ITV

Category: Specials

  • Asian film alliance announced at the 13th Filmart

    Hong Kong: Strategizing to rise above the economic downturn and restoring the faith in the film industry, Salon Films (H. K.) Ltd announced strategic alliances with Zhejiang Hengdian Film Production Co. Ltd, Yoshomoto Kogyo Co. Ltd, MediaCorp Raintree Pictures Pte. Ltd, Access Asia (Cayman) Ltd, China Film Foundation, Media Development Authority Singapore, Enlight Pictures, National Arts Entertainment Ltd, and Pearl River Film Company Ltd, at the 13th edition of the Hong Kong International Film and TV Market (Filmart) in Hong Kong.


    The alliance will jointly promote development and growth in the region, creating stronger cultural connections between East and West and exploring new commercial opportunities for the film and television industry.










    Salon president Fred C Y Wang informed www.indiantelevision.com that the Singapore government has agreed to contribute Singapore $100 million over three years for the venture. Wang has been the driving force behind the alliance.



    Wang said, “Professional experts in the region including technical, financing, star powers in front of the screen and producing resources will contribute to the artistic and commercial success, I wish that the filmmakers from the Indian film industry too become a part of the alliance.”



    Representatives of filmmakers from mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore were present at the press conference.

  • 33rd HKIFF records 58% increase in registered filmmakers

    HONG KONG: The 33rd edition of the Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF), which kicked off yesterday, is shaping up to be the largest and the best attended ever. The event recorded a 58 per cent increase in registered filmmakers, celebrities and guests as compared to the previous edition in 2008. HKIFF will run through till 13 April, 2009.


    Jackie Chan helped kick off the event yesterday by lending his star clout to HKIFF which opened with the world premiere of Chan‘s new Chinese language gangster thriller Shinjuku Incident.












    Screening of over 300 titles from 50 countries, including 20 world premieres and 17 international premieres are scheduled during the current edition of HKIFF. Also, filmmakers from over 30 territories plan to introduce their films to the Hong Kong audience. This year’s Festival has had eager support from the audience with over 85 sold out screenings as on 22 March, including Monsters Vs. Aliens, The Badger Meinhof Complex and Yang Yang.



    “The record attendance to the festival this year is a testament to the diverse and exhilarating programming, the value of the festival as a launch pad for films, and the discovery of film talent,” said HKIFF Society’s executive director Shaw Soo Wei. “The HKIFF represents a destination to capture the fastest growing markets, the abundance of co-production opportunities and film-project financing in Asia.”



    With the increased number of directors, producers and cast members attending the festival, the screenings will see an increase of 66 per cent in its ‘Meet the Audience’ sessions from 64 to 106 this year. Film makers such as the three time Academy Award winning director Oliver Stone, five time Academy Award producer Arthur Cohon and Academy Award winning actor William Hurt, Emmy award wining actor Kiefer Sutherland and Dreamworks Animation CEO Jeffery Katzenberg will be visible at the event.

  • Hong Kong Film Development Council strives to promote Chinese film market

    HONG KONG: To promote Hong Kong film directors of the new generation and explore opportunities for cooperation on film productions and investment, the Hong Kong Film Development Council (FDC) chairman Jack So led a delegation of 20-odd members to visit Singapore and Malaysia this week.







    So says, “To make a breakthrough for our film industry, we would have to join hands with Mainland China, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan and pool resources of the five places to develop the film industry of the region as a whole. The market of Chinese language films can be expanded through cooperation in areas such as financing, production and distribution, etc”.



    The FDC rolled out the Hong Kong Film: New Action project last December to promote Hong Kong films and directors of the new generation. The latest visit joined by FDC members and film directors of the new generation followed the council’s trips to Guangdong Province and Taiwan last December to promote the project.



    “Singapore and Malaysia have a Chinese population of over nine million in total. The region is an important market for us. Besides promoting Hong Kong films and the new generation directors, our meetings with the local film industry seek to establish a basis of cooperation in different aspects so as to explore more market opportunities” adds So.



    During their stay in Singapore, the delegation visited the Media Development Authority and various film industry associations. Both parties got an in-depth understanding of each other‘s market and mode of operation, paving the way for future mutual cooperation.



