Contents _/12
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_/10
Central Report
Q&A
ANALYSIS
All Paths Lead to Co-Production _/20
_/14
Internationally Independent _/10 Marco Altberg, President, ABPI-TV
Experts in Original Production _/26 Michela Giorelli, VP Production and Development, Discovery Networks Latin America & US Hispanic
InsideFinland todotvmedia
ONLINE PRINT
ttv todotv ttvPreview yearbook
Gu铆a AdSales Directorio Producci贸n todotvnews.com ttvmedianews.com
A Gateway into Finland _/16 Petra Theman, CEO, Finnish Film & Audiovisual Export (FAVEX)
Finland Unite _/16
Tuija Snellman, Head of Sales, YLE Finnish Broadcasting Company
ttvmedianews.com PRODUCTION
Casablanca: Delivering the Concept _/28
ttv
Download the PDF version of ttv Rio Content 2013
©2013
_/32
_/16
_/15
_/28
_/26
_/18
Executives
60 Years of Rede Record _/12
Celso Teixeira, Communications Director, Record TV Network
Across All Genres _/14
Tobi de Graaff, Director of Global Television Distribution, ITV Studios
All Bases Covered _/31 Julian Jackson, CCO, Total Sports Asia
One Size Doesn’t Fit All _/34
Lawrence Duffy, Managing Director, Aurora Media Worldwide
Immediate Connection _/15
Guilherme Bokel, Head of International Entertainment, Rede Globo
The Mecca of Sports _/18
David Jones, Sales and Marketing Manager, Sportel
Live From Every Corner _/30
Carmen González-Sanfeliu, Regional Vice President, Latin America & Caribbean, Intelsat
_/31 Gallery NATPE 2013 _/22
28-30, January, Fontainebleau Resort Hotel, Miami Beach, US
Product News RioContentMarket 2013 Sportel Rio 2013 _/32
ttv ©2013
PRESIDENT/CEO Sebastian Lateulade - slateulade@todotv.tv EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Soledad Saldías - ssaldias@todotv.tv PUBLISHING DIRECTOR Sebastián Amoroso- samoroso@todotv.tv EDITOR IN CHIEF Rodrigo Ros - rros@todotv.tv SENIOR EDITORS Sebastián Torterola - storterola@todotv.tv Josefina Mezzera Regules - jmezzera@todotv.tv EDITORS Gonzalo Larrea - glarrea@todotv.tv Carolina Mussio - cmussio@todotv.tv WRITER Valentina Vinaja - vvinaja@todotv.tv SALES AND PRODUCTION MANAGER Darío Alemán - daleman@todotv.tv INTERNATIONAL SALES MANAGER Monica Iriarte - miriarte@todotv.tv HEAD OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Alejandro Sánchez - asanchez@todotv.tv IT MANAGER Alejandro Barros - abarros@todotv.tv DATA OPERATIONS Fernando Moreno - fmoreno@todotv.tv WEBMASTER Nazario Pereira - n.pereira@todotv.tv FINANCE MANAGER Cr. Michel Schwartz - mschwartz@todotv.tv ADMINISTRATION Ana Paula Carreira - acarreira@todotv.tv Valeria Morena - morena@todotv.tv ART AND DESIGN UNIK Media Solutions - info@unikbureau.com www.unikbureau.com
6/TTV MAGAZINE
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Michelle Batista,
CONTENT
Mixer Conspiração
Rafaela Mandelli and Juliana Schalch, stars of the new series ‘O Negócio’.
to Produce HBO Series HBO announced two new series are being developed for the Latin American market. ‘O Negócio’, produced by Mixer, is the story of a group of prostitutes who decide to open their own business, using modern marketing techniques. In addition, ‘Hoje é dia de Música’ by Conspiração Filmes will include a series of docu-dramas about Brazilian music’s main players. Moreover, the programmer is analyzing the possibility to produce a second season of ‘FDP’ and ‘Preamar’; yet nothing’s been confirmed thus far. In fact, due to the new pay TV law, the minimum original content quotas in Brazil have increased significantly, altering the relationship between producers and programmers. In this sense, most rights from new releases must be owned by the production company, which must also provide a large portion of the necessary resources to create the content. Gustavo Grossman, VP and GM at HBO Networks Latin America, said the company has signed an exclusive five-year deal, which determines these rights can be broadcast after said time. In addition, the network announced the premiere of new seasons for its original series ‘Game of Thrones’, ‘The Newsroom’, ‘Girls, Veep’, ‘True Blood’, ‘Boardwalk Empire’, ‘Enlightened’, ‘Treme’ and Chilean series ‘Prófugos’. It will also premiere an original series produced in Mexico: ‘Sr. Avila’.
LAUNCH
ZON Takes Globo to Portugal In November in Lisbon, Ricardo Scalamandré, Head of Globo’s International Business, and Luis Lopes, ZON’s manager, presented a new deal between both companies through which Globo launched a new channel in Portugal. The channel debuted on November 11th, and will reached five million Portuguese viewers who subscribe to the ZON basic cable package. Globo has a grid dedicated to all the fans of Brazilian drama, with telenovelas broadcast seven days a week. The channel’s programming also includes talk shows, series, comedy programs and a special session dedicated to Brazilian cinema every Sunday night. For the launch of the channel, the Globo Communication Center produced a campaign with several renowned actors. “Globo has a special affection for Portugal. This partnership with ZON is very important to us. We are enthusiastic and our objective is to be one of the main cable channels in the country. We want to ZON Manager Luis Lopes be the best option for Brazilian content in and Ricardo Scalamandré, Head of International Portugal,” said Ricardo Scalamandré. Business at Globo.
INNUMBERS US$ 7 billion is what the LA Dodgers will get over the next 25 years through a TV rights deal with Time Warner Cable.
22% of tablet
PROGRAMMING
RTVE’s ‘Águila Roja’ Tops Spanish Ratings Spanish viewers turned to fiction series in 2012, landing 6 series among the year’s top 20. The big winner was ‘Águila Roja’ by RTVE, which registered over 6 million viewers and 30% market share with its highest rated episode, landing 7th on the overall list. The show is followed by ‘Cuéntame Cómo Pasó’, ‘La que se avecina’, ‘Isabel’, ‘Amar en tiempos revueltos’, ‘Aída’, ‘Con el culo al aire’ and ‘Fenómenos’, all of which were seen by more than 3 million viewers on average. As far as entertainment shows go, ‘La Voz’ (‘The Voice’) was the highest rated format with 5 million viewers, ranking 8th on the list.
Spain’s top 10 fiction series of 2012
owners spend over US$ 50 a month online and 9% surpass US$ 100, says ABI Research.
1. Águila Roja 6,076,000 viewers and 29.8% share 2. Cuéntame cómo pasó 5,031,000 viewers and 24.8% share
3. La que se avecina 4,174,000 viewers and 22.7% share
4. Isabel 4,035,000 viewers and 19.9% share
US$ 9 billion
5. Especial de Amar en tiempos revueltos 3,544,000 viewers and 18.2% share
is Twitter’s current value following a sale of shares to BlackRock for US$ 80 million.
6. Aída 3,344,000 viewers and 16.7% share 7. Con el culo al aire 3,200,000 viewers and 17.3% share
8. Fenómenos 3,130,000 viewers and 16.5% share
9. Gran hotel 2,802,000 viewers and 14.8% share
222,000
net additions in Dec 2012 made Brazil end the year with 16.2 million pay TV households.
35% of UK businesses
are using cloud services to store data, compared with 58% in the US.
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14 million
downloads were registered to date for the BBC iPlayer, with 300,000 on Christmas alone.
10. El barco 2,776,000 viewers and 15.3% share
PRODUCTION
FremantleMedia Expands Presence in Latin America The international producer kicked off 2013 with a raft with numerous top broadcasters throughout the region. Following 11 successful seasons, Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) has renewed the Emmy Award-winning ‘American Idol’ for Season 12, which will be available panregionally from January 2013 and on terrestrial outlets in Suriname and the Caribbean. On the topic of classic FME series, the company has closed a deal with Turner’s Glitz to air seasons 10 and 11 of the long-running reality show ‘Project Runway’. FME has also sold several other reality shows in the Latin American region including ‘Auction Hunters’ season 3 to truTV; ‘Project Accessory’ to Fox Life; and ‘Jamie Oliver’s Dream School’ to Globosat in Brazil and Fox Life for the rest of Latin America. Meanwhile, Jamie Oliver extends his culinary reign throughout the region with sales of more than 50 hours of new titles from his slate, all of which will air in more than 30 countries via Globosat in Brazil and Fox Life throughout the rest of Latin America. FME’s recent sales include a drama package deal to Latin America’s DirecTV, including ‘Killing Time’ and ‘The Sinking of the Laconia’; along with British suspense ‘What to Do When Someone Dies’. The fourth season of the successful music series, ‘Live From Abbey Road’, will go to Turner’s Glitz (second window); while the fifth season (first run) is currently on Sony Spin. Moreover, ‘1,000 Ways To Die’ has been sold to Turner’s Infinito (seasons 4-6). Finally, in formats, game show ‘Hole In The Wall’ comes back for a second season on Teletica in Costa Rica, while ‘Distraction’ will air in Argentina and Uruguay as it finds a home on Telefe.
