2017 is very likely to go down in Asian television history as the year the pay-TV channel brands we have known and loved in the past finally started stepping into the open with their bets on the way forward. Do they have a choice? Of course. But if they want their businesses to survive, maybe not so much.

Do the plans being rolled out go far enough? Is this too little too late? There’s still a lot of fear and sitting on the fence. Some of the steps being taken are considered too small to make a big difference. There are arguments galore about how reworked businesses should be structured. There’s a hunt for talent and skills previously unknown in the television world. For sure no one wants to destroy what value there is left in their existing businesses without an idea of what they’re going to replace it with.

In moving ahead, channel operators are united by a few things: a common experience of squeezed carriage fees across the region (for reasons good and bad), no direct billing (or any other) relationship with consumers in Asia, infrastructure and economic issues beyond their control, and the will to survive.

The differences lie in their choice of routes into an uncertain future.

FOX Networks Group (FNG) came out swinging with streaming platform FOX+. The app is kind-of-standalone in that consumers can buy the service through existing platforms, such as Singtel, without having a subscription to an existing pay-TV bundle. But there’s still a one-year contract and the relationship is still with Singtel. Alongside FOX+ and the new National Geographic app, FNG is pushing an aggressive and expensive original content programme, primarily in Greater China.

HBO Asia has had its own streaming app, HBO Go, since 2013, choosing too to stick with partners they have long known and loved, and backing a much-lauded local originals agenda.

Like FNG and HBO Asia, Turner is showing a whole lot of love for existing carriage partners. Although it probably could, so far, Turner has gone nowhere near FNG’s full-on subscription streaming play. Instead, Turner head Ricky Ow is positioning his channels to be part of the new age of skinny bundles and boosting his programme licensing business in various ways. In addition, he has chosen a mix of investments in digital-first originals, feature films and re-negotiated partnerships that smooth the way for traditional carriage of, for instance, WarnerTV on Malaysia’s Astro.

Disney’s media unit is close to unveiling a digital initiative it hopes will redefine its business in Asia; no details yet. Meanwhile, it’s doing sexy licensing deals for old-ish content with iflix and playing nice with telcos. A+E Networks also has a new focus and a changing structure it hopes will drive relevance in a post-pay-TV channel world. Indie operator Rewind Networks – an early adopter of the skinny bundle concept – is more convinced than ever that simple, clearly stated entertainment propositions, will win the day.

Discovery has new digital products in development, but no one outside of Discovery has seen them yet. While we wait, the big distraction is what happens after the Discovery acquisition of Scripps closes.

Meanwhile, NBCUniversal moves forward in Asia without its flagship Universal Channel and niche network Syfy – two high-profile disappearances this year. The shift involves focusing on clearly defined channels E! Entertainment and Diva and on branded on-demand destinations within third-party platforms. So far, there’s no sign that direct-to-consumer reality streaming service, Hayu, is coming anywhere near Asia.

Perhaps the biggest question with the quickest answer right now is about RTL CBS channels under new owner Canada’s Blue Ant Media. Answers soon...

And so we come to the theme of the ContentAsia Summit – Keep Calm and Stream On. Yes, it’s easier said than done, given the clouds of pain, uncertainty and lower margins looming over Asia’s content industry. But from where we are sitting, it’s definitely the best choice.

Published on Issue Four of ContentAsia's inprint+online (7 September 2017)