ATF Online+ Day two took off after the power-packed start yesterday, 1 December. The morning of the much-awaited event which has gone virtual due to the COVID pandemic, saw an assembly of decision-makers all the way from Los Angeles, TUBI; from Sydney, BBC Studios; and from China, iiMedia Research Group and BesTV+ Streaming Media, taking the virtual stage.
TUBI CCO Adam Lewinson and Next 10 Ventures founder Ben Grubbs discussed the new successes in the streaming world while Jaclyn Lee-Joe along with BBC Studios APAC executive VP Jon Penn talked about the need for new partnerships and collabs. iiMedia’s Jez Zhang gave some significant highlights about the development of China’s film and TV industry.
Lewinson calls AVOD “the future of ad-supported television.” TUBI is pursuing foray and expansion in Asia, with a focus on Bollywood content, anime, and Korean dramas. These areas are a major part of its manoeuvre to enhance its position and relevance within and outside of North America.
Recognising the deep production and market potential in China, the BBC is also aiming to become the media entertainment and industry’s largest partner outside of the studio system. Developing a solid base in China would be a key pillar of growth for the company.
The session on Tehran looks at the ground-breaking first non-English series for Apple TV+. Tehran executive producer and Paper Entertainment CEO and founder Julien Leroux kept things modest about the milestone, noting that the situation in 2020 was unusual. Tehran premiered on 25 September and its trailer has been viewed more than 30 million times.
Content from Taiwan Creative Agency (TAICCA) was featured along with Inter Medya and from the China pavilion.
Post lunch, ITV Studios global entertainment president Maarten Meijs delivered a keynote, followed by a panel on Formats with buyers from TVAd (Vietnam), MNC Media (Indonesia) and Nippon TV (Japan). Meijs noted that the formats industry is relatively young, at 25 years old, but has grown substantially over the last decade. Historically, the US, UK and Netherlands had been key players, but more recently, Israel and South Korea are coming into their own.
Day two also witnessed some amazing animated content from Korea’s animation showcase. This was followed by a documentary showcase in the Fresh Content China category.
ATF Day two also had a few speed dating sessions with iQIYI producer Chenfei Zhu, Kidoodle TV’s Brenda Bisner, and Film Development Council of the Philippines. Additionally, the virtual market has been hustling with more than 13,000 meetings arranged so far!