TV Real MIPCOM 2011

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MIPCOM EDITION

Testosterone TV Home Reno Shows Anthony Bourdain Al Jazeera’s Al Anstey www.tvreal.ws

THE MAGAZINE OF FACTUAL PROGRAMMING

OCTOBER 2011

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Beyond Scared Straight

APT Worldwide www.aptww.org • Circus Dreams • The Pit • Seven Ways to Power the Planet • Energy Quest USA • Adventures from the Wild West

Providing fun for the whole family, Circus Dreams shows a group of teens as they try out for the only traveling youth circus in the U.S. “Kids come from all over the world to audition, so we expect it will appeal to all markets,” says Judy Barlow, the VP of international sales at APT Worldwide.The company is also showcasing The Pit, which gives a look inside a place that is rarely seen, the NewYork Board of Trade. “This type of work makes for fascinating and unusual characters, and The Pit is filled with many,” Barlow notes. For those looking to fill a need for “green” programming, APT is offering Seven Ways to Power the Planet and Energy Quest USA.The group is also bringing back its long-running series Adventures from the Wild West, now filmed in HD. “Our goals are to provide interesting and unique content to buyers.We’ve selected programs that will help draw viewers, bring some new information about a topic and entertain the audience,” says Barlow.

Circus Dreams

“We’ve selected programs that will help draw viewers, bring some new information about a topic and entertain the audience.

”

—Judy Barlow

CABLEready www.cableready.net • • • • •

IN THIS ISSUE

Food Trip with Todd English Saw Dogs Esther Extraordinaire Prison Diaries House of Bats

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Home Sweet Home Lifestyle series about home design and real estate are in high demand 32

Interviews Anthony Bourdain Al Jazeera English’s Al Anstey A+E Networks’ Sean Cohan

to the needs, challenges and priorities of our global buyers [are our goals].

”

Testosterone TV Shows focused on male audiences, from military to motoring

“Understanding and responding

38 40 42

The unique characters and locations shown in CABLEready’s programs are what Gary Lico, the company’s president and CEO, believes will draw buyers in.

He also points out that many of the genres CABLEready represents—lifestyle, travel, crime and investigation, nature and history, among others—all have proven appeal. He highlights for MIPCOM titles such as Food Trip with Todd English, which features the eponymous chef and restaurateur as he gives a rare glimpse into the thoughts and motivations of a culinary master. In a darker genre, Prison Diaries is one of several series CABLEready has in its catalogue that look at what life is like behind bars. Buyers can also look out for Esther Extraordinaire, Saw Dogs and House of Bats from CABLEready.

—Gary Lico Food Trip with Todd English

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Canamedia www.canamedia.com • Test of Love • The Cool Guy Files • Scammed!

• Into the Arctic 2

Ricardo Seguin Guise

Publisher Anna Carugati

Editor Mansha Daswani

Executive Editor Kristin Brzoznowski

Managing Editor Marissa Graziadio

Editorial Assistant Simon Weaver

Online Director Craig Brown Michelle Villas

All of the titles Canamedia is bringing to MIPCOM this year are brand-new, first-run series outside of Canada, notes Andrea Stokes, the international sales and acquisitions manager. Tapping into the trend of reality competitions, Test of Love watches five engaged couples battle it out for a chance at a free wedding and honeymoon. In a twist, couples aren’t eliminated until the last few episodes, allowing viewers to follow their journeys all the way through. Skewed for men is The Cool Guy Files, which features a true story in each episode of a different guy, looking at what makes them “cool.” Canamedia is also presenting the investigative crime series Scammed!, about the global problem of fraud. Into the Arctic 2 is a follow-up to a documentary of the same name that spotlights the artist Cory Trépanier. In this second film, Trépanier is going into remote lands that are more challenging and more dangerous, to capture what he sees on canvas.

Into the Arctic 2

“ The series all have a fresh, current look and feel and bring engaging characters with big personalities in unique situations to our international broadcasters.

”

—Andrea Stokes

Production & Design Directors 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

VP of Strategic Development TV Real © 2011 WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, #1207 New York, NY 10010 Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website:

www.tvreal.ws

Electric Sky www.electricsky.com • Waking the Titanic • Bullproof • Anna Nicole • Baking Mad • Fat Doctor

The 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic is next year, and Electric Sky has Waking the Titanic to offer to broadcasters looking to commemorate the event. The 52minute doc highlights the backgrounds and plight of the third-class passengers. Anna Nicole has garnered much publicity due to its high-profile characters. Bullproof, a 2D/3D production, looks at the world of bullfighting. KarenYoung, Electric Sky’s commercial director, says Baking Mad has been a hot title, bringing audience loyalty and helping to fill schedules at an affordable cost. “One of the biggest genres within factual is weight-loss/weightissues programming,” Young says, pointing to Fat Doctor, which witnesses the lives of the morbidly obese who are desperate to lose weight, and follows them on their journey of battling their food demons. Fat Doctor is back for a fourth season.

Bullproof

“ We want to further educate the market about the successes of 3D, as well as showcasing the new 3D titles within the Electric Sky catalogue.

”

—Karen Young

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ITV Studios Global Entertainment www.itvstudios.com • Seven Dwarves • Inventions That Shook the World • I Shouldn’t Be Alive • Safari Vet School • River Monsters 3D

It’s a mix of returning programs and new series for ITV Studios Global Entertainment’s MIPCOM slate. New product includes Seven Dwarves, which follows a crew of actors who are taking part in the U.K.’s annual pantomime season. Another new series is the ten-hour Inventions That Shook the World, which, according to Tobias de Graaff, the director of global TV distribution, is “a good volume of entertaining, informative and meticulously researched television.” There’s also a new season of I Shouldn’t Be Alive. “A great advantage of I Shouldn’t Be Alive is that it’s a returning franchise... which has proven success in the U.S. and around the world,” de Graaff points out. From ITV’s in-house production team comes Safari Vet School, which features young veterinary students getting a hands-on course in animal conservation.The company is also showcasing its first 3D content, River Monsters 3D.

“We are thrilled to be launching our first 3D content, River Monsters 3D.

