ITV

Category: Specials

  • MIPCOM 2014: Aamir Khan’s three conditions before starting ‘Satyamev Jayate’…

    MIPCOM 2014: Aamir Khan’s three conditions before starting ‘Satyamev Jayate’…

    CANNES: He is a man who can make his mark even on a distant land, far away from home. Yes! We are talking about Indian film actor Aamir Khan, who was in Cannes, giving the MIP Megasession keynote at the ongoing MIPCOM 2014 in a packed Grand Auditorium about his landmark show Satyamev Jayate (SMJ). Indiantelevision.com founder, CEO and editor in chief Anil Wanvari is the Indian representative for all MIP markets.

     

    So how did it all start? Said Khan, “It all started, becuase I was very inspired from my friend Satya (Satyajit Bhatkal, director of SMJ), who was my friend and class topper from school, was working in the social space. And I being an actor, was doing well in my career, but wasn’t doing much on this.”

     

    He further went on to say that as TV grew in India, this idea, of doing something on this front, grew bigger. “Star India CEO Uday (Shankar) offered me a game show, which I refused, he then asked me if I could do anything on TV. So I asked him if we could work on something that can bring some change. And he agreed,” he added.

     

    Khan and his small team comprising Satyajit worked together to create the show, which has gone down in the history of Indian television as one of the most popular shows. “Through the show, we try to understand the society. We try and put the issues to the people, be it child abuse, honour killing, rights and responsibilities etc,” he informed the audience which comprised of content creators from across the globe.  

     

    All that we see on television wasn’t created in a day. “We took a year to work on research. The reason we researched was to find out if we had a show,” he said. In order to be sure, the team researched with four topics “and once we were confident, it didn’t matter to us if Star would take the show or not. We knew we could go ahead with it and put it on YouTube or anywhere,” he said adding that it took just five minutes for Shankar to approve the concept of the show.

     

     

    But, it was not all that easy. Khan then put three conditions in front of Shankar before agreeing to go ahead with Satyamev Jayate.

     

    One, he wanted the programme to be in multiple languages, since he wanted to reach out to people in their language. “I just didn’t want the main Star channel, but wanted the whole network, which would air the show at the same day and time.”

     

    The second condition was that in the states, where Star didn’t have a presence, the show was to be given to its competitor and the third was to give it to the terrestrial network Doordarshan. “Many villages in India do not have satellite TV even now and we wanted to reach those homes through Doordarshan,” he announced.  

     

    But, Shankar, coming from a journalism background, understood where Khan was coming from. “I was talking of a show where I was not investing money but investing time. Star and my team is a part of the show which is made of love,” he said.

     

    Of the 1.2 billion population in India, 600 million people watch SMJ every week. “We didn’t know if people would be interested in a show like this. It was heartwarming to see how people connected emotionally. There is a huge vacuum of content on social issues and people want a show like SMJ,” he added.

     

    So how does Satyamev Jayate impact the society? “Well, we empower people by selecting an organisation each week so that one can help financially. What we also do is have partners, who help us on issues.” So far the show has been able to raise $ 45 million for the NGOs connected with it.

     

    Khan also mentioned how the political and administrative class of the country had also shown interest in the show. “Our show hits out on political and administrative class most of the times and so we didn’t know how they would respond, but I can tell you that there have been 9-10 examples where these people have come ahead and supported us.”

     

    Explaining the reasons for the show doing so well, Khan said, “There was a need and desire for things to change. India is on a cusp of change so a show like this helps them understand the issue and move towards change,” he said.

     

    “Sometimes when we research, we feel angry about certain things. But we have to approach people with love. We can’t attack them, if we do that, we will close the door for ourselves,” he added.

     

    Khan feels that the audiences in India today are looking for content that is engaging. “Even serious content can be made engaging.”

     

    One of the things that they do to catch the attention of the audience is keep the topic of the show a secret. “No one knows the topic, till the episode is aired. This attracts them to the show.”

     

    Khan also believes that serious issues can be presented in a way that people can relate to. Giving an example he said, “So when I talk about female foeticide, I do not start with the fact that women are being forced into abortion. That drives away audience, what I do is, I start by asking them, their most favourite person and then go on talking about their mother, my mother and then tell them the reality,” he narrated.

     

    Khan and his team is taking journalism and combining it with drama and storytelling. “My job as a storyteller is to be engaging,” he concluded.  

