SEÑAL INTERNACIONAL 2019
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AN IMMERSIVE TR I P T O T HE P OW ER OF ST O R Y TE L L I N G
A new Innovative TV Conference (INTV) was organized last month by Keshet Media Group in Jerusalem, reaching three times the number of previous attendees. With most of the panels featuring women, this year the focus was placed on
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the large streaming platforms that lead the entertainment industry: Netflix and Amazon. Moreover, the evented focused on the importance of writing, producing, and directing processes of a great global story.
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T H E MEDIA P RO ST U D I OS L A U N C H
R EA D Y F O R TH E N E X T L E V E L
M E DI A S E T S P A I N N E W PO WER
The new unit is based in Barcelona and has 10 creative offices around the world. It will create, produce and distribute 34 series in Spanish and English with a global reach in 2019, and a global investment of €200 million.
Chris Ottinger, President, Worldwide Television Distribution and Acquisitions at MGM, defines the company’s new global business strategy and emphasizes the growth potential on the European market.
Ana Bustamante, Managing Director of the recently launched Mediterráneo, explains the strategy of the company, which brings together its production associated companies to boost content development and distribution.
YEAR 18 - EDITION 161 APRIL 2019 Redacción & diseño: ESI Impreso por: imprenta 2.0 Los artículos firmados no reflejan necesariamente la opinión de los editores. Para la reproducción total o parcial deberá hacerse expresa mención de la fuente. “Señal Internacional” es marca registrada de Fernando Calviño. Queda hecho el depósito que marca la ley 11.723. Registro Nacional de Propiedad Intelectual en trámite. Revista Señal Internacional es una publicación bimensual de Editorial Señal Internacional S.R.L.
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DOWNLOAD THE INTERACTIVE EDITION
Editorial Señal Internacional S.R.L. Av. Triunvirato 3176 Dpto 704, CABA - Argentina www.revistasenal.com
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2ble Click DISNEY-FOX MEGA MERGE IS COMPLETE
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BILLION DOLLARS WAS THE FINAL AMOUNT THAT WALT DISNEY CO. PAID FOR RUPERT MURDOCH’S 21ST CENTURY FOX.
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• WITH THE PURCHASE OF FOX ASSETS, DISNEY, VALUED AT $168 BILLION, IS POISED TO BE AN EVEN BIGGER FORCE IN HOLLYWOOD. • DISNEY EXPANDED THROUGH A SERIES OF SAVVY DEALS: PIXAR ($7.4 BILLION), MARVEL ($4 BILLION) AND LUCASFILM ($4 BILLION).
IP’S ACQUISITION • DISNEY IS TAKING OVER FOX’S MOVIE AND TV PRODUCTION STUDIOS AND THE RIGHTS TO SUCH VALUABLE PROPERTIES AS “AVATAR,” “ICE AGE,” “MODERN FAMILY” AND “THE SIMPSONS”.
A+E NETWORKS GREENLIGHTS 19TH CENTURY CRIME DRAMA
DAN COHEN TO LEAD PARAMOUNT’S WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTION AREA
A+E’s international co-production division has greenlit its first international, scripted coproduction, “Miss Scarlet and The Duke”, a full-throttle crime drama about the first ever-female detective in 19th century London. The news was announced at Series Mania 2019 by Richard Tulk-Hart, Managing Director, International Content Sales & Co-productions, A+E Networks. Starring award-winning Kate Phillips (“Peaky Blinders”, “The Crown”, upcoming “Downton Abbey” feature film) as Eliza Scarlet, the series will start pre-production this April.
Paramount Pictures promoted Dan Cohen to President of Worldwide Home Entertainment & Television Distribution. Cohen, who currently serves as President of Worldwide Television Licensing, assumes the role previously held by Mary Daily, who had overseen International Theatrical Marketing and Home Entertainment for the studio since 2017, but earlier this month was promoted to CoPresident, Worldwide Theatrical Marketing & Distribution. Cohen joined Paramount in 2017. Prior to that, he spent 20 years at Disney/ABC, where he most recently served as Executive Vice President of Pay Television & Digital for Home Entertainment & Television Distribution for The Walt Disney Studios. There, he distributed catalog properties including Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, ABC and Disney Channel.
FREMANTLE AND FABULA INK FIRST-LOOK DEAL The Oscar award-winning Fabula has forged a new first-look partnership with the global producer and distributor, Fremantle. The deal will see Fremantle collaborate with Fabula to develop a slate of original English and Spanish dramas. Fremantle will distribute the projects worldwide. The Fabula team will work with Fremantle’s Global Drama, EVP, Creative Director, Christian Vesper, and Fremantle’s President of Scripted for North America, Dante Di Loreto, to develop a range of English and Spanish language projects. 16 · SEÑAL INTERNACIONAL
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GLOBAL AGENCY’S “KEEP IT OR LOSE IT” ON AIR ON SBT BRAZIL ZDF SOLD DRAMA PACKAGE TO ELISA FOR CHINESE SVOD ZDF Enterprises and Elisa, Finland’s pioneer in telecommunications and digital services, have signed an agreement for the acquisition of over 100 hours of drama programming for the Chinese SVOD market. The licensed titles include Nordic Noir series such as the Swedish political drama “Blue Eyes” (10x60’), the intense Finnish smugglers’ drama “Welcome to Texas” (10x45’), Sweden’s TV-drama-hit “Thicker Than Water” (10x60’), a dark primetime family chronicle set in the Stockholm’s archipelago as well as “Arne Dahl” (10x90’), a series based on the immensely popular crime novels from author Arne Dahl about an elite force within the Swedish police, which have long since spilled over the borders of Scandinavia. In Summer 2018, Elisa signed a cooperation agreement with China Broadcasting and Television Media, the leading provider of IPTV services in China, to provide Nordic TV to Chinese cable TV households.
Global Agency’s game show “Keep It or Lose It” has been licensed by SBT in Brazil. SBT ordered two new seasons, consisting of 26 episodes. The show is locally known as “Comprar é Bom, Levar é Melhor”, and has already been on air for three seasons. The latest 4th and 5th seasons have 13 episodes each. “Keep It or Lose It” was created by Karga and has also been broadcast in Kazakhstan and Turkey. “‘Keep It or Lose It’ is the most entertaining program in the agency’s strong and unique catalogue. And now, we are happy to announce that the format attracted huge audience interest during the first season and we will continue to work with SBT for the show’s fourth and fifth seasons. After Brazil we believe that it will be aired in many other countries,” Izzet Pinto, CEO of Global Agency, said.
RECORD EXPANDS ITS FOOTPRINT WITH “THE RICH AND LAZARUS”
“THE SUCCESSFUL MR AND MRS PELLS” TO BE ADAPTED IN THAILAND
The Brazilian company will offer its third biblical telenovela at MIPTV. “The Rich and Lazarus” follows in the footsteps of other Bible-based productions, presenting stories of great values and the best drama, alongside a spectacular historic recreation and outstanding sets. Produced by Casablanca for Record TV, the drama obtained great local ratings in Brazil, during its 170 episodes. The show raised the production bar even higher regarding historical and biblical dramas aimed for the international market.
Viacom International Studios sold its format “The Successful Mr. and Mrs. Pells” to the “PPTV HD 36” network in Thailand. This is the first format of VIS’s wide catalogue to be adapted in an Asian country. The romantic comedy, coproduced by Telefe, Underground and Endemol, premiered in Argentina in 2008 and has since been sold to over 20 countries in its original version, as well as being adapted in Chile, Ecuador, Greece, Mexico, Turkey, Poland, Russia and Spain. “We are very excited as this is the first of our formats to be adapted in Thailand, and we are extremely proud to be taking this step with “PPTV HD 36” network,” María del Rosario Cosentino, Content Sales Manager for Viacom International Media Networks, said. SEÑAL INTERNACIONAL 2019
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KEY DATA Asia’s OTT revenues to reach USD48 billions in 2024. Revenues from television episodes and movies on OTT platforms in the AsiaPacific region will reach USD48 billion in 2024, up from the USD21 billion recorded in 2018.
ENDEMOL SHINE TO PRODUCE GLOBAL BRANDED CONTENT Endemol Shine Group announced its first international branded content deal with iconic global haircare brand Pantene. Created by Endemol Shine Brazil, “Cabelo Pantene, O Sonho” is a multiplatform reality show with the mission of finding Pantene’s new brand ambassador. Portuguese broadcaster TVI has commissioned a local version of the show which will be produced by Endemol Portugal, part of Endemol Shine Iberia in partnership with Pantene, from Procter & Gamble. It will be the first international deal for the reality show which features people from all walks of life, who live in the same house undertaking tasks which test the full potential of their hair. It’s not a beauty contest, but instead empowers and challenges participants to express their essence.
