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Channel 21 International | March 2020 | Issue #299

UPFRONT

CONTENTS

Pressing pause on normal life

I

n an alternate universe, the subject of this Upfront would have been something fairly run-of-the-mill in the grand scheme of things, but hopefully of interest to someone working in the international content business.

It would have mentioned upcoming markets such as Series Mania in Lille and MipDoc, MipFormats and MipTV in Cannes, and some of the trends that might emerge from those events.

Of course, that’s not going to be the case. Every industry meet-up in the near future is now in doubt, though the mild inconvenience of a few missed markets is nothing compared to the devastation Covid-19 is inflicting around the world.

Ever since the coronavirus outbreak was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation on March 11, each new day has highlighted the extent to which it could have immense ramifications for every aspect of our lives, from community to tech and the global economy to lifestyle, both in the short- and long-term.

The majority of this magazine was put together prior to the coronavirus taking hold of Europe, under the impression it would be made available at Series Mania and MipTV – hence the lack of articles discussing the one thing that has thrown the industry into unprecedented turmoil in next to no time.

Now, priorities in the business have understandably shifted to the health and wellbeing of staff. The majority of the industry now appears to be working from home, if they’re able, and series

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around the globe have suspended production.

At the time of writing, more than half-a-million film and TV industry freelancers are already out of work across Europe, and there are legitimate fears about how the pandemic, and its aftershocks, could threaten the global economy.

On screen, the industry is responding to the fact it now has a captive audience.

Pubcasters have made widespread changes, increasing their news offering and making more content available online for kids and adults.

Meanwhile, Netflix began lowering its streaming quality in Europe for 30 days from March 20 to reduce the strain on internet service providers as demand for its service goes through the roof.

However, traditional broadcasters are now not only going to have to compete with the usual streaming suspects, but also increasingly with live streaming services such as Twitch, which offer a direct connection to audiences and the ability to react to events in real time.

As a result, the coronavirus effect is being seen in new, fast-turnaround commissions. In the UK, Channel 4 has begun airing Keep Cooking & Carry On, a daily culinary show fronted by Jamie Oliver.

It sees the celebrity chef show viewers how to make the most from kitchen staples and how to be creative with whatever ingredients they’ve got at home, whatever their budget. With audiences at home getting to grips with a new reality, the TV industry is following suit.

Nico Franks

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AHEAD OF THE CURVE: Natural history’s new wave Natural history programming is back, but an influx of new buyers has brought changes to the genre’s traditional methods and notoriously drawn out production schedules.

SCHEDULE WATCH: CuriosityStream OTT service CuriosityStream is growing aggressively, in need of a wide range of factual content as it hunts for the unscripted equivalent to Stranger Things.

COUNTRYFILE: French exports Faced with an increasingly globalised marketplace packed with content, French drama distributors are finetuning their strategies and libraries.

SCHEDULE WATCH: ZDF The German broadcaster outlines its multi-platform strategy and priorities for its next wave of copros and acquisitions, along with the return of procedurals.

NEXT BIG THINGS: C21’s hot picks C21 picks out some of the top new shows coming to a pitch or virtual market near you, including shows on the coronavirus and the climate emergency, plus the first drama from Jed Mercurio’s new prodco.

BACKEND MY Entertainment’s Michael Yudin goes through his Development Slate while Gub Neal’s new UK prodco Ringside Studios unveils its Three-Year Plan to work on local projects with a European identity.

PRESENT IMPERFECT FUTURE TENSE Jill Offman of the Creative Diversity Network and MD of Viacom International Studios UK, looks at efforts to build a more diverse and inclusive UK industry.

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AHEAD OF THE CURVE: Natural history’s new wave

Channel 21 International | March 2020

Wildly popular Natu history programming is back in vogue, but an influx of new Natural buyers buye looking for blue-chip wildlife content has brought changes to the genre’s traditional methods and notoriously drawn out production g sch

By Clive Whittingham schedules.

N

atural history is about as evergreen as genres get in television – the BBC has been airing Sir David Attenborough docs since 1954 – but there’s little doubt it’s having a boom time as a new decade dawns.

The UK pubcaster is linking up with PBS in the US to build a high-tech water hole in Tanzania, equipped with fixed-rig cameras, for a new series.

European satcaster Sky is launching its Sky Nature channel, to join Sky Crime, which debuted before Christmas to capitalise on true crime’s similar rise in popularity. US broadcast network NBC has ordered 10-parter The New World, due for delivery in 2024, from the BBC’s famed Natural History Unit (NHU). National Geographic is preparing for a second season of its Yellowstone Live event and says it is doubling down on wildlife and natural history content in its commissioning strategy. And Netflix recently premiered its high-tech Night on Earth original, following the success of Our Planet.

Mike Gunton, creative director of factual and the NHU at BBC Studios, has been behind series including Planet Earth II and Seven Worlds One Planet. He believes that while the genre has enduring popularity, it is enjoying a golden age and there are specific reasons for that. “It’s a phenomenally appealing area of content,” he says. “It speaks to all generations and languages. Lions will be lions in French, German or Italian, so it travels very

well. But the point about it being a gold rush at the moment is an interesting one. I’ve done it a long time; there are cycles. I’ve been through cycles before but I’ve never seen a cycle quite like this.

“In the current television landscape it’s very hard, or increasingly hard, to find programming that speaks across generations, that brings people together as families and makes them focus on a screen rather than a phone. For a broadcaster now, that’s a wonderful thing to have. That’s why it’s hot at the moment.”

“Three things have come together,” according to Andrew Jackson, Plimsoll Productions’ president of international production. “There has been a resurgence in people’s interest in the natural

world, be it through conservation, social media or something else. Second, Planet Earth II blatantly decided to make proper stories out of natural history. It had been done before but not to the level Mike [Gunton] and his team made those stories really stick. People came to them in the same way they come to drama.

“The third is the explosion of SVoD platforms.

Netflix realised it was getting views from the BBC series on its platform and started to pump money into it. Netflix knows who’s watching and it wouldn’t put money in if nobody watched.”

The rules of natural history filmmaking are arguably more established and more deeply engrained than in any other form of television.

Traditionally the doyen of the pubcasters, they’re known for being expensive to make and taking a long time to complete.

Usually the cycle last four years, from commission to air: a year to research and plan, two years to film – which gets you enough footage for two seasons and allows you to try to get footage in year two you missed in year one – and a year to edit.

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It’s a phenomenally appealing area of content.

It speaks to all generations and languages. Lions will be lions in French, German or Italian.

“

Mike Gunton BBC Studios

Netflix’s Night on Earth

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AHEAD OF THE CURVE: Natural history’s new wave

That’s certainly the path chosen by NBC, which is working with the NHU on the aforementioned The New World. “We wanted to work with a broadcaster of that scale for many years,” Gunton says. “It’s a big statement and a long project over four years. One of the challenges of landmark blockbuster projects is they do take a long time. We hope to show people things they’ve never seen before; that’s the ambition.”

There have been some deviations from that four-year cycle recently though, brought about by budget challenges faced by some of the new players, or a demand from content hungry streamers to get the final product out to their subscribers quicker.

Plimsoll, which has offices in Bristol and LA, made Camp Zambia for Blue Ant Media’s Love Nature channel, using the sort of fixed-rig camera techniques we’ve seen in obs docs like One Born Every Minute and 24 Hours in Police Custody to capture footage from which storylines could be crafted afterwards.

