C NTENT 18-31 May 2020 www.contentasia.tv l www.contentasiasummit.com Disney+ Hotstar Production resumes in pockets across Asia could top 100m Broadcasters pile into quarantine-friendly content paying subs MPA analysis puts subs revenue between US$418m and US$778m by 2025 Disney’s India streaming platform, Dis- ney+ Hotstar, has the potential to scale up to 100 million paying subs and US$1 billion in revenue over the next five years, according to a newly released report by Media Partners Asia (MPA). The full story is on page 4 q Commencement ceremony for TVB’s new drama, (Seven Princesses) Brakes on StarHub 七公主 Broadcasters across Asia have resumed production continues as scheduled, ex- subs losses various levels of production following cluding shows with live audiences. Q1 exits lowest since 2017 months of lockdowns and Covid-19 con- “All weekly entertainment reality shows, tainment measures. such as Home Alone, weekly singing con- StarHub’s pay-TV subscriber base contin- Regular production is back on track at test show, King of the Masked Singer, and ues to slide along with ARPU, hitting three China’s Hunan TV, while in Hong Kong, all drama series were filmed every week year lows at the end of Q1 2020. But, the local broadcast giant TVB has already regardless of the Covid-19 situation” and quarterly pay-TV subs decrease is by far started filming two dramas – 七公主 with strict precautions, says Jean Hur, the lowest since the beginning of 2017, (Seven Princesses, working title) and 超能 MBC’s international relations director. with a loss of 2,000 subs in the first three 使者 – this month. A third drama, 刑偵日記, In Ulaanbaatar, it has been business months of this year, and StarHub bosses starts in early June. as usual for Mongolian broadcaster NTV are clearly hoping that they’ve seen off TVB says precautionary measures are since April after a month’s pause in March. the worst of cord-cutting. being taken on set, including wearing NTV premiered entertainment pro- masks in recording studios, observing gramme My Wife Rules (12x45 mins, 6pm The full story is on page 3 hand hygiene and increased cleaning Sunday) on 26 April and Little Master and disinfection in studios. (12x60 mins) on 25 April, says Shinetsetseg Also in Hong Kong, PCCW Media- Jargalsaikhan, NTV’s head of program- q owned free-TV broadcaster, ViuTV, says ming. Plus... production is back on track and work has Broadcasters across the region are ex- • Mongolia ramps up game show formats resumed on Ladies in the City (working ploring alternative formats, including vir- • Shine comes of Korea’s star writer title), Ink at Taiping and We are the Littles. tual events with stronger online elements, • Game shows win in Vietnam Like the rest of the production indus- and story lines that incorporate new so- • Long-running faves tops in Korea try, back-to-work measures include the cial realities. • #ContentAsiaRecommends full range of precautions, including tem- Hong Kong TVB, for instance, is taking ... and a whole lot more perature screening and minimising head- its annual Miss Hong Kong Pageant into count on set. In Korea, free-TV broadcaster MBC says More on page 6 FROM THE SCREEN TO THE SOFA staying home? then stay entertained! Celebrity THE QUIZ SHOW IN YOUR OWN HOME Call Centre Everyday problems, extraordinary solutions @all3media_int all3mediainternational.com 18-31 May 2020 page 2. C NTENTASIA 18-31 MaY 2020 Page 3. Mongolian StarHub subs losses screech to a halt broadcasters Q1 churn the lowest by far in 13 quarters ramp up game StarHub’s pay-TV base continues to slide The biggest loss in the last 13 quar- along with average revenue per user, hit- ters was in Q3 2019, when the platform show formats ting three year lows at the end of Q1 2020. dropped 27,000 subs in three months. Cash rules in new BUT (and it’s a big one), the quarterly This followed a 20,000 loss in in Q2 2019. pay-TV subs decrease is by far the lowest Two more quarters of losses brought the commissions of since the beginning of 2017, with a loss annual total shrinkage last year to 80,000 Cash Mob, Cash Cab, of 2,000 subs in the first three months of – a 32.5% jump from the 54,000 subs lost this year. in 2018. Cash at Your Door And bosses at what was once Singa- Despite a decline in subs numbers, Star- pore’s-dominant pay TV platform are Hub kept ARPU stable at around S$51 Mongolian broadcasters TV9 and EduTV taking this as a good sign. through 2017 and 2018 (with a bump to have picked up format rights for the first From end March 2017 to end March S$53 in the second quarter of 2018). local versions of entertainment formats this year, StarHub’s