Tag: Television

Singapore – Magnite has announced it has strengthened its partnership with Samsung Ads to power programmatic advertising on Samsung TV Plus inventory in Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand for the first time. 

Through this expanded partnership, advertisers now have programmatic access to premium video inventory on Samsung’s free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) service, Samsung TV Plus, which went live across the Southeast Asia region late last year.

Samsung TV Plus is currently available on millions of Samsung Smart TVs across Singapore, the Philippines, and Thailand. The built-in streaming service delivers free, instant access to a wide range of live TV channels spanning entertainment, news, movies and more. 

Fan-favourites including MythBusters, Survivor, Deal or No Deal and Red Bull TV are some of the first channels to arrive on the new platform, with more global and local channels launching in early 2025. Through this new partnership, advertisers will be able to programmatically access Samsung TV Plus’ premium, and growing, in-stream inventory for the first time.

Gavin Buxton, managing director for Asia at Magnite, said, “The powerful combination of Smart TV adoption and increased consumption of ad-supported streaming content in Southeast Asia represents a significant market opportunity. Samsung is uniquely positioned to capitalise upon this transformation, and we are excited to expand our relationship with them. We look forward to working with Samsung to drive results as they leverage our leading streaming technology to help streamline programmatic activation of premium inventory on Samsung TV Plus.”

Meanwhile, Alex Spurzem, managing director at Samsung Ads Southeast Asia and Oceania (SEAO), commented, “Launching our FAST service, as well as native and in-stream ads, in just 12 months reflects the huge opportunity we see in the region. Seven in ten TV viewers already watch ad-supported streaming content and our FAST service gives advertisers a new way to reach this audience. As we scale Samsung TV Plus, Magnite will play a pivotal role by making it programmatically available to brands and agencies across multiple Southeast Asia countries.”

Singapore – Regional entertainment hub KC Global Media Asia has announced a series of key promotions within its leadership team, designed to enhance strategic capabilities and drive revenue growth across the region. 

The promotions include Shirlene Wu as vice president and general manager for Taiwan & Greater China, Edith Goh as vice president of revenue and head of media and sponsorship sales, Bhuvnesh Kanwar as vice president of revenue and head of FAST (free ad-supported streaming television), and Bonnie Wiryani as vice president of revenue and head of content sales.

These announcements comes alongside the departure of Avani Bhanchawat, vice president and head of revenue, who has left the organisation after a seven-year tenure. All new leaders will be reporting directly to George Chien, co-founder, CEO and president of KC Global Media.

Shirlene will oversee the company’s strategic operations and content development, enhancing the organisation’s presence across the region. She has been an integral part of the KC Global Media team for eight years and during her tenure, she has made significant contributions including collaborating with tourism boards and government agencies on various projects as well as establishing a dedicated advertising sales team for Taiwan.

Meanwhile, Edith will be responsible for developing and executing innovative media and sponsorship initiatives while identifying and cultivating new revenue streams. Having been with KC Global Media for more than five years, she secured major sponsorship deals with key partners including One Championship for The Apprentice Asia – One Championship Edition, Tourism Authority Of Thailand and Tourism Malaysia, significantly contributing to the organisation’s growth and success.

Bhuvnesh will drive revenue growth in the streaming sector and oversee monetisation strategies across Indonesia, South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. He will also work to establish advertising sales opportunities in Singapore, Indonesia, and the pan-regional market. During his six-year tenure at KC Global Media, Kanwar was instrumental in creating branded IPs like Ultimate Challenge and AXN All Stars for both streaming and traditional TV, in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Indonesia. 

He has also established linear and on-demand partnerships with various telcos, OTT platforms and DTH providers, including Amazon Prime Video, Telkomsel, Pt Link Net, MNC Sky Vision and many more. Additionally, he was the key architect in launching KCM, KC Global Media’s first FAST Channel, in India.

