It might have taken a while, but programmers in Asia Pacific are starting to shop for shows – or at the very least do their research – online. The first insights into buyers’ search patterns show factual in top spot by a long way, followed in equal parts by drama and factual entertainment, although even combined the two genres don’t equal interest in factual.

Mainland Chinese distributor Huace Film China and the international distribution unit of Hong Kong broadcast behemoth Television Broadcasts Ltd (TVB) have just signed up to online marketplace and trading portal TRX. The agreement, rolled out just ahead of this year’s

ContentAsia Summit, adds 375 hours of Huace drama (romance, fantasy, action, period/costume) and children’s animation to the platform along with 832 hours of TVB drama (period, sci fi, romance, horror). The bigger story, perhaps, is that the latest deals are testament to a growing acceptance of digital add-ons in a community that still loves traditional face-to-face buying and selling.

Almost three years after TRX went live in Asia Pacific, about 45% of the platform’s 1,100 registered buyers are from the region, says TRX chief executive, Matthew Frank. He notes the common interest across Asia Pacific in factual content, led by China, which has the highest number of factual content searches “by far”.

TRX data over the past 12 months shows buyers in Hong Kong and Macau favouring historical and entertainment content. Thailand has the highest number of searches for kids content. In South Korea, drama in the most searched genre after factual, with multiple searches for nich-interest themes ‘dangerous’ and ‘job’. Buyers in Indonesia have been looking at entertainment content and are among those searching for Christmas-themed programming. Comedy and eSports top searches from Australia and New Zealand.

Published in ContentAsia Issue Four 2019, 26 August 2019