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Ong: India success "amazing'' for Star |
SINGAPORE : Star may be a household name for TV viewers across Asia but at least one country, Thailand, remains largely immune to the regional popularity of at least one of its channels. Laureen Ong, the Chinese-American chief operating officer of Star who joined the group last May, admitted that much was true. But with the new Broadcasting Act ushering in regulatory changes in Thailand, the group is taking a serious look at this new-found market.
The new law, which took effect in March, has changed the landscape of the country's TV industry by liberalising free-to-air and cable TV operations. For the first time, cable operators can earn revenue from advertising.
Star Group, wholly owned by News Corporation of media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, runs several channels through pay-TV operators in Thailand including Star Movies, Star World, National Geographic, Channel V (Thailand) through TrueVisions. At the same time, it distributes Fox News and Channel V (International) to local TV operators.
Ms Ong, the architect behind the launch of National Geographic Channel in 2001, pointed out that Star had done very well with Channel V (Thailand). By localising content for Thai audiences, the channel is now popular.
''In Thailand, we recognise there is tremendous appreciation for us to look at localised content for Thai audiences. At the end of the day, local audiences care about 'talking to me in my language', and 'make me know that you understand my culture, you respect my culture'. That's the thing we have done very well, in particular, in the Indian and Taiwanese markets,'' said Ms Ong.
But its movie channel Star World, the most popular in many countries, has a low profile in Thailand. Ms Ong attributed the lukewarm response to poor marketing and said the group would work more closely with distributors and partners to improve its image.
Star World is the first choice for top-rated shows from the UK and US such as American Idol . Also, it covers a wide range of movies from action, drama and series to comedies, talk shows and live international events. It is exclusive to the 23,000 subscribers of TrueVisions' premium Platinum package, which costs 2,000 baht per month.
Prapassara Lochinda, distribution manager of Star Group Regional (Thailand), said Star owned more than 30 channels but unfortunately not all could be distributed in the Thai market because of the limited capacity of analogue TV signals. Some local cable operators can run a maximum of 40 channels, all of which have been taken.
''I would say that the quality of our programmes is not an issue. It's more of a technical problem. I hope the [Broadcasting Act] will legalise the digitisation of signals, which could create hundreds of channels. Then opportunity will come to us,'' said Mrs Prapassara.
Star broadcasts more than 60 television services to more than 300 million viewers across 53 Asian countries.Asked to rank the top three Asian markets of Star, Ms Ong said: ''It is India, India and India.''
Star has 66 million viewers in India, which she called amazingly successful. There are localised channels such as Star Plus, India's top channel and Star One, which provides Hindi content.
After India, Taiwan is another important market. Since it is a ''youth market'', Channel V (Taiwan) is a big success. She noted an improved relationship with China through more direct flights would offer new opportunities in the mainland.
She added Star had a strength in localising music content, an area that is not culturally controversial, unlike soap operas or series. As well, the production cost for music is much cheaper.
''People asked me whether we are going to do drama like Korean dramas. I know here people love Korean drama, but it is not one of our strengths,'' she said.
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