Lastly, Bonnie will be responsible for driving content sales in Asia, and strengthening partnerships with key partners in Pacific Islands and Southeast Asia excluding Indonesia. Her focus will be on maximising opportunities in both traditional and emerging markets. Wiryani has been with KC Global Media for four years and has expanded the channels portfolio with key clients such as Tonton, Unifi TV in Malaysia, and MeWatch in Singapore. She has also led on-ground activations to enhance brand awareness and has launched the firm’s channels in new markets like Mongolia and the Maldives.

Speaking on the leadership promotions, Chien said, “We are committed to fostering talent and building a strong leadership team and are thrilled to recognise these talented leaders for their hard work and dedication. We are confident they will excel in their new roles and continue to drive the company’s growth ambitions in this dynamic media landscape.”

He added, “We also extend our heartfelt gratitude to Avani for her contributions and leadership during her time with us. Throughout her seven years with the company, she has been instrumental in shaping the organisation’s revenue strategies and driving significant growth. We sincerely thank her for that and wish her continued success in her future pursuits.”

Sydney, Australia – Kargo has announced a new partnership with Samba TV which will enable advertisers to target, measure and optimise reach and frequency across mobile and connected TV (CTV) environments with greater precision.

This collaboration builds upon Kargo’s recent launch of its CTV advertising solutions in April, developed in partnership with Fetch TV. The integration of Fetch TV’s subscriber and set-top box data with Kargo’s advanced contextual targeting capabilities has already positioned Kargo as a frontrunner in delivering impactful advertising experiences. 

Now, with the integration of Samba TV’s automatic content recognition (ACR) data from globally opted-in televisions, Kargo further solidifies its leadership in audience engagement on the largest screen in the home.

The new solution will leverage Samba TV’s first-party viewership data, which is analysed at a granular postcode level to give advertisers an in-depth understanding of ad performance for more effective planning and targeting across all major programmatic platforms. 

Kargo will also combine its creative and targeting capabilities with Samba TV’s omniscreen measurement to unlock deduplicated incremental reach on top of digital campaigns.

Cam Dinnie, operations director at Kargo APAC, said, “Not only do Kargo’s creative formats captivate audiences, but they consistently outperform traditional media. Now we have created an even more powerful CTV advertising solution by integrating Samba TV’s robust data and measurement. This approach gives our advertisers an even more efficient and effective method to plan, activate, and measure their omni channel campaigns.”

Meanwhile, Yasmin Sanders, managing director for Australia at Samba TV, commented, “This partnership is about giving advertisers the most straightforward and effective approach to enhance their connections with audiences while also gaining a better understanding of their incremental reach. We’re excited to combine our technologies to give Kargo’s advertisers a smarter way to inform their omnichannel planning strategies and access more levers to optimise performance.”

United Kingdom – The commissioning team at BBC Studios Social is inviting independent producers of all sizes and backgrounds to propose unique short-form proposals. These concepts strive to broaden and improve existing intellectual properties (IP), captivate devoted fans, and capture the attention of new audiences across digital channels. 

The available production opportunities currently span multiple key brands in the BBC Studios Social portfolio and are available online. Regarding Kids & Family, commissioners are actively looking for fun activity-based material for the hit show Hey Duggee, as well as engaging concepts focused around cuisine and family-oriented entertainment for the internationally recognized Bluey franchise. Furthermore, suggestions targeting a younger demographic are welcomed for the digital-only humour program Funny Parts and the automotive Top Gear.

Regarding factual and unscripted programming, BBC Earth is actively looking for ideas that capture the wonders of nature in appealing ways that work for its new vertical channels. For BBC Earth Science, a wide range of concepts covering subjects including sustainability, space exploration, and the complexities of the human body are also being sought out. 

Chris Allen, director, digital content development at BBC, said, “In an increasingly competitive and fast maturing digital-first market, BBC Studios Social are committed to finding, developing, and partnering with the best independent producers and new talent globally. We love our world-class brands, and we’re super excited to share them with you to deliver new formats, new talent, and new ideas that are critical and commercial successes. Whether silly comedy sketches, or a mind-bending science documentary, we hope this will be the start of some beautiful creative partnerships.”