Q&A ttv
Internationally Independent In his interview with ttv, Marco Altberg, president of the Brazilian Association of Independent TV Producers (ABPI-TV), spoke about the market’s growth over the past decade and said Rio welcomes the industry “with open arms.” By Sebastián Torterola Twitter: @storterola storterola@todotv.tv
Brazilian artist Seu Jorge during the opening of RioContentMarket 2012.
“Ten years ago, there weren’t even 10% of the opportunities we have today, which is mainly due to the public policies aimed at developing the audiovisual market.”
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“The sector is growing and will continue to grow: today we have around 16 million subscribers and this number will double soon.”
A Last year, the event brought together 2,200 participants from 24 countries and promoted 950 meetings during the One-To-One Meetings.
phrase by Marco Altberg, president of the Brazilian Association of Independent TV Producers (ABPI-TV) is enough to understand Brazil’s influence as an economic hub. “Before, just a few countries included TV within their official co-production deals with Brazil. Now, everyone’s adjusting, because we have liquidity.” The executive spoke to ttv about the Association’s first steps, its accomplishments during the last decade, the creation of the RioContentMarket and the country’s regulatory framework.
What’s the current state of the independent production industry in Brazil? The work ABPITV has been doing in the last decade is to prepare producers for a new market. Ten years ago, there weren’t even 10% of the opportunities we have today, which is mainly due to the public policies aimed at developing the audiovisual market, especially TV content production, something that was previously overlooked by main networks. There’s new appreciation for independent producers’ involvement in the process, meaning those who produce outside the networks. The process was first done through
Marco Altberg,
our international program Brazilian TV Producers (BPTV) along with the Apex program and the Ministry of Culture. Because of this, we are now present in the main events in the industry, in which we slowly started growing to now be important partners in the international coproduction arena.
President of ABPI-TV
“We took advantage of Rio’s economic comeback, which now shows very positive indexes in employment, income and business opportunities.”
When did the industry gain strength? After these initiatives, came the summit of pay TV in Brazil, which after a short period of crisis took flight thanks to the country’s economic scenario. More recently, there was the restructuring of our regulatory framework that derived in Law 12.485/2011, which created the Conditioned Access Service (SeAc) for pay TV. This created mandatory quotas for Brazilian and independent content, as well as Brazilian channels, which allowed telephony companies to enter a market that was limited to a few classes… this meant a rise in the subscriber base. This way, there was more room for producers to develop their projects and grow their relationship with the networks. We also developed a training area for producers, with assistance from specialists from other countries, and created the RioContentMarket, which is now in its third edition as one of the main events in Latin America as far as negotiations, content and alliances What is the best way for foreign companies to take advantage of the benefits of investing in Brazil? The easiest way is official international co-production agreements, since they allow foreign companies to benefit from Brazilian resources and vice versa, with the possibility of making projects of two or three nationalities. The thing is that there are few TV agreements with Brazil: Germany, Canada, some countries in Latin America, Israel, and now we signed with the UK based on our good relationship with PACT. The problem for generating new official agreements is that it has to go through the bureaucracy of two countries.
And it’s not just that: the law also created the Prodecine fund, which provides resources for the FSA (Sectorial Audiovisual Fund) to cover the demand through independent production, financing sources for series, etc. Meanwhile, the channels are buying finished products to meet the quotas, which means they’re adapting to meet the demand.
How would you describe the RioContentMarket? It was the right event, at the right time, in the right place. Because we took advantage of Rio’s economic comeback, which now shows very positive indexes in employment, income and business opportunities. It’s a mythical city that lives in the collective imagination. And it was rebuilt with the right infrastructure, safety, governability and an innate audiovisual sensitivity. Rio welcomes the industry with open arms.
Are the big broadcasters opening up a space for independent content? Well, it we made a really subtle progress, but we’re walking forward. The free-to-air TV structure built in Brazil is focused on complete in-house production, so there are very few initiatives happening outside the broadcasters. However, there are some in process. We should bear in mind that big networks now have a different perception about the importance of independent production for their programming slates.
The idea for the RioContentMarket is not to be a platform for Brazilians to conduct business with foreigners. The key to its success is to allow countries such as Chile to co-produce in France, without Brazil’s meddling. Last year we had 2,200 participants, and it’s a successful event because it’s a tradeshow, but it’s also dedicated to debate, workshops, trends, with international speakers and a business area with one to one meetings. For this year we have no limit, but we are expecting 2,500 people. ttv
soon. This reality generates a natural demand, mainly of Brazilian content.
However, there are other ways. You can form the co-production with two countries, say France and Canada, while having Canada as the “official”… and you can build direct co-production links with producers, just like it happens with the US, with whom we don’t have official agreements. If you have resources and the parts agree, you have a good possibility. TTV MAGAZINE/11
What is your vision about the implementation of the new pay TV law in Brazil and its impact? Brazil is a thriving market, for various reasons: because of the economic situation that created a “C” middle class, new consumers in the market who have pay TV as their next good to acquire. New players and operators are stepping in, with new packages of channels. The sector is growing and will continue to grow: today we have around 16 million subscribers and this number will double
Executives ttv
60 Years of Rede Record Since its first transmission on September 27, 1953, until now, Brazilian network Rede Record has been a true mirror of the whole history of the country. In the following interview, ttv revisits six decades, from the first live shows with the “jovem guarda” musicians to the most recent multi-million productions. By Sebastián Amoroso Twitter: @sebamoroso samoroso@todotv.tv
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years hold the most important moments in Brazilian network Rede Record is turning Brazilian TV’s history. 60 in 2013. Do you recall when it aired its first broadcast? The network’s first “All major As far as original productions go, broadcast took place in San Pablo, on Brazilian TV Rede Record has been one of September 27, 1953. stars have at America’s main investors. How some point much has it invested in its RecBack then, who were Rede been part of Nov studios? Rede Record has inRecord’s main stars and shows? Rede Record.“ vested close to US$ 250 million in its During its first years on the air, Rede telenovela production studio RecNov. Record took international music The venue has 8 sets and a cutting-edge stars to Brazil. It also successfully technology to produce telenovelas and series, broadcast Brazilian Music Festivals as part of and a team of close to 3000 professionals. its show “Jovem Guardia”. All major Brazilian TV stars have at some point been part of Rede How is Rede Record preparing for the XXI Record. century? The network makes sizeable investments in technology and human resources. ¿Cómo fue evolucionando Rede Record a Our productions are a great success all over lo largo de estos 60 años? Por ejemplo, en the world. We are also present in all the main primera instancia, ¿cómo se grababan los TV markets and tradeshows to provide the laprogramas en los 50 y los 60 en aquella tetest productions for all Brazilian viewers. levisión en blanco y negro? During the first few decades, all Rede shows were shot live at How will the company celebrate these 60 Teatro Record studios. You could say these 60 years in 2013? What kind of activities will be organized on and off-screen? Many The cast of ‘Familia Trapo’ events and shows will be developed to comCirca 1960
Celso Teixeira,
Communications Director, Record TV Network
João Gilberto in ‘Astros do Disco’ Circa 1967 memorate such an important date for us. In Brazil, Rede Record is the most long-living television company and we have a lot of history to communicate. Lastly, in general terms, which have been Rede Record’s main contributions to Brazilian culture? The network’s history is tightly connected to Brazilian history. For instance, our journalistic shows have always been present in society’s main moments and topics. We are also constantly presenting Brazil’s latest news to the world. And currently, Rede Record’s programming includes multiple genres, from entertainment to news, sports, films, series and miniseries. ttv
Rede Record
is the oldest TV network in Brazil; its first broadcast was on September 27, 1953.
Executives ttv
Across All Genres Working with several big partners in Latin America like RCN, Globo, Pramer, HBO and Discovery, ITV Studios Global Entertainment is a key player working with all kinds of content, an important aspect considering the fast pace of pay TV and VOD growth in the region. Por Sebastián Torterola Twitter: @storterola storterola@todotv.tv
Come Dine With Me Entertainment Show
Tobi de Graaff,
Director of Global Television Distribution, ITV Studios Global Entertainment seems like there’s still room to exploit successful entertainment shows in the region. For instance, the distributor recently secured its first Latin American format deal for ITV Studios’ prime time entertainment format ‘Who Dares Sings’: RCN Televisión in Colombia and US Hispanic broadcaster Mundo Fox have jointly commissioned Colombia’s Teleset to produce a series to air on both channels in early 2013. “We also signed a deal with Globo TV in Brazil for a second series of ITV Studios’ format ‘Come Dine with Me’,” the executive adds. “Latin American broadcasters are showing an increased appetite for formats. We are really looking to focus on formats in 2013 and we see great potential in game and family show genres as they work well on regional TV,” de Graaff affirms.
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Apart from the broadcasters mentioned, ITV GE has also forged relationships with the strong pan-regional pay TV players such as Pramer, HBO Latin America Group and Discovery Networks Latin America. An important part of those partnerships is based on drama content.
