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ARTICLES
from TodoTV - Miptv 2020
by TodotvMedia
New Korean Series and Hit Turkish Dramas
Fredrik Af Malmborg, managing director of Eccho Rights, shares details about the Swedish distributor’s new slate, featuring titles from Korea, Turkey and the Nordic region. He also offered insight into his company’s business model for working with producers.
ByGonzalo Larrea / @glarrea / glarrea@todotv.tv
Legacy Series
Despite the cancellation of Miptv, Swedish distributor Eccho Rights continues to add titles to its vast catalog, with a slate that’s increasingly more diversified through titles from Turkey, the Nordic region and now, South Korea.
To find out more about this growing slate, as well as the company’s unique approach towards the production business, ttv spoke to Fredrik Af Malmborg, managing director of Eccho Rights.
What are the newest additions to the company’s catalog? We are in an intensive phase of development right now, with new series from Turkey, Korea, and the Nordic countries. We have a big new big Turkish series launching soon on Kanal 7 called ‘Legacy’.
We are also doing interesting things with our new mother company CJ ENM from Korea, working to get Korean series to launch more successfully in Latin America after the incredible success of ‘Parasite’, also from CJ ENM. We put together a package of 8 differ
ent Korean series, which we are programming as a full slate for broadcasters in Latin America. And we have a number of Nordic series, including ‘Love Me’ and ‘Honour’.
What else can you share about ‘Legacy’? It’s a daily series by Karamel Yapim, which will air on Kanal 7. The idea is to have 100 episodes before the summer and then continue. It’s a strong story of an emotionally disabled family father, which will air on the same time slot as ‘The Promise’, which was already renewed for a third season and will now air one hour later in Turkey. It joins our slate of daily series, ideal to replace ‘Elif’, such as ‘The Promise’ and ‘Wounded Birds’, which recently premiered in Colombia.
And in regard to the Korean series package, have you received any feedback from broadcasters in Latin America? We have already closed three different deals with broadcasters in LatAm and the reaction has been good. The idea is to program a slate of Korean series because they are normally a bit shorter, from 10 to 20 episodes, so it’s shorter than what’s usually programmed in Latin America.
Obviously Korean storytelling works well in the region. The demand for non-English content is rising, as proven by the success of Parasite and Turkish series. We believe Korean series are a good complement.
What type of titles are included in that package? At the moment we are focusing on lighter titles, such as romantic comedies, easy, accessible.
Another part of the Korean trend is to adapt Korean scripts into dramas. Of course, ‘The Good Doctor’ has been a big success in Turkey and the US. We have adapted a number of Korean scripts throughout the years. In Turkey alone, it’s been 35 adaptations in the last five or six years.
Right now we are working on several projects based on Korean scripts, with active options in France and a project in pre-production in Turkey.
There are tons of similarities between Korean and Turkish culture, something that should play well in Latin America as well.
Is Eccho Rights looking to enter the world of production? Eccho Rights’ business is to represent producers and manage their rights around the world. In that sense, we enter projects more and more in their early stages, even at development, sometimes investing alongside the producer while we look for the financial package.
itors your budget, they have an accountant on each set, and you get a 10% margin on your cost. That’s of course a safe model for a producer because you take very limited risk, but the upside is also limited.
What I see us adding to producers is to represent their rights and to negotiate with different windows. Obviously to make a series for Netflix is fantastic, but it could also be the
Conspiracy of Silence Series
Fredrik Af Malmborg, Managing Director of Eccho Rights “ECCHO RIGHTS’ BUSINESS IS TO REPRESENT PRODUCERS AND MANAGE THEIR RIGHTS AROUND THE WORLD.”
alternative. We are seeing more and more regional SVODs coming up like Viaplay in Scandinavia. Regional SVODs are becoming an alternative to the global platforms.
I still think that the producer should retain as much IP as possible, because hey are the ones who really know their series and how to bring it forward to the next season, the next spinoff or sequel. So, our job is to help the producer to retain rights, and if you do the windowing properly, you sell the windows to the best partners, you can make a lot of money and retain rights. A good drama franchise can be sold and developed for decades. And also adapted. At Eccho we help producers do between 20 and 30 remakes a year and they profit from it as well.
So it’s becoming a complex game of managing a drama franchise. We are dividing that work with the producers. We have that expertise and the producer has the expertise in producing and developing fantastic series. Together we can be very successful.
Which countries are you applying this model in? We are working with producers in Scandinavia and more and more in Turkey, because they’re starting to understand that it’s a new world out there. And we also have the first two big projects in Spain. We are presenting them alongside the producers. It’s a bit early to announce them but they are in development.