Netflix’s first big foray into the genre, Our Planet, followed the traditional four-year cycle, commissioned in 2015 and delivered in 2019. But its latest natural history original, Night on Earth, was a shorter turnaround for Plimsoll. “This was a two-year cycle,” says Jackson.

“We approached Netflix with the idea, they loved it but wanted it in two years.

“It was less about what we cut out and more about changing the way we filmed things. We put more effort into sequences we really knew would pay off, we sent out more cameras, bigger teams and blasted it a bit more in that sense. There was a greater appetite for risk in order to get a shot. We chucked a lot at it to make sure we got the shots we needed.”

As well as time and budget pressures, the big challenge for each blue-chip natural history project is to capture new animal behaviour.

“Commissioners are always asking what’s new, what’s different, we’ve seen that, we’ve seen this,” Jackson admits. But that wasn’t a problem with Night on Earth, which captured never-seen-before footage of animals interacting at night using

Channel 21 International | March 2020

Plimsoll Productions’ Camp Zambia for Love Nature. Below: Plimsoll’s Andrew Jackson

camera technology that had not even been developed at the time the pitch was made.

“These cameras have only just become available. When we started pitching it, the promise was there but it didn’t actually exist,” Jackson says. “People kept saying, ‘Give us another couple of months and we’ll get it there.’ There were a few cameras around, enough to give us confidence we could do it. In the time it took us to pitch it, get it across the line and research it, the cameras did come good.”

Previous thermal imaging lenses used for night filming could only offer a fixed wide angle and struggled under cloud or jungle cover. The SLX Merlin from Selex ES has been adapted from military technology for TV filming use, with an HD lens that can zoom and allow you to film sequences.

Jackson says some of the footage they were able to capture for the series surprised even the experts.

“When we’ve used infrared cameras previously the whole place was pitch black, you couldn’t see a thing, then you put the infrared lighting on something and you could see it,” he explains. “The new cameras are like daylight cameras. The place is pitch black, you turn the camera on and suddenly you can see everything. That’s the difference – previously you could see a little pool and if you weren’t shining it the right way you could miss amazing things.

“The best bit has been capturing activity the scientists didn’t even know happened. There have been several instances where even the experts have been wowed and seen something they never knew happened.”

The boom has brought challenges with it, most notably in the number of experienced, skilled execs and producers available to meet the demand.

Janet Han Vissering, senior VP of development and production at cablenet Nat Geo Wild, says the US production business has some catching up to do in the genre after years of focusing on reality X

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AHEAD OF THE CURVE: Natural history’s new wave

Channel 21 International national | March 2020

BBC Studios’ Seven Worlds One Planet

TV – hence NBC’s decision to turn to the NHU for its big commission. “There are a lot of talented executive producers here and great storytellers but I don’t think there are the same number of prodcos that focus solely on natural history. I know of only two off-hand,” she says.

“Over the last 10 years there has been an explosion of reality-based television. There hasn’t been a regular place for natural history films in the US market. Nat Geo has been on this journey for 130 years and we have BBC America but it’s not omnipresent like in the UK where the BBC has it as a staple, a regular thing. Now, with the broadcasters jumping in, like Netflix and NBC, there is a demand for it and I’m hoping we’re going to see storytellers and prodcos join in and become interested. It’s supply and demand.”

To help bridge the gap, Nat Geo announced in January it was launching a Field Ready Program, a two-stage training initiative aiming to increase the number of people trained and experienced enough to crew projects, but also trying to improve diversity behind the camera in natural history.

“We’ve worked previously on series that tell incredible matriarchal stories in the natural world.

When you tell the story of females who rule the natural world you want key women principals to lead the storytelling production. But we found it incredibly challenging. We came up with the Field Ready Program in partnership with the National Geographic Society to address that.

“We all know if you’re in the field there has to be experience, but somebody has to give you that in the first place, somebody has to say, ‘Yes you’re going to be an executive producer in the field.’ It’s hard to get that street cred, especially for women and people from diverse backgrounds. It will provide candidates with experience and then their first job.”

But even the UK, with more than half a century of natural history filmmaking under its belt, is struggling to staff productions. The genre has a hotbed in the south-western city of Bristol, where the NHU, Plimsoll Productions and Icon Films, among others, all have bases.

Laura Marshall, CEO of River Monsters producer Icon, says: “There is so much work and not enough people to supply that. It’s an interesting ecology –

There are a lot of emerging companies in the sector looking to bring on people and there is an opportunity for people being asked to step up. It’s a great time to be getting into wildlife filmmaking.

“

Laura Marshall Icon Films

too much work and not enough people. Or rather, there’s too much work for it to be done as well as it might be done. It’s incumbent on us all to make sure quality doesn’t suffer. When you’ve made a few series it upskills a lot of people and helps support other companies. There are a lot of emerging companies in the sector looking to bring on people and there is an opportunity for people being asked to step up. It’s a great time to be getting into wildlife filmmaking. As long as commissioners support that too we’ll all benefit.”

The climate emergency and its effects around the world have been among the biggest global news stories of the past 12 months, with freak storms, Australia’s bushfires and record temperatures at the north and south poles making headlines every day. The challenge for natural history filmmakers is how you weave this obvious issue into the narrative of shows without beating the audience over the head with it.

Han Vissering at Nat Geo says: “People say ‘We want to see conservation’ but it’s always slightly misleading. Theoretically, people want to see it, but TV is entertainment. We get back home at the end of the day, we chill, we don’t want to be depressed and told we’re doing even more bad things.

“Nat Geo as a brand wants to bring relevant stories about what’s happening on the planet. Are we able to show the current situation? I wouldn’t call a show Planet In Trouble; there are other ways and different entry points. We have hundreds of scientists in our society who are saying that.

We are working on how we vibe a show which is entertaining but also continues that message.”

And as Marshall points out, there is a certain amount of hypocrisy in covering the global climate crisis’s effect on wildlife while contributing to it yourselves – something else the industry must address. “We have a responsibility as filmmakers to behave sanely,” she says. “We go out in very large planes with lots of kit and lots of people spewing out carbon, which is impacting the planet and we are having to take measures that make sure we behave responsibly. We audit what we do and where we’re going and how we are going to repair the damage done in order to go out and make these wonderful films.”

So a great time to be a fan of the natural history genre, or somebody who works within it. But key challenges have been brought about by its popularity. Can the blue-chip quality that attracted people to Blue Planet and Frozen Planet in the first place be maintained amidst tightening production schedules? Are we training enough people fast enough to meet the increased demand? How do we highlight the climate emergency without making the programmes feel like homework? And how does TV deal with the hypocrisy of contributing to that problem by flying crews around the world?

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SCHEDULE SC S CH HE E EDU DU D ULE LE W WATCH: ATC AT CH H: C CuriosityStream urriosityStream u

Channel 21 International | March 2020

Original series Ancient Earth

Ferocious ambition

of opportunities, linear TV is far from dead in a lot of markets, says Robert Gold, senior VP of international distribution, referring to CuriosityStream’s decision to launch a linear channel option in 2018. “People are looking for linear, either as replacement channels or because they’ve lost all their factual [channels] and need something to fill that category.”

