Miptv 2014 news 4

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DAY

Thursday 10 April 2014

www.miptv.com

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GALA DINNER

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SERIES / 78x26’

Industry VIPs gathered at the Carlton last night to honour four recipients of the MIPTV Medaille d’Honneur. Pictures inside

MIP DIGITAL FRONTS

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Yesterday saw the launch of MIP Digital Fronts, the international screenings for original online video. Reports inside

STARS IN CANNES

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It’s been a star-studded MIPTV with A-list talent in Cannes to promote their latest work.

Pictures inside

DEALS IN CANNES

Companies from around the world report swift business at MIPTV. News of deals inside

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www.newendistribution.com BLEU QUADRI 100/56/0/18,5 NOIR QUADRI 50/50/50/100

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THURSDAY 10 APRIL

OFFICIAL CONFERENCES & EVENTS ULTRA-HD

SCREENINGS

SCREENING: NHK

BRAND NEW: BEST OF FRESH TV

11.00-11.45 | 4K Theater, Palais -1

9.00-10.00 | MIPCube Agora, Palais -1 Presented by

Virginia Mouseler Presenter Virginia Mouseler, CEO, The Wit, Switzerland @thewitfreshtv

Presenters Hiromichi Iwasaki, Executive Producer, Natural History, NHK, Japan Shinichi Nagano, Media Strategist, Programming Dept., NHK, Japan

MIP DIGITAL FRONTS

The NEW International Screenings for Original Online Video

ULTRA-HD

11.40-12.00 | MIPCube Agora, Palais -1

SCREENING: NEXTV FORUM 10.00-10.45 | 4K Theater, Palais -1 Presenter Toshiaki Baba, Secretary, NexTV Forum, Japan

Speakers Charlie Muirhead, CEO, Rightster, UK

MIP DIGITAL FRONTS

Charlie Muirhead

The NEW International Screenings for Original Online Video

THE BEST OF FRESH FORMATS ON YOUTUBE 10.15-10.45 | MIPCube Agora, Palais -1

Presenter Rosie Allimonos, Head of Content Partnerships, Northern and Central Europe, YouTube, UK

Rosie Allimonos

Host of the MIP Digital Fronts Amber J. Lawson, CEO, Comedy Gives Back *WINNER 2014 IAWTV Award Best live Event & Managing Partner, StoryTech, USA @AmberJLawson

Sam Barcroft, Founder, Barcroft TV, UK Sam Barcroft

Host of the MIP Digital Fronts Amber J. Lawson, CEO, Comedy Gives Back *WINNER 2014 IAWTV Award Best live Event & Managing Partner, StoryTech, USA @AmberJLawson

MIPTV PRESS CONFERENCE END OF MARKET ROUND-UP 12.15-13.00 | MIPCube Agora, Palais -1 Speaker Laurine Garaude, Television Division Director, Reed MIDEM, France Laurine Garaude

MIP DIGITAL FRONTS

The NEW International Screenings for Original Online Video

CREATING BREAKTHROUGH CONTENT 11.00-11.30 | MIPCube Agora, Palais -1

Speaker Pierre-Mathieu Fortin, Creative Executive Producer, Jimmy Lee, Canada @iampmiam Pierre-Mathieu Fortin

Host of the MIP Digital Fronts Amber J. Lawson, CEO, Comedy Gives Back *WINNER 2014 IAWTV Award Best live Event & Managing Partner, StoryTech, USA @AmberJLawson

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THE MIPTV WRAP 14.00-15.00 | MIPCube Agora, Palais -1 Moderator James Martin, Social Media Manager, MIP Markets, France @jamesmart_in / @mip Speakers Mary Ann Halford, Managing Director, FTI Consulting, USA @maryannhalford Lisa Gray, Head of Content, THE FEDS, Australia @getsmartTHEFEDS Omri Marcus, Creative Partner, Red Arrow Entertainment Group, Israel Omri Marcus Angela Natividad, Strategist and Journalist, Darewin Agency, AdVerveBlog & MIPBlog, USA @luckthelady

09/04/2014 16:13

CONTENTS

miptv

IN PICTURES

NEWS

4 Medailles d’Honneur Gala Dinner

6 Market news including MIP Digital Fronts, conferences and deals

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14 Stars in Cannes

miptv neWs 4 ®

The official MIPTV daily newspaper Thursday 10 April 2014

Director of Publications Paul Zilk Director of Communication Mike Williams

The MIPTV Newsroom is located in the Gare Maritime (registration area)

EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Editor in Chief Julian Newby Deputy Editor Debbie Lincoln Sub Editors Sarah Cooper, Nigel Willmott Reporters Andy Fry, Ben Cooper, Emelia Jones, Juliana Koranteng, Max Leonard, Rachel Murrell, Gary Smith, Joanna Stephens, Chris White Editorial Assistant Sunnie Newby Editorial Management Boutique Editions Technical Editor in Chief Herve Traisnel Deputy Technical Editor in Chief Frederic Beauseigneur Graphic Designers Veronique Duthille, Nour Ezzedeen, Carole Peres Head of Photographers Yann Coatsaliou / 360 Medias Photographers Christian Alminana, Olivier Houeix, Michel Johner, Yohann Mortier.

PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT Publishing Director Martin Screpel Publishing Co-ordinator Emilie Lambert Production Assistant, Cannes Office Eric Laurent Printer Riccobono Imprimeurs, Le Muy (France).

ADVERTISING CONTACT IN CANNES Christine Mendes: sylvia.ferreira@reedmidem.com / +33 (0)1 79 71 99 42 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 BOULOGNEBILLANCOURT (FRANCE), VAT number FR91 662 003 557. Contents © 2014, Reed MIDEM Market Publications. Publication registered 2nd quarter 2014. ISSN 1967-5178.

