APOS Co-Founder Vivek Couto On Expectations For 2025 Event & How Asia Has Become A Key Battleground For The Future Of Entertainment
Here's just a small sample: DAZN co-founder James Rushton, Candle Media CEO Kevin Mayer, Foxtel boss Patrick Delany, Google APAC President Sanjay Gupta, iQiyi's Yang Xianghua and Kaichen Li, Netflix Korean content chief Don Kang, Nine Entertainment's Amanda Laing, Owl & Co. CEO founder Hernan Lopez and Jiyeon Song from Korean micro-drama platform TopReels.
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Add to that bosses from JioStar, Prime Video, NBCUniversal, Warner Bros Discovery, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Disney, Paramount, TikTok, TBS, BBC Studios and Banijay and it's clear why APOS has become a key fixture on the calendar.
They've got plenty to discuss this year. APOS Executive Director and co-founder Vivek Couto is gearing up for his C-suite get-together in Bali with a global market facing a fast-changing outlook. Tech giants in Asia such as Google, Meta, Netflix and Amazon have been benefitting from growth in mobile screen, smart TV and fixed broadband usage across the continent, while traditional players have been rolling out new services and attempting to keep their linear businesses alive.
'At APOS 2025, we're focused on helping the industry navigate through disruption and opportunity,' says Couto, the veteran analyst who led the creation and is also Managing Director of Media Partners Asia. 'The next wave of monetization is here, and it's not just about more eyeballs, but better economics. We've designed a program that addresses the big shifts: the monetization of sport and entertainment, the role of AI across the stack, and how platforms are scaling in the big local markets that matter.'
So what are the pressing live issues? Couto says one is that both the global giants and scaled local businesses need to find 'more robust' ways of making money and investing on content to seal their spots in the new digital ecosystem. 'Our focus is how that transition and monetization keeps pace, and who has the strategies to drive it,' he adds.
APOS begins on June 24 with an invite-only CEO Forum, followed by a welcome reception at the Ayana Resort. Day 1 of the conference (June 25) is a big one for film and TV. An early highlight will be Google's Gupta discussing the power of storytelling in his talk on Asia's digital future. 'Google clearly has a view on the impact of AI on content creation and the growth of creators, who are monetizing through social platforms,' says Couto. 'It could also be a very big opportunity for long-form creators. Everyone is experimenting with AI.'
We hear that on the same morning, Netflix's Kang, who is VP of Content, Korea, will discuss the performance of Squid Game Season 2, just days ahead of Season 3's launch. 'Netflix has a view on how it did, and Kang also wants to address [emerging perceptions] of a lull in the Korean creative economy. Korea is critical for Netflix, as they'll be investing around $700M there in next 3-4 years.'
Ex-Disney boss Mayer will also address how to scale storytelling, while former Fox Networks boss Lopez will discuss the economics of streaming from the perspective of his consultancy Owl & Co. Prime Video India execs will talk about monetizing the explosion in streaming in India, while JioStar execs appear several times as their JioHotstar platform continues with its mission to be a service for a 'billion screens' across India. Couto says the shift towards short-form content, which has blown up in China and Korea through micro-drama platforms such as TopReels, is dictating how several companies are approaching content investments in 2025.
Other points of discussion will be the strong theatrical growth in Indonesia, HBO Max's debut in Australia, the expanding addressable TV ads market in India and sports IP. Couto expects much talk to center on how companies should exploit the changing nature of entertainment consumption, giving the example of Disney, whose consumer products, parks and experiences business now generates over 50% of its operating profit on a global basis. This is one place where the traditional players might have the upper hand over the likes of Netflix and YouTube.
'The difference for players like Disney and Warner, in particular, is they've got a lot of revenues coming out of consumer products,' he says. 'It emphasizes the need to consider all revenue streams beyond screen entertainment.' In a similar vein, Couto notes that Google will address why YouTube is looking into subscription models, 'driven by the need to sustain growth beyond ad revenues.'
Day 2 morning will be focused on AI – no surprises there, as the conversation moves towards digital companies such as Sandbox, StoryFit and TikTok. After lunch, there will be a session on U.S. content's impact in APAC, with Chris Taylor, MD APAC, Television Distribution, Networks & DTC at NBCUniversal; Amanda Laing, MD Streaming & Broadcast, Nine Entertainment; Adam Herr, SVP of Distribution, APAC at Sony Pictures Entertainment and Toshi Honda, COO at U-Next appearing together on a panel. Nicholas Simon, founder and CEO of The White Lotus Season 3 co-producer Indochina Productions will appear in a chat about Asia's creative economy going global, alongside Banijay Asia CEO Deepak Dhar and Disalada Disayanon from Kantana Group. Storytelling in the fast-growing theatrical market of Indonesia, the micro-drama boom, sports streaming and media investments will also be on the menu.
The key focuses at APOS this year in terms of markets are India, where addressable TV ad growth is supercharging streaming revenues; Japan, which Couto says has 'really come of age as a $5.5B premium VOD market, led by SVOD and premium AVOD'; Indonesia, where the theatrical market has exploded; and Australia, which he predicts will see more big-scale M&A following DAZN's deal for paycaster Foxtel.
Ulitmately, the entire event will be geared towards what comes next. 'As we go into this year's APOS, Netflix, Disney, Amazon and YouTube and scaled local platforms such as JioStar, U-Next and Foxtel are all generating profit and more and more cash,' says Couto. 'The key question is now about maintaining the balance between growing margins and investing to drive new growth.'
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