A
the long-running TV adaptation of the novels ctive in distribution across a long about the famous fictional detective. This year list of genres and subgenres of we’ll be offering buyers the thirteenth and ficontent generated internationally, nal series of the crime drama. In formats, ITV Studios Global Entertainprimetime entertainment format ‘Sament (ITVS GE), the comturday Night Takeaway’ has already mercial arm of the largest private “Latin American broadcasters proven a major ratings success in media group in Britain, ITV Studios, are showing the UK and internationally and it’s has been expanding its presence an increased back for 2013. For factual, we’ll be throughout Latin America. appetite for presenting further titles from the formats.” Animal Planet library,” says Tobi de Two key areas for the company in Graaff, ITVS GE’s Director of Global TeleLatin America are formats and dravision Distribution. ma. “We’re focusing on a number of exciting new titles this year. In drama, we’ve DOWN SOUTH. Indeed, the format fever have a number of successful returning crime hasn’t stopped at all in Latin America, and it franchises such as ‘Agatha Christie’s Poirot’,
“Our dramas are very popular in Latin America; for example HBO acquired ‘Falcón’ and Pramer has acquired a number of our returning dramas, including ‘Endeavour’, ‘Case Histories’, ‘Vera’, ‘Lewis’ and ‘Monroe’. Meanwhile, there are some ITV factual titles also distributed in the region, including a range of Animal Planet’s programming, several of which have been acquired by Discovery. The digital area also has a lot of potential in the eyes of de Graaff. “The Latin American market is very important because it is experiencing fast growth, particularly in pay TV and VOD. New digital players are emerging every day and they show growth potential,” he assures. ttv
Q&A ttv
Immediate Connection After building a national ratings hit such as ‘Brazil Avenue’ and winning an International Emmy award with miniseries ‘The Invisible Woman’, Globo continues to confirm its strengths are ground-breaking stories that common people can identify with. By Sebastián Torterola Twitter: @storterola storterola@todotv.tv
A
Head of International Entertainment, Rede Globo present in everyday life. They catch viewers’ attention because they hit close to home. Human trafficking, for example, which is present in ‘Salve Jorge’ [Globo’s currently on air prime time telenovelas], is something universal, it’s this century’s slavery. In Globo’s case, they’re pitched by our writers and once they’re approved, we evaluate the best way to address them without offending our audiences. The main goal is to inform and educate. While it’s normal for primetime telenovelas to draw in copious audiences, ‘Brazil Avenue’ surpassed all expectations. Why was it so successful? ‘Brazil Avenue’ was a true ratings hit. Brazilian viewers of all ages and social statuses tuned in and followed every detail in this story for the seven months it was on the air. It was written in an innovative fashion, with a unique narrative and style. The story suited Brazil’s growing C class and broadening social pyramid. There was an immediate connection with the audience because of the empathy generated by the characters. The story also tackles universal issues anyone can identify with. Its final episodes reached ratings of up to 56 points on average and 86% market share. Which trends do you see coming in 2013? I believe the main element in our stories for the upcoming three years will be people. People are drawn to strong human stories. Recent changes in the Middle Eastern societies or the economic crisis that hit Europe are influencing the rest of the world, especially America. Old stories mainly based on production values are worn out. In Brazil, we’ll continue to present our modern society, and I believe co-productions will be very important as they allow us to tell universal stories, adapting them to each country’s reality. ttv
TTV MAGAZINE/15
which is why we present the main story and globalized entertainment indusits key elements. try has made it mandatory to adapt formats and stories to suit In addition to telenovelas, which is TV different audiences and cultures Globo’s main focus as far as content for in order to achieve international the international market? On top success. As the director of International of telenovelas, we produce a great Entertainment at TV Globo, Guilher“The main number of series, which have me Bokel explains the process beelement in our the advantage of being innohind any successful international stories for the vative formats and having irreadaptation, and highlights the upcoming three verent plots, all of which have world’s main trends in content years will be evolved notably in recent creation. people. Old stories times. At Natpe, for instance, mainly based on production values we’ll present season 2 of ‘Slaps How does TV Globo combiare worn out.” & Kisses’ and a comedy called ne its international and local ‘Crazy About Them’. We have great strategies? We work with Rede experience with comedies, and even Globo’s vast and diverse audiowon an International Emmy for ‘A Mulher Invisual content portfolio, originally visivel’ (‘The Invisible Woman’). We also have designed for the Brazilian network’s audience, good sports documentaries produced by which is the biggest in the country. From the Globo’s journalists about the FIFA World Cup International Entertainment Division we de2014 and the 2016 Olympics: ‘Neymar - The vise the best way to present these products Heir to the Crown’ and the second season of overseas. That’s how the projects to adapt ‘Extreme Planet’. content for the international market are created, which demand a whole new format or How would you describe the type of stochanges in the storyline. ries that currently work in the international market? What will always prevail in What does this process entail? The first any part of the world are classic love stories step is always the name, which must allow with hate, vengeance and aspirational vathe international audience to feel identilues. They’re topics that define us as human fied with it right off the bat. There are titles beings. Telenovelas present people with that create an instant connection, mainly feelings and that will never go away. The with Latin viewers. Some others don’t, and challenge is to present these elements in those we must change. For instance, the new stories that deal with all-time classics telenovelas ‘Avenida Brazil’ was literally in a modern way. ‘Brazil Avenue’ for instance translated into English as ‘Brazil Avenue’. Yet, tackles vengeance, while ‘The Life we Lead’ with ‘Cheias de Charme’, we came up with a deals with love and ‘Sparkling Girls’ is purely new title for English-speaking audiences: aspirational. ‘Sparkling Girls’. We usually also change the telenovelas’ intro and theme song; both TV Globo’s telenovelas usually present key factors to generate an immediate concontroversial topics such as prostitution, nection with viewers. In addition, unlike slavery and sex. How do you choose these in Brazil, foreign audiences are used to unissues? They’re difficult topics, but they’re derstanding the stories from the beginning,
Guilherme Bokel,
insideFinland Executives
A Gateway into Finland
Finland Unite
With the goal to promote the highest quality, increase investments and sales, and showcase the benefits of the Finnish audiovisual industry to the international market; the Finnish Film & Audiovisual Export (FAVEX) promotes audiovisual content sales and distribution in Finland.
Founded in 1926, Finnish national public service broadcasting company Yle is currently one of the most popular TV networks in Finland, as well as one of the leading content producers, responsible for developing 70% of all local TV programs.
Petra Theman,
Tuija Snellman,
CEO of Finnish Film & Audiovisual Export
Head of Sales at YLE Finnish Broadcasting Company
By Gonzalo Larrea
By Gonzalo Larrea
Twitter: @Gonzalolarrea glarrea@todotv.tv
I
n Finland the film, TV and videogame industries are all experiencing an outstanding development. In just two years, the audiovisual industry quadrupled its exports’ income from 12 million Euros in 2009 to 44 million in 2011; and the expectations for the present year are just as optimistic. The turnaround of the Finnish independent audiovisual production companies is estimated to be around 240 million euros. According to FAVEX director, Petra Theman, the reasons behind this phenomenon are several; although Finnish content’s international appeal might be the main one. “It seems that Finnish content works amazingly well in all cultural areas, since the variety of good quality content is so large. Some of our animations have worked really well in, for example, China and Indonesia, and the crazier content for some reason in Latin America and the US,” Theman explained. “Our creative documentaries have always had a good market in other European countries and shows such as ‘The Dudesons’ and ‘Madventures’ really work all over the globe, when they find the right TV channel aiming at the right audience for them,” she added.
