Miptv 2016 the nordics

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MARCH 2016

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CONTENTS

The search for the next big thing

4

The global market has a passion for Nordic drama

Perfect partnerships

14

Doing business with the Nordics

Facing the facts

22

The region boasts talented factual filmmakers

The Nordics by numbers

28

A statistical overview

The Nordics like the small screen too 30

THE NORDICS

Nordic MCNs are at the forefront of innovation

Here’s the latest news…

33

Newspapers are morphing into online TV

Dealing with digital disruption

35

Lawyer Henrik Bergstrom reviews coming issues

Who wants to be a charitable millionaire?

37

Postcode Lottery mixes charity and brands with content

The challenge: how to make a profit 38 Q&A with Missing Link Media’s Jan Salling

THE NORDICS – March 2016 – MIPTV Preview Supplement Director of Publications Paul Zilk Director of Communication Mike Williams EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Editor in Chief Julian Newby Deputy Editor Debbie Lincoln Sub Editor Joanna Stephens Contributors Andy Fry, Juliana Koranteng Editorial Management Boutique Editions Technical Editor in Chief Hervé Traisnel Deputy Technical Editor in Chief Frédéric Beauseigneur Graphic Designer Carole Peres PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT Publishing Director Martin Screpel Publishing Manager Amrane Lamiri Publishing Co-ordinator Yovana Filipovic Production Assistant, Cannes Office Eric Laurent Printer Riccobono Imprimeurs, Le Muy (France) 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 © 2016, Reed MIDEM Market Publications. Publication registered 1st quarter 2016. Printed on PEFC Certified Paper.

THE NORDICS • MARCH 2016

THE NORDICS NORDIC DRAMA

The search for the next big thing Red Arrow’s 100 Code

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Is the international market’s passion for Nordic dramas just a passing fad?

According to Andy Fry the answer is no

T

HERE are probably some people in the TV business who thought the international market’s interest in Nordic drama would be a fleeting phase. But the region that gave us titles like Wallander, Millennium, The Bridge and The Killing continues to have a major influence

on the scripted TV global market.

In terms of Nordic Noir crime series, this is evident in the recent success of series such as Eye Witness, Black Widows, Trapped, Modus and The Bridge — now in its third season and as popular as ever.

Sales at MIPCOM showed that while Nordic Noir is popular worldwide, the diversification of Nordic drama has reinforced its appeal to international buyers.

A big new drama for broadcaster SBS Discovery is Endemol Sweden’s Gasmamman, directed by Richard Holm and distributed

All of our dramas work at two levels – the plot and the character development THE NORDICS • MARCH 2016

Piv Bernth

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by Endemol Shine International. A co-production with Endemol Discovery Networks Sweden and C More Entertainment, the 8 x 44 mins series follows the story of Sonja Ek who is living a peaceful suburban life with her husband and three children. One day everything changes and she finds herself involved in organised crime as a means of protecting her children.

DR Sales reported a lot of interest in Follow The Money, which sold to Israel, the UK, Benelux and Australia among others.

TV2 Denmark crime series Norskov, also distributed by DR Sales, sold to Poland and Germany (with ARTE already on board as a pre-buyer). Outside crime, DR’s The Legacy sold to ARTE and TV New Zealand while fantasy series Heartless went to France Televisions. Borgen, already widely distributed around the world, sold to Mongolia.

ZDF Enterprises (ZDFE) achieved a number of sales at MIPCOM for The Bridge Season 3 and The Fourth Man. It also did a multi-title deal with UK-based on-demand foreign-language drama service Walter Presents. This included three Scandinavian series The Team, Blue Eyes and Thicker Than Water.

MIPCOM was also a good market for Dynamic Television, which represents Baltasar Komakur’s Trapped. In addition to deals mentioned in the main story the show was picked up in China and Japan. Plans for a second season are under discussion.

MIPCOM also saw FremantleMedia International commence sales on Modus, an adaptation of the popular Anne Holt books.

First to pounce was ZDF, which pre-bought the show. The sales effort on this series will continue in Cannes this April.

Recent hits including Borgen (politics), Jordskott (supernatural), Occupied (espionage), Real Humans (sci-fi), Rita (comedy) Thicker Than Water (family) and 1864 (period) prove there is more to Nordic creativity than depressed cops and deranged serial killers.

Piv Bernth, the head of drama at Denmark’s pioneering public broadcaster DR, says the Nordic Noir label has never really reflected

Miso Film’s Acquitted the range of output that her division supports: “After The Killing came our political drama Borgen and our family drama The Legacy. Now we are rolling out the financial crime series Follow The Money. And coming in 2017 is Rides On The Storm, which is an exploration of faith in modern society.”

Bernth attributes the ability to work across so many different areas to two key factors that sit at the heart of DR’s development process. “The first is that we put the writer at the very centre of what we do. So we are driven by themes that they are passionate about — not by commercial considerations.

That’s what gives the shows their authenticity. The second is that all of our dramas work at two levels — the plot and the character development. We spend a lot of time working on the characters’ journeys and that appeals to the TV audience.”

This emphasis on rich characterisation and innovative storytelling is endorsed by other

Red Arrow International’s psycho-thriller Case

The Scandinavian style has influenced the storytelling and visual concepts of other countries THE NORDICS • MARCH 2016

Tasja Abel

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THE NORDICS It’s about staying true to our roots but also reaching out to the new audiences available on TV

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leading players in the region. Berna Levin, chief creative officer of Swedish producer Yellow Bird, says her company — which has adapted Millennium, Wallander, Annika Bengtzon and Irene Huss for the screen — has no intention of turning its back on Nordic Noir because “crime pays”. But it has worked successfully with author Jo Nesbo on Occupied, an ambitious political thriller that imagines a scenario in which Russia invades Norway over an oil dispute. “Jo Nesbo is incredibly smart and in tune with what is happening. So it was great to work with him on something so current.”

Going forward, she says the company aims to balance its commitment to Nordic Noir with “dramas that have their roots in adjacent genres — political thrillers, psychological thrillers, sci-fi, urban legend… it’s about staying true to our roots but also reaching out to the new audiences available on TV.” Miso Films co-founder Jonas Allen outlines a similar sentiment at his company, which produces hit dramas across Sweden, Norway and Denmark, recent examples being Dicte, Modus and Acquitted. “We trust writers and give them time during the development process. We have found that really pays off. Both Acquitted and Modus are examples where the writers came to us with very strong visions of how the shows should look.”

Acquitted, which became TV2 Norway’s biggest ever drama launch earlier this year, is a classic example of how Miso has moved the Nordic Noir genre on: “It’s about a man who was accused of a murder and acquitted but then returns to his home town after a lot of years away. It’s about redemption.” In Modus, he adds, the writers exhibit a similar preoccupation with the human condition.

“There is a crime, but just as important is the human drama, which is why a local story can be universal. It’s not so much a whodunnit as a whydunnit.”

Next up for Miso is a series called Warrior, says Allen, “a mini-series about a soldier returning from the war. He has never lived an ordinary life and misses the male bonding.

So he becomes connected to a biker gang.

Berna Levin

Eyewitness, picked up for adaptation

by USA Network in the US

They are involved with criminal activities but for him it is about belonging to a group.”

Distributor DRG is owned by Modern Times Group and, as such, has a growing slate of Nordic shows on its portfolio. Noel Hedges, executive vice-president, content, at DRG, tells a similar story to his peers. In terms of crime series with an unusual twist, he points to Eyewitness, a Norwegian drama that has been sold in its completed form to around 18 territories and also been picked up for adaptation by USA Network in the US. “In this case, the story centres on two boys having a clandestine gay affair who witness a crime. So the story becomes as much about their desire not to be revealed as the solving of the crime.”

Beyond Nordic Noir, DRG has a new series coming up called Nobel. This, says Hedges, is “a political thriller that revolves around a soldier returning from Afghanistan and a cover-up in the selection of the Nobel Prize. It’s an example of how we are expanding beyond crime but keeping the strong storylines.”

The continued success of Nordic dramas has led to closer integration with the international market. Instead of just selling completed shows or formats, the region’s lead-

THE NORDICS • MARCH 2016

ing companies are becoming plugged into the international community’s production and development dialogue. For instance, Yellow Bird is part of international producer/distributor Zodiak Entertainment and worked with French/German network ARTE on Occupied. “ARTE was a really good partner,” says Levin, “they really wanted Occupied to be a true co-production”.

Another project that shows how pivotal the Nordic region has become to co-produced drama is ambitious Icelandic drama Trapped.

Based on an idea by Baltasar Kormakur (Everest), it centres on a troubled cop investigating a grisly murder when his small Icelandic town is hit by a blizzard, trapping locals and the killer in the town. In addition to being licensed across the Nordic region, rights have been acquired by the BBC, ZDF and France TV in Europe and The Weinstein Company in the US. Miso, meanwhile, is part of FremantleMedia’s network of international producers. As a result, says Allen, “we are talking to other companies in the group like UFA in Germany. We see potential to pool ideas and make scripted shows in English.”

