22 February- C NTENT 7 March 2021 www.contentasia.tv l www.contentasiasummit.com Yuriri Naka, Disney+ blankets Singapore ahead of launch Teo Yoo join Biggest marketing campaign by far for 23 Feb debut The Window Japan’s Fuji TV opens new window to international co-production Japan’s Fuji TV embarks on a new phase of its global ambitions in Autumn 2021 with the launch of The Window, a 10-episode English-language series billed as Game of Thrones meets Billions in a human drama that could do for football what House of Cards did for politics. The full story is on page 6 q StarHub drops Fox linear, movie Disney+ billboards at Holland Road Shopping Centre pack from 8 March Disney has blanketed Singapore ahead at shopping centres and train stations; Migration to TV+ continues of the 23 February launch of Disney+ buses and taxi wraps and a bus-shelter as pay subs drop in the biggest campaign “by far” ever marquee; visibility across about 800 initiated in a country of 5.7 million people, digital screens across the island; digital Singapore pay-TV platform StarHub is almost 1.4 million households and mobile takeovers on YouTube and Tik Tok; and dropping nine Fox linear channels along phone penetration of 152%. influencer campaigns involving mrbrown, with the Fox Movies Pack from Monday, In addition to high-visibility outdoor SGAG and Jianhao Tan. 8 March. Subscribers were notified by advertising, the direct-to-consumer plat- Disney has not disclosed its marketing email today (22 February) and were told form goes live with long-form prime-time budget for the new platform. they would be refunded for any ad- programming slots on Wednesday (8pm, Singapore is the first full Disney+ plat- vance payments. The nine follow the exit 24 February) for 29-minute debut extrava- form roll out in Southeast Asia and follows on 31 January of four Indian channels ganza, A Night of Disney+. the launch of the lower-cost hybrid – including one of Asia’s oldest chan- The show will air simultaneously on Disney+ Hotstar rollout in Indonesia on 5 nel brands StarPlus – and two cricket national free-TV broadcaster Media- September 2020. services along with two cricket packs. corp’s Mandarin-language Channel 8, Disney has not confirmed arrival dates The move comes as StarHub continues English-language Channel 5, and on two in additional Southeast Asia markets, but to shed TV subscribers, ending 2020 with StarHub channels, as well as streamed on rollouts in Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines a base of 314,000. Mediacorp’s meWatch and on Face- and possibly Vietnam are rumoured for book. this year. The full story is on page 3 The 24 February show follows a high-oc- The Disney+ service in Singapore, tane cross-media campaign criss-cross- marketed direct-to-consumer as well as contentasia ing the country with billboards in high- in an exclusive platform partnership with traffic spots, including Midpoint Orchard StarHub, will carry all six Disney brands – and along expressways; wallscapes The rest of the story is on page 7 2. page @all3media_int Thought-provoking drama all3mediainternational.com from critically acclaimed producers 22 February -7 March 2021 22 February -7 March A STORY OF LOVE, LIFE AND LOSS OF LOVE, A STORY FROM AWARD-WINNING WRITER RUSSELL T DAVIES WRITER RUSSELL FROM AWARD-WINNING C NTENTASIA 22 February-7 March 2021 Page 3. Philippines’ GMA reworks StarHub cuts Fox linear, movie pack GMA News TV, new GTV Migration to TV+ continues as pay subs drop mixes news, entertainment Singapore pay-TV platform StarHub is agreed to keep the Fox channels on Philippines’ network GMA rolled out its dropping nine Fox linear channels along the old IPTV platform, but not on the news channel reboot today, turning its with the Fox Movies Pack from 8 March. TV+ platform. second free-TV channel, GMA News TV, The channels are Fox, FX, FoxCrime, Terms of the revised carriage agree- into GTV with a roster of news and an FoxLife, Baby TV, Fox Movies, Fox Mov- ment were not disclosed. injection of entertainment. ies Play, Fox Family Movies, Fox Action The new StarHub TV+, which includes Network bosses said GTV would com- Movies. mobile/device access as well as a set- plement main channel GMA’s strong These follow the exit on 31 January of top box rental for S$5/US$3.70 a month, nationwide reach. Disney/Fox Networks Group-distributed offers six packs for between S$15/US$11 GTV will simulcast GMA’s flagship Indian channels Star Bharat, Star Gold, and S$30/US$22 for 24-month contracts, show, 24 Oras, with prime-time newscast StarPlus, Star Vijay along with Star with surcharges of up to S$20/US$14.70 State of the Nation providing depth and Cricket and Star Cricket+, and cricket a month for a no contract arrange- context. packs Cricket