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The executive also praised the Finnish business model, which allows companies to not only produce high quality products, but also to establish the country as an excellent provider of audiovisual services. “We have the ability to work with limited budgets and super demanding audiences, high levels of education and equality between genders, closeness to nature, incredibly talented people with superb English skills and flexible and economical ways of working. Nowadays, our service sales income comes mainly from anglo-American countries and of course neighboring countries like Russia and Scandinavia,” she said. ttv
Twitter: @Gonzalolarrea glarrea@todotv.tv
W
ith four national television channels, one simulcast HD network, and six radio channels and services, complimented by 25 regional radio programs; Yle, Finland’s national public service broadcasting company, is without a doubt a referent among Finnish broadcasters. The company not only manages some of the country’s most popular networks, with a combined 44% market share among all of its channels; it’s also among the largest local content producers in Finland. Currently, 70% of Finnish TV programs are produced by the broadcaster. “Yle aims to be the leading producer of factual and cultural content, Finnish music programs, children’s services, drama, news, current affairs programs and regional services,” Tuija Snellman, Tuija Snellman, Yle’s Head of Sales, explained to ttv. “Our aim is to be an influential content producer, playing a part in Finnish civil society and culture. Yle serves its customers in both traditional and new ways of using media, considering all significant user groups and changes in consumption habits equally. This requires a unique combination of traditional services and new social media,” the executive added. Finnish content constitutes 88% of Yle’s current investments in programming. Meanwhile, the broadcaster also fosters Finnish media culture by purchasing 20% of its domestic television content from independent production companies and investing approximately 50 million euros a year in promoting Finland’s production industry. In addition, the company also acquires a substantial amount of content overseas, mainly from European countries. Last year alone, it purchased programs in over 70 countries; 85% of which were European. “This year Yle Sales will be taking part of the major international sales markets such as RioContentMarket, Miptv, Mipcom and ATF with our sales catalogue of high quality and unique Finnish nature & environment documentaries, drama and factual programming. I am so much looking forward -with high expectations- to our visit to the RioContentMarket,” Snellman concludes. ttv
Executives ttv
The Mecca of Sports With all kinds of sports events happening in Brazil the following year, Sportel decided to bring back its spring show to Rio to take advantage of Brazil’s momentum in the industry. “Our clients wanted to come back to Brazil instead of going back to Asia,” says Sportel’s David Jones. Por Sebastián Torterola Twitter: @storterola storterola@todotv.tv
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he key international event for Broadcasters, content producers and disSports is back in Rio de Janeiro for tributors, federations and organizers, a the second time in a row. Normagrowing number of new media platforms lly, it’s held twice a year: the main as well as many technology and service proshow takes place every October in viders; any company related to sports and Monaco, and there’s a Spring market in March media gathers around the event. Set to hapthat itinerates between America and Asia. pen in the best moment of Brazil’s economy “Now last year, instead of taking it to the US, in decades, the Sportel organization has we decided to take it to Brazil, simply even higher expectations for this edibecause it has been a very active tion. “It’s not market with great development specifically a levels, and we have all sort of “Our main goal is to have the Brazilian, or a sports events coming there,” Dasame interaction between the football, or an vid Jones, Sales and Marketing Olympics market: international industry and Braziit’s an overall sports Manager, Sportel, explains. lians. It’s an American market, so media market for there are a lot of companies from the Americas.” It was a timely move, and over North America and South America 600 participants confirmed it. So attending, as well as international much so that the plans for 2013 companies aiming to do business in the had to be changed. “For the international inregion. But it’s not specifically a Brazilian, or a dustry was quite complicated to do business football, or an Olympics market: it’s an overall in Brazil, and it was also hard for Brazilians to sports media market for the Americas,” Jones make business outside. So there was a need states. in the industry to have a platform in Brazil to actually meet face to face with serious plaHOT TOPICS. Apart from the networking side yers. It was a huge success last year, and our of Sportel, the opportunity will also be used to clients wanted to come back to Brazil instead share knowledge. New media, technologic inof going back to Asia,” he adds. novations, original content and broadcasting are some of the topics to be brought to the table. “We want to address the technological solutions and what is to be expected within the next years regarding ‘TV anywhere’. We’re discussing what is new and what business can be done: rights security, rights management, content distribution, how it can be delivered
David Jones,
Sales and Marketing Manager, Sportel to the fans while making profit out of it,” the executive says. Mobility is certainly one of the main trendsetters, due to a number of factors: the growing amount of devices, the fact that anybody can stream video, the need for content. The sport industry is to take advantage of this reality, profit from this interaction and support them with efficient platforms. “The industry should offer interaction with other fans even on SmartTVs. This brings huge opportunities, not only for sports media, but also for brands.” Meanwhile, it’s often said that through the power of the massive live broadcasting, the sport industry is responsible for maintaining traditional TV on the top of the business. But when it comes to digital, is it really live events what matters? “Personally, I don’t think it is. Of course live events are essential for certain sports, but an important factor that the media, brands and organizers have to pay attention to is the lifestyle. And that you can communicate and broadcast with sports documentaries or sports series, which aren’t live. And there’s a lot of content out that gives you an insight in the sports world, with the people, and bring you closer to the stars, not only on live events. Skiing, extreme sports documentaries, football documentaries… all of that brings you a lot more closer to you interest and the lifestyle that you’re in,” Jones affirms. ttv
BROADCASTING & DIGITAL Apart from featuring a selection of speakers from Brazil’s top broadcasters, SportelRio 2013 will also have key speakers within the TV Everywhere panel, “from companies such as Elemental Technologies and TATA Consultancy Services, which has the largest fiber optic in the world, and will bring a huge amount of knowledge to the table on content distribution,” according to Jones.
Central Report
ANALYSIS
All Paths Lead to Co-Production If you want to get into Brazil, you have to forge partnerships. In the following report, ttv reviews the frequent ways to reach international co-productions, taking advantage of the incentives of one of the world’s fastest growing TV markets. By Sebastiån Torterola Twitter: @storterola storterola@todotv.tv
FDP HBO
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he RioContentMarket represents the timely creation of an effective platform of networking. In general terms, two parts participate: the Brazilian companies that want to take their creations and ideas to the global arena; and the international companies, associations, players in general that are seduced by the country’s flourishing economy and the government’s incentive for production. With these game rules in mind, there are many ways of reaching international content partnerships. National collaboration agreements are certainly one item to consider, and the Canadian case study is a good start.
THE COLLABORATIVE CULTURE. Canada may be arguably one of the main sources of co-production partners in the world, and this is due to a cultural reason. “As a nation, we’re a little under the radar in terms of our visibility, but that also gives us a very strong ability to collaborate. Probably that’s the most effective access that Canada has: it’s a unique sensibility, maybe it’s part of Canadian psyche. We could in collaborate in a Europe, in the UK, in France or in the US,” says Kevin Sullivan, CEO of Canada’s production and distribution company Sullivan Entertainment. Other Canadian executives, such as Stéphane Cardin, VP of Industry and Public Affairs for the Canada Media Fund (CMF) would add Brazil in that list. “We firmly believe CanadaBrazil co-productions are poised to grow. Why? First, there are the recent changes to the Pay TV laws in Brazil, which we understand will provide a significant boost to the Brazilian independent production sector. But mostly, recent studies like comScore’s 2012 Brazil Digital Future in Focus, point to tremendous new opportunities in the field of digital media. Brazil now ranks as the world’s 7th largest internet user base, with over 46 million users (that’s more than Canada’s entire population), and growing at 16 % annually,” he explains.
However, maybe one of the most attractive aspects of CMF’s vision is its digital component. In this area, the Fund has two programs: the Convergent Stream, which funds content under the requirement that all content funded
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is made available on at least two platforms, one television, and another, digital, and by favoring the creation of multiplatform content; and the Experimental Stream, which supports the creation of edgy, original digital content and software applications with no link to “traditional media” - television or feature films. “The objective of the Experimental Stream program is to support projects that demonstrate a unique innovative quality, in terms of content, technology, business models or ideally all three - in the hopes that they, in turn, will also drive innovation back to the mainstream,” Cardin assures. “Programs use a selective funding mechanism, with a jury panel of experts in the fields of interactive digital media from Canada and internationally. In fact, our most recent jury included the Content Director of Brazil’s TAL TV, Rogerio Soares.” Over the past two years, CMF supported close to 200 projects in this Stream, ranging from apps, to interactive web series, to console, online and social games, to software; added to the 1,300 projects supported in the Convergent Stream so far. THE CANADA-BRAZIL AXIS. To-date, coproduction activity between Brazil and Canada has been moderate. A coproduction treaty between both countries was signed in 1995, and became active in 2005. Since then, seven projects have been co-produced, for a total
co-production volume of close to 61 million Canadian dollars.
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Project within this list include feature film ‘Blindness’, directed by acclaimed Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles, which was co-produced with Brazil and Japan, in 2007. Most co-productions to-date have been in the field of television, with one drama series, two documentaries and three children’s animation series. The drama series ‘Rouge Brésil’, produced last year; the documentaries ‘Streets of Encounter’ and ‘Nazi Hunters’, produced in 2005 and 2009, respectively; as well as three animation series funded by the CMF and the Brazil Development Bank: ‘Doggy Day Care’ and ‘My Big Big Friend’ were funded in 2008-2009; ‘Doggy Dayschool’, a 2nd cycle of ‘Doggy Day Care’, was funded in 2010-2011.
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“Brazil’s tremendous growth rate will fuel demand for content, and we believe the time is right to come together to channel Brazilian and Canadian creative talent to innovate and create shared stories that will resonate in this new global digital world,” the executive affirms. For the third consecutive time, the CMF is being part of the Canadian delegation at the Rio Content Market, where in Cardin’s words they “look for potential avenues for collaboration with the Brazilian content industries.”
Blindness Director: Fernando Meirelles
ALLIANCE FOSTERERS During 2012, the CMF contributed to the creation of the Transmedia Multiplatform and Convergent Resource Kit -a new resource for creators and producers of digital media content- achieved in partnership with Screen Australia. It also partnered with the European Commission’s Media Program and others to launch a comprehensive guide on financing sources for documentaries. “The CMF also seeks to leverage its funding by fostering partnerships internationally to favour the co-production of content, and to this end we have sought to develop relationships with the Brazilian television and digital media community since we first attended the Rio Content Market in early 2011,” Cardin said.
