ITV

Tag: Taiwan

  • Jason Monteiro joins HBO Max as GM for Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan

    Jason Monteiro joins HBO Max as GM for Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan

    Mumbai: WarnerMedia has appointed Jason Monteiro as general manager of HBO Max for Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan. He will temporarily report to HBO Max international head Johannes Larcher until a new managing director for the broader INSEAK region (India, Southeast Asia and Korea) is appointed.

    Monteiro will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of WarnerMedia’s direct-to-consumer business leading content experience, brand, marketing, subscriber management and digital partnerships. He will oversee the existing HBO Go streaming service and the eventual launch of HBO Max in APAC and the Middle East region, said the statement.

    “Jason arrives at HBO Max with a proven track record of building and growing subscription services across Asia and other important global markets,” said Johannes Larcher. “He is a passionate leader known for building and inspiring high-performing teams, and I am eager to see his leadership in action as he steps into his new role today.”

    “I could not be more excited to be joining this amazing organisation and in particular to lead the charge for HBO Max,” said Monteiro. “It’s going to be such a thrill to work with the people across WarnerMedia to bring the likes of Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, DC, Warner Bros, HBO favorites, new Max Originals and many more, to the viewers in Southeast Asia.”

    Moneteiro was previously associated with Arabic streaming service Shahid as director of advertising video-on-demand (AVOD). He was responsible for P&L for the free ad-supported tier offered by the service, ensuring that it had the widest user reach, user engagement, unique content offering and best digital video advertising solution for brands in the Middle East.

    Prior to that, he was associated with Southeast Asian streaming service iflix as chief marketing officer and general manager of Indonesia and Malaysia. He has also worked at telco majors such as Indosat Ooredoo and Vodafone.

  • Airbnb appoints Amanpreet Bajaj as GM for India, SEA, HK and Taiwan

    Airbnb appoints Amanpreet Bajaj as GM for India, SEA, HK and Taiwan

    NEW DELHI: Airbnb has announced the appointment of Amanpreet Bajaj as general manager for India, southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

    Bajaj brings a wealth of experience from playing a key role in the growth of Airbnb in India as country manager since 2015. In his expanded role overseeing southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan along with India, Amanpreet will be responsible for driving Airbnb’s strategy and long-term growth in some of Airbnb’s fastest-growing destinations in Asia-Pacific, which have grown on average almost 40 per cent YoY as of 2019.

    A business leader and web entrepreneur with a proven track record of building and scaling teams, Amanpreet brings with him years of rich experience in the digital space. Before joining Airbnb, he co-founded Letsbuy.com in 2010, which was acquired by Flipkart.com in 2012.

    “After a truly enriching five years at Airbnb, I am thrilled to take on an expanded challenge to ensure the long-term growth of Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan — some of the world’s most popular travel destinations,” said Bajaj. “I am looking forward to applying my learnings and experience to further engage and grow our communities of hosts and guests across this region, working hand in hand towards tourism’s much-needed recovery.”

    Bajaj assumes this new role as Mike Orgill, the former general manager for southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, returns to his former role as Airbnb’s regional policy director for Asia-Pacific. He will start his new role immediately and continue to report to Kum Hong Siew, Airbnb’s regional director for Asia-Pacific and chief operating officer of Airbnb China.

    “We are delighted to have Amanpreet take on an expanded role to lead Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan in addition to managing operations for India,” said Hong Siew. “Amanpreet has been instrumental in driving the growth of India as a key geography for Airbnb, and we are looking forward to partnering with him in this new chapter of his career, helping this region reach new heights.

  • Taiwan digital video still underperforming

    MUMBAI: A key meeting of government officials, political leaders, industry regulators, business heads and international and local experts in Taipei has called for removal of investment constraints in the multichannel video industry, and increased attention to online piracy, as the Taiwan market reshapes itself as an all-digital (and often mobile) regional communications hub.

