The Interview and Simultaneous VOD and Theatrical Release

By CASBAA in Media, OTT, TV 0 Comment

The Interview, starring Seth Rogen and James Franco, has received more attention than anyone could have ever predicted. The relatively absurd political comedy was always meant to provoke, but few could have anticipated it would turn into a full-scale international scandal with real geo-political implications.   The entire affair may also be remembered as a tipping point that raised the awareness of corporate hacking and cyber-crime – two issues that every company, regardless of their industry, will have to deal with going forward.

From a commercial perspective, The Interview also became a high-profile test case in releasing films simultaneously on digital platforms and theatrically. Although it was not a true worldwide release, platforms originally limited the digital release to North America, the movie became a cause célèbre for freedom of speech and received an inordinate amount of press coverage. The box office and VOD figures are still being calculated, but will The Interview change how films are released?

The biggest TV industry story of 2014 was…

By CASBAA in TV 0 Comment

tv

(Photo by: SamsungTomorrow)

 

TV % advertising drops YOY, first time!
– Nick Binns, GroupM
Aereo. Technology challenges copyright. Copyright wins.
– Matt Pollins, Olswang
We need more Aereo’s for progress!
– Khush Kundi, Ericsson
Original content – made, owned and loved.
– June Tan, HBO

 

Please leave your thoughts, comments, feedback—or your own 6 word response to the question.

CASBAA Convention: The Disruption Debates

By CASBAA in Piracy, TV 0 Comment

“The average millennial will never own a pay TV subscription.”

With
Matthew Kurlanzik, Director Government Relations, Asia, 21st Century Fox
Sushant Sharma, Senior Business Development Manager, Accedo

 

“Pirate services are inadvertently building the pay TV market of the future.”

With
Matt Pollins, Associate, Olswang Asia
Khush Kundi, Head of Solutions, APAC, Ericsson

 

Wherever you stand on these provocative statements, everyone is wrestling with the effects of technology-driven disruption on their distribution strategies and business models. For some, these developments represent a huge opportunity. For others, technology-driven disruption will put their operations under intense and ever-growing pressure.

Host: John McLellan, Partner, Head of the Commercial & Media and Entertainment Department, Haldanes

Vietnam in View 2014 Monetizing OTT – Is Free the Best Price?

By CASBAA in Media, OTT, Technology, TV 0 Comment

 

With: •Benjamin Yun, VP Business Development SEA, Movideo •Nguyen Nguyet Phuong, Project Director, MyTV •Esther Nguyen, Founder & CEO, POPS Worldwide • Do Viet Hung, CEO, VTVlive

With: Benjamin Yun, VP Business Development SEA, Movideo; Nguyen Nguyet Phuong, Project Director, MyTV; Esther Nguyen, Founder & CEO, POPS Worldwide; Do Viet Hung, CEO, VTVlive

matt-kurlanzik

Matt Kurlanzik

21st Century Fox

Director, Government Relations Asia

 On September 11, 2014, CASBAA conducted its Vietnam in View summit in Hanoi that gathered many of the leaders of the TV and media industry to discuss the current state and future prospects of the Vietnamese market.    From market development and regulatory frameworks to TV production, the event was a great success and touched on many crucial issues.  One of the more provocative subjects was the future of distribution and consumption of Vietnamese content, and a panel of four industry professionals focused on over the top (OTT) video and attempts to monetize this content in Vietnam.The four speakers represented a variety of interests – from Movideo  an online video delivery platform, to traditional cable platforms entering the OTT space like My TV and VTV, to POPS Worldwide a multichannel network focusing on local Vietnamese content.   All the speakers agreed that OTT video is a tremendous opportunity and stressed that OTT video may allow “non-traditional” players to enter the video production and distribution business.The panelists also focused on the need for Vietnam to update its technological infrastructure to allow for high quality content and delivery in order to prevent buffering and a poor user experience.  Expanding 4G was cited as crucial to the development of OTT in Vietnam, but fixed internet connections also need to be improved before widespread OTT adoption may be possible.  According to Akamai, Vietnam’s average connection speed was 1.8mbps for Q4 2013, placing it at 113th place worldwide – and well below the 3.0mbps that American streaming device maker Roku recommends for HD quality content streams.

In concluding remarks, the panelists expressed that OTT in Vietnam:

  • will allow consumers to choose to watch on a number of devices
  • is still “chaotic at the moment”
  • will allow traditional pay TV operators to increase ARPU
  • is something media companies need to learn more about and join in

Los Angeles Screenings 2014

By CASBAA in TV 0 Comment
amit-malhotra

Amit Malhotra

Disney Media Distribution

General Manager – Media Distribution & Media +

 

 

 L.A. Screenings is held on the back of the N.Y. Upfronts where a dizzying array of Upfront presentations from all major networks to Madison Avenue have concluded with 54 new series (and counting) ordered for the 2014-15 season.

Hollywood Report quoted “Adaptations, political drama and genre plays are hot while those sitcom writers didn’t fare as well.”

L.A. Screenings, the annual television industry event that takes place yearly for a week in May, brings together major US TV Studios (ABC, FOX, WB, CBS, NBCUniversal and Sony) and over 1,500 TV buyers from all over the world for a week of screenings, presentations, parties and a little glamour in the City of Angels. Over the course of the Screenings, Studios showcase pilot episodes of the shows that will premiere in the fall in front of international television distributors, with the aim of selling international broadcast and/or distribution rights for these shows.