Printed on FSC certified paper

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Seven Network’s Tim Worner (left), Channel One’s Konstantin Ernst, Twentieth Century Fox’s Marion Edwards, Dr Herbert Kloiber of Tele Munchen Group and Reed MIDEM’s Paul Zilk

Marion Edwards, Konstantin Ernst, Tim Worner and Dr Herbert Kloiber were honoured at a gala dinner at the Carlton hotel last night, where they each received the MIPTV 2014 Medaille d’Honneur from Reed MIDEM’s Paul Zilk. Friends and industry colleagues joined them for the celebration

Twentieth Century Fox’s Marion Edwards (left) with Foxtel Australia’s Glen Kinging

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Dori Media’s Nadav Palti (left) with the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ Camille Bidermann Roizen and Bruce Paisner

IN PICTURES

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Avi Armoza of Armoza Formats (left) with ABPITV’s Marco Altberg Piro’s Tim Piper (left) with Chipotle’s Mark Crumpacker, Ray Wise and Piro’s Daniel Rosenberg

Kino Lorber’s Richard Lorber (left) and Global Telemedia’s Gregory Kimmelman

Casablanca Media Partners’ Mostapha Mellouk (left) with International Distribution Agency’s Bassam Hajjawi and Tareq Zuaiter of Tareq Zuaiter Distributions

Twentieth Century Fox’s Salil Mehta (left) and Kristen D. Finney Hocking with Kelley Avery and Daniel Solnicki of DreamWorks

Sony’s Masahiko Koizumi (left) with Nobuko (Niki) Katsumata and Yoshiaki (Joe) Nakata

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NEWS

Digital Fronts hosts MIPCube masterclass YouTube creatives on YouTube longevity

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OUTUBE rolled out some of its star turns at Cannes yesterday, presenting popular performers from its multi-channel networks (MCN) at the inaugural MIP Digital Fronts panels.

The session hosted by Michael Stevens, the US creator/presenter of YouTube MCN VSauce, was designed to illustrate what the pioneering video-sharing website can do for creative talents.

There were appearances from Rhett Mclaughlin and Link Neal, of the Rhett & Link comedy duo fame; Jack and Finn Harries, directors at Digital Native Studios in the UK; Ana Kasparian, host of popular US online news service The Young Turks; and Adrien Labastire, of Golden Moustache M6.

UK twins Jack and Finn Harries said working with brands has helped them and their company, Digital Native Studios, experiment and learn to improve the quality of shows on their You-

Jack Harries

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Tube channel JacksGap, which has three million subscribers.

Rhett & Link’s Neal said that as long as the quality of the content is premium, the duo’s fans have no problems with the involvement of brands and sponsors.

“There’s been no backlash because they are on board and we are upfront about it,” he said.

Golden Moustache’s Labastire disclosed that working with the Orangina soft drink to produce the Web Comedy Awards series for both the French TV network W9 and YouTube offered greater creative flexibility. “There are more limits on what you can do on TV alone,” Labastire said.

Ana Kasparian, US host/producer of The Young Turks, the YouTube-distributed online news channel, highlighted the need for YouTube channel owners to build their business around a community of fans.

“Our audience is a huge part of our content; you’ll get an immediate evaluation of your shows from them, and they will hold you to account,” she said.

Finn Harries

YouTube’s David Ripert (left) and VSauce’s Michael Stevens

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HE HEAD of the YouTube Next Lab EMEA, David Ripert, joined Michael Stevens of VSauce at MIPCube yesterday to lay out some fundamental creative strategies around the theme; How To Build A Sustainable YouTube Audience.

Stevens has the top-rated science and education channel on the platform.

His key piece of advice was on shareability: “Making your content shareable is the make or break moment,” he said. To do that he advised making it “not only content you think your audience will like, but something they can use”.

Shareable content is funny, smart or valuable. “People want to take action on it,” Ripert said. It is also aspirational: “I like things because I want to show I am like these things,” Stevens said.

Both speakers also emphasised sustainability — you must have the resources to be able to post quality videos at least once a

week, or an exceptional one once a month.

The best YouTube creators made accessible videos — needing no prior knowledge to enjoy — that were also discoverable in search.

Collaborating with the best creators helped you extend your reach. These could be co-productions with musicians, animators or VFX experts; or they could be livestream or repackaged collaborations.

Often, the best creators hesitated about collaborating with brands and losing authenticity. “If you do it, stay consistent with your content,” Ripert said.

The pair advised TV companies wanting to work with YouTube creators to think carefully: “What else can you offer them, given these guys are doing what they want already with complete creative freedom?” Ripert said.

Creators did everything: branding, developing, creating, producing, editing, publicising and finding the audience. “Trust them!”

Stevens added.

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We Proudly Congratulate Our very own

Marion Edwards and

Konstantin Ernst Herbert G. Kloiber Tim Worner MIPTV Médaille d’Honneur Award Recipients

From All Your Friends and Colleagues at

TM & © 2014 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved.

miptv

NEWS Amazon set to rewrite the book on digital drama production

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OY PRICE, director of Amazon Studios, admitted that some experienced producers were wary of a digital studio that belonged to the world’s biggest online bookstore.

Speaking at a Media Mastermind Keynote, Price explained Amazon’s commissioning methods.

Script treatments have to be uploaded online to allow Amazon customers to decide what they would like to watch, a departure from traditional studio practices.

However, any concerns, he said, were offset by the fact that Amazon.com and film/TV on-demand platform Amazon Prime Instant Video had access to millions of registered users.

“There has been some trepidation,” Price said. “But, at the end of the day, we’re a commercial outfit and we can get your work in front of millions of viewers.”

He said that Amazon Studios had produced 24 pilots and given the go-ahead for the production of

11 high-end series. In addition to the comedy Alpha House, starring Hollywood actor John Goodman, Amazon Studios has moved into drama.

There is The After, a post-apocalyptic drama set in Los Angeles and created by Chris Carter of X-Files fame. Also in production is Bosch, a police procedural drama based on novels by bestselling author Michael Connelly.

New pilots are being shot with US film director Whit Stillman, plus major US TV stars like Ron Perlman.

Explaining how Amazon Studios works, he said: “Our priority is great shows for Amazon customers. But people are interested in original ideas and engage with that, which is why we started Amazon Studios in the first place.”

Tara Sorensen, head of kids programming, said creating original content for six to 11-year-olds “is a tricky area”. Her department is considering educationally influenced content that “gets kids to prepare for their future in a creative way”.

Amazon Studios’ Roy Price

Dailymotion gives content a platform DAILYMOTION presented two of its most popular content providers yesterday at MIP Digital Fronts; Marawa the Amazing, a hoola-hoop performer who is currently the World Record Holder, having danced while supporting 160 hoops; and action and adventure sports specialist David Carlier, who founded the Freeride World Tour back in 1996.

The session, which was opened

by Marc Eychenne, vice-president international content at Dailymotion, and chief marketing officer Damien du Chene, featured a video compilation of some of the platform’s most popular performers.

As Du Chene explained, Daily-

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motion now has so many content providers that choosing two to be at MIP Digital Fronts was virtually impossible: “They create the passion on the platform, and we are incredibly proud to have been able to co-produce so much great content,” he said.

“And our involvement with and commitment to co-production will only grow now that we have a 700 sq m studio in Paris. And the first person to use the studio, before it was finished incidentally, was Marawa.”

