16 december 2019- 12 January 2020 16 Dec 2019 – C NTENT 12 Jan 2020 www.contentasia.tv l www.contentasiasummit.com Staff cuts close grim year for Media Prima “Transformation exercise” in full swing, company says Happy At the same time as it celebrated re- Layoffs span Media Prima’s businesses, cord box office for its animated feature including broadcast and print. C NTENT film Ejen Ali, Malaysian media company More than 540 people are reported to Holidays!is taking a break for the is taking a break for the Media Prima prepared to bid farewell to have been slashed from the payroll of holidays.holidays. WeWe willwill bebe backback hundreds of staffers in the latest round of Media Prima-owned New Straits Times onon 1313 JanuaryJanuary 2020.2020. job cuts. Press (NSTP), effective March 2020, ac- Staffers affected by the latest downsiz- cording to local media outlets. Quoting Here’sHere’s wishingwishing youyou thethe happiesthappiest ofof holidaysholidays andand ing were told today. NSTP National Union of Journalists (NUJ) allall goodgood thingsthings forfor 2020!2020! Media Prima declined to confirm the chairman, Farah Marshita Abdul Patah, exact number of people involved. The Star Online said 543 employees from Describing the new round of lay-offs as across Media Prima’s news platforms a “manpower rationalisation exercise”, were being axed. Media Prima said today (Monday, 16 De- Media Prima said the separation pack- cember) that affected employees would ages included job outplacement servic- “receive fair compensation in full”. es and career counselling. The intended rationalisation is part “The next phase of Media Prima’s busi- of the next phase of Media Prima’s ness transformation exercise will include “business transformation exercise” an- changes to the group’s business model nounced at the beginning of November and internal organisation structure,” Me- and scheduled to be complete in the first dia Prima said this morning. quarter of 2020. “This is to enable the group to be fu- The company said the new operating ture-proofed and sustainable given the structure and list of affected employ- uncertain macroeconomic conditions ees had been determined after con- and disruptive changes in the global Preview sultation with various unions and staff and local media sector,” the company organisations. added. Hotstar digs in in India’s non-metro areas 2020 Disney streamer reports 3X growth in consumption Asia’s definitive media content and services Disney’s Indian streaming platform, 400 million downloads this year, The report says non-metros are out- directory Hotstar, registered 300% growth in con- sumption this year compared to 2018, the stripping metro areas in terms of video platform said only days before a re-org consumption and regional content now that split the company’s television and accounts for 40% of overall content con- • Boat Rocker Studios (page 12) streaming businesses. sumption. • Fremantle (page 13) Following the exit of Disney/Star India 63% of total online entertainment con- MD Sanjay Gupta for a role at Google, sumption now comes from non-metro ar- • France 24 (page 14) K Madhavan takes over Star India’s TV eas, the report says. • SPI International (page 15) business while Hotstar will report directly The report also says lines dividing au- to Uday Shankar, Disney’s APAC presi- diences are blurring, with men now ac- • TV5MONDE (page 16) dent and chairman, Star/Disney India. counting for 40% of family drama view- According to Hotstar’s newly released ership. 41% of Game of Thrones viewers India Watch Report 2019, the streamer hit also watch Hindi family dramas. C NTENTASIA 16 dec 2019-12 Jan 2020 Page 2. Netflix to spend US$424 million on content in India in 2019/20 Netflix will spend about Rs3,000 crore/US$424 million develop- ing local content in India in 2019/2020, CEO Reed Hastings told delegates at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi this month. “We are really investing in becoming more Indian in the content offering,” he said, adding that the global streamer was “only getting started” in India and that “the centrepiece of our story is content”. Netflix, which rolled out a low-cost mobile-only plan for India in July this year, has not disclosed how many subscribers it has in the country. Hastings said Delhi Crime and Sacred Games had been two of Netflix’s biggest successes in India. CAN THE TIDE BE TURNED ON THIS GLOBAL CATASTROPHE? Dedicated Islamic channel will counter Islamophobia, Malaysia prof says content that captivates Malaysian academics are pushing for the dedicated TV channel they say will provide a “platform to launch counter- narrative” against Islamophobia faced by the Muslim commu- nity globally, according to government-backed news agency Bernama. The report quoted