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Taiwan’s Taicca, Singapore’s Mediacorp join rush to create international originals; two-year development plan unveiled this evening
Taiwan’s government-backed creative agency, Taiwan Creative Content Agency (Taicca), and Singapore’s national broadcaster, Mediacorp, have paired up for the first time to co-develop original content for international audiences.
The two-year agreement, unveiled this evening as day one of this year’s ATF drew to a close, comes as demand for global content soars along with hopes, dreams and wishes of Asia’s creators for a bigger slice of international attention.
Among other things, the alliance involves Taiwanese investment in new content via various government schemes, as well as skills development and training.
The official messaging in this evening’s announcement was that the two had signed a MoU, effective immediately, that “paves the way for both parties to collaborate on a range of projects to bring fresh creative concepts from script to screen in both Singapore and Taiwan, and beyond”.
No specific details or deals have been disclosed, and no dollar values have been made public.
The two said they would join forces to surface stories from indie Taiwanese writers as well as facilitate Mediacorp access to Taiwanese talent and to deploy Mediacorp scriptwriting and production resources.
Mediacorp has worked with Taiwanese partners in the past on, among other projects, suspense drama “All is Well” with Eightgeman; and “Twisted Strings” with Screenworks Asia.
This evening’s announcement was made by Taicca CEO, Izero Lee, and Mediacorp chief content officer, Virginia Lim.
Japanese TV series hits record 21 million hours viewed on Netflix’s weekly global top 10
Two Japanese series – ”First Love” and “JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean” – have made it to Netflix’s latest global non-English-language top 10, giving Japanese shows their highest performance since Netflix started publishing the top 10 in June 2021.
The new list, released from the U.S. overnight, puts cross-generational romantic drama ”First Love” in fifth spot with 12.3 million hours viewed on the top 10 for the week of 28 Nov-4 Dec and animated series “JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean” in eighth place with just under 8.8 million hours for a combined viewership of approx 21.1 million hours.
Starring Hikari Mitsushima and Takeru Satoh, ”First Love” released globally on Netflix on 24 November, hitting Japan’s top 10 immediately.
The series also made the top 10 in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand.
New episodes of “JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean” were released on 1 December.
Netflix has a slate of new Japanese titles for the holiday season, including “Gudetama: An Eggcellent Adventure” (13 December); “The Seven Deadly Sins: Grudge of Edinburgh” (20 December); the return of “Alice in Borderland” for a second season on 22 December; and director Hirokazu Kore-eda's new series, “The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House” on 12 January.
K-drama “Reborn Rich” soars; Viu ‘original’ tops Netflix Korea charts, retains spot on global top 10
JTBC/SSL’s latest Korean drama, “Reborn Rich”, remains on Netflix’s global non-English top 10 for the second week (28 Nov-4 Dec) with 12.1 million hours viewed despite Netflix’s Korea-only rights.
Regional streamer Viu – which has lead actor Song Joong-ki (“Descendants of the Sun”) on a publicity tour in Singapore this week – acquired global rights from SSL excluding China and Korea, where the show is aired on JTBC and on Netflix.
Said to have cost in the region of KRW35 billion/US$26.5 million, “Reborn Rich” is the story of a man who wakes up in the body of a son of the powerful company that abandoned him in a previous incarnation.
The 16-episode TV series, based on a Korean web novel, premiered on JTBC on 18 November 2022 in a prime-time 10.30pm slot on Fri/Sat/Sun.
Episode eight, aired on 4 Dec, soared to a high of 19.449% nationwide audience share (Nielsen) from a little over 6% share for its debut.
The series also streams on the CJ ENM-controlled TVing in Korea and on Viki in certain non-Viu regions.
“Reborn Rich” debuted on Netflix’s non-English global TV top 10 in its premiere week with 10.35 million viewing hours.
The series has held onto the number one spot on Netflix’s Korea top 10 for a second week (28 Nov-4 Dec), after debuting on the list at number six for the week of 14-20 Nov.
Netflix does not disclose the number of hours viewed by individual markets in Asia.
“Reborn Rich” airs in Korea until 8 January 2023.
Related articles
 2 Dec 2022: Japanese, Indian drama debut on Netflix’s top 10 global non-English list along with 2 new Korean titles; Asian titles take 50% of the week’s top 10
28 Sept 2022: Viu adds JTBC’s “Reborn Rich” to originals slate; Song Joong-ki K-drama among eight new Q4 premieres
Singapore’s IMDA backs KC Global animated original, “Fallen 8”; Mei Melancon on board to co-create new series
A contemporary version of a classic Chinese legend, “Fallen 8” is making its way to regional screens in an original production deal between Singapore-based regional channels programmer, KC Global Media, and Singapore government agency, the IMDA.
