What essentially used to be called traditional TV viewing has undergone a major transformation over the years. With the proliferation of various access technologies and digitalization, this fragmented audience now engages with media in diverse ways. Choice of content and preferred medium varies across the Asia Pacific region. There is no one way of gauging the pulse of this diverse market and one has to dig deeper to assess what and how viewers like to watch. Consider a market like India. The market ended 2008 with 417 private TV channels but this number is still growing. The battle for eyeballs has resulted in some intriguing battles. In the Hindi general entertainment genre, there is currently around 150 hours of fresh primetime programming on a weekly basis, dished out by a pool of around ten TV channels. The kind of impact this has on altering viewership trends can be quite challenging. No wonder, achieving a double-digit television rating point (TRP) is becoming far more difficult for any TV broadcaster. “Viewers appreciate any new, interesting and innovative format irrespective of it being an adaptation of international format or local. Me-too clones don’t usually succeed as much as the original,” says Mumbai-based Atrayee Chakraborty, planning sciences director, Lintas Media Group. Referring to shows like Sony Entertainment Television’s Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao, the Indian version of reality game show I’m a Celebrity…Get Me out of Here, or Star Plus’ Sach Ka Saamna, an adaptation of reality show The Moment of Truth, Atrayee said these shows bring variety and attempts to break the cliché and boredom set in by family drama serials. “Recently launched reality show, Sach Ka Saamna, had a startling beginning with an average TVR of 4.6 in the first couple of weeks and an audience base of 32 million glued on to their television screens,” shared Atrayee. Male vs Female, Local vs International Segmentation is one way of looking at trends. Janet Eng, executive director – distribution, Asia at Sony Pictures Television (SPT) describes the past year as “the year of women”, referring to the new female-targeted channels and the success of female-focused shows such as series Cashmere Mafia. Eng added, “A recent new development is related to shows focused on plus-sized people. Whether it’s reality shows or dramas such as our Drop Dead Diva, I think there is an appetite developing for unconventional characters that don’t fit in with the accepted norm for beauty in Asia.” Unconventional characters or touching sensitive issues, normally not discussed out in the open, may be gaining in popularity – but a local flavour is still very much in vogue. Local offerings continue to feature quite predominantly in the line-up across the region. “Local concepts are the bedrock of most stations across Asia as they are very parochial and cater to the local audiences’ needs. But good international formats are also very popular,” says Ganesh Rajaram, VP – sales, Asia, FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME). SPT’s Eng agrees and says international formats with simple concepts which audiences can follow easily are the key to success. “A scripted format like Sofia’s Diary has been successfully adapted locally in the UK, Germany, Portugal, Turkey, Chile, Vietnam and most recently in mainland China. The benefit of an international format versus a local one is that the international format is a proven hit and comes with the experience of having launched elsewhere and having the problems worked out and the solutions tested,” Eng added. Referring to shows like American Idol, America’s Got Talent and Project Runway, FME’s Rajaram says these shows are going from strength to strength. The latter in particular has just started its sixth season in the US and the premiere was the highest-rated competition reality series premiere on cable this year. “We’re launching its companion programme this year at MIPCOM: Models of the Runway (14 x 30 mins) accompanies each instalment of Project Runway focusing on the models who wear the designers’ creations and exploring the dramas of the main show from their perspective,” he shared. From a free-to-air perspective, Singapore’s MediaCorp’s vice president, programming and operations, Channel 8 and U, Ho Soo Fung, says viewership has been quite stable for Chinese TV channels. Drama has been a main rating driver. Local and acquired Taiwanese and Korean long form drama series rated very well on both of its Chinese channels (Channel 8 and Channel U). Soo Fung added that several zoriginal local format entertainment shows like Project SuperStar, Campus SuperStar have fared fairly well. Selective international formats like Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and the recently launched Don’t Forget Your Lyrics have also done well. Food, as a genre, has always been popular. Shows that involve celebrities such as CelebriTea Break (talk show), Stars For A Cause (celebrities doing voluntary work overseas) were able to generate a lot of hype. Acquired celebrity singing gameshow Million Singer, talent contest show Diamond Club, variety show with magic performance like Variety Big Brother have also garnered decent ratings. In a market like Australia, the big winners for 2009 predominately have been local content with the huge success of Australian Masterchef delivering 3.7 million for the finale and the new Aussie drama Packed to the Rafter, which delivers 1.8 million viewers weekly, says Matthew McCann, director, The Exchange, Mindshare Australia. “Overseas formats have been less than impressive, with audience numbers continuing to decline due to the constant adjustments to TV formats and attempts to prolong a TV series with repeats annoying once loyal viewers,” added McCann. In Malaysia, the biggest challenge is to find a format that hits across all ethnic groups. SiangLin Tan, MD, MediaCom, says, “With Malays being the largest ethnic group, TV ratings are generally skewed towards key programmes with our local dramas making the biggest impact on the TV ratings chart. The horror dramas have been doing very well although there seems to be an overdose of this genre. The success of BioNik – probably the only science action drama in Malay – also shows that there is a need for new genre and that viewers are open to new things.” Local drama series may be still ruling the roost but Eng says movies such as SpiderMan and Asian titles, CJ7 and Kung Fu Hustle, continue to be consistent ratings drivers in Asia. “They has also been effective counter-programming against local dramas for the higher-income demo, especially among free-to-air channels. In the Philippines, for example, TV5 revamped its primetime schedule and launch a branded block to showcase Hollywood and local movies. The movie block’s ratings was able to improve the channel’s primetime average significantly