May Lee, Founder & CEO, Lotus Media House Television viewing trends are definitely moving towards niche programming. Given the growing number of channels in the Asian region, viewers now have more choices, and that provides all the more reason for new channels to try and focus on specific genres and/or demographics. Lotus Channel is absolutely targeting the female demographic in Asia, a group that has been under served for too long. We believe women need a ‘go to’ channel where they can be informed, enlightened and entertained and that’s what Lotus Channel is all about. As we are serving a demographic instead of a genre, we do have a great deal of flexibility in terms of programming. Women are made up of multiple facets, which means they have a wide range of interests. The programmes we are looking for range from beauty, fashion, travel, career, motherhood, health and wellness, entertainment, music, relationships, design, as well as food. The range is huge, but there is one common thread and that is all the programmes speak to women. One of the biggest challenges for an independent channel is to get the proper recognition from the start. Unlike channels that are part of a bigger brand, Lotus Channel is on its own, so we will have to be more active and creative in how we present the channel to operators and, most importantly, viewers. We are placing much emphasis on sourcing great, unique, relevant programming from around the world. There will be some terrific surprises on Lotus that viewers will instantly be drawn to. We are extremely confident that once everyone understands the Lotus Channel proposition it will be here to stay. ————————————————————————————————- Low Ka Hoe, Director, mio TV and Content, SingTel mio TV has introduced the new concept of subscription video on-demand (SVOD) to the Singapore market. For the first time Singaporean viewers can watch their favourite programmes for as many times as they like under a low monthly subscription plan, without the constraints of a fixed programming schedule. This has proven to be very popular among mio TV’s subscribers. The more familiar concept of video on-demand has also worked for us. Viewers are increasingly appreciative of having the flexibility to watch programmes in their own time. Gone are the days of rushing home at a fixed time to watch your favourite programme. mio TV provides subscribers with the power to dictate their own schedules and watch whatever they want, whenever they want. Our initial numbers show that movies, high-definition as well as Asian programming have proven to be appealing to the majority of our subscribers. As we cater to the masses, we will continue to acquire programming of varied genres. More importantly, we are seeking content which is current, compelling, entertaining and relevant to our subscribers. ————————————————————————————————- Zainir Aminullah, Executive Director, Astro Entertainment Based on Astro’s viewership data, drama and variety shows are looking to be the main genres for the future. Astro’s programs are highly segmented to cater to the target audience segments and we are paying a lot of attention to localizing our programs and to providing subscribers with premium service. For Ria, reality talent search programs including singing contest Akademi Fantasia at 9pm on Saturdays along with daily repeats of the show in Diari Akademi Fantasia, as well as dance competition Sehati Berdansa, and result show Debaran Sehati Berdansa, have proven popular. Celebrity talk show AC Disini and celebrity lifestyle show Trek Selibriti have also done well. Children’s talk show Tom Tom Bak; kids dramas Adi dan Ayah, Hikayat Putra Shazlan and Geng Bas Sekolah Animation; as well as acquired animation series Ultraman, Ninja Boy, Kampung Boy and Transformers have worked well for kids channel Ceria. Overall, other than drama, a lot of work is being carried out to take a closer look at animation and factual programming which are not our strengths at the moment. We are looking to develop more signature shows based on international formats in the near future. ————————————————————————————————- Neil Chakravarti, Executive Vice President, Zee Entertainment Programming genres that Zee Entertainment viewers are currently enjoying most include comedy, action, reality, chat shows as well as some popular shows from the past. In 2007, acquisitions including The Tonight Show, The O.C, Gossip Girl, Notes from the Underbelly, America’s Next Top Model as well as reruns of Wonder Years and Dawson’s Creek worked well for us. As for 2008, our acquisition work is actually well underway. Zee Entertainment has already closed deals for network shows including Pushing Daisies, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Unhitched, Back to You and several others. There are a few exciting properties under consideration in reality and action. We are also in the process of acquiring an extensive slate of movies across different genres from major Hollywood studios as well as selected distributors from the US, Canada and UK. ————————————————————————————————- Todd Lituchy, President, STAR Entertainment With competition for eyeballs getting more intense from both linear and non linear media, Channel [V] must evolve and innovate to remain competitive. Programs with a 360-degree