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In fact, the CMF can be taken as a paradigmatic case study when speaking about coproductions. Created by Canada’s cable and satellite distributors and the Government of Canada, the CMF was born with the specific mandate to ensure that Canadians could engage with Canadian stories anytime, anywhere, on the platform of their choice. To achieve this aim, the company has a number of ways to drive this agenda forward, such as forging partnerships with other content funders across Canada and internationally, as well as through its funding programs.
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the next edition of the Transmedia Lab.
DIRECT ALLIANCES. There is no doubt about the advantages of getting a project funded with public money. However, you need patience to deal with government agencies, since the process may take its time. Meanwhile, there’s always the old-school way: finding the right partners and share risks and benefits. And there are several samples that show many collaboration doors opening, unlike it happened when the crisis hit harder and programming executives bet for successful finished content and local adaptation of global hits. Today, many big and small companies are joining to propose different content; it’s an exciting time for TV. Among the big ones, the Globo-Telemundo alliance is worth checking. Since in the 2008 LA Screenings both companies signed an agreement to co-produce the Hispanic version of Globo’s ‘The Clone’, the experience proved to be fruitful and so far they haven’t stopped. Currently, the Miami-based company is adapting Globo’s 2011 telenovela hit ‘Fina Estampa’ (‘Marido en Alquiler’) for the US Hispanic market.
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They both hold further co-production initiatives. Globo is also co-producing telenovelas ‘Entre el Amor y el Deseo’ with Mexico’s TV Azteca. “’Entre el Amor y el Deseo’ cost over US$ 75,000 per episode, which translates into a US$ 10 million production. Co-producing is useful to divide expenses, and also profits and the product’s distribution through different windows and territories,” explains Ernesto Ramírez, Sales and New Media VP from TV Azteca’s distributor Comarex.
se companies’ perspectives in this territory. “What we have not done yet is take all of that content to a much larger audience, and I hope we, at Cartoon Network and Boomerang, can do it. It is just a matter of continuously showing our colleagues in the US, Western Europe and Asia original productions coming from Latin America,” said Barry Koch, SVP and general manager at Cartoon Network and Boomerang for Latin America, two years ago. At that moment, Koch was foreseeing the LatAm content wave: international companies were starting to change their perspectives about the region, which stopped being just a receiver and adapter of content from the North, to turn into a generator of exportable ideas. For Cartoon Network, this process started crystallizing in July 2012, when it announced its first original animated series in the re-
original production in Brazil in 2005, ‘Mandrake’, the programmer hasn’t stopped generating content, working closely with many independent producers such as 02 Filmes, Casa de Cinema, Pindorama Filmes, Prodigo Filmes, Mixer and Conspiração Filmes. “After eight years working in major markets, HBO LAG has a know-how of this industry to produce the type of projects HBO needs, and we feel very comfortable working with production companies in Latin America,” Luis Peraza, VP of Acquisitions and Original Production at HBO LAG, who heads the process. INCENTIVES. One the one hand, it’s a thriving economy with avid consumers. On the other, the government is committed to the internationalization of the local content through a system of incentives for production.
Manoel Rangel President, Ancine
“Given that projects co-produced under international agreements are considered national products in both countries; they enjoy the benefits offered by both governments, such as tax-reduction and distribution in the local film industry.” Luis Peraza VP of Acquisitions and Original Production at HBO LAG
“After eight years working in major markets, we feel very comfortable working with production companies in Latin America.”
As part of the recent -and continuingchanges in the sector’s regulation, a few months ago Ancine published the Normative Instruction 106, which established the terms and conditions international co-productions must abide by when produced in Brazil.
Barry Koch SVP and general manager, Cartoon Network and Boomerang, Latin America
“It is just a matter of continuously showing our colleagues in the US, Western Europe and Asia original productions coming from Latin America.”
PAY TV PIONEERS. In spite of this Stéphane Cardin VP of Industry and Public Affairs, particularly booming moment, Brazil Canada Media Fund has been one of the most attractive LatAm markets for decades. That is “We believe the time is right to come clear for international programmers together to channel Brazilian and Canadian creative talent to innovate and such as Viacom International Media create shared stories that will resonate in Networks LatAm, Turner Broadcasthis new global digital world.” ting System LatAm, Disney/ESPN Networks LatAm, Fox International Channels LatAm, Discovery Netgion: Copa Studio’s ‘Irmão do Jorel’, which had works LatAm, A+E Ole Networks and HBO Latin won a Forum Brazil pitching session in 2009 America Group (LAG), who have great expertiand will now be aired pan-regionally - and se and knowledge of the Brazilian market and most likely worldwide. have been producing content together with independent producers for many years. But maybe the company that has best interpreted the advantages of producing from BraHowever, it’s true that Brazil’s current mozil to the world has been HBO. Since its first mentum has positively changed each of the-
In this regard, Brazil’s National Film Agency (Ancine) is now devoting 55 million reales (US$ 27.6 million) to TV series (90%) and documentaries (10%). “Thanks to all the players who paid on time what was demanded by the Condecine (National Film Industry Development Committee), over 819 million reales (some US$ 412 million) were raised, 400 million (some US$ 201 million) of which will be devoted to financing projects in 2012,” said Manoel Rangel, Ancine’s president, after the new law went in force.
According to the new regulation, international co-productions entail a Brazilian company’s association with a foreign producer, while also stating in case there isn’t a co-production deal signed between both countries, at least 40% of the production’s rights must be owned by the Brazilian company. In addition, two thirds of the cast and crew must be Brazilian citizens or residents, and the production doesn’t necessarily have to be produced in Portuguese.
Prior to this regulation, Brazilian coproduction rules were scattered in different articles. As of now, Ancine will regulate all co-productions. “Given that projects co-produced under international agreements are considered national products in both countries; they enjoy the benefits offered by both governments, such as tax-reduction and distribution in the local film industry,” said Rangel. ttv
Gallery tradeshow
NATPE 2013 28-30, January, Fontainebleau Resort Hotel, Miami Beach, US
Manuel Pérez, Miguel Somoza, Héctor Beltrán, Irán Castillo, Cristóbal Ponte, Cesar Díaz and Daniel Rodríguez at the Natpe 2013 Opening Party, co-sponsored by Venevision International
Pedro Torres (El Mall) and Peter Langenberg (Warner Bros. International Television Productions)
Nadav Palti and Andrés Santos (Dori Media Group)
Guilherme Bokel, Ricardo Scalamandré and Raphael Correa Netto celebrating Globo TV International’s 40th anniversary
Ariel Tobi (Snap TV)
Marcos Santana (Telemundo Internacional) and Joshua Mintz (Telemundo Studios) with the cast of the telenovela ‘Pasión Prohibida’.
Adriana Weber and Sergio Gálvez (Canal 13 Chile)
Adriana Demjen (ALL TV), Ashley Jordan (Fashion One) and Jo Spalburg (ALL TV)
Mathieu Béjot (TV France International)
Tony Albert (Motion Pictures)
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Under the “Beyond Disruption” motto, Natpe wrapped up its 50th edition; an event with a clear focus on all things digital. In fact, according to its CEO Rod Perth, 41% of speakers represented digital platforms, thus proving the organization’s clear focus on the digital evolution and the market’s latest trends. While there are still no official numbers, both directors said the market is in top shape as it saw a 10% increase in attendees, reaching 6,000 executives, 1,000 of which were buyers; the largest number registered in the past five years.
Emilia Nuccio (Echo Bridge Entertainment)
Claudio Ipolitti (Telefe International) and Juan Waehner (Telefe)
Leonardo Aranguibel (Disney Media Distribution Latin America), Jaime Sánchez Cristo (Vista Productions), Fernando Barbosa (Disney Media Distribution Latin America) and Ricardo Cruz (RCN Televisión) announced the adaptation of ‘El Laberinto de Alicia’
Jack Alfandary and Andrés Naftali (Fremantle Media Latin America)
Mario Kreutzberger (“Don Francisco”) surrounded by executives from Canal 13 Chile during the cocktail at Natpe 2013’s Market Floor
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Mariano Elizondo (Ideas del Sur Producciones)
Mauricio Ramos (Liberty Global), Alejandro Harrison (Chello Latin America) and Niall Curran (Chello Media)
Edson Mendes and Delmar Andrade (Record TV Network)
Sebastián Choy (Mannam Media)
Catherine Fulop, Arquímedes Rivero, Fernando Carrillo and Solange Rivero at the red carpet for the telenovela ‘La Magia del Amor’ by Filmedia World Entertainment and Solange Rivero
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Q&A ttv
Experts in Original Production Investing more on original, local content development, the programmer is planning a 2013 filled with talent, ideas and formats to expand its productions across the region, mainly in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and US Hispanic. By Sebastián Amoroso Twitter: @sebamoroso samoroso@todotv.tv
Dual Survival Reality
“What we always do is identify the most successful genres in each network, as well as the formats developed by our colleagues in the US that work, so we can adapt them for Latin America.” “This year we’ll develop 100 hours of local production in Brazil for several of our networks.”
