9-22 DECEMber C NTENTASIA 2013 www.contentasia.tv l facebook.com/contentasia l @contentasia l www.asiacontentwatch.com Dope show Weeds to air in Singapore Celestial seals 700 hour SVOD deal with Toggle Wishing you a wonderful 2014. happy Mary-Louise Parker in Weeds Award-winning TV series, Weeds, will air scription video-on-demand rights to feature legally on-demand in Singapore in 2014 as films from U.S. studio Lionsgate. holidays! part of a 700-hour slate acquired by over- The TV and film titles will air on Toggle Eve the-top platform Toggle. and Toggle Movies channels. Distributor Celestial Tiger Entertainment Weeds stars Mary-Louise Parker as Nancy (CTE) says this is not the first time Singapore Botwin in a dark U.S. comedy about a rights to Weeds have been licensed. The marijuana-dealing mother living in an af- C NTENTasia name of the previous broadcaster has not fluent suburb. This is the final issue ofContentAsia newslet- been disclosed. CTE also says it is up to lo- In addition to Weeds, TV titles include five ter for 2013. We will be back on 13 Janu- cal broadcasters to comply with program- seasons of Mad Men; reality show Nail Files, ary 2014. Subscription daily, ContentAsia ming/censorship codes, and that it does about salon owner Katie Cazorla; and Run- Insider, will continue to publish Asia’s top news stories through the holidays. Contact not track edits. ning Wilde, a half-hour comedy starring Will [email protected] for details. The Lionsgate package also includes sub- More on page 4 contentasia 9 - 22 DECEMber 2013 Page 2. Hong Kong regulator SkyCable sets up free viewing for typhoon victims clamps down on Info & entertainment for families in relief centres product placement and in-show sponsorship Hong Kong’s Communications Au- thority (CA) has “serious concerns” about product placement in TV pro- grammes, saying that clear prohibi- tions are being openly and frequently flouted by the territory’s broadcasters. “The contents of certain television programmes appear to be intention- ally designed and edited to cater for certain sponsors’ products/services to create advertising effect for the spon- Seated, from left: Tim Bautista, Baby Zarate, Cable Boss; Gladys Jacinto, Jude Turcuato, Fox Internat- sors,” the CA said. tional Channels; March Ventosa, ABS-CBN, Creative Programs Inc. Standing, from left: Liza Latinazo, Universal Networks International; Carlo L. Katigbak, SkyCable; Eugenio Lopez III, ABS-CBN; Eloisa Earlier this month, the regulatory Balmoris, Jaja Suarez, Ray Montinola, SkyCable body warned broadcasters to toe the line, and said publicly that heavier Philippines’ pay-TV platform SkyCable has pany, SkyCable will continue to operate fines were being considered to clamp set up free viewing stations in 10 areas these free viewing stations for as long as down on the “increasing trend of across the country to “provide quality en- it is needed by the affected communi- breaches” of the current codes ruling tertainment and relevant information for ties,” the company said, adding that it indirect advertising and product/serv- families in relief and evacuation centres” “recognises the importance of providing ice sponsorships. in the wake of Typhoon Yolanda. positive entertainment that will inspire Hong Kong’s codes prohibit indirect The initiative started a week after the their spirits, and constantly provide them advertising in programmes and aim deadly typhoon struck. with valuable information”. to “preserve television programme SkyCable said typhoon victims were SkyCable also raised funds and in-kind integrity by not allowing programme able to catch “the much-awaited wed- donations from Singapore Technologies agendas to be distorted for com- ding of Maya and Sir Chief with the show- Telemedia (STT), international channel mercial purposes”. This includes ing of Please Be Careful with My Heart”, partners, including Turner, Fox International embedding advertising material within as well as kids content, live news and Channels, NBC Universal and Disney, and programmes “whether inadvertently updates. local distribution partners Cable Box Office or by design”, the CA said. More than 5,000 people also watched Shows and Systems Corp (Cable Boss) and The code allows sponsor exposure the free and live telecast of the Pacquiao- Accion Cable Communications. In addi- within programmes as long as this is Rios fight at the Astrodome in Tacloban, tion, A+E and Discovery developed televi- “clearly justified editorially, not ob- while thousands more caught the match sion spots that encouraged donations to trusive to viewing pleasure and not in viewing stations in other centres. the Typhoon Haiyan victims via ABS-CBN’s gratuitous”. “As the country’s leading pay-TV com- Sagip Kapamilya Foundation. Email: [email protected] contentasia 9 - 22 DECEMber 2013 Page 3. Henson shutters System Broadcasting © Korean Breakfast Network Singapore commentator Bertha Henson has pulled the plug on her