”

River Monsters 3D

—Tobias de Graaff

Jelly Bean Films & Distribution www.jellybeanfilm.com Burma: A Human Tragedy

• Burma: A Human Tragedy • Life, Death, & Reincarnation with the Dalai Lama • The Miao Festival • The Cross Upon the Hill • The Vanishing City

The Academy Award-winning actress Anjelica Huston lends her voice to the narration of Burma:A Human Tragedy, which Jelly Bean Films & Distribution is offering for the worldwide market.The documentary shines a light on the brutal regime of the military junta in Burma. Sabrina Chen-Louie, the president of Jelly Bean, warns that the footage is terrifying, yet is important to illustrate an ongoing genocide. A number of Jelly Bean’s other docs provide a glimpse into various cultures. The Miao Festival looks at one of the 56 tribes of China, the Miao. Life, Death, & Reincarnation with the Dalai Lama takes viewers on a journey to His Holiness’s birthplace, discussing his experience with life, what he thinks about death and what he knows about reincarnation. The Vanishing City looks at the hows and whys of the luxury building frenzy of the past decade in New York. Rounding out the Jelly Bean catalogue is The Cross Upon the Hill.

“Our goal is to sell, and we hope that more buyers are active at this market.”

—Sabrina Chen-Louie

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Multivisionnaire Media www.multivisionnaire.com • • • •

Flesh Air Far Away Eyes Little Blue Pill No Saints for Sinners

Flesh Air

Beautiful girls and exotic cars are brought together in a single work of art in the original series Flesh Air from Multivisionnaire Media. The series features the airbrush artist Wayne Harrison and the celebrity photographer Dave Anderson as they create a calendar of airbrushed women and hot rods. “What makes this series different is [that] nothing like this has ever been done before,” says Sean Haley, the managing partner. “Instead of customizing the car and adding a model, why not customize the girl to match?” There are also a number of films on the Multivisionnaire slate. “Little Blue Pill is one of the funniest and raunchiest films since American Pie,” says Haley of the 93-minute movie. The 88-minute Far Away Eyes is an action-thriller. “It’s premiering at MIPCOM, and perfect for buyers looking to grab that male audience,” Haley says. No Saints for Sinners is a “solid action film,” he notes. The movie stars Keith David (Crash) and James Cosmo (Sons of Anarchy).

“Our goal at MIPCOM this year is to continue to build on existing relationships with buyers, continuing with new titles from telefilms to shows and to meet new buyers with the intent of working with them to get their titles out there.

”

—Sean Haley

New Dominion Pictures www.newdominion.com • Tainted Love • Jump Shipp • Noble Exchange: Latin America • The Un-Road Trip • Surf Life

Halogen TV is a new cable network in the U.S. focused on socially conscious entertainment, featuring realitybased series, documentaries and specials. New Dominion Pictures is bringing with it to MIPCOM a number of productions from Halogen TV for the international market. “Halogen’s programs offer a wide variety of programming, from current affairs to lifestyle to humanitarian to eco-entertainment,” says Kristen Eppley, the senior VP of international distribution at New Dominion. All are produced in HD, she adds. Titles include Jump Shipp, a reality series about how to avoid the dreaded “quarter-life crisis.” Tainted Love exposes modern-day slave trading and human trafficking. Also on offer from New Dominion are the docu-reality title Noble Exchange: Latin America, which features seven half-hour episodes; The Un-Road Trip, a reality show of ten half-hour episodes; and Surf Life, an hour-long doc.

Jump Shipp

“ We will be at the market with 29 hours of fresh original programs from Halogen TV available to sell across the schedule.

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—Kristen Eppley

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Novavision-MEG www.novavision.fr • Pop Corn TV • Crazy Hidden Camera • The Prize of Surprise • The QuizZz • Pop Camera

It’s been almost a decade since Novavision was set up, and within that time the company has grown to become one of the world’s largest providers of comedic non-dialogue clips. Earlier this year, the company strengthened its position when it acquired MEG (Media Entertainment Group), taking on its catalogue and business assets. Among its best-selling titles is Pop Corn TV, a compilation show of 400 half-hour episodes.

There’s also Crazy Hidden Camera, with 175 half-hours of candid-camera gags. The Prize of Surprise is a game-show format that lets people guess what reactions will be to pranks around the world. Another game show, The QuizZz, is made of minute-long segments.The company also has a show with dialogue in production, with Pop Camera. “Our whole catalogue will have worldwide viewers laughing out loud and coming back for more!” says François-Xavier Poirier, the CEO.

“ All our programs are family oriented, trans-generational and trans-cultural.

”

—François-Xavier Poirier

OTPL Worldwide www.otpl.co.uk • • • • •

Go Ganges

Chocolate Covered InJustice Road Less Travelled Go Ganges Operation Hero

The globe-trotting explorer Jonathan Legg is on a quest for the unusual, exotic and adventurous side of life in Road Less Travelled. “It’s a journey full of colors, customs, amazing human stories and loads of fun and adventure,” says Upma Bhatnagar, the director of sales at OTPL Worldwide. OTPL is also presenting Chocolate Covered, a new cookery show with Claire Clark, one of the top five pastry chefs in the world; InJustice, a crime series; and Operation Hero, which inspires children of today to live like a hero from the past.There’s also Go Ganges, which Bhatnagar calls “one of the most endearing films ever made on the mighty river.” In addition to a slate of finished programs, this year OTPL is offering blue-chip projects for international co-production. “Working jointly with some of the leading production houses and channels around the globe, OTPL has launched shows like Super Titan, Human Nature and Orphaned,” Bhatnagar notes.

“ OTPL’s catalogue comprises a great variety of award-winning and exciting new shows, from lifestyle to factual entertainment, from live-action youth formats to gritty true-crime stories.

”

—Upma Bhatnagar

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Passion Distribution www.passiondistribution.com Disco Diva Mums

• Weekend Aristocrats • Consumed • Pamper Parlour Mums and Disco Diva Mums • Design Wars • Quirky

From Sky Living’s new Pushy & Proud slot come the hour-long Pamper Parlour Mums and Disco Diva Mums, which Passion Distribution is offering clients. The first sees parents spray-tanning their children from as young as 6 and giving facials and nail treatments to children as young as 3. The latter of the two titles focuses on ambitious moms who escort their children around the country to compete in freestyle dancing competitions. Sally Miles, Passion’s CEO, has high expectations for both titles at the market. She is also looking forward to presenting clients with Weekend Aristocrats, which features eccentric lords and ladies opening their homes to paying guests playing Lord of the Manor for the weekend. The series is also available as a format. Passion offers both formats and finished versions of Design Wars, focused on interior spaces. There’s also Quirky, about an innovative tech company, and Consumed.