Stinchcomb and Gold regard this bundling approach as the future for a lot of services like CuriosityStream over the OTT service CuriosityStream is in aggressive growth mode, O next 10 years. “Our intention is to get CuriosityStream to iin need of a wide range of factual content as it hunts down hundreds of millions of subscribers, and the only way to do tthe unscripted equivalent to Stranger Things. By Gün Akyuz that is to bundle them,” Stinchcomb says.

CuriosityStream’s library of close to 3,000 commissioned, coproduced and acquired titles includes 900 originals, 400 uriosityStream has 100 million subscribers in its 4K titles and 400 kids’ titles.

“Now that people are more aware of CuriosityStream, we sights and intends to significantly increase its programming budget annually over the next couple are exposed to more and better ideas than we ever have been before. As we continue to grow, our intention is to of years to feed those growth ambitions.

The company has boosted its subscriber base tenfold pour our revenues into programming,” he says. Content annually in the past two years, says the company’s CEO spend will increase by at least 50% annually over the next and president, Clint Stinchcomb. In the past year alone, it few years in line with expected subscriber growth.

CuriosityStream’s core factual had leapt from one million subscribers to Just as categories of science and technology, more than 10 million by late 2019. Since history, natural history, travel, cuisine, then it has exceeded 13 million, and Netflix kids and ‘human spirit’ programming intends to reach 100 million within the has Stranger all travel pretty well globally, says next decade, he says.

Things and Stinchcomb.

“In 2017 we had less than 100,000 The service has expanded beyond subscribers to CuriosityStream,” recalls The Crown, its science-driven male-skewing origins the former Discovery exec and co-founder we want to into a wider proposition across a range of Poker Central, who joined the company have six big of factual categories, adding travel and in May 2017 as chief distribution officer. franchises that people “We needed to make CuriosityStream come to associate with cuisine.

“We believe we have quite a more widely known and reduce the friction CuriosityStream. broad appeal and when we pick our associated to subscribing to it.” content correctly it cuts across lots of Originally launched by Discovery Clint Stinchcomb demographics,” he says. founder John Hendricks as a direct to CuriosityStream As well as balancing its male/female consumer (D2C) OTT service in 2014, CuriosityStream changed distribution tack following split, the service is broadening its demographics to include younger demos by offering original series such as its Stinchcomb’s arrival.

A key development has been getting CuriosityStream’s forthcoming 4th & Forever: Muck City (8x30’). The show SVoD service bundled with subscription packages, rather focuses on two towns in the Florida Everglades that happen than only offering it a la carte. Its current bundle agreements to produce more professional American football players per span territories such as Singapore, Mexico, the US, India, capita than anywhere else. Stinchcomb says millennials – people aged roughly 24 to 39 – now make up around half of Africa and New Zealand.

And while going OTT has certainly provided it with plenty its subscriber base.

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SCHEDULE WATCH: CuriosityStream

CuriosityStream’s upcoming 4th & Forever: Muck City (above) and France Télévisions’ archive series Apocalypse, which looks at both world wars

Hand-in-hand with its growing partnerships with local operators, CuriosityStream’s service is also being increasingly localised. By the end of the first quarter of this year it will have Russian-, Serbian-, Spanish-, Portuguese-, Mandarin- and Cantonese-language versions.

Moreover, thanks to its expanded global footprint, CuriosityStream is “continually mining data, looking for ways to leverage the themes that do well,” says Stinchcomb.

“Without a doubt, I can tell you that great natural history like The Secret Lives of Big Cats and Out of the Cradle works everywhere.”

History, both ancient and more recent, is also a big driver for the service. “[CuriosityStream original] Ancient Earth has been a tremendous performer for us for a long time,” he says. Other hits include acquisitions like Rebuilding Ancient Rome, Off the Fence’s Asia’s Monarchies and “anything by David Attenborough.”

Another sweet spot is science and technology, with acquisition A World Without Nasa proving popular, Stinchcomb adds.

There is also a significant appetite for compelling military history. Stinchcomb cites France Télévisions’ landmark colourised archive series Apocalypse (covering both the First and Second World Wars) from French prodco CC&C. “We’re looking to bulk up on the acquisition side because there seems to be an insatiable appetite for military history,” he says.

CuriosityStream is also seeking food content. “In particular, we’re looking for some really great global cuisine shows. I’m sure we’re not the only one there, but what we’re looking for is to learn interesting things about food and about the people involved,” he says.

Original productions are channelled through Curiosity Studios. Key science-driven coproductions for CuriosityStream include 8K copro The Body, from Japan’s NHK and with Welsh pubcaster S4C also on board.

Stinchcomb describes the seven-part series as the human body’s equivalent of the BBC’s Planet Earth.

Another copro is Out of the Cradle, about how humans evolved. A 4K series with NHK, PTS, Autentic, S4C and

Channel 21 International | March 2020

France Télévisions, it features CGI sequences created by gaming company Square Enix.

However, despite partnerships on 8K productions such as The Body, the technology has yet to be developed into a viable consumer proposition. Stinchcomb says even the 4K revolution is still in its early stages, but CuriosityStream is still developing a 4K factual slate. “Our content lends itself extraordinarily well to 4K; all of our originals are in 4K,” he says.

In the pipeline are ancient history doc Pompeii: Disaster Street (2x60’), a copro with Gedeon Programmes, and Secrets of the Solar System (8x60’), made with prodco Bigger Bang. These are among several international copros flagged up by head of content Rob Burk.

A full-blown original launching this year on CuriosityStream is The History of Home (3x60’). Based on a best-selling book, it looks at what makes houses homes around the world and is “a great example of CuriosityStream at its global best,” says Stinchcomb.

The aforementioned 4th & Forever: Muck City is set to introduce the world “to a really unique part of America and a celebration of the human spirit,” he adds.

CuriosityStream also makes a few midand shortform in-house productions with episodes of between 12 and 15 minutes. One is Breakthrough, a series that features recent or current scientific discoveries twice a month.

Another is Bright Now, a magazine-style strand for the mobile age that also acts as a back-door pilot for a range of ideas. It covers a variety of topics, from the burning of the Amazon forests to its popular dog-related Science of Cute show. “We tend to get more social engagement around dog programming than possibly anything else,” comments Stinchcomb, adding that more dog-themed ideas are being developed.

CuriosityStream is now honing its content strategy to claim ownership in six landmark categories to help really distinguish it, Stinchcomb adds. “Just as Netflix has Stranger Things and The Crown, we want to have six big franchises that people come to associate with CuriosityStream. And over the next year we will be in perpetual production on them.”

That process has already begun in three key categories, with a natural history production underway looking at lifeforms, a landmark original on machines and a biography series, with news about the latter two expected soon.

Whether it’s acquisitions or originals, Stinchcomb’s view is that “somebody watching CuriosityStream should be able to say every five or six minutes, ‘Hey, that’s interesting. I didn’t know that.’”

Alongside never-before-seen new ideas, the exec believes there’s a lot of mileage in the company’s existing inventory. “We have a deep library, and there might be something that’s 18 months old that might not be as bright and shiny as the new 20 hours coming in this week. But we’re trying to be mindful of the fact there are people coming on every day and what’s really important is to surface the hits.”

It also means CuriosityStream is after long-term partnerships and rights with a long shelf life, and looks to renew many of them. It has licensed rights to the landmark feature doc David Attenborough’s Light On Earth until 2026 and NHK’s The Body until 2033.