within just one month,” she added. In Indonesia, ‘sinetrons’ (soap operas) continue to dominate like before. A major difference is in the approach of the TV channels to differentiate themselves. ZenithOptimedia’s MD Partha Kabi says, “Earlier every channel was offering exactly the same content – a mix of everything for everyone. However lately channels have realised that advertisers can easily supplement one channel for the other and hence have started creating their own niches. There is a conscious attempt to change the content in prime – time and make it different from competition.” In the news genre, over the past year global stories and their impact on economies, business and the consumer has evoked a continued and heightened engagement with international news. “We have seen this demonstrated with a year on year growth in viewership for BBC World News,” said Sunita Rajan, vice president – advertising sales, Asia & Australasia, BBC Worldwide Channels. Platforms Kuala Lumpur-based Tan says viewers now have the option to view what they want, when they want it, where they want it and more specifically how they want it. Understanding how they consume their mediums is the first step to reaching them. “It’s no longer about the masses but in trying to reach the quality audience differently i.e. for a small market like Malaysia, we are fragmented by race and language. Deciding on a language is still the biggest debate and the use of dual languages is not encouraged,” she said. Tan added that in an effort to own a bigger share of advertising revenue, content providers have begun consolidating on several media platform, for example, Astro Multimedia Platform (Astro TV, production, AMP radio stations, direct mail, online broadband & etc) and Media Prima Group (TV network, NSTP & radio). Sony’s Eng said new digital platforms have opened up opportunities to capture a larger audience, but at the same time this audience group is very unique. They like interactive elements to be incorporated into the show to make them feel more involved. Earlier this year, Sony Pictures Television produced a 40-episode multi-platform series, Sufei’s Diary, in mainland China. The show is available on social networking websites, Internet portals, mobile phones and screens in some buses and subways. “Viewers are encouraged to interact with the show through weekly online polls to help guide Sufei through some of the difficult decisions she has to make. The show successfully tapped the youth audience and achieved over 30 million interactions,” shared Eng. In Australia, McCann says the biggest challenge facing the free-to-air networks there is how to diversify yet maintain their audience levels. “The rise of PVR’s creates a scary reality for advertisers with consumers having the ability to fast forward commercial breaks; this isn’t a new thing, but we now have numbers to back-up what we always knew,” says McCann. “The challenge is to offer consumers relevant and engaging content and the ability to interact with your brand through channels other than TV (ie driving viewers online to download and watch behind the scenes footage or full length interviews). TV has become much more than an awareness driver but now can finish the consumer journey,” he said. McCann added, “Consumers will use different channels to access TV content as it suits them, from traditional content providers to new sources such as consumer generated media. With fast broadband and more content choice; viewing will increasingly be determined based on ‘screens’ as opposed to just TV’s. Web-TV can offer much more to advertisers with greater engagement between people and brands, reduced wastage as consumers have chosen to view the content and greater flexibility in terms of communicating to them. We are seeing the Free-to-Air Networks embracing Web-TV by uploading their content within 24 hours of the programme being aired.” Kin Wong-Nathan, VP – network commissioning, Channel 5, MediaCorp, too, referred to changes in preferences. “Increasingly, viewers want control and choice and they are seeking this through non-traditional means such as online. As some viewers may miss the scheduled telecasts of our programmes, we launched a catch-up service (mobtv.sg) with key series made available online the next day after the free-to-air telecast,” said Wong-Nathan. Wong-Nathan’s colleague, Ho Soo Fung said considering that online viewing is increasingly getting popular among young viewers, the broadcaster has chosen to simulcast selective programmes like Campus SuperStar series 3 online. TV. BBC World News’ Rajan says her company now extends its news offering across multiple platforms – TV, online and mobile. “C Suite audiences are seeking news as it happens and wherever they are – at home, in the office, on the move, in hotel rooms and on their mobile devices. This has allowed us to capture new audiences while retaining loyal supporters of the channel,” said Rajan. The channel continues to invest in programming that can be enjoyed both on TV and online pertaining to global issues such as – a special season of programming in September 2009 titled Aftershock – which reports one year on from the crash of the markets and also COP15 – a season of special programmes from the Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen later this year. While the number of access technologies have increased, FME’s Rajaram says these are complementing traditional television viewership rather than cannibalising it – so it’s actually increasing the audience base. And FME continues to improvise. For instance this year at MIPCOM, the company is launching its new offering in Atomic Wedgie, an online comedy portal comprising short-form comedy clips that are adaptable and useable on TV or online. Complementary viewership may be acceptable, but consumers are embracing platforms such as the Internet and mobile for activities other than viewing. For instance, in Thailand, younger audiences in both Bangkok and up-country have changed their consumption habit. Mindshare Thailand’s Rathakorn Surbsuk says, “From our 3D Consumer Research, it has been found that teenagers seek to connect with their friends and TV doesn’t provide much opportunity for them to do so. Internet and mobile, on the other hand, can answer their needs.” As a result, consumption time of TV has reduced. Still, content providers recognise that as the way viewers consume content changes, they have to be more flexible in the way they manage their offerings. While such initiatives do cater to evolving patterns, it is largely felt that FTA is still quite strong. “PVR penetration in Asia overall is still quite low, but I think we should definitely be aware of how viewership will be affected once PVRs do take off. The good thing in Asia is that free-to-air television is still quite strong especially when it comes to reaching a mass audience,” concluded Eng.