Tag: AVIA

Singapore – The Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) has announced the appointment of Phil Hardman as the new board chairman and Emily Yri and Shonali Bedi as the new board directors.

Hardman serves as the senior vice president and general manager of BBC Studios Asia. He will take over from Clément Schwebig, president of Western Europe and Africa at Warner Bros. Discovery, who will be stepping down from the role.

Meanwhile, Yri and Bedi will join AVIA as its two new board directors. Yri is the vice president of international marketing at Pubmatic, and Bedi is currently the head of strategy for partnerships and insights in APAC at Warner Bros. Discovery.

With the two new additions to the board, AVIA now has four female board directors, or one-third of the board.

Louis Boswell, CEO of AVIA, commented, “The board of AVIA and I would like to extend our sincere gratitude to Clément Schwebig, who chaired the board for the last three years, taking over in the middle of a pandemic and helping steer the association to safety through those difficult times. He was a strong and vocal advocate for the industry.”

“The board and I are now looking forward to working with the new chairman, Phil Hardman, to help guide AVIA through what are clearly challenging times. Phil also has energy and passion for the industry, and I am sure he will make a significant contribution to developing the next chapter in the AVIA story,” he added.

Speaking on his appointment, Hardman added, “AVIA stands at the intersection of the diverse challenges and opportunities in the media industry across Asia, bringing much-needed insight, thought leadership, and regulatory and anti-piracy initiatives that benefit its members. BBC Studios has been a long-term Patron Member of the association, and I am honoured to become chairman of AVIA at such an exciting and innovativetime. I look forward to working closely with our board members and the AVIA leadership to help AVIA guide the industry through a time of such transformational change.” 

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – The Communications and Multimedia Content Forum of Malaysia (Content Forum) has rolled out its inaugural supplementary guideline, ‘The OCC Guidelines’ on updated best practices for online curated content service providers.

Developed through extensive collaboration among local and international industry leaders, the pioneer initiative is set to function as a self-regulation tool for online curated content (OCC) platforms.

The guidelines aim to emphasise and underscore Content Forum’s dedication to nurturing a dynamic creative content environment while ensuring compliance with Malaysian laws and regulations.

Content Forum’s ‘The OCC Guidelines’ will encompass national and public interest, racial and religious sensitivities, as well as improved accessibility standards for persons with disabilities.

Other than this, the guidelines will also cover key points such as content classifications allowing for informed viewing choices, safety features and advisory, consideration of underage viewers on content promotional materials, news contents that cover diverse perspectives and presentations, more accessible consumer feedback mechanisms, and open dialogues with relevant stakeholders.

The formation of the OCC Guidelines highlights how self-regulation can serve to elevate the industry further.

Mediha Mahmood, chief executive officer of the Content Forum, explained, “This guideline is designed as a supportive tool for both local and international service providers, enabling them to self-assess their programming quality and streamline compliance with Malaysian content standards. In line with our dedication to promoting self-regulation, we expect that these recommendations and best practices will further our ongoing mission to foster a creative, forward-thinking, and inclusive content industry.”

Also commenting on the guidelines, Euan Smith, group chief executive officer at ASTRO, said, “The dedication of the Content Forum and the Working Group underscores the power of industry cooperation in crafting meaningful guidelines.”

Echoing this sentiment, Zuraidah Mohd Yatim, general manager of regulatory affairs and intellectual property at Media Prima, shared, “The success of this collaborative policy-making process reflects the strength of industry unity in shaping responsible content practices.”

Also part of the collaborative effort, Clare Bloomfield, chief policy officer at the Asia Video Industry Association, commented, “AVIA has been a strong proponent of self-governance for online-curated content. We are honoured to have been a part of Content Forum’s collaborative effort to deliver this OCC approach for Malaysia.”

