MCI (P) 047/06/2017 PPS 1812/01/2013 (025534) ISSN 0219-6166 www.onscreenasia.com Vol. 26 | Issue 05 | October 2019 The Streaming Offensive TV is still king in India’s video content industry BBC Global News brings audiences new series on global trade editor’snote PUBLISHING K.DASS EDITORIAL-IN-CHIEF/PUBLISHER Disney+ to lead Western [email protected] Euro OTT boom (65) 6828 9333 MIPCOM 2019 - From blockbuster programming to groundbreaking partnerships, every October, the global media and entertainment EDITORIAL industry converges in Cannes to turn every moment into an YI AN ANG opportunity, transforming four days of exchange and networking, EDITORIAL ASSISTANT meetings, screenings and conferences, into lasting business. [email protected] This year’s big theme, “THE STREAMING OFFENSIVE” reflects the (65) 6828 9333 seismic changes in global distribution models, their impact on content production and licensing, and the global response to the ALISON YEO direct-to-consumer challenge. The big shift is about to culminate EDITORIAL ASSISTANT in a massive shake up of the global entertainment content industry with upcoming launches of new streaming platforms – SVOD, [email protected] AVOD – by legacy players. (65) 6828 9333 As 2019 comes to an end, we see the start of an SVOD boom in Western Europe with the addition of around 13 million subscribers K. Dass, Editor-In-Chief DESIGN/PRODUCTION to bring the total to 131.20 million gross SVOD subscriptions by SAMANTHA THAM 2024 says a study from Digital TV Research. GRAPHIC DESIGNER [email protected] (65) 6828 9333 Can you imagine, this would mean the total doubling from 65.19 million at end of 2018 and the study suggests that gross SVOD subscriptions will represent 74.2% of Western European TV households by 2024, double that of at the end of 2018. Germany, Italy, France and Spain will all be below the regional average by 2024 while five countries will be above 100% of TV households. The report found that SVOD homes will pay for an average of 1.71 SVOD subscriptions by 2024, up from 1.42 in 2018 and that about 43.4% of TV households will have at least one SVOD subscription by 2024; up from 26.3% in 2018. Penetration is set to reach nearly two-thirds of TV households in Norway, but will be under 30% in Italy. Interestingly the report predicts that the vendor landscape will be changing somewhat over the next five years. Netflix is set to remain the largest pan-regional SVOD platform by some distance, with 54.86 million paying subscribers expected by 2024, 42% of the region’s total. This proportion is down from 54% in 2018, but it does mean that the platform will add 20 million subscribers. However, the Western Europe OTT TV and Video Forecasts report predicts that Disney+ will make a strong and immediate impact, given what the analyst calls extensive brand recognition and an ‘impressive’ content line-up. It forecasts 19.18 million paying subscribers by 2024, fast approaching Amazon Prime Video. All I can say is that Disney+ will enjoy strong early demand! The amount of high-quality content being packed into the offering will make it not only appealing, but very sticky. This is a major studio pooling what is arguably the largest library of high-value content on the planet to populate a single branded subscription service. Pte Ltd Notably, to further fortify the service, Disney is pulling select content from third-party SVOD 120 Lower Delta Road providers like Netflix, suggesting a tribalism of sorts, with big-name studios reserving their best #09-07, Cendex Center, content for their own DTC services. As such, Disney+ will be under a microscope; a running case Singapore 169208 study of what DTC can be, and a real-time measure of what impact, if any, such tribalism may have Tel: +65 6828 9333 on the value chain. TVAplus Printed in Singapore Television Asia Plus is published seven times a year. All rights reserved. Pease addess all subscription mail to Television Asia Plus at the above address or phone number. For annual air-speeded scriptions for non-qualified subscribers. please contact Editorial department at [email protected]. Television Asia Plus Volume ( october 2019 television asia plus | 1 contents Netflix signs WEF 3 Review 4 Pledge 10 People 6 7 12 Cover Story: TV is still king in India boasts Giorgio Stock India’s video content industry full cable TV joins Gong Yu and 16 MIPCOM digitisation 22 Insight Shibasish Sarkar 23 Opinion at ATF Leaders’ 24 Focus Summit 2019 25 Technology 26 Review 12 TV is still king in India’s video content industry 16 The Streaming Since 2016, TV viewership in India has shot up by 13%. Indians are still glued to the idiot Offensive box. In comparison to Hotstar, the leading over Reed MIDEM announces world- the top video streaming platform in India. The renowned creator and executive growth of television faces no immediate threat producer Darren Star as the first from alternate screens and mediums. For at in its line-up of Media Mastermind least 10 years, TV and appointment viewing Keynotes at MIPCOM 2019. will continue in India. The reason is that TV is The