TV Europe NATPE Budapest 2012 by World Screen

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NATPE BUDAPEST EDITION

Formats in CEE www.tveurope.ws

THE MAGAZINE OF EUROPEAN TELEVISION

JUNE/JULY 2012

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TV EUROPE

Artear www.artear.com • Naked Family • The Social Leader • Left on the Shelf

IN THIS ISSUE Red Hot! Formats are selling well across Central and Eastern Europe

Ricardo Seguin Guise

Publisher

Anna Carugati

Editor

Mansha Daswani

Executive Editor Kristin Brzoznowski

Managing Editor Simon Weaver

Online Director Meredith Miller

Set to bring some heat for the NATPE Budapest buyers, Naked Family is the newest offering from Argentina’s Artear. The 13x1-hour series features Dicky and Lorna, a couple who ventured into the skin-flicks industry in the ’80s. Fast-forward 30 years and things have changed quite a bit. Dicky is no longer a celebrated director and Lorna is far from the lusty porn star she once was; they are on the verge of divorce. Their children devise a plan to get the family back on its feet, getting into the business of creating modeling portfolios for magazines. Artear will also be offering buyers the series The Social Leader and Left on the Shelf. The former tells the story of a political staffer who begins to do social work. The latter centers on three unmarried sisters, each dealing with the death of their mother while searching for Mr. Right. Along with series, Artear offers telenovelas, including Gypsy Blood, and factual fare, such as Fantastic Biographies, Methods and Tasting Notes.

Naked Family

The Social Leader

Production & Design Director Phyllis Q. Busell

Art Director Cesar Suero

Sales & Marketing Director Terry Acunzo

Business Affairs Manager Vanessa Brand

Sales & Marketing Assistant

Ricardo Seguin Guise

President

Anna Carugati

Executive VP & Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani

www.tveurope.ws

Caracol TV Internacional www.caracolinternacional.com

“Our productions dare to

• Pablo Escobar: The Drug Lord • Made in Cartagena • Where the Heck is Umaña?

Pablo Escobar: The Drug Lord is based on articles and reallife testimonies surrounding the life of the notorious drug kingpin. “Shot in HD with a cinematographic approach and techniques, the series is the most ambitious production ever produced in Colombia,” says Roberto Corrente, the sales executive for Eastern Europe and Asia at Caracol TV Internacional. Caracol will be presenting the title at NATPE Budapest alongside Made in Cartagena and Where the Heck is Umaña? “For NATPE Budapest, our main goal is not only focused on the growth we have experienced recently, but to be able to offer more and better content,” says Corrente. “And, most important, to reach as many viewers as possible, through a market strategy that includes not only fresh and innovative productions, but also the flexibility that eventually allows us to customize our content to the local programming needs of each market.”

catch the essence of the real life that surrounds us, leaving our audiences everything but indifferent.

”

—Roberto Corrente

Where the Heck is Umaña?

Get daily news on European television

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Global Agency www.theglobalagency.tv • Game of Silence • iffet • Shopping Monsters

“ NATPE Budapest is one of our

favorite markets because we are so well known amongst the buyers that it’s like seeing a lot of friends.

”

Global Agency introduced a slew of new content to the market in the last few months, says Catherine Stryker, the company’s head of sales for the Americas and CEE. Now its plans for NATPE Budapest are mainly to listen to buyers’ needs and match them up with programming from its extensive catalogue. In particular, the company will be chatting with buyers about Game of Silence, says Stryker. “Game of Silence is a powerful drama that will appeal to a broad prime-time audience. This one has both male and female audiences hooked…. Many of our clients are looking at this one for their spring lineup in 2013.” She also points to iffet and Shopping Monsters as key titles. “iffet is a classic story with all the elements that viewers love most in Turkish productions: betrayal, passion, revenge! This production is doing very well in the ratings and hooks viewers in from the beginning episodes.” Stryker continues, “Shopping Monsters is our daily style format that came out of the gate quickly when it was launched last year.”

—Catherine Stryker

Game of Silence

ON TV • Against the Ropes • TV for Social Inclusion • 360 TV

“We pursue originality

Against the Ropes

not only in content but also in the way we deliver it.