Universiti Putra Malaysia’s (UPM) Prof Dr Zaid Ahmad as saying that the dedicated channel would encourage an understanding of the true meaning of Islam. Possible topics for a documentary could be the con- tribution of Islamic civilisation to the modern world, including banking and business ethics. The establishment of the channel is expected to be one of the highlights of the Kuala Lumpur Summit for Islamic world leaders in the Malaysian capital from 18-21 December. Southeast Asian filmmakers gather around Mekong project Five Southeast Asian filmmakers have previewed their new an- thology series, Mekong 2030, envisioning the state of the Me- MEAT: A THREAT TO OUR PLANET? kong River in 2030. The series, showcased at a special screen- HOW THE MEAT INDUSTRY IS DESTROYING OUR PLANET ing in Vientiane this month, aims to promote awareness of the Mekong’s environment degradation, including “hydropower projects, overfishing, climate change, unsustainable develop- ment, and destructive agricultural practices,” says the Luang @all3media_int Prabang Film Festival (LPFF), which produced the cross-border all3mediainternational.com programme supported by The Asia Foundation, Oxfam, Hein- rich Böll Foundation and the Mekong River Commission. The five filmmakers are Kulikar Sotho (Cambodia), Anysay Keola (Laos), Sai Naw Kham (Myanmar), Anocha Suwichakornpong (Thailand) and Pham Ngoc Lan (Vietnam). The anthology will screen at festivals around the world in 2020. 16 December 2019-12 January 2020 page 2. C NTENTASIA 16 dec 2019-12 Jan 2020 Page 3. Who partied with Singtel adds Blue Ant Entertainment Sony Pictures 23 December roll out on TV, mobile platforms Television @ the Singapore’s Singtel TV is adding Blue Ant cost from S$23.90/US$18 to S$34.90/ Media’s general entertainment channel US$26 a month for about 79 channels. SG Media Festival to its TV and Singtel Go mobile platforms The trio packs start at S$52/US$38 a from 23 December 2019. month. Existing subscribers will receive The general entertainment channel the channel at no extra charge. will be part of various Singtel packs, Blue Ant Entertainment carries a mix including entertainment and trio/value/ of reality, drama, movies and awards ultimate packs. Singtel TV’s Family packs shows from the U.S and the U.K. Feb 2020 debut for Mika Ninagawa series Tokyo backdrop for Netflix original live action drama Ken Lo, Sony Pictures Television; Ricky Ow, WarnerMedia Julius Toh, Sirinthip Phanajaras, Sony Pictures Television; Duangnapa Termkraisri,Orangutan The Jungle Bangkok School Entertainment Thailand (Channel 3) Followers, Netflix Beedo Chan, Sony Pictures Television; Joe Suteestarpon, Netflix debuts Japanese live action origi- people and the city of Tokyo, and Elaiza Mediaplex Group Thailand nal series, Followers, at the end of Febru- Ikeda as young actress Natsume Hyakuta, ary 2020. who is struggling to find her identity and The show, filmed between March and confidence. July this year, tells the stories of women Everything changes when Natsume finds living in Tokyo, and is the first drama series instant fame from Limi posting a candid directed by Mika Ninagawa (Diner, No photo of her on Instagram. Longer Human). Nobuaki Kaneko plays Limi’s manager, Miki Nakatani stars as famous and suc- Yuruco and Mari Natsuki is the entrepre- cessful fashion photographer Limi Nara, neur Eriko. All nine episodes will stream who has built her career capturing the from 27 February. Sirinthip Phanajaras, Sony Pictures Television; Suchada Bussaracomwong, The Nielsen Company; Kaneearch Dandumrongsuk, The Bangkok contentasia Entertainment Thailand (Channel 3) C NTENTASIA 16 dec 2019-12 Jan 2020 Page 4. Who partied with WarnerMedia during the SG Media Fest Giorgio Stock, Ricky Ow, Clement Schwebig, Gregory Ho, WarnerMedia; Esther Nguyen, POPS Vu Huy Minh Quoh, Nguyen Hanh, QNET Vietnam WarnerMedia Entertainment Networks Worldwide Patompong Sirachairat, Mono Group Thailand; David Simonsen, WarnerMedia; Anurag Dahiya, Singtel Chang Long Jong, Ng Say Yong, mm2 Asia; Jay Jega, Yasmin Zahid, WarnerMedia; Sang Ho Lee, Mono Marsha Lam, Marianne Lee, WarnerMedia Broadcast, Thailand Mickey Ong, CJ ENM; Junko Abe, TBS Japan; Yeo Shonali Bedi, Jason Soh, WarnerMedia; Karen Lee, Angeline Poh, Mediacorp, Mike Wiluan, Infinite Yann Yann, cast in Invisible Stories;Jessica Kam, Singtel Singapore Studios; Robert Gilby, Blue Hat Ventures; Peter Bithos, WarnerMedia; Anne Chan, CJ ENM Hooq Elicia Lau, Carol Tang, StarHub; Zakiah Malek, Alex Trippas, Robi Stanton, WarnerMedia; Vanessa Wang Li-Na, Mustafa Kapasi, Manjot Singh Mann, M1 WarnerMedia; Suyoung Yoo, Warner Bros Cruz, HBO LatAm; Fabricio Ferrera, Prensario Singapore Halfworlds S3’s Mikhail Red (director), Bianca Umali The Haunted Heart stars Bryan Chan and