TV expansion a gain for producers, advertisers

Eighty-per-cent penetration by cable and satellite television could be translated to Bt5 billion in advertising, double this year’s Bt2.5 billion. What is the business opportunity for TV-programme producers and media agencies?
In terms of programming, currently local satellite channels have not invested enough in quality TV shows. As we see, there are many B- and C-grade international shows and low-cost TV programmes.
Given this, cable and satellite TV do not have enough sales revenue or investment to buy good to great programming. As spending increases, programmers will benefit from cash injections and be able to buy complete international shows, direct international live broadcast feeds, and also international formats that will be reproduced locally to fit viewers’ needs.

What is your projection on the future of imported TV programmes after this development?
GroupM is among the pioneers in bringing in international formats and products according to clients’ needs, so-called branded content. It hopes the industry will grow rapidly in this field. Meanwhile, free TV has limited vacant time slots and is often unable to meet the needs of its clients. Cable and satellite will become a strong alternative.

So how can product owners, broadcasters and production houses capitalise on this opportunity?
In the past, broadcasters and production houses made the decisions on what content to produce and sold advertising minutes to recoup their investments. Today, clients are moving beyond traditional spots and space and into the “paid, owned, earned” model, where the focus has shifted to creating more brand conversations and loyalty among consumers.
Traditional advertising is great at building awareness quickly but is unable to build brands’ stories and relevance with consumers. At the same time, many brands are no longer in their infancy or introduction stage; they are at the mature and declining stages of their product life cycle. Hence the needs for more interactive approaches.

What are these interactive approaches?
I would take mega reality shows as an example. The programme provides strong audience interaction throughout the show; for example, on-the-ground recruitment, on-air votes and chats, online downloads and conversations and multi-platform interactions. These shows will grow in numbers rapidly across free TV, cable and satellite television.

What is your plan for coming years to cash in on this trend?
As GroupM is the largest media investor in the world, we continue to offer new solutions for our clients. We have strong relationships with major format owners and distributors across the world and we are exploring more opportunities to import TV shows to Thailand, whether as fully fledged advertiser-funded programming or shows that we create to support multiple client sponsorships.
This year, we imported “Thailand’s Got Talent” and “Hole in the Wall” as well as forming a partnership with The Creatist in the local production of “Take Me Out Thailand”. At the same time, we also created our own format, “The Symptom”, a “meditainment” show that is intended for future export. For coming years, we hope to increase programming to serve our growing client portfolio among the four agencies within the group.
We are experimenting with various models to fit all sizes of client budgets and investments. This should catalyse the growth of high-quality content and production for our market.