Ja n u a r y 2 0 1 1 ATF Pleased But Not Thrilled In its own unique way the 11th annual Asia TV Forum (ATF) can be considered a success. Officially, the trade show –– held in its traditional Singapore venue –– boasted 850 companies from 50 countries and a total of 2,600 participants that generated growth in all categories compared to 2009. Sellers were up 14 percent and buyers were up 18 percent. Then there are the unofficial reports, with a company from Germany that vowed not to go back in 2011, distributors like Venevision and Rede Record that did not return, and exhibitors who did not get many confirmed appointments. Then again, there were companies such as Telefe that pre-scheduled 15 appointments a day for the three-day market. Others — like TPI, which returned after a few years absence — reported 25 appointments, which, by the way, constituted the average number of appointments per exhibitor. With 13 pavilions, the impressive part of this ATF was undoubtedly the record number of umbrella stands, including the large ones from France, Korea and Japan. Spain and Italy were also present with a pavilion (Italy attended in a reduced capacity) together with those of Finland and China. In terms of buying, the Vietnamese were very active in their search for readymade product, India and Indonesia were on the hunt for formats and China was looking for co-productions. The market was sprinkled with six seminars and four parties, including the opening night, care of Germany’s Deutsche Welle, Korea’s cocktail reception and France’s artsy reception at the Civilization Museum. The event also featured an Asian TV Award. As indicated in the photo on the right, Qatar’s JCC and Malaysia’s MDEC recorded a large presence. (Continued from Page 4) L. to r.: MDEC’s Adam Ham, Azmir Saifuddin Mutalib, Kamil Othman, JCC’s Christiane Salem, Mahmoud Bouneb, Ahmed Al Yehri Studio 100’s Patrick Elmendorff TV France’s Mathieu Bejot and RSI’s Beatrice Grossmann Off the Fence’s Tony Chow, Health & Lifestyle Channel’s Robert Chua (Continued on Page 8) Power Gets Re-Charged U.K.-based company Power Corp has been acquired by South African firm Sibido. In an interview with VideoAge, Jose Echegaray, Power’s Miami-based vice president of International Sales, Latin America revealed that the entertainment company was saved from bankruptcy by the deal, which will allow most Power executives to retain their jobs. Power, which is best known for its high-quality miniseries such as Crusoe, was privately owned by Justin Bodle since
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTI4OTA5