For all the angst over the future of factual, the debate over the lines between fact and fake and where to draw them, whether or not the racer snakes and the marine iguana actually happened for real (it did) or with a little bit of help from CGI (none at all, says BBC), and how much future leisure time will (or not) be filled with short-form, long-form documenta- ries and series remain a solid part of Asia’s evolving video entertainment environment.

Programmers give plenty of good reasons. And they just got one more in a recent global research study that shows watching nature programming makes viewers happier. That’s on top of a growing body of literature that links nature and human wellbeing.

The new quantitative study involved 7,500 participants from six countries, including Singapore, India and Australia. The results have driven BBC Worldwide, on the back of natural history show Planet Earth II, to launch The Real Happiness Project (“a mission to bring real happiness to as many people as possible by improving their connection to the natural world”).

The research, conducted with University of California Berkeley emotion expert, Professor Dacher Keltner, says that even short engagement with such shows leads to significant increases in positive emotions, including awe, contentedness, joy and amusement. The study also found substantial decreases in emotions such as nervousness, anxiety, fear, stress and tiredness, as well as enhanced attention, focus and cognitive performance.

Psycho-good aside, Asia’s programmers are betting that factual continues to be good business in pushing forward with their digital plans.

FOX Networks Group (FNG), for instance, launched FOX+ in the Philippines in early March this year with Killing Reagan on the streaming platform’s home screen right beneath high-action thriller 24 Legacy and the iconic Star Wars. The hero image was The Story of God with Morgan Freeman, a high-profile factual series that follows Morgan Freeman around the world exploring different cultures and religions in a quest to uncover the meaning of life, God and “all the questions in between” – Where do we come from? What happens when we die? Why does evil exist? How is science changing religion?...

Those are but two of the 500 hours of factual programming that pop- ulates the game-changing OTT platform’s seven factual categories. Tent-pole titles also include Mars, Gender Revolution: A Journey with Katie Couric, 1000 Days for the Planet and Wild Canada.

“For us, FOX+ is all about TV for the new world,” says Keertan Adyanthaya, FNG’s executive vice president, content and marketing, for Asia Pacific/Middle East. “Documentary is a very important aspect of TV,” he adds. And it will continue to be until the data from the digital platform proves otherwise – or not.

For BBC Worldwide, which has rolled out its BBC Player in Singapore and Malaysia so far, BBC Earth is a critical programming pillar alongside BBC First (premium/original British drama such as SS-GB and Love Nina), BBC Brit (factual entertainment/reality, including Top Gear season 24 and Special Forces Ultimate Hell Week), BBC Lifestyle, CBeebies and BBC World News. The app-based player, bundled with pay-TV packages onSingapore’s StarHub and Malaysia’s HyppTV, offers about 150 hours of factual content (see page 28).

National Geographic’s presence on FOX+, like BBC Earth’s on the new BBC Player in Asia, is – however jaw-dropping the titles and their impact – perhaps not so surprising given the documentary legacy of both brands.

For SVOD streaming platform iflix, which had rolled out in 10 markets in Asia by mid-March 2017, the decision to carry factual is about pure choice and commitment to breadth of content.

iflix offers about 150 documentary titles (as of March 2017). These run from Show of Force/Fugitive Films’ Half the Sky (2012) and A+E Networks’ entertainment series Ancient Aliens (2009) to BBC Earth’s Land of the Monsoon and David Attenborough’s Natural Curiosities, and Australia’s Change My Race (2013, Screen Australia/Prospero Productions), which aired on SBS. The series looks at Australia’s beauty ideal and asks: “If you weren’t born with a white face can you buy one?” In between history, natural history and social issues, iflix offers sports such as ITV’s Being Kevin Pietersen (2015) and murder investigations such asHalf Ton Killer (2012), about the world’s heaviest woman who squashed and killed her two-year-old nephew. Asia’s other regional factual leaders, A+E Networks and Discovery haven’t gone down the branded app-based streaming path, for now throwing their lot in with OTT attempts by traditional pay-TV/cable platforms. A+E Networks’ History and H2 both have streaming catch-up (latest four titles) for cable subscribers and a selection of box-sets on, for example, StarHub’s mini Go Select pack for S$9.98/US$7 for 30 days available to anyone who could be bothered to navigate abuggy, clunky app. Natural history brand, Love Nature, meanwhile, has chosen a differentroute into Asia, with an HD linear channel available through Gregg Creevey’s Multi Channels Asia (MCA) and a direct-to-consumer SVOD platform that hosts about 200 hours of documentary content at the moment. The online/ streaming platform is available in eight markets in Asia – Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.

