MIPCOM 2019 PREVIEW MAGAZINE

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PREVIEW September 2019

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EDITO

Dear Friends, WELCOME to this MIPCOM 2019 Preview magazine, where you can read about the key industry themes being discussed in Cannes in a few short weeks.

As the largest gathering of the global entertainment content industry, MIPCOM brings together platforms, producers, creators, distributors, studios, independent production companies, investors, talent and the best content in every genre, from around the world.

The overriding theme of this year’s gathering is The Streaming Offensive, as MIPCOM 2019 comes at a time when the world’s media giants are ready to unleash their direct-to-consumer offensive, their new SVOD and AVOD streaming platforms set to shake-up the global broadcast and distribution models once again, after the first wave spearheaded by Amazon and Netflix.

Discussions in Cannes will reveal how this disruption is fast turning into a positive force, as more companies are becoming involved in the processes of content creation and finance — and most important, demand for all genres of programme grows exponentially.

Our MIPCOM Personality Of The Year for 2019 is positioned directly in the eye of the streaming storm: Robert Greenblatt is chairman of WarnerMedia Entertainment, set to go head-to-head with all the streaming giants with the imminent launch of HBO Max. Delegates will hear more about the launch when he addresses the MIPCOM audience before receiving his Award from Reed MIDEM CEO Paul Zilk.

Media Mastermind Keynote presentations from Amazon’s James Farrell and Tubi’s Farhad Massoudi and Adam Lewinson will shed further light on this vast subject.

A Media Mastermind Keynote from Bibiane Godfroid, CEO of French company Newen, meanwhile, will highlight the company’s global drive, most recently with the likely acquisition of Canada’s Reel One; and as high-end, breakthrough TV brands continue to be the holy grail for all platforms, we will hear a Media Mastermind Keynote from one of TV’s all-time greats, creator of many global hits including Sex And The City and Beverly Hills, 90210, Darren Star.

The MIPCOM Diversity and Inclusion programme continues, and will once again include the Diversify TV Excellence Awards. Now in its third year, the Awards event is aimed at encouraging diversity and inclusion on both sides of the camera.

And the eighth annualWomen In Global Entertainment Lunch will hear from a number of leading industry lights including dream hampton and Brie Miranda Bryant, two of the executive producers of the documentary series Surviving R. Kelly, from A+E Network’s Lifetime channel.

MIPCOM is branded The World’s Entertainment Content Market for a reason: a truly international gathering, there will be over 110 countries represented in Cannes this year. And to underline its importance on the world stage we are presenting a Special Focus on four diverse and hugely important markets around the world: Argentina, China, Japan and Russia.

Argentina is highlighting its role as a development and creativity hub for international audiovisual projects — along with its institutional body, INCAA, which works to grow its production industry globally; China is presenting Shanghai in Cannes as one of its most important media hubs; Japan is introducing the striking new film, The Return, as one of MIPCOM’s World Premiere TV Screenings, as well as a number of initiatives to increase awareness of Japanese content around the world; and the growing international success of Russian animation is celebrated at MIPJunior and at MIPCOM on the Made In Russia stand.

Our international screenings and World Premiere TV Screenings programmes continue, the latter featuring the aforementioned The Return, from Japan’s Samurai Drama Channel; Agent Hamilton, a spy thriller series based on the bestselling Hamilton novels by Jan Guillou and presented by Beta Film; and Sky Vision’s financial thriller Devils, which will be attended by cast and crew, including star Patrick Dempsey.

I am sure you will gain a lot from reading this, the 2019 edition of the MIPCOM Preview, which explores many of the these and other subjects that are central to this year’s event.

And I know you will have a productive and enjoyable time at this year’s MIPCOM, which promises once again to be the year’s biggest and most important international gathering for our industry.

Laurine GARAUDE Director, Television Division Reed MIDEM

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CONTENTS

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10

NEWS

Personality Of The Year, WarnerMedia Entertainment’s Bob Greenblatt; Countries Of Focus: China, Japan, Russia; Media Mastermind Keynotes: ProSiebenSat.1 Media’s Max Conze, Amazon Sudios’ James Farrell, Twitter’s Kay Madati, Newen’s Bibiane Godfroid, showrunner Darren Star, and Tubi’s Farhad Massoudi and Adam Lewinson; Women In Global Entertainment Lunch; The Diversity And Inclusion programme; Diversify TV Excellence Awards; UHD TV; and more...

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TIPS & SERVICES

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CONFERENCES & EVENTS PROGRAMME

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PRODUCT NEWS

Multiplatform content from around the world on sale in Cannes

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MIPCOM WORLD PREMIERE TV SCREENINGS

70 Beta Film’s Hamilton

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72 Sky Vision’s Devils 74 Samurai Drama Channel’s The Return

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FEATURES

77 STREAMING PLATFORMS Here comes the competition

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88 STREAMING TECHNOLOGY Full stream ahead

92 DEMAND FOR CONTENT Can we keep feeding the beast?

100 FUNDING PRODUCTION In search of the magic money tree

107 DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

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It’s time to look behind the camera MIPCOM PREVIEW • 8

• September 2019

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‘I will always be a producer at heart’ BOB GREENBLATT is MIPCOM 2019 Personality Of The Year. And while the WarnerMedia Entertainment chairman is no stranger to such accolades, he says this one is particularly special to him.

“I’m honoured and humbled by this award, because I know that it is predicated on a body of work and MIPCOM is a prestigious organisation that I respect very much,” he said ahead of his visit to Cannes. “I like to think I have a terrific personality, but I think I’m being recognised for 30 years of programming — all of which is the result of the collective hard work of thousands of colleagues and artists. It’s been a privilege to work with many of the best people in the entertainment business to bring new voices and new stories to a worldwide audience.”

His vast brief currently includes the launch of a global streaming platform, heading up HBO and running cable operations TNT and TBS, and much more. So what is his priority at this particular moment in time?

‘I like to think I have a terrific personality, but...’

“Being an executive means handling multiple jobs at once and that is precisely what I love about it. The priority at the moment

is the creation of our new direct-to-consumer streaming service, HBO Max. But since HBO and the Turner networks figure prominently into that strategy, it all overlaps in very invigorating ways. You can only oversee several companies at once, though, if you have the best possible people running them with teams working for them of passionate people all rowing in the same direction. I’m so fortunate to have Casey Bloys and Glenn Whitehead at HBO, Kevin Reilly at both HBO Max and the Turner networks, as well as Sarah Aubrey overseeing new original content for HBO Max and Tony Goncalves overseeing the product and management of HBO Max. He added: “It’s their leadership and the skills of countless people working for them that make it all possible.”

And while the evolution of the industry is racing ahead, Greenblatt is mindful of the foundations on which that industry was built.

“I’m most excited now about being associated with these legacy brands — HBO, TBS, TNT, truTV — and challenged to keep them strong and vibrant in an environment that is more competitive than ever before,” he said. “Add to that the creation of a whole new business — HBO Max — inside a storied company like WarnerMedia that is now part of AT&T, one of the largest and most vibrant companies in

America, and how could you not be excited?”

Quality content is at the forefront of this disrupted industry, and each of the platforms for which he is responsible require their own stand-out shows. And for Greenblatt, the platform defines the content.

“Each of our platforms has their own identity, so that dictates content choices to some extent. And I rely on the talented people running those different platforms to develop and produce the right projects for their respective areas,” he said. “The right HBO show is probably not going to be the perfect fit for TBS and visa-versa, so brand differentiation is important. I’ve spent my career — from the fledgling Fox network to Showtime and NBC, both of which needed to be reinvented — in search of standout content. You set your strategy, then reach out to the creative community to deliver the shows that will work for you and I’ve been very lucky on that front.”

Greenblatt started out as a producer and his name is inextricably linked to some big hits — Six Feet Under is just one example.

So does he miss the hands-on experience and the tangible success that sometimes comes with it?

“I love being a producer and have had some of the best experiences in my career doing just that — Six Feet Under is one of the

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 10 • September 2019

highlights of my life. I also love being an executive and managing multiple enterprises while being involved in creative and business decisions at the corporate level.

At NBC I found some time to get very involved in a few projects, such as the live musicals. But in my current job at the moment I can’t focus as much on the content day-to-day. But I will always be a producer at heart and in a way I’m producing a brand new, direct-to-consumer experience that will bring together some of the most amazing content out there. It doesn’t get any better than that.”

HBO was a pioneering concept and remains a strong brand today, in spite of the dominance of the SVOD giants. So does Greenblatt plan to hold on to this legacy in this new era and into the future?

“Absolutely…100%. That’s why our new offering will be called HBO Max. HBO is one of the strongest global content brands, and is a pioneer of compelling, culture-defining programming.

We’d be foolish to not root our new bundled offering with HBO as its foundation, and do everything to keep HBO as robust and thriving as we can.”

And then it is his and his team’s job to fill in around that with new original shows, acquired programming and library content from across the WarnerMedia empire.

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news: PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR “Everything we do at HBO Max is predicated on the guiding principles that make HBO so compelling… hand-picked content of absolute stellar quality, with the best talent both in-front of and behind the camera. It’s pretty good to come to the table with HBO already in hand.”

Meanwhile disruption of the industry continues. How does he build this into the working day?

“Disruption isn’t just part of the working day — it is the working day. With the pace of change and ideation happening all around us, disruption and change are our new world order. Those who thrive in it will win and those who are scared of it and hesitate will lose. You just have to get comfortable living with it and adapting to it on some level every day.”

‘Disruption isn’t just part of the working day — it is the working day’ And as MIPCOM gets closer, what does Greenblatt believe he has to offer delegates in Cannes — and what can they offer him?

“MIPCOM has always been a gathering of the best and brightest content creators from across the globe, so my hope is that this continues and grows as we find new voices and create new talent.

What I can offer delegates is my word that everyone at WarnerMedia is open to fresh ideas and compelling content and that is what I hope they’ll bring to us... before everyone else!”

And away from the boardroom, the disruption, the multiple responsibilities, what relaxes Robert Greenblatt?

“When not working, I am fanatical about the theatre. I go to everything I can and have also gotten involved in co-producing and investing in Broadway,” he said. “There’s nothing better for me — a pianist from way back — than a live theatre experience.

And for a moment of leisure at Cannes, there’s nothing like watching the sun go down over the Hotel du Cap-Eden Roc.”

MIPCOM Personality of the Year, Robert Greenblatt

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NEWS: MEDIA MASTERMIND KEYNOTE

‘It’s a marathon, not a sprint’ “I LOVE the things we at ProSiebenSat.1 do: entertainment, digital and commerce. It’s a business and industry in transformation and I believe we can lead that future.” The words of Max Conze, the man who, before taking the helm at ProSiebenSat.1 Media last year, was heading up consumer electronics firm Dyson, quadrupling its revenues during his six-year tenure.

And it is this industrial background that puts Conze in a strong position to oversee ProSiebenSat.1’s new business approach, which for a media company is unique.

“While entertainment is the core of our company, we are clearly increasing the exchange with our production and commerce segments and using synergies for further growth,” Conze said.

“That means that Red Arrow is producing more and more for our local channels; that our commerce company NuCom Group benefits from the reach and brand power of our entertainment business and vice-versa. Being consumer-centric and content-led in all we do is what drives the company overall. So, we are creating programmes, services and products, which fascinate and i n s p i r e people every day and

that are part of their daily life.”

He added: “This business model of combining entertainment and commerce is unique in the entire market.”

And with this fine-tuned commercial approach to running a company with creativity at its core, MIPCOM delegates won’t be surprised to hear that disruption is simply a driver for Conze.

“ProSiebenSat.1 is in the midst of a transformation to become a truly digital, diversified entertainment and commerce champion. For me, the key to every challenge is innovation, a strong will to change and the courage to embrace the future. There is still a lot of work to do but we are making good progress. It’s a marathon, not a sprint after all,” he said.

“It is important to remember that television is not dead as many

continue to claim. What is true, is that the way we watch television is changing. For us, the key is to combine the strengths of linear television with the strengths of non-linear streaming offerings.

Two models combined in one are stronger than one can ever be.”

Thus, along with Discovery Communications, the company recently fast-tracked the launch of Joyn, the streaming platform with the largest free-TV offering in Germany — the genesis of which Conze will speak about during his MIPCOM keynote. “We have live streams of 55 public and private channels in one app, several originals and exclusives, a seven-day pre-TV airing and 30-day catchup on numerous titles.”

At the end of the year the company will introduce the premium version of Joyn, with an additional subscription model and premium content. “This offer is unique in Germany and has received a warm welcome by users: not even two months after its launch in mid-June, Joyn already had around 3.8 million total monthly users across all devices and more than 2.4 million downloads of the mobile apps.”

But as has been proven over recent years, it

ProSiebenSat.1 Media CEO Max Conze

is high-end premium content that enables platforms to keep their brand high in the consciousness of the viewing public. And ProSiebenSat.1 takes a slightly different approach here, too.

“It may sound stale, but yes: content is still king,” Conze said. “For our success, high-quality local content matters. We are differentiating ourselves from the global giants with live and local content, news and sports. That is why we are increasing our investments here and are now investing more than €1bn in content every year.”

For example, the company decided to produce its version of the Korean hit format The Masked Singer as a live show. It proved to be its most successful primetime presentation in a decade and improved its performance every week. On average, over seven million people watched each episode live on TV, while online video views across the season reached 26 million.

The finale achieved an audience share of 38.1% and in the one moment where the winner finally unveiled his identity, over 50% of the German population was watching. “I think it is fair to say that you can’t prove the magic and power of live television any better than that,” Conze said.

“And it proves that our strategy to make entertainment more live, more surprising and more relevant and to play it across every channel is the right one.”

• Max Conze Media Mastermind Keynote is on Monday 14 October, at 16.15 in the Grand Auditorium

Max Conze:

“We are differentiating ourselves from the global giants”

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 14 • September 2019

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‘I really want to focus on Europe’ IT’S ALMOST exactly one year since Amazon Studios named James Farrell head of international originals. Previously head of content for the company’s entertainment arm, Farrell now leads the international originals teams in Japan, India, Europe, Mexico and Brazil and that brief will expand into further territories in the near future.

On taking the new role, Farrell stated his objective of seeking out original, creative voices from anywhere in the world and he has moved fast. “We have a series premiering out of India in a few months called The Forgotten Army. It follows the Indian National Army at the end of WWII and the rock-and-a-hard-place situation they found themselves in — whether to fight for the British empire of which they were a part, or to fight with the Japanese, which could have meant their independence if the Japanese had won the war,” Farrell said.

“This project was pitched to us by prominent filmmaker Kabir Khan as a passion project of his and we said yes on the spot. I can’t wait to see how customers respond in a few months.”

To find the unusual — often in faraway places — means his is not much of a desk job. But Farrell can also rely on colleagues positioned around the world.

“I do travel a lot, probably two weeks a month, but really it’s all about having great people on the ground in each country to find the best projects,” he said.

“Those are the folks with the key relationships and who know what local customers want to see.

Me, and the rest of the LA-based team, meanwhile, are trying our best to add value by sharing best practices and mounting global support.”

With the streaming explosion a key theme at this year’s MIPCOM, it’s clear that Amazon is not alone and the pace with which new on-demand services

are coming on stream is picking up. But Farrell is unfazed: “We’re so lucky at Amazon because we’re only tasked with thinking about our customers,” he said. “In every decision we ask ourselves questions like: ‘Will customers like this?’, ‘Is this different enough from what customers are watching elsewhere?’ and ‘Will this be the title that makes a customer super-happy about their Prime membership?’. We never talk

about the creative strategies of other services. For the most part their stakeholders are different from ours, so their creative process is probably different too.”

In the context of his fierce travel schedule, MIPCOM will serve as a welcome few days during which creatives from all over the world will be in the same town as Farrell. And for the duration of his keynote, even in the same room.

So what will delegates hear dur-

ing Amazon’s head of originals’ keynote?

“For MIPCOM I really want to focus on Europe. We need great stories from France, Italy, German, Spain, The UK, The Nordics, The Netherlands and Turkey. That’s a lot of countries and a lot of customers so my hope is that I can help articulate to everyone the kinds of series and films that would be great fits with Amazon.” He added: “The key message is: ‘We want projects which are fun, new and different from those you can find elsewhere.’”

And away from the keynoters’ stage?

“This is actually my ninth straight year attending MIPCOM. Not a bad run but far less than many, I’m sure. It’s always one of my favourite weeks of the year to reconnect with people from around the world in such a beautiful setting,” he said. “My plans for this year are actually not that different from what I’ll be talking about on stage. There are a lot of folks in places like the Nordics, Netherlands and Turkey in particular that I just don’t get enough time to spend with month to month, so MIPCOM is a perfectly located setting to sit down and see how we can work together in the years ahead.”

And when he’s off duty — what does he binge as a viewer, as opposed to a TV executive? “The Boys and Fleabag on Amazon are amazing! I know I’m biased, but I watch a lot of TV and these two really stand apart.”

• The Amazon Studios Media Mastermind Keynote is on Monday, October 14 at 11.30 in the Grand Auditorium

Amazon Studios’ James Farrell

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 16 • September 2019

‘We want projects which are fun, new and different from what you can find elsewhere’

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‘Every viewer is a curator’ Founded in 2014, Tubi is the world’s largest ad-supported videoon-demand service with over 15,000 movies and television shows from over 200 content partners and over 20 million monthly active users. Founder and CEO Farhad Massoudi and chief content officer Adam Lewinson are speaking at MIPCOM about the rapid rise of Tubi in their keynote AVOD: The Rise Of Free WHERE do you place Tubi in the streaming universe?

MASSOUDI: I think we’ve proven that, with our growth, we see a world where, when people cut the cord and replace linear TV with on-demand, they’re going to subscribe to a handful of subscription services whose primary job is to justify themselves on your bill, every month, with their original content. So you get Showtime, or you get HBO or whatever, because of their originals. And they provide customers access to a small library of mostly original content.

What Tubi does is we’re the best complementary service to the subscription services, especially Netflix, with the world’s largest library of series and movies at no additional cost. And so we see a huge opportunity with personalised TV and personalised media, which is why we went on this

Tubi CEO Farhad Massoudi

mission of aggregating incredible library content. We have actually more content than some of the major studios and major media companies and it is only growing.

And that, paired with a recommendation engine, which is powered recognition learning, we’ve found that to be incredibly powerful. So we’re not only the largest free VOD service in the US, but also the most sophisticated one because of our recommendation engine and our large library.

It’s the originals that are key to platform branding. What’s your strategy for countering the power of the originals?

LEWINSON: That is the big question. I was in linear television here in the states for a very long time, mostly with FX Networks, and so I have been very involved with original content — some

very big hit shows which are high-performing, some which have vastly under-performed and some in between. So there is this 1% of content — let’s use Game Of Thrones as an example. When you can tap into it, you have a global hit. It’s obviously very high-risk and very high-reward.

In the US alone there are roughly 500 original scripted series a year.

Then add original reality content and a lot of movies that have been produced direct-for-TV or direct-for-digital and every one of these is a new product launch.

Some will work and some won’t.

And everyone will want to watch some — I think we all do. I think most of us at Tubi watch shows like Game Of Thrones — but the vast majority of the rest of the viewership is more comfort television, which is a highly personalised experience. So TV viewing

Tubi CCO Adam Lewinson

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 18 • September 2019

has really evolved — at least here in the States — from the time when we had three major networks that told us what to watch and told us when to watch it. Today with VOD it’s the opposite.

Every viewer is a curator and they decide what to watch and when to watch it.

What is your USP? Is it the recommendation technology?

MASSOUDI: Well there are a few things. First, we’re free. That’s a big deal. Second, we have the world’s largest library of series and movies under one umbrella, which is unique. And the third is that once we learn about your taste we can programme to your taste using machine learning. And essentially, as a result, we have built the most powerful comfort TV platform in the world.

What has been the library and IP owners’ response so far?

MASSOUDI: We’re the best thing that’s happened to them in years — since the streaming wars started. Most media companies are trying to figure out their strategy and we happen to have monetised a library that the streaming services aren’t monetising well.

LEWINSON: I will echo that.

We have well over 200 content partners and in the US we are working with pretty much everybody with the widest assortment of content that you could possibly imagine. And for most content owners, most people only want to license the 1% because that’s the only thing that they can even get to work — or in an SVOD environment, when your sole focus is driving subscription and retention on a fee perspective, you have to be very focused on percentage content. So the content owners absolutely love that we are very interested in entire libraries and going very broad and very deep. We have really wonderful symbiotic relationship with these owners.”

• The Tubi Media Mastermind Keynote is on Monday, October 14 at 12.15 in the Grand Auditorium

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‘Working non-stop to put out tomorrow’s big hits’ Newen president Bibiane Godfroid is giving a MIPCOM Media Mastermind Keynote, as the company is close to completing the acquisition of Canada’s Reel One Entertainment. She spoke to the MIPCOM Preview ahead of her appearance on the Cannes stage And in the current TV climate, growth is crucial. “A company’s size is of utmost importance in today’s highly competitive world, dominated by online platforms that distribute their content throughout the globe. But instead of focusing on our competitors, our teams focus on coming up with new ideas, working non-stop to put out tomorrow’s big hits.”

And co-existing alongside the streaming giants is proving positive experience for Newen. “Producing for an online platform is completely different from producing for linear TV channels,” she said. “This has opened up brand-new opportunities for our company’s producers.

We have worked with both Netflix and Amazon. The new streaming

world has had the biggest impact on the distribution business, which is one of the world’s fastest changing industries. In order to gain access to a maximum of content, our goal is to get involved in new international TV series early on, in the pre-production stages.”

For her Media Mastermind Keynote, Godfroid will focus, in part, “on finding ways to innovate, to adapt and to grow in a constantly changing world”. And for the rest of her time at MIPCOM, her goal is “to bolster our position as a multi-genre producer with a wide catalogue of dramas, animated series, documentaries and format programmes that perform well on the global market.” She added: “This year, Newen has developed a

“Producing for an online platform is completely different from producing for linear TV channels” • Bibiane Godfroid Media Mastermind Keynote is on Tuesday, October 15 at 11.15 in the Grand Auditorium

© Photo: Julien Lutt/CAPA Pictures

A LEADING executive in French media across four decades Bibiane Godfroid’s career took her back into production in 2015 when she joined Newen Group as executive vice-president in charge of content. Three years later she was named CEO and today, as president, oversees the international expansion of the company, which at press time included negotiations to acquire Canadian production and distribution company Reel One Entertainment — a move yet to be approved by the Department of Canadian Heritage, the equivalent of France’s Ministry of Culture.

If or when the acquisition is approved, Godfroid said she expects nothing much to change as far as her role is concerned. “I am still the president of a corporate company that is very well established in France and is expanding on the global stage,” she said. “Our company includes a great team of producers and they command my attention equally. Reel One is also a worldwide leader in the production and distribution of made-forTV movies. That said, corporation-wise, this acquisition gives us a foothold in the English-speaking world. It bolsters our connections with the US, Canada and the UK, where Reel One has offices and talent pools.” She added: “We are now the biggest producer in France, in terms of the number of hours of fiction produced. We also produce a great many news magazines and documentaries. Our goal is to expand into southern Europe, while simultaneously building closer ties with England’s top talents.”

great many TV formats — for example Ca Ne Sortira Pas D’Ici, La Boite A Secrets, Crime Scene and The Break Up. MIPCOM gives us an opportunity to present them to producers and distributors from all around the world with an eye to exporting them.”

As someone who has been in the industry for some four decades, Godfroid still sees parallels today with the business she first entered. “The television industry has obviously changed substantially since the 1980s, with the mushrooming of both linear and digital channels and fast-changing viewer watching habits. Even so, the primary goal of television producers has not changed: connecting with viewers by telling them moving stories, beautiful stories. And in that sense, the surge in the number of broadcast channels has opened up a great opportunity for producers.”

Newen Group president Bibiane Godfroid

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news: MEDIA MASTERMIND KEYNOTE

‘To know the world, you need to travel’ Darren Star, one of the most successful showrunners in the global TV business, is giving a Media Mastermind Keynote in Cannes. The creative genius behind Sex In The City, Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place spoke to Andy Fry

Darren Star

“MY SHOWS have performed well outside the US — both in their original versions and as formats; but I haven’t really had an opportunity to engage with the international TV business. So attending MIPCOM is a chance to put that right. To know the world, you need to travel,” Star said.

That philosophy fits neatly with Star’s latest project, a 10-part scripted series called Emily In Paris, for Paramount Network.

“It stars Lily Collins as a US exec who goes to work with a French marketing firm. US audiences are pretty insular, so it struck me as refreshing to be able to tell them a fish-out-of-water story,” he said.

According to Star, US audiences have “something of a fantasy about Paris; so this will be a kind of love letter to the city — analogous to Sex In The City and New York. But it’s not an easy journey.

The show embraces and punctures the dream.”

Having been used to filming in the US, shooting on French soil is something of a novelty for Star — but he says it is going well: “We’re working with a cast that is 50-50 French and US and with fantastic French crew. They’re really talented and committed.”

To date, Star has had a phenomenal record in terms of series renewals, with all of his major projects running for multiple seasons — including Younger, which has just been recommissioned for a seventh season by Viacom’s TV Land. The secret, he says, is having “a great cast, a premise that is rich enough to sustain the show and the right characters. Getting the audience to build a relationship with characters is critical. I’m still amazed at how people connect with Beverly Hills 90210 and Sex In The City two or three decades after they launched.”

In terms of his creative process,

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 22 • September 2019

Star said: “I start with subjects that seem relevant to me. Younger, based on a book by Pamela Redmond Satran, tells the story of a 40-year-old woman trying to reinvent herself by pretending she is younger than she really is.

I knew women who were seeking to reinvent themselves and, in a sense, I was experiencing that too.

It’s all about what you do when you are no longer the youngest person in the room.”

Star added that he doesn’t design shows by algorithm, but he cites Younger as an example of how he has responded to the post-linear TV market. “I always envisaged the show having a life beyond TV Land, among the streamers. So I created episodes that have connected stories which lend themselves to binging,” he said.

More than most showrunners, Star’s series have been a step or two ahead of contemporary pop culture. Is he aware of that when making the shows? “You feel like you’re making something special when you are in production,” he said, “but when you’re creating something new, it can take time for the audience to find your show. I wouldn’t say my shows were immediate successes. That was one of the attractions of working with HBO on Sex In The City, because they were not so ratings driven. I think networks these days increasingly recognise the importance of quality — though that’s not to say shows can survive with low ratings.”

A big theme at recent editions of MIPTV and MIPCOM is diversity. It’s an issue that Star, who is openly gay, is conscious of and has addressed in his work. “Melrose Place was one of the first shows to have a prominent gay character. And we have set out to make Emily In Paris feel like an inclusive, diverse show. I just think you have to be careful with diversity that you aren’t checking boxes. It works best when the subject relates to you.”

• Darren Star’s Media Mastermind keynote is on Tuesday, October 15 at 12.00 in the Grand Auditorium

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news: MEDIA MASTERMIND KEYNOTE

‘We are friends, not foe, to the industry’ IN HIS role as global vice-president and head of content partnerships at Twitter, Kay Madati is responsible for driving partnerships with media and content publishers across all categories and delivering strategies that extend, scale, market and monetise their content and programming initiatives across the social media network.

