 Sub-Saharan countries, including Nigeria, Ivory Coast, and Mozambique through the StarTimes channel.

First streamed locally via ABS-CBN’s streaming platform iWantTFC, the show was top-billed by breakout stars Donny Pangilinan and 2022 SDA Outstanding Asian Artist winner Belle Mariano.

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NEWS CONTENT

Paramount+ expands Global Korean Content slate midst growing success of originals; the partnership, aired on Paramount+ internationally in April and was the #1 international series in the US at premiere.

Paramount+ announced the expansion of its global Korean originals slate, revealing that three new series DONGJAE, THE GOOD OR THE BASTARD; DREAMING OF CINDE FXXXING RELLA, and PYRAMID GAME will launch exclusively on the service in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, Latin America, Brazil, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

The latest batch of Korean shows

completes all seven titles committed by Paramount+ and TVING, following YONDER, BARGAIN, A BLOODY LUCKY DAY and QUEEN WOO, as part of Paramount’s global partnership with leading entertainment company CJ ENM. Paramount+ is enjoying the growing success of its global Korean originals.

YONDER, the first title announced from

Paramount+ officially marked its entry to Asia last year with the launch of its streaming service in South Korea on the number-one K-content platform, TVING, a CJ ENM subsidiary. This was part of a strategic global partnership between Paramount Global and CJ ENM that includes content licensing and distribution across Paramount+ and TVING, as well as the development of Korean original series. DONGJAE, THE GOOD OR THE BASTARD; DREAMING OF CINDE FXXXING RELLA, and PYRAMID GAME will be licensed by Paramount Global Content Distribution outside of Korea, Japan, and Taiwan.

Fifth Season scores global sales for Jack Throne’s breakout BBC Drama Best Interests Global film and TV studio FIFTH SEASON has inked the first wave of international sales for the highly acclaimed BBC One drama Best Interests. Created and written by BAFTA-winning writer Jack Thorne (Help, His Dark Materials, The Virtues), the series stars Michael Sheen (Good Omens, Quiz) and Sharon Horgan (Catastrophe, Together) and is produced by AC Chapter One in association with FIFTH SEASON. The series debuted on BBC One and iPlayer (UK) in June 2023.

(France), RTÉ (Ireland), ABC (Australia), Hot (Israel), Antenna (Greece), NPO (Netherlands) and Now TV (Hong Kong). The series made its worldwide premiere at Series Mania 2023 as part of the festival’s ‘International Competition’ selection, with Michael Sheen taking the award for ‘Best Actor’.

believe it is in her best interests to be allowed to die, but her loving family disagree. And so begins a fight that will take them through every stage of a legal process, as they struggle to contemplate this huge decision. Who decides? And in whose best interests will it be?

In Best Interests, Sharon Horgan and Michael Sheen play married couple Nicci and Andrew with two daughters: Katie played by Alison Oliver (Conversations With Friends) and Marnie played by The first sales secured by FIFTH Niamh Moriarty (Jack Thorne’s A SEASON for Best Interests Christmas Carol). Marnie has a lifeinclude France Télévisions threatening condition. The doctors

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November – December 2023 Television Asia Plus

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Pillango Productions and Aircraft Pictures announce K-Pop inspired tween dramedy series Gangnam Project for CBC Kids and CBBC Canadian prodcos Pillango Productions (founded by series creator Sarah Haasz) and Aircraft Pictures, a leading production company that specializes in scripted content for youth and families, with co-commissioning broadcasters CBC Kids and CBBC are delighted to announce Gangnam Project (10 x 30’), a new tween dramedy series set in the exciting world of K-pop.

is being produced with the financial participation of Shaw Rocket Fund and the Canada Media Fund.

Federation Kids & Family is handling worldwide sales and will be presenting the series to buyers at the upcoming MIPJUNIOR & MIPCOM markets.

Gangnam Project is executive produced by co-showrunners Sarah Haasz and Romeo Candido. Aircraft’s Anthony Leo and Andrew Rosen also Executive Produce along with Cottonwood Media’s David Michel.

The series is directed by Romeo Candido, Justin Wu, and Gloria Kim.

The series, which recently wrapped production in Toronto and South Korea, is scheduled to debut spring 2024. Developed with CBC Kids and produced by Pillango Productions and Aircraft Pictures, series co-showrunners are Sarah Haasz (Circuit Breakers) and Romeo Candido (The Next Step). The series

Korean super-powered drama Moving becomes most viewed series finale ever on Disney+ across APAC Korean original series across Disney+ and Hulu.** Widely praised for breathing new life into the superpowered genre, the epic twentyepisode series has also received critical acclaim for its daring narrative structure, dynamic action sequences, and breathtaking storytelling.

After an exceptional seven-week run that captivated audiences across the world with its fresh take on the superpowered genre, Korean spy drama Moving has once again broken records to become the most viewed series finale ever on Disney+ facebook-f TVAPlusMag | twitter TVAsiaPLus | linkedin-in television-asia-plus

across APAC including Korea, the Philippines, and Taiwan.* First launched on August 9, 2023, Moving has enjoyed recordbreaking success since its debut, rapidly becoming the most-viewed

Hailed as “proving the power of quality K-content” by KBS Media; dubbed “a soaring superhero saga” with “an epic finale that moves us to tears” by the South China Morning Post, and “a superhero story with an emotional core” by Forbes, the series has quickly become one of the most beloved shows on Disney+. *Based on views in the first 5 days streaming on Disney+.

A view is defined as total stream time divided by runtime. **Based on hours streamed in its first 7 days streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.

November – December 2023 Television Asia Plus

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NEWS CONTENT

New Seasons of Octonauts: Above & Beyond Lift Off on CBeebies with the market leading kids’ blocks of Super RTL in Germany and from January 2024, ABC in Australia.

