ASIA

Indian company Ideabrew Studios and Brian Tellis – host, performer and theatre personality – have launched a podcast of the year for the Media and Entertainment (M&E) industry – ‘The Chinwag Collective’.It will feature conversations around the four pillars of the media and entertainment industry – Music, Theatre, Advertising & Marketing. The podcast aims to establish a destination for professionals within and outside the industry to gain an understanding of the M&E world.Each episode will have a panel discussion featuring the host, a co-host and guest. The show will have a multi host format for every episode with Tellis as the showrunner and Atul Churamani, Nadir Khan, Rajeev Raja, and Atul Nath as the co-hosts. Diving deep into each vertical, every episode will have the host from that beat along with Brian and the guest. These conversations will be around the journey of the guest, the evolution of the industry, current trends, upcoming challenges, amongst other topics. Tapping into the younger audiences, these conversations will be fun and personal but also insightful that the leaders will provide.Launched on March 5, the first episode saw RED FM COO Nisha Narayanan as the guest. Upcoming episodes will feature conversations with Bobby Pawar, Damodar Mall, Jasper Donat, Roshan Abbas, Akarsh Khurana and Roysten Abel offering significant insights and experiences from their respective fields.Tellis said: “I have personally and professionally been a happy camper over decades in the Media and Entertainment Industry. Over the last few years, the industry has taken massive strides northward. New and uncharted territories have been explored and adopted. There are tons of engaging and inspiring stories waiting to be shared and consumed. The industry has many stalwarts who are repositories of these experiences and happy to share them. Being a big sucker for storytelling, I believe that seeding and nursing the “Chinwag Collective” will make a fun, engaging and enriching exercise for all.”‘The Chinwag Collective’ is available on all major audio platforms in India and globally. […]

National public broadcasters ABC and CBC have announced the Kindred ABC/CBC Animation Collaboration, a joint initiative designed to nurture and support the kids’ production industry by funding new children’s animated projects in Australia and Canada.Building on ABC and CBC’s existing creative and commercial collaboration to enhance the reach and impact of their content, the two public broadcasters are now partnering in the search for world-class, unique, creatively ambitious animation ideas to develop, with the potential for a future co-commission. Canadian and Australian creators and producers can apply beginning March 28, 2022 until May 16, 2022, with full details about the application process and eligibility criteria available here.Through this collaboration, ABC and CBC are looking for projects that feature a fresh, innovative and artistic animation style, and will appeal to Australian and Canadian audiences alike. Core to any idea that will be considered by ABC and CBC are strong, unique and demonstrable senses of voice, story, setting and character. Given their shared commitments to inclusivity, diversity, and gender equity, ABC and CBC expect the diversity of the story world and characters to be reflected in the creative team and that integrated and meaningful collaboration will occur throughout the creative process.ABC and CBC are looking for two distinct types of animated projects: (1) those appealing to a tween audience (10-14 years old), with a female character-driven narrative or compelling ensemble cast, featuring ideas that speak to this age group with a focus on comedy, surrealism, fantasy quests and/or identity; and (2) preschool projects that explore an aspect of early childhood development that is not well represented in the current landscape, with core values including comedy, kindness and empathy. The source IP must originate from either Canada or Australia to qualify. Shortlisted ideas will receive funding for an initial stage of development. Projects that proceed beyond the initial stage will be eligible for further development from the ABC and CBC to be confirmed at that time.Submissions are open to teams from Australia and Canada, including professionals over the age of 18 years, sole creators, collectives, animation studios, production companies, and artists from aligned disciplines. Projects may be submitted by Australian/Canadian teams who have long-standing professional and creative relationships; however, individual Australian or Canadian teams and sole creators (unfamiliar with partners in the reciprocal territory) are encouraged to apply and successful candidates will be provided with support by ABC/CBC in their search for a production partner.In June 2019, ABC and CBC first announced a creative and commercial collaboration to enhance the reach and impact of their content across both countries, including children’s programming. Outcomes of the collaboration include ABC’s acquisition of CBC Kids’ original commission Big Blue as well as CBC co-productions Kiri and Lou and Endlings, and CBC Kids’ acquisition of ABC titles First Day, How To Do Stuff Good, and The Wonder Gang.“Kids’ content is essential to public service media. At CBC/Radio-Canada, we’re committed to finding and nurturing exceptional programming for children and youth, and the Kindred Animation Collaboration with ABC will help us do just that. In a world where content is exploding, these kinds of collaborations are essential to public broadcasters’ ability to compete,” said Catherine Tait, President and CEO, CBC/Radio-Canada.David Anderson, ABC Managing Director said: “The Kindred Animation Collaboration is an exciting opportunity to further the ABC’s outstanding reputation for delivering engaging content for children and young people. In an increasingly crowded market, the ABC is committed to ensuring our world-class programming is not lost in the mix. We’re delighted to be partnering with the CBC in this important initiative which will undoubtedly deliver creative ideas aligned to our shared values and relevant to all our audiences.” […]