Breakfast Network website rather than register with Singapore’s Media Devel- opment Authority (MDA). Henson’s an- nouncement came on the eve of the MDA’s registration deadline. Henson said she would return to blogging for the moment. The website this morning said, “Kitchen closed. It was a pleas- ure serving you”. HBO squeezes windows HBO Asia opens 2014 with licensing windows squeezed to a week of U.S. telecast on shows such as eight-epi- Korea pushes sode HBO Original series True Detec- TV show for tive (19 January); four-part miniseries Unesco register Olive Kitteridge; and Cinemax Original Finding Dispersed Family, KBS Korean War live The Knick with Steven Soderbergh. drama “reflects The regional network is also premiering Korea’s Cultural Heritage Administration originality and returning seasons of Banshee (10pm, 17 harsh & tragic is pushing to include a locally produced genuineness as January, Cinemax), Boardwalk Empire, reality” 453-hour TV series in UNESCO’s Memory of well as interna- Game of Thrones, Girls (19 January, the World Register in 2014. tional importance”. 10pm, HBO Signature), The Newsroom, True Blood and Veep. The series, Finding Dispersed Family, by If Finding Dispersed Family is included in public broadaster Korean Broadcasting the register, the number of Korean items Asia picks up eight GRB titles System (KBS), aimed at reuniting families will increase to 12. Other items include War U.S. distributor GRB has sold eight titles separated during the Korean War. Diary (Nanjung Ilgi); Archives of Saemaul to broadcasters across Asia, including The series aired twice a day for four Undong (New Community Movement); Inside West Coast Customs to Discov- months in 1983. Local daily, the Korea the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty; Jikji ery Asia and Monster Bug Wars to Herald, said the show introduced a total (Korean Buddhist document); and Hun- China’s CCTV. International sales vice of 53,536 cases of families and individuals minjeongeun (the original manuscript of president Benn Watson said he had believed to have lost family. 10,189 of the Hangeul). sold Unleashed: K9 Broward County, cases aired ended in reunions. The sequel to Finding Dispersed Family, Full Force Nature S1, Full Force Nature The report quoted the Cultural Herit- a follow-up programme that attempted S2, Hostage: Do or Die, I Cloned My Pet age Administraion as saying that the to reunite separated families in South to Cineplex in Thailand and Titans to programme “reflects the harsh and tragic Korea and China, has also been put up Korea’s Dream n Company. reality of a divided nation. The show has for inclusion. contentasia 9 - 22 DECEMber 2013 Page 4. WarnerTV wins November Viacom ramps up Nick’s China presence with new Sohu deal WarnerTV has won November in Sin- gapore, delivering the highest ratings Viacom International Media Networks and share since launch among cable (VIMN) Asia is putting 200 hours of Nickelo- audiences 25-54 across the day and in deon content on mainland China’s Sohu prime time. (Source: Kantar Pay TV Rat- online platform from 15 December 2013. ings, Singapore, 1-30 Nov 2013). The 12-month licensing deal is part of a WarnerTV also claims top spot across strategic online/on-demand collabora- the day among cable 4+ audiences tion announced out of Beijing and Singa- for eight of the past 12 months, and pore at the beginning of December. for nine of the past 12 months among VIMN said the collaboration would al- cable females 15+. Among men low more than 389 million online video 15+, Warner was the top channel in users in China free access to program- StarHub’s entertainment package ming dubbed in Mandarin and subtitled across the day and in prime time. in simplified Chinese. WarnerTV beat its two closes rivals – Fox Titles include SpongeBob SquarePants, and AXN – in every audience demo in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Avatar: November. The Last Airbender. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Indonesia’s Trans breaks into Cambodia with 20 movies Indonesian TV company Televisi Transformasi Indonesia (Trans TV) has HK’s ATV fined HK$200,000 for audit failure agreed to sell a slate of 20 Indonesian telemovies to Cambodian free-TV Authority cites “serious lapse of management” broadcaster Cambodia Television Net- Hong Kong’s Communications Authority ATV attributed its failure to comply with its work (CTN). This is Trans TV’s first export (CA) has fined free-TV broadcaster Asia free-TV licence conditions to, among other outside the Malay archipelago coun- Television Ltd (ATV) a total of HK$200,000/ things, ongoing disputes and legal action tries such as Malaysia, Singapore and US$25,800 for failing to submit annual au- between ATV shareholders as well as the Brunei. The telemovies are slated to air dited accounts for four years from 2009 inability to secure approval of the audited throughout 2014. to 2012. accounts by ATV’s board of directors.