Hollywood screenwriter, Mei Melançon (“X-Men: The Last Stand”), is on board as series co-creator.
The new sci-fi fantasy original, produced with Singapore-based Robot Playground Media, is about a group of celestial beings with divine powers.
Script development for the series, supported by IMDA’s Capability Partnership Programme, started in Q3 2022.
No other details have been disclosed.
Singapore’s IMDA backs new US$3.7m fund to support virtual production
Singapore government agency, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), has unveiled a S$5-million/US$3.7-million fund to support virtual production adoption.
The new Virtual Production Innovation Fund was announced by senior minister of state for communications and information, Tan Kiat How, during the opening of this year’s ATF in Singapore this morning.
Tan said the IMDA support “will build capability in the industry and transform the storytelling process”.
The IMDA has invited submissions for short films (3-10 mins) – including music videos and commercials – that experiment with virtual production. Proposals submissions run until 15 February 2023, with winners being offered up to 50% of the project costs.
The IMDA said these short-form projects “will deepen [local industry] understanding on how virtual production can help them lift their creativity to the next level and produce even more interesting content”.
“This technology presents a unique opportunity for Singapore to overcome our physical limitations, such as limited sites for on-location shooting and space to build extensive sets,” he said.
“Virtual production will transform the creative process of storytelling as our storytellers can recreate locations from the past or any imaginable environment, allowing us to produce content that we were not able to before,” he added.
He also announced a partnership with the U.K.’s National Film and TV School to develop a training programme for Singapore.
Tan also unveiled an “industry challenge” in partnership with Epic Games to “encourage companies to experiment with and use Unreal Engine for virtual production”.
U.K.’s Piccadilly Pictures sets up APAC film financing unit
U.K.-based film/TV financing company, Piccadilly Pictures, is setting up an Asia-Pacific division as part of the sale of a majority stake to London/Singapore-based 108 Media.
The new company, based in Singapore, was announced out of London yesterday.
108 Media’s Singapore-based president, Justin Deimen, said in the announcement that as Asia’s participation in the global co-production boom grew, so did its need “for visible and sophisticated media financing solutions”.
Deimen said Piccadilly Pictures in Asia would be working with government entities to cash flow tax credits and rebates for local and international productions in the APAC region
He added that the company would tailor financing packages for budgets in Asia consistent with production realities on the ground in the region.
Piccadilly Pictures APAC would also cash flow presale papers from distributors and platforms in Asia and finalise pipeline output deals against unsold rights with channels and platforms to create more co-production opportunities with buyers and producers globally, he added.
Piccadilly Pictures’ co-founders Christopher Figg and Robert Whitehouse will continue to lead the company.
Nippon TV/Envision Entertainment's “Connected: The Homebound Detective” heads to the U.S. in Tomorrow Studios’ option
A U.S. version of Japanese crime drama “Connected: The Homebound Detective”, from Japanese broadcaster Nippon TV and U.K.-based Envision Entertainment, could be on the way in an option agreement with ITV Studios’ Tomorrow Studios.
The option on the format was announced as this year’s ATF opened in Singapore this morning.
Envision Entertainment and Nippon TV will co-produce the series with Tomorrow Studios.
No timetable for the show to be confirmed/greenlit has been released.
The series is about Ataru Aida, an agoraphobic young man recruited to use his genius-level online research skills to help solve crimes and realises that virtual investigations have real-life consequences.
The scripted series, which broadcast in Japan in April 2022, was created by Itaru Mizuno for Nippon TV and Michael Nakan for Envision Entertainment.
Singapore’s Mediacorp greenlights Viddsee short film adaptation for 2023 slate
Viddsee Studios’ social-thriller series, “Alienated”, premieres across all Mediacorp platforms in Singapore from mid-2023, the companies said this evening as day one of this year’s ATF market in Singapore drew to a close.
The six-episode one-hour series will be produced by Viddsee Studios and up-and-coming Korean filmmaker, Doyeon Noh.
Noh is the original creator of “Human Form”, a short film upon which the series concept is based.
The series emerged from Viddsee Labs development initiative and Mediacorp’s Creatives Assembly 2021.
“Human Form” was shortlisted as one of 12 Asian IPs to be developed under Viddsee Labs in 2022.
