4-17 may 2015 C NTENTASIA #GreatJobs see page 5 www.contentasia.tv l https://www.facebook.com/contentasia?fref=ts facebook.com/contentasia l @contentasia l www.asiacontentwatch.com Sony Pics restructures Asia Networks ops Asian, English content teams merged Sony Pictures Television Networks has re- structured its Asia operation, consolidating Asian and English-language content port- folios and trimming the Singapore-based team by a rumoured seven more people. News of the layoffs filtered out on Thursday, just before the May Day long- weekend. SPT Networks has not confirmed num- bers, but says roles were eliminated as part of the re-org and a small percentage of employees were affected. The latest layoffs follow the exit earlier in April of English-language program- ming vice president, Yan-Jong Wong, after 15 years. Also out is Chih Yeong Voo, vice president, business operations and development. Asian content vice president, Virginia Lim, has taken over the content and mar- keting portfolio as vice president. The restructure comes ahead of SPT’s launch of new Asian general entertain- ment channel, Gem Asia, with Japan’s Nippon Television Network Corporation. The new channel – Nippon TV’s first out- Story on page 8 OTT, streaming top APOS conversations Content comes first, industry leaders say Industry heads gathered in Bali for this year’s Asia Pacific Video Operators Sum- mit (APOS). Here’s some of what they said. See pages 10-16 C NTENTASIA 4-17 may 2015 Page 2. $30m more drives iflix SE Asia growth Philippines’ PLDT backs regional OTT Southeast Asia’s new regional stream- ing platform iflix has completed a US$30 million round of funding and said at the end of April that it was “primed for growth”. The round was led by international investment firm, Catcha Group, and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT). Korea’s iHQ The company says the money will be opens Southeast used to continue to roll out iflix, acquire G.O.D. rights to new content, produce original Asia office programming and marketing. Korean entertain- New operation to rep iflix says it is targetting Southeast Asia’s ment and me- TV, movies, music & 600 million consumers, 240 million of dia giant iHQ artist management whom are currently internet users. has opened its The platform is planning launches in Southeast Asia Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia headquarters in and Vietnam this year, offering more Singapore, push- than 10,000 hours of U.S., Asian regional ing TV, movie and and local TV shows and movies. music sales and Lee Dong-Wook, for KBS2; Each subscription will allow a user to talent management and Cha, starring Kim Boyeon access the service on five devices, as services in the region for and Oh Gwangrok, for MBC. well as download content to their mo- the first time. A Deep Rooted Tree Through its merger in Korea bile, tablet, computer, or television set, The new operation with CU Media, the company for viewing anywhere, anytime. is headed by managing director Jung also has access to about six cable chan- Pricing has not yet been disclosed. iflix So-In. nels, including AXN, Dramax, Comedy TV co-founder/chief executive, Mark Britt, iHQ, listed on Korea’s Stock Exchange, and Y-Star. told ContentAsia that the idea was “a represents artists such as G.O.D., Jang Jung says iHQ’s goal is strategic alli- low price point that will be impossible to Hyuk and Kim Woo-Bin, as well as TV titles ances across the region to co-create, say no to” (ContentAsia, 20 April 2015). from its production unit. promote and distribute entertainment Content partners have not been con- Drama productions include A Deep content. firmed. iflix says it is working with more Rooted Tree for SBS; Pinocchio, starring The Southeast Asia office is iHQ’s fourth than 30 Hollywood, Asian and local Lee Jongseok and Park Sinhye, for free- international operation after China, Ja- distributors. TV broadcaster SBS; Iron Man, starring pan and the United States. contentasiasummit.com facebook.com/ContentAsia @contentasia C NTENTASIA Singapore 2-4 September 2015 creating whole new conversations about content in Asia Programme info from Janine Stein at [email protected]. Sponsorship info from Masliana Masron at [email protected] or +65 6846-5988 4-17 MAY 2015 page 3. C NTENTASIA 4-17 may 2015 Page 4. Fox Sports extends UFC Celestial Tiger seals five new carriage deals Fox International Channels’ Fox Sports Celestial Tiger Entertainment (CTE) has programme block in Vietnam (Yan Me- and mixed martial arts organisation signed five new carriage deals across dia Group), and additional carriage UFC have extended their multi-platform Asia. agreements in Indonesia (Dens.TV) and broadcast rights deal. The regional deal The deals include CTE’s first entry into the Philippines (Olé TV). excludes the Philippines, South Korea Papua New