ANALYSIS: Television - Satellite TV travel space filling up fast. TV channels see little need to customise travel shows, reports David Johnson

<p>Much has been made of TV networks customising content to meet local </p><p>needs and desires. The well-documented battle between the music </p><p>networks, MTV Asia and Channel V, is proof there is plenty of heat to </p><p>this debate. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But while the music channels continue to slug it out for top local </p><p>content and distribution partners, travel and adventure channels appear </p><p>unconcerned. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Discovery Channel Networks Asia, National Geographic Channel and AXN are </p><p>confident they can continue to grow loyalty and distribution without too </p><p>much customisation. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Young pretenders like Alive Networks have tried to break the mould and </p><p>adapt content to specific demographics in specific markets. Alive's </p><p>vision was to connect with Asian consumers through commissioned </p><p>programming. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, funding for Alive proved insufficient and it was unable to </p><p>demonstrate its case as a pioneering model. Despite Alive's demise, </p><p>speculation is rife that others are looking to enter the travel space, </p><p>though none of this appears to concern existing players. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Discovery claims 25 per cent local versus 75 per cent international </p><p>programming over its three networks, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet </p><p>and Discovery Travel & Adventure, which launched in June this year. The </p><p>channel says it is looking to grow local production capabilities as it </p><p>aims to dedicate 10 per cent of Travel & Adventure programming in 2002 </p><p>to locally-commissioned content. "We have put out a request to the local </p><p>production community for programming ideas," says Neville Meijers, </p><p>executive vice-president and managing director of Discovery Asia. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"First Time Film-makers is another example of our growing commitment to </p><p>local productions. We selected six film-makers from Singapore, Malaysia, </p><p>Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Taiwan, and are in the midst of </p><p>post-production for six half-hour films which will air in December. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"We are also in the final stages of negotiation on the launch of a major </p><p>co-production initiative that will see our level of local production </p><p>increase across all three channels," he adds. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>On the other hand, National Geographic's content is 85 per cent </p><p>international, and Asia managing director Ward Platt sees little reason </p><p>to tamper with the formula. "Our audiences expect to see programming </p><p>about all parts of the world and not just their backyard," Platt says. </p><p>"We localise this programming principally through voice-over and </p><p>subtitling. We have Hindi, Mandarin and Thai voice-over and we have </p><p>Chinese, Korean and Malay subtitles. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"We create localised promos, idents and short-form vignettes for the </p><p>Taiwan, China and India markets, and we have commissioned a variety of </p><p>programming throughout the region on topics which include adventure, </p><p>marine life and environment and ecology." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>NatGeo's top five markets are India, China, Taiwan, Korea and </p><p>Australia. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>It claims to have close to full distribution in these markets, and as a </p><p>result is increasing on-ground activities "to help it become more of an </p><p>integral part of people's lives". Activities include hosting photo </p><p>exhibits for its roster of famed photographers, organising environmental </p><p>programmes and putting on local adventure races. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, the criteria used for selecting programming for all markets </p><p>remains generic. "We will never have as much locally-commissioned </p><p>content as Channel V or MTV," says Platt. "Our viewers expect to find </p><p>programming about our world and beyond. We will localise further by </p><p>introducing local hostings for some of our event programming." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Event programming in Asia for these networks is currently led by the </p><p>Action Asia Challenge series, which is featured on NatGeo, and the Eco </p><p>Challenge on AXN Asia. The latter sees it as a key vehicle to localise </p><p>content of the global franchise through the use of local presenters and </p><p>a local production house to focus on Asian participants. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"We want to add personality to the channel," says AXN Asia </p><p>vice-president of programming and acquisitions, Betty Tsui. "We won't go </p><p>the extreme of MTV and Channel V, but we will assess programmes on a </p><p>project basis, with an emphasis on expeditions and adventure." The stage </p><p>is set to challenge the theory that minimal local content is needed by </p><p>the networks even as competition heats up in the travel and adventure </p><p>space. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>