Asian content carving a bigger space in global video scene

Content creation was a key theme at the Asia Video Summit 2021, hosted virtually by the Asia Video Industry Association, or AVIA, from Singapore. Following the success of Netflix Inc.'s South Korean drama series "Squid Game," industry executives at the event cited the rise of streaming as a key driver of the growing global reach of local content from Asia-Pacific markets.

Daniel Chun, senior business manager at Dolby Laboratories Inc., believes the eruption of streaming resulted in a more global content landscape and highlighted that great stories can come from anywhere regardless of type or genre. In addition, the acknowledgment from global audiences that good, compelling stories can come from Asia-Pacific has opened plenty of opportunities for creators that do not produce video content in English, according to Siu Min Lim, head of production at Double Vision in Malaysia. Lim, citing survey results, said that about 90% of U.S. viewers have watched at least one show with subtitles in the last 18 months.

Global streamers looking to reach scale have continued to ramp up their investments in original local content that may resonate around the world. Beach House Pictures Managing Director Jocelyn Little used as an example Netflix's strategy of investing heavily in South Korean content, which generates lots of success not just in South Korea, but across Asia and other parts of the globe.

Kagan estimates show Netflix's amortized content spend for originals alone could reach over $5 billion in 2021. The streaming service continues to spend on original content from various markets as most of its subscriber growth is outside the U.S. Third-quarter 2021 results reported by the company indicate the streamer added around 4.4 million subs, with nearly 2.2 million coming from Asia-Pacific.

Panelists also noted that the growing appetite for content showcasing diverse cultures or genres has prompted a rise in production budgets in the region, driven primarily by streaming services. Lim said bigger budgets have allowed local producers to explore new genres and topics, citing as an example Malaysian crime drama "The Bridge," which aired on PCCW Media Ltd.'s regional streaming service Viu and Warner Media LLC's HBO Asia. However, Lim said having bigger budgets may also lead to bigger demands as producers are now expected to deliver local content with global production quality.

Exclusivity was also among the key topics discussed during the content creation-focused panels at the summit. Youngsun Soh, general manager for Korea and regional head of digital business development at A+E Networks, believes exclusivity is still important to reflect the value of content but noted that most producers nowadays also favor a broader form of distribution. Soh said that, from a Korean perspective, windowing — or the strategy or process of managing the release sequence for content to maximize the returns from intellectual property rights — is starting to disappear. Dramas would typically air on broadcasters and then become available on another streaming platform 24 hours later to provide broader access to a wider audience base.

WarnerMedia found that pivoting to a fixed but shorter window was better for the consumers, according to Kurt Rieder, head of theatrical distribution for Asia-Pacific. Rieder said the strategy provides a clear value proposition to viewers as they can decide whether they want to watch a film in the cinema or just wait for a much shorter period to catch it on a subscription-video-on-demand service instead. The company has recently adopted a 45-day window policy for film releases in certain parts of the region such as Southeast Asia, Taiwan and Hong Kong, which means select theatrical titles will become available on streaming platform HBO Go in around seven weeks after cinema release. Rieder added that moving away from the typical six-month window could help mitigate threats from piracy, based on the company's thesis that an average consumer who invested in an expensive smart TV would rather access content with better quality on more economical SVOD services with a shorter waiting period than watch on a pirated platform.

Asked which Asian content has the best chance of replicating the global success of Korean content, many panelists pointed to Japanese content like anime. However, a poll with the same question conducted by AVIA during the summit shows that Chinese content was the top pick among attendees.

Economics of Internet is a regular feature from Kagan, a media research group with S&P Global Market Intelligence's TMT offering, providing exclusive research and commentary.