Christmas came early this year for at least five indie linear channels operators, who are merrily stepping into the void left by the exit of Disney’s Fox Networks Groups’ channels at midnight on 30 September. But if some of the new deals are about replacing dead channels, the new pickups also signal confidence in the enduring ability of linear to service large swathes of audiences in Asia. 

For all the nostalgia of saying goodbye to a long-running bouquet of Fox channels at the end of September, Disney’s decision to pretty much shutter its linear business from 30 September meant Christmas came early for most indie regional channels operators in Southeast Asia.

From 1 October, known local brands led by Rewind Networks, TechStorm and Rock Entertainment, along with new entrants such as Eclat Media’s SpoTV and Moonbug Entertainment, revelled in the kind of capacity that hasn’t ever opened up all at once, at least not since the first legitimate pay-TV platforms launched in the region more than two decades ago.

In September, Avi Himatsinghani’s eight-year-old Rewind Networks  announced at least seven new carriage agreements (IndiHome and Transvision in Indonesia, Macau Cable, Singtel Singapore, Unifi TV Malaysia, Hong Kong Cable, Medianet Maldives), for its two channels, Hits and Hits Movies.

Debbie Lee’s TechStorm/Tech TV added GST DTH Philippines and Unifi Malaysia); and Ward Platt’s Rock Entertainment Holdings, which distributes five channels, increased its footprint with existing clients and brought new markets on board in deals that kick in from now to January 2022 with, among others, Singapore (Singtel TV), Myanmar (Skynet, meTV), Thailand, Taiwan (Kbro, CNS) and Indonesia (Vidio).

Encouraged by the exit of Fox Sports and taking advantage of what it now sees as the sports rights gap in Asia, Korea’s Eclat Media landed in Southeast Asia for the first time this month, leveraging 17 years of experience in its home market as well as its established relationships with sports agencies and rights owners.

Eclat Media went live this month with eight carriage agreements for its two linear channels –  SpoTV and SpoTV2 –  in Malaysia (Astro, Telkom Malaysia), Singapore (Singtel, StarHub), Philippines (Skycable), Thailand (TrueVisions), Macau (Macau Cable TV) and Mongolia (Univision). 

The linear channels kicked off with the MotoGP and WorldSBK motorsport championships, Wimbledon and U.S. Open tennis Grand Slams, and the latest K-wave sports, including the Korean Baseball League (KBO), Korean Basketball League (KBL), and the Korean V-League volleyball.

The company said it would focus on local sports content for individual markets, much the same way as it has in Korea,where it operates six channels, including three basic sports services and a sports streamer.  

Eclat Media Group chief executive, Mitch Hong, said during the ContentAsia Summit that the company’s other services – including fan-based and other digital content – would follow the linear channels into Southeast Asia, likely from 2022. 

Platforms too are using the opportunity to rework their bundles. In Malaysia, for instance, Astro doubled down on linear services at the same time as upsizing its profile as a streaming apps aggregator. Astro’s vote of confidence in linear channels involves eight English-language entertainment services, three new sports channels, and two new on-demand destinations.

Published in ContentAsia October 2021 Magazine