    Meanwhile, the FDC will stage large-scale business forums and promotional sessions to further promote the project during the “Hong Kong International Film & TV Market” (Filmart) event. The forums and promotional sessions will provide film practitioners from the Chinese language film markets of the aforesaid five places to engage in direct business negotiations with Hong Kong’s directors and filmmakers.

  • ‘Cable TV sector sees rapid consolidation and new competition in 2008’ : Hathway Cable & Datacom MD & CEO K Jayaraman

    ‘Cable TV sector sees rapid consolidation and new competition in 2008’ : Hathway Cable & Datacom MD & CEO K Jayaraman

    Cable TV companies have attracted private equity funding and used it for consolidation and digitalisation. But tight liquidity credit markets, intense competition to woo local cable operators, and rise in cost structures present a challenging 2009, says Hathway Cable & Datacom MD & CEO K Jayaraman

    2008 marked the emergence of new multi-system operators (MSOs) with pan India ambitions. This resulted in intense competition to woo the local cable operators. The year also marked subtantial private equity/mezannine funding to some of the existing and new MSOs. Some estimates say that the combined inflows during the year could have reached about Rs 7 billion.

    The substantial equity inflows resulted in furthering rapid consolidation of the industry with the independent cable operators (ICOs) partnering or entering into joint ventures with the larger MSOs. In fact some estimates put that almost 40 per cent of the total C&S (cable & satellite) homes could be the cumulative universe under the umbrella of the larger MSOs.

    A welcome fall out of the rapid consolidation and equity flow was the intensive pace of digital cable tv roll out. Incremental voluntary digital cable during the year could have touched one million, based on rough estimates.

    But this was again restricted to selective MSOs. Customers who opted for digital cable enjoyed 150 plus channels at the same price as of analogue. The digital boxes were also subsidised deeply by the MSOs. Digital cable was able to effectively combat the competition from satellite despite the latter companies having huge funding and high decibal advertisements. While the fob prices of cable digital boxes fell, the gain was lost due to 20 per cent rupee depreciation during the year.

    The year also saw spiraling salary costs in the cable TV companies, with each one outdoing the other, even as subscription income lagged. The raged optimism arising out of projected placement fees and new capital infusion fuelled the salary costs and other overheads too.

    Sadly towards the last quarter of the calendar year due to a combination of global meltdown and zero liquidity in the Indian banking system, the companies were sent scurrying for cover and control over these costs. While it may not be easy to cut these fixed costs, the situation can result in further profitability pressure for unorthodox business models in the year 2009.

    The intense competition to woo the local cable operators (LCOs) sucked a lot of funding and, therefore, the roll out of value added services like broadband through cable etc suffered, barring a few whose inherent business model comprise these services too.

    While the year saw rapid consolidation and new competition, sadly the core subscription business was forgotten. Subscription income from LCOs have dipped for the industry as a whole, except for business model where last mile also co-existed, as the chase for territory and placement fees gained predominance. Business models and enterprise valuations were being built around these non-conventional parameters. Cost structures increased rapidly including pay channel costs even as the LCOs dodged the MSOs.

    The last quarter meltdown and liquidity crisis, coupled with slowing down of advertisement income for the channels, did send ominous signals to the MSOs with non conventional parameters. Pressure had started building rather quickly, but the difficult signs are being ignored.

    Overall, the year ended on a sombre mood with a more challenging year 2009 in the offing.

  • Out-of-Home is In

    Out-of-Home is In

    Though times are tough, the OOH sector will continue to clock steady growth, says Out-Of-Home Media chief executive officer Ishan Raina.

    Recently, I have been swamped with queries about trends and happenings on the Out-of-Home industry. And it feels good. This shows that the industry is thinking out-of-home and is looking upbeat. Out-of-Home is in.

    The last year has seen a flurry of movements in OOH due to legislation issues. Although a tough year for the industry on that aspect, this has been a move for the better. We can now expect more innovation and widening horizons as agencies and the media owners are thinking beyond traditional.

    Suddenly, we see a spurt of street furniture being used across cities. Newer formats of outdoor media are seeing the light of the day. Not just media formats, but creativity in using the media effectively also points to the fact that creative agencies, who are the brand custodians, are taking OOH seriously. The use of ambient media, for instance, is another development. So, if you take a walk down any street in a city like Mumbai, you can be absolutely sure that you won‘t feel bored for a moment!

