The newest iteration of the APOS convention includes a who’s-who of top-level movie, TV and media gamers altering the course of the enterprise in Asia.
Right here’s only a small pattern: DAZN co-founder James Rushton, Candle Media CEO Kevin Mayer, Foxtel boss Patrick Delany, Google APAC President Sanjay Gupta, iQiyi’s Yang Xianghua and Kaichen Li, Netflix Korean content material chief Don Kang, 9 Leisure’s Amanda Laing, Owl & Co. CEO founder Hernan Lopez and Jiyeon Track from Korean micro-drama platform TopReels.
Add to that bosses from JioStar, Prime Video, NBCUniversal, Warner Bros Discovery, Sony Footage Leisure, Disney, Paramount, TikTok, TBS, BBC Studios and Banijay and it’s clear why APOS has turn into a key fixture on the calendar.
They’ve acquired loads to debate this yr. APOS Government Director and co-founder Vivek Couto is gearing up for his C-suite get-together in Bali with a world market going through a fast-changing outlook. Tech giants in Asia corresponding to Google, Meta, Netflix and Amazon have been benefitting from progress in cellular display, good TV and glued broadband utilization throughout the continent, whereas conventional gamers have been rolling out new companies and trying to maintain their linear companies alive.
“At APOS 2025, we’re targeted on serving to the trade navigate by way of disruption and alternative,” says Couto, the veteran analyst who led the creation and can be Managing Director of Media Companions Asia. “The following wave of monetization is right here, and it’s not nearly extra eyeballs, however higher economics. We’ve designed a program that addresses the large shifts: the monetization of sport and leisure, the position of AI throughout the stack, and the way platforms are scaling within the massive native markets that matter.”
So what are the urgent dwell points? Couto says one is that each the worldwide giants and scaled native companies want to seek out “extra sturdy” methods of earning money and investing on content material to seal their spots within the new digital ecosystem. “Our focus is how that transition and monetization retains tempo, and who has the methods to drive it,” he provides.
APOS begins on June 24 with an invite-only CEO Discussion board, adopted by a welcome reception on the Ayana Resort. Day 1 of the convention (June 25) is an enormous one for movie and TV. An early spotlight will probably be Google’s Gupta discussing the ability of storytelling in his speak on Asia’s digital future. “Google clearly has a view on the affect of AI on content material creation and the expansion of creators, who’re monetizing by way of social platforms,” says Couto. “It is also a really massive alternative for long-form creators. Everyone seems to be experimenting with AI.”
We hear that on the identical morning, Netflix’s Kang, who’s VP of Content material, Korea, will talk about the efficiency of Squid Recreation Season 2, simply days forward of Season 3’s launch. “Netflix has a view on the way it did, and Kang additionally desires to handle [emerging perceptions] of a lull within the Korean artistic economic system. Korea is crucial for Netflix, as they’ll be investing round $700M there in subsequent 3-4 years.”
Ex-Disney boss Mayer may even deal with how you can scale storytelling, whereas former Fox Networks boss Lopez will talk about the economics of streaming from the attitude of his consultancy Owl & Co. Prime Video India execs will speak about monetizing the explosion in streaming in India, whereas JioStar execs seem a number of occasions as their JioHotstar platform continues with its mission to be a service for a “billion screens” throughout India. Couto says the shift in the direction of short-form content material, which has blown up in China and Korea by way of micro-drama platforms corresponding to TopReels, is dictating how a number of corporations are approaching content material investments in 2025.
Different factors of debate would be the robust theatrical progress in Indonesia, HBO Max’s debut in Australia, the increasing addressable TV advertisements market in India and sports activities IP. Couto expects a lot speak to middle on how corporations ought to exploit the altering nature of leisure consumption, giving the instance of Disney, whose client merchandise, parks and experiences enterprise now generates over 50% of its working revenue on a world foundation. That is one place the place the standard gamers might need the higher hand over the likes of Netflix and YouTube.
“The distinction for gamers like Disney and Warner, specifically, is that they’ve acquired a number of revenues popping out of client merchandise,” he says. “It emphasizes the necessity to think about all income streams past display leisure.” In an identical vein, Couto notes that Google will deal with why YouTube is trying into subscription fashions, “pushed by the necessity to maintain progress past advert revenues.”
Day 2 morning will probably be targeted on AI – no surprises there, because the dialog strikes in the direction of digital corporations corresponding to Sandbox, StoryFit and TikTok. After lunch, there will probably be a session on U.S. content material’s affect in APAC, with Chris Taylor, MD APAC, Tv Distribution, Networks & DTC at NBCUniversal; Amanda Laing, MD Streaming & Broadcast, 9 Leisure; Adam Herr, SVP of Distribution, APAC at Sony Footage Leisure and Toshi Honda, COO at U-Subsequent showing collectively on a panel. Nicholas Simon, founder and CEO of The White Lotus Season 3 co-producer Indochina Productions will seem in a chat about Asia’s artistic economic system going world, alongside Banijay Asia CEO Deepak Dhar and Disalada Disayanon from Kantana Group. Storytelling within the fast-growing theatrical market of Indonesia, the micro-drama growth, sports activities streaming and media investments may even be on the menu.
The important thing focuses at APOS this yr by way of markets are India, the place addressable TV advert progress is supercharging streaming revenues; Japan, which Couto says has “actually come of age as a $5.5B premium VOD market, led by SVOD and premium AVOD”; Indonesia, the place the theatrical market has exploded; and Australia, which he predicts will see extra big-scale M&A following DAZN’s deal for paycaster Foxtel.
Ulitmately, the whole occasion will probably be geared in the direction of what comes subsequent. “As we go into this yr’s APOS, Netflix, Disney, Amazon and YouTube and scaled native platforms corresponding to JioStar, U-Subsequent and Foxtel are all producing revenue and increasingly more money,” says Couto. “The important thing query is now about sustaining the stability between rising margins and investing to drive new progress.”
