Table of Contents

AVIA Curated Session @ FILMART
MONDAY | 11 March
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre

Time in SGT/HKT

Join Louis Boswell, CEO, AVIA and his 4 guests in conversation on the development and growth of Asian streaming services and the ascent of Asian content internationally:

Propelling the Rise in Chinese and Asian Content
With Kelvin Yau, President, APAC and Overseas Marketing, International Business Department, iQIYI

Made in Asia, For Asia and Beyond
With Jessica-Kam Engle, Executive VP and Business Head, CreAsia Studios and
Marianne Lee, Chief of Content Acquisition and Development, Viu

Engaging the Thai consumer
With Winradit Kolasastraseni, President, Digital Media, True Digital Group

Time: 11:30am-1:00pm
Venue: Moonlight Theatre, inside the fairground of FILMART
Address: Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, 1 Expo Drive, Wan Chai, Hong Kong

Asia Video Summit attendees are eligible for free tickets to attend the session, which includes one-day access to FILMART exhibition halls on 11 Mar. Pre-registration to attend the session is now closed.
To find out more about FILMART, please visit: https://bit.ly/hkfilmart

Asia Video Summit Day One: Wednesday, 13 March 2024
Grand Hyatt Hotel, Hong Kong

Time in SGT/HKT

THE STATE OF VIDEO IN ASIA (I)

Following a year of reckoning with everything streaming originally stood for now being upended, we’re back to the future with rising subscription prices, streaming ad tiers, single geographic household restrictions, licensing of libraries and a renewed focus on theatrical. What can we expect in 2024? Has the dust really settled, or will there be more tectonic shifts and how will the consumer video experience evolve?

Grand Ballroom, Grand Hyatt Hong Kong

John Dykes, Sports Broadcaster

Louis Boswell, CEO, AVIA

With narrowing losses, subscriber growth driven by international markets and significant cost savings achieved in 2023, has the dust finally settled or is there more to come? What does 2024 hold for our industry and what will be the key trends and developments that will shape it in the year ahead?


Vivek Couto, Executive Director, Media Partners Asia
With Louis Boswell, CEO, AVIA

Specializing in Mandarin content, China listed company Huace Group has produced over 150,000 hours of Chinese television series and films which have been seen in 200 countries and regions across the world. As one of China’s largest content producers, how is Huace preparing for and participating in the potential rise of Chinese content internationally? What are the company’s key goals and priorities in the year ahead, what genres are they focused on producing and how is Huace embracing the latest technology in its TV and film productions? Where do the biggest opportunities lie and what are the challenges that need to be surmounted for Chinese content to realize its full potential?

Karen Fu, CEO, Huace Global

With Louis Boswell, CEO, AVIA

As more countries realize the tremendous potential economic benefits of a thriving entertainment industry, many governments are developing infrastructure and incentives to support both local and international productions in the hope of becoming the next Asian content wave. What are some of the key incentives and how can international content creators capitalize on the opportunities and support offered?


Panelists:
Panidapa Suankaew, Chief of Film Business Promotion, Thailand Film Office
Sirisak Koshpasharin, Vice Chairman, The National Federation of Motion Pictures and Contents Associations (MPC)
With Clare Bloomfield, Chief Policy Officer, AVIA

10:50 | Coffee Break

It’s a perennial problem and when there is a sharp focus on profitability, no effort should be spared in stemming the leakage from piracy – you cannot compete with free. But how big and real is the problem? How are the pirates making money, especially for live events and sports? Do potential consumers know the real dangers and perils of piracy? What are the latest developments in this war against the pirates – where are we winning and what more is being done to plug the holes?

Panelists:
Kaushik Moitra, Partner, Bharucha & Partners
Sean Godfrey, Senior Commercial Solicitor – APAC, Premier League
Michael Kwan, Senior IP Enforcement Advisor, TVB
Yangbin Bernard Wang, CEO, Vobile
With Matthew Cheetham, GM, Coalition Against Piracy (CAP), AVIA

Show Me The Money!

You can’t save your way to prosperity but with Wall Street demanding greater profitability, the focus is sharply on revenue. From delivering more from traditional sources to those that were almost abandoned and developing new ones beyond the traditional. We take a closer look at the different ways that media organizations are monetizing their assets and which have the greatest growth potential to replace the lucrative ARPU from declining pay TV revenues. Show me the money!