XILAM APPOINTS SAFAA BENAZZOUZ AS SVP MEDIA SALES DISTRIBUTION
“CORONER”, THE #1 NEW CANADIAN DRAMA IN 2018/19 Audiences in Canada and the UK embraced the new CBC original drama series “Coroner”. In Canada, the series bowed as the highest-rated new drama series launch on Canada’s public broadcaster in more than four years. According to Numeris, “Coroner” reached 2 million in Canada and delivered an average minute audience of more than one million viewers for each episode on CBC, with the series ranking in the top 30 television programs in English Canada for two consecutive weeks. In the UK, “Coroner” premiered as Universal TV’s highest-ever rated series launch. Cineflix will launch the series at MIPTV, bringing the lead talent Serinda Swan to Cannes. 18 · SEÑAL INTERNACIONAL
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Award-winning French animation studio has appointed Safaa Benazzouz to the position of SVP Media Sales Distribution for Latin America, Middle East, Africa and Southern Europe. Benazzouz will report to Morgann Favennec, EVP Global Sales Development, and will be responsible for sales across Xilam’s portfolio of kids’ animations including “Oggy and the Cockroaches,” “Zig & Sharko,” “Paprika,” and new series “Mr Magoo” and “Moka”. She will be based in Xilam’s head office in Paris and will work alongside Céline Carenco, SVP Media Distribution, who handles the Asia-Pacific, Northern and Eastern Europe markets to continue expanding Xilam’s international reach. /senalint
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STELLAR RATINGS FOR “THE VOICE KIDS” COLOMBIA
VIACOM OPENED NEW HEADQUARTERS IN DOWNTOWN MIAMI
NEW GLOBAL, INNOVATIVE HEADQUARTERS CENTRALLY LOCATED IN THE HEART OF THE MAGIC CITY, SERVING AS THE GATEWAY TO THE AMERICAS FOR ART, CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT AND BUSINESS.
New Position for Elisa Aquino at Universal Cinergia Liliam Hernandez, President & CEO and Gema Lopez, President & COO of Universal Cinergia Dubbing, announced the new role of Vice President of Global Sales & Marketing to Elisa Aquino. Originally from Brazil, Aquino has been with the company as a sales executive for 3 years. She will report jointly to Hernandez and Lopez, and will be based at the company’s Miami headquarters. Aquino is responsible for global sales & marketing strategy. The executive will put special focus on further developing business with the key US studios and digital platforms; major expansion into Asia and growing her native-Brazilian client base. She will be directing the sales strategy, expanding revenue and overseeing the global sales team.
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The premiere of the fourth season of the show kicked off super strong. Aired as a daily show on Caracol, the show ended up being market leader in its time slot, scoring an impressive 40.4% market share. “The Voice Kids” is one of the world’s most sustainable talent shows with 38 local versions.
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Mediaset launches thriller series at MIPTV Mediaset Distribution attends MIPTV this year with a program roster topped by two new series: “The Silence of Water” and “Doctor Giò”. “With these titles Mediaset is in line with the needs of the international market in genres and topics. A medical procedural drama, ‘Doctor Giò,’ with a strong feminine character on one side, and an investigative thriller with a disquieting story set in a small community like ‘The Silence of Water’,” Manuela Caputi, Head of Sales at Mediaset said. Regarding unscripted formats, Mediaset will launch “Race for Real” (6x8’) broadcasted by Italia 1; a talent-show where three contestants face different tests in order to participate in the prestigious Porsche Carrera Race.
On-demand service Rakuten TV more than tripled its distribution in Europe, after launching in more than 30 new territories. Now is available in more than 40 European countries.
DRG LAUNCHES “FOR LIFE” AT MIPTV The distributor has acquired the rights to its third big new scripted series from Scandinavia this year. “For Life” is a fresh and distinctive new episodic crime series and, as Norway’s first police procedural, it is promising to shake up the genre.
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WHAT TO BUY AT MIPTV! #DRAMA
D “CATCH 22”
“THE SNIFFER”
PARAMOUNT PICTURES
IMAGINA INT. SALES
6 X 60’
24 X 52’
“THE MASTER BUTCHER” GLOBAL SCREEN 2 x 90’ / 4 x 45’
Based on the celebrated novel of the same name written by Joseph Heller, “Catch-22” is executive produced and directed by Academy Award and Golden Globe winner George Clooney, who also co-stars alongside Christopher Abbott, Emmy winner Kyle Chandler, Golden Globe winner Hugh Laurie and Academy Award nominee Giancarlo Giannini. www.paramount.com
The nose that knows. He’s the proud owner of an acurate sense of smell. He knows things about you even you don’t and would rather keep to yourself. He’ll find that needle in the haystack. But the truth is that his sense of smell is as much a curse as it is a gift. www.imaginasales.tv
After WWI, Swabian butcher Fidelis Waldvogel finds a new life with his wife and child in Argus, North Dakota, where he opens a German butcher’s shop. But the Waldvogel Family is in for hard times … An epic story of departure and return, love and responsibility, based on the worldwide bestseller “The Master Butcher’s Singing Club“ by American author Louise Erdich. This high-value historical epic boasts with a top cast and crew. www.globalscreen.de
“THE HANDMAID’S TALE” MGM
“UPRIGHT” ENTERTAINMENT ONE 8 x 30’
36 X 60’
“BITTER LANDS”
Based on Margaret Atwood’s award-winning, best-selling novel is the story of life in the dystopia of Gilead, a totalitarian society in what was formerly part of the United States.
INTER MEDYA TBC
www.mgm.com
The story of a legendary love that begins in Istanbul during the 1970s and continues in the fertile lands of Cukurova in southern Turkey through the trials of evil, ambition, and tyranny.
www.entertainmentone.com
www.intermedya.tv
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A warm and touching eight-part drama about two misfits, thrown together by chance in the middle of the Australian desert, forging the unlikeliest of bonds in their quest to get a precious piano from one side of the country to the other.
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NS “SMALL FORTUNE” DRG FORMAT An innovative ITV Saturday night primetime entertainment format in which players take on BIG challenges through tiny games set in perfectly miniaturised worlds. Each tiny game is played by one individual as part of a team of three players.
#NON-SCRIPTED & ENTERTAINMENT “TKO: TOTAL KNOCKOUT” MGM
“EXATHLON” INTER MEDYA 150’
FORMAT
www.drg.tv
An obstacle course series with a twist. The game features one player racing through daunting obstacles while the other contestants are manning battle stations along the course, firing over-the-top projectiles in an attempt to knock them off and slow them down. www.mgm.com
“PLAY YOUR PETS RIGHT” ALL3MEDIA INTERNATIONAL 30’
A sports-reality format where two teams of physically fit and sportive contestants including Olympic athletes, football players and/or celebrities with sportive skills compete at specially built challenge locations. www.intermedya.tv
“LOVE ISLAND”
“CATCH!”
ITV STUDIOS
BANIJAY RIGHTS
FORMAT
FORMAT
Full of flirting, jealousy, rejection and fun, “Love Island” sees its occupants live the celebrity lifestyle in a stunning villa in a beautiful location. They are on the lookout for romance but as always, the road to love never runs smoothly, as they must not only choose their partner wisely but also win the hearts of the public. www.itvstudios.com
Watch the nation’s pets battle it out in hilarious games that test their speed, agility, reaction time and focus, cheered on by their proud owners. www.all3mediainternational.com
An explosive new entertainment format in which four teams of four players compete against each other in games inspired by variations on the timeless game of “Catch”. Each team is led by a celebrity captain and team members are top athletes and parkour specialists. www.banijayrights.com
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WHAT TO BUY AT MIPTV! F
#FILMS & TV EVENTS
“ARETHA! A GRAMMY CELEBRATION FOR THE QUEEN OF SOUL 2”
“CREED 2” MGM 120’
“1989 – A SPY STORY” GLOBAL SCREEN 105’
ALFRED HABER 120’ Performing songs from Aretha Franklin’s legendary career are Grammy winners Yolanda Adams, Shirley Caesar, Alessia Cara, Kelly Clarkson, Common, Celine Dion, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Patti LaBelle, and BeBe Winans. www.alfredhaber.com
Life has become a balancing act for Adonis Creed. Between personal obligations and training for his next big fight, he is up against the challenge of his life. Facing an opponent with ties to his family’s past only intensifies his impending battle in the ring. www.mgm.com
“HARRY & MEGHAN: BECOMING ROYAL” A+E NETWORKS 1 X 120’
Saskia Starke is a double agent, working for the CIA and for the East German Stasi. When the Berlin Wall comes down, her carefully constructed double identity threatens to fall apart around her. She wants to stick to her life in the West, loosing her children and her beloved husband is no option to her. But will she be able to hide her Stasi past? A historical spy thriller about false identities, the loss of utopian ideals and the unsolved riddle of the missing Rosenholz files. www.globalscreen.de
“GREEN BOOK” TELEFILMS 8 X 50’ A warm-hearted and often hilarious road movie about two very different, strong-willed men who break through barriers of race, class and education to form a deep and enduring bond. Transcending initial assumptions and stereotypes, the pair’s unlikely alliance demonstrates the life-changing power of tolerance
“WINNING: THE RACING LIFE OF PAUL NEWMAN” DISCOVERY 100’
www.telefilms.com.ar
The sequel to the Lifetime hit “Feature Harry and Meghan: Becoming Royal”. The first year of marriage is never easy, but it comes with even more challenges when you’re married to a prince! The movie continues the love story between silver screen starlet Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.