The Hoola-Hoop World Champion had been so keen to start producing her show Quality Novelty that she worked there before it was finished: “I love people who do one thing and one

thing only time ands time again, which was why I created the show,” Marawa said. “And I love the fact that in the studio I can do things which would be impossible live, like Hoop Fighter.”

Extreme sport specialist Carlier has a close and crucial technical relationship with the platform: “The World Tour started in 2008, but it was the live streaming via Dailymotion that we started three years ago that has been so important in popularising the sport,” he said.

“The editing facility that enables us to edit videos of the descents on the fly means that competitors can access an edited version almost as soon as they have crossed the finishing line.”

Marawa the Amazing

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NEWS Second screen technology

boosts revenues, say experts

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R O D U C E R S a n d opened up new monetisation opbroadcasters were giv- portunities. On the issue of how en a fascinating insight to engage audiences he said beinto the way seconding funny was very effective. screen technology can boost audience engagement, TV ratings and, ultimately, revenues during a MIPCube matchmaking session entitled Meet The Second Screen Experts.

Vigiglobe co-founder Laurent Dehasse kicked off proceedings by demonstrating how social platfor ms li ke Twitter can provide a new source of editorial content to guide primary screen programming.

Tevizz CEO Didier Joos de ter Beerst extended this line of debate, adding that the ability to monitor and understand second-screen activity Tevizz’ Didier Joos de ter Beerst

Bonnet trusted gut feeling for Orangina’s Bagel deal

to

“IF YOU want your campaign to

be big, you have to trust your gut,” said Aline Bonnet, media strategy manager for Orangina Schweppes France, at yesterday’s Anatomy Of A Brand And Content Deal.

Bonnet trusted hers in 2013 when the comedy she had commissioned from emerging digital funsters Studio Bagel turned out to be longer, ruder and lighter on product placement than many clients have the stomach for.

Mission 404 is a 14-minute disaster movie about a nerdy office boy who saves the internet from evil forces with the help of actors playing Wikipedia and Google. It cleverly spoofs every internet trope available, from singing kittens to penile extension ads,

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sending up porn, drugs and popup ads — including Orangina’s own — along the way.

The film has racked-up five million views to date, with 10,000 comments, and 85,000 likes, Bonnet said. “The target audience — young adult males — like humour and subversive content,” she said.

“They understand that this is marketing, but they see it as clever.”

The relationship with Studio Bagel went back two years, Bonnet said, and is one of creative trust. It will encompass the studio’s next project. “They’re now making their first movie, and we re supporting it with early funding and ads,” she added.

Orangina’s Aline Bonnet

Alexander Mazzara, CEO of Joiz in Germany, stressed that the quality of audience data can be significantly enhanced

Vigiglobe’s Laurent Dehasse

if rewards such as tickets and e-vouchers are offered to viewers. “This makes people much more likely to give you real data instead of made-up identities, which is much more valuable.”

According to Wayin’s director of business development for Latin America, Diego Jolodenco, social media analytical tools now exist to provide incredibly granular insights into who is watching and discussing content. “We have solutions that speak the language of broadcasters. It is possible to increase TV ratings by leveraging the conversation around content,” Jolodenco said.

Last up was Arkimedia CEO Paolo Roatta who showcased Italybased social TV channel iLIKE.TV. Roatta demonstrated an application that allows viewers to upload pictures that are then converted into a 20-second sequence.

This is then broadcast at an appointed time on the channel.

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Vice boss Smith makes virtue of firm’s go-anywhere content

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HANE SMITH, founder/CEO of international multi-platform digital studio Vice Media, did not mince his words yesterday during his MIP Digital Fronts speech about next-generation original content.

“I have been coming to MIPTV for a long time. And people keep asking me, ‘Are you on TV, digital, convergence?’. All I can say is that I don’t give a s**t. All I care about is the content. We’re Generation Y and there’s been a changing of the guards in media.”

He added: “We’ve deals with YouTube, with Facebook, and with TV networks around the world. We are officially it! It could be online, mobile, anything. When it’s on holograms, we’ll be on holograms.”

Smith was speaking after a pres-

Vice Media’s Shane Smith

Brand integrity integral to the plot CHIPOTLE may well be the

brand paying for Farmed And Dangerous, but it is not the brand that is integrated into the show, it is the company’s values that dictate and dominate the conversation.

“Chipotle’s ethos is ‘food with integrity’,” Mark Crumpacker, chief marketing & development officer said nd o er t e fo r episodes the Chipotle name only appears once, because the company absolutely prioritised creating great entertainment.”

Chipotle also insisted on production values that are the equal of any top-flight mainstream show. “Despite that, and despite the fact that I have a comparatively small marketing budget at 1.7% of sales, where most fastfood chains spend around 6%, the series cost the equivalent of running a traditional campaign

in one major US city over one year,” Crumpacker revealed.

“So in fact it’s a relatively small

part of our total budget. But it has generated an amazing amount of media coverage, esti-

Chipotle’s Mark Crumpacker and Reed MIDEM’s Laurine Garaude

entation of trailers for Vice’s most recent productions. They included Black Market, which showed unsavoury life in the world of human, drugs and rareanimals trafficking Fresh Off The Boat With Eddie Huang takes a peak into different food cultures worldwide, and shows how some cuisine might just not be designed for human consumption.

Smith used the presentation of Toxic, a new show that openly condemns man-made damage to our environment and climatechange, to express his strong feelings on the matter. “If we don’t do something about the environment, we’re in trouble and we must say it with media. So, let’s change the f***ing world.”

Noisey is Vice’s dedicated music programme based on its online channel of the same name.

“MTV doesn’t do music anymore and there hasn’t been any real music brand young people can identify with. Noisey is going to be that brand,” chief creative officer dd oretti said

mated to be worth around $10m after the second episode, and t at fig re ill contin e to rise as we only released the fourth episode this week.”

Ray Wise, the star of the show, loves his character Buck Marshall. “He is great fun to play, and I got most of the best lines,” Wise said. “When my agent sent me the script I read it and I loved it, and honestly I had no idea that the show was content made by a brand, until it came up in conversation a bit later. Frankly I’m very proud of what we did and very happy with the series. The production values are the equal of pretty much anything I’ve done including 24, Mad Men and even Twin Peaks.” At the end of the session, Crumpacker got a surprise when he was presented with the MIPTV Brand Of The Year Award by Reed MIDEM’s director of television markets, Laurine Garaude.

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miptv

NEWS Momentum is building for 4K as

production rises and costs fall

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SPI International’s Ali Murat Erkorkmaz at the 4K sessions

COUPLE of years ago, conversations about 4K production had an esoteric, futuristic feel about them. But the message coming out of MIPTV’s 4K/Ultra-HD sessions is that momentum is really beginning to build.