  • batteryPOP announces first brand partnerships

    batteryPOP announces first brand partnerships

    CANNES: Burgeoning kid’s cross-platform network, batteryPOP has announced its first strategic brand partnerships with the MLS, HarperCollins Children’s and VEVO. Through these partnerships, batteryPOP will host custom channels that feature each brand’s unique content.

     

    With a continued mission to bring fun, safe and educational content to kids online, these brand sponsorships will serve to inspire young viewers to increase their daily activity level, amplify their excitement for reading and inspire their interest in music.  

     

    batteryPOP co-founder and CEO Greg Alkalay believes that video is the perfect way to engage with the audience. “Our new custom channels give kid-focused brands the opportunity to connect with the 6-12 year old demographic in a safe, curated environment.”

     

    MLS will be supplying content from its ‘Anatomy Of A Goal’ series that highlights in-depth breakdowns of thrilling goals from some of the top MLS pros, the ‘Top 5’ series featuring a roundup of some of the league’s most action-packed moments and the ‘MLS Trivia’ series that grills MLS stars on league knowledge.

     

    HarperCollins Children’s will deliver a wide range of video offerings to ignite an excitement for reading among the batteryPOP viewership. This will encompass a number of their ongoing series including “How a Book is Made,” a range of “How To” videos such as a step-by-step guide to creating a Radio Transmitter as inspired by “Alien in My Pocket,” colorful book trailers, interactive videos that immerse readers into the world of the book and fan videos.

     

    Additionally – just in time for Halloween – batteryPOP will be collaborating with HarperCollins Children’s to craft original content on the site surrounding the Zombie Chasers series.

     

    batteryPOP’s partnership with VEVO will deliver kid-friendly music videos to viewers that will provide positive role models for kids along with catchy tunes.

     

  • MIPCOM 2014: Star India eyes newer formats, greater reach

    MIPCOM 2014: Star India eyes newer formats, greater reach

    CANNES: It is a meeting place for the content industry across the globe. And this is precisely what the seven member team of Star India is doing in Cannes, at the ongoing MIPCOM 2014. The network, which includes Hindi general entertainment channels: Star Plus and Life OK as well as its movie cluster: Star Movies, Star Movies Action, Star Gold, and Movies OK is having a busy MIPCOM.

     

    While a three member team is here selling its content, which ranges from drama to mythology, a four member team: two each for GECs and movie channels is looking to buy formats that can be adapted for the Indian audiences, both fiction and non-fiction.

     

    Uncountable meetings have kept the seven member team busy on both day one and day two of the market, which will be here till 16 October, the last day of MIPCOM 2014.

     

    On sale is the entire cluster of shows from both Star Plus and Life OK. But what is being pushed more is Yeh Hai Mohabbatein, Ek Hasina Thi, Saraswatichandra and Mahabharat, apart from its other hit shows, including the just launched Airlines, Nisha Aur Uske Cousins and the biggest hit on Life OK, Mahadev.

     

    While the GEC cluster is looking at the entire world market for both selling and buying shows and formats, the English movie cluster is focusing on Hollywood movies.

     

    The number one channel in the Hindi GEC space, as per the TAM TV ratings, is also of key importance to 21st Century Fox co-chief operating officer James Murdoch.  “The business in India has been doing great. We are the number one network there. If we continue to innovate and lead in India, it will prove to be a game changer for us,” he had said during his keynote, here in Cannes.

  • “I don’t have many artists on the panel because artists don’t like finding another artist”: Simon Cowell

    “I don’t have many artists on the panel because artists don’t like finding another artist”: Simon Cowell

    CANNES: MIPCOM 2014 has kickstarted with some great content from across the globe and some great sessions. The biggest content market on day one saw an interesting question and answer session between producer and talent scout Simon Cowell, who has been named the ‘personality of the year’ and a former Got Talent judge Piers Morgan.

     

    Excerpts…

     

    Was it in your blood to be in the entertainment industry?

     

    I loved entertainment since childhood. My dad was a very loyal guy, he told me one thing, whatever you do, remember that in every person, there is an invisible sign which says, “make me feel important.” And that’s how I started making my TV shows.

     

    What was the key moment for you in the business? When you started work and then everything fell, everything you dreamed of, crashed, what did all that tell you?

     

    If you work in TV, film, music business, only two things matter, stars and hits. I had nothing. When there is no training, you make more mistakes. I owned the bank half a million pounds. But in a way, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. Although I don’t want to do it again!

