Tag: Media & Entertainment

Australia – National public broadcaster Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has unveiled a refresh brand design for ABC News, including the return of its iconic news theme which was used from 1986 to 2005–now back in an updated arrangement and remix.

A redesign led by ABC in-house creative teams has created a brighter and more varied audience experience, with an expanded colour palette and a wider range of typefaces creating a more modern and engaging experience for audiences. 

Moreover, the new graphic design incorporates shapes that are direct traces of the broadcaster’s master logo, the ABC Lissajous. ​The ABC NEWS logo also changes from black-and-white to a vibrant blue background that is more impactful and appealing on digital as well as broadcast.

Justin Stevens, ABC director of news, said, “We’re delighted to introduce an updated look and experience for the public however and whenever they use ABC NEWS across any platform. The new design is impactful and appealing for audiences and gives us a consistent look across all platforms. Our audience accesses our journalism across all platforms and mediums and the design needs to reflect that.”

He added, “The upgrade to the web and app improves the experience for users and adds features to let them personalise their news service. I’m thrilled to welcome back the iconic ABC NEWS theme. It captures the excitement and passion everyone in ABC NEWS has for news and current affairs.”

Meanwhile, The updated website goes live for all users from 6am AEST Monday with upgrades to the ABC NEWS app also to be rolled out soon.

“Our product and technology teams developed the new experience to relate to all Australians and showcase a breadth of content using modern design and engineering practices,” said Damian Cronan, chief digital and information officer at ABC.

He added, “We’ve modernised the digital experience for ABC News with a strong focus on personalisation so our diverse audiences can now get the breaking news and stories that are most relevant to them.”

In terms of the revamped news theme, the original theme was composed by Sydney arranger and keyboard player Tony Ansell and Peter Wall.

“I’m delighted it’s coming back – I think it’s our best work,” Peter said. “Many people grew up listening to it and it’s wonderful new audiences will now also be able to discover it. Tony’s arrangement and Dick Montz’s piccolo trumpet have really stood the test of time.”

“Peter and Tony’s composition is really quite brilliant,” David said. “The genre of ‘news theme’ is highly stylised. It has to have solidity and trustworthiness, suggest something important is coming and give a sense of immediacy and urgency. Their composition is a piece of music that has depth and power very rarely heard in other news themes.”

Singapore – SPH Media has announced its recent revamp of its brand identity, in an aim to better reflect its evolution and ambition as a relentless creator of quality content and experiences, amidst the changing media landscape.

The brand refresh is another milestone for SPH Media’s transformation journey, on digitalisation, audience engagement and talent development, which started two years ago. Throughout the journey, it remained steadfast in its mission to be the trusted source of news on Singapore and Asia.

The refreshed brand includes a new logo that pays tribute to SPH Media’s heritage while capturing the company’s progression. The logo stands for the importance of giving a voice to Singapore and to all those who call Singapore home, while inspiring conversations and providing quality content to enhance the lives of the audience. 

The logo incorporates elements such as the Symbol which reflects SPH Media’s pursuit of quality journalism and content creation, representing the narratives that reflect the identity of individuals and communities. The bold curves, open design of the logo and the choice of colour – harmony blue, come together to evoke a sense of vibrancy, inclusiveness and adaptability. 

Another asset in the SPH Media brand revamp is the so-called ‘The Symbol’, which serves as a secondary graphic, and highlights the significance of the representation, communication, and conversation to the ongoing richness and diversity of Singaporean culture.

Fen Peh, head of corporate marketing and communications at SPH Media, shares, “We are excited to unveil SPH Media’s refreshed brand, a testament to our commitment as the relentless creators of content and experiences. The revitalised visual identity highlights our ongoing dedication to impactful storytelling and providing platforms for essential narratives. The brand refresh also aligns with our transformation journey amidst a highly competitive media landscape, as we continue to evolve our portfolio of news, entertainment and lifestyle media to engage our audience.”

The refreshed brand officially launches today, and will be supported by a social media campaign that will take audiences on SPH Media’s journey from its past to the future, familiarising them with the stories told and SPH Media’s brand identity.

Singapore – Vice Media Group has announced that it will cease publishing new content on its main news site Vice.com, as well as announcing more layoffs across its staff, according to an internal memo Bruce Dixon, group CEO at Vice Media Group, sent out across its employees.

According to the memo, Vice Media will look into partnering with established media companies to distribute their digital content, including news, on their global platforms, as the company fully transitions to a studio model.