Honour Series
”BROADCAST TV HAS HAD TO ADAPT QUICKLY TO THE NEW REALITY, WHICH HAS SEEN A INCREASE IN VIEWERSHIP ACROSS THE REGION.”
BROADCAST TV IN TIMES OF COVID-19 LIVE TV, RERUNS AND BLOCKBUSTERS
In light of the halt in production due to the coronavirus pandemic, broadcast TV screens across the region have had to adapt their programming schedules, betting on live shows and reruns of successful content, and pushing up release dates. BySebastián Amoroso / @sebamoroso / samoroso@todotv.tv
The crisis caused by the global Covid-19 pandemic has impacted every link in the audiovisual production and distribution chain. Like many other platforms, broadcast TV has had to adapt to this new reality and serve the millions of viewers sitting in front of their TV screens, seeking information and entertainment, as they’re forced to stay home and comply with the quarantine measures taken around the world.
Up next, ttv shares insights from TV executives from all over the region, who shared the programming strategies being deployed to meet the increasing demand for content.
A NOTABLE GROWTH FOR LIVE TV. Over the last few days, market analysis companies have confirmed that viewership has increased significantly for broadcast TV networks.
“Viewership is growing in a major way, especially on broadcast TV,” Ramiro Avedaño Jaramillo, president of Canal 1 in Colombia, said to ttv.
This growth is seen mainly on live TV as audiences try to stay informed of the latest developments by watching morning magazines, afternoon and late night talk shows, and prime time newscasts.
“We’ve increased the number of live TV hours and extended the newscast, with special editions for shows such as Todas las voces,” said Ignacio Mazza, Programming manager at Monte Carlo TV in Uruguay.
“We are helping as much as we can with everything that’s happening in the country, from health to food and finances. There are so many questions and uncertainty,” said Luis Guillermo Camacho, Strategy and Content manager at Latina in Peru.
“We are being very thorough and careful about everything we say. We want to share information and not underestimate what’s happening, but still trying not to cause a panic,” added Patricia Daujotas, Content director at Saeta Canal 10 in Uruguay.
As a result, live TV is expanding all over the region, especially in Brazil, where it now takes up most of Record TV’s schedule: “It’s 12 daily hours of live journalistic production, used to inform Brazilians about how the virus is spreading and teach them the best ways to prevent infection,” said Marcelo Caetano, director of Programming at Record TV in Brazil.
RELEASE DATES CHANGED, SHOWS CANCELED, PRODUCTIONS POSTPONED. In addition, networks across the region have had to reduce the number of employees working both in front and behind the camera, as part of the quarantine measures taken in most countries, causing production of new content to come to a halt.
“The number of people in studio has also been significantly reduced, leaving only those who are absolutely essential,” said Silvia Saad Jadet from the Band Pay TV division at Bandeirantes Group in Brazil.
As such, most employees are now working remotely from their homes, making it necessary for networks to modify their working schedules and models.
Other networks such as TVN in Chile or Mediapro in Spain have had to take more drastic measures and make cuts to their workforce.
Sweet Diva Globo
AD SALES ARE ALSO AFFECTED. The impact of this unprecedented situation has also caused TV ad sales to decrease notably, with an estimated 12% drop for this year.
This reality is forcing networks to come up with new strategies and commercial pack- ages to be able to sign new deals with ad- vertisers.
“We had to postpone production for an ad for Toyota for the US and Canada. Health is the number one priority and we must re- spect authorities’ requests. We’ve suspended it, but we don’t know for how long, because this situation changes by the minute and we don’t think it will be fixed in two weeks or a month,” said Nicolás Aznárez, CEO of El Camino in Uruguay.
The projects canceled have caused many actors and professionals to be left without work, especially those in which several peo- ple were involved.
And international events that are majorly important for broadcast TV have also been suspended, such as the Tokyo Olympics or the Copa America -set to be held in Argenti- na and Colombia-, as well as the qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2022, causing an impact on the ad sales arranged for their respective broadcasting networks.
In this scenario, some networks are betting on the episodes that have already been pro- duced to keep series and shows on air, at least for the time being.
“Fortunately we have a backup of shows that have already been filmed, which gives us some peace of mind. But it all depends on how long production is halted for,” said Eugenio Restano, Programming manager at Teledoce. “We work with plenty of time at the network, so our production schedule for this part of the year was almost complete, which has proven very helpful to deal with this situa- tion. And eventually we won’t do what isn’t urgent,” added Patricia Daujotas from Saeta Canal 10.
Another example is the show Bienvenidos a bordo by El Trece in Argentina, which pre- miered just a few days ago because “all the episodes have already been filmed”, said Vanesa Bafaro, head of Press and Communi- cation at Artear, El Trece and Polka.
The halt in production has also prompted networks to bet on rereleases, a major trend among broadcast TV networks in Chile.