And he’s back in Cannes for his second consecutive MIPCOM keynote, to sum up what he describes as “a phenomenal year, not just here at Twitter, but in the industry generally — but, particularly, here at Twitter”.

He admits that the company has only been in the content business for a short time, but in that time he has monitored growth in all areas. “I still think of us still as a young business, we’ve only really been in the content business since 2016 so when I think of growth, I’m talking about the metrics on a year-on-year basis: ‘Are we working with more partners? Are we doing more executions and innovations around existing relationships? And are we expanding on a global footprint?’”

And what a time to be growing — as VOD services are launching around the world at a record pace. So does the competition get in the way?

“Broadly we are friends not foe to industry. We have purposely positioned the service offering we have to content partners in this way: basically I am not interested in going out to compete with linear television, the job isn’t to move content from that platform to this platform,” Madati said. “The places where these partners are already heavily invested in driving a lot of premium content, we make those bigger and better. We make

Twitter’s Kay Madati returns to the MIPCOM stage this year with a keynote titled The Past, Present And Future Of Twitter’s Content Partnerships — and will be joined by top media executives and talent to discuss some of the company’s most successful partnerships. He spoke to Julian Newby ahead of his keynote presentation

them better because we have a unique value proposition, which I don’t think is replicated. When you marry the conversation that is germane to our platform to premium content that might be generating some of that conversation, that’s our superpower. Tying real-time conversation to the things that happen in the world on a daily basis, at scale.”

‘I am not interested in going out to compete with linear television’ He added: “So all our partners should see us as not as competitors at all, but actually adding to the total experience — then we

put a business model around that, which adds to their monetisation.”

A year ago, Madati identified specific areas where Twitter might engage with content creators, according to their representation on the network — specifically esports, music, lifestyle and food. So what has happened in these areas since then?

“Esports and gaming is one of the fastest growing categories on our platform. Start with the audience data, look at how many conversations happen in and around gaming on the platform — its amazing,” he said. “So in the last 12 months we structured a deal with one of the biggest players, Blizzard Entertainment, and specifically around BlizzCon 2019, where

Twitter’s Kay Madati

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 24 • September 2019

we have been able to bring specific kinds of content to Twitter for the first time and extend their reach and create monetisation models.

I think there is more to be done in that space, but we’re just getting started.”

In his keynote address, Madati’s message is that the world has changed. “I think the narrative in a soundbite is: we all know that the content universe continues to evolve. The days when you could show up at MIPCOM and just do a television show and sell it to a linear network may still exist in some areas, but few and far between,” he said. “Now they’re selling multiplatform content because our users and their audiences exist on multiple platforms.”

He added: “I want this audience at MIPCOM, and our partners who are going to be there, to know that Twitter is an essential destination for the most compelling premium content — and that this is a place where you can aggregate and guide the conversation around some of that content to a business proposition and an audience proposition that can add value to their strategies.”

And what can MIPCOM delegates offer Twitter? “We’re still growing in this space and that’s part of the reason why I was so excited to be coming back to MIPCOM — actually to hit that drum hard and let people know that we are open for discussions, we welcome the discussions and we love the creativity that a lot of these offers can bring to bear.”

• The Past, Present And Future Of Twitter’s Content Partnerships, is on Tuesday, October 15 at 16.15 in the Grand Auditorium

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news: MEDIA MASTERMIND KEYNOTE

‘I’ve always dreamed big’ RuPaul Charles, host and executive producer of RuPaul’s Drag Race, will give a Media Mastermind Keynote at MIPCOM, where he will also accept the Variety Vanguard Award, which “recognises television industry leaders who have made a significant contribution to the global business of entertainment”.

He spoke to Julian Newby ahead of his visit to Cannes RUPAUL Charles has been host and executive producer of the VH1 franchise RuPaul’s Drag Race for some 10 years, during which time he has won three consecutive Emmys as host of a reality-competition series.

Sparking spin-off series RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars and RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked!, the talent competition to find ‘America’s next drag superstar’ has been a hit around the world including Australia, Israel, the Netherlands and the UK. The BBC is set to launch a local version of the show this month, once again with RuPaul as host.

His career started in the early Eighties when, after attending drama school in Atlanta, Georgia, he began a music career with his band RuPaul And The U-Hauls, winning notoriety from occasional appearances on local TV show The American Music Show. His outgoing persona and striking appearance led to a fast rise to fame — something he believes was always on the cards.

“When my mother was pregnant with me she went to a psychic who told her that I’d be famous,” he said. “I grew up with that storyline, so I’ve always dreamed big.

Over the years I’ve listened to the universe and followed its stage direction. And I’ve lived by the credo, ‘When the going gets tough, the tough reinvent’.”

An early supporter of his career was British singing star Elton John, someone whose flamboyant personality and vocal support of the LGBTQ+ community, has been an inspiration to RuPAul

and many other artists.

“My idols growing up were artists like Elton, David Bowie, Andy Warhol, Cher and Diana Ross.

They were such free spirits on so many levels,” he said. “And I loved the irreverent humour of Monty Python. As a kid, those performers made me feel that my tribe was out there, waiting for me to find them.” And he sees his work as not just entertainment but also part of a wider campaign.

“I’ve been shunned by whites for being black, by blacks for being gay, and by gays for being fem.

RuPaul’s Drag Race is a show of queer people, by queer people, for queer people with a message of love, inclusion and acceptance in world still dominated by the a white patriarchy. Every time I bat my false eyelashes, I’m making a political statement.”

And he has found allies in his campaign from the streaming companies. “For Drag Race, streaming has provided global visibility. We proudly produce our show for VH1 in the US, but streaming outlets have allowed it to reach people — and especially queer people — in places that I could never have dreamed of a decade ago.”

And while he believes this industry has made great strides with diversity and inclusion, he believes it can do more. “And still I find hope in the words of Martin Luther King Jr: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

Of his award, he said: “It’s a great honour, and a testament to how our show appeals to crea-

tive, sweet, sensitive souls around the globe. My proudest professional achievement has been to help launch the careers of 140 (and counting) beautiful and talented queens onto the world stage.”

But his visit to Cannes won’t be all about business. “I’ve been working for three years straight, so my husband George and I are squeezing in a European vacation around this trip. It’s always a thrill to be in France.”

• RuPaul’s MIPCOM Media Mastermind Keynote is on Monday, October 14 at 17.00 in the Grand Auditorium

“Every time I bat my false eyelashes, I’m making a political statement”

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 26 • September 2019

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news: CHINA IN FOCUS

‘China: a source of great stories’ Last year China was MIPCOM Country Of Honour. This year, an important Chinese media hub, Shanghai, leads a China Country Of Focus initiative in Cannes. Yi Luo, of the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism, spoke to the MIPCOM Preview ahead of the event

The Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism’s Yi Luo

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 28 • September 2019

As an important contributor to China’s film and television industry, what does Shanghai expect to gain from China as the Country Of Focus?

The China Pavilion has been a constant presence at MIPCOM for over a decade. Following the huge success of serving as the Country Of Honour that won global attention in 2018, China will attend MIPCOM 2019 as a Country Of Focus, retaining last year’s theme of China: Source Of Great Stories.

This year, departments of radio and television under the People’s Government of Shanghai Municipality, will attend MIPCOM as a group for the first time officially to promote and display Shanghai’s TV content, as well as to showcase Shanghai’s determination and efforts to build a global film and television production centre.

Shanghai will demonstrate China’s — and specifically Shanghai’s — strong film and television culture, which is representative and a core force of China’s film and television industry, in order to create greater diversified international co-operation in the future.

How does this special focus manifest itself at MIPCOM this year?

This year’s MIPCOM will bring together nearly 60 Chinese film, television and media organisations in Cannes, including large radio and television groups from Shanghai. For example: Shanghai Media Group (SMG), leading film and television production companies including Croton Media, Linmon Pictures and Youhug Media, and well-known animation studios including Left Pocket Studio.

By showcasing their newest content, these Shanghai enterprises look forward to sharing outcomes with other film, television and media organisations from around the world at MIPCOM, to encourage exchange and co-operation in the future.

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news: CHINA IN FOCUS China as Country Of Focus will present a series of activities to attract participants, and well-planned forums around hot topics, including netcasting and digital media. Shanghai hopes to communicate with participants in Cannes and after MIPCOM, paving the way for future co-operation.

What new content and projects is Shanghai bringing to MIPCOM? TV drama production is growing in Shanghai, where there are nearly 2,500 registered and licensed film and television companies, producing over 50 TV dramas annually, totalling up to 2,200 episodes. Around 30 Shanghai-produced TV series debut on domestic mainstream TV and online video platforms, every year.

In recent years, the styles and themes of Shanghai TV drama have broadened out, improving its marketability abroad.

For example, A Beautiful Daughter-In-Law, written by the Shanghai screenwriter Liping Wang, was shown in Tanzania in 2012, showing the people of Tanzania the diverse life of ordinary family life in China. Wang’s work — for example My Home, Inspiration Of Life And Good Time — has subsequently been well-received in the US, Mongolia and Japan. In June 2018, A Love For Separation, produced

by Shanghai-based Linmon Pictures, was a hit in Mongolia.

Shanghai-produced TV dramas have been exported to over 20 countries and regions, and have become a window on China for overseas audiences.

Meanwhile Shanghai’s Fantasia Animation has been co-operating with France since the production of Shaolin Wuzang, a Franco-Chinese animated TV series produced by Les Cartooneurs Associeas, Fantasia Animation, France 3 and Jetix Europe.

Animation productions Magic Martin, H2O: Mermaid Adventures and Woofy, have won awards at TV festivals in France and Italy, and have been seen around the world on a number

of platforms including Netflix.

And documentaries produced by SMG — for example The Last Tycoon and Life Matters — have attracted attention from overseas buyers at the Audio-Visual China film and television roadshows hosted by China’s National Radio and Television Administration.

Shanghai’s film and television organisations will bring new works to this year’s MIPCOM, including TV dramas Shanghai: The Way We Love, Quiet Life In The Restless World, Your Home Is My Business, Love And Destiny, See U Again, Cry Me A Sad River, Novoland: Eagle Flag and A Little Reunion; and a number of variety shows including Bravo China. Our international counterparts are welcome to attend the special event to be held on the afternoon of October 15 — 14:3015:10, Auditorium A, on level 3 of the Palais des Festivals. We are also pleased to invite everyone to visit our stand on level minus-one Palais des Festivals for an in-depth exchange of views with Shanghai’s many and varied enterprises.

There’s been a lot of buzz internationally around The Longest Day In Chang’An. What is China, and particularly Shanghai, doing to produce more such works that appeal to international audiences?

In recent years, the People’s Government of Shanghai Municipality has constantly increased support to serve and sustain the development of the local film-television industry, introducing policies encouraging innovation and the development of cultural and creative industries in Shanghai; and the implementation of measures for promoting the development of Shanghai’s film and television industry. All these are aimed at vitalising the industry and promoting efforts in building Shanghai into a global film and television production centre.

First, our intention is to establish clear aims and objectives for the film and television industries.

We will introduce quality scripts that integrate value presentation with artistic expression, produce representative works and bring together a number of model enterprises engaging in production, post production and distribution.

Together we will establish a modern forward-looking production base that supports the chain of film and television productions.

Meanwhile, we will build a team of leading talents, in collaboration with educational institutions worldwide, to establish a series of international platforms and largescale professional events with extensive influence.

Second, we intend to optimise the mechanisms for supporting the film and television industries. We will utilise funds from the Shanghai Cultural Development Foundation to increase support for quality film and television productions. Also, we will work with production enterprises to streamline investment in film and television and improve the remuneration mechanism.

And extra effort will be made to implement support policies for film and television production, by taking account of local conditions. New services will also be developed to offer completion guarantees and production insurance.

Third, we aim to upgrade the film/television industry chain.

A large high-tech film production base is being established in Songjiang District, with three functional areas featuring talent, training and incubation.

We also plan to build a large centre for film and television activities, exploring the potential of the derivatives market, improving the licensing trading model for film and television productions, developing brand licensing and image marketing, as well as encouraging a larger number of enterprises to participate in the subsequent exploitation of film and television works.

Fourth, we plan to improve the service mechanism for film and television production through service purchase by the government to promote the Shanghai

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 30 • September 2019

Film and Television Production Services Institution, the first ever one of its kind in China providing free consultation and filming co-ordination, for film and television organisations visiting Shanghai. By identifying new filming locations and utilising resources in the Yangtze River Delta region, services and the quality of those services will improve on a continuous basis.

China served as the Country Of Honour of MIPCOM last year and will attend the event as a Country Of Focus this year. Is there a connection between the two events?

By carrying forward and enhancing the core elements of the Country Of Honour, the Country Of Focus events this year will present another dazzling display of Chinese film and television content from the city of Shangha, destined for international exposure. Leading enterprises in Shanghai’s film and television industry, SMG Pictures and WingsMedia, will spare no effort to build an exchange platform for Chinese and international film, television and media organisations, facilitating communication between China and the rest of the world.

CHINA COUNTRY OF FOCUS EVENTS Fresh TV China Monday, October 14 at 14.45 in the Verriere Californie Made in China For Generation Z: Mango TV Program Showcase Tuesday, October 15 at 10.30 in the Verriere Californie TV Fantasy From Shanghai China Tuesday, October 15 at 14.30 in the Auditorium A China Network AudioVisual Industry Forum Tuesday, October 15 at 15.20 in the Auditorium A

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30/08/2019 16:39

news: JAPAN IN FOCUS

Special Cannes focus highlights Japan’s international ambitions WITH THE 2020 Olympics just around the corner, Japan is a Country Of Focus at MIPCOM this year, with a number of special events planned that will shine a light on its creative output.

Broadcasters in Japan are working enthusiastically to promote their broadcasting content overseas, by way of international co-production as well as trading with partners in the international market, including at MIPCOM. The Japanese government has been supporting their efforts through various policy measures. The result of this strategy has seen overseas sales of Japanese content increasing every financial year since 2010. The industry recorded figures of up to 44.45bn yen

($418m) at the end of the financial year in 2017, which is nearly seven times the 2010 level.

Among its Country Of Focus initiatives at MIPCOM, Japan’s public broadcasting corporation, NHK, is showing how far 8K technology has come with a screening of its new drama, Kazuo Ishiguro’s An Artist Of The Floating World.

And for the first time, a Japanese drama has been chosen as a MIPCOM World Premiere TV Screening. The Return, a historical drama produced by the Nihon Eiga Satellite Broadcasting Company for the Samurai Channel, stars Tatsuya Nakadai, a veteran of the films of Akira Kurosawa films; and Takako Tokiwa, a pop-

ular Japanese actor who will be in Cannes for the Premiere.

TV Asahi is presenting its latest animated children’s series, Super Shiro, about a family dog with exceptional talents, to international audiences at a breakfast session on Sunday morning during MIP Junior, one day before its launch in Japan.

Fuji TV is announcing a number of upcoming international productions in Cannes and is the exclusive sponsor of the official Press Room during MIPCOM. Tokyo Broadcasting System Television Inc. (TBS) hosts a morning session on October 15 where it will introduce reality show Time Is Money – The Celebrity Life Hack Show, a co-production

Japan’s creators urged to think globally THE J-CREATIVE Party is a celebration of Japanese creativity, held in Cannes each year for the past 10 years, organised by the Tokyo International Drama Festival.

The Festival was launched in 2007 to encourage TV drama producers in Japan to think about how their products might be accepted overseas, ac-

cording to Shingo Saito of the Japan Commercial Broadcasters Association, a partner of the Festival.

“We bring Japanese content to

TBS Television celebrates its award for drama, The Emperor’s Cook, at an earlier J-Creative party

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 32 • September 2019

with British producers that was first discussed several years ago at MIPCOM. TBS is one of Japan’s leading creators of formats for overseas sales, including Ninja Warrior, which has been adapted for 23 countries and territories.

Other events held during MIPCOM as part of the special focus include a showcase highlighting Japanese drama by the Tokyo International Drama Festival — marking its10th year in Cannes.

And a Japan Pavilion has been established with Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, representing 12 regional broadcasters and producers: Hokkaido Broadcasting, Sapporo Television Broadcasting, Ekachi Epilka, the Sapporo Film Commission, RKB Mainichi Broadcasting Corporation, Tokai Television Broadcasting, CBC Television, the Broadcast Program Export Association of Japan, Piconia, Flying Ship Studio, TYO Group and Dwarf Studios.

MIPCOM,” Saito said. “Japanese content is still not considered major by international buyers.

Our job is to create a reason to watch it, so now we have an Awards ceremony.” He added: “And after a number of years producers have started to see the light: if you make a drama that is popular abroad, then you can do more business and sell more Japanese content.”

Organised by the Festival, the Tokyo Drama Award recognises high-quality content, as well as its marketability abroad. The Award will be given once again at the J-Creative party at MIPCOM, which welcomes international buyers and where excerpts of a number of Japanese dramas will be screened.

• The J-Creative Party, held in association with the international office of the Tokyo International Drama Festival, is on Tuesday, October 15 at 18.00 in the Hotel Majestic Barriere

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news: JAPAN IN FOCUS

Ken Watanabe as Masuji Ono in An Artist of the Floating World.

JAPANESE public broadcaster NHK is premiering a 90-mins dramatisation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s An Artist Of The Floating World in 8K during MIPCOM. NHK launched a 12-hours-a-day 8K channel in Japan in December of last year The film is set in Japan soon after WWII. Masuji Ono (Ken Watanabe) is a well-known elderly painter who lives peacefully in a

town that is gradually recovering from the war. While trying to arrange a marriage for his younger daughter Noriko (Aki Maeda), he begins to learn that past acquaintances now see him in a different light after his actions in support of the country’s militarist government.

“When I wrote that book, I identified one of the themes that became very important to me: the idea that a person could live by a

certain set of values and when it’s too late, regret those values,” the 2017 Nobel Prize for Literature winner, Ishiguro, said ahead of the screening.

“People who grew up during that time of war and fascism and militarism… were often sincere people who weren’t evil. And even though they tried very hard to live a good life and contribute to something they could be proud of, they were swept up in the climate of that time. And by the time they were old, they were ashamed of what they had contributed to.”

Of Ken Watanabe, Ishiguro said: “He gives a magnificent performance. I think with this kind of story, you have to have a great actor. Otherwise it doesn’t work, because in my novel it’s a first-person story so you’re entirely inside the person’s head. And I think he conveys very well the conflict that is going on inside him.”

Director Kazutaka Watanabe explained the importance of 8K to the production: “The 8K pictures are so realistic, they give viewers the impression that they’ve stepped into the world that’s being

Fuji presents ‘football’s House Of Cards’ TAKA Hayakawa, vice-president and head of international business at Japan’s Fuji TV, comes to MIPCOM to discuss the new drama series he’s working on in collaboration with a number of overseas producers.

“One will be a remake of our popular drama series, Train Man, for a US platform,” he said. “The other is Window, a series about football, made in collaboration with British and German broadcasters.”

Train Man — a well-known Japanese story about a shy young man who finds romance after meeting a young woman on a train — will be adapted by US producers for a platform yet to be named. It is set in New York and, unlike the original Fuji TV series, will be a musical.

“Window started at a dinner I attended at MIPCOM in 2016 with some German producers,” Hayakawa said. “We decided we wanted to do something together, a drama for football fans — and have spent the last three years developing it. We start shooting in October in Liverpool. It’s like House Of Cards in the world of soccer and it’s the biggest budget we’ve ever had for a drama.”

The mostly British and US cast will also include Japanese and Korean talent.

These two projects are spearheading Fuji TV’s more aggressive push overseas — specifically targeting younger audiences. “My son is obsessed with football,” he said. “And that seems to be true

everywhere — Singapore, Hong Kong, China. It’s not just the UK and Europe.” Meanwhile Fuji TV still attracts young people locally, as proven by the surprise international popularity of the Netflix reality show Terrace House, produced by Fuji TV. Another genre Fuji is tapping into in its bid for international attention is animation. The company is now working on 3D CGI animated series, Ingress, for the global market — a collaboration between Fuji TV and a US company. “We will talk about all this at the presentation,” Hayakawa said, referring to the official MIPCOM press event promoting Japanese dramas, organised this year by Fuji TV. “The reason we are organising

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 34 • September 2019

portrayed,” he said. “The smell of burning is a symbol in the novel.

I worked hard to represent it effectively using smoke and flames.

The images show brightly burning flames, rising smoke and scorched ash. Thanks to 8K… viewers can almost sense the heat of the flames and the smell of burning paper. I hope the audience will focus on these aspects at the 8K screening at MIPCOM.” • The screening of An Artist Of The Floating World is on Monday, October 14 at 11.00 in the NHK 8K Theatre, on the third floor of Palais des Festivals

© Hayakawa Publishing

© NHK

‘So realistic you can smell the flames’

Kazuo Ishiguro

this session in Cannes is that we want to explain these new ventures to the world. We need to communicate the fact that we are increasingly interested in international collaborations.”

Fuji TV’s Taka Hayakawa

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news: WOMEN IN GLOBAL ENTERTAINMENT

‘Baby steps, but steps nonetheless’ Brie Miranda Bryant and dream hampton are headline speakers at the eighth MIPCOM Women In Global Entertainment Lunch. Held in partnership with A+E Networks, the annual thought-leadership and networking lunch gathers the world’s most influential women shaping the future of TV and entertainment. They spoke to Julian Newby ahead of the event DREAM hampton, showrunner and executive producer of Lifetime’s documentary series Surviving R. Kelly, and Brie Miranda Bryant, executive producer/ senior vice-president unscripted programming & development, Lifetime, will discuss their careers in the entertainment business from the perspective of African-American women, their mission to serve women’s causes, and the impact of the #metoo movement, when they appear at the MIPCOM 2019 Women In Global Entertainment Lunch.

Central to the discussion is likely to be the series Surviving R. Kelly, which has reached over 26 million viewers.

Hampton came on board midway into the project, in February 2018, to help craft the scope of the six-part series and brought in key voices, including John Legend as the sole musician willing to speak out against the R&B star, who is facing multiple charges for sex crimes — allegations which he denies. After the initial impact of the series, hampton was named as one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2019.

The six-part series hears from women who were affected by Kelly’s alleged decades-long programme of incarceration, slavery and abuse. What impressed hampton was how so many of them were willing to speak out when they themselves sometimes had to reveal their own flaws.

“We were honoured and able to centre on the lives of women who we considered to be heroes, because they were so brave. It took

so much courage to tell their stories knowing how deeply imperfect they were. We had women in the documentary who said, ‘Yeah, I lied about my age first and then I told the truth’, or, ‘I was actually in my 30s and couldn’t believe this could happen to me’,” hampton said. “These are women for whom it just required some stillness, quite frankly, some deep and active listening to allow them to unpack their stories fully and let that story be what it is. And the effect was enormous, more than I could have imagined. I’m overwhelmed by the impact that Surviving R. Kelly has had.”

Bryant had approached the people at production company Bunim/Murray, asking them to pitch something they thought “Lifetime would never do”. The company responded with the R.

Kelly project.

“There was zero hesitation on my end,” she said. “I knew immediately that this would resonate with our audience and our senior team felt the same way. In the end it worked. But even more than worked, it became a global conversation about sexual violence — a conversation that unfortunately and fortunately very much needed to happen. We are so proud and extremely thankful to have played a role in that.”

While the R. Kelly series will likely be discussed in some depth at the lunch, the pair are heavily engaged in other, global issues that remain relevant to the annual event and the wider world.

For hampton, the gender pay gap is high on the list. Research from pressure group momsrising. org, for which she is a consultant,

Surviving R. Kelly showrunner dream hampton

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 35 • September 2019

indicates that worldwide, the pay gap will take 200 years to close.

“We’ve been talking about equity in pay for at least since the 70s, since that first wave of modern feminism,” she said. “I think we’ve made about a 3-4% increase — women of colour 1-2% — in those 50 years.”

“In the end, this industry is still a business — and money still talks,” Bryant said. “We’ve seen the positive global success that diverse content and diverse storytelling can generate. It inspires folks on my end of the table to invest more. And indeed, the more we become fearless about those investments, those choices, the more examples will be made for the argument of diversity.

“Thanks to social media and digital platforms, it’s become harder to hide unfair practices. In the past couple of years, we are all seeing what happens when we become publicly accountable for those practices. All of which is much different from where we were even five years ago. So, baby steps, but steps nonetheless.”

She added: “I love that Maya Angelou quote that says: ‘Develop enough courage to stand up for yourself and then stand up for others’. Nothing over here is perfect, but we’re working on it — and that work is living proof that it can be done.”

Lifetime executive Brie Miranda Bryant

news: DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

‘We are at a turning point’

Jurors, winners and the organisers gather at the 2018 Diversify TV Excellence Awards

THE MIPCOM 2019 Diversity And Inclusion programme includes the MIPCOM Diversify TV Excellence Awards, now in their third year, established to recognise inclusive content that impacts and inspires audiences around the world.

This year’s programme features a number of key names from the industry, who regularly speak out to create more opportunities and enhance visibility for talent from diverse backgrounds. It is also highlighting experts who

Sahar Baghery Amazon Prime Video

are demonstrating the positive impact of diversity and supporting a series of networking events bringing together various communities.

A 16-strong Selection Jury chose the shortlist for this year’s Awards and those on the shortlist will be judged by a Jury of charitable organisations that campaign for equality and inclusion, among them: GLAAD, Minority Rights Group International, GADIM and Scope. The winners in each category will be announced dur-

David Ellender Sonar Entertainment

ing the Awards ceremony.

Mounia Aram, part of the Selection Jury, launched her eponymous distribution outfit the Mounia Aram Company this year, in response to the lack of representation of Africa and African people in animation. “I’m a professional of the animation industry with North African origins and over 15 years’ experience,” Aram said. “If some cultures are well-represented throughout the world — like Japanese Anime and some countries which

David Levine The Walt Disney Company

David Cornwall Scorpion Television

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 36 • September 2019

THE MIPCOM DIVERSIFY TV EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2019 SELECTION JURY • Bunmi Akintonwa, CEO, Little Black Book Company • Mounia Aram, CEO, Mounia Aram Company • Sahar Baghery, head of business development, Amazon Prime Video • Bruna Capozzoli, creative director, Popcorn Digital • Sean Cohan, president, Wheelhouse Entertainment and chief business officer, Wheelhouse Group • Patrick Connolly, senior vicepresident, programming and marketing, AMC/Sundance TV Global • David Cornwall, managing director, Scorpion Television • David Ellender, CEO, Sonar Entertainment • Sallyann Keizer, managing director, Sixth Sense Media • David Levine, general manager, Disney Channels UK, The Walt Disney Company • Cedric Petitpas, YouTube Family Partnerships, YouTube Kids • Shabnam Rezaei, co-founder and president, Big Bad Boo Studios • Nick Smith, executive vicepresident formats, All3Media International • Francesco Tocci, head of format and documentary unit, Nonpanic Banijay • Deborah Williams, CEO, The Creative Diversity Network

Sean Cohan Wheelhouse Group

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news: DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

Bunmi Akintonwa Nick Smith Little Black Book Company All3Media International

are renowned for the quality of their work, like France, Canada or the US — I noticed that Africa was almost not represented at all. I thus decided to tackle this problem by founding the Mounia Aram Company, which specialises in the co-production and distribution of African animation.