     

    You made the genius move of fusing the power of TV to power of music. You did it at a time when no one had thought of it…

     

     The truth is it was always there. Right from Elvis to Beetles, TV played a massive part in spreading their fame worldwide and for me I was very concerned about the stranglehold that radio companies had on record artists, and then I thought TV was the medium that I could use to connect with music.

     

    You have been critical of the participants who come on X Factor and Got Talent, will you sober down with age?

     

    In my business you have to become the audience permanently. So when I am editing and noting one of my shows, it has to be what I like and find emotional or funny. You can’t treat the audience like idiots. If somebody comes on stage and is literally tone-deaf, and if I say take a couple of singing lessons and you’ll be a star, they’ll think I’m mad. I am a perfectionist. The day you just let go without looking at it, that’s the day you lose it.

     

    What about stars as judge on the show?  

     

    I never wanted to put too many artists in the panel, because artists don’t want to find another artist.

     

    About partnership with FremantleMedia…

     

    Without FremantleMedia, I would not have been sitting here now. What I really liked about Fremantle was that it understood that the combination of a music company making a TV show was better than a TV company making a music show.

      

    You created One Direction, through your show…

     

    I don’t like the word ‘create’. I didn’t create them, I gave five people the opportunity to be in a group because I felt as a whole they would have a better chance of being successful because they were so young and inexperienced.

     

    The groups, I have to admit, were terrible that year, but I felt these guys could work together. What I did was because that’s what I needed to do, I gave them the opportunity and the boys ran with the opportunity. It was a fantastic collaboration.

     

    What happened to X Factor America?

     

    I haven’t given up on the format in America. We just gave up on it too early.

     

    How important are the broadcasters in each territory?

     

    The broadcaster is one thing; it is the people in the channel who are important. They have trusted us and our partnership has been great.

     

    What do you look in people when you look for partnerships?

     

    Trust in both ways. If we didn’t have them trusting us in the first place, I wouldn’t have been here. They look after the shows and make it their own. That’s what I love.

     

    Are you moving into movies?

     

    Yes, but slowly. So we will do what we did in TV. My thought process is that with so many artists, I am looking at something like a High School Musical.

     

    Why have you done so few shows?

     

    Because it is difficult to come up with hit shows like X Factor or Got Talent. Too many shows will kill the market. The show these days are more about gimmick.

     

    Do you see a problem with multi-screen viewing?

     

    I don’t see a problem with it. If there are new ways of watching our shows, it is only to our advantage.

     

    When you relook, what’s that one moment you look to?

     

    The second week’s ratings of X Factor UK. The numbers had gone up by millions, as compared to the first week. So I felt really good.

  • Audiences watch less TV as they grow younger, says Maker Studios CEO Ynon Kreiz

    Audiences watch less TV as they grow younger, says Maker Studios CEO Ynon Kreiz

    CANNES: Maker Studios CEO Ynon Kreiz is noticing the emergence of short format content. “This side of business is growing at double digits,” he said during his keynote at the ongoing MIPCOM 2014.

     

    According to Kreiz, consumption habits are changing. “There is a massive shift from linear to online,” he added. Citing a survey, he said that while 12-24 year olds watch one third less linear TV than adults aged between 25 and 49, it is less than half of what adults aged 50-65 watch.“It’s not that they watch more as they grow older, but that they watch less as they grow younger,” said Kreiz.

     

    Talking about Maker’s acquisition by Disney he said, “Disney being the number one company of the world and Maker being the largest short form company, we both had to do something to remain relevant. So for Disney, this gives an opportunity to extend their business to short form, while for us, this gives the opportunity to move to traditional media.”

     

    The reach of Maker Studios and Disney taken together is third only to Google and Facebook.

     

    “The current generation of kids hasn’t grown up with TV, the way we did. Kids control what they want to watch, where, why and how. Against this, there is a demographic which is hard to find,” he added.

     

    Millennial kids watch 50 per cent more video online as compared to others. So the big question is how do they reach them? Said Kreiz, “When we say short form, it is a different medium in which you make, monetise, consume and market content. There is a difference in movies and TV and TV and short form.”

     

    Talking about the duration of the short formats he said, “If you take the top 100 properties in the US, right from Google to Netflix to Amazon etc, the average duration of content is 4 minutes. And this doesn’t include mobile, this is just desktop.”

     

    According to a study conducted by Netflix, almost 90 per cent of Netflix content consumed on mobile is 10 minutes of duration. “Maker specialises in the genre, which started off as a group that wanted to build the DNA of a media company that understood content in short form and that’s what separates the company from the rest,” he opined.