New Zealand’s Minister for Broadcasting and Media Kris Faafoi has announced the government’s decision to create a new public media entity by merging RNZ and TVNZ.According to Faafoi, ensuring New Zealanders continue to have access to reliable, trusted, independent information and local content sits at the heart of the decision.“The public media sector is extremely important to New Zealanders in providing them with high quality, independent, timely and relevant media content,” Faafoi said.“But we know the media landscape is changing and the sector is having to adapt to increased competition, changing audience demands and ways of accessing media, falling revenue, and new and emerging digital platforms. We need public media which is responsive to these changes and can flourish.“RNZ and TVNZ are each trying to adjust to the challenges, but our current public media system, and the legislation it’s based on, is focused on radio and television.“New Zealanders are among some of the most adaptive audiences when it comes to accessing content in different ways; like their phones rather than television and radio, and from internet-based platforms. We must be sure our public media can adapt to those audience changes, as well as other challenges that media will face in the future.”“The new public media entity will be built on the best of both RNZ and TVNZ, which will initially become subsidiaries of the new organisation. It will continue to provide what existing audiences value, such as RNZ Concert, as well as better reaching those groups who aren’t currently well served; such as our various ethnic communities and cultures,” Faafoi saidGovernment funding decisions will be made as part of Budget processes, and the entity will be an Autonomous Crown Entity with complete editorial independence receiving commercial and Crown funding for operations and will:
Provide quality public media content to all New Zealanders, including groups who are currently under-served or under-represented
Use a range of platforms, including current radio and linear TV and those of third parties, to reach audiences when, where and how audiences choose
Operate under a charter, set out in legislation, and provide trustworthy news as a core service
Deliver on the Crown’s Te Tiriti obligations and provide Māori stories and perspectives
Carry advertising, while ensuring services which are currently commercial-free will remain so
Collaborate with and support the wider New Zealand media sector where appropriate.
An Establishment Board will be appointed next month to oversee the detailed design of the entity and the change process, with the aim of having it operational by July 1, 2023.The public will have a chance to give their views, including on the entity’s charter, through the select committee process when legislation is considered later this year.As of 2020, TVNZ had revenues of $340m and 390 staff, while RNZ had a staff strength of 310 with $50m revenues.While RNZ and TVNZ have welcomed the decision, some lobby groups have also voiced their concerns.RNZ Chairman, Jim Mather said: “The crucial building blocks of the entity give us confidence that the policy is a sound response to the challenges faced by New Zealand public media in a rapidly changing global media environment.”Mather said RNZ’s focus in 2022 would be to embrace new opportunities and prepare for the future ensuring a smooth transition for staff and audiences.TVNZ chief executive Simon Power in a statement said that “creating a public media entity for the digital age” was an exciting opportunity, and was pleased to have a decision.National Party broadcasting spokeswoman Melissa Lee said the merger was “a solution looking for a problem” that would reduce media plurality.Lee said that despite “millions” being spent on the plan it was still not clear what would be delivered. The country needed more media voices, not fewer, she said.“Merging RNZ and TVNZ into an unaccountable publicly-funded monolith will only harm their long-term value to the taxpaying public,” she told Stuff.Stuff chief executive Sinead Boucher said it expected to make a submission at the select committee stage.“As a commercially funded New Zealand-owned company, Stuff is keen to ensure that government intervention in the market does not undermine the commercial viability of our newsrooms and operations in every region across the country,” she said.Myles Thomas, chairman of lobby group Better Public Media, said it was seriously concerned that the merger might enable a future government to push RNZ towards a commercial model.Faafoi’s promise of “complete editorial independence is impossible when politicians control the entity’s funding through the annual budget”, he said. […]