The world knows Paul Newman as an Academy Award winning actor; but his racing career spanned thirty-five years. Newman won four national championships as a driver and eight championships as an owner. Not bad for a guy who didn’t even start racing until he was forty-seven years old. www.discoveryprogramsales.com
www.sales.aenetworks.com
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KA “MOLANG” MILLIMAGES 52 X 5’
#KIDS & ANIMATION “THE OLLIE & MOON SHOW”
FEDERATION KIDS & FAMILY
“METEO HEROES”
3 SEASONS - 26 x 26’
52 X 7’
MONDO TV
Based on the best-selling books by author and illustrator Diane Kredensor, a slapstick comedy starring two animated cats who travel across the live-action world showing kids the joys of friendship, food and fun across the globe.
Now producing its fourth season, Molang is an affectionate, humorous look at the relationship between an eccentric, joyful, and enthusiastic rabbit, and a shy, discreet, and emotional little chick. The series explores Molang and Piu Piu’s everyday life with warmth and humor.
www.fedent.com
www.millimages.com
“YU-GI-OH! VRAINS” 4K MEDIA 46’ X 30’
Where virtual reality, artificial intelligence and high-speed dueling merge into a fighting extravaganza! With advances in cutting-edge technology, duelists worldwide plug into Link Vrains to compete in fast-paced competition. But this cyberspace is under attack by a team of nefarious hackers determined to destroy the virtual realm! www.yugioh.com
Fulmen, Nix, Nubes, Pluvia, Thermo and Ventum are six normal children, who discover one day to have super powers, those of evoking the atmospheric phenomena and intervene in nature through them. Soon taken under the guidance of the CEM club, aka Centro Epson Meteo. www.mondotv.it
#FACTUAL ENTERTAINMENT
FE “JESUS: HIS LIFE” A+E NETWORKS 8 X 60’ A never before seen approach to the sweeping story of the life of Jesus Christ. Each episode is told through the eyes of the men and women closest to him: Joseph, John the Baptist, Mary Mother of Jesus, Caiaphas, Judas Iscariot, Pontius Pilate, Mary Magdalene and Peter.
“MONTY DON’S JAPANESE GARDENS” ALL3MEDIA INTERNATIONAL
“FYRE FRAUD” ENTERTAINMENT ONE 1 X 96’
2 X 60’
“Fyre Fraud” has ignited media and social conversation with its unique and personal true-crime investigation story of one of the biggest con-men of the last decade, Billy MacFarland, who is now serving 6 years in jail for deceiving a generation in the global phenomenon digital scam that shocked the world: Fyre Festival. The documentary is told through dramatic edge-of-the-seat storytelling and high-end premium quality filmmaking. www.entertainmentone.com
www.sales.aenetworks.com
“WHY WE HATE” DISCOVERY 6 X 60’
Monty discovers the true essence of Japan’s best gardens, examining how a mix of history and new innovations shape these gardens today. www.all3mediainternational.com
“Why We Hate”, an unprecedented television event from acclaimed filmmakers Steven Spielberg and Alex Gibney, investigates the human capacity for hatred, drawing on ground-breaking research in psychology, neuroscience, evolutionary science, and history. Why We Hate poses a fundamental question: If we can figure out why we hate, can we find a way to prevent it? www.discoveryprogramsales.com
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OVERVIEW
Huge Players Arrive to the Streaming Party Walt Disney Co, Apple, and Warner Media will likely launch its own direct-to-consumer online video subscription services in 2019, with one from NBC Universal coming in 2020. IHS Markit analyses the impact of the new scenario over the US market.
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n 2019 the global audio-visual industry will likely see the launch of three new direct-to-consumer online video subscription services, coming from Walt Disney Company, Apple, and Warner Media; with a fourth platform from NBC Universal coming in 2020. While these are all likely to be globally-distributed, IHS Markit analysts modelled three different scenarios for each service. The new online subscription services have the potential to add 53 million paying subscriptions to the US market by 2023, effectively growing the number of subscribers by 25% over our baseline forecast. This growth assumes an aggressive strategy from Apple that bundles video in with Apple Music, to reach an immediate potential userbase of over 20 million customers. Less aggressive policies from Apple will result in lower overall subscriber growth; nevertheless, it is likely that we will still see meaningful expansion of the market with the less aggressive scenarios expanding
the overall market between 10-15%. In all scenarios, IHS expect that Netflix and Amazon Prime will continue to be the market leaders. However, there is potential for Apple to have more or less caught up with Hulu by 2023 and a successful Disney+ would also be among the top tier services in the US by then. Long term, the focus of the battle is likely to move beyond what content is available (although that will still be very important) and become increasingly reliant on what other assets companies can leverage. In aggregate, these services are set to grow the market between 10-25% in terms of subscribers, generating between $1.8 to 3.6 billion dollars in revenue incremental to the US SVOD subscription business in 2023.
NEW APPROACH Walt Disney’s direct-to-consumer subscription service is probably the most anticipated and most hyped. The company has undertaken a significant internal restructuring to launch Disney+ and is showing signs of aggressively
USA: Netflix & Amazon Subscribers vs DTC New Services - 2023 70
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leveraging its assets, such as “Star Wars” and “Marvel”, commissioning original content for the services and announcing that “Captain Marvel” would be on the service following the end of the company’s movie output deal with Netflix this year. Assuming a Q4 2019 launch, IHS forecast that Disney+ will have signed up between 10.7 million to 20.2 million US customers by the end of 2023. Moreover, the scenarios for Warner Media rely heavily on the level of content that Warner is prepared to dedicate to the service. The company has already said that it expects to lose some licensing revenue over the short term, but the company’s appetite for this remains largely untested and it is still prepared to do high value deals for key assets with competing services (notably, keeping “Friends” on Netflix for a reported $80 million). Assuming an aggressive attitude to content, IHS Markit would expect Warner Media subscriptions to be around 12.5 million at the end of 2023. The core of NBC Universal’s service will not be a consumer-paid subscription, but an ad-supported tier that is available to pay TV subscribers from participating partner operators. To monetise this part of the service, NBCU will be leveraging addressable advertising. Looking at the prospects for NBCU’s paid tiers we have relied on the historic performance of HBO Now, CBS All Access, and other subscription offers that are closely associated with traditional TV networks. These have not enjoyed exceptional adoption. Adoption will depend greatly on whether the service launches in time for the 2020 summer Olympics and how the NBCU retains customers after that. IHS Markit forecasts NBC’s subscriptions of up to 4.5 million by 2023.
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Amazon
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Apple
Warner Media
NBCU
By IHS Markit /senalint
INTERVIEW ENTREVISTA
“We Are Ready to Take MGM to the Next Level” Chris Ottinger, MGM President, Worldwide Television Distribution and Acquisitions, defines the company’s new global business strategy and emphasizes the growth potential on the European market.
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ith a renewed strategy, more focused on local content, and a keen interest in the Latin American region, MGM began this 2019 with huge ambitions. After a successful NATPE Miami, the company wants to keep its momentum at MIPTV. Chris Ottinger, MGM President, Worldwide Television Distribution and Acquisitions, explains the company’s new business model and talks about the latest deals and business potential of the European market. After a huge NATPE Miami, how do you analyze the reloaded global positioning of the company? “The feeling of MGM’s team at NATPE could not have been better. With the new executives who joined the company recently (Tomas Davison and Gustavo Gomez), I think we are ready to take MGM to the next level, to implement the strategy we have been talking about for a while. Our vision for what our business should look like is something much more local. I am talking about films and series made for the Latin audience. We are making big progress on both of those fronts, and we are working with key partners, like Gato Grande”.
a very high production cost, at a price smaller broadcasters can afford, because of the agreement with Televisa. I can thank Televisa enough; they are just amazing partners. Our partnership with them is stronger than ever, and we could not have a better ally in Latin America”. How important is to be flexible in the international arena? “Flexibility is the core of the strategy that MGM is trying to implement. We did not mean to be wed to our US content as our only way of being a seller or a partner to other companies. We saw that opportunity with ‘Luis Miguel’ and ‘Overboard’ and we realized that we could make that business be the centerpiece of our business along with our regular studio product. I think that is what differentiates us from other distributors in the market. We are trying to be a different type of company”. Are you planning to duplicate that business model in Europe? What is the main appeal of the European market for MGM? “On the drama side, we have been ex-
MGM just closed a massive deal with Televisa. How ground-breaking is that development for the company? “The great thing about that deal is that now we can offer a show that has very high production values, and should have m “TKO: Total Knockout”
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m Chris Ottinger
“Our vision for what our business should look like is something much more local” tremely aggressive about partnering with European producers to make international dramas but out of the European market. We think that there are a lot of opportunities in dramas, as we have seen European dramas being imported into the United States in a big way. On the unscripted side, there are still many opportunities to commission original ‘formatable’ shows in this territory, probably more than any other region in the world. That is why it is crucial for us to invest in this continent and get that business going. We think that Europe is one of the places we are going to get hot new formats that hopefully we will be able to distribute globally. We also have a very aggressive acquisition business of formats at Europe”. Is it more challenging to work with so many windows and clients? “Yes, for sure. The windowing is one of the greatest challenges today. We need to think about how we make sure that our products have the best commercial opportunities for distribution. There are so many changes in the market right now, and the windowing is one of them; it is more complex than ever before”. By Diego Alfagemez and Federico Marzullo /senalint
PRODUCTION
Mediapro Starts a New Production Era The company launched The Mediapro Studio, based in Barcelona and adding 10 creative global offices. It will create, produce, and distribute 34 series in Spanish and English with a global reach in 2019, and a global investment of €200 million.