“We’re long-term-focused and looking to do long-term relationships with great partners,” says Stinchcomb.

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COUNTRYFILE: C CO UNTRYFILE: French exports

Channel 21 International nal na nal al | March ch h2 202 20 2020 02 0 20

Le Bazar de la Charité

Adjusting sales F

rench drama exports have generally enjoyed solid growth since 2012, the exception being 2018. Data from distributors’ body TV France International (TVFI), published last September, showed sales suffered a sudden drop that year – and while they must be compared against an especially strong performance the previous year, the numbers still indicate the market is changing.

According to TVFI, the SVoD platforms that contributed to the previous growth bought fewer French dramas in 2018, as they invested instead in originals. There were also fewer French series suitable for the international market, which was more competitive than ever, although French procedurals improved their performance.

“SVoD platforms had a big appetite for drama in terms of acquisitions in the beginning, which has slowed down somewhat. But more platforms are now coming,” says Sarah Hemar, executive director of TVFI. “I can’t risk a prediction, but we have high hopes the figures will rise again. We see some flagship shows prospering and some dynamic companies.”

Hemar adds she was “amazed by the variety of the commissioners and drama genres” selected for TVFI’s Coming Next From France event planned to take place at the now-cancelled Series Mania conflab. “These ranged from costume dramas to scifi. There’s so much competition that broadcasters need to differentiate themselves.”

Emmanuelle Bouillhaguet, MD of Lagardère Studios Distribution, is unworried by 2018’s fall in exports. “We talked a lot about it between us and

Faced with an increasingly globalised marketplace packed with content, French drama distributors are fine-tuning their strategies and libraries.

By Marie-Agnés Bruneau

don’t believe the drop is that relevant,” she says.

“The market is very dependent on new deliveries, while French broadcasters now do more scripted format adaptations, for which limited rights are available, if any.

“But overall, we feel there is no decline in the demand for French drama. Its quality has improved to meet international standards and French broadcasters have been diversifying their line-ups. While serialised drama, for instance, was historically seen on Canal+ and then Arte, now TF1 and France 2 are doing more of them, and what’s interesting is they are looking to bring the genre into the mainstream.”

In response to the creative competition from streaming platforms, French broadcasters have been looking to innovate more, for example, by using scripted formats, while new originals are starting to deliver. Many French series had been lined up to premiere at Series Mania this year, before the event was cancelled in March.

These included pubcaster France Télévisions’ first digital originals lined up for its revamped digital platform france.tv, including European

series Parliament, roller derby drama Derby Girl and hacker series Stalk. The latter two were produced for france.tv’s web platform Slash, which targets TV-deserting young audiences and had its first hit with a remake of Nordic series Skam.

“There is, right now, a cult around young audiences and we believe this will become a market,” says Julia Schulte, VP of international sales at France TV Distribution, which distributes the show. “There are nascent platforms everywhere.

Other pubcasters have the same issue of reaching teenagers while linear channels are also interested and we feel that the scripted format market is developing. In addition, Stalk does not just address teenagers. That’s another thing SVoD platforms bring – series don’t have to fit specific strands.”

France Télévisions is also launching Laetitia, Jean-Xavier de Lestrade’s social thriller miniseries for France 3, based on the true story of an 18-yearold girl’s murder. Schulte already reports interest in the show from platforms and pay TV channels.

“It’s very different from the traditional crime series and was also the first French series selected for the Sundance Festival,” she says. “Lestrade is already known in the US for the Oscar he won for Murder on a Sunday Morning, while his other doc, Staircase, is currently being adapted in the US.” Crime mystery They Were Ten, distributed by Federation Entertainment, was produced for French broadcaster M6, which ramped up its drama ambitions recently, and is another attempt at innovation. “It is based on an Agatha Christie novel but with a modern twist and directed by a horror

COUNTRYFILE: French exports

Channel 21 International | March 2020

Canal+’s Le Bureau des Légendes was one of France’s best-selling dramas last year. Below: M6’s Agatha Christie story They Were Ten

We feel there is no decline in the demand for French drama. Its quality has improved to meet international standards and French broadcasters have been diversifying their line-ups.

“

Emmanuelle Bouillhaguet Lagardère Studios Distribution

movies director,” says Jean-Michel Ciszewski, head of international at Federation.

Canal+ show Le Bureau des Légendes, which is set for a fifth season, remains the company’s best seller, and was again nominated for a TVFI export award as one of the three best-selling French dramas of last year. “Its second run is starting to sell and we are in talks about other major sales,” he says. The show’s current broadcasters include AMC’s Sundance Now in the US, Sky in Italy, Movistar in Spain and p Scandinavian public channels ls in combination with their VoD offerings, while the he series’ US remake is making progress with Paramount mount Channel.

A major gamble for TF1 att the end of last year was the channel’s costume drama Le Bazar de la Charité (The Bonfire off Destiny), y which TF1 Studio pre-sold to Netfl tflix worldwide.

“That’s a beautiful exemplee of a win-win strategy,” says Rodolphe Buet, who was recently named chief distribution ribution officer at TF1 subsidiary Newen. n. “The series has production values off Anglo-Saxon standard. It was a huge success uccess on TF1 with 10 million viewers when en combined with VoD catch-up, and after ter that was made available around the world, which represents real added value for TF1. SVoD platforms are an accelerator or for European drama, providing a worldwide de audience. They also get traditional broadcasters sters to rethink their operating models, innovate novate and find new partnerships.”

Buet, a former StudioCanal, Global dioCanal, Gl Glob obal al

Road and On Animation exec, was appointed in February with a mission to bring together Newen Distribution and TF1 Studio’s activities, including international movie sales, in order to build “a leading European distribution business.” For the time being, the current organisation remains, with Newen Distribution led by Malika Abdellaoui and TF1 Studio’s international sales run by Sabine Chemaly.

“In a world where there are more bridges g TV2 and Arte copro DNA

between movies and TV series, and more talent working across them, it made sense to look for synergies, in terms of marketing and acquisitions, and for digital platform activity in France and abroad,” Buet explains. “The goal is to become a one-stop shop for all genres and be ready for high level exchanges and partnerships.”

In recent years, French companies have been looking to diversify their slates to include more European series, either by investing minimum p guarantees at an early stage or by expanding to become Europea European groups.

TF1’s Newen acquired stakes in Tuvalu and Netherlands, Nimbus in Denmark, Pupkins in the N De Mensen in Belgium and Reel One in Canada, an and, most recently, set up UK prodco Ringside Studios, in partnership with DoveTale Media and British producer Gub Neal.

Newen also intends to develop its distribution activity with third-party To do so, it has the financial producers. T backing of ccontent financier Anton Capital, which comm committed to co-invest up to €35m (US$39.7m) in distribution rights to shows Newen and third-parties across all from New including series and movies. One genres, in third-party show was DNA from TV2 in third-pa Denmark and Franco-Germany channel Denmar which was selected for competition Arte, w postponed Cannes Series event. at the p Buying compa companies does not provide immediate access to their sshows’ distribution, however. X

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05/03/2020 16:18

COUNTRYFILE: French exports

Channel 21 International | March 2020

France 3’s Tandem

“Newen Distribution will become the house for all of these shows progressively. Some companies had agreements with distributors, and we are pragmatic. To stop them would have incurred penalities,” says Buet.