“We are still lacking the diversification of animated programming that would allow for young children to understand different people, different cultures from around the world,” she added.

“It would change the opinions of all children, making them aware of different ways that people live and allowing them to escape a narrow-minded approach to beauty and culture.”

“Personally I’m impressed by shows that disrupt the convention somewhat,” managing director of factual distributor Scorpion Television and member of the

Patrick Connolly AMC/Sundance TV Global

Sallyann Keizer Sixth Sense Media

Selection Jury, David Cornwall, said. “I was impressed by Smithsonian’s entry last year, Epic Warrior Women: Africa’s Amazons, as it is not what you might expect from a historical war documentary. Also, the winner of the 2018 Award for Representation of Disability: Scripted, Blind Donna, produced by Production House of Finland, dealt with a difficult subject through comedy and the versatility of the main character.”

He added: “The Diversify TV Excellence Awards are a powerful way to focus attention on the great programmes being produced around the world celebrating diversity in all its forms.

“When people are able to see themselves on screen, they feel that they belong; by being represented they become part of what we intend as culture,” according to juror Bruna Capozzoli, “a proud Brazilian, LGBTQ+ fe-

Francesco Tocci Nonpanic Banijay

Bruna Capozzoli Popcorn Digital

male media professional” and creative director of Popcorn Digital, which creates kids’ content primarily for digital platforms. “This experience comes with the notion of inclusion. It is a recognition of one’s relevance within society and therefore it gives a person the feeling of empowerment that allows to make the changes they would like to see. Only a place where diverse segments of society have a voice is a place where the conversation around equality can start.”

For juror Sahar Baghery, head of business development at Amazon Prime Video, “we are at a turning point. We recognise more easily that diverse voices from diverse backgrounds increase sharing of new perspectives and develop innovative storytelling, that diverse and equitable teams develop and grow the best builders and produce better results for our

Deborah Williams The Creative Diversity Network

Mounia Aram Mounia Aram Company

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 38 • September 2019

Shabnam Rezaei, Big Bad Boo Studios

customers,” Baghery said. “I sincerely believe that, as media professionals, we have an important role to play in the development of collective consciousness. And to be totally transparent, this is the reason why I wanted to pursue a career in this industry. I grew up in France, I am French; Iranian from my dad, Moroccan from my mum. I have a personal and family history strongly related to freedom of speech and freedom of thought. And with our business, I believe we have the capacity to create a dynamic platform to share, debate and promote diversity. So for me it’s a great privilege and an important responsibility we have thanks to the Diversify TV Excellence Awards. Seeing an increasing awareness is very encouraging. But this needs to be more than a trending topic, we need concrete next steps and calls to action.”

Cedric Petitpas YouTube Kids

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news: UHD TV

Sony UHD Theatre offers delegates a look into the future of television

Aerial Britain, from Off the Fence, Smithsonian and Tile Films

MIPTV in April saw record numbers of delegates transfixed by the quality of impressive High Dynamic Range 4K and 8K/ UHD programming. MIPCOM brings together an even greater number of participants and content producers to Cannes.

All the panels and screenings take place in the Sony UHD Theatre in Auditorium I on level 4 of the Palais des Festivals.

Consumers are buying into the

4K revolution in record numbers and 4K displays are now owned by more than 50% of viewers in Germany, the UK and France — and Italy and Spain are catching up fast.

4K channels are also growing in number, but perhaps it isn’t the actual channel count that matters but the availability of the technology on leading streamers Netflix and Amazon Studios, as well as an increasing number of

4K/UHD transmissions from the BBC and France Televisions.

Now the majority of the programming commissioned by the two leading streamers is commissioned in 4K/UHD. MIPCOM’s 2019 programme welcomes China Central TV for the first time, along with Colombia’s Caracol TV, Al Kass Sports from Qatar and Fashion TV. CJENM Korea and Minproduction Korea are also making their de-

Ocean Fantasy: Dreaming Of A Mermaid, an 8K production from South Korea’s Minproduction

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 40 • September 2019

but at MIPCOM. Also in Cannes TMS Tokyo is showcasing its 4K film-restoration technology.

BlueAnt is showing its fast-growing Love Nature portfolio of all-4K material, while Discovery EMEA is screening Born Mucky as well as an Ed Stafford TV special, Man Woman Child Wild.

BBC Studios is screening its latest 4K landmark series Seven Worlds, One Planet at MIPCOM; ZDFE plans to dazzle delegates with a triple bill of factual programming; and factual producer-distributor Off the Fence is screening its lavish Aerial Britain, a follow-up to its Aerial America series.

MIPCOM is again devoting a full session to 8K content — on Tuesday, October 15 from 14.0017.00 — showing clips from France Televisions’ striking transmissions of the Roland Garros grand-slam tennis tournament.

In the NHK 8K Theatre on level 3 of the Palais, Japan’s NHK plans to highlight a selection of the company’s latest 4K and 8K material — including the World Premiere TV Screening of the 8K feature film The Return — and is also unveiling its latest plans for live transmissions.

NHK’s portfolio of 8K content is now extensive and will include this year’s Rugby World Cup tournament. Production houses and broadcasters from France, India, UK, Korea, US will also showcase their 8K content.

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Here we highlight some of the multiplatform content brought to Cannes by companies from all over the world ALFRED HABER

MGM TELEVISION

AS WELL as returning with the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards and the 20th Annual Latin Grammy Awards, Alfred Haber brings three new reality series to Cannes. Shallow Grave (8 x 60 mins), follows clues to find murderers who leave Hitched In Vegas (Alfred Haber) bodies in ‘deposition sites’ or shallow graves. Hitched In Vegas (10 x 60 mins) follows couples and their wedding parties in the Wedding Capital of the World. Help! My House Is Haunted (12 x 60 mins), currently airing on UKTV and renewed for a second season, follows families suffering unexplained supernatural phenomena.

MGM’S slate is led by a line-up of films including Bond 25 — No Time To Die — with Daniel Craig returning in the title role; animation The Addams Family, featuring Charlize Theron and Oscar Isaac; Candyman, produced by Jordan Peele; Respect, starring Jennifer Hudson as Aretha Franklin; and the next installment of Legally Blonde with Reese Witherspoon. TV highlights include: Fargo, starring Chris Rock; Four Weddings And A Funeral from executive producer Mindy Kaling; Perpetual Grace LTD, starring Sir Ben Kingsley and Jacki Weaver; and Personal Injury Daniel Craig in Bond 25 Court, inspired by real cases.

ESCAPADE MEDIA AUSTRALIA’s Escapade Media brings a range of programming to MIPCOM, including: Back To Nature (10 x 30 mins/HD), which looks at the natural world through unknown and unexpected stories about mythology, geology, history, and traditional indigenous knowledge; comedy drama AlanTown (6 x 30 mins/4K), starring Guy Pearce and Jacqueline McKenzie, about a man who thinks he’s Jesus and exploring the reasons behind why people seek out leaders to follow; and Cloudy River (6 x 8 mins/HD), a drama looking at the perils of open relationships.

DYNAMIC TELEVISION DYNAMIC brings two seasons of Almost Never, to Cannes. When a boy band loses a TV talent competition and the opportunity for a record deal to a girl band, they decide to prove everyone wrong by finding Almost Never (Dynamic Television) success on their own. The company also brings Sommerdahl Murders, set in a Danish coastal town. When the body of a woman who has recently given birth washes up on the beach, detective chief inspector Dan Sommerdahl and his best friend and colleague, rule it a homicide. While Dan investigates his marriage comes under strain.

Feelings are tested as they try to solve this and other new murders.

NIPPON TV

Back To Nature (Escapade Media)

POORHOUSE INTERNATIONAL MUSIC and arts specialist Poorhouse brings to MIPCOM a mini-series devoted to 10 Iconic Couples, and focusing on how their intense relationships affected their careers. Subjects include Elizabeth Taylor Iconic Couples (Poorhouse International) and Richard Burton, Ali MacGraw and Steve McQueen and Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini. The series is produced by Adamis Productions for OCS and is available in English and French.

FROM the Nippon TV scripted slate comes Your Turn To Kill (20 x 60 mins), in which a newly-married couple, in their first home, are convinced that a peaceful life is about to begin until people in their building start dying in what they discover is a terrifying ‘murder swap’ game. Two 60-minute gameshow priorities are: Sokkuri Sweets, in which celebrities try to decide whether sweets and Sokkuri Sweets (Nippon TV) pastries are real or the objects they’ve been moulded to look like — and then take a bite; and Red Carpet Survival, where contestants act as bodyguards and force VIPs to stay on a red carpet, suffering physical blows and surviving a series of crazy traps.

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 42 • September 2019

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THE BIGGEST SPACE ADVENTURE SINCE 1969.

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HUMAN HISTORY, A NATION HAS LANDED A ROBOT ON THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON. HERE IS THE STORY.

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BlueChip Documentary ∙ 1 x 1 Hour Meet us at MIPCOM 2019 and contact us: Barbara Wolf ∙ Cell +49 152 5372 4631 TV Alliance Group ∙ Phone +49 89 12501 2200 ∙ thelanding@tvalliance.at

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AUTENTIC DISTRIBUTION

Out Of The Cradle (Autentic Distribution)

DOGWOOF DOCUMENTARY specialist Autentic Distribution brings a film exploring human evolution to Cannes.

Out Of The Cradle (1 x 52 mins) highlights the latest research into prehistoric hominids. Other titles from the German distributor include: biographic film The Last Persian Shah (1 x 52 mins/45 mins), looking at the social, political, economic and religious legacy; and Human Towers (1 x 52 mins), exploring a 250-year-old Catalan tradition.

QUINTUS MEDIA PRODUCED by Germany’s Maximus Film, Mega Manufacturing (6 x 48 mins) is brought to Cannes by Berlin-based Quintus Media. The series looks behind the scenes of the some of the world’s biggest factories, including the facility where the world’s largest passenger airplanes are built. Additional stories profile the people who work in these giant factories, striving to be the best at what they do.

Mega Manufacturing (Quintus Media)

CITVC (CHINA INTERNATIONAL TELEVISION CORPORATION)

FLAME DISTRIBUTION AMONG the MIPCOM launches for Flame Distribution are: Predator Bloodlines (5 x 52 mins), following a variety of African animals for three years; The 1900 Island (4 x 60 mins), following four families as they travel back in time on an abandoned island in Wales; For Love Or Money (5 x 45 mins/ 4 x 30 mins), looking at online romance scams; and How Not To Get Cancer (4 x 45 mins).

Predator Bloodlines (Flame Distribution)

STUDIOCANAL TRUE-crime series On Death Row (4 x 60 mins) is brought to MIPCOM by Studiocanal; it stars Miguel Angel Silvestre, Marise Alvarez and Ramon Agirre. Created in Spanish and English, the story begins in 1994 with three murders in Miami. Several clues are found, including a video. A police officer thinks Pablo, a young man recently arrested for minor theft, is one of the murderers seen on the video. Pablo then struggles through three trials in an attempt to prove his innocence.

© Telefónica Audiovisual Digital SLU

A MIPCOM priority for CITVC is contemporary drama series My True Friend (48 x 47 mins), which is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Italian, Polish, German, French, Indonesian, Arabic and Vietnamese. New to the world of real estate, Cheng Zhenzhen (Angelababy) is determined to become the best.

She joins a local agency and is paired with another rookie, Shao Pengcheng (Deng Lun). The only child of the company’s president, Pengcheng hides his identity while he attempts to climb the ranks.

Sharing in the joys and sorrows of their client’s lives, while facing trials of their own, Zhenzhen and Pengcheng learn valuable lessons about life and love.

WOMEN Make Film, a project from Mark Cousins due for delivery later this year, explores the history of cinema through the lens of some of the world’s greatest women directors, with narration from Tilda Swinton and Jane Fonda, among Women Make Film (Dogwoof) others. Other highlights from the London-based distributor include: Making Waves: The Art Of Cinematic Sound, featuring sound designers and directors; XY Chelsea, about whistleblower Chelsea Manning; and Mystify, a biopic of rock musician Michael Hutchence, which includes interviews with family and friends as well as home-movie footage.

My True Friend (CITVC)

On Death Row (Studiocanal)

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 44 • September 2019

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BBC STUDIOS DISTRIBUTION

FIGHTING SPIRIT

HAPPY Valley (12 x 60 mins, two series) features Catherine, a no-nonsense police sergeant in a small town where drunkards, drug addicts and teenage pregnancies are a way of life. Her world is turned upside down when the man she thinks is responsible for her daughter’s death is released from prison. BBC Studios Distribution is also highlighting Sanditon (8 x 45 mins), Andrew Davies’ adaptation of Jane Austen’s final incomplete novel; and Seven Worlds, One Planet (7 x 50 mins + 1 x 50 mins Making Of...), presented by David Attenborough, which reveals how each continent has shaped its animal life.

BROUGHT to Cannes by Fighting Spirit, PFL MMA (Professional Fighters League Mixed Martial Arts) puts the focus on two-time Olympic judo gold medalist Kayla Harrison as she moves into MMA competition. Last year, PFL debuted its format of a regular season, playoffs and a Championship, with six $1m titles as the coveted prizes. Also available is the World PFL MMA (Fighting Spirit) Championships Of Kickboxing.

HAT TRICK INTERNATIONAL AT MIPCOM London-based Hat Trick International is debuting Norwegian comedy Magnus (6 x 30 mins), the company’s first non-English-language series. Created

by Vidar Magnussen, the scifi crime and comedy thriller features a former detective and idiotic genius who tries to solve a murder rooted in Norse mythology. Magnus investigates using his special skills, including turning himself into a chest of drawers or hiding inside an armchair. Magnus (Hat Trick International)

LIONSGATE NEW MUSICAL drama series Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist (12 x 60 mins) is launched at MIPCOM by Lionsgate. Zoey Clarke is a computer coder in San Francisco. After an unusual event she begins to hear the innermost desires of people around her through songs. At first she questions her sanity but soon realises that this curse may be a wonderful gift.

The series is produced by Lionsgate and Universal Television in association with the Tannenbaum Company, Feigco En- Zoey’s Extraordinary tertainment and Universal Music Group. Playlist (Lionsgate)

KEW MEDIA DISTRIBUTION RED ARROW STUDIOS INTERNATIONAL RED ARROW Studios International is launching political thriller Dignity (8 x 52 mins) in Cannes. Based on real events, Dignity centres on a Germanic cult established by a former Nazi soldier in a quiet Chilean town. After a decades-long history of torture, child abuse and murder, a federal prosecutor is tasked with bringing the sect’s leader to justice. Another priority is reality series Dog’s Most Wanted (10 x 45 mins), following bounty hunter Duane Chapman and his team.

Dignity (Red Arrow Studios International)

THE UK’s Kew Media Distribution highlights Cold Call (4 x 60 mins) in Cannes, a new, psychological drama starring Sally Lindsay. June is trying to make ends meet while caring for her mother. After losing her job and discovering her daughter is pregnant, she sells her home.

As a result of a fraudulent cold call, the proceeds from the house sale are stolen. With her friend who runs a victims’ support group, June identifies the head of the fraud conspiracy and risks everything to get to the heart of this murky world and get her money back.

Cold Call (Kew Media Distribution)

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 46 • September 2019

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STANLEY A MINI-SERIES BASED ON THE LIFE OF MASTER CRIMINAL STANLEY HILLIS

AN EIGHT-PART DOCUMENTARY SERIES ON LOOTED ART

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BANIJAY RIGHTS

WAG ENTERTAINMENT

BANIJAY Rights is showcasing new, six-part thriller, The Gulf, at MIPCOM. The Gulf is about Detective Jess Savage, who after losing her memory in a car crash that killed her husband, becomes determined to bring the killer to justice. Convinced that someone is trying to kill her because of something she has uncovered in a recent investigation, she in effect begins investigating herself. The series is a co-production from New Zealand’s Screentime and Lippy Pictures, with Germany’s Letterbox Filmproduktion and broadcaster ZDF. The Gulf (Banijay Rights)

WAG ENTERTAINMENT brings to Cannes the feature documentary Krow’s TRANSformation (1 x 90 mins), which follows the three-year transition of trans model Krow. Kayanna knew since childhood he was meant to be a boy and adopted a new name — Krow. Aged 12 he began a career as a globe-trotting ‘female’ fashion model, but while living a glamourous lifestyle, he never felt comfortable, despite the attention and praise lavished on him for his good looks. At 18, Krow embarked on the journey towards Krow’s TRANSformation (Wag physically becoming a man.

Entertainment)

FILMRISE MIPCOM priorities for US distributor FilmRise include: West Of Liberty (6 x 60 mins), a thriller about a former Stasi agent and a CIA informant; Little Dog (season 1,7 x 30 mins/season 2, 8 x 30 mins), a comedy about a man who tries to prove his worth to the fighting community and his family; The Cat And The Moon (1 x 108 mins), about a young man’s enlightening stay in New York; Unintended (1 x 92 mins), about prescription-drug addict who travels back to her childhood home; Nighthawks (1 x 90 mins); and 1275 Days (1 x 80 mins), a battle for justice.

DCD RIGHTS BRITISH distributor DCD Rights is highlighting Disasters Engineered (10 x 60 mins) at MIPCOM, a documentary series about engineering feats that went catastrophically wrong, including Chernobyl, Bhopal, Deepwater Horizon, The Titanic, Challenger and The Hindenburg.

Through archive and expert interviews Disasters Engineered explores why these catastrophes happened and what has been learned.

GLOBO SCRIPTED series Aruanas is about three idealistic women who set up an NGO to investigate the activities of a mining company in the Amazon rainforest, brought to Cannes by Brazil’s Globo. The story takes place against the background of people mysteriously falling ill, assassinations and threats to indigenous people. The women unravel a web of crimes and secrets, and also deal with their own personal dramas. Available subtitled in 11 languages, the series benefits from campaigning organisation Greenpeace as a technical collaborator and also has support from Amnesty International, WWF and Global Witness, among others.

Disasters Engineered (DCD Rights)

RIVE GAUCHE TELEVISION

Aruanas (Globo)

VERY Scary People, the latest series from California-based Rive Gauche, chronicles the twisted lives of some of the most dangerous characters in recent history. Each individual is chronicled in two-hour episodes, which trace their criminal acts and the road to justice. Subjects include: John Wayne Gacy, Charles Manson, the NorCal Rapist, Aileen Aileen Wuornos, featured in Wuornos, the Zodiac Killer Very Scary People (Rive Gauche and the Reverend Jim Jones. Television)

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 48 • September 2019

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WOODCUT MEDIA

GOQUEST MEDIA VENTURES

WOODCUT Media is in production on a fourth season of true-crime series Britain’s Most Evil Killers (10 x 60 mins) and its international counterpart World’s Most Evil Killers (10 x 60 mins). The fourth season features Harold Shipman, Robert Napper, Robert Ben Rhoades (The Truck Stop Killer) and Richard Chase (The Vampire of Sacramento), among others, offering first-hand accounts from the detectives, reporters and relatives. The series is distributed internationally by Keshet International.

GOQUEST Media Ventures is spotlighting two drama series in Cannes. Produced by Media Group Ukraine, Eclipse (8 x 45 mins) is an obsessive love story about how Sergei’s desire to win Svetlana’s love triggers a chain of tragic events and how their children fall in love, not realising who their parents are. Created by KBS and adapted from a Korean show, Ruby Ring (95 x 45 mins) is about a roller-coaster relationship between two sisters, whose lives change drastically by events that alter their destiny.

FEDERATION ENTERTAINMENT TIME Is A Killer (8 x 52 mins) is a new drama series destined for TF1. The series follows three generations of women. After a tragic accident claimed the lives of her brother and parents when she was 16, Clotilde left Corsica.

A call from an old friend forces her to go back 25 years later, Time Is A Killer with her husband and daughter, (Federation Entertainment) who is now 16 herself. Clotilde then receives a mysterious letter from her mother, Palma, who was presumed dead in the accident.

Starring Mathilde Seigner, Caterina Murino and Gregory Fitoussi, the series is co-produced by Authentic Prod and Federation Entertainment in association with Fontana, RTBF and TF1. Federation Entertainment handles worldwide rights.

Eclipse (GoQuest Media Ventures)

DRG LEADING DRG’s new factual slate for MIPCOM is My Grandparents’ War (4 x 60 mins), produced by Wild Pictures for Channel 4.

In each episode a Hollywood actor re-traces the footsteps of their grandparents in World War Two. Commissioned to mark the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of war, the series includes Kristin Scott Thomas, Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter and Mark Rylance.

TERRANOA

My Grandparents’ War (DRG)

Pompeii Rising (Terranoa)

POMPEII Rising (1 x 100/52 mins) is due for a global launch in early 2020 on France Television, Curiosity Stream, NHK and ZDF. The series is brought to MIPCOM by France’s Terranoa. Other priorities include: science series Human +, The Future Of Our Senses (5 x 48 mins), which premiered in France (RMC) and Canada (ICI Explora/ SRC and coming up on TVO); and Top Of The Rocks, a new five-part 4K series due for delivery in late 2020. Terranoa is actively seeking co-production and pre-buy partners on this series produced for ARTE, which offers a fresh take on geology and travel, revisiting the landscapes and cultures shaped by the mineral world.

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 50 • September 2019

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Lady Sapiens (France tv distribution)

ABOUT PREMIUM CONTENT (APC) FRANCE’s APC is launching its new Cold War drama Shadow Lines (10 x 45 mins) at MIPCOM. Produced by Zodiak Finland for Finnish broadcaster Elisa Viihde, the mixed-language (Finnish/English/Russian) period spy thriller is set in Helsinki. Helena, a student freshly returned from the US, is recruited to join a top-secret Finnish task force in its mission to prevent the KGB and CIA meddling in the presidential election. APC is also bringing the second season of drama series Keeping Faith.

Shadow Lines (APC)

LINEUP INDUSTRIES NETHERLANDS-based Lineup Industries brings a new documentary format to Cannes, originally produced by Stellify Media for BBC One Northern Ireland. Parents’ Evening is filmed across an academic year, with a different school featured in each episode, and explores the lives of kids, parents and teachers through the parent-teacher meetings.

Parent’s Evening (Lineup Industries)

FRANCE TV DISTRIBUTION ON THE factual slate for France tv distribution are: Lady Sapiens (2 x 45 mins/1 x 90 mins/52 mins); looking at prehistoric women; Extreme Lands (6 x 45 mins), looking at spectacular natural phenomena and the human inventions designed to deal with them; Trees: A Global Superpower (2 x 45 mins/1 x 90 mins); and Versailles, Challenges Of The Sun King (2 x 45 mins/1 x 90 mins). Fiction titles include: Bright Minds (8 x 52 mins), about a police chief who links up with an officer who has Asperger’s; Captain Marleau (18 x 90 mins + 2 x 90 mins specials); new Agatha Christie collection Criminal Games (24 x 90 mins); and Perfect Crimes Collection (16 x 52 mins).

MINERSINC INDIA’s MinersINC unveils myNK, India’s first blockchain-powered curated film and television VOD platform at MIPCOM. The secure model of myNK combines curation with entertainment fans, a social and community-driven approach, rewarding audiences for recommendations — and on-selling to help support rights holders’ content distribution. MyNK’s library consists of more than 200 films. At MIPCOM myNK is looking for more content and companies to join launch partners all3media, Dutch Features, ELO, The Film Collaborative, First Hand Films, Fortissimo, Imagination Worldwide, Level K, Kew Media Distribution, The National Film Board of Canada, Off the Fence/ZDF, Heyou Media, Wide House and Wide Management.

ORANGE SMARTY PAUL O’Grady’s Little Heroes (12 x 30 mins) features British presenter Paul O’Grady telling stories from Great Ormond Street, the iconic London children’s hospital. O’Grady supports children and their parents, providing a good dose of laughs, from when they arrive to the day they are discharged. He also explores some of the unexpected parts of the hospital, meeting the unsung heroes who work in the kitchens, school and chapel.

TCB MEDIA RIGHTS A TCB Original and first premium documentary commission, How I Created A Cult (3 x 60 mins), follows Andrew Cohen, the enigmatic spiritual leader who leads a global cult with thousands of devoted followers. The series reveals how, over three decades, Cohen’s spiritual utopia descended into a nightmare of life-threatening punishments, mock amputations, brainwashing, extortion and extreme psychological abuse.

How I Created A Cult (TCB Media Rights)

Paul O’Grady’s Little Heroes (Orange Smarty)

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 51 • September 2019

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SINGAPORE MEDIA FESTIVAL 21 NOV - 8 DEC 2019 #SGMediaFest

Markets • Awards • Labs Screenings • Conferences

Join us at the Singapore Media Festival as we celebrate the best in Asian storytelling

Come visit the Singapore Pavilion at Booth P-1.D26, P-1.E25

Singapore returns with a diverse and exciting line-up of TV content. From award-winning animation for children, food travelogues, documentaries to VR, come discover the latest in Asian entertainment and meet the media companies that brought them to life.

Producer | Beach House Pictures Distributor | Mediacorp

WILD CITY: SECRET WORLD

THE PHOENIX VR

SGMediaFest

HARD BOILED

www.sgmediafestival.com

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SKYBLUE ACADEMY

WEIRD FOOD DIARIES

BLACK MARBLE

MAK NINJA

DINOSAUR TRAIN

ART OF CRAFT

PARTICIPATING COMPANIES ANTARES INTERNATIONAL MEDIA • ASIAN ACADEMY CREATIVE AWARDS • AUGUST MEDIA HOLDINGS BEACH HOUSE PICTURES • CHIPS AND TOON • INFINITE STUDIOS • MEDIACORP • OMENS STUDIOS ONE ANIMATION • SILVER WOLF INTERNATIONAL • SPARKY ANIMATION • TECHTV NETWORK • THINK PLATE THE MOVING VISUALS CO. • VUULR • WARRIOR9 VR • YING GROUP

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FILM.UA DISTRIBUTION

NEW DOCS

LOVE In Chains (48 x 60 mins) is a Ukrainian period drama, brought to Cannes

by Film.UA, that tells the story of slave girl Kateryna, who is raised in a noble family and finds herself caught in between two worlds as she strives for freedom and love. The series became a ratings success in Ukraine and also premiered in Poland, as Zniewolona.

GERMANY-based documentary distributor New Docs brings a range of titles to Cannes, including: wildlife film Kamchatka Bears – Life Begins (1 x 52 mins), following two brown bear mothers and their six cubs over seven months in a wildlife sanctuary in the southern part of the Russian peninsula of Kamchatka, where large red salmon stocks attract countless brown bears in the summer and autumn; The Science Of Avalanches (1 x 52 mins), which takes a closer look at the work of Alpine scientists and researchers who want to better understand the causes of uncontrolled snow slides; and the recently completed current affairs/history documentary 1979 – Big Bang Of The Present (1 x 90 mins/2 x 45 mins), examining dramatic historic events that took place all over the world in 1979 and still influence and define the world today.

Love In Chains (Film.UA Distribution)

NEWEN DISTRIBUTION

©Nordisk Film Henrik Ohsten

THE NEW slate of programmes from Newen includes: Danish crime series DNA (8 x 42 mins), following Rolf Larsen, once a respected criminal investigator, who lost his daughter in a tragic accident; Spanish thriller The Room (8 x 52 mins); and French thriller The Inside Game (8 x 52 mins). In the documentary genre Newen is launching CAPA’s new worldwide investigative documentary Big Brother: A World Under Surveillance (1 x 52 mins/90 mins), an indepth look at what some call the coming digital totalitarianism.