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ith the launch of The Mediapro Studio, the Mediapro Group is going one-step further in bolstering its international expansion, clearly and firmly investing in content. The Group is evolving in its role as the benchmark content producer in Spain, growing into an active protagonist on the international stage by driving productions designed for the global market. Headquartered in Barcelona, The Mediapro Studio has 10 creative offices around the world. With 34 series underway in 2019 and a global investment of €200
THE MEDIAPRO GROUP POWER • 6,700 professionals • 58 offices • 4 continents • 27 non-scripted shows on-air today
NEW ERA The Mediapro Studio represents the Group’s prestigious track record, its well-established current situation, and unbeatable future expectations on an expanding content market. Javier Méndez Zori, Javier Pons, and Laura Fernández
m “Juan for President”
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million for producing films, shows, short formats, and documentaries in Spain, Italy, Portugal, France, Great Britain, Finland, Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, United States, and the Middle East. “The time has come to move beyond our role as a production company and to become a studio,” Jaume Roures, Managing Partner of Mediapro Group, said. “For 25 years, we have produced hundreds of great quality projects all around the world, with the ability to develop global content, all the way from the concept to broadcasting, including executive production and artistic direction. Because of this, we feel we are ready to go one step further and create unique content,” he added. Today, The Mediapro Studio shares productions with HBO, Netflix, Amazon, FOX, Turner, Disney, Yle, Sony, Vice, DirecTV, Hulu, TF1, Televisa, Univisión, Movistar, TVE, All3Media, Mediaset España, and Globo Internacional. Its creative teams are working on developing 200 projects in Spain, United States, Great Britain, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Portugal, and the Middle East. The company also produces over 5,000 hours of entertainment programs, with original formats like “El Intermedio” and “Zapeando,” or worldwide franchises like “Ninja Warriors” or “The Conqueror of the End of the World”.
2019
m “Vis a Vis”
Espeso will oversee the studio’s productions in all territories to push creation, production, funding, and content distribution, also reinforcing presence in the USA through the New York office located in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. “We want to be a global company, a key player in the international content industry, strengthening our presence around the world as a part of our growth. We are very excited about this step, which will enable us to increase our audience and production capacity,” Tatxo Benet, Managing Partner of Mediapro Group stated. Now, The Mediapro Studio’s structure encompasses the entire chain of value, including development, creation, production, audiovisual services, artistic direction, and distribution. The company is also involved in funding new projects. This entails a paradigm shift for traditional production models in Spain, by creating a global brand that will enable the Group to create large franchises, fund projects, and control distribution and intellectual property rights in association with large international partners. By Diego Alfagemez /senalint
INTERVIEW ENTREVISTA
Mediterráneo, The New International Window of Mediaset Spain
m Ana Bustamante
Ana Bustamante, Managing Director of the recently launched Mediterráneo, explains the strategy of the unit, which brings together its production associated companies to boost content development and distribution.
M
IPTV will be the official debut for Mediterráneo. Mediaset Spain’s new corporate structure advances in its adaptation to the global audio-visual industry, marked by the international growing interest in Spanish content and the expansion of new distribution platforms. Mediterráneo brings together its subsidiaries entire catalogue and reinforces its brand as a producer of quality content. Mediterráneo will be led by Ghislain Barrois, as its CEO, together with Ana Bustamante, who joined the company as Managing Director. Señal Internacional interviewed Bustamente, to describe the strategy and goals of Mediterráneo. Why did Mediaset España decide to launch Mediterráneo as its integrated sales and production operation? “Mediterráneo is being launched at a time when the audio-visual market is emerging, in order to face the challenge of creating and distributing all types of
“We seek to unite all the creativity and strength of all the group’s associated production companies” 34 · SEÑAL INTERNACIONAL
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content for both its in house and external platforms and channels. By creating it, we seek to unite all the creativity and strength of all the group’s associated production companies, taking advantage of the diversity and specialization of these content generating companies, with the commercial power, visibility, and international presence of a leading group such as Mediaset España”. What specific global trends and demands have changed the international strategy of the company? “Changes have occurred in two ways. Firstly, internally, with the group’s contribution to the associated production companies. Secondly, the other change was the explosion of the Spanish audio-visual market, in which the consumption of our contents has no borders”. Will Mediterráneo increase its presence in the new international digital platform environment? “With the launch of Mediterráneo, as well as offering the contents created for our channels, we are able to develop ad-hoc products for digital platforms. Not just fiction, but also entertainment shows”. What are Mediterráneo’s main goals in terms of new developments and co-productions? “The objective has two directions. First, to find partners for the series produced for Mediaset España; and on the second hand, is to offer our associated companies’ know-how to national and international clients. Each of our producers
m “State Secrets”
specializes in one type of content, being leading experts in cinema, as is Telecinco Cinema, as well as in entertainment, fiction and digital content”. The new company will align ten production companies and an international channel. What is the main benefit of all working together under the same umbrella? “We have the talent and vast experience of all of them, featuring very diverse genres, ranging from entertainment to fiction, sports, cinema, and digital content. One of Mediterráneo’s great advantages over other companies in the industry is that we have been making content for Free TV channels for 30 years, and it has already been subjected to the audience’s rigorous examination. Then, the incorporation of Cincomás to Mediterráneo comes naturally. The purpose is to continue growing, both with the channel and international sales, and we believe it is important to work in an integrated manner”. By Diego Alfagemez /senalint
DISTRIBUTION
A Turkish Drama Premium Curator Can Okan, Founder and CEO of Inter Medya, analyses the current positioning of Turkish dramas around the global markets and describes some of the new projects of the distribution company.
F
ounded in 1992 by Can Okan, Inter Medya started out as a film distribution company serving the Turkish film industry solely within the domestic market. Nowadays, the company is not just a successful and modern content distributor but also a powerful business developer, with very strong business relationships and substantial experience in all global business models. In Okan’s words, not all regions of the world will necessarily demand more content, but definitely a better one. “Lately, not all the Turkish dramas has been performing as good as it used to perform before. Therefore, we need to be very picky. We should not take each and every product from the Turkish domestic market and try to sell it internationally,” Can Okan said in conversation with Señal Internacional. Regarding the content that the company is distributing right now, Okan gave some examples. “‘Broken Wings’ has been performing very well in all the countries that it has been aired. ‘Mrs. Fazilet and her daughters’ has been very successful everywhere too. Now we have ‘Bitter
m “Mehmed”
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Lands’, our most recent title in the market and, in my opinion, one of the future stars of the region. We are also selling ‘The Pit’, another one of our strongest titles,” he mentioned. Just sold to Imagen Television in Mexico, “Bitter Lands” is the story of a legendary love that begins in Istanbul during the ’70 and continues in the fertile lands in southern Turkey throughout the trials of evil, ambition and tyranny. The story asks whether love is eternal against the facts of life and tests the resistance of love and goodness amidst a series of turbulent events. “You need high production values and budgets. When you watch ‘Bitter Lands’, you really feel like you are there. Tims&B is the producer of this drama, and if the product has their signature, it must be great,” Okan assured. The Founder and CEO of Inter Medya considers that partnering with strong companies such as Tims&B Productions “is always a plus because they are known in the international arena now”. In fact, he thinks that “rather than the cost, nowadays the production values and the story are more important than the cast. Of course, big stars are always a huge plus, but story comes first,” Okan said. BUSINESS EXPANSION Regarding other business developments, in Latin American Inter Medya is trying to put together Turkish producers, local broadcasters, and production companies to create some stories which take place in Turkey and Latin America, mainly in Mexico. “This is in the early stages and it takes time, but this is also part of our future,” Okan stated. At the same time, the company is associating itself with
m Can Okan
some renowned production companies. In January, Soho Formats, a leading TV content distribution company based in Miami, announced that Inter Medya was going to be representing some of their hit formats, in the first partnership between both companies. “Soho Formats has been in the business for quite a long time. We have started with them recently and we are presenting their products. We are very happy to be with them, as they are very easy to work with, and I think this partnership is going to last for a very long period,” the executive expressed.
