Viacom International Talks About Their Asian Plans

From C21Media:

Asia specific

The Asian pay-TV market is fast coming of age, and local adaptations of unscripted formats look set to play a key role. Andrew McDonald reports.

Improvements in technology and infrastructure and a growing middle class have seen the pay-TV market rise rapidly across Asia in recent years. In October, regional pay-TV body Casbaa said multi-channel TV distribution had grown 12% in the past year, and that there are now more than 420 million non-terrestrial TV connections in the Asia-Pacific region. This is more than in the rest of the world combined, according to researcher SNL Kagan.

This boom has produced growth in channel numbers and new opportunities for content owners – both locally and further afield. But with a glut of Western channels already filling Asian EPGs, how important is local content in attracting subscribers in the region? And what role will international formats play in feeding that demand for local content?

The rise of pay-TV platforms across Asia has both changed viewing habits and arguably increased viewers’ expectations. The largest pay-TV market in the world is now China, and Sony Pictures Television’s (SPT) general manager of Asian networks Ricky Ow estimates that across the entire region, pay-TV penetration has reached 50%.

Furthermore, Hong Kong-based industry analyst Media Partners Asia expects pay-TV penetration in Asia-Pacific to grow to 57% of TV homes (486 million subscribers) by 2015 and to 62% of TV homes (570 million) by 2020.

“The consumer has gone from the stage of questioning why they should pay for pay-TV to seeing it as part of their daily diet and the subscription as part of their household expenses. Asian consumers have become more affluent over the years,” says Ow, noting that in high-penetration markets like China, Korea and India, uptake is more than 75%.

ABI Research’s senior analyst Sam Rosen adds that the growth of the middle classes and their ability to afford content is the most prevalent feature of the growing market. “In China, the cable subscriptions are US$3 to US$5 a month. In India, they’re starting to get a little bit higher but are still below US$10. You have more and more consumers who are able to afford that.”

This has opened up a market where there is a thirst for content like never before. James Ross is CEO and co-founder of Lightning International, a Hong Kong firm set up to help non-Asian broadcasters break into the region. He earned his stripes at Bloomberg, where he launched its Asia-Pacific channel in 1996, and later moved to UK broadcaster ITV, where he helped launch formats into China, Korea and India.

“The infrastructure here, in terms of cable, IPTV, DTH satellite and so on, has been way behind Europe or the US but now is really getting up to speed,” he says. “Consumers are really demanding the choice of channels and programming that Europe has become used to over the past 10 or 15 years.”

This has already led to the emergence of aspirational lifestyle channel brands, particularly female-skewing networks, with local home-grown channels like Malaysia-based lifestyle net Li TV competing in the same space as Western rivals such as AMC Networks-backed WE TV and Scripps’ Food Network Asia.

Li TV’s general manager Anne Chan says her network aims for a “cosmopolitan audience” that understands both Eastern and Western content. The high-definition net’s English-language programming is mixed with a handful of original productions – such as cooking show The Maverick Chef – and Chan claims to have “many creative concepts in the pipeline.”

Since launching in 2009, Li TV has been set up in five territories, including Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, and has more channel launches planned for markets including China, Vietnam, Korea and the Philippines. But while Li TV illustrates the rising ambitions of Asia’s pay-TV players, the type of pan-regional content that it airs will arguably always struggle to compete with mainstream local-language entertainment.

AMC/Sundance Channel Global’s senior VP and general manager Harold Gronenthal admits that although his firm’s female-focused 24/7 lifestyle network WE TV is “very exportable,” it operates in a particular Asian “niche.”

Airing in Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan, WE TV carries the same English-language shows that are popular on its US counterpart. These include wedding programmes Bridezillas and Platinum Weddings and reality series Braxton Family Values, which made its Asian debut in November. “You have to be realistic and accept that Asia’s no different to any other part of the world. Home-grown content – films, entertainment shows or whatever – will undoubtedly always dominate,” says Gronenthal.

IHS Screen Digest analysis shows that in the Indian market, local-language channels such as Star TV’s Hindi stations fare better than their international equivalents. At the end of 2010, entertainment channel Star One reached some 22.3 million households, compared with BBC Entertainment’s 3.4 million reach and FX’s 3.6 million.

“An interesting indicator to how TV channels are perceived locally is that the international channels are largely found within the higher tier packages, while the local channels will be in the base packages,” says senior IHS analyst Richard Broughton. “This is normally a good sign of how important the channel is – the more exclusive the package, the less essential the channel. If you consider UK packaging from the likes of Virgin, you’ll get all the essential channels in the basic package and all the ‘nice-to-have’ but non-essential channels in the additional packages.”

However, with News Corp in charge of Star and the Star World channel a core part of its Asian content strategy across territories such as Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, the line between ‘local’ and ‘Western’ companies is increasingly blurring. Part of the issue is that while home-grown Asian pay-TV networks are succeeding on a local basis, few players are carving out a solid presence across the entire region without the input of a major Western media conglomerate.

