We’re heading into the last quarter of a foul year. And, yeah, like everyone, we’re drowning in platitudes about being grateful or thankful or whatever other emotional band-aids are being slapped on the difficult situations caused by sweeping destruction in the wake of pestilence of biblical proportions. And we’re rolling our eyes as much as anyone at corporations yapping on about being “in this together” (and yes, they’re STILL doing it, who would have thought), and, using expensive content marketing videos, highlighting the value of basic skills like empathy and human connection.

Hmmmmmmm. It took a pandemic? And then you felt the need to tell the world about your new-found awareness because...? Wow. Sad and funny and I’m saving my critique of opportunistic and inauthentic content marketing messages for another day though; watch out for the launch of ContentAsia Cheez (aka OMG Why??)...  

So, as much as we wish it wasn’t, that’s one trend that’s alive and well and I’m summoning all my empathy to try to understand people’s need to do something, anything, doesn’t matter what, in the face of a crisis. 

As the video industry preps for the first virtual Mipcom, we’re also seeing a lovely shiny content bubble over Southeast Asia – especially in Indonesia – as streaming platforms jostle for position. Will it last? Probably not; do bubbles ever?

But while it does, and as long as rights holders are getting paid and don’t count on good fortune in perpetuity, hallelujah and why not. 

Then again, just imagine if Indonesia does pop, and the million or so people currently paying for at least one platform turns to two million or 20 million... Disney is a believer; why else would they spend so much on local content. Others, like Thailand’s TrueID, are skeptical, hanging their newly minted hopes, dreams and ambitions on an AVOD model driven by advertisers’ demands for a brand-safe, premium environment.  And there are many in between, so there’s that to watch. 

Content exclusivity is still highly prized, but no one is telling us they want everything regardless of the cost. Some shows are rumoured to be fetching US$400,000 per episode for regional rights; at that price, there is one, maybe two, bidders still around the table. In Indonesia, Disney+ Hotstar snapped up exclusive rights to a dozen or so direct-to-streaming theatrical titles while cinemas remain closed. Will they buy out box office in order to pip theatres to the post once cinemas re-open? Who knows. Will Disney+ Hotstar’s launch budgets hold, and for how long? Rights holders in Indonesia hope they will. Rights holders in neighbouring markets are salivating (and holding out for higher prices because they know they can, so they will, until they can’t anymore) and... well, that bubble looks lovelier and lovelier.  

The rush to follow in the footsteps of Korea’s Masked Singer to create a global superformat continues, particularly out of Japan, where the country’s power duo – commercial leader Nippon TV and Fuji TV – are turbo charging their international co-development initiatives. The will is not new; Japan has for decades worked with international partners on redeveloping segments of variety and game shows with various levels of success. Mixed into the latest ambitions are native co-development, starting with an equal number of ideas on the table from both sides. 

And then there’s the reset of traditional pay-TV platforms in Asia, which is great news for targeted, focused indie channels that have for years had to stand at the sidelines and watch giant studio-driven bouquets soak up 80% of affiliate spend. Well, that’s not happening anymore so while there’s less to go around, it’s being spread around. Witness the new carriage deals that are coming thick-ish and fast as platforms recalibrate. And for that, we are grateful. No pandemic required to make us so.

Published in ContentAsia's Issue Three 2020, October 2020