Lagardère acquired Spain’s Boomerang and Veranda, the Netherlands’ SkyHigh TV and Finland’s Aito Media, and Bouilhaguet says the group is starting to distribute more series from its subsidiaries. “In Spain, distribution is often handled by broadcasters. We managed to work smart with Merlí [Merlin]’s producer, Veranda, and its broadcaster, TV3, in order to be in charge of distribution and to sell the series everywhere.”

The group is now promoting the show’s recently aired younger-skewing spin-off Merlí: Sapere Aude for Movistar+. New third-party shows include Swedish series The Machinery, described by Bouilhaguet as “an action series that is not Scandi noir,” and Dutch series Commando “a pure action male-skewing show.”

The wave of consolidation and coproductions means more French series are being distributed by international players. TF1’s hit returning series Balthazar is produced by Beaubourg Audiovisuel, part of Tetra Media Group, which is now part of the UK’s ITV, which holds distribution rights. France Télévisions’ flagship thriller series Les Rivières Pourpres (The Crimson Rivers) is coproduced by ZDF and distributed by ZDF Enterprises, and the public broadcaster’s recent supernatural drama La Dernière Vague (The Last Wave) Wave was produced by Kwai, now a subsidiary of Frem Fremantle, which sold it to the BBC, ZDF and Atresmedia.

A Some French distributors also international distributors report internati are increasingly keen to pick up French dramas. “They are our competitors,” says France biggest competit TV Distribution’s Schulte. “Some groups are offering very international group high min minimum guarantees and we don’t know why.

At one point every series needs to be accountable and recoup their minimum guarantees. min are fighting We against, for instance, aga Entertainment One, En which picked up [Call wh My Agent prodco M Mother Production’s] M Newen’s Rodolphe Buet La Garçonne. We are currently ar considering building co an alliance with

Sarah Hemar of TV France International and Federation Entertainment’s Jean-Michel Ciszewski

other distributors and it is possible we will start to pick up European series,” she says.

“For our part, we have actually opened up to French series more,” says Ciszewski at Federation, which has coproduced international series from the point of creation and also set up international partnerships in several countries. Last year the company signed an agreement securing new shows from French Desperate Parents producer Elephant.

“At first we mostly aimed for edgy series for OTT and pay TV but we are now looking to diversify our slate into mainstream drama,” says Ciszewski.

Federation’s line-up of 15 series last year will increase to 20 in 2020, he says, including seven this spring. These comprise returning shows Le Bureau and German financial thriller Bad Banks, which comes from a partner company, and five new series.

“That volume is good because it gives us strength,” he claims. “But there is a limit to what the same buyers can take from us. Strategically, we need to be able to appeal to all broadcasters’ profiles, and traditional broadcasters are still looking for procedural drama. We’ve just sold Elephant’s TF1 fall series Time Is A Killer to Mediaset’s Telecinco.”

Other distributors agree there is higher demand for French procedurals. “They are renewed year after year and volume and production rhythm have improved, which is really good for us,” says Bouilhaguet. “We recently sold, for instance, France 2’s [cop series] Cain to Super RTL in Germany and have seen growing demand for France 3’s feel-good series Tandem, which is now in its fourth season and was a success on Giallo in Italy.”

France Télévisions channel France 2’s crime series Candice Renoir, distributed by Newen, is performing well everywhere, which is a boost for the group, says Schulte.

“We feel there is growing interest in France 3’s flagship crime series Capitaine Marleau, which was not easy to sell in the beginning because the character is so atypical,” she says. “It was picked up by Spain’s Antena 3 and broadcast in a flagship strand this fall. We can feel the volume of episodes is making the difference and it’s such a phenomenal audience success.”

Top-rated French series Capitaine Marleau has been defying audience fragmentation with up to 8.6 million linear viewers for its most popular episode in 2019. The series was also sold to MHZ Networks in the US, among others.

France Télévisions also reports renewed success for Petits Meurtres d’Agatha Christie, another of the three TVFI export award nominees this year. “This 90-minute TV movie collection airs four to six new episodes per year. There are now 27 and Agatha Christie is a powerful brand. The growth in the number of series available actually benefits Petits Meurtres because it is an established brand, and there are few series like it, targeting families and combining mystery and humour,” says Schulte.

“It is true that competition has increased a lot,” says Bouilhaguet. “As far as we are concerned, we are getting more intrusive when we get involved in a series. A good pitch is not enough, we pay a lot of attention to the talent attached, down to the director of photography, and we are very vigilant about the first minutes of a show. Our job is changing – we are involved in co-development more and becoming sort of coproducers.”

“The real challenge for us is to find distinctive series, because they tend to look like each other more and more,” claims Ciszewski. “Scandinavian noir has, for instance, led to many look-a-like series, although we are very happy because we did find a quite atypical Swedish series, Partisan, from Warner Sweden.”

Bouilhaguet also highlights the importance of standing out from the crowd. “There is such a flow of information, which is something we think about a lot,” she says. “At TV markets, you can find advertising right up to the loo.”

The French government has said it wants to bring together TVFI and Unifrance, the organisation in charge of promoting French movies abroad, in order to build an ‘export house.’ TVFI’s Hemar says: “We are talking synergies together. In this over-competitive market, it can be interesting to work together and there’s a growing need among TV distributors for promotion – that’s something Unifrance really knows about.”

Catch C21’s COUNTRYFILE Your essential market-by-market guide to the worldwide content business Keep reading online at www.c21media.net/department/countryfile

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SCHEDULE WATCH: ZDF

Channel 21 International | March 2020

La Zona

Partnerships in prospect ZDF’s international drama execs outline their multi-platform strategy and priorities for their next wave of coproductions and acquisitions, along with the return of procedurals. By Gün Akyuz

W

ith regular slots in its schedules for international scripted and competition increasing, pubcaster ZDF has been steadily upping its international coproduction ambitions.

The German drama heavyweight is already a longstanding coproduction partner for Scandinavia’s steady stream of scripted output, and has also been busy making an impact across Europe and beyond.

Alongside flagship initiatives such as its membership of European pubcaster drama club The Alliance, ZDF has a growing number of individual partnerships in place, such as last year’s deal with BBC Studios and, further afield, projects

such as ‘Southern noir’ drama The Gulf.

Last year it also turned to Central and Eastern European markets, identifying the region as a gap in its portfolio, one that commercial arm ZDF Enterprises is already pursuing through its backing of projects like Hide & Seek from Ukraine’s Film.UA. Heading ZDF’s copro initiatives is senior VP of international fiction Dr Simone Emmelius, whose department oversees acquisitions and international coproductions Dr Simone Emmelius

across lms ZDF’s channels ac acro rosss ro ss series and and feature featture feat ure film ms fo for or ZDF’ F s ch han a nels and and d services. serv se rvic ices es.

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14-49 49 9s.