Lightning’s Ross claims that while companies such as Malaysian satellite TV firm Astro, Singapore-based broadcaster MediaCorp and Hong Kong-based commercial station TVB are all “starting to have regional aspirations,” none are yet at the point of securing widespread, multi-territory channel footprints. “One of the advantages that Western producers still have is they generally produce in English, which is still probably the common language of Asia. The Chinese don’t speak Korean, the Japanese don’t speak Chinese, but they all have some understanding of English,” says Ross.

Although ‘localising’ Western content has long been an established idea for Western firms trying to enter Asian markets, some of the biggest Hollywood studios are now starting to take a more innovative approach and adapting their output to local tastes.

Viacom already has a firm foothold in Asia. It airs its MTV and Nickelodeon channels across South-East Asia and Korea, and also runs MTV in Japan and China. Earlier this year it also launched MTV Live HD and Nick Jr and plans to expand these throughout South-East Asia later this year and early next.

Although shows like MTV’s US hit Jersey Shore don’t pass the censors in Malaysia, the Asian versions of the music channel still air around 70% music, tailored to popular regional music styles like Korea’s K-Pop, according to Viacom International Media Networks Asia’s executive VP and MD Indra Suharjono. The network also airs a number of local events, such as World Stage Live in Malaysia and the MTV Video Music Awards Japan.

Nickelodeon has also started experimenting with Chinese-produced content in Asia, finding success with shows such as Pleasant Goat and Big Bad Wolf. “We created a block called China Toon a year and a half ago. We acquired shows from China and put them on and they did really well. That was our first test in acquiring local content,” says Suharjono.

With Viacom’s international strategy now focused on adult rather than child or teen-focused channels, the firm aims to step up its local production strategy. “We’re planning to launch Comedy Central in South-East Asia sometime in April next year, and the channel will be programmed with 70% Comedy Central US content and about 30% local content,” explains Suharjono.

Over time, she adds, the content division may move to 50/50, with the potential to split the channel into local feeds catering for the different senses of humour in each of these markets. Coproductions with local free-to-air stations could also be a possibility, with windowing options allowing content to appear on both the pay and free channels.

"Genie in the House" Choreographer Danny Bayne To Reprise His Role of 'Danny Zuko' For The 2011/2012 UK Tour Of "Grease"

From Crawley Observer:

Robin Cousins joins Grease cast

Skating legend Robin Cousins will swap the ice rink for the stage to guest star as ‘Teen Angel’ in the smash hit musical Grease for its limited 1 week season in Crawley.

The former Olympic champion and Dancing on Ice judge will leave audiences hopelessly devoted to his charms when Grease rocks into The Hawth Theatre from 26- 31 March 2012.

Following its electrifyin’ 4 year London run, and for the first time in over 5 years, the hit West End show began a new tour last spring. Back by popular demand, Grease premiered at the Edinburgh Playhouse on 6 May 2011 and has since played venues throughout the UK and Ireland. Grease will continue to rock ‘n’ roll around the UK in 2012 with confirmed venues in Canterbury, Tunbridge Wells, Bristol, Nottingham, Northampton, Stoke, Sheffield and many more.

Danny Bayne stars as ‘Danny’ with Carina Gillespie as his sweetheart ‘Sandy’, as the couple follow in the footsteps of John Travolta and Olivia Newton John who famously played the roles in the hit 1978 movie. The cast also includes: Ricky Rojas (‘Kenickie’), Kate Somerset How (‘Rizzo’), Laura Wilson (‘Jan’), Richard Vincent (‘Doody’), Lauren Stroud (‘Frenchy’), Josh Dever (‘Sonny’), Lois Urwin (‘Marty’), Darren John (‘Eugene’), Sammy Kelly (‘Patty’), Nancy Hill ‘(Miss Lynch’), Sophie Zucchini (‘Cha Cha’) and Stuart Reid (‘Vince Fontaine’), with other parts played by the ensemble.

Robin Cousins is one of Britain’s most famous and best loved individual ice skaters. He retired from the ice rink in 2000, after 30 years on the ice and 20 years of professional skating. During his highly successful career, Robin won the World Free Skating Championship Gold medal three times (‘78, ‘79, ‘80) and rose to the top in 1980, winning World Championship Silver and capping his amateur career with the European Championship and Olympic Gold medals. He was awarded the M.B.E. that year for his services to sport and skating, and more recently was made an Official Team GB Ambassador for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Robin is also a member of the host committee for the European Figure Skating Championships being held at the Sheffield Arena from 22- 28 January 2012.

As a professional skater, Robin made several appearances as a guest star with Holiday on Ice and Ice Capades (USA) and as a director and choreographer, he has worked extensively on shows for the ice spectacular Holiday on Ice including Tropicana- The Passion Tour (UK tour, 13 Jan- 19 Feb 2012). Robin’s extensive choreographic credits also include ice interpretations of The Wizard of Oz, Starlight Express and Disney’s Toy Story and many shows for his own ice company such as Electric Ice. Away from the ice, Robin has forged a successful career in theatre including starring roles Cats, The Rocky Horror Show (West End) and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Robin will reside as head judge on the ice panel of ITV1’s hit show Dancing on Ice for the new series, which starts in January 2012, before gliding back into Grease on 6 March 2011.