Manila, Philippines – PLDT and ABS-CBN have jointly announced that it will cancel the proposed acquisition of Sky Cable, a cable television service provider owned by ABS-CBN. The announcement was made via Sky Cable’s official media channels.

Both parties have not mentioned the reason for this cancellation. MARKETECH APAC checked both stock disclosures of PLDT and ABS-CBN for further information, but no other details of the reason for the acquisition cancellation have been disclosed as of this writing.

With this, Sky Cable will continue its broadcasting operations beyond February 26, the supposed final broadcast date for the cable TV service provider. Its broadband operations remain unaffected as well.

“We thank all our SKY subscribers for their continued patronage and support. We remain committed to providing the same level of customer experience and service for both our cable and internet services,” the company said.

It is worth noting that both the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have already approved the acquisition deal earlier this year.

Details about the merger first came into light when ABS-CBN, the parent company of Sky Cable, signed an agreement with PLDT back in March 2023 to sell off fully the business to PLDT. It is also worth noting that Cignal, the media firm under PLDT’s MediaQuest affiliate, had already a 34.99% stake in Sky Cable, which materialised back in 2022.

India – Indian content distribution platform Tata Play has just recently dropped its latest digital campaign to celebrate World Television Day, giving homage to the enduring role of television in bringing joy and connection to families across generations.

Conceptualised and developed by Chimp&Z Inc, Tata Play’s campaign embraces the nuances of old vs new televisions, while ensuring that Tata Play’s connection keeps entertainment a constant fixture in people’s lives.

The campaign features an old TV set that is being replaced by a new TV set, wherein the old TV mirrors the experience of a family member that has to say goodbye after being a part of it after a long time. 

On the other hand, the new and more advanced TV expresses excitement and promises fun with it as part of the family, with the dialogue between the two showcasing the good things that they can offer such as news and plenty of entertainment. 

Surprisingly, the film ends with a twist wherein both TV sets would still be in the same home as the old TV will simply be moved to another location, and both TVs will be connected with use of Tata Play. 

Singapore – Singaporean mobile network operator M1 has announced an exclusive partnership with regional content-streaming startup Eazie TV to launch a new live TV streaming service optimised for a variety of platforms.

In the partnership, M1 will be adapting Eazie TV’s features in an app subscription, offering an efficient means of access where customers only need to download the app and sign up to immediately enjoy the available content offerings.

The app will offer over 75 live TV channels, including networks like History, CNN, TLC, AXN, Discovery, Nickelodeon, Hunan TV International, and more. Customers can watch their preferred live and on-demand programming from top international and Asian networks in popular categories like news, entertainment, sports, movies, documentaries, lifestyle, kids, and Asian.

Customers can watch content on as many as four streaming devices at home or on the go with a single membership account. Users of M1 pay S$19.98 per month for subscriptions, whereas non-M1 users pay S$24.98.

Existing M1 customers on M1 mobile, fibre and Maxx plans will also be receiving a free 30-days of access on their first subscription.

Manila, Philippines – Media giant ABS-CBN has announced that will be shutting down ‘TeleRadyo’, a pay television channel under its ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs (ANC) arm. According to the company, the closure was brought by financial losses it had experienced since 2020.

“The company is deeply saddened by this closure and having to part ways with the many passionate and committed people who have made Teleradyo an important source of news and information for many Filipinos,” ABS-CBN said in a statement.

TeleRadyo was founded in 2007 as the television counterpart of the commercial news and radio channel DZMM Radyo Patrol. Following the cease and desist order from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to close its broadcasting activities, DZMM Radyo Patrol ceased operations alongside its other free broadcasting channels. They have then moved to TeleRadyo for continued reporting.

Following the TeleRadyo closure announcement, ABS-CBN has also announced a joint venture with Prime Media Holdings. Said venture will produce various programs, which will be supplied to broadcasters and other third party platforms including Philippine Collectivemedia Corporation.