Disney Media Distribution, the international distribution division of the Disney ABC TV Group, which handles global sales for all series produced by ABC Studios, unveiled our new line-up of programming the day before the big week kicked off during our International Upfront at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank. Many of our key APAC/SEA clients, from pay TV partners like FOX, HBO, RTL CBS, AXN and A&E to free-to-air MNC (Indonesia), Media Prima (Malaysia) and MediaCorp (Singapore) and even digital partners like Samsung and FLY (Thailand) joined in the unveil and pilot screenings, and if I may add, excited by many new titles.

This is the week where their selections will determine the performance and ratings for their respective networks back home in our markets.

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Betsy Beers – Co-Creator “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal” with Keli Lee and Rob Gilby – Disney

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Kellie Lim – Disney, Brian Lenz – CTO/CIO Astro and Amit Malhotra – Disney

Below are some of the top shows generating some buzz from ABC Studios.

 

Key Programming Trends from This Year’s Screenings

1.  There are more Anthology series that have close ended story arcs which are being used as tentpole event programming
2.  Mid season shows continue to resonate and a lot of the key networks are holding their big tent pole shows for the mid season launch towards end of Jan / early Feb to coincide with the Feb Sweeps.
3.  With the every growing penetration of DVR’s and catch up TV online in the US, programmers are looking at audience shares across multi platform and on a Live + 7 day basis

 

HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER

DRAMATIC MYSTERY THRILLER

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A sexy, suspense-driven legal thriller about a group of ambitious law students under the tutelage of a manipulative criminal defense professor (Viola Davis) who may be a sociopath. The brilliant, mysterious professor becomes entangled in a murder plot that will rock their entire university and change the course of the lives of the students.

 

RED BAND SOCIETY

ENSEMBLE DRAMEDY

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Based on a format from Spain, this coming-of-age dramedy that explores, with dark humor, the daily lives of a group of teenagers living in a hospital who become unlikely friends. Set in the children’s wing of a hospital, the series chronicles the daily adventures of 6 teenagers, all long term patients who start “the red band society” to fend off boredom. They develop a bond that is fun, life-affirming and very inspiring in the midst of such difficult circumstances.

 

MARVEL’S AGENT CARTER

ACTION ADVENTURE

2014-06-19 Los Angeles Screenings_clip_image010

“Marvel’s Agent Carter,” starring “Captain America’s” Hayley Atwell follows the story of Peggy Carter. It’s 1946, and peace has dealt Peggy Carter a serious blow as she finds herself marginalized when the men return home from fighting abroad.Working for the covert SSR (Strategic Scientific Reserve), Peggy must balance doing administrative work and going on secret missions for Howard Stark all while trying to navigate life as a single woman in America, in the wake of losing the love of herlife – Steve Rogers. Inspired by the feature films

“Captain America: The First Avenger” and “Captain America: The Winter

Soldier,” along with the short “Marvel One-Shot: Agent Carter.”

I am sure everyone is also excited to know that your favorite shows are returning as well including “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal,” “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D,” “Resurrection,” “Revenge,” “Criminal Minds” and “Once Upon a Time.”

Personally this is the best part of my job to get closer to the content, the creators and the business of entertainment.

APOS 2014: TV Everywhere, Business Models Somewhere

By CASBAA in TV 0 Comment

bali-indonesia-rice-field

(Photo: Armando Torrealba)

shoggy

Saugato Banerjee

A+E Networks

Vice President – Strategy and Operations, Asia Pacific

 

 

 The annual gathering of the broadcast industry, Asia Pacific Operators Summit 2014 (a MPA Conference), brought an interesting mix of broadcasters, platform owners and content producers from all over the continent. As the participants slowly work off their hangovers, what did we really take away from the thought provoking sessions over the two days? 

a. The ecosystem is truly waking up to the challenge of shifting media consumption patterns. All players in the system recognize the challenge of increasing Pay-TV penetration rates exponentially as audiences get their entertainment fix through other pipes. The good part is that the industry seems to developing a collective will to see this as an opportunity and there is a lot of experimentation underway to figure out models that best suit their own needs.

b. Platforms are increasing their investment in local content and thereby increasing controlling their own destiny across the entire value chain. As much time was spent discussing their investments in local content as was in discussing growth rates, collaborations with channel partners and the ever-increasing cost of sports rights.

c. The localization bug seems to have an infectious spirit that has also affected the international channel providers. More than one network head seemed to chant the mantra of increasing audience share and creating a deeper connect with local markets.

d. The boldest proclamation had to go to the Chairman of Shanghai Media Group who declared that the current BesTV business model would be extinct in a few years. Given that BesTV is the largest IPTV platform in China, is listed on the stock markets and is wholly owned by the Shanghai Media Group, it was a statement designed to illustrate the direction of the Chinese entertainment market. The answer seems to lie in current mantra on every player’s lips – OTT.

e. India continues to vex and encourage. More than one session did not miss an opportunity to rail against the structural and regulatory imbalances, limited opportunities to extract the true potential from the market etc. And yet with digitization already having a positive impact, a pro-reform government on the horizon and the worst of the slump seemingly behind, there was more than a hint of optimism in the air.

APOS is often a venue for a lot of deal making on the sides and plenty more social interaction within the industry. The mood this year can best be described as guarded optimism. There is clear recognition that a lot needs to change with the way the industry presents itself to the consumer in order to stay relevant. But there is also optimism stemming from the fact we are in the golden age of story telling and content consumption. And who better to take advantage of this age than those who best tell the stories?