Danny Bayne won ITV’s Grease is the Word (2007) and went on to make his West End debut as ‘Danny’ in Grease playing the role for over 2 years at the Piccadilly Theatre to sell-out audiences. His other theatre credits include: Top Cat the Musical, Snow White, On Show at the Royal Albert Hall and Popcorn. More recently he co-starred with Julian Clary in Cinderella at the Hawth Theatre Crawley and appeared as ‘Corny Collins’ in the tour of the hit musical Hairspray. Danny also has a passion for both dance and choreography. Formerly a major world competitor, his dance credits include: British Champion in Freestyle, Hip Hop and ‘Rock ’n’ Roll’ and 3rd place in Latin American at the Italian World Championships. His choreographic credits include: Genie in the House (for Nickelodeon), West End Eurovision (Piccadilly Theatre) and several Hip Hop shows, carnivals and events. Danny reprises the iconic role of ‘Danny Zuko’ for the 2011/12 tour of Grease.

Nickelodeon Virtual Worlds Group's "Monkey Quest" Massively Multiplayer Online Game The Most Played Game On TeePee Games In 2011

From Your-Story.org (press release):

Top 10 Games on TeePee Games in 2011

Top 10 Games on TeePee Games in 2011

Monkey Quest seizes number one

London, UK – 9th January 2012 – TeePee Games, the innovative discovery platform pioneer for social, smartphone, MMO and online Flash games, is pleased to announce the top ten games to be played via www.teepeegames.com and the TeePee Games Facebook application in 2011.

The top ten games of 2011 are:

1 – Monkey Quest (http://bit.ly/vOGPre)
2 – Car Town (http://bit.ly/v7vthY)
3 – MMA Pro Fighter (http://bit.ly/pFfEo8)
4 – Monopoly Millionaires (http://bit.ly/oklsTT)
5 – Bubble Popp (http://bit.ly/xHPHZG)
6 – Zombie Lane (http://bit.ly/tkigG7)
7 – Jungle Jewels (http://bit.ly/o81Dku)
8 – Maya Pyramid (http://bit.ly/rb6lQU)
9 – Age of Conan: Unchained (http://bit.ly/ubDDk3)
10 – World Series Superstars (http://bit.ly/yjVBOe)

Despite getting signed up to the games discovery platform quite late on in the year, Nickelodeon’s child friendly MMO Monkey Quest was able to capture the attention of a huge number of individuals to become the number one most played game on TeePee Games in 2011. Following closely behind in second is Cie Games’ free-to-play racing game Car Town, which had a very eventful year clashing with monkey Quest for the top spot on a number of occasions. MMA Pro Fighter, a sports game developed and published by Digital Chocolate, punches in at number three, while Monopoly Millionaires lands at number four. Puzzle games performed particularly well in 2011, with three titles from the genre making an appearance in the chart. Bubble shooter style puzzle game Bubble Popp deservedly takes up fifth, just ahead of the action packed Zombie Lane which staggered to sixth. Meanwhile taking their places as the seventh and eighth most popular games of 2011 are match-3 game Jungle Jewels and card based puzzler Maya Pyramid respectively. In ninth place is the fantasy themed Age of Conan: Unchained, one of the first MMOs to be signed up to TeePee Games. Finally, taking its place as the tenth most popular game on TeePee Games in 2011 is World Series Superstars, a baseball management sim by EA’s Playfish. Although the game only ever made a brief appearance in the TeePee Games top ten it was never far off and consistently ranked well outside of the chart.

Individuals who would like to find and play fun free online Facebook, MMO and online Flash games can visit the TeePee Games website (http://www.teepeegames.com) or Facebook application (http://apps.facebook.com/teepeegames).

#ENDS#

For more information contact:

COMMERCIAL ENQUIRIES
Tony Pearce, CEO
Tel: +44 (0)7775 500847
Email: tony.pearce@teepeegames.com

CONTENT ENQUIRIES
Darren Newnham, Head of Content
Tel: +44 (0)7919 891451
Email: darren.newnham@teepeegames.com

MEDIA
Quoc Truong, Peppermint P
Tel: +44 (0)207 240 2645
Email: teepeegames@peppermintp.com

# # #

Notes to Editors

About TeePee Games
TeePee Games is a game player’s discovery platform for smartphone, social and Flash games located at www.teepeegames.com. The service allows casual game players access to the games best suited to their profile, cutting through the noise of app stores and top-ten lists. TeePee Games has already served over 1.6 million personalised game recommendations from its extensive directory of more than 150 Android, 400 Facebook, 2,500 online Flash games. The company was founded in 2010 and is funded by private equity. TeePee Games is headquartered in London, United Kingdom and the company website is located at: www.teepeegames.com.

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