Augustus Dulgaro and Ayesha Surty weigh in on what’s driving the U.K. content powerhouse’s AsiaPac business.
At this year’s London TV Screenings, ITV Studios unveiled a co-development alliance with Zhejiang Media Group, a frequent commercial partner in China. Go! Fishing!, the first project to emerge from the partnership, reflects ITV Studios’ flexible approach to scaling its business region-wide, Augustus Dulgaro, EVP for distribution, says. Ayesha Surty, head of brand partnerships for Asia and India, has been leading the expansion of the company’s non-scripted format footprint with new and returning properties. They talk to ScreenMDM about the region’s challenges and abundant opportunities.
It’s been a weird year for everyone. What’s been driving your overall business across Asia Pac over the last 12 months?
Augustus: Our scale, reliability, and stability. We have a catalog of over 95,000 hours of content, which is continually refreshed from our 60-plus labels of in-house production companies constantly pumping new IP through our pipeline. We’re lucky to have some of the world’s most successful and durable formats with Hell’s Kitchen, Come Dine with Me, and The Voice. In addition to all our new IP, we have a huge volume of legacy IP that continues to work successfully throughout the region—brands like Marple, Poirot, A Touch of Frost, Vera, Endeavor, and Thunderbirds, for example. These brands are always licensed in various territories across the region, and having access to local dubs and subtitles makes those brands have an extremely long life, particularly in markets like Japan. In Australia and New Zealand, we’ve got long-term relationships with Seven, TVNZ, and BritBox. The most important thing, however, is the strength of our client relationships and our reputation, the way we work, and our flexibility.
Talk about your successful formats business region-wide. Where are you seeing traction?
Ayesha: Our big, trusted brands continue to grow, either in new markets, through renewals, or with brand-new spin-offs. The Voice keeps growing in Asia. Even though it’s an older brand, the premiumness it gives clients and the kind of sponsors it attracts are driving growth in both small and big countries. In terms of the territories known for buying formats, we’ve had continuous renewals from the Philippines and Thailand. Thailand even pioneered creating the first-ever The Voice Pride, which was produced last year. Smaller territories continue to grow on renewals, like Sri Lanka and Nepal.
We are also excited to see growth in newer countries like Pakistan, which is adapting The Voice. The music that comes out of that country is really phenomenal.
Ayesha: Hell’s Kitchen, we started with one series. It is one of our platinum titles. Thailand was the first in Asia, and then it just kept growing. Netflix Thailand has done a deal for the local version. Season two of Hell’s Kitchen Thailand premieres on Netflix within two hours of its launch on linear TV. In season one, they created their own aprons, t-shirts, and chili sauces. It was a real 360 partnership on various fronts. We are excited to see that partnership grow. We are already in season three, signed, and in talks for a new season.
Augustus: ITV Studios Australia produces IP like The Voice, Love Island, The Chase, and I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! In China, we have this fantastic partnership with Zhejiang Media Group. We’ve co-developed an original piece of IP called Go! Fishing! Clearly, there are challenges in China. We asked them what they’re interested in. They told us what they wanted, and we worked with them to create this piece of IP. It’s in production in China now, and we’ll launch it in the international marketplace in 2026. I think we’re going to see a lot more of that, where we get different ideas from the Asian market, finesse them in a way that will work for an international audience, and then we take that back to the world.
Are you co-developing in other parts of the region as well?
Augustus: Those conversations are happening all the time. The trick is finding a gap in the market and the right partner on the right piece of IP. There’s no point in taking more of the same to the market. That’s not going to do anyone any favors.
Let’s switch gears to tape sales. International content has always had a more challenging road in certain Asia-Pacific markets. How do you see that landscape?