    Participants in the meeting, convened by regional industry body CASBAA on June 22nd, heard that a major hurdle blocking further development of the Taiwan digital video industry is the rigid application of the “No state/No party ownership” rule prohibiting any “government official, political party, or elected official to invest, directly or indirectly”, in cable system operators. ** The meeting heard that the rule is interpreted to prohibit acquisition of cable equities by companies where their corporate parents, several levels up, have even a single share owned by a government entity.

    “Because of these rigid restrictions, only introduced in 2005, urgently needed mergers between telecom carriers (fixed-line and mobile) and cable TV operators have proved almost impossible,” said CASBAA CEO Christopher Slaughter at the end of the meeting.

    Slaughter added that the “No state/No party” investment rule flies in the face of global industry experience over the past 20 years. “This is preventing Taiwan from enjoying the most compelling aspects of the twenty-first century media revolution,” he said.

    Proliferation of online piracy networks were cited as another major problem.

    Representatives of start-up OTT operators trying to market bouquets of programming to Taiwan consumers observed they faced huge obstacles, as long as pirate networks based offshore were free to steal the programs and distribute them for free. They warned that the development of innovative, indigenous Taiwan programming was at risk.

    Earlier points made during the packed agenda for the 130 Taiwanese government and media-industry decision makers included lively discussion of pay-TV pricing issues (the basic tier programming package is tightly controlled) and the desire of the government to promote broadcast of more Taiwan programming.

    By Y/E 2017, online video in Taiwan should attract 15 per cent of US$120 billion in revenues accrued by TV/telecoms industry from traditional free-to-air TV, pay-TV and OTT services, according to research house MPA.

    In the meantime, the rising level of mobile broadband penetration in Taiwan is benefitting cable TV and IPTV operators such as the dominant state-owned telco Chunghwa Telecom as they develop their own local-language, multiscreen services.

    No longer limited to traditional TV viewing, Taiwan’s mobile broadband subscribers are downloading apps and logging-in to pay-TV programming of all kinds. The largest group of OTT followers in Taiwan are young women aged 18-34, some 42 per cent of the total. Together with 18-34 year-old males, almost 70 per cent of OTT subscribers are “binge” viewers.

    While the CASBAA meeting was generally upbeat, warnings of the cost of revenue leakage i.e. piracy) were a recurring theme. “The hugely damaging level of content piracy is not only holding back growth of both traditional pay-TV and innovative OTT offerings, but also the overall economic development of Taiwan as a whole,” said CASBAA chief policy officer John Medeiros.

    “Living with massive revenue leakage from piracy while blocking sufficient investment in the digital economy, Taiwan is falling behind its natural potential as a regional communications hub,” added Slaughter.

    (** 
The island of Taiwan and its 23 million people are served by 61 cable operators, 36 of which are controlled by five Multi-System Operators, plus 25 smaller independent providers. As of Y/E 2016, the five MSOs controlled 73% of Taiwanese cable subscriptions.)

  • Biswas new ESPN head – southeast Asia; Cooke expands role

    Biswas new ESPN head – southeast Asia; Cooke expands role

    MUMBAI: ESPN has added to and newly aligned its leadership team in the region to manage its expanding position in the region.

    Joyee Biswas has joined the sports media leader as the new head of Southeast Asia. Biswas will be based in ESPN’s offices in Singapore and report to Mike Morrison, vice president and managing director, ESPN APAC, based in Shanghai.

    Prior to joining ESPN, Biswas was managing director, Asia for Eleven Sports Network. He previously headed up sports content for Singtel TV as well as content acquisition and management for Fox International Channels and ESPN Star Sports.

    Additionally, Kelly Cooke will take on the expanded role of general manager, ESPN North Asia. Based n Hong Kong, Cooke will be responsible for helping manage ESPN’s long-term collaboration with Tencent in China, as well as the growth of partnerships, media distribution, ad sales, digital – focusing on China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

    In addition to Biswas and Cooke, ESPN has made additional personnel moves recently to align with its growing business.

    In support of ESPN’s relationship with Tencent, the company produces and delivers both original and adapted content such as video and coverage of sports including the NBA, global football and more. To provide focused oversight and coordination of that, ESPN has tapped Bowen Dou and Michael Huang to take on important new roles.

