NBC Universal (NBCU) are finally set to deliver on their promise of new channels, with general entertainment Universal Channel, Sci-Fi and 13th Street slated for roll-out in the second quarter of 2008. The hold-up thus far is believed to have stemmed from the internal tussle for content between the proposed channels and NBCU’s (estimated US$8billion) syndication business. Indeed it will be interesting to see the new channels’ programming line-up given that many of NBCU’s most successful shows, like Heroes, Monk and Bionic Woman, are with STAR World, while House currently resides on AXN. But Raymund Miranda, managing director of NBC Universal Global Networks Asia LLP is adamant that such a strong content syndication business is defnitely a blessing rather than a curse. “NBC Universal have an amazing library of content for all channels including our own. Our TV distribution group represents a library of over 4,000 films and 40,000 episodes of programming. Our NBC owned and operated stations in the US come up with about 5,000 hours of programming every year. Sci-Fi continues to roll out Sci Fi original series and movies each year. There is a lot of great content. “We’re thankful and happy that with a lot of regular communications with our TV distribution colleagues, a deep understanding of each other’s businesses and a shared desire to grow NBC Universal’s footprint in Asia, we’ve managed to balance off the needs of both businesses in order for us to not only meet our goals but to help one another expand our businesses,” says Miranda. Following NBCU’s August 2007 buy-out of Sparrowhawk Media, the company also acquired a stake, alongside joint venture partners DIC Entertainment and Nelvana Enterprises, in KidsCo, a 24/7 multi-platform global channel for children and families. The first part of KidsCo’s Asia launch will be March 20 when the channel goes live in Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines, Palau and South Korea, with Indonesia to follow later in the Spring. “We are talking to platforms in other South East Asian countries and plan to announce further launches in the next few months so that within six months we are in all of the major South East Asian markets,” explains KidsCo managing director Paul Robinson. He says the channel can choose from very extensive schedules of shows from many content partners including (major shareholders) DIC Entertainment and Nelvana as well as Iconix, TV-Loonland, Decode, Sesame Workshop and BBC Worldwide. “We have sourced hundreds and hundreds of hours of content from all of our partners and will have a beautiful looking channel in Asia. Eddy Tan our (Hong Kong-based) head of programming has put together a fantastic schedule that we are very proud of and will be enjoyed by children across South East Asia. The highlights will include great animated series from Inspector Gadget to Dennis the Menace to wonderful live action shows such as 100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd and our family movies, kicking off on launch day with the touching epic version of Mark Twain’s beloved book, The Prince and the Pauper. Watch out for other great shows at launch including the innovative Angela Anaconda, Dance Revolution, 6 Teen and Jake and the Dragon.” Channel distribution is being handled by NBCU. “We work very closely with NBCU’s team headed in Asia by Raymund Miranda who like myself is ex-Disney and has an intimate knowledge of children’s television,” says Robinson. “Asia is a very important market and we wanted to make sure that we had something different to offer platforms, families and children which is why we have taken great care to tailor KidsCo to the Asian market. We understand how important it is that children are not exposed to violence or excessive commercialism, but at the same time they must be entertained. We have utilized all the experience of our team who have collectively worked on all the other channels and intimately understand children’s needs. “Digital is very exciting and challenging at the same time. We believe that new opportunities to distribute channel brands and great content to consumers will be welcomed by children and adults, giving KidsCo the chance to be so much more than just a linear TV channel. We have ambitions (and have already realized those in some territories) to have video on demand services, mobile, and whatever else comes along yet to be invented. Consumer tastes are changing and children are at the forefront of digital technology,” concludes Robinson. And completely independent on the multi-channel horizon is Lotus Channel – a channel dedicated to the modern woman of Asia. The channel is privately funded by a group of individuals with a diverse set of creative, production and commercial experience in the industry and the Asia Pacific region – including managing director Gregg Creevey and creative director May Lee. Creevey feels the biggest advantage of being a stand-alone channel is that they are not tied to one particular studio or master brand. “We have the freedom to acquire programming from not just the major studios but dozens of other programming distributors from around the world, including Asia. This translates into a much deeper and diverse schedule that best matches the interests and aspirations of our target audience …… progressive, educated, independent women 25-50. It’s also an opportunity to create a new brand that will focus exclusively on women. We will not have the limitations that come with taking an established master brand and trying to stretch that into another programming genre. For Lotus Channel it’s about targeting the demographic not a particular genre.” Having identified over 8,000 hours of available programming, much of which has never been seen on regional cable and satellite subscription television, Creevey says Lotus Channel has reached agreements with several platforms throughout the region, “But we will hold announcing those until we confirm our official launch date.” The programming grid is set to be extremely diverse and full of variety, as creative director May Lee explains. “Women are made up of multiple facets. They are interested in career, motherhood, entertainment, fashion, travel, finance, activism…the list goes on and on. We want our programs to reflect that variety in a woman’s life. Instead of going only for a couple of ‘tent pole’ shows with a high repeat rate, we will have a schedule of many shows of multiple genres to ensure that whenever a woman turns on Lotus Channel, she’ll see something she will want to watch and will get something out of that program whether that is take away information or just great entertainment. We have some nice surprises in store in terms of special programs that have never before been seen in Asia. Our goal is to be the ‘go-to’ channel for women.” And what of the challenges facing the new channel? “Like anything that is new there is always a tendency to adopt a wait and see approach,” Creevey admits. “But the biggest challenge is undoubtedly chasing that finite resource of channel shelf space. There is no shortage of new channels in the market and many of those are coming from the multi-channel players who have the ability to bundle new offerings with their more established channels. That said, the response from operators around the region has been consistently positive and encouraging. They recognize Lotus Channel, although niche’, fills a gap in the market and one that will offer something truly new, is strongly differentiated from the current crop of channels and most importantly adds value to the subscriber proposition.”