It was a mixture of sorts at the 5th annual Busan Contents Market in South Korea. More than 500 television and media companies from 42 countries descended on the port city over the three-day event, but some left feeling their attendance didn’t reap rewards.
At the opening ceremony, held on May 12 and broadcast LIVE on national television, more than 40 representatives from the local and international media industry, along with academia from various animation and media institutions, declared the market open with a unanimous stroke of their iPads.
But by the end of the fi rst day, a number of international channels and content producers were vocal about the lack of foot traffi c – especially from buyers.
“I’ve managed to only secure three meetings today and only two tomorrow,” Miguel Somoza, Regional Sales Director of Venevision International, told TV ASIA Plus. “I was expecting more Asian buyers here this year. It’s quite disappointing.”
Doug Fraser, Australia Network’s Director of Business Development in China added, “I got the feeling it was for the benefi t of the Korean broadcasters but not as much for international networks who fl ew in to be here.”
In contrast, Carlotta Gelmetti of Al Jazeera, who was at BCM for the fi rst time, said the market was enjoyable. “It was our fi rst time having a stand presence in an Asian market, the trade fair gave us easy access to broadcasters to understand more about the region and what content generates interest. We are very keen to explore this region to exploit our content.”
However, she did cede that more interest from other parts of Asia would make the market an all-round success.
“Hopefully it will expand and prompt a more pan Asian/worldwide industry interest as the space can cater for this fair becoming larger scale.”
Numbers attending BCM have been steadily growing. Overall attendance was up 20 per cent on last year and some major regional deals were announced. Among them, a crossborder collaboration between Korea and Malaysia.
Animation studio, Funcel Sdn Bhd secured two deals worth RM5 million (US$1.7m). The fi rst was a jointproduction with e-Learning/animation studio Jellyfi sh World Co. Ltd. for a 2D educational TV series. Intellectual Property will be based on characters from Jellyfi sh’s YoYo Pet or Young Ghost Buster and could also allow for spinoff business in the development of gaming, e-Learning and character licensing.
The second deal was between Funcel and Magic Image Co. Ltd, Korea, where a Memorandum of Understanding was signed to help cross-distribute its animated programmes between the two countries.
Commenting on the collaboration, Kamil Othman, Vice President – Creative Multimedia Division of Multimedia Development Corporation (MDec), said that currently Korea has the highest frequency of successful on-going animation collaborations with Malaysian companies, “New collaborations with the Koreans will certainly continue and sustain the growth of Malaysia’s library of exportable content to the world,” he said.
Also during the market KBS Media’s The Princess’ Man and A Bachelor’s Vegetable Store also received US$4.5 million dollars in investments from Japan, China, and Taiwan through an international co-production agreement.
According to Jang Soon Park, Co-Chairman of BCM’s Executive Committee, deals amounting to US$48 million – a 57 per cent increase on last year – were signed at the event.
“Certainly the Korean wave is driving the business at BCM,” he said. “We are still very much a young market but with increased buying power and growing demands for competitive content in this region, it gives us the potential to grow with increased confi dence to attract new comers every year.
“There is a mass of markets nowadays in our industry and being a must attend market for everyone is a tall order. The BCM committee is trying to be the next Asian hub of entertainment by listening to the demands of professionals in our industry and cater to those needs.”
Fraser agrees, but said the event would benefi t most by establishing an international committee or team to advise on how and what the BCM could do each year to attract greater numbers.
“There needs to be more collaboration with regional and international industry professionals. If it’s too specifi c to Korea it limits potential for networking and business opportunities throughout Asia.”
Gelmetti said with the right mix of business and content opportunities, BCM has a future. “Korea as a country seems to be expanding in all directions so there is a strong case for such an event to grow and turn into an important annual date in the calendar,” she said.