“Our core business is still drama distribution, but we see a big potential in the formats business as well” Besides the drama business, Inter Medya believes that there is a huge opportunity in formats. “Of course, our core business still is drama distribution, but we see a big potential in the formats business as well. With the power of Acun Medya and ‘Exatlon,’ for instance, we are hoping to expand our presence to new countries in the short term,” he concluded. By Federico Marzullo and Diego Alfagemez /senalint
CONVENTIONS
An Immersive Trip to
The Power of Storytelling Keshet Media Group organized a new Innovative TV Conference (INTV) in Jerusalem, where global executives discussed the next era of the content business and the impact of the digital on the production steps.
A
new Innovative TV Conference (INTV) was organized last month by Keshet Media Group in Jerusalem, reaching three times the number of previous attendees. With most of the panels featuring women, this year the focus was placed on the large streaming platforms that lead the entertainment industry: Netflix and Amazon. Moreover, the evented focused on the importance of writing, producing, and directing processes of an excellent story that captivates international audiences. On opening day of INTV, one of the main speakers was Cindy Holland, Vice President of Original Content at Netflix, who explained how the company transitioned from being a DVD delivering company to the biggest and most disruptive business model. “The business of the DVD was great to learn the audience habits. We had around 100,000 titles
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available for rent in the United States, which gave us information about the diversity of the content that our clients were looking for. When we entered into the world of original content, we knew we could not offer only mainstream content for a basic demographic because our offer was already much wider,” Holland stated. Regarding to the extremely competitive scenario where streaming platforms live in today, Holland assured that there are many opportunities for all the big entertainment companies as well as for the new players. “Nothing has been decided yet. On Demand television is in its early stages and many companies can succeed”. Holland said that Netflix currently has 139 million subscribers who pay for the service and 300 million viewers worldwide. “We can still grow for a long time, but we have to provide programming that is not only interesting for our current 2019
members, but also for the subscribers we would like to have,” she added. With another business perspective, Georgia Brown, Head of European Originals at Amazon Studios, described how the platform is expanding its horizons in order to become an international service. “Amazon has been in operation in the United States for nine years and has created impressive successes such as ‘Transparent,’ ‘Maisel,’ and ‘Jack Ryan’. We will continue to do so but now we have headquarters in Europe, what will allow us to be more local. Even dough we’re interested in international stories, I do not think you can develop a show for a global audience without
first knowing who your local audience is,” Brown stated. The Head of European Originals at Amazon Studios revealed that both for scripted and unscripted, the platform is looking for serialized content. “We need people to continue watching each program. Talent and intellectual property are important, as its access,” Brown said. The executive confirmed that Amazon commissioned the first unscripted original content in the UK, named “James May in Japan,” which will be a six-part travel journal. “We are working with him to develop the program. We are also working on another unscripted series about the football player Sergio Ramos, which opened the door for unscripted content in Spain,” she added. BEHIND THE SCENES Another key topic of the sixth edition of INTV was the value of storytelling. Different executives discussed
/senalint
about this topic during the two days of the event. Such was the case of the talented writer, producer, and director Greg Berlanti, who has created TV shows like “Dawson’s Creek”, “Everwood,” and “Arrow”. Berlanti said that his company is working on “Prodigal Son” for Fox, “Katie Keen,” which is a spinoff of “Riverdale,” the series “Star Girl,” and “Batwoman”. Berlanti highlighted that the success of his series is related with the fact of being a gay executive, who grew up feeling different from most people around. “I do not know if it was due to my sexuality or my desire to be a narrator, but telling stories was always a way to make sense of it and enjoy the experience of my life,” Barlanti said. Another writer who participated of INTV was Jed Mercurio, creator of the “Bodyguard” series. “When you do a show, all you can do is be faithful to it as well as to your characters and your internal logic. You cannot think of how it will performance in the United States, Europe, the Middle East or anywhere else. You just must stay in the basics. You limit yourself to do a show that your domestic
m “The Rise of Short-Form Storytelling “ with Dror Globerman, Lauren Anderson, Gil Goldshein and Erin Keating
audience likes. If you manage that, you will also grow in other terrim Avi Nir tories,” he (KESHET) stated. In one of the panels of the event, it was brought up how the filmmakers are changing the television landscape, because now the Premium series can be compared to what the great Hollywood films meant a few years ago, and the lines between the cinema and television are blurring. “Today is a very exciting time because there are different ways to reach an audience, and we are all here to do it. We all connect audiences with stories,” Danny Perkins, Founder of the Elysian Film Group, said. “Everyone wants to sell something that becomes a franchise,
m “How Amazon is Forging a New Global TV Strategy”, with Peter White and y Georgia Brown (Amazon)
make people want to see more about it,” he added. Moreover, Adi Ezroni, Co-Head of Keshet Films, explained that it is risky to make a movie about a successful TV show. “It could end up being a longer TV episode,” he said. Another executive who spoke about the importance of the story was Katie O’Connell Marsh, CEO at Platform One Media, who revealed that she is driven by IP. “You have to marry the IP with the right writer and have a lot of patience”. For Orly Adelson, President at Orly Adelson Productions, everybody relies on books to get good ideas for TV series. “Even if it’s not a good book, sometimes it’s the core of another idea,” she said. Although she recognized that the two projects she’s working on came from songs. “Country music songs have a story to tell. Take the core of what they want to say, and you
m ”Breaking Story: Inside the Writer’s Mind White”, with Rick Rosen, Greg Berlanti and Jed Mercurio
will have a series. It has been a great success for us,” she added. The short format was also part of INTV. Erin Keating, Senior Development Manager at Snap Originals, remarked that the company is a unique mobile application used by 186 million people every day, with a unique content approach. “We do not want to try to change the user’s behavior. They have the phone vertically in their hands, and we decided to decrypt the code to create premium quality TV that way,” she explained. Keating also recalled Snap began the process of creating short contents and explained how quickly they expanded through strategic alliances with broadcasters. “During the last 5 years we made originals on Snapchat and we started our list with a political news program called ‘Good Luck America’. Then we teamed up with TV channels and media to reinvent the existing IP, for example, with MTV to reinvent ‘Cribs’. We also built a newsroom with NBC to run daily news and ‘Sportscenter’ for ESPN. We started dating shows, and we made about 75 shows for the mobile TV ecosystem of Snapchat,” Keating stated. By Romina Rodríguez
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INTERVIEW ENTREVISTA
“We Are Now Widening Our Focus to New International Markets” m Alexandra Heidrich
Alexandra Heidrich, Head of TV Sales & Acquisitions at Global Screen, explains the new global strategy of the company, that will launch several new shows at MIPTV, such as “1989 – A Spy Story” and “After the Crash”.
G
lobal Screen is a distribution company for theatrical films, TV, and formats based in Munich. It is owned by Telepool, which has been acquired by actor and producer Will Smith and director Marc Forster last year. Now is owned by their respective companies. With a new perspective, the German company heads to MIPTV with a clear premise: content is king. With that in mind, Señal Internacional interviewed Alexandra Heidrich, Head of TV Sales & Acquisitions of the company, to describe the international sales strategy of the company. What is the company’s current international sales strategy? “Content is king. Now more than ever. Our sales strategy is to scour the production companies and markets of this world for content that is unique and stands out. We are constantly on the lookout for original material, with an internationally-known, first-rate cast, and reputable show-runners. Our requirement is that our stories should be globally relevant and our characters compelling. We have no intention of restricting ourselves to specific types of programming. Rather, we look at the individual pitch, the particular twist in the plot, the courageous assembly of an international cast, the excellent production values – put simply, original, bold content, which we invest in because we believe in it. Above all, it must feel authentic to us”.