    With the audiences now moving out of their residences more often to newer public avenues along with the boom in the real-estate scenario (barring the current situation) such as malls, multiplexes, public entertainment zones, corporate parks, socialising hubs etc, out-of-home has exploited this trend really well.

    SEC A audiences frequent to these locations, which gives the advertiser a plum of OOH advertising opportunities to put his monies on. With the Western influence seeping in, a need was felt to experiment with sleeker, technologically advanced media. The onset of digital media and its growth shows that advertisers have adapted to digital media like LEDs, OOH TV etc. quite well. From just two to now about six players already in the digital OOH TV market, this medium is making a huge impression upon the end-users‘ and hence, the marketers‘ mind. Today we have grown to about a Rs 15 billion industry (static and digital inclusive).

    The specialty of OOH is the ability of an advertiser to customise his communication and buy as per his budgets. For example, OOH Media offers the tool of Flexicast – which can be explained as the ability / flexibility to telecast brand communication on Out-of-Home Media screens as per the advertisers‘ choice of city, location, target audience etc. Advertisers can, thus, use our medium or any OOH medium for various reasons like for instance to launch a brand, add frequency to their overall campaign, act as a reminder medium, etc depending on their needs. For instance, OOH Media, being the only AV media in an out-of-home environment, has the advantage of adding frequency to TV, and visual to radio, print and outdoor media campaigns.

    So whether it is finance, telecom, auto, FMCG, real estate, consumer durables, apparels, media…..any and every advertiser from a small retailer to a multi-crore MNC can use the OOH medium effectively. We have seen advertisers from finance, auto, FMCG, apparels, consumer durables, telecom, real estate, media, tourism, etc use our medium quite a lot.

    Legislations have been an issue especially for traditional media, but since we are in an indoor environment, these issues have not affected us much. The fact remains that OOH still remains a fragmented and unorganised industry. Our first step towards making it organised was to launch OOH Metrics – the first ever large scale research on Digital Out-of-Home TV media in India, by OOH Media and Nielsen. The research profiles the likely audience as well as substantiates footfall figures. With a scientific approach to OOH TV, advertisers and agencies are considering the medium seriously.

    Though times are tough currently, my take is that advertisers will not stop spending as such on OOH, but will be more prudent and cautious. Value for money and effectiveness will be under scrutiny. That‘s where metrics will come into play. Innovations will be a crucial factor and flexibility to adjust around the advertisers‘ needs will be required.

    OOH is a growing medium and will continue to grow. With so many technological advances already making news, we can look forward to a steady year ahead.

  • Turbulence and Asian media meltdown

    Turbulence and Asian media meltdown

    The economic crisis may reshape Asian media, says Media Partners Asia (MPA) Executive Director Vivek Couto. Companies will focus on cost savings, improved business models and, potentially, new acquisitions as asset prices fall.

    The fragility of an American economy means it is getting harder to predict when Asia‘s media economies will return to better health following this year‘s downturn. As a result, these remain volatile times. Globally, the cost of capital has become high while economic growth continues to fall. At the same time, investors remain risk averse and credit continues to tighten. This is leading to further erosion in public market valuations for Asia media and limited funding options for both private and publicly-held media concerns.

    Capitalising on the crisis through M&A could be a course for some, as the recent $1.1 billion transaction between Sina and Focus Media in China perfectly illustrates. Expect more crisis-driven deals to occur over the next 12-18 months though visibility on almost everything remains an issue.

    The latest MPA research suggests advertising in Asia will grow by 1.5 per cent in 2009 versus its earlier expectations of 2.5 per cent, while growth in 2008 finished up at 5 per cent versus an earlier forecast of 5.6 per cent. Lower visibility and higher volatility also mean that recent ad growth estimates don‘t carry an upside potential anymore.

    MPA‘s latest advertising forecasts have been downgraded due to volatility in Korea, Japan and India. A region-wide rebound of 5.8 per cent is expected in 2010. Excluding Australia and Japan, Asian ad growth will slow from 12.1 per cent in 2008 to 6.4 per cent next year, before a rebound to 9.4 per cent in 2010.

