Singapore’s participation rate at this year’s MIPCOM has increased by 40 per cent, compared to last year. Of this, 30 per cent of the companies are first time participants. A total of 17 companies are attending this year’s market, and they are a mix of TV production houses, animation studios, content distributers, as well as a media services company. Some 48 programme titles will be offered for international sale and distribution, covering more than 400 hours of factual, drama … [Read more...] about Local flavour
Channel: Broadcaster
Geared for success
For a show that features a few hot – and not so hot – car models, three cheeky British TV presenters and a mysterious mute car afi cionado named Stig, the numbers are staggering: 350 million viewers in 190 countries, 10 million views and close to 57,000 subscribers on YouTube, plus 9.1 million fans on Facebook and in the UK, more than 80 per cent of people have watched at least part of a Top Gear episode. “It’s a dream production to be involved with,” said Adam … [Read more...] about Geared for success
A World Cup scrum
After launching in 2004 to an audience of just over 700,000, Maori Television has proven itself as more than a niche broadcaster. It’s quality international series and documentaries have helped grow its viewership by an average of 14 per cent each year, and it now reaches an estimated 1.9 million viewers. With the International Rugby Board’s (IRB) backing, Maori Television went head-to-head with television heavyweights TVNZ and Mediaworks in the bid for the free-to-air coverage. … [Read more...] about A World Cup scrum
Offscreen antics
Most of the drama on Australian television this year has been going on in the boardrooms rather than on the screen, but should they ever decide to turn it into a TV show it would likely make a riveting plot. In the past 12 months there have been takeovers, poaching, court dramas, proposed mergers, unwanted attention from the Australian regulator – the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) – and yet another blow for a beleaguered Rupert Murdoch. Network outage Ten has … [Read more...] about Offscreen antics
Blasts from the past
Traditionally if Aussie audiences went for a period drama it was a bodice-ripping BBC yarn like the recent Downton Abbey, but 2011 has been the year that has seen a pair of local historical dramas head from television’s outback to the mainstream. After three years mining the recent criminal past, Nine Network’s Underbelly series took a gamble and went right back to the 1920s for Underbelly: Razor the story of the razor gangs that terrorized Sydney during a bloody battle against two … [Read more...] about Blasts from the past
Eyes on Asia
There’s no doubt 2011 has been a signifi cant one for TV business globally and in Asia. Localization is almost commonplace across various genres; content creation and co-productions are on the up; new PayTV channels are adding to the mix and various technologies are being launched to tackle the insatiable need for varied and different content on multiple platforms. The highs I began by asking our panel of executives, “What trends in viewership are they seeing for their respective … [Read more...] about Eyes on Asia