Guinea (Click TV) and Sri The deals cover Celestial Movies, Ce- and Taiwan. Lanka (Dialog Television), a prime-time lestial Classic Movies, Kix and Thrill. Marsh tapped to head BARC puts Star Plus, Sony Max in top spots WWE Asia Pacific World’s biggest audience measurement system hailed Former Disney exec Chris Marsh has India’s high-profile BARC (Broadcast Discovery leads the infotainment pack, joined WWE as general manager, Asia Audience Research Council) measure- followed by National Geographic and Pacific, reporting to ment system has unveiled its first results, Animal Planet. Ed Wells, senior vice putting Sony Max in top spot among all Ahead by a long way in the business president/man- channels across all India for the week news category was CNBC TV18, fol- aging director, ended 24 April. lowed by ET Now and Bloomberg TV. international. Star India’s Star Plus, which topped the The new platform in this market of Marsh spent more Hindi general entertainment channels 160+million television homes was hailed than 10 years with list, was second in the all channels list, for its breadth and transparency. Walt Disney Studios, followed in third spot by Hindi GE chan- Calling the service the “world’s largest Chris Marsh most recently as GM nel Colors. Sony Entertainment Television and future-ready television audience for the Southeast Asia limped in at eighth place. measurement” platform, BARC said the division. He has also worked for Warner Colors was at number one among Hin- system was “a brilliant example of Unity Bros, Lucasfilm and Turner. di entertainment channels during prime in Diversity that Indian media, marketing time, followed by Star Plus and Zee TV. and advertising industry has achieved”. The top three English-language en- The BARC platform took two years to de- Youku Tudou, DJI tie up tertainment channels for the week in velop. The first results were released at six mega cities were Comedy Central, the end of April. on aerial platform Zee Cafe and Sony Pictures Television’s Initially, BARC India will release data AXN. for 1 lac+ C&S markets. This corresponds Chinese online platform Youku Tudou The top three English-language news to a sample size of 10,760 households. and mainland tech company DJI have channels across the same six mega-cit- BARC says it will actually measure 12,000 tied up on an online aerial videogra- ies for the week were Times Now, NDTV homes in phase one, increasing to phy platform. New video shot with DJI’s 24x7, and Headlines Today. 20,000. 300 channels are included. drone and other aerial cameras will be Nickelodeon topped the kids catego- The data roll out follows the launch released on a dedicated DJI channel ry across all India for the same week, fol- of SpotTrek, which monitors about 360 on Youku Tudou. The channel will also lowed by Turner’s Pogo in second spot channels and tracks commercial spots feature new launches and reviews. and Cartoon Network in third. and movie trailers on TV. Satellite Industry Forum 2015 1st June, Grand Hyatt, Singapore #casbaasif C NTENTASIA 4-17 may 2015 theJC NbTspaceEPageN 5.TASIA Page 5. the place to look for the jobs that matter BOMANBRIDGE MEDIA PTE LTD WE ARE EXPANDING! Content Sales Executive Bomanbridge Media, a leading indepen- dent distributor of both finished and format A+E Networks is an award-winning, global media content programming is expanding following re- company offering consumers a diverse communications cent investment and is seeking an experi- environment ranging from television networks to websites, enced Salesperson to be based in their Singapore office for from home videos/DVDs to gaming and educational soft- sales across South East Asia. ware, reaching more than 300 million households in over 150 countries. We are seeking a candidate with a minimum of three to We are seeking a talented and energetic individual to pro- five years direct selling experience. Local languages are of vide support within AETN International Asia to handle client course advantageous. content and sales enquiries, check rights clearances, pre- pare sales materials, and manage all other pre- and post- Key responsibilities include strategic sales planning and ex- sales activities. ecution, projections on potential acquisitions as well as in- ternal productions, achieving monthly and annual targets, Our ideal candidate will have a high degree of flexibility, be generation of new revenue streams and offering assess- able to operate effectively in a fast-moving environment, ment for untapped opportunities falling within our distribu- and have a strong ability to multi-task under minimal super- tion business plan. vision. Job Title, and Renumeration will depend on experience. Interested individuals may apply at: [email protected] with Content Sales Executive in South East Asia is the fastest growing TV market in the world.