Asia’s content space has proven to be resilient in the past year when productions have been halted due to the ongoing pandemic. This year, we’ve seen multiple co-production deals being inked and hot new Original productions being launched, which says a lot about Asia’s thriving content space. 

But just how well did 2021 look for content and what’s in store for 2022? We’ve interviewed 10 media companies across studios, OTT platforms, and broadcasters to get their take on what the past year has been like and what the industry should expect in 2022.

See what studios had to say here.

OTT Platforms

iQiyi

Kuek Yu-Chuang, Vice President for International Business, iQiyi

Content trends and strategy:

We’re seeing non-English language content taking off around the world, and while Korean content is leading that trend, iQiyi is also bullish on the potential for content from China and within the region to take off next year.

This year on iQiyi, fans loved K-drama and we launched 30% more Korean titles than last year. This included significant investments in bringing in Korean Originals, such as My Roommate is a Gumiho. In 2022, iQiyi will be focusing on producing Original Korean dramas that will continue to appeal to international audiences—this can be in the form of creating more “differentiated romance” titles or bringing on board some of the biggest stars in Korea for our projects. iQiyi will also continue to be a world-class partner for Korean Content creators and have started to do so this year by doubling the size of our local team from 2020 to 2021, to provide more support and closer alignment with our partners on the ground. 

Chinese content remains iQiyi’s cornerstone for 2022, and we are confident that c-content will be the next big wave next year and beyond. With iQiyi at the forefront of this C-Wave, we will continue to innovate and elevate Chinese content to the next level, and in 2022, we are excited to spearhead the Biggest Chinese IP Universe Project by a streaming platform, Luoyang. We’re also seeing the emergence and success of our hybrid content genres, Light On (noir, suspense, mystery, thrillers) and Sweet On (romance titles paired with fantasy, school life, “Slice of life” genre types) take off as well internationally, and are excited to see more creators exploring this content trend come 2022.

We are also intent on showcasing the best of Southeast Asian storytelling. Hence, iQiyi has and will continue to invest heavily in bringing thousands of hours of Filipino, Thai, Malaysian, and Indonesian content from the biggest content creators in-market to local audiences. We’ve kicked things off with The Ferryman: Legends of Nanyang, with Filipino titles Saying Goodbye and Hello, Heart and Thai titles Only You I Need, with more local originals set to launch in 2022.

With the demand for Asian content continuing to rise, iQiyi will continue to double down and create premium, high-quality pan-Asian content in 2022, as the leading streaming player rooted in Asia that is devoted to creating Asian content for the world.

On the emergence of more OTT platforms:

Ever since iQiyi’s international streaming service officially set up our international office in Singapore in December 2020, we have grown exponentially over the past year in many areas. We are available in over 191 territories, our international app currently has over 4,000 shows that spans Chinese, Korean, Japanese anime and local content. We’ve put in significant investments to keep our content accessible with lowered barriers of entry with users worldwide. Subtitled in up to 10 languages and available in the highest possible viewing quality made possible only with the deepening of our partnership with Dolby Studios this year, our freemium service allows everyone to explore and enjoy thousands of hours of Asian content.

Outside of China, iQiyi now has a local footprint in the Middle East, North America, and across Southeast Asia, and content teams based in Japan and Korea to scout the next beloved Asian stories for the international audience—making us the only Asian streamer with a global footprint, operating on-ground beyond Asia across APAC, EMEA and the Americas. In 2022, readers can expect iQiyi to produce even more Original content in-house to cater to the demand, tastes and appetites of our audiences.

We are also willing to try harder and be creative with our solutions as the new kid on the block. Besides allowing regional stars to go global, we’re working with different partners and have come up with marketing campaigns to draw consumers in.

Voot

Ferzad Palia, Head, SVOD (Voot Select, Voot Kids) and International Business at Viacom18

On content trends:

In the past two years, audiences are seeking diverse and varied content experiences. One of the standout content consumption trends over the last year has been content consumption in multiple languages which took off in 2021. It has been the year where the language barrier was broken, and a wider set of audiences were seen turning language agnostic and consuming content in different languages. For example, it has been a phenomenal year for Korean dramas in India. We can see this affinity growing in the coming years as people who are willing to pay for exclusive reality content is also on the rise and that will be a big force for driving subscription in the next couple of years. That apart, in India, regional language consumption on OTT platforms has also witnessed a great uptick.

Content strategy for 2022:

Given the success we have seen in 2020 and 2021, we will be one of the biggest producers of original series in India in the coming years. Local content is going to be the heart of what we do in both scripted and unscripted spaces. We will predominantly be focused on creating content given the number of powerhouses we have within our ecosystem. We are also open to acquisitions and licensing on a case-to-case basis. To conclude, for us the next year is going to be about local production and originals are going to be our prime focus.

On the emergence of more OTT platforms:

We continued to be focused on being an OTT service with wholesome offerings which is relevant to most constituents of a household. We have content that caters to the viewing needs of every individual in the house as well as the whole family together. For us, the content strategy is aimed at reaching the widest possible audience and while doing that we have managed to satisfy the niche demands of the audience as well.

Read part three here.

A version of this story appears in the December 2021 issue of Television Asia Plus.