The 60-episode soap opera Against the Ropes, from ON TV, tells the story of an amateur fighter who is forced to leave his hometown for the big city. There, he reunites with his brother who he hasn’t seen in years, and also falls in love with a woman. In a romantic twist, the woman winds up being his brother’s love as well. ON TV also offers TV for Social Inclusion, an anthology series that takes real-life stories and turns them into fictional tales related to current issues. “When we do fiction, we always aim to tell our stories in new, different ways,” says Claudio Villaruel, the president of ON TV.“On the one hand, we incorporate current issues in universal narratives, which we in turn relate to the problems facing present-day societies. On the other, we strive to achieve a certain aesthetic that breaks with the structure of traditional audiovisual narrative.”The ON TV portfolio also includes 360 TV, Argentina’s first HD network specifically created for DTTV. “It was conceived as a new concept in television, driven right from the start with the new multiplatform era in mind,”Villaruel says.

”

—Claudio Villaruel

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Power www.powcorp.com • Treasure Island • The Situation • Bran Nue Dae

Action-adventure and disaster titles continue to do well across Central and Eastern Europe, says Steve Turney, the VP of sales and acquisitions at Power. “They offer the spectacle and escapism that can set a channel’s schedule apart.” In keeping with this trend, Power is presenting buyers at NATPE Budapest with Treasure Island. The action adventure is a classic pirate’s tale set on the high seas. Eddie Izzard, Elijah Wood and Donald Sutherland head the cast. Mixing action and drama is The Situation, starring Damian Lewis. The two-hour movie takes place amid the chaos and violence of present-day Iraq. Set in the summer of 1969, Bran Nue Dae is a musical comedy that follows a young man who flees boarding school to get back home to be with the girl he loves. Geoffrey Rush stars as the school’s headmaster, Father Benedictus, who goes on his own journey to bring the boy back so he can face his destiny of becoming a priest.

Treasure Island

“For us it’s about looking in new directions and broadening our horizons. By this I mean acquisitions, not just for CEE, but for programming on a worldwide basis.

”

—Steve Turney

Tandem Communications www.tandemcom.de • World Without End • Labyrinth • Titanic: Blood & Steel

“Tandem prides itself on producing

shows that cross all borders and are as viable in North America as they are in Europe or in Asia.

With presales already confirmed in more than 120 territories, Tandem Communications is placing its bets on World Without End to be of interest to buyers in Budapest. The eighthour event series, adapted from the novel by the best-selling author Ken Follett, will be ready for delivery in the third quarter.The four-hour event mini Labyrinth is also slated for a fall delivery this year. Adapted from the international bestselling novel by Kate Mosse, Labyrinth is a German/South African co-production made by Tandem and Scott Free Films in association with Film Afrika. Tandem is also the international distributor for the $30-million De Angelis Group production Titanic: Blood & Steel. “The common denominator for these three event series is the fact [that] their stories are all set in Europe with some of Europe’s finest talent both in front [of] and behind the camera,” says Randall Broman, the VP of sales at Tandem. “World Without End is shot in Hungary, Austria and Slovakia. Labyrinth was partially shot in the original location of Carcassonne, France, and Titanic in Ireland.”

”

Labyrinth

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—Randall Broman

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Televisa Internacional www.televisainternacional.tv • Valiant Love • Me, Her... and Eva! • Miss XV

In the tradition of a classic telenovela, Valiant Love tells the story of Camila and Daniel, who meet under adverse circumstances but whose true love overcomes all obstacles.Televisa Internacional is offering the 150x1-hour program as a finished series as well as a format. Both the finished version and format are also available for Miss XV from Televisa.Televisa bills Me, Her... and Eva! as a telenovela with an unconventional twist. The novela follows Juan Carlos Caballero, a seductive man who is a prominent executive at a prestigious tourism company. He pretends to be a foreign businessman in an effort to steal an innovative project from Helena Morena, an enterprising single mother. However, after getting to know Helena, Juan Carlos falls madly in love. He plans to tell her the truth, but she finds out his true identity first.At the same time, he is unjustly accused of a major fraud at the company. He flees and is being hunted by the police. In order to vindicate his reputation and recover Helena’s love, he becomes Eva.This changes his perception of women and he is finally able to surrender to real love.

Me, Her... and Eva!

