This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on September 18, 2017 - September 24, 2017

PRIMEWORKS Studios Sdn Bhd says the Malaysian market is not sizeable enough for it to make big money, so the content production and distribution arm of Media Prima Bhd is looking beyond local shores.

The company is stepping up efforts to export its content, its chief executive Datuk Ahmad Izham Omar tells The Edge.

Furthermore, the proliferation of over-the-top (OTT) streaming and video-on-demand (VOD) sites, which provide Malaysian viewers with popular foreign shows around the clock, spells doom for local content producers if they do not find new markets for their products.

Therefore, Izham, who is regarded as a leading local producer, and his team at Primeworks have to work harder to come up with content that meets the demand of both Malaysian and international viewers as well as export the said content to more countries and on multiple platforms.

Primeworks is one of the largest production studios in Malaysia, generating over 5,000 hours of content annually. It started producing content for television in 1984 and ventured into feature films 10 years later.

Selling content in foreign land is not new to Primeworks. Indeed some of its works have gained some traction.

Last year, Primeworks sold content to two new markets, namely Cambodia and Taiwan. The ever-popular Jejak Rasul is shown on flights of Emirates, one of the world’s largest airlines.

Its 3D animation series Ejen Ali, a collaboration with WAU Animation, has been sold to 28 countries, including Indonesia and Sri Lanka, as well as those in the Middle East and South Africa.

Primeworks has partnered international production houses such as FremantleMedia, Endemol Shine Group, Vice Media and Infinitus Entertainment, which was founded by Berjaya Group’s Datuk Seri Robin Tan Yeong Ching. The collaborations will enable Primeworks to leverage its partners’ strengths and experience.

“We were very lucky to have worked with Infinitus, where one of the bosses is Andy Lau (a well-known Hong Kong artist). So, we had Lau as our creative director for J Revolusi. We shouldn’t do everything ourselves. We wouldn’t get to learn new style and content approaches.

“There are [people with] very good skills out there whom we can tap to come up with better content and programmes,” says Izham.

J Revolusi has been a commercial success, collecting RM7 million at the box office in four weeks. However, the cost of making the movie is unknown.

Primeworks’ collaborations with international production houses are bearing fruit in the sense that its content is sought after by international distributors. For example, at the Marché International des Programmes de Communication 2016 held in Cannes, Canadian production and distribution company Portfolio Entertainment acquired two of its Japanese-themed lifestyle and travel titles, Welcome to the Railworld Japan and Best in the World Japan.

Both titles are a collaboration with its sister company Metropolitan TV Sdn Bhd — which runs the 8TV channel under the Media Prima TV Networks — Nippon Television Network Corp and Sumitomo Corp.

However, exporting content has not proved to be a walk in the park. Apart from the challenges in coming up with ideas that resonate with international audiences, the lack of talent in the content production industry in Malaysia is a big hurdle for Primeworks. “There are not enough creative personnel who are used to working with international clients. There are some, but not enough. Malaysian talent needs a lot of training.

“I’m not saying they can’t do it. They can, but they have never had the opportunity to work on international productions,” says Izham.

The partnerships with international production houses will help Primeworks lift production quality to be on a par with international standards. In addition, they create opportunities for Malaysian content production workers to gain knowledge and experiences working with an international set-up, says Izham.

Generally, Malaysian content is not popular outside the Malay-speaking countries of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. However, two genres produced by Malaysian companies and talent have reached international audiences. These are 3D animations and modern and progressive Islamic lifestyle programmes, says Izham. The production of Malaysian 3D animations is being spearheaded by three production houses — Les’ Copaque Production, Animonsta Studios and WAU Animation.

Having passed up the opportunity to work with Les’ Copaque on the popular 3D animation series Upin & Ipin, Primeworks was determined not to lose out on the popularity of the genre, so it co-produced Ejen Ali with WAU Animation and secured the right of distribution for Animonsta’s BoBoiBoy: The Movie.

With two million viewers each week, Ejen Ali has been a major hit in Malaysia since its launch in April last year. It is sold in multiple countries as well. Meanwhile, BoBoiBoy: The Movie did very well at the box office, collecting RM16 million in the first 40 days. It is also the first Malaysian animation movie to be screened in Singapore.

“3D animation has a long gestation period, which involves a huge budget. However, the return is also very good. We have managed to export Ejen Ali to about 30 countries. We have identified four more titles and are working with Malaysia Digital Economy Corp on grants and incentives,” says Izham.

While the strategy to export its content to more markets is a step in the right direction, does it translate into better financial earnings for the company and, in turn, higher contributions for Media Prima?

In the financial year ended Dec 31, 2016 (FY2016), Primeworks recorded an external revenue of RM20.5 million, a 49% increase from FY2015, mainly contributed by improved box-office collections, advertiser content and external film distribution services.

However, this is only a fifth of the company’s inter-segment revenue of RM94.8 million during the financial year. Primeworks reported a profit after tax of RM10.4 million in FY2016, a decrease of 26% over the year, due to higher operating costs.

Judging by the numbers, it looks like Primeworks has to balance the drive for better content — which usually comes at a higher cost — with the commercial aspect of the business. It is certainly not an easy task for Primeworks, considering the current highly competitive operating environment.

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