Augustus: It’s always worth reminding everyone who does not work in Asia that Asia is not one territory! Multiple countries, languages, cultures, and sensibilities feed into how we approach the region. Local content in the local language will always be key in non-English-language territories. But if we take Japan, for example, we have fantastic relationships with NEP and NHK, AXN Mystery, J:COM, BS11 and BS12, and WOWOW, to name a few. In that market, there’s a real appetite for procedurals, and fortunately, that is a sweet spot for us. In India, we have a long-term relationship with Lionsgate Play. We do a lot of business with Rewind Networks. We do a lot with Mediacorp. We sell a lot of scripted to the likes of HKTV and PCCW. But going back to your original point, the number of English-language slots is reducing, and [Asia-Pac] remains an incredibly competitive market. When it comes to non-scripted, it’s the natural history and wildlife that really appeal to buyers, and we have both a robust supply and a strong business in the region. But I’d be lying if I didn’t say that the marketplace is getting tougher for all of us. Budgets are under pressure. Advertising is under pressure. People have got a lot more choice, and audiences are a lot more fickle. Our buyers are looking for IP that will not just resonate with their audiences, but play on linear and on-demand, and be available for catch-up and work in all of those places. We need to be everything to everybody while being mindful of cultural sensitivities: what will play in Singapore may not play in Malaysia, may not play in Japan, and certainly won’t play in China.
What role does data play as you plot your rollout strategies?
Augustus: In any business, those audience statistics are important for how you position your shows. Who’s watching, how they’re watching, what demos are watching, and how they’re engaging with the IP. Is that IP then creating a 360 ecosystem that takes the IP back into social, but then brings them back into the linear? We saw that with Love Island USA this year, which just exploded across socials, driving audiences back to the show.
I would love to see Love Island in India!
Ayesha: I would love to see it in India as well! We’ve really come close. India is already ahead of the curve when it comes to adapting formats. It’s a good thing and a bad thing. Sometimes they feel they don’t need us, and they want to do things on their own. When we find the right partner to treat the show the way it’s supposed to be treated, we will have a Love Island in one of the Asian countries soon.
Augustus: You treat the format the way that it should be treated. You’ve got that whole package of gold in the bible that you’re handing over to your partner. You do need to tweak it here and there, but that is the success you’re selling.
How are you capitalizing on the expertise of ITV Studios’ digital business, Zoo 55?
Augustus: Zoo 55 is a smart initiative because the eyeballs are in the digital space and growing. For us, it’s about aggregating our IP and monetizing it in new ways, with laser focus and data-driven decision-making. We’ve got FAST channels with Samsung, LG, and Mediacorp. We’re seeing some growth in the region. We’re seeing a growing appetite for brand-centric FAST channels. We’re able to put those channels out there and remind people about the brands, and people are coming to those channels. It’s a nice complement to our tape and format businesses, as well as to the over-the-top YouTube business Zoo 55 manages. Viewership is increasingly going there, and our partners are seeing that as well. So those on-demand rights, the YouTube rights, the AVOD rights are increasingly important for them to monetize the IP.
What are your core priorities for 2026?
Ayesha: We want to grow. I’d love to have the first Love Island in Asia. We’re making sure that our big platinum brands can address audiences across different cultures. Augustus touched on the relationship we now have with China and Zhejiang Media. Can we do something similar in other major Asian territories to see the success that comes from co-production? Keeping our relationships with our clients and partners always at the forefront. Wherever we go, the relationships, the way we work, and the pace at which we work make people come back to us. We’ve touched upon the bigger shows. We’ve also seen that people still want good-for-the-nation, fun-for-the-family, entertaining, easy-to-watch content. We have a deep catalog of silver titles, and we’re looking to push them more. We’ve seen success in Mongolia with The Wishing Tree. In Sri Lanka, we’ve had Catchpoint. Even smaller territories can launch productions of this nature successfully, even if it’s not a really big, well-known format.
Augustus: Price point is important, as not all clients have the same audiences, ad revenue, or subs. There are different needs. We need to make sure we’re nimble enough to say, “Well, if you’re after this audience, how about this piece of IP?”
In terms of goals for our regional business, it’s never going to be more of the same, except it is more of the same, because the marketplace is changing so quickly and there’s so much consolidation. Who’s got money changes every year. For us, it’s essential to maintain our relationships, listen to our clients, and help find solutions. υ
