programming • schedules • C NTENTASIA data • buyers • www.contentasia.tv Issue 124: 18-31 July 2011 what’sinside 100% success for new S’pore rule My 360º Life Exclusive deals vanish in face of cross-carriage Romain Oudart, TV5 Monde Singapore’s official efforts to StarHub, although the deal is said ContentAsia’s regular 2011 steer the pay-TV market away to have been done. section asks media execs what from exclusive carriage con- The pressure to up its game downtherabbithole differences the latest gadgets, tracts appears to have been is now on telco SingTel, widely tablets, applications & other 100% successful. believed to have been a driving tech wonders are making to Not a single exclusive carriage force for a new environment. their lives and thoughts. What’s really going on deal has been signed since 12 SingTel added three channels page 10 out there... March 2010 – the date media to its Mio TV line up this month authorities set as the dividing (see p4) but is yet to add any INproduction “Some things have line between old and new car- new mega-players, like FIC. Oth- Scrawl Studios changed about our world... riage regimes. Existing deals ers, such as Discovery and HBO, A who’s who of production We want to weigh all of that on that date are unaffected. remain exclusive to StarHub as houses across Asia Pacific. into our [Australia Network] Channels with new exclusive their agreements pre-date March page 12 tender process,” Australian PM agreements have to offer them 2010. BPL and ESPN Star Sports are Julia Gillard was quoted by The to rival carriers from 1 August exclusive to SingTel Mio. BUYERtalk Sydney Morning Herald as say- this year. The Media Development Au- Sameer Ganapathy, UTV ing on 4 July – only moments This means that, come August, thority’s (MDA) policy director, Asia’s buyers and programers before the News International the phones of Singapore’s two Toh Kai Ling, anticipates that talk about what they’re think- phone-hacking scandal started national carriers look like they’re the benefits of the measure ing, buying and why. to go wide. going to be silent. In theory, that will “unfold over time as more page 14 She was referring to political is, because there’s nothing to content becomes freed up for events in the Middle East and ask for. There’s no telling though re-contracting”. People & Parties Africa – but she may well have how consumers may respond Financial terms of the cross- Dr Oz in China, been speaking about all things to promises of more TV via their carriage arrangements between Disney’s Korea launch Murdoch/News Corp linked. single subscriptions. platforms have not been made page 6 and 7 And, indeed, she might still; on So far, there’s no official word on public. MDA says that there is Friday, Gillard was telling media the result of the Fox International no requirement for a minimum Advertising she would be open to investi- Channels (FIC) post-March-2010 number of consumer requests for Asia “counterbalances” gating News Corp’s practices carriage re-negotiations with a channel to be cross-carried. softening in the U.S. & Europe. in Australia. page 3 Either way, the government’s Malaysia’s Measat for sale? decision to rethink the 10-year PLUS US$236-million tender for the AsiaSat, Eutelsat tipped to be at the negotiating table Australia Network contract has • Food Network Asia turns 1 Is Malaysian satellite operator Kong-based AsiaSat. They’re not already been made. • Outdoor gets surf champs Measat for sale? commenting either. The two very fierce bidders • SingTel ups channel count Maybe, although the operator Talk of foreign equity partners are public broadcaster Austral- • CNN delivers big – PAX remains tightlipped on the pos- emerged a year ago (Content ian Broadcasting Corporation • Back-to-back Got Talent sibility, which re-emerged on Asia Insider, 28 July 2010), when (ABC) and Sky News (in which • Reality to boost Viet tourism Friday in a Bloomberg report. Malaysian billionaire Ananda News Corporation holds a stake • Sports TV Intl August preview The report, quoting unnamed Krishnan took Measat private. At through BSkyB). • What Singapore’s Indian con- sources, mentioned European the time, the company was val- If the phone-hacking scan- tent watchdog really thinks... operator Eutelsat and Hong ued at about US$500 million. More on page 3 01 18-31 July 2011 02 Asia “counterbalances” U.S./Euro softening Asia-Pacific growth at 5.9%, ZenithOptimedia Asia-Pacific advertising spend is year in response to economic expected to grow 5.9% this year, pressures, natural disaster and helping to push global adex