Mipcom 2024 delegates down, countries up; market closes with resilience beating back industry doom
Just over 10 500 delegates from 110 countries attended the 40th anniversary edition of the annual Mipcom market in Cannes this week, a drop of about 500 – just under 5% – from last year’s reported figures but an increase of 10% in the number of countries represented as well as exhibitor companies.
Resilience overtook doom among distributors, who continue to report a burgeoning openness to partnerships, flexible business models, and a necessary commitment to innovation.
Lucy Smith, director of Mipcom Cannes and Mip London, echoed delegate sentiment, saying in her closing briefing on Wednesday afternoon that “the economic challenges faced are real and lasting, audience behaviours don’t revert but they do evolve. I believe the industry is resilient, it regenerates”. She said there were “strong signs of that renewal” at Mipcom.
Korea and Japan took their usual lead, with government-supported formats, kids and drama showcases, while India and China packed country pavilions on the market floor.
New this year were Japanese companies Yoshimoto Kogyo, market first-timer Abema and Toei stepping up its public profile.
TV Asahi secured its own spot in the limelight talking about its Japanese-Indian animation coproduction, “Obocchama-kun”, with India’s Green Gold Animation for Sony Yay channel.
As this year’s 40th anniversary edition of the annual market drew to a close, Smith said delegates included 3,240 buyers, led by the U.S., and followed by the U.K., France, Germany and Spain.
110 countries were represented at the market overall, an increase from last year’s 100.
Ten of the countries were new this year, including Egypt, Malaysia, Nigeria and Qatar, according to figures released in Cannes yesterday afternoon.
347 companies exhibited this year, up from 320 last year, including 34 country pavilions.
73 companies debuted with stands, many from tech-led sectors.
About 1,000 delegates from 62 countries attended kids’ market, Mipjunior.
Next year’s Mipcom runs from 13-16 October 2025 with Mipjunior returning in its pre-market slot from 11-12 October 2025.
KC Global Media unveils regional reorg; long-time staffers take bigger roles
Asian entertainment channels operator, KC Global Media, unveiled its new leadership team today, promoting long-time Taiwan lead Shirlene Wu to VP and GM of Taiwan and Greater China, upping execs elsewhere across the region.
The changes are effective immediately.
In Singapore, Edith Goh is now VP of revenue and head of media and sponsorship sales, and Bhuvnesh Kanwar has become VP revenue and head of FAST channels across Indonesia, South Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
Bonnie Wiryani has been upped to VP, revenue and head of content sales, covering content sales in Asia, and partnerships in Pacific Islands and Southeast Asia, excluding Indonesia.
The reorg follows the departure of Avani Bhanchawat, VP and head of revenue, who left recently after seven years.
The team reports to George Chien, co-founder, CEO and president of KC Global Media.
Chinese streamer iQiyi returns supernatural drama “Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty” for a third season in partnership with Singapore-listed G.H.Y
Chinese streamer iQiyi returns mystery/action period drama “Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty” for a third season next year in a co-production agreement with Singapore-listed production house G.H.Y Culture & Media Holding’s Tianjin Changxin Film and Media.
“Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty 3: Chang'an” (“唐朝诡事录之长安”) starts filming this month and is tentatively scheduled to be completed in 2025.
The earlier two seasons were also co-productions with iQiyi.
The first season (“Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty” / “唐朝诡事录”) premiered on iQiyi in September 2022, featuring 40 episodes.
Second season (“Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty 2: To the West” / “唐朝诡事录之西行”), debuted with 36 episodes in July this year.
G.H.Y told investors that the success of "Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty” built out its business focus on the supernatural genre.
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 26 April 2023: iQiyi returns “Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty”; new G.H.Y co-pro boosts SG-listed production house’s bet on the supernatural
Max pricing set between US$2.57 and US$129 ahead of 19 Nov rollout in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan
Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) has set prices of between US$2.57 and US$129 for Max, which replaces existing streamer HBO Go in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan on 19 November.
The cheapest rates are in the Philippines, where pricing starts at Php149/US$2.57 for the mobile monthly plan, while the Ultimate pack is Php2,790/US$48.20 a year.
In Taiwan, the standard plan is NT$220/US$6.85 a month, increasing to NT$2,990/US$93.22 for the Ultimate pack on an annual basis.
In Malaysia, the standard plan is RM34.90/US$8.02 a month and the Ultimate pack costs RM424.90/US$97.67 a year.
In Hong Kong, the standard plan is HK$78/US$10 a month, rising to HK$980/US$126.12 a year for the Ultimate pack.
In Singapore, the subscription plans start at S$14.48/US$10.97 a month for the standard plan and increase to S$169.98/US$128.78 a year for the Ultimate pack.
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15 Oct 2024: 19 Nov Max launch in SE Asia, Hong Kong & Taiwan; line up so far long on global/short on local, pricing and partner details to come
25 Sep 2024: Max to replace HBO Go in five Southeast Asia markets, Hong Kong and Taiwan before end 2024, Warner Bros Discovery APAC head James Gibbons confirms at APOS today
KBS board backs news anchor Park Jang-beom for president
Park Jang-beom, the main anchor of KBS top news show KBS News9, looks set to take over as the 27th president of the Korean public broadcaster.