In line with our deep-dive commitment to content in Asia, ContentAsia’s annual focus on factual channels takes an in-depth look at what’s on in Asia, what’s new this year and, where available/possible, how this compares to last year. Here’s what we found...

BBC Earth

BBC Earth’s most significant shifts in the past year have been in the streaming environment as part of the BBC Player subscription video on demand (SVOD) platform launched in Asia in September 2016, and in driving the re-entry of BBC’s branded linear entertainment services into India in a joint venture with Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) India, which operates 22 channels.

The co-branded Sony BBC Earth channel, available in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, went live in India on 6 March 2017. The deal gives the new channel potential access to SPN India’s 500 million viewers.

The channel is operated by MSM Worldwide Factual Media, majority owned by SPN India. At the launch, BBC Worldwide’s global markets president, Paul Dempsey, called the venture “a pioneering model for us in global markets”.

Sony BBC Earth programmers say a key differentiator for the channel in India’s wickedly competitive market are its defined programming slots. Prime time kicks off with a Why, How & What on Earth (“fun and insightful science”) band at 8pm; followed by Wild Wild Earth at 9pm and Earth Explorers (adventure and human interest) at 10pm. The tentpole weekend slot is Earth Specials, featuring titles such as The Hunt, Where The Wild Men Are with Ben Fogle, Trust Me I’m A Doctor, Snow Chick and Planet Earth II.

While the India JV breaks new ground in a well-established market that BBC hasn’t managed in the past to tame for its entertainment channel brands, the BBC Player catapults BBC into an entirely different league in other parts of Asia.

The app is easy to use, the interface is beautiful, content curation is coherent, and although not everything BBC is on it there are more than enough premium titles to satisfy. The commercial strategy, pegging access to existing pay-TV partners, is designed to protect and hopefully grow pay-TV revenues (still higher than anything the streaming world is offering) and to future-proof the brand in a multi-screen video environment. Whether legacy partners, some of which remain steeped in the annoying and destructive habits of the old cable TV world, are able to manage customer relationships in the on-demand environment remains to be seen. But, at the very least, BBC Worldwide now owns its user data and has the beginnings of direct consumer access if it ever needs to go it alone.

BBC has so far secured Player carriage in two markets – Singapore (StarHub) and Malaysia (HyppTV) – where the Player is offered, at no additional cost, only to premium pack subscribers. There is no stand-alone subscription option, and BBC Earth titles, at least in Singapore, are not included in the stand-alone platform-branded SVOD services populated with other factual brands. Discussions are ongoing in other markets.

The BBC Player’s BBC Earth section offers a selection of cross-platform titles such as Planet Earth seasons one and two mixed with Player-only Horizon shows such as Should You Really Play Video Games? and How to Find Love Online. All content can be streamed or downloaded.

As it does for BBC’s six channel brands, the BBC Player offers access via either the channel or by genre. The factual category, which is one of five genres (drama, entertainment, factual, lifestyle, children), pulls shows from across BBC channels.

In early March 2017, the player offered 37 titles, some with multiple seasons, in the factual category. These include talk show Hardtalk and tech title Click (2 x 22 mins / 2 x 23 mins, 2017) from BBC World News along with BBC Brit’s Sir Alex Ferguson: Secrets of Success (51 minutes, 2015) and a selection of Louis Theroux episodes, also from BBC Brit, including A Different Brain (2016) and Law and Disorder in Philadelphia (2008).

Meanwhile, the linear channel, which replaced BBC Knowledge in Asiain October 2015, is alive and well across Asia, according to BBC Worldwide’s Asia HQ in Singapore, and has been the number one channel in its category for the month at least four times in markets measured.

Prime time on the 16-month-old channel runs from 7pm to midnight (SG/HK). The channel still features the eight genres with which it launched. The biggest change in the linear schedule this year from last year is the amount of health and wellness content, which is down in 2017, and in people/science/education, which is up.

ContentAsia’s analysis shows a significant increase in science programming from 48 minutes in 2016 to 3.3 hours this year. People-related titles increased from 48 mins in 2016 to 2.5 hours this year. Health/wellness content dropped 66%.

The dominant genre this year – as it was last year – is natural history, led by wildlife/animals and nature. Clearly, BBC Earth in Asia is as committed as anyone who has read the research to a happier universe.

