FEATURES
Walk the walk
02 September 2021
Thailand’s first adaptation of Project Runway is on its way to recently acquired and rebranded digital free-TV network, JKN18. The Fremantle format is part of Thai mogul Anne Jakkaphong Jakrajutatip’s burgeoning beauty and style business.
When Project Runway makes its way to free-TV screens in Thailand for the first time in early 2022, the fashion competition/reality format joins a burgeoning beauty and style division of JKN Global Media’s flourishing media empire.
The Thai adaptation, announced in a deal with Fremantle just ahead of this year’s ContentAsia Summit, will be produced in Bangkok by JKN Best Life Co, a new unit set up in April to manage both digital terrestrial TV services and the distribution/manufacturing of health, beauty and consumer products.
The series will air exclusively on JKN18, the free-to-air digital terrestrial DTT channel acquired from DN Broadcast Company earlier this year and now wholly owned and operated by JKN Best Life.
Project Runway is the fifth Asian edition of the franchise, following adaptations in the Philippines, Malaysia, South Korea and Vietnam. The show’s most recent completed version in Asia Pacific was in New Zealand.
The Thai series will be hosted by JKN chief executive and social media influencer, Anne Jakkaphong Jakrajutatip, making her debut as the first transgender host on a Project Runway.
Award-winning fashion designer and professor Tawn Chatchavalvong “Tawn C” (Thai Tim Gunn) is on board as mentor. Judges and contestants’ casting is under way.
Project Runway Thailand comes four months after the listed JKN Global Media acquired loss-making digital terrestrial station, New 18 (now known as JKN18), from DN for a total of THB 1,060 million/US$34 million.
DN entered the sale with loan/debts of approx THB2.4 billion/US$76 million. According to documents filed with Thailand’s Stock Exchange, DN lost more than THB907 million/US$29 million in 2018/9 and 2020.
The entry into Thailand’s DTT environment came a month after JKN rented air time on DN’s New18 digital channel to sell its products and air news and documentaries.
JKN18 is the company’s third TV platform after cable/satellite drama channel, JKN Dramax, and Thai news channel JKN CNBC.
...
Thailand’s first adaptation of Project Runway is on its way to recently acquired and rebranded digital free-TV network, JKN18. The Fremantle format is part of Thai mogul Anne Jakkaphong Jakrajutatip’s burgeoning beauty and style business.
When Project Runway makes its way to free-TV screens in Thailand for the first time in early 2022, the fashion competition/reality format joins a burgeoning beauty and style division of JKN Global Media’s flourishing media empire.
The Thai adaptation, announced in a deal with Fremantle just ahead of this year’s ContentAsia Summit, will be produced in Bangkok by JKN Best Life Co, a new unit set up in April to manage both digital terrestrial TV services and the distribution/manufacturing of health, beauty and consumer products.
The series will air exclusively on JKN18, the free-to-air digital terrestrial DTT channel acquired from DN Broadcast Company earlier this year and now wholly owned and operated by JKN Best Life.
Project Runway is the fifth Asian edition of the franchise, following adaptations in the Philippines, Malaysia, South Korea and Vietnam. The show’s most recent completed version in Asia Pacific was in New Zealand.
The Thai series will be hosted by JKN chief executive and social media influencer, Anne Jakkaphong Jakrajutatip, making her debut as the first transgender host on a Project Runway.
Award-winning fashion designer and professor Tawn Chatchavalvong “Tawn C” (Thai Tim Gunn) is on board as mentor. Judges and contestants’ casting is under way.
Project Runway Thailand comes four months after the listed JKN Global Media acquired loss-making digital terrestrial station, New 18 (now known as JKN18), from DN for a total of THB 1,060 million/US$34 million.
DN entered the sale with loan/debts of approx THB2.4 billion/US$76 million. According to documents filed with Thailand’s Stock Exchange, DN lost more than THB907 million/US$29 million in 2018/9 and 2020.
The entry into Thailand’s DTT environment came a month after JKN rented air time on DN’s New18 digital channel to sell its products and air news and documentaries.
JKN18 is the company’s third TV platform after cable/satellite drama channel, JKN Dramax, and Thai news channel JKN CNBC.
Project Runway Thailand adds to the country’s vibrant formats environment. According to ContentAsia’s Formats Outlook 1H 2021 report, Thailand remains among Asia’s top three formats markets, despite plummeting 58% in volume for the first six months this year against last year.
Thailand aired/commissioned 15 formats in the first half of this year – about 21 titles less than we counted in the first six months of last year.
This put Thailand in third place (behind India and Vietnam) among the 18 markets tracked for ContentAsia’s Formats Outlook in the first six months of this year.
In the first half of 2021, game shows totally dominated Thailand’s formats count with 47% of the total, followed by cooking, dating and drama (neck and neck at 13% each).
The remaining 14% is split between modelling and singing formats.
The latest Project Runway Thailand sits alongside localised adaptations of regional formats such as Korean comedy/romance drama series Bring it On, Ghost and Let’s Eat 2, and Japanese cooking competition Iron Chef S10.
Previous
Next
