10-23 C NTENTASIA MARCH 2014 www.contentasia.tv l https://www.facebook.com/contentasia facebook.com/contentasia l @contentasia l www.asiacontentwatch.com ESPN deal with Outdoor Channel Exclusive agreement for IndyCar and X Games ESPN and Asia-based TV network, Out- door Channel, have sealed an exclusive pan-regional agreement for IndyCar Series and two X Games franchises – X Games Austin and X Games Aspen – in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, India, Mon- golia, South Korea and Taiwan, among other markets. The multi-year agreement involves joint promotion and marketing across South- east Asia. While exclusive regionally, deal terms allow for specific individual licens- ing agreements to be negotiated on a country-by-country basis. The deal, which will be announced this week, could be the first of other lin- ear channel collaborations with Outdoor Channel as ESPN moves further into its post-ESPN Star Sports (ESS) era in Asia. Gregg Creevey, the managing director of Outdoor Channel operator Multi Chan- nels Asia’s (MCA), said both properties were hugely successful in the U.S. and presented “enormous potential for growth in the Asia-Pacific region”. MCA’s content agreement with ESPN is part of Outdoor Channel’s 2014 push into more mainstream positioning with, among other shows, Ironman Asia Pacific cham- pionships, Australasian Safari, World Heli Challenge, Wild Spirits and the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championships. Since the end of the ESPN Star Sports joint venture in 2012, ESPN operated no ESPN-branded linear television channels in Asia. The company’s focus has been digital platforms, including ESPNFC and ESPNcricinfo. Last year, ESPN Digital Media said it logged almost 145 million views of ESPN videos in Asia Pacific, an 80% increase on the previous year. Asia Pacific traffic was up 18% last year. contentasia 10-23 March 2014 Page 2. Who was at... ContentAsia 8th birthday party in Singapore on 6 March Ryan Shiotani, BBC Worldwide Asia; Ling-Sze Donovan Mohlman, AMC/Sundance Channel Nicole Sinclair, CBS Studios Int’l; Matthew Ash- Gan, A+E Networks Asia; Greg Ho, Global; Jonas Engwall, RTL CBS Asia croft, Jeeyoung Lee, Shine Int’l; Kristan Rivers, Turner International Asia Pacific Entertainment Network Paramount Digital Entertainment Asia Pacific Vanessa Ching, Snell Group; Theresa Ong, Ripa Rashid, The iClif Leadership & Governance Soo Hui Lee, StarHub; Hui Keng Ang, Discovery; Andrea Peterson, The Walt Disney Centre; Darby Sanchez, GlobeCast Asia; Sony Pictures Television (SPT) Networks, Asia Company (SEA); Laura Wendt, SingTel Michelle Guthrie, Google Asia Pacific Jessy Tse, NBC Universal International TV Steve Burton, HBO Asia; Avi Himatsinghani, Lee Lih Fen, Disney; Colin Brown, Lucasfilm Distribution Singapore; Karen Lai, Rewind Networks Animation; Carol Sun, Disney; Carolyn So, Magdalene Ew, HBO Asia Rewind Networks Yoko Takashima, Allison Hashiba, Nippon TV Rajiv Dhawn, Steven Murphy, Jocelyn Little, Janine Campbell, Japan; Hani Sallim, GlobeCast Asia; NBCUniversal GroupM Entertain- Steven Dijkhulzen, Beach House Pictures Farah Rahman, Discovery Networks Asia Pacific Television Distribution ment (Asia Pacific) 10-23 March page 3. contentasia 10-23 March 2014 Page 4. HBO Go launches in the Philippines Streaming service signs exclusive deal with SkyCable HBO Asia’s HBO Go broadband stream- ing service rolls out in the Philippines on 10 March in an exclusive deal with major pay-TV provider SkyCable. This is HBO Go’s second market in Asia after Hong Kong, which launched last year. The HBO Go platform offers more than 1,000 hours of uncut, award-winning HBO and Cinemax original series on multiple Celestial Malaysian strongman Zarol “Baby Ox” Alfiyan gets tough Strongman stunt Malaysian pay-TV platform Astro and Mr Goodwin kicks off Asian channels operator Celestial Tiger with escape Girls Malaysia search Entertainment (CTE) kicked off a month- artist Jonathan devices 12 hours after the U.S. premiere long search for Malaysia’s toughest talent Goodwin; new and before they air on HBO channels in this month. action adventure se- the region. The “Are You Tough Enough?” campaign ries SAF3 about an elite rescue force; Titles include Game of Thrones, True launched with Malaysian strongman Zarol and Hero, with Takeshi Kaneshiro in a tale Detective, Girls, Veep and Strike Back. “Baby Ox” Alfiyan pulling 5,000kg – two of brothers who flee south to escape The service also offers unlimited ac- Hummers packed with Kix HD’s “Tough drought. cess to HBO’s library of movies, concerts, Troopers” girls – through city streets. Kix’s team of Tough Troopers will front documentaries and series, including Sex The hunt for the country’s 10 toughest the talent search across the Klang Valley. and the City and The Sopranos, along people is part of action channel Kix HD’s Contestants will compete in a series of with exclusive HBO Go behind-the-scenes strategy