“ [Our shows present] unique extreme stories, great talent and characters or a great process and journey that will keep the audience hooked.

”

—Sally Miles

Solid Entertainment www.solidentertainment.com The Quest

• The Quest • Rally On! • The Unnatural History of the Kakapo • One Six Right

A fan of buried-treasure stories himself, Richard Propper, Solid Entertainment’s founder and president, has high expectations for The Quest. It tells the story of a Chevrolet Corvette that raced at Le Mans in 1962 and subsequently disappeared; one man spent decades searching for it.

When he finally found it, he restored it to its original form. Also car-centric is Rally On!, a recently completed series the follows the Gumball 3000 Rally and its colorful characters as they make their way across the country.

Propper also highlights The Unnatural History of the Kakapo, about a group of scientists who are working to save a species of parrot that is nearly extinct. “This is one of those charming documentaries that really shows the dedication of people to keep a species alive,” says Propper. Rounding out the slate is One Six Right, which uses aerial HD cinematography to showcase the Van Nuys Airport in Southern California, one of the busiest general aviation airports in the world.

“Every market we have a basketful of new titles spanning every genre, from natural history to current affairs to reality series.

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—Richard Propper

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TeleProductions International www.tpiltd.com Cart Man’s Great Adventure

• Pablo’s Hippos • Libya: The Path to Light • Cart Man’s Great Adventure

Sales veteran Ron Alexander, who has been attending MIPTV and MIPCOM since 1986, says that while he has seen a lot of changes in buying trends over the years, he firmly believes that buyers still look for docs that tell fascinating stories about global events, stories of hope, inspiration and adventure. In particular, he says, there’s appetite for topics that “transcend national borders and relate to the shared human experience.” For this market, Alexander, the president at TeleProductions International (TPI), is highlighting Libya: The Path to Light, from Cairo-based Zad Productions. Pablo’s Hippos is about the life and times of the notorious Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar.

He created a private zoo, and 20 years later, his hippos continue to cause havoc as part of his legacy. TPI also brings to MIPCOM a joint venture with Japan’s TV Tokyo called Cart Man’s Great Adventure. “The film takes the viewer on [Tadashi] Nagase’s adventures through deserts, mountains and jungles and asks, ‘Why pull a cart around the world?’”

“TPI continues its specialty as a producer and distributor of factual-based programming that takes a look at the world around us.

”

—Ron Alexander

Terranoa www.terranoa.com • Diaper Dilemma • Architects of Change • Meet My Wild Friends • Alain Prost, Racing Through Life • Rex Fungi

Scoring international presales for Rex Fungi is a top priority for Terranoa, according to Isabelle Graziadey, the head of international sales and acquisitions.The bluechip program, under development with Les Films d’Ici and Arte, showcases how mushrooms are now used in all fields of science.“Terranoa just signed the rights for this film and will actively discuss co-pros and prebuys at MIPCOM,” says Graziadey.“Such breakthrough topics and comprehensive one-offs are always much coveted for prime-time science slots.” Diaper Dilemma, a co-production with Arte, looks at one of the biggest landfill issues in the Western world today.“The film will make its international launch at MIPCOM and surfs on broadcasters’ interest for engaging social and green-friendly issues treated with a twist,” Graziadey says. In addition to Meet My Wild Friends and Alain Prost, Racing Through Life, Terranoa is presenting Architects of Change.

Architects of Change

“[We want to] develop new package deals with cablecasters internationally who are always keen on finding brand-new series on the market and know what quality Terranoa stands for.

”

—Isabelle Graziadey

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The Licensing Machine www.thelicensingmachine.com • In Loving Memory, N.Y.C. Firefighters Ten Years After • Napoleon Without Concession • Le Bal du Siécle

For the first time, a production team has been authorized to enter FDNY’s center at Randall’s Island to follow a training session with veterans of the 9/11 attacks. The hour-long In Loving Memory, NYC Firefighters Ten Years After from producer Doc Story will be available from The Licensing Machine (TLM) at this year’s market. TLM is also showcasing Napoleon Without Concession and Le Bal du Siécle. “We built our completely new lineup of factual and documenty programs...structured around values that are part of the Panini Group’s historical values: friendship, discovery, family, entertaining, long-term vision, fun and socialization,” says Bruno Zarka, the TV, home video and digital sales and services manager at TLM. Zarka says TLM worked with a select group of high-profile producers to bring a slate of unique products to the market, with a lineup that gives a priority to historical and iconic figures, patrons of the arts and history.

“ We aim to share with our clients our vision with highly valuable programs.

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—Bruno Zarka

In Loving Memory, N.Y.C. Firefighters Ten Years After

Videofashion www.videofashion.com • Videofashion • Videofashion • Videofashion • Videofashion • Videofashion

Videofashion Daily

News Collections Specials Designers Models

The focus for Videofashion at this market is to get the word out that the annual programming output of its Videofashion Daily series is expanding, with a new program for each day of the year. Videofashion Daily is composed of the subcategories news, collections, specials, designers, models, people, style, classics and eye candy. All programs within Videofashion Daily are produced in HD, are half an hour in length and feature fashion content from style epicenters such as Paris, Milan, London and New York. Giving flexibility for buyers, the programs can be licensed in packages of 13, 26, 39, 52 or 365. “Videofashion was the absolute first to capture fashion on video,” says Marlene Cardin, the president and CEO of Videofashion. “We launched the first fashion magazine on video, as documented by Time magazine in 1980. Now we are the first to produce a daily fashion program.We’ve come a long way and we are thrilled at where we are headed.”

“Videofashion is celebrating its 35th anniversary in November by expanding its annual new programming output to 365 daily programs each year.

”

—Marlene Cardin 374

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A+E Networks’ Ax Men.