Sony Pictures Television – Kids (SPT – Kids) announced that the BBC has acquired the UK rights to the latest season of Octonauts spin-off series, Octonauts: Above & Beyond.

The deal will see new 52 x 11’ episodes of Octonauts: Above & Beyond available on CBeebies and BBC iplayer

from 16th October 2023 bringing new adventures for the beloved Octonauts as they continue to explore dynamic landscapes, experience new climates, rescue animals and protect the land they live on.

Earlier seasons of Octonauts: Above & Beyond are also available on Cbeebies and BBC iplayer along

Octonauts first zoomed onto our screens in 2010. Thirteen years on the hit global franchise continues to entertain children around the world which is testament to its superb storytelling, compelling characters and educational narratives which enable it to cross all cultural divides, and remain as relevant today as ever. Extending the connection fans have with the show beyond the screen, global master toy partner Moose Toys offers an extensive toy line that includes figures, playsets, vehicles and plush while experiential partners including Merlin Entertainments have brought Octonauts Sea Life activations to life in the UK, US, Asia and ANZ.

JioCinema to launch the Indian adaptation of iconic global reality series ‘Temptation Island’

Post the astounding success of Bigg Boss OTT, JioCinema is all set to launch the Indian adaptation of the globally renowned reality series, Temptation Island. The iconic series that is one of the biggest dating reality shows in the world is an exciting addition to JioCinema’s

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rich repertoire of unscripted content.

For the first time ever in India, couples will be seen putting their relationship to test in front of the entire nation in the enchanting setting of a tropical paradise called “Temptation Island.”

Produced by Banijay Asia and powered by Too Yumm, Temptation

November – December 2023 Television Asia Plus

Island will provide a unique opportunity for viewers to witness the ultimate relationship test. The couples will be tempted to sever old ties and explore new romances as they wilfully separate and immerse themselves in an environment filled with irresistible allure. Surrounded by charming singles, they will grapple with their feelings, confront unfamiliar temptations, and delve into their deepest desires. With its focus on relationships and human emotions, the reality series is expected to strike a chord with Indian viewers, offering them a unique and compelling viewing experience.

Temptation Island India will soon premiere on JioCinema.

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NEWS OTT

Paramount+ to launch in Japan in partnership with J:COM and WOWOW

Paramount announced the upcoming launch of its premium streaming service Paramount+ in Japan with J:COM, one of Japan’s top cable television operators and broadband internet providers, and with WOWOW Inc., the top premium pay channel in the market. Japan is the second market in Asia to launch the service, following its debut in Korea last year.

library: Hollywood hits like Mission: Impossible, Bumblebee, and G.I. Joe from Paramount Pictures; popular CBS TV shows like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and NCIS; animated favorites, such as Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants and Comedy Central’s South Park; popular SHOWTIME® titles, such as DEXTER and RAY DONOVAN; and MTV’s young-adult series and Fans can look forward to iconic music shows, including the Paramount+ originals such MTV Video Music Awards Japan. as TULSA KING, MAYOR OF KINGSTOWN, and STAR TREK: Paramount+ is one of the fastestSTRANGE NEW WORLDS. growing premium services, with more These fan-favorite titles will than 61 million subscribers in more than be released at launch and 45 markets globally. Paramount is also for the first time in Japan. the home of Pluto TV, the pioneer of FAST service globally, and is available The Paramount+ slate also will in more than 35 markets, with the most include titles from Paramount’s vast recent launch in Australia this August.

Prime Video Channels Further Expands Selection; Adds Chaupal, India’s Leading Punjabi Streaming Service Prime Video, India’s most loved entertainment destination, announced the addition of Chaupal, India’s leading Punjabi video streaming service, to Prime Video Channels. Chaupal offers a curated line-up of popular Punjabi language content including a wide library of the latest and blockbuster Punjabi movies and web series.

Prime members can now purchase an annual add-on annual subscription to Chaupal with a special introductory offer of INR 599, available only through Prime Video Channels.

Chaupal’s immersive and engaging multi-genre content includes popular titles across movies and series, such as Kaali Jotta, Aaja Mexico Chaliye, Outlaw, Chal Jindiye, Khao Piyo Aish Karo, Panchhi, and Paani facebook-f TVAPlusMag | twitter TVAsiaPLus | linkedin-in television-asia-plus

Ch Madhaani, to name a few.

In addition to this, Chaupal will also offer subscribers an opportunity to stream latest theatrical movie releases, beginning with Carry on Jatta 3 (available from September

7 onwards), an uproarious comedy with charismatic performances and irresistible storyline that has struck a chord with audiences across the world and emerged as a mega-blockbuster worldwide.

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NEWS OTT

GMA partners with Synamedia for PinoyTV cloud delivery in MENA Leading video software provider Synamedia announced that GMA Network, Inc., a major broadcaster in Asia Pacific, has deployed PowerVu to move distribution of its global GMA Pinoy TV service from satellite to the cloud. This migration has already resulted in a better viewing experience for subscribers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), with improved reliability and latency.

By using PowerVu to distribute its content over AWS cloud, GMA has lowered operating costs, removed complexity, and created new monetisation opportunities. And, by moving to cloud distribution, GMA has eliminated the threat of disruption to its subscribers’ viewing experience from 5G spectrum interference with satellite downlink.

In partnership with AWS, Synamedia overcame one of GMA’s major challenges: like many operators in Asia Pacific, GMA has struggled to get video into the cloud reliably due to internet connectivity issues. By deploying Synamedia virtual Digital Content Manager (vDCM), GMA benefited from a secure gateway for reliable video delivery into the cloud.

