The annual Asia Television Forum (ATF) kicked off today with the best results in its 8-year history as more than 140 new companies and approximately 4,700 participants from nearly 50 countries arrived in Singapore for Asia’s leading programming market. Contributing to the 12% growth over the previous year is greater participation from Asian sellers, particularly those from South Korea China, Taiwan and Thailand. In addition, Malaysia has opened a national pavilion for the first time.
Also making a strong showing at the event are major international studios and production companies including CBS Paramount Television, Disney-ABC International Television, Sony Pictures International Television, Lions Gate Ent. and NBC Universal Television Distribution, as well as key national groups from Australia, France, Singapore, South Korea, Spain and Taiwan. With this strong growth in participation, programming sales are expected to exceed the $47.1 million recorded set by last year’s market.
‘We are delighted by the robust growth of our TV and Film market,’ says Michelle Lim, general manager or Reed Exhibitions, Singapore. ‘ATF is an event created by the industry, for the industry, and we will continue to make strategic changes to keep ourselves relevant with industry needs and developments.’
This year’s conference themes reflect the increasing demand new media content. The Media Financing Forum explores the changing creative media financing landscape in Asia, while the Digital Future Symposium examines the key issues in content protection in the digital world. The Mobile TV Forum is designed to allow participants to share best practices in the mobile content arena, and Content Partnerships looks at the changing dynamics and revenue models for content collaboration. Sports Content focuses on the current hot topic of sports content rights, with an eye on the Formula One event happening in Singapore for the first time next year, as well as the Beijing Olympics in 2008. The annual SuperPitch even has also been revamped to address cross-platform content.
Asia Television Forum is taking place at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore from through Nov. 30. For more information, go to www.asiatvforum.com.