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SEASON II

Genre Drama series — Production Year 2015-2016 — The Main Cast Thomas Bo Larsen Natalie Madueño Esben Smed David Dencik Sonja Richter — Creator Jeppe Gjervig Gram — Episode Writers Anders August Jannik Tai Mosholt Christian Gamst Miller-Harris Episode Directors Kaspar Munk Mads Kamp Thulstrup Søren Balle — Producer Anders Toft Andersen — Head of Drama Piv Bernth — Coproducers SVT, NRK, Svenska YLE — Supported by Nordvision — Production Company DR — Artwork Benny Box — Duration 10 x 58.30

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THE NORDICS Having previously adapted Wallander into English for the BBC, Yellow Bird is also looking at more English-language projects. It’s a similar story at SAM Productions, a Denmark-based indie that has backing from StudioCanal. SAM was formed by Adam Price, the creator of Borgen; Soren Sveistrup, the creator of The Killing; and Meta Louise Foldager, a producer who has worked in the past with Lars Von Trier. Price is currently hard at work on his latest series Rides On The Storm, destined for DR’s schedule in 2017. But he says SAM also has numerous projects on its development slate — thanks to StudioCanal’s support. “I’d say we have around 20-25 projects in various stages of development. Some are for the Danish market but we set out to be an international company from the beginning. We’ve been talking to a lot of US and UK companies and hope to have news on an English-language production later in the year.”

Explaining the durability of the Nordic drama wave, Levin and Price say it is built on deep foundations. From a Swedish perspective, Levin says the international success of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy (itself the product of a strong publishing industry) helped draw attention to the region’s storytelling.

From a Danish perspective, Price points to a deliberate strategy on the part of DR to learn from the rest of the world. “25 years ago, Danish drama wasn’t very good. But DR sent a team to the US and worked out how to apply their successful writing/production model to the Danish context.”

Other factors that have played into this are the strong links between the cinematic and TV traditions (which has given Nordic drama its distinctive look) and “the surprise factor that Scandinavian societies weren’t as perfect as everyone thought,” says Levin.

“That intrigued international audiences.”

BBC4 in the UK and SVOD platforms in-

Gasmamman (Endemol Shine International)

10

THE NORDICS • MARCH 2016

cluding Netflix and, latterly, Walter Presents have played a key role in enabling audiences around the world to sample Nordic drama.

But more important than either, perhaps, has been German financial support, since this allowed Nordic-based producers to put more money on screen and catch the attention of international buyers. Red Arrow International, for example, backed Lilyhammer, 100 Code and is now on board Icelandic psycho-thriller Case. Commenting on this latest pick-up, Red Arrow International managing director Henrik Pabst says: “Case comes from the tradition of Scandi crime shows, but the Reykjavik setting in a small, closed community puts an exciting twist on the genre.”

Germany’s ZDF Enterprises deserves a mention, because it was one of the first to identify Nordic drama’s export potential. “For ZDFE, it all started with the first Wallanders and Beck,” says Tasja Abel, vice-president, drama, at ZDFE. “ZDF and ZDFE committed to a joint investment. It turned out after the first investment that our audience was as fond of Nordic Noir series as Nordic Noir books. So ZDF has stuck with the genre and ZDFE has distributed Nordic Noir very successfully. More recently, ZDF has got involved in many co-pros for the Sunday 22.00 slot.”

Aside from Wallander and Beck, other titles that ZDFE has been involved with include The Killing, Arne Dahl, The Protectors, Millennium, The Bridge, The Sandhamn Murders and the upcoming SVT co-production Before We Die. Explaining the appeal of Nordic shows, Abel sums it up perfectly: “Great talent, very professional, intensive development and fantastic teams: probably also the hybrid landscape of TV and feature films, where it has never been unattractive for big talents to get involved in TV shows.

And original, innovative stories as well as a strong pool of great novels as potential source material.”

Indeed, the Nordic influence is so strong that it is starting to work its way into the DNA of shows from other parts of the world, says Abel. “We see an exchange of talent — Scandinavian writers and directors working on UK shows — Hans Rosenfeldt on Marcella, Simon Kaijser on Life In Squares for example. We also think the Scandinavian style has influenced the storytelling and visual concepts of other European shows and countries.”

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THE NORDICS

All eyes on the Nordics

12 Black Widows, by Finnish producer Mosquito, now being remade by Modern Times Group

Andy Fry highlights some of the new titles that will serve to keep the world’s attention on drama from the Nordic territories Before We Die is a new 10-part drama written by Niklas Rockstrom (Thicker Than Water) and Wilhelm Behrman. It focuses on a policewoman in Stockholm whose son just served a two-year prison sentence for drug possession. Scheduled to air on SVT1 in 2017, international sales will be handled

by ZDFE. Susanne Muller, ZDFE head of acquisitions and co-production, said: “We are convinced by the concept, the promising actors and world-class scripts. We look forward to helping the TV series reach TV audiences.”

Splitting Up Together is a new comedy for TV2 Denmark from Mette Heeno (Park Life). It is described as a “take on modern-day lifestyles and relationships” in

which a seemingly happily married couple decided to get divorced to spice up their lives. But their house proves impossible to sell, so they decide to stay together until the market turns and focus on achieving a happy divorce. The show is distributed internationally by DR Sales.

Prisoners is the latest in a run of high-profile shows from Iceland. It tells the story of Linda, who is sent to serve time in Iceland’s only women’s prison for a vicious assault that leaves her father in a coma.

No one knows that she harbours a dark secret that could tear her family apart, but also secure her freedom. The show is being distributed by Global Screen and has been pre-sold to DR, NRK, SVT, YLE and Canal+ Poland.

Black Widows is the story of three women who come together with a plot to kill their husbands. It was originally made by Finnish producer Mosquito and has had some success as a format (CBS in the US picked it up). Interestingly, it is now being

DESTINATION THE NORDICS ISRAEL • MARCH • APRIL 2016 2014

remade by Modern Times Group for use across its networks in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. The new bigger budget version will have a higher profile cast and is expected to have better sales potential outside the region, says distributor DRG. Rides On The Storm explores faith in modern society by focusing on the life and family of a protestant priest in a changing world. With two series commissioned at once by DR it is due to launch in autumn 2017 (which also happened to be the 500th anniversary of Protestantism). The show is from SAM’s Adam Price, whose previous credits include Borgen.

The Devil’s Sanctuary is a new series from Yellow Bird that is currently in development. Based on the book by Marie Hermanson, it is a psychological thriller centring on estranged twins Daniel and Max. Daniel finds himself unwittingly trapped in a Swiss clinic that turns out to be a living nightmare. The plan is for the production to be shot in English.

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THE NORDICS DOING BUSINESS WITH THE NORDICS

Perfect partnerships The Nordic countries are inhabited by forward-thinking, straight-talking, liberalminded people and make for perfect partnerships. At least that’s the stereotypical image held by many outsiders. But, asks Julian Newby, what’s the truth?

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ANADA has always made more noise than a country of just 35 million might have done. Bordering on the US — which has dominated the filmed entertainment business from the start — and sharing a language with that country, Canada could have kept its head down and relied on reflected glory from the other side of the border.

But instead it showed ingenuity, establishing co-production treaties with countries all over the world and against all odds there emerged a film and television industry that is distinctly Canadian, which has protected its culture and made some money at the same time.

Its industry has always enjoyed numerous forms of state backing too, another key element that has enabled the country to punch

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The Danish version of Red Arrow’s Married At First Sight, which also has local productions in Finland, Norway, Sweden and over 23 versions worldwide

THE NORDICS • MARCH 2016

above its weight.

All of that can be applied to the Nordic territories. Sitting at the northern tip of the massive European landmass, the combined creative output of Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland — together representing a population of just 26 million — has made a huge impression internationally, from Henrik Ibsen to Henning Mankell and beyond. Then

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there’s an industriousness that has given Nokia, Statoil, Electrolux and Carlsberg to the world. And so you have a region whose output and status far outstrips its population or geographical position. Add to all of that the fact that a large proportion of those 26 million people speak or understand English and you have a region that is receptive as a partner and as a buyer of content from many parts of the world.

London- and New York-based producer-distributor DLT Entertainment is currently partnering with Swedish distributor Eccho Rights Finnish production company Yellow the drama series Nurses (Syke). The company struck a format deal with Swedish distributor Eccho Rights for the rights to the show, which was originally produced by the indie for YLE TV2. DLT, producer of worldwide hit comedy My Family has been in discussions with UK broadcasters about the show.

Nurses is the first drama series to come out of the company since DLT took on Margaret Enfer, former head of drama at SVT. Enfer says she hopes this will mark “the start of a long running professional relationship” with Eccho Rights. “I think that the talent base we’ve tapped into in the region is very impressive,” she says. “The dramas that I’m

Caroline Beaton

looking at have a very distinctive northern European tone, but that tone travels extremely well. It’s accessible because the story-telling is very strong and the characters are recognisable and truthful. “She adds: “There’s a generosity of spirit from the programme makers that really helps us get under the skin of the programmes they are making and that’s incredibly helpful. Writer Susan Oudot and I spent a lot of time in Helsinki with head of international strategy Milla Bruneau and her team at Yellow who brought us into the world they had created and were as honest about the things they would change as they were about the things that worked. The creative exchange was really quite refreshing.”

Enfer believes that the industry in the Nordic region “is getting more ‘literate’ in that it is taking what is distinctive and unique about its own material and adapting that to enable the programmes to be seen out of their home countries. There seems to be a real willingness to find ways of working internationally and a genuine desire to do that. Creatively it feels like a very rich part of the world. Historically there hasn’t been the space or the money to let shows run and run so the writers and producers have had to constantly come up with new ideas. I think that’s healthy and bodes well for the industry

I think that the talent base we’ve tapped into in the region is very impressive THE NORDICS • MARCH 2016

Caroline Stephenson

itself and those working with producers in the Nordic region.”

“We see a lot of similarities between the Nordic territories and Keshet’s home country of Israel,” says Nelly Feld, sales director at Keshet International. ”The Scandinavian countries are relatively small with a relatively small viewing audience, yet they are very difficult to please due to the population’s diversity — which is exactly the case in Israel.”