     

    Kreiz feels that Maker inspires expressions, while also entertaining global audiences. “We enable global brands to engage with the millennial audience,” he added.   

     

    Maker currently has 55,000 creators in more than 100 countries. “It’s a large network of people creating content. But we put great emphasis on quality of content. We get 10,000 to 15,000 people who want to join the network, of which we take 100 people every day,” he said.

     

    According to Kreiz, what makes their work exciting is that they are inventing a new medium. “Everyone in the company is a Maker. With Disney we can accelerate growth and become mainstream,” he expressed hopefully.

     

    Talking about advertisement, he said, “In some cases the CPM we get is higher than TV. But this is a nascent industry. We are in the business of monetising advertising inventory. The growth is in double digits and a lot of credit for this goes to YouTube.”

     

    As per Kreiz, advertisers are now moving 10-25 per cent of the TV advertising budgets to digital. “We can monetise in several ways which could be through ad integration, branded entertainment amongst others. We have created our own platform to bring a market place which brings the advertisers and makers together.”

     

    While everyone is running behind the millennials, they are running behind content. The challenge for most of the platforms is to remain relevant. “With Disney, we feel we are at a good place to achieve it,” concluded Kreiz.  

  • Being a lean aggressive company has helped us, says Sony’s Steve Mosko

    Being a lean aggressive company has helped us, says Sony’s Steve Mosko

    CANNES: Right from the hit series Breaking Bad to the new show on the block, Outlander, Sony has been in the middle of it all. And taking the centre stage for the first master keynote at MIPCOM 2014 was Sony Pictures Television president Steve Mosko.  

     

    He set the right tone for his keynopte by saying, “Our buyers have doubled due to the digital feed.” With business spanning around TV channels, production and distribution, where does he fit? Answered Mosko, “When people think of Sony, they think of multi-platform. On TV we have found that our independence has helped us in the US. People say, you cannot exist as a standalone. We have 30 original shows on air with 14 networks.       Internationally being a lean aggressive company has helped us.”

     

    Mosko believes that a number of great ideas come from the smart creative development people. “World is becoming consolidated and this also increases work in order to put everything together,” he opined.

     

    Delving on piracy he said that while one cannot control piracy but can minimise it. “We have done a couple of things to minimise it. So we have instilled tight controls, where we do the dubbing, subtitling et or a show.”

     

    Sony, from a business solution point of view, is working with its partners across to ensure that the shows are aired closer to the US telecast dates. “We cannot limit pirates, we just have to minimise it,” he added.

     

    Mosko during his keynote also spoke about selling shows to new digital buyers globally. “Added competition makes everyone better. We have seen our buyers double around the globe, in the past five years,” he said.

     

    Mentioning the growth of Netflix he said, “The platform has gone from zero to where it is today. Media companies are observant of what is happening in the US, for us, all this given us more buyers and makes us more creative.”

     

    He is firm believer of the fact that it is the content that drives platforms. Talking about Sony Pictures within Sony he said, “There has never been a time when different parts of the company have worked so closely. Within the company we are working closely to maximise the business.”

     

    Sony Pictures currently is doing big budget TV shows on playstation “and the budget is equal to what we are doing on cable TV. We have been working towards making the model work,” he informed.

     

    Mosko said that everyone takes pride in being in the TV business. “TV experience is great now. Sony is making investments in 4K to enhance quality of content. This goes a long way to convince people to be in the TV business,” he said.

     

    During his keynote, he pointed out that tax benefits to shoot in different countries act as a great booster.

     

    Talking about the millennial kids, he said that they are not obliged to watch content when they are told to watch. “There is more opportunity to watch content today,” he said, adding that TV viewing is going up because of the great content.

  • “Star India will prove to be a game changer for us”: James Murdoch

    “Star India will prove to be a game changer for us”: James Murdoch

    CANNES: 21st Century Fox co-chief operating officer James Murdoch has lots of hopes from Star India. During his keynote on day one of the ongoing MIPCOM 2014, he said, “If we continue to innovate and lead in India, it will prove to be a game changer for us. It is the number one network in India.” He further stressed that the India business is really doing well for them and so was Sky in the UK.

     

    Murdoch believes in giving freedom and creating a company which backs talent. “At 21st Century Fox, we aspire to be one of the biggest homes for creativity and storytelling. We want to be a place where we can attract some of the best talent and encourage them to take risks, when they can’t take it anywhere else,” stressed Murdoch.

