Sony Pictures Television Networks, Asia Secures Rights for Season Two
SINGAPORE — Sony Pictures Television (SPT) Networks, Asia announced today a multi-year agreement with FremantleMedia International and Syco Entertainment for the rights to Asia’s Got Talent, the record-breaking series that premiered first on Sony’s AXN channel in 2015. The agreement forms part of SPT Networks’ long term strategy to further build on its pipeline of successful original productions.
Billed as the biggest talent show in the world, Asia’s Got Talent is set to return to AXN this year, featuring the region’s most dynamic, stunning and somewhat crazy acts from AXN’s 20 broadcast territories across Asia. The announcement follows hot on the heels of hugely popular The Amazing Race Asia Season 5, which celebrated its season finale last month, winning the ratings in its timeslot among all regional English language pay-TV channels collectively in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.[1]
“AXN is the home of high quality original productions that are ‘made in Asia, for Asia’. We were the first channel to premiere a localized, pan-regional format 10 years ago and since then have consistently rolled out original productions that truly resonate with our viewers. This year, we’ll be expanding our slate to feature an AXN programming line-up that’s even more locally relevant with a bigger focus on social media engagement,” said Virginia Lim, Senior Vice President and Head of Content, Production and Marketing, Sony Pictures Television Networks, Asia.
Ganesh Rajaram, General Manager/EVP, FremantleMedia International, Asia said, “Asia’s Got Talent season one was one of the most successful talent shows to have aired in the region. It has become the benchmark for talent shows in the pan-regional space. We are thrilled to have secured this multi-year partnership with Sony Pictures Television Networks, Asia and are confident that the new seasons will be tremendously successful.”
George Levendis, Head of International at Syco Entertainment, said, “The first series of Asia’s Got Talent was an undeniable smash on AXN and brought together wonderful talent from twenty markets, making it one of the most engaging, fun and exciting productions globally. With the Got Talent franchise now reaching over 70 commissions across the world we are extremely pleased to see Got Talent back on air on AXN in 2017 as part of this multi-year agreement.”
Season one of Asia’s Got Talent set new ratings records for the English general entertainment (GE) genre during its run, taking AXN to the number one spot in its timeslot among all regional pay-TV channels collectively across Southeast Asia and Taiwan.[2]
In Malaysia, Asia’s Got Talent was the highest rated entertainment series on English language channels on Astro in the past two years. In the Philippines, the Grand Final Results episode of Asia’s Got Talent was the highest rated pay-TV program in the country since 2008, and commanded a 96 percent share among 22 English GE channels. [3]
“Asia’s Got Talent is an incredible platform to showcase the region’s emerging talent and given AXN’s enormous reach and influence in Asia, it’s an ideal match. We look forward to discovering the region’s hidden performers and catapulting them to global stardom,” said Lim.
Auditions will be held in various cities throughout Asia in the coming months with the premiere of Asia’s Got Talent Season 2 slated for the second half of the year.
The Got Talent franchise was created by Simon Cowell’s Syco Entertainment and is co-produced and owned by Syco Entertainment and FremantleMedia. It is entered in the Guinness World Records as the Most Successful Reality Television Format in history with 70 local versions produced across Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle-East, Africa and the Americas. Around the world, the Got Talent format airs in a total of 186 countries.
AXN is a leader of regionally produced original content in Asia, with notable ratings successes including five seasons of the international Emmy-nominated The Amazing Race Asia; the Asian Television Award-winning Cash Cab Asia and Cash Cab Philippines; The Apprentice Asia; Cyril: Rio Magic; Cyril’s Family Vacation: Hawaii Edition; and the Asian Television Award-nominated Cyril: Simply Magic.
[1] Source: Kantar Malaysia Astro DTAM, GFK Singapore SG-TAM, Kantar Media Philippines all urban panel, 13th October to 15th December 2016, Thursdays, 9pm to 10pm, target: pay TV 4+
[2] Source: Kantar Malaysia Astro DTAM, Kantar Media Singapore, Kantar Media Philippines all urban panel, 12th March to 14th May 2015, Thursdays, 8pm to 10pm, target: pay TV 4+
[3] Source: Kantar Malaysia Astro DTAM, 2015-2016. Kantar Media Philippines all urban panel, 14th May 2015, target: pay TV 4+