presence across TV, mobile, internet and on-ground, and ones which can create appointment viewing and ride on properties such as award shows or feature sought-after idols will continue to lead viewing trends. For Channel [V], Popparazzi and [V] Countdown were our highest-rated productions, while America’s Next Top Model was our most successful acquisition. We are looking for our next generation of flagship programs which are younger skewed acquisitions and local productions that are not only relevant to young viewers, but also have 360-degree presence. These programmes will come from a variety of genres including dance, fashion, comedy, and dating, not just music. In 2008, Channel [V] International will become more relevant to viewers as we reposition the channel and invest more in programming. ————————————————————————————————- Hary Martono, Manager, Planning and Scheduling, PT Global Informasi Bermutu In Indonesia, programs which have really become hits in what was a phenomenal development from 2007 are reality music talent search shows combined with comedy. The top performing programs are still local dramas and football-related shows. The ratings for animation and music programs also reflected a marked improvement from mid-2007. Employing a scheduling strategy that was different, we have managed to improve the performance of our animation and music shows which turned out to be relatively successful for Global TV in 2007. In addition, our coverage of the Asian Football Cup 2007, an international sporting event held in Jakarta, won top ratings for us in 2007. For 2008, we are still on the look out for good animation programs and movies to add to our offerings, and we are hoping to source some good formats of reality or game shows that will be suitable for Indonesian viewers. ————————————————————————————————- Beryl Yan, Project Manager, Foreign Commission Department, Hunan Television For Hunan TV, reality and entertainment shows with trials and auditions have done well, along with new formats on recreation, public welfare, sports, and interactivity. Dramas have also proven to be a guarantee for channel share, especially ones with good storylines and youthful idols. In addition, Olympics-related programs such as game and quiz shows as well as formats incorporating Olympic elements are popular. Talent search shows Strictly Come Dancing and Just the Two of Us, co-produced cooperation with the BBC were among the top performers. In addition, Happy 2008, co-produced with UK’s ITV, was China’s first interactive TV program, and has taken youth audiences by storm. In-house produced dramas like Dreams Link, a love story scripted by Taiwanese author Qiongyao and shot partly in France, as well as Bloody Xiangxi, a series set in World War 2 were our top shows. 2008 being the year of the Beijing Olympics, makes shows incorporating sports and Olympic elements the key programming that we are looking to produce and acquire. Also, we are on the lookout for game and entertainment shows, and interactive programming with a focus on public welfare elements. ————————————————————————————————- Antariksawan Jusuf, Acquisition Manager, tvOne (formerly Lativi) From February 14, 2008, Lativi has been re-branded and transformed to tvOne. While Lativi targeted the CDE social economic status and provided general entertainment as its programming, tvOne is targeting ABC social economic status audiences with a news focus. That has since translated into a more elegant on air look along with a programming change to offer up to 70% information-related shows including 5-minute news on the hour in Kabar Terkini, market news show Kabar Pasar, a 90 minute morning live talkshow Apa Kabar Indonesia, and a 24-hour news ticker. About 25% of the channel’s offering is sports which includes the Barclay’s English Premier League and Dutch League football, and local leagues such as IBL basketball, Pro-Liga volleyball, and Copa Indonesia football. Although Lativi’s strongest programming was feature length comedy, that will no longer feature on tvOne which now airs drama, movies and kids programming. Other popular show genres include wildlife documentary and reality shows. For 2008, we will be looking to sports programming, documentaries and political parody. As a news station, tvOne will aim to lead in its news offerings with a focus on providing more breaking news and exclusive reports. ————————————————————————————————- Winifred Yeh, Manager, International Programming, Good TV Broadcasting Corp Good TV is a Taiwan-based, family-oriented channel championing Christian values. With a slight female skew, Good TV targets viewers aged 35-54, with education levels above high school. For our channel, locally-produced programs have proven to be more popular than internationally acquired programs, and English programs are better-received as compared to shows in other languages. Our in-house productions including live interviews, music concerts, and culinary shows were successful in 2007, while acquired programming including animation and drama series were also popular. Last year, we aired several mini series of Italian drama and were met with very good response. As for 2008, Good TV will be on the lookout for animation, drama, mini series and feature films, preferably family-oriented content.