    While MPA expects China and India to grow at trend levels of 10-13 per cent over the next three years, ad growth this year could be lower than forecast in both these markets.

    In India, for instance, the economy is expected to grow by 6 per cent next year in real terms but could decelerate as low as 5 per cent, according to consensus. Meanwhile, the Indian ad market is expected to grow by 10.8 per cent next year but forward budgets for the next quarter indicate that dominant TV and print sectors face a tough time with growth, potentially coming in far lower than forecast. Elections in Q2 may boost spending but trend growth could come below MPA‘s 10-11 per cent forecast.

    All of this means that the importance of monetising content through consumer transactions will grow as opposed to an over-reliance on brand spend, especially in places like India.The market share of digital in places like China will continue along an upward trajectory.

    At the same time, new ad drivers will become even more important for traditional players: local as opposed to national ad markets in Indonesia, for instance, and regional markets in India as the recent advances by Star and Zee have shown.

    Overall, MPA analysis indicates digital and out-of-home media will have a combined market share of close to 30 per cent by 2010 in China and Korea; more than 20 per cent in Japan, Australia and Taiwan; and more than 10 per cent in India. TV and print will continue to hold more than 40 per cent share in India, while TV will retain 60-70 per cent market share in Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand. Print will remain dominant in Malaysia, with more than 55 per cent share.

    Potential buying opportunity

    Media M&A talk has arisen because of the collapse of equity markets, risks around maturing debt and weak balance sheets. Publicly-traded market capitalisation for media companies fell by an average of 30-80 per cent last year in China, Japan, Korea, Australia, India, and Indonesia.

    To be sure, equity market capitulation does not necessarily mean that media assets will actually sell at bargain-basement prices. After all, most have an intrinsic value far higher than what the fearful public and risk-averse institutional investors are currently prepared to pay.

    Potential sellers today and in the future may include: Korean cable broadcaster On*Media (045710.KS); Indonesian terrestrial TV network Surya Citra Media (SCMA.JK); Indian broadcaster IBN-18 (IBN.BO); Chinese CAS supplier CDTV (STV.N) and media wannabe Xinhua Finance Media (XFML.OQ); Japanese satellite broadcaster WOWOW (4839.T); Chinese media giant TVB (0511.HK); and Australia‘s APN (APN.AX).

    Debt issues, focus on Australia and Thailand

    Asian companies with heavy debt leverage include: Australian publisher Fairfax (FXJ.AX), PBL Media and Thailand‘s True Corp (TRUE.BK). At least one of these is likely to sell parts of its troubled franchise in the months to come. True in particular faces a big credit crunch, having notched up around $180 million in liabilities, while its overall debt ratios will likely breach the covenants in its bank loan facility.

    There was at least some good news for PBL Media at the end of last year with majority shareholder CVC Asia announcing that it would inject a further $230 million equity in PBL. Like many of its counterparts, PBL Media is struggling with one of Australia‘s worst ad downturns in a long time with the ad market expected to decline by more than 6 per cent this year.

    Australia‘s Ten Network (TEN.AX) is also suffering – it saw TV revenues decline by 12 per cent in its latest quarter while overall group EBITDA fell 25 per cent. Canadian media major CanWest has steadfastly refused to consider selling its 57 per cent stake in Ten. Current economic hardships may force a rethink. CanWest has consolidated debt of close to $3 billion versus a market cap of only $60 million, and is increasingly exposed to Canada‘s worsening economy.

    Pay-TV platforms

    Opportunities in the private market include various pay-TV platforms needing funds for further expansion and digital deployment. Indonesia‘s Indovision, one of the fastest growing operators in Southeast Asia with over 500,000 pay-TV subscribers, potentially needs more funds to grow beyond its end-2009 target of 1.2 million customers. Meanwhile, numerous operators in India need new capital, as the cost of subscriber acquisition escalates and average revenue per user (ARPU) growth remains modest. Candidates include WWIL, Tata Sky, Dish TV (DTV.BO), DEN and Hathway, though only the latter has a positive EBITDA level at present.

