SINGAPORE, 08 DECEMBER 2015 – The 16th edition of the Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) and 5th edition of ScreenSingapore (SS), Asia’s leading platform for TV and digital entertainment content, concluded last Friday on 4 December with an all-round record breaking performance; from the show attendance to sales transactions on the market floor.
The co-located TV and film events saw 5011 attendees from 60 countries who visited the show from 1 to 4 December at the Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre.
ATF and all3media International (UK) also announced that both parties will head into a global partnership to launch the ATF Formats Pitch 2016; a competition aimed to facilitate the exchange of ideas and talent between the leading international distribution arm of award-winning content and asian-based producers. all3media is also partnering ATF’s sister event, MIPFormats, for a similarly tailored competition.
Expanded ATF Marketplace Registered Record Performance
ATF & SS 2015 also saw a wide range of partnerships which were secured between the international content buyers and sellers. Sales transactions with an indicative value of US$263.19 million were charted during the active three-day market. A pre-market conference was held prior to the official opening on 1 December.
With Asia’s burgeoning investment climate in the media sector, ATF 2015 experienced a surge in request from content companies for exhibition space, resulting in an overall expansion of the marketplace. Key international brands such as BBC Worldwide Asia, CBS Studios International, Disney, NBCUniversal International Television Distribution, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Television, Viacom International Media Networks, and Warner Bros International Television exhibited at ATF 2015.
ATF & SS also welcomed three new pavilions from China, Spain and the United Kingdom participating in the show, increasing the total count of official pavilions from 13 in 2014 to 16 in 2015.
Encouraged by the very successful performance, Ms Yeow Hui Leng, Senior Project Director, shared, “Committed to staying ahead of the curve in the entertainment content landscape, ATF and SS 2015 has placed a stronger emphasis on digital business strategies and content creation. We are especially encouraged by the strong showing and support from the industry. It has truly been a record-breaking year for ATF and ScreenSingapore in terms of attendance and secured business partnerships. With the strong ATF market performance, we are already receiving early interest from content companies to participate in ATF 2016.”
Serving as the quality platform for the entertainment eco-system in Asia, ATF & SS invited a strong line-up of 88 industry thought leaders to share their insights on a carefully curated programme that focused on emerging TV and film formats and strategies in today’s digital age.
Keynote speakers for ATF such as DJ Lee, President, Media Content Division, CJ E&M (Korea), René Rechtman, Head, International, Maker Studios (USA) elaborated on current hot topics and digital trends in the content industry while many other industry veterans shared more insights on kids content at Junior@ATF and emerging television trends at Formats@ATF.
Strong Support from ATF & SS 2015’s marketplace
Attendees from the market floor, be it exhibitors, buyers, participants, collectively voiced strong support from the vibrant market floor.
• Matthieu Béjot, Executive Director, TV France International of the French Pavilion (TVFI) said, “It has been a long standing tradition for French companies to participate at ATF. It has been a pretty good year with 30 companies participating here at the French pavilion. We saw buyers that we don’t necessary see at the other trade shows so it is beneficial for us to showcase our content to them.”
• Patrick Yong, CEO, MyChina Channel shared, "We are happy to be a part of ATF this year and to meet with many potential partners at this event. We have also announced the news of our partnership with CBN to co-develop two brand new infotainment/documentary series as well as 100 hours of financial business content in English. With the formalisation of our new kids' channel, MaxToon, on StarHub, we believe there will be many opportunities for us to work with the new friends and to bring in quality content to the region."
• Gilda Demirtas, VP International Sales, Dynamic Television (USA), said, “ATF is a good place to meet Southeast Asian clients outside of sister event such as MIPTV and MIPCOM.” Dynamic Television is currently distributing the hit Syfy series Z Nation, CONAN, the #1 18-34 year old late night variety show and a new supernatural thriller series, Wynnona Earp.
• Mohammad Haghshenas, Head of Sales of IRIB Media Trade (Iran), who is a first-time exhibitor at the show said, “It’s my first time at ATF and it is very exciting for us. We are a Middle Eastern company and our culture is similar to Asia so we want content, new technologies, new platforms as well as to learn about the future of TV at ATF.”
• Diana Zakis, Vice President Sales, Latin America and Asia at Content Television, commented, “We’re delighted to announce these new deals at Asia Television Forum - demand for international scripted drama content continues to be on the rise throughout Asia, and we’re seeing a lot of interest for our new programming as well as our library feature films and series. With their well-established fan base, our ‘game-to-screen’ properties always resonate particularly well in the region, and we’re expecting our new feature Halo: The Fall of Reach to be very popular when it makes its debut in Singapore.”
• Sharon Gomes Thomas, Vice President, Little Airplane Productions (USA) shared, "Thanks for a great ATF. Little Airplane closed two deals here. And met more fantastic potential business opportunities. See you next year!"
