Michael Dick, Head of Acquisitions, FIC
In general our needs are largely the same other than an increase in the number of movies we are acquiring. Our series channels, however, are becoming more defined so we are having to become more focused and selective about the shows we acquire for each channel. With the recent launch of FOX Action Movies we do need more movies to cover the three Hollywood movie channels – FOX Movies Premium, FOX Family Movies and FOX Action Movies.
For 2013, we are going to make every effort to be increasingly strategic about selecting our partners and the deals we do. As we have in the past, we would rather do larger volume deals with strategic importance for us and our partners than lots of small deals, as we feel this approach will help us get the rights we require and will help keep license fees reasonable.
We do acquire hundreds of hours of series and several hundred movies per year when all our channel groups are added up. As we are expanding the number of movie channels we are running, our demand for feature films has grown. We are always looking for strong new reality shows for STAR World and first-run must-see TV series for FOX.
Layla Lewis, Director, Programming, Acquisitions and Development, Turner International Asia Pacific Limited
In September, we were thrilled to announce the addition of two new brands to our kids’ portfolio in Asia. Toonami and Cartoonito will launch on December 1, so MIPCOM was a very busy market and my eyes were peeled for great new content for these two channels as well as Cartoon Network.
Adding Cartoonito – a younger-skewing platform – to Turner’s other offerings in Asia is a particularly exciting opportunity as there was a lot of great content on offer in this genre at MIPCOM.
Looking forward to 2013, we will continue to seek out acquisition and co-production opportunities in the animated comedy, action-adventure and pre-school space, so it’s going to be a busy but very exciting year!
Yan-Jong Wong, Vice President, Programming, English Content, Networks, Asia, Sony Pictures Television
As our programming strategy has worked well so far, we do not anticipate significant changes to our acquisition plans. AXN, beTV and Sony Entertainment Television viewers can look forward to a strong programming line-up of new shows including Hannibal, Legend Fighting Championship, The Wedding Band and Nashville; returning hits such as the CSI franchise, Hawaii Five-0, Sherlock, Necessary Roughness and Top Chef; along with AXN’s new original production, The Apprentice Asia, going into 2013.
While we have a full slate currently, we remain on the lookout through the year for fresh drama, comedies, and reality series with high production values that are on-brand with each channel, to ensure our channels are always offering a wide variety of new and high quality shows on the market.
Angie Yong, Manager, Programme Acquisition, AETN All Asia Networks
We are focusing on real life series which would fit Bio, and series and specials for Crime & Investigation Network.
For 2013, we will be purchasing for Bio and Crime & Investigation Network and less for History as we will acquire more from the A+E catalogue for History. We will also be buying for Lifetime. The genre types we are actively seeking for are crime programmes (e.g. white collar crime and procedural series) for Crime & Investigation Networks. We are always keen to have big character reality series and factual entertainment titles that fit well with Bio’s tagline ‘Real Life Stories’ as well as female skewing content for Lifetime.
Joy Olby-Tan, Vice President, Channel 5, Network Acquisitions, MediaCorp
Buying content is a continuously evolving cycle where we source for the best product to fit the audience’s changing needs and to fit today’s business environment at the best possible deal terms. Our primary buying focus has been and continues to be prime-time slots. We are also open to working out any new win-win content business models, especially in non-primetime.
We are increasingly taking a 360 approach in providing multi-faceted content across multiple touchpoints. So quality, all-rounded content with rights cleared across multiple platforms will stand above the crowd. MediaCorp Channel 5 aims to provide the best curated mix of quality international English entertainment across the key genres of Blockbuster Movies, Drama, Comedy, Variety, Entertainment and Reality. Besides finished product, we also acquire formats which have strong brand values and relatability to the Singapore audience.
Marianne Lee, Director, Programming & Acquisitions, Universal Networks International
Our programming decisions shape the environment of our channels. Strong scripted and unscripted shows in a variety of entertainment genres do well on our destination channel brands. For 2013, our direction continues on the path of scripted and non scripted quality shows.
We are on the constant look out for scripted comedies, dramas and movies and non-scripted content. We are open to unique formats like Hot Guys Who Cook – the shows that resonate with our audiences in Asia.