Friends, Suits, NCIS and a whole host of other shows may not be the latest, but they are certainly amongst the greatest for subscribers and a whole new generation of viewers who have discovered great storytelling from yesteryear that still resonates today. How much gold is there really in those deep libraries? How do networks balance the need for revenue and keeping content for their own D2C services, how do they compete in the linear pay / TV world and what does all this mean for the consumer?

Panelists:
Jonathan Greenberg, EVP, Regional Sales – North Asia, International TV Licensing & Global Content Distribution, Paramount
Sandie Lee, Executive Vice President, Rewind Networks
Jae Chang, Head, Content Licensing – SEA, India and Korea / GM – Korea, Warner Bros. Discovery

With Janine Stein, Editorial Director, ContentAsia

Apart from local programming, Korean content has long been a dominant force in entertainment across Southeast Asia. Can the K-wave which has now become an ocean get even bigger? How is the Korean government supporting its entertainment industry with a dedicated focus on this region to execute upon new market strategies and find new revenue streams? What new innovative business and partnership models is the Korean content powerhouse looking to develop?

Panelists:

Jaewon Choi, Director, The Korean Cultural Center in Hong Kong
Kyejin Sophia Shim, Regional Director of Shenzhen Business Center, Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA)
Jungwoo Lee, Head of Department, Mobile TV Service Team, LG Uplus Corp.

12:40 | Lunch Break

Cloud technologies have had a transformative impact across many industries but what are the latest developments for the video industry and how can they enhance the OTT streaming experience? How does it improve efficiency, enable scaling while at the same time personalize experiences, and deal with the challenges of compliance and content security?

Sean Li, VP & MD, Greater China, Akamai Technologies

With Gregory Ho, Senior Advisor, AVIA

With the constant pursuit of new hits, formats and adaptations have always been a popular route to winning ratings. Increasingly though the adaptations are not just of hits from the West but also from countries closer to home. So, if you have a local smash hit, how can you make it a winning formula beyond your own shores and beyond just licensing it? What are the latest trends in formats and adaptations, what’s working and how can you profit from it?

Panelists:
Mrinalini Jain, Group Chief Development Officer, Banijay Asia and Endemol Shine India
Jocelyn Little, MD, Beach House Pictures

With Joanne Fung, Senior Media Executive

With over 300+ live channels and 1,000 movies, Samsung TV Plus is one of the leading FAST platforms globally. What are some of the key challenges and lessons in building a successful FAST ad business and how does Samsung Ads maximize advertising revenue in its ecosystem? 

Sammy Elazab, Sales Director, SEA, Samsung Ads
With Chris Mottershead, Commercial Director JAPAC, Publica

The hard drive to greater profitability has placed greater focus on developing “new” or greater revenue streams from IP and franchises. Licensing and merchandising (L&M) have always been a means of doing so but how big is the revenue opportunity and how deep are fan pockets? What are the latest trends and developments, and what elements give an IP strong L&M potential? What does it take to truly monetize these assets and how can it be done at a meaningful scale without significantly raising costs and headcount?

 

Panelists:

Elena Martínez van Hofwegen, Head of Business Development, HTI Group 
Jennifer Pang, VP, Head of Licensing, Asia, Paramount Consumer Products

With Mehernaaz Green, Senior Director and Global Marketing Head, Content Sales, Licensing and Distribution, CNN

16:00 | Coffee Break

Innovative Tech and Trends

Technology and generative AI in particular is bringing about a sea of change to every aspect of our industry, from tech and ops to engaging consumers, from how we can create a better service for them to the very content that they watch. What can these new tech and AI solutions do, how will they provide new opportunities for us and what are the perils we have to guard against? And are we ready for it?

LG has announced its vision to become a media and entertainment platform company, a business transformation that will enrich customers’ lives by delivering valuable services and a unique collection of curated content in products, including LG OLED and LG QNED TVs. What is the thinking behind this strategy and what are the opportunities for studios, networks, streamers and content creators?

Jim (Hong Jin) Park, Sr. Director, Department Leader, Home Entertainment Partner Business Development, LG Electronics

With Patrick Frater, Asia Bureau Chief, Variety

Generative AI promises the possibility of solving almost all the challenges of our video eco-system, from content creation to curation, navigation, personalization and even piracy. However, there are some critical ethical challenges that require ongoing attention. How can we unlock the potential of Generative AI while ensuring its ethical application?