Kamchatka Bears – Life Begins (New Docs)

RTE

DNA (Newen Distribution) Kamchatka Bears – Life Begins (New Docs)

ONZA DISTRIBUTION PRIORITIES for Spain’s Onza include: the second season of Little Coincidences, in which Javi and Marta, after an idyllic year, realise that becoming parents is not only about the fun; Okuda, a film about the graffiti artist working on an installation for a fire festival in Valencia; and drama Trapped, about a tortured love affair across religions and politics set between Lisbon and north Africa.

ROOM To Improve returns for its 12th season with Irish architect Dermot Bannon, who meets six different clients in diverse locations for whom he tries to create dream homes. Expectations are high and there are builders to placate, budgets to massage, clients to calm Room To Improve (RTE) and visions to sell.

TRANSLATIONS.COM

Little Coincidences (Onza Distribution)

TRANSLATIONS.com’s Media.NEXT platform is a cloud-based technology aiming to deliver cost and time savings for media localisation. The timed text feature allows for subtitling and script creation, with integrated translation memory, glossary, and Smart Machine Translation capabilities. Media.NEXT’s recording feature, Studio.NEXT, enables the creation of localised audio with brand consistency, allowing voice talents from around the world to record studio-quality audio in a cloud-based environment, using a standardised home-recording kit.

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 54 • September 2019

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THE SHOW MUST GO ON... visit NEW REGENCY, stand R7.N11

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ADD CONTENT

CINEFLIX RIGHTS

A MIPCOM priority for Israeli producer and distributor ADD Content is The Station (50 x 30 mins), which follows a group of high schoolers who volunteer at Israel’s Red Cross. The teenagers, who have all the usual worries and dramas of young adults, put themselves in high-pressure situations to save lives. The Station was originally commissioned by Hot Kidz and ADD Content produces. Series three has begun shooting.

MIRAGE (6 x 60 mins) is brought to Cannes by the UK’s Cineflix Rights.

Claire is starting over in Abu Dhabi with her son Zach and husband Lukas. But she discovers that her late husband Gabriel is still alive when she catches his reflection in a restaurant window one night.

She sets out to find him, unleashing a sinister chain of events that includes blackmail, nuclear sabotage and deceiving the people she loves the most. Another highlight is Let’s Talk About Sex (3 x 60 mins), which presents outrageous and unintentionally hilarious sex-education videos to parents and kids to get an Mirage (Cineflix Rights) uncensored take on them.

ARTE DISTRIBUTION The Station (ADD Content)

ZEE ENTERTAINMENT ZEE ENTERTAINMENT returns to MIPCOM with a varied roster including: The Life Of Earth From Space (2 x 60 mins), a documentary looking at the history of the planet, including dramatic catastrophes that are visualised as if seen from satellites, airplanes and drones; family drama Cosmic Connection (170 x 30 mins), about the bitter-sweet relationship between a daughter and her stepmother who are forced to live together after a tragedy strikes in the family; The Relationship Conundrum (170 x 30 mins), a lighthearted story about Guddan, who at a young age becomes a mother-in-law to three older daughters by a quirk of circumstances; family drama Deceptive Measures (52 x 60 mins); and reality show Altar’d (6 x 60 mins) featuring a boot camp for couples before their weddings.

ARTE Distribution is introducing a number of history titles at MIPCOM, including Secrets Of The Builders (2 x 45 mins), which looks at 700 years of construction at Notre-Dame in Paris and the technical ordeals the builders faced. Part documentary, part animation, production began in 2016 Secrets Of The Builders (ARTE and ends with the tragic Distribution) fire. It includes interviews with architects and writers, including Pillars Of the Earth author Ken Follet, who explain what makes Notre-Dame unique. Other titles include An Opera For An Empire and Eiffel Tower, A Building Wonder, celebrating the 130th anniversary of the building.

ALBATROSS WORLD SALES

The Relationship Conundrum (Zee Entertainment)

THE DOCUMENTARY lineup from Germany’s Albatross includes: Beasts & Witches (4 x 52 mins/4 x 43 mins/4K), which looks at how animals have become the subject of superstitions; Dogs & Us – The Secret Of A Friendship (1 x 52 mins/4K), looking at the bond between dogs and humans; Paradise Preserved (5 x 52 mins/HD), focusing on new approaches to nature conservation; and One In A Thousand (1 x 52 mins/HD), which portrays the diverse wildlife inside and Beasts & Witches (Albatross World Sales) alongside a stream.

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 56 • September 2019

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BETA FILM SWEDISH spy thriller Agent Hamilton heads Beta Film’s series slate for Cannes. The 10-hour show from DramacorpPampas, TV 4, CMore, ZDF and Beta Film — a World Premiere TV Screening at MIPCOM this year — follows Swedish Secret Service agent Carl Hamilton (Jakob Oftebro), who is caught up in a murder investigation linked to a series of cyber-attacks.

Another priority is eight-hour crime series The Wall, set in a mining colony in the Canadian Arctic. The German company also brings the conclusion of the Medici saga from showrunner Frank Spotnitz, The Magnificent – Final Season, starring Daniel Sharman as Lorenzo di Medici, who, after the Pazzi conspiracy, is hungry for revenge.

DARO FILM DISTRIBUTION

Agent Hamilton (Beta Film)

MONACO-based Daro Film Distribution is highlighting new acquisitions at MIPCOM, including thriller Force Of Nature, expected in 2020, set to star Mel Gibson, Kate Bosworth and Emile Hirsch.

The movie features a cop who protects the remaining residents of an evacuated building from criminals trying to execute a heist as a hurricane hits the city. Daro holds rights for English-speaking Africa, CIS and the Baltics. Also due next year is Debt Collector, another action thriller for which Daro has taken African, East-Euro- Debt Collector (Daro Film pean and Portuguese rights. Distribution)

AVALON DISTRIBUTION

SCORPION TV

HALF-hour comedy Everything’s Gonna Be Okay, produced by Avalon Television and Freeform, stars Josh Thomas as a neurotic 20-something visiting his single dad and two teenage half-sisters, one of whom is on the autism spectrum. When their dad reveals he is terminally ill, the girls have to cope with loss, but also the realisation that Nicholas will have to move in and hold it all together.

DAVIE Robertson — a former Aberdeen and Rangers football star — has left everything behind and moved to India to manage Real Kashmir FC. He left behind his wife and the millionaire lifestyle he earned from football, to live in a shared house in a city that regularly suffers violent protests and terrorist attacks. This film is not just a sports story, it’s also about hopes, dreams and family. The Real Kashmir FC (1 x 56 mins) is brought to MIPCOM by the UK’s Scorpion TV.

MY ENTERTAINMENT ORGANISATION expert Matt Paxton and his clutter-cleaning team feature in Legacy List (6 x 60 mins), a new series about hidden treasures, heirlooms and memories that can be found in families’ attics, closets and even under floorboards when families decide to move. The same team also heads the format Hidden Assets, in which family histories are uncovered through the stories of timeless items. Both series and format are represented by Kew Media Distribution.

Everything’s Gonna Be Okay (Avalon Distribution)

A+E NETWORKS A+E NETWORKS and A+E Networks UK have partnered on factual co-production, Damian Lewis: Spy Wars (working title). Produced by Alaska TV in association with Lewis’ recently launched Rookery Productions, the 8 x 60 mins series reveals true stories behind some of the most important international spy operations of the last 40 years. Using innovative reconstructions, Spy Wars — shot in London, Moscow and Israel — investigates the Cold War through to the war on terror and present-day espionage. A+E NetDamian Lewis works has global distribution rights.

Legacy List (MY Entertainment)

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 58 • September 2019

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CINEPHIL

ZED

TEL-AVIV based Cinephil holds worldwide rights to In The Footsteps Of The Ark Of The Covenant (1 x 90 mins/4K), its co-production with ARTE. The film looks at what the Ark represents in the three main monotheistic religions, featuring renowned scholars, archaeologist Israel Finkelstein and biblical scholar Thomas Romer as they research the remains of a temple located close to Jerusalem, which according to the Bible, hosted the Ark that contained the tablets on which the 10 com- Israel Finkelstein in In The Footsteps Of The Ark Of The Covenant (Cinephil) mandments were written.

ZED BRINGS an extensive catalogue to Cannes, with a particular focus on history. Included are: Ku Klux Klan, An American Story (2 x 45 mins/1 x 90 mins), due for delivery next year, which brings together archival footage and interviews with historians and witnesses; and new production Rebuilding Notre-Dame, Our Lady Of Paris (2 x 52 mins/1 x 90 mins), that will unveil the secrets of the construction and restoration of the Millennium Cathedral. The production will have exclusive access to images and laser scans by Andrew J Tallon, the late art historian of Vassar College whose model of the cathedral in 2015 could aid the restoration of the cathedral after fire in April of this year. A 90-minute version directed by Vincent Amouroux will also be made for ARTE France.

EONE EONE comes to Cannes with new and returning dramas and factual programming, including: Deputy (13 x 60 mins), starring Stephen Dorff as old-school, rule-breaking Deputy Bill Hollister who is appointed Sheriff of The Los Angeles Country Sherriff’s department after the elected-sheriff suddenly dies; Nurses (10 x 60 mins), about five newly appointed nurses navigating the start of their careers in an emergency unit; Unmasking Jihadi John: The Anatomy Of A Terrorist (1 x 98 mins/68 mins); and Inside China (1 x 60 mins), which uncovers the truth about China’s prison camps and the most sophisticated surveilDeputy (eOne) lance system in the world.

PBS INTERNATIONAL THE HD slate from PBS International at MIPCOM includes The Serengeti Rules (1 x 60 mins), about a band of young scientists who headed out into the wilderness in the 1960s, driven by curiosity about how nature works. Immersed in remote and spectacular places around the world they discovered a set of rules that govern all life forms. PBS International also brings to Cannes: historical music series Country Music (9 x 60 mins); The Crown Prince (2 x 60 mins), about how the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and his inner circle have silenced dissidents, women, activists and ordinary citizens trying to escape the country; and The Violence Paradox (2 x 60 mins), about how and why rates of violence have diminished steadily since The Serengeti Rules (PBS International) the dawn of civilization.

TVN BRISTOW GLOBAL MEDIA (BGM) BGM IS going into production on Paranormal Nightshift (13 x 60 mins). The night-time workforce reports a high number of paranormal incidents with each episode telling two stories of paranormal encounters that happened overnight — in offices, hotels, eateries and on highways.

Paranormal Nightshift (BGM)

POLAND’s TVN presents further episodes of primetime series Under The Surface (14 x 60 mins), The Trap (12 x 60 mins) and The Disappearance (14 x 60 mins), an adaptation of a crime novel by Remigiusz Mroz. They are all also available as formats. The TV station also brings the 10th season of travel and adventure series Woman At The End Of The World (73 x 30 mins), the fifth season of Mega Transports, the sixth season of Demolishers and the third season of 18 Wheels Across America.

The Disappearance (TVN)

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 60 • September 2019

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009_OUTFIT_PV_COM_PAGE 1_DOS CARRE COLLE Advertisement

ENTERING THE CHINESE MARKET:

Insights from Multinational Entertainment Company Outfit7 Limited

By Nejc Babic, Senior Sales Director at Outfit7

How did Outfit7, which launched in 2009 as a European start-up with a dream of entertaining the world with its virtual pet app, evolve into one of the world’s fastest-growing family entertainment companies and one of the top western gaming companies in China?

W

e believe the answer is two-fold.

Firstly, we’re serious about fun.

We’re dedicated to entertaining people around the world with our content, which includes 21 award-winning mobile games, a hit animated series, top ranking video shorts and soon, a Talking Tom feature film. The result? Our games have generated more than 10 billion downloads over the past 10 years and we’ve connected with users in every single country on the planet. It goes to show that fun, laughter, and the spirit of friendship know no cultural barriers.

The second reason for our global and cross-cultural success is anchored in the company’s deep respect for each new market it enters, as well as for the people and their culture. We believe that Outfit7’s success in China, in particular, is an example of how crucial it is for companies to honor, learn from, and adapt to each new market they enter, all while remaining steadfast to their core values. While each country, each company, and each situation is different, we’re happy to have the chance to share our insights into working in China and what’s proven successful on our journey so far.

1 • Respect the Local Market We make it a priority to learn about each local market we enter in order to honor and work within it effectively. With China, we did our due diligence in advance, spending time and resources learning about the culture, the country, and the market. We even relocated team members there, so they could experience it first-hand and share their insights.

Relationships in China are vital. They play a defining role in whether a company will succeed or fail. This is something we un-

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derstood long before we even thought about making overtures toward the Chinese market. Furthermore, the Chinese app market is fairly fragmented, with more third-party app stores than we had previously been familiar with (the process of distributing apps with Google and iOS in Europe being fairly straightforward). For this reason, when we began approaching the Chinese market, we took our time building relationships with the app stores directly while other mobile gaming companies were contacting the publishers to try and get their games in stores. With each new partner, we listened, we learned, and we respectfully cooperated, and thanks to those relationships, we were able to distribute our games to the top app stores, including Tencent, Baidu, and Xiaomi, with great results.

2 • Build Strategic Partnerships Strategic partnerships are a common practice in China. As a company, we’re always on the lookout for new and exciting partnership opportunities, especially ones that offer fresh ways to reach our audience in China.

Last year, we signed a strategic partnership agreement with Alibaba Licensing to expand

the Talking Tom and Friends brand’s coverage in Mainland China, Macau, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

We also rang in Chinese New Year 2019 with an exciting partnership with Minecraft China, allowing players to access a Talking Tom-themed map and character skin. The Talking Tom map fast became one of the top-ranking maps in the game.

3 • Embrace Localization A big reason Talking Tom and Friends content has earned fans in every country in the world is our company’s passion for bringing compelling, locally-relevant content to each market we’re in. For instance, we localized the names of the My Talking Tom 2 characters for the Chinese market in order to add a little more life and meaning to them and boost engagement. Talking Tom’s pet Squeak became 鼠小弟, which means “mousy little fellow”, while Flip became 飞力鸟 (“flying power bird”). We also localized Talking Tom Gold Run for Chinese New Year. We added a special new flying side world inspired by the Great Wall of China and Huangshan mountain range, as well as special segments in

the main running world, including Chinese New Year decorations and fireworks.

Localizing content can have powerful rewards. The popularity of our Talking Tom and Friends content is on the rise in China, with views up 35 percent on Youku compared with last year, 132 percent on IQIYI, and a whopping 318 percent on Tencent. As of the end of 2018, Talking Tom and Friends video content received over 6 billion Youku views, 5 billion on IQIYI, and 2 billion on Tencent.

4 • Expand the Brand Experience From mobile games, to toys, to the big screen, Outfit7 is always looking for fresh ways to deliver fun and engaging experiences to our fans. One of our visions for expanding the Talking Tom and Friends brand experience has been to merge the virtual world of Talking Tom and Friends with the real world. Thanks to the strong performance of the brand in China in recent years, we’ve had the opportunity to turn this vision into a reality. We launched our first two Talking Tom and Friends theme parks, Talking Tom Land, in the Poly Shopping Mall in Hefei City and Time Trend Shopping Mall Shaoxing City last year.

With state-of-the-art AR attractions and its own Super Maze Complex, the innovative indoor theme park brings the fun and adventure of the brand into the real world. The success of the first park led to the opening of two more indoor parks in Shanghai and Hangzhou.

Providing an innovative 360-degree approach like this allows us to connect with our fans on multiple levels and share our brand’s values with a huge range of people.

No matter what market or country we are in, Outfit7’s biggest priority is entertaining our fans, and it’s worked well so far! Our top tip?

Have some fun while doing it. We do.

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AMC STUDIOS

BLUE ANT MEDIA TORONTO-based Blue Ant Media is bringing a raft of new titles in multiple genres to Cannes. Highlights include: documentary The Witches Of Salem (4 x 60 mins/HD), drawing on historical documents and court records to shed light on the mass hysteria during which 200 women were executed in 17th-century Massachusetts; and Big Cat Country (6 x 60 mins/4K/HDR), following lions in the heart of Zambia’s Luangwa Valley.

Lodge 49 (AMC Studios)

LODGE 49 (10 x 60 mins) is a light-hearted modern fable set in Long Beach, California, about an optimistic ex-surfer who becomes involved in a rundown fraternal lodge. Other titles from AMC include: Sherman’s Showcase (8 x 60 mins), hosted by Sherman McDaniels who takes viewers through time via music and comedy clips drawn from the 40-year library of a legendary — but fictional — musical variety show; Hip Hop: The Songs That Shook America (6 x 60 mins), in which each episode focuses on a groundbreaking song; horror series The Terror: Infamy (10 x 60 mins); documentary The Preppy Murder: Death In Central Park (5 x 60 mins); and groundbreaking dramedy This Close (14 x 30 mins), starring Shoshannah Stern and Josh Feldman, both of whom are deaf.

Big Cat Country (Blue Ant Media)

CINEXPORT

ORF-ENTERPRISE

A PRIORITY for Paris-based Cinexport is comedy drama film Instinct Animal (1 x 77 mins), directed by Julie Glenn. Stella is a trainer of big cats who develops a new dressage routine with 16 white lionesses in an attempt to help the finances of her struggling animal park. In the middle of a show she loses her voice and must then investigate the reasons why this has happened.

THE FOURTH series of Suburbia – Women On The Edge (40 x 48 mins), a lighthearted drama about five witty housewives, is brought to Cannes by Austrian distributor ORF-Enterprise. Other priority titles include crime movie Timber! (1 x 90 mins), the newest addition to the German/Swiss/Austrian Tatort crime brand; and new 4K wildlife film Empire Of The Vineyard (1 x 52 mins) from ORF’s Universum strand.

ARMOZA FORMATS SINGLE Parents Cruising (11 x 60 mins), a hit from Canada’s Canal Vie that has been commissioned for a second season, is brought to MIPCOM by Israel’s Armoza Formats. The series follows one single mom and one single dad — and their children — on a 10-day cruise with other singletons hoping to find love. Armoza also brings Song Of My Life (10 x 60 mins), a studio entertainment format from Finland’s YLE and Yellow Film & TV in which four famous contestants bring their one unforgettable song to the competition. After each song has been performed live, the celebrities try to uncover which one of them is connected to it.

Suburbia – Women On The Edge (ORF-Enterprise)

JUST FOR LAUGHS

Song Of My Life (Armoza Formats)

JUST For Laughs returns to MIPCOM with new episodes of its most popular series. The 20th anniversary season of Just For Laughs Gags, the non-verbal hidden-camera comedy show, will be available as 13 half-hours with new gags, and 20 half-hours with some of the best gags from its collection. The Just For Laughs Stand-Up catalogue features over 150 hours of performances from the Just For Laughs Festival; and Just Kidding (65 x 30 mins) is a live-action series featuring eight- to 14-year-olds with a flair for improvisation.

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 64 • September 2019

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ABC COMMERCIAL

PASSION DISTRIBUTION

AMONG the HD titles brought to Cannes by ABC Commercial are: Wild Wars: Australia (4 x 60 mins), about killing strategies employed

by Australian animals; Wild Australians (6 x 60 mins), featuring harsh wildlife habitats; Searching For Superhuman (6 x 60 mins), about the connections between body and mind; the second season of Restoration Australia (6 x 60 mins); true-crime series Kidnap Case Files (12 x 60 mins); and Waltzing The Dragon (2 x 60 mins).

HIGHLIGHTS from the Passion Distribution slate include: Secrets Of The Superfactories (8 x 60 mins), looking at the hyper-efficient and flexible factories of the future, including 3D printing and advanced robotics, artificial intelligence, wearable devices, and virtual and augmented reality; Drag Race UK (8 x 60 mins), the UK adaption of global hit RuPaul’s Drag Race, showcasing the fabulous drag queens with RuPaul as host and judges Michelle Visage, Graham Norton and Alan Carr; and Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over (6 x 60 mins), in which journalist Stacey Dooley spends 72 hours with a wide range of extraordinary characters and families including polyamorists, YouTubers and MMA teen cage fighters.

Wild Australians (ABC Commercial)

Paradise Island (MGE)

MGE SPAIN’s MGE brings new telenovela Paradise Island (132 x 45 mins) to MIPCOM, about a woman whose life is turned upside down by fraud. She then takes refuge in the convent where her twin sister lives.

Her mission becomes to help other women make a new start. Paradise Island is distributed by Mediaset Distribution.

MEDIA RANCH MONTREAL-based Media Ranch is highlighting new 60- or 90-minute game-show format Watch at MIPCOM, a shiny-floor competition combining elements of variety with a game show. Two teams watch five live performances and then answer questions that test their memories of the acts, for a cash prize. A factual format from Media Ranch is 180 Days (6 x 28 mins), where five university students live with senior citizens in a nursing home for six months.

Sold to the Netherlands, Germany and Spain, the show originally aired on DR2. The second season airs later this year on DR1.

Watch (Media Ranch)

Secrets Of The Superfactories (Passion Distribution)

LGI MEDIA LGI MEDIA (formerly Looking Glass International) brings the hour-long documentary Irish Gangsters: Faces Of The Underworld to Cannes.

Focusing on underworld criminals, it is written and presented by truecrime author Bernard O’Mahoney.

Another highlight is Cosmic Futurist (6 x 60 mins), featuring NASA chief engineer and futurist, Jon Cowart, who considers the mission to explore Mars, why NASA recently tested a flying saucer and looking at the possibility that humans will Christy Dunne in Irish Gangsters: soon holiday in space.

Faces Of The Underworld (LGI)

COMERCIAL TV

The Trap (Comercial TV)

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 66 • September 2019

SPAIN’s Comercial TV brings two series of drama The Trap (98 x 60 mins + 82 x 60 mins). The story features a man and a woman with no apparent connection who are involved in a bizarre bank robbery, which ends in their deaths. The police investigation is at a standstill, so their offspring — Lara and Simao — decide to solve the mystery. Further deaths follow, all of which do not appear to be related.

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FULL MOON FEATURES

THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO

HORROR and fantasy specialist Full Moon Features is at MIPCOM to showcase its most ambitious project to date, the Deadly Ten, 10 new original feature films, shot around the world and featuring the brand’s best-known franchises and characters. Behind-the-scenes footage as production gets under way will be live-streamed on the company’s website.

FINLAND’s YLE and Spain’s The Mediapro Studio have teamed to create The Paradise, a dark crime thriller. The eight-episode series, mainly in Finnish, with some Spanish and English, takes place in Spain’s Costa del Sol. It follows the story of people who have choosen to live in a different country, but not all of them can forgive or forget things from home. Another priority title is the second season of Side Games, which uses the world of soccer as its backdrop to explore the fragility of human nature and corruption. The Paradise (The MediaPro Studio)

Weedjies (Full Moon Features)

The Silence Of Water (Mediaset Distribution)

PORTFOLIO ENTERTAINMENT THE MIPCOM roster from Toronto-based Portfolio Entertainment includes: new horror thriller Archons (1 x 90 mins/HD/4K), in which fallen-from-grace rock group Sled Dog take one more chance at success in the remote mountain wilderness, but soon discover they are not alone in the woods; new comedy drama Modern Classic (1 x 90 mins/HD), about two young filmmakers on a disastrous journey to make their first feature film; classic-car series Car Stories (52 x 30 mins/HD); Buskers (13 x 30 mins/HD/4K), showcasing street performers from around the world; and food and travel series You Gotta Eat Here! (132 x 30 mins + 16 x 30 mins compilations).

FREMANTLE

MEDIASET DISTRIBUTION

SIX-PART drama series The Luminaries is based on the novel by Eleanor Catton, which tells an epic story of love, murder and revenge set in the 1860s gold rush on the west coast of New Zealand’s South Island. The Luminaries stars Eve Hewson, Eva Green, Himesh Patel and Ewen Leslie. The series is distributed globally by Fremantle.

Also from Fremantle, the six-part documentary series Enslaved is executive-produced and hosted by actor and human rights activist Samuel L Jackson. Enslaved retraces the harrowing sea voyage that brought millions of Africans to a life of slavery in the New World.

The series tracks the efforts of a group of elite divers as they search for — and find — six ships that went down with their human cargo.

MYSTERY thriller The Silence Of Water (8 x 50 mins) starts with the disappearance of adolescent Laura in a small village near Trieste. The investigation is led by a police officer called Andrea, who uncovers secrets hidden in the small community. Then Luisa, another officer, arrives from the city to help the investigation.

The series, brought to MIPCOM by Mediaset Distribution, will continue with a second season next year.

SND FILMS A MIPCOM highlight for France’s SND Films is new thriller series A Perfect Man (4 x 52 mins), which is based on a true story. Commissioned by M6, the story features Anna, who is shocked when her neighbour is the prime suspect in the murder of his wife and four children, who are found buried in their own garden. Anna cannot believe he is the murderer and as she’s a brilliant hacker, decides to investigate on her own.

The Luminaries (Fremantle)

A Perfect Man (SND Films)

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 67 • September 2019

product news

ENDEMOL SHINE INTERNATIONAL EMOTIONAL thriller Deep Water (6 x 60 mins), set in England’s Lake District and starring Anna Friel, Sinead Keenan and Rosalind Eleazar, follows three mothers, each with a child in the same class at school.

Behind closed doors, each seemingly ordinary woman is struggling with an extraordinary moral and ethical crisis. Other highlights include: drama Adult Material (4 x 60 mins), which explores the porn industry from the perspective of a woman; Dead Water Fell (working title), starring David Tennant and Cush Jumbo, set in a small Scottish community divided by mistrust and suspicion after a seemingly perfect family is murdered by someone they know and trust; My Greatest Dishes (20 x 30 mins), featuring 20 extraordinary chefs; and returning series of Peaky Blinders, Grantchester and Tin Star.

LAGARDERE STUDIOS DISTRIBUTION LAGARDERE Studios Distribution is launching two drama series in Cannes. Blackout (10 x 48mins) is about a woman Prime Minister who must choose between the life of her daughter and the fate of a nation when an act of sabotage shuts down a nuclear Blackout (Lagardere Studios Distribution) power plant and the country is plunged into darkness. The daughter has been kidnapped and the PM receives a message: ‘Turn the lights back on and your daughter dies’. Commandos (10 x 45 mins) features a commando vet who, confronted with a murderer trying to eliminate his former comrades, goes back into combat.

MEDITERRANEO THE MIPCOM slate from Spain’s Mediterraneo includes: 13-episode black comedy Dangerous Moms, about four mothers who become involved in a crime; The Countryside, an eight-episode new comedy about a group of urbanites who flee the city for a number of different reasons; and Mothers, a 13-episode medical drama about everyday life in a hospital for children and teens, focusing on the emotions involved in the struggle mothers go through to help their children.

Deep Water (Endemol Shine International)

REAL BIG HITS THE MIPCOM roster from Real Big Hits is headed by programming from 24/7 esports network ESR, which features the entire range of eSports entertainment, including tournaments, live events, match highlights, docu-series, reality shows and talk shows. ESR works with leading gamers and influencers, tournament organisers, game publishers and producers to offer curated content.

