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. 

Studios

BBC Studios

Phil Hardman, SVP & General Manager, Asia, BBC Studios

Content trends: 2021 vs 2022

In 2020 and 2021, we saw audiences gravitate to feel-good entertainment and edutainment that brings families together. Audiences wanted to see high-quality content that delivers insights into sustainability and climate change issues through our factual content, feel-good entertainment in our lifestyle and comedy content, Asian adaptations based on BBC Studios IP in the drama space, and wholesome entertainment and edutainment for kids.

Our premium and landmark factual titles continue to be a draw for audiences, and we are producing more content that focuses on sustainability and the environment. There’s A Perfect Planet and the three-part documentary Greta Thunberg: A Year to Change The World, which helps audiences understand climate issues. The Green Planet, slated for release in January, is a five-part natural history landmark series that follows Sir David Attenborough as he travels the world to explore the extraordinary ways in which plants have learnt to survive and thrive in almost every environment. The Green Planet will also premiere in India via Sony BBC Earth, and in Japan via NHK and on CCTV and Bilibili in China.

Our BBC Earth and Lifestyle channels and content on BBC Player are performing very well across the region with talent-led titles such as Jamie Oliver’s Jamie’s Easy Meals For Everyday and Nigella Lawson’s Cook Eat Repeat receiving quite a reception from our audience. We also saw more interest in comedy and light entertainment with titles like Top Gear returning with new series and Inside No. 9 growing in popularity in China and across Asia.  

Asian content is capturing a big audience across the region and globally. There is demand for gripping multi-layered drama formats and BBC Studios IP is performing incredibly well. India, Korea and The Philippines have adapted local versions of Doctor Foster and the Korean version, The World of The Married, was South Korea’s highest-rated drama in cable TV history.  We will see even more Asian content based on BBC Studios IP in the coming months with the Korean adaptation of Criminal Justice and the Indian adaption of Luther. The idea that humour doesn’t travel is also being challenged – we are collaborating on Uncle with Monster Union in Korea and have produced The Office with Hotstar in India.

Finally, there is an increasing demand for high-quality kids’ edutainment content. We are witnessing global success with the Emmy award-winning Bluey which is the highest performing show on ABC iView in Australia, a top-performing title on CBeebies and BBC Player across Asia and winning huge audiences in the US, UK, Europe and recently, in Korea, where it is airing on EBS. 

Content strategy for 2022

In 2022, we will continue to build new partnerships and bring UK-produced content to our audiences both via our branded services and content partnerships. Our lineup next year includes new landmark factual titles including The Green Planet, Frozen Planet II, Dynasties II as well as Dinosaur Pompeii from the BBC Science Unit. We will have more world-class kids content in our production and distribution pipeline with Bluey returning for another series as well as new scripted including This is Going to Hurt, Smother, The Split and Sherwood returning as well as three Doctor Who specials.

Our production capabilities will continue to expand in Australia and India, working with local partners on formats and co-productions across the region. We also want to deepen relationships with platforms to work on originals that are relevant to audiences in Asia and we are already seeing success in China with the upcoming factual landmark One Cup, A Thousand Stories co-produced with Migu Video, the new science series Odyssey Into The Future featuring acclaimed Chinese author, Liu Cixin with Bilibili.

By collaborating closely with our partners to adapt and localise our original stories into local formats we try to bring tried and tested formals and globally relevant stories to new audiences.  We recognise it is important for us to reflect local culture and language in our Asian adaptation so that we can find relevant content that retains the core DNA of the story. We have a responsibility to do justice to the original creative work and be sensitive to making an adaptation that remains true to the original, such as our relationship with Applause Entertainment to adapt Guilt for the Indian market.

Beyond our strength in production and content distribution, we are on the constant lookout for new ways to collaborate with partners to explore growth in education and edutainment. We are excited to work with existing and new partners about what the BBC’s incredible catalogue can offer in the education space as well as produce new edutainment content with partners in Asia. 

Keshet International

Kelly Wright, SVP New Business and Distribution, Keshet International

Content trends: 2021 vs 2022

For Keshet International, the trend for 2021 was an uptick in sales of finished programmes. With the Asian Pay-TV channel landscape shifting so dramatically in 2021, distribution was strongly tipped towards the up-and-coming SVOD platforms in the region, such as NowTV in Hong Kong and Mola TV in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. 

We were able to sell a lot of dramas such as Prisoners of War India, The Brave and Secret Bridesmaids’ Business, and also non-scripted factual and entertainment content like Animal Ambulance, Speed Freaks and Singletown.

We think this trend will continue because that kind of volume and library is important to these platforms. To date, all indications show us that this content is doing well on these platforms, too. For example, we’ve heard that when Our Boys launched on Mola TV, it was the number one show on the platform. 

Rising Star continues to be produced in Sri Lanka by Hiru TV who made a long-lasting commitment that sees Rising Star remain a reality tent-pole in the country for several more years into the future. Some production has continued in 2021—primarily those staples and tent-pole, big-budget, must-have primetime formats, like Rising Star, and we look forward to seeing an increase in local productions in 2022.  

Content strategy for 2022:

The key focus for us in terms of content strategy is both increasing local productions and distributing more finished programs. 

