CEE change

Independent pay TV broadcaster Viasat World is dialling up diversity and co-viewing opportunities across its thematic channels to attract new audiences, as it mulls new geographical launches and the potential of complimentary free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels.

The acquisitions-led service operates nine thematically driven channels pan-regionally in 24 countries across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), Scandinavia, the Baltic region and Turkey. Last year it added a factual Viasat History feed to its Ukrainian presence, where it continues broadcasting despite Russia’s invasion.

“Inevitably, we’ve encountered some headwinds and disruption from the war in Ukraine, but we remain a very robust business, particularly across our CEE markets,” says Stephen Roberts, Viasat partnerships, says the current financial downturn is hitting the streamers harder and “is presenting a lot of opportunities for pay TV across our markets, where it certainly looks to be even greater value than it perhaps already was.”

CEE pay TV broadcaster Viasat World reveals its content needs for branded factual channels Explore, History and Nature, plus scripted network Epic Drama, with female perspectives in demand.

Head of content acquisitions Nicola Hewitt says Viasat World currently acquires about 1,300 hours of content annually for its portfolio of linear channels and related local VoD partnerships.

Hewitt, who oversees all aspects of the group’s buying needs, including pre-buys and the occasional copro, says around 800 hours are destined for its three Viasat-branded factual channels, Explore, History and Nature, and scripted network Epic

World’s VP of content strategy and planning. Roberts, who heads the programming team, planning and scheduling of content across linear channels and local VoD Drama.

The group leans into trusted long-term

By Gün Akyuz

partnerships, says Hewitt, with distributors such as All3Media, Beta Film, Banijay Rights, ITV Studios and ZDF Studios, while it has also recently worked with the likes of Abacus Media Rights, Zed Rights, Windfall Films, Woodcut Media and Like a Shot Entertainment.

The group is keen to work with new content providers, adds Hewitt, flagging up smaller or more focused annual industry events and markets such as Sunny Side of the Doc, the London TV Screenings and C21’s Content London providing ideal events marke

London TV Screenin pro informal settings. b leve return on investmen contribut Wo

Pre-buys make up around 20% of Viasat World’s acquisition strategy, although this varies from year to year and channel by channel. “It’s always about measuring the level of investment versus the return on investment and the resources that we’ve got to contribute editorial into a particular project,” says Hewitt.

Viasat World has refined its pre-buying strategy in the past few years, explains Hewitt. “We always want to know about projects at a very early stage. That’s why we meet producers at the markets and have those conversations, so that we can assess the fullness of the opportunities in the marketplace.”

Hewitt. “ about pr

That’s wh markets w opportun br proposition core conte to see a few channels fre in the marke tha

While Viasat World’s factual and drama brands are “solid channel propositions with very well curated core content pillars,” Roberts is keen to see a few managed risks to keep the channels fresh and tap into “what’s new in the market, testing new concepts, new formats, new ideas and how we can expand out from that.”

On the f t fa Exp and wider “Interes entertain we’re see female characters th centre in the actio

On the factual front, work is now underway to broaden the appeal of maleskewing factual entertainment channel Viasat Explore with more co-viewing and wider perspectives.

“Interestingly, it’s something that producers have recognised in the factual entertainment space. Increasingly, we’re seeing shows with very strong female characters that are absolutely front and centre in the action,” says Roberts, citing

Backroad Truckers and strong characters like its star Angela Kirstein. Comparable shows five to 10 years ago would largely have had female characters in the back office, he says.

“The world of factual entertainment is moving on and more female eyeballs are coming to this style of content [as a result], and that’s something we absolutely want to champion and make the heart of our strategy,” says Roberts.

The core of the channel continues to be juggernaut franchises like Aussie Gold Hunters from DCD Rights, while it will soon launch spin-off Aussie Gold Hunters: Mine SOS. The channel is “always looking to grow the prospecting shows,” says Roberts, whether it’s big logging, epic engineering, cars, trucks, salvage or fishing. “They’re gritty, authentic characters, the likeable relatable stuff, mostly from a blue-collar world.”

On Viasat History, there’s currently a push to expand the “palette of perspectives” on history. The channel’s programming is built around three core content pillars. One is war and conflict, much of it Second World War-themed programming. Another is evergreen history, featuring big, curated seasons on subjects such as ancient Rome, Egypt or the vikings. A third pillar consists of two or three big landmark specials per year that try to tell “the entire story of a civilisation or one epoch-defining moment of history,” says Roberts.

“A female perspective on history is something we’re looking to explore further. So much has changed in the world in recent years, so we’re always looking for history to bring new voices and perspectives to these pillars and this evergreen content,” he explains, citing Queens of Ancient Egypt, pre-bought from Off the Fence and fronted by prominent Egyptologist Dr Colleen Darnell.

“We’re looking to push boundaries here,” he adds, inviting pitches on “untold stories of great female historic characters by female academics and experts.”

Viasat World’s third factual channel, Viasat Nature, focuses on blue-chip shows from North America and Africa such as Blue Ant International’s Malawi Wildlife Rescue

An increasingly important USP for the channel is European natural history shows such as Europe’s Wilderness from Off the Fence and Terra Mater Studios’ two-part doc Attenborough’s Ant Mountain, filmed in the Swiss Jura mountains.

