Rising demand for new content spells opportunities for creators

CEBU, Philippines —  Cebu’s creative sector, particularly content creators, is called to step up and take advantage of the surge for original content demand in the global market.

Lawrence Panganiban of the Creative Content Creators Association of the Philippines, said during the Cebu Creative Industry Coffee Table discussion of the Cebu Business Month 2021, that now is the right time for local content creators to showcase their stories, especially that everyone now has the access to the global content market—places where they could sell their idea for a show or video game for production.

The rise in demand can be translated to more opportunities for the creative sector in terms of revenue and employment, he said.

 “All major content markets have gone online. We are seeing so many opportunities now for original content. There has never been a more beautiful time to create your story and get it up there than now,” Panganiban said citing that the locally produced animation series Trese, adopted from a local comic book, which opened the doors of opportunities to the Philippines.

The series, which was shown on Netflix, drew interest from international producers to get more stories from the Philippines.

With this development, it’s just a matter of grabbing the opportunity while it is there.

Countries like Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia for instance are also drumming up efforts to capture a good slice of this golden opportunity.

Ironically, he said the pandemic has brought in opportunities for local content creators gaining new clients as demand for entertainment surged during the lockdown.

“It’s a strange thing but we are getting more opportunities at least for local content creators now more than during the pre-pandemic time,” he added.

According to Panganiban, people who are stuck at home want entertainment, and this trend puts pressure on streaming platforms like Neflix, Warner Bros., and Amazon, to churn out more contents.

“We all need good shows, good dramas to keep us sane,” Panganiban explained.

While the local film industry, also one of the casualties of the pandemic, Mel Allego, president of Cebu International Film Festival, said it also allowed those involved in the industry to think of creative ways of filming during times like this.

With stronger collaboration, new projects emerged and filmmakers were given more time to think and create better projects.