subscriber base has From 2019, ARPU started dropping. The Cash Mob and Cash Cab from global dropped 33%, from 487,000 to 327,000. biggest loss was in this latest quarter, with indie all3media international. ARPU is down from S$51/US$36 to S$38/ a fall from S$44 at end Dec to $38 at end Twenty half-hour episodes of Cash Mob US$27 – a drop of just under 26%. March. will be created by Hulegu Pictures for free-TV broadcaster Edu TV. The broadcaster has also ordered a StarHubSubscribers Subscribers ('000) ‘000 second season of Matar Productions 600 gameshow Cash at Your Door. The new season of 25 half-hour episodes will also 500 be produced by Hulegu. Free-TV broadcaster TV9 has commis- 400 sioned the first 12-episodes of Lion Televi- sion’s quiz show format Cash Cab. TV9 300 will produce the series in-house. 200 Production/broadcast dates for the new commissions have not yet been 100 confirmed. The new formats deals coincide with 0 Mongol TV’s 10th anniversary of Studio Lambert’s Gogglebox Mongolia. Seven new episodes of the entertainment series have been scheduled from this month. q StarHubARPU ARPU S$ S$ Malaysian producers beg 60 for filming clearance 50 40 Malaysia’s Film Directors Association (FDAM) is begging authorities to allow 30 film and TV companies to pick up pro- duction before the Muslim holiday of 20 Hari Raya Aidilfitri. National news agency 10 Bernama quoted association president Ahmad Ibrahim as saying this would al- 0 low producers to earn some money be- fore the celebrations. Covid-19 safe film- ing guidelines have already been issued by film development body, Finas. Source: StarHub financials C NTENTASIA 18-31 MaY 2020 Page 4. Disney+ Hotstar could top 100m paying subs in five years MPA analysis puts subs revenue between US$418m and US$778m by 2025 Source: Media Partners Asia Disney’s India streaming platform, Disney+ for investors and stakeholders in India’s vestment in product innovation, content Hotstar, has the potential to scale up to media industry – “probably more so than creation and acquisitions as well as re- 100 million paying subs and US$1 billion in at any other time in the media sector’s taining key sports rights; developing new revenue over the next five years, accord- modern history after the first phase of In- features and services, including gaming ing to a newly released report by Media dia’s economic liberalisation in 1991”. and aggregating more local live and Partners Asia (MPA). “Content creation and distribution, al- on-demand content; and expanding its Growth of the country’s largest premi- ready disrupted and democratised by tech and potentially the brand to South- um digital video platform will be driven the growth of mobile broadband con- east Asia, including large-scale emerging by sports, Disney+, Indian originals, Holly- nectivity, is now entering into a period of markets such as Indonesia and Thailand. wood entertainment and a super aggre- rapid change with all eyes on how India’s MPA’s base case analysis indicates gator strategy, the report, Disney+ Hotstar: US$1.4 billion online video market will de- that Disney+ Hotstar could reach 93 mil- The Future of India’s Largest Premium Digi- velop,” MPA continued. lion paying subs by 2025 at monthly AR- tal Video Platform, says. MPA has revised its projections for India’s PUs under US$1. This equates to US$587 The direct-to-consumer and subscrip- online video sector upwards as it sees the million in subscription revenue by 2025 tion strategy is “emerging as a key driver market scaling to US$4 billion in revenue while advertising sales could reach of value creation”, the report says, noting by 2025. US$314 million. less reliance on telco deals. SVOD will contribute a greater share as The bull case scenario calls for 102 Future value creation may come from it reaches more than US$1.5 billion, while million paying subs in 2025 at margin- gaming and expansion into Southeast advertising grows to US$2.5 billion. ally higher ARPUs, equating to more than Asia. “In this context, Disney+ Hotstar is a US$1.2 billion in revenue with US$778 mil- The report also highlights key risks, in- major agent of positive change with lion in subscription revenue and US$429 cluding macro disruption and the ability potential for significant future growth,” million in advertising. to retain marquee sports rights as well as MPA says. MPA’s bear case scenario calls for 74 to accelerate the pace of investment in MPA’s projections indicate Disney+ Hot- million paying subs in 2025 at marginally originals and content acquisitions against star could have 25% of the total online vid- lower ARPUs.