Seoul- The 11th Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Festival (SICAF), which ran May 23-25 at SETEC, drew 130,000 visitors and copious entries for the SICAF Promotion Plan (SPP) Project Competition, the animation festival and the international digital cartoon sidebar. The SPP attracted 360 companies and 270 buyers from 21 countries including the U.S., Canada, Spain, France, Japan and China; last year there were around 100 buyers and 220 companies participated. Prize-winners in the SPP Project … [Read more...] about SICAF draws big crowds, hundreds of buyers and production companies
people and appointments
Fifth Media mobile TV launches in China
Shanghai- Shanghai Media Group’s Dragon New Media Co., Ltd. launched the territory’s first mobile phone-based TV service dubbed Fifth Media on May 28, according to Chinese media reports. Dragon New Media is specializing in producing programs tailored for mobile TV, not simply editing traditional TV content, Zheng Jie, the company's chief editor for the business, told reporters. Zheng noted there is a tug-of-war between the Ministry of Information Industry and the State Administration … [Read more...] about Fifth Media mobile TV launches in China
How to drive HDTV in Asia: collaborate and showcase
The development of High Definition Television (HDTV) has been a long and difficult journey. First developed in the 1960s in Japan by the Japan Broadcasting Corporation(NHK), the analogue MUSE HDTV system was trialed during the 1970s and 1980s. Despite significant interest, it was a media technology before its time with commercial development hindered by insufficient bandwidth in transmission systems, lack of HD compatible televisions and the shortage of compelling content. The start of … [Read more...] about How to drive HDTV in Asia: collaborate and showcase
Outlook for HD in Asia: currently cloudy with sunshine expected
High Definition is touted as the future of broadcasting, but if so, excepting Japan and Singapore, why has the rest of Asia been slow to adopt the format? Lack of satellite capacity and bandwith limits. Cable operators’ indecision on HD delivery. Expensive HD set-top boxes. The slow conversion from analogue to digital in some markets. Lack of sufficient content. Low consumer demand. Or all of the above? Theories abound among executives at various stages of the HD value chain, from creation … [Read more...] about Outlook for HD in Asia: currently cloudy with sunshine expected
Mobilizing multimedia
Screen Digest’s latest mobile research analyses the impact three very different mobile content offerings will have on key mobile markets by 2011. The report says new (mobile) broadcast services, launched in only a handful of markets, are growing rapidly. And Unicast services, delivered over existing 3G networks, have begun to generate real revenues in Europe. Interestingly, analysts say that consumers are proving cynics wrong by choosing to watch TV on the smaller screen. Just under 6 … [Read more...] about Mobilizing multimedia
Integrated advertising – solution or sellout?
In an age when ‘engagement’ is the buzzword, advertisers are seeking new ways to actively involve their audience with their products. So programmers are progressively turning to product placement and customized branded programming to build the ‘connect’ between brand and audience. News tends to be the most regulated when it comes to the integration of advertising, although many a news channels ad sales exec must privately wish this was not the case. Publicly, though, … [Read more...] about Integrated advertising – solution or sellout?