She adds: “Another similarity we see is the high level of creativity in the Scandinavian region and the disproportionately large amount of formats that are created, produced and exported from there. The Nordic region seems to prefer its own content over imports. For that reason it’s predominantly very long-standing brands, with track-records over a number of years and a lot of territories, that eventually make it into the territory from the rest of the world.”

As vice-president of sales for Zodiak Rights, the London based distribution arm of Zodiak Media,” Ole Steen Stolberg bases himself at the Denmark offices of Zodiak’s production company Mastiff in order to be close to his clients in the Nordic territories.

The company has a strong presence in the region with production companies Jarowskij

Margaret Enfer

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Henrik Pabst

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Jeremy Fox

and Yellowbird in Sweden, Mastiff in Norway and Denmark and Zodiak in Finland. “At least between Danes, Swedes and Norwegians we can understand each other’s languages fairly well. But of course taste differs a lot from channel to channel and buyer to buyer,” Stolberg says.

“Zodiak Rights has a nice catalogue of readymades with new titles coming in all the time.

A recent example is Minnow Films’ factual show SAS: Who Dares Wins [5 x 60 mins] that has been really well received by my clients, with a season two in the making. Other factual shows like The Supervet and Secret Lives Of Four Year Olds are also very popular.”

Paul Gilbert, senior vice-president, international formats at CBS Studios International, says that in recent years the focus of his company in the region has been non-scripted formats. “Next Top Model, Hollywood Squares, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! are the four shows that we currently have in the Nordics,” Gilbert says. “Over the years the region has done quite well for us.

I don’t believe in the past eight years, since I have been at CBS, that we have not had a show on the air.”

But in Gilbert’s view the region is less receptive to scripted formats. “From my perspective, the region seems to keep improving its

Nelly Feld

local production and programming. It keeps getting better. At CBS we have a great catalogue of scripted formats but I have not had any success selling them into the region because they have a tendency to create their own. The cost of acquiring a format is so small and the rewards can be so large due to a proven track record of the particular show, so I’m hoping sometime soon the Nordics will agree.”

Production giant all3media is having some success in selling to the Nordics the type of content they do very well themselves. “We have a strong relationship with both primary and cable channels in the region — partly led by our attractive detective catalogue which includes Hinterland and The Brokenwood Mysteries, for example — and drama thrillers,” says Caroline Stephenson, all3media’s senior vice-president, EMEA North. “But also via our documentaries, for example Pompeii: Life Before Death and The Story of Egypt — they appreciate a good female presenter and there is a huge appetite factual entertainment. And content featuring unusual and quirky family life and personalities always sits well in the region.” She adds: “We enjoy mutually positive relationships with our Nordic partners — we see the world in a sim-

Ole Steen Stolberg

ilar way. They are solid, true partners.”

At London- and LA-based distributor Content Television, “Business continues to be strong in the Nordic region,” according to Content’s sales manager Becci Payne. “We’re actively selling a diverse variety of content to all platforms. Our drama and documentary titles are popular across all free-TV and SVOD platforms, while films and a number of series are delivering well for the pay-TV platforms. We have a good relationship with linear broadcasters as well as VOD platforms.”

Payne describes this part of the world as “a fast-paced and exciting territory for international sales with plenty of opportunities.”

She adds: “They are especially keen on British drama — World Productions’ primetime thriller Line Of Duty has been a big success there on DR Denmark and SVT Sweden, as well as our thought-provoking feature documentaries — for example Jigsaw Productions’ documentary feature Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison Of Belief which performed well on the public broadcasters DR Denmark, SVT, NRK, YLE.” Rick Barker, head of sales at London-based distributor DCD Rights says, the company distribute a wide range of programming into the Nordic region and has had success there

Sales negotiations have always been tough but done with a co-operative spirit THE NORDICS • MARCH 2016

Rick Barker

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Rick Barker

for a number of years. “We have a well-established presence with drama and in recent times Australian drama has captured the broadcasters imagination. With the success of Nordic Noir drama, it has given us an opportunity to also sell good quality series from Australia such as The Slap and The Code.” He adds: “The recent addition of the Electric Sky catalogue, along with our distribution deal to represent The Open University catalogue, has given us significant volume to sell documentaries into these territories, where they are in strong demand.”

And Barker enjoys working in this part of the world. “Having dealt with the Nordic market for the past 15 years, I have built up a very strong relationship with the buyers and their respective companies. They are polite, charming and urbane and I am fortunate to have formed some great and lasting friendships.” But business may not always be easy.

“Sales negotiations have always been tough but importantly, they are done with a co-operative spirit with both parties feeling comfortable with the final outcome. Outside of business, they are great company over dinners and drinks and know how to enjoy life without taking themselves too seriously!”

For Sarah Bickley, senior sales executive at the UK’s Hat Trick International, the Nordic region is her favourite territory in which to work. “I think it is everybody’s favourite territory not only because they buy a lot but they are very straightforward to deal with.”

And it’s an important region for Hat Trick, which sells comedy, drama and factual programming there. Examples include Amazing Spaces (Plum Pictures) that sells into Swe-

Sarah Bickley

den (TV4), Norway (Discovery) and Denmark (TV2). And Inside The World’s Toughest Prisons which has presold to Norway (Discovery). The company has presold its new Julian Fellowes drama, Doctor Thorne, to Sweden and Denmark. “In terms of formats Have I Got News For You is made in Norway and Finland and is one of the best rating shows in Norway in NRK,” Bickley says. “Amazing Spaces was also remade in Denmark. If I Ruled The World is also very successful in Sweden (TV4) and they have just renewed another season this year.”

With offices in Munich, Los Angeles and Hong Kong Red Arrow International is a co-producer of global entertainment, providing substantial production financing for scripted and non-scripted projects. Recent international highlights include Bosch (Amazon) and Married At First Sight (A&E/FYI).

“Married At First Sight is one of the strongest formats to come out of and to be broadcast in the region, with local productions in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden — and over 23 versions worldwide,” says Red Arrow International managing director Henrik Pabst. “The show is in its third season in Finland and has produced the first Married At First Sight baby!”

Red Arrow also works closely with local third party producers. “Great recent examples are MakeItBee, the Danish producer of format Real Men — which enjoyed huge success in Denmark and is now travelling the world with us including Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands.” Pabst says. “And scripted dramas Case from Sagafilm in Iceland, which

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THE UK’s BBC Worldwide has formed BBC Worldwide Productions Nordics to capitalise on the appetite in the region for British programming. Based in Denmark it will partner with Nordisk Film TV, a Banijay Group company, and Nordisk will produce and facilitate future productions of non-scripted BBC Worldwide formats. Paul Dempsey, president, global markets, BBC Worldwide said: “By teaming up with Nordisk, a company whose heritage, vision and values closely match our own, we’ll be able to bring even more premium content to viewers across the region.” Jacob Houlind, Nordic Group CEO of Nordisk Film TV added: “The BBC has one of the strongest format catalogues in the world. We look forward to making some fantastic new programmes for broadcasters in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. we are launching at MIPTV 2016, and Lilyhammer from Rubicon films in Norway.”

Pabst says the region continues “to provide high-quality content and inspiration.

Obviously Nordic Noir has become a genre all of its own and our colleague Henrik Bastin at Red Arrow company Fabrik Entertainment has led the field, producing The Killing and taking his Nordic sensibility to LA to produce shows including hit Amazon drama Bosch and thriller 100 Code, which is set in New York and Stockholm. A new generation of commercial drama from the Nordics is now travelling the world, and inspiring plenty of non-Nordic projects.”

Pabst adds: “In terms of broadcast networks and people generally, they are early adopters, and have created an advanced TV landscape that is at the forefront technically and content-wise. The stable, basic, free-TV network landscape is now broadening out in terms of new players, especially online and pay platforms. These are interesting times.”

Back in 2014, the Warner Bros. TV Group acquired the international production units of Netherlands-based Eyeworks in a deal valued at around $270m. At the time Eyeworks had a strong foothold in the Nordic region and Warner has since built on this.

Andrew Zein, senior vice-president, creative, format development and sales for the international television production unit at Warner Bros. International Television Distribution,

THE NORDICS Our colleagues and partners in the region to are always ahead of the curve says the move was in keeping with the company’s global strategy: “Obviously we’re an international TV production group but our strategy is local talent, local businesses, local success.”

While there is a tendency in the minds of outsiders to group the Nordic countries together, Zein is clear about the distinctions.

“There are differences in size and differences in wealth,” he says. “Finland is obviously an incredibly small market relatively, but with a competitive publicly funded as well as commercial broadcasting scene. And Finland is perhaps more challenged than anywhere else in the world by the migration of commercial viewers to new platforms. In Norway where there’s more revenue in the system that supports both drama and nonscripted programming. Sweden has tended to be the slightly faster adopter of new formats from around the world and been a sort of proving ground for mainstream primetime entertainment and you often feel that the other three territories are looking to see if an idea works in Sweden. If it does that gives it a big tick and programmes and formats can go elsewhere. Denmark — and Norway — has a slightly higher level of factual documentary programming in the schedules, reflecting both the channels’ and, I think, the audiences’ habits. So there are differences at those levels.”

And while the consensus is that this is a vibrant, creative and forward-thinking part of the world, Zein’s point about Finland is becoming a real issue for its neighbours too.