lev- political disruption. More robust els back to where they were in growth is forecast to resume in pre-crisis 2008, ZenithOptimedia 2012 and 2013,” the report said. says in its latest figures. Developing markets – every- Between 2010 and 2013, ad- where outside North America, vertising in Asia Pacific is forecast Western Europe and Japan – will to grow by 7% a year – or 10.7% increase their share of the global excluding Japan. ad market from 30.7% in 2010 to Global adex is forecast to 35.1% in 2013. reach US$471 billion this year. At the same time as the inter- The new report says “small” net is the fastest-growing medi- softening in the Americas and um (14.2% a year) between 2010 Europe will be counterbalanced and 2013, TV will contribute the by stronger spending in Asia Pa- most new ad dollars at 49%. cific this year. ZenithOptimedia says televi- The upward revision is partly sion is the second fastest growing because the negative advertising medium at 6.2% a year. Televi- fallout of the earthquake in Japan sion ad expenditure is forecast wasn’t as “disruptive” as initially to grow by US$35.4 billion, from feared. Adex in Japan is forecast US$179.6 billion to US$215.0 billion to dip 2.4% this year rather than between 2010 and 2013. earlier expectations of 4.1%. “Television’s share of the global Forecasts for the rest of the ad market has risen steadily over region are up too, from 10.5% to time and shows no sign of reach- 11.4%, driven by upgrades in Chi- ing a plateau,” ZenithOptimedia na (from 11.7% growth to 13.4%) says. In addition, the amount of and Malaysia (from 10% to 12.3%). time viewers spend watching The worst-hit regions are the Mid- television continues to increase. dle East and North Africa. TV attracted 40.1% of spend in “The ad market continues to 2010, up from 37.3% in 2005, and recover from the 2009 reces- “we forecast it to attract 41.4% sion, but growth has dipped this in 2013”. Top 10 Ad markets 2010 Top 10 Ad markets 2013 US$ m US$ m USA 151,665 USA 165,469 Japan 46,153 Japan 47,392 China 26,122 China 39,127 Germany 23,791 Germany 25,505 UK 18,086 UK 19,994 Brazil 14,716 Brazil 18,237 France 12,564 France 13,604 Australia 11,414 Australia 13,134 Italy 10,296 Russia 12,756 Canada 9,891 Canada 11,450 Source: ZenithOptimedia From page 1: Aus Network Network bid it looked like it might dal is linked to the bid, it will be otherwise have won? the most heinous, but it will by no Our bet is that while Murdoch’s means be the first controversy to operations come under heavier plague the process. The tender and heavier scrutiny in the U.K., has been mired in all kinds of alle- the U.S, and now in Australia, gations, including a lack of integ- the Australian government will rity and inappropriate lobbying. leave the regional satellite chan- Will Sky’s links with the Murdoch nel (and its international voice) empire sully (or not) the Australia where it is – under the ABC. 18-31 July 2011 03 18-31 July 2011 s sportsstuff Outdoor picks up exclusive local surf champs Sports Television Int’l on Outdoor Channel (Asia) has them unprecedented profile. Demand from Asian pay-TV target for August preview signed exclusive partnerships Outdoor Channel will broadcast platforms for local content and New Asia joint-venture sports with the Coca-Cola Indonesian all 16 Coca-Cola ISC Indonesian the rise of Asia’s complementary channel, Sports Television Surfing Championship (ISC) and events (Open, Pro Junior, Junior, “passion” channels ups the ante in International (STI), is on track Asian Surfing Championship Women’s, Masters and Long- the hunt for local properties. for a 1 August preview chan- (ASC) to air surfing competition board divisions) and the seven The surfing announcements nel launch across the region. events across Asia. ASC events held in Thailand, come less than a month after The channel is a joint venture The deals make Outdoor the Malaysia, Indonesia and Taiwan MCA signed an exclusive re- between the Singapore/U.S. exclusive regional broadcast during the 2011 season, with more gional deal to air Kiteboard Multi Channels Asia (MCA) partner for both properties, giving events planned for 2012. Tour Asia watersport events. and the Lagardère Group’s IEC in Sports. The partners are looking at a hard launch SingTel ups channel count ahead of cross-carriage deadline in the first quarter of 2012. Mio adds Travel Channel, Setanta and Times Now to linear line-up The new channel will draw on IEC’s library of more than Singapore’s IPTV platform, Mio 3,500 hours of sports program- TV, has upped its channel count ming and special events.