U.S. studios enter the annual Screenings in Los Angeles later this month with major activity on the streaming front, a wealth of new business opportunities, and solid commitments to studio content from Asian buyers across every platform.

“While local content performs well for many of our clients there continues to be a solid and growing commitment to U.S. programming throughout Asia,” says CBS Studios International’s president of sales, Barry Chamberlain.

Today’s Asia streaming boom is expected to continue as broadband penetration increases.

If consolidation following the current launch spree is on the horizon, it’s still a few years away and isn’t dampening the love for new and new-ish partners, especially since they’re paying real licensing fees.

“OTT is a growing business for us... There is still headroom for additional players in that space and many more subscribers, so we anticipate continued growth for some time,” says Mike Wald, Sony Pictures Television’s executive vice president, international distribution.

Paramount Pictures is in full growth mode too, and the good times will, in most markets, continue for a while.

“We have seen good growth over the last couple of years,” says Amy Reinhard, president, worldwide television licensing and distribution and home media acquisitions.

“A small number of markets may see some consolidation but we are still bullish that consolidation will be offset by markets that are just starting to truly activate,” she adds.

New business opportunities for distributors are being driven both by uber-competitive SVOD/streaming platforms as well as by existing players strengthening their offerings... and by distributors juggling and balancing licensing windows.

The Walt Disney Company Southeast Asia’s general manager, studio entertainment, Amit Malhotra, says OTT/streaming platforms provide unique opportunities to “learn from consumers, improve the brand relationship and get closer to viewers”.

Malhotra is working with local, regional and global players on TVOD/SVOD offerings, including ABC Studios On Demandfor live action series, Disney-on-Demand for Disney animated serires and Disney Movies on Demand.

Chamberlain says content windowing continues to be important and SVOD platforms “continue to emerge as serious players in the region and are becoming more competitive”.

At the same time, CBS Studios is a strong supporter of linear services.

“We still believe that both linear and OTT can coexist,” Chamberlain says.

Sony Pictures Television’s Wald, Disney’s Malhotra and Paramount Pictures’ Reinhard agree.

“We’ve had a strong wave of OTT deals this year, but pay and free TV remain a significant and important part of our business now and going forward,” Wald says.

Malhotra highlights the ongoing buying power of pay- and free-TV channels, which “remain the foundation of our proramme business” even though OTT is driving growth.

“There is definitely growth in the OTT market but we are still seeing markets with healthy pay-TV and free TV environments,” Reinhard says.

“Often these platforms attract different eyeballs so the opportunity at hand is scheduling the availability of our content to meet all of our customers’ needs,” she adds.

A noticeable increase in Asian characters and locations does make a difference, studios say, but story trumps all.

The current poster series for diversity (and Asian characters) are ABC Studios’ Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders and Quantico and Fresh off the Boat, starring Hudson Yang, Randall Park and Constance Wu.

Fresh off the Boat airs in Asia on Fox Networks Group’s flagship Fox channel.

Disney/ABC’s Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, which features international locations including India, Japan and Thailand, airs in Asia on Sony Pictures Television Networks’ AXN on the same day as the U.S.

Sony Pictures Television Networks’ AXN also airs Disney/ABC’s Quantico in Asia. The series stars Indian actress Priyanka Chopra as a young FBI recruit.

Malhotra says viewers in various Asian markets are able to relate to and connect with recognised actors. “It is key that we continue to identify and develop a diverse talent pool,” he says.

Chamberlain adds that “character diversity may help in some cases but at the end of the day many factors contribute to a show being a success in the region”.

Reinhard also highlights the power of storytelling. “We find that our movies with Asian characters can do better although the success of the movies still ultimately depends on the storytelling and the authenticity of the characters involved in each story,” she says.

Wald echoes her view. “Having locally known talent can help, but success is much more dependent on the story itself. Strong series have a way of connecting with audiences in many different markets,” he says.

Published on 2 May 2016