Chris Forrester, moderator of the 4K track, told MIPTV News: “The Screenings have been fantastically well-attended. There’s a real sense that the 4K market is moving forward. Compared to this time last year, costs have come down and a much wider range of content is being filmed in 4K.” The biggest obstacle to 4K is the fact that so few homes have 4K sets, but Forrester said the trends are in the right direction: “Producers and broadcasters are making more and more content in 4K because they know it won’t be too long before 4K sets become affordable. In the meantime, 4K productions can be shown in cin-

emas and public places like shopping malls. It’s also worth stressing that 4K still looks good when shown on HD sets.”

MIPTV’s 4K Screenings showcased some impressive work from the likes of NHK, the BBC, FIFA, SPI International, Done & Dusted, Colossus Productions and St Thomas Productions. In each case, audiences were also given valuable insights from people at the cutting edge of the business.

Simon Craddock, CEO of facilities company Onsight, said 4K budgets are higher, but manageable, as long as you use the right production people: “It’s worth spending a bit more on getting the right crew because there are differences in approach between 4K and traditional production. If you get it wrong it will need to be corrected in post and that can push up the price.”

Leading 3D/4K director Julian Napier said filmmakers are still on a learning curve in terms of how the sharpness of 4K images can affect creative decision-making and budgets. “I think there are cost implications in terms of costume, make-up and lighting that still need to be worked through.”

At the Brands And Online Video Lunch: actor Ray Wise (left); Reed MIDEM’s Jerome Delhaye; Amber J Lawson, CEO of Comedy Speaks Back and managing partner of StoryTech; Orla Roche, digital director, Jameson Whiskey, Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard; and Patrick Jubb, former global marketing & communications director, Jaguar Land Rover

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13-16 April 2015

MIPDOC/MIPFORMATS 11-12 April 2015

SAVE THE DATE!

IN PICTURES Stars flew in to Cannes to introduce their latest works to the international marketplace. The MIPTV News photographers caught them on camera Ray Wise, star of innovative branded content project for Chipotle, Farmed And Dangerous, makes Marin Ireland, star of AMC Studios’ The Divide, his Cannes dance partner

Talent from AMC’s revolutionary war drama Turn visited Cannes with distributor Entertainment One, including actors Seth Numrich and Heather Lind, alongside executive producer Craig Silverstein

Actor, musician, comedian and YouTube star Chester See was in town with Maker Studios for MIP Digital Fronts

Paula Echevarria and Miguel Angel Silvestre, stars of drama series Velvet, which is set in an upmarket store in Madrid in the 1950s/1960s, were brought to Cannes by distributor Beta Film

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Christophe and Coralie Licata, dancers from France’s Danse Avec Les Stars, visited MIPTV to help BBC Worldwide celebrate the license of the Strictly Come Dancing format to PlanetTV in Slovenia, which brings the number of countries airing the show to 50

Starz’ gritty new drama Power was the MIPTV World Premiere TV Screening this year. The talent team behind the show lined up for the cameras in Cannes: show creator Courtney Kemp Agboh (left), actor Omari Hardwick, and executive producers Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson and Mark Canton

The team from Marc Dorcel face the press at MIPTV on the occasion of their 35th anniversary

David Hewlett stars in State Of Syn, Smokebomb’s award-winning transmedia storyworld set in the future where technology reigns

Kerry Bishe, star of AMC’s Halt And Catch Fire was brought to Cannes by distributor Entertainment One, along with executive producer Mark Johnson

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NEWS Rechtman showcases Maker

Studios’ new media megastars

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K VIDEO-games devotee Joseph Garrett used MIP Digital Fronts to announce the launch of an online kids’ education channel, which will be created with YouTube multi-channel network (MCN) Maker Studios.

The new channel will be an offshoot of Stampylonghead, his existing kids entertainment YouTube channel, based on the Minecraft video game and has more than 2.3 million subscribers.

Of the new venture, he said: “Minecraft has an open sandbox that you can create in and watch videos.

If you take that engagement and put it in the education space, the

young audience will relate to it.”

He and American musician and comedian Chester See were presented as two of the most talented performers that mainstream TV has never seen by Rene Rechtman, president of international at US-based Maker Studios.

During Rechtman’s MIP Digital Fronts presentation, MIPTV’s first international destination for the rapidly growing original online-video sector, he said the two aker t dios artists personified how on-screen entertainment has changed.

“We’re in a very special time right now. We’re democratising media,” he declared. “We’re one

MARK Shmulevich, Russia’s minister for telecommunications and IT (right, with Alexander Shulgin, founder of Rasia.com), paid his first visit to MIPTV to learn how his country’s IT sector can forge partnerships with the international media.

During a reception at the Russian Innovation Pavilion hosted

by Rasia.com, he said: “In five years’ time, media will not be possible without modern technology. I am here to understand the joint interests that media and IT have. I believe Russian IT companies in new media can provide cutting-edge technology on an international scale. This visit is the beginning of my ministry’s journey into this new arena.”

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of t e first companies to be at t e cross-section of technology and creativity. There’s a fundamental shift happening and we can’t ignore it. And we do it for 5% to 10% of the cost of traditional TV.” Referring to Chester See’s 1.5 million subscribers and more than 20 million monthly views, he said: “He’s come from nowhere; it was his peers who decided he deserved to be massive.”

Chester See himself said there will be no need for gatekeepers in the future. “Once you build an audience online, there is so much o can create for t em find it powerful to have that kind of engagement.”

Maker Studios’ Rene Rechtman

Edward Averdieck worked with Peter Gabriel to pioneer some of the early online-music ventures and is now CEO of CueSongs, the London-based online music-licensing service for digital video. The company recently won a “substantial grant” from the UK Technology Strategy Board, to further develop its CuePro platform and a planned YouTube channel called CueTube. In Cannes for the Digital Fronts marketplace, he told MIPTV News: “We want to create a level-playing field between those who work for major broadcasters and those who work in online TV. I am here at Digital Fronts to see those networks we are trying to reach.”

miptv

Keep your heads in the cloud, Microsoft tells media industry

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HE MEDIA industry has seen immense fragmentation, said Microsoft’s Thierry Picq, at the Embrace The Next Media Revolution With The Cloud Innovation Seminar at MIPCube: multiple channels, multiple devices, multiple formats; connected TVs, PCs, tablets and phones — there will be 10 billion new mobile connected devices by 2016.“How many of you develop all your content on each and every platform?” he asked.

