Inside APOS 2026: AI, Microdramas and the Future of Asian Streaming Take Center Stage in Bali

The chiefs of Asia-Pacific operations for Netflix, Prime Video, Walt Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery will share a stage at APOS 2026, as the annual summit convenes June 16-18 in Bali.

The four executives – Netflix VP of content for APAC excluding India Minyoung Kim, Prime Video APAC and ANZ VP Gaurav Gandhi, Disney Asia Pacific direct-to-consumer senior VP Tony Zameczkowski and WBD APAC president James Gibbons – will appear together in a panel titled “Asia’s Streaming Advantage: Growth, Profitability and What’s Next,” the centerpiece session of day one’s afternoon program.

The gathering, produced by Media Partners Asia, opens with a June 16 welcome reception hosted by Netflix, preceded by an AVIA Policy Roundtable, an AVIA State of Piracy Roundtable and an invitation-only APOS CEO Forum. The main conference program runs June 17-18.

Day one opens with a keynote address from Media Partners Asia CEO and executive director Vivek Couto, titled “Asia Reset: Engagement, Economics & Value Creation,” followed by a fireside with TWG Global co-chairman Thomas Tull on the intelligent enterprise. Crunchyroll president Rahul Purini then takes the stage for a session on building a global anime fandom, while JioStar entertainment CEO Kevin Vaz addresses the question of scale.

The microdrama economy runs as a thread across both days. ReelShort CEO Joey Jia opens the conversation on day one in a fireside titled “Micro Dramas, Mega Economics,” while day two kicks off with back-to-back panels – “Building the Vertical Stack in Asia” with COL Group International, ROCK Networks and Refinery Media, followed by “Inside the Micro-Drama Pipeline” with RJ RisingJoy co-founder and CEO Cassandra Yang and Bamboo Network founder and CEO Dabin Chung. Story TV founder and CEO Saurabh Pandey then addresses India’s microdrama boom in a dedicated fireside.

Sports features prominently across day one, with JioStar sports and live experiences CEO Ishan Chatterjee examining sport as a platform for fandom, AI and commerce, followed by ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta on cricket’s global expansion and La Liga president Javier Tebas on fan engagement and enforcement. Prime Video’s three-market panel – featuring Gandhi alongside Prime Video India’s Shilangi Mukherji and Prime Video Japan country manager Keisuke Oishi – addresses how the streamer is shaping the region’s future.

TikTok’s panel, titled “From Scroll to Success: How TikTok Turns Creativity into Growth,” pairs the platform’s MD of product partnerships Isaac Bess with Indonesian creators Christie Basil and Kenneth Cia, bringing the creator economy and commerce conversation directly into the agenda. YouTube India country MD Gunjan Soni follows on day one afternoon with a fireside on India’s video boom.

The AI thread intensifies across both afternoons. A panel titled “The New Creative Pipeline: AI, IP & Human Craft” brings together actor-director Andy Serkis, Google VP of entertainment content and platforms Jon Zepp and director Josh Nelson Youssef. Day two’s AI sessions include a presentation and panel on GenAI across the content pipeline with JioStar’s Stephan Bugaj and FBRC.ai’s Todd Terrazas, followed by fireсides on AI-native filmmaking from Utopai Studios co-founder and CEO Cecilia Shen, AI and IP from FaiBLE Media chief AI officer Mark Sagar, AI-native video localization from Panjaya CEO Guy Piekarz and AI video generation from Kling AI global partnerships head Melody Hou.

Indonesia receives sustained attention across day two, with a fireside from Jakarta Vice Governor Rano Karno on the city’s new incentives for filmmakers and creators, alongside a session on MNC Group’s streaming strategy featuring co-CEO Angela Tanoesoedibjo and V+Short CEO Clarissa Tanoesoedibjo, and separate appearances from Vidio CEO Sutanto Hartono and MD Entertainment CEO Manoj Punjabi.

Southeast Asian content more broadly anchors the day two afternoon, with a Philippines session featuring Rein Entertainment co-founder and CEO Lino Cayetano and a Thai content panel titled “Made in Thailand,” featuring TrueVisions NOW head of content strategy and international partnerships Deedee Pholthaweechai, Living Films founder Chris Lowenstein and director Banjong Pisanthanakun. DIVE Studios CEO Brian Nam closes the Southeast Asian content run with a fireside on building global fandoms from a K-pop foundation.

The investor conversation takes shape in a day-one panel titled “Capital in the Age of AI: Where Investors Are Betting Across Sports, Streaming and Stories,” featuring ING head of corporate finance Gautam Saxena, Elysian Park Ventures MD Nikhil Bahel, Asia Partners VP Swapnil Chichani and VI Group MD David Do.

Piracy enforcement gets a dedicated slot on day two afternoon, with MPA executive VP and chief content protection officer Larissa Knapp, MPA live content protection director Guillermo Rodriguez, beIN Asia Pacific MD Mike Kerr and UEFA senior content protection expert Diego Dabrio appearing together in a session titled “The Fight For Value: A Global Frontline On Piracy.”

APOS 2026 runs June 16-18 at The Mulia, Nusa Dua, Bali.