‘Stop building walled gardens’

MIPTV has partnered with industry thought leader Evan Shapiro on exclusive research to be revealed in a scene-setting keynote on the opening day of the 2023 market

EVAN Shapiro, an Emmy Award-winning producer and professor of television at New York University, will share brand new audience research, exclusive to MIPTV, which upends assumptions and provides insights into global industry shifts. “I’m coming to Cannes to challenge the international TV community to move beyond incremental change and reimagine television for the way our audiences want content now,” he said.

RX France entertainment division director and director of MIPTV, Lucy Smith said: “MIP markets are about context alongside content, provided by the industry’s best minds. Evan is a one-off.

His predictions are bold, incisive and thought provoking, his style unique. In a rapidly evolving ecosystem such insights are not only invaluable but inspirational.”

Speaking to the MIPTV Magazine, Shapiro said: “We’re at a moment in time when the media ecosystem is shedding its skin but hasn’t decided what it wants to look like afterwards. At the event, I’ll try to convince participants in the ecosystem to stop redesigning the bathroom in a house that is burning down. Instead build a new house.” Shapiro lasered in on two key themes — walled gardens and the creator economy. He said: “The big media owners need to stop building walled gardens — consumers don’t want them. They need to stop frustrating consumers with these corn mazes that create paralysis of choice.” Shapiro said the problem isn’t just the walled gardens that companies have built to compete with each other, “it’s also the walled garden they have built within their own businesses. Why are Paramount+ and Pluto TV separate? Why does Amazon have Amazon Prime Video, Freevee and Twitch as separate propositions?” Medium-term, Shapiro predicts a small number of super apps that offer consumers video, gaming and music all in one place. “The bigtech players are already well-positioned to lead this shift, so for the likes of Disney and Netflix it’s about how they respond.”

In the immediate future, he argued, platforms will need to focus heavily on utility: “If consumers don’t have a reason to use your platform multiple times a week, probably every day, then you’re toast. Platforms don’t want to be in a position where consumers drop in to watch a piece of content then churn out. Already, we’ve reached a position with some segments of the audience where churn is the new channel zapping.” Possible antidotes to this are news and sport, “because they force consumers to come back in every day. Netflix doesn’t have that — but one group which does is Europe’s public broadcasters. They are moving quite slowly, but they do have the advantage that audiences are returning to them every day.”

Turning his attention to creators, Shapiro urged them “to stop relying solely on gatekeepers to greenlight their future — they should start greenlighting it themselves.

Don’t turn your back on the traditional model entirely, but create your own channels that give you the audience and data you need to build you own media economy. I guarantee that if you do that, then the gatekeepers will come running to you anyway.”

He cited actor/producer Reese Witherspoon as an example:

“Through her company Hello Sunshine, she built a book club that allowed her to turn books into bestsellers and then bestsellers into TV series. She sold Hello Sunshine for $900 million. Hello Sunshine is a good producer, but it’s a much better creator economy business.”

Meet Evan Shapiro

…on Monday, April 17, 11.45 to 12.15 in the Debussy Theatre

Anna Marsh

Anna Marsh, CEO, StudioCanal and deputy CEO of Canal+ Group, will explore the changing dynamics of content strategies in a Media Mastermind Keynote at MIPTV. She will outline how StudioCanal has managed to establish itself as a key player in the rapidly-evolving global content business, active across both feature films and TV series

SPEAKING to the MIPTV Magazine, Anna Marsh said recent changes, such as the rise of SVOD and the resurgence of ad-funded models, are “undoubtedly an opportunity. It’s all about adjusting to a fast-evolving world and helping audiences access what they are looking for at any moment; whether it be in the theatre, in the home, or on the move.” al scale. Increasingly, new streaming services exist in the ecosystem without eroding other more traditional forms of consumption. You need to tailor the creative to the business and understand windowing, so an audience can access content when they desire and not be frustrated because they can’t find what they are looking for.”

Marsh said a great example of this at StudioCanal was “our French hit Bac Nord (The Stronghold) which garnered 2.2 million admissions theatrically and went on to be the top-rated film on Canal+ and myCanal. This is as well as finding success for Netflix globally.”

Marsh said that her company has a key competitive advantage. “With 24 million subscribers and a presence in 50 countries, being part of Canal+ is undoubtedly a strength for StudioCanal. But beyond our group, StudioCanal works with all partners, collaborating with both broadcasters and platforms, for example: La Promesa for TVE, The Lazarus Project for Sky, Anansi Boys in production for Amazon Prime, and The Monster Of Florence in development with Apple.”

In a tough market, Marsh cites several USPs that will future-proof StudioCanal: “Our strength lies first and foremost in our leadership in Europe. We truly embrace our unique European DNA, which defines our approach to storytelling across all disciplines. We own one of the world’s most extensive libraries spanning over 8,000 titles. This provides us access to a wealth of incredible stories and IP.”

Distribution is a core strength, she added: “Our local presence in major territories allows us to stay close to the consumer, ensuring that our experienced teams are agile and make quick, informed decisions.” Another is the “array of wonderful talent we partner with, many of whom work in both film and television”. This will be on show at MIPTV: “Our line-up includes The Night Logan Woke Up, Xavier Dolan’s first series with Canal+ and Thomas Vinterberg’s Families Like Ours, as well as our project in development Corto Maltese.”

Marsh said StudioCanal also prides itself on its ability to offer a variety of genres and formats. “Documentaries and children’s programming are part of our expertise and have been very successful. At MIPTV, we will be launching Rise Of The Vikings and Narco Circus among others. On the kids side, we will mention Paddington [Seasons 1, 2 and 3], our biggest franchise, and animation series Smarty Pants.”

To achieve this, Marsh said it is essential for producers “to embrace innovative distribution models and ensure their films and series never lie dormant and are seen by the largest audience possible on a glob -

Marsh said content companies need to continuously reinvent themselves to remain relevant. “The real challenge comes from the audience, as with a plethora of content out there; standards are rising and for many it is becoming harder to stand out. Ultimately the answer comes down to pushing creative boundaries and working with like-minded, visionary talent with fresh and original ideas.”

Susan Zirinsky