Microsoft’s Thierry Picq

Google’s Chromecast ‘set to be game-changer for OTT video’ CHROMECAST is going to be

the game-changer for OTT video services, according to Ajey nand c ief commercial officer of Norigin Media, whose main product is an app giving content providers “true TV everywhere” capability.

Anand is at MIPCube to gain insight into the latest content trends and to talk to media companies about what technology can offer them. “It’s important to us to understand the content market,” he said. “To deliver content is why we exist.”

Norigin’s Hybrid Apps is designed to provide OTT content anywhere and on any device. Its content-library framework can be skinned and modified to meet an client s requirements for design, user interface and user experience, and handle VOD, SVOD, in-app purchasing and live streaming.

“We’re Scandinavian, so we have a design reputation to up-

According to Picq, the cloud can empower media companies to keep up with their consumers’ roving eyes and reach new audiences.

His Microsoft team offered case studies of its cloud services.

Blinkbox, a UK SVOD provider, uses the Azure service for reliable, scalable OTT, with all the content securely stored and encoded for immediate availability on any device. Storage is almost infinite allo ing it to go and double the space it uses with no capital investment in hardware.

The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics took advantage of the ex-

treme scalability for its live streaming: during the US v anada ice ocke semi final Microsoft successfully handled 2.1 million simultaneous viewers through Sochi2014.com.

Cloud services also work in disruptive media: Adictiz, creator of the popular SpaceDog game for iOS, Android and Facebook, uses cloud computing to gain new insights into its audience, measuring their interaction and trying to increase the conversion rate of free-to-paying gamers.

Mixotv, meanwhile, is aiming to replace linear TV with a viewing experience governed by a recommendation engine, which suggests content by analysing your social network activity. It has 100,000 iOS and Android users, and uses the cloud to classify and manage its content, then push it dynamically to devices.

Ajey Anand, chief commercial officer, Norigin Media

hold,” Anand said. Current clients include Orange in Spain and France, and Boxer TV Access in Sweden.

“They come to us because we provide an end-to-end solution,” he said. Although the biggest part was apps, that encompasses coding, hosting, managing and ecurity, as well as the live encoding of content in the cloud.

According to Anand, Google’s recently launched Chromecast device, which allows app-enabled wireless streaming from many devices to TV, will be the tipping point for consumer takeup of OTT video-on-demand and SVOD. “It’s Chromecast we’re really excited about,” he said.

Norigin was formerly part of the Schibsted media conglomerate, created in the early days of internet video. It has taken on its current form after a management buyout, to better allow it to serve its B2B clients.

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NEWS AFRICAN NEWS CHANNEL ON RISE FOR OBAIGBENA AFRICAN media entrepreneur, Nduka Obaigbena, is at MIPTV to promote his emerging 24-hour news and entertainment channel Arise News, which was launched in February 2013 to rival existing giants in the global market and “connect all the colours and shades of news around the globe.”

The international network has headquarters and bureaux throughout Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas, with main broadcast hubs in London, New York, Johannesburg and Lagos.

With over 500 world-class journalists and broadcasters, the channel’s aim is to reflect the experiences of under-served communities and champion the voices of the African diaspora across all continents.

Obaigbena described Arise News, which is broadcast on Sky, as being “unclouded by partisan political interest” with all coverage being “balanced, comprehensive and completely independent”.

Nduka Obaigbena is also chairman and editor-in-chief of sister channel Arise 360, an entertainment-based station featuring fashion, music, sports and pay-per-view movies, and owner and publisher of the global glossy style, fashion and culture magazine, Arise.

He is also the publisher of several other titles including one of Nigeria’s biggest and most influential daily newspapers, ThisDay.

China’s Zhejiang Province launches online showcase

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HE GOVERNMENT of China’s Zhejiang Province has launched an online platform to showcase the creative talent in the region.

Intended to overcome the cultural and geographical boundaries that could prevent the international market from accessing TV shows from Zhejiang, the site, Mega Media, provides potential buyers with detailed information about local production companies and their content.

The deputy director of the region’s commerce department is at MIPTV to promote the platform as part of the Zhejiang Pavilion. The pavilion includes a raft of local producers and distributors keen to sell formats to the market.

One of these, Zhejiang Huace Film & TV, has closed deals during MIPTV, which will see some 300 episodes of its drama content aired in Vietnam, Thailand and Georgia.

Speaking to MIPTV News, Weikang Hu, deputy director of the Zhejiang department of commerce, said that since the region was first represented at MIPTV in 2009 its content has evolved and integrated into the wider international market.

He said: ‘We are finding that as time goes on more and more deals are getting done at MIPTV. We have learnt that we have to define what our position is. Now we understand

Big sales for Africa’s Cote Ouest AFRICAN distributor Cote Ouest is celebrating after finding buyers for over 200 hours of its content.

It has sealed a deal with TV5 Afrique for Afrikatoon’s 3D animation Pokou Princesse Ashanti, the story of an 18th century princess, and reached a series of agreements with Multichoice group in South Africa.

Multichoice will broadcast Angolan producer Semba’s Emmynominated soap opera Windeck.

The 120-episode show, set in the Angolan capital Luanda, uncovers the cut-throat world of publishing by chronicling a saga of intrigue and ambition at Divo, a lifestyle magazine.

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Cote Ouest’s own production, Africa Zapping, a digest of weird and wonderful moments from TV shows in French-speaking

Weikang Hu, deputy director of the Zhejiang department of commerce: “more and more deals”

more about the market before making shows, rather than making them and bringing them to the market’.

Africa, has been picked up by more than 10 local and national stations throughout the continent.

Cote Ouest Audiovisual chairman and CEO Bernard Azria said: “We are really happy with the volume of content we have recently sold. The exceptional number of hours sold is reflective of the high quality of African content we can provide.”

‘We’re especially proud of the success we’ve had with programmes reaching a wider audience across Europe’.

Cote Ouest has offices in Morocco, the Ivory Coast, Mauritius and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Angolan soap opera Windeck

miptv

Keshet’s star set to rise in East on back of MIP format deals Keshet’s Rising Star sold to Asia

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ESHET International has secured format sales in Asia for its flagship talent shows, Rising Star and Master Class.

An initial 24 x 120 mins of interactive talent format Rising Star will be produced by Indonesia’s largest private broadcaster RCTI and aired in 2014. Kanti Mirdiati, managing director of RCTI, said: “This is a very interesting concept and a totally interactive format, where the audience at home decides who will stay and who will leave. We can’t wait to see how [successful] this programme will be.”

Rising Star, in which viewers vote in real-

time via a free TV app that is fully integrated into the show, has sold into 25 territories, including the US (ABC) and UK (ITV), since its launch at MIPCOM last year.

