We share our thoughts on the first day of the Asia TV Forum & Market 2021, which is taking place from December 1st – 3rd at the Marina Bay Sands (Singapore) and online from December 1st, 2021 until June 30th, 2022.

The ATF 2021 kicked off yesterday with an impressive opening ceremony, the day featured interesting talks and meetings with key people from the industry. The event was hosted by Nikki Müller, a charming and charismatic host.

But before the opening the ATF presented the iQIYI Talk featured by Chen Xiao, Senior Vice President of the Chinese online video platform. Mr. Chen Xiao talked about his views on empowering the entertainment industry with technology, while building an industrialized system for video production. Since the company started expanding to international viewers the platform gained immense traction globally. It is estimated that the app was downloaded by more than 70 million people in 2021 and its monthly playback time exceeds 140 million hours. The presentation included a recount of the company’s milestones and the impressive technology behind the app. As the tech and investor communities increasingly turn to concepts such as the metaverse, iQIYI is committed to embracing the possibilities of the metaverse as well as its implications.

Next came the official Opening Ceremony lead by Yip Je Choong, Managing Director of Singapore & Malaysia, and Senior Vice President, Commercial, Asia Pacific, RX, and Justin Ang, Assistant Chief Executive of Media, Innovation, Communications and Marketing at the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), and the Guest of Honor, Mrs Josephine Teo, Minister for Communications and Information of Singapore.

Yip Je Choong, welcomed the progressive resumption of in-person events. In line with ATF’s mission to celebrate the best in class in Asian storytelling, he shared that conversations would centre around the theme – “Reimagining TV: Vision 2022” that aims to capture the re-prioritisation, re-structuring and re-monetisation that is happening in Asia’s media and entertainment landscape and sharing its ecosystem.

Justin Ang was just as optimistic about the commercial success of recent Asian-focussed content, which has shown audiences’ interests. He said the Singapore Media Festival as the intersection bridging the connection between local and international players and expressed his hope for more new IPs from Asia, which audiences can look forward to in the coming years.”

The Singapore’s Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo, celebrated the resiliency of media companies and professionals in Southeast Asia, and reiterated Singapore’s vision to be a platform for regional stories. She was optimistic about the propitious outlook ahead for APAC’s media industries, signalled by global media companies anchoring their regional HQs in Singapore. In 2020, Singapore’s Infocomm and Media Sector experienced a 4.8% growth. The Singapore Media Festival, albeit predominantly a virtual event last year, secured about S$260 million (over US$190 million) worth of partnerships and deals.

“Our Asian stories are passports for our audience, bringing them to different parts of the world. They also connect us with one another and remind the world of Asia´s rich tapestry of culture and stories”

Josephine Teo | Minister for Communications and Information of Singapore.

This year ATF Online+ sees over 3,000 trade attendees from 60 countries and regions, participating virtually. There are 16 official virtual pavilions from China, France, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, and Turkey, and over 4,500 IPs, of which 30% are new, will be presented at the market. The special country focus on China is timely as Chinese media giants expand their footprint in Southeast Asia and increase their investments in productions of Asian content.

The day featured some very insightful and interesting talks with differnt people from the industry. During these conferences they discussed trends, investing opportunities, their views on the latest technologies and how to create engagement for their viewers. We recommend reading the ATF 2021 Show Daily Magazine to read the complete coverage of the evening. You can access it here: https://issuu.com/asiatvforum/docs/atf2021_d1

We would like to remind readers that AFF is one of the official media partners of the Asia TV Forum & Market 2021. We thank the organizers for this wonderful opportunity. If you are registered for the ATF Online+ search for us, let’s connect and let’s talk business.

To register to the ATF Online+ please go here: https://www.asiatvforum.com/en-us/Register.html