24 February- C NTENT 8 March 2020 www.contentasia.tv l www.contentasiasummit.com Final fight in ABS-CBN’s life- or-death battle to stay on air Network boss addresses Senate hearings on broad- cast franchise renewal the C NTENT Philippines broadcast network ABS-CBN’s life-or-death fight entered a critical bat- tle this week with the opening of hearings that will determine whether the network will be allowed to remain on air – or not. The 65-year-old network’s broadcast franchise expires on 30 March. The full story is on page 6 q 24-25 August 2020 Thailand’s Ch3 Pullman Bangkok King Power unveils lavish Thailand new dramas BEC World workforce reshaped, voluntary retirement on offer Days after Thai media company BEC World unveiled lavish new period drama, The Enchanted Tale, the company out- lined a six-pillar strategy that includes ag- gressive programme syndication targets as well as a plan to reshape the workforce in 2020 through a voluntary retirement scheme. Company bosses continue to highlight a critical need to retool to meet multi-platform digital demand. The full story is on page 2 q PLUS COVID-19 alerts: Singapore’s CJ Yong at [email protected] Mediacorp pulls Star Awards, Tokyo’s www.contentasiasummit.com Ghibli Museum shut until 17 March. C NTENTASIA 24 February-8 March 2020 Page 2. Coronavirus shutters Ch3 unveils lavish new drama Tokyo’s Ghibli Museum BEC World workforce reshaped, voluntary retirement on offer until 17 March Tokyo’s famed Ghibli Museum is closing its doors until 17 March in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The museum showcases the work of Japanese ani- mator, Hayao Miyazaki. The decision to shutter a popular destination follows Tokyo city guidelines to contain the spread of the virus. Refunds are being offered for pre-bookings. q Canal+ Myanmar adds Mezzo Live HD to linear line up Myanmar’s Canal+ has added Mezzo Live HD to its linear pay-TV bundle. The channel offers classical music, dance and jazz concerts and performances from around the world. The deal was The Enchanted Tale, BEC World/Channel 3 closed by Thema, which holds rights for the channel in Asia Pacific. Thai media company BEC World has The new prime time opens at 6pm with q started offering staffers voluntary sepa- new variety programmes for workers on ration packages as part of a 2020 plan their way home. The 7pm-8pm slot, which Singtel adds CCTV focused on accelerating its shift into a attracts the highest number of viewers a Entertainment, Dragon TV multi-platform universe. day – will focus on drama for a family au- News of adjusted staffing plans came dience, moving into an urban core drama to Singapore line up days after the network unveiled its lavish audience from 8pm to 10.30pm. 13 x 2.5 hour period drama, The Enchant- Reporting their 2019 results, BEC Group Singapore’s Singtel is expanding its ed Tale (Dang Duang Haruethai), by local bosses said the Thai economy continued Chinese line up, adding CCTV Entertain- production house Who & Who. to face “high uncertainty from both ment and Dragon TV International to its The prime-time series, a tale of love, external factors, such as the slowdown TV and mobile platforms this week. The conflict and power between three king- of the global economy and trade wars, carriage deals boost Singtel’s entertain- doms, premieres on 5 March, two days and domestic factors, such as stagnant ment, culture and variety content from after the debut of prime time original Mist GDP growth and the concerns over the state-owned CCTV, including A Bite of of Love. Covid-19 epidemic affecting investor China food documentary, with additional Premium content/IP remains one of the confidence and tourism”. drama, entertainmnt and news from the lynchpins of BEC World’s ambitions for its These factors have adversely affected Shanghai Media Group’s Dragon TV. Both flagship broadcast service, Channel 3. tourism industry which provides major in- channels are being offered on a free BEC World, which has already outlined a come to Thailand and, in turn, affects the preview until 22 March and will be part of seriously challenged commercial environ- advertising spending. the Jinghua Starter pack (S$6.00/mth till ment for this year, is building out a six-pillar Total revenue of BEC Group for the 24 March for new sign-ups; S$7.90/month plan that involves direct-to-consumer year 2019 was THB8,310.2 million/US$262 from 25 March for new subscribers). elements, aggressive global IP distribution million, a decrease of THB1,815 million/ that aims to double 2020 revenues; con- US$57 million (17.9% decline) from 2018’s