Distributors across Asia are loving and/or loathing their new realities, telling ContentAsia that while some platforms in the region are scrambling to fill slates with acquisitions while original production restarts, others have retreated behind their masks, pulling the covers over their heads, postponing deals and holding their breath while they ride out the next phase of the pandemic.

Distributors across Asia are loving and/or loathing their new realities, telling ContentAsia that while some platforms in the region are scrambling to fill slates with acquisitions while original production restarts and live events resume, others have retreated behind their masks, pulling the covers over their heads, postponing deals and holding their breath while they ride out the pandemic.

Content spend varies by country and segment, with caution a common thread and strategies ranging from money-saving reruns to ramping up library acquisitions broadcasters hope will keep stay-at-home audiences engaged. 

Buyers also seem to have discovered a new taste for classic titles that might not have seen the light of day under other circumstances, and the appetite for kids shows has gone through the roof. Some report rising demand for dialogue-free shows that don’t incur language-customisation costs.

At the same time, distributors flagged a gyrating acquisition market that shifts every few weeks, with buying cycles reduced in cases to 14 days and some unexpected deals. The highest disruption, predictably, has been among advertising-supported platforms, while the least has been among global and regional players, some report.

Format sales have been hard hit, crippled by production stoppages as well as by disappearing sponsorship. But not all markets were equally impacted, as witnesses by the greenlight on the second season of the Motion Content Group-driven MasterChef Singapore. 

Here’s what distributors told us about this year so far... 

How have acquisitions patterns in Asia changed this year so far? 

“Buyers are more interested in Thai drama following exposure in 2019/20 in free-TV slots in the Philippines (GMA), Malaysia (Media Prima), Indonesia (Rajawali TV) and Singapore (Mediacorp) as well as Korea (TVA), plus higher visibility on streaming platforms. Thai storytelling and production values have improved a lot and we’re seeing much higher interest from multiple quarters. Producers in Thailand are also thinking more regionally instead of being focused only on Thailand, and this has made a big difference.” 
Indra Suharjono, Senior Media Advisor, JKN Global Media plc

“Acquisitions have slowed in Southeast Asian markets. However, we have observed an increase in old/classic content in Mainland China. There has also been a rise in enquiries and acquisitions for content on OTT platforms.”
Jesslyn Wong, Vice President of Content Distribution, Mediacorp (Singapore)

“For acquisitions, different strategies are implemented for traditional and online platforms. Audience behaviour has changed rapidly even prior to Covid-19. The changes are defined by months not years. The platform operators keep asking themselves questions about who their audiences are? What kind of genres they focus on? How to sustain the existing audiences? Original content is definitely one of the key values to all platforms. Platforms need more original content and may seek business partnership, co-production in regional or even global scale.”
Charkrit Direkwattanachai, Vice President – EVP Corporate Affairs, BEC World (Thailand)

“It varies from one territory to another. Due to the economic uncertainties brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, some clients have shown caution when acquiring new content by either postponing, re-negotiating, or even cancelling deals. Others have expressed urgency in fulfilling their programming needs with more acquired titles as local content productions were disrupted, without certainty of when productions will resume. Clients from these territories rely on foreign content to keep their viewers engaged during the lockdowns/quarantine.”
Roxanne J. Barcelona, Vice President, Worldwide Division, GMA Network (Philippines) 

“Channels have had to adapt to changes in schedules due to shows not being delivered or live events being cancelled. This has led to an increased demand for content; we have seen commissions for new drama series... as well as new series, we’ve seen renewals for many of our established brands. We have also seen an increase in viewers of online content, which has sped up the development of platforms in the regions, giving us new clients to sell content to, including our first deal with Huanxi, which seen more than 110 hours of factual programming head to the service in China. We’ve also built relationships with local streamers, including Watch in Korea and several VOD platforms in India. In terms of formats, we expected a strong reduction if not a stop for several months, however we were pleasantly surprised that the market remained strong with producers wanting to be ready to start production immediately after restrictions were lifted. They therefore turned to formats to ensure this could happen.” 
Sabrina Duguet, EVP, Asia, all3media international

“Just like the rest of the world, the impact of Covid-19 has also been felt in Asia. Naturally with ad spend and sponsorship dollars on the wane as economies across the world grapple with lockdowns and reduced consumer spending, platforms and broadcasters have also had to tighten their belts. However, audiences still need to be entertained so platforms have continued to acquire high quality content. We’ve had sales across the board, from our must-have marquee series such as The New Pope, The Salisbury Poisonings and the beautiful My Brilliant Friend series; to our feelgood uplifting entertainment programming like America’s Got Talent, Britain’s Got Talent and The Greatest Dancer, to name just a few.”
Ganesh Rajaram, General Manager, EVP Sales, Asia, Fremantle