From series about cars and technology to military programming, a new crop of shows is firmly focused on male audiences.

Testosterone

By Bill Dunlap

TV

For about as long as television has been an advertising medium, advertisers seeking a heavily male audience, especially a young one, have turned to sports. More recently, edgy comedy entered the mix. But lately, some broadcasters not heavily invested in sports or comedy are trying to appeal to men with factual programming heavy on testosterone.

Reality series like Dog the Bounty Hunter, Deadliest Catch, Top Gear and other danger- and speed-related series are big sellers internationally on terrestrial broadcasters, generalinterest cable and satellite channels and, in the last few years, niche channels targeting men all day.

BEERS’S BREW

The foremost practitioner of the genre is, by most accounts, Thom Beers, the executive producer of such hits as Deadliest Catch for Discovery Channel, Black Gold for truTV, Ice Road Truckers for HISTORY and Storage Wars, the second-season premiere of which set ratings records for A&E in the U.S. in July.

Beers sums up his formula for success with male viewers simply: “It’s high risk, high reward in an exotic location.”

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Many of the shows Beers produces for his company, Original Productions, based in Burbank and owned by FremantleMedia, involve jobs that meet those criteria.

“Most men have a job,” he says. “They know exactly how much money they’re going to make.They know pretty much what their job is going to be. We take those guys to a place they know they’ll never get to, but they’ve always wanted to know what it would be like. It means, ‘I’m going to drive a 10/11

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truck in the middle of winter, at 40 [degrees] below zero and I may break through the ice, but I’ll make thousands of dollars more than I’ll ever make in a week doing what I do.’ It’s a job they’ll never have in places they’ll never get to. And rewards they’ll probably never reap either.”

Deadliest Catch, going into its eighth season on Discovery, follows crab fishermen in the seas off Alaska, a profession that is statistically among the most dangerous anywhere.

Not all of Beers’s shows involve jobs, though. Storage Wars, for instance, involves abandoned storage lockers that are auctioned to buyers who bid on the contents after only a cursory examination. The winner of the “storage war” is the bidder who makes the most profit on his or her bid.

His newest, for HISTORY, is Around the World in 80 Ways, which Beers describes as “a buddy show. It’s two guys who travel around the world.The challenge is that they have to use 80 different means of transportation. I get to tell almost the history of transportation. It’s funny; it’s provocative. A lot of the means of transportation are things you’ve never heard of before. It’s a fun little show.”

Beyond risk, reward and location, Beers looks for authentic characters. “To make a successful show you’ve got to have great characters,” he says. “Casting is really key. You need unique characters with unique skill sets. Authenticity is really important. It’s not like we manufacture or script the shows.

People know the difference.The guys who come to our shows are looking for that real, authentic experience.”

For Around the World in 80 Ways, Beers cast Rob Mariano, a veteran of Survivor and The Amazing Race, and Dennis Anderson, the creator of the monster truck Grave Digger.

Other series from Beers include Coal for Spike TV, which centers on West Virginia coal mining, and, for HISTORY, Ax Men, a look at Pacific Northwest loggers, and IRT: Deadliest Roads, which takes drivers from the “ice roads” into the Himalayas.

sports cars, BMWs, and assorted other performance cars and motorcycles.

MegaStructures focuses on construction projects that are extreme, in the sense that they are the biggest, tallest, longest or deepest in the world. Recent episodes featured the building of the Marina Bay Sands casino in Singapore and the world’s tallest TV tower in China.

“It’s how things are built,” Deagan Sweet says, speaking of both series. “It’s also how brands that we use in our everyday lives are built, and how they are made and put out onto the street. There’s a how-to factor that appeals to the audience.

In that same vein, we have older things like Demolition Dynasty, made a couple years ago, which continues to perform really well. That’s about a family that specialized in the demolition of stadiums, casinos. There’s a real science and very serious engineering and technology about it. I think that’s what’s appealing to the male audience. You see that repeated across factual channels.”

WAR AND PEACE

HISTORY has long used its extensive library of World War II documentaries to build a largely male audience, but lately it’s broadened into more entertainment-oriented fare, like Ice Road Truckers and its own version of the BBC hit Top Gear.

“HISTORY has always been male skewing,” says Dirk Hoogstra, the channel’s senior VP of programming. “We’ve broadened our base by adding entertainment value to the brand. The core viewers have stayed with us and we’ve been

BUILD AND DESTROY

In a more traditional documentary vein, some executives, like Germaine Deagan Sweet, the VP of global content sales for National Geographic Channels, use a somewhat different approach. Deagan Sweet’s formula for the successful male-skewing factual show: “It’s building and blowing up. How we build things and how we blow them up,” she says.

“The male-skewing audience is an important one,” Deagan Sweet continues. “If you look at our schedule, in the U.S. or international markets, the franchises that pop up as the top performers, the consistent performers, for us and our partners, are the ones that are male skewing.They are series such as Megafactories and MegaStructures, science- and technology-based programs that attract the male-skewing audience.”

Deagan Sweet says National Geographic Channel has always had a focus on the male audience. “I think it’s definitely growing within an expanding market,” she says. “The male-skewing programs have always performed well. It’s been a very consistent market for us, and one we’re not looking to back away from in the slightest. It continues to perform well.”

Megafactories, known as Ultimate Factories in the U.S., explores the inside workings of various factories worldwide, featuring interviews and side stories to show the process in the factory. Among the factories profiled are ones making Apache helicopters, Budweiser beer, Coca-Cola, Audi R8 10/11

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Battle at sea: Military programming is faring well for Breakthrough, which is offering up Greatest Naval Battles.

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Full speed ahead: Solid Entertainment has found strong interest in its slate of motoring shows, which include Rally On!, an inside look at the Gumball 3000 super-car rally.

able to expand [beyond them]. We’re close to 70-percent male skewing.”

This past July was the network’s best ever, with total viewers up 40 percent to 2.1 million and its key demographic of adults 25 to 54 up 32 percent.

Its best performers were the entertainment-oriented shows, Ice Road Truckers and Top Gear on Sundays, American Pickers and Pawn Stars on Mondays and Swamp People on Thursdays.

