Videoage International December 2019

14 December 2019 V I D E O A G E (Continued from Cover) ATF: Southeast Asia which is staged by its subsidiary, Reed MIDEM) was “The Streaming Offensive.” However, in looking at the guides for both events — the ATF will be held December 3-6, 2019 in Singapore, while MIPCOM concluded its Cannes, France event in October — one notices that there aren’t any OTT companies exhibiting outside those related to traditional studios or production companies (i.e., Disney, CBS, NBC, Warner Bros., etc.). Netflix, Amazon, Roku, Apple, Google Play, etc., do not exhibit. Instead, they participate mainly as buyers. NATPE Miami, on the other hand (see separate story) has learned its lesson and themed its convention, “Linear Plus,” to underscore the invaluable contributions and the viability of appointment television,whichdrives international sales and, most importantly, the market itself. It is also interesting to review the ATF’s brochure to gauge the market organizers’ conference-based strategy. First, it lists some 46 “digital platforms,” none of which are exhibitors. Second, the organizers promote the event’s “networking opportunities” in the brochure, as though participants are there looking for new jobs. Third, the brochure touts its conferences as attracting “thought-leaders,” listing some 19 executives who will be speaking at various times. Nowhere are the buying and selling aspects of the event to be found in the brochure. Another tell-tale sign of the ATF’s conference- based strategy comes from the organizers’ inde- fatigable and efficient PR agents who constantly bug journalists — including during weekends and holidays —with story ideas and “suggestions.” One of these pitches proposed providing VideoAge with a list of nine executives who would be speaking at the ATF, and would be available for interviews. Of these, only two were exhibitors, one of whom was Chris Knight of Canada’s Gusto Worldwide Media (see his comments below). In addition, during MIPCOM, ATF represen- tatives sought to explore the possibility of setting the tone of VideoAge ’s reports (to facilitate the writing, they said). This offer was declined as we explained that VideoAge is the TV industry’s mirror. We reflect what is out there, including the opinions of market organizers. The ATF has the advantage of taking place in Singapore: a crossroads for all of Southeast Asia (SEA). This is in addition to its identity as SEA’s financial hub, and its desire to become SEA’s media center, a designation now shared between Hong Kong and Tokyo. In terms of buyers, Singaporean companies generated most of the hype at last year’s market with 40 companies in attendance, followed by Indonesia with 38, Hong Kong with 23, and China with 19. Preparations for the ATF’s 20th anniversary celebration this year were already underway at last year’s ATF. Organizers had a TV crew walking around recording participants’ opinions and suggestions for this year’s event. Officially, more than 5,600 delegates from 58 countries, representing close to 770 exhibiting companies, including from the Philippines and channels, including both FTA and pay-TV, are still dominating our sales as a whole.” Similarly, Salmi Gambarova of Turkey’s Kanal D International, said that the “majority of our sales are linear.” She added, however, that “the growth of digital is obvious and inevitable and hence digital sales are expected to grow in parallel to this.” From Canada, Chris Knight, president and CEO of Gusto Worldwide Media, reported that for his company the ratio of linear-to-digital sales is 65 percent to 35 percent in favor of linear. ABS-CBN’s Wincess L. Gonzalez, Sales head for Asia and Latin America, said, “In Asia, due to the high-volume requirement of OTT players, the ratio of sales to linear and sales to digital is 1:3, or 25 percent linear, 75 percent digital.” Alessandro Venturi, International Content Sales manager at Mondo TV, remarked, “Until a few years ago the gap between linear and digital was unbalanced in favor of linear. Today that is no longer the case: digital is making strong headway.” Venturi continued, “Given the company’s policy of developing an L&M business around leading brands, linear rights still remain an important stage in terms of guaranteeing the achievement of a specific rating.” In terms of market stability, Barcelona explained that GMA doesn’t do business in Hong Kong — which is experiencing some social unrest — and that the rest of Southeast Asia is a stable market. “Our business is with clients from Myanmar, Cambodia, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, and Indonesia,” she said. Venturi concurred, saying, “It is a market with exceptional potential, and, despite the recent events in Hong Kong, business in that area does not seem to be affected. Mondo TV is very confident that it will continue to have an excellent and proactive role in addressing a market where it has historically established good cooperation bases but where much can still be done.” Dursunov furthered, “The recent events in Hong Kong have not affected our business so far, since the countries we mainly work with are Malaysia, Bangladesh, and Indonesia. In general, this is a relatively stable market for us, but trends can always change.” Gusto’s Knight also sees “absolute” stability in Southeast Asia. “We all hope for a peaceful resolution of issues in Hong Kong, but Gusto currently enjoys great success in Singapore and the Philippines. We look forward to announcing other Southeast Asian partnerships at the ATF,” he concluded. “Southeast Asia is andwill always be an integral part of our business,” commented Gonzalez, adding: “No matter what current situation any of its countries is under and despite the shift to digital, it remains an important and stable market for us.” “Turkish content currently remains brand-new for some markets in Southeast Asia,” said Kanal D’s Gambarova. “It isn’t possible to disregard local instability or unrest, and we have to be flexible and patient when dealing with such markets.” Poland, joined the list of 19 official pavilions, to participate in the event. The number of content buyers was estimated at 1,000. This year’s event will start on December 3 with a “Leaders’ Summit,” while the market floor and conferences will open the following day. It will conclude on December 6. Going back to this year’s streaming theme, Roxanne J. Barcelona, vice president of GMA Worldwide from the Philippines, commented that “95 percent of our sales are linear.” Ismail Dursunov, deputy general manager of Calinos Entertainment, found, “Despite the fact that the world has been becoming more digital in recent years, our share of sales to linear The buyers’ area at ATF 2018 The Marina Bay Sands complex houses ATF’s headquarters. The ATF has the advantage of taking place in Singapore: a crossroads for all of Southeast Asia ... which has a desire to become SEA’s media center.