28 May-10 june C NTENT 2018 www.contentasia.tv l www.contentasiasummit.com Discovery takes StarHub carriage row to Singapore viewers 11 channels in danger as renewal talks deadlock, new StarHub head Peter K could arrive on 9 July to a smouldering TV mess Discovery took its carriage renewal negotiations public this morning in an aggressive campaign designed to whip up public support for its channels in Sin- gapore – and (clearly) to pressure local platform StarHub into softening its current stand against the renewal of an 11-chan- nel bundle. As of today, seven Discovery channels are scheduled to go dark on 30 June, with the newly acquired four-channel Scripps bouquet headed into the abyss at the end of August. Discovery says it has already been for- mally notified by StarHub that its channels are not being renewed. In a response this morning, StarHub didn’t mention any formal notice, saying only that “we are in renewal negotia- tions... and we are doing everything pos- sible to arrive at a deal which would allow Discovery and StarHub to continue our partnership while offering our customers the same content at a reasonable price”. StarHub isn’t coming into this public fight with no firepower, saying it is acquiring fresh content to replace Discovery “in the event that negotiations prove unsuc- cessful”. Several new channels are in the works “to ensure our customers will continue to enjoy access to a good range of educa- tion and lifestyle channels,” StarHub says. Read on: page 2 C NTENTASIA 28 May-10 june 2018 Page 2. From page 1: Discovery/StarHub The 11 channels with questionable fu- tures on StarHub’s line-up are Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, TLC, Asian Food Channel (AFC), Food Network, Travel Channel, HGTV, Discovery Science, Dis- covery Asia, Eurosport and Setanta. Discovery’s multi-pronged campaign in- volves the launch of the keepdiscovery.sg site, complete with a countdown clock, along with the hashtag #keepdiscovery. On-screen, messages went live on Discovery’s linear channels on StarHub this morning telling subscribers that “Dis- covery, TLC, HGTV, Animal Planet and 7 other channels cease from 1 Jul-1 Sep”, and giving StarHub’s customer service hotline number. StarHub, which is taking a less confron- tational position, confirmed that the on-air Discovery channel screen grab messages were inserted into the channel feeds by Discovery. “Despite a downward trend in overall channels and programmes by calling the Discovery also issued a formal state- English pay-TV ratings (1 Jan-30 April vs StarHub Customer Service Hotline at 6820 ment, saying it was “fighting for diversity 1 Jan - 31 Dec 2017), the combined Dis- 1633,” the note said. of content and consumer choice in Sin- covery portfolio shows a 10% increase in At the same time, common industry gapore”. ratings this year, a strong indication that opinion is that Discovery probably has too The statement also said “all we are ask- viewers are not just engaged with our many channels in Asia, launched in an old ing for is the equivalent of a cup of coffee channels but that our content resonates grab for shelf space but now out of step per customer per month”. more than ever before. Viewership data with current trends for fewer better ser- Speculation is that Discovery is asking for also shows that our flagship channels vices that offer clear value for consumers. about US$8 million – and StarHub is offer- have strong affinity with the core target Many are urging both sides to calm ing about US$4 million. audiences,” Discovery said. down and take stock of wider issues and This coffee analogy sparked off another Today’s activity followed a weekend of the broad ecosystem, saying an all-out industry conversation thread, saying Dis- viral Whatsapp messages that seemed fight ending in entire bundles going dark covery might want to explore the range to be a cut-and-paste of an unsourced is “bad for all of us”. of coffee prices in Singapore, and per- internal Discovery document in which “This puts a sour taste between all haps look towards the S$1.40 high-potent the programmer said “we have unfortu- platforms and content providers... in mass-market Kopi-Gao rather than the nately reached an impasse as StarHub is Singapore and in other markets,” an- high-end S$5+ Starbucks. not prepared to pay fair value and have other programmer said on condition of Discovery, which was among the first announced their decision to cease trans- anonymity. brands launched on StarHub in 1995, also mission of all 11 Discovery channels on Vivek Couto, executive director of Me- said in this morning’s statement that its their platform”. dia Partners Asia (MPA) points out that channels make up a “crucial part of the “We have a responsibility to take the “StarHub has