“Alienated” follows 18-year-old schoolgirl, Luna, who weighs the idea of ending her life under much social pressure and pain but ends up unexpectedly striking a deal with an enigmatic entity who gives her the ability to live different lives through multiple alternate universes.
Asia-focused culinary content boost in new Bomanbridge, CreatorsLab deal
Bomanbridge Media and Singapore’s CreatorsLab have signed a global deal to distribute original Asia-based culinary content, the two companies said today.
The agreement kicks off with “The Creators: Chefs Uncut”, a six-part 30-minute food docu-series about chefs such as Han Li Guang, “MasterChef” judge Bjorn Shen, dessert chef Janice Wong, and Thailand’s Ton Tassanakajohn.
The companies have not said what comes after “The Creators: Chefs Uncut”.
CreatorsLab was co-founded by filmmaker Jon Lister and VC Investor Arijit Sengupta.
50 hours of Pinkfong shows head to Singapore from Feb 2023
The Pinkfong Company has sold more than 50 hours of Baby Shark and other shows to Singapore’s streaming platform, meWatch, and on free-TV service, okto on 5, the companies said during opening day of this year’s ATF in Singapore today.
This is Mediacorp’s first acquisition of Pinkfong’s titles.
The licensing deal includes Pinkfong Baby Shark Remix, “Pinkfong Wonderstar”, “Pinkfong and Baby Shark’s Space Adventure” to the newest series, “Bebefinn” and “Super Rescue Ready”.
The dedicated Pinkfong timeslot on okto runs from 8.30am to 9am daily.
What's inside...
Watch List 2023
What’s topping our Watch List as one year draws to a close and another opens, from upgraded storytelling and censors’ challenges in Asia to how much an episode of drama costs to produce in different parts of the region. Read more here
#Onehope 2023
Media execs with Asian businesses share their biggest business hopes for 2023. Read more here
Way of the Dragon: Studio Dragon’s Lee Ki-hyuk on K-drama and what’s next
Korean production house, Studio Dragon, leads the K-drama boom with the biggest budgets and access to the best talent pool among its advantages. Executive producer/IP strategy general manager, Lee Ki-hyuk, talks about growth and expansion every which way; diversifying platforms, partners and genres; filtering out the noise to focus on the story; and other things at the top of the US$1.5- billion, seven-year-old listed studio’s agenda as 2022 draws to a close. Read more here
Sing out loud: From “Akademi Fantasia” to “Masked Singer 3” & a whole lot in between with Astro’s Agnes Rosario
Malaysia’s dominant subscription video platform, Astro, has a well-documented transformation plan that stretches from becoming the home of a wide range of 3rd-party streaming apps to commissioning the first local adaptions of U.K. premium drama “Liar” and French series “Call My Agent”. Content director, Agnes Rozario, talks about new approaches, changing consumption habits and Astro’s evolving relationships with Malaysia’s production community. Read more here
Broad strokes: Virginia Lim, Chief Content Officer, Mediacorp Singapore
Singapore’s Mediacorp registered 120% growth in monthly video views on its YouTube drama channel for full-year 2021. Online video views have soared for three years straight, and the national media platform has long moved past its former singular identity as a free-TV broadcaster. In her first broad-ranging interview since she became Mediacorp’s chief content officer, Virginia Lim talks about content and co-production direction, and the advantages and challenges of a broad remit that has to satisfy everything from streaming entertainment and digital content services to niche audiences and mass market public service broadcasting. Read more here
Up cycle: Nini Yusof, Deputy CEO, Media Prima TV Networks, Malaysia
Malaysian free-TV giant Media Prima enters 2023 on its best foot in years. Records are being broken with shows such as "Melur Untuk Firdaus", content sales are soaring and alliances with neighbouring broadcasters and producers are expanding. And still, linear is key and mass market audiences remain vital, says Nini Yusof, deputy CEO of Media Prima TV Networks. Read more here
Boom bosses: Screenplay Films' SVP Streaming, Anthony Buncio
Indonesian production house Screenplay Films is at the forefront of the streaming boom, with a dozen titles for 2022 and on track to scale further by 2023 for, among others, Vidio and Netflix. SVP streaming, Anthony Buncio, talks about production priorities and realities, surfacing stories that will engage a potential audience of 290+ million people, developing a superhero universe, and the move into international format adaptations. Read more here
Access ContentAsia's December 2022 magazine here and browse back issues of all our publications at www.contentasia.tv
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