“After careful consideration and discussion with the board, we have decided to make some fundamental changes to our strategic vision at Vice. We create and produce outstanding original content true to the Vice brand. However, it is no longer cost-effective for us to distribute our digital content the way we have done previously,” Dixon said.

While he did not specify how many employees, Dixon said that the company will be ‘eliminating several hundred positions’. He also noted that Refinery 29, Vice’s standalone website focused on young women stories, will remain as a standalone business. The memo did not mention, however, on the current standing of Virtue, Vice’s in-house creative agency.

“I know that saying goodbye to our valued colleagues is difficult and feels overwhelming, but this is the best path forward for Vice as we position the company for long-term creative and financial success. Our financial partners are supportive and have agreed to invest in this operating model going forward. We will emerge stronger and more resilient as we embark on this new phase of our journey,” he added. 

The company had previously announced bankruptcy earlier in 2023, and was acquired by investment companies Fortress Investment Group, Soros Fund Management and Monroe Capital for US$350m. Prior to this, it had also announced several layoffs, including the entirety of its newsroom team in Asia-Pacific.

Aside from Vice Media Group, the media industry has been taking a hit this year, with media entities such as Time, Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, Forbes, and Business Insider all announcing staff reductions earlier this year. In APAC, CNN Philippines recently shut down due to financial losses, effectively laying off its entire workforce.

Manila, Philippines – Coconuts, a regional alternative media company, has announced that it is shutting its online publishing operations by the end of this year, citing difficulties in keeping the media business being financially stable.

In an update article posted by Byron Perry, founder and chairman of Coconuts Media, he said that while its online component will be shut down, its BK Magazine, Soimilk, and Grove brand studio will continue operating. Moreover, the online publication will still remain up as an archive for online readers.

Perry reflects on the fact that despite all of the numerous journalism and entertainment awards they have won, these editorial and audience achievements have not converted into commercial success for the publication. Nonetheless, they are thankful to their readers, and hoped that their core mission of informing and entertaining its readers had been achieved over the span of 12 years.

“I also personally want to thank all of the staff – past and present – who have put so much time, effort, drive, creativity, and intelligence into making Coconuts great. I am truly grateful for your service and I wish you the best in your careers,” he said.

Coconuts was first launched in 2011, and serves readers in the Southeast Asian cities of Bangkok, Manila, Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Bali and Yangon. It previously had a two-year deal with Filipino media company ABS-CBN back in 2015 to allow both media entities to exchange news, features and video content on their respective platforms. In 2021, Coconuts Media had acquired BK Magazine, a Bangkok-based print and online lifestyle magazine.

Coconuts’ closure follows a worrying slew of media closures and layoffs, including VICE, which axed its entire APAC newsroom team back in April following the company’s declaration of bankruptcy.

India – Popular audio streaming platform Spotify has appointed Supari Studios as its content marketing agency in India. Spotify India collaborates with Supari Studios to create engaging, culture-driven content that connects with diverse audiences all over the country.

Through the mandate, Supari Studios will be responsible for developing and executing compelling digital content marketing campaigns for Spotify India’s web and social platforms, in addition to other marketing initiatives. Since May 2021, Supari Studios and Spotify India’s marketing team have collaborated closely on the production of over 35 assets for important podcast, music, and brand projects.

Speaking on the appointment, Manoti Jain, chief operating officer at Supari Studios, said, “Kulfi Collective proudly unites with Spotify, a visionary brand reshaping the very fabric of music and culture. As masters of immersive storytelling, we’re excited to catapult Spotify’s brand presence to extraordinary heights, forging deep connections with its vibrant user base and offering unforgettable new brand experiences.” 

Meanwhile, Shirley D’Costa, chief business officer at Kulfi Collective, expressed, “We are thrilled to partner with Spotify to amplify its brand presence and engage with its ever-

growing user base. At Kulfi, we’re committed to providing clutter-breaking, culture-shaping brand solutions to our partners. Spotify operates at the intersection of music and culture, making it an incredibly influential brand, especially among Gen Z and millennial audiences.” 

She added,  “We’re very excited to deliver brand solutions driving engagement through content and social for Spotify.” 

Manila, Philippines – National media conglomerate ABS-CBN has signed a deal with US-based global media conglomerate Warner Bros. Discovery to bring ABS-CBN’s lifestyle programs to a much wider audience in Asia.

Three of the highlighted programs include ‘Beached’. a travel show hosted by Marc Nelson and Maggie Wilson–which will air on Discovery Asia, as well as ‘The Crawl’ by Piolo Pascual and ‘Foodprints’ by Sandy Daza, which will air on the Asian Food Network.