Group and Cricket d’Lite ment. GTV entertainment shows include local Pack. StarHub used today’s notice to en- fantasy series, The Lost Recipe, original In a letter to subscribers this after- courage subscribers to switch to its TV+ comedy game show, Game of the noon, StarHub told customers that they platform, which offers access to 15,000 Gens, and weekly cooking show Farm to will not be billed for the movie pack hours of English-language entertain- Table. Coming soon is romance mystery from 9 March, and that any pro-rated ment across all platforms, along with series, Love You Stranger. amount paid in advance would be apps such as Disney+, HBO Go, Netflix GTV also features a Happy Hour strip, credited back into their accounts in and BeIn Sports Connect. with shows such as Good News de- April. StarHub’s latest reshuffle comes signed, GMA promises, to “spread posi- StarHub’s website today listed alter- on the eve of the Disney+ launch in tivity”; as well as travel and sports shows. native content, including AXN, Warner Singapore tomorrow (23 February). TV, Nick Jr, and various HBO channels, Disney+ rolls out in an exclusive platform among others. alliance with StarHub, which is using Japan’s U-Next adds StarHub’s notice comes three days the new streaming platform to push 5G exclusive rights to new after Friday night’s Q4/FY2020 earnings take up in Singapore. Disney+ is being call, during which StarHub said it had offered “free” for two years to people Showtime series shed another 15,000 subs, ending 2020 who sign up for two StarHub TV+ packs. with 314,000 pay-TV subscribers. Other bundles include a S$79/US$60 a Japanese streaming platform U-Next has The saga of FNG’s channel renewal month offer for StarHub TV+, 1Gbps fibre picked up exclusive Japan rights to a six ran through much of last year, reaching broadband and Netflix. Showtime series – including Halo, legal a climax in early September 2020 when During Friday night’s earnings call, thriller Your Honour starring Bryan Cran- StarHub unveiled its new TV+ platform StarHub bosses indicated that the ston and City on a Hill with Kevin Bacon without the bulk of FNG’s linear chan- migration away from the long-standing – from ViacomCBS. The other three titles nels. and one-time lucrative linear channel are Ripley, The First Lady with Viola Davis StarHub’s carriage agreement with cost structure was complete. as Michelle Obama and Michelle Pfeiffer the Disney-owned Fox Networks Group The update came as no surprise. In as Betty Ford and survival psycho-drama expired the month before, in August November last year, StarHub said most Yellowjackets.The deal also includes six 2020. of its content providers had been con- library titles, including Ray Donovan. In a last-minute extension, StarHub verted to a “variable fee model”. © Paramax © E. Bauer www.thematv.asia 22 February -7 March 2021 page 4. C NTENTASIA 22 February-7 March 2021 Page 5. Hong Kong’s SCMP ramps up video ambitions Goldthread production unit eyes regional content distribution after Discovery deal Alibaba-owned Hong Kong newspaper, The platform says its monthly views the South China Morning Post (SCMP), is have grown more than 310% since expanding its video ambitions, driven by January 2020. Its top five territories are the return of its short-form China food se- the U.S., Canada, U.K., Singapore and ries, Eat China, for a third season, as well Malaysia. as its first-ever broadcast licensing deal. In addition to a lively short-form busi- The new video series, which goes live ness, SCMP is producing longer-form across online and social platforms on content under the SCMP Films banner. 5 March, comes a month after SCMP’s The flagship title in the long-form two-and-a-half-year-old short-form pro- Shanghai Food Tour space is China’s Rebel City, a one-hour duction unit, Goldthread, announced documentary about the 2019 protests. the non-exclusive sale of 12 shorts from SCMP/Goldthread premiered Eat The programme was released in Decem- Eat China’s three seasons to Discovery China at the end of 2019 to focus on ber 2020. Networks Asia Pacific. authentic regional Chinese cuisines SCMP Films also produced a 15-minute The Discovery deal includes digital/so- and their origins. Season two explored programme marking the 30th anniversa- cial media rights to content/recipes from China’s noodle culture. The new season ry of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, Goldthread’s Chef’s Plate series. looks at Chinese buns. interviewing six witnesses and dissidents Goldthread now says it hopes this is Goldthread launched in mid-2018 as in China on their experiences in June the start of bigger collaborations with an English-language online video plat- 1989 and why they think China can other broadcasters.