“The Nordics are leading the world in the transition away from free TV and towards digital. This makes it the one of the most attractive regions for developing new ideas both in traditional TV and in all forms of digital opportunities,” says Jeremy Fox, CEO of the Nice Group, one of the largest independent group of TV production companies in the region, acquired in 2013 by MTG Studios, the content and production division of the international entertainment broadcasting group Modern Times Group

Caroline Stephenson adds: “The rise of Netflix in the region and the decline of DVD is under scrutiny of course and it remains to be seen how things will shake down.”

“What I find amazing about the region is that it’s a sort of microcosm of all the changes that are taking place in terms of the broadcasting world,“ Warner’s Zein says. “It’s a market where all the broadcasters are under more pressure than probably anywhere else in the world to new technology and new platforms.

The broadband capabilities in the region mean that I think it’s leading not following in terms of viewers disappearing from free-toair viewing schedules and the pressure that puts on advertising and revenue. But equally those viewers are migrating to new platforms more quickly and so with those broadcasters that are getting their act together on multiple offerings and multiple platforms you’re beginning to see how traditional businesses can survive in the new age.”

“I guess one of the challenges right now when you’re not a pubcaster with your budgets secured independent of advertising money, is how to deal with young people abandoning ship and the ongoing digital transformation,” Zodiak’s Ole Steen Stolberg says. “But with attractive shows built around cornerstones like live news and sports, talk-of-the-town formats and local drama, combined with an online presence, shouldn’t linear TV still be the medium for engaging a big audience?”

For DCD’s Rick Barker: “The outlook remains extremely positive despite the economic woes of certain territories. Local production still has an important role to play with viewers demanding content that they can identify with,.” He adds: “As in other territories, digital platforms will continue to prosper as they move away from a rigid schedule. There is a landmark change in the way that the younger generations now watch television. Children are now seeking out content of their choice.

They still find traditional TV programmes engaging but are increasingly watching them online and on-demand. This will continue

DESTINATION THE NORDICS ISRAEL • MARCH • APRIL 2016 2014

Nelly Feld

apace, but there will still be a strong need and presence for traditional linear channels.”

Caroline Beaton, senior vice-president, international programme sales at Viacom International media Networks (VIMN) sees a positive future. “Looking ahead, I’m sure the Nordics will continue to lead the charge in today’s rapidly-evolving media landscape.

While our local partners will continue to leverage SVOD, digital rights and nonlinear consumption, today’s increasingly ‘glocal’ media environment is producing some exciting developments, including the launch of new SVOD platforms in the mould of global services such as Netflix,” she says “More so than ever before, we’re seeing a much greater focus on strategic specialisation, with local broadcasters recognising how best to reach their target audiences through local development and a migration, particularly of linear kids slots, to digital platforms.”

But Beaton says the Nordics is a complex market and its multiple platforms present “a challenging sales landscape. However, with these intricacies comes a wealth of opportunity, making it an exciting and dynamic region — particularly for format development. “We know our colleagues and partners in the region to are always ahead of the curve when it comes to adopting and embracing new technology, with a particularly smart understanding of how best to exploit and leverage digital rights.”

For Keshet’s Nelly Feld, “The outlook for the future of the Nordics is a continuation of Europe’s path of joining forces with other strong players in the region, to cocreate, co-produce and collaborate on every level, which is one of the reasons why we have seen such a trend for mergers and consolidation in recent years. As a burgeoning production and distribution group, we strongly believe that combining the creative forces of the relevant players in the Nordics with KI’s talents, can only result in even better, more fine-tuned content for our final client — the viewer.”

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THE NORDICS Nordic World’s The Homeless Experience: 52 Days On The Streets

FACTUAL

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Facing the facts Nordic dramas are generally regarded as some of the best in the world. So it should come as no real surprise to learn that the region is also home to talented factual filmmakers. Andy Fry reports

F

ROM Oscar-nominated documentaries about the Indonesian genocide in the 1960s to pop culture films about footballer Zlatan Ibrahimovic and DJ Kygo, the range and diversity of Nordic factual content is almost unparalleled worldwide.

Part of the reason for this is the combination of curiosity and social conscience that characterises the region. But there is also a strong network of support for the factual genre. In addition to the five public broadcasters — DR Denmark, YLE Finland, RUV Iceland, NRK Norway and SVT Sweden — there are also financially supportive national film institutes across the region. On top of this, there is further investment in factual from the region’s leading commercial broadcasters and a pan-Nordic support mechanism called The Nordisk Film and Television Fund.

None of this is to suggest that the region’s documentary producers are flush with cash, but when you also factor in advances from international distributors, it does mean there is a system that can support ideas

from development to delivery.

This explains, for example, why Sweden was able to boast a record year at 2015’s International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam — with 10 titles on show.

Among these were Stig Bjorkman’s Ingrid Bergman In Her Own Words, Erik Gandini’s The Swedish Theory Of Love, Fredrik and Magnus Gertten’s Becoming Zlatan, a profile of soccer star Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Anders Helgeson and Karin af Klintberg’s Nice People (Trevligt Folk), about the first-ever Somali bandy team in their struggle to reach the world championship in Siberia 2014.

The Swedes aren’t the only ones to fly the Nordic flag at major festivals. Norway’s Twin Sisters (see panel) won the prestigious Audience Award at IDFA 2013 while Norwegian director Margreth Olin’s Doing Good has just had its international premiere at this year’s Gothenburg Film Festival, in January.

From Finland, the YLE-backed production Syria – Faces of War won the 2014 Prix Europa award for Best European TV Current

THE NORDICS • MARCH 2016

Affairs Programme in Berlin. Underlining the range of films coming out of the country, this followed a 2013 Prix Europa win (documentary of the year) for The Punk Syndrome, another YLE-backed production that told the story of a popular punk band comprising musicians who all suffer from conditions such as autism, Down’s syndrome and learning difficulties.

As for the prolific Danes, their work has had repeated success around the world. In 2015, for example, Andreas Koefoed’s film about asylum-seeking children, At Home In The World, won the Best Mid-Length Documentary award at IDFA in Amsterdam. Meanwhile, Anders Ostergaard’s documentary 1989, about the final days before the fall of the Iron Curtain, won two awards at the Prix Italia. And to top all of this, there have been Oscar nominations for The Act Of Killing and The Look Of Silence, two compelling films about the 1960s Indonesian genocide from producer Signe Byrge Sorensen and film director Joshua Oppenheimer.

THE NORDICS Success at festivals is reinforced by sales on the international market. While not as high profile as the drama business, Nordic World CEO Espen Huseby says there is a healthy demand for Nordic documentary in Europe and, depending on the subject matter, further afield. “There are a lot of brilliant Nordic documentaries but many are focused on local issues which makes them harder to sell outside the region. Nevertheless, there is still plenty of factual TV that exports very well.”

Titles on Nordic World’s slate reflect the region’s expertise in investigative reporting and the strong social conscience that seems to pervade the Nordic world view: “We have a title called Europe For Sale which first aired on TV2 Norway. It follows an undercover reporter of Pakistani origin who investigated the refugee crisis on both sides of the Mediterranean. That got extremely high ratings when it aired on TV2.

We also have an NRK production called Talibanistan, where the producers got amazing access to Taliban officials. These are topical international stories that should sell well.”

Other titles on Huseby’s slate include Terje Tvedt’s documentary The Nile Quest, which first aired on NRK, and The Homeless Experience: 52 Days On The Streets, a six-part series that achieved a share of around 48% when it debuted on TV2 Norway: “This is a production from Teddy TV that followed a well-known explorer called Petter Nyquist when he left the comfort of his home and lived on the streets,” says Huseby. “It was a huge success at home so we are bringing it to MIPTV as both a completed series and a format.”

One big change in the Nordic market has been the aggressive expansion of US channel operator Discovery, which acquired SBS Nordic in 2012. While this has provided a number of new outlets for Discovery’s US-originated factual content, it has also resulted in some interesting Nordic-themed reality shows. An example, says Huseby, is Hunter Twins, a six-part series for SBS/Dis-

Trevligt Folk (Nice People) about the Somali bandy team covery-owned channel TV Norge in Norway: “This series focuses on two young women who have spent their lives hunting and fishing in Arctic Norway,” says Huseby. “They go to Florida and Idaho in the US where they learn new skills.”

Another of the leading players in the Nordic region’s factual export business is SVT International, the commercial arm of Swed-

ish public broadcaster SVT. SVTI head of business development Paulette Rosas Hott echoes Huseby when she says that a lot of great Swedish documentary doesn’t export “because it has been targeted very precisely at the Swedish market, without really thinking about international. That said, we do have a number of documentaries we believe can travel.”

Back To Lampedusa (SVTI)

Many Nordic documentaries are focused on local issues which makes them harder to sell outside the region THE NORDICS • MARCH 2016

Espen Huseby

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THE NORDICS At MIPTV, key titles will include Back To Lampedusa, an exploration of how the current migrant crisis can bring out the best in people: “A lot of films on this subject focus on the problems, but this is about the warmth and generosity of the people of Lampedusa as they greet migrant arrivals.”

The transgender debate has been explored in character-based films, says Rosas Hott.

In one, Becoming Ann-Christine, the story focuses on a 57-year-old priest who decides to become a woman. In another, Just A Normal Person, the subject is a female twin who transitions to become a man. “We’re also bringing some character-based stories to MIPTV that look at old age from a feelgood point of view. In Life Begins At 100, we focus on a woman who has become a social media sensation at the age of 100 because of her blog. And in Life Should Be Lived, the story is about a group of seniors at an old people’s home who are taken to Greece on holiday by their Greek careworker. So this also touches on the positive role of migrants.”

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It’s noticeable that a lot of Nordic documentary exports are single films as opposed to series. One explanation for this is that projects in the region are often set up financially to work across both theatrical and TV platforms. STVI’s Rosas Hott has no particular problem with single documentaries “because they are generally easier for buyers to schedule than series”.