Gary Lico, the president and CEO of CABLEready, says the shows that work with men are the ones that allow the audience to enter into someone else’s world. “We sell the series Hooked: Monster Fish,” he says. “You have these swamp people and gator guys and what have you. Those kinds of things are very appealing to men, which is why they’re showing up on HISTORY, A&E, Discovery and Spike.”

Hooked follows anglers after such “monster fish” as Brazil’s “vampire fish” and Asian stingrays and sharks.

Breakthrough Entertainment’s Greatest Tank Battles series is in its second season on Discovery’s Military Channel in the U.S. and a number of international Discovery channels, where it attracts a strong male audience.

“We’ve had a lot of success with Greatest Tank Battles,” says Ira Levy, the executive producer and a partner at Breakthrough Films & Television. “We’re retelling famous historical events by re-creating them with high-level CGI, so today’s generation can be in that point of view.”

Onto a good thing, Breakthrough’s next venture is Greatest Naval Battles, told in a similar mix of CGI and interviews.

follows the Gumball 3000 super-car rally, a tonguein-cheek international competition with such awards as the Monster Energy Award for “Bad Behavior.” It went from Santa Monica to Miami Beach in 2009. “The filmmakers ended up following eight different cars all the way to Miami. We have about 30 broadcasters interested,” Propper says.

The series consists of eight half-hours.

A more sedate automotive series from Solid is What’s My Car Worth? “It’s something very simple,” Propper explains. “They pick three or four cars that are up for auction, talk about them and drive them. They talk to the owner and a couple of experts to get estimates of what each will sell for and then you see who was right. There’s a little bit of drama.”

Another series, Chasing Classic Cars, has been picked up for a fourth season by Discovery. Chasing Classic Cars is one of four automotive series that will anchor the prime-time lineup of Discovery’s latest niche channel,Velocity. Discovery calls Velocity, which replaces its HD Theater channel, an “upscale male lifestyle network.”

It is the latest man’s channel, a genre that lately has seen MAX sign on in Norway and DMAX channels in Germany, Ireland and the U.K. “Over the years we’ve had a number of car series that TLC and Discovery have initiated that did really well,” Propper says. “They always said, ‘We’re not going to do a car channel.

It’s too narrow.’ It was too narrow until they found out there were huge advertising dollars in it. Then they decided to rebrand HD Theater into Velocity.”

Nat Geo’s Deagan Sweet sees the male niche channels as another buyer that isn’t in direct competition with her own

THE NEED FOR SPEED

Also appealing to male audiences are cars and other things that go fast. A show that Lico likes in that genre is Intersections, which CABLEready produces for SPEED in the U.S. A “man and machine” series, Intersections compares two different machines—in one episode a dragster and a jet fighter—and finds the similarities. “That’s the kind of show [male-oriented] network buyers are looking at,” Lico says.

Solid Entertainment offers five different automotive series and 15 or 20 one-offs, says Richard Propper, the company’s president.

“Men and cars have gone together for decades,” Propper says. “Men love things that are loud, things that move them fast and things where you can succeed against the elements.”

A series that takes advantage of this love is Rally On!, which 380

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Sky-high ambitions: The “leaning tower” of Abu Dhabi is featured in National Geographic Channels’ hit MegaStructures.

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Men at work: FremantleMedia owns Thom Beers’s Original Productions, the outfit behind truTV’s Black Gold.

channels. “There are these niche channels setting up that are looking to take advantage of these franchises that they see working,” she says. “We look for channels that are complementary to what National Geographic Channel puts out, mostly general-entertainment channels.”

Beers acknowledges that many of his shows would do well on the male-oriented channels, but he questions their budgets. “I’m sure they would love to have one of those shows, but I’m not sure they can afford that $15,000 perepisode fee.The niche channels are not in the first position.

You’ve already gone through every terrestrial and every Discovery, Nat Geo Channel, HISTORY, A&E, before you’ve gotten to them.”

GENERATION Y

The real challenge for established channels and the newer male-skewing channels is reaching younger men, usually defined as 18 to 34, a demographic group that is famously difficult to attract.

Propper acknowledges that some of his classic car series are more attractive to older men, but he notes that other offerings from Solid do reach younger viewers.

“Automotive shows do OK, but what does do well is motorcycle shows,” he says. “The average teenager can’t afford that high-end Porsche or Ferrari, but they can get a motorcycle for a reasonable amount of money. Offroad films have done well with the younger demo. We have a number of shows that have to do with coverage of the Baja 1000. They were produced for Discovery or ESPN. Those do all right in some of the male channels where they’re going after that younger demographic.”

Beers says many of his shows appeal to younger men.

“That 18-to-34 male audience is our sweet spot. Our average age is 41 years old. We certainly see an opportunity there. 1000 Ways to Die draws a really young male audience, 15- to 21-year-olds. That’s a tough audience to hit.”

The show, made for Spike in the U.S., in the vein of Jackass, uses youthful risk-taking combined with humor to 382

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present, mostly, near-death situations along with analyses of real fatalities resulting from questionable behavior.

Beers also says his shows reach broad male audiences that include younger and older viewers. “In most of the stuff we do, we find multi-generational viewing,” he says. “We find fathers and sons, mothers and daughters watching our shows.

Originally when I did Monster Garage, it was a really unique opportunity for a man and his boy to sit down and watch a show and both of them get a unique experience out of it.”

GAME ON

As much of the younger male audience has abandoned TV for the Internet and computer games, several executives suggest that the way to reach them is through gaming and multimedia applications.

The subject matter of Breakthrough’s Greatest Tank Battles wouldn’t seem to attract a younger male audience, but Nat Abraham, the company’s VP of distribution, says the visual presentation of the show does.

“It’s very gamelike,” he says. “It’s no longer just history told through newsreels. It’s part video-game graphics and coming out of that we’re doing mobile games.

Kids can actually play the tank battles using the assets we have from the CGI within specific games that are connected to the television show but exist on their own merit. It reaches out to a younger demographic without alienating the older demo that would love a show like this.”

National Geographic’s Deagan Sweet says her audiences generally lean toward the older side of the 18-to-49 demographic, but that the channel is not giving up on the younger side. “The channel is doing a lot to extend into other media,” she says. “It’s now expanding the programming opportunities into interactive elements on the channel’s websites.The channel is actively looking at developing programs and productions that can have this 360-degree element to it. That’s how they are extending into that younger audience.”

