CASBAA Convention 2011, held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Hong Kong, closed with high optimism at a time of rapidly altering business models and quick-time technological change for TV services across the Asia-Pacific region.

On hand to give expert opinions during a variety of insightful panel sessions staged during CASBAA 2011 were a roster of high-powered international executives including Jana Bennett, President, Worldwide Networks and Global iPlayer, BBC Worldwide; Andy Lack, CEO, Bloomberg Media Group; Olivier Barberot, Chairman and CEO, GlobeCast Worldwide; Shuichi Mori, President and CEO, Jupiter Telecommunications; Blair Westlake, Corporate VP, Media and Entertainment Group, Microsoft Corp.; Jeff Shell, President, NBCUniversal International; Shigeki Nishiyama, Representative Director, Chairman, SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation; and Nobuya Wazaki, President, WOWOW.

Tetsuo Yamakawa, Japan's Vice Minister at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and some of the most influential international players in Japan, detailed opportunities for deepening pay-TV penetration in a market hungry for global content and collaboration with international partners and investors. India, too, continues to be an important market in the region and the hugely complicated and expensive task of digitizing the Indian market was the subject of one of the convention panels. It was clear that setting a deadline for the switching off of analog services was just the beginning of the process.

Liang Xiao Tao, President, CITVC emphasized how TV audiences are evolving in China, shifting to online viewing and social media, and how more open policies on broadcasting are likely to see a shift away from the dominance of the big players.

According to a lively team of panelists discussing the future of Malaysia's multichannel market, there's plenty of room for new entrants to the market. With technology evolving so fast, this is an exciting time to be in the broadcasting business. The role of social media in the TV viewing experience came under the spotlight where the multiplier effect of channel and program fans recommending TV content to their friends was immense.

As consumers increasingly demand content everywhere and anytime, the industry is combining technologies to get the best solutions for all the devices people are now using to watch video. While opportunities abound, the challenge is in revising pay-TV business models that would be just as valid in a world of multiple devices as it was when the industry was literally just a box in the living room. As the era of digital delivery continues to grow, however, the threat of online piracy looms large and there is an imperative need to effectively address this problem.

Held in conjunction with the convention, CASBAA's Annual General Meeting of its 130 member companies drawn from 17 Asian markets saw the re-election of Marcel Fenez of PriceWaterhouceCoopers (PwC) as chairman of the association and the election of Mark Patterson, CEO, Asia Pacific, GroupM to its board of directors. As part of a global media investment management group, Patterson will bring a strategic commitment to advertising to the association board.

Stepping down from the board of directors, Tom Keaveny of Discovery Networks Asia Pacific was recognized with CASBAA's prestigious Chairman's Award for his contribution to the development of pay-TV in the region and his tireless work explaining the overall value of pay-TV to advertisers. Also honored at the convention, Richard Li Tzar Kai was awarded CASBAA's lifetime achievement award for his outstanding contribution to the Asian pay-TV and broadcasting industry, with the founding of Star TV in 1991, and the 2003 launch of the pioneer IPTV service, now TV, in Hong Kong.

Finally, in recognition of the importance of being able to give back to the communities, CASBAA raised nearly US$ 50,000 during the annual Charity Ball presented by Turner for Plan International's early childhood care and development project to benefit underprivileged children in the Philippines.