Within the Nordic region, numerous programmes (factual and other genres) are swapped under the auspices of Nordvision, an exchange programme operated by the five public broadcasters, says Rosas Hott.

“In terms of countries outside the region our factual programmes do well in markets like the Netherlands, Belgium, Japan and Germany. The English-speaking markets are still quite tough to crack, however.”

Although the strong local bias of Nordic content presents a challenge to distributors, Huseby says that the trend towards globalisation is benefiting filmmakers in the region: “I wouldn’t say that Nordic producers are thinking too much about how to appeal to the international market. But it just happens that Nordic audiences share a lot of the same interests as international audiences now. So that is why we are able to come to market with a film about DJ sensation Kygo.”

Rosas Hott agrees that there are local themes

SIX OF THE BEST Pervert Park: This is a Denmark-/Sweden-backed project being sold internationally by

DR Sales. A 76-minute film, it tells the story of a trailer park in Florida where all the residents are sex offenders. The park is a halfway house for people who are trying to find a way to reintegrate themselves into society.

Democrats: For more than three years, director Camilla Nielssonw was close to the political inner circle in Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe. The result is a compelling story of a political elite fighting over the founding principles defining the country’s future. Sales are being handled by Upfront Films.

Democrats (Upfront Films)

Twin Sisters: Directed and produced by Norwegian Mona Friis Bertheussen, this is the story of twin sisters from China, found as babies in a cardboard box and adopted by families in the US and Norway. The film, which has been sold to the likes of BBC4 in the UK and CBC in Canada, charts their parallel lives.

The Look Of Silence: A follow up to Oscar-nominated The Act Of Killing, Joshua Oppenheimer’s powerful film helped a family of survivors discover how their son was murdered during the 1965 Indonesian genocide and gave them the killers’ identities. Also Oscar-nominated, this film is distributed by Cinephil.

Becoming Zlatan: Fredrik and Magnus Gertten’s Becoming Zlatan is a profile of Zlatan

Ibrahimovic from his early days at Malmo through to his star-studded later career. The story is told through rare archive footage in which a young Zlatan speaks openly about his life.

Distributed by Autlook Filmsales.

Ingrid Bergman In Her Own Words: Selected for the Classics section at the 2015

Cannes International Film Festival, Stig Bjorkman’s film uses private footage, notes, letters, diaries and interviews to present a portrait of the iconic Swedish actress. Distributed by TrustNordisk, it has sold to Italy (Cinema S.r.l), Australia (Transmission Films), France (Pretty Pictures), Japan (Tohokushinsha Film Corporation) and Taiwan (Momentum).

THE NORDICS • MARCH 2016

THE NORDICS Filmmakers from Nordic countries are often very good storytellers with natural humour

Gitte Hansen

that have international appeal. “Each year we bring to market a documentary called A Year With The Royal Family, which has a loyal buyer community internationally. This year we are also bringing a documentary called Astrid, about Astrid Lindgren, the Swedish author of the famous Pippi Longstocking books.”

Further evidence that the international market is interested in the Nordic view of the world is the fact that numerous non-Nordic distributors work with local talent. “We are proud to work with many titles from the Nordic countries,” says Gitte Hansen, head of sales and acquisition at independent factual distributor First Hand Films, “and we are happy to be involved with international pre-sales and co-production as well.”

With around 50 titles from the Nordic countries in First Hand’s catalogue, Hansen says the company has made many sales down the years. “A recent sale is Al Jazeera snapping up our Danish film Aung San Suu Kyi: Lady Of No Fear. Another title working for a big, international audience is our Norwegian series Death – A Series About Life. So far we have sold it to more than 13 countries including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Switzerland, Russia, Israel and Poland.

Another Norwegian title The Crossing has sold to 14 countries including Canada, Austria, Belgium, Spain, Japan and markets served by Al Jazeera. The film follows a group of Syrians fleeing war, crossing a sea, two continents and five countries, searching for a safe home.”

One exciting new title for MIPTV, says Hansen, is The Swedish Theory Of Love; a film “that provokes the audience to have a critical look at our modern lives by analysing the perfectly organised society, Sweden, where everyone has equal opportunities for an independent existence and half the population lives in single households, and more and more women choose single motherhood through artificial insemination. We have interest for theatrical releases in several countries in Europe and made the first TV deal with Israel.”

Summarising the strength of the region’s factual filmmakers, Hansen says: “Filmmak-

25 A Year With The Royal Family (SVTI) ers from Nordic countries are often very good storytellers with natural humour and timing. They are ambitious and good — and please include the editors here. They come

First Hand Films’ Death – A Series About Life

THE NORDICS • MARCH 2016

from good film schools and have strong traditions for film funding. There is a lot of hard work and investment in their success. And they are aware of their audience.”

THE NORDICS

The Nordisk Film and TV Fund

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THE NORDISK Film and TV Fund (NFTF) was set up in 1990 to provide additional financial support to film and TV producers in the Nordic region. Over the years its membership has expanded so that now it is a partnership between 11 of the region’s public and private broadcasters and five national film institutes.

Documentary is one of several areas that is given financial support, says NFTF consultant Karolina Lidin, with more than €1m a year dedicated to the genre. Typically, around 20 projects across the region secure a share of this annual total.

Lidin stresses that the NFTF was not set up to be a development fund. “It is more like a finishing off fund. To be eligible we require that a production must have at least two Nordic broadcasters from different countries signed up. Typically, there will also be a film institute involved as well.”

There are no subject matter restrictions, she adds, with films ranging from highly specific local stories to sweeping international investigations. But there are more generalised expectations: “Any production we support has to have artistic merit, it has to come from a fully professional production set up and it has to have the potential to appeal to a wide audience. For us, the distribution of a film or series within the region is an important consideration. Overall the fund is about enabling producers to be more ambitious with their story.”

Examples of productions that have received backing include Michael Madsen’s The Visit, Ingrid Bergman In Her Own Words, The Look Of Silence and The Punk Syndrome. Lidin also mentions a children’s series called Ultra Sports Kids that was the result of Swedish, Norwegian and Danish collaboration: “This is a six-part series with real cinematic quality. For us, supporting it

The Look Of Silence, received funding from NFTF

DESTINATION THE NORDICS ISRAEL • MARCH • APRIL 2016 2014

was an opportunity to put children’s documentary in the spotlight.”

Another high-profile project backed by the fund in 2015 was Bugs, a Danish documentary production about two chefs who travel the world to explore the eating and taste of insects: “This was interesting because the producers wanted to make it in several formats so it could reach audiences as a film, on TV and via the web.

We saw this as an opportunity to reach different audiences with different styles of factual storytelling. So it was a creative challenge rather than a compromise.”

Lidin acknowledges that times are tough for Nordic factual producers, with broadcasters often delaying their greenlight decision-making until very late in the production process. But she says the market “is still strong. What is really amazing is the variety, diversity and innovation of Nordic documentary.”

372_NORDICS PARTNERS_NORDICS_TV

Come and see us!

MIPFORMATS Saturday 2 April

MIPTV Tuesday 5 April

The Nordic Formats Screening 16.15-16.45 Grand Auditorium

The Nordic Media Moguls Breakfast: Reinventing the News 08.30-09.30 Verrière of the Grand Auditorium

MIPDOC Sunday 3 April The Nordic Snack & Screen 12.30-14.00 Main Conference Room, Martinez Hotel

Behind the Nordic Drama Success 11.30-12.00 Auditorium A The Nordic Drama Screening 15.30-17.00 Auditorium K, Palais 4

The Nordic Pavilion, C16.C.

THE NORDICS STATISTICS

The Nordics by numbers

The outsider’s impression of the television business in Nordic territories is that everything is wonderful because the whole world is watching drama series from the region. Well that is partly true…

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ITH its small but dynamic population and comparative wealth when taken as a whole across Europe or even the entire world, the Nordic region moves fast. It was slightly ahead of the curve when the world started to go crazy over drama (again) within the last 10 years; it was already active in unscripted reality when that started to dominate our screens a few years previously; and Nordic media companies were quick to adopt the OTT bandwagon, leading to changes in the ways which people consume TV content.

According to Mediavision, the Sweden-based consultancy focusing on media and telecoms, on an average day about one third of the Nordic population is watching streaming video, indicating a yearly growth rate of over 30% with most viewers relying on content from international giants YouTube, Facebook and Netflix.

In revenue terms, subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) is generating greater revenues than free-to-use ad-based video-on-demand (AVOD) and transactional, pay-per-view video-on-demand (TVOD).

But local media companies aren’t necessarily winning the race. While YouTube is the leading OTT service in terms of reach, SVOD provider Netflix is close behind. Netflix is the number one SVOD provider in every Nordic country thanks, in part, to its early entrance on the market.

Added together, the two US giants YouTube and Netflix account for the largest overall share of OTT viewing in the region. Local public service broadcasters hold a strong position in the Nordics and are among the top-three OTT players in all countries.

There are currently close to seven million daily OTT viewers in the Nordic territories — out of a total population of around 26 million and 12 million TV households. But despite positive viewing trends, the online video advertising market (AVOD ) is in difficulty. The use of ad-blocking services is increasing rapidly across the region — for instance, over 40% of daily OTT viewers use a service to block ads in Sweden — and AVOD services’ share of viewing is losing out to paid services including Netflix, HBO Nordic and Viaplay.

So while, to those outside, everything in the Nordics looks wonderful — principally because the whole world currently has an insatiable desire for Nordic dramas — the Nordic market is one that is in flux.