lost almost 20% of its cus- StarHub English pay-TV space and domi- extraordinary step of informing our viewers tomer base over the past nine quarters nated lifestyle with its channels comprising that they may lose all the Discovery chan- and S$40 million in video revenue”. a significant portion of the offering”. nels they are paying for on StarHub,” the “As it looks to recalibrate its content Numbers given included a reach of 1.3 text message read. budget and its consumer proposition million viewers in the past year for all 11 “This action is not one we take lightly the company needs to find a way to get channels, driven by five flagship services. and we apologise to all our loyal and more consumers taking video through The five drivers are Discovery Channel, passionate fans for the inconvenience. more accessible packages with simpler Animal Planet and TLC plus two Scripps We encourage StarHub customers to distribution and functionality,” Couto says. channels (Asian Food Channel and HGTV). voice support for their favourite Discovery More on page 3 C NTENTASIA 28 May-10 june 2018 Page 3. KIRI From page 2: Discovery/StarHub FROM MULTI-AWARD WINNING WRITER Animal Planet screen grab JACK THORNE “Content partners need to be part of that strategy with a share of revenues that reflect their investment and perfor- drama that captivates mance,” he adds. The broad picture, stretching back more than two dec- from talent that resonates ades, is that Singapore and Malaysia “have historically un- derwritten the Southeast Asia costs and revenues for most international broadcasters,” Couto says. “Singapore in particular has borne the brunt. The value for consumers peaked in 2013 with innovation across content, technology, packaging and distribution. Much of that video innovation has dimmed over the last five years and consump- tion has also moved online across key genres while piracy has increased along with cord cutting,” he adds. Both sides say they hope to return to the negotiating table, but as of this evening, no further talks have been scheduled that we know of. It’s also too early to tell how effective the consumer cam- paign has been. StarHub has not yet reported the volume of hotline calls. Meanwhile, StarHub is offering all costumers a free preview of 28 channels in five genres from 11 June to 15 July to “thank cus- tomers for their support” while “we continue to negotiate with Discovery”. The channels include AXN, Animax, BBC Earth, BBC Lifestyle, and A+E Networks’ History/Crime + Investigation/FYI/ SMALL TOWN. BIG MYSTERY. H2/Lifetime. The list is likely to expand “over the next few days”. Discovery’s position in Singapore follows about 18 months of tough international carriage negotiations in other parts of the world, including Sky in the U.K. An 11th-hour deal with Sky @all3media_int for all 13 channels was agreed in January last year after what all3mediainternational.com the industry described as an “explosive dispute”. Terms of the last-minute deal were not disclosed after Sky said Discovery was demanding a billion pounds (a number Discovery dis- missed), but both sides claimed victory. Industry bets today are split between those who think StarHub will cave and those who think they won’t. Meanwhile, a poten- tial hot mess smoulders in the vacant office of StarHub’s chief executive until new boss Peter K arrives on 9 July. 28 MAY-10 june 2018 page 3. C NTENTASIA 28 May-10 june 2018 Page 4. Japan’s NHK tops Vietnam bust-up leaves channels dark targets by 53% “Channels are losing their invincibility,” insiders say Pubcast boss says role & mission fulfilled A slew of international channel brands CTE is represented by Thaole Entertain- enters a third month with a hole where ment, which also has A+E Networks, Re- up to three million Vietnamese homes wind Networks HITS channel, CNBC, Out- NHK’s overall income rose ¥13 billion/ used to be following a carriage bust-up door Channel and Da Vinci Learning on US$119.5 million last fiscal year to ¥720.4 between local distributor Q.net and local its books, along with the Scripps channels. billion/US$6.6 billion, and the Japanese platforms VTVCab and Viettel. There’s no official word on what hap- pubcaster topped its target for receiving At the same time, others are benefit- pened between Q.net and VTVCab, but contracts by more than 53%, president ting as VTVCab (Vietnam Television Ca- sources say negotiations broke down over Ryoichi Ueda reported this month. ble Corporation) and mobile network pricing, and VTVCab’s refusal to bow to Receiving fees totalled ¥691.4 billion/ operator Viettel’s nextTV IPTV fill holes in demands for high minimum guarantees US$6.36 billion for the year, which is the their line ups with channels represented and an all-or-nothing channels approach.