    Dou takes on the role of coordinating producer, international production. Based in ESPN’s Bristol, CT, USA headquarters and working closely with teams at both ESPN and Tencent. Dou will lead the coordination of all video production supporting the Tencent relationship, including original Chinese-language video such as “ESPN On Court” NBA content, original studio programming and other video production and adaption.

    Huang takes on the expanded role of deputy editor, ESPN Digital & Print Media. He will work in close coordination with ESPN’s worldwide digital and television editorial teams, leading a team focused on the creation and adaption of sports news and information content for the ESPN section on QQ.com, as well as identifying and telling sports stories originating in China that have resonance in other parts of the world.

    Marc Mallett, will now lead ESPN’s advertising efforts across Asia as the new Director of Sponsorship and Ad Sales, ESPN APAC. Based in Singapore, he will be focused on identifying new sales opportunities and clients, as well as the development of compelling advertising solutions for clients and agencies – like its ongoing TCL campaign – which leverage ESPN’s distinct content creation capability.

    ESPN Australia and New Zealand vice president and general manager Haydn Arndt continues to lead ESPN’s dynamic multiplatform business in Australia and New Zealand, as it sets viewership records on television and has established a digital leadership position.
    ESPN India and South Asia head and vice president Ramesh Kumar continues to manage and grow ESPN’s business in India and the subcontinent, including the Sony ESPN collaboration, as well as leading the ESPNcricinfo business globally.

    “These moves ensure that we have an outstanding and innovative ESPN leadership team in place to continue our growth in the APAC region,” said Morrison. “It’s an exciting time for ESPN in the region, with ground-breaking collaborations in China and India, a thriving multimedia business in Australia and New Zealand, further expansion and localization of the world’s leading digital sports business and continued exploration of new business opportunities in Southeast and North Asia.”

  • Biswas new ESPN head – southeast Asia; Cooke expands role

    Biswas new ESPN head – southeast Asia; Cooke expands role

    MUMBAI: ESPN has added to and newly aligned its leadership team in the region to manage its expanding position in the region.

    Joyee Biswas has joined the sports media leader as the new head of Southeast Asia. Biswas will be based in ESPN’s offices in Singapore and report to Mike Morrison, vice president and managing director, ESPN APAC, based in Shanghai.

    Prior to joining ESPN, Biswas was managing director, Asia for Eleven Sports Network. He previously headed up sports content for Singtel TV as well as content acquisition and management for Fox International Channels and ESPN Star Sports.

    Additionally, Kelly Cooke will take on the expanded role of general manager, ESPN North Asia. Based n Hong Kong, Cooke will be responsible for helping manage ESPN’s long-term collaboration with Tencent in China, as well as the growth of partnerships, media distribution, ad sales, digital – focusing on China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

    In addition to Biswas and Cooke, ESPN has made additional personnel moves recently to align with its growing business.

    In support of ESPN’s relationship with Tencent, the company produces and delivers both original and adapted content such as video and coverage of sports including the NBA, global football and more. To provide focused oversight and coordination of that, ESPN has tapped Bowen Dou and Michael Huang to take on important new roles.

    Dou takes on the role of coordinating producer, international production. Based in ESPN’s Bristol, CT, USA headquarters and working closely with teams at both ESPN and Tencent. Dou will lead the coordination of all video production supporting the Tencent relationship, including original Chinese-language video such as “ESPN On Court” NBA content, original studio programming and other video production and adaption.

    Huang takes on the expanded role of deputy editor, ESPN Digital & Print Media. He will work in close coordination with ESPN’s worldwide digital and television editorial teams, leading a team focused on the creation and adaption of sports news and information content for the ESPN section on QQ.com, as well as identifying and telling sports stories originating in China that have resonance in other parts of the world.

    Marc Mallett, will now lead ESPN’s advertising efforts across Asia as the new Director of Sponsorship and Ad Sales, ESPN APAC. Based in Singapore, he will be focused on identifying new sales opportunities and clients, as well as the development of compelling advertising solutions for clients and agencies – like its ongoing TCL campaign – which leverage ESPN’s distinct content creation capability.

