Vietnam, Thailand and China continue to be Asia’s top three formats markets by volume, according to ContentAsia’s Formats Outlook for the first half of 2017.

VIETNAM

Vietnam is by far Asia’s top formats market by volume. Of the 15 markets included in ContentAsia’s Formats Outlook for the first half of this year, Vietnam had 67 formats on air/commissioned, giving the market a 24% share of the regional total of 285 titles.

Vietnam, Thailand and China have always been Asia’s most vibrant formats markets. The three markets ended 2016 as the top three as well, with 172 formats (market share of 51%), according to ContentAsia’s Formats Outlook 2016.

Game shows and singing competitions dominated, accounting for 63% (42 titles) of Vietnam’s total formats count for Vietnam.

The 28 game shows included long-running format Deal or No Deal season 12 and Who Wants to be a Millionaire seasons 12 and 13.

Two seasons of It Takes Two Vietnam (S1, S2) and two versions (adult, kids) of Your Face Sounds Familiar Vietnam were among the 14 singing contest titles.

Talent show ranked third with six formats, including seasons one and two of Next Boy/Girl Band Vietnam and seasons one and two of Star of Tomorrow Vietnam.

The balance were a mix of entertainment (4), dance competition (3), reality (5), culinary/cooking competition (2), drama (2), comedy improv (1), factual (1) and telenovela (1).

Vietnam was also home to two higher-value scripted adaptations by mid year – Korean broadcaster MBC’s She Was Pretty produced by TV Hub and Armoza’s The Arbitrator by Vietnam Television Film Center – with the addition of a third – local version of U.S. drama Glee, signed in August and currently in production by BHD. The 22 episodes of Glee Vietnam will stream on BHD’s OTT platform, Danet.

Other titles on the Vietnam list this year include seasons 1 & 2 of Shark Tank, the local version of Japan’s Dragons’ Den; She Was Pretty Vietnam, a remake of the Korean drama series; factual show Are You Normal? Vietnam S2; weight-loss/dance competition Dance Your Ass Off VietnamS3; and singing competition Hidden Singer Vietnam S3.

THAILAND

Thailand had 42 formats on air or commissioned in the first six months of this year, giving the market a 15% share of the regional total.

Like Vietnam, formats in Thailand in the first half of 2017 were dominated by game shows (most of which are in second, third or fourth seasons) and singing competitions. The longest running game shows are Take Me Out Thailand (since 2011) and Thailand’s Got Talent (since 2013).

Korean formats – including one scripted formats – have also made headway in Thailand. Five Korean properties made landfall in the first half. These are My Little Television Thailand (reality); Princess Hours Thailand (drama); The Mask Singer (singing competition) originally commissioned by local network Workpoint TV as a 13-episode series and was so successful it was extended to more than 20 episodes; and two seasons of singing competition I Can See Your Voice (S1, S2).

New entrants this year include MasterChef Thailand, which was commissioned by the Heliconia H Group and premiered on free-TV general entertainment service Channel 7 in June, four years after rival Channel 3 walked away from a junior version of the culinary contest; two seasons of singing competition X Factor Thailand (S1, S2); game show The Wall Thailand; and health talk show Dr Oz Thailand.

CHINA

Despite widespread dismay among international hopefuls over the direction of China’s content/format regulations, China remains a massive market for formats, with 39 titles (14% market share) on air and/or commissioned in the first half of the year.

Unlike in Vietnam and Thailand, where game shows dominate, China’s formats were mostly drama, including the first season of Sony Pictures Television’s Crackle digital original, The Chosen, which started production in April. The 15 drama titles also included local adaptations of long-form series: A Restaurant with Many Problems, Dating: What It’s Like to be in Love?, First Class China and Operation Love from Japan’s Fuji TV; The A Word China and MICE from Keshet International; Gossip Girl from Warner Bros; and Humans from Endemol Shine.

Chinese producers/broadcasters also picked up five game shows – Singer Takes it All, Quiz Poker China, Super Boys China (Fuji TV), Pharoah! China S4 (Nippon TV), and family game show Trade Up China (Keshet International) – as well as adventure/survival series Absolute Wild With Bear Grylls; reality show It Girls China; and entertainment series Superstar Ding Dong China. The rest of China’s multi-genre formats slate include entertainment (4), singing competition (3), talent competition (3), reality (2) and dancing competitions (2).

This article was originally published in the October 2017 print issue for MIPCOM 2017 in Cannes