    Various next-generation broadcast satellite licences in Japan are also coming up for grabs in 2009 with J:COM, NBC and Time Warner‘s Turner slated to feature in potential acquiring consortiums. Future M&A in Korea is also worth highlighting, with new regulations allowing cable MSOs to increase market share coverage with more MSO acquisitions. In the near term however, Korean MSOs, weighed down by a combination of debt and IPTV competition, may look to pursue bargain acquisitions and alliances in the content space instead.

    Global media and India

    Gauging how M&A in Asia media may play out also depends on what happens in global media. The severity of the US downturn, as well as various debt issues, have hit global media companies, including most notably Viacom and NBC. Both own assets in key markets such as India, and supply quality programming and brands to various networks across Asia. NBC is scaling back the pace and extent of its investment across Asia ex-India while Viacom has scaled back operations again in Asia ex-India, this time even scaling back in profitable territories such as Japan.

    How these companies manage the crisis is important: whether they choose to sell certain assets in Asia, or sell big assets, or merge with a competitor such as Time Warner and News Corp., could have a decisive impact on future trends.

     

    India‘s IBN18, which has a highly-rated but costly GE channel JV (Colors) with Viacom, recently raised $25 million through a qualified institutional placement (AIP) to five institutional investors: T Rowe Price, Reliance Capital, Franklin Templeton, JM Financial and HSBC. IBN has also issued 15 million warrants to news media company TV18 (TVET.BO), convertible at Rs 102 per share, implying an infusion of about Rs 1.53 billion, which puts a lot of pressure on the TV18 balance sheet and limits its flexibility going forward. Future funding for IBN and Colors next year will need bigger players and more cash, which could lead to a better strategic result for the company.

  • MDA, Beach House Pictures join hands with Lonely Planet for TV series









    MUMBAI: Travel media outfit Lonely Planet Television (LPTV), Singapore



    -based production company Beach House Pictures (BHP) and the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) announced at Mipcom the launch of a new 13-part flagship television series Lonlely Planet: Roads Less Travelled, in conjunction with broadcaster National Geographic International and distributor BBC Worldwide.


    The show is a cross-platform travel adventure franchise featuring for the first time real-life Lonely Planet authors on the job as they scour the world’s roads less travelled in search of the latest and greatest travel experiences on earth. Lonely Planet founder and independent traveller Tony Wheeler is slated to be one of the four authors featured in the new series.


    Lonely Planet Television head Laurence Billiet says, “Everybody thinks being paid to travel is one the best gigs in the world but at Lonely Planet we know it’s a really tough job. In this series for the first time on television we’ll reveal behind-the-scenes what it’s really like to be a Lonely Planet author.”









    The show will premiere on the Nat Geo Adventure channel next year in Asia, France, Germany



    , Italy, Spain, Turkey, Australia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. A cross-platform initiative, the new series will be supported by a website showcasing the itineraries featured in the TV series as well as complementary Lonely Planet destination content and travel services. Over time, the multi-platform franchise is expected to span DVD, mobile and web-TV.



    The series will be co-produced with Beach House Pictures, who have worked with Lonely Planet on a number of television productions since signing an agreement with LPTV in 2005 to co-produce all Lonely Planet-branded television series in Singapore.


    Beach House Pictures MD Jocelyn Little says, “We’re excited by the opportunity to join forces with the Media Development Authority of Singapore, National Geographic and BBC Worldwide for the first time on such a major flagship series. All the partners believe strongly in the potential of this unique series, and expect it to turn into an on-going multi-media franchise”.


    MDA CEO Dr Christopher Chia says, “Lonely Planet is a cultural icon well-loved by many all over the world. This is a wonderful opportunity for Beach House to co-produce with well-known international partners who share the same vision of delivering quality content on multiple platforms to the global audiences and showcase the world’s best travel experiences to the world“.

  • Discovery’s Science Channel makes ‘Brink’ available for global distribution

    Discovery’s Science Channel makes ‘Brink’ available for global distribution

    MUMBAI: Discovery has anounced at Mipcom that from the fourth quarter of 2008 and continuing throughout 2009, Science Channel will roll out a full slate of original programming designed to appeal to a worldwide audience of science enthusiasts.

     

    The US-based Science Channel announced Brink, its first original series, is available for international broadcaster distribution.

     

    Designed as the next-generation source of interactive science information on television and on the web, Brink immerses viewers on the frontlines of cutting-edge breakthroughs in technology, research, inventions, discoveries and the mysteries of the scientific world.

