Videoage International December 2018

19 buying of TV content). And, after 19 years, it still suffers from many no-shows, difficulties in securing appointments with buyers, and unresponsive follow-ups. But business does get done at the ATF, albeit somewhat differently than ditional Marina Bay Sands Convention Center. Like many other markets in this day and age, the ATF is often criticized for emphasizing its sidekick shows (i.e., conferences) at the perceived detriment of the main show (the selling and at other markets like MIP-TV or MIPCOM, both of which are organized by two separate divisions of the same conglomerate: Relx Group (formerly Reed Elsevier). A 15-year veteran of the SEA TV market also re- ported new challenges facing sales to Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and especially South Korea (“where sales are almost nonexistent”). Plus, he said, “acquisition personnel are constan- tly changing.” Another bit of freely dispensed advice for first- time exhibitors is to not rush into getting large booths, so as to avoid the risk of being disappointed with the ROI. The ATF offers a variety of low-cost options to those sellers in order to help them get betteracquaintedwiththe insandoutsof themarket itself, the region’s rather complex marketplace and its business environment, and the buyers’ ways of doing business. This strategy is considered a sure bet for ATF organizers so the exhibitors are satisfied and return the following year — perhaps with a larger presence. Looking at last year’s stats, the market had 760 seller companies and a total of 1,000 buyers, giving a ratio of 1.3 buyers per each selling company. But in actuality, the ratio is lower since multiple acquisition executives represented each buying company. The market also registered 5,500 participants from 54 countries. It is estimated that of the total partici- pants, the actual number of execu- tives involved in the process of sel- ling and buying is 3,500. The same number of participants and countri- es are expected this year. In mid- November, the top five participants in market representation of buyers were: China, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea, and Vietnam. A puzzling statistic that ATF officials release annually is the amount of business done at the market, which last year was valued at U.S.$289 million, and which would average $380,000 per exhibitor. According to ATF organizers, this figure is based on information provided by buyers and sellers in response to a survey conducted onsite. While deals are clearly the goal of the event, ATF market orga- nizers also rely on exhibitors to make the conference portion more meaningful to sellers and buyers. As such, the ATF has collaborated with All3media International once again to bring about the Formats Pitch. The pitching competition fe- atures original non-scripted enter- tainment formats for development and export. Last year’s winning format, Hit It , has successfully aired in Singapore and is represented by All3media International. Finally, in line with the Singa- pore Media Festival’s Country of Focus initiative, the ATF and its sister event ScreenSingapore will cast a spotlight on the Philippines this year. Similarly, the ATF’s Lea- ders Summit will feature a C-level panel that places a spotlight on the country. ATF Preview December 2018 V I D E O A G E TwentiethCentury Fox TVDistribution’s EffiEustace, Gina Brogi (Continued from Cover) MARINA BAY SANDS | SINGAPORE 4 DEC 2018 ATF Leaders’ Summit 5-7 DEC 2018 Market. Conference. Networking Events Held in conjunction with: An event of: Produced by: Supported by: Held in: www.asiatvforum.com