MARBLEMEDIA TITANIC – Stories From The Deep (4 x 60 mins) is a documentary series profiling new discoveries from 12,000 feet below the Atlantic Ocean. Presented by actor Victor Garber, the series features the artifacts salvaged from the underwater resting site of the wreck, which tell new stories of love, Victor Garber, Titanic – Stories From The Deep (marblemedia) deception, fate and heroics.

MAGNIFY MEDIA UK DISTRIBUTOR Magnify Media highlights Vegan Ville (3 x 45 mins) in Cannes. The format and finished series features five passionate vegans who descend upon a town whose economy and way of life is synonymous with the meat industry – in the UK version it’s Merthyr Tydfil in Wales. The vegans have three weeks to see how many meat eaters they can convert through their persuasive powers and shock tactics.

Dangerous Moms (Mediterraneo)

BOAT ROCKER STUDIOS KILLER Instincts (13 x 30 mins) explores the world’s most interesting and deadly predators, how they interact with one another and how they use the elements around them as well as their own instincts not only to survive, but thrive.

Other programmes from the Boat Rocker Studios slate include: Food Pop (13 Killer Instincts (Boat Rocker Studios) x 30 mins), looking at popular food, how it evolved and its impact on culture, including inspiring art, jewellery and even amusement parks; and Secrets Of A Psychopath (3 x 60 mins), a documentary about a manipulative killer in Ireland, using first-hand accounts from experts, journalists and observers closest to the case.

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 68 • September 2019

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WORLD PREMIERE TV SCREENING

Hamilton:

the next Bond… or Bourne?

Dramacorp-Pampas Studios’ Agent Hamilton is the Sunday World Premiere TV Screening at MIPCOM this year. Andy Fry spoke to the studio’s founder Patrick Nebout and Justus Riesenkampff of Scandinavia/Benelux Beta Film, ahead of the series Cannes screening

T

HE BRITS have James Bond and the Americans have Jason Bourne. But if you’re from Scandinavia, it’s likely that you’ve grown up following the adventures of Carl Hamilton, the hero of a hugely popular series of spy novels by Jan Guillou. Now, a new 10-episode TV adaptation from Dramacorp-Pampas Studios will give international audiences a chance to meet the former Swedish intelligence officer who plies his trade in the deadly world of international espionage.

Dramacorp-Pampas Studios founder Patrick Nebout (Midnight Sun) said “It was an easy decision for us to get involved with Agent Hamilton because the source novels are one of the biggest literary properties in Scandinavia. They have sold 10 million copies and twice been adapted into films starring Stellan Skarsgard and Peter Stormare. We saw the potential for Hamilton to be the first true international spy thriller series coming out of Scandinavia, in the vein of Three Days Of The Condor or All The President’s Men.”

Aside from the richness of the central character, Nebout says a big part of Agent Hamilton’s appeal to audiences will be the carefully-constructed storyverse created by Guillou, an investigative journalist who spent nearly a year in prison for exposing a covert black ops unit within the Swedish military. “Jan Guillou’s work has the kind of attention to detail and authenticity you get with Ian Fleming or Tom Clancy.

You can tell he really knows the world he is writing about.”

While the books are set against the backdrop of the Cold War, the TV series will be contemporary — a shift that has been given the author’s blessing, Nebout said. “I think the stories in Hamilton are more relevant than ever, because we are living in a kind of Cold War 2.0. Maybe we don’t just have two forces facing off against each other, but the political situation is just as interesting.”

In season one’s story arc, Hamilton has returned to Sweden after years of Navy SEAL training in the US. Haunted by a traumatic childhood, he is torn between his benefactors, who want him to be

a patriotic ‘superweapon’, and his conscience — shaped by the left-wing radicals of his youth.

When Stockholm is shaken by a series of bombings, Hamilton is contacted by his old commander who wants him to investigate the attacks. As he gets deeper into the story, Hamilton finds himself in the middle of a life-threatening mission against a corporate private security firm backed by corrupt CIA and Swedish military.

The production was initially greenlit by TV4 Gruppe in Scandinavia for its pay-TV platform CMore and free-to-air channel TV4. But the international appeal of the show has been underlined by the early participation of German public broadcaster ZDF and international distributor Beta Film. Justus Riesenkampff, executive vice-president, Scandinavia/Benelux Beta Film, said: “The Hamilton books are well known across Europe and the last movie adaptation did very well for ZDF around 10 years ago. So we have no doubts about Agent Hamilton’s international appeal.”

Over and above the audience’s

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 70 • September 2019

in-built awareness of the core IP, “the production is being developed in a way that positions it as an international series,” Riesenkampff said. “For example, there are a lot of great locations including Russia, Israel, Germany and the US — as well as Sweden, where the character is based. This isn’t an example of a classic Scandi-noir crime series.

TV4 was looking for a more colourful, action-adventure series and that also fits our needs.”

This internationalism will also be evident in the mix of languages, said Nebout — who trod similar ground with Midnight Sun. “The use of language will be very organic, which is what audiences expect now. When Swedes talk to Swedes or Russians talk to Russians it will be in their native language. But English is very much the language of espionage, so that will feature prominently.”

The first episode of Agent Hamilton premieres at MIPCOM, with rising Norwegian star Jakob Oftebro in the lead.

A true Nordic collaboration, the Swedish-originated series is being directed by Sweden’s Erik

Jakob Oftebro as Agent Hamilton

Leijonborg (The Last Kingdom) with Norway’s Petter S. Rosenlund (The Heavy Water War) the head writer. “We have had our eyes on Jakob for a long time, and finally found the right project for him,” Josefine Tengblad, head of drama at CMore and TV4, said. “He is one of Scandinavia’s most talented actors and perfect for Hamilton.”

For all the partners involved, the hope is that Agent Hamilton can

turn into an ongoing franchise.

“TV4 is keen to grow its slate of premium original drama, so they gave us a two-series commitment right from the start,” Nebout said. “But with so many novels, there is potential for the production to go further.”

• The World Premiere TV Screening of Agent Hamilton is on Sunday, October 13, at 18.30 in the Grand Auditorium

Scandinavia/Benelux Beta Film’s Justus Riesenkampff

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 71 • September 2019

Dramacorp-Pampas Studios’ Patrick Nebout

WORLD PREMIERE TV SCREENING

Dempsey is in Cannes for the launch of Devils MIPCOM’s Monday World Premiere TV Screening is Sky Studios’ new thriller Devils. The six-part series is produced by Sky Italia and Lux Vide, in association with Orange Studio, funded by Sky Studios and distributed internationally by NBCUniversal Global Distribution. It stars Patrick Dempsey, Alessandro Borghi and Kasia Smutniak. Sky Italia’s director of original productions, Nils Hartmann, spoke to the MIPCOM Preview ahead of the screening MIPCOM PREVIEW • 72 • September 2019

Patrick Dempsey and Alessandro Borghi in Devils

B

ASED on the best-selling novel by Guido Maria Brera, Devils is a financial thriller set in 2011 on the trading floors of London.

Italian banker Massimo Ruggero (Borghi) has made hundreds of

millions of dollars for his employers at the NYL Investment Bank and is anticipating a big promotion. But a scandal involving his drug-addict wife halts his ambitions as his American CEO and mentor Dominic Morgan (Dempsey) — one of the most

powerful men in global finance — withdraws his support.

Ruggero becomes a murder suspect after the sudden death of a colleague. Sensing that Morgan is hiding something, Ruggero sets about clearing his name and finding out the truth behind who set him up. As he fights to clear his name, helped by Sofia, a hacker-journalist (Laia Costa), he finds himself in the middle of a financial war that’s being played out across continents and against the chaos of the financial crash, but which has its roots much closer to home.

Ruggero learns that the death of his colleague is linked to a political game plan, hidden behind the Strauss-Kahn scandal, the Libyan War and the European financial crisis. Caught in the middle of an intercontinental conflict involving leading figures in global finance — and facing the ‘Devils’ who rule the world’s fate from the shadows — Ruggero must choose whether to fight, or to join them.

“We were introduced to the story by Lux Vide,” Sky Italia’s Nils Hartmann said. “The author, Guido Maria Brera, is a financier and it shows in the veracity of the book that he really knows this world. We had no hesitation in developing the story as a series once we had seen the book and met with Guido.”

What also attracted Hartmann was that it is “a thriller that naturally originated in Italy, with a very natural European setting.

Years back a drama like this would have run the risk of being described as a Euro-pudding, but this came from someone who actually had knowledge and an understanding of the interna-

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 73 • September 2019

tional banking world, who had worked in London and who also happened to be Italian. So it was all very real.”

The setting is primarily the city of London — the UK capital’s financial district — and the protagonist is Italian. So, as with so many internationally focused dramas of this golden age, is this a bilingual — or even multilingual — production?

“No, the principal language is English,” Hartmann said. “At the early stages I asked to be taken to an international financial centre so I could see and hear for myself how the different nationalities worked together,” he said.

“We visited the Morgan Stanley trading floor and it was clear that the common language was English. So in the series, 90% of what is spoken is English.”

Hartmann described Devils as “period but current. It’s clearly set during the 2011 financial crisis, the Greek recession and everything else that was happening then. With all the references to real people and events there’s no doubt about when this is all taking place. It makes it all the more real.” He added: “We expect a good reaction at the premiere.”

Patrick Dempsey will be in Cannes for the exclusive firstlook at Devils, alongside Alessandro Borghi who plays Ruggero, Kasia Smutniak who stars as Dominic Morgan’s wife, Nina, as well as members of the production team including Hartmann and director Nick Hurran (Altered Carbon, Sherlock).

• The World Premiere TV Screening of Devils is on Monday, October 14 at 18.30 in the Grand Auditorium

news: WORLD PREMIERE TV SCREENING

The Return

Tatsuya Nakadai stars in The Return

MIPCOM presents the World Premiere TV Screening of The Return, from Japan’s Samurai Drama Channel. The 120mins film is based on a story by writer Shuhei Fujisawa and stars Tatsuya Nakadai, star of many of the epic films of Akira Kurosawa. The series also stars leading Japanese actors Takako Tokiwa and Jiro Sato, both in Cannes for the screening THE RETURN is directed and co-written by Shigemichi Sugita, president of Nihon Eiga Broadcasting, which operates Samurai Drama Channel, a pay-TV service on Japanese cable and satellite platforms, specialising in historical

movies and series. Sugita directed the popular drama series From A Northern Country, which made him a leading figure in Japanese TV drama. He has directed more than 100 TV dramas and films, including Warner Bros. 2010 movie

The Last Ronin. In 2015, he directed A Duel Tale, a TV adaptation of Shuhei Fujisawa’s novel, for the Samurai Drama Channel, which won Gold in the 2017 New York Festival’s World’s Best Television & Films Awards.

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 74 • September 2019

The Samurai Drama Channel has been on air for 20 years and attracts some eight million subscribers, mainly adult viewers who enjoy the classic costume dramas of the Eighties and Nineties that make up the bulk of the channel’s programming — which includes the many well-known Samurai movies by Kurosawa as well as the Zaotichi blind swordsman series starring Shintaro Katsu.

Sugita’s intention is to make Japanese costume dramas popular the world over, and the World Premiere TV Screening of The Return in Cannes is key to achieving that goal. “It’s a costume drama,

Leading Japanese actors Jiro Sato and Takako Tokiwa, in Cannes for the world premiere of The Return

but one set in Japan,” Sugita said.

“I know Europeans love Kurosawa’s movies and therefore are familiar with Tatsuya Nakadai.

He is now 86 years old. He’s like the Laurence Olivier of Japanese movie actors.”

Fujisawa’s historical novels tend to focus on spiritual matters rather than the kind of action and violence that the Samurai genre is famous for. “The main character of The Return is an old outlaw who returns to his home town after many years of wandering the land and living a gambler’s life,” Sugita said. “He reflects on that life and the sins he has committed in the past. He meets a young woman (Tokiwa) and realises she is his daughter, though she doesn’t know that. He wants to save her, and himself, too.”

The stunning natural environment of central Japan provides the backdrop to the film — according to Sugita, to give the context of beauty to a story about completing one’s life. “It was filmed in the Japan Alps, in Kiso, which retains the atmosphere of the Edo Period (1603-1868),” he said. “In fact, about two-thirds of the drama was shot on location, with the rest shot mainly at a studio in Kyoto.

“I don’t think it’s necessary for foreign viewers to understand the historical background of the drama,” he added. “It’s more about universal values: a person has made a mistake he wants to correct late in life and he’s looking for a way to do that. Stories about fathers and daughters are very popular all over the world.”

The theme of The Return may surprise viewers around the world, Sugita said. “Ninja movies are very popular overseas,” he says. “They are easy to sell. This kind of costume drama is more philosophical.”

A key selling point is that the drama was made with cutting-edge 8K technology. “The visual detail is something I want people to experience,” Sugita said. “Canon developed a special camera for Stanley Kubrick when he made Barry Lyndon, so he could shoot in natural candlelight. I am try-

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 75 • September 2019

ing to show a similar attention to reality. We’ve tried to do it many times in the past, but we think we’ve succeeded thanks to new 8K technology.”

With high-end drama still at the forefront of international television’s current and ongoing ‘golden age’, it is the Samurai Drama Channel’s aim to broaden the discussion around the viability of historical dramas at MIPCOM, “enabling international audiences better to appreciate the universal values that costume dramas deliver while enlightening viewers about historical circumstances”. The company anticipates a positive reaction at MIPCOM that should lead to closer relationships with overseas distributors and buyers.

Japanese costume dramas are already popular in Asian countries, including China and South Korea, and have a firm foothold in Taiwan and Singapore.

The Samurai Drama Channel is collaborating fully with Kansai TV in this international development strategy, according to Tomoyuki Miyagawa, head of programming and production and who has produced 20 titles for Samurai Drama Channel. Miyagawa said the hope is to increase production in order to build wider audiences. “We must go to the global market,” he said. “And we have to create more opportunities to produce and exhibit more high-quality costume dramas, both internationally and domestically.”

So what’s next from Sugita? He laughs at the question: “I’m getting old, so it’s difficult to say, but our team is definitely planning our next steps. Meanwhile, he believes that the two-hour drama will leave a lasting affect on the MIPCOM audience. “I can guarantee that they will not regret a minute. This story will definitely leave everyone who watches it with important things to think about in their lives.”

• The World Premiere TV Screening of The Return is on Tuesday, October 15, at 11.30 in the Auditorium A

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FEATURE: STREAMING PLATFORMS

Here comes the

competition Netflix currently dominates the streaming world, with 150 million-plus subscribers worldwide. But with Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Sling, HBO Now and CBS All Access, among others, already providing strong competition, and Disney+, HBO Max and Apple TV+ set to enter the fray, the balance of power may well be able to change, writes Andy Fry Star Trek: Discovery, on CBS All Access

N

O ONE would suggest that production, distribution and TV technology are simple businesses. But from a consumer perspective, the remarkable growth of global SVOD platform Netflix is pretty easy to understand.

“Netflix filled a gap in the market,” says Brett Sappington, senior research director and principal analyst at consultancy Parks Associates. “Prior to its launch, most consumers around the world had a choice of watching free services or buying big-bundle pay-TV packages. Suddenly, Netflix came into the picture with a low-price streaming service that offered high-quality shows in a convenient form.”

In general, the legacy players were slow to respond because they were protecting existing businesses or were prevented by domestic regulators from fighting back. “And in the meantime,

Netflix just kept improving its offer,” Sappington says. “More original content, astute acquisitions, box sets, easy user interface, easy cancellation and access across devices all explain why the service has reached 151 million subscribers globally.”

With an annual programme budget of $15bn, further growth for Netflix seems assured. Markets including India are seen as having high potential, with five new India-targeted original series recently added to the platform. In a recent conference call to investors, Netflix’s chief content officer Ted Sarandos said: “We’ve been seeing steady increases and engagement with our Indian viewers that we think we can keep building on.”

But there are also signs that the streaming platform is going to find the next few years much tougher. “Netflix has led the way,” Sappington says, “but it no longer has a clear run at the market because of the growing

number of powerful companies entering the streaming business, Apple, Disney and AT&T Time Warner being the most high-profile examples.”

Ovum senior analyst Tony Gunnarsson agrees: “If the last decade was dominated by the story of Netflix and disruption, then the next will be about subscription-based linear services. Every traditional broadcaster and telco is lining up with some kind of OTT streaming service.”

Brett Sappington:

“Netflix has led the way, but it no longer has a clear run at the market ” Netflix’s most recent financial results suggest a shift might already be taking place. With subscription growth missing analyst forecasts — subs actually fell by 130,000 in the US

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 77 • September 2019

— the company saw its share price slide by 15%. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings responded by blaming recent price increases and the lack of high-profile content launching in the second quarter. Pointing to the thirdand fourth-quarter launches, which include the third season of Stranger Things, season seven of Orange Is The New Black and the second outing of Mindhunter, he said: “We’re building amazing capacity for content. Our rate of investment is extremely high. If investors believe in internet television, which I think is an easy one to get, then our position is very strong.”

Nevertheless, the scale of the share price slump suggests investors are becoming more cautious about the prospects for the platform. Aside from the challenge presented by rivals, the company also has to factor in the cost of content and talent. While $15bn a year may

FEATURE: STREAMING PLATFORMS sound like a lot, that needs to be shared across dozens of markets, including the US. Underlining the point, a high-end series like The Crown comes in at $10m-$13m per episode, while a recent five-year deal with Ryan Murphy (Glee; American Crime Story) is reputed to have cost $300m. Of course, all of this is good news for producers, talent, agents and, in some cases, content distributors.

Hollywood and the US studios A lot of TV-industry talk this year has focused on The Walt Disney Company and Time Warner’s plans to enter the streaming business as rivals to Netflix. In the case of the former, there will be a new streaming product called Disney+, which will lead with franchises including Marvel, Star Wars and the Disney animation classics.

For a monthly subscription of approximately $7.00, Disney+ will also offer the many films

Season two of Netflix hit The Crown

and TV shows that it secured when it bought 21st Century Fox’s entertainment empire for $71.3bn. These include all 30 seasons of The Simpsons, for example. There will also be 25 original series in the first year, starting with Star Wars: The Mandalorian.

Assessing the launch, Ovum’s Gunnarsson expects the hype around the new service to give

Dan March, managing partner, Dynamic Television “OUR INDUSTRY changed forever the day Netflix announced it would be a global platform. For the first time, producers no longer needed a distribution or studio partnership to finance their shows. This has forced distributors to be more ambitious in their evolution as content creators, hence all the acquisition activity around production companies.

Meanwhile, linear channels are competing with OTT by ending output deals and reducing acquisition budgets to increase investments in their own

original productions.

Thus, distribution is now a contracting industry.

The unknown is whether Disney+, HBO Max, Amazon and Apple will create new growth opportunities for distributors, or whether they will follow Netflix’s ‘minimum margin’ business model.”

it a major boost on home soil: “In the US, it will be massive — the most exciting thing since Netflix. The bond with US consumers is so strong that I see a lot of people taking it on top of Netflix.”

He is more cautious about international, however: “Disney has so many pre-existing partnerships that it will take time for it to work out how Disney+ fits in. They won’t be able to deliver a one-size-fits-all strategy internationally, which will limit their speed of growth.”

AT&T-owned Warner, meanwhile, has revealed that its own streaming service will be called HBO Max, trading on the brand equity it has built up over many years with HBO. Launching early next year, the HBO Max service will cost $15.00 a month and offer 10,000 hours of content. This will consist of both classic shows, including sitcom Friends, which will be available on HBO Max in North America, and new series. Examples of the latter include Dune: The Sisterhood, an adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi series, and Love Life, a romantic comedy starring Anna Kendrick.

There is also room for acquisi-

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 78 • September 2019

tions, as a new deal with BBC Studios proves. Unveiled in August, HBO Max has acquired the exclusive streaming rights to BBC Studios’ sci-fi series Doctor Who, as well as The Office, Top Gear and Luther.

As with Disney, Gunnarsson says the HBO brand, combined with Warner’s rich content portfolio, will appeal to consumers.

But he argues that AT&T’s progress will be slowed down by internal integration. Aside from the various iterations of HBO already available, “AT&T has streaming services like Crunchyroll, Boomerang, DC Universe and DirecTV Now”, he adds.

“I’m not pessimistic, but I think that will slow down the company’s DTC [direct-to-consumer] growth.”

A critical point about both services is that they are taking back some shows previously licensed to Netflix — Friends is a high-profile example. Netflix’s Hastings has put a positive spin on this, saying it will “free budget for more original content. From what we’ve seen in the past, when we drop strong catalogue content, our members shift over to enjoying our other great content.” Whether that rationalisation will still hold true with the loss of iconic Disney franchises is less clear, however.

Tony Gunnarsson:

“In the US, Disney+ will be massive — the most exciting thing since Netflix” NBCUniversal also stated recently that it will launch a streaming service in April 2020.

But not to be overlooked is that the US studios are already battling for share against Netflix.

Sony Pictures and Time Warner, for example, are partners in Asian VOD platform Hooq,

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FEATURE: STREAMING PLATFORMS alongside Singtel. Discovery has a burgeoning DTC business, while Lionsgate is also active globally via its StarzPlay platform. In July, it acquired the new Batman prequel drama series Pennyworth for multiple markets, adding to a portfolio that also includes Killing Eve and Catch 22.

Not to be overlooked either is that Disney is the majority owner of Hulu as well as Star India’s Hotstar platform — meaning that the Mouse House’s threat to Netflix extends beyond the roll-out of Disney+.

CBS has also made decent inroads in the US with its CBS All Access and Showtime platforms, which are on course to have a combined 25 million subscribers by 2022. The services are available in North America and Australia, although there is no news yet on further expansion.

During his MIPTV keynote, Armando Nunez, president and CEO of CBS Global Distribution Group, said it is unlikely CBS will just “flick the switch” and launch a global streaming business in the same way as Disney. Instead, he said CBS would “pick and choose where it makes sense to launch direct to consumer”.

Pay-TV platforms Pay TV has suffered at the hands of competitively priced SVOD services like Netflix. But it would be a mistake to think of it as a dying or defeated business. Simon Murray, principal analyst at Digital TV Research, forecasts an additional 81 million pay-TV subscribers between now and 2024, taking the total global market to 1.1 billion. “Cord-cutting will continue, with the US losing nearly 10 million subscribers between 2018 and 2024,” he adds. “But it’s not all bad news: 110 countries will gain subscribers. From the 81 million additional payTV subs, 29 million will come from India, 16 million from China and eight million from Indonesia.”

Simon Murray:

“Cord-cutting will continue, with the US losing nearly 10 million pay-TV subscribers between 2018 and 2024.

But it’s not all bad news: 110 countries will gain subscribers”

Star Wars: The Mandalorian, an original for Dinsey+

The long-term prognosis is that the pay-TV platforms will struggle to keep customers tied in to big, expensive bundles of channels. But they have found various ways to combat the rise of the SVOD players — offering adjacent services such as telephony and broadband, for example, or providing greater access to low-cost channel packages, the so-called skinny bundles.

Ramping up investment in exclusive content has also been key. Comcast-owned European pay-TV giant Sky, for example, has spent heavily on premium drama in recent years, complementing its strength in sport and movies. In 2019, it launched a division called Sky Studios

Ruth Berry, managing director, ITV Studios Global Entertainment “TV’S GOLDEN age has become as much about the ways that viewers choose to consume content as it is about the content they choose to consume. The complexity of the global content ecosystem, which now includes streamers large and small, is fascinating and a positive development for us. In simple

terms, new streamers are as much an opportunity for our producers, as they now have a new tranche of commissioners, as they are for our distribution business as a new buyer. Moreover, as US studios claw back content for their own DTC services, we’re happy to provide our high quality British, US and

multinational content to those channels and platforms, to fill those gaps too.”

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 80 • September 2019

and promised to double content spend. “This is a transformational development,” says Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch. “Sky Studios will drive our vision to be the leading force in European content development and production.”

Sky is one of several pay-TV players that has also taken the fight to Netflix by launching its own streaming service, Now TV — and don’t forget that its sister division NBCU is talking about moving into streaming. It is a similar story at Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT).

Indeed, president and CEO Anders Jensen described NENT as a streaming company during his MIPTV 2019 keynote, saying: “We believe in free and pay TV and invest in it, but streaming is where the consumer is going — so that’s how I see NENT.” NENT faces tough competition in Scandinavia from Netflix and HBO, but has enjoyed success with its streaming platform Viaplay. Echoing Darroch, Jensen says survival will require investment in local original content: “That will be our key credible differentiator from platforms like Netflix. I believe we need to be giving people around 40 originals a year, so we need to invest more and open up more partnerships.”

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6th Annual Latin America TV Market 20-22 November 2019

Driving the content economy

FEATURE: STREAMING PLATFORMS

The FAANGs Of the disruptors that make up the acronym ‘FAANG’ (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google), Amazon has provided Netflix with the keenest competition to date via its Prime Video subscription service. But comparing the two is not easy, because Amazon is more diversified, active across areas from e-commerce to cloud services.

Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke alluded to this at the latest Television Critics Association’s press tour, when she described Prime Video as a “perk” for subscribers, along with fast and free delivery. “We’re not in the volume business,” she said.

“We’re in the curated business.”

Jennifer Salke:

“We’re not in the volume business. We’re in the curated business” The word ‘curated’ should not, however, be mistaken for niche.

Currently, Amazon spends $7bn a year on music and video content, compared to Netflix’s $15bn. It has also taken a prominent position in the fast-growing esports market through its acquisition of Twitch.

Aside from competition for customers, Amazon’s key impact on Netflix is to inflate the

StarzPlay has acquired Batman prequel Pennyworth

cost of content, since both are in the market for high-end IP and proven talent. For example, Amazon is currently in the process of creating one or more series based on JRR Tolkien’s Lord Of The Rings. Securing the rights is reckoned to have cost the company $250m.

As for the other FAANGS, Apple has spent the last year talking up its soon-to-launch subscription service Apple TV+.

The company is reckoned to be spending around $1bn on content from the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg and Reese Witherspoon. It will also use its platform to allow users to subscribe to and watch content from third-party services, including HBO, Starz and Showtime — but not Netflix.

In terms of originations, Apple is planning to offer a family-friendly approach to content.

Drama titles in the planned Apple TV+ line-up include The Morning Show, starring Jennifer Anniston, Steve Carell and Reese Witherspoon. The platform has also ordered Little Voice, a halfhour romantic dramedy about New York City 20somethings; a reboot of Amazing Stories; and See, a space drama starring Aquaman’s Jason Momoa.

Apple TV+ is not Apple’s first entry into the TV market. It already offers aggregated content in some 100 countries from around 150 content companies via an Apple TV app. In its most recent results conference call, Apple CEO Tim Cook said monthly viewers on the

Robert Franke, vice-president, ZDFE.drama, ZDF Enterprises “STREAMERS have disrupted the traditional value chain by making it possible for producers to do direct deals with them. This shift towards originals and exclusives is understandable, but it means distributors are at risk of not being relevant

if they don’t respond. Our solution has been to get closer to the talent and ideas at the start of a project. We help producers develop their content in the right way for the market, so we are not just a distributor any more, but a financing producer.”

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 82 • September 2019

app were up 40% year-on-year in the US. Despite its heavyweight content investment in Apple TV+, Ovum’s Gunnarsson says Apple has been low key so far about launch and rollout.