Are you focusing your sales goals on any particular region? “As a global distributor, Global Screen naturally searches worldwide for unique, internationally promising content. Of course, English-language shows always have a better chance of success on the international market, which is why we seek them out particularly.” How would you describe the current international positioning of Global Screen and German productions? “Through our new shareholders, who have come together to acquire Telepool, we are now widening our focus from markets in Europe to the new international markets that this merger has opened up
to us. We are now optimally positioned for a future in which innovative technologies and discerning audiences are increasingly determining content worldwide. German productions have long since anticipated the future of content and have been waiting in the wings for quite some time, with productions and co-productions that will have no difficulty connecting with international audiences”. What is the main international appeal of “1989 – A Spy Story”? “The show is a true gem of high-end entertainment. It is fast-paced, highly atmospheric, and features a top-notch cast. The identity of the real-life Stasi spy is unknown to this day, what makes the plot more relevant and intriguing. ‘1989 – A Spy Story’ is the perfect event film about the fall of the Berlin Wall”. What will be the distribution strategy for “After the Crash”? “‘After the Crash’ is the exciting, topclass adaptation of the award-winning international bestseller ‘Un Avion Sans Elle,’ by Michel Bussi, which sold over a million copies worldwide. We are hugely excited about the adaptation of this gripping story into a mini-series and have been following the development of the screenplay from the very first second. This excellent show was produced by French channel M6, known for their high production value thrillers. It received a positive feedback from the first customer screening at the Drama Series Days of the Berlinale 2019 and generated a strong interest from Spain, Japan, Iceland and various SVOD platforms from the USA. Promising entertainment!”. By Federico Marzullo
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QUICKIES
More Drama for a New Production Approach
M
m
istco is launching three new drama series at MIPTV. The first highlight for the market is “The Circle”, the story of two brave young men, Cihangir (Serkan Cayoglu) and Kaan (Kaan Yildirim), who are dragged into a game created by mafia, money, and death. “For 2019, our goal is to increase the success of our series around the world. There is a huge growth potential for TRT’s drama productions. Although the company will continue producing historical dramas, recently it started to invest heavily in modern love stories,” Aysegul Tuzun, VP, Sales & Marketing at Mistco, said to Señal Internacional. “With the launch of ‘Hold My Hand’ last year, we begun to open new territories for the company, and we’ve partnered with new TV broadcasters and digital platforms. We want to keep the business momentum and accelerate the footprint of our dramas globally,” Tuzun added. Aysegul Tuzun “Beloved” is the name of the second launch of Mistco at MIPTV and focuses on the love story between Aziz and Feride, who are the children of two big enemies. “Our main recent deals have been sealed around the CIS region and Balkans. Russia, Greece, Macedonia, Kosovo, Uzbekistan, Croatia, Albania, and Poland are the most active territories for us. The new deals cover different shows such as ‘Hold My Hand,’ ‘Resurrection: Ertugrul,’ ‘The Prisoner of Love,’ together with some of our library titles,” Aysegul Tuzun stated. The third drama series that Mistco will launch at MIPTV is “Hold My Hand”, where Azra, a well-educated young girl who lived a perfect life until the day when her father was found dead. She was abandoned in the streets by her step-mother with her autistic brother having no home or money. “Following the international success of ‘Hold My Hand,’ which we launched at Mipcom last year, we believe that our new projects will reach new territories as well. We are very excited, and we will be more than happy to share more details at MIPTV,” Tuzun described.
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m “Sadie Sparks”
Different Business Models and the Best Animation Content
M
IPTV will showcase more new content from Cyber Group Studios, with its three major in-house productions: the adventure and comedy series “Gigantosaurus” (52x11’), “Taffy” (78x7’), and “Sadie Sparks” (52x11’). All shows will have brand-new episodes enhancing the quality and variety of its stories. Cyber Group will also bring to MIPTV the animated series “Ernest and Rebecca,” produced by Media Valley for TF1 France, and distributed globally by Cyber Group Studios. The series, already pre-sold to ZDF Germany, is an adaptation from the comic strip by Guillaume Bianco and Antonello Dalena. The show tells the story of Rebecca and his “microbe” Ernest, who after giving her a cold, becomes his best friend. Once healed, Rebecca leads a funny and emotional adventures with Ernest, as well as with her friends and with her family. Another huge highlight of Cyber Group at MIPTV will be “Purple Turtle” (52x7’), a preschool animated show; targeted to kids from 2 to 6 years-old. Coproduced, distributed and licenced by Aadarsh and Cyber Group Studios, the brand animated series is inspired by the world-famous educational book of the same name and based on the leading preschool IP, which has travelled across more than 25 countries, including Russia, China, United States, and UK. Cyber Group Studios partnered with Aadarsh and Telegael to bring “Purple Turtle” to television and digital platforms worldwide and to handle licensing, merchandising and publishing globally, except Asia and MENA but including China.
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DISTRIBUTIÓN
The Global Power of
a Magic Property
Roch Lener, Founder & CEO at Millimages, describes the global reach of “Molang,” an animation property that has been sold to two hundred countries and has merchandising products, live shows, and fans all around the world.
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illimages is a leader in the children’s entertainment industry, well known for its creative designs and high-quality properties. Since 2014, the company has reinforced its international image with the global success of an animation IP called “Molang”. Created by Hye-Ji Yoon and produced by Millimages, Canal+, Piwi+, Teidees, and Hayanori; the series has been broadcasted by BBC Kids Canada, Canal+ Afrique, Cartoonito, Disney Japan, Disney Latin America, Disney SEA, Disney Australia, Disney US, Hop TV!, JCCTV, Karusel, PTS, Orlando Kids, MTV3, NRK, RTBF, SVT, Télé-Québec, VRT, and many others. “‘Molang’ is a magic property. We’ve sold the show to more than two hundred countries around the world. We have crazy ratings everywhere, like the second place in Disney US, the first places in Italy, UK, and France. Latin America is also a great region for ‘Molang,’” Roch Lener, Founder & CEO at Millimages, described in an interview with Señal Internacional.
“‘Molang’ is a property for kids, but we also have a massive community of young adults that are big fans of the show, especially coming from Latin America. We also have fantastic numbers on YouTube and Facebook,” Lener added. “Molang” is funny and cozy look at the relationship between an eccentric and enthusiastic rabbit with a shy and emotional little chicken. “We receive great feedback from our global fans. As an animation producer, you always try to do your best, but nobody has the sure recipe for success. When we understood the potential of ‘Molang’ to reach people of different ages in several countries, we worked harder in order to have a stronger story and better characters,” Lener stated. “We have two main reasons for the global expansion of ‘Molang.’ First, the design of the show. We have a cute and charismatic character. The second reason for the success of the show is the story. ‘Molang’ is about how to be happy, understand your friends, and accepting differences,” he added.
360° BUSINESS Today, Millimages is a fully integrated company with worldwide distribution,
“MOLANG” GLOBAL FOOTPRINT
m Roch Lener
3
TV seasons (156 episodes / 3´x 30 min)
9 TV specials
(9 episodes x 7 min)
WINNER Best exported french TV series TVFI EXPORT AWARD 2018 NOMINATED Category Preschool INTERNACIONAL EMMY KIDS AWARDS 2016
merchandising, and digital divisions, as well as a catalog that features more than 500 hours of content. “Molang” is the perfect IP for a company that focuses its growth in 360° business models. “We just ended the third season of the show, and we are starting the production of the fourth season. We will have 204 episodes available, and massive global toys and merchandising strategy. Millimages has also created a special area dedicated to new media, where we generate special content for the fans. The future is bright for ‘Molang’ because we have a loyal community of global fans,” Lener stated. “‘Molang’ has a unique look: it is a TV show, but we also produce special content for social media platforms. Moreover, we have live shows, like the one that will tour all around Latin America. Millimages is a 27 years old company. Even though we have had several successful shows in the past, we never have had global feedback like the one we have with ‘Molang,’” Lener said. By Diego Alfagemez
Por Diego Alfagemez
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QUICKIES
The New Drama Sin of Calinos
C
alinos Entertainment will have a massive launch for MIPTV: the drama series “Original Sin”, Romanian show that is on air at the local channel Antenna 1. “‘Original Sin’ was inspired by the famous and very successful novel ‘Forbidden Love,’ which was made into films and series many times in Turkey. The series
m Ismail Dursunov
was shot using the Turkish style of production and storytelling, and is on air weekly with 135’ episodes,” Ismail Dursunov, Deputy General Manager at Calinos Entertainment, described to Señal Internacional. “We are launching this show at MIPTV, and we are certain that it will generate a huge interest on our global clients,” Dursunov added. The business objective of Calinos Entertainment for “Original Sin” is to license the show to at least 50 countries around the world. “We are currently getting a lot of good feedback from our clients. The reason for that feedback should be the amazing production quality of the show, plus the successful adaptation of
the characters to the Balkan culture,” Dursunov said. The launch of “Original Sin” fits perfect with Calinos’ business priority today, which is to start new international co-productions. “‘Original Sin’ is the result of our co-productions strategy. All the Turkish characters were adapted into Romanian ones, some Balkan spices were added to the script, and here we have a great show that has been hugely successful in Romania. Our goal for the upcoming year
is to continue developing new co-productions business,” Dursunov stated. Regarding the new global needs for Turkish drama, Dursunov highlighted the growth of new windows for the genre. “Turkish dramas will always find their places in the global market. However, the recent popularity of the OTT platforms and the demand for series with shorter durations will open up new programming needs and business models,” he assured.
m ”Original Sin”
New Developments for Top Class Services
T
he dubbing and subtitling studio has maintained its leadership position in the industry for 30 years, with a considerable investment in technology, talent and the opening of an engineering and development department. “We always want to be beyond our customer’s expectations. If we constantly manage to reach that goal, it will be a very massive development of the company,” Guillermo Patiño-Mayer, General Manager at Civisa Media, said to Señal Internacional. Today, Civisa Media has an impressive offer to the international industry, with 17 dubbing studios, three mixing q “2050” rooms, and three post-production studios. All studios work double shifts
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daily. “We work from 7 AM to 11 PM, Monday to Saturday, which practically means to be open 24/7. Our goal is to respond to the new international market requirements,” Patiño-Mayer described. From the executive’s perspective, 2019 looks like a promising year for the company, even though it will face many challenges, both locally in Argentina and internationally. “We have many expansion projects both in Argentina and abroad. Not all of them are confirmed, and we are working on different expansion paths. We believe we can have a very good 2019,” Patiño-Mayer stated. Dubbing and subtitling is not everything for Civisa Media. The
m Guillermo Patiño-Mayer
company is expanding its footprint in the video games industry, audiobooks, and a constant investment in technology, to offer state of the art post-production services. “Our clients are looking for a company that edit, dub, and post-produce their content, to upload it straight to the Netflix, Amazon or any other digital platform. m José Dafunchio Now we offer this tool, which opened a new business for us,” Patiño-Mayer added. /senalint
DISTRIBUTIÓN
Moving Forward Together with Worldwide Partners Solange Attwood, EVP International; and Julie Chang, VP of International Co-Productions at Blue Ant Media; explain the company’s strategy when it comes to find the right partner to co-produce.
