A new version of the pay-TV environment is emerging – and, in the kinds of deals programmers will sign for their content, it looks pretty much the same as it used to, in the old days.

By the time APOS wraps on 27 April, a major question will be answered: Will Hong Kong Cable TV parent, i-Cable Communications, renew its pay-TV licence or not? The platform has been given an extended deadline, until Wednesday, 26 April, to make a decision.

When Korean formats producers and creators took to the stage at the MIP TV market in Cannes this month, it was with a brave face against a background of anti-Korean devastation across China that has decimated their most lucrative foreign licensing/production market ever.

Vietnam, Thailand and China lead Asia’s formats market this year. The three markets account for a combined share of 49% (102 titles) of the total 208 shows on air, in production or commissioned for broadcast in 2017/2018, according to ContentAsia’s Formats Outlook for Q1 2017.

Asked what they think is the one thing that will make the most difference to their business this year, media execs with Asian businesses are, probably unsurprisingly, pretty much united around (1) content of all shapes and forms, with both a local angle and global legs, more creatively fund- ed a

Japan, the world’s second largest content market after the U.S., stands to benefit most from China’s current freeze on all things Korean, including (much to Korea’s dismay) drama series that were fetching US$400,000 or US$450,000 an episode.