“It started with a rather conservative approach whereby clients were using rerun content to fill the gaps left by cancelled live events and local productions. Although buying cycles reduced significantly this year, the market is fluid and changes every two weeks or so. As a result, we experienced unexpected deals here and there.” 
Lee Mee Fung, Managing Director, PIK Film/DW Asia Representative 

“The impact of Covid-19 is inescapable. The adverse effects are obvious. Advertising budgets were slashed, leading to reduced acquisitions budgets. The resulting cost rationalisation from most companies has had a knock-on effect on production and acquisition. Format sales were hit due to lack of sponsorship and lockdowns guidelines crippling various production plans. In territories where the content is localised either through subtitles or dubs, it implied we couldn’t license any new shows because the dubbing studios were closed or artists unavailable. We were very quick to speak with our clients about how we could work together to deliver content during this challenging time. There have been opportunities where we could re-license some of our library titles where subtitles and dubs were readily available. Also, there is a demand for finished programmes to fill up schedules as major sporting events such as the Olympics and the Indian Premiere League were postponed, thereby allowing us to focus on finished content sales.”
Rashmi Bajpai, Executive Director Asia, EndemolShine International 

“I think that clients are taking extra precautions when it comes to budgets and want to choose shows that are classics and proven hits. There has been a need for reruns as well. Prices and budgets have also dropped, so flexible terms and payment arrangements are reviewed with much more time and care. Overall, the negotiation process is taking much longer than before, definitely because of Covid-19.”
Estefania Arteaga, International Sales Director, Caracol Television 

“Demand has dropped this year as many channels have a budget freeze due to uncertainty of ad revenue. For local digital players, we are experiencing a similar situation, but global/regional service providers do not seem to be as severely affected.”
Henry Or, SVP, Strategic Partnerships, Asia, Boat Rocker Media 

“Acquisitions have remained largely stable with our regular bigger buyers and as a whole there has been little change for us with the exception of buyers with smaller budgets and inflight acquisitions who have been hit by Covid-19.”
Jess Khanom, Senior Vice President, NENT Studios U.K.

“In some instances Covid-19 has resulted in, unfortunately, deals being put on hold due to a freeze on acquisitions until the fallout from Covid-19 is known. However, on the flip side, Covid-19 has also resulted in new opportunities, whereby, for example, production has halted and the pipeline of internal content is not guaranteed, so the broadcaster/platform has to look outside to acquire more third-party content. Or for example in markets where local language versions cannot be created. We do have language assets in our library and have found there is renewed interest in these, for example, in Korea and Japan. We are/have experienced all of the above.”
Joanne Azzopardi, SVP Sales & Acquisitions, Asia and ANZ, Beyond Rights 

“There was a focus at the end of Q1 on finished tape/readymades with the spread of Covid-19, however this has now shifted as production resumes across various territories. So we are discussing more of our formats with buyers again.” Samantha Ferguson, Senior Sales Manager, Rabbit Films 

“While budgets were cut for a lot of broadcasters, school closures meant that broadcasters needed to urgently meet the needs of audiences with children now at home. The demand for kids programming increased and with production slowing down, there were gaps in the schedule that needed to be filled. There was a shift to library content and renewal for series where content was already versioned, as well as non-dialogue content such as Angry Birds, Oscar’s Oasis and Mighty Mike, which could be aired immediately.”
Julien Farçat, Sales Manager, CAKE

“I have noticed a raft of free-TV acquisitions, pan-territory VOD platforms are fighting for content and some pan-territory buyers have reduced budgets, but keeping their options open with titles flagged for future acquisitions.”
Katherine McMillan, Sales Manager Asia & Worldwide Format Sales, Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Are you noticing any particular change in the focus on specific genres in Asia?