to own the ‘tough’ space. challenges, both physical and mental. content from productions such as Board- On-air, this involves mixed martial arts The 10 finalists will compete for the title walk Empire, True Blood and Banshee. properties such as BAMMA, which CTE of Malaysia’s Toughest and a prize of HBO Asia chief executive, Jonathan acquired first and exclusive, and Belator RM30,000/US$9,000. Spink, says the streaming service helps to 360. The action schedule also features The finale – billed as “the ultimate show- combat piracy and gives subscribers the reality shows such as The Great Escape, down of toughness” – takes place on 26 chance to watch newest episodes earlierWho asshrunk well as series my suchWho asBig The shrunkList?Incredible myApril in BigKuala Lumpur.List? than on the linear channel. Based on The Big List,$VLD·VGHÀQLWLYHSULQWGLUHFWRU\WKH&RQWHQW$VLDDSSOHWV\RXBased on The Big List,$VLD·VGHÀQLWLYHSULQWGLUHFWRU\WKH&RQWHQW$VLDDSSOHWV\RX Find out who’s who. Search and browse companiesFind out who’sand their who. key Search executives. and browse companies and their key executives. Access up-to-date contact details of broadcasters,Access up-to-datechannels, production contact details companies, of broadcasters, channels, production companies, content providers and formats rights holders.content providers and formats rights holders. Save contacts to your phonebook, or share Savecontacts contacts with colleagues.to your phonebook, or share contacts with colleagues. 5BQUPJOTUBOUMZDBMM FNBJM WJFXBDPNQBOZXFCTJUFPSMPDBUFBOPGmDFPOBNBQCONTENT5BQUPJOTUBOUMZDBMM FNBJM WJFXBDPNQBOZXFCTJUFPSMPDBUFBOPGmDFPOBNBQasiaMobile Who’s who, what they do, where to contact them All in ContentAsia’s The Big List directory app. AvailableAvailable FREE for a limited free time. for aAvailable limited FREE for time. a limited time. Coming soon Coming soon Who shrunk my Big List? Based on The Big List,$VLD·VGHÀQLWLYHSULQWGLUHFWRU\WKH&RQWHQW$VLDDSSOHWV\RX Find out who’s who. Search and browse companies and their key executives. Access up-to-date contact details of broadcasters, channels, production companies, content providers and formats rights holders. Save contacts to your phonebook, or share contacts with colleagues. 5BQUPJOTUBOUMZDBMM FNBJM WJFXBDPNQBOZXFCTJUFPSMPDBUFBOPGmDFPOBNBQ Available FREE for a limited time. Coming soon 10-23 March page 5. contentasia 10-23 March 2014 Page 6. CinemaWorld boosts line up with Zodiak slate Pay-TV/VOD focus on French prime-time drama from the horse's mouth There’s a lot the industry is holding its breath about this year – not least the release (or not) of return path data and how the whole information process is going to be managed (or not). We hear some pretty interesting viewer usage habits are emerging, as platforms in Asia start to get their big data ducks in a row. Word on the street is that delegates at MPA’s Asia Pacific Pay-TV Operators Summit (APOS) in Bali next month will be given sneak peaks Echoes from the Dead at some of the innovation and strate- gies around data and how platforms Zodiak Rights has sold pan-Asia pay- Johan Theorin, as well as a selection of are thinking about an environment that TV and VOD rights for seven titles to French prime-time dramas produced by gives them an unprecedented ability Singapore-based Asian movie outfit GTV. The French titles include 90-minute to hyper-target. CinemaWorld. drama, Jury Duty, about a murderer If this leap in transparency isn’t good The shows are from Zodiak production called up for jury duty in a trial in which news for every channel, it has to be a companies Yellow Bird, GTV and Touch- he is the real criminal; two-part mini great leap forward for a multichan- paper Television. series Agatha’s Double; Deadly Hitch, a nel industry that is hamstrung in many The titles include three-part crime se- 90-minute drama about a journalist cov- markets in Asia by either the absence ries, Murderland, a story told through the ering the death of a child in which he of a common currency or by the way eyes of three central characters, and is himself involved; Who killed Little Red available research is managed. 90-minute thriller Echoes from the Dead, Riding Hood, a four-part murder mystery; Channel bosses, who love the idea based on the book by Swedish author and two-part thriller Troubled Waters. of a robust common currency acces- sible to all, say this has the potential to level the playing field like little else in Soriano to star in GMA’s new soap the history of pay-TV in the region. After Eye on local move to limit foreign dramas in prime time all, what’s not to love about a system that shows what’s working and offers Philippines’ broadcaster GMA has signed foreign dramas were the ability quickly to change the things up award-winning local actress, Maricel unnecessary com- that aren’t. Soriano, to star in new prime-time soap petition for local TV The big question is how pay-TV plat- opera, Ang Dalawang Mrs.