A
m Solange Attwood
couple of months ago, Blue Ant Media appointed Julie Chang as VP of International Co-Productions, in a move which aims to strengthen its production slate in the US and Canada. “I work with international producers, broadcasters, financiers and distributors to come up with new models and ways of making content within Blue Ant. I am not just focused on Canada; I work across all the globe and production units,” Chang described. To sum up, the executive told Señal International that her “ultimate goal is to make sure that the production is in the right hands, not just with the producers but also with the distributors”. In her opinion, to make sure of that, you need to find the right partner and be able to be trusted. “The only thing you have in this industry is your reputation and if you cannot deliver what you say you are going to deliver, then you might as well not be here,” she assured. For Chang, the goal of co-productions is to make a long-running show and also establish a long-standing relationship with other companies. “A lot of people co-produce with the same partners over and over again because they trust them. Once you have that, it is an amazing business model,” she said. Moreover, Solange Attwood, EVP International at Blue Ant Media, considers that it does not matter where each show will
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be aired. “What matters most to us is that each co-production must have a very clear and thoughtful idea, and its partners are fully aligned with the editorial vision. Then, we have a fantastic team which could help to structure what the financing component parts of a series may be. It always has to start with a fantastic story,” she pointed. “In my opinion, budgets are shrinking. So, you have to be more creative with the way you partner with people. That means new models and new partners,” Chang stated. “One of the main difficulties of the process is when your vision is not aligned with the one of your co-producers. Then it is about how you navigate through those differences. That is what is going to tell you for how long you are going to work with that company”, she continued. CREATIVE PROCESS Chang is not fully involved in the creative q ”When I Grow Up”
m Sarah Tong
part of the co-production process and she sees each project from a business view. “When I am hearing a pitch, the way I hear it will be very different from the way a creator will. I think about what can be done in another territory, how much money it brings in. Sometimes a project might be quite lucrative and in other times it just might not work. You have to be open and willing to accept that it might not be this time, but it might be another time. People will respect that. It is good to say ‘no’ when it does not fit creatively,” she explained. From another point of view, Attwood admits that Blue Ant Media is certainly familiar with buyers’ requests. “It is no unusual to hear their needs to getting people into unique worlds or subcultures. It is not that easy, but the sophistication of the global production community allows you to start to access new worlds, to start to think in different ways and to meld ideas from different parts of the world together. We see that as another trend and way to be able to tell stories in a unique way,” she commented. Looking at the future, Blue Ant Media intentions are to move forward in the same direction. “In the next period of time, the things that we would like to see is a continued diversification of our slate, more content, more co-production partners and, basically, more of what we are already doing,” Attwood concluded. By Federico Marzullo and Diego Alfagemez /senalint
DISTRIBUTION
Worldwide Business
with a French Accent
Nadia Chevallard, Head of International Sales at Newen Distribution, describes the main goals of the company for 2019 and details the strategy in terms of sales for Latin America.
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ewen Distribution, the distribution arm of Newen (TF1 Group), is determined to promote the 6000 hours of programs in its catalog. A key player in Europe in terms of production and distribution, its editorial line is clearly defined: quality shows that unite viewers and attract large audiences. The company meets the demands of the international market by offering the best French productions in all genres: drama, animation, factual and formats. All shows are produced by companies within the Newen group, but also by external independent producers. For 2019, Newen Distribution has some specific goals. “At NATPE Miami we prelaunched our first Spanish drama series, called ‘The Room.’ It has been produced in Spain by Isla Audiovisual, Can Can Producciones and Funwood Media. For us, it is truly a good timing. We invested in the series’ earliest stages of development, before the Spanish drama’s boom. I would say it is a perfect outline for us to start working with Spanish content. We will officially launch the show at MIPTV,” Nadia Chevallard, Head of International Sales at Newen Distribution, told to Señal Internacional.
The cop thriller series is on air on Spain’s HBO as a first OTT window, and then at Forta, as a second window. The show follows the relationship between a young and ambitious journalist and a police investigator locked up for inexplicably killed his best friend and superior. The second primary goal for Newen Distribution in 2019 is to expand its footprint of “Tomorrow is Ours,” a long-running saga series which has been on TF1 Group access primetime for a year and a half. The show seduces 3.5+ million viewers on a daily average at TF1, and half-million viewers on its catch-up service. “Tomorrow is Ours” tells the story of Bay of Sete, which was rocked by an explosion when a craft crashes into a trawler. Amid the chaos, a mother frantically searches for her son. She will do anything to protect him, but her life is turned upside down when a woman washes up on the beach. It turns out to be her sister, who she has not seen in more than 15 years. “It is essential and super strategic for us. It is a co-production between Telsète and TF1. We previously announced a major deal with TVP1 in Poland, a key market for Turkish drama. We are also talking to players in Latin America, both for the ready-made show and the format,” Chevallard said.
LATIN AMERICAN FOCUS Latin America is a territory where Newen Distribution would like to explore even further. “We want our series to find their homes in the region,” Chevallard stated. Moreover, the executive 50 · SEÑAL INTERNACIONAL
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m Nadia Chevallard
admitted that, although Newen has been doing lots of business with premium broadcasters in this territory, it is an excellent challenge for the company to access the Free TV landscape in Latin America. In Chevallard’s words, drama and animation might be the key to achieve success not just in Latin America but all over the world. “French drama series are still very important for us, but we want to diver-
sify our business. In terms of genres, drama and animation are strategic for Newen Distribution. We work across drama, animation, documentary, and unscripted formats. For example, French animation is selling a lot in Latin America, probably more than drama”. Lastly, regarding acquisitions, the Head of International Sales at Newen Distribution explained that the company is not just looking for projects from Europe but the entire world. By Federico Marzullo and Diego Alfagemez
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GMA Worldwide set its eyes on Europe, China and Africa
The Balance Between Scripted and Formats
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m Ana Raquel Sevilla y Roxanne Barcelona (GMA)
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ast year, GMA Worldwide closed an agreement with the Chinese company FZ Entertainment for the series “Happy Together” and one of its main goals for 2019 is to expand its footprint in the country. “China is a difficult market to penetrate for foreign content producers, but through the association of GWI with FZ, the content produced by GMA will reach the country through pay TV and OTT-IPTV. The deal will also expand the presence of GMA in the Asian region, improving its reputation as the main source of quality Filipino content,” Roxanne Barcelona, Vice President at GMA Worldwide, said to Señal Internacional. The Philippine distribution company also has a sales agent in Europe because it looks foward to expand its presence in the continent. “We want to promote some of our dramas on pay television in Europe,” Barcelona stated. Moreover, the company wants to expand its footprint in Africa, where today has a strong presence in Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, and South Africa. “The objective is to distribute more titles in Africa. We want to continue expanding our reach everywhere. Anyone who wants quality drama, we sell it to them,” Barcelona added. During MIPTV, GMA Worldwide will highlight two new titles. The first one is “Dragon Lady,” a drama that tells the story of a Filipino-Chinese girl whose dragon characteristics are considered good luck in their culture, but they deprive her of a normal life. The second highlight for MIPTV is “Sahaya,” that describes the history of the Badjaos, a tribe located in the south of the Philippines, and how a girl left her tribe to start a new life in the city. GMA will also highlight a family drama called “Borrowed Embrace” that shows a mother who lost her only child due to a car accident provoked by a drunk driver.
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anijay Rights’ focus for MIPTV 2019 features a great line up of drama series. “‘Hierro’ is our first series in Spanish, an exceptional, high-quality series which we are delighted to represent. We are noticing a boom in Spanish fiction and, indeed, all non-English language scripted content, so we are delighted to launch Norwegian drama ‘Wisting’ at MIPTV,” Elliott Chalkley, VP of Sales at Banijay Rights stated. “We have m Elliott Chalkley also seen a surge of interest in formats in the Latin American market and expect our explosive new entertainment format ‘Catch!’ to be extremely popular when we launch the series in Cannes. Family entertainment formats, which are easily adaptable and scaleable for different budgets, have universal appeal and are definitely in demand across the region,” Chalkley added. Regarding the international strategy of Banijay Rights, Chalkley explained that the company is working closely with its third-party, co-production partners, to share a creative vision and work within agreed parameters right from the start, together with some of the best creative talent in the world. “As part of Banijay Group we have leading production companies in 16 territories, so we are extremely fortunate to have the expertise and knowledge to anticipate what local broadcasters are looking for in their markets. The global demand for high-quality drama has enabled production budgets to increase, which is evident in our new drama series ‘Wisting’ and ‘Hierro,’ which are attracting strong international interest. Latin America continues to be an important region for us, and we represent many formats which fit well with Latin American and US Hispanic audiences and we expect that our new entertainment format ‘Catch!’ is going to be the next big hit around the region,” Chalkley said.