GMA had to accelerate its strategy of moving distribution to IP when one of the satellite providers in the Middle East shut down its service in March 2023. Synamedia deployed PowerVu in under six hours and transitioned GMA’s services to cloud-based distribution, ensuring continuous broadcasting. With the transition to IP cloud connectivity,

GMA can easily scale and extend distribution to overseas Filipinos – known as “Pinoys” globally.

GMA Pinoy TV is GMA’s flagship international channel, bringing the best of Filipino entertainment and news to Global Filipinos in over 100 countries through partnerships with major pay-TV operators on cable, direct-to-home, IPTV and OTT distribution platforms.

Cignal TV taps Quickplay platform for Pilipinas Live global sports app Pilipinas Live highlights Cignal TV’s premier sports properties for the global audience, including the UAAP, which kicks off its new season starting with men’s basketball on September 30, 2023. The platform also includes other sporting events such as the Philippines Basketball Association (PBA), the Premier Volleyball League (PVL), and Spiker’s Turf, all readily available to Filipinos everywhere.

Cignal TV, the Philippines’ leading premium content provider, has expanded its innovative use of Quickplay’s cloud-native OTT platform with the launch of Pilipinas Live, the first and only international OTT app dedicated to Pinoy sports.

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Using the Quickplay platform, the network provides high-quality, live and on-demand coverage of events to Pinoy sports fans throughout the Philippines, as well as to the millions of Filipinos around the world. The service provides Filipinos with a single destination for game events, sports news and information, interactive experiences, and other relevant sports content.

November – December 2023 Television Asia Plus

Quickplay’s OTT platform is designed to build and run scalable applications in the cloud using cloud-native technologies, including containers, microservices, a service mesh, APIs, and immutable infrastructure.

The OTT technology stack provides significantly better performance, a modular approach for feature expansion, continuous delivery for rapid iteration, and built-in scalability, observability and security. Forwardlooking OTT providers such as Allen Media Group, Canada’s Sportsnet SN NOW, India’s aha 2.0, PLDT’s Smart in the Philippines and others are using the Quickplay platform to deliver services with the flexibility and the agility of the cloud, while equaling or exceeding the reliability and high performance of broadcast.

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Mirada to power MNC’s Vision+, one of Indonesia’s largest video streaming services

Mirada, a provider of cuttingedge products and services for digital TV services, announced its latest contract win with MNC, a South-East Asian multinational group with operations in media, financial services, and entertainment hospitality spanning across multiple countries in the region.

The project will develop the next stage of Vision+’s OTT offering powered by Mirada’s Iris

solution, ensuring a seamless stateof-the-art and stable streaming experience, scalable and reliable even during periods of high demand.

Promolab to maximise dynamic ad insertion, notifications and more to offer Vision+ viewers advertising and promotions they care about.

Mirada’s technology will enable MNC to engage viewers with a hyperpersonalized user experience with tailored content recommendations, user interfaces and advertising. These are all managed through Iris’ suite of tools such as LogIQ, a powerful analytics platform, Segmenter for advanced user segmentation or the awarded UX Evolver, which allows operators to fully customise and adapt the user interface in ways the market has not seen before.

The contract also highlights the flexibility of the Iris technology to adapt to all customer situations, empowering video services with a high-tech platform that helps them harness the latest market and regional trends.

The Iris solution also empowers MNC with promo and advertising hub

This contract win further solidifies Mirada’s presence in APAC after recent announcements of the successful deployment of Skytel’s video service in Mongolia.

MNC thus becomes the biggest telco reference for Mirada in the South-East Asian region.

MwareTV demonstrates fast, simple, affordable route to OTT services at MWC Africa required to manage, schedule and deliver a rich OTT television offering.

This includes brandable white label web clients and apps for all the common platforms (including iOS, Android and AndroidTV, TVOS, FireTV, KaiOS, Roku, WebOS, Tizen, WebTV and Lightning Framework).

MwareTV, a leading cloud-based multi-tenant platform provider, is used its presence at Mobile World Congress Africa 2023 (Kigali Convention Centre, 17 – 19 October, stand E57) to showcase how simple, fast and cost-effective its service can be. With a complete package from content to streaming at a price point of $3 – $4 per subscriber per month, profitability is assured.

relevant to the African market. Telcos can launch their service with no need for complex and time-consuming negotiations with studios and content syndication businesses, which would otherwise require specialist staff and lengthy legal proceedings. As a result, typically operators can launch a service – building loyalty and earning strong revenues from data and value added services – within eight weeks.

This includes a package of around 100 channels of engaging content

The core incorporates

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MwareTV everything

platform that is

The MwareTV platform is a software-as-a-service offering.

Cloud hosting means no capital investment for the telco, and the service can be planned, managed and delivered from any app. Most important, MwareTV can deliver every aspect of the service, accessed from the intuitive user interface, providing a true one-stop solution.

Users can also take advantage of the unique App Builder package, a truly no-code drag and drop development tool that, just through drag and drop, allows richly functional and fully branded apps to be created, without the need to write a single line of code, or even to have any previous app design experience.

November – December 2023 Television Asia Plus

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NEWS PLATFORMS

Astro Unveils New Premium Channel, Astro Premier after his father’s demise i.e. robbing gold stores in small towns.

Meanwhile, highly successful series such as ‘Projek: Anchor SPM’, ‘Kudeta’ and ‘Histeria’ will be part of the Astro Premier’s program line-up. Also featured on Astro Premier are Chinese Astro Originals series including ‘The Patient’ and ‘Lost & Found’ as well as Indian series entitled ‘Kalvanai Kandu Pidi’, a Vinmeen Exclusive.

Malaysia’s leading digital streaming and content company launches new channel, Astro Premier (CH410) as the destination for all premium content locally and regionally.

Available to all Astro customers until 1 February 2024, Astro Premier offers Astro Originals’ complete library of awardwinning and highly successful boundary pushing series.

