A new ATF edition, held on December 1-3 on hybrid format, concluded with a great outcome in terms of business and trends. The APAC region gains momentum in all segments, with digital and production achieving higher status because of the volume but, most importantly, quality.

As it has happened in other trade shows of 2021, there is a bigger number of creators, talent and producers attending, as the platforms’ content demand increase. The former ones participated in the majority of the panels, offering insights and describing the audience their next steps: ‘We are open for business’, was one of the most significant phrases, coming from Erika North, director, local originals, APAC, Amazon Studios.

New streamers are being launched in APAC (Taiwan+, MIGO in Indonesia) and others are reinforcing their local presence, while they plan the next steps to conquer new markets in the region and worldwide (Chinese Tencent and iQiyi, Korean Waave). There is a stronger connection between Asia and MENA, including Turkey, who have participated with a bigger number of players this edition.

CJ ENM and JTBC’s TVING is ‘unique’ in Korea having launched 25 original shows over the past year and now confirming an investment of USD 335 million by 2023 to position the platform (supported by Naver) globally. ‘We plan 40-50 new shows for 2022, combining originals, acquisitions from CJ and JTBC, and music content’, underlined Hye Jung Hwang, Chief Content Officer.

Chinese WeTV (Tencent) is preparing itself for the “SEA Streaming War”: ‘New entrants to the market have come in three tiers: global, regional and local. Our strategy is based in three pillars: first, build the best Chinese IPs to overseas audiences; second, partnering with content providers from Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia to offer mainstream content; third, create a slate of originals to differentiate from free-to-air platforms’, explained Kaichen Li, Head - WeTV & iFlix, Tencent.

One of the biggest learnings have been that Asian content can be integrated more naturally to Western markets. ‘Years ago, there was a perception that their formats wouldn’t fit Europe and US cultures. Today, everyone acknowledges that good IPs can come from everywhere, especially from Asia. The other two lessons acquired by Western companies are: Asian content’s distillation and curation and the new shape and form (the rise of 10-minuters)’, indicated ITV Studios COO, Arjan Pomper.

Animation is another top genre within Asia, and this year ATF Animation Pitch demonstrated not only more submissions but also better-quality stories and productions. The judges were impressed with the projects: ‘Animators growth is getting bigger and bigger every year’, said Pinto Borian, acquisitions from Vidio/EMTEK (Indonesia). ‘This year we see more potential for commercial development’, added Chen Manman, COO & Creative, Wekids. The winner was One Animation (Singapore) Michele Schofield for Future Bros.

Fabricio Ferrara y Alberto Buitron

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