What are the challenges?

Asia is made up of multiple cultures, languages and geographies. Every market is in a different stage of development and it’s about being flexible and bringing something to each of those markets that are applicable to them. It’s really about listening to what people want and try to deliver on that rather than trying to force-feed something that already exists.

New Zealand’s Rialto channel debuts in 11 countries in the region with an estimated reach of 186 million households by 2017. Rialto’s Director, Roger Wyllie said the new documentary channel will comprise approximately 20 per cent New Zealand content with the rest coming from the U.S., Britain and Asia, along with local content from the region. K. Dass reports. We’re also dealing with language issues. Localisation is utmost and we’ll evaluate the best way to implement that. Some places prefer dubbing and subtitles and a couple of markets won’t require any. Once again, it’s about being flexible and doing the right thing for the right market.

We would like to complete our Asian entry by end 2017. We would like to be in major markets by then. What’s important is to make sure we do the right thing for each market and some are going to be easier than others. Generally, the more developed markets are going to be tougher, but we see opportunities in different ways in different places.