     

    21st Century Fox which is in different businesses, right from television to movies to cable and satellite, believes that the main business at the end of the day is of digital video and about story telling. “A lot of barriers in different lines of our business is breaking down. The challenges in terms of strategies and customer behaviour is similar from place to place and business to business,” he added.

     

    The biggest media giant believes in giving its executives and talent the freedom to think and create. “The culture that we are creating is that right from Mumbai to LA, the executives should have the confidence for risk taking and do great story telling,” he said. The company believes in empowering people to do great business.

     

    Murdoch laid a lot of emphasis on taking risks. “Larger companies have the ability to take risks. We learn lessons along the way. As a company we have made investments in challenging businesses. We are trying to create a culture where people understand that it is better to take risks, even if you get it wrong, at least you have tried. Great successes come from great risks. We have a culture where we do not get traumatised with failures.  We want to be a place where people feel that they can be backed,” he announced.

     

    He feels that all of Fox’s business is of risk. “Investing in original programming is the biggest risk we take, as investing in original programming means delaying some profits for the company,” he said while giving example of Simpsons, which they made and then acquired for cable syndication in the US. “When we took the step, we didn’t know how customers would react to it.”

     

    “These are the sort of risks one needs to take. I love the moment in the business when you say, ‘Holy Cow, we did it!’” he stressed.

     

    The son of media baron Rupert Murdoch, also spoke about the Shine and Endemol joint venture. “We saw opportunity in merging with Endemol. This is a business which will benefit from scale, breadth and diversity of creativity. Both Shine and Endemol have a great future.”

     

    Murdoch feels that in a creative business, one cannot over-synergise. “You have to allow people to run their own show.”

     

    According to Murdoch, consolidation in infrastructure business of cable and television has begun. “The upstream business will see further consolidation. People will seek to invest more in programming, because they see value in it,” he said.

     

    He also touched upon the most talked about collaboration between Time Warner Cable and 21st Century Fox, which did not take place.  “We had thought that the combination could be exciting. It was an opportunity at a moment in time. Given the nature of these things, we didn’t want to get into things like hostile takeovers and so moved out.”

     

    The company will soon be completing the merger of its three Sky businesses in Europe: UK, Germany and Italy. So why merge the three, he said, “Each one of them in their lifecycle has done really well. There are a lot of common things they do. We feel that together there is a huge opportunity to accelerate the business. Also with this they can create great stories. In Europe there is great opportunity for studio business.”

     

    According to Murdoch, consumers like bundling, because that drives down prices and consumption up. “People will bundle things in different ways and the stack will be re-ordered. Subscription TV is alive and kicking, and it is changing, driven by competition,” he said.

     

    He is happy when customers surprise him. “We need to create authenticity in the content. Customers are being better served today.”

     

    He concluded by saying, “TV industry has been very progressive and we need to be pacesetter.”

  • Fremantlemedia to hypnotise broadcasters at MIPCOM 2014 With Stars Under Hypnosis

    Fremantlemedia to hypnotise broadcasters at MIPCOM 2014 With Stars Under Hypnosis

    CANNES: FremantleMedia is promising to put TV buyers into a trance as it has acquired the global format rights (excluding French speaking territories) to Satisfaction’s Stars Under Hypnosis.

     
    During the show, eight celebrities surrender themselves, and their minds, as they enter the world of hypnosis and undertake a series of experiences that hope to amuse and amaze audiences. The French version of Star Under Hypnosis is produced by Arthur for France’s TF1, featured the talented and gifted hypnotist Messmer. The TV event captured audiences and featured of a mixture of live stage events with a studio audience and pre-recorded segments. Having aired over a two hour slot on TF1, the show launched to 5.1 million viewers and outperformed its network share by 27 per cent; 34 per cent in the commercial target and 50 per cent among younger adults.

    FremantleMedia director of global entertainment development Rob Clark said: “Stars Under Hypnosis is a fantastic new entertainment format which made me laugh from start to finish. The format is ideal for any network looking for a broad family entertainment show.”

    The Television Agency producer and founder of Satisfaction, Arthur Essebag added, “Satisfaction is very happy to work with FremantleMedia on Stars Under Hypnosis, and is sure they will do an amazing job selling it all over the world.”