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ichela Giorelli, VP Production and Development at Discovery Networks Latin America & US Hispanic has, and still is, one of the main promoters of local production within the pay TV industry in Latin America. In the following interview with ttv, the executive explains her company’s main goals in this business. In general terms, what results have you obtained from your production division at Discovery Networks Latin America & US Hispanic? In 2012 we developed more original productions because they work extremely well and Discovery has always believed in local products. Discovery has been producing
locally in Latin America for over 15 years now. We’ve developed plenty of talent and continue to do so because now the networks are distributed further and there are more subscribers, so local productions are more necessary. This increase in production proves how important Latin America is for Discovery. In this sense, which are the main elements in the company’s original production strategy? What we always do is identify the most successful genres in each network, as well as the formats developed by our colleagues in the US that work, so we can adapt them for Latin America. This is the strategy we use: identifying genres and formats. We then evaluate which producers are best suited
to develop these genres for having the best infrastructure and technical abilities to work with Discovery. With many of them we’ve worked for several years. In addition, we identify which talents and actors work well on camera through castings. And everything is done simultaneously.
Michela Giorelli,
Have you made any changes within your division, bearing this in mind? Actually, we now have someone who’s only focused on format development, helping producers create formats. In addition, there’s a division focused on production which supervises the projects as they’re shot and post-produced. That’s how we organized the division.
“With Brazil’s new law, our strategy hasn’t changed much in terms of volume. Yet, I think we will face a challenge because production companies in Brazil don’t have such a strong know-how.”
Could you describe how original productions are distributed in each network? We’ve placed special focus on our main network Discovery Channel. Last year it had over 100 hours of original content and this year it will have 10% more. Moreover, we’ll develop more original content for Discovery Kids. Last year we produced a game show and a fiction pilot which was a very interesting experiment. This year we are working on an animation. Therefore, we’re also increasing the hours of local product featured on Discovery Kids and starting to identify formats for Discovery Home & Health. We’ve already produced content in Brazil and Mexico. And this year we’ll increase our production in Colombia as well. In this sense, how important is a market like Brazil? Brazil’s new pay TV law has made the market a priority for Discovery. This year we’ll develop 100 hours of local production in this market alone for several networks. In addition, we have been searching for Brazilian producers for the past six months. Personally I’ve traveled a lot. I’m putting together a great production team and we are increasing our business in Brazil.
You mentioned Brazil’s new pay TV law (Conditioned Access Service - SeAC) approved in 2012. In this sense, how has it influenced Discovery’s original production strategy in the country? Discovery has been working in Brazil for fifteen years. With this new law, our strategy hasn’t changed much in terms of volume. Yet, I think we will face a challenge because production companies in Brazil don’t have such a strong know-how. It’s not like in Argentina or Colombia where there’s a great line of independent producers. Brazil is a market where indies -which are close to 5,000 companies- don’t have much room in the TV industry. Therefore, we’ll have to be patient as far as infrastructure, talent and tech-
nical expertise is concerned for the next few years. It’s a challenge, but I’m sure we’ll find a great team and be able to train them. What are your priorities for 2013? Discovery is now investing more on local productions, not just in Brazil, but also in Colombia, Mexico and US Hispanic. The truth is now there are many more production companies to choose from, and the quality keeps increasing. Thus, this year we’ll focus on identifying those talented people that can help us develop new formats for our networks. ttv City Eagles Docu-reality
ALLIANCE FOSTERERS This is the second year Michela Giorelli and Discovery’s team attend the RioContentMarket. This time, the executive in charge of arranging the company’s local production strategies -along with her team- will present the current needs found in Discovery’s networks and keep an eye out for new talent and ideas. “We are working with five Brazilian producers, but are in negotiations with another 25,” she said.
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What can you tell us about the latest productions developed in Brazil? In 2012 we launched the series ‘Dual Survival Brazil’ which was very successful. We created it with production company Mixer with whom we’ve worked for over six years. It’s a company we trust and have worked with before on many productions. It’s the first in the ‘Survival’ genre which is being developed in Latin America. It’s a format that works great and has been adapted in Brazil. It’s liked for its quality -despite the fact that it’s in Portuguese- and will be broadcast in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Russia and Poland; and it’s also currently being evaluated in Asia. It’s such a high-quality production that we are already pre-producing the second season. Another production made in Brazil is the eight-episode docu-reality ‘City Eagles’. It’s about a police unit within the military, operating in San Pablo in very extreme situations. We are also about to greenlight its second season.
VP Production and Development - Discovery Networks Latin America & US Hispanic
ttvmedianews.com Television & Entertainment Business News Newsletter todotvnews - Distributed daily to over 7,500 niche executives
Each year Casablanca produces more than 1,000 hours of content, including films, advertising, broadcast TV, multi-platform programs, 3D animation and live events.
PRODUCTION
Casablanca:
Delivering the Concept
1 contra 100 Production: Casablanca
Celebrating one year of partnership with Fox International Channels Brazil, through which the programmer was able to make the ambitious launch of Fox Sports Brazil, Casablanca remains a reference in the Latin American production orbit. And there are more projects on their way for 2013. By ttvmedianews Twitter: @ttvmedianews
“This month, Casablanca celebrates one year of successful partnership with Fox Sports in the Brazilian market. We are also announcing that Fox will renew their great confidence on us, which means we will be together for the Copa das Confederações in Brazil this year. We are preparing ourselves for the World Cup in 2014,” the executive assures. Negotiations with FIC Brazil started on October 2011, when the programmer only had three months to mount the channel and put it on air; the Copa Libertadores de America started on February, and it was a close deadline. However, Casablanca made a timely job.
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nown as the only “One Stop Shop” for content in Latin America, Brazil-based Casablanca Group is, in one word, the largest holding of audiovisual production in the continent. Born in 1985, the company is active in several business areas: production, animation, authoring, satellite transmission, audio post-production, film, color grading and special effects, just to name a few. “Casablanca is the one and only company in Latin America that really delivers the concept. We are a one-stop-shop because we offer the whole package of services, which includes infrastructure, crew and equipment, satellite transmission, streaming, HDTV units with cameras for live events, including production and post-production,” says Arlette Siaretta, president and owner of the company.
MORE SPORTS. One year ago, Casablanca also forged a partnership with Fox International Channels (FIC) Latin America, through which the programmer was able to make an ambitious move: the launch of its prominent sports networks, Fox Sports, in Brazil. Arlette Siaretta President & Owner, Casablanca
“This month, Casablanca celebrates one year of successful partnership with Fox Sports in the Brazilian market.” Gustavo Leme VP, Fox International Channels Brazil
“We aim to extend this agreement by launching a new channel in Brazil, Fox Sports 2, a project in which we will also have Casablanca’s full support.”
In conversation with ttv, Gustavo Leme, VP at FIC Brazil, described this process: “Casablanca made a great work with us. They succeeded in setting up the channel in just three months, and we managed to launch it on February 5 after all the tests were made. At that time, they provided Fox with the facilities where the channel is set and also with the crew; now we are hiring the crew ourselves, but we will continue with the partnership this year.” Nevertheless, the relationship between the two companies is not limited to Fox Sports Brazil, and there are more projects on their way. “We aim to extend this agreement by launching a new channel in Brazil, Fox Sports 2, a project in which we will also have Casablanca’s full support. Furthermore, apart from Fox Sports, we have also signed an agreement with Casablanca through which we will also share the production of our lifestyle channel Bem Simples. This proves that we have a solid partnership with them,” Leme adds. ttv
Executives ttv
Live From Every Corner With a market share of more than 40 percent in Latin America and eighteen satellites in prime orbital locations serving the region, Intelsat leads the satellite operator sector through a complete variety of services based on satellite, fiber and combination solutions to meet clients’ needs. By Sebastián Torterola Twitter: @storterola storterola@todotv.tv
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How does Intelsat continually meet broadith more than 50 satellites, secasters’ demands in Latin America? Intelsat ven teleports and over 36,000 has established preeminence in Latin Amemiles of fiber connections, rica and around the globe by offering Intelsat supports over the most satellite capacity, the lar450 global HD chan“We have two gest network of teleports and fiber nels, more than 30 DTH platforms new satellites connections through the Inteland serves customers in over 200 that are helping satOne network, and now – with countries and territories. Eighteen meet capacity our next-generation Intelsat Epic Intelsat satellites in prime orbital demand in Latin satellite platform – an improved locations serve Latin America and America.” model for content delivery. the Caribbean.
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ttv spoke to Carmen González-Sanfeliu, the company’s regional VP for Latin America and the Caribbean, who explained that Latin America is home to six of Intelsat’s premier video neighborhoods, which provide a combination of Ku-band and C-band capacity to meet the demanding requirements of more than 300 of the region’s leading broadcasters and telcos.
