2019 is the year of the channel re/reset. For real. Asia’s channels environment at the moment is all about newbies with realistic expectations. Oldies that have aligned/realigned expectations with reality, thought long and hard about what markets want and can pay for, and designed (or re-designed) their product accordingly. Everyone has eyes wide open for a gap they can fill in a digital universe. And those are the ones going willingly into this dark night armed with night-vision goggles. Others? Kicking and screaming, slashing & burning, hanging onto old hopes, dreams and margins. Possibly delaying the inevitable. A bit. Ultimately, the reset will happen. And the old 40%+ margins will be gone along with the giant poorly defined channel bouquets.

Whatever path they’re on, Asia’s channel programmers aren’t/can’t count on the levels of affiliate fees they used to get. And that’s in markets where they have traditionally been paid on time. In others? A mix of hope that new investment will be funneled to outstanding bills, unpleasant plans B, and on high alert for other partners and opportunities.

For everyone, the hunt to leverage brands and content in fresh ways is a priority. And that leads directly to the doorsteps of telcos and digital platforms willing to experiment with linear as part of multi-layered streaming offerings, open to on-demand options, and constantly upgrading user-interfaces and payment solutions. There’s also the direct-to-consumer option through Apple or Google. In short, a lot more distribution options, but with none of the old revenue results. Even where there is revenue certainty, we are told this is nowhere near amounts channels used to get. For the most part, revenue share is replacing minimum guarantees in this space... and it’s scarey.

And then there’s the originals question – or rather, to do or not to do. Asia entered 2019 with record interest and energy around local IP development and production. If that makes the outlook a whole lot rosier for the production industry, the execution/cost for pay-TV channels remains a challenge. At the same time, there is greater confidence than ever in Asian stories; there’s a new openness to short-form storytelling and experimentation; and the thinking around rights and collaboration has shifted in a big way, which spreads the risk and extends the reach. All good things.

Every programmer we spoke to for this year’s directory, ContentAsia’s The Big List 2019, talked about putting viewers at the centre of the entertainment experience; about being more cognisant of market needs; about the value of a clear proposition; about leveraging expanding distribution options to offer more diverse information and opinion; and about transformation. Clearly there’s no shortage of clarity on what needs to be done.

Turner Asia Pacific president, Ricky Ow, expects the biggest influence on Asia’s TV industry in the next 12 months to be faster everything. “2019 will be year of speed. More consolidation, more transformation, and more focus on the consumer,” he says. Celestial Tiger Entertainment’s CEO, Todd Miller, speaks about thoughtful, quality editorial curation being back in vogue among consumers, who are increasingly overwhelmed by the proliferation of content and viewing options. Rewind Networks’ CEO, Avi Himatsinghani, has had a consistent forward-thinking line for more than five years: “Solidly curated branded destinations with a clear proposition and easy discoverability.” TV5Monde’s Asia-Pac MD, Alexandre Muller, says 2019 has to be about understanding and meeting consumers’ needs and delivering services in a user-friendly and affordable way. Thema’s Asia-Pac MD, Alexandre Bac, talks about education and entertainment driving the market, with access via both linear and SVOD. DW’s distribution director, Petra Schneider, ever aware of regional diversity, is pushing localisation; for example, in addition to the made-in-Asia Founder’s Valley (2018), DW has four versions of its science show in South Asia.

Most are testing new waters, with a bigger range of platforms, new kinds of brand alliances and partnerships, different types of original content creation, or all of the above and more. Sony Pictures Networks Asia, for instance, has a bigger/broader regional alliance with cloud platform GoDaddy, pulling in The Amazing Race S5 winner, Maggie Wilson-Consunji, as brand ambassador in a wide-ranging year-long campaign that includes a series of shorts about entrepreneurship and also supports the new season of Asia’s Got Talent. NBC Universal Int’l Networks has a new regional style show (details not released at presstime) that speaks of what’s possible instead of how difficult the whole pan-regional effort is. A+E Networks is putting the finishing touches on a kickass slate of digital originals, is pushing ahead with its Korean productions, has a new Malaysia platform that has opened up a treasure trove of consumer insights it didn’t have access to before, and is, like others, testing mobile audiences as part of new bundles with streaming platforms such as Hooq. Blue Ant created a home improvement/design/DIY channel, Makeful, especially for StarHub, mostly using content from its Canadian mothership; it’s straight, clear, fills a gap and costs way less than the channel it replaced.

Are any of these efforts filling the hole left by disappearing traditional affiliate fees? That’s the wrong question. The right question is: Is there a sustainable business in a new environment, disrupted by a million things from Sunday that we know about plus some we don’t. Our thinking is yes. With night goggles, a little courage and a lot of grit, there definitely is.

First printed in ContentAsia’s The Big List 2019. You can access the fullchannels section here