Meanwhile, Ruben Hattari, director of public policy for Southeast Asia at Netflix, also shared, “The collective effort behind this monumental task is a true reflection of Malaysia’s progressive mindset and is worthy to be emulated by other policymakers in the region.”

Indonesia – The Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) has released a study with Milieu Insight to understand the usage of different video services in Indonesia and consumer attitudes towards them. The study looked at video across social media, user-generated content (UGC), linear TV, messaging services and premium OTT.

Data given by AVIA and Milieu Insight suggested that amongst Indonesians, UGC and social media content garners more attention in audience engagement and advertising, but premium OTT has the best content according to 75% of respondents.

Indonesian consumers also associate premium OTT the most with positive emotions. When asked about feelings after watching an hour of different types of content, premium OTT services significantly outscored user-generated content and social media in eliciting happiness (51%) and amusement (73%).

According to the study, while premium OTT is still at an earlier stage of development in Indonesia than free UGC and social media services like YouTube and TikTok, it is clear that those who use premium OTT value it more. When asked what video services they would first be prepared to forego, only one in the top ten services was premium OTT, and the top 4 were all social media or UGC services.

Talking about the results, Louis Boswell, CEO of AVIA, said, “We believe the power and opportunity of premium OTT is hugely significant and offers a real and relatively untapped opportunity for advertisers in Indonesia. The proven quality of the environment, the stickiness of the content and the positive emotions created by it are critical for advertisers, and this study clearly demonstrates that.”

“Given the dominance and high penetration of UGC and social media video services in Indonesia, the fact that this smaller but growing category of premium OTT performed so well in these categories is quite remarkable. We believe advertisers need to sit up and take note,” he added.

Singapore – New data shows that Filipino consumers who visit pirate streaming sites are prone to 21.66 times greater risk of malware infections, with a verifiable detection rate of 10%. This was according to the latest study conducted by the Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) alongside Dr. Paul Watters of Cyberstronomy.

The report’s findings reveal that when Filipino consumers access pirate torrent sites, the risk of malware infection increases 16.66 times when compared to mainstream platforms. The confirmed infection rate is 18%.

It concluded that a typical user visiting a pirate site faces the threat of infection by ransomware, numerous trojan horses, and other advanced persistent threats (APTs). These infections could occur within 42 seconds on a Windows machine and just 1 minute and 18 seconds on an Android device.

Matt Cheetham, general manager of CAP, said, “Evidence continues to mount that far from being a victimless crime, piracy can victimize consumers.” 

He added, “We look forward to the successful passage of site blocking legislation in the Senate that will allow the Philippines to both protect its consumers from online harm posed by pirate sites and grow its economy.” 

Jakarta, Indonesia – The Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) and the Video Streaming Association of Indonesia (AVISI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Jakarta to fight piracy and protect and promote content in Indonesia. 

The signing of the MoU was held at the Coalition Against Piracy’s (CAP’s) State of Piracy Summit. It marks a closer collaboration and a significant step towards AVIA and AVISI combining their resources to fight online piracy and protect Indonesia’s creative and media industries.

The AVISI and AVIA partnership also marks a significant milestone in the ongoing struggle against piracy, reaffirming AVISI’s unwavering dedication to upholding a piracy-free digital-creative industry. 

Both associations pledge to strengthen defenses, promote legal access to content, and champion the rights of content creators, ensuring that creativity thrives and piracy recedes.

Representatives from Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (Kominfo) were also in attendance at the signing of the MOU, which followed a panel at the State of Piracy Summit hosted by AVIA and attended by representatives from Kominfo and AVISI.  

The signing of the MOU comes at a time when CAP’s most recent annual consumer surveys show that 54% of consumers in Indonesia access pirate services in 2023, the fourth highest incidence of piracy in the region. However, the survey also revealed the growing awareness of the downsides of piracy, with 94% of Indonesian consumers believing that online piracy has negative consequences, the highest percentage in the region, with damage to the creative industry being the biggest perceived negative impact.  