    The French version of Star Under Hypnosis featured a variety of experiments that showcased Messmer’s hypnosis powers. Guests were transported by Messmer’s voice and took part in tasks such as hypno-transportation – where the celebrity is hypnotised, transported to an unknown location and then woken to find themselves in a strange and awkward situation, a presenter suddenly being able to speak Chinese and being attacked by imaginary insects, a celebrity hypnotised into thinking that he is a burglar and having the irrepressible desire to steal everything in sight, guests of the show thinking that they are naked on live television and guests being made to think that they are cavemen and whilst being chased by mammoths. Each celebrity was able to watch videos of themselves under hypnosis for the first time during the live TV show.  

     

  • MIPCOM 2014: Discovery Italia and Xilam Seal an output deal in Italy

    MIPCOM 2014: Discovery Italia and Xilam Seal an output deal in Italy

    CANNES: Building on the rapid success of brand animated series such as Oggy and the Cockroaches and The Daltons on K2 (the Discovery Italia free-to-air channel targeting kids 4-14 filled with action, adventure and pure entertainment) Award-winning French animation studio Xilam and Discovery Italia have signed an Output deal for the upcoming years.

     
    In a move to strengthen Discovery Italia’s animated comedy line-up and secure access to Xilam’s unique expertise in the field, this comprehensive trade agreement includes 14 series, ie a volume of 450 half-hour programs. In short:
     
    –       250 half hours from Xilam’s library, including Oggy and The cockroaches, The Daltons, Space Goofs, etc.
    –       120 half-hours of series currently in production, including Hubert and Takako, Zig and Sharko (season 2), The Daltons (season 2), etc.
    –       80 half hours, i.e. 3 new series to be produced by Xilam in 2015-2016.

     
    “Building a partnership with Xilam was unavoidable. They are the masters of animated comedies and K2 in the reign of fun,” said Discovery Italia programming and content acquisition director Loredana Di Domenico.

    Xilam founder and president Marc du Pontavice believes that signing deal with Discovery kids is important since K2 is a tremendous job giving exposure to Xilam’s series and this cooperation is going to bring more and more fans to its brand titles.

     

  • MIPCOM 2014: Spark, Astro Malaysia & Moving Visuals join hands to launch Spark Asia

    MIPCOM 2014: Spark, Astro Malaysia & Moving Visuals join hands to launch Spark Asia

    CANNES: Spark, Astro Malaysia and Moving Visuals International (MVI) have signed a joint venture to set-up Asia’s first dedicated HD factual and documentary channel, Spark Asia.

     

    The JV was signed on the first day of MIPCOM 2014.

     

    The channel, which will go live in the first half of 2015, will offer a wide variety of exclusive Asian and global HD content. In addition, Spark Asia will empower the local community of producers and filmmakers by offering an alternative platform to showcase their documentaries and through various training initiatives.

     

    Leveraging on the strengths of its joint venture partners, the new channel will have both linear TV and digital content that will resonate among audiences across Asia. Spark Asia will promote knowledge; celebrate Asian values and traditions and bring Asia to the world in an exciting way. The content will include genres like science & technology, exploration, history, environment, nature and wildlife. The channel will also draw its programming from the vast library of Autentic and ZDF Enterprises.

     

    Asia is the latest launch of the factual entertainment brand Spark, which is also available in Eastern Europe as well as in Africa.

     

    Astro Malaysia CEO Rohana Rozhan said, “As one of Southeast Asia’s leading content and consumer companies, Astro is always exploring new ways to meet the audiences’ changing preferences. With the growing interest in Asian content, there is a huge opportunity in Asian factual content that resonates not only with audiences in Asia but around the world. In line with our strength in the creation of IPs and content brands we believe that the aggregation of Asian-centric stories and factual content in an Asian branded documentary channel is timely and has tremendous potential. This joint venture with like-minded partners enables Astro to take a stake in content that will resonate in Asia and around the world.”

     

    MVI director Galen Yeo added, “As the world’s most populous continent, Asia has long deserved a channel to harness its thriving diversity of culture, history, people and stories. We are pleased to work together with Spark GmbH and Astro on this landmark venture to promote Asian documentary filmmaking, and provide producers a unique platform that will support and promote their work to audiences all across Asia. Spark Asia welcomes opportunities to collaborate and work together with storytellers from around Asia and the world.”

     

    Spark GmbH CEO Patrick Hoerl said, “Being close to our viewers’ lives and hearts has always been at the core of the Spark brand. We can only deliver on that promise, if we team up with the best experts in our business in each region we operate in. It’s hard to think of better partners than Astro and Moving Visuals for a truly Asian channel.”