ATF 2009 - Day 1
ATF 09: Asia shows a good present

By Fabricio Ferrara

This 2009 ATF edition shows a considerable growth in comparison with the 2008 version. Not only because of the good number of distributors offering contents, but also with the good quantity and quality of attending buyers. The first day of the event, Wednesday 2nd , was really strong: Prensario met many TV Channels, mainly from Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines, but also from Mongolia, Myanmar, Thailand and Hong Kong, Vietnam, Taiwan, China and India. Many of them were new players, attending the show for the first time.

The market place was moved to the 6 th floor of the Suntec Convention Center, because of the exhibitors increase: at this ATF there are 139 new sellers from 358 companies. According to the organization, Reed Exhibitions, the event has had an overall growth of 8% in 2009, with 62 new buying companies from 312, which means a growth of 5%, compared to 2008.

During the Opening Ceremony, Michelle Lim, general manager at Reed Exhibitions, highlighted that the Asian content market is going through a very ‘optimistic' moment: ‘There are many things that support this: the economies are rising; there are plenty of new TV channels and new digital distribution platforms; and, at the end, many territories are more open to the cultural exchange'.

At the same event, the acting minister for Information, Communications and the Arts of Singapore, Lui Tuck Yew, gave a message to the international companies: ‘Given the relatively stronger economies in Asia, Western producers know they have to pay more attention to Asia in search of opportunities, fresh ideas, capital and markets'. In Singapore, international co productions have grown to more than USD 10 millions, being signed 20 media cooperation with media government agencies and companies from Australia, New Zealand, Korea and Canada.

What about programming trends in Asia? The buyers consulted by Prensario agreed that there is a “boom” of local drama series and formats, both fiction and entertainment. In that sense, an Indonesian buyer commented: ‘The Indonesians are a bit reluctant to international ready-made content. They prefer local productions, so formats could be a good way of entering our market, especially the entertainment ones'.