Ajeng Parameswari, general secretary of AVISI, emphasized the core mission behind AVISI’s inception and further underscored the imperative for a collective, amplified response to piracy. 

Parameswari said, “AVISI was established to cultivate a thriving ecosystem for the digital-creative industry, one that harmonizes seamlessly with the video streaming business model. Yet, the primary challenge we confront today is the pervasive threat of piracy.”  

“AVISI is delighted to announce a pivotal partnership with AVIA, aiming to widen the battle against piracy, transcending borders and safeguarding content not only within Indonesia but also on an international scale. The eradication of piracy is a shared responsibility, one that must resonate as a resounding deterrent to those who perpetrate it. In this endeavor, government support is pivotal,” she further added. 

Meanwhile, Louis Boswell, CEO at AVIA, said, “We are delighted to join with AVISI to continue the fight against online video piracy. Piracy is the single biggest problem the video industry faces and to solve  the problem there has to be a multi-pronged approach.” 

Boswell also noted, “With the creation of AVISI, I believe we will have  greater success and engagement with the industry in Indonesia to continue working towards  solutions. And we have to acknowledge the great support of the government with the Ministry of  Communication and Information Technology (Kominfo) who have been such great partners in addressing  and mitigating the problems of piracy. With our new relationship with AVISI and Kominfo support, I am  more optimistic than ever that momentum is growing which will continue to stem the tide of piracy in  Indonesia.”  

Singapore – The Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) has appointed Clare Bloomfield as its new chief policy officer. Bloomfield has been with AVIA since 2017 holding the roles of director of policy and research, as well as recently being the acting chief policy officer.

In her new role, she will spearhead AVIA’s policy unit, working with members to set the policy strategy and represent and engage in constructive dialogue with governments and regulators around the region so they may better understand the curated video industry and foster an environment of support for the growth of the industry.

Prior to joining AVIA, Bloomfield has previously worked as a UK diplomat. Her postings included Hong Kong, Washington DC, Slovakia, Ghana and Pakistan.

Speaking on the new appointment, Louis Boswell, CEO at AVIA, said, “I have worked with Clare throughout my time at AVIA and I have great respect for her acumen and understanding of the issues faced by our rapidly changing industry, as well as clear and practical ideas as to how best advocate for what is needed to safeguard its future development and prosperity. I look forward to continuing this journey with her as I am sure do our member companies.”

The new appointment comes a month after AVIA appointed media veteran Gregory Ho as senior advisor for the industry body.

Jakarta, Indonesia – Indonesia has continued to crack down on pirated and illegal streaming sites, now amounting to 3,500 of them taken down since 2019, according to the latest data from the Coalition Against Piracy (CAP) of the Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA).

The data also showed traffic to all pirate sites in Indonesia was down by 75% as of January this year compared to when tracking first started in September 2019.

Matthew Cheetham, general manager at CAP, said, “Indonesia is leading the way when it comes to regulatory site blocking in the Asia Pacific region, if not the world, and the Indonesian government is to be congratulated for the strong stance they have taken in this area. Local industry is clearly benefiting from the actions, as are consumers who are not only being directed towards legitimate content, but in being blocked from accessing pirate sites, they are also protected from the serious risks that previous CAP studies shows are inherent in accessing pirate sites.”

The latest data also mirrors the latest survey from YouGov, which states that more than 50% of Indonesian consumers say that they have stopped or rarely access pirate services as a result of blocking. More importantly, 76% of Indonesian consumers say they are accessing more legal content and pirating less, and 26% say they have subscribed to legitimate sources as a result of illegal streaming sites being blocked.

Local movie producer Edwin Nazir, the chairman of Asosiasi Produser Film Indonesia (APROFI) was greatly encouraged by the ongoing blocking efforts and the positive traffic data. 

“It is through collective consciousness and continuous effort that we can stand against piracy and bring the Indonesian film industry forward,” said Nazir.