Jordan Pinto on why small fi rms with big ideas are now in pole position

A good time to be small

The content business is at a fascinating point in its history. The rise of streaming has initiated a period of sweeping consolidation, as even the biggest companies in the history of entertainment are looking around and realising they need to get bigger if they are to survive this period of prolonged disruption.

The ‘big’ media industry news has come thick and fast this year: the mega-merger between Discovery and WarnerMedia; the ongoing row over the privatisation of Channel 4 in the UK; Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs’ acquisitionhungry media venture shelling out billions for companies like Moonbug and Hello Sunshine; Amazon buying MGM; CJ ENM buying Endeavor Content. And, um, the metaverse.

While these grab headlines and have a tendency to suck some of the oxygen out of the room, the race for scale is, conversely, creating a dual reality where being small, nimble and independent is one of the biggest advantages available to content producers and creators.

The TV business has always been about scale, but the past five to seven years have seen a pronounced elevation of the stakes. This is only expected to increase in the years ahead, with many industry watchers forecasting further consolidation as media companies bulk up to give themselves a fighting chance in the streaming wars.

But the monumental investment being ploughed into stocking streaming shelves is only a good thing for producers and content creators, who now have the opportunity to sell content in their local markets and also to the plethora of streamers setting up production hubs and commissioning teams in local markets around the globe.

The ability to sell to both local broadcasters and international SVoDs has been around for several years, but the arrival of the second wave of streaming services (HBO Max, Disney+, Peacock, Discovery+ and the rebranded Paramount+, to name a few) has significantly enhanced the prospects for production companies looking to get their shows financed, greenlit, produced and beamed across the world. Throw in all the local content quotas that many streamers now face and it starts to feel like boom time for producers.

Some have speculated that the streaming bubble will eventually burst. But based on everything one hears and sees, that point seems distant. If anything, the investment in content only looks set to increase.

Jordan Pinto looks at how the global streaming revolution is putting small companies with big ideas in pole position.

In this seller’s market, “ In this seller’s market, production companies of all sizes are seizing the opportunity to sell shows to buyers that, until just a few years ago, either didn’t exist or weren’t geographically production companies accessible. of all sizes are seizing the opportunity to sell shows to buyers that, until just a few years It’s true that the situation around IP retention is contentious when it comes to working with the streamers, but as the coproduction market has evolved, producers have become ago, either didn’t exist or weren’t increasingly deft at working within a mixed geographically accessible. Jordan Pinto ” economy of selling and retaining IP. As the intensity of the streaming wars has picked up, so too has the opportunity to strike it big with career-defining projects, both for production companies and talent. Take Netflix’s South Korean drama hit Squid Game, which was reportedly made on a budget of US$21.4m. The nine-episode show has gone some way towards redefining the phrase ‘highend drama’ – a term that has come to denote projects with budgets two, three or four times higher than Squid Game’s. In terms of viewership, it has also created a new tier for what is possible in the streaming era, if we are to believe Netflix’s viewing metrics. Since launching in September, it has become Netflix’s most-watched series to date and the most viewed programme in some 94 countries. While not every company has a dark and brutal survival drama on its development slate, many have a scripted property they believe can tap into the zeitgeist, if given the right platform. Small to medium-sized production companies have never been closer to achieving that goal amid this sea of buyers and opportunities. The next allconsuming streaming hit has got to come from somewhere. The chances are that when it does emerge, you won’t have heard of the production company that Squid Game makes it.

The offi cial Content London Daily magazine is published by C21 Media Ltd (www.c21media.net). Editorial director: Ed Waller. Reporters: Jonathan Webdale, Clive Whittingham, Nico Franks, Jordan Pinto, Karolina Kaminska, Michael Pickard, Gün Akyuz, Ruth Lawes, Oli Hammett. Chief sub editor: Gary Smitherman. Senior sub editor: John Winfi eld. Photographer: Simon Wilkinson. Production: Eleanore Hayes, Courtney Brewster. Events: Gemma Burt, Chloe Hocking. Content London Daily client contacts (C21Media): Odiri Iwuji, Peter Treacher, Hayley Salt. Editor-in-chief & managing director, C21Media: David Jenkinson. Meet the Content London Daily editorial team in the Horsfall Room (Kings Place) or via press@c21media.net. © C21Media 2021