Prime Media Holdings is the majority shareholder of the new venture, with ABS-CBN serving as a minority shareholder.

ABS-CBN also hopes that through its deal with Prime Media, they can help some of their former personnel a chance to find new job opportunities.

Manila, Philippines – WPP’s media investment arm GroupM has officially launched its addressable TV solution, Finecast, in the Philippines. This year, Finecast will be introducing new innovative solutions, technology, and enhanced viewing experience for TV stakeholders, including audiences, advertisers, and brands.

The launch of Finecast, which took place at the Globe Auditorium in Bonifacio Global City in Manila on February 2, will add to the market’s addressable TV capabilities and provide a platform for entrepreneurs and marketers to network, share ideas, and learn from leaders on how to effectively promote ads as well as drive growth in a digital-focused era.

Puneet Arora, CEO of GroupM Philippines and Singapore, said, “We are thrilled to launch Finecast in the Philippines, one of the largest markets in this space, and to see the best in the industry come together to celebrate our official launch.”

Kathryn Domingo, lead at Finecast Philippines, shared that they aim to offer a one-stop-shop access to the entire addressable TV system, coordinating the distribution and frequency across all broadcasters and screens to reach relevant audiences no matter where they are viewing.

“Finecast will keep pushing the boundaries of TV innovation and is committed to leading the transformation of the industry. We are incredibly excited and proud to bring an addressable TV solution to the market for our clients,” she added.

During the launch event, some of the discussions put forth include the impact of the pandemic to the shift of a digital society, as well as the successful integration of addressable TV in the industry’s future.

Brett Poole, CEO for APAC at Finecast, also commented that as the media ecosystem continues to evolve, TV ads continue to wield the greatest influence in generating the most positive brand impressions.

“Historically, brands in Southeast Asia that have harnessed the power of storytelling through TV – either through a single advertisement or through a series of stories over a period of time – have enjoyed high performance and profitable gains. We look forward to continue helping brands in the Philippines unlock new and exciting opportunities to engage with their target audience and achieve sustainable growth,” Poole added.

Islamabad, Pakistan – Mobile digital communication company Telenor Pakistan and blockchain-based media and fintech BOLT Digital have joined forces in bringing access to premium live TV entertainment to viewers in Pakistan. 

This will be accessible for the telco’s subscribers via BOLT Global’s live-streaming service, BOLT+, a blockchain-based streaming service with over 600 live TV and radio channels from 28 countries.

BOLT+ streams a wide range of live TV channels, including breaking news and premium entertainment from France 24, Al Jazeera, and Deutsche Welle Group. In addition, through BOLT Global’s partnership with soccer app OneFootball, Telenor Pakistan customers are also able to enjoy direct access to exclusive football content from the top football clubs in the world. 

Areej Khan, vice president digital at Telenor Pakistan, said, “We are happy to be working with BOLT Global to launch BOLT+ Premium in Pakistan. At Telenor Pakistan, we strive to bring new and exciting entertainment experiences to our subscribers. With BOLT+, our subscribers can watch international live TV channels anytime, anywhere.”

She added, “Through our unique partnerships bringing enhanced value for our valued customers, we are confident that our users will continue to value us as their preferred service provider.”

Access to BOLT+ has 2 tiers: an ad-supported free tier called BOLT+ Free and a paid subscription known as BOLT+ Premium which includes premium features to enhance users’ live entertainment experience. Telenor users can easily subscribe to BOLT+ Premium via their mobile balance.

Jamal Hassim, co-founder and CEO of BOLT Global, commented, “We will be working with Telenor Pakistan to bring more exciting, immersive and rewarding content to our new users in the country. Already, users can access a huge array of international live channels bringing news, European club football and esports amongst other genres on BOLT+. We will also be working closely with Telenor Pakistan on the ground to uncover new content creators in the country, and to broadcast their content to an international audience on BOLT+.”