MANILA, Philippines — On its 24th year, the Asian Television Awards (ATA) will be held in the Philippines.
The annual event that honors performance, programming and production excellence and best practices in the Asian television industry is set to happen at the Newport Performing Arts Theaters of the Resorts World Manila in Pasay City from Jan. 10 to 12, 2020.
Considered as “Asian TV’s most celebrated and prestigious gathering of industry professionals,” the ATA has had recognized hundreds of Asian actors, directors, producers, presenters and TV networks since its founding in Singapore in 1996.
Past Asian TV awardees from the Philippines include Roderick Paulate (1996 and 2000), Ice Seguerra (2002), Michael V (2004, 2005 and 2006), Eula Valdez (2004), Nonie Buencamino (2005) and Gina Pareño (2007).
“You look at the evolution of the TV awards, it started off as an industry event for all the technical people, the engineers, the producers, so on and so forth, it was meant for them, and then we decided the good work must be recognized because a lot of, I guess, competition was from the West, all these big awards like the Oscars and Emmys, but there’s nothing in Asia. So we thought, it makes sense to have one. The industry also felt that way, they want to be recognized. The judges are from the industry, peers are judging you, so for (awardees), it’s more meaningful. That’s how we started,” Lee Keen Whye, the chairman of the Asian TV Awards, told The STAR in an interview on Thursday.
He added, “About eight years ago, we decided we should telecast it, as people are enjoying it and we decided that some celebrities should perform. The entertainment part was incorporated to the original event that’s why we started to do both the live and delayed telecasts. And again with the support of the industry, for the first event we had two broadcasters, and it was broadcast to about 20 million people. That was the first step. By 2018, we had about 10 broadcasters and the awards night was viewed by 300 million people in the region for both its live and delayed telecasts. And with the new media, there’s now Facebook live and streaming.”
For 2020, Lee said that the telecast is expected to reach 500 million homes across the region.
Also expected to grace the event are more than 300 international delegates, including filmmakers and TV program producers, actors and TV hosts, directors and other industry executives.
Lee said that as the ATA continues to expand beyond Singapore, following the awards event held at Sarawak, Malaysia early this year, they’re bringing it to Manila next year because “it’s an entertainment center of ASEAN.”
“Manila is a good place with a big population, the people appreciate music, very musical. The Philippines is an especially good location for the Asian TV Awards,” Lee said. “This year, we thought it makes more sense to be here because it’s an entertainment center of ASEAN definitely.”
With executives from different international media companies coming to Manila, it will be an opportunity for them to see what they can do here in Manila and in the region, Lee also noted.
Meanwhile, apart from the new location, ATA has also evolved from being solely an awards ceremony to a three-day festival that showcases rising and leading regional talents.
The award ceremony happens on Jan. 11, 2020 to be hosted by actor Mark Neumann, TV journalist Cathy Yang, Thai model-actress Ase Wang and Singapore media personality Wallace Ang. Stars and celebrities from across the region will walk the 24th ATA ceremony’s red carpet.
Other Filipino celebs attending are nominees Martin del Rosario (which got the nod for his role in the digital series Born Beautiful) and Julie Anne San Jose (a Best Actress in a Leading Role nominee for her performance in the animated series Barangay 143).
Presenters include boxing icon Sen. Manny Pacquiao as well as Karylle and Diana Zubiri, stars of the Asian Television Awards-nominated digital series Mystified.
The three-day event will culminate with a concert on Jan. 12, 2020. Headliners include Indonesia-born recording artist and Asia’s Got Talent judge Anggun, K-Pop girl group Cherry Bullet and Vietnamese singer Hoang Yen Chibi. Among the featured Filipino artists are Martin Nievera, Gab and Kiana Valenciano, Jona, Morisette, Kris Lawrence and 4th Impact.
Tickets to the awards night, after party and concert are now available at www.ticketworld.com.ph. Ticket prices are P7,000 for VIP; P4,000 for Gold; and P3,000 for Silver.
For details, check out @asiantvawards on Facebook and Instagram.