“We have noticed an increase in interest in documentaries, particularly those related to Covid-19.”
Jesslyn Wong, Vice President of Content Distribution, Mediacorp (Singapore)

“Travel and food. We think this is because people can’t travel and there is a gap in their entertainment and recreation experieces that they are filling in other ways.”
Indra Suharjono, Senior Media Advisor, JKN Global Media plc

“Formats are still a promising chance to producing local content with an internationally proven success.”
Charkrit Direkwattanachai, Vice President – EVP Corporate Affairs, BEC World (Thailand)

“Traditional dramas are still preferred, but we have received increased inquiries for crime, suspense, and horror dramas.”
Roxanne J. Barcelona, Vice President, Worldwide Division, GMA Network (Philippines)

“We have seen positive and uplifting content rise in importance as the global pandemic has continued; understandably audiences want to feel good when consuming content. There has also been an increase in demand for more affordable productions with solid track records. As budgets are squeezed, channels want to ensure that their investments return the most value... The demand for scripted series has grown especially as the volume of content we have has increased.”
Sabrina Duguet, EVP, Asia, all3media international

“There has definitely been an increase in demand for scripted programming. With many people working from home and being in lockdown situations, we have seen an increase in viewing of dramas in many Asian territories. Our dramas such as Luca Guadagnino’s We Are Who We Are and The Salisbury Poisonings are getting a lot of traction. As markets slowly begin to open up, we are also seeing a pick-up in demand for our classic entertainment formats like Family Feud, Price is Right and Supermarket Sweep. Our gameshows are proven high volume ratings winners, which clients are renewing and commissioning new seasons.”
Ganesh Rajaram, General Manager, EVP Sales, Asia, Fremantle

“There was a surge in news and documentaries related to Covid19 and education for kids. In markets that are in recovery mode, there is a search for business revival and health related content.”
Lee Mee Fung, Managing Director, PIK Film/DW Asia Rep

“With a significant jump in VOD platforms and the hours spent consuming content, there is a greater demand for scripted titles. People had more time on their hands to binge watch content. Asian dramas are always in demand and we notice that the popularity of Thai drama has been on the rise. We see no clear correlation between Covid-19 and the content buying strategies with the usual genres such as fast-paced scripted titles, game shows, reality shows and kids seeing traction. But perhaps there’s a greater emphasis on feel-good, uplifting and nostalgia to abate some of the anxieties that we’ve all dealt with in these challenging times.”
Rashmi Bajpai, Executive Director Asia, EndemolShine International

“Definitely shows related to Covid-19. We have received many enquiries but I believe there aren’t many related shows in the market. Buyers are also asking for more lifestyle and cooking shows at this moment.”
Henry Or, SVP, Strategic Partnerships, Asia, Boat Rocker Media

“We are seeing an increase in educational and factual content as well as family style ‘feel good’ dramas. I think channels are looking for more ‘edutainment’ content especially during lock down periods. These types of shows are programming alternatives that will teach valuable lessons or provide some historical context via cultural documentaries, for example.”
Estefania Arteaga, International Sales Director, Caracol Television

“Generally across Asia, food, nature and wildlife continue to be a staple requirement, celebrity led series such as Rachel Khoo: My Swedish Kitchen, Remarkable Places To Eat and Baby Animals all continue to perform for us. However, there are markets that have been looking at other genres as the requirements of their audiences change. In China and South Korea, we have seen a rise in demand for non- scripted content, particularly with the larger platforms who were previously only looking to acquire scripted titles and big entertainment formats. In India, South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand, there is an increased appetite for scripted formats such as Eyewitness and Black Widows, which we have placed in a number of those countries.”
Jess Khanom, Senior Vice President, NENT Studios U.K.

“Children’s and lifestyle programmes have always been popular. However, there is even more interest from both the subscription and free sectors. And lighter, entertaining content to keep the family entertained during lockdown periods.” Joanne Azzopardi, SVP Sales & Acquisitions, Asia and ANZ, Beyond Rights

“At the beginning of March, buyers were looking for Covid-friendly or related shows. However the shift has now been for travel/escapism, which can be produced in a safe production environment. We have a format called Over the Atlantic (six celebrities sail across the Atlantic Ocean), which is gaining traction now as it has travelled to six territories and provides the travel/escapism without compromising production.” 
Samantha Ferguson, Senior Sales Manager, Rabbit Films

“With children home-schooling, there was a rise in educational content, particularly series helping children to learn English, educational songs about how to count etc, as well as PSAs related to Covid, how to wash your hands, etc, and programmes that entertain children as well as help them with emotional well-being and series with a creative slant are proving popular.”
Julien Farçat, Sales Manager, CAKE

“More feel-good programmes are in demand with strong human stories.”
Katherine McMillan, Sales Manager Asia & Worldwide Format Sales, Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Is there any specific market in Asia that has risen in significance for you since the beginning of 2020? Do you think this is Covid-19 related?