How are major sporting events shaping the demand for occasional-use broadcast services in the region? For decades, major broadcasters have depended upon Intelsat for occasional-use broadcast services. Partnering with Intelsat ensures that live video from major events is successfully transmitted to viewers from start to finish, without interruption and within budget. Intelsat occasional-use broadcast services provide critical support for broadcasters that will bring the 2013 Confederations Cup, the 2014 World Cup, the 2016 Olympics, the 2015, 2016 and 2019 Copa América from Chile, the US and Brazil, respectively, to every corner of the world. What specific types of occasional-use services does Intelsat offer? Our team provides the satellite, fiber and combination solutions to meet clients’ needs for guaranteed transmission from the competition venues and broadcasting centers. Our services fulfill requirements for: a quick news feed from the site of a sports event or a news story; a full satellite newsgathering operation with production and crew; or on-site transmission build-out. Our Global Scheduling Center helps customers plan their services, and our Video
Carmen González-Sanfeliu, Regional Vice President, Latin America & Caribbean, Intelsat
Operations Center sets up and monitors the services, making network adjustments and troubleshooting in real time as necessary. For large-scale sporting events, Intelsat provides on-site support, including live-shot and playout services, encoding, multiplexing, transmission services and project management on request. How does Intelsat’s business strategy reflect its outlook on the Latin American market? As part of the largest fleet investment in Intelsat history, we have two new satellites that are helping meet capacity demand in Latin America. Intelsat 21, launched in August 2012, replaced the IS-9 satellite and serves the Latin America and Caribbean video community with the highest cable head-end penetration in the region – and hosts a thriving DTH community. We launched the Intelsat 23 satellite in October 2012 to provide capacity for network-services applications. How has Intelsat recently enhanced its IntelsatOne fiber/teleport network? Intelsat recently added a Point of Presence (PoP) in Miami, providing customers a gateway between Latin America and the world via IntelsatOne. The PoP is designed to not only enable global broadcasters to distribute and backhaul content throughout and from Latin America, but to offer Latin American providers seamless access to new distribution markets around the world. The PoP is a consolidation and expansion of several existing Intelsat nodes in the region and is connected to the IntelsatOne IP/MPLS network via three diverse fiber links, including a high-capacity undersea cable. This ensures reliable, high-speed access to Intelsat’s teleports and global fleet of more than 50 satellites. ttv
Executives ttv
All Bases Covered Operating as agents, event planners, producers and rights owners; Total Sports Asia is a Malaysian company covering all areas in sports, with activities on a global scale. Ahead of a new edition of SportelRio, ttv spoke to its COO, Julian Jackson. By Gonzalo Larrea Twitter: @Gonzalolarrea glarrea@todotv.tv
Julian Jackson, Chief Content Officer, Total Sports Asia
As far as production goes, the executive stated the company has a strong in-house team, with equipment to edit, film, produce and deliver their own TV shows. Total Sports also has “excellent contacts in the industry” and works with sub-contractors for equipment, satellite transmission and production companies across the Asian region. “We often help outside rights holders and broadcasters when they are filming in Asia to facilitate all of their needs,” he said.
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“The smarter and more forward thinking broadcasters now offer the simulcast experience so that consumers can watch the match on their channel and also on their laptop/tablet at the same time so cutting out any other 3rd parties and really owning the broadcast of a particular league or match,” he said. Another important topic for Jackson, which will also take center stage at this year’s SportelRio, is second screening, something that Jackson believes is here to stay, though its profitability is still questionable. “It is already an important part of all sports consumption, although whether it is such a profitable one just yet remains to be seen. I think the next few years will see this space become more profitable, though I still think it is more like 5-10 years away before they start to provide the sort of revenue that TV does at the moment. The critical mass is just not there yet,” he concluded. ttv
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tate these deals by either organizing events, roduction, broadcasts, consultancy, or producing the TV coverage and make prorights sales, agents. Other than acgramming around these events,” he said and tually playing them, there’s practicaexplained that with its recent investment into lly no area in the world of sports Tothe ‘Glory World Series Kickboxing’, the comtal Sports Asia hasn’t tackled. From pany is now a rights holder as well. Malaysia, the company seeks to take part in every sport-related activity, while The company’s activities are also expand its global footprint. “The smarter and more forward not the only thing growing, as On its quest to continue growing thinking broadcasters it’s also expanding its reach. the company will attend the upnow offer the “Five or six years ago the coming SportelRio, same as it’s simulcast experience model was to solely an Asian done for the past 15 years. so that consumers based one, however, in the can watch the match ensuing years we have truly Ahead of said event, ttv spoke on their channel and also on their laptops become a global business to Chief Content Officer Julian and tablets.” as we now do all of the same Jackson, who shared details things across the world,” he said. on the company’s main business models and goals, while The company now has offices in Kuala Lumexplaining his thoughts on the pur, Singapore, Beijing, Delhi, Mumbai and industry’s evolution and future. Bangalore. And while its main markets remain China and India, Jackson assured they’re ex“Where we make the majority of our revenues periencing notable growth in Europe and the is as an agent, putting the rights holder in US. Latin America, especially Brazil, are also in touch with the buyer which works in all of the Total Sports’ aim. ways that you mention above. We also facili-
In regard to the future of sports coverage, the executive said that while live broadcasts on television are still the norm, as technology evolves, broadband speed becomes faster and streaming becomes more HD and doesn’t buffer, “we will see these platforms seriously challenge the traditional sports channels.”
ProductNews AB INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION www.ab-international.com (Comedy Series – 26 x 26)
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KABOUL KITCHEN. The coolest place in the world’s hottest spot! Afghanistan 2005. George Bush is president of the United States, Jacques Chirac president of France and Jacky (Gilbert Melki), manager of ‘Kaboul Kitchen’. His restaurant is the place to be in Afghanistan: all the expats rush in to party and enjoy his swimming pool in the heart of Kabul. But one event is going to change his happy way of life: the arrival of Sophie, the daughter he hasn’t seen for 20 years and who has come for humanitarian work. She is here for the people. He is here for the money.
Moskito Television www.moskito.fi (30 x 60’ – 3 seasons)
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Easy Living . Commissioned by MTV3, Finland’s largest commercial network, ‘Easy Living’ has won the Best Drama Series award at both The Golden Television Awards and the Finnish “Emmys”. Following on from its successful debut, MTV3 has confirmed two further seasons. ‘Easy Living’ is a gripping and fast paced crime drama based around the extraordinary secret life of a father and ruthless business entrepreneur. Accustomed to their luxurious lifestyle, he and his family appear to have the perfect world. Behind that lifestyle fade however is a man living on the edge of mental, moral and financial destruction.
MarVista Entertainment www.marvista.net (Action Adventure Series /Live Action – 40 x 30’)
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POWER RANGERS MEGAFORCE. For
centuries, the earth has been protected by a supernatural guardian being named Gosei and his robotic aide, Tensou. When the evil Warstar aliens begin their massive invasion, Gosei calls upon five teenagers with attitude to form the ultimate team... the Power Rangers Megaforce! Using their newfound abilities, weapons, high-tech zords and Megazords to battle numerous alien threats, the Power Rangers Megaforce will prove that “Earth’s defenders never surrender!” Go Go Megaforce! An action adventure series combined with live action.
World Wrestling Entertainment www.wwe.com (Sports/Entertainment 52 x 60’, 52 x 120’ or 52 x 180’)
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RAW. Emanating each week from arenas across the globe, this live-event-based show is a completely unique combination of in-ring match competition, rock-concert ambiance, and dramatic interactions. An unpredictable, exciting, action-filled live event for TV. An incredible assembly of majestic superstars. It combines professional fighting with emotional stories of athleticism and intrigue. Each week brings a new, original show with fresh stories and unprecedented action where anything might happen.
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Rabbit Films www.rabbitfilms.com (Reality Show – 8 x 42’, 2 seasons)
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ROCKSTAR HOME INVASION. ’Rockstar
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Home Invasion’ is a feel-good family reality show that will explode people’s troubles away. Ordinary families have problems they can’t seem to solve. they call the most unlikely talent for help: a group of notorious, reckless rock stars. Be it bullying, burnout or apathy the family members suffer from, these houseguests attempt to turn the family’s life around in just two days. A feel-good reality show originally broadcasted on channel Sub, Finland on 2012. Jarno Laasala is the executive producer and Aapo Huovila is the general producer of this innovative format.
BuzzTaxi Communications www.buzztaxi.com (Lifestyle/Design/Docusoap 10 x 30’, HD)
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REAL DESIGNING WOMEN. Four of the
most successful female interior designers working in North America today, Dee Dee Taylor Eustace (Toronto), Lori Dennis (L.A.), Jennifer Flanders and Nina Freudenberger (NYC) lead us on a fun, fascinating and completely real jaunt through everything and anything design related (real designers, real clients, realeveryone) – it’s their world and we’re invited in!
Total Sports Asia www.totalsportsasia.com (Sports/Kickboxing – 12 live events in 2013, 2-4 hr. per event)
GLORY WORLD SERIES. Glory is the strongest kickboxing series in the world, featuring the most famous and decorated kickboxing stars. Follow their quest for glory every month in the ‘Glory World Series’. The 2012 Glory season saw Giorgio Petrosyan (lightweight) in Roma and Semmy Shilt (heavyweight) in a crowded Tokyo Saitama Arena being crowed Glory World Champions. A sports shows that features 12 kickboxing live events in 2013. Each event lasts approximately 2 or 4 hours.