This Thiss iiss somewhat Th some so mewh me what wh at offset off ffse set by younger-skewing you oung nger-s -sskew ke ewi win ng g digital dig di gita gita al channel chan ch annel ZDFneo, ZDFn neo e , which wh whic hic ich h targets targ ta rget rg etts 25-50s ets 25 5-5 -50s 50s 0s and and overall sits sseventh even ev enth th o vera ve ra all in in the the market; m rk ma rket et;; ZDF’s ZDF’ ZD F’ss online onliine onli on streaming stre st ream amin ing g and and catch-up catc ca tch h-up up service ser ervi vice ice ZDFmediathek; ZDFme DF F edi diat athe hek; he k; and younger-skewing an d yo youn unge un gerrge r-sk skew ewin ew in ng non-linear non no n-liline near ne ar service ser ervi vice vi ce Funk, Fun unkk, k, a partnership p pa part art rtne ners rshi rs hip hi p with wiith h ARD, ARD RD,, which wh whic hic ich h adapted Norwegian Norw No rweg egia ian n drama Skam. tteen te en d rama ra ma Sk kam a .

“We are basically “W We ar a e ba asi siccallllyy focusing ng on on our our main main channel, channel e, where on Sunday wh w here he ere we have hav ave e two tw slots sl Sun unda dayy and an a nd Monday Mond Mo n ay nights series and n ni igh ghts ts [for se eri r es es a nd d movies mov ovie iess respectively],” ie resp re resp spec ectitive ec titive ely ly], ],” ],” ], Emmelius agging other Em mme elil us us ssaid, aiid a id, flfla a ggin gg gi g up ZDFneo o as the the h o ther th er key key destination. de est stin inat attio ion.

But serialised fiction has become a big issue. “The audience is switching more and more from linear viewing to non-linear viewing and that has a big impact on storytelling and also on topics,” she noted.

Serialised fiction gets very good results on ZDF’s digital player, said Emmelius, but linear audiences are no longer willing to tune into a serialised series every week in ZDF’s Sunday night slot.

One remedy is event drama. “If we show one, we have to schedule it as an event. It also means that we’re returning more and more to procedurals in that slot,” said the exec, noting a similar experience for other public and commercial broadcasters.

A recent such drama was Sky Germany’s Das Boot, which ZDF acquired for the free TV window.

The eight-part series launched on ZDF in early January in a double slot on Friday January 3 at 20.15, followed by three days in late primetime at 22.15.

Working alongside Emmelius is Frank Seyberth, commissioning producer for fiction coproductions, whose credits include The Bridge and Trapped.

His focus is entirely on international coproductions, including those under The Alliance.

ZDF offers audiences hundreds of hours of fiction across its channels, said Seyberth at GFF, highlighting a sizeable slate of coproductions within that. “At the moment we have 60 coproductions in different stages and they’re shaped by the slot, by the audience or both.”

Launching on ZDF this spring is the first project X

21

22

SCHEDULE WATCH: ZDF

Channel 21 International | March 2020

TNT gangster saga 4 Blocks.

Below: Frank Seyberth

to emerge from The Alliance, Franco-German copro Mirage (6x60’), a spy thriller set in UAE produced

by Connect3 Media, Lincoln TV and Wild Bunch Germany. Distributor Cineflix Rights and Canadian broadcasters Bell Media and SuperChannel are also onboard.

Another highlight is upcoming thriller Shadowplay, from Måns Mårlind, co-creator of The Bridge and Midnight Sun, who created, wrote and directed, together with Björn Stein (Midnight Sun) as codirector. The production, from StudioCanal-owned Tandem Productions and Canada’s Bron Studios, is coproduced by ZDF and Viaplay, and also has the Netherlands’ NPO and Canal+ in France and Poland on board. The eight-part series launches this year with a second season to follow in 2021.

“For me the project is very interesting for several reasons,” said Emmelius. “When I look at my department in 2018, it was the first big project that came along, and it included all the difficulties big projects have.”

Despite a glut of Second World War-related content, Emmelius said what caught her eye about this particular story was its focus on year one in post-war Germany. “That gives you a clue about how different the perspective is, and that’s really the benefit that someone like Måns offers.”

Moreover, telling a very local story from a foreign perspective added to that. “He’s very familiar with German history but it’s from a non-German perspective,” said Emmelius. “The thrilling thing for me in doing coproductions is that you bring together

different perspectives, and if you have the same vision, bringing in these different perspectives is so helpful for the quality of the project. And to be honest, it’s also so much fun.”

ZDF has learned the lessons from its previously “more niche” Scandi noir coproductions and adapting them, said Seyberth. “We’ve been scaling that mechanism of coproduction into different fields – bigger, smaller, younger, whatever – and trebling the number of shows, the budgets and the audiences we’ve been addressing.”

There’s also a wider range of topics. “With ZDFneo, we’re addressing an audience aged between 20 and 40 and trying to fit into their state of mind,” he explained. Among the channel’s recent copros and acquisitions are Belgian thriller Tabula Rasa, Danish crime drama Below the Surface, Movistar’s original Spanish cop thriller La Zona and a free-to-air window for TNT’s German drama 4 Blocks, with Amazon taking the SVoD window.

Last fall saw the launch of six-part Kiwi drama The Gulf, airing locally as Auckland Detectives – Tödliche Bucht in the Sunday slot. The series was a copro with Screentime and prodco Lippy Pictures, together with Studio Hamburg Production Groupowned Letterbox Filmproduktion and Banijay Rights.

In the pipeline with The Alliance is an adaptation of

Jules Verne’s classic Around the World in 80 Days, which is due to land on ZDF as an event offering at Christmas.

“What’s very interesting about that one is that we’re entering into family entertainment there with coproduction. So for us, The Alliance is another very good answer to the needs of the market and how to get a budget together pretty quickly,” said Emmelius.

ZDF continues to look for a crime thriller engine for the Sunday slot, for ZDFneo and for its movie slot on Monday evening, but highlights some key differences. “For instance, for our feature films – what I call the Hollywood slot – we are looking for really great actors, high production values and thriller action-driven movies.”

Meanwhile, although crime drama on Sunday doesn’t necessarily need the lead character to be a police inspector, “there has to be a real crime and, in an ideal world, also a happy ending because the crime has been solved,” Emmelius said. “For ZDFneo, we also use that crime thriller engine but we combine the genre with sub-genres, such as drama, dramedy, sci-fi or fantasy.”

Seyberth added: “There’s one genre we’re interested in and do not have on our slate, and that’s true crime.”

ZDF also looks for projects for younger audiences under the aegis of The Alliance. Last autumn, the club greenlit mystery thriller Survivors (12×50’), developed by fellow pubcaster Rai in Italy and a copro from prodco Rodeo Drive, France’s Cinétévé and ZDF, together with France Télévisions.

As ZDFneo’s former head, Emmelius explained: “A driving impact for us was that we felt ZDFneo’s audiences were becoming more and more multilingual and multicultural. And that makes it very easy and also very authentic to tell stories where people work together, meet each other, live in other cities but are also linked. It’s very helpful in terms of storytelling but is also very important from a political point of view.

“I feel Europe is so important and that having the same aims and the same vision is important. We have to talk to each other, understand each other and live together. It’s an opportunity for us.”

24

NEXT BIG THINGS: C21’s hot picks

Channel 21 International | March 2020

Special deliveries C21 picks out some of the top new shows coming soon to a pitch or virtual market near you, including shows on the coronavirus, the climate emergency and the first drama from Jed Mercurio’s new prodco.

Dark Woods (6x45’) Producers: ConradFilm, Bavaria Fiction Distributor: Bavaria Fiction They say: “In the summer of 1989, Barbara Neder, the sister of highranking police officer Thomas Bethge, disappears without a trace, shortly after two couples have been cruelly murdered in nearby woodlands.”

