At the close of discussions, delegates were in agreement that Asian programming is growing in global appeal and that co-productions with Asian partners are on the rise, thanks to the region's growing production talent pool.

Singapore Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts Dr Lee Boon Yang, emphasised the importance of international co-production deals. He says, “Asia, with its cultural diversity and growing affluence, is both a rich source of media content as well as a major consumer of such content. There is tremendous potential to create content which appeals to global audiences while encapsulating the new spirit, dynamism and confidence of Asia. We are indeed seeing the emergence of what may be called New Asia Media.”

An estimated $60 million worth of deals were expected to be made at this year's ATF. And with 140 new companies participating for the first time at this year's Asia Television Forum, the increase in sales activity was quickly realised.

The Media Development Authority (MDA) of Singapore led the charge, signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Philippines, under which greater collaboration with be undertaken in the fields of media policy, training and coproductions. Singapore has similar media cooperation MoUs with the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean) member states, namely Brunei, Indonesia and Thailand.

Dr Tan Chin Nam, permanent secretary of the Singaporean Ministry of Information, Communications and Arts and MDA chairman said, “The world is witnessing an unprecedented interest in Asian culture and media content. There is thus great potential and promise for ASEAN nations. The MoU will, generate new growth opportunities for our media enterprises to work with their Philippines counterparts and jointly develop compelling content and services for the world market."

Jumping on the spirit of collaboration bandwagon, Singapore's Character Farm and distributor Six-Six-Eight announced the licensing of Katakune, a CGI animated series about a silkworm. This is a coproduction between Character Farm, Six-Six-Eight parent Mega Media and Singapore's Media Development Authority.

The show has been licensed to Japan's Hi Corporation which will see the character offered for download on mobile platforms. The character will sit on the phones' menus and react to incoming calls and SMS messages. Six-Six-Eight also sold the series into China (CCTV) and 22 territories throughout the Middle East.

Korea's Iconix Entertainment announced the sale of its Pororo the Little Penguin animation series to networks in Italy (Rai TV), Spain (Cartoon Network), the Middle East (Al-Jazeera's Children's Channel) and Mexico (Televisa). The show is a joint production between Iconix with Korean production company Ocon, educational network EBS and telco Hanaro Telecom.

On the conference side of the ATF, there was a strong focus on new media with the Mobile TV Forum and Digital Future Symposium. Reflecting broadcasters' interest in the upcoming Beijing Olympic Games, organizers also offered a series of discussions on Sports Content.

During the Digital Future Symposium, the creation of the Centre for Content Protection (CCP) was announced by newly appointed director of the CCP Isa Seow. Set up with the support of the Motion Picture Association, Seow, who is also the Director of Technology Initiatives at the Motion Picture Association International, said the Centre would hold outreach events, seminars, training and support research-related projects with an aim to enhance media content and intellectual property protection in Asia.

Its three areas of focus will be: unauthorised redistribution of digital television; education efforts to facilitate the digital transition; and evaluating technical solutions for legal downloads. Singapore was a choice location for the centre because, said Seow, among other factors, it had a technologically-saavy population, good infrastructure and good support from Government policies.

The bulk of the discussions during the Digital Future Symposium revolved around content copyright protection. Youji Itagaki, IPR Supervisor for FujiTV Television Network, Inc., described how Japan deployed a copy management system wherein content stored on a hard drive would disappear when a copy was made. “It is like magic, but Japanese microchip companies can make it happen,” he said.

Addressing the role of government in protecting content, Time Warner director of international relations and public policy, Asia Pacific Alvin Lee cited a study released by Casbaa. This said that countries with regulatory infrastructures in place often saw higher investments. Rajesh Sreenivasan, partner with Rajah and Tann, noted that governments need to find a balance.

“What Governments in Asia are grappling with is how to address both sides of the demand-supply equation – condoning and developing TPM (technological protection measures) usage policy, versus consumer rights, and handling the crucial problem of piracy,” he said.

In presenting MDA’s role in the changing media landscape, MDA chief information officer Yeo Chun Cheng said, "MDA studies in a holistic way how to effect changes that will allow the media industry to grow. This includes looking at the areas of finance, capability, R&D, infrastructure and the regulatory environment.”