ASIA-PACIFIC BROADCASTING

SINGAPORE – Anticipating more growth in the online video market, a number of broadcasters and a media regulator recently launched services, initiatives and partnerships in support of connected TV in the region.

In Singapore, the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) and terrestrial broadcaster MediaCorp last month called for content proposals from independent production companies for digital branded entertainment.
This collaboration, an extension of MDA’s Content 360TV Initiative, is designed to develop, finance and distribute a slate of original Web productions through MediaCorp’s xinmsn video platform. Xinmsn, the online bilingual entertainment and lifestyle portal jointly developed by Microsoft and MediaCorp, is said to have seen tremendous growth since its debut in April last year and has become Singapore’s top portal attracting more than 1.9 million unique visitors, according to comScore, an online measurement agency.
Said Shaun Seow, MediaCorp’s deputy CEO (News, Radio, Interactive & Print): “We are very proud to partner MDA in this exciting initiative, which we hope will catalyse the development of original Web video productions in Singapore.”
MDA will co-invest up to 50% of the production budget of the
selected projects, together with the production companies and their partners. There will also be opportunities for the Web series to spin off into TV productions, or syndicate onto the TV platform, internationally, according to MDA.
Industry players such as Mock Pak Lum, former managing director of MediaCorp Technologies, and now a “technology evangelist”, believes that there is a huge potential for the growth of online content.
However, Mock told APB: “We are still searching for the formats and the business models that would work on the Internet.”  He said examples of online video sites so far rely largely on content created for TV, movies or UGC (user-generated content).
“Sites such as Hulu in the US, and Tudou, Youku and Qiyi in China are following this model. The industry is searching for killer apps that will take advantage of the Web 2.0 technologies with little success,” Mock explained.
“The speed of adoption will depend on the availability of the TV sets and the deployment of the broadband infrastructure. I believe that there will be good momentum as connected TVs allow new competitors to enter the content market; TV manufacturers such as Samsung, LG and Philips already provide app stores and control the home page on the TV sets. In a way, they can control viewing patterns and gain recurring revenue.”
He continued: “The telcos who own the broadband infrastructure will also view connected TV as another means to offer quadruple-play services.”
In Australia, broadcaster ABC also has expanded the online reach of its iView online TV content through an Apple iPad app and Samsung’s IPTV service.
ABC TV’s Liz Green told APB that, as at press time, the iView app has been downloaded 28,000 times.
The Australian broadcaster reckons 2011 will see a rapid expansion of the iView Internet TV service (introduced in 2008) with the launch of the free iPad app and a joint project with Samsung Electronics Australia, which will bring the iView to the latter’s range of Internet-enabled TV and Blu-ray players.
ABC added that the iView app for iPad has given users access to more than 160 programmes since last month.
Other features developed for the app include a Watchlist, which allows users to bookmark series to follow, sending a push notification alert when new episodes become available; and support for AirPlay, which allows users to play video over Wi-Fi directly from an iPad to an Apple TV.
In addition, an ABC iView app for iPhone is currently in development.
Meanwhile, the launch of the iView on Samsung’s IPTV service is slated for the first quarter of this year. The service will give access to the full range of iView content directly to all Samsung TV and Blu-ray players that offer Samsung Apps via Samsung’s Internet@TV service.
Kim Dalton, ABC’s director of Television, said the phenomenal growth of ABC TV’s online broadcasting service reflects Australia’s growing love affair with all things digital.
Dalton predicted: “2011 will be the year of mobile TV in the truest sense. Audiences now expect choice and ABC TV is setting the national benchmark in delivering it to viewers.”
In Japan, NHK Enterprises, a subsidiary of public broadcaster NHK, recently partnered with online video-sharing portal YouTube Japan to offer free NHK programming on the site. The programmes on offer include popular NHK dramas and educational shows.
The service, called NHK Programme Collection, launched last month with 200 uncut shows, as well as three-minute edited highlights from 30 programmes. New content will be added regularly, but can be viewed only on PCs in Japan.
NHK Enterprises hopes this latest move will raise the profile of NHK programming among YouTube’s young target audience while removing the motivation for illegal uploads.

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