We say: This drama is being made for NDR and ARD Degeto and is based on the real-life disappearance of a woman in Lower Saxony in what is considered to be one of the most incredible crimes in post-war Germany.

Coronavirus: The Silent Killer (1x48’) Producer: MediaCorp Distributor: TVF International They say: “This crucial doc is key to our understanding of the global coronavirus outbreak and response.”

We say: Touting exclusive access to frontline medical staff who have fought the virus in China, plus analysis from world-leading experts, this Channel NewsAsia production couldn’t be more timely as the world continues to tackle the virus. The show is soon to be joined by Coronavirus: Race Against the Pandemic.

De Gaulle at the Beach (30x2’15”) Producer and distributor: Xilam Animation They say: “Set in summer 1956, wearied by the ingratitude of the French and mediocrity of the country’s leaders, the Liberator of France, Charles de Gaulle, goes on a welldeserved holiday.”

We say: Produced by Xilam’s recently acquired CGI specialist studio Cube Creative for Arte France, this collection of absurd stories for adults takes a light-hearted and affectionate look at Charles de Gaulle, the hero of French 20th Century history.

Trump Almighty (1x52’/70’) Producer: Roche Productions Distributor: Kwanza They say: “How has Donald Trump changed his country? And has his extraordinary reign already transformed American democracy?”

We say: Ordered by M6 in France for primetime, this behind-the-scenes investigation comes from director William Karel (Barack Obama: Great Expectations, The World According to Bush) and has been pre-sold to broadcasters in countries including Canada and the Czech Republic.

NEXT BIG THINGS: C21’s hot picks

Channel 21 International | March 2020

25

Malawi Wildlife Rescue (6x60’) Producer: Icon Films Distributor: Blue Ant International They say: “Shot in Malawi’s rainy season when the centre receives most of its orphans and the staff have their hands full looking after baby vervet monkeys and baboons in particular.”

We say: An original commission for Blue Ant-owned Love Nature, this observational docuseries follows the valuable work being done at Malawi’s only wildlife rescue centre.

Californian Commando (10x24’)

Thin Ice (8x45’)

Exponential (4x60’)

Producers: Yellow Bird, Sagafilm Distributor: Banijay Rights They say: “It is about climate change, about the indigenous people, the independence of Greenland, and about how short-term interests prevent humanity from making decisions that are crucial to our existence.”

We say: This topical thriller dramatises the burning issues of the climate, Arctic oil exploitation and international geopolitics, produced with a host of European broadcasters on board, including C More/TV4, DR and NRK.

Producers and distributors: Submarine, Pumpernickel Films They say: “With his trademark clarity, curiosity and insight, leading media expert Douglas Rushkoff [pictured] is the perfect guide to make sense of the digital age, taking us on a fascinating ride from the idealist inception of the internet to its corruption Photo: Rebecca Ashley and, ultimately, where we could go next.”

We say: Commissioned by European cultural broadcaster Arte through its German partners WDR and RBB, this provocative docuseries tells the story of how the digital economy appears to have spun out of everyone’s control.

Producer: Fire Monkey Productions Distributor: Red Arrow Studios International They say: “Van’s dual American-Finnish citizenship means he’s forced to do military service, with his parents hoping the army will turn their spoiled son into a responsible adult.”

We say: A privileged young American is forced to join the Finnish army in this fish-out-of-water, action-packed comedy, made for streaming platform Elisa Viihde in Finland.

Unchained (format) Producer: United Studios Distributor: ADD Content They say: “Explores the reality of Jewish women unable to get a divorce without cooperation from their estranged husbands. Without consent or proof that a missing husband is legally dead, these women remain chained to their old lives and unable to move on.”

We say: This drama, sold as a scripted format as well as a finished series by Israel’s ADD Content, explores the most explosive topic in Jewish Rabbinical law: women’s place in modern society.

Generation Dating (format) Producer: Coco Content Distributor: A+E Networks They say: “In a world of disposable dating, what would happen if two strangers, one old and one young, ran each other’s love lives?”

We say: This format sees two singletons, one young and one older, embark on a mission to help each other find love. With each working as the others’ personal dating coach, it poses an intriguing question about how different generations approach the search for ‘the one.’

X

NEXT BIG THINGS: C21’s hot picks

Channel 21 International | March 2020

Bloodlands (4x60’) Producer: Hat Trick Mercurio Television Distributor: Hat Trick International They say: “A cracking contemporary thriller which manages to be both completely gripping while shining a light on to the legacy of the troubles in contemporary Northern Ireland.”

We say: Created by new writer Chris Brandon and executive produced by acclaimed showrunner Jed Mercurio (Bodyguard), this BBC1 primetime drama stars James Nesbitt (The Missing) and marks the first drama from Hat Trick Mercurio Television.

Shadowplay (8x60’) Shadowp Producers: Tandem Productions, BRON Studios, ZDF Distributor: StudioCanal lawless city with no order, the ultimate arena to tell a They say: “Berlin in 1946 is a law story of strong but broken people trying to mend. To seek peace where there is still war. To find trust where there is no loyalty. To find love, because that is all.”

We say: This gritty series tells the th story of a US cop who arrives in Berlin to aftermath of the war, while undertaking a help create a police force in the chaotic c missing brother, who is killing ex-Nazis in hiding. personal crusade to find his miss

La Linea Invisible (6x45’) Producers: Movistar+, Sentido Films, Corte y Confección de Peclículas Distributor: APC They say: “Takes viewers back to 1963 to the early days of the Basque nationalist paramilitary group Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) and follows an idealistic young man who gets gradually more involved with the increasingly violent organisation until there is no turning back.”

We say: This Spanish-language series, starring Antonio de la Torre, will premiere on Movistar+ later this year and joins HBO España’s first original series, Patria, in exploring the intricacies of the Spanish Basque country.

Lost Home Movies of Nazi Germany (2x60’) Producer: Bright Button Productions Distributor: Drive They say: “A candid look at what life was really like for those living under Hitler’s swastika, at home and abroad, a record not only of what they saw but of what they knew.”

We say: This BBC4 series delves into the private home movie collections of ordinary Germans to shed more light on everyday life in Nazi Germany.

Pilgrimage: The Road to Istanbul (3x52’) Producer: CTVC Distributor: Orange Smarty They say: “Famous faces live as simple pilgrims following an ancient military route to the historic city of Istanbul, which has been transformed into a modern-day path of peace.”

We say: Returning this Easter after making its debut on BBC2 in the UK last year, this show features celebrities of different faiths and beliefs taking part in arduous but fulfilling journeys by foot, with plenty of stimulating conversation along the way.

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SERIESERIES.FR/EN

BACKEND

Channel 21 International | March 2020

Development Slate

MY Entertainment Michael Yudin, founder and CEO of MY Entertainment in the US, discusses the special relationships driving the unscripted producer’s slate.

O

ver the years, New York-based MY Entertainment has built working relationships with numerous overseas producers, spanning South Korea, Scandinavia, Spain, Israel, the UK and Poland.

This isn’t the traditional route for many US producers, who, with the world’s biggest TV market in their back yard, tend to be largely focused on serving their domestic audience.

However, rights ownership for US producers still pales in comparison to those enjoyed in markets such as the UK, meaning MY Entertainment has been keen to foster international connections as a way to keep hold of more rights.