Roberts says he is keen to find more prehistory content and hosted adventure-style programming in the vein of Patrick Aryee’s Wild World from Cineflix Rights, as well as more returnable, heartwarming animal rescue and animal rehab-type shows.

For scripted channel Epic Drama, meanwhile, pre-buys have helped the female-skewing channel grow strongly over the past three to four years, says Roberts. Beta Film’s Austrian imperial period drama Sisi, historical murder mystery drama Miss Scarlet & the Duke from A&E Networks and UKAustrian copro Vienna Blood from Red Arrow Studios were all picked up at script stage by the broadcaster.

Roberts and his programming team are now looking for more female-driven dramas like Sisi. “We’re keen on hearing about

Murdoch Mysteries and the UK’s Inspector Morse prequel Endeavour. These are supplemented with acquired evergreen library crime titles such as Miss Marple, Grantchester and Inspector George Gently

An important dimension to Epic Drama is its promise to offer top European programming, says Roberts. “We’re not just about anglophonic content but definitely the best of Europe, and Sisi would be a high watermark of that. We’ve also taken other shows like Babylon Berlin.”

Viasat World looks for exclusive pay TV rights across linear and VoD, but this will also vary as longer periods of exclusivity are more important in some markets over others, Hewitt explains. While the group doesn’t operate a standalone businessto-consumer SVoD service, VoD rights are crucial for its shows, which are made available on-demand via local operators’ platforms, she says.

Viasat World’s deals typically cover a broad panregional footprint with differing requirements, so deals are usually negotiated case by case as “no two deals look the same,” says Hewitt.

Being independent, lean and agile has always been “a strength in terms of how we approach rights and deals,” says Hewitt, highlighting more opportunities for Viasat World now that the US studios are reassessing their “rights warehousing” strategy.

“As a pay TV broadcaster, exclusivity is going to remain an important part of how we structure our deals, especially for premier content that we’re going to shout about and highlight on the channels,” says Hewitt. “But it’s also about being pragmatic and flexible, and depends on the titles, the channel, which market we’re buying for and holdbacks.” more dazzling female-led dramas with that sensual edge. They can be either standalone events or, like Sisi, returning blockbuster shows,” he says.

Alongside its pre-buys, Epic Drama’s core mix of programming includes established international hits such as long-running Canadian crime series

Email is the best way to pitch to Viasat World. “If you haven’t worked with us before, it’s just a top-line pitch and whatever supporting material you have,” Hewitt says, specifying a single page, a treatment, a sizzle or a full episode and a clear proposition. “We want people to come to us with new things, but there are some genres we just aren’t in, like current affairs, social interest docs or pure reality television.”

Your unfair advantage in the international content business

Give yourself an unfair advantage with the most comprehensive daily news and analysis available in the content business

Subscribe to C21PRO for as little as £150 per user/year and gain access to a deeper level of analysis

Get exclusive access to:

• EXCLUSIVE NEWS

• ANATOMY OF A DEAL

• CONTENT ECONOMICS

• COUNTRYFILE

• DEVELOPMENT SLATE

• FUNDAMENTALS

• NEWS ANALYSIS

…And so much more!

• PERSPECTIVE

• THOUGHT LEADER SHIP

• THREE YEAR PLAN

• C21 REPORTS

• C21SCR EENINGS

• C21TV

• MEDIABASE

C21 - you either get it or you don’t

C21Media.net

The head of development at Wildflame Productions in Wales discusses her journey from onscreen TV talent show fame to success off-camera as a creative executive.

By Neil Batey

In 2006, gifted 23-year-old singer Connie Fisher was catapulted to celebrity status in the UK as the winner of BBC talent show How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?

The programme was created by musical theatre impresario Andrew Lloyd Webber, with the aim of finding an undiscovered performer to play the role of Maria von Trapp in a stage production of The Sound of Music.

Fisher’s victory instantly elevated her to leading-role status in London’s West End, and led to her recording two solo albums and performing live at Wembley Stadium in front of 63,000 people at the Concert for Diana event in 2007.

However, Fisher’s showbiz dreams were shattered in 2011 when she was diagnosed with holes in her vocal cords, which prematurely ended her career as a professional singer.

It was a heartbreaking turn of events for the performer, who had grown up on the stage. And although Fisher was able to pick up more TV work – presenting religious show Songs of Praise and acting in medical drama Casualty (both on the BBC) – she realised it was time to forge an alternative career path.

“I was still working as talent, but that’s often shortlived and I needed to think of the future,” Fisher says. “I wondered how I could transfer my theatre skills and realised that I knew how to tell a story every night to an audience – just like a TV creative.”

In 2013 Fisher appeared in a documentary commissioned by Welsh pubcaster S4C. Titled Gwreiddiau: Connie (Roots: Connie), it told the emotional story of her twin brother Justin, who tragically died at birth. During the filming process, a development executive from the doc’s producer, Avanti Media, asked Fisher if she had any good ideas for TV show concepts.