John Medeiros
Chief Policy Officer
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Well, it didn’t take long for the doors to start slamming in SE Asia…….Indonesia’s market-leading telecom provider, the state-owned PT Telkom, announced it would block its consumers from receiving Netflix content, based on the newcomer’s lack of compliance with government mandates on content censorship and tax payments. (Might it also have something to do with lack of a commercial agreement between the telco and Netflix?) Anyway, never mind censorship…..The Hollywood Reporter opines that the real challenge for Netflix is finding local-style content to appeal to fragmented audiences overseas. TelecomAsia agrees, saying local TV services can be expected to rely on local content to try and beat Netflix at its own game. The Star says that in Malaysia, Netflix’s big problem will be poor broadband connectivity: “a good streaming experience is critical, and this is lacking in many parts of Malaysia.” And the South China Morning Post collected some facts to demonstrate the problem for Netflix caused by patchwork licensing: the Hong Kong Netflix catalog has fewer titles than the Antarctica catalog, says the Post. What do penguins watch, anyway? |
Christopher Slaughter
CEO
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The Lunar New Year holiday is fast approaching, and with it comes… The Super Bowl. Okay, that’s a totally spurious connection that has nothing to do with the fact that Denver is my home town. But to be fair, I was also born in North Carolina (truth), so really, I win either way. Not that I’m betting anywhere near as much on this game as the advertisers, some of whom are reportedly spending north of US$5 million a pop for a 30-second spot. That’s enough money to make sure those spots are pretty special, and in some cases, even worth issuing previews to heighten the buzz. Of course, the question that gets asked every year is whether it’s worth it; the fact that companies are blatantly breaking outdoor advertising laws in San Francisco with Super Bowl-related ads seems to partly answer that. |
Kevin Jennings
Vice President, Programme
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On a somewhat related note, animal rights activist group PETA has made itself famous for shock tactics, so it should come as no surprise that the organization’s latest ad –which was set to debut during the Super Bowl– has been banned from TV. Another example of getting your message across as the ad has gone viral – perhaps that was the plan all along as it’s plain for all to see that this would never have made it thru the plethora of TV regulations. The USA does have content regulations, for free-to-air TV but not for cable…..never mind for OTT services! A warning of graphic content but you can view this NSFW ad here. |
Mark Lay
Vice President, Singapore
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For any of you who have the responsibility of directing how your media company moves forward, I strongly suggest that you read Age of Abundance: How the Content Explosion Will Invert the Media Industry. "Over the past century, technological advancements have massively reduced the cost and time needed to create and circulate content. Though this has liberated artists, consumers are now drowning in a virtually infinite supply of things to watch, listen to and read. The answer to a world where attention is the key constraint, not capital or distribution, isn’t Big Media – it’s the Influencer Curator.” |
John Medeiros
Chief Policy Officer
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There’s a policy lesson for other countries in the coverage of 20th Century Fox’s new deal with iQiyi, for online distribution of studio content in China: You can expect to see lots of deals, for domestic as well as international content, when the government becomes less tolerant of rampant piracy, as has China in the last couple of years. (Now if only China would become less tolerant of the black box makers and pirate app streamers who are ruining markets in the rest of the world……) |
Mark Lay
Vice President, Singapore
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"Making money from advertising is really hard.” Truer words have never been spoken about online video. That’s why Vimeo (which doesn’t sell advertising) will apparently be launching a subscription service in the next few months. "The service will work a lot like Netflix—except stocked with the high-minded independent videos and documentaries for which Vimeo is known”, said Chief Executive Officer Kerry Trainor. Check out the Vimeo blog on how to earn more without ads, including their handy calculator. But with Netflix, Amazon, HBO Now, Hulu, iFlix, Hooq, Youtube Red, Vessel, etc. etc. all wanting a few bucks a month, possibly Trainor will soon be saying, “making money from subscription is really hard.” |
Jane Buckthought
Advertising Consultant
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Content-led marketing can significantly improve consumers’ positivity towards advertising brands, according to a study by the BBC. Around two thirds of respondents (64%) said they were happy to read content-led marketing as long as it was clear which brand was presenting it; the same proportion were happy to read it as long as it was clearly labelled. |