What we saw throughout 2021 was constant delays with local productions in Asia, for instance in Vietnam with Domination. It’s very unfortunate because the production companies were super eager, the brands were super-eager, the broadcaster had the show on the schedule, but the delays caused by COVID, alongside government-mandated regulations, prevented those shows from materializing in 2021. We’re looking forward to increased productions in 2022 and for an overall improvement in the situation. 

We all know that a lot of countries in Asia have a zero-COVID policy. We’re hoping that there will be more open doors in 2022 for productions to continue. We also anticipate a continuing rise in acquisitions because we don’t know if these local productions will move forward and be greenlighted. 

In the meantime, while local productions are on-hold, having access to excellently produced content from the UK and other territories around the world helps platforms schedule linear content, grow SVOD libraries, power AVOD revenues and feed this global community of viewers who enjoy watching content from different countries of the world from where they live. So that’s a great thing—for both the global conversation and for the market.

ViacomCBS

Lina Abdul Hamid, Director, Programming & Content, Nickelodeon – Southeast Asia

Diana Suparji, Senior Manager, Programming, Comedy Central – Southeast Asia

Content trends: 2021 vs 2022

Lina Abdul Hamid:

Anime Explosion! 

Due to the increasing global appetite for anime especially in Japan and Korea, we can see major content providers boosting their slate and investing a lot more in this genre.  

Popular IPs are being re-designed for cross-platform experiences

As the pandemic brought shifts in screen time, kids are also rotating across platforms. Acknowledging this trend, content providers are placing content on non-traditional platforms to create more awareness and drive viewers back to their site. Movies have also shifted to direct-to-home, prompting a new normal in streaming. A multiple-device strategy is now crucial in making content work.

Iconic brands continue to be sought after 

The pandemic has created competition among platform providers, so iconic brands that are familiar and resonate with kids and families see increased viewer loyalty. One of Nickelodeon’s new titles is The Smurfs, and Garfield will soon be added to our slate. 

Diversity & inclusion is key

This is an important component in the production of any content, to ensure fair representation of gender equality and cultural backgrounds. All children need to be able to identify with similar characters, individuals or heroes on-screen; cultivating diversity in kids content, allows kids to see themselves in popular culture. For example, Filipino culture is highlighted in one of the episodes from Nickelodeon’s Blues’ Clues & You as Filipino-American host Josh Dela Cruz greets his Lola (a Filipino term for ‘grandmother’) with ‘mano po’ – a gesture where you take an elder’s hand to your forehead; viewers also see Josh bake bibingka (a Filipino rice cake dessert) with his Lola. Blues’ Clues & You also have localised editions in different countries. SpongeBob SquarePants acknowledges its global fandom and celebrates local festivals alongside viewers with messages of love and peace to Muslims around the world during Ramadan with the characters wishing audiences Ramadan Mubarak and a blessed Eid. Content like this provides kids with a window to local culture and children can learn more about the experiences of their friends. This is true to the DNA of the Nickelodeon brand, which is to be everywhere kids are and to reflect where they are today.

Diana Suparji:

Asian content continues its march and is aided by a growing acceptance of foreign-language content, as good storytelling continues to break barriers and transcend borders. The love for Korean content shows no signs of abating. For instance, Korean content and culture are fascinating and is spreading across the globe across strong anchors like K-pop, culture, drama, as well as travel and tourism.

We continue to see K-pop content resonate with our fans across titles on MTV Asia (for example, THE SHOW, and the NCT 127 World Premiere Sticker). BTS’ performance at the 2020 MTV VMAs, and our World Stage Indonesia with NCT 127 are also prominent examples. There is also an uptick in commitment to original productions.  

We are also heartened to see an increase in social themes something ViacomCBS brands have done for decades. More and more, storylines now address global concerns like class and income gaps, climate change, as well as the importance of Diversity and Inclusion. This is across genres—from comedy and family animation to music and horror. We can expect this to gain even more prominence in 2022 not just because of its CSR value but because it makes for storytelling that resonates with audiences.

Content strategy for 2022:

Lina Abdul Hamid:

Acquisitions and content partnerships with global brands

This will continue to be our focus in 2022, to complement our original pipeline of hit content. Emphasis on diversity and inclusivity will be a must-have.

Building Asia IPs that will resonate with a global audience

With the success of Deer Squad, Nickelodeon’s first animation collaboration with iQiyi, we hope to discover more IPs by Asian content creators which feature unique Asian elements and bring these to the rest of the world.

Sourcing for content that can co-exist across platforms 

With the rise of the ‘metaverse,’ we need to look for more content that will allow kids to be interconnected with virtual communities where they can play and watch content together, for example on streaming, gaming as well as social platforms.

Diana Suparji:

We can expect to see the continued focus on local productions across the region, as networks and streamers double down on connecting with local audiences and finding differentiators. For us, this works across both long- and short-form content such as MTV Trippin Random, Rightocracy, The Ultimate Stan, and CC Commentary Roast, especially on digital where our brands and genres find great resonance. Look out for upcoming MTV Krash Kourse and CC Mini Mocks!

Read part two here.

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