NEWS & VIEWS
April 2018
21
A+E Networks expands digital
production footprint into Asia
In an attempt to affirm its leader-
ship position in creating cross-
platform content while reaching
viewers everywhere they con-
sume content, A+E Networks
has launched a digital studio in
Singapore — its first digital studio
located outside of the US.
As part of the A+E Digital
International initiative, the digital
studio in Singapore comprises
full-service, integrated creative
and content creation units that will
focus on producing original, pre-
mium short- and mid-form digital
content assets, themed around the
network’s brands and its partners.
Prem Kamath, deputy man-
aging director of A+E Networks
Asia, told APB: “Content consump-
tion is taking place on two fronts.
The first, disruption in distribution,
is well accounted for through the
various over-the-top (OTT) and
digital platforms. However, the
second — disruption in content
format — is not as widely under-
stood or catered to.”
Declaring that the media in-
dustry is in the midst of a “short-
form content revolution”, Kamath
pointed out that, globally, there are
more than 20 billion short videos
consumed on a daily basis. He
continued: “Thus, there is a press-
ing need for media brands like
A+E Networks to produce stories
in a shorter format, customised
for personal screens. That’s the
opportunity we aim to service with
our digital studio.”
Founded in 1984, A+E Net-
works is a joint venture of Hearst
Communications and Disney-ABC
Television Group, a unit of The Walt
In the business of telling compelling
stories, it is key for media companies
to respond to consumers’ changing
preferences in the online space and at the same time create cross-
platform content to cater to audiences globally. APB prompts
Prem Kamath, deputy managing director of A+E Networks Asia,
on how the company’s recent expansion into Asia enhances digital
content production while creating content marketing solutions to
enable brands to build a stronger fan base.
❝ Content consumption is
taking place on two fronts.
First is the disruption in
distribution, which is well
accounted for through
various OTT and digital
platforms. However, the
second — disruption in
content format — is not
as widely understood or
catered to. ❞
— Prem Kamath,
Deputy Managing Director,
A+E Networks Asia
Disney Company. Operating as a
global media content company,
A+E Networks offers viewers a
diverse communications environ-
ment ranging from linear channels
to websites, gaming, watch apps,
subscription video-on-demand
White Paper @ www.apb-news.com
v
Gateway network roll-out methods for a future
VHTS system
With the advanced technology de-
velopment in the multi-beam high
throughput satellite (HTS) industry,
the achievable capacity of a single
HTS can be further enhanced to
more than 500Gbps and become
a very high throughput satellite
(VHTS) system.
To realise such an enhance-
ment, the ground gateway system
deployment must be carefully
designed and implemented. In
principle, the total amount of us-
able capacity of a VHTS is directly
proportional to the total number
of active gateways in the whole network. This white paper from Asia-
Sat presents some concepts on the VHTS gateway roll-out scheme.
(SVoD) products and educational
software.
In Asia, some of A+E Net-
w o r k ’s b r a n d s a va i l a b l e i n -
clude History, Lifetime, FYI and
Crime+Investigation. In a bid to
respond to the changing pref-
erences of Asian consumers,
these channels will be distributed
through A+E Network’s online
platforms in Asia, adding to its OTT
offerings, which include long-form
content as well.
More crucially, A+E Networks
has forged “strong growth” for its
brand in the online space since
October 2016, with a global reach
that has doubled to 331 million and
engagement that has grown 196%
to 81 million, said the company.
Collectively, A+E Networks
added that its brands — History,
Lifetime and FYI — have garnered
more than 218 million video views
and three million watched hours
across its digital platforms.
“The digital landscape pro-
vides massive opportunities for
expansion; however, it is also
fragmented and diverse,” Kamath
added. “Therefore, it is critical to
constantly understand the target
market sentiments