“It’s a strategy that offers international producers a route into the US market with the added bonus of allowing us to own more IP in the global market,” says founder and CEO Michael Yudin.

MY has bi-weekly calls with about a dozen international producers, Michael Yudin during which they share key insights into what the US networks are looking for and discuss how they might collaborate to serve them, as well as fund development.

Yudin believes that as the world has become more easily connected globally, it has also become more tribal. As a result, he says it has never been more important to think globally and seek common ground.

“We producers, as cultural gatekeepers charged with creating new stories for multiplatform audiences, can help buck the divisive trend by putting aside our tribal loyalties and working more closely with one another,” he says.

Yudin points to the format Pregnant & Platonic, which MY co-developed with Israel’s Gil Formats, making it an Israeli/US co-developed and coowned original format, which aired last year on BBC2 in the UK, followed by Nelonen in Finland.

“I’m not aware of too many examples like this of independents joining forces to create unique concepts with clear global appeal and a possible route back into the US,” says Yudin.

“Reaching out in friendship brings real commercial and creative benefits and there are huge rewards for producers prepared to put in the time and spadework needed to create a two-way transatlantic street and forge trade relationships that reflect how we believe international partners should be treated – as special.”

Three-Year Plan Ringside Studios The UK has a new production company, one that’s set to offer local talent an opportunity to work on projects with a European identity.

W

Gub Neal

hile certain ties between the UK and Europe will loosen as a result of Brexit, there are some who are looking to strengthen links between the two. Step forward French production and distribution group Newen, former Channel 4 head of drama Gub Neal and UKbased TV packaging company DoveTale.

The trio have set up Ringside Studios, a new venture majority-owned by Newen, itself part of French commercial broadcast group TF1, with both Neal and DoveTale holding minority stakes in the London-based business.

Neal, best known for award-winning and critically acclaimed dramas such as The Fall, was most recently at Endemol Shine-backed Artists Studio, but the company was shuttered last year.

Edward Barlow, former development producer at Artists Studio, has joined creative director Neal at Ringside, with the two working to develop Englishlanguage and international dramas that may be distributed by Newen.

Neal says the new company aims to do talent deals with authors, showrunners and producers in the UK to work on projects that target the global market via Europe over the next few years, and scale up accordingly.

It already has several projects under advanced development within Newen, including an adaptation of the Oksa Pollock children’s fantasy novels, coproduced with Jean-Benoit Gillig of Léonis, the French prodco that adapted The Fall for TF1.

For Neal, the involvement of Newen, which has a growing presence in Europe, offers him an alternative to the established route of financing projects by bringing on board a UK terrestrial broadcaster that inevitably require a US partner to complete the budget. Meanwhile, it allows Newen to tap into the UK’s esteemed scripted market.

“The advantage I have now is I’ve got a substantial European partner in Newen. I can go for projects that aren’t wholly reliant on one of those major US buyers coming in. We don’t necessarily have to approach it from a completely Americanised point of view to make it commercially viable,” says Neal, who doesn’t rule out North American partnerships.

“Being a high-profile English-language project in a European catalogue is fundamentally interesting.

There’s also wanting to hang on to our European identity. The UK is going to change as a result of Brexit; there’s going to be an inevitable element of further Americanisation. I like the idea of both maintaining and building this bridge with Europe.”

29

30

PRESENT IMPERFECT FUTURE TENSE: Jill Offman

Progress report T

he UK broadcasting industry is Jill Offman, chair of committed to significantly increasing the Creative Diversity diversity on- and off-screen. But for all Network and MD of our efforts, it is not possible to know whether Viacom International material progress is being made unless we can reliably measure these efforts.

Studios UK, looks at efforts That’s why the UK’s leading broadcasters, to build a more diverse and as members of the Creative Diversity Network inclusive UK industry.

(CDN), launched Project Diamond in 2017.

Put simply, Diamond is a platform for collecting diversity data from individuals involved in 0.3% for BAME people. Diamond has also productions for the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, measured roles, genre and broadcast slot and the numbers present a complex story.

Channel 5/ViacomCBS and Sky. While the industry as a whole is accountable Each year, this data is aggregated into a statistically robust snapshot of the industry’s for diversity, it is within individual broadcasters composition, assessing age, disability, that the day-to-day choices are most relevant. ethnicity, gender, gender identity and sexual The fact that, for the first time, statistical data is orientation. Diamond’s numbers are a way to broken out by broadcaster is a clear indication hold broadcasters and producers accountable, of their commitment to delivering.

Sky Studios CEO Gary Davey has to require action where there are failings.

Diamond is the biggest and most advanced committed to step up his organisation’s diversity monitoring system in the world. The efforts to address the under-representation latest report, The Third Cut, is based on 30,901 of BAME and disabled people. As for Viacom anonymised and encrypted forms completed International Studios UK, Maria Kyriacou, by individuals between late 2018 and mid- CEO and president of ViacomCBS Networks 2019. It is the only up-to-date assessment of UK, says Diamond has prompted us to launch a new partnering scheme the UK industry’s record on While the industry with BAME-owned diversity, the last census as a whole is independents. having taken place in By continuing to support 2012 and involving 2,000 accountable for diversity, and evolve Diamond, respondents. it is within individual we’ll be able to come However, no data broadcasters that the back next year and see set is perfect and as day-to-day choices are if those initiatives made broadcasters, the accuracy a difference. And if they and reliability of data is most relevant. don’t, we’ll have to explain crucial. So for the Third Cut we asked independent statistician Catherine why. Surely that is a persuasive reason for Bunting to interrogate the Diamond Data. the entire industry to throw its support behind Bunting found the high volume of responses Diamond and acknowledge the contribution renders a negligible margin of error, meaning made by our 30,000-plus respondents.

So what’s next? The CDN and its members we can consider the data robust. “Diamond figures represent real diversity records from will continue to tackle all categories of underover 30,000 people, which is a considerable representation but will have a particular focus improvement on the anecdotal information we on disabled people through Doubling Disability, a project that aims to boost the number would have otherwise,” Bunting said.

Another issue to consider is the detail of of disabled people working in off-screen the data – does it measure enough of what production roles. We will also be undertaking a is important? As a broadcaster initiative, more in-depth analysis of what we know about Diamond was designed to track on- and off- how BAME groups are represented.

Diamond’s data sets our industry apart, screen representation against the overall census statistics. For example, 17% of the raising vital questions and providing essential overall working population is disabled but our insights that compel UK broadcasters to act. It latest cut of Diamond Data revealed only 5.2% is stronger for the fact that it is also supported of off-screen jobs are held by disabled people. by ITN, S4C, Bafta, Screenskills and So, we have a lot of work to do to make our producers’ body Pact. The latter’s CEO, John McVay, has played a critical role in ensuring industry more accessible to this group.

The data also revealed women and BAME producers’ voices are prominent in the design people were well-represented. This is good of Diamond.

There will continue to be questions about news overall. However, because we have measured many roles for the first time, we data collection and sample size, as there were able to see that the female and BAME should be. The CDN is committed to working population is under-represented in key roles with stake-holders to improve its data. But like writer and director, and while women our most significant challenge is to use the occupy 98% of make-up artist positions, data we have to build a more diverse and they hold only 3.1% of lighting jobs, against inclusive industry.

“

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