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QUICKIES
More Original Production Coming from Argentina
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IPTV will have the presence of Cont.ar, the brand that represents Argentina’s public media outlets and content, featuring TV Publica (free tv), Encuentro, PakaPaka, DeporTV (pay TV), Cont.ar (OTT), and Radio Nacional (radio). Cont.ar will bring a catalogue with more than 500 hours of original content to MIPTV.
m “It’s Tango Time”
The Patagonia, tango, food, and arts are some of the topics that can be found in Cont.ar’s content, with shows like “Argentum” (made during the last G20 meeting in Buenos Aires) and dramas like “Cromo” or “La Caida”. For MIPTV, Cont.ar will launch “South Atlantic”, a nature series made in Patagonia; the animation series “Mind-blowing Breakthrou-
ideas were presented at Cont.ar’s call for new original production projects. Many of them will be produced and programmed in Contar’s channels and platforms and will be added to its international distribution catalogue. Furthermore, the division is developing new international co-productions projects with France, Italy, and Korea.
ghs”, an Argentinean and Korean co-production; and the series “It’s Tango time” and “Cities of Tango”. Moreover, Cont.ar will offer the unreleased web series “Noche de Amor,” made for Cont.ar’s OTT platform, which has been selected for competition in Canneseries Festival 2019. For 2019, more than 500
“Hercai”, The Last ATV’s Gemstone
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he Turkish company will have a huge new launch for MIPTV this year: the drama “Hercai”. The story tells an impossible love tale coming from revenge. One of the leading characters, Miran, secretly makes a plan to take revenge from Sadoglu family. Therefore, he gets married to Sadoglu family’s daughter Reyyan. After some time, the secrets will be revealed while Reyyan and Miran will try to appreciate their love despite all obstacles. “ATV’s powerful Turkish drama catalogue gives the opportunity to meet with high quality productions. It’s almost comparable with film productions. We believe that it’s the reason behind why Turkish drama content gone beyond its limit. The demand from international markets is still very high. There are many countries which are following Turkish drama series closely and launching the same products at the same time as the domestic Turkish local market schedules,” Müge Akar and Emre Gorentas, Content Sales Deputy Managers at ATV distribution, explained. The company will also offer two
m Muge Akar
m Emre Gorentas
long-lasting successful dramas: the second season of the rating record holder “Lifeline” and the fourth season of “Grand Family”. “Even ATV’s content travels more than 100 countries all around the world, there are still new
m “Hercai”
horizons to discover. ATV’s goal always will be to open new markets. We’ve just made new deals in Slovenia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Mexico, Chile, Paraguay, Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, Colombia, and United States. Moreover, Afghanistan just picked up ‘Lifeline’. We expect new deals with the launch of ‘Hercai’ at MIPTV and adding new territories for ‘Lifeline’ and ‘Grand Family’,” Akar and Gorentas stated. SEÑAL INTERNACIONAL 2019
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QUICKIES
International Growth and Local Voices
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ast year, The Kitchen reached a massive international expansion. The dubbing and subtitling studies currently counts with twelve international studios in countries as diverse as Brazil, Mexico, Turkey, Hungary, Netherlands, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Moldova, Russia, and the United States. “We are looking for new clients and covering more languages,” Deeny Kaplan, Executive VP at The Kitchen, said to Señal Internacional.
To continue with its global expansion, The Kitchen associates with local companies in each country, which then become one new member of the company’s umbrella. In 2019, The Kitchen will focus its efforts in the Eastern Europe and Asian markets. “We have a broad international presence because we want to be sure that we are doing the best job from the beginning. We work with native people from each country, so every translation is perfect,”
Kaplan stated. The executive defines that the biggest trend of the dubbing industry is that all the clients need a single partner for all post-productions services. “First, they need one dubbing in a specific language, but later the need another language. We are able to provide all services with the same consistency, making a good product and in the right way,” Kaplan explained. The Kitchen is the only dubbing and subtitling studio winner of two Emmy Awards for the creation of software that allows them to work more quickly and efficiently.
m Deeny Kaplan
“The software allows us to do our work for a lower cost and saving a lot of time,” Kaplan said. The Kitchen will attend MIPTV, where the company will deliver demos on all languages. “We work very hard with our clients at every trade-show, where we bring new demos and languages,” Kaplan stared.
Mondo TV Deepens on Original Production
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he Iberian branch of Mondo TV Group, Mondo TV Iberoamerica, is working deeply on diversifying its original offer. “As an international distributor, we aim to strengthen our position by continuing and growing the distribution of the Mondo TV’s catalog and third-party’s properties. Today, Mondo TV Iberoamerica is also producing a lot. While distribution remains the core business of our company, we consider that the development of original content will be one of the pillars of our business strategy in the short-term,” Maria Bonaria q “2050”
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Fois, General Manager at Mondo TV Iberoamerica said. The best example of Mondo’s strategy is the first ever live-action show of the company, “Heidi Bienvenida”, and the movie inspired on the Heidi character. The project is currently in post-production stages. Moreover, Mondo TV is working around its sci-fi adult drama, “2050”, in coproduction with VIP 2000 TV, and Casablanca from Brazil. “The series is on its development stage and we had very positive feedback from the industry. The story is set on a dystopian future and describes a world where emotions and feelings are prohibited. The project has eight hour-episodes,” Fois described. On the animation side, Mondo TV Producciones Canarias, part of Mondo TV Iberoamerica, is redefining the strategy of the group. Launched two years ago, the division is growing fast. The Canarias’ team is working on the visual
m Maria Bonaria Fois
development and pre-production of several promising Mondo TV’s projects, through a servicing contract. The new shows include animation titles such as “Invention Story” (104 x 11’) and “Meteo Heroes” (52 x 7’), a Mondo TV co-prom José Dafunchio duction with Meteo Operations Italia (MOPI). “Our long-term expectation is to transform the studio into an international hub for creation, development, and production of top-quality projects. We’re sure that 2019 will prove we’re on the right track to make that happen,” Maria Bonaria Fois stated. /senalint
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PHOTOGALLERY
NATPE MIAMI 2019
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In addition to the US, Canada, and Latin American buyers, the event had a strong presence of programmers from all over the world, featuring new regions and countries like Northern Africa, Afghanistan, Russia, and Ukraine.
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/14 _1 - Fernanda Lima, Silvio de Abreu, Carlos Henrique Schroder, Monica Albuquerque and Raphael Corrêa Netto (GLOBO) _2 - Francisco Ramos and Rodrigo Mazon (NETFLIX) _3 - Delmar Andrade and Edson Pfutzenreiter Mendes (RECORD) _4 - Juan Ignacio Vicente (MEGA) and Daniel Djahjah (AMAZON) _5 - Luis Villanueva (SOMOS) _6 - Quique Estevanez and Diego Guebel
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/15 _7 - Daniel Burman (MEDIAPRO), Darío Turovelzky (VAICOM) and Alex Marín (SONY) _8 - Jukka Kaivola y Maria Kivinen (YLE) _9 - Carlos Martinez (FOX) and Chris Ottinger (MGM) _10 - Fiction Factory and Ventana Sur Cocktail _11 - Raphael Corrêa Netto (GLOBO) and Pierre Weisbein (NBCUNIVERSAL) _12 - Can Okan, Beatriz Cea Okan, and Sibel Levendoglu (INTER MEDYA)
/16 _13 - Lisa Wegscheider, Barbora Susterova (ECCHO RIGHTS), Liliam Hernández, and Gema López (UNIVERSAL CINERGIA) _14 - José Dafuncchio, Javier Heuser, and Guillermo Patiño-Meyer (CIVISA MEDIA) _15 - Matt Vasallo, Barry Poznick, Chris Ottinger, and Tomas Davison (MGM) _16 - Emre Gorentas (ATV), Cecilia Presto, and Ivan Ibarra (CANAL 10)
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TV IN NUMBERS
Insight Stats to Understand Current and Future Trends
THE RISE IN SVOD VIEWING Ad-Free SVOD Viewing vs. Ad-Based TV per Day Hours Viewed 6,000,000,000
Hours of SVoD Ad-Free TV Watched
5,000,000,000
Hours of Ad based TV watched
4,000,000,000 3,000,000,000 2,000,000,000 1,000,000,000
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
The Rise of SVOD Subscription Globally Millions of Subscribers 800 Latin America
700 600
Europe
500 400 Asia Pacific
300 200
North America
100 0
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
Global TV Market in Billions of Dollars 600 500 SVoD
400
Addresable Ads
300 Not One, but Two Collapses in TV Advertising 200 100
Pay TV Subs Begin to Dwindle
0
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
m SOURCE: “The rise in SVoD viewing to swamp traditional TV by 2023”, by Rethink TV
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