The channel will showcase a selection of high-quality content with the latest Astro Original title Riot. Astro Premier will also

be premiering all new Astro Originals titles including ‘Gamers Mangkuk’, a story of five underdog gamers eyeing an opportunity to play with a professional team by winning a competition organised by a famed e-sports athlete; ‘Headliners’, a story of a part time journalist, Lia who discovers her late mother’s polaroid camera that prints pictures of future tragedies; ‘ID’ delves into the challenges of falling in love when everything is fake but true selfperseverance is all one need to come out on top in this volatile world and ‘X-Change’, a story of a son who is forced to take over his family business

Also coming to Astro Premiere are seven Viu Originals. These include the dark fantasy hit ‘Nenek Bongkok Tiga’, the Tagalog adaptation of ‘Flower of Evil’, the Indonesian adaptations of popular titles ‘Pretty Little Liars’ and ‘Bad Boys vs Crazy Girls’. Rounding off the list are ‘Alter-Naratif’ (winner of the 2021 Viu Pitching Forum), ‘Return Man’ and ‘Devoted’.

All content on Astro Premier will be available via On Demand. New episodes from Astro Originals will have ‘Fast Premiere’ via On Demand ahead of its channel’s premiere.

ZeeVee names Kaira Technologies as Southeast Asia Distributor ZeeVee, a leading global provider of AV distribution products, has named Kaira Technologies Pte Limited as a distributor of its AV over IP (AVoIP) encoders and decoders in Singapore and Malaysia.

Based in Singapore, Kaira is an information and communications technology (ICT) distributor specializing in innovative security software and digital display solutions, as well as cutting edge networking and data storage products. It is the distributor

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for Netgear products in both countries.

Kaira will now add ZeeVee’s AV signal distribution products, including ZyPer4K SDVoE and ZyPerUHD60 AVoIP encoders and decoders, to its roster of offerings for its customers across the corporate, education, government, healthcare, financial services and manufacturing sectors.

According to Rajesh Attal, CEO, Kaira, the pro AV market, led by the adoption of AV over IP, is experiencing significant growth

November – December 2023 Television Asia Plus

in the region, particularly in the outdoor advertising, live event, sports broadcasting, healthcare and smart city arenas. User experiences are being transformed as integrators are giving their customers the ability to add and manage endpoints without major infrastructure changes. Furthermore, the integration of AVoIP with AI and analytics can lead to innovative applications, such as real-time audience engagement analysis, content personalization and automated content tagging.

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Pebble and Virtual AI announce partnership to provide innovative FAST solutions for the broadcast market At IBC 2023 Pebble and Virtual AI showcased FAST solutions based on Pebble’s Automation 2.0 product and Op2mise from Virtual AI. Pebble and Virtual AI have partnered to address the growing FAST market, the two companies are combining market leading playout solutions with advanced traffic and planning capabilities to bring new levels of functionality for FAST services.

Neil Maycock, Pebble CCO, explains “There is a lot of press about FAST and some high-profile deployments, but the majority have been simple channels to test consumer demand and assess the commercial opportunities. It’s clear that there is the need for increasing sophistication with FAST services, even including capabilities such as live. Given Pebble’s strong heritage in Playout and the strength of our solutions we are delighted to partner with Virtual AI to address

these more demanding applications.”

“Op2mise is proud to offer a top-tier scheduling product tailored specifically for the fast-growing FAST sector,” says Simon Osman, Commercial Director Op2mise.AI, “As viewers and platforms increasingly seek a broadcast quality experience, our solution stands out. Op2mise creates value for TV Schedulers & Media Buyers by leveraging the power of automation, data analytics and optimisation. We are excited to showcase our commitment to delivering excellence in detail.”

THEMA celebrates Eazie TV kick-off in Singapore with 5 TV channels onboard since launch 9 months ago, has been promising and shows the demand for compelling action movies. We are committed and will continue to deliver high-quality content to our audiences,” said Beatrice Lee, CEO of Rock Entertainment Holdings.

Rock Entertainment Holdings, a global content and channel company, announced that ROCK Action will be launching on Singtel TV on 1st October 2023, as part of the ongoing efforts to expand the brand’s footprint in Singapore.

ROCK Action was first introduced to the region in December 2022 and has achieved tremendous success. It is now available in over 10 countries and 70 platforms.

With an impressive line-up of films from renowned studios such

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as Sony, Lionsgate, Paramount, and many other leading independent studios, ROCK Action has quickly garnered a robust viewership within its first year. Viewers can expect to catch Hollywood blockbusters such as The Hunger Games, independent films as well as First on TV movies including The Commando starring Mickey Rourke and Michael Jai White, Peter Five Eight, Kevin Spacey’s first comeback movie and many more.

“The growth and expansion of ROCK Action to new countries and platforms

ROCK Action is one of five channels owned and run by Rock Entertainment Holdings.

Alongside ROCK Action, which offers action-packed movies, Rock Entertainment Holdings also owns ROCK Entertainment, a general entertainment channel with the best mix of reality, drama, comedy and LIVE awards; ROCK Extreme, where entertainment meets gaming; Global Trekker, a multigenre channel that aims to broaden your mind and open your heart; ZooMoo, a pre-school channel that makes learning fun all the time.

Additionally, Rock Entertainment Holdings has extended its global presence by including Golden Chinese Drama to its distribution lineup recently, providing a wide array of entertainment options for audiences.

November – December 2023 Television Asia Plus

13

NEWS PLATFORMS

Magna signs Asia Pacific technology partnership with Open Broadcast Systems Magna Systems has signed a technology partnership agreement to represent Open Broadcast Systems across the Asia Pacific region. Open Broadcast Systems provides cutting-edge and end-to-end encoding and decoding software solutions for the broadcast industry.

