The similarity to FOX Movies Premium (FMP) is uncanny. Take a linear channel, blend blockbusters with live concerts, documentaries, and original productions; toss in a non-linear companion (player); add a HD channel; craft a new name (the now-preferred SCM) and whip up a new on-air look, and you have a delectable TV “dish” fi t for an “emperor” – welcome to the new-and-improved SCM ala FMP.

Yim explains that as the channel was due for an upgrade, FMP naturally provided the inspiration.

In the inaugural launch, SCM audiences were treated to blockbusters like the 2011 sleeper hit, You’re the Apple of My Eye, as well as concert performances by Richie Ren, with other performances by Andy Lau, Sammi Cheng and Miriam Yeung to follow. Burma – A Human Tragedy, which documents Aung San Suu Kyi’s life under the Burmese military regime, spearheaded the documentary genre for the rebranded SCM.

The former STAR Chinese Movies was male-skewed, so Yim would like the new programming slate to not just skew younger but capture more female “eyeballs” as well. “Predominantly, we’re targeting 25 – 45 year-olds (for movies). For varieties and ‘live’ concerts though, we hope to extract a younger group.”

SCM is also adopting a new primetime scheduling strategy. First-run originals now premiere at 930pm instead of 9pm previously, as local audiences are tuning in later into the evening. Also, SCM is premiering fi rst-runs back-to-back during primetime, airing brand new content as late as 11pm – 1130pm – better for the nocturnal viewer.

Quality content is hard to come by. Just as FMP boasts of the ability to secure premium movie content by way of output deals with top US fi lm studios (FOX, Disney, MGM etc.), Yim’s programming team, which buys and schedules out of Hong Kong for the three SCM feeds (Hong Kong; Malaysia; and Singapore/ Philippines), sign exclusive deals with regional content producers and distributors, namely Media Asia and Emperor Motion Pictures (EMP) for premium content. However, the need for region-specifi c programming is foremost on Yim’s mind. While acquisition budgets will largely be spent on Hong Kong content which Yim suggests has universal appeal, a chunk of change will now go into local buys as well as to fi nance SCM’s foray into co-productions.

“The market is getting really different. Previously, we (just) sign an output deal for regional rights. Now we see that every market has its own special taste,” explains Yim. On June 30, SCM was in Singapore to announce their latest collaboration with Clover Films to co-produce The Wedding Diary II《结婚那件事之后》, the highly anticipated sequel to the box offi ce hit The Wedding Diary《结婚那件事》by Malaysian director Adrian Teh.

“We started this co-production plan this year when we were thinking of the rebrand,” says Yim. “In terms of exclusivity, we are commissioning our original productions for our channel fi rst.” Yim further explains that the model is to co-produce for an exclusive window on SCM with the coproduction partner exploiting theatrical rights.

A second commissioning initiative is to co-produce telefeatures in HD and a third is in nurturing new talents. Yim cited the example of the 2005 project “Focus First Cuts” where SCM collaborated with Hong Kong actor Andy Lau’s Focus Film Ltd to fi nance six HD features from up-and-coming directors such as Ning Hao. “Many of the new talents that came out of that project became very established now,” says Yim. “It is a great platform for new talents.”

This year, SCM continued its efforts to promote industry talents by collaborating with Hong Kong’s Salon Films. The project, “Asia First Cuts”, aims to fi nance ten new fi lms to help new directors reach their fullest potential. Yim found director Adrian Teh to be an ideal candidate for the project. “Adrian actually falls in between the two; new talent and (someone from) a localised co-production. This is an ideal case for us. It is our new vision to nurture talent in a region but beyond that, provide a regional platform for local directors and producers to reach more audiences with our regional channel distribution.”

“Now we’re ‘proactively’ buying,” explains Yim. “If we think a project has potential beyond a territory, we would even bring the project to a theatrical partner and suggest that they distribute to another market. We’re not waiting for second-hand information from distributors. We’re fi nding the products ourselves for our audiences.”