Park was picked from three final candidates, including current KBS president Park Min-hyun, and KBS news director, Kim Seong-jin.
The KBS Board has sent a formal letter to the Office of Government Policy Coordination recommending Park’s appointment.
Park previously hosted “KBS News Plaza”, “Late Night Discussion” and “Sunday Diagnosis”.
If appointed by the president following the National Assembly confirmation hearing, Park will become the first president of KBS from the ranks of the 9 PM news anchors.
“The highest authority of public broadcaster KBS is the viewers. I will do my best to fulfill the role that viewers expect from a public broadcaster. Additionally, I will work to resolve internal conflicts at KBS through corporate integration,” Park said after the board announced its decision.
The term for the 27th president of KBS is three years, starting from December.
Singapore blocks 10 websites; neutralises “potential threat of being used to mount hostile information campaigns against Singapore”
Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) has instructed local ISPs to disable access to 10 websites found to pose a “potential threat of being used to mount hostile information campaigns against Singapore”.
The 10 sites – including one alleging that Singapore has allowed other countries to conduct their biological warfare research activities in the country – were flagged by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
The orders were issued under Section 16 of Singapore’s Broadcasting Act 1994.
“These 10 inauthentic websites have been observed to masquerade as Singapore websites by spoofing or using terms associated with Singapore in their domain name and incorporating familiar local features and visuals,” the IMDA said in a statement.
“They also carried content on Singapore, some of which were generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI). These are common tactics used by malicious foreign actors,” the agency said.
Two of the sites – www.zaobaodaily.com and www.singaporeinfomap.com – utilised domain names “closely related or similar to legitimate Singapore-related websites, and carried content that might mislead their audience into thinking that the content is reflective of official positions or local sentiments”.
A second network of seven sites utilised the word “Singapore” or associated terms in their domain name (such as Singapura, Singdao, Lioncity), and published Singapore-related content.
“They carried content which was identical to that carried by another foreign newswire that appears to have conducted hostile information campaigns and influence campaigns against other countries,” the IMDA said.
The last of the 10 sites, Alamak.io, presented itself as a Singapore news website through the use of a Singapore-associated colloquial expression “Alamak” as its domain name and carriage of Singapore-related news articles that paraphrased articles published by local mainstream media.
Investigations found that the majority of the articles published on this website were likely to have been written with AI tools, the IMDA said.
“This website also published commentaries on socio-political issues, including one that falsely alleged that Singapore had allowed other countries to conduct their biological warfare research activities here,” it continued.
The IMDA added that there were “many overseas cases where malicious foreign actors had created and used inauthentic news websites to propagate false narratives to sway the target population’s sentiments, in order to advance their own interests. They do so by inciting social tension, exploiting societal fault lines, manipulating elections, or undermining confidence and trust in public institutions”.
The authority pointed out that most of the blocked sites were associated with global networks of inauthentic news websites that have been reported by cybersecurity researchers from Mandiant and The Citizen Lab to have conducted HICs and influence campaigns in other countries.
Recap: ContentAsia @ MIPCOM
Wednesday, 23 October 2024
Timo Tjahjanto’s “The Shadow Strays” hits Netflix top 10 lists in 85 countries; high-action underworld feature debuts at #2 on non-English films global top 10
BBC Studios, JTBC Korea unveil first co-pro; 2025 premiere for “Deep Dive Korea: Song Ji-Hyo’s Haenyeo Adventure”
All3Media Int’l takes unscripted format “Buy It Now” to India with Rose Audio Visuals
Viddsee, CJ ENM HK in development on long-form drama series, “Ivy Boys”; digital video platform unveils new originals slate
Tuesday, 22 October 2024
Japan online video up 7% a year over next five years, forecast to command 45% of screen revenue by 2029, new MPA report shows
Alpha TV greenlights Greek version of Nippon TV’s “Mother”; 11th international version cements Japanese drama series as Asia’s #1 scripted export
Hong Kong, Australia pick up Trump doc from All3Media International
Thai telco AIS to offer Max from 19 Nov in place of HBO GO; GO subs migrate automatically to Max Standard
Asia platforms boost factual titles
Hong Kong's Now TV leads Beta Film's "The Couple Next Door" in Asia
Monday, 21 October 2024
Japan’s Yoshimoto Kogyo debuts next-gen international focus; president Akihiko Okamoto ushers in a new era for the 112-year-old company
Malaysia commits US$37 million to arts and creative industries in 2025 budget
ABS-CBN lays off 3% of staffers; Philippines’ programmer blames wider TV industry woes
Indonesian filmmaker Joko Anwar, Amazon MGM Studios seal first production deal
CJ ENM’s “Queen of Tears” heads for Turkey; 1st international adaptation for 2024 blockbuster
BBC Studios launches Mipcom with global pre-sales for “Asia” and “Solar System”
BBC Studios teams up with GRT for "Our Home: Wild Guangdong" co-pro
Banijay Asia to adapt NBCUniversal’s “Monk” for Disney+ Hotstar and Hulu
Daily Wire+ licenses Big Media's “Cole: Al Qaeda’s Strike before 9/11” for Australia and NZ
“Gladiator” writer David Franzoni to develop “Alexander Immortal” series
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