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Beyond Distribution’s Debbie Travis’ Painted House.

Lifestyle shows focused on home renovation and real estate have been upping their entertainment factor, along with adding digital extensions.

Home

Sweet Home

By Kristin It used to be that if someone wanted a home-improvement Brzoznowski project done or a large-scale renovation finished, a professional would be called in to do the dirty work.The same was true for decorating and design assistance. Now, one need only turn on the TV set to get inside tips and tricks of the trade, with a range of programming focused on educating (and entertaining) a new generation of do-it-yourself-driven viewers.

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The home-improvement genre has evolved considerably from its traditional DIY origins. Today’s property-focused programs not only provide how-to instructions, but many also focus on the homeowners who are renovating. This added observational element makes the shows feel more personal, establishing a deeper connection with viewers and helping to satisfy their curiosity.

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“Whatever the state of the property market, viewers are always interested in other people’s houses,” says Paul Heaney, the president and managing director of Cineflix Rights, which represents titles such as My House,Your Money, My Dream Home and Property Virgins. “Whether it’s finding out how other people have improved their homes, their decorating style, or how much money they’ve made selling their homes, property shows are always a big draw.”

He continues, “They’re also aspirational and educational. What does your money buy you? How can you make over your home in order to sell it for more? What decorating tips can you use to improve your home for a small amount of cash? Cineflix programs showcase all of these things.” into manageable feats for everyday renovators and homesellers. “Our programs are all hosted by the right kind of Munia Kanna-Konsek, the head of sales at Beyond Distribuperson or couple,” Kanna-Konsek says, pointing to titles tion, agrees that viewers enjoy vicariously nosing about in such as Love It or List It, Big City Broker, The Property Shop other people’s homes. She adds of the appeal of renovation and and Hot Property. “They have the right chemistry between real-estate shows, “It is something anyone can be involved each other and the camera. They are believable, dependwith, whether physically engaging in their own renovations or able, funny. They feel approachable and are people we can relate to and trust. Most of all, they help us believe that we selling a property, as well as being a voyeur and watching as ordinary people wrestle with the perils and pitfalls of the can do this and empower us to give it a go.”

Passion Distribution has also seen success with its presenterproperty game. Viewers are hooked by the emotive storyled shows focused on the home. Sally Miles, Passion’s CEO, telling; there’s more at stake than simple do-it-yourself advice, explains,“The credibility of a host like Emily Henderson in Secrets and audiences get more involved.”

Having a host who’s both credible and likeable also con- from a Stylist gives us [take-home value] and tips that [offer] the tributes to the popularity of property shows, Kanna-Konsek audience another layer to the journey they are following.”

Crashers has been a particularly strong franchise for Passion, notes. Often times, these are experts in their field, who use their having spun off into three series—House Crashers, Bath Crashknowledge to break down what may seem like daunting tasks ers and Yard Crashers—that have been ratings hits on both HGTV and DIY Network in the U.S. Miles says the long-running brand’s focus on real people, combined with the elements of surprise and transformation, have been drivers of its success. “We get the real back story, we care about the homeowners and the pay-off is the full transformation,” Miles says. “You don’t even realize you are watching a DIY show.”

Mark Fennessy, the president of Shine Network, says success in this genre is equal parts host and concept.“If the presenters have a degree of experience or association with a particular genre it’s a desirable asset, however the subject must have a universal appeal.”

Like Passion’s Miles, Fennessy has seen the home-focused lifestyle genre evolve considerably. “The greatest difference is probably in scale,” he says.

Shine’s latest offering, The Renovators, is Ready for repairs: For Canamedia, pay-TV lifestyle channels have been key customers for a large-scale production that’s “where home-improvement-based shows like Broken House Chronicles.

NOSY NEIGHBORS

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Moving on out: Property shows, like My House, Your Money, have been big sellers for Cineflix.

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Fixer-uppers: Decked Out is among the construction series in the Tricon catalogue.

real estate and renovation meet like never before,” says Fennessy. “The Renovators is probably best described as Grand Designs meets Top Design.”

DRG, too, has noticed an evolution away from the more traditional instruction-based format for these shows. Patrick Roberts, the company’s senior VP of international sales, observes, “Recent prime-time home-renovation shows focus much more on finding strong characters, storytelling and exploring an emotional journey. The shows are more coviewing experiences and tend to contain less DIY and takeout information than in the past.”

DRG’s catalogue includes a new season of Channel 4’s high-rating prime-time series Beeny’s Restoration Nightmare; Mad About the House, which after two seasons on BBC Three has been spun off into a U.S. version, Spouse vs. House, for TLC; and Grin and Build It, a renovation show for W Network in Canada.

Roberts has seen a particular spike in the interest for property shows coming in the wake of the recent collapse of the housing market. He says, “As people’s finances are stretched they look for advice and inspiration for renovating their own properties rather than moving.”

Shine’s Fennessy has also noticed the genre being boosted by the economic slump. “It’s certainly a factor. In many parts of the world we’re still living in uncertain times where people look to within. There’s a real sense of life empowerment in providing for yourself and [your] family within your own means.”

STRETCHING THE DOLLAR

Mike Lolato, the managing director of worldwide broadcast sales at Canamedia, agrees that the current economic state has increased the demand for this type of lifestyle programming.

“Shows that accentuate a small space, a quick house flip on a dime and fabulous budget decorating are all in line with what audiences are identifying with now,” he says.“People are spending more time at home and have less disposable income, so the renos and DIY are going to reflect that in the programs.”

For Canamedia—whose catalogue includes Homes by Design, Design U, Broken House Chronicles and the eco-focused My Green House—sales have been primarily to niche pay386

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TV home and design channels.

Lolato says these shows tend to work best on networks “with strong branding and quirky series that play off each other.

These channels seem to have a very loyal audience following.”

Jon Rutherford, the VP of international sales and acquisitions at Tricon Films & Television, which represents House of Bryan, Marriage Under Construction and Building Bryks, among others, reports similar sales.“Cable homeimprovement-themed channels are still the biggest home for DIY programming, but we’re definitely seeing the genre broadening on to general lifestyle channels,” he says.