“We have observed greater demand in the India and China for syndicated content due to postponement and halts in local production because of Covid-19 regulations, as well as an increase in demand for content on OTT platforms.” Jesslyn Wong, Vice President of Content Distribution, Mediacorp (Singapore)

“The pandemic has impacted every market... There is no specific market that could rise during this difficult period. We, however, observed greater increment on online content viewing. We could say this is Covid-19 related as viewers stay home longer when their out-of-home activities are limited. We are hopeful that this behaviour will continue even when the pandemic subsides.”
Charkrit Direkwattanachai, Vice President – EVP Corporate Affairs, BEC World (Thailand)

“Whoever has libraries of content that they can deliver immediately will win in this environment. This is a regional phenomemon, not about one specific country.”
Indra Suharjono, Senior Media Advisor, JKN Global Media plc

“No observable and significant movement in the different Asian territories so far.”
Roxanne J. Barcelona, Vice President, Worldwide Division, GMA Network (Philippines)

“The Indian market has seen a strong year, despite the challenges of Covid-19, it has continued to grow in significance. The rise of local streamers and local productions have affected this growth. We recently had success with Voot’s adaptation of the Two Brothers Pictures hit psychological thriller Liar (locally titled Marzi).”
Sabrina Duguet, EVP, Asia, all3media international

“China, Thailand and Indo-China all stand out to me. They are also beginning to open up since Covid-19 and move forward, acquiring and producing content.”
Ganesh Rajaram, General Manager, EVP Sales, Asia, Fremantle

“DW experienced significant increase in daily unique users and time spent on our Bahasa Indonesia news in text, pictures and short videos since February 2020. This content is refreshed daily and distributed via local news websites in Indonesia. We also saw significant increase in viewership for DW short videos in China.”
Lee Mee Fung, Managing Director, PIK Film/DW Asia Representative

“Not really. Some markets are more active than others as they weren’t that affected by the pandemic, such as Japan, or had a shorter lockdown compared to others. China went into lockdown before any other territory but also opened up sooner than others. That said, Beijing is now grappling with the outbreak, just underscoring the uncertainties of the pandemic.”
Rashmi Bajpai, Executive Director Asia, EndemolShine International

“We have seen a boom in India on scripted formats and have a large number of series in negotiation with the various platforms. As more platforms emerge in India the demand for scripted content increases. It makes sense for broadcasters to produce their own content, particularly as there is uncertainty around the world on when production can resume due to Covid-19. Scripted formats are desirable as they have a track record and are tried and tested, so it’s a great way for broadcasters to future proof their scripted needs especially as they can gain control of where and how they shoot within their own country."
Jess Khanom, Senior Vice President, NENT Studios U.K. 

“Overall, we have seen a need for OTT/VOD rights from countries like India and Vietnam. Generally, these markets are big buyers of telenovelas and series, but I think Covid-19 has increased the need for more volume due to higher consumption patterns and overall watch time. For China, we have seen a new interest in foreign content, giving us a new opportunity to explore adding more feature films and series in the region.”
Estefania Arteaga, International Sales Director, Caracol Television

“I don’t have any market that has risen in significance this year, but there are some markets that have dropped since the beginning of 2020. I believe this is Covid-19 related as buyers are more cautious in spending until the pandemic starts to settle.”
Henry Or, SVP, Strategic Partnerships, Asia, Boat Rocker Media

“There is greater interest in our content from Korea, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia and pan-regional Southeast Asia, which is directly related to Covid-19: existing language assets in our library, reduced pipeline from the U.S. and greater need for children/family programming.”
Joanne Azzopardi, SVP Sales & Acquisitions, Asia and ANZ, Beyond Rights

“We are having more conversations with buyers in Indonesia and India.”
Samantha Ferguson, Senior Sales Manager, Rabbit Films

“There hasn’t been a specific market that has risen in significance. While we continue to do business in the region, the majority of broadcasters are waiting for lockdown to end in order to assess the economic situation before being able to do business again. Of course, the SVOD and AVOD market continues to grow, although growth has slowed down due to the impact of the current global situation.”
Julien Farçat, Sales Manager, CAKE

"More VOD players and global buyers cutting across demands of Asian buyers."
Katherine McMillan, Sales Manager Asia & Worldwide Format Sales, Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Have there been any changes to your regular content business practices as a result of Covid-19?