History

A+E Networks’ History channel has kept a steady hand on its prime-time schedule for Southeast Asia, keeping competition series, drama and character-led factual in the same pole positions this year as they did last year. The biggest difference in the past three years is in the amount of survival series featured in prime time.

The week of 30 January to 5 February 2017 featured 31% (13 hours) of competition programming; 19% (8 hours) drama; and 18% (7.5 hours) character-led shows. The rest of the schedule was 10% (4 hours) history; 7% (3 hours) weapons/military; 6% (2.5 hours) food; 5 % (2 hours) automobile; 2% (1 hour) mythological/paranormal; and 2% (1 hour) travel.

Outside of survival shows, the most significant difference over the past three years is in the number of hours devoted to the top three sub-genres. Competition shows command top spot on the prime time schedule this year, with 13 hours compared to four hours in 2016 and nine hours in 2015.

Fact-based drama is second, with eight hours this year, compared to seven hours in 2016 and four hours in 2015.

Character-led shows such as The Pickers and Pawn Stars – among the 21 hours History devoted to the reality sub-genre in 2015 – fell off dramatically in 2016/2017, although they continue to be in the top three genreson the prime-time schedule. Levels were similar in 2016 (7 hours) and 2017 (7.5 hours). The Pickers returned for season seven this year and Pawn Stars is back with season 17.

Survival (Mountain Men, Woodsmen) dropped off the radar this year, after a strong presence last year with seven hours.

Love Nature

Blue Ant Media and Smithsonian Networks’ joint venture channel, Love Nature, launched on StarHub in Singapore at the end of November 2016, following the launch of Smithsonian Channel, also on StarHub, in September. Both carriage deals were the first in Asia.

Love Nature’s linear proposition runs alongside a standalone direct-to-consumer SVOD platform, www.lovenature.com, in Asia. The SVOD service is currently available in eight Asian markets – Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam – for US$2.57 a month. A percentage of the subscription is donated to wildlife charities around the world.

At the same time, Love Nature International’s managing director, Jo Parkinson says B2B relationships with platforms are critical. “The two businesses are complimentary,” she says, adding: “We have to cater to all viewing needs.”

In Singapore, the HD linear channel is available on TV only. The 4K SVOD service hasn’t officially launched in Singapore yet although it is available.

The linear schedule in Singapore features titles/sections such as Wild Wild East, Nomads of the Serengeti, Coastal Africa, The Living Beach, Waterworld Africa, Guardians of the Wild and Arctic Secrets and an abundance of nature scenes from deer and butterflies to the Nashville Zoo and Cozumel. These are not replicated/duplicated on the SVOD service.

The SVOD platform, launched in February 2016, hosts about 200 hours of documentary content, ranging from Ocean Voyagers (70 mins) narrated by Meryl Streep, to Attack of the Sun (25 mins) and science/lifestyle title, The Brando Hotel (26 mins), about the zero-carbon-footprint luxury resort founded by actor Marlon Brando. By the end of this summer, content will increase to 300 hours.

How do Love Nature programmers decide what goes where andwhat’s shared? Love Nature’s linear schedule is simple with easy to understand themes such as Water Wednesdays and Friendly Fridays, Parkinson says. While it’s early days for the linear channel, the SVOD online platform is all about AB testing, Parkinson says, highlighting the criticalrole data is playing in shaping the product. “We are constantly tracking to make sure we are giving users whatthey want,” she says, adding: “We are really in a learning curve”. Some of the content, including programming being filmed in Cambodia in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), is funneled bothto the channel and the SVOD platform. The most sticky content so far is family friendly and about giving back,she says. Audience feedback also indicates a higher volume of co-viewing than programmers initially anticipated, as well as take-up of the multi-device option that lets viewers continue watching the same programme across different screens.

Love Nature’s programming pipeline is underpinned by a commitment to creating 200 hours of 4K wildlife and nature content a year for five years from 2014. This includes a two-year partnership with Plimsoll Productions on natural history project, Camp Zambia, to create 50 hours of 4K wildlife and nature content for Love Nature. There’s also a focus on tech and constant innovation and upgrades. As Parkinson says, “offering diversity and innovation is 101 in the space”.

National Geographic

National Geographic has evened out the genre-mix on its prime time schedule over the past three years, shifting from significant spikes in food and science/tech/medical content in early 2015 to a broader content mix led this year by wildlife/animals with a much lower lead over the next most prominent genre.

