Don't give up on your dreams or rest on your laurels. That's the
advice of Eddie Nelson, the man credited with introducing the British
hit quiz show Who Wants to be a Millionaire to Asia.
The primetime show has taken the region by storm, underlined by the fact
that Hong Kong's ATV - the challenger station to leader TVB - has seen
advertising revenue soar 40 per cent in the past month.
"It's easy to sit back and say, 'I've done it'. The challenge now is to
be able to take the next steps in a clear-minded way to ward off new
threats by defending what we have and by introducing new and exciting
shows that continue to stimulate the audience," he said, referring to
competition in the form of the BBC's The Weakest Link, which began
airing on TVB in mid-August.
Nelson brought Millionaire to the region while working for ECM, a
Europe-based television programme distributor, more than 18 months ago.
His initial prospects were the leading terrestrial stations in the
region, but he encountered resistance to the show.
"In Asia, there are dominant stations in most of the key markets. They
have an enormous hold on their viewers so they had little reason to
introduce a new format like Millonaire even though it was already a
success in countries like the UK and America," he said.
Which is why Millionaire is currently aired by challenger stations in
most countries in the region, including in Hong Kong; they had the most
to gain from the show's success. Nelson's real break came when Star Plus
successfully launched the Indian version of Millionaire, known locally
as KBC. KBC completely changed the Indian television industry,
propelling Star Plus to the top station slot in the subcontinent. It was
so successful that Star was able to spin off version for children,
Junior KBC. Said Nelson: "India broke open the market for us."
However, Nelson isn't resting on his laurels. About a month ago, he
struck out on his own and set up Typhoon Entertainment, a company which
not only distributes but also creates television programming. Typhoon
Entertainment's sales and distribution company, Typhoon Sales,
represents game show companies Action Time and MGD of the UK, and
Nelson, who began his working life in an advertising agency, has even
persuaded Celador - the copyright owners of Millionaire -to transfer
distribution rights from ECM to him for all of their shows.
Typhoon Entertainment is also branching into new programme genres,
including interactive gameshows that allow participants to play along at
home, documentaries, dramas, animation and specials for advertisers.
