Thailand is making a more deliberate move into the Asian content business with the launch of the Bangkok International Content Market 2026, or BICM2026. The new event is being positioned as the country’s first international marketplace and business negotiation platform dedicated to film, series and animation, with a clear ambition: to turn Bangkok into a stronger meeting point for Asian projects, international buyers, investors and production partners.
The market will take place from July 20 to 22, 2026, at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in Bangkok. More than a simple showcase for Thai content, BICM is designed as an industry platform where projects can be presented, discussed, financed and connected to the wider international market. For Thailand, this is an important step toward moving beyond visibility and into a more active role in how Asian content is developed, packaged and traded.
A Screen Industry Platform Inside a Wider Creative Market
BICM will sit within Thailand Content Market 2026, a larger event created to bring together several parts of the country’s creative economy. That broader market covers film, television, series, BL and GL content, animation, games, characters, books, e-learning, art toys, toys, board games, production services and content-related services.
Inside this wider structure, BICM will serve as the more focused screen industry space, aimed specifically at film, series and animation professionals. This distinction is important. Thailand Content Market gives the initiative scale and places it within the country’s wider creative industry strategy, while BICM creates a more targeted business environment for producers, distributors, platforms, investors and sales companies.
In practical terms, BICM is where projects are expected to meet potential partners, not only audiences. It is also where Thailand’s broader content ambitions become more clearly linked to business development, financing, co-production and international circulation.
Pitching, Business Matching and Industry Dialogue
The program will include pitching sessions, a dedicated B2B marketplace and an industry forum. More than 55 selected projects from Thailand, the Asia-Pacific region and partner networks are expected to be presented through different pitching strands, including Asian Project Pitching, Thai Project Pitching and Thai Story Pitching.
The market will also offer business matching, project meetings and exhibitor spaces, creating a setting where companies can explore co-production, investment, distribution and strategic partnerships. For an emerging market platform, this combination is essential: the value of BICM will depend not only on the visibility it gives to projects, but on whether it can generate concrete conversations between creators, financiers and buyers.
The forum side of the event will add a broader industry layer, with talks and discussions around global content trends and the changing dynamics of the screen business. This gives BICM a role not only as a trading floor, but also as a place where regional players can exchange market intelligence and position themselves within the wider international landscape.
Thailand’s Content Hub Strategy
The launch reflects the way Thailand is looking at content today: not only as culture, but as an economic sector connected to soft power, tourism, intellectual property, production services and international trade. By building a formal content market in Bangkok, the country is trying to strengthen its role in the regional value chain.
Thailand already has visibility as a production destination and as a source of popular local and regional content. BICM points to a more strategic ambition: creating the infrastructure that allows projects to travel further, attract financing earlier and connect with partners across Asia and beyond.
The real test will come from the quality of the projects, the level of international attendance and the business generated during and after the event. But BICM2026 already sends a clear message to the industry: Thailand wants to be more than a filming destination or a source of local hits. It wants to become one of the places where Asian stories are discovered, financed and brought to the global market.
