To read the full article, click here.
Channel 21 | January 24, 2011
Red carpet to Asia
The cult of celebrity has reached fever pitch in Asian programming, and stateside distributors are reaping the rewards. Jesse Whittock investigates how global brand names are moving into the region’s TV markets.
“There are two philosophies about China and its Western counterparts such as the United States,” claims Larry Namer, CEO of US distributor Metan Development Group. “One is that the Chinese market will eventually lead and pioneer the media market for the rest of the world. I am a firm believer in the latter.”
To support his argument, Namer points to the rapidly expanding middle-class in China, and its desire to see more, watch more, play more and, above all, consume more.
His Los Angeles-headquartered company functions primarily by adapting and distributing US-infused entertainment content like flagship show Hello! Hollywood to Chinese broadcasters and content aggregators. However, this model has cultural implications.
“China does not wish to be America,” Namer continues. “With Metan, we were able to develop programs and concepts specific to the chinese market and culture. Even Hello! Hollywood, which is produced in Beijing and has its field operations in Hollywood, is an original show created in Mandarin for the Chinese audience — it’s not an existing show subtitled or dubbed over.”
Namer cites the advent of the internet take-up as the point when brands began to pervade the Chinese lifestyle, which brought about the broadcasters’ need for celebrity content. “Also, if you look at the history of US entertainment and character-driven content in China, the commonality is in the advent of the internet. It opened the Chinese audience with a new media platform not only for content but as a form of communication as well.”
But the appetite for celebrity lifestyle shows, which were partly popularized by Namer’s former employer, E! Entertainment Television, is widespread beyond China. “In Asia, we’ve noticed the rise of local celebrities and local production, and that’s become very important in the market,” notes Jene Elzie, VP of international sales and strategic planning at Comcast International Media Group (CIMG), which distributes E! Entertainment content such as personality-driven reality shows Mel B: It’s a Scary World and Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane.
Moreover, Asian celebrities are often seen as local demi-gods, and US companies are reacting to the local demand, says Elzie. “Local celebrities from Korea, for example, are becoming very popular in other parts of Asia, and for us that’s a very positive thing because we still have the A-list stars for that kind of programming.”
Elzie says that since Mipcom, she has seen a “general return to the spirit of buying” in Asia, and expects big things of new CIMG shows such as What’s Eating You? and Bridalplasty, and now, wants more local versions of E! News to follow its Malaysian feed.
Bollywood represents another area CIMG will seek to exploit, Elzie adds. “The Indian market is very interesting for us because there’s the natural Hollywood/Bollywood association.”
Away from celebrities, other stateside companies are using brands and iconic characters to put their stamp on the Asian market.
Family entertainment firm Classic Media, owner of US brands such as Mr. Magoo, Lassie and Underdog, is one of them. Having entered into a $60 million co-production partnership with Singapore’s August Media Holdings, the company wants to establish itself in Asia before selling the shows back to Europe and the US.
The key is to understand Asia’s growing importance as a test bed for the global market, says Classic’s executive VP of sales and co-productions, Doug Schwalbe.”As these Asian markets grow and mature in terms of consumption, you need to have someone there with local sensibilities. What we’re doing with August is about making content for the global market rather than for the US, or the UK and Europe.”
Twenty years ago, Asian markets were “basically nothing, but today, they’re growing in importance daily. It’s massive — a market of literally billions of people,” he adds.
However, Natalie Yuen, Echo Bridge Entertainment’s VP of international sales for Asia Pacific, warns that while US content is still popular in Asia, firms should refrain from overestimating its market value. “US programming still has a place in the Asian buyer’s shopping list, but as much as US programming can still rate well from broadcasters, home-grown programming, like in any other market, will always rule — as show by the new Asian-branded channels launching in the region, like UTV and Celestial Movies.”
##