Mediavision CEO Marie Nilsson says “it’s both right and wrong” to say that the Nordic markets are flourishing. “It’s right because lots of people today are into drama and watching scripted television and it has really become very appreciated by the audiences. But on the other hand what we see very clearly when you look at the OTT market, it’s totally dominated by the US actors

and by that I mean for the most part Netflix.” She added: “I think for the local players here it’s not a very easy problem to handle because it’s competition that is really tough and the amount of money Netflix put into their programme budget is bigger than all the Nordic TV budgets together.”

The key question going forward is what happens with the traditional players and their output of programming, how do they compete? “It’s clear that we have to become more local, we have to differentiate ourselves from the big US drama producers,” Nilsson says. “On the other hand it’s not very far fetched to think that even the big US drama players such as Netflix are going to start buying local drama here.”

Nilsson says that the challenges going forward are the mixed revenue model that the traditional broadcasters are increasingly having to deal with and the risk that those broadcasters could be priced out of the best content by the new players. One way to face this challenge would be more co-production — drama series Lilyhammer starring Steven Van Zandt broke the mould four years ago as a co-production with state-run Norwegian broadcaster NRK, Norwegian production company Rubicon and Netflix and was an international hit.

“We’re always a little way ahead in the world,” Nilsson says. “I see the Nordic situation as a sign of what’s going to happen shortly in so many other territories.”

We’re always a little way ahead in the world

THE NORDICS • MARCH 2016

Marie Nilsson

THE NORDICS DENMARK • Population of 5.7 million • 98% of households has a TV set • One of the highest broadband penetrations in Europe • Public service channels DR1 and TV 2 Denmark dominate the TV market (around 40%) • Most popular private channel is TV3, owned by Sweden’s MTG

FINLAND • Population of 5.4 million • 93% of households has a TV set • State channels YLE 1, YLE 2 and commercial channel MTV3 are leading free-to-air channels • Cable and DTT dominate; satellite penetration is low due to mountainous landscape • 90% of the population has internet access

NORWAY • Population of 5.2 million • 96% of households has a TV set • NRK1 reaches 99.8% of all households • Commercial broadcaster TV2 has 92% coverage • NRK2, NRK3, NRK Super reach 80% of households • Commercial channel TV Norge shares frequency with many local stations when they are not broadcasting

SWEDEN • Population of 9.8 million • 94% of households has a TV set • Public broadcaster Sveriges Television’s SVT1 and commercial channel TV4 are the most watched channels • Five media groups dominate the market: Sveriges Television; the TV4 Group; Modern Times Group (MTG); the Viasat channels; and SBS Discovery Media

THE NORDICS • MARCH 2016

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THE NORDICS Photo: content from United Screens

MCNs

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The Nordics like

the small screen too

The Nordic markets have always been inspired and inspiring when it comes to developing new digital markets. And the situation is no less so for the businesses developing around the YouTube and online multi-channel networks (MCNs). Juliana Koranteng reports

THE NORDICS • MARCH 2016

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PLAY, United Screens, Nordic Screens and Zoomin.TV are among the Nordic MCNs taking international online entertainment by storm — and are among the region’s top 100 MCNs that are currently recording an estimated 100 billion views combined every month.

They are the progeny of a region that caught the attention of the international TV sector with innovative streaming platforms like Sweden-originated Magine and disruptive media, entertainment and communications technologies from Spotify and SoundCloud to Skype. Their print publishers, including Schibsted, are among the first worldwide to introduce their readers to online TV channels using the internet.

As one expert noted, the estimated 25 million fluent English-speaking people in the Nordic markets also make it possible to develop online and digital media aimed at a global market.

This partly explains the feverish MCN acquisitions by MTGx, the digital business division of Scandinavian broadcast giant Modern Times Group (MTG), which has also caught the entertainment industry’s attention.

It now owns a 51% stake in Zoomin.TV, a Dutch operation described as the world’s fifth largest MCN by monthly video views (2 billion) with 100 million registered subscribers worldwide, and a supplier of digital content to more than 2,000 online publishers. Zoomin.TV is said to be valued at $95m.

MTGx also owns 81% of Splay, an MCN renowned for the popularity of its online content among Scandinavia’s youth.

Not only does MTGx see Zoomin.TV and Splay joining forces to promote each other’s brands, but both are also expected to support the company’s recent investments in ESL, DreamHack and Viagame, e-sport ventures targeting the international online gaming communities and the Millennials devoted to them.

When asked what a venture like Splay can do for MTG, MTGx deputy CEO Arnd Benninghoff says: “Exciting company, great products, inspired management. We were already investors and have now increased our shareholding to over 80%. Our digital strategy is to invest in relevant, complementary and scalable digital content and communities and Splay fits right into our growing portfolio of digital video entertainment brands.”

THE NORDICS Scalability is crucial to the type of online ventures MTGx focuses on. “Splay is in hyper growth, more than doubling its sales, video views and subscribers in 2015 and now reaching 140 million monthly views on YouTube,” Benninghoff says. “It is expanding internationally and working closely with the other recent addition to the MTG family — Zoomin, the largest MCN in Europe.”

Reaching young digital natives and their multiscreen entertainment culture is important to the future of MTG, which also owns online catch-up TV services that complement its TV3-branded broadcast services in Europe, and the multiplatform pay-TV service Viaplay.

“The Splay team has a fantastic sense of how to create really engaging entertainment for Millennials, and connect them with the online stars and brands that they love through innovation and new products like unicorn.me and GoSnap. We have only just begun to see the true potential of Splay.”

What most global MCN fans will also appreciate about the Nordic region is PewDiePie (real name Felix Kjellberg), the Swedish YouTube celebrity.

The videos on his YouTube channel and the Disney-owned Maker Studios MCN feature him reviewing and playing the latest video and online games. His shows and programmes are short-form web entertainment that suits today’s mobile-carrying Generation Z. And his original approach has turned him into a global star boasting more than 42 million YouTube subscribers and 11 billion online video views since launching in 2010.

He earned $7.4m in 2014 alone for his efforts thanks to his established associations with brand owners and advertisers. His PewDie Productions has formed a new joint venture online video network with Maker Studios called Revelmode.

Aimed at the same youth audiences, Revelmode will be creating original gamesthemed, music and entertainment content, producing its own merchandise and forming partnerships with brands.

To top these online successes, the world’s biggest book publisher Penguin Random House snapped up a book deal with PewDiePie last year. A recent survey among US teenagers showed that PewDiePie is one of a handful of YouTube celebrities who are more influential than mainstream superstars.

Independent MCN Nordic Screens’ chief operating officer and director of channels Ivar

Splay’s GoSnap and UnicornMe Steen-Johnsen talks about the “YouTubification of the Nordics”, which he said began in Sweden about two years ago followed by Norway, Denmark and Finland. By then, YouTube had also made it possible to localise the advertising and brand partnerships in the region.

In addition to Oslo–headquartered Nordic Screens, the region has Helsinki-based independent MCN Tottortoo with its 16 channels and about 1.5 million subscribers.

Launched in 2015, it is the subsidiary of Result Entertainment and Rabbit Films, two

Nordic Screens: “a content- and talent-first network”

THE NORDICS • MARCH 2016

Finnish entertainment production companies. Its brand partners include electronics communications giant Samsung and confectionery company Haribo.

In Denmark, the market leading MCN is Maze, which is centred on 38 channels frequented by more than 432,000 subscribers.

But it is MTG’s Splay and United Screens (which is partly owned by Swedish media and publishing conglomerate Bonnier) that are making an international impact as well thanks to their link to global owners.

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THE NORDICS MIPTV talked to some of the Nordic market’s leading MCNs to see what makes their ventures part of the future of video entertainment

Nordic Screens: Ivar Steen-Johnsen, CEO/ director of channels Splay Networks: Vigor Sorman, founder/CEO 32

WHEN combined with its followers on YouTube, Instagram and Twitter, Splay boasts 155 million followers internationally for its own brand and the more than 1,000 “influencers” who host 610 online channels across its network. Splay, which has offices in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland, works with brands including global giants Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, McDonald’s and L’Oreal.

The Nordic region is famous for its digital media successes, from Spotify to SoundCloud. Can we expect something similar for MCNs as well?

Absolutely. It’s not only the home of the biggest YouTuber PewDiePie [real name Felix Kjelberg], it’s also a very mature market with many local MCNs on the forefront. We can also see that many innovations in the industry are coming from the Nordics. I’m thinking of the influencer marketing platform Gosnap, and Unicorn.me, which is a platform helping YouTube creators to launch their own apps.

What has made Splay popular with its Nordic followers?

We have invested a lot in programming. Our owned and operated YouTube channels are now some of the biggest in the region. We have also been very strong in finding additional revenues for our creators and helping them build a career and strong brands outside YouTube.

United Screens: Malte Andreasson, deputy CEO

WITH offices in Stockholm, Oslo and, most recently, Helsinki, United Screens is among the Nordic region’s fastest growing MCN with more than 200 million monthly views and over 450 channels. In January, it announced a partnership with Disney’s Maker Studios to create and supply original content for the new video element on Spotify.

The Nordic region is famous for its digital media successes. Can we expect something similar for MCNs as well?

I hope so, and our growth so far is exactly according to plan. We’ve already proven that we’re really good at making the most business out of the viewing we have. We have also pointed out how we differ from competitors. MCNs are ad-supported, and the ads and other marketing activities are usually national or regional, not international. Our focus is northern Europe.

What are United Screens’ unique selling points and its plans for 2016?

