TAIPEI, TAIWAN- Media OutReach - November15, 2018 - The2018 Taipei International TV Market & Forum opened on November 13 at theTaipei Marriott Hotel. The 2018 Taipei International TV Market & Forum,running through November 15, is Taiwan's largest annual TV rights tradingevent.

2018 Taipei International TV Market & Forum opens: A new ecosystem for the TV content industry and a blossoming of cross-sectoral innovation

DeputyMinister of Culture Celest Ting, Taiwan Broadcasting System Chairperson TchenYu-chiou, Kiribati Ambassador to the Republic of China Tessie Eria Lambourne, DeputyDirector of the Hungarian Trade Office, and representatives from the PolishOffice in Taipei, Spanish Chamber of Commerce, and Bureau Francais de Taipei joinedin the opening event with first-time buyers from Iran's TVA IPTV and Norway'sNorthern Film Group.

Inremarks, Deputy Minister, Ting, stated that audiovisual content is a criticalindicator of a nation's cultural brand. Over the last two years, the Ministryof Culture has shifted from authoritative role to a supportive partner. In doingso, it has forged more links to the pop music, publishing, ACG, and culturalassets sectors, which in turn has led to a renaissance in Taiwan's culturalcontent. In remarks, foreign representatives posted to Taiwan were lookingforward to greater cooperation with Taiwan on film and television projects.Taiwan is a rich, varied historical and cultural landscape whose stories areripe for developing into audiovisual products. From historical, cultural andtechnical perspectives, Taiwan is therefore an ideal partner for audiovisualprojects. The foreign representatives were happy to work together to build up Taiwan'saudiovisual brand.

The Bureauof Audiovisual and Music Industry Development under the Ministry of Culture (BAMID)pointed out that participants in this year's event includedwell-known TV stations/channels, documentary filmmakers, starups of contentcreation, publishers, post-production firms, VR/AR firms, related softwaredevelopers, city/county government film assistance representatives, and domesticinvestors, in total of 74 companies and over 263 films.

Buyersfrom 24 countries would be on hand this year, including long-time buyers ofTaiwan's content such as Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asiannations, and also those newly interested in Taiwan's content such as European,South American, and West Asian nations. Buyers from Iran, Norway, and Spain attendthis event for the first time. The number of attendees from Southeast Asia,meanwhile, is up to 53 percent this year. With this trading platform, BAMID expectedto provide more exposure of Taiwan's TV content to international buyers,resulting in more exchanging experiences and technologies.

BAMID alsostated that this year, rooms for Business Matching and Venture Capital would beprovided for participants to conduct business. TV Project Pitching is set forthe first time for the producers of Taiwan's TV content and IP adaptation to pitchtheir ideas for new projects and to present projects already in progress. Theevent will also connect creators with funding to boost the scale and scope ofproduction of Taiwan's TV content. This will result in more Taiwan-centriccontent ready for global audiences. Separately, to spur greater innovation incross-sectoral cooperation, and to build bridges between content andtechnology, the Technology Exhibition Area showcases cutting-edge broadcastingtechnology. At the Filming Location Assistance Zone, local governmentrepresentatives are on hand to share what makes their area great for filming.The Startup Proposal/Demonstration Area, meanwhile, brings the work of risingtalents before international buyers' eyes to help them connect to the globalmarket.

Aside frombusiness meetings, the International Forum, consisting of three sessions, willbe held over the course of the three-day event. The sessions, entitled "Winningformats: Creating globally popular content"; "A global media strategy: tappingglobal markets through program rights, transnational co-productions, and IPTV";and "Inside capital markets for audiovisual products," will see experts fromTaiwan and abroad to discuss relevant cases, operating experiences, and thelatest industry trends to stir up innovative thinking and vitalize TV culture'seconomic returns.

During theopening ceremony, Deputy Minister of Culture, Ting, presented the Awards for2018 Rewarding Domestically Produced Television Dramas for OverseasBroadcasting. The Best Effective Reach on Overseas Platforms Award went toSanlih E-Television Co., Ltd. for Bromance,while the Best Overseas Promotion Award was given to Eastern Broadcasting Co.,Ltd. for Attention, Love!. Clips fromthese winning series were played for international buyers, in hopes of stirringup greater interest in all the works exhibited this year.

TheOverseas TV Drama Broadcasting Awards have been presented since 2015. Thisyear's contest attracted five firms offering five contending works. After arigorous review process, the evaluating committee recommended Sanlih's Bromance for its having been marketed toJapan, South Korea, the United States, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia,and Thailand. Using a variety of strategies, the series creators successfullypenetrated the above markets. Attention,Love! was selected by the Annual Soompi Award for Best Foreign Drama. Theseries has also been entered into exhibitions in Singapore, Seoul, and Japan. InJapan, the series' leading actor and actress were interviewed by local mediaand welcomed by fans. Such exposure helped to expand the reach of these seriesinto foreign markets, and for this accomplishment the review committee granted eachseries NT$1 million as prize.

BAMID alsostated that since Minister of Culture, Cheng Li-chiun, took up her post, shehas devoted efforts to building up foreign audiences for Taiwan's programming.The Overseas TV Drama Broadcasting Awards continue to be held to encouragethe creation of high-quality, marketable programming and to expand the nation'scultural power. This year, the broad standard for these awards was overseasexposure and broadcasting. Awardees were those who used effective marketingstrategies to best reach these goals.

Among thecriteria this year were the type and effectiveness of overseas broadcasting byvarious channels/platforms, and the perceived difficulty of penetrating marketsentered, the use of a variety of marketing strategies, how proactively a serieswas entered into foreign film festivals, and the effectiveness of foreignpromotions. Bromance and Attention, Love! came out ahead of thepack and took home these prestigious awards.

For more information, please visit https://ttf.tavis.tw/2018/index.php