The future of streaming TV in Asia-Pacific: ‘the strength to take risks’ on more unique local content, and growth in short-form video
- With streaming TV surpassing traditional TV for viewers, programming strategies are getting more sophisticated, and Asia-Pacific is at the heart of them
- BBC and Disney+ executives talk about trends in the region, from investing in local content like Big Bet to growing short-form video and mining the archives
Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers sang a song called “Islands in the Stream”. However inadvertent, the title is an apt descriptor of modern-day television viewers: agglomerated, by region or genre preference, into clumps of watchers buffeted by increasingly powerful torrents of streaming content.
With so many platforms to choose from and a blizzard of series, films, documentaries and reality shows on tap, what do depth soundings reveal about the future of streaming in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) zone?
Globally, figures for consumption by streaming have already surpassed those for linear TV (“traditional” TV, including quaint-sounding cable and satellite, broadcast to a schedule rather than watched on demand). And for APAC contenders, this spells opportunity.
“It is a pivotal time for the media industry,” says Singapore-based Phil Hardman, senior vice-president and general manager, BBC Studios Asia. “We are at a really exciting moment, particularly across Asia, where streaming strategies are becoming more agile and innovative every day.”
“Almost all industry players have made significant investments in technological capabilities, marketing, content and production to meet the expectations of streaming audiences.” Which means standards cannot slip.