Prime time (7pm-midnight) this year (week of 30 January to 5 February) aired factual series from 12 genres, ranging from wildlife (17%/6 hours) to vehicles (2.7%/1 hour). The rest of the schedule is 11.4% (4 hours) investigative; 11.4% (4 hours) crime; 11.4% (4 hours) business/jobs; 8.6% (3 hours) history; 8.6% (3 hours) people/lifestyle; 5.7% (2 hours) building/engineering; 5.7% (2 hours) talk show; 5.7% (2 hours) survivor/disaster; 5.7% (2 hours) action/adventure; and 5.7% (2 hours) activities/sports.

The biggest difference has been in the amount of time allocated to food programming. This has been slashed from nine hours in 2015 (Think Food) to zero last year. The category is clearly not missed, and it’s a zero once again on this year’s schedule.

Science content has declined over the past three years, from eight hours (episodes from Entertain Your Brain: Science of Stupid) in 2015 to five hours in 2016 (Brain Games) and zero this year.

If the story of Albert Einstein can be tagged as science, then the category is back in a big way from April 2017 in new 10-part series Genius starring Geoffrey Rush and directed by Ron Howard in his first TV project.

Genius, Nat Geo’s first-ever scripted mini-series, premieres on 23 April at 7pm on the Southeast Asia/Hong Kong feed. Based on the book Walter Isaacson, Einstein: His Life and Universe, the series explores the turbulent journey of the brilliant physicist who changed the way we view the universe.

New genres on the Nat Geo schedule this year are crime/prison break series (The Border, Locked Up Abroad) and talk show StarTalk.

These run alongside increases in wildlife/animals shows, which are up to six hours this year from three hours in 2015.

Investigative shows are also up sharply, from one hour in 2015 to two hours in 2016 and doubling again this year to four hours.

Travel, meanwhile, has been demoted off the schedule this year, from two hours a week in prime time in 2016 and 2015.

Smithsonian Channel

Smithsonian Channel is part of the new breed of factual services in Asia. Distributed by Gregg Creevey’s Multi Channels Asia (MCA), the channel launched in the region in September 2016 as part of Singapore platform StarHub’s bid to refocus its linear packages and boost its on-demand proposition. News of new distribution deals are expected at end-April.

The linear HD Smithsonian Channel is available as part of StarHub’s basic-upsize pack, with on-demand content offered on StarHub’s standalone mobile platform, StarHub Go Select (S$9.90/US$7 a month). 17 of StarHub Go Select’s 44 documentary titles (excluding reality/competitions) are from Smithsonian. These include Alaska Aircrash Investigations, Civil War 360, Animals Aloft, Genius in America, Asian Tsunami: The Deadliest Wave and America’s Greatest Monuments.

The linear schedule covers air and space, history, science, nature and pop culture, including shows such as Uncommon Courage: Breakout at Chosin, about Asian American Lt Chew-Een Lee; Unbelievable Flying Objects about the ideas that didn’t quite fly in the history of aviation; and Million Dollar American Princesses, which chronicles the real life stories of American heiresses who inspired the TV drama Downton Abbey.

Smithsonian programmers move into 2017 with more wildlife and Asia-focused programming than the channel launched with in Asia. They’realso planning original content in/for Asia; details to come.

For now, travel/landmark series dominate prime time, with 29% (10 hours) of the schedule for the two weeks (beginning 30 January 2017 and 6 March 2017) we looked at. The sub-genre levels were highest on Wednesdays and Fridays for the week of 30 January, with back-to-back episodes of Aerial America season one. Aerial America continued to fill prime-time for the week of 6-12 March, although some of the Wednesday schedule gave way to war series (Air Warriors season one), animals (Designing Dogs) and wildlife (Nature’s Matchmaker). Aerial America season one still dominated, filling 20% (seven hours) of the prime-time schedule.

The rest of the prime-time schedule for the week of 30 January featured 22.9% (eight hours) war/military; 17% (six hours) investigative; 14.3% (five hours) aircraft; 8.6% (three hours) jobs; 5.7% (two hours) archaeology/artifacts; and 2.9% (one hour) nature.

For the week of 6 March, the genre balance outside of travel/landmarksshifted to 14.2% (five hours) archaeology/artifacts; 14.2% (five hours) jobs; 11.4% (four hours) investigative; 11.4% (four hours) war/military; 8.6% (three hours) animals/wildlife; 5.7% (two hours) engineering; 5.7% (two hours) natural disaster; 2.9% (one hour) aircraft; 2.9% (one hour) people; and 2.9% (one hour) royalty series.

Published on ContentAsia's Issue One 2017