Bodhi Tree Systems Uday Shankar opens this year’s APOS conference in Bali (27-28 Sept), leading an agenda heavy on the future of streaming and the evolution of platforms and entertainment.

In his first appearance at APOS since exiting Disney at the end of 2020, Shankar will speak about the future of entertainment and sports in India and the role of India’s Jio Cinema and its future strategy across content and technology. 

Media Partners Asia’s (MPA) executive director, Vivek Couto, kicks off the two-day agenda on Wednesday (27 Sept) with his traditional state-of-the-industry overview and analysis. 

“This year’s Summit takes place at a time when macroeconomic volatility combined with the impact of technology and growing importance of scale continues to disrupt leading Asia Pacific entertainment economies and companies in their post-pandemic phase of growth. This is leading to a sharpened focus on areas where value can be best created for consumers, advertisers, and shareholders,” Couto says.

Highlights of this year’s two-day agenda include a conversation with Viu CEO/PCCW Media Group MD, Janice Lee, in her first appearance since the US$300-million Canal+ deal announced in June this year; Indonesia insights from Emtek MD/Surya Citra Media and Vidio CEO, Sutanto Hartono, followed on day two by a session with MD Pictures’ Manoj Punjabi, Falcon’s HB Naveen, and Screenplay Films’ Wicky Olindo; and a session with the region’s top pay-TV operators, including Astro’s Euan Smith and Tata Play’s Harit Nagpal.  

Netflix and Prime Video take centre stage on day two, with a look at the next phase of Japanese entertainment with Kaata Sakamoto, Netflix’s Japan content VP; and an outline of Prime Video’s strategy with APAC VP, Gaurav Gandhi, SE Asia director David Simonsen; and India/SE Asia head of originals, Aparna Purohit.