    ESPN Australia and New Zealand vice president and general manager Haydn Arndt continues to lead ESPN’s dynamic multiplatform business in Australia and New Zealand, as it sets viewership records on television and has established a digital leadership position.
    ESPN India and South Asia head and vice president Ramesh Kumar continues to manage and grow ESPN’s business in India and the subcontinent, including the Sony ESPN collaboration, as well as leading the ESPNcricinfo business globally.

    “These moves ensure that we have an outstanding and innovative ESPN leadership team in place to continue our growth in the APAC region,” said Morrison. “It’s an exciting time for ESPN in the region, with ground-breaking collaborations in China and India, a thriving multimedia business in Australia and New Zealand, further expansion and localization of the world’s leading digital sports business and continued exploration of new business opportunities in Southeast and North Asia.”

  • Marinating Films’ Desi Explorers now set to explore Taiwan

    Marinating Films’ Desi Explorers now set to explore Taiwan

    MUMBAI: After exploring the cities and places of import in Jordan, Marinating Films Pvt Ltd has now stepped into Taiwan for the second part of its concept of web based tourism. The production house began its journey of the island nation on 11 June. Sarah Khan, Surbhi Jyoti and Jai Soni will be the new explorers of the Taiwan edition along with Sukirti Kandpal, Vrushika Mehta and Kishwar Merchant from the Jordan series.

    The Taiwan sojourn will be a 10 episodic series and will go live inline from mid-July on in-house YouTube channel. The Hindi travel show will focus on how a country can have different facets for different characters.

    The makers of Desi Explorers say that their team will be exploring Taiwan from north to south for 12 days. Some of the iconic sites that will be covered include Sun Moon Lake, Taroko National Park, Hualien and Taitung among others.

    Marinating Films producer Sunny Arora says, “Desi Explorers will give an insight about the countries that our team will travel and the celebrities they travel with. The viewers will get to explore a very different side of their favourite celebrities”

    The production house asserts that the Taiwan edition will be a journey that will stand out in the content flow of the digital world. It also has plans to take Desi Explorers to many other countries.

    Marinating Films has tied up with the Taiwan Tourism Board. On the promotion front, as in the Jordan season, the team is being accompanied by India TV and ABP News this season also. The making will be featured on popular shows Saas Bahu aur Saazish and Saas Bahu Suspense. Apart from news channels, the series will be pushed on celebrity social media platforms and the digital space. There is also an e-travelogue planned after the season which will be available to read online.

    Also, as in the Jordan series, the Taiwan series will also be shot with Canon 5D Mark III cameras’. The series is being directed by Prakash Kunjal and produced by Sunny Arora. The makers claim that this series has already cost close to Rs 1 crore.

    Marinating Films is rolling out trailers of the Jordan journey, while the episodes will go online every Friday.

  • Marinating Films’ Desi Explorers now set to explore Taiwan

    Marinating Films’ Desi Explorers now set to explore Taiwan

    MUMBAI: After exploring the cities and places of import in Jordan, Marinating Films Pvt Ltd has now stepped into Taiwan for the second part of its concept of web based tourism. The production house began its journey of the island nation on 11 June. Sarah Khan, Surbhi Jyoti and Jai Soni will be the new explorers of the Taiwan edition along with Sukirti Kandpal, Vrushika Mehta and Kishwar Merchant from the Jordan series.

    The Taiwan sojourn will be a 10 episodic series and will go live inline from mid-July on in-house YouTube channel. The Hindi travel show will focus on how a country can have different facets for different characters.

    The makers of Desi Explorers say that their team will be exploring Taiwan from north to south for 12 days. Some of the iconic sites that will be covered include Sun Moon Lake, Taroko National Park, Hualien and Taitung among others.