contentasia solidation of digital content assets under THB10,125.7 million/US$319 million. The rebranded online platform CH3 Plus, and BEC Group reported a consolidated net a new prime time that runs from 6pm to loss attributable to BEC World of THB397.2 10.35pm. million/US$12.5 million for 2019. CONCEAL DECEI VE BETRA Y CONTR OL WHO SAYS CRIME DOESN'T PLAY? stories that speak your language @all3media_int all3mediainternational.com 24 February-8 March 2020 page 3. C NTENTASIA 24 February-8 March 2020 Page 4. CJ ENM’s Mediacorp countdown to Zhang debut 300: War of United Voices Star Search 2019 winner takes prime time slots in March heads to Germany A German version of Korean enter- tainment format, 300: War of United Voices premieres on SAT.1 in Germany on 13 March. The non-scripted format involves a superstar and 300 superfans uniting on the performance of one song. The series is produced by Tresor TV. The deal is a first for CJ ENM in Germany. q GMA’s Stand for Truth hits record views Philippines’ network GMA says its daily news show, Stand for Truth, on Facebook is getting a record 2.3 million views a night (av). YouTube views hit 405,000 in Jan. The show with the highest views to date is Manal Sugadol’s report on 18 Sept 2019 about a baby-faced teacher in Bulacan. The episode has a combined 6.6 million views on YouTube and Face- Star Search 2019 winner Zhang Ze Tong book. The second-highest feature is Nico Waje’s story on 21 Jan about a security Singapore’s Mediacorp has set March Star Search celebrity mentor Christopher guard who posed as a policeman and premieres for the first two programmes Lee. harassed vendors. The programme at- featuring the winners of last year’s Star Mediacorp returned the Chinese-lan- tracted two million views overnight and Search 2019 competition. guage talent competition in September had 5.3 million views by 19 Feb. Stand Modern-day drama, All Around last year after a nine-year hiatus. for Truth, shot on mobile phones, is pro- You, premieres at 9pm on 2 March on The show is part of the national broad- duced by GMA News and Public Affairs. Mediacorp’s streaming service meWatch caster’s strategy to tap iconic properties and on Singapore’s most-watched free- and national heroes, such as celebrity q TV service, Channel 8. Dick Lee, to drive local originals. China’s iQiyi pushes Two-part infotainment travel show, Aus- Star Search debuted in 1988 and ran some Getaway, will be shown on 16 and every few years for 10 series. Mediacorp “tech+entertainment 23 March on meWatch and Channel 8 says last year’s resurrection attracted content agenda at 8.30pm. 1,200 hopefuls from Singapore, Malaysia, Both programmes were created to China, Indonesia, Taiwan, Japan, Hong Chinese streamer iQiyi’s original reality showcase Star Search 2019 winner Kong, Canada, Australia, the U.K. and show, Fourtry, topped popularity charts Zhang Ze Tong and other finalists. Macau. on the platform’s app in Malaysia, All Around You, with Zhang in the lead, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, and is about four young social media experts • The on-screen debuts of Mediacorp’s the U.S., iQiyi said. The show, which navigating the intricacies of the digital new crop of would-be stars come as the follows daily life at a trends collection world for their clients. The show also company delayed this year’s edition of store in Tokyo, partnered with more features runners up Herman Keh and Ye its long-running annual Star Award con- than 70 fashion/consumer brands on Jia Yun. test – a tentpole live events on Chinese more than 300 products. Fourtry fea- Zhang will host the two-part infotain- Channel 8 – because of the COVID19 tured interactive video, VR and AI and ment show Aus-some Getaway along- outbreak. Star Awards 2020 was sched- a chatroom and was part of a strategy side fellow Star Search teammate Sheryl uled to take place on 26 April 2020; no iQiyi has billed “tech+entertainment”. Ang. The two travel to Australia with their new date has been announced. 24 February-8 March 2020 page 5. C NTENTASIA 24 February-8 March 2020 Page 6. Final fight in ABS-CBN’s life-or-death battle to stay on air “The shows we produce remain important and relevant,” Katigbak tells Senate committee Philippines broadcast network ABS-CBN’s life-or-death fight entered a critical bat- tle this week with the opening of hearings that will determine whether the network will be allowed to remain on air – or not. The shows The 65-year-old network’s broadcast franchise expires on 30 March. Renewal we produce initiatives have been running for about six remain important years.