“For example, a lot of women’s networks are including this content in their schedules.”

Rutherford does see the potential for these shows to make their way to terrestrial slots as well. “Certainly we’ve seen shows with a popular celebrity host…move the genre up to air on the big terrestrial channels,” he says. “Large format shows that are competition based will also be picked up by the terrestrial channels. Because there’s more of an entertainment factor, they will attract a wider audience.”

HOUSE RULES

DRG’s Roberts adds, “Internationally, the niche channels pioneered this genre and proved how successful home-renovation and property shows could be. That success has seen many series become ratings successes on free TV.” Roberts says these shows tend to fill early-evening primetime slots on free-to-air broadcasters, while cable and satellite services have much more flexibility in terms of scheduling and often strip shows or run marathons.

Cineflix’s Heaney says that free-to-air networks are attracted to these series because of the volume they provide for lateafternoon and early-evening slots, generating loyal viewers and good ratings over a long period. He adds, “In many markets, property and design series on free TV tend to be locally produced to be more relatable to viewers, or they are bigbudget productions like Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Our series The Unsellables was produced for U.K. television and aired daytime on the BBC.” Beyond’s Kanna-Konsek has seen strong potential for terrestrial sales as well. “In the U.K. in particular, a number of shows air in prime time on the main free-to-air channels and their presenters have become household names. Hot Property is a staple on prime-time free-to-air in Australia, where it currently resides on Nine Network.”

Kanna-Konsek reports sales interest for property-based programming coming from all corners, from the U.S. to Europe and into the Asia-Pacific region.

Passion’s Miles also says there’s a global appetite, especially for property shows shot in HD. “Latin America has seen a huge rise in demand for lifestyle content,” she notes.

“North America loves its DIY, as well as Eastern Europe and Asia,” says Canamedia’s Lolato.

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Meanwhile, Australia, New Zealand and Canada have traditionally been strong markets for DRG, says Roberts, “but we have seen an expansion in opportunities with the launch of niche channels around the world and the successful rollout in Europe of TLC.” These shows have great potential for add-ons, from advice columns on dedicated websites to apps offering practical assistance on how and where to buy property, says Roberts.

Cineflix’s Heaney agrees, noting, “There is a huge upside in the ‘add-ons’ market, as the advertising potential is massive for broadcasters. It’s also an opportunity to provide a lot of added value to viewers and help create a community around the program.”

In building this community around the programs and their hosts, Passion delivers comprehensive materials such as biographies of experts, tip sheets and how-tos for many of its property programs, according to Miles.

“These properties are quite interactive, so the genre lends itself to multiple screens,” says Shine’s Fennessy. “It’s very advertiser-friendly and as the media landscape changes there is a wealth of opportunity in digital and ancillary.”

“VOD, IPTV and DIY webisodes are good bouquet items to offer,” adds Canamedia’s Lolato. “There are also many websites of the channel or show that will provide more detailed information on the project (some details that were not covered in the series). Apps are becoming a big tie-in now with some of the major series.”

Tricon is also moving these shows into the digital space, taking advantage of new ways to connect with viewers.“As with all programming, social media such as Twitter and Facebook have become quite popular,” says Rutherford. “Viewers can join groups, get updates and follow their favorite host, allowing them to be ‘tuned in’ all the time.”

Ready for reno: Shine is introducing The Renovators, which combines real estate and home improvement.

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Measuring up: Presenter-led series such as Bath Crashers have been very successful for Passion Distribution.

These programs have plenty of platforms open for them, from niche pay-TV services to terrestrial broadcasters; flexible scheduling potential, with daytime stripping as well as weekly prime time; and alluring add-ons that broadcasters can take advantage of. All combined, this gives the genre stable ground for it to continue to evolve and grow. But where is it headed next?

A FRESH COAT OF PAINT

“Just as we’ve seen in the highly successful food genre, I think we’re going to see a lot more big format and competitionbased home-improvement, property and real-estate titles,” says Rutherford.

Cineflix’s Heaney says, “We’re looking at budget-friendly makeovers, DIY and eco-friendly/green-focused shows, in a take-home practical sense for viewers. We’re already doing well with World’s Greenest Homes and Eco House.”

While Cineflix believes budget-friendly renos will be the next wave, DRG’s Roberts says he’s seeing a lot of interest in series on high-end living. “Viewers are interested in cuttingedge designs and luxury properties from all around the globe, not just their home markets,” he notes.

Beyond’s Konna-Konsek asserts that there’s been a definite trend toward celebrity involvement, either as presenters or participants. “But the celebs aren’t there just for their names; they either have a real interest in and experience of, say, renovation or property development, or are genuinely useless and need the help,” she adds. “The craze for familyrun businesses has also hit home-related lifestyle, with plenty of series featuring parent/child- or sibling-run enterprises.

Free-to-air broadcasters are also involving the stars of renovation shows in event feel-good projects benefiting the community or unsung heroes, such as CBC’s All for One with Debbie Travis.”

As these shows continue to up their entertainment factor, whether it’s by adding celebrities or incorporating competition elements, the genre becomes all the more alluring for global broadcasters.

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Eat. Write.

Travel.

the subject looks really cool, really interesting, if there’s a good story and good characters or expectations of that, we’re going to go ahead and do it even if our expectations for good food seem very low.

TV REAL: How do you decide where to go?

BOURDAIN: I decide where we go. I make a list at the beginning of each season or sometimes we have destinations on the backburner that we, for one reason or another, haven’t been able to pull off, or it was an unsafe situation. Generally I’ll pick a spot based on maybe a movie I saw, a book I’ve read, something I’ve heard in casual barroom conversation, something I’ve heard through the socalled chef ’s mafia. I’ll either know a lot about the place already or almost nothing, but in any case, in preproduction we start to look for local food bloggers, local chefs, any intermediaries who have local fixers, who have a sense of humor, who understand the kind of show we’re doing, what we’re looking to do, and who understand we’re not looking for the best of or the most comprehensive. It helps that the show is shown all over the world so chances are many people in many of the countries we’re going to are familiar with the show. We do as much research as we can. I’ll either have a number of things I already want to do in that location, or I’ll start getting from local contacts in advance a menu of suggestions that I will then choose from or tweak.

