This session offers a data-rich view of the year's defining shifts in audience behaviour, platform power, advertising, AI adoption, content discovery, and IP economics.

For years, the entertainment industry has competed for attention. But across APAC, the rules are changing. Drawing on exclusive youth and family intelligence from The Insights Family, this session reveals why the region is leading the shift from an Attention Economy to a Participation Economy. This is where Gen Alpha expects to create, influence, and shape the entertainment they consume. From creator-led communities and AI-powered creativity to gaming, fandom, and social commerce, APAC's young audiences are redefining how entertainment is discovered, experienced, and monetised.

As AI accelerates this transformation, the implications extend far beyond Asia. Discover the emerging behaviours, platform trends, and audience expectations that will define the next era of global entertainment; and what every media, entertainment, gaming, and brand leader needs to do to stay ahead.

The next generation is already reshaping the business of entertainment. Gen Z is changing how audiences discover content, build fandom and decide what earns their attention today—while Gen Alpha is set to take those behaviours even further. Drawing on exclusive data from The Insights Family across youth, family and young adult audiences, this session examines what these shifts mean for the industry now, and what they signal about the future.

From AI and algorithms to creators, gaming and commerce, how are new forms of discovery and engagement changing the relationship between audiences, content and IP? And as Gen Alpha moves into adulthood, the workforce and its own spending power, what can today’s Gen Z behaviours tell us about the audience—and the entertainment business—of tomorrow?

If this is how Gen Z is behaving today, what should we expect when Gen Alpha reaches the same life stage?

As traditional commissioning and studio financing models continue to tighten, a new generation of capital is entering the entertainment ecosystem. Banks, fintech lenders, brands, advertisers, and private investment platforms are increasingly reshaping how content is funded, monetised, and valued. Bringing together perspectives from East West Bank, FilmHedge, and leading global brands, this high-level conversation explores how financing is evolving beyond box office and subscriptions toward audience ownership, intellectual property ecosystems, advertising integration, and attention-driven monetisation. As entertainment converges with commerce and data, what does the future capital structure of content look like?

Brands are moving beyond advertising and sponsorship to become active players in entertainment—developing IP, partnering with creators and building content designed to earn attention. But becoming an entertainment player requires more than putting a brand behind a story.

This session explores what it takes to create entertainment audiences genuinely choose to watch—and how brands can turn that attention into lasting audience engagement and business value. The outcome: a practical framework for knowing what to make, who should shape it, and how to take it from creative idea to audience and commercial impact.

Attention is getting harder to buy—and more valuable to earn. As brands move into entertainment, the question is no longer simply whether audiences will watch, but whether that attention can create real business value.

This session examines the business case for investing in entertainment: what it should deliver, how success should be measured beyond traditional advertising KPIs, and how audience, commerce, data and IP can turn a campaign into a sustainable business asset. Ultimately, what makes entertainment worth investing in—and what makes a brand invest again?

The battle for audience ownership is intensifying as telcos, streamers, and advertisers compete to become the primary gateway to entertainment consumption. No longer just distributors, telcos are evolving into ecosystem aggregators, while streaming platforms seek deeper control over data, advertising, commerce, and user behaviour. At the same time, advertisers are increasingly following platforms capable of delivering scalable, measurable attention across fragmented digital environments. Bringing together leaders from telecommunications, streaming, and advertising, this high-level discussion explores whether the future belongs to content owners, distribution gatekeepers, or those able to aggregate attention, services, and consumer behaviour most effectively across Asia’s rapidly converging entertainment economy.

       ● Gary Tsai, Chief Operating Officer of Digital Entertainment, FAR EASTONE | General Manager, FAR REACH ENTERTAINMENT

FAST is evolving beyond a secondary distribution outlet for library content. As audience fragmentation accelerates and platform economics tighten, FAST is emerging as a programmable content ecosystem—blending linear, AVOD, creator-led programming, live formats, fandom, commerce, and data-driven distribution.

      ● Jay Ganesan, APAC Growth Strategy & Execution, AMAGI

      ● Doug Choy, GM, Inventory Development, THE TRADE DESK

      ● Brendan Wu, CEO, SEAOVERS

      ● Rory Gooderick, Media Industry Analyst, AMPERE ANALYSIS