Asia's star is shining brightly once again at this yearÂ’s MIPTV/MILIA international TV and digital content trade show as the digital revolution sweeping the audiovisual, Internet and cellphone worlds pushes the regionÂ’s hi-tech strengths to the fore.
Business for the hundreds of Asia-Pacific companies who have jetted in to this small, chic Riviera seaside resort for the influential five-day market that opened its doors Monday also looks set to be brisk.
"Competition is high and audiences are very picky but demand is growing for content for new technologies," Jack Lim of
South KoreaÂ’s leading broadcaster, Korean Broadcasting System, told AFP.
"This is the biggest marketplace for us and weÂ’re optimistic that it will be a very busy week," Lim emphasised.
The two enormous advertising banners adorning the front of the townÂ’s fabled Palais des Festivals that houses the show also extol the regionÂ’s hi-tech and story-telling skills.
One banner reads: "I made it in Singapore", whilst the other "Window of Korean Wave" is promoting South KoreaÂ’s latest hugely popular romantic drama that continues to entrance audiences around Asia.
The Asian countries are here in force, led by Japan and South Korea, with 237 and 228 exhibitors, respectively.
In the build-up to the Beijing Olympics, China has more than doubled its presence this year with 124 exhibitors, whilst Australia and South Korea are both among the top 10 exhibiting countries.
In all there are a whopping 856 exhibitors from across the Asia-Pacific region. That accounts for just over 20 percent of the total 4,234 companies from 59 countries signed up.
But the particularly large number of Chinese exhibitors is not all due to the impending summer Olympics, Paul Johnson, television director for the showÂ’s organisers Reed MIDEM, pointed out.
"Chinese participants are taking a more active role in the worldÂ’s largest audiovisual market because they are becoming more savvy at selling their original content rather than as a net buyer, which was their main activity over the past few years," Johnson told AFP.
The countryÂ’s emerging co-production sector is also boosting growth in the TV sector, Johnson noted.
Senior Chinese TV execs attending last weekendÂ’s MIPDOC documentary show that precedes the main market, said they were looking for international co-production partners to help them package and sell their stories better to audiences outside.
Growing demand for the fabulous quality high definition (HD) programmes that work fantastically on the raft of new entertainment channels, from IPTV to video-on-demand as well as TV, is also helping fill up the Asian entertainment execs' diaries this week.
Singapore has brought over a record showcase of over 50 HDTV and animation programmes, Christopher Chia, CEO of SingaporeÂ’s Media Development Authority (MDA), told AFP in an interview.
"From documentaries to drama and even animation, Singapore companies are proving they have what it takes to become a key contributor to digital television content and animation industry," Chia emphasised.
Co-productions are a key strategy for Singapore and MDA said it expected to make a number of announcements about this during the show.
The first of these was made Tuesday when MDA revealed it had teamed up with SingaporeÂ’s Mega Media and Voom HD Networks (a leading HD channel and programme provider) to co-produce a raft of new HD action-sports and documentary programmes.
Japan is also making waves here.
"There is interest from all over in Japanese programming as they always have something new and creative," Dorothy Gamber of Bellon Entertainment Inc., which handles international distribution for Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS), emphasised.
Two of the most popular TBS programmes with foreign buyers here are "Ninja Warrier" and "Comedy Colosseum", Gamber said.
JapanÂ’s Fuji Television also reported strong overseas interest in many of its big slate of gameshow formats.
But the popularity of Asian animae is as strong as ever, particularly for the top quality 3D shows coming out of China.
Europe and the USA are both big buyers, Yuanchao Wang, who heads ChinaÂ’s Zhejiang Zhongnan Group Animation Video Co., told AFP.
His newest programmes, "Monkey King" and "Magic Wonderland", could prove popular this week.
"IÂ’ve got a very busy schedule with over 100 meetings set up already," he said on the opening day of the show.
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