Magna Systems & Engineering group CEO, Matthew Clemesha, said, “Open Broadcast Systems is revolutionising the provision of advanced broadcast technology, moving the industry towards a flexible, cost efficient, softwaredriven future. Its cutting-edge and end-to-end encoding and decoding software is accelerating

the delivery of premium content over IP, improving quality at the same time as reducing costs. Its products adapt to the pressures and challenges of the modern broadcast environment and can be developed and installed in extremely short timeframes, without compromising on quality. It is a perfect fit for Magna, our clients and our industry.”

As a result of the new agreement Magna will be selling Open Broadcast Systems’ full range of encoders and decoders which are able to deliver high quality, low-latency broadcast services, running as apps on standard IT hardware.

Open Broadcast Systems products are based entirely on commercial-

off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware and so can be used in a wide variety of applications. They have native uncompressed IP (ST-2022-6 and ST2110) support and high density. They are also used widely for major sports, news and channel transmissions.

Kieran Kunhya, Open Broadcast Systems CEO concluded, “We already have a strong customer base in Asia Pac. The nature of the region means it is more open to COTS solutions and ST-2110 which is an ideal opportunity for us to grow further. Magna is the ideal fit for Open Broadcast Systems and will add great value to customers and users of our products throughout the Asia Pacific region.”

Entertainment giants MTV India and T-Series strike ground-breaking industry-first global deal for MTV Hustle

The mega giants of music industry MTV India and T-Series join forces in first of its kind global deal for a genre-defining rap reality television show, MTV Hustle. Launched in 2019 by MTV India, this clutterbreaking show successfully brought India’s underground rap music to country’s mainstream landscape. A first-of-its-kind initiative by a nonfiction IP in India, this partnership will entail exclusive music rights for worldwide distribution, thereby serving the show’s vision of building industry-ready rap professionals and powering up their professional journeys at an extensive global scale.

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As a part of the 3-season deal, all original music created from Seasons 1, 2, and 3 will be distributed globally by T-Series, providing unprecedented reach to the diverse body of work by MTV Hustle.

Championing desi hip-hop and rap culture, the country’s leading youth entertainment platform, MTV India created a music revolution which will be further catalyzed globally by the largest music label, T-Series through multi-platform distribution including its YouTube channel that ranks number one with over 238 million subscribers across continents, music channels, audio streaming platforms and many more.

With a focus on talent, performance, meter, technique, musicality, and storytelling, MTV Hustle has launched fresh voices from India’s evolving rap subculture and youth music. As the ultimate rap battleground in India, MTV Hustle has launched successful performers including King, EPR, and more. Performers like MC Square, Srushti Tawde and Paradox have

November – December 2023 Television Asia Plus

tasted extraordinary success through the launch pad, vaulting from limited local recognition to multi-million fandom on social media within a few months and becoming the talk of the town with brand partnerships, collaborations with eminent industry names and international exposure.

Their songs have become an electric mode of self-expression and catharsis for fans, and a significant commentary on socio-political-economic causes, personal experiences and pop-culture.

MTV Hustle 2.0 has produced 100+ original compositions in under 10 weeks and has driven inclusivity in music genres including Bollywood, Sufi, Folk and Regional rap. MTV Hustle 2.0 songs have become trendsetting cultural mainstays, having garnered 1.3Bn organic views on Kaanphod Music channel, delivering over 9Bn impressions, with 30+ videos crossing 10Mn views.

The partnership with T-Series promises to take desi, multi-cultural hip-hop to a universal audience. facebook-f TVAPlusMag | twitter TVAsiaPLus | linkedin-in television-asia-plus

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PEOPLE

TGC GE expands presence in Asia Pacific with Rosemond Perdue

Los Angeles-based TGC Global Entertainment (TGC GE), the global distribution company launched by format veteran Phil Gurin to represent premium formatted content, has recruited Asia-focused marketing, sales and distribution specialist Rosemond Perdue to manage its sales into the fast-growing Asia-Pacific television market.

In her new role, Perdue will draw on her deep experience of the Asia-Pacific market to promote TGC GE’s growing catalogue of formats, documentaries and non-scripted series across Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Singapore, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Mongolia, China, Philippines and Japan. Priorities titles include US/Japanese format Heavy But Rich, which launches international at MIPCOM, evergreen karaoke game show The Singing Bee and cooking challenge Fridge Wars.

Perdue is founder of Los Angeles-based Breakthrough Now Media, which she established in 2019 to bridge the gap between Asian and US content and creators. She manages a client list that includes major broadcasters, production and animation companies in Japan and Korea, alongside government agencies and nonprofits, including Korean content agency KOCCA, diplomacy organisation The Korea Foundation and the Embassy of the United States in Seoul. Prior to launching Breakthrough Now, she served as vice-president of business development at international distribution company Small World IFT, where she was responsible for the sales and marketing of unscripted formats. She was also a founding partner of Bungalow 3, a Los Angelesbased promo and TV marketing agency, whose clients included Sony, CBS, Scripps Networks and Disney.

Rosemond Perdue

Perdue’s appointment brings TGC GE’s international team of sales and acquisition agents to five -she joins Cecilia Ingebrigtsen (Europe and the Nordic territories), Jess Khanom (UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Turkey and MENA), Malgorzata Gudel (Central and Eastern Europe) and Janel Downing (Latin America and Hispanic North America) facebook-f TVAPlusMag | twitter TVAsiaPLus | linkedin-in television-asia-plus

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15

PEOPLE

GoQuest Media Appoints Bhavishya Rao & Strenghtens Team

Global independent content distributor GoQuest Media has announced the appointment of Bhavishya Rao as Head of International Licensing and Distribution.