Valiant Love

TV5MONDE www.tv5.org

In Europe alone, TV5MONDE reaches 136 million homes. The channel has an active subtitling policy that allows it to deliver more than 1,000 hours per year in German, Dutch, Romanian, Polish and English, as well as French, in an effort to give viewers learning the French language a chance to improve their skills. TV5MONDE is working on firming up agreements for TV Everywhere services with many operators across the region. There’s also the TV5MONDE+ catch-up TV and VOD service. Alongside several web portals, TV5MONDE offers apps for the iPhone and Android devices to bring viewers exclusive educational content. “The market has become increasingly cluttered, with a lot of rival networks starting or expanding services,” notes Marie-Christine Saragosse,TV5MONDE’s directorgeneral. “TV5MONDE has a built-in advantage because its programming is unique and universal at the same time; the diversity of the region is reflected in the programming of TV5MONDE Europe. Besides, we can support operators in their 360-degree and TV Everywhere strategies, which explains why we maintain our position in basic tiers.”

“Pay-TV penetration

is growing alongside the technological progress that is being made in Central and Eastern Europe.

”

—Marie-Christine Saragosse

Ils dansent on TV5MONDE

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Red Hot! Central and Eastern European countries have become avid buyers of formats from the international market. By Juliana Koranteng When it comes to the demand for TV formats, the Central and Eastern European region (CEE) is no longer the poor cousin coming to dine at the table of richer Western European relatives or other developed markets.The CEE’s former communist states are ravenous for the same high-quality entertainment demanded by viewers in the more affluent West. The TV formats they buy from international distributors play a crucial role in enabling the region’s broadcasters to gain as much access to juicy TV entertainment as their counterparts elsewhere. “Development in TV globally has taken more than 60 years; for historical reasons, the CEE region did it in 20 years—they have caught up with the major TV markets, [and] nurtured a new generation of TV executives who scout the world for new format trends,” says Shakira Hoffmann, the sales manager for CEE at SevenOne International. “Some of the countries are so hungry for new ideas, they want to take on the role of pioneers who discovered the best ones that everyone else [later] copied.” Among SevenOne’s format hits in CEE are My Man Can, a TV game show on Ukraine’s 1+1 network. It is also being adapted by networks in the Czech Republic and Russia. Benidorm Bastards, a hidden-camera format centered on a group of mischievous elderly citizens who turn the tables on young people, is entering its second season on 1+1 and

Russia has its own version of Sony Pictures Television’s The Nanny. 46

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The magic touch: Shine International has sold The Magicians into Ukraine and Russia.

has also been adapted by the Romanian commercial network Prima TV, where it is in its third season. SevenOne has also sold the Russian and Ukrainian remake rights to Danni Lowinski, a German legal dramedy, to the Ukrainian production firm Star Media Film. The localized versions will be on Russia’s Domashny and on STB in Ukraine. FORMAT CEE CHANGE

Sabrina Duguet, the VP of international formats sales at ALL3MEDIA International, has found that CEE buyers have become less risk averse when it comes to format buys. “Previously, it appeared that broadcasters in Eastern Europe would wait until a format was a success in several territories before commissioning it. But recently, this has changed and broadcasters/producers have been willing to take risks and be the first [to adapt] a production.” The region’s cravings for hits have boosted business for ALL3MEDIA International’s portfolio of in-house and thirdparty formats.They range from game shows and constructedreality formats, in which amateur actors are used to reconstruct real-life dramas, to location-based entertainment. ALL3MEDIA’s lineup includes the reality TV series Undercover Boss from Studio Lambert and The Cube, a fast-paced game show that tests contestants’ mental and physical agility. Another game show highlighted by Duguet is Are You Normal?, originally made by ZOO Productions for the U.S.based OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. Countries like Russia, Poland, Hungary, Estonia and Ukraine have been particularly keen on ALL3MEDIA’s German-originated constructed-reality shows, among them Families at the Crossroads, Cases of Doubt and Day & Night. 48

