We’re coming to you daily from APOS this week… Today’s conversation has been all about a new media world order against a broader industry backdrop of emerging news about a fresh round of layoffs of about 80 people at MNC in Indonesia, mostly across the pay-TV business, and up to 1,000 people across the group as a result of a wide-ranging restructure (no official comment yet).
Plus there’s an escalating commotion in Jakarta over a lawsuit by free-TV broadcaster RCTI, backed by MNC group boss Hary Tanoe, that could result in forcing a broadcast licensing regime – including content controls – on streaming platforms and social media networks. Local YouTubers in Southeast Asia’s most populous market have taken to the streets outside the MNC building in protest against the move and today flooded their Twitter feeds with comments such as “this is a conflict of interest coming from MNC…” and “Seems that the live broadcasts of YouTube, IG and Facebook are a scourge for TV… They can’t compete. The public has the right to broadcast by themselves”. Free TV network RCTI, part of the MNC stable, responded with a tweet talking about the driver being “morals” rather than an effort to impede creativity.
Meanwhile in Singapore, it looks like Disney’s Fox Networks Group has renewed (or at least extended) its mega-bundle linear carriage agreement with StarHub. The previous agreement expired last night at midnight, and the Fox channels were still on air this morning; there is no official word yet, which likely indicates that while broad agreement has been reached, not all the details have been ironed out.
In the Philippines, ABS-CBN staffers still in the building today after massive cutbacks started the first day of their new post-franchise lives under the slogan: “We shall rebuild and reclaim our destiny”. While mourning the end of an era and the exit yesterday of personalities such as 30-year radio veteran Ted Failon, they also celebrated the return of the country’s top drama “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano” in all new episodes for strea...
We’re coming to you daily from APOS this week… Today’s conversation has been all about a new media world order against a broader industry backdrop of emerging news about a fresh round of layoffs of about 80 people at MNC in Indonesia, mostly across the pay-TV business, and up to 1,000 people across the group as a result of a wide-ranging restructure (no official comment yet).
Plus there’s an escalating commotion in Jakarta over a lawsuit by free-TV broadcaster RCTI, backed by MNC group boss Hary Tanoe, that could result in forcing a broadcast licensing regime – including content controls – on streaming platforms and social media networks. Local YouTubers in Southeast Asia’s most populous market have taken to the streets outside the MNC building in protest against the move and today flooded their Twitter feeds with comments such as “this is a conflict of interest coming from MNC…” and “Seems that the live broadcasts of YouTube, IG and Facebook are a scourge for TV… They can’t compete. The public has the right to broadcast by themselves”. Free TV network RCTI, part of the MNC stable, responded with a tweet talking about the driver being “morals” rather than an effort to impede creativity.
Meanwhile in Singapore, it looks like Disney’s Fox Networks Group has renewed (or at least extended) its mega-bundle linear carriage agreement with StarHub. The previous agreement expired last night at midnight, and the Fox channels were still on air this morning; there is no official word yet, which likely indicates that while broad agreement has been reached, not all the details have been ironed out.
In the Philippines, ABS-CBN staffers still in the building today after massive cutbacks started the first day of their new post-franchise lives under the slogan: “We shall rebuild and reclaim our destiny”. While mourning the end of an era and the exit yesterday of personalities such as 30-year radio veteran Ted Failon, they also celebrated the return of the country’s top drama “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano” in all new episodes for streaming platform iWant as well as on ABS-CBN channels the government hasn’t forced off air.
And then, of course, there’s the final countdown to the launch of Disney+ Hotstar in Indonesia on 5 September both direct-to-consumer and in a mobile-exclusive deal with Telkomsel. More about that later.
Meanwhile, highlights from the APOS stream and we will be back tomorrow…