CABLEready Corporation www.cableready.net (Entertainment - 8 Performance Specials)
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LIVE FROM LINCOLN CENTER. ’Live From Lincoln Center’ has featured groundbreaking performances from worldrenowned artists in the art forms of music, ballet, opera and more. In recent years, actors, musicians and dancers from Renée Fleming to Josh Groban to Itzhak Perlman have graced the stage of this diverse series. Now, for the first time, ‘Live From Lincoln Center’ is available in territories worldwide hosted by multiple Tony award winner Audra McDonald. ‘Live From Lincoln Center’, a 35+ year history.
ARTE FRANCE www.artepro.com/sales (Gastronomy - 5 x 52’, HD)
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HAPPINESS IS ON THE PLATE. A tasty se-
ries blending travel, cooking, nature and civic sense, following the daily work of five “green” chefs fighting for eco-friendly cooking in France, China, California, Benin and Tasmania.
Dori Media Group www.dorimediadistribution.com (Pre-teen Series - 15 x 30’)
DRG www.drg.tv (Game Show Format – 30’)
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project, the police department and the ministry of education decides to find the first ever kid’s police station, inside Cedar high public school. The two police officers who are stationed at the school, how to say it gently? Are not exactly the sharpest pencils in the pencil case... Time and time again they attempt to solve students’ problems. Although they are rather unskilled, they have lots of charm. The biggest tackle is their unconventional ways of resolving the students’ problems. Will the officers be able to justify the trust given in them and prove that the kid’s police project is a success? Produced by Dori Media Darset.
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CATCH PHRASE. It’s bigger; it’s better; it’s back. All new ‘Catch Phrase’ returns to TV. The hit format which was a worldwide success has been updated with a brand new set, exciting new catch phrases and a dynamic new end game. The whole family can play. All you have to do is say what you see to reveal well-known catch phrases. A 30’ game show format produced by STV Productions for ITV channel from UK.
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S.Y.P.D SPECIAL YOUNG POLICE DEPARTMENT. In a one of a kind new
Platinum Films www.platinumfilms.co.uk www.matthatter.com (Animation – 26 x 22’)
Banijay International www.banijayinternational.com (Entertainment – 1 x 120’)
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Aurora Media www.auroramedia.com (1 x 47’)
Good Wood Festival of Speed. This MATT HATTER CHRONICLES. ’Matt
Hatter Chronicles’ combines groundbreaking CG animation, 3D digital content, fun and explosive storytelling, smart buddy humour and the ultimate gadgetry to appeal to a contemporary generation of tech-savvy kids. The series, which is proving to be a hit with audiences worldwide, follows the adventures of budding schoolboy hero Matt Hatter whose life is changed forever when he discovers his family are guardians of a secret dimension called the Multiverse, the gateway to which is accessed through Matt’s home, the Coronet movie theatre. Infamous villains from movies screened at the Coronet have escaped into the Multiverse and are now under the control of evil Lord Tenoroc. In a quest to protect the Multiverse and save his grandpa, Matt must become the new Hatter Hero and together with his two best friends Roxie and Gomez, defeat and capture these Super-Villains.
annual mid-summer event is held in the magnificent grounds of Goodwood House, West Sussex England and is, quite simply, the largest motoring garden party in the world. It is a unique and impossibly heady mix of cars, stars, speed and motor sport royalty, past and present. From current Formula 1 racers and 200mph supercars to steam-powered carriages of the 19th Century, and from 3000bhp top fuel dragsters to classic rally cars, the Festival of Speed attracts the heroic and the evocative from every era in an exuberant display of style, sound, smell and colour. The Festival of Speed pays homage to the most significant and salient cars in the history of international motor sport, with entry by personal invitation by Lord March. All cars and motorcycles are painstakingly selected to reflect the event’s major theme of the year, and to ensure their authenticity and provenance, all competing vehicles are presented in their original condition and livery.
STARS IN DANGER: THE HIGH DIVE. Format or Finished US version for FOX. Celebrities from widely different backgrounds put themselves in peril as they take the plunge into a whole new discipline… diving! Some have made their name in sports arenas, but others are more suited to less athletic competitions, some might even be fighting a fear of heights – or water! The contestants compete in a variety of different dives, including high diving, springboard, and synchronized diving. Before the celebs are able to show their hidden talents in the various jump categories they are given a crash course under with professional diving instructors. An expert judging panel awards points and decides about the candidates’ ranking. Performing jumps from the handstand position or a double backwards summersault with twist – the celebrities risk everything to win.
Deutsche Welle www.dw.de (SCI-TECH NEWS)
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Finnish Broadcasting Company Yle www.yle.fi (Documentary Series – 6 x 28’ M/E, HD)
LAKES OF FINLAND. If Finns were asked,
Futurando. ’Futurando’provides a weekly look at the latest sci-tech and environment news. DW reporters investigate the latest ideas and bold experiments designed to make the world a better place. Topics range from space research to medical innovations along with ways to create sustainable cities in the face of climate change. ’Futurando’ brings you the faces behind these projects, whether they have already been implemented or are still just ideas. You’ll get to meet internationally renowned researchers while DW reporters explore their work and explain how it can impact our daily lives. The program pays special attention to Brazilian researchers and dives into the issues stirring debate in Brazil.
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what best symbolizes their home country, the answer would most likely be the holy triangle: sauna, birch - and lake. A lake, if any, is the symbol of Finland. Finland is not the land of a thousand lakes, it’s the land of tens of thousands of lakes. 187,888 lakes in all, if you count the ones that are over five ares in size. All put together, they cover a tenth of the whole country.
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Executives ttv
One Size Doesn’t Fit All Based in London, Dubai, Melbourne and Bangkok, Aurora Media Worldwide navigates across several sports-related business areas, relying its success on one main premise: to work ‘with’ clients rather than ‘for’ clients.
Managing Director, Aurora Media Worldwide
By Sebastián Torterola Twitter: @storterola storterola@todotv.tv
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In this content, Aurora’s philosophy is to belieefined as a “boutique broadcast ve in IP, which leads them to also create orimedia agency” Aurora Media ginal content. “We work closely with Worldwide is active in several select suppliers who understand business areas, including “In general the benchmark we like to get to, channel management, terms I think which is in demand from clients. sports broadcasting and producwe consider a Naturally, we will acquire contion, content creation, among delicate shift to tent, but it depends on the proothers. Thus, it puts into practice a working ‘with’ rather than duction and the solution. Overall mutable business model: the com‘for’ clients.” though, we know that quality is pany partners on a revenue-share what matters and we concentrate base with some clients to work on that,” the executive explains. across all their media; while other time it enters a ‘work for hire’ model for production/distribution or straight consultation Goodwood Revival basis. Classic races
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“We have found that as the market continues to evolve and continued digital platforms emerge, clients and ourselves look at wider ways of working to achieve results. In general terms I think we consider a delicate shift to working ‘with’ rather than ‘for’ clients. We are just as happy developing sports entertainment formats as we are in OB, studio or digital production. More and more, one informs the other,” is the opinion of Lawrence Duffy, Managing Director, Aurora Media Worldwide. The company works with rights holders, brands and broadcasters. “The three need each other more than ever to achieve the kind of cut through required for their properties, and to make their respective budgets work,” Lawrence says. In the meantime, while TV remains the most prominent platform, particularly when it comes to international and emerging markets, Aurora is also into the digital space. “Digital and social spaces are critical to understand and produce in. Every trend tells us that audiences and conversations have extended beyond TV, and media inventory needs to stretch to these new places to engage with new and existing audiences,” he states.
Lawrence Duffy,
DIFFERENTIAL. Sports broadcasting has evolved over the years, with consistent innovation, either in technology, cameras or analysis tools, among others. As a new company in the market, Aurora was born in the perfect era and its equipment is fine proof: content shot on red cameras and produced in 3D, use of just about every type of OB camera including on-boards, ultra-motion, spider-cam, etc. “There are also a growing number of excellent providers offering enhanced graphics and data capture solutions, exporting and converting in-play data to screen, allowing the audience a new understanding of how sport is won and lost. Every sport requires a different approach and what we have found is that this is not a one-size-fits all business. If you throw the latest technology at a sport without a firm output and sense of how it enhances a particular show, it’s less likely to be successful,” Lawrence assures. According to the executive, the company’s differential is that it “tailor-makes solutions from a genuine depth and breadth of experience of multiple sports and live, recorded and formatted programming. There is a menu of coverage options to choose from, and it’s important to be able to innovate but not just for the sake of it.” ttv
BROADCASTING & DIGITAL “Credibility is the first law of positioning,” Lawrence Duffy affirms, considering Aurora is a “brand new company in the market.” However, the executive already has commissions to announce. “In January we delivered short content for The Football League in the UK and Kick TV in the US, finished a cricket film in advance of the Women’s World Cup for the ICC and in February we will Host Broadcast the Dubai Duty Free ATP and WTA Tour Tennis events in Dubai followed immediately the Host Broadcast of the International Abu Dhabi Triathlon. We also produce weekly football shows and Goodwood Motorsport is a returning client. We also have two entertaining formats on the slate, one of which we hope to announce soon.”