Edwina Ngao, Vice President, Affiliates Sales and Partnerships, Asia, Fox International Channels FIC currently has three types of digital media deployed in the region. The first, and indeed an industry first in the entertainment space, are National Geographic Applications for Blackberry. Developed locally in Hong Kong, it is currently available in Hong Kong (through PCCW Mobile) and Australia (through Foxtel), and is set to launch in Southeast Asia very soon. Features include basic mobile downloads like ringtones, wallpapers, videos; advanced mobile activities like real–time EPG of the channel itself; and an ‘Ask the Expert’ that enhances interaction between users and NGC programs. Users can click to a dedicated interface to connect to a NGC expert for discussion on certain topics. NGC partnered with Blackberry on this mobile app to target a similar group of target audience – business users. FIC’s second digital strand is real–time mobile TV streaming, currently available on StarHub in Singapore, whereby users can enjoy wide array of FIC channels (across all genres) through their smartphones. Third strand mobile modules, including (basic) ringtones, videos, wallpapers; and (advanced) mobisodes across all genres are also currently available on StarHub in Singapore. “The digital media offerings mentioned above built our brands (FIC, and our channel brands) further in affiliate community and in mass public with constant feedback. This is part of our new media initiative as a significant leap for FIC to invent other extended services to offer better support to our affiliates to grow subscribers and ARPU. The extended services will soon become an effective platform to implement full–fledged media solutions across non–linear channels, online and mobile.” Ringo Chan, Senior Vice President of Wireless & Interactive Content Solution & Distribution, Turner Asia Pacific CNN just launched the CNN iPhone app across APAC with features and functionality and CNN also completed a tailor– made video widget for a leading global device maker’s soon–to– be launched handset. (In terms of measuring success) “The international news app for the iPhone only recently launched so it will take some time for us to really evaluate success or take up. With regards to our iPhone app that launched in the U.S. in September 2009, we’ve been very pleased with the feedback we’ve received. In addition to numerous accolades from users and press alike, in the U.S., the CNN App was the No. 1 Top Paid app for 6 days straight, the No. 1 Top Grossing app for 7 days straight and has been the No. 1 Paid News app since its launch. Additionally, the CNN App for the iPhone and iPod Touch was named best news app of 2009 by Macworld and Laptop Magazines.” Benjamin Grubbs, Regional Director, Interactive Media, Turner Entertainment Networks Asia Inc. Some of the major initiatives launched by Cartoon Network in the past year include: Toon Football (www.ToonFootball. com), an online football gaming platform where players can join or create a team to play against others across Asia Pacific. By creating their very own player avatar, kids can join an existing team or form one with 3 other friends or family members. To round out the team, a choice of favourite Cartoon Network characters are available, each endowed with a specialized skill and players can power up with an assortment of accessories from the shop. Toon Cup is Asia Pacific’s first online football tournament inviting kids from all across the region to play for the ultimate virtual football title. This year saw Team Chargers from India defeating Team WoWoWee of the Philippines for the title. The HP Toon Creator Awards (www. ToonCreatorAwards.com) give kids the tools to unleash their inner animator, the Toon Creator Awards asks kids to view a short animated cliff–hanger and create their very own ending. Cartoon Network Club (www. CartoonNetworkAsia.com) is the region’s ultimate virtual playground with its new Cartoon Network Club, expanding the energetic brand experience to animate kids’ lives even more. Ben 10 Omniverse Rise of Heroes (www.ben10.net) TurnOut Ventures Limited, in partnership with developer Typhoon Games Studio Ltd., launched Ben 10 Omniverse: Rise of Heroes, the very first multiplayer online game based on Ben 10 It is currently available in Australia and Hong Kong (in English) and will roll out to other Asia Pacific markets throughout the year. Cartoon Network Online Shop (www.CartoonNetwork. com.au) Cartoon Network launched its first online shop for the Australian market in April 2010, designed to give fans and toon lovers direct access to authentic merchandise featuring some of the Network’s most iconic stories and characters. TuzkiSnap Pro (www.ClubTuzki. com) Mobile memories (can be enhanced) with beloved emoticon and internet icons jumping from IMs to iPhones with the launch of TuzkiSnap Pro in March 2010. “There really isn’t only one method of measuring the success of digital initiatives. While basic quantifiable numbers such as page views, unique visitors and visits still offer valuable information on how a site is tracking, the ever– evolving products that we offer online requires new metrics to gauge how successful a project has been. For example, the popularity of an initiative such as Toon Football is evident in the fact that over 220,000 avatars and nearly 160,000 teams were created on the platform. The response to our inaugural Toon Creator Awards in 2009 was phenomenal with almost 178,000 kids across the region embracing the opportunity to step into the shoes of a Cartoon Network animator. Over 365,000 animation entries were submitted – with nearly 5 million animation views. While quantifiable metrics offer a