[Video interview with Sean Cohan: 6:04]

A+E Networks is entering a critical stage of development in Asia.

Globally, the company – a JV between Hearst and Disney – is a pay-TV colossus, with over 100 million households subscribing to its domestic cable networks in the US, plus a further 160 million paying customers worldwide.

APAC is a small but promising part of its international business, where the broadcaster has secured distribution for History Channel across Southeast Asia, India, Japan and Australia.

The challenge now is driving monetization for other channels in the portfolio, including Lifetime, a newcomer to Asia, as well as Bio, which is being relaunched as FYI.

At the same time, executives are deepening local production with more Asian-made shows – especially important in this part of the world, as key distribution platforms have mixed emotions about breakout hits from the US such as Pawn Stars and Duck Dynasty.

We caught up with Sean Cohan, who runs A+E’s international business, to find out what’s next.