Joining the GoQuest team with immediate effect Bhavishya Rao will be responsible for global licensing and distribution activities for the company, reporting to company founders Vivek Lath and Jimmy George.

Bhavishya brings over 12 years of industry experience to her new role. She previously worked at Pocket FM, an Audio OTT start-up, where she specialized in Script Licensing. Prior to that, she was at Indiacast Media Distribution, a joint venture between Viacom 18 and TV 18, where she managed the distribution of Indian TV series and films. Her tenure at Tata Play Ltd also saw her handling acquisitions for SVOD and TVOD services.

Vivek Lath

Bhavishya joins a strong team of specialists at GoQuest Media, who each bring their own expertise in media distribution.

Rakesh Vasani previously at Zee Network also joined the company to run GoQuest’s international acquisitions. AtZee,Rakeshwasinchargeofprogramming and acquisition for Zee’s English movie channels in India. He has successfully negotiated deals with major studios such as Sony, Disney, Paramount, and Reliance.

With Bhavishya Rao’s appointment, GoQuest continues to consolidate its talented team of professionals, each contributing a unique set of skills and extensive experience helping the company expand its global footprint in media distribution.

The company is keen to continue exploring great fiction content that has not travelled internationally and placing them before global audiences.

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November – December 2023 Television Asia Plus

Jimmy George

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Vizrt Group appoints new Director of Channel Development to strengthen Channel Program CJ ENM America announced the appointment of Elsie Choi as the company’s new Executive Vice President, Head of Scripted TV. Elsie Choi will be based in Los Angeles. The position begins immediately and will report directly to CJ ENM America’s President, US Scripted, Angela Killoren.

In her new role as Executive Vice President, Head of Scripted TV, Choi will continue CJ ENM America’s mission to further inclusive narratives globally, developing and producing original series. She will serve as the creative point of contact for CJ ENM and its internationally based subsidiary/affiliate content studios in the United States. Choi will also contribute to the expansion of CJ ENM America’s footprint in the industry by adapting titles from the company’s extensive format library for English-speaking and global audiences.

Prior to joining CJ ENM America, Elsie Choi served as a Non-Writing Executive Producer on the highly-anticipated series, Interior Chinatown, from 20th Television/Hulu and creator/executive producer Charles Yu, who wrote the 2020 bestseller of the same name.

Elsie Choi

Choi’s career in television began as the Senior Vice President of Development for Mad Rabbit, a joint venture with Red Arrow Studios and the renowned writer/director/ producer Kari Skogland, known for her Emmy-nominated and BAFTA-winning work on The Handmaid’s Tale.

Subsidiaries under CJ ENM include Studio Dragon, ENM Studios, and Fifth Season, as well as a minority stake in Skydance. CJ ENM has also announced strategic partnerships with Skydance and Paramount, the latter of which includes co-productions for original series and films, content licensing and distribution across both company’s streaming services.

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COVER STORY

How Does Digital Video Consumption Contribute to the Global Carbon Footprint?

by Philippe Wetzel, CEO and founder of VITEC.

As video traffic flowing over public internet and corporate information technology (IT) networks explode at exponential rates, the technology community is coming to grips with the environmental implications of

this

resource-intensive

category

of

traffic.

Here, with Philippe Wetzel, CEO and founder of VITEC, a global technology leader in the IPTV space, we learn more about how video contributes to the global carbon footprint and how we can include ecosystem design and strategies to reduce the environmental impact in a business-savvy and rational manner.

The impact of digital video on sustainability and carbon emissions

Philippe Wetzel, CEO and founder of VITEC

energy than decoders – sometimes as much as 5 to The internet contributes more than 3.7% of global

10 times as much energy, in comparison. In the past,

greenhouse gas emissions. Within that, video represents

there was an asynchronous relationship between these

over 80% of the traffic that flows through this global

two categories of technology. Most video content was

network which is growing rapidly at about 25% per

created — and encoded — by a much smaller percentage

year. A similar dynamic is taking place over enterprise

of the population compared to those who consumed

networks, especially in the wake of the COVID-19

– and therefore decoded video. Today, the gap

pandemic. A tremendous amount of video traffic is

between these two groups has narrowed significantly.

being managed by IT departments. This is why tracking the impact of digital video consumption across the

User-generated video content for professional and

business ecosystem is becoming increasingly important.

personal purposes has skyrocketed. As a result, we

Meanwhile, the number of screens consumers use — at

not only have more traffic flowing through public and

home and work — is also multiplying at an astonishing

private networks, but we also have much more original

rate. With all these devices, there is an increase in

content generation taking place. This is significantly

video and encoders to handle the exploding demand

elevating the carbon footprint of the video sector. As

for video content, driven by the growth of video-

a result, industry executives are re-evaluating how to

heavy social applications — TikTok and WhatsApp, to

balance sustainability with the ever-growing corporate

name but a few. These factors drive high demand for

and consumer demand for video content. This is why

encoders and decoders. It is in this context that it is

we — together as a video streaming community — must

important to focus on the details of video technology.

take responsible steps to initiate an effort to reduce the

Encoders, for instance, consume significantly more

carbon footprint on the entire value chain of this industry.

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November – December 2023 Television Asia Plus

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An industry-wide effort is required to reduce energy consumption

measurable,

and

accountable

manner.

This

involves the implementation of a comprehensive strategy

made

up

of

five

specific

Initiatives.

Carbon footprint assessment must encompass all direct and indirect emissions within the value chain. This should include everything from the extraction of raw materials, design, manufacturing, transportation, and even the final recycling of the devices. All key players will need to actively participate in reducing energy consumption across their stage of the ecosystem.