session will be moderated extremely affordable. You can get a basic cable by Jill Offman, Executive Vice for INR120 a month or free-to-air channels via President of Paramount Network FreeDish. The numbers definitely reflect strong International and Comedy Central growth in the TV universe. K. Dass reports from International. Mumbai. The Star’s Media Mastermind Keynote, will bring his perspective Calrec Brio Keeps it Cool on creativity in the post- 22 linear world to “The Streaming in the Egyptian Desert Offensive” theme. Powerful compact digital 23 audio broadcast console provides unsurpassed Why Targeted reliability and world class performance for Majestic Ads are the Key Sound Productions Inc. to Engaged Consumers 24 25 27 BBC Global News DocuBay secures 32 brings audiences CommScope brings unprecedented license deal with new series on Ananda Media GMA dramas global trade, choice and control make waves delivered in to broadband in Southeast association with network creators; Asia FedEx reveals dramatic gains in scale and lower latency 2 | television asia plus october 2019 review Powersoft brings Netflix signs WEF Pledge amplifier platforms to UPLINK Kuek Yu Chuang, Managing Director of Netflix Asia-Pacific (3rd from left) along with representatives from the World Economic Forum and other signatories pose together with H.E. Nguyen Manh Hung, Minister of Communications and Information of Vietnam (4th from left) to mark the signing of the WEF ASEAN Digital Skills Pledge. HANOI — Netflix recently signed a pledge to partner with the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Digital ASEAN working group to help people FLORENCE, ITALY — UPLINK has embarked on a quest to offer cinema and governments in Southeast Asia develop creative and digital skills and goers the best indie and foreign films in a country where Japanese capabilities for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. blockbusters are becoming increasingly popular at the expense of both Hollywood movies and foreign arthouse titles. The pledge is part of WEF’s ASEAN Digital Skills Vision 2020 programme, a Over the last decade, the number of mini theatres has declined as multiplexes have flourished, but UPLINK and its president, Takashi Asai, have remained private-public project involving a coalition of organisations that seeks to train true to their belief that the future is bright for arthouse mini theatres in Tokyo. up 20 million workers in digital skills by 2020. The initiative gained further The way to ensure this, in their opinion, is to offer a pristine audiovisual urgency when a recent WEF-commissioned survey of 56,000 ASEAN youths experience to their customers. found that 52% believed they needed to upgrade their skills constantly to succeed in a changing job market. On top of that, they ranked “creativity and As a result, UPLINK has chosen Powersoft amplifier platforms to drive the innovation” as the most important skill for their future. bespoke audio systems in its venues in the Kichijo-ji area, one of the city’s most fashionable districts. The audio setup in each of the venue’s five screens As part of its pledge, Netflix will start rolling out initiatives focused on three is driven by Powersoft Ottocanali amplifier platforms, which power Taguchi Acoustic Lab speaker systems. broad areas, namely: • Creative Industry 4.0 Skills Development, which will focus on the Prior to the deployment, and in order to get familiar with the world of power skills required to produce content for the internet entertainment industry, amplification, Asai decided to educate himself in order to make the best including writing, production, and post-production; possible choice for his cinemas and their customers. • Online Safety and Digital Literacy, in partnership with industry experts, consumer advocacy groups, as well as regulators, to equip Asai began conversations with an old friend – Kazunori Taguchi, director of consumers with the necessary knowledge and tools to enjoy online Taguchi Acoustic Lab – to understand how to take UPLINK’s audio systems to entertainment in a safe and secure way; and the next level. • Agile Governance 4.0, which will be held in partnership with key It didn’t take long for Asai to decide that the flat-panel Taguchi speakers were stakeholders to help regulators navigate changes in the 4th industrial the ideal fit for the UPLINK cinemas, so he was then able to begin shooting out revolution and to keep pace with technological advancements. the amplifiers that would be used to power them. Netflix will work with various partners to hold workshops and trainings, which Hirata was also full of praise for the efficiency of the Ottocanali’s GPI/O will initially be held throughout the next six months in Indonesia, Malaysia, function in reference to the cinema’s emergency cut relay system, as well as the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, with more under consideration in the the precision made available by Powersoft’s ArmoníaPlus software, which was future.TVAplus used to tune the system for each screen during the installation.