That said, “it has the muscle to change that at any time”, he adds. “It could have a major impact on the market simply by bundling a free six-month subscription to Apple TV+ with hardware.”

Facebook is also reckoned to be spending $1bn-2bn a year on content, but so far has not attempted to compete in the SVOD arena. Instead, it has pursued an ad-based model by commissioning content for its video service Watch. A prime example is its reboot of MTV’s The Real World. As with Google-owned YouTube, Facebook’s strength in video ad revenue perhaps explains why it has been slower to put content behind a paywall. According to research firm eMarketer, Facebook generated $6.8bn in US ad revenue last year, while YouTube generated $3.36bn.

Having said this, YouTube has been trying to find an entry point into subscriber-based content over the last couple of years. In 2019, it launched

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FEATURE: STREAMING PLATFORMS

Discovery’s David Zaslav

DAZN’s James Rushton

YouTube Music and YouTube Premium in 17 countries across the Americas, Europe and Asia.

YouTube Premium members receive access to the music service and a slate of YouTube Originals shows and movies, including Cobra Kai, Impulse, F2 Finding Football and The Sidemen Show.

Free-to-air domestic broadcasters Having seen their linear businesses eroded by the SVOD services, Europe’s leading freeto-air (FTA) broadcasters have started to fight back with their own SVOD services. In the UK, public broadcaster the BBC and commercial rival ITV are set to launch BritBox, a service that will offer a mix of classic shows and exclusive originals for £5.99 a month. This follows the launch of BritBox in North

Amazon Studios’ Jennifer Salke

America, which is reckoned to have 500,000 subs.

ITV chief executive Carolyn McCall the launch of BritBox UK “a milestone moment”.

She adds: “ITV and BBC have made, and continue to make, programmes that reflect and shape British culture and creativity. We look forward to bringing the best in past, present and future British programming to viewers all in one place.” BritBox content at launch will include dramas Broadchurch and Gentleman Jack, as well as unspecified originals from 2020.

Carolyn McCall:

“We look forward to bringing the best in past, present and future British programming to viewers all in one place”

BritBox content will include long-running hit BBC sci-fi series, Doctor Who

Netflix’s Reed Hastings

Analysts including Park Associates’ Sappington do not expect BritBox to outperform the global SVOD giants, but they see no reason why it cannot exist as a viable number two or three in the UK market. “One thing that our research shows,” Sappington says, “is that consumers are more comfortable paying for content from brands they are familiar with. HBO, Discovery and the BBC are all likely to be beneficiaries of this preference.”

Ovum’s Gunnarsson agrees that second- or third-choice SVOD service may be viable: “There was a piece of research recently [from Hollywood Reporter/ Morning Consult] that suggested US households are willing to pay $21 a month for streaming services.” This, he adds, indicates there is room for services on top of a basic Netflix or Amazon Choice package.

Over in France, a similar venture called Salto is being developed

by France Televisions, TF1 and M6. First announced last year, the launch of Salto has been delayed by French and European competition authorities — much to the frustration of France Televisions CEO Delphine Ernotte. With Netflix piling on another one million subscribers during the delay, she says it is “totally absurd” that Salto has been stuck in regulatory

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 84 • September 2019

Netflix’s Ted Sarandos

limbo. The best guess currently is that Salto will launch in late 2019 or early 2020.

In Germany, ProSiebenSat.1 and Discovery announced plans for an SVOD platform, then invited others to join them. Public broadcaster ZDF agreed, but commercial heavyweight RTL is going it alone with its TVNow service.

The goal of RTL’s CEO Bert Habets is to grow the number of subscribers to the SVOD services to three million and revenue from VOD to €360m by 2021. RTL will invest at least an additional €350m in expanding its streaming offerings over the next three years, including €300m to be invested in content across all genres. In addition to originations, the company has also made some high-profile acquisitions. These include the latest series from AwesomenessTV, for example Zac And Mia, Light As A Feather and Tagged, secured in a deal at MIPTV.

Other threats to Netflix Netflix also faces competition from well-resourced pan-regional challengers such as Televisa’s Blim in Latin America, MultiChoice Group’s Showmax in Africa and iFlix (backed by Sky, Liberty Global, Hearst Entertainment and Yoshimoto Ko-

FEATURE: STREAMING PLATFORMS gyo) in Asia. There are also large territories where Netflix has been unable gain any traction.

The most obvious of these is the 1.4 billion Chinese market, where the VOD business is dominated by powerful domestic platforms, notably Alibaba’s Youku, Tencent and Baidu’s iQiyi.

All three of the big Chinese platforms have pursued a similar path to Netflix by kickstarting their businesses with acquisitions then shifting to original production. Analysis from Ampere suggests iQiyi’s annual content spend has risen from $6.8m in 2011 to $3.13bn in 2018. To date, iQiyi has produced around 250 originals and is starting to have success distributing its content abroad. In May 2019, it licensed crime drama The Thunder to South-East Asian channel Red by HBO. For now, Netflix has no intention of entering China, though it does license titles, including Stranger Things, to iQiyi.

Russia is another market that has not succumbed to Netflix’s appeal. Here, the market leader is streaming service ivi, which is attracting attention from potential purchasers, including mobile operator MTS. Talks between the two this year valued the platform at around $1bn.

Ivi is funded through advertising and subscriptions. The platform increased its revenues by 62% in 2018, to RUB3.9bn ($5.9bn), mainly through the doubling of the number of subscribers — 1.2 million users pay monthly subscriptions or per title. And

following the paths of other leading global streaming companies, ivi has started investing in original content through the creation of Ivi.Originals, a new division that will drive production.

The first streaming services in Russia emerged about 10 years ago with Okko, Amediateka, Megogo and Tvzavr the top 4 after ivi. The platforms offer national and global content, except for Amediateka, which focuses on premium international drama from, for example, HBO, Fox and BBC Worldwide.

And as is happening in other parts of the world, traditional media companies in Russia have launched streaming platforms of their own in recent years. Yellow Black and White, a leading national producer and distributor, recently launched Start.ru, a platform offering exclusive content via monthly subscriptions TNT Premier, the online platform launched by Gazprom Media, offers top shows from the holding company’s various entities, including leading entertainment channels TV-3 and TNT. And a group of Russian media holdings is launching the brandnew streaming service more.tv towards the end of this year. More. tv will combine ad-supported and subscription-based models.

Russia’s finance, tech and telecoms companies are also getting in on the act, with the countries largest bank Sberbank; tech giant Yandex; and the country’s leading mobile operator MTS all making moves on the streaming goldmine.

Zac And Mia, as seen on RTL’s TVNow

Specialist platforms Aside from geographic obstacles, Netflix has to face a myriad of niche or genre-specific challengers — everything from anime channels like Crunchyroll to sports-leagues platforms run by the likes of Major League Baseball. The most significant of the latter is DAZN, which describes itself as the world’s first pure-sport live and on-demand streaming service. With backing from Access Industries, DAZN has acquired a large portfolio of premium sports rights and runs services in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, the US, Canada, Japan and Brazil.

Among recent developments, the platform announced a new distribution partnership with Discovery that will see Eurosport 1 HD and Eurosport 2 HD made available to DAZN subscribers in Austria, Germany, Italy and Spain.

DAZN has also started investing in original content, recently unveiling a new landmark interview series called The Making Of (9 x 25 mins) featuring Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar Jr and Jose Mourinho. James Rushton, chief revenue officer of DAZN, says: “Our original programming strategy is about creating iconic content that complements our live-sport offering. It’s about driving engagement, retention and mass brand awareness around the biggest sporting cultural moments.”

James Rushton:

“Our original programming strategy is about about driving engagement, retention and mass brand awareness around the biggest sporting cultural moments” MIPCOM PREVIEW • 85 • September 2019

Jennifer Aniston stars in The Morning Show, headed for Apple TV +

Discovery president and CEO David Zaslav, meanwhile, says that his company’s recent longterm content deal with the BBC positions it to become the world’s “definitive natural-history and factual streaming platform”. Speaking during the company’s first-quarter earnings call in May 2019, Zaslav said that now was “the perfect moment to create this type of service, high in both entertainment value and global impact and relevancy”.

Touching on a point made earlier, Zaslav predicted that people will subscribe to two or three services and churn between them based on the content available at any given time. He also pointed out that BBC content is coming off Netflix to feed the new service, reinforcing the challenge that Netflix will have holding on to sought-after acquired content.

Not to be overlooked in the grand scheme of DTC content is the issue of content piracy — though there is good news on this front, according to Ampere Analysis.

“On average, in markets where either catch-up or SVOD video viewing has risen the most, piracy has experienced the biggest drop,” says Ampere research director Richard Broughton. “With the growth in the all-you-can-eat legal services, users no longer need to turn to illegitimate sources to get their viewing fix.”

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FEATURE: STREAMING BY NUMBERS

Challenging the streaming giants?

Stranger things have happened...

Research is showing that newcomers are starting to have an affect on the market share of the streaming pioneers. But the numbers also show that original content is key to success in the battle of the streamers PARROT Analytics’ Global Television Demand Report estimates that SVOD platforms released more than 300 originals in 2018, of which 130 were on Netflix.

Parrot says Netflix now commands 71% of the global SVOD market with its digital originals.

Particular successes included The Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina and La Casa De Papel (Money Heist) — the latter underlining the strong ‘travelability’ of Spanish crime drama.

While Netflix continues to attract the most demand for its drama and action/adventure origi-

nals, Parrot’s report suggests the launch of new services “has started to impact the demand share of existing players”.

In the action-adventure genre, DC Universe — part of the AT&T empire — secured a 7% share of demand in its first year of operation. Further proof that it is possible to break Netflix’s stranglehold on key genres include the strong performance of Amazon Prime Video’s The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, which Parrot says had the “highest global demand” out of all the comedies nominated for last year’s Emmys

and Golden Globes. In sci-fi, DC Universe’s Titans and CBS All Access’s Star Trek: Discovery competed well against Netflix’s Stranger Things and The Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina.

As for Disney’s prospects, Courtney Williams, Parrot’s head of partnerships, says the Mouse House’s prior connection with consumers will prove powerful.

“We’re not talking about a business starting from scratch,” he adds. “Consumers are used to receiving Disney content across a range of platforms and services.

And through everything, content

Priah Ferguson as Erica Sinclair in season three of Stranger Things

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 87 • September 2019

is still king.”

While there is some evidence that households will be happy to subscribe to multiple SVOD services, a key issue for new and incumbent players will be how to make sure new shows cut through. That, Williams says, will not simply be about budgets: “Marketing will be key, to make sure your shows are right at the top of the viewer’s consideration list.”

For content-owners, Williams predicts that data will be increasingly important: “Data is not about replacing creativity, but empowering it, so that a show is as differentiated as possible. If Netflix is using data to decide the length of a season, or for how many seasons a show should run, and Amazon is using it to inform the size of budgets on shows, it makes sense that producers and distributors should also pay attention to data.”

Courtney Williams:

“Data is not about replacing creativity, but empowering it”

FEATURE: STREAMING TECHNOLOGY

© Getty Images/ metamorworks

Full stream ahead

The next year will see the battle for viewers intensify as more big-name streaming platforms enter the market. But what does the OTT explosion mean for the tech companies that keep the streamers streaming? And what will next-generation technology — ultra-fast 5G, AI and data analytics — bring to the party? Juliana Koranteng reports

N

ETFLIX, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu are no longer just competing against the traditional broadcasters. They are facing some serious new contenders in the form of Disney, which is launching Disney+, Apple (Apple TV+), US telecoms colossus AT&T (HBO Max), the Hollywood-influenced mobile-first service Quibi and BritBox, from the UK’s BBC and ITV. And as more direct-to-consumer ventures enter the market, the

greater the demand will be for tech that encourages viewers to stay loyal and improves quality and performance. These include ultra-fast 5G mobile networks, AI and next-level data analytics to measure not only audience size, but also how viewers are interacting digitally with content.

US-based Dinesh Gopinath, head of products and data strategy at Kantar Analytics, points out that streaming-platform operators will need AI to keep their operations and distribution as efficient as possible.

“These platforms have to determine the value of the catalogue of content, TV shows and movies they need,” he says. “Usually, it would be a question of what to license next and how much to pay for that content. So they would want to evaluate what fraction of each subscriber’s viewing time is likely to be devoted to a show. With AI, they can look at each consumer’s profile and historical behaviour and be more intelligent about how much they are prepared to pay for a title.”

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 88 • September 2019

AI could also be used to enable these over-the-top (OTT) streaming services to improve the search-and-recommendation tools available to their customers.

“If you have a large catalogue with hundreds of thousands of TV shows and films then, with AI, you have an opportunity to recommend and personalise content,” Gopinath adds.

AI-powered techniques can help a streaming company to spread the broadband bandwidth, so that subscribers who watch more of its shows are rewarded with a better-quality experience than those who only dip into the service once in a while. Moreover, that technique also means that one-to-one personalised advertising on advertising-funded VOD operations could become a critical-mass reality soon, Gopinath says.

FEATURE: STREAMING TECHNOLOGY eo services are fully data-driven companies tackling platform performance and engagement holistically from day one. So they demand in-depth, reliable and objective insights to draw out every user’s journey and understand where engagement problems lie.”

Netflix is famous for being one of the first entertainment companies to disclose its dependence on the real-time analysis of big data to determine its content and audience strategies. The continuously growing Barcelona-based tech start-up NPAW (Nice People At Work), which specialises in advanced viewing-experience analytics, expects revenue to jump 60% in 2019 because of the demand for its expertise among streaming services. And data matters, not only because every single subscriber that walks away might never return, but also because they may influence how other customers respond to a streamer’s brand.

“The competition among platforms is more cutthroat than ever,” says Ferran Gutierrez, NPAW’s CEO and co-founder. “Successful OTTs and vid-

Everyone knows that viewers find a constantly interrupted broadband signal annoying.

They are also irritated when content recommendations do not deliver, or an ad campaign continuously disrupts their viewing. And, at times, just navigating the different menu sections to access content can be far too cumbersome. These are among the various streaming slip-ups that can discourage viewers from coming back to a platform. And NPAW says it has built a service to help counter potential churn.

“Streaming errors, effective playtime, time spent searching for content, the efficiency of a specific screen component — these are just some examples of the sort of insights the big players are looking at to drive retention and maximise revenue regardless of their business model,” Gutierrez says. “If quality of experience levels are fine but users are abandoning videos half way through, you may want to look at your content offering. If your viewers click on recommended content trailers but don’t end up watching, you may want to review your recommendation strategy.”

These observations are all the more imperative at a time when the growing competition is forcing more SVOD platforms to add advertising to increase revenues. “We need to shed some agnostic light into the complex advertisement ecosystem to help understand how ads are affecting viewers and what is the optimal combination to find a balance between sustainable

revenue and audience engagement,” Gutierrez adds.

Streaming tech has also enhanced the possibilities of multiscreen experiences for viewers, who now expect to do more than just tweet about a show on their smartphones while watching it on a bigger screen.

Dagmar Mae, co-founder and sales lead at Estonia-based Votemo, an audience-engagement analytics firm, argues that content-owners are missing out on business by failing to exploit multiscreen tools. She believes that engagement and interaction with video entertainment can make the difference between whether or not a viewer comes back for more, or finds something new.

“OTT platforms could benefit from the habit of multiscreening by making it work for their content, from children’s shows, where interaction enables you to add an extra learning layer, to thrilling programmes, where the decision-making power on how the show continues or ends is based on the audience’s vote,” Mae adds. Then there are play-along shows, which invite audiences to participate while watching the content: “This helps to increase engagement and create urgency. This is useful when the platform is competing with social streaming sites, such as Instagram’s IGTV, Facebook Watch and Twitch, which rely on live content and interaction for creating the urgency to return for more.”

Direct engagement with content also means the viewer makes a greater emotional investment in a show. “With the participation layer, the content experience becomes more social and gamified,” Mae says. ‘This gives showrunners an extra tool and screen to work with audiences with short attention spans, as well as those in the habit of reaching out to their mobile de-

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 89 • September 2019

vices every once in a while.”

India-based content seller GoQuest Media Ventures has been acquiring the rights to more snack-sized shows aimed at the Generation-Z audience, on the basis that the streaming-TV tide is rising higher and higher each year, says Vivek Lath, the company’s founder and managing director. “The industry is spoilt for choice because there are new entities buying content, so it’s a great time to be a distributor,” he says. “But what do we go after? What is it that we invest in today that will still work in three to four years’ time?”

As a technologist and entrepreneur, Lath has invested in a series of tech start-ups, including Lattu Kids, an India-based streaming app that uses entertainment to teach children English. And from what he is learning, he concludes that “OTT will not remain pure-play entertainment videos”. He adds: “There will be interactive layers, e-commerce layers and stories with multiple possible endings, like Netflix’s interactive drama series Black Mirror.”

In addition to AI, the launch of high-speed 5G telecommunications networks will enable users to download a video in 10 seconds that would normally take almost five minutes using today’s 4G smartphones. And not only does 5G’s larger bandwidth mean it can deliver huge files, such VR videos, more easily, but interactivity is also easier to incorporate into 5G-powered content. The transmission of live events reaches viewers in real time, as opposed to the several seconds’ delay that we experience today. This could mean that the internet-delivered streaming services are in a strong position to benefit more from 5G compared to their broadcast-TV owning counterparts.

Telecoms groups with interests

FEATURE: STREAMING TECHNOLOGY

Votemo’s Dagmar Mae

Banijay’s Lucas Green

in the entertainment industry, including WarnerMedia owner AT&T and China Mobile Communications Corporation, are committed to 5G, while media conglomerates such as Discovery are experimenting with creating content for 5G distribution.

They are collaborating with tech services offering AI and machine learning, cloud computing and content delivery networks, which are increasingly integral to current online video operations.

But to illustrate just how quickly the world is moving on, Comcast’s UK-based subsidiary Sky, the satellite-TV network, recently astounded the business when it announced plans to offer a 5G telecoms service via its Sky Mobile subsidiary later this year.

“Beyond price, it’s becoming harder for telcos to differentiate on connectivity alone,” says Paolo Pescatore, tech, media and telco analyst and founder of London-based PP Foresight.

“Sky, armed with its innovative mobile features and breadth of content, is very well placed to compete head on. As everything becomes connected, ramping up the fibre broadband and 5G will make it easier to reach people anytime, anywhere. I have a vision where we’ll have virtual screens and interactive billboard windows that will be voice-activated. Because with everything being connected, 5G will transform the way we consume video entertainment.”

Kantar Analytics’ Dinesh Gopinath

This, then, raises the question of how content-owners and creators plan to capitalise on these new and ever-evolving developments. Lucas Green, head of content at Banijay Group, says his company’s priority will always be content creation, production, distribution and marketing. “But the emergence of Netflix, Facebook Watch and Quibi is disruptive to our old business model, which was much more about distribution,” he adds.

“In the past, viewers of the big networks watched shows in the same way. Now, we have to be very specific about how we create shows. In 2019, you have to create and develop specific formats for each platform. Netflix is different from YouTube, which is different from Channel 4. These are very data-oriented companies — they’re able to look at viewing data and have specific requirements. So you can’t take the one-size-fitsall approach anymore.”

Lucas Green:

“In the past, viewers watched shows in the same way. Now, we have to be very specific about how we create shows for each platform”

PP Foresight’s Paolo Pescatore

Green adds that, in today’s market, you have to cater for the platforms’ varied audiences: “You have to think differently about how to make them want to come back for more. Take short-form shows, for example.

You don’t need so many recaps because people are only watching for 10 minutes [at a time], so you need a different type of cliffhanger.”

Data analysis is useful for content creators, Green says, because you can learn a great deal from how audiences respond to the different episodes in a series. He cites Banijay’s quiz format Tipping Point: “The technology that shows us when parts of the show spikes has helped us to make that show a higher quality one.”

In terms of a show’s ancillary revenues, data can also reveal which types of merchandise are worth exploiting.

At All3Media, the production and distribution giant jointly owned by Discovery and Liberty Global, the goal is to invest in TV networks created specifically for streaming platforms. The company’s distribution subsidiary All3Media International coowns the Food Feast TV network with California-based streaming-channel operator TV4 Entertainment and Flame Distribution, while Inside Outside — Home and

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 90 • September 2019

GoQuest Media Ventures’ Vivek Lath

Garden is a joint venture with only TV4 Entertainment.

“We’ve been looking at the streaming space beyond our traditional business of licensing to the various SVOD and AVOD services,” says Gary Woolf, All3Media’s executive vice-president of strategic development.

“As a business, we recognise that our core strengths lie in our understanding of content, our commercial acumen and our international knowledge. Therefore, we’ve taken the route of partnering with businesses to embrace the digital space.”

The forthcoming 12 months should see streaming continue to dominate discussions about the future of on-screen entertainment, especially as digital technology has broadened consumers’ choices of where to spend their disposable income.

“With more competition and some prices on the rise, the OTT providers will have to offer something truly special to retain a passionate audience that stays with them when the big video platforms demand more of their disposable entertainment budget,” NPAW’s Gutierrez concludes. “Video services need to focus on creating delightful, immersive streaming experiences to manage churn, while advanced analytics solutions can help video services overcome technical and operational challenges. This is the only way to survive and grow in this dynamic market. ”

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FEATURE: PRODUCTION

The Restaurant (Banijay Rights)

Can we keep feeding the beast?

Driven by voracious consumer demand for innovative new shows, the production arms race is undoubtedly a positive for content creators. But it does present challenges, not least maintaining the supply of world-class ideas and talent. Andy Fry reports

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X NETWORKS’ CEO John Landgraf hit the headlines in 2015 when he suggested there was “too much television”, before going on to predict that a decline in scripted production would happen in 2016-17.

Last year, however, the veteran TV executive, who is now part of Disney’s management following its takeover of Fox, backtracked.

Speaking at the Television Critics Association’s (TCA) summer press tour, he said that there is an

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 92 • September 2019

“epic battle between various very large companies that are going to be competing in the streaming business”. He then added: “As long as that competition is red hot and as long as those services are scaling up, there’s likely to be a fairly substantial investment, even increasing investment, in scripted content. So I think my earlier estimates that peak TV would have peaked are wrong now.”

Agapy Kapouranis, president of international television and

FEATURE: PRODUCTION

digital distribution at Lionsgate, reinforces Landgraf ’s Damascene conversion: “Demand for content is greater than ever and spread across an ever-expanding array of platforms,” she says.

“As a content producer and platform-agnostic supplier, that means greater opportunities to bring content to viewers around the world.”

Agapy Kapouranis:

“Demand for content is greater than ever and spread across an ever-expanding array of platforms” Explaining how Lionsgate keeps content coming through, Kapouranis says: “We’ve had great success with our ‘pod’ strategy of partnering with content creators like 3 Arts Entertainment, Universal Music Group, BBC Studios, Courtney Kemp, Tannenbaum Company and Paul Feig, resulting in one of our strongest development and production slates ever. We can also maximise our IP via our Lionsgate 360 approach — examples being brand extensions around franchises such as Step Up and John Wick.”

Kapouranis says Lionsgate is heading for MIPCOM with some “fresh, bold and exciting” content, including Zoey’s Ex-

Studiocanal’s Francoise Guyonnet

traordinary Playlist, “an original, fun musical drama series that underscores our collaborative co-production approach”. Another high-profile title set to launch in Cannes is Love Life (10 x 30 mins), a romantic-comedy anthology series that reunites director Paul Feig and Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect).

Lionsgate is also deploying the anthology approach with its Manhunt franchise. “We’re bringing season two, Manhunt: Lone Wolf, to MIPCOM,” Kapouranis says. “This Spectrum original chronicles one of the largest manhunts on US soil — the search for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics Bomber.” And in terms of sourcing content from

ADD Content’s Hadas MozesLichtenstein

non-traditional areas, she points to The Goes Wrong Show (6 x 30 mins), a television adaptation of the successful London and Broadway show The Play That Goes Wrong.

Francois Guyonnet, Studiocanal’s executive managing director of TV series, is equally upbeat about the future of production, saying that “the demand for compelling stories with global appeal is as robust as ever”. She adds that Studiocanal’s “strong relationship with talent” is key to meeting the ongoing demand for high-quality content: “Studiocanal is well positioned due to the longevity of our relationships, which

Gaumont Television’s Vanessa Shapiro

comes from our history of film production.”

As with Lionsgate, the benefit of the film-TV synergy is not just access to talent, but also control of brands, such as Paddington. “The popularity of the Paddington children’s books led to Studiocanal’s blockbuster film and we now await a new animated TV series,” Guyonnet says. “We are also fortunate that our production companies, and those we partner with, have deep-rooted relationships with talent in their own territories.”

An example is Years And Years (6 x 60 mins) from Studiocanal’s Red Production Company in the UK. Written by Russell T Davies and starring Emma

© Telefónica Audiovisual Digital SLU

Lionsgate’s Agapy Kapouranis

On Death Row (Bambu Producciones)

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 93 • September 2019

FEATURE: PRODUCTION Thompson, the drama is a BBC and HBO co-production, prebought by Canal+ in France.

“Spain’s Bambu Producciones also brings us hits, such as the soon-to-be-launched On Death Row, as well as the gripping drama Instinto for Movistar+, starring Mario Casas,” Guyonnet adds.

As for its MIPCOM headliners, Guyonnet cites Savages (6 x 52 mins), a Canal+ Creation Originale directed by Rebecca Zlotowski (An Easy Girl).

“Savages is a political and family saga set in present-day France,” she adds. “The first presidential candidate of Algerian descent is on the brink of power. But he is shot, bringing turmoil to two families and the entire nation.”

Often premium quality content is equated with big budgets, but Guyonnet says it does not have to be this way: “We like to question the status quo and present ideas in engaging ways, irrespective of budget. A great example is The Collapse, an anthology that asks ‘What would our society become if our global system were to collapse tomorrow?’

Technically ambitious, The Collapse is shot in 15-minute takes and each standalone episode relies on immersive storytelling.”

This point is echoed by Banijay Rights’ head of scripted, Caroline Torrance, who says: “It isn’t always about big budgets.

Versailles has been one of our most successful shows and that did have a huge budget. But Black Lake from Jarowskij has performed extremely well with a much lower budget. It’s about appropriate budgets and offering something special.”

Paul Dempsey, president of global distribution for BBC Studios, says demand for content is being driven by “an increasing client base as new streaming services come into the market, and a growing need for quality mid-range content to sit alongside big-budget titles”. As for the BBC’s response, he says: “Backing talent, investing in projects at the earliest stage, self-commissioning, and seeking commissions and partners outside of the UK are some of the strategies we employ.

UKTV is a new source of content for us as commissioners of premium crime drama.”

BBC headliners at MIPCOM include Life, a six-part series from Drama Republic written

by Mike Bartlett (Doctor Foster). There is also period drama Sanditon, an adaptation of Jane Austen’s unfinished novel

by Andrew Davies, produced

by Red Planet Pictures. “Crime drama continues to be a very popular genre with our customers,” Dempsey adds, listing Guilt (BBC Studios), Traces (Red Production Company) and The Mallorca Files (Cosmopolitan Pictures/Clerkenwell Films) as among the crime titles set to launch at MIPCOM. Competing effectively in the market requires shrewd deal-making and a willingness to operate at a wide range of price points, “because that’s what our customers want”, Dempsey says. “There’s a market for midrange shows such as The Mallorca Files, as well as productions that call for bigger budgets and creative funding. His Dark Ma-

terials, a BBC commission from Bad Wolf, is a series we financed upfront and then co-brokered a deal — along with Endeavour — with HBO, which now owns the worldwide rights outside of the UK. Good Omens is a highend production with multiple partners. The drama was commissioned by Amazon Studios and BBC Two, which will air the series after Amazon.”