     

    The series explores people who are on the brink of changing our lives, and will also include content generated from scientists, organisations, universities and viewers from around the world.

     

    Discovery Enterprises International senior VP Caleb Weinstein says, “Only Discovery Communications can offer this type of high quality science programming to international broadcasters. This innovative new format allows for complete regional customization”

     

    Discovery’s Emerging Networks senior VP programming Deborah Adler Myers says, “Brink is the first of many exciting new series in our new development pipeline and something only a dedicated service like Science Channel can create.

     

    “Brink is a thought-provoking and engaging series that connects viewers with incredible science and technology stories from around the world.”

     

    Guiding viewers through the unusual mix of science information and eureka moments on the show is host Josh Zepps. The series looks to provide viewers with a clear understanding of the impact and relevance science has in our lives today, and offers significant insights into how science may profoundly change our lives tomorrow.

     

    Each half-hour episode combines short-form reports on the latest global science news with vital interviews with prominent scientists. BRINK’s innovative format will also include unusual segments covering a range of subjects from peculiar, avant-garde research to “backyard inventors” who are pushing the limits of science in their own way – such as building their own space craft.

     

    In the US the show‘s reach extends beyond the border of television with a comprehensive, fully integrated presence on sciencechannel.com. Here viewers can watch extended interviews, interact via science blogs, upload and view user generated videos, talk to Zepps and other correspondents, take quizzes and explore additional research materials.

  • ScreenWest, Singapore’s MDA partner for cross-media projects

    MUMBAI: ScreenWest, Western Australia‘s screen funding, and Singapore‘s Media Development Authority (MDA) have announced the launch of the MDA-ScreenWest Cross-Media Development Initiative.

    The aim is to encourage producers in their respective territories to jointly develop and exploit the potential of multi-platform intellectual properties.

    The initiative ininvites producers in Western Australia and Singapore to submit proposals in any of the following genres – Children’s Programming, Documentary and Animation. Three selected projects will be awarded up to a total of $90,000 in project co-development funding.

    The closing date for submissions is 1 December 2008 and the announcement of selected projects will be made at the Asia Television Forum held in Singapore from 10 to 12 December 2008.

    The MDA-ScreenWest Cross-Media Development Initiative follows the Australia-Singapore film co-production agreement signed in September 2007.

    MDA CEO Dr Christopher Chia says, “Currently, Singapore’s media companies already enjoy a strong working relationship with their counterparts in Australia and I am sure that this joint initiative with ScreenWest will spur more of such mutually-beneficial collaborations that will make their mark in the international market.

    “Content that can be commercialised on multiple platforms will enjoy a wider reach and longer lifespan and the MDA-ScreenWest Cross Media Development Initiative is a step in supporting our media companies to rise to the challenge of the new media landscape where consumers increasingly demand to enjoy content on their own terms.”

    Screenwest CEO Ian Booth said, “Screenwest is excited by this opportunity to build stronger ties between the two countries. We believe the development of three projects in the genres of children’s drama, animation and documentary will encourage further co-productions in the future.

    “The bonus of this initiative is the development of cross-platform digital media which can be made in Singapore and Australia and viewed around the world.”

    Media companies from Australia and Singapore have collaborated successfully on several fronts, yielding co-productions in recent years that include feature film The Home Song Stories, lifestyle TV programme 5 Star Insider, animation series Milly Molly and children’s sci-fi drama series Stormworld.

  • BBC Worldwide in content deal with New Zealand broadcasters








     

    MUMBAI
    : BBC Worldwide concluded content deals with New Zealand broadcasters TVNZ and Prime Television at the television trade event Mipcom in Cannes, France.

    BBC Worldwide has renewed a deal with Prime Television that will see the upcoming series of award-winning Top Gear remain with the channel.



    Top Gear is consistently Prime‘s highest-rating programme, and has aired on the network since 2004.



    Meanwhile, BBC Worldwide has also concluded a deal with TVNZ for new and returning drama, factual, and factual entertainment programming.








    New dramas included in the package include Whitechapel, The Children and Sleep with Me.



    Returning series include the third series of time-travel drama Primeval, the fifth series of New Tricks, Hotel Babylon, Mistresses and Silent Witness.