Children’s music talent show Master Class, meanwhile, has found a home in China on Jiangsu Satellite TV, with 12 x 90 mins due to broadcast later this year. A local version of the show is being co-developed by Keshet International and Beijing-based production company 3C Media. Xichen Liu, CEO of 3C Media, said: “We hope to establish a longterm relationship with Keshet in co-developing many future hit shows for China.”

Nordic World gets The Big Picture THE BIG Picture — the interactive Israeli ating officer and sales director, said The Big game-show format that has been generating Picture has been drawing comparisons this heat at MIPTV — has found itself interna- week with the grandfather of game shows, tional partners in the shape of Nordic World Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Indeed, and Boxatricks.

The distributor signed a letter of intent The Big Picture: set for global yesterday with A-Cappella (Media Con- roll-out by Nordic World tent Hub), which gives Nordic World the global distribution rights, excluding Israel and the US, to the trivia-based format.

Created by TV host Nimrod Harel, The Big Picture’s $1m English-language pilot, hosted by Andrew Gunsberg (Australian Idol), has helped whet the market’s appetite for the new multiplatform format, which is synchronised with social networks and uses the second screen to enable viewers at home to participate.

Jan Salling, Nordic World’s chief oper-

RARE DEALS FOR CHINA CHINESE producer Rare Media has completed two deals at MIPTV on a day organised to promote Beijing to the global television industry.

One of the deals will see Rare Media embark on a major co-production deal with French company Camera Lucida to make 4K documentary Moon for Planete+ and France Televisions. It will be aired in 2015.

Rare Media has also entered into an agreement with Doc & Film International to distribute its award-winning documentary Sacro Gra in China.

CELEBRITY chef Luke Nguyen is in Cannes with his new food travel show, Luke Nguyen’s France, in which he explores the historical relationship between Vietnamese and French cuisine. Produced by Red Lantern for SBS Australia, the 10-part show has since been sold to a string of international broadcasters, including UKTV’s Good Food Channel and Discovery Asia. A new Luke series, focusing on UK cuisine, will begin shooting in May this year.

Millionaire played a significant role in the deal, Salling added, since Nordic World’s first-look partnership with London-based format shop Boxatricks — run by the executive team behind Millionaire — was a key factor in A-Cappella’s decision to entrust their show to the distributor.

Salling said: “The Big Picture is a potential game-changer. It brings together all the elements of a global hit: baked-in audience participation, an unrivalled consulting team and Nordic World’s ability to give the show the best chance of a global roll-out.”

Einat Shamir, CEO of A-Cappella, added: “Live interaction in a pre-recorded show opens up endless possibilities for broadcasters craving must-see television. To take The Big Picture to the next level, we wanted to partner with people who share our vision. We found them in Boxatricks and Nordic World.”

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miptv

NEWS ASIA DEAL LINKS UP MA CHAINE

MCS TV’s Nicolas Rotkoff

SATELLITE broadcaster MCS TV and Eutelsat have signed a partnership agreement to deliver the channel Ma Chaine Sport Inter on satellite E70B to the Asian region. Alongside that, all four MCS sport channels are now available in Switzerland, following an agreement between MCS TV with Net + and Swiss XDLS operator Wilmaa.

“All our channels are all available in HD so that our viewers can enjoy sport in exceptional quality,” Nicolas Rotkoff CEO of MCS TV, said. “Our ambition is to make exclusive new programmes accessible to as many people as possible and for our viewers around the world to experience new things thanks to the depth, originality and innovatory nature of our programming.

BBC finds ZDF a natural partner for wildlife epic

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HE BBC is embarking on a joint project with German public service broadcaster ZDF to produce a new natural history show.

The partners, who have previously collaborated on the highly acclaimed show Frozen Planet, will co-produce the six-part One Planet series for the BBC’s Natural History Unit.

One Planet will feature some of the world’s most dramatic natural settings and uncover the secrets of the wildlife that lives there. It will bring in new technology and techniques to give viewers a striking journey across the natural world.

BBC Worldwide’s director for German-speaking Europe, Isabelle Helle, said: “ZDF’s continued commitment to the most

ZDF’s Peter Arens with BBC Worldwide’s Isabelle Helle

ambitious productions from the BBC’s Natural History Unit demonstrates the shared values we have and the dedication that both BBC and ZDF have to making theses amazing projects happen.

“These shows have such universal appeal and with the involve-

JOHN De Mol’s Talpa Media Group celebrated the success of its new reality format, Utopia, with a MIPTV party, which included a live performance by top Dutch singer Miss Montreal, who had number-one success in the Netherlands earlier this year with the show’s title song.

TELEMUNDO SHOWCASE NEW PRODUCTIONS showcased to buyers at MIPTV from Telemundo Internacional include: Part Of Me, the story of two women who share the same supernatural tragic fate, starring Maria Elisa Camargo, Laura Flores, Vanessa Villela, Jorge Luis Pila and David Chocarro; Camelia La Texana, starring Sara Maldonado, Erik Hayser and Dagoberto Gama, which follows a woman wronged by the man she loves; and The Impostor, a love story set in Acapulco, starring Christian Bach, Sebastian Zurita and Lisette Morelos. Telemundo is the Spanish-language network owned by NBCUniversal.

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ment of ZDF we are able to bring it to the worldwide audience it deserves”.

One Planet is currently in production, led by Emmy awardwinning producer Vanessa Berlowitz. It is set for completion in 2016.

Russian cop drama sniffs success THE SNIFFER, Russia’s highestrated TV series of 2013, continues to generate buzz, being named as a Fresh TV 2014 one-to-watch by

The Sniffer (Film.UA Distribution)

The Wit’s Virginia Mouseler.

Film.UA Distribution’s highoctane drama about a detective with an acute sense of smell was sold to France in the run-up to MIPTV. In December, seven million viewers tuned in to watch the premier on Channel One Russia, and it has performed equally well in Ukraine, Israel, Kazakhstan, Belarus and the Baltic territories.

It also attracted more than 500,000 views in just six weeks on online video portal now.ru —

a comparable result to a studio blockbuster.

Series two of The Sniffer, which is also available as a scripted format, is now in production and will air on Channel One Russia in the third quarter.

“The Sniffer is the most successful product we have produced,” Igor Storchak, CEO of Film.UA, said. “The story is both special and simple, and we believe it will find success with local producers in Europe and North America.”