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“The channels are looking for programs that are easier to adapt with lower budgets and flexibility, and have a feel-good, fun aspect to them,” Duguet adds. “That’s the reason why location formats like Cash at Your Door (by Matar Productions) and Cash Cab (by Lion Television) are doing really well for us.” Sony Pictures Television (SPT) has sold a number of formats into the region, including both scripted and non-scripted titles. “Business is good,” reports Ed Louwerse, the senior VP of formats at SPT’s international distribution division. “CEE is a very important format-sales region for SPT.There is a lot of demand for our properties and they are performing well.” Louwerse says that Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? continues to be very popular for many territories in the region, including Russia, Hungary, Moldova, Romania, Poland and Albania. “Dr. Oz is gathering momentum, with format productions in Armenia and Russia, for example,” he continues.“Our scripted offering is a key focus as well. Scripted format deals through SPT in CEE currently include Rules of Engagement (Poland), Everybody Loves Raymond (Poland and Russia) and The King of Queens (Russia). Those in Russia are produced by SPT Productions Russia.” SHINING BRIGHT

For Shine International, a key factor in its success in the region has been its ability to offer a wide variety of formats from its sister production companies in different countries. Lisa Higginson, sales manager for CEE, among other territories, says, “This year, three of the top five highest-rated weekend prime-time shows in Poland were Shine International formats.We saw a third season of Must Be the Music and a first season of Got to Dance launching on Polsat, together with a second season of NBC’s original format Clash of the Choirs returning to TVP.” 6/12

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That some CEE markets are economically more affluent than the others cannot be ignored. Distributors, however, accept that it is still a developing region whose broadcasters need to be efficient with their production resources. Hits come at a cost, and the tight budgets of CEE broadcasters mean they cannot afford to overspend. But the competitive marketplace drives them to aim high. “The big formats are selling to CEE as much as anywhere else,” says Luci Burnley, an international sales and acquisitions executive at Banijay International, whose reality series include Tempted, which was conceived by Nordisk Film TV and is on MTV in Russia and TET TV in Ukraine. “Most of our CEE buyers want tested hits in prime-time studio entertainment, or big reality shows that can be either stripped or scheduled weekly. Channels need these shows to bring in the advertising revenue that makes them a worthwhile investment.” Other Banijay titles present in CEE include the studiobased entertainment show Honey, Pack the Bags!, which is by Air Productions and is airing on Ukraine’s Novy TV, and the scripted format The Day My Life Changed. SELLING THE SCRIPT

All in the family: ALL3MEDIA’s broad slate of entertainment formats includes Meet the Parents.

The Israel-based Armoza Formats has also been successful with scripted formats in CEE. The Naked Truth is in production for HBO Polska; Shall We Kiss premiered in October on HBO Hungary; and in Lithuania, The Green Project is on Rytas TV. This is in addition to the numerous Armoza formats adapted in Russia and Ukraine. “There are waves of interests in specific genres, but in the end it’s all entertainment,” says Avi Armoza, the founder and CEO of the company. “They are looking for good television. They are professionals and they know a hit when they see it.... In the current economic climate, broadcasters are looking for a sure thing; they aren’t looking to take fantastic leaps into uncharted territory.” Still, his company has been able to tout unconventional adventurous formats that might make broadcasters in developing markets wary.“We’re able to see ahead of the curve to bring

Among the CEE broadcasters working with Shine are Channel One, Rossiya 1 and REN TV in Russia; Ukraine’s 1+1, STB and TET; Antena 1 and Pro TV in Romania; Slovakia’s Markíza, SVT and TV JOJ; Nova and RTL in Romania; plus Kazakhstan’s NTK. Moreover, Shine has successfully sold The Magicians, from the BBC, to networks in Ukraine and Russia. Clash of the Choirs, made by the Stockholm-based Friday TV for NBC, is now in Russia. The prime-time format Mobbed, by Alevy Productions, will air in Ukraine this fall; and Minute to Win It, originally made by Friday TV with NBC, is doing great business in Kazakhstan. “Recent trends have seen CEE broadcasters showing a greater level of interest and sales in Scandinavian formats from our partners at Metronome,” Higginson adds. “The recent success stories include the new weightloss lifestyle series Honey, You’re Getting Fat, and Can We Come Along, a warmhearted factual-entertainment show capturing the character and spirit of local people The element of surprise: A local version of Armoza Formats’ Foreplay, a dating game show with across Sweden.” a twist, is airing on MTV Russia. 50