“We have shifted towards virtual trade markets and forums, with online material delivery and the use of e-copy contracts, telecommuting and other remote methods of communication.”
Jesslyn Wong, Vice President of Content Distribution, Mediacorp (Singapore)

“We work on what our viewers like to see. It may be a bit too early to talk about the strategic changes on our regular content. However, our content production now focuses on team safety and new processes and protocols.”
Charkrit Direkwattanachai, Vice President – EVP Corporate Affairs, BEC World (Thailand)

“With travel and health restrictions, annual trade shows are postponed or cancelled and their organisers have converted the physical market to virtual markets. We reconfigured our strategies for the year to be more responsive to the times. Resources and efforts were diverted to reach our clients via virtual platforms.”
Roxanne J. Barcelona, Vice President, Worldwide Division, GMA Network (Philippines)

“One of the key changes to our practices include adapting our formats to ensure they are ‘Covid friendly’. We’ve used the experience from U.K. and U.S. productions that were filmed during the pandemic.” 
Sabrina Duguet, EVP, Asia, all3media international

“It’s very much business as usual and there is still an important need to entertain audiences... On the production side of our business, our teams have adapted practices to keep shows on air safely so that audiences are not disappointed. Global teams are working at incredible pace and with huge creativity to come up with new ways of creating our shows. Some of the look may change but we aim to continue to deliver great entertainment where we can. We have a great slate for this year so we’re still able to keep talking to our clients about these opportunities. Of course, we miss the face time with our clients – virtual meetings are not the same as having that personal interaction but everyone has adjusted extremely well and we continue to have great relationships.”
Ganesh Rajaram, General Manager, EVP Sales, Asia, Fremantle

“The business is exactly the same. The difference is digital execution.”
Indra Suharjono, Senior Media Advisor, JKN Global Media plc

“YES! Zoom, Hangout, Teams, Webex -- you name it, we are on it!” 
Lee Mee Fung, Managing Director, PIK Film/DW Asia Representative

“We’ve all adapted very well with online video calls replacing actual meetings, which is the next best alternative given the ban on flying. Technology is playing a bigger role and we’re using tools like docu sign for signing contracts. For format projects where our creative consultants would fly for on-site consultancy to various locations, these are now done digitally. There has also been a huge amount of collaboration within Endemol Shine and the creative teams around the world.”
Rashmi Bajpai, Executive Director-Asia, EndemolShine International 

“Less focus on formats and more on completed programme sales. Also companies have taken this opportunity to restructure or rethink strategy.”
Katherine McMillan, Sales Manager Asia & Worldwide Format Sales, Australian Broadcasting Corporation

“This year has been very different in terms of content markets, we have been exploring the Virtual versions and plan to keep these on board for the rest of the year due to travel difficulties. We kicked off a ‘Let’s go Virtual’ campaign back in March and have been pleased with the results.” 
Estefania Arteaga, International Sales Director, Caracol Television 

“Yes, face to face meetings vs virtual meetings. Funny that we are seeing (online) buyers more often now than pre-Covid-19. In the past, we would meet up a couple of times a year at conference/exhibition/business trip. Now, it becomes a norm that we say, ‘Let’s Zoom’.”
Henry Or, SVP, Strategic Partnerships, Asia, Boat Rocker Media

“Like most of the world, we are working remotely from home. For us this has been quite beneficial as given the time-difference we can be in touch with our clients in Asia on a much more regular basis both by phone and by video conferencing. As we all work virtually from home it has become a mutually advantageous 24- hour business.”
Jess Khanom, Senior Vice President, NENT Studios U.K.

“Tighter payment schedules are required.”
Joanne Azzopardi, SVP Sales & Acquisitions, Asia and ANZ, Beyond Rights

“Zoom calls and webinars have currently replaced sales trips and markets.”
Samantha Ferguson, Senior Sales Manager, Rabbit Films

“As a result of Covid-19, we have all had to rethink how we work. Travel restrictions meant trips and markets were cancelled and as we transitioned to working from home, we all needed to react and adapt quickly. Where possible, we have scheduled regular video calls with partners, as without a personal connection, it has become even more important to maintain and deepen our continuing relationships using all tools available. As a business, we have been fortunate to have been impacted less. Working primarily in animation has meant our productions has continued with minimal disruption.”
Julien Farçat, Sales Manager, CAKE

What are you expecting in Asia for the rest of this year?