    Marinating Films producer Sunny Arora says, “Desi Explorers will give an insight about the countries that our team will travel and the celebrities they travel with. The viewers will get to explore a very different side of their favourite celebrities”

    The production house asserts that the Taiwan edition will be a journey that will stand out in the content flow of the digital world. It also has plans to take Desi Explorers to many other countries.

    Marinating Films has tied up with the Taiwan Tourism Board. On the promotion front, as in the Jordan season, the team is being accompanied by India TV and ABP News this season also. The making will be featured on popular shows Saas Bahu aur Saazish and Saas Bahu Suspense. Apart from news channels, the series will be pushed on celebrity social media platforms and the digital space. There is also an e-travelogue planned after the season which will be available to read online.

    Also, as in the Jordan series, the Taiwan series will also be shot with Canon 5D Mark III cameras’. The series is being directed by Prakash Kunjal and produced by Sunny Arora. The makers claim that this series has already cost close to Rs 1 crore.

    Marinating Films is rolling out trailers of the Jordan journey, while the episodes will go online every Friday.

  • Internet advertising to takeover television by 2018: forecasts ZenithOptimedia

    Internet advertising to takeover television by 2018: forecasts ZenithOptimedia

    MUMBAI: India, Indonesia and Philippines emerge as hot spots of ad spend growth as per ZenithOptimedia’s Advertising Expenditure Forecast of December 2015. These are the only three markets in which adspend is growing at double-digit annual rates . Between 2015 and 2018 the report estimates Philippines to expand by USD 1.2 billion dollars at growth rate of 13% a year, while’s India’s ad spends will increase to USD 3 billion also at 13% a year.

    Indonesia is expected to show the biggest growth at 17 % a year, touching USD 4.1 billion.

    Calling it Fast Track Asia bloc comprising of China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, the report further mentions that ad expenditure in Fast-track Asia will  grow at 8.9% in 2015, and at an average rate of 8.4% a year between 2015 and 2018, down from 14.7% a year between 2009 and 2014.

    Having said that, even with their growth rates slowing down China will continue to be one of the biggest contributor to the global ad spends which is estimated to reach USD 579 billion at a growth rate of 4.7 % by 2016. Between 2015 and 2018, China is expected to contribute 24 percent of the global  ad expenditure only preceded by the US at 26 percent. The UK comes third, contributing 7%, and Indonesia fourth, contributing 5%. Not to mention, the top five of the ten biggest contributor to the global ad expenditure is expected to come from the Fast Track Asia countries, by 2018. Overall, rising markets will contribute 54% of additional ad expenditure between 2015 and 2018, and to increase their share of the global market from 37% to 39%.

    “Growth of the global ad market is being driven by advances in technology, especially mobile and programmatic tech,” said Steve King, ZenithOptimedia Worldwide CEO Steve King. “But television remains by far the most important channel for brand communication, and online video, its digital offshoot, is increasing the audiovisual share of global display advertising.”

    The report also singles out internet to become the most preferred medium of advertising with internet advertising command 36.6 per cent of global advertising, overtaking the current largest advertising medium, television by 2018. Looking at the ad market as a whole, television’s share peaked at 39.7% in 2012, and is estimated at 37.7% in 2015, before falling back to 34.8% by 2018.

    The report highlights paid search as one of the key reasons for televisions loss of adspend share. Paid search is essentially a direct response channel (together with classified), while television is the pre-eminent brand awareness channel which is expected  to remain so for many years to come.  Television offers unparalleled capacity to build reach, while online video offers pinpoint targeting and the potential for personalisation of marketing messages. Both are powerful tools for establishing brand awareness and associations. As per the report, television will account for 44.7% of display expenditure  in 2015, and 42.9% in 2018.

    Within internet advertising, mobile advertising will emerge as the leading platform with it overtaking desktop and accounting for 50.2% of all internet advertising.

    Mobile advertising will total USD 114 billion in 2018, up from USD 50 billion in 2015. Moreover, according to the report, mobile advertising is responsible for almost all of the growth in global adspend. The report forecasts  it to grow at an average rate of 32% a year between 2015 and 2018, and to contribute 87% of all of the new ad money added to the global market during these years.

