Q&A ttv
Raising the Bar Once again co-located with ScreenSingapore, the new Asia TV Forum is welcoming 4,000 executives representing 1,000 companies, along with 16 international delegations, some attending for the first time like Russia and Spain. “We can look forward to a more vibrant market, one with more business and learning opportunities,” said Yeow Hui Leng, the woman in charge of organizing the annual Asian tradeshow. By Gonzalo Larrea Twitter: @glarrea samoroso@todotv.tv
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s the last content market of the year, ATF is the place for producers and distributors to cement relationships and discuss plans for the year ahead. With attendees confirmed and a varied agenda, Yeow Hui Leng, Senior Project Director of Reed Exhibitions, has high expectations for the annual tradeshow and hopes to “out-do its previous edition.” What are the expectations for this new edition of ATF? Participants normally will expect a bigger market, a bigger turnout, so expectations are high. We usually out-do our previous edition. This year we can look forward to a more vibrant market, one with more business and learning opportunities. With a strengthened conference programme and events, participants can also look forward to expanding their networking, experiences and insights. What topics and issues will be addressed at the market? There is a definite upward trend in acquisition of animation, formats, documentaries and dramas. Asian content seems to be attracting more attention from outside the region too. Furthermore, content that facilitates social engagement –those that spur conversations– definitely have passionate fans and are very popular. How many companies, delegations and executives are you expecting this year? In 2012 we had over 3,900 attendees and 1,000 companies from more than 60 countries. This year we are expecting larger international participation
Yeow Hui Leng,
Senior Project Director of Reed Exhibitions, Singapore
of more than 4,000 TV and film industry players from 1,000+ companies. We also have 16 delegations joining us at ATF for the first time. These include Australia, China, Indonesia, Japan, France, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and UK, all of whom have been participating annually. Russia and Spain will be making their debut and there will be new TV and film delegations from Indonesia and South Korea as well. We are happy to welcome back our regular attendees as well as new additions to the pool of international sellers and regional buyers this year. How important would you say ATF is in the annual calendar of international events? Being the last entertainment content market of the year makes ATF very important, especially for content producers who want that last push to promote their programmes to buyers who are looking for more, to follow-up from their meetings at Mipcom, to cement relationships and discuss plans for the new year. What makes the market an event that cannot be missed is the crowd of international sellers and unique niche of Asian buyers that we bring to the floor. We hear from our sellers that they meet buyers that they do not see at other markets. As an accredited market, the ATF team prequalifies buyers to ensure that our sellers have quality meetings. What would you say is Asia’s role in today’s audiovisual landscape? Asia is an important region for international companies who want
“Being the last entertainment content market of the year makes ATF very important, especially for content producers who want that last push to promote their programmes to buyers.”
to expand their business. This is because Asia is booming and content consumption is growing. The region has a lot to offer with its myriad of cultures, values and ethnic influences, which allow producers to come up with interesting concepts, building on universal themes of love, family and values. Because of the diverse cultural flavours in Asia, producers have the versatility to be more creative and contribute more original content. Will the event be co-located with ScreenSingapore again? Definitely! Our first co-location has worked out well and will certainly strive towards building a strengthened film component, one that is on par with our TV segment. Aside from the glamour that filmed entertainment brings with the bevy of celebrities at our gala premieres, we are happy that the seamless market was beneficial for our buyers who acquire both TV and film segments. We will continue to introduce new initiatives or partnerships to better serve the interests of different audience profiles at ATF and ScreenSingapore. ttv