SINGAPORE, June 16, 2020 - (ACN Newswire) - The video industry
plays a critical role in the health and vibrancy of Asian
economies, from employing large and skilled work forces, investing
in local talent and productions, to entertaining and informing the
citizens of our countries during these difficult times. And there
is no time more important than now for the industry to work
together to further support these countries as its people suffer
the brunt of what the pandemic is bringing in its wake.
Many initiatives across Asia Pacific have taken place in the past
few months amongst AVIA's members, from free access to its many
channels and streaming platforms, to fundraising campaigns and the
supply of much needed medical equipment to frontline workers.
In Hong Kong, in response to the shortage of anti-epidemic
supplies, TVB launched a coronavirus donation campaign which
resulted in the donation of more than 1 million pieces of epidemic
prevention supplies, including masks and sanitisers. With the help
of TVB artistes, these supplies were distributed to the needy via
charitable organisations, hospitals and other non-profit
organisations.
With film and TV productions shutting down since March, Netflix has
committed to spending $150 million to help the industry through the
crisis. This includes a $100 million fund to assist workers in the
TV and film industry hurt by the crisis and a $30 million donation
to third parties and non-profits to assist crew and cast in
countries such as India, Japan and Thailand, where Netflix has a
big production presence.
In Malaysia, with cinemas closed, Astro worked with local film
producers to premiere their latest releases direct to homes on
Astro First, bypassing theatrical releases. Astro has also
collaborated with the government to help students continue their
studies through Astro's Tutor TV channels, benefitting all students
especially those without internet access. They also allocated over
3,000 hours of airtime across Astro channels to disseminate
important updates and discredit false news via public service
announcements.
In Singapore, WarnerMedia and ViacomCBS are working to accelerate
local content initiatives as part of the IMDA's Capabilities
Partnership Programme. Despite the many challenges facing content
production now, each are committing to create original IP under
this programme.
Meanwhile, The Walt Disney Company collaborated with the Singapore
Government to bring the Hotstar streaming service to migrant
workers during this period. Workers can live stream more than
85,000 hours of blockbuster movies, cricket matches, Star India TV
shows and live news on their mobile phones. In India, Star and
Disney+ Hotstar worked with Project Mumbai to donate over 200,000
PPE kits to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), over 1
million meals to homeward bound citizens leaving from Mumbai, and
200,000 cotton face masks for the Mumbai police force.
In the Philippines, Globe introduced a number of initiatives to
support its employees, customers and other stakeholders
specifically medical institutions, frontliners and local
communities. Foremost was to ensure that the company's workforce
was safe and empowered. It also provided P270 million in financial
aid for its vendor partners and retail store staff to ensure that
no one is left behind. In partnership with the shareholders, Globe
employees raised over P27.5 million to assist healthcare workers in
50 hospitals and to help build COVID-19 quarantine facilities.
Globe also provided 1,000 preloaded mobile phones to support the
connectivity needs of the police, military, naval forces and select
hospitals. Rallying its customers to do safely donate their earned
Globe Rewards points for a cause, Globe was able to raise P36M for
frontliners in 11 COVID-19 public treatment centres.
"While the impact to our business has been quite significant, our
agile mindset allowed us to pivot easily using various digital
platforms from payments to back end operations so we can support
our employees and customers immediately. We remain steadfast in our
commitment to stand with our customers and stakeholders at this
difficult time as we come up with new programmes and digital
solutions to help the country recover from the impact of this
pandemic," said Ernest Cu, Globe President and CEO.
For Discovery Networks, it was important to lend support to the
next generation, focusing efforts on children and education. In
Taiwan, Discovery co-operated with the Education Department of the
New Taipei City Government, to provide a free e-learning quiz-based
platform, Animal Kentei, for all elementary school students.
School-aged children in Japan also received free access to the
Dplay streaming service during the national school closures. Under
a local partnership agreement with Save the Children, Discovery
Japan is also assisting with emergency support for after-school
childcare during the COVID-19 crisis.
"As we look around the video industry in Asia, what is clear to me
is that there is a huge amount of compassion and a real desire to
try and help others. Things are not easy for our members, but we
know that we have a duty to viewers and populations for whom our
brands provide comfort, solace and entertainment. We are working as
one to try and help us all get through these difficult times,"
Louis Boswell, CEO, AVIA.
About the Asia Video Industry Association
The Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) is the trade association
for the video industry and ecosystem in Asia Pacific. It serves to
make the video industry stronger and healthier through promoting
the common interests of its members. AVIA is the interlocutor for
the industry with governments across the region, leads the fight
against video piracy and provides insight into the video industry
through reports and conferences aimed to support a vibrant video
industry.
For media enquiries and additional background please contact:
Charmaine Kwan
Head of Marketing and Communications
Email: charmaine@avia.org
Website: www.avia.org
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/asiavideoia
Twitter: @AsiaVideoIA
Source: AVIA
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