good snapshot, it is equally important to monitor the amount of “buzz” an initiative generates online as the conversations taking place in the digital space reveal key insights into how a product is being received.” Nicholas Wodtke, Vice President – Business Development and Digital Media, Disney Media Distribution Asia Pacific “Our live action drama series as well as kids and family content is available on–demand on over 20 different IPTV and broadband platforms across 9 countries in the region. Our content is also available over mobile platforms in five markets around the region. Disney Media Distribution announced a multi– year agreement with Hybrid Television Services, the exclusive licensee of TiVo products in Australia & New Zealand – to offer live action series and feature films. In another first for our industry, Australian consumers are now able to access their favorite content over gaming consoles such as Microsoft XBox as well as Sony Playstation3 and PlayStation Portable. All these initiatives point to a more demanding consumer who is impatient about waiting for traditional linear content and wants their favorite shows immediately. The key issue is trying to find business models that work with the proliferation of devices and platforms. While broadcast television and pay television still account for the bulk of our viewership and revenues, digital platforms are helping us take our content to newer, younger and a more diverse audience set than ever before. These digital initiatives are still in their infancy and the business models have not been worked out yet. So we look at a number of factors when we consider what makes these newer platforms ‘successful.’ We look at time spent on the content, number of downloads initiated versus the number of downloads completed. We look at page views, hits and steaming sessions initiated. Unlike the traditional TV space where metrics have been established for years, these new platforms are just beginning to define their own metrics and nomenclature. The good news is that we have so much more data points because these digital platforms are two–way. The challenge is that there is no one industry standard that has emerged yet.” Joyce Yeung, SVP & GM Asia for Sales & Distribution at BBC Worldwide “Top Gear is a great example of how BBC Worldwide is using social media to interact with viewers and reach new audiences. The Top Gear Facebook page attracted more than two million fans within just three months of its launch earlier this year. The Stig is also increasingly popular with more than two million dedicated fans of his own, and one joining every 21.4 seconds. The brand has also branched out into Twitter and has more than 50,000 followers to date. BBC Worldwide has also secured first–to–market partnerships with the biggest global digital players You Tube and iTunes. BBC Worldwide content on You Tube has now been viewed more than 300 million time with 60 percent of those views from outside the UK and US. Our programmes have done equally well on iTunes with Doctor Who reaching the top spot on the Australian iTunes TV episodes chart. Other BBC Worldwide brands include Good Food which announced a new iPAD app following on from its substantial success on the iphone. The app has already been selected by Apple as app of the week in the UK store. BBC.com has launched the BBC News iPad App which stormed the US charts to reach number three in the news apps on offer. Success in the digital arena can be tracked fairly easily and is quantifiable. This can be monitored through download figures, clicks, ad sales or views as well as wider brand awareness generated through more diverse access to titles. Digital currently makes up six per cent of the company’s total revenues but there is scope to go a lot further.” Christian Murphy, Vice President, AETN International Generally, AETN launches all our apps and games worldwide unless there are any technology, hardware or platform issues that need to be navigated on a market by market basis. Currently, in the mobile space we have the following iPhone apps available worldwide including Asia: IRT, LAP Photo ager, Expedition Africa, Paranormal EMF Meter and CI Investigation game. In Asia specifically, we’ve tied our casual and mystery games to our television properties. Most recently, we have launched a multi chapter online game around The First 48 and Crime 360 programs and we included a casual shooting game for Steven Seagal Lawman. Outside of our sites, we are international application partners with Samsung for their advanced internet TV sets. We currently have available a This Day In History widget which allows users to interact directly with History content and the brand to discover important facts of the day. In addition, on advanced IPTV enabled televisions, we have a History Quiz app which sits on the television screen enabling users to challenge their knowledge of history. We measure the success of our digital initiatives from multiple perspectives including revenues and promotional awareness both for our channel brands and programs. Most important to us in Asia is growing awareness of our brands, so the key metrics in any digital campaign are reach, visits to the sites and brand awareness. In addition, where we have a programme specific campaign, we’ll review ratings performance as well. The AETN digital video assets are, we believe some of the strongest available anywhere and we spend considerable time investing in them to ensure we engage users to spend more time with our content and brands. For tentpole programming, we make significant investments in dedicated mini sites and short form, measuring the success of this through time spent, video plays and completions.