Daily Report - Day 1
A good beginning

By Fabricio Ferrara

The first day of Asia TV Forum, Wednesday December 10, featured a strong number of Asian buyers and producers walking along the Suntec Convention Center aisles, most of them surprised by the expansion of the show.

That's because, for the ninth edition of the ATF show, organizer Reed Exhibitions decided to move it to a Convention Center, instead of its traditional hotel with suites format. This change seems to be a ‘good move because everybody is at the same place and it's easier to find the booths', according to some buyers polled by Prensario . But, worldwide programming distributors believe that, with this exhibition format, ‘there seems to be less people than at earlier editions'.

The organization explained that among a total of 170 acquisition companies, more than 30 are attending for the first time, which means 25% growth in comparison with last year. A quick conclusion could be that: yes, there are more acquisition executives, but since the place is larger it is difficult to notice the change.

Regarding programming trends, Prensario asked some buyers about what are the Asian market looking for. A buyer from Indonesia comments: ‘Indonesian people are really interested on local reality shows. In my country, local production is strong. So, canned programming doesn't have much space, except for movies, series and animation'. An Indian producer adds: ‘Our audience used to consume a lot of local drama, but now is open to other genres like international series and movies'.

Another important question at the show is: What must be done to enter the Asian markets? Kevin Balhetchet from Hub Media Group (Singapore), answers: ‘Asian companies want long term relationships with programming distributors -specially when they buy a format- and are interested in partnerships and joint ventures to produce content for local audiences. A distributor should offer not only the format but also the postproduction facilities; this is very important to them… At this ATF edition, Hub Media is looking for partners that want to co-produce with us in Singapore'.