By Kami Navarro
Despite the temporary closure of cinemas and halting of live productions due to the pandemic, 2020 has been a noteworthy year for the media industry. All over the world, consumers have flocked online to satisfy their need for riveting stories and entertainment. Streaming giant Netflix, for instance, saw a 16 million surge in new sign-ups1 during the first three months of 2020 as a result of the lockdowns.
While entertainment has increasingly gone virtual, the desire for quality content remains the same. Bringing together media industry leaders from across the region, this year’s Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) sought to look back at the challenges of 2020 and use these experiences to move forward into a better 2021. As Asia's leading international content market, ATF provides an avenue for creators, buyers, producers, and distributors from across the globe to collaborate.
For the first time, the 2020 edition of the ATF was largely held over an online conference platform, with the refreshed experience fittingly called ATF Online+. Combining a physical event with a livestreamed broadcast on Facebook, this year’s opening ceremony took place on 1 December 2020 at the Marina Bay Sands’ state-of-the-art hybrid broadcast studio. Demonstrating the power of online media to transcend borders—and even viruses—the ATF Online+ opening ceremony was attended virtually and in real life by delegates from over 58 countries and regions.
Different format, same experience
“We entered 2020 facing a series of twists and turns that could probably win the Best TV drama award,” commented Mr Yeh Chien Ee, APAC President of Reed Exhibitions during his opening speech at the ceremony. And yet, these challenges are paving the way for innovation in the media industry.
History has proven to us that many great works of art are born out of crisis. Newton formulated his theory of gravity and Shakespeare wrote the famous King Lear during the plague. So who knows? The next blockbuster content could be written by a talented creator or spotted by a co-producer or investor at ATF Online+.
Mr Yeh Chien Ee
APAC President, Reed Exhibitions
Accordingly, the hybrid format of the 2020 ATF is setting the stage for a bigger and better event in 2021—hence the ATF Online+’s theme of ‘Prelude 2021: Be Part of the Conversation.’ Mr Yeh commented, “The mode of delivery may be different, but the passion and commitment from the ATF team remains.” With a jam-packed lineup of fireside chats from top executives and representatives from Asian brands blazing the digital trail from 1 to 4 December 2020, ATF Online+ likewise remains the Asian media industry’s foremost trade event.
Local tastes, international appeal
Indeed, COVID-19 has catalysed numerous opportunities for innovation in media. To increase awareness of government support schemes and spotlight inspiring stories of Singaporeans coming together to overcome the pandemic, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) launched the Public Service Content Fund in partnership with Mediacorp, Singapore Press Holdings and Viddsee. Under IMDA’s Capability Partnership Programme (CPP), media enterprises in Singapore can also partner and learn from global media industry players.
On top of that, initiatives like the Southeast Asia Co-Production Grant (SCPG) and Story Lab Apprenticeship (SLA) are encouraging talents in Singapore and the Southeast Asia region to develop their skills in telling quality Asian stories for the international market. 14 projects have been awarded since 2019 under the SCPG, one of which is Cu Li Never Cries, a satirical-comedy drama produced by both Vietnamese and Singaporean talents.
[The film] epitomises the kind of collaboration we are seeking to spark—Singaporean talent working with regional counterparts to create compelling stories which will have appeal in our part of the world and well beyond. If there's an opportunity, invest in the training, invest in capabilities.
Mr S Iswaran
Minister for Communications and Information, IMDA
Investments for innovation
Beyond nurturing talent, Minister Iswaran also emphasised the importance of building the necessary infrastructure for the media sector to truly flourish. After all, the sudden shift to digital-first media will likely be irreversible. “Whether as individuals, as organisations, or as an industry, we need to be investing in capabilities and infrastructure to be prepared,” he said during the fireside chat.
Accordingly, advances in digital infrastructure like the nationwide 5G coverage as well as augmented (AR) and virtual (VR) technology are already underway. At IMDA’s PIXEL for instance, the 5G Living Lab allows local media startups to experiment with AR and VR to enhance storytelling for broadcasting and presentations.
Singapore’s past investments in infrastructure have also paid off, as global media players like Netflix, Amazon and Tencent turn their attention to the city state. Still, Minister Iswaran noted, “As much as consumers enjoy big international blockbusters, they’ve also shown an appetite for content that’s tailored to our regional culture and tastes.”
“A good story is a good story, and you can’t deny it has an undeniable appeal that cuts across segments,” he added. “So how do you take a good story and position it for the kind of technological innovation that you see today?”
Amid all the exciting news from Singapore and Southeast Asia’s vibrant media industry and ecosystem, the opening ceremony of ATF Online+ shows the industry that there’s much to hope for even in a post-COVID world. While the conference may have ended in early December, the sessions live on in the virtual world. Catch insightful discussions tackling content connectivity, commerce and beyond on the ATF Online+ website until 28 February 2021.
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