Hui Luen Lien, Deputy General Manager, SenseTime Hong Kong

With Gregory Ho, Senior Advisor, AVIA

From being a Silicon Valley start-up to becoming one of the biggest players in digital content asset protection and monetization of content, Vobile is at the leading edge of harnessing the latest technology.

What are the opportunities and new innovations that generative AI will bring and how can it help to make content more valuable? Much has been written about how it will displace jobs, but will it create new jobs as well? What are the perils and challenges that must be surmounted to truly harness the full potential of generative AI in video and the wider entertainment industry?

Yangbin Bernard Wang, CEO, Vobile

With Louis Boswell, CEO, AVIA

Asia Video Summit Day Two: Thursday, 14 March 2024
Grand Hyatt Hotel, Hong Kong

Time in SGT/HKT

John Dykes, Sports Broadcaster

The State of Video 2024 (II)

With analysts predicting Asia to be the fastest growing and largest region for streaming ahead of Europe and North America, what are the implications for the focus on this region, in terms of allocation of resources and investments? Meanwhile, free-to-air channels and linear pay TV continue to be a vital part of the entertainment choice in many markets. Will FAST channels be able to gain a greater foothold? And is super aggregration the answer for improving the

Presenting Sponsor:

Streaming is the future but it’s a venture that requires deep pockets and with the shift in focus to economic stability rather than pure subscriber growth, how are players approaching this new reality in 2024? How are they balancing the need to effectively compete for subscriber loyalty while looking to improve the bottom line?

Panelists:
Kelvin Yau, President, APAC and Overseas Marketing, International Business Department, iQIYI
Catherine Park, SVP, Head of Streaming & Regional Lead, Asia, Paramount
Jason Monteiro, APAC Lead, Streaming, Warner Bros. Discovery

With Joanne Fung, Chief Commercial Officer, X Media Asia

FAST has taken the US by storm and making big inroads into Europe. But what does it take to launch FAST in Asia and does it make sense in a region with so many disparate countries, languages and cultures? Is the connectivity good and widespread enough, and is the ad market big enough to support it?

Panelists:
David Couret, Director of Technical Solutions for Distribution, France 24
Avani Bhanchawat, VP and Head of Revenue – Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, KC Global Media Asia
James Ross, CEO, Lightning International


With Clem Birdsall, Senior Publisher and Platform Director – APAC, Publica

Home to some of the biggest and most popular IPs and franchises globally, and with arguably the largest portfolio of linear pay TV channels including brands like Discovery, HBO, Cartoon Network and CNN, Warner Bros. Discovery continues to be one of the most formidable players in the video eco-system. With a much-anticipated launch of the streaming service, MAX, in the foreseeable future and a business that spans theatrical, gaming, location-based entertainment and licensing & merchandising, what are the priorities and growth plans for Warner Bros. Discovery in Asia for 2024, and what further developments can be expected as the media conglomerate battles stiff competition on multiple fronts amidst challenging macro-economic conditions?
James Gibbons, President, APAC, Warner Bros. Discovery

10:45 | Coffee Break

Who benefits from super bundling? How is the latest technology transforming content distribution and winning over the consumers?

Anil Malhotra, Co-founder and CMO, Bango

 With Gregory Ho, Senior Advisor, AVIA

Session brought to you by:

While many have doubted its future, the pay TV business continues to be a significant business and still a key source of entertainment for many consumers. What does the future hold, and how are the players fighting back and keeping their consumers loyal?

Panelists:
Phil Hardman, SVP & General Manager, Asia, BBC Studios
Jeffrey Remigio, VP and Head- Content Management, Acquisition and Distribution, CIGNAL TV
Derek Choi, MD, Consumer Marketing & Pay TV, HKT Limited
Avi Himatsinghani, Founder & CEO, Rewind Networks

With Patrick Frater, Asia Bureau Chief, Variety

The power of the bundle to lower churn and improve retention is gaining popularity and bringing competitors together, making it more convenient for consumers to find their favourite content. What are the challenges in creating a one-stop entertainment hub, how can they be overcome and how real are the benefits of superaggreation?

