As the CEO of KI, what are some of your priorities now?
Alon: I’m a huge believer in the phrase, ‘Think global, act local’, when it comes to content. Content is a local business, people want to watch shows in their own language. We respect local talent and believe it should take the lead on the home ground. We see Asia as one of our biggest markets today and especially now as China and India are booming in the industry.
Homeland, which was based on our original drama Prisoners of War, changed American television. In America, there is a before and after of Homeland.
India has an amazing movie industry, and now TV is evolving to the Western style of storytelling which you see illustrated in Prisoners of War. These are stories that go beyond, romantic family-orientated series to tackle more sophisticated and challenging storylines.
What opportunities for growth do you see in Asia?
Alon: So the strategy in Asia is just like any other region, it is to invest in local talent, operations and teams. We see every region as a two-way street. We sell formats but we also source local IP. China for instance, is now exploding with creativity and producers are developing their own IP successfully. Since we have such a huge footprint as a global distributor, several producers have approached us to sell for them globally which is an honour. Obviously, we handpick the shows very carefully for different markets. Lately, we acquired distribution rights to a Chinese show produced in both Singapore and China, called Manbirth. In Singapore, it’s produced by Group M and telecast on Channel 5. We see Asia as a place with an endless source of content.
Is KI planning to produce in Asia?
Alon: The Asian market is mainly for licensing and co-producing at the moment. We are looking into expanding our production capabilities and I expect Keshet to have production outlets in India and Singapore (for South East Asia activities) in 2017, this is definitely on the table. We see KI as a vertical business with control over every element in the IP value chain. IP can be a TV show, movie or game and our strategy is to try to exploit as many elements as possible.
We are humble enough to understand that we should work with the local creators in Asia. The key for a great show is a great piece of IP and great talent to localise the content. Homeland could never be Homeland without Howard Gordon. He kept the same DNA, but produced a show for America. We respect local talent, we give space to local talent and when we sell a show, we literally want them to do what’s best for their market. We want to make sure they receive full support as they know their audience better. That’s how we engage with local talent, it’s crucial for us not to set up any operation without finding the right talent.
My challenge is to make sure we keep producing content in line with the local culture and keep viewers engaged through with our “mash-up” of localand imported IP. But, there are many obstacles such as regulations in every country which differs from one market to another.
India and China have been very kind to KI, we have a successful show in China called, Master Class, which is going into its third season and two scripted dramas in progress. Elsewhere, Indonesia’s Rising Star won an award for the best talent show last year.
We are very excited about the potential for digital content in Asia. China is now exploding with shortform and online content, it’s exciting because Israel is doing the same and Keshet is at the forefront of this trend. We operate the biggest OTT platform and one of the largest websites in Israel, Mako. All of our linear shows on Keshet Broadcasting have a digital component and some have apps and games as well. We now have a team dedicated to developing online content for the U.S. and U.K. too.
Are you working on any VR content as well?
Alon: When VR takes off in the industry, it’s going to influence almost every aspect of our lives from entertainment to education. We’ve been experimenting with some astonishing VR games in Israel which will make an impact when they are ready to launch. They are expected to be released sometime this year in 3D and 3D VR.
When Virtual Reality invades television, it will not only change the way we watch TV but also the way we produce TV content. Hence, creators will have to find ways to implement VR with great experience, just like the way James Cameron implemented 3D in Avatar. I think technology drives content, but it’s always a qualifying moment when good content really justifies technology, it’s kind of an ecosystem. 3D has been around since the 1950s but Avatar was the real big success for 3D. VR has also been around for many years but at an unenhanced level. I think the technology is finally there but now it’s about finding the right content. Our first step here is in gaming, followed by television, movie and education. It’s going to be fascinating to see creators produce VR movies or VR television series; it’s going to be completely different.