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MIP DIGITAL FRONTS THE NEW INTERNATIONAL SCREENINGS FOR ORIGINAL ONLINE VIDEO

Wednesday 9 April

FOUNDING PARTNERS SHOWCASE

10.15-11.00

Grand Auditorium, Palais 1

The Young Turks (Youtube.com/theyoungturks)

Featuring Talent: Ana Kasparian, Host and Producer, The Young Turks, USA @AnaKasparian

JacksGap

Featuring Talent: Finn & Jack Harries Directors, Digital Native Studios, UK @jacksgap @Finnharries

Rhett & Link

Featuring Talent: Rhett Mclaughlin & Link Neal, Rhett & Link Inc., USA @rhettandlink

Golden Moustache

Michael Stevens Creator of VSauce

Featuring Talent: Adrien Labastire, Deputy General Manager Golden Moustache M6, France

11.10-11.55

Grand Auditorium, Palais 1 Leah McFall

Stampy Cat

René Rechtman President International, Maker Studios

14.45-15.25

Grand Auditorium, Palais 1 David Carlier, Action and Adventure Sports Specialist, Communications Director, Freeride World Tour

Julien Thierry, CEO, Eclypsia

Marawa The Amazing, World Conquering Hoola Hoop Master

12.05-12.50 Shane Smith Founder & CEO VICE

Andrew Creighton President VICE

Grand Auditorium, Palais 1

Eddy Moretti Chief Creative Officer VICE

>> “Farmed & Dangerous” by CHIPOTLE & PIRO

15.30-16.00 • Grand Auditorium, Palais 1 Presented by actor Ray Wise and series creators: Chipotle’s CMO Mark Crumpacker, Piro’s Writer/director Tim Piper and Writer/Executive Producer Daniel Rosenberg.

Wednesday 9 April

Thursday 10 April

DIGITAL STUDIOS SHOWCASE 16.15-17.30 Grand Auditorium, Palais 1 THE BEST OF FRESH ONLINE ORIGINALS ON YOUTUBE

Top digital studios from across the planet will each take the stage to present their best online originals across every genre.

Surf the best web video and learn about the most successful trends and talent online.

10.15-10.45

MIPCube Agora, Palais -1

11.00-11.30

MIPCube Agora, Palais -1

11.40-12.10

MIPCube Agora, Palais -1 Full programme available on miptv.com

miptv

NEWS ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE FOR SWEDEN PARADISE Hotel, the global reality format distributed by Passion, will be produced for a sixth season in Sweden following a new agreement signed at MIPTV. With over 2,000 episodes produced in more than a dozen territories, Paradise Hotel is one of Passion’s most popular formats.

Originally produced by Mentorn Media for Fox and My Network, the show sees 11 single people check into a luxury hotel in paradise, where their every move is captured on a rig of fixed cameras.

The format has had long-running success in several territories, including Denmark (10 seasons) and Norway (6 seasons), both currently airing. With this latest deal in Sweden, Paradise Hotel has been on-air in the territory for the past nine years and is still proving to be a hit.

Produced by Mastiff, the latest season will air on Modern Times Group’s TV3 later this year. “The Paradise Hotel format continues to be successful 10 years after its launch,” Hana Palmer, Passion’s head of sales (formats and scripted), said.

Major content deal fuelled by growth in China and Thailand

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TV STUDIOS Global Entertainment (ITVS GE) has sold more than 500 hours of content to digital platforms and TV broadcasters across China and Thailand.

Deals include a multi-year drama output deal with internet services

provider Tencent. The agreement will see ITVS GE provide over 100 hours annually of titles such as Dancing On The Edge, Endeavour, Murdoch Mysteries and Miranda.

Still in China, VOD service Sohu has acquired US drama Rectify,

ITVS GE’s Endeavour

while Shanghai Media Group has committed to 120 hours of programming a year for International Channel Shanghai. Titles include Hell’s Kitchen USA, 60 Minute Makeover UK and Dancing On Ice UK. As for Thailand, ITVS GE has closed a deal with pay-TV broadcaster Next Step for 300 hours of factual and nature programming.

This includes titles such as Too Cute!, Desert Seas and Big, Bigger, Biggest.

Commenting on the deals, Hyeonza Hong, senior vice-president sales, Asia, ITVS GE, said: “ITVS GE’s portfolio offers a wide breadth of programming that fulfils the increased demand for quality content from the growing number of digital and pay-TV providers in China in particular.”

PROJECT-M, a 90-minute HD feature film about three astronauts who find themselves orbiting the earth with no way of getting home after a mission fails, is headed for Japan thanks to a deal between HG Distribution and New Select Co. The Les Productions Babel film, available in French and English, will be distributed across Japan by New Select Co’s Shoko Otsuyama O’Connell, pictured here (left) with HG Distribution’s Henry Gagnon

WDR boards First Hand’s Fonko

Paradise Hotel (Passion)

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FIRST Hand Films has brokered a co-production deal with German broadcaster WDR for the feature-length version of the new music documentary film Fonko, directed by Goran Olsson.

“Fonko presents modern Africa in a completely new way. This film is not about hunger, droughts or civil war, as often presented in mainstream media. Instead, Fonko shows a continent on the move which expresses itself in a vibrant, globalised music scene that is setting the tone interna-

Fonko (First Hand Films)

tionally, and influencing musicians and producers worldwide,” Jutta Krug, commissioning editor, WDR, said.

“Having WDR on board is significant, and Jutta’s schedule slot is one of the few left on the continent where genuinely accessible and ambitious docs can be seen in feature length,” Esther van Messel, CEO, First Hand Films, added. Germany’s WDR joins Sweden’s SVT as co-producers.

SBS has also bought the series version of the documentary.

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REAL DISCUSSION REAL TIME Live coverage: 5 - 10 April

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Conference reports, video interviews and more

Official tweets via @mip

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follow the action via #MIPTV, #MIPCube, #MIPDoc & #MIPFormats

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full conference videos and star interviews

Download the official MIPTV app: http://bit.ly/mip_app

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NEWS Melberries helps firms make the most of digital platforms

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A R IS-based multichannel network (MCN) Melberries is at MIPTV this week, seeking to help international content creators make money out of leading digital platforms including YouTube and Dailymotion.

Recently acquired by leading French digital firm Webedia, Melberries works across genres like movies, comedy, games and music. “But we don’t just upload client content on to digital platforms,” said director-general Claire Lagarde. “We also protect

their content from piracy, show them how to create a channel and link content to advertisers. This is a big opportunity because advertisers want to be in digital.”

Melberries head of TV content ucile Carricaburu said the first job the company often does is to

Melberries’ Claire Lagarde (left) and Lucile Carricaburu

take down client-owned content that has already been posted on the internet without permission.