Advertisers buying ads or branded entertainment from us know that their marketing is only viewed in the best and most popular channels in the Nordics. We continue to follow our growth plan, and we expect the theme of 2016 to be further multiplatform development. In 2016, very few of our partnerships or sales will be on YouTube only; it’s YouTube combined with [e-sports platform] Twitch, Twitter, Facebook and other social networks.

FOCUS ON THE NORDICS • MARCH 2016

THE MCN boasts 1.4 million daily video views and recently passed 1 billion monthly views. Founded by former TV2 Norway executives, it launched in 2014 and runs 300 channels in its core network. Nordic Screens’ Nordic Open platform is a recruitment network to help fledgling MCNs develo. It has currently registered 1,200 channels with outlets in Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

What has made Nordic Screens popular?

We are a content- and talent-first network.

We handed the keys of our studio and offices to our top 30 YouTubers, the first initiative of its kind in the Nordics. We tried not to tie down young talents as we believe many of our overseas competitors do. We are a dual-language platform and enrol channels from everywhere, but we speak Norwegian to the Norwegians, and they like that.

Are there plans to expand overseas?

I believe in a Nordic approach with little or no hierarchy. Also respect and kindness towards partners provides an excellent framework for creativity. Is this exportable? Time will tell, but we are already enrolling channels from England, the Netherlands, Canada and US, without marketing except word of mouth. So far we have no immediate plans for opening offices outside the Nordic area.

The Nordic region is famous for its digital media successes. Can we expect something similar for MCNs as well?

We are starting this race with the handicap of being invited late to the YouTube broadcasting market. So let’s see how it develops. But there is no doubt many things will happen before MIPTV 2017.

THE NORDICS DIGITAL PUBLISHERS

Here’s the latest news…

The Expressen news team

The Nordic countries are leading the charge towards a once unforeseen business model: traditional newspaper brands reinvented as online live TV channels, some of which are competing against traditional TV news networks for talent and 33 broadcasting rights. Juliana Koranteng reports

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VERYBODY is doing it. Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s largest national daily newspaper with some 859,000 daily readers, operates HSTV on its website. In Denmark, leading daily national Berlingske — and one of the world’s oldest since its 1749 launch — owns Berlingske TV online.

But it is Aftonbladet and its rival Expressen in Sweden who are currently spearheading an aggressive but successfully effective approach. Their investment in video is part of the overhaul of their total media businesses, which now happens to include online TV news.

“After an eventful 2015, for example, Aftonbladet TV has shown that we are among the big players when it comes to breaking video coverage and we plan to strengthen that even more in the year to come,” says Niclas Bergstrom, product manager of Aftonbladet TV. Although it currently serves more than three million daily readers, Aftonbladet is suffering from the same malaise as most newspapers in developed markets: declining circulation. This is despite being available online and on mobile too.

But video has proven to be a powerful communication tool on Aftonbladet’s website, and it has decided to push the barriers and operate the video element as a separate

sister TV channel. Breaking and analysing round-the-clock news is being handled by more than 70 people in three studios, as compared with less than 20 staff in one studio when the operation began.

Parent company Schibsted, a global venture with businesses worldwide, made its original fortune from newspapers, magazines and more recently multimedia services.

In 2007, however, it decided to gamble on online TV as part of its future in Norway and launched VGTV, a web-TV station based on Verdens Gang, the country’s biggest tabloid newspaper. Media observers became fascinated by the disruption online video posed for news media.

Then, Schibsted raised the bar even higher in 2014 and launched VGTV as a 24-hour cable and satellite network, that also happens to be online and on mobile.

Inspired by VGTV’s potential, Aftonbladet TV is also growing as well as evolving. In January, it formed a partnership with Time Warner’s CNN International news network, which will offer pre-recorded and live content to the Swedish venture. This includes CNN’s coverage of this year’s US presidential election. In turn, CNN will have access to Aftonbladet’s newspaper

THE NORDICS • MARCH 2016

images for its coverage of the Nordic markets.

And Aftonbladet TV has since snapped up the exclusive Swedish rights to the 2016 live coverage of Hollywood’s Academy Awards (the Oscars) with plans to produce an accompanying website and print magazine.

Al Jazeera, the Middle East TV network, has agreed to supply original documentaries to Aftonbladet TV, which is now also available on conventional TV sets via Swedish cable payTV platform Boxer as well as on Boxer’s mobile app. In addition, Apple TV subscribers can watch Aftonbladet TV on their smart TV sets.

“Aftonbladet will continue to focus on breaking live stories, because the audience behaviour of tuning into news video on Aftonbladet [the website] has really become strong with the users and the year to come opens up many more opportunities for that,” Bergstrom says. “The year 2016 is a particularly big one with numerous major events such as the Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden, Euro 2016 [UEFA soccer tournament], the Rio Olympics and the American elections.”

And to support the advertisers using both its TV and print brands, Aftonbladet TV has started producing native advertising shows — designed to look like the platform’s original online

THE NORDICS

TV4 Group’s Mathias Berg

Vizrt’s Petter Ole Jakobsen

media and entertainment content — for marketers via its Content Marketing Studio unit.

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In the long term, the future appears to lie in mobile delivery. EMarketer calculates that 100% of 17- to 19-year-olds in Sweden have smartphones, while smartphone penetration in Denmark has grown to 81% from 74% in 2014. In Norway, it has shot up to 85% of internet users.

As Aftonbladet TV’s Bergstrom observes: “For VG, Aftonbladet and the other media houses in Schibsted, the mobile video experience will be of the highest importance in 2016. The audience is consuming more and more video through their smartphones and both the technical experience as well as the content need to be adapted to those demands.”

Schibsted competitor Bonnier, another global media conglomerate, has also entered the online TV domain. Its national newspaper Dagens Nyheter’s website features a video service called DN.TV. But it is Expressen TV that is predicted to give Aftonbladet TV some competition. Part of Expressen, Bonnier’s daily newspaper with an estimated 687,000 readers, Expressen TV is a stand-alone operation that, according to media reports, has been poaching journalists and newsreaders at major TV networks to boost its ambitions.

Like Aftonbladet TV, it has signed a content distribution deal with CNN. What makes Expressen TV a 21st-century next-generation media service is the fact that it is also able to embrace video from a wider variety of sources than traditional broadcast.

It has a deal with US-based online publisher BuzzFeed, whose international viral videos will also be on Aftonbladet TV’s website.

Supporting Bonnier’s investment in online video news is its commitment to online video entertainment with stakes in YouTube multi-channel network United Screens and KIT, a new personalised multiplatform social video service aimed at millennials.

Egmont’s Erik Kongsvik-Ibsen

Additionally, it has joined forces with Swedish content marketing agency Spoon to acquire Spoon’s Norwegian rival Teft. The enlarged agency will now be able to offer Nordic advertisers branded and native video content.

But it is Expressen TV that looks set to benefit the most from Bonnier’s multi-market reach, which includes its TV interests in Sweden’s TV4 Group, MTV in Finland and the pan-Nordic pay-TV platform C More Entertainment that is now centred on a new ambitious subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) platform.

“The Nordic markets are quite advanced in the way the public has embraced the use of video over the open internet. Being a market leader in both publishing and broadcasting in multiple markets, Bonnier has a history of running video services on a variety of platforms, including leading AVOD and SVOD services,” says Mathias Berg, director of channels at TV4 Group, which is responsible for Expressen TV. “This year, 2016, will be another one with massive investments in technology and content to further strengthen the Bonnier position. Extra efforts will be made to improve the way we make our digital advertising inventory available to the market using different ways of programmatic buying.”

Egmont, the Danish multi-national publisher, has its eye on the online TV space too. The company is already a commercial broadcaster via TV 2 Group in Norway, the streaming TV platform TV 2 Sumo and the recently acquired Norwegian division of Bonnier’s C More Entertainment.

But Erik Kongsvik-Ibsen, Egmont’s vice-president, corporate strategy and development, makes it clear its options for online video are broad. “Running some of the largest news websites in Norway, video is an integral part to news publishing today. Increasingly we also supplement our other media offerings with video, such as video interviews as addons to written articles, using video trailers or interviews with actors to promote movies — we own the largest cinema operator in Denmark and Norway,’ he says. “Any video

THE NORDICS • MARCH 2016

Aftonbladet TV’s Niclas Bergstrom property we offer on our websites is also offered on our mobile pages and apps. We have plans to further develop all our services, and video is an important part of this.”

Petter Ole Jakobsen, the chief technology officer at Norway-headquartered international content production and distribution technology provider Vizrt, gives his take on why Nordic news publishing has been able to infiltrate traditional news broadcasters’ domain.

“For many years, broadcast production technology was based upon planning how to get a 30-minute live newscast on the air. Enter the internet and the cracks that existed in the traditional news production environment started to show and widened,” he says. “Add to this the new problem of discovery: how does the viewer discover your content among the myriad platforms and sources available?”

The company’s tech solution for clients, which include Expressen, is a story-based workflow. “The story-based workflow allows everything to take place with the journalists, so they build the story to their needs and define the best way to display it. All this must be done with tools for writing the script, video editing, and adding graphics, so that the entire story is a single package. From there, the story can go straight to the web, VOD or to the studio as part of a live broadcast. So we allow them to create the story first, then spread to any platform.”

And the print-to-video news trend isn’t ending with the national newspapers. In 2015, the global advertising group WPP Group acquired a stake in FlowNetwork, a technology company that supplies video/TV content to regional newspapers’ websites.

Although the video element on the website of regional daily Norrkopings Tidningar, for example, is not a full-blown video network, it still offers the online readers regular video news.

Arguably, that indicates the future of all newspapers could eventually be linked to the medium known as television.

