10 After a trip to Singapore in December for the 15th annual Asia TV Forum and Market (ATF) participants likely returned to their respective countries feeling like they’d overdosed on Christmas carols. So pervasive was the commercial aspect of Christmas in this tropical Asian city-state that no corner was spared; whether it was a Chinese, Indonesian, Thai, Malaysian or Vietnamese store. However, the atmosphere was different inside the large Marina Bay Sands Complex where ATF was held, this year on the fourth and fifth floors, which offered more space than the traditional ground floor. There the mood was somber and not as joyous as on the levels below, which were packed with high-end stores and restaurants (naturally, all playing a continuous loop of Christmas carols and American Christmas songs). As was the case last year, the four-day TV trade show opened with an afternoon welcoming reception at the convention center. The reception on December 10 came a day after a series of conferences that market organizers were keen to promote, perhaps not fully appreciating the fact that most participants don’t travel up to 25 hours to listen to speakers dispensing wisdom that could have just as easily been consumed at home via streaming. As for the new location inside the convention center, comments were largely favorable as a result of the larger sun-lit space, even though the extra space rendered the corridors less busy. The fear of long escalators jammed with people (the elevators are far away and therefore not convenient) did not materialize, which left some exhibitors with mixed feelings because they were hoping for more people. After registering and attending conferences on the fourth floor, participants had the option of several additional escalators to conquer in order to reach the exhibition hall on the fifth floor where 106 stands (including 13 pavilions) were set up to accommodate 338 exhibiting companies from 30 countries. Program buyers attending ATF mostly reflected Singapore’s ethnic composition indicated above, where, out of 28 total participating countries, 17 were from Southeast Asia with 235 buying companies. In total there were about 270 buying companies registered for a ratio of 1.25 sellers per buyer. With 33 buying companies, Hong Kong sent the largest contingent after Singapore (34), followed by Indonesia (26), South Korea (24), Taiwan (22), Thailand (18) and Mainland China (16). The market continued to see a diminished presence of the once abundant Latin companies with only three countries and five companies exhibiting, plus Telemundo from Miami. However, ATF’s importance is increasing for buyers from the pan-regional TV channels, which are mostly based in Singapore. As reported in VideoAge’s preview story from our December 2014 Issue, exhibitors still tend to see ATF as a “small” market and therefore they allocate few marketing resources in terms of stand presence, sales force, advertising visibility and parties. Austria-based Fashion TV hosted one at the Foundry Club, Comarex at Kinki and NBCUniversal at the Mandarin Oriental. After attending a studio party at ATF, one could understand why independents cannot compete with the studios’ sheer presence both in terms of floor flare and recreational activities. These challenges come despite the fact that the trade show is unique in its form and calendar dates (December 9-12), and it has relatively little competition from other regional TV markets. Many sellers at the ATF tend to limit themselves to simply renting tables in the “Participants’” area, while timing their Singapore trip with local visits to content buyers in neighboring countries. In this respect, Starz Media’s Todd Bartoo suggested that perhaps NATPE should organize a U.S. pavilion similar to the one AFM organizes for its members at MIPCOM. Some companies that take large stands at markets such as MIP-TV opt for the bare minimum at ATF, but they still reported brisk pre-market sales and sales during the market, indicating that good content sells regardless of booth size. It has been reported that, technically, Asia is made up of 48 different countries, but less than 50 percent are represented at the ATF. Perhaps opening up the market to the missing countries could reverse the seller-buyer ratio to 1:2 and thus improve the trade show’s effectiveness among small- and medium-sized sellers. In addition, due to the large Asian Muslim population, ATF could expand its reach to the Middle East, a TV region now served by DISCOP Istanbul. A Good Asia TV Market, Still In Search Of An Elusive Success January 2015 ATF Repo r t The entrance to the new, and larger, exhibition area Together with the hard-to-find directory, at the ATF a special report circulated celebrating Robert Chua’s 50 years in the Asian TV business The new registration area The studios had a discreet, yet powerful presence at ATF. Pictured are NBCUniversal, Disney and Sony Pictures lined up on the fifth floor just before the main entrance Perhaps NATPE should organize a U.S. pavilion similar to the one AFM organizes for its members at MIPCOM.
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