“Clients are sometimes not aware that their content has already been pirated and that someone else is monetising it through their own channels. That is a problem because they are losing money and also because their content might be on a platform that has a bad image.”

Internet channels can take many forms, said Carricaburu, ranging from broad genre-based channels to channels based around a single show or culturally-distinct content (Melberries, for example, has worked with a Senegalese channel that caters for the Senegalese diaspora). “It’s how the client wants to organise their content, though we will advise them on the way to achieve the best audience ad revenue.”

Being part of a major player like Webedia is a strategic advantage over rival MCNs, said Lagarde.

“Advantages we have include an in-house ad sales team, a strong research department and the ability to produce elements for our clients’ channels to make it more interesting to audiences,” she said. “We are also YouTubecertified which is an important element which clients should always look for.”

Collective has eyes on the bigger screen COLLECTIVE Digital Studio’s senior vice-president of strategy and sales Paul Kontonis is using MIPTV’s new dedicated digital content marketplace MIP Digital Fronts to license the LAbased company’s catalogue to broadcasters and other distribution platforms. He is seeking to adapt made-for-YouTube content for TV. “Collective Digital Studios is the multi-channel network that has the deepest experience extending leading YouTube content brands to TV, which means we are primarily focused on selling our programmes,” Kon-

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tonis said.

According to Kontonis, an event like MIP Digital Fronts is crucial for making deals happen in the increasingly complicated world of digital content production.

“Unlike TV, digital content is always on and always producing for an unlimited number of channels and (distribution) options; that means it can be bought and launched whenever the time is right.

“The focus on a marketplace environment is a legacy event to help transition the archaic TV buying infrastructure to digital content,” added Kontonis.

Collective Digital Studio’s Paul Kontonis

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AT YOUR SERVICE

Make the most of the show through the wide range of services and clubs available.

7-10 April 2014, Cannes - France

miptv.com

Participants’ Club

Buyers’ Club

PALAIS -1, AISLE E

PALAIS -1, AISLE C

Open to all participants attending MIPTV without a stand.

Concierge Services PALAIS 0 Providing free service to help with restaurant and taxi bookings, flights and helicopter tours, shuttles, spa reservations, tourist information, and more.

Free WIFI is available throughout the MIPTV Network: Palais des Festivals Wifi This service, designed for light usage, is for one device at a time, per person.

If you require a customised Wi-Fi service, contact our supplier via miptv.viapass.com or at the desk at PALAIS -1.

• Meeting area • Free coffee service • Telephone charging stations • Message system Meet the MIPTV team and have all your questions answered.

If it’s your first MIPTV, why not join them for morning coffee?

In association with Technicolor Digital Productions Reserved for programme purchasing executives • Lounge • Complimentary bar • Message system

Gold Business Lounge

Business Centre

PALAIS 1

PALAIS -1, AISLE H

Complimentary and personalised business services for members of the Customer Recognition Programme.

A complete range of secretarial and administrative services including photocopying, word processing, printing and faxing at competitive rates

• Private lounge • International press • PC & Internet access • Refreshments • Specialised staff

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NEWS ARMOZA FORMATS DOES THAILAND A FAVOR ARMOZA Formats’ Do Me A Favor has been licensed by Thai production company Zense Entertainment, which will produce a full season of the cheeky street game show for an as-yet undisclosed broadcaster.

The 60-minute format — jointly developed by Telefe and Armoza, and produced by Telefe in Argentina — tests how far complete strangers will go to help each other out. “We are often placed in the situation where we need to rely on strangers for small favours,” said Armoza Formats’ CEO, Avi Armoza, explaining the concept.

“Do Me A Favor takes this to the extreme and it makes for extremely fun and humorous viewing.”

Sorayuth Sagrikananda, Zense’s foreign relations manager said he hoped Do Me A Favor marked the start of long-term relationship between the two companies. “At Zense, we believe in the importance of international content,” he added, paying tribute to both Israel and Armoza Formats for “giving so many great and diverse TV formats to viewers around the world”.

Do Me A Favor was created by Itay Herman and Oded Kramer, the Israeli format devisors behind Catch and Still Standing.

Seven territories in the picture for high-end Van Gogh drama

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NDEMOL Nederland and film sales company Dutch Features Global Entertainment have signed seven licensing agreements to broadcast the four-part drama series Van Gogh: A

Home For Vincent in South Korea, Yugoslavia, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Lithuania and Taiwan. The series, originally broadcast by the EO channel in early 2013, captured over a million viewers weekly.

Pim van Collem, president of Dutch Features, said the Van Gogh series is “much bigger than anticipated”. He is especially pleased about the deal with South Korean distributor Sight and Sound, which will see the drama series screened in digital movie theatres as a 100-minute film entitled The Van Gogh Legacy.

“We don’t realise how iconic Van Gogh is in Asia,” Van Collem said. “Asian tourists come specifically to see the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. This was shot like a film production with an exceptionally high budget and all the locations we used were true to life. We now want to focus on filming stories about the highprofile Dutch names that make our small country big.”

Van Gogh: A Home For Vincent tells the story of the Netherlands’ famous painter, who is played by Barry Atsma (Stricken; The Storm; Loft), from the perspective of his nephew and only heir, Vincent William, played by Jeroen Krabbe (The Fugitive; The Living Daylights). Van Gogh’s tortured life — his failure in love, his mounting psychological problems and his doomed friendship with Paul Gauguin — haunts Vincent William, as he struggles with the burden of his legacy.

Dutch Features Global Entertainment’s Pim van Collem: “We don’t realise how iconic Van Gogh is in Asia”

Armoza’s Do Me A Favor: Thai commission

Iron Fist leads Global Screen charge GERMAN distributor Global Screen has signed MIPTV deals for a slew of new and upcoming programmes, as well as several classics from its distribution portfolio.

Iron Fist, an action-packed story about Germany’s most famous knight, has generated interest from buyers in Spain, Italy, France, the UK and Eastern Europe.

The new RTL series Doctor Behind Bars has also attracted attention from international buyers. And mini-series Pinocchio has continued its successful run, with further sales to Norway and Portugal. Canal+ has also ac-

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quired the pay-TV rights to Pinocchio, with SevenSept signing up for home-video and VOD. Telenovela Storm Of Love has been sold to Italy, Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic and Poland.

Documentary deals include Conquest Of The Seven Seas, which has sold to RAI in Italy, TV Prima in the Czech Republic and STV in Slovakia.

On the format front, Russia has taken Welcome To Nowhere, Doc! and Greece has acquried Crazy About Love.

Global Screen’s Iron Fist: deals in Spain, Italy, France, the UK and Eastern Europe

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