THE NORDICS DIGITAL RIGHTS

Dealing with digital disruption Partner at international law firm Bird & Bird, Henrik Bergstrom sees the coming together of the Nordic industries at MIPTV as a perfect moment to raise issues that are common to the region

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HE forward-thinking, early-adopter nature of the Nordic people is having a mixed effect on the region’s broadcast and content industries.

OTT services including SVOD giant Netflix saw early on the Nordic territories’ potential as a barometer for how their operations might grow in other parts of the world — this because of the region’s sophisticated broadband infrastructure — and so went in hard. The result is pressure on established state and commercial broadcasters and rights owners.

A change in viewer behaviour in Sweden, for example, was detected as early as 2013 when consumer spending on digital video overtook that of packaged video. And in spite of local competition from local services including HBO Go and MTG-owned Viaplay — which is also in Denmark and Norway — Netflix has dominated the market since it’s launch in Sweden and the rest of the region at the end of 2012.

“If you look at the general population now, if you talk to a young adult that has just bought or moved into a new apartment, they don’t own a TV, they have a computer,” says Henrik Bergstrom of international law firm Bird & Bird. “The penetration is so high already with all of these services and that’s because we have a very good infrastructure. That’s why all of these services launch in the Nordics at an early stage rather than going further down in the southern Europe or anywhere else because they know if they get traction here they get it quickly and they also get a good understanding of how this business is going to work in other countries.”

The pressure on local broadcasters brought to bear by SVOD services is not exclusive to the region. Other countries around the world where these services are taking hold are well aware of the possible effects of this disruption in the marketplace. But Bergstrom sees other potential problems ahead — notably the result of the EU Commission’s Digital Single Market Strategy whose effects will start to be felt this year.

The aim of the strategy is to create an online market across the EU where consumers and businesses can carry out online activities easily, irrespective of nationality or place of residence.

The Commission views geo-blocking — the restriction of access to content on the basis of the territorial location of a user — as a major obstacle to a true digital single market. The proposed legislation will allow consumers to watch content that they can enjoy in their home country throughout the

Partner at Bird & Bird, Henrik Bergstrom

EU. So consumers who, for example, want to use their Netflix subscription or watch the BBC’s iPlayer while abroad will be treated as if they were doing so at home.

Bergstrom says the gathering of Nordic business at MIPTV this year — building on the Focus On The Nordics initiative of last year — represents a perfect opportunity for companies to discuss the implications of the Digital Single Market Strategy. “One thing I intend to talk to clients, prospects and others about in Cannes is what is coming in relation to this initiative from the Commission,” he says. “What’s interesting for these companies to focus on is the fact that there will be issues around geo-blocking and portability that will affect the industry in so many ways.

For example how do they deal with their business in relation to third parties and rights?

Because now you might have agreements with third parties that are very geo-oriented and exclusive for a certain territory. If there’s legislation coming that enables the consumer to bring those rights into another territory whether you like it or not, that means that you will obviously breach the agreements you have with your rights holder. I don’t think a lot of companies are totally aware of the implications of all of this. It’s not just about adapting the services for the end user, there are a lot more issues than that.”

One way around the geo-blocking ban is for firms to acquire all-rights for Europe. “But what I see as the biggest problem is you have all the American studios that sell into Europe. How do you deal with those and why should they comply with your local law?

That’s going to be a big issue.”

A young adult that has moved into a new apartment, they don’t own a TV, they have a computer THE NORDICS • MARCH 2016

Henrik Bergstrom

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THE NORDICS

POSTCODE LOTTERY

Who wants to be a charitable millionaire?

The coming together of brands and content is becoming increasingly common as budgets tighten and producers look to new forms of finance. In Sweden it is a charity that has taken the concept successfully into entertainment

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WEDEN’s Novamedia, the parent company of charity fundraiser The People’s Postcode Lottery, is the owner of the Postcode Lottery TV format. Simply described, it’s a lottery that people enter through subscription. Every time a winner is chosen, neighbours who share the postcode of the winner also share in the prize. In just one year — 2014 — The People’s Postcode Lottery generated €125m; since 2005 it has raised over €600m.

Launched in Sweden some 10 years ago, Novamedia fast took the Postcode Lottery concept into the area of branded content to give the enterprise a higher profile. “It’s a subscription product so there’s no actual physical product. So you buy a subscription and stay with the lottery and then you can win money. So we had to have a way to visualise the product and fill it with emotions, show proof that there are actually winners each week,” says Novamedia Sweden head of TV and events Ase Ericson,.

To raise the lottery’s profile Novamedia struck a deal with TV4, Sweden’s largest commercial broadcaster. “We had seen the TV format Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? which had been broadcast several years earlier but hadn’t been on the market for quite

some time. So we took the format and we called it Who Wants To Be A Postcode Millionaire, structuring about 5% of the show as branded content,” Ericson says.

Added to the much-loved Millionaire format were inserts where hostesses knocked on doors and handed out the money to the postcode winners and where viewers could learn about the causes that benefitted from the money raised.

After 10 years of success with the adapted Millionaire format, Novamedia decided to take the idea forward. “We had to reach new target groups, younger target groups and we also wanted to find a way to collect data and leads from the audience, which is not possible with just regular TV shows. We also wanted to have an ongoing conversation with our audience, prospects and customers and new ways to brand our product and our campaigns,” Ericson says.

The answer was an app that can live through the whole year. “The actual game that appeared on the app became a television show as well. Novamedia created a paper format based on the app called Odd One Out, which went to air in the middle of January this year, still with TV4 and in the same slot as Postcode Millionaire. “It has actually increased

the ratings and the share for the slot, so it’s done a little bit better than Who Wants To Be A Postcode Millionaire.”

The app is a hit too. “We had set goals and we have multiplied those three times already. What is really great is that we have been able to reach the harder target group of 15-40. The show has increased ratings by one to two points and the share has increased by one point as well.”

The show is similar and uses the same host as Millionaire. “But what we added for the TV show is that the app has a technique that uses Shazam-type technology,” Ericson says. “So your phone is listening to the broadcast and it plays along with the TV show. And within the same app there’s a play-anytime function.

Then during the commercial break you can play a round that is not televised and win actual money, so you can play by sitting at home.”

So after some 900 episodes of Postcode Millionaire, Novamedia has co-created a brand new format. The accompanying app is free, “but of course we want to commercialise it later on. So it’s still really a startup. We’ve already released it but there are plenty more functions to come and we can actually sell different areas of exposure to our partners or to other companies.”

What is really great is that we have been able to reach the harder target group of 15-40 THE NORDICS • MARCH 2016

Ase Ericson

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THE NORDICS JAN SALLING

The challenge: how to make a profit Jan Salling set up his company Missing Link Media to assist “confused producers who are having a hard time navigating a global market that’s super-sizing by the month”. A leading light of the Nordic television industry, he spoke ahead of MIPTV

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HE NORDIC territories are back in force at MIPTV following the successful Focus On The Nordics last year. What are the key issues the region faces right now?

As in the rest of the world all the Nordic broadcasters are struggling to re-define their business models into more streamlined and flexible ones. They have to be better fit for fragmented viewing and fragmented revenue streams and they are all investing a lot to tap into the digital revenues. This means two things: they are cutting down on oldschool staff, old-school ways and old-school departments to find resources for digital investments; and they are being more riskaverse than ever, investing in local production. They now acquire only need-to-have programming instead of nice-to-have.

To the production companies all this obviously means that they have to follow the broadcasters. As such we have seen cut-downs and the loss of decent profit margins among many of the production companies as well.

But at the same time I see more startups and more fresh creative energy in the Nordics than ever before. We have a wave of great producers and creators who see golden possibilities for themselves in this digital media revolution. For the right ideas, with the right business models and the right partnerships, there are truly great opportunities in the digital space. Never has it been so easy to start your own channel and hype your own content though social media as it is now. The big challenge is however still the same — how to make a profit from it?

The Nordic territories are having great success with dramas on the world market. Will this continue?

I think we will continue to see a steady flow of high-quality dramas coming out of the Nordics in the coming years. There is a huge global appetite for Nordic dramas both as finished products and as re-makes and as such there are huge investments being made in the Nordic drama sector. In the rapidly fragmenting primetime viewing habits, sports, live shows and dramas seem to be the only programmes with a guaranteed must-see effect. And as dramas have a more promising national and international commercial life, this is where most of the programming budgets go these days.

The broadcast landscape is changing in the region. What do you see in the years to come?

Over the next five-to-10 years I expect to see a more streamlined Nordic broadcast sector and a range of new profitable production companies who have understood how to make a business in the golden digital age.

Many production companies will be specialists in specific genres and it will become more and more crucial to all producers that they specialise to stand out in the crowd.

The days are over where you could dribble into a TV executive’s office, pitch an idea in five minutes and walk out with a commission. Content is still king — but having the right digital approach to it and the right partnerships on board will be just as crucial. And it is important to understand that in a rapidly

Without access to international partners and clients you will be lost THE NORDICS • MARCH 2016

globalising industry an international brand and network is a must to secure alternative funding and revenue streams. Without access to international partners and clients you will be lost.

What is top of the list for you at MIPTV? I look forward to presenting the very best formats from the Nordics on Saturday afternoon at MIPFormats. In a rapidly changing global media industry it is more important than ever that we keep exposing our creative know-how and uniqueness to the rest of the world. This keeps the Nordics in focus and keeps good business opportunities coming our way — and we need to globalise our minds to grow.

Jan Salling: “exposing our creative know-how and uniqueness to the rest of the world”

Jan Salling

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