  • Vizeum to lead rebranding of BBC Knowledge to BBC Earth across Asia

    Vizeum to lead rebranding of BBC Knowledge to BBC Earth across Asia

    MUMBAI: Vizeum has been appointed to lead the launch of the BBC Earth channel across Asia.

     

    Consistent with BBC Worldwide’s global strategy BBC Knowledge was rebranded to BBC Earth on 3 October, 2015.

     

    In Asia, BBC Earth will be available in Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. There is also a BBC Earth block in Japan on Wowow.

     

    For India, BBC Worldwide entered into a joint venture partnership with Multi Screen Media (MSM) to launch the channel of BBC Earth. The co-branded channel will be called Sony BBC Earth.

     

    “It’s fantastic to have been appointed to launch BBC Earth in Asia and to expand Vizeum’s global relationship with the BBC. We look forward to working with the team at the BBC to deliver incredible content to consumers across the region,” said Vizeum Asia Pacific MD Duncan Pointer.

     

    BBC Earth offers premium content, original commissions and a world beating pipeline of factual programmes that define the human experience, our planet and the wider universe. The channel will deliver awe inspiring programmes in the BBC’s well-known world class style.

     

    BBC Earth launched with Shark, the history of the ocean’s greatest predators.

     

    The new channel will also see the Asia premiere of The Hunt, within 24 hours of the UK telecast. The blue chip landmark series, narrated by Sir David Attenborough and executive produced by award-winning producer, Alistair Fothergill, explores the dramatic world of predation as never before, taking an intimate look at the remarkable strategies of hunters and the hunted, exploring the challenges animals face and the tactics they employ.

     

    Other programmes on the channel will include the series Life Below Zero, which follows the lives of hard-working people living off the grid in Alaska, Infested in which Dr Michael Mosley explores the bizarre and fascinating world of parasites by turning his body into a living laboratory and deliberately infesting himself with them, and Human Universe, in which rockstar turned nuclear physicist Professor Brian Cox explores our place in the universe.

  • Ali Corporation aims to sell 20 million chipsets by December 2016

    Ali Corporation aims to sell 20 million chipsets by December 2016

    KOLKATA: Taiwan-headquartered Ali Corporation, a set top box (STB) solution provider, is looking at an order size of between 15 to 20 million chipsets by the end of December 2016.

     

    “India is a big market and we are looking at it keenly. Compared to other countries, it is different because branding which is important here. Our focus is to build around the brand and the technology in India. In phase III and IV of digitisation, we are eyeing between 15 million and 20 million chipsets,” Ali Corporation country manager Shivani Pratap Singh exclusively told indiantelevision.com.

     

    Singh was extremely gung-ho about the potential in India as the country’s television ecosystem digitises fully by December 2016.

     

    With India’s transition from analogue to digital service, many consumers need new, full-featured set-top boxes (STBs) for home viewing. This represents a major opportunity for regional operators and STB manufacturers, as only a portion of the roughly 100 million STBs in consumers’ homes have already been digitised according to published government figures.

     

    Adding to the STB growth is the trend of consumers placing more than one TV in their homes, as well upgrading from standard definition to high definition.

     

    The government had previously set a target of digitising the cable TV services in the entire country by December 2014. However Information and Broadcasting Ministry recently issued a notification as per which the deadline for the areas which came in phase III was extended from 30 September 2014 to 31 December 2015 and phase IV for December 2016 as was also first broken by indiantelevision.com.

     

    “By December 2014, we were looking at 5 million chipsets. Due to the delay in digitisation, the clients also delayed it,” he said. If an order of 2 lakh had been placed, clients have picked up nearly 10000 to 20000 chipsets and left the remaining for later.

     

    Demand had grown down due to digitisation delay but Singh says that it is always balanced by the international market demand.

     

    The company supplies chipsets to most of the big players in the industry.

     

    “We at Ali, have our own system in place; our chip sets are reliable, cost effective and when the technology is upgraded, we keep on updating ourselves,” concluded Singh.