Vanessa Shapiro, president of worldwide distribution and co-production at Gaumont Television, says that, in her experience, “demand from new platforms and traditional players alike remains high — everyone is looking for the type of highend drama that will engage audiences and deliver solid results”.

For Shapiro, investing in development is key: “We have to stay relevant and one way we distinguish ourselves is by remaining true to the Gaumont DNA and investing wisely in development. From increasing our slate to leveraging the legacy of our brand to ensure we remain a creator-driven studio, we put the resources in place to attract talent.”

Vanessa Shapiro: “From

increasing our slate to leveraging the legacy of our brand to ensure we remain a creatordriven studio, we put the resources in place to attract talent” Echoing Dempsey, Shapiro says Gaumont’s co-pro efforts allow it to be involved in more projects from more countries: “And we are looking at diverse genres of content that will appeal to different audiences. Our big effort this

Sanditon (Red Planet Pictures)

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 94 • September 2019

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FEATURE: PRODUCTION past year was in Latin America, where our first series is El Presidente, directed by Armando Bo and co-produced with Fabula and Kapow.”

Shapiro says El Presidente is a great example of how co-production can elevate an idea. “El Presidente was inspired by the FIFA corruption case dubbed ‘FIFA Gate’,” she says. “It tells the story of a small-time Chilean football club president who rose from obscurity to become a key player in a $150m bribery conspiracy. The original idea was more of a local series but, together with Amazon, we made it a bigger story and we’re building it to make it a worldwide success. El Presidente packs massive global appeal and provides an unfiltered, behindthe-scenes look into soccer.”

The show is also an illustration of why having the ability to access markets quickly is key, Shapiro adds: “Last year, we established offices in the UK, Latin America, Germany and Australia to ensure we have boots on the ground to quickly secure rights to new stories, talent and funds.

In addition to El Presidente, we announced Gaumont’s first German production: The Barbarians for Netflix.”

Ruth Berry, managing director of ITV Studios Global Entertainment (ITVS GE), says that strong demand for content is evident across both scripted and non-scripted. “Our epic World War Two drama from Mammoth Screen, World On Fire, has just been picked up by PBS for the US, BBC First Australia and a plethora of broadcasters across the Nordics, CEE and Africa. At the same time, Magical Land Of Oz from Oxford Scientific Films and Northern Pictures for the BBC, ABC in Australia and PBS in the US has now sold into more than 60 countries, proving that our ef-

Shadow Lines (APC Studios)

forts in securing exciting natural-history programming is also working.”

Not to be overlooked, either, is entertainment juggernaut Love Island, “which has enjoyed its most-watched ever season in the UK. Love Island US has also succeeded in attracting a younger demographic to CBS and CBS Access during its first season and has lit up social media.”

On factual, Berry says that, in general, ITVS GE is boosting its investment into non-scripted to add breadth to its catalogue and meet demand from buyers — an example being Wild Tokyo. “We are sourcing content, seeking new commissioners, and self-commissioning the right non-scripted projects as well,” she adds.

According to Berry, part of ITVS GE’s durability is down to the fact that it invests in talent and production companies around the world on an ongoing basis: “Be that Piv Bernth’s start-up Appletree Productions, Avi Armoza’s Armoza Formats, Cattleya in Italy or Tetra Media Studios in France, these investments create more content for us to sell.”

A farsighted decision was to diversify into non-English lan-

guage programming, Berry adds: “That started around five years ago with Jordskott and has paved the way to further investment in European scripted content.” A timely example is Romulus, a Rome epic produced by Cattelya and Groenlandia for Sky. The 10-episode drama is filming in Rome and will be distributed by ITVS GE. As for MIPCOM 2019, Berry says ITVS GE’s headliners include natural-history series Wild Tokyo, Tangier-based period drama Little Birds and Noughts + Crosses, a Mammoth Screen production for BBC One, adapted from Malorie Blackman’s dystopian novel. The last tells the story of Sephy, a member of the black ruling class, and Callum, a member of the white underclass, who are divided by their colour but united by love and a burning sense of injustice.

Not all companies, however, are sitting on the vast IP vaults controlled by the likes of Lionsgate, Studiocanal and the BBC. The key for these producers is to turn over every stone in search of great ideas, says Hadas Mozes-Lichtenstein, founder and head of international at Israeli studio ADD Content.

“The rise in buyers and stream-

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 96 • September 2019

er platforms has upped the ante — and it won’t be stopping any time soon,” she adds. “In terms of acquiring content, it’s vital to diversify and to take on a range of rights arrangements to ensure you get the projects you want. We represent traditional remake rights for local content, as well as optioning books, articles, exploring co-productions and producing our own shows — like the format GoalStar.”

ADD Content’s key titles for MIPCOM include The Station, which Mozes-Lichtenstein describes as “Grey’s Anatomy for the YA audience”. The show centres on high-schoolers who volunteer for Israel’s Red Cross, “where the usual teen drama is amplified by the life-and-death situations they encounter”, she adds.

Israeli studios have been particularly effective in bringing quality content to the global market at reasonable prices.

“Spend does not equal quality,” Mozes-Lichtenstein says.

“We’ve done high-profile deals on shows with moderate budgets, including the original sale of Fauda to Netflix, which went on to be a global hit. And Miguel — also a mid-budget show — sold to Canal+ and has huge international appeal.”

008_TODO TV__PV_COM

FEATURE: PRODUCTION Hadas Mozes-Lichtenstein:

“Spend does not equal quality. We’ve done high-profile deals on shows with moderate budgets” While much of the talk in the TV business concerns consolidation, growing demand for content has undoubtedly created opportunities for emerging production companies to establish themselves globally. A case in point is APC Studios, where joint-CEO and co-founder Emmanuelle Guilbart agrees that there are no signs of production slowing down.

“Netflix set the standard for high volumes of originals,” she adds. “With Warner and Disney taking back the rights to their shows, Netflix should continue its policy. The competition then tends to follow suit and try to catch up. For example, HBO has increased its volume of new shows in the last year.”

In response, Guilbart says, APC Studios has significantly increased its investment in

development, evolving from a distribution/development model to a full co-production/production model. “However, we won’t go into a volume strategy as we want to keep our specific boutique model, focusing on a limited number of quality and ambitious shows,” she adds.

At MIPCOM, APC Studios is launching period sky thriller Shadow Lines, which Guilbart describes as “a light and sometimes humorous take on the Cold War, where Finland has to save its independence from both the US and the Soviet Union”. Also on display will be season two of Keeping Faith, which has already been picked up by Fox in Germany and Globosat in Brazil. In addition, APC Studios has extended its co-production deal with Acorn Media Enterprises for rights across the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

As ITVS GE’s Berry has already noted, the growth in demand for great content has boosted the prospects of non-English-language content on the global market, with German, French,

Screentime/ZDF co-production The Gulf

Italian and Russian shows now following where Scandinavian, Spanish, Israeli and Turkish dramas have led.

A couple of things flow from this. The first is a desire among distributors to carry a broader array of shows. The second is a greater willingness among platforms in English-speaking markets to carry non-English or multi-language dramas.

Illustrating the first point, Beta Film has just licensed two Spanish comedies from Movistar+ to RTL Germany and sold French drama Perfect Life to RTL for streaming service TVNow and channel RTL Passion. It has also secured the global rights to a Norwegian series about the Isdal Woman. A crime/espionage hybrid, the drama explores the mystery of a dead body found near Bergen 50 years ago.

It is a similar story at TF1owned Newen Distribution which, a few years ago, would have focused on French-language content. However, the company’s new MIPCOM slate is much more diverse, according to marketing manager Vincent Riva. It includes Danish crime series DNA (8 x 42 mins), created by Torleif Hoppe (The Killing) and Henrik Ruben Genz (The Killing; Borgen) and co-produced by TV2 Denmark and ARTE France. “The series follows a respected criminal investigator who loses his daughter in an accident,” Riva says.

Newen’s French content is represented by thriller The Inside Game, and there is also a Spanish thriller series called The Room.

The latter was produced by Isla Audiovisual, Can Can Producciones and Funwood Media and broadcast on HBO Spain. On the documentary side, Newen is launching CAPA’s investigative documentary Big Brother: A World Under Surveillance, which takes an in-depth look at digital totalitarianism.

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 98 • September 2019

As to the opening up of English-speaking platforms to non-English or multi-language dramas, HBO’s support for Fremantle’s scripted series My Brilliant Friend is a high-profile but not isolated instance. Sundance Now, for example, bought all three seasons of Swedish drama The Restaurant from Banijay Rights.

Banijay sources scripted shows from some of its in-house producers — a current example being the Screentime/ZDF co-production The Gulf, which will be on show at MIPCOM. But finding great content also means nurturing relationships with third-party indies, according to Torrance. “We are actively looking for development and first-look deals with producers and recently signed agreements with Greenacre Films, Clearwood Films and Tigerlily Productions,” Torrance adds. “We also have a development deal with a Danish producer, Marlowfilm Productions, on a very strong piece of IP called We, The Drowned.” The epic seafaring drama is a multi-generational, English-language saga based on Carsten Jenson’s critically acclaimed book.

As a final note, the thirst for great ideas has breathed new life into the scripted-formats business, with Japanese and Korean content-owners notable beneficiaries. The upside of owning a great scripted format is best illustrated by Endemol Shine’s crime drama Bron (The Bridge), which is now being developed as a South African/ Zimbabwean collaboration.

Originally set on the Sweden/ Denmark border, the iconic format has subsequently been remade in Malaysia/Singapore, Germany/Austria, Croatia/Serbia, US/Mexico, UK/France and Russia/Estonia. The result is a distribution asset comprising hundreds of hours of premium television.

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FEATURE: FINANCE

In search of the magic money tree

Eva Green stars in Silver Reel-backed The Luminaries

The golden age of television has been great news for consumers and content creators alike. But as talent gets more expensive and locations more exotic, constantly pushing back the boundaries of television production doesn’t come cheap. Andy Fry looks at the new sources of revenue that are bankrolling the flow of premium content

T

HE SPIRALLING cost of production may not appear to trouble the global streaming giants, which seem to have bottomless pools of cash to spend on fully financing original content. But for pretty much everybody else

in the international TV business, raising production finance has become a complicated business that demands almost as much creativity and ingenuity as writing, directing or showrunning.

At the heart of the problem is the fact that domestic and regional broadcasters and plat-

forms are rarely in a position to fully finance premium shows — a situation that holds true across scripted, non-scripted and children’s. The direct result of this is a rise in the number of international co-productions and an enhanced role for distributors.

Paul Dempsey, president of

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 100 • September 2019

global distribution at BBC Studios, sums it up when he says that, these days, “every production comes with a different funding model — there’s no one formula”. He adds that BBC Studios’ MIPCOM launch, The Mallorca Files, is an example of a production that has

investment from four different countries, with partners that include a streaming service, public-service broadcasters and a studio. The soft-crime drama was commissioned by the BBC, with North America’s BritBox, Germany’s ZDF, France Televisions and BBC Studios on board as partners.

Set on the Spanish island of Mallorca with UK and German detectives as the central characters, The Mallorca Files is a classic example of an international series that has benefited from this shift in production fi-

nancing. Another show that underlines this trend is the reboot of classic Seventies cop series Van Der Valk, also on show at MIPCOM. Filmed on location in Amsterdam, the drama is described as a “co-commission”

by German public broadcaster ARD Degeto and UK distributor All3Media International.

Produced by the UK’s Company Pictures and the Netherlands’ NL Film, the 3 x 90 mins production has also been pre-sold to France Televisions, ITV in the UK and NPO in the Netherlands.

The industry’s growing reliance on co-production and distribution investment has led to several innovations in TV financing.

One is the emergence of Atrium, a ‘commissioning club’ that is managed by Modern Times Group-owned distributor DRG. Put simply, Atrium’s goal is to create premium drama content for regional OTT players and telcos that are not able to fully fund the kind of quality drama in which Netflix and Amazon specialise. Current Atrium members include BT (UK), Orange (France), Movistar+ (Spain) and Deutsche Telecom (Germany).

The Atrium team develops drama then gives partners in the club the option of investing in them. Projects in the works include Cyrano, a period piece starring Joseph Fiennes, and Clara Vine, an eight-part espionage thriller based on Jane Thynne’s series of novels.

Outside the formal setting of Atrium, there are other examples of local SVODs playing their part in innovative financing models, says Nicky Davies Williams, CEO of distributor DCD Rights. “There has been dramatic growth in SVOD channels such as Stan in Australia coming in with broadcast-level budgets for original series. Stan com-

missioned Romper Stomper, which we distribute. This was a big-budget, high-impact drama that brought a leap in subscriptions for the channel and sold to Starz in the US, BBC in the UK and Sundance International Networks.”

Another new development is the growing tendency to refer to distributors as ‘commissioners’ — a term traditionally reserved for end-users such as broadcasters. The use of the term ‘co-commissioner’ to describe All3Media International’s role on Van Der Valk, for example, is a reflection of the fact that distributors these days are often putting more money into individual productions than broadcasters.

Dempsey, similarly, is happy to refer to ‘self-commissioning’ as part of BBC Studios’ toolkit, while the notion of distributors as ‘mini-commissioners’ is rife among factual specialists such as TCB Media Rights, Cineflix Media, Sky Vision and DCD Rights.

“In factual, we’re working with producers to trigger productions by combining pre-sales and part-funding ourselves,” Davies Williams say. At MIPCOM, DCD is launching four series across a range of genres that follow this model: Wildest Places, Disasters Engineered, 10 Steps To Murder and The Day My Job Tried To Kill Me.

Nicky Davies Williams:

“In factual, we’re working with producers to trigger productions by combining presales and part-funding ourselves” Another emergent trend has been the growing role of distributors at the development

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 101 • September 2019

stage, acquiring IP rights, funding scripts and packaging talent. “Distribution has changed radically because the content landscape has,” Dempsey says.

“Studios are investing far earlier than ever before, which leads to commissioners and co-producers signing up to projects at the earliest stage in development.

Similar to how the film industry operates, it’s about upfront commitment and risk.”

Driven by the need to get on board projects at the earliest stage, some studios are formalising their role by launching funds. TF1-backed Newen Group, for example, has a €50m investment fund that is focused on acquiring English-speaking drama from a London HQ. Keshet International (KI) has a similar fund, which has been used to support Blackfella Film’s political drama Black B*tch (working title) and Ecosse Films’ The Trial Of Christine Keeler.

These investments, according to Sebastian Burkhardt, KI’s managing director of global content, “reinforce our commitment to bring more high-end dramas to global audiences”. Black B*tch, he adds, is “a strong local story with the potential to resonate and connect with audiences around the world, which is why it immediately stood out to us”.

Having said all of the above, there are limitations to what co-production and distribution can do to combat the escalating cost of high-end shows.

The co-production model can, for example, collapse under the weight of unpalatable creative compromises, while reliance on distributors is restricted by their reluctance to take on too much investment risk.

“As a result, the pressure is on to approach content financing in a creative and innovative manner and make full use of the growing sources of funding available in the market,”

FEATURE: FINANCE says Carlo Dusi, executive vice-president of commercial strategy, scripted, at Red Arrow Studios International. Possible solutions are co-distribution arrangements or co-productions under which the bulk of investment is actually provided by a global streamer. But also of interest is the growing array of non-traditional financiers entering the TV market, Dusi adds. “A recent trend is the entrance of private-equity investment into premium scripted TV. Such companies, which have traditionally focused on film, are investing in the value of TV and IP against a share of ownership in the project and corresponding back-end revenues.”

Carlo Dusi:

“The pressure is on to approach content financing in a creative and innovative manner and make full use of the growing sources of funding available in the market” For equity funds, the attraction of TV is clear, Dusi says: “Despite mounting competition, it’s still easier to put financing together for a TV series than an independent film because there are more sources of finance. The return is also more predictable as the number of platforms tends to ensure a certain level of sales can, in theory, be achieved.”

Some media investors have been around for a decade or more. Ingenious, for example, has backed more than 500 productions, ranging from The Honourable Woman to Waffle The Wonder Dog. But more recent arrivals include 127 Wall Productions, Anton, Access In-

Disasters Engineered, a launch for DCD at MIPCOM

dustries, Bob & Co and Silver Reel.

Anton, headed by CEO Sebastien Raybaud, is well established as a film financier. Recently, however, it has been especially high profile in TV, setting up the £150m Drama Investment Partnership with BBC Studios and also forging an alliance with Federation Entertainment.

Regarding the former, Anton has supported BBC Studios-backed productions including McMafia and His Dark Materials. In partnership with BBC Studios, it is now developing and funding a slate of short-form drama and comedy projects from indie producer Clerkenwell Films (Misfits; The End Of The F***ing World). Explaining why, Raybaud says: “We are moving into an era where audiences are able to enjoy super premium content in a bite-sized format, opening many new doors for storytellers and talent.”

As for the Federation tie-in, Raybaud’s investment company will take equity positions on the studio’s growing portfolio of foreign and English-language drama series. The production value for the Federation/Anton co-financed slate is expected to be in excess of $100m while, on the distribution side, Anton will co-fund acquisitions across genres. Early projects covered by the partnership include Don’t Leave Me, a thriller from the creative team behind breakout Italian hit Gomorrah.

Access Entertainment, a division of entrepreneur Len Blavatnik’s privately held company Access Industries, is headed by former BBC director of TV Danny Cohen. Key investments to date include an alliance with BBC Studios called Benchmark Television and a 24% investment in indie producer Bad Wolf (His Dark Materials).

127 Wall, meanwhile, has

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 102 • September 2019

pumped around $180m into indie producer The Ink Factory, supporting the production of high-end series including The Little Drummer Girl.

Like Anton, Switzerland’s Silver Reel is a film financier seeking to establish itself in television. A couple of years ago, it launched a €50m TV drama production fund. Speaking to The Guardian newspaper at the time, Claudia Bluemhuber, managing partner of Silver Reel, said the UK was a particular focus of attention thanks to the weak pound, attractive tax rebates and strong creative talent pool.

Soon after, Silver Reel jumped on board The Luminaries, a six-part drama based on the acclaimed novel by Eleanor Catton. Other partners on the BBC Two project include Working Title Television and Fremantle, which is handling distribution.

Bluemhuber, who will take part in MIPCOM’s Production Fund-

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FEATURE: FINANCE ing Forum, says that Silver Reel’s TV ambitions are to “work on projects that enable it to bring cinematic language and high production values to the small screen”. Set in New Zealand in 1866, The Luminaries is “a captivating story that reflects today’s zeitgeist of a strong female character finding her way and voice in the times when women were not yet in a position to make their own decisions about their lives”, Bluemhuber adds.

Not to be overlooked when completing the production-finance jigsaw puzzle are banks.

Barclays, for example, has an SVOD financing fund designed to help UK producers move Netflix and Amazon shows into production. By allowing production companies to borrow over a longer period of time than is usual, the fund helps them to manage their cashflow, freeing up funds for development in future projects. Series to have used the Barclays fund, which is effectively a bespoke loan arrangement, include Drama Re-

public’s BBC/Netflix scripted co-production Black Earth Rising, Lime Pictures’ Netflix series Free Rein and Silvergate Media’s Octonauts pre-school specials.

Explaining why it made sense to access Barclays’ facility, Denis Wray, Drama Republic’s financial controller, says: “For Black Earth Rising, the borrowing profile was steep and the repayment tail was longer than the UK industry was used to.

Barclays is supportive of its producers, aware of the risks and challenges that we navigate on a daily basis, knowledgeable, ready to listen and available to help when required.”

Denis Wray:

“Barclays is supportive of its producers, aware of the risks and challenges, knowledgeable, ready to listen and available to help when required”

Initially set at £100m, Barclays’ SVOD fund was recently raised to £200m, with rumours that it might go global. “We’re seeing more SVOD activity and an increasing need for tailored financing that meets the specific needs of both the production company and the subscription service,” says Lorraine Ruckstuhl, head of media at Barclays Corporate Banking. “With more SVOD platforms on the way and a growing focus on original content, demand is set to increase further, and finance providers will have to keep innovating to meet changing funding requirements.”

Also not to be overlooked in the debate about financing is the role of advertising-agency networks, which have been developing alternatives to spot ads. Dentsu, via The Story Lab subsidiary, is involved the distribution of series including Ninja Warriors and Game Of Clones, while WPP’s Motion Content Group is a partner on Love

Drama Republic’s BBC/Netflix scripted co-production Black Earth Rising

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 104 • September 2019

Island, The Circle and Wild Things.

Red Arrow’s Dusi says: “The concept of brands contributing to TV financing is not new — Red Bull has been active for several years and has its own content-investment division. Brands have also been part of film financing for years. But going forward, I think we will see more brands entering TV, particularly in the context of streaming, which largely operates outside the regulatory environment.”

In a similar vein, Dusi also expects existing advertiser practices to explore new outlets: “The provision of funding against advertising slots connected to television content has grown over recent years through intermediaries such as Group M. While particularly suited to reality and other unscripted content, it also works for scripted event shows.”

Dusi says it is also important not to overlook public funds: “Support in the form of TV funds and tax credits is continuing to play a large part in financing shows and an increasing number of countries have extended their film-support systems to include television drama and/or introduced TV-specific support. For instance, one of our dramas, Vienna Blood from Endor Productions and MR Film, combines UK tax credits with subsidies from the Austrian Television Fund, the Vienna Film Fund and the Austrian Culture Fund, alongside the co-commission commitment from ORF and ZDF, and investment from Red Arrow Studios International.” He adds that The Bank Hacker, a character-driven thriller about a teenager who commits a daring bank heist, also includes a grant from the Flanders Audiovisual Fund.

Overall, Dusi says, the new financing sources have

FEATURE: FINANCE

Vienna Blood, whose funding includes investment from Red Arrow Studios International

definitely had an impact on the way in which the distribution business operates: “Flexibility is key and there is no onesize-fits-all model. To ensure we don’t block any routes to production, we ensure that, in our deals, we remain open to considering all finance opportunities, which can mean pulling together what are complex deal structures encompassing multiple alternative routes.”

He also contends that the new funding sources have implications for revenue collection: “For pure equity partners, ROI [return on investment] is key, so most want to see a collecting agency on board to make sure revenue is reported correctly and distributed appropriately.

It’s about being accountable.”

Carrie Stein, executive vice-president of global scripted series at

Kew Media Group, has been developing and financing series for decades, initially as an agent at ICM. Right now, she says, Kew is co-financing one-hour drama Margeaux with NENT Group’s Viaplay. “We are shooting in Israel and Eastern Europe, and the budget will be just under $1m per episode,” she adds. “Having a partner who controls the Nordics, leaving Kew to sell to the rest of the world, is a good deal for both Kew and Viaplay, which shares ownership of the property.”

While welcoming new sources of revenue, Stein sounds a note of caution: “Similar to the indie film business, the indie television business is attracting new talent and platforms every day, and with that comes new sources of revenue. But the economics of film and television are very different, so

the question we need to ask is whether these new funders will ever recoup their investments or see any upside. There are several global platforms, such as Viaplay, Orange, Hulu and Channel 5, investing in original content, spending far more money than they’ve ever spent on acquisitions, but it’s too soon to know whether these investments will pay off. And there are many private-equity firms interested in investing in specific TV series. But in my experience, once they review the financials of the series, their interest wanes.”

Stein agrees that distribution has become more complicated, but she is not convinced that non-tradition financing will make a fundamental difference to the business: “Every series still needs to be sold worldwide to make mon-

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 105 • September 2019

ey. A distributor can sell territory by territory, or they can sell global rights to a streamer like Netflix. But regardless of where the funding is coming from, it’s the goal of the distributor, on behalf of the producing partners, to sell the show for as much money and in as many territories as possible. That doesn’t change.”

Carrie Stein:

“The question we need to ask is whether these new funders will ever recoup their investments or see any upside”

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FEATURE: DIVERSITY

It’s time to look

behind the camera As the countdown begins to the third edition of the MIPCOM Diversify TV Excellence Awards, the international industry is still struggling with diversity and inclusion among senior decision-makers. Things may be improving on screen, Juliana Koranteng writes, but there’s a still work to be done in the boardroom front of and behind the camera is gradually improving. The same, however, cannot be said about the industry’s boardrooms, where representation remains uneven.

The good news is that efforts

are being made to redress the balance. “We are committed to ensuring diversity at all levels, including executive level — our seven-strong All3Media leadership team comprises six women and one man,” says Sara Geater,

chief operating officer at global production and distribution giant All3Media. However, she admits there are still gaps to fill: “We have women in more than 50% of leadership positions across our 30 operating compa-

© Illustration: StudioA

T

HERE is a general consensus that the presence of women, ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+ people and other traditionally under-represented groups in

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 107 • September 2019

FEATURE: DIVERSITY nies within All3Media. We are doing well as a whole in terms of our leadership teams when it comes to gender, LGBTQ+, age and disability. But we recognise we still have some way to go on BAME [Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic] representation.”

The debate rumbles on as the call for more women to be present at the top echelons of corporations, including media and entertainment companies, becomes louder. Fortune magazine recently published its annual leadership list of the US’ Fortune 500 companies and concluded that 33 CEOs were women in 2019 — the most in the list’s history — compared to only one in 1998. But the current crop comprises only 6.6% of the total in a country where just over 50% of the population is female. The picture is slightly better in US boardrooms, where women account for 25.5% of the seats, according to Fortune.

Hollywood actress and Oscar winner Geena Davis, who launched her Institute on Gender in Media in 2004, recently said she believed women have made no progress at all when it came representation in the media. Davis is an executive producer on This Changes Everything, a documentary feature about sexism in Hollywood released late last year.”

However, efforts are being made to inject some light into what is acknowledged to be a bleak picture in many respects.

In the UK, the Viacom-owned Channel 5 network has unveiled an initiative to form partnerships with BAME-owned production companies — a move that many see as the industry bringing more ethnic-minority senior executives into the fold.

“We have commissioned more BAME directors across key programmes in the past year, but we recognise that there is still

Ben Frow, director of programme, Channel 5

more to do and have launched this initiative,” says Ben Frow, Channel 5’s director of programmes. “The goal here is to find BAME-led producers who are keen to make mainstream programmes that will fit within Channel 5’s populist schedule.”

Deborah Williams is CEO of the Creative Diversity Network (CDN), the five-year-old organisation set up to promote diversity at all levels of the UK TV industry. She emphasises that diversifying senior management and boardrooms is crucial to CDN’s members, which comprise the sector’s key organisations and companies.

CDN hosts the Project Diamond scheme, a diversity monitoring and reporting initiative designed to set standards and develop best diversity and inclusivity practices among the UK’s public-service broadcasters and the production companies they commission. Another CDNbacked project is the Doubling Disability initiative, which aims to double the number of disabled people working in UK TV by 2020.

Williams is the first to admit that in the UK, despite its estimated 50:50 gender representation and 10% ethnic-minority representation in the boardroom, is failing disabled people. “We

Deborah Williams, CEO, Creative Diversity Network

want to start exploring how to make the workplace more inclusive without them feeling intimidated by talking about it,” she says. “For example, diabetes and asthma are not considered disabling in the workplace, but they come under the legal banner of disability, and it might not be such a terrible thing to declare that kind of disability.”

