ContentAsia turns 20, new Mediaquest boss?, Monsta’s Nizam Razak on “Papa Zola”… & other headlines of the moment – Monday, 12 January 2026

NEWS

12 January 2026

🎉 ContentAsia turns 20 this year.
For two decades, we’ve been reporting on Asia’s screen industries — how stories are made, financed, regulated, distributed and reinvented across TV, streaming, online, film and short-form. To mark our 20th year, we’re expanding how we tell those stories. Our trademark written features remain at the core. But we’re putting significantly more energy into video and audio — more interviews, more conversations, and a closer examination of creative approaches from Asia’s filmmakers, using pictures and sound alongside our written articles. In other words: Same purpose. More ways to tell the story. The next chapter starts now... ⭐️

Meanwhile…

Monday, 12 January 2026

🔔 Philippines media stalwart Jane Basas is said to have cleared out her office at MediaQuest, heading for a role at telco SMART – no official confirmation from PLDT. More below 👇

🔔 Interview: Malaysia’s “Papa Zola The Movie” box office has hit RM 55 million/US$13.5 million, putting it in reach of record-breaker, “Ejen Ali 2”. Monsta boss, writer/director Nizam Razak talks to us about the film. More below 👇

🔔 ABS-CBN is gearing up for a microdrama launch this year on global streaming/online platform iWant. Details to come. Meanwhile, the Philippines’ programmer has showcased its 2026 line up. More below 👇

🔔 Malaysia’s MCMC is on the warpath, telling Grok parent X that access will be restricted as long as it fails to act decisively to block misuse that generates “obscene, sexually explicit, indecent, grossly offensive, and non-consensual manipulated images”. More below 👇

🔔 Taiwan’s horror film “Phantom”, starring Thai-Taiwanese actress/singer Methika Jiranorraphat, started filming today. The shoot – a first of its kind for Taiwan – is scheduled to wrap by Lunar New Year. More below 👇

PLUS MORE…

MediaQuest leadership change rumours; Jane Basas exits for role at SMART, Ricky Vargas in as temp head

PLDT stalwart Jane Basas has exited her role as MediaQuest president and CEO in the Philippines, reportedly headed for a top job at another PLDT subsidiary, telco Smart. Ricky Vargas – listed at the PLDT’s Leadership Transition Officer – is running the show for now. There’s nothing official from any of the companies yet, although domestic media are having a field day speculating on the reasons for the change, including the collapse of the content deal with ABS-CBN in December. MediaQuest is the holding company for free-TV network TV5 and subscription platform Cignal.

“We didn’t think we would make people cry” – Malaysian writer/director Nizam Razak on “Papa Zola The Movie” as it heads abroad after a record domestic box-office run

Malaysia’s latest animated blockbuster, “Papa Zola The Movie” heads to Indonesia later this month as part of a 13-country international release over the next four months, including Turkey, India and Saudi Arabia. At home, box office is RM 55 million/US$13.5 million in 27 days and counting, giving the country’s Monsta another win after “BoBoiBoy” and “Mechamato”. Monsta CEO and director Nizam Abd Razak says “Papa Zola The Movie” marks a deliberate creative shift for the Malaysian animation studio, moving away from traditional shonen-style superheroes towards a more emotionally grounded, adult protagonist. The shift was a calculated risk, Razak told ContentAsia. “People knew Papa Zola, but not this side of Papa Zola,” he said, describing Papa Zola as “a very ordinary hero, a family hero” — a hardworking father battling personal struggles rather than external villains alone. The film’s emotional core lies in everyday perseverance, sacrifice, responsibility, and the challenges of fatherhood – themes Razak believes resonate far beyond Malaysia. “Papa Zola The Movie” is produced by Monsta and Astro Shaw, with MD Pictures supporting the international rollout.

▶ Link to the full story here

ABS-CBN gears up for microdrama launch; 2026 lineup returns Charo Santos, and slate of international format adaptations, original drama

Philippines’ programmer ABS-CBN has flagged a microdrama slate for streaming platform iWant as part of its 2026 programming lineup showcased at the weekend. Microdrama details still under wraps. For now, the TV/streaming slate includes the return of ABS-CBN’s most-recognised personality, Charo Santos-Concio, as host of “Maalaala Mo Kaya” (MMK), along with a lineup of drama and international format adaptations.

▶ Read the full story here

Malaysia’s MCMC blocks X’s Grok; gov’t agency accuses the AI platform of “misuse… to generate obscene, sexually explicit, indecent, grossly offensive, and non-consensual manipulated images”

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has ordered a temporary restriction on access to the Grok artificial intelligence for users in Malaysia, effective 11 January 2026, and is urging consumers to “promptly report” harmful online content to MCMC and, where appropriate, lodge police reports. MCMC said in its weekend order that the restriction “follows repeated misuse of Grok to generate obscene, sexually explicit, indecent, grossly offensive, and non-consensual manipulated images, including content involving women and minors”. This despite multiple formal warnings.

▶ Read the full story here

Global content investment to hit US$255bn in 2026 as streamers cement market leadership – Ampere Analysis

Streaming platforms will drive “modest growth” in global content spend this year, widening the gap with traditional broadcasters as shifting dynamics reshape the market, Ampere Analysis said today. While the divergence between global streamers and local broadcasters continues to widen, broadcasters outside the U.S. “show slightly better resilience, maintaining their investment levels through 2026”.

▶ The full story is here

Jeremy Pang signs up with Banijay Rights; “School of Wok” star joins U.K. platform’s 300 digital channel ecosystem

The U.K.-based Banijay Rights has brought British chef, author and television personality, Jeremy Pang, into its social media management fold. The deal, announced today, includes Pang’s digital presence across YouTube and Facebook, leveraging shows from his existing catalogue, including “Jeremy Pang’s Hong Kong Kitchen” and YouTube channel School of Wok, as well as “exploring future digital-first opportunities for new content”. Pang said in today's announcement out of London that he had produced his own content for almost 20 years, and that the deal with Banijay “will enhance our viewership and audience across the globe”. Banijay Rights operates close to 300 YouTube and social media channels. Jeremy Pang’s new book, “School of Wok: Jeremy Pang’s Chinese Kitchen” will be published on 15 January 2026.

Four WBD channel brands exit Singtel TV from early February

Singtel’s TV channel lineup shrinks from 8 Feb, moving in the new year without multiple Warner Bros Discovery services. The channels disappearing are Eurosport, Discovery Asia/Discovery Asia on Demand, Cartoonito/Cartoonito on Demand, and Food Network/Food Network on Demand. The Singapore telco has told subscribers that WBD has “ceased” the channels. The platform is promoting beIN Sports, Discovery Channel, Cartoon Network, and the Asian Food Network.

Filming begins on Lester Hsi’s Taiwanese horror feature, “Phantom”

Filming began today on Taiwanese director Lester Hsi’s horror film, “Phantom”, billed by Taiwan government agency TAICCA earlier this year as “the first Asian horror film to fuse Eastern occult rituals with the concept of the Invisible Man”. Filming is scheduled to wrap by Lunar New Year in February.

▶ The full story is here