1. Modern Facilities. In 2021, VITEC invested in photovoltaic panels and batteries to generate electricity for its manufacturing needs in three separate facilities: 1 in Germany and 2 in the US

Optimizing the energy consumption of each key player

(California and Georgia). In 2022, they built a

— and their products — can positively impact the

facility in France that is up to the latest standards

planet. It can also be a good business practice, if done

in energy efficiency. In 2023, the company has

correctly, because it reduces costs for the key players

been working on upgrading their facilities in

in the long run. This makes it a win-win for everyone

Scotland to include high-performance heat pumps.

involved. In today’s market — across a growing number of geographic regions — environmentally optimized products and services are also more competitive.

They reduce the raw material needed for production and consume less electricity upon deployment.

2. Streamlining Logistics. In 2022, VITEC moved its U.S. logistics center from the West Coast to the East Coast to consolidate and reduce the surface area of their supply chain. This means fewer trucks have to travel fewer miles to meet logistical needs. By the

VITEC shares their commitments to sustainability and enlists their industry to join them

end of 2023, they plan to achieve a similar outcome in Europe by moving to a single logistics center.

3. Embracing energy-efficient design principles. VITEC

in

has integrated eco-friendly requirements into their

introducing a well-developed methodology, named

design control process and architecture. This has had

GreenPEG, to move forward in a sustainable,

a major impact on hardware and software designs.

VITEC

has

taken

a

leadership

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position

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19

COVER STORY

a.

Software, for instance, is responsible for power

5. Implementing real-time energy monitoring and

management. Dynamically switching off — or into

controls. VITEC will begin integrating real-time energy

sleep mode — all hardware functions when not in

monitoring and reporting on any future products.

use, can significantly reduce the impact on the overall

This will allow customers to assess their products’

energy consumption of products once they have been

overall power consumption and therefore be able

deployed into the market. One example is the VITEC

to select the best mode for any specific application.

SmartLink function for ChannelLink IP Gateways. This feature can monitor video streams and detect if one is

These steps have contributed significantly to VITEC’s

no longer being used. When this happens, the IP stream

ability to minimize its carbon footprint. The rest have been

will automatically stop transmitting to save power. This

offset by financing United Nations-approved projects.

showcases how to embrace energy-efficient design

More, however, needs to be done. It is not enough for a

principles and illustrates how intelligent, sustainable

single company to engage in sustainability initiatives.

software design directly impacts power consumption.

An industry-wide effort is required. That is why VITEC is b. On

the

hardware

front,

VITEC

selects

the

enlisting their key stakeholders, partner organizations, and

components

and

designs

for

even competitors to join them in creating sustainability

optimal power. This leads to more compact

initiatives across the entire ecosystem. The next step

products, fewer raw materials, and less weight,

is to help guide the next video compression standard

reducing

to ensure it is more eco-friendly and fast-enabled. To

least-consuming

production

and

transportation

costs.

do so, VITEC assembling a consortium of industrial 4. Product

recycling.

possible,

and academic partners. They want to extend an open

VITEC uses raw materials with the best carbon

Whenever

invitation to any other organization willing to join them.

footprints to ensure that the packaging and components on all products are easily recyclable.

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November – December 2023 Television Asia Plus

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Unparalleled coverage of the Asia Pacific’s media industry The Asia Pacific’s media industry is evolving at a rapid pace and Television Asia Plus is here to provide full coverage and an unbiased look at everything that is happening in the region.

Television Asia Plus embraces Asia Pacific’s vibrant broadcast, production, and distribution of content across Free TV, Pay-TV, OTT, short video, livestream and new media platforms. We take a look at the trends, the current market, and the freshest news and information on what’s happening in the industry today.

Our digital platforms comprising tva.onscreenasia.com an @TVAsiaPlus on FB, Twitter and LinkedIn cover the latest industry news and movements. Meanwhile our print version is available as bonus distribution at all major trade events including HK Filmart, APOS, Mipcom Cannes and ATF. In the market for over two decades, Television Asia Plus has been proven to be a reliable and reputable television content journal. We reach 15,000 senior content professionals across Asia Pacifi c through our web, social media, e-newsletters and print products.

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21

FEATURE STORY 1

Meeting Viewer Demand with the Edge

By Leanne Tomlin, Senior Marketing Manager, Perifery

Media

consumption

has

changed

beyond

data attracting more data, as per the data gravity

recognition. The ability to access content anytime,

phenomenon. For media organizations processing ever

and from anywhere, has led to vastly increased

growing volumes of content, this model is leading to

demand for content. As a result, content providers

constantly rising transfer and storage costs, as well as

and broadcasters are processing unprecedented

increased processing times resulting from transfer delays.

yet ever growing volumes of data, and this has far reaching implications for media operations. If this huge volume of data isn’t processed in the most efficient and cost effective way, it’ll quickly become unmanageable. The costs associated with managing and processing large data volumes are not only significant but can also be difficult to predict when using cloud storage. So, it’s crucial that workflows are optimized, and unnecessary costs are avoided.

From Centralization to the Edge

These challenges are leading some content providers to rethink the centralized approach and seek out alternative ways of working. Edge processing has emerged as one approach that has the potential to address many of the challenges outlined above. Transferring all raw data to centralized stores prior to processing inevitably means that some data is going to be transferred and stored that is not actually required. Not only is this not cost effective, but it is also an inefficient way of working because media operators can’t begin critical processing tasks until content has reached its destination.

In this brave new world, the suitability of the centralized

Edge computing changes all this because data is processed

data storage model where data is channeled to remote

in-situ. Edge technology enables data to be processed and

data centers, is being questioned. By centralizing

stored at the location where the data is generated, or in the

content storage, a data pull is created which sees

case of media companies, where the content is produced.

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November – December 2023 Television Asia Plus

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What Edge Brings to the Party

Aside from the more obvious advantages of using edge

Edge technology has the potential to deliver a number of operational benefits to media organizations including cost savings, improved efficiency, and faster processing times. Firstly, let’s consider cost reductions.