Russia’s State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK), Channel One, and the Ostankino radio house announced that they were leaving the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), a statement by the broadcasters said on Saturday.“Channel One, VGTRK and the Ostankino radio house announce their exit from the European Broadcasting Union as a response measure to Russia being excluded from the participation in the Eurovision-2022 song contest which we view as an improper political sacrifice at the music forum which has always emphasized its non-political status,” the statement said.On February 25, the EBU made a decision that Russia wouldn’t participate in the Eurovision-2022 song contest which will be held in Turin.Earlier, Baltic broadcasters appealed to the EBU to suspend or cancel the membership of VGTRK and Channel One over the situation in Ukraine. They urged the EBU to adopt a firm stance and use all available means to support and protect the people of Ukraine and its independence.Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address on Thursday morning that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in order to protect people “who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.” The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories.Russia’s Defense Ministry reported later on Thursday that Russian troops were not delivering strikes against Ukrainian cities. It emphasized that Ukrainian military infrastructure was being destroyed by precision weapons.Image: Ostankino Tower, Moscow. Wikimapia. […]

The World Broadcasting Unions (WBU), a coordinating body for broadcasting unions who represent broadcaster networks across the globe, has issued the following statement on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.“As the situation between Russia and Ukraine escalates, access to trusted, factual, and impartial information is more critical than ever.All media broadcasters and the World Broadcasting Unions’ members are focused on doing our job for the public in difficult circumstances and we will not hesitate to condemn any infringements or violations of press freedom. It is vital for journalists to be allowed to continue to operate both freely and safely, and report without hindrance. Supporting media freedom must be prioritized, not despite these challenging circumstances, but because of them.”  The statement comes as Kremlin clamps down on social media and threatening to muzzle outspoken independent news outlets. Independent radio station Ekho Moskvy was closed last week and TV Rain, an independent radio station suspended operations after receiving threats of closure from the authorities as Russian officials demand that the country’s media cover the Ukraine invasion in strict accordance with the official line.In further crackdown on dissenters and western social media, police in Moscow are stopping people in the streets to go through their phones and screening their text messages and phones.Media covering the invasion in Ukraine is not safe either, as a team of Sky News reporters narrowly escaped a violent ambush by Russian saboteurs near Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital.Various media broadcasting organisations have responded by discontinuing their operations in Russia.Major broadcast software company Adthos has cut ties with Russia, where it has conducted much of its R&D over the years. Spotify has closed its Russia office indefinitely and also removed all content from state media RT and Sputnik from its platform in the European Union, the United States and other markets around the world, except for Russia. Similar steps have been taken by Facebook and Twitter. […]

Benztown and P1 Media Group will host a free webinar on Thursday for radio professionals around the globe, entitled “Coaching Talent From Good to Great.”The webinar is 20th in the companies’ “Global Radio Ideas” webinar series from top radio experts from around the world.The 40-minute webinar will be hosted by Andreas Sannemann, CEO, Benztown, and Ken Benson, Partner, P1 Media Group, and will feature radio talent coach Randy Lane, President, The Randy Lane Company.Randy has worked with many of the top radio talent and shows in multiple countries, including: Jimmy Kimmel, Ryan Seacrest, Kidd Kraddick, The Bert Show, Toucher and Rich, and Dave Ryan.Lane programmed the legendary WMC in Memphis, TN, and programmed the first major Modern AC station, Star 98.7 in Los Angeles, CA.He has been recognized with numerous industry awards including Billboard’s “Consultant of the Year” for Adult Contemporary and Top 40. He was also named “Consultant of the Year” at the Worldwide Radio Summit.He launched his consulting company in 1996 with a mission of “creating brand depth for radio stations by developing morning shows that generate ratings and revenue.”The webinar is Thursday, March 10, 2022, at 10:00am PST/1:00pm EST/7:00pm CET.Register at: https://event.webinarjam.com/channel/WebinarRandyLane […]