Another valid option has been to speed up the release of shows which were scheduled to premiere later in the year.
A REBIRTH FOR TAPED CONTENT. An- other major trend to come from these times of crisis is the addition of all types of taped content, mainly series and films, both from Hollywood majors and independent distrib- utors; such as the series ‘Pablo Escobar: the Drug Lord’ by Caracol Television, which was picked up by Canal 13 in Chile.
“Nobody wants this to happen, but taped content is always helpful to cover this type of production crisis,” said Ariel Tobi CEO of Snap Media.
“I don’t think it will need to happen right away, because even if a show is postponed, there’s still a bit of time before it needs to be replaced. But if the situation goes on for too long, networks are going to have to fill the holes in their programming and there will be a resurgence for all types of taped content: series, telenovelas, movies, etc”, he added.
The current media landscape, especially on linear TV, will see several changes in the long run.
“Broadcast TV has been strengthened be- cause people need newscasts and talk shows right now. And maintaining fiction on broadcast TV networks is also necessary to retain the big advertisers,” said Alex Lago- marsino, CEO of MediaBiz.
However, once everything returns to nor- mal, the executive believes “there will be new game rules. Broadcast TV networks will have to design new plans.”
All in all, everything that’s been going on is causing uncertainty in the TV industry, but also promoting creativity and new oppor- tunities, which may lead to innovation and growth in the near future. We still don’t know exactly what the “corona effect” will be.
Nicolás Aznárez, CEO of El Camino in Uruguay
Eugenio Restano, Programming manager at Teledoce.
Ariel Tobi, CEO of Snap Media
Alex Lagomarsino, CEO of MediaBiz
EXECUTIVES EDUARDO LEBRIJA NAMED EVP AND COO OF VIACOMCBS NETWORKS AMERICAS
IN HIS NEW ROLE, the executive will report directly to JC Acosta, president of ViacomCBS Networks Americas, and supervise the company’s income in all business lines in America, overseeing its commercial strategies in the areas of Ad Sales, Marketing, Content Distribution, Networks and Consumer Products. His previous role was taken over by Laura Pérez, who became general director of ViacomCBS Networks Americas for Mexico and LatAm North. She will be based in Mexico City and also report to Acosta.
BIOPIC ELEFANTEC AND SHINE IBERIA TO DEVELOP MIGUEL BOSÉ SERIES
SHINE IBERIA, Elefantec Global and Legacy Rock Entertainment have signed a deal to develop a new series about the life of Spanish singer, Miguel Bosé. The project will involve Bosé as a collaborator and also feature Movistar+. The series, which is still “in very early stages of development”, will have three, eight-episode seasons, and follow the singer’s life story from childhood to fame. Very well known in Spain and Latin America, Miguel Bosé is one of the most successful Spanish singers of the past 50 years. He’s also an actor, with standout roles in films like ‘Tacones lejanos’ by Pedro Almodovar. The series will be distributed by Legacy Rock Entertainment and Elefantec Global, the recently launched company led by Pepe Bastón, Carlos Martínez, Jeff Symon, Carlos Sandoval, Antonio Alonso and Daniel Ucros.
DISTRIBUTION INTER MEDYA’S ‘BITTER LANDS’ SURPASSES 30 INT’L TERRITORIES
‘BITTER LANDS’, the successful Turkish period drama distributed worldwide by Inter Medya, continues to extend its dominance and success across the globe with steady steps. The famous series has reached more than 30 territories worldwide and 16 territories in Latin America, where it will soon premiere on Telefe in Argentina and Mega in Chile. Recently, Inter Medya announced it was licensed in Montenegro to TV Vijesti and in Macedonia to Media Acquisition (Sitel). Locally, the series continues to retain steady and strong ratings. On its second season, the series is still ranking number one on Thursday evenings. The latest episode, broadcast in Turkey last Thursday, reached 16,35% ratings and over 30% share. Produced by TIMS&B Productions, ‘Bitter Lands’ tells the story of a legendary love that begins in Istanbul during the 1970s and continues in the fertile lands of Southern Turkey throughout the trials of evil, ambition and tyranny.
STREAMING DISNEY TO LAUNCH HULU INTERNATIONALLY IN 2021
DURING A PRESS CONFERENCE, Disney CEO, Bob Iger, revealed new details about the company’s expansion plans for Disney+, which is already available in the US, Canada, the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand, and will reach the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Switzerland and Austria in March. The executive revealed this first expansion will now also include India. Then in mid-2020, Disney+ will reach other European countries, as well as Latin America and Asia towards the end of the year. During the event, Iger also announced that after Disney+’s expansion is complete, the company plans to do the same with Hulu, whose expansion will begin in 2021.