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“bring local spice to the adaptations.”There is a lively Latin flavor given to shows airing in countries like Romania, while the Baltic markets embrace the more measured Nordic approach, she says. “They’re also good at making good-looking shows on a shoestring budget. With limited resources, they’re making miracles happen.” DANCING TO A NEW TUNE

Stylish programming: Global Agency’s Shopping Monsters launched on Turkey’s Kanal D a year ago and has gone on to be adapted in Russia and Romania, among other territories.

to broadcasters more risky and innovative programming that has already been tested in our market,” Armoza says. Flexibility in selling is also required. “Our formats are scalable. Even for big, prime-time game shows like Still Standing, we can offer creative solutions that help counter larger budget concerns.” Out-of-studio shows are equally popular, as they avoid the costs of the expensive shiny-floor studios that are de rigueur for today’s demanding audiences. An example of the out-ofstudio format is Armoza’s new Upgrade, which is entertaining audiences in Russia and Ukraine. Formats based outdoors or in people’s homes offer “high-entertainment value and lots of emotions,” notes Shine’s Higginson. When they are determined to get the big shows, CEE broadcasters get creative and imaginative. And distributors are taking notice. “The broadcasters are becoming more savvy in their approach to funding through product placement, sponsorship and licensing, and we’ve responded to that by providing a really strong in-house service to help facilitate financing without impacting the integrity of a series,” Higginson says. While much has changed in CEE, executives stress that when selling to the region, distributors cannot be completely oblivious to history. Global Agency’s formats, such as Shopping Monsters, the studio-based contest The Hand, and the wedding format Perfect Bride, are popular, “but countries experienced the region’s history in different ways,” says Catherine Stryker, the head of sales for the Americas and CEE at the company.“So they look at historical dramas and films with caution. But with modern dramas and series, they are more at ease because they have instant recognition of familiar relationships, romance, social lives and family concerns.” Distributors have also noticed the way history and geography are influencing the skills developed by the local broadcasters. For example, SevenOne International’s Hoffmann has seen differences in approaches to formats as broadcasters 52

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The growing CEE TV market is attracting attention not only from its Western European neighbors, but from farther afield. Televisa Internacional’s Dancing for a Dream has shown the Mexican media giant that it has the know-how to tap into the CEE format markets effectively. The show will be in its 13th season this fall on Romania’s ProTV in prime time.The same show, which features a contestant taking part in a dancing contest to fulfill a long-cherished dream, has also been bought in Slovakia, Serbia, Czech Republic and Ukraine. The format had already been a sensation in its native Mexico, where it nabbed a 50percent ratings share in its slot, according to Claudia Sahab, Televisa’s director of sales in Europe. “In a region where the standard of living can be difficult, this is the type of entertainment they love. All our clients said it has the right ingredients.” The show’s success has encouraged Televisa to dig deep into its treasure chest of more than 500 telenovela titles to see if any can be adapted as scripted formats for CEE. “Our original telenovelas sell very well there and we’ve seen that countries like Poland have their own telenovelas. Czech and Romanian broadcasters and producers also want to start their own based on local stories. So we know there is a demand there.” If there are economic issues and cultural differences to deal with, how do distributors ensure that broadcasters maintain the integrity of formats when producing local adaptations? Most distributors, who have had experience producing the formats in several other countries, offer consultancy services to help the channels avoid unnecessary mistakes. SevenOne International sells a “tool kit” to its clients to ensure that the broadcasters follow a standard on-air formula. That guarantees that anyone would recognize the program as a SevenOne format. “It means they don’t have to reinvent the wheel; they only have to insert changes based on the time slot and the audience’s profile,” Hoffmann explains. Armoza believes you must allow the channel to make changes as it sees fit for its own audiences. However, “we have a flying consultant on each set to ensure quality control over the production.” Global Agency’s Stryker urges broadcasters not to deviate from the original format’s concepts just for the sake of it. “A good format is like ice cream.You can make as many flavors as you want, but it is still ice cream. Problems start when a producer tries to alter the format too much and it becomes something different altogether. That’s just like putting a sundae in the microwave. I’ve heard it called ‘creative inspiration,’ but sometimes losing the original is a bad thing.” 6/12

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