Market Announcements at ATF 2015
• PCCW, a leading media group in Hong Kong and TV Chosun, general entertainment channel in South Korea have signed a pre-sale contract deal of TV Chosun's upcoming drama Say Only You, starring Nam Gung Min and members from K-pop idol group U Kiss. Say Only You is slated to air in January 2016 on TV Chosun.
• Two key deals were closed by the Chinese production company, Cathy Audiovisual Global Media Co Ltd with Philippines’ Telesuccess Productions Inc which acquired the broadcast rights for Chinese pugilistic classic The Romance of Condor Heroes, while Han Media Culture from Thailand bagged the broadcasting rights for several programs, including The Gods.
• Leading South East Asia film producer, marketer, distributor and financier mm2 Entertainment announced a series of international collaborations and exciting insights to various local projects for 2015, for example the latest “Ah Boy To Men 4” would be ready in 2017 to coincide with NS50, the fiftieth anniversary of military conscription service in Singapore.
• German broadcaster, Deutsche Welle, closed four deals and a fifth potential in the pipeline. They sold 50 hours of factual, science and lifestyle content to broadcasters in China, South Korea and Thailand.
• Philippines’ broadcaster GMA is localizing Spike TV format, Lip Sync Battle, scheduled to air in February 2016. This will mark the fourth adaption in Asia after China, Indonesia and Vietnam. The airing dates are estimated to be around February on Sohu.com and Shenzhen TV; July and October for Vietnam and Indonesia respectively.
Film Financing Takes Centrestage at ScreenSingapore 2015
At ScreenSingapore (SS) 2015, the theme was centred on film financing, a subject that is close to the heart of the Southeast Asian film industry. Film professionals benefited from the mega panel of film financiers where representatives from Silver Group Media, Union Investment Partners, Dragonslate Media, Surya Ventures, Starlight Media Consultants and Sony Pictures Entertainment talked about the innovative ways to source for investment to finance film projects.
This year, SS launched the inaugural Southeast Asian Film Financing (SAFF) Project Market, which was created in partnership with Southeast Asian Audio-Visual Association (SAAVA) and Europe’s Ties that Bind producing programme.
A total of 148 project submissions from 22 countries were received and the top 10 shortlisted projects were matched with potential investors and co-production partners to bring the projects to fruition.
Selected SAFF projects were awarded with prizes sponsored by industry partners;
Awards / Sponsor Selected SAFF projects
G-Technology
• A Wrong Season
• People Power Bombshell
• The Long Walk
MotionElements
• A Small Place
G2D (Gateway2Digital)
• The Long Walk
• Lonely Fish
RED Digital Cinema
• The Happiness (R)evolution
• One Two Jaga
AV8 • Happiness Revolution
• One Two Jaga
• Motif
Silver Media
• The Happiness (R)evolution
Said Mattie Do, a film director from Lao, “Being one of the 10 selected projects has been an amazing experience. There’s nothing quite like SAFF that exists in Southeast Asia that not only looks to connect us with producers and financiers, but also like-minded creatives in the region too. Truly an awesome opportunity.”
Under the umbrella of Singapore Media Festival, the 2015’s Asia TV Forum & Market and ScreenSingapore wrapped up yet another successful edition, proving once again to be the must-attend event for Asia’s leading TV and film content marketplace.
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About Asia TV Forum & Market and ScreenSingapore
Asia Television Forum & Market (ATF) and ScreenSingapore (SS) is a must-attend international event for the financing, co-producing, buying and selling of TV and film entertainment content across all platforms. Bringing together international content sellers and Asia Pacific buyers, ATF and SS provide the gateway to making an impact on Asia’s entertainment content business. Showcasing the robust and intricate workings of Asia’s expanding content entertainment industry, the ATF & SS 2015 will lead industry players into the heart of the evolution of the industry.
About Reed Exhibitions
Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events organiser, with over 500 events in 43 countries. In 2014, Reed brought together over seven million event participants from around the world generating billions of dollars in business. Today, Reed events are held throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa and are organised by 41 fully staffed offices. Reed Exhibitions serves 43 industry sectors with trade and consumer events and is part of the RELX Group plc, a world-leading provider of information solutions for professional customers across industries.
About Singapore Media Festival (SMF)
The Singapore Media Festival, hosted by Media Development Authority, is set to become one of Asiaʼs leading international media events, where the industry meets to discover the latest trends, talents and contents in Asia for Film and TV. It brings together established media events – Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF), Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) and ScreenSingapore (SS), Asian Television Awards (ATA) and Digital Matters, which will take place from 26 November to 6 December 2015.
For more information about the Singapore Media Festival, please visit www.sgmediafestival.com.
Media Contact STRATEGIC PUBLIC RELATIONS GROUP (SPRG)
Ms Diana Low
Senior Account Manager
T: +65 6780 8264
E: atf@sprg.com.sg
Ms Samantha Ng
Assistant Account Manager
T: +65 6325 8265
E: atf@sprg.com.sg
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