Educational programming has always been a staple in the Asia media landscape, and opportunities for this genre are ripe across the region. Some of the programs are supported by commercial entities, some by government agencies and other a combination of both,” says Ling Sze Gan, content sales, Asia, AETN International. Gan says educational content is in demand particularly in countries where the culture of learning is high and robust, and the population is hungry for knowledge. “Through the years, the production and presentation of educational programming has evolved dramatically. We no longer see a dull, straight-forward, instructional approach to these series and specials; now educational programs use techniques that interact with, stimulate and captivate audiences. Educational programs incorporate CGI, Hollywood-style re-enactments, dramatic scripting, etc. The focus is on good story-telling and easy-to-digest information,” says Gan. Richard Henson, regional director, programming sales, Asia-Pacific, Discovery Enterprises International says that some broadcasters are programming educational channels of their own, “Various broadcasters – such as EBS in Korea, RTM in Malaysia, ATV in Hong Kong and Okto in Singapore – do schedule programming blocks with educational, non-fiction content, targeted at a younger audience.” Comments Joanne Azzopardi, vice president, Australasia, Beyond Distribution, “Although to a lesser extent than our children’s educational content, we do have content which caters for a young adult audience to teach them life skills related mainly to career. For example one channel which is an educational channel targetting school children under 15 years old is TVIQ in Malaysia – we have just finalised a package with TVIQ in Malaysia for Lab Rats Challenge (a science based game show), Kid Detectives (learning forensic skills), Making It Big (career based series for young adults) and You’ve Got the Job (job recruitment series for young adults). When it comes to children’s edutainment content a lot of our children’s edutainment shows will sit comfortably on a terrestrial broadcaster’s schedule as part of their kids’ block.” Continues Azzopardi, “There is a strong appetite in Asia for educational content and we have had success with our children’s edutainment content. We have had a lot of success in Asia with shows which combine learning and entertainment. One of our most popular children’s ‘edutainment’ titles is Backyard Science and it has been broadcast in Brunei, Hong Kong, Japan, Indian subcontinent, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. We know for example that Backyard Science is one of Disney’s most popular shows in India. Kid Detectives is our new show that launched at MIPCOM Junior and follows a similar path to Backyard Science. Kids learn real life forensic and detective skills in this educational series aimed at children 6-12 years. Kid Detectives airs in Australia on Channel 7 and on Astro Malaysia.” If so, is there any particular emphasis such as English-language learning or adult education? AETN International’s Gan says there is a significant English learning industry in territories such as South Korea, Japan, and China. “This content tends to be more instructional in nature,” she says. “Learning English is a focus in Asia – both for children and adult audience. However for our type of programming, again with an emphasis on our children’s edutainment content, it is important to have English language children’s content which has clear pronunciation and is not heavily accented so kids can understand and learn. For example in Singapore children’s DVD releases are driven largely by the educational content of the series and parent’s want to buy series which are not only educational but can also teach their children English at the same time – Numberjacks is one example here,” adds Beyond’s Azzopardi. Discovery Henson and Elisa Freeman vice president, domestic distribution, Discovery Communications explain that Discovery Education has worked directly with a number of partners in Australia, Korea and Singapore to provide educators high quality digital content that engages students in learning. “In addition to providing content, Discovery Education also works with partners to help them maximize these tools in the classroom. Much of Discovery Education’s content is accompanied by teacher’s guides and blackline masters that aid teachers as they integrate media into their curriculum. Discovery Education also provides partners a variety of professional development services that ensure educators have ample opportunity to learn how to utilize new technologies and digital media and integrate them into their school system’s curricula.” Agrees Gan, “AETN has a robust educational initiative in the US, and we have teaching guides and curriculum attached to some of our programs.” She continues, “In general the major factual channel brands are History, Discovery, NatGeo, BBC Knowledge etc however there are regional Pay TV channels which have launched which are targeted educational channels such as TVIQ in Malaysia.” Say Discovery’s Henson and Freeman, “We are finding that educators are currently using a combination of broadcast channel content and digital educational media to meet their academic goals. However, the region’s educational entities are moving away from this model and are increasingly seeking digital content and services like Discovery Education that are designed specifically for classroom use.” “While factual global brands like History, Discovery and National Geographic have a dominant presence in the educational programming market, local productions are thriving throughout the region. Some countries are producing a lot of educational hours, telling local stories, in local context, with local perspectives. This content tends to stay within the country that produces it, and is more difficult to import across borders,” concludes Beyond’s Azzopardi.