If only essential data is stored in central stores, storage costs, and also costs associated with data transfer in and out of data centers, are lowered. Another cost related benefit of using storage at the edge is that

technology, there is also a possibility that by not storing all data in data centers, organizations may be able to reduce their environmental impact. However, until the industry has more data about the carbon impact of different data processing and storage strategies, this is not verifiable.

Achieving a Perfect Equilibrium

storage costs are easier to predict than cloud storage.

The operational benefits of processing data at the

Deploying edge computing allows assets to be

can reduce costs, improve workflow efficiency, and

managed

bottlenecks

speed up processing times. However, embracing edge

and processing delays caused by data transfer are

computing doesn’t mean that there is no place for cloud

removed, enabling operators to process content

and core storage. In fact, quite the opposite is true.

more

efficiently

because

right away. This streamlined approach enhances

edge are impossible to ignore. Media organizations

times.

For content providers to achieve optimal results, edge

Additionally, the ability to move AI-driven processes

in a way that meets a company’s specific requirements.

from the cloud to the edge means that content providers

Additionally, assets stored and processed at the edge

can still leverage the benefits that AI brings to media

must also seamlessly integrate with cloud and core

workflows. These include increased automation to

storage solutions. Getting the balance right between

remove manual and time consuming tasks and enhanced

different types of processing and storage will allow

metadata capabilities including automated metadata

media organizations to optimize workflows and maximize

tagging. This allows for more effective search and

efficiency, so that they are in a position to continue

retrieval, so that content can be monetized more easily.

to meet the growing viewer demand for content.

efficiency

and

speeds

up

processing

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computing should be utilized where it makes sense, and

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FEATURE STORY 2

Can Ad-Based Streaming Services Help Drive Sustainable Advertising?

By François Polarczyk, Sustainability Director, Accedo

It’s clear that environmental issues matter to consumers, probably more now than ever before.

A recent study by Microsoft and Dentsu showed that there is real willingness from people to take action, with 88% of respondents saying that they will make sustainable purchasing choices as long as they possess the awareness and tools to do so.

Considering that the production and use of goods and services for household consumption is thought to be responsible for over half of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, changing consumer behavior is clearly critical if we are to come close to addressing the climate challenge. Given the power that media organizations have to influence consumer behavior and decision making, can sustainable advertising help motivate consumers to make more sustainable decisions in response to their concerns over environmental issues?

This is particularly pertinent to ask at the moment because ad-based content is making a big comeback.

Ad spend for traditional broadcast TV has been falling

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November – December 2023 Television Asia Plus

for years because of declining audience numbers, but now as consumer habits change yet again, ad-funded business models are experiencing a revival. Nearly all the mainstream SVOD services now offer a reduced price ad-supported tier, and AVOD and FAST services are also surging in popularity. This is creating a unique opportunity that video services and advertisers can leverage to engage consumers and influence their behavior around sustainability and environmental issues.

The Different Faces of Sustainable Advertising As with most things relating to sustainability, the very concept of sustainable advertising is constantly evolving as new data and information comes to light. The organization Purpose Disruptors is a key driver of change in this field.

Similarly, the Conscious Advertising Network’s release of its seven part manifesto provides hands-on frameworks for ad agencies to follow related to, for example, responsible production. Because, while advertising is a powerful route

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to delivering messages about sustainability topics, the production of it naturally contributes towards carbon emissions. In fact, 72% of customers in the APAC region, and 61% of people globally, say that they see ads as having a negative impact on the environment.

That said, sustainable advertising goes much further than simply reducing the carbon impact of the ad and associated marketing campaign in terms of production and delivery. Products and services are promoted in a way that takes into account ethical considerations, and minimizes negative environmental and social impacts, while also contributing to long-term sustainability goals. Sustainable advertising should also encourage more responsible consumption, and in addition, as complex as it is, should consider the carbon impact created by the uplift of sales resulting from the ad.

Advertising is also an important tool for influencing and educating consumers about sustainability issues and encouraging more responsible behavior. It’s well known that media organizations today possess an almost unparalleled power to influence and shape consumer behavior and decision making.

Therefore, it stands to reason that they have the potential to be a force for positive change, motivating consumers to act on their environmental concerns.

Harnessing the Power to Influence Change Video service providers, broadcasters and advertisers all have the ability to create narratives to captivate and inspire audiences, and therein lies the power to be a force for positive change. But this power is meaningless unless broadcasters, brands and advertisers harness it by leveraging their reach, credibility, and storytelling abilities to shape narratives, create awareness, and ultimately inspire consumers to adopt more sustainable behavior and lifestyles.

From the broadcaster perspective, this might mean collaborating with ethical and eco-friendly brands, and promoting sustainable products and services. Partnering with brands that are committed to sustainability can help align content with a shared vision, as well as helping to influence environmentally responsible behavior for viewers.

François Polarczyk

A Golden Opportunity Advertisers and video service providers have undoubtedly got a difficult balance to strike between promoting sustainability, and showcasing products and services to increase sales, as is its raison d’etre. But even without all the answers, broadcasters and advertisers can still move in the right direction, incorporating sustainable advertising as much as possible in their strategies.

We know that consumers are eager for more sustainable options as well as for more transparent information about the content they consume. We can also be certain that advertising as a business model will not be abandoned anytime soon. The onus is on broadcasters to collaborate with brands to increase sustainable ads (or, even better, make them the norm). And, it is only by understanding consumer perceptions and reactions to these ads, that businesses can successfully make them even greater part of their services.

There is also opportunity for broadcasters and advertisers to weave sustainability themes into content and ad content. Embedding messages into content about making more sustainable choices and environmental responsibility can be subtle, yet still powerful.

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