AMERICA IS A STRATEGIC TERRITORY FOR US”

CÉCILE CAU, SVP SALES, CO-PRODUCTIONS

AND ACQUISITIONS AT ZODIAK KIDS & FAMILY DISTRIBUTION, ANALYZES THE POTENTIAL OF THE LATIN AMERICAN MARKET, DESCRIBES THE COMPANY’S SALES STRATEGY, AND DETAILS WHICH TITLES ZODIAK IS CURRENTLY FOCUSING ON.

Zodiak Kids & Family Distribution, the dedicated sales division for Banijay Kids & Family, currently represents over 2.200 hours of animated and live-action content, distributing a catalog of high-quality programming to entertain kids and families. Cécile Cau, SVP Sales, Co-productions and Acquisitions, analyzed the potential of the Latin American market, described the company’s sales strategy, and detailed which titles Zodiak is currently focusing on.

How would you describe the current scenario of the Latin American market?

“It is an important market for us. In fact, Latin America is a strategic territory for us. We have made several co-productions within the territory, some that we have already delivered and others that we are going to deliver soon. Due to the pandemic and the mergers, the past two years have been challenging, but we are happy that business is now coming back. We have a strong catalog with new programs, but also a library of shows already dubbed into Spanish and Portuguese, something that is always very important for buyers.”

How important is the co-production business model in the region?

“Honestly, today I do not know which company can produce without joining other channels or platforms. For us, co-production is very important, mainly because we want our series to be as international as possible. It seems to me that having partners in various parts of the world makes the series have diversity and a more global appeal. Another important aspect is that all the partners who participate in a project think about windowing and exclusivity, so that everything works out efficiently.”

What kind of stories or characters are buyers looking for?

“It depends a lot on the channel or the platform, so it is difficult to generalize, but we are seeing a lot of interest in content that the whole family can watch at the same time. We also noticed a lot of competition in the preschool demo. At the same time, I do not know if it is because we have had a very stressful two years or what, but everyone is looking for comedies. There is also a lot of gender-neutral content, that is neither for boys nor for girls, and animations for ages 6 and up. Moreover, many streaming platforms look for fictions for a slightly older age.”

Do you notice many differences between linear and digital?

“No, it mixes. In fact, many local and pan-regional channels now have their own OTT platforms and need content that works both linearly and digitally. In these cases, there is no clear distinction between these two worlds.”

Which shows are you currently pushing globally?

“The first one is ‘Silverpoint,’ our two-season fictional series that is truly international as it has coproducers from France, England, Germany, and the United States. We also have ‘Mumfie,’ our show for preschoolers, a co-production between France Télévisions and Rai that we have already sold in Eastern Europe and Germany. Then there is our comedy ‘The Unstoppable Yellow Yeti’ which is super funny and well produced. Finally, we have ‘Topo Gigio,’ a well-known series in Latin America that still has its rights available for free television.”

By Diego Alfagemez and Federico Marzullo