Panelists:
Agnes Rozario, Director of Content, Astro
Anil Malhotra, Co-founder and CMO, Bango
Thomas Jayet, CEO, VSTV (K+)

With Jessica Fuk, Research Analyst, APAC Online Video, S&P Global Market Intelligence

Content Everywhere

The consumer today is spoilt for choice and there is now more content to watch than there are hours in the day to watch them all. How do we navigate this huge ocean of content offerings? Will we see more fragmentation of rights? What is currently trending and how are content budgets being prioritized? 

TV operating systems are increasingly becoming an entertainment hub and critical gateway, aggregating content from various streaming and entertainment services. How are the latest TV operating systems (OS) enhancing the consumer experience especially in content navigation in markets like the US, where many now also offer hundreds of FAST channels and what are the implications for the future of TV in Asia and for platforms? What are the latest features for consumers and partners, what’s new in development and are consumers going to accept the ad experience of more ad innovation on their home screens?

 

Panelists:
Rohan Tiwary, Head of Partnerships, APAC, Media & Entertainment, Platforms & Ecosystems, Google
Hermawan Sutanto, COO, Vidio
With Naman Ramachandran, International Correspondent, Variety

12:45 | Lunch Break

Focused on Asia and its emerging markets, and developing cross-cultural content solutions, what is different about 108 Media’s business model and approach to entertainment production and finance, and why Asia? What’s trending and what is it looking for when adding productions to its slate? What’s next in its growth plans and will there be more acquisitions in 2024?

 

Abhi Rastogi, Founder and CEO, 108 Media

With Naman Ramachandran, International Correspondent, Variety

Whether you are a local FTA, regional or international channel or streamer, local content is a critical strategy to winning local audiences. But in the relentless drive for cost efficiencies and profitability, are there new production models that can better achieve these objectives and improve the chances of ratings success? Does the need for commercial and ratings success result in formulaic content creation or is there still room for risk-taking in new storytelling? What genres and types of content have a greater opportunity to travel and what are the strategies in creating such content?

Panelists:
Jessica Kam-Engle, Executive VP and Business Head, CreAsia Studio
Nini Yusof, CEO, Media Prima TV Networks


With Gregory Ho, Senior Advisor, AVIA

With rising content and production costs, content budgets are becoming flat or smaller while the pressure to win new and retain existing subscribers increases. How are streamers navigating this challenge of balancing between these two seemingly conflicting goals? What is being prioritized and are there other ways to monetize the content given the significant investments being made? What are some of the strategies and new technologies being adopted to differentiate a service and its content, to deliver a better experience for consumers to win their engagement and loyalty?

Panelists:
Winradit (Win) Kolasastraseni, President, Digital Media, True Digital Group
Marianne Lee, Chief of Content Acquisition and Development, Viu

With Gregory Ho, Senior Advisor, AVIA

Sustainability and ESG reporting is becoming a regulatory requirement in numerous countries while rapidly becoming part of the consumer conscience. What does that really mean and is the video industry in Asia ready for this impending future? Is it given the priority it deserves, especially in these challenging times of significant economic headwinds and the demands for increased profitability? What are some the lessons that can be learnt from the adjacent telecoms sector, and how are the sustainability initiatives they are making progress on applicable to video companies, from platforms to production studios large or small? And do sustainability efforts really also translate into benefits for the bottom-line?

Virat Patel, MD, Pioneer Consulting Asia-Pacific

15:50 | Coffee Break

Sports has always been and continues to be premium priced content that has the ability to drive and attract premium subscription dollars. Long believed to be one of the genres that can help stave off the decline of the traditional pay TV model, does this still hold true and is the transition to streaming inevitable? Will the fragmentation of rights across multiple streaming services and pay TV, as in the case of what is happening in the US, going to be the norm for the future? What are the additional challenges with regards to piracy of sports on the stream and how can they be overcome?

Panelists:

Mike Kerr, Managing Director, Asia, beIN Media Group

With Louis Boswell, CEO, AVIA

Agnes Rozario, Director of Content, Astro
Phil Hardman, SVP & General Manager, Asia, BBC Studios and Chairman, Board of Directors AVIA
Alexandre Muller, MD, APAC, TV5MONDE
 

With Louis Boswell, CEO, AVIA

Pool House, Level 11

 

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