In the US, MarVista Entertainment has bolstered its ratio of female senior executives to mirror its business as a producer of many women-targeted TV shows and films. The company sponsored the short-film competition at the Geena Davis-created Bentonville Film Festival in 2018. It also works closely with The United States of Women, which is setting up new schemes to train women from economically disadvantaged backgrounds to work in the entertainment sector. And early last year, MarVista hosted a group of 75 women from different countries in an open debate about how to gain more decision-making roles in the entertainment business.

Martin Durkin, CEO of UK production company Wag Entertainment, says groundbreaking films like Krow’s TRANSformation, its documentary

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 108 • September 2019

Martin Durkin, CEO, Wag Entertainment

about a successful female catwalk model’s transition into an equally successful male catwalk model, should give top executives food for thought about diversity in their own business.

“What’s important in making a film is to find the real human behind the headlines and to tell their story as honestly and sympathetically as possible,” Durkin adds. “Sadly, there are still cultures and parts of the world that are closed and backward-looking and bigoted. Krow’s TRANSformation is full of hope, because here is someone who was determined to transition and has done so successfully, and is now enjoying his life and inspiring others to have confidence in themselves.”

He adds that positive developments are taking place. “We’ve made giant strides forward and I can only see that progressing.

I’m an optimist, and this film helps me to stay optimistic.”

Martin Durkin:

“We’ve made giant strides forward and I can only see that progressing. I’m an optimist”

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13/02/2019 11:48:47

FEATURE: DIVERSITY

‘Reflecting our audiences is key to our business’ Sara Geater, chief operating officer, All3Media “RECENT reports show that diversity on screen is improving, but off-screen it is still lagging and espe-

‘For us, diversity is not a fad’ Jimmy George, vice-president, sales and acquisitions, GoQuest Media Ventures “ULTIMATELY, what matters to us is merit and the ability to take ownership of your job. The most senior people in our com-

‘Everyone contributes, everyone is valued’ Fernando Szew, CEO, MarVista Entertainment “ONE OF the positives fostered by the #MeToo movement is that it signalled a strong and powerful shift in public sentiment that many of the large media companies couldn’t ignore. The industry’s knee-jerk reaction was to hire and/or empower women and people of colour — initially perhaps for the optics but,

cially so at the leadership level. We still have a long way to go as an industry to make sure we reflect and represent our audiences. It’s really important that decision-makers, budget-holders and those in positions of power at both broadcasters and production companies are individually tasked with delivering greater diversity.

“Reflecting our audiences is key to our business and, as a company whose COO was named 29th out of the100 most important LGBTQ+ people in the UK in the Pride Powerlist 2019, we are committed to ensuring our leadership teams and key decision-makers are representative of the UK’s LGBTQ+ population.”

pany’s Turkey and Latin American subsidiaries are women. And from my experience, the vast majority of heads of programming in the industry globally are women.

“Certain companies question whether disabled people can do the job. As a company owner, I need someone who can do the work, whether or not they are disabled. This is our

company culture and policy, and whoever comes here must adopt that culture. We don’t work with people who do not have a similar mindset because, with the right skilful people, we’re going to make money anyway. So, for us, diversity is not a fad and I don’t believe the old ways will return as long as these issues continue to be discussed in the business.”

ultimately, that will serve as a positive impact on the culture at those companies. I believe using diversity and the inclusivity lens in hiring practices is increasingly the norm across all industries.

“With regard to the senior decision-makers within MarVista, we’ve always sought to hire the best-qualified person for the job. Today, we have an incredible workforce comprised of about 60% women, including top executive roles in production and development, business and legal affairs, operations, marketing and

distribution. A strength at MarVista is our commitment to developing and maintaining a strong, supportive work culture.

Lots of companies talk the talk, but we believe that, by empowering our team to share in decision-making on every level, it helps everyone rise to the best of their abilities.

“We encourage and embrace differences in career experiences, and varying points of view and education. Everyone contributes, everyone is valued — which ultimately fosters an incredible sense of inclusivity and trust.”

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 110 • September 2019

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FEATURE: DIVERSITY

‘If we keep playing safe, nothing will change’ Bunmi Akintonwa, CEO, Little Black Book “THE APPROACH to diversity at all levels in a company should be the same: the best person for the job. But these days, our policy is to be more inclusive by digging deeper and searching wider for appropriate candidates.

“New players like Netflix, Apple and Amazon have noticed that diversity makes a huge difference,

‘I cast my net widely to fill positions’ Kate Beal, CEO, Woodcut Media “AS A company, we’re naturally diverse. Our board of directors is 50% male, 50% female, and they include a member from the BAME community. And among the executive producers, 40% are persons of colour.

“I grew up with a mother in the TV business at a senior level. She was also

because they are driven by success and all the algorithms and information at their fingertips. You shouldn’t assume that someone with the longest CV or someone you know will be the ideal candidate. You have to look among the under-represented as well, because the history of TV is not diverse. And if we keep playing safe, nothing will change.

“The retail industry has the largest diversity in terms of people, products and services. The pharmaceutical industry and transportation also know that,

if you want to understand the market you serve, you need to understand the different peoples in it. In the TV industry, we’re not being as successful as we need to be at the senior level. Sometimes, I look at the photographs of company executives and there’s not much diversity at the board level.

“There’s also a lot more that needs to be done with disabled people. I notice that the perception is changing and the disabled are coming forward because they’re beginning to feel comfortable about how they are perceived.”

a single mother. The country had a female prime minister at the time, so I grew up questioning why couldn’t I do this or that.

Before Woodcut, I was on a public company’s board of directors and I was the only woman — the rest were mostly men in their sixties and white. I remember telling the board I was pregnant. It was quite an interesting experience and not an easy one.

Therefore, I believe in the abilities of other people. I cast my net widely when I need to fill positions.

“At the board level, there’s still improvement to be made in the industry.

Boards are still largely white and male-dominated. There are no disabled people. The whole industry needs to address this.

“If you look at a lot of networks in the US and Europe, there are many female decision-makers — for example, the BBC’s Charlotte Moore, ITV’s Carolyn McCall and Channel 4’s Alex Mahon in the UK. In that area, we’re making a huge amount of progress.”

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 112 • September 2019

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your mipCOM experience

14-17 OCTOBER 2019 Palais des Festivals, Cannes, France MIPCOM OPENING TIMES Opening hours 14 - 16 October: 08.30*-19.00 17 October: 08.30-17.00 * Access from 08.00 for exhibitors

Registration hours Gare Maritime (C22) 12 October: 14.00-19.00 13 October: 09.00-19.00 14 October: 08.00-19.30

15 October: 08.30-19.00 16 October: 08.30-19.00 17 October: 08.30-15.00

We look forward to welcoming you in Cannes, but first here are some tips to prepare your journey to MIPCOM

Prepare for MIPCOM in advance Visit the MIPCOM website to organise your travel and benefit from: • Reduced rates on your transportation with our partners Air France and KLM Global Meetings using discount code: 34527AF. • Fixed rate taxi bookings of €84 from the airport to Cannes (incl. motorway tax).

• The best deals with our partner hotels and discounts with a selection of restaurants and shopping.

Prepare your agenda and meetings in advance

Your badge: your key to getting into MIPCOM

Visit mipcom.com for easy access to all the MIPCOM Online Database features: • Fill out your profile and personalise your agenda • Check out and filter the list of attending participants and companies • Get meeting recommendations based on your business preferences • Send one-to-one messages to other delegates and organise business meetings • Review the conference programme and networking events

• Did you receive it by post?

Don’t forget to bring it with you!

• Have you received an e-ticket by email?

The bar code on your e-ticket allows you to print your badge at a self service check-in point.

• Do you only have your confirmation email?

Collect your badge at the registration area, at C22.

Registration hours can be found above.

Please carry your badge at all times.

It is strictly personal and non-transferable.

Onsite: Hold your meetings in dedicated spaces Buyers’ Club (Palais -1, aisle C)

Participants’ Lounges

• Reserved for programme purchasing executives • Includes a private lounge area and bar

Two venues in the heart of the exhibition, within the Palais.

By

Gold Business Lounge & Members’ Desk (Palais -1, aisle E)

• Reserved for Gold Members of our Customer Recognition Programme, as well as visitors with a Business or Premier pack.

• Includes a private lounge area, complimentary coffee and international press.

• Members’ Desk: on-the-spot care and assistance for all the members of our Customer Recognition Programme.

Blue Lounge (Palais -1, aisle A) Green Lounge (Palais -1, aisle G) • The perfect spaces to hold meetings in a comfy lounge space with drinks.

• Participants’ Lounge Green offers a dedicated First Timers’ Welcome Corner and also hosts Country Focused Meet-Ups.

Coffee and Connect (Palais 1) • A functional bar; space to relax, connect and network.

In association with

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 114 • September 2019

Press and News Avenue (Palais -1, aisle A) • Dedicated to journalists with the assistance of permanent staff members and an equipped editorial room.

In association with

VIP Club (Palais 3, Foyer Debussy) • Exclusive club reserved for VIP delegates to relax or discuss business in more private surroundings.

Entry by invitation only In association with &

your MIPCOM experience

General map of MIPCOM Make new contacts!

CROISETTE 10 to 22 C10

Paramount Pictures

C11

Fremantle

C14

Disney

C15

Entertainment One, Kew Media, Lionsgate

C16.A

ITV Studios Global Entertainment

C16.B

Inter Medya

C16.C

Daro Film Distribution

C16.D

Red Bull Media House

C17

Warner Bros.

C18

BBC Studios

C20

Banijay Group

C22

Endeavor Content

C22

Registration

MIPCOM Perimeter 1 C10

C11

Left Luggage Badge holders only

Toilets Riviera 8 tra

Beach

nc e

C14

En

Riviera 9

C16.D

C16.C

C16.B

Palais 5 Palais 4 Palais 3 VIP Club Palais 1 Coffee and Connect

Organiser’s office

C16.A

Entrance No° 1

• t hemed matchmaking sessions • country focused meet-up sessions • and more

Palais -1 to 5

Access to Riviera 7, 8 & 9

C18

2. Matchmaking events

Riviera 7

C15

4 Entrance No° 4

Harbour

*Full schedule available online.

Palais 0 Entrance No° 2

2 C20

Access to Grand auditorium conferences En

tra

La Croisette

e

C22

3

Entrance No° 3

10

min

Carlton Hotel

3. MIPCOM Opening Party

Palais -1 Buyers’ Club Participants’ Lounges Blue & Green Press and News Avenue Gold Business Lounge

nc

1. Tailor-made meeting recommendations Receive personalised matches for your business objectives via the MIPCOM Online Database.

First Aid

Sea

C17

1

Security Checkpoint

Entrance No° 5 5

Majestic Hotel

CL: ON IN OL TRATI REGIS & PROTOC S S PRE

In association with

La C roise

tte

Train Station

In association with

MIPCOM shuttle

Monday 14 October, 20:00 Carlton Hotel The week’s must-attend networking event.

Sponsored by

Is this your first time at MIPCOM? A “First Timers’ Welcome Corner” manned by our dedicated team is available throughout MIPCOM in the Participants’ Lounge Green, Palais -1 with a daily programme to meet peers at the market. Please pop in and say ‘Hello’.

WELCOME

Sunday 13 October 16:30-18:30 First Timers’ “How To” Presentation followed by discovery tours of the exhibition floors and MIPCOM services.

Meeting point: Main Croisette Entrance N°3, Palais des Festivals.

Monday 14 & Tuesday 15 October Participants’ Lounge Green, Palais -1 09:30 First Timers’ tour on demand.

10:00 & 15:30 Online Database demonstration on demand.

Monday 14 Wednesday 16 October Participants’ Lounge Green, Palais -1 08:30 Monday 14 October: First Timers’ Welcome Breakfast Tuesday 15 & Wednesday 16 October: First Timers’ Networking Breakfast See the programme p.116 and plan your agenda

See you in Cannes!

For further information: www.mipcom.com • Help desk: +33 (0)1 79 71 99 99 MIPCOM PREVIEW • 115 • September 2019

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MARKET SCREENINGS MONDAY 14 OCTOBER

9.00-10.15

THE WALL COVER YOUR TRACKS Presented by Beta Film Auditorium K

10.30-11.45

14.30-15.45

16.00-17.15

Presented by Imagicomm Entertainment Auditorium K

Presented by SPI International Auditorium K

Season 2 Presented by MOVISTAR Auditorium K

THE WARRANT

MISTER MAYFAIR

THE PLAGUE

TUESDAY 15 OCTOBER

9.00-10.15

10.30-11.45

14.00-15.00

Presented by STUDIOCANAL Auditorium K

Presented by GLOBO Auditorium K

Presented by TVP Polish Public Television Auditorium K

ON THE DEATH ROW

OUR CENTURY

ARUANAS

15.15-16.30

THE LIGHT (w/t)

With an introduction from talent Presented by all3media international and The Forge Auditorium K

16.45-18.00

BLACKOUT

Presented by Lagardère Studios Distribution Auditorium K

WEDNESDAY 16 OCTOBER

10.30-11.45

12.00-13.15

Presented by TVP Polish Public Television Auditorium K

Presented by Portocabo Auditorium K

HEARTBEAT

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DRY WATER

14.30-15.45

INTERNYET. THE KREMLIN’S WAR ON THE INTERNET Presented by Current Time TV and Digital Network Auditorium K

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MIPCOM WORLD PREMIERE TV SCREENINGS SUNDAY 13 OCTOBER

Presented by 18.30-19.45, Grand Auditorium Former Swedish intelligence officer Carl Hamilton (Jakob Oftebro, ‘Below the Surface’), trained by U.S. Navy Seals to become part of an illegal black-ops cell within the Swedish military, is caught up in a murder investigation seemingly linked to public cyberattacks and soon finds himself in a life-threatening mission against a corporate private security firm.

MONDAY 14 OCTOBER

Presented by 18.30-20.00, Grand Auditorium Set against the chaos following the global financial crisis, DEVILS is a sophisticated thriller starring Alessandro Borghi (Suburra) and Patrick Dempsey (Grey’s Anatomy). After being implicated in a deadly scandal, a trader at a leading London bank fights to clear his name, but instead uncovers an intercontinental conspiracy masterminded by powerful forces operating in the shadows.

TUESDAY 15 OCTOBER

Presented by 11.30-13.45, Auditorium A ‘Kikyo - The Return’ is a samurai drama using the latest ‘8K’ technology to visualize the novel of Shuhei Fujisawa.

The lead character falls ill at the end of his thirty-year journey and returns to his hometown. There, he decides to save a girl in dire straits.

VISIT MIPCOM.COM/PROGRAMME FOR FULL INFORMATION

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THE STREAMING OFFENSIVE MEDIA MASTERMIND KEYNOTES MONDAY 14 OCTOBER

MIPCOM 2019

PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

THE D2C BIG BANG MOMENT 2019 marks the biggest shift in the US video market since Netflix’s pivot into streaming in 2007. MIDiA Research introduces the MIPCOM Media Mastermind Keynote series with a kick-off presentation exploring the “The D2C Big Bang Moment” and explore the challenge for direct-to-consumer in 2019.

11.10-11-30, Grand Auditorium TIM MULLIGAN Research Director MIDiA Research

11.30-12.00 Grand Auditorium JAMES FARRELL Head of International Originals Amazon Studios

12.15-12.45 Grand Auditorium ADAM LEWINSON Chief Content Officer Tubi

16.15-16.45 Grand Auditorium MAX CONZE CEO ProSiebenSat.1 Media

Tuesday 15 October, 17.00-17.45, Grand Auditorium ROBERT GREENBLATT Chairman, WarnerMedia Entertainment and Direct-To-Consumer WarnerMedia

VARIETY VANGUARD AWARD

12.15-12.45 Grand Auditorium FARHAD MASSOUDI Founder and Chief Executive Officer Tubi

TUESDAY 15 OCTOBER

Monday 14 October, 17.00-17.30, Grand Auditorium RUPAUL CHARLES Host and Executive Producer of RuPaul’s Drag Race

WOMEN IN GLOBAL ENTERTAINMENT LUNCH

11.15-11.45 Grand Auditorium BIBIANE GODFROID CEO Newen

Hosted by A+E Networks - Media Partner: The Hollywood Reporter

12.00-12.30 Grand Auditorium DARREN STAR Creator & Executive Producer (Sex and the City, Berverly Hills 90210, Younger...)

16.15-16.45 Grand Auditorium KAY MADATI Global VP and Head of Content Partnerships Twitter

WEDNESDAY 16 OCTOBER

Monday 14 October, 12.30, by invitation

Trendsetter Awards

DREAM HAMPTON Showrunner and Executive Producer of Surviving R.Kelly

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BRIE MIRANDA BRYANT Executive Producer/ SVP Unscripted Programming & Development Lifetime

11.00-11.30 Grand Auditorium MARIA KYRIACOU President ITV Studios International

11.45-12.30 Grand Auditorium JED MERCURIO Screenwriter and Showrunner (Bodyguard, Line of Duty, Strike Back...)

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CONFERENCES & EVENTS HIGHLIGHTS

PRODUCTION FUNDING FORUM A unique opportunity for producers and financiers to meet and bring premium content projects to life. A 2-day programme open to all delegates.

FINDING INVESTMENT:

FUNDING CREATIVITY:

TRANSFORMING IDEAS INTO REALITY

IN CONVERSATION WITH…

CLAUDIA BLUEMHUBER CEO Silver Reel Partners

DAVID CLARKE EVP Content DRG

THOMAS DEY CEO & President ACF Investment Bank

ERIK BARMACK CEO/Founder Wild Sheep Content

OLIVER BERBEN Executive Board Television, Digital Media, Entertainment Constantin Film

IGNACIO CORRALES Managing Director Atresmedia Studios

THOMAS DODS Relationship Director, Technology, Media & Telecoms Barclays

SANGCHUL LEE Chief Operating Officer

LUCI SANAN SVP Acquisitions & Business Development The Story Lab Global

PAUL DEMPSEY President, Global Distribution BBC Studios

LISA PERRIN CEO Creative Networks Endemol Shine Group

DANNA STERN Managing Director yes Studios

C47 Investment

D2C TECH

Hear from international SVOD / AVOD streamers on their strategy and global distribution challenges; and get an overview of new opportunities for technology partners to respond to the insatiable demand for faster content delivery and richer viewers’ experiences.

ps ARCHANA ANAND Chief Business Officer ZEE5 Global, Zee Entertainment Enterprises

MARY KAY EVANS Chief Marketing Officer Verizon Media Platform

XAVIER FISCHER CEO Datakalab

ANNE JAKRAJUTATIP CEO JKN Global Media

OLIVIER JOLLET Managing Director Europe Pluto TV

PHILIPPE PETITPONT CEO & Co-Founder Newsbridge

DANIEL RAMOS International Marketing Director Sociograph

JACINTO ROCA CEO Rakuten TV

SOUMYA SRIRAMAN President BritBox

DAVID STIFF CEO Vault AI

VISIT MIPCOM.COM/PROGRAMME FOR FULL INFORMATION

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CONFERENCES & EVENTS HIGHLIGHTS

INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT GLOBAL TV TRENDS: WHO IS WATCHING WHAT, HOW AND WHY? Monday 14 October 10.30-11.00 Esterel

FINDING SUCCESS WITH COSTUME DRAMA IN GLOBAL MARKETS Monday 14 October 17.40-18.30 Auditorium A

In partnership with Eurodata TV Worldwide and Tape Consultancy Followed by Meet the Speakers Don’t miss this exclusive presentation tracking the many ways to audience successes in a fast-changing industry.

INTERNATIONAL CO-PRODUCTION OPPORTUNITIES WITH THE MIDDLE EAST Monday 14 October 14.30-15.15 Auditorium A

In partnership with JAWWY TV and MBC studios The Middle East and North Africa region is rapidly expanding in co-productions and funding co-operations. This session will provide the audience with a rare opportunity to hear directly from the MENA region’s biggest content commissioners on their plans for 2020, and the production partnerships they are developing.

Given the current enthusiasm television audiences around the world are showing for drama series, how are distributors finding success with costume drama in international markets?

This session looks at the factors to consider when taking costume drama series from one country to another.

TRENDING TOPICS: THE MOST BUZZ WORTHY TRENDS OF THE MARKET Thursday 17 October 11.45-12.45 Auditorium A A panel of entertainment experts discuss the most buzzworthy trends of the market, in a lively and informal end-of-show session which lets you go home with MIPCOM 2019’s key industry takeaways.

MIPCOM is branded the World’s Entertainment Content Market for a reason: a truly international gathering, there will be over 110 countries represented in Cannes this year. To underline its importance on the world stage, MIPCOM is presenting a Special Focus on four diverse and hugely important markets around the world: Argentina, China, Japan and Russia.

LIVE THE STORY: NHK 8K Japanese public broadcaster NHK is organising a series of screenings and talks on ultra-high definition 8K at MIPCOM 2019 as part of the showcase “Live the Story: NHK 8K”.

To stage the 8K showcase, MIPCOM is for the first time hosting the NHK 8K Theater, complete with a 248-inch 8K screen and a 22.2 multichannel sound system, located on the third floor of the Palais des Festivals.

Monday 14 October 11.00-13.00 NHK 8K Theater INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE DRAMA SCREENING: ‘AN ARTIST OF THE FLOATING WORLD’

Tuesday 15 October 11.30-12.30 NHK 8K Theater 8K TALKS: NATURAL HISTORY

Monday 14 October 17.30-19.15 NHK 8K Theater COCKTAIL: WAVES OF THE 8K SOUND: ‘STING AND SHAGGY: LIVE IN PHILADELPHIA’ By invitation only

Tuesday 15 October 17.00-19.00 NHK 8K Theater ENCORE SCREENING: ‘AN ARTIST OF THE FLOATING WORLD’

Presented by

ULTRA HD TV NOW: SONY 4K/8K 4K/UHD channels are growing in number and the availability of OTT streaming services are helping drive the ownership of UHD displays to record levels.

MIPCOM’s 2019 UHD Programme welcomes China Central TV for the first time, along with Colombia’s Caracol TV, Al Kass Sports from Qatar, Fashion TV, CJ-E&M Korea and Minproduction Korea. TMS Tokyo will showcase their film restoration skills for 4K. BBC Studios will screen their latest 4K landmark series `Seven Worlds, One Planet’ and ZDF-E will dazzle delegates with a triple bill of factual programming, while Off the Fence will screen its lavish Aerial Britain.

Monday 14 October 16.30-17.30 NHK 8K Theater 8K TALKS: CO-PRO AND ACQUISITION

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EVENTS WOMEN IN GLOBAL ENTERTAINMENT LUNCH

MIPCOM PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR GALA DINNER

Monday 14 October 12.30-14.30 Majestic Hotel

Tuesday 15 October 19.00 Intercontinental Carlton Hotel

Doors open at 12.00.

Hosted by A+E Networks Media Partner: The Hollywood Reporter

By invitation

By invitation

MIPCOM DIVERSIFY TV EXCELLENCE AWARDS

‘GETTING TO THE TOP’: INSIGHTS AND TIPS FROM - AND FOR - WOMEN IN MEDIA

Monday 14 October 18.30-20.30 Intercontinental Carlton Hotel

Wednesday 16 October 8.30-10.00 Verrière Grand Auditorium

In partnership with A+E Networks and Diversify TV

Mentoring breakfast co-hosted with MediaClub’Elles

By invitation

By invitation

MIPCOM OPENING PARTY & RED CARPET

NETWORKING MEET-UPS Participants’ Lounge Green

Monday 14 October 20.00-23.30 Intercontinental Carlton Hotel Party sponsored by INCAA, AAICI and Embajada de la República Argentina en Francia

Meet-up Asia-Pacific Monday 14 October 11.00-12.00

Meet-up Africa Tuesday 15 October 11.00-12.00

Meet-up Latin America Monday 14 October 16.30-17.30

Learn and meet with the Funds Tuesday 15 October 14.00-15.00 Meet-up Eastern and Central Europe Tuesday 15 October 16.30-17.30

FRESH TV

Presented by The Wit FRESH TV FORMATS

FRESH TV FICTION

BEST OF FRESH TV

Monday 14 October 13.15-14.15 Grand Auditorium

Wednesday 16 October 14.15-15.00 Grand Auditorium

Thursday 17 October 10.00-10.45 Auditorium A

MIPCOM THANKS ITS SPONSORS AND PARTNERS

Francia

VISIT MIPCOM.COM/PROGRAMME FOR FULL INFORMATION

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PREVIEW September 2019 www.mipcomcom

// DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS // Paul Zilk // MARKETING DIRECTOR // Mathieu Regnault / EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT / Editor in Chief Julian Newby Deputy Editor Debbie Lincoln Sub Editor Joanna Stephens Contributors Marlene Edmunds, Andy Fry, Juliana Koranteng Editorial Management Boutique Editions Head of Graphic Studio Herve Traisnel Graphic Studio Manager Frederic Beauseigneur Graphic Designer Carole Peres / PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT / Publishing Director Martin Screpel Publishing Managers Emilie Lambert, Amrane Lamiri Printer Riccobono Imprimeurs, Le Muy (France).

/ MANAGEMENT & SALES TEAM /

Director of the Entertainment Division Jérôme Delhaye Director of the Television Division Laurine Garaude Deputy Director of the Television Division Lucy Smith Conference & Content Director Amandine Cassi Director of the MIP Buyers Strategy Bénédicte Touchard de Morant Director of Marketing Bastien Gave Director Market Development and Acting Head of TV UK Office Ted Baracos TV Division Sales Director Géraud de Lacombe SVP Sales Robert Marking, Aude Dionnet, Sylvain Faureau VP Sales Louis Hillelson Sales Director Nathalie Gastone, Manuel de Sousa, Javier Lopez Matthew Rosenstein Sales Manager Noah Buchwald, Paul Barbaro, Nancy Denole, Samira Haddi, Pascale Lallemand, Cyril Szczerbakow, Hicran Lefort, Jill Caserley Director of Buyers Relations Yi-Ping Gérard Sales Executive, Buyers Phoumalay Ackhavong, Alexandre Collet Programme Director Tania Dugaro Marketing Manager Cécile de Barbentane Australia and New Zealand Representative Natalie Apostolou China Representatives Anke Redl, Tammy Zhao CIS Representatives Alexandra Modestova Germany Representative Marc Wessel India Representative Anil Wanvari Israel Representative Yael Scop Japan Representative Lily Ono Middle-East Representative Bassil Hajjar Spain Representative Maria Jose Vadillo South Korea Representative Sunny Kim Taiwan Representative Irene Liu Reed MIDEM, a joint stock company (SAS), with a capital of €310.000, 662 003 557 R.C.S. NANTERRE, having offices located at 27-33 Quai Alphonse Le Gallo - 92100 BOULOGNE-BILLANCOURT (FRANCE), VAT number FR91 662 003 557.

Contents © 2019, Reed MIDEM Market Publications. Publication registered 3rd quarter 2019. ISSN 2104-2179. Printed on PEFC Certified Paper

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VENGEANCE, LOVE AND TEARS...

52 scripted shows in production

London

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Munich

Milan

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