Aside from linear broadcast, the three shows will also be available on the streaming platform Discovery+ on iOS and Android devices.

Locally, these programs can be watched on the Metro Channel, Cignal, and GSAT.

The international partnership just comes months after ABS-CBN terminated its previously-agreed partnership with local media network TV5, over concerns of local regulations and scrutiny brought by the suspension of its media franchise on free television.

Despite that, ABS-CBN has been expanding locally and internationally, most recently with its opening of a Los Angeles office, as well as partnering with fellow media giant GMA Network and Hong Kong-based telco SmarTone.

Manila, Philippines – Digital lifestyle network Summit Media has teamed up with content creator revenue accelerator Bent Pixels Asia (BPA) to expand the media group’s YouTube ad solutions, which includes monetising its pre-roll ad inventory for the YouTube channels of its online magazines.

This comes after Summit Media is currently foraying into growing its YouTube channels as their new digital direction.

Through this strategic partnership, BPA and Summit Media will offer advertisers ‘Reserved Media’ – an ad solution that allows advertisers to target Summit Media’s YouTube channels, and enables brands to exclusively run their pre-roll video ads for full share of voice roadblock for a given period of time, effectively owning Summit Media’s sought-after, quality audience and ad inventory on the platform.

Some of Summit Media’s YouTube channels including Esquire Philippines, Top Gear Philippines, Cosmo.ph, PEP.ph, Yummy, Preview, SPIN.ph and Spot.ph among others will be onboarded onto BPA’s network of premium YouTube creators. 

BPA is part of Hepmil Media Group, a leading technology-driven media network that owns PGAG, a local leading comedy content platform.

Lisa Gokongwei-Cheng, Summit Media President, said, “Summit Media is very excited to be a partner of Bent Pixels Asia to sell our YouTube inventory directly to advertisers. Both groups have always stood for innovation in a rapidly changing industry, and we look forward to helping our clients reach their goals together.”

Meanwhile, Erwin Razon, general manager of BPA, commented, “We are excited to offer brands the opportunity to reach the quality and premium audiences of Summit Media on YouTube through our Reserved Media Solutions. With the content expertise of both BPA and Summit combined, we will continue to grow the network’s reach on the platform to cater to larger audiences that will be valuable for brands to target with premium media buying opportunities.”

BPA will also provide YouTube channel development programs to Summit Media, including workshops, best practices, and tools to help them sustainably grow the reach and subscriber base of its brands’ channels and produce quality content to engage their audiences.

Singapore – Revenue and customer-lifecycle management solutions provider Evergent has announced that it is supporting the initiative of Amazon Web Services (AWS) for Media & Entertainment to enhance deployment of agile monetization solutions for its content providers.

Agile monetization is a vital tool for content and service providers seeking to accelerate performance in today’s saturated video marketplace. Evergent’s CCB 3.0 platform is designed to support agile monetization for video providers through a suite of offer management tools, allowing users to deploy, test, and evaluate different monetization strategies. 

CCB 3.0 from Evergent is a user-centric customer relationship and monetization management platform designed to enable content providers to streamline their business processes and optimize revenue outcomes. The flagship platform allows users to select different revenue options from an easy-to-use drop-down menu, dramatically simplifying the process of choosing and testing different monetization strategies. 

Through the support, Evergent will leverage AWS capabilities and services to improve customer management and monetization solutions on behalf of its Media & Entertainment customers around the globe.

“Our mission at Evergent is to enable our customers to more effectively manage their relationships and improve their monetization processes through a pre-integrated platform tailored to each customer’s business needs,” said Vijay Sajja, founder and CEO at Evergent.

AWS for Media & Entertainment is an initiative featuring new and existing services and solutions from AWS and AWS Partners, built specifically for content creators, rights holders, producers, broadcasters, and distributors. It also simplifies the process of building, deploying, and reinventing mission-critical industry workloads by aligning AWS and AWS Partner capabilities against five solution areas: content production; direct-to-consumer and over-the-top (OTT) streaming; broadcast; media supply chain & archive; and data science & analytics.

“Our collaboration with AWS aligns perfectly with this mission by connecting our customers not only with Evergent’s agile monetization solutions, but with the full portfolio of products and solutions available through the AWS for Media & Entertainment initiative. For media companies focused on launching and rapidly growing direct-to-consumer (D2C) services, time to market is critical. Working with AWS helps us enable flexible and agile monetization in weeks, not months,” Sajja added.