“We have a lot of deals in the works, with a lot more interest compared to three months ago at the height of the Covid panic. We are expecting a lot of deals to be closed before end 2020.”
Indra Suharjono, Senior Media Advisor, JKN Global Media plc

“We can expect a more modest acquisition budget with the projected economic downturn, with a corresponding dip in spending on content creation. On the other hand, we also foresee the consolidation of the ongoing trend of increasing partnerships with OTT platforms.”
Jesslyn Wong, Vice President of Content Distribution, Mediacorp (Singapore)

“There is no more I can say than hoping that we together will have a solution to stop Covid-19 and bring our Asian countries back to normal as soon as we can.”
Charkrit Direkwattanachai, Vice President – EVP Corporate Affairs, BEC World (Thailand)

“We expect that Asia will still be our main market, with OTT developing more because of the lockdowns implemented by different countries in the region. Although sales to traditional platforms has slowed due to the pandemic, we hope to increase sales on digital platforms.” 
Roxanne J. Barcelona, Vice President, Worldwide Division, GMA Network (Philippines)

“Markets are picking up at different times and while we have encountered challenges with sponsorships due to the ad market being down, our positive formats performance are helping get partners on board for Travel Guides, for example... We are also launching local content, starting with our IP adaptations, which is opening new opportunities for us. We have a lot of scripted series in development and will have more in production by the end of the year as restrictions lift. We are also launching some key prime-time entertainment series.”
Sabrina Duguet, EVP, Asia, all3media international

“I expect Asia to slowly start opening up – much like China, Thailand and Indonesia. In Southeast Asia, countries like Singapore and Malaysia are beginning to turn the corner and could be next to open up and start cross border travel and that could be positive for the economies, which will in turn hopefully create more room for productions and acquisitions.” Ganesh Rajaram, General Manager, EVP Sales, Asia, Fremantle 

“No rainbow in sight for content syndication and licensing. Fortunately, DW as an international public broadcaster offers a broad range of content services that is well suited for today’s economy and unprecedented business climate.”
Lee Mee Fung, Managing Director, PIK Film/DW Asia Representative

“We will continue to participate in the virtual editions of the content markets into the fall season and will continue to rely on other tools like the online marketplaces we have been partnering with to reach new prospects and close deals online via their platforms. I believe the digital trend will continue for business in Asia for the rest of the year. As many countries are slowly getting back on their feet, together we will look ahead at 2021 and work towards any newly shaped goals and targets because of Covid-19.”
Estefania Arteaga, International Sales Director, Caracol Television

“It will never be the same again – in terms of how every business operates, and how/what people are watching.”
Henry Or, SVP, Strategic Partnerships, Asia, Boat Rocker Media

“A mixed bag: in some markets more opportunity, however also reduced opportunity. In general, even though viewing numbers are higher, advertising revenue has taken a significant hit and will need time to recover.”
Joanne Azzopardi, SVP Sales & Acquisitions, Asia and ANZ, Beyond Rights 

“We expect business to pick up in the second half as economies begin to recover, advertising budgets increase and broadcasters feel the need to refresh their schedules. The easing of restrictions is already leading to post-pandemic productions resuming. Most clients are gearing up to hit the ground running and are already in planning mode. Based on the conversation with clients, their main focus is to start shooting major franchises as soon as possible which don’t require the same amount of consultancy. No doubt, we expect business to pick up pace as we move into the second half of 2020 but with limited budgets and perhaps more flexible payment terms. We believe the common goal from the industry will be to minimise the impact of covid-19 and rebuild businesses with an eye on 2021.”
Rashmi Bajpai, Executive Director Asia, EndemolShine International

"Unlike many other industries we have an advantage as people turn to entertainment in times of need and change. As the world emerges from the disruption of Covid -19 we expect a steady flow of acquisition to continue in Asia. With platforms such as HBO, Hulu, Viu, etc opening up more to co-productions as well as scripted formats, NENT Studios U.K. is in a great position with a desirable catalogue of scripted series and scripted formats, which we will be placing across the region."
Jess Khanom, Senior Vice President, NENT Studios U.K.

“A sense of normality and a distraction from current global affairs. Oh, and lots of format deals. :)”
Samantha Ferguson, Senior Sales Manager, Rabbit Films

“While it is impossible to predict the economic impact this year has had, we all hope that the situation will improve quickly for everyone. Hopefully, we will return to a new kind of normal towards the end of the year.”
Julien Farçat, Sales Manager, CAKE

“Continuing strong programme sales, particularly for feelgood programmes, to fill gaps in schedules due to Covid production slowdown, formats ramping up.”
Katherine McMillan, Sales Manager Asia & Worldwide Format Sales, Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Published in ContentAsia's Issue Two 2020, September 2020