Anthony Bourdain “I write, I travel, I eat and I’m hungry for more.” So states Anthony Bourdain in the opening of his Emmy Award–winning food-andtravel show No Reservations, which has been airing on Travel Channel since 2005 and is distributed internationally by FremantleMedia Enterprises. With his infectious wanderlust, insatiable curiosity about cultures, voracious appetite for good food (and beer) and trademark honesty, if not bluntness, Bourdain, who is also a famous chef, has developed a loyal following around the world.

By Anna Carugati

TV REAL: What was No Reservations’ original mission and

how has it changed over the years?

BOURDAIN: It started out as straightforward food-centric essays set in different locations around the world. It’s always been very much about me satisfying my curiosity about the world, going to a place looking for typical foods and exploring the culture through the prism of somebody who spent most of his life cooking and looking at whatever environment or country or culture through what they eat.

Over time we wandered from that. It’s a very close team of people making this show; we do it with as much creative control and freedom as anyone has ever had in the history of television. So we felt free over time to wander away from food because, as we soon found, the story was not just what people are eating but what they’re not eating, so we want to concentrate on other aspects of the culture like music or even politics. We felt free to do that. In a lot of ways the 2006 war in Lebanon just changed the game for us [Bourdain and his crew were shooting an episode in Beirut when the war broke out]. Since that time we haven’t felt obliged to repeat anything that’s worked in the past. We’re always looking for new ways to tell a story. The shows will always be food-centric; they’ll always be from the point of view of somebody who spent his whole adult life in the kitchen, but increasingly, if 390

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TV REAL: You generally don’t have difficulty gaining access to places with your cameras, do you?

BOURDAIN: It depends. A lot of times it’s very difficult to get the kind of show we want. Some governments really want to control, either overtly or covertly, what you see. They want to make it look better than it is and that often leads to clumsy, laughably fake scenes. When you show up at the local butcher shop and there happen to be people dressed up in indigenous garb dancing, that’s lethal for us! We really try to avoid that.Also, there are always various secret services or tourism boards who want to make sure that certain things are not shown to whatever extent they can. Those are things we have to think about.

We also have to think about the people we leave behind. If we shoot in China up by the Tibetan border, it’s a sensitive subject in China. I can go back to New York and say whatever I want about the Chinese-Tibetan policies, but any Chinese who were nice to me in that area during the making of the show might find themselves in a very uncomfortable position at some point.

It’s something we have to consider in places like China, Cuba and parts of the Middle East.There’s a line that has to be walked.

TV REAL: You say in your book Medium Raw that you consider yourself at heart a storyteller and the TV show is just another way for you to tell stories.

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BOURDAIN: I fell into television semi-accidentally. I’ll never forget the first show I ever did. It was in Japan with a married couple, [Christopher Collins and Lydia Tenaglia,] the camerapeople who are now my business partners and heads of Zero Point Zero Production.When they turned to me with cameras on and expected me to talk, it came as a real shock to me—it was an uncomfortable fit. Over time, Chris, Lydia and I found our own style. We learned on the road what we were doing and how we were going to tell stories.We developed together a style or work ethic of rule breaking and finding new ways to tell stories in an interesting way. At one point I realized I like telling stories, I like writing stories.When I finally came to understand the incredible power of editing—how effective a tool that is in getting people to feel the way you want them to feel about a character or a subject or a place—it was very exciting to me. I understand now. I don’t know how to operate a camera but I have a pretty good appreciation of what good shooters can do. I have a very good understanding of the power of the editing room to the extent that I want to be involved in that process, as I often am. It’s very rewarding. I really enjoy the collaborative aspect of working with people scoring music, editors, post-production, graphics, cameras, all in the cause of more effectively and dynamically telling what is essentially a pretty simple story most of the time.That’s very satisfying to me.

TV REAL: You mentioned you have creative control. How do you work with the executives at Travel Channel?

BOURDAIN: I don’t think there’s ever been a serious argument over content that we haven’t won. There really aren’t any arguments.There’s beeping for language, there’s some stuff that we’re pretty sure we’re going to have to take out. We understood very early on that television is a medium [whose executives] want to figure out what worked last week and would like to re-create that; if it worked, if it got a huge audience last week they want more of the same. That’s an instinct that any media company or network would, of course, want.That’s called a sensible business model. But we just tried to foil any expectations from day one and we made it clear that whatever worked last week we were going to do everything we could to undermine it or deconstruct it or turn it on its head. If we do anything consistently it’s that. Because the show has continually worked, and arguably we do what we do really, really well, because the show looks better than anything else on the network and because it has consistently done well, everybody seems happy and has been very supportive of this business model, whatever it is.

We understand for sure that if we do a barbecue scene set in America it will be very popular with American audiences. [I’ve learned from the previous series I’ve done] that when I traveled, the episodes we made for American audiences were extraordinarily popular in places like Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong. So in a lot of ways I’m thinking of the international audience from the get-go. Also, from the minute we start shooting we’re very aware that if we’re making a show in Chile, people in Chile are going to be watching the show. I like to think we’re taking a more international perspective than a lot of people making similar shows do.

I got to television in the first place by writing a really obnoxious book [Kitchen Confidential], and from the 10/11

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get-go I’ve been a pretty much known quantity. I can hardly be accused of surprising anyone if I’m not willing to go along with some knuckleheaded idea to do something popular and generic. Nobody has seriously ever asked me to do anything like that. I wouldn’t know how to do it in any case.

TV REAL: What is your relationship with FremantleMedia Enterprises?

BOURDAIN: We’re partners in the international sales of No Reservations and we’re also working together to develop, fund and distribute new television concepts as well as develop lifestyle and factual IP for multiplatform licensing. They’re exactly the kind of company we want to be in business with, from the very start, with the kind of reach and reputation and backlist of programs.

TV REAL: What is the new show that you’re working on?

BOURDAIN: We’re doing an interim mini-series called The

Layover. As it happens, I spend a lot of short periods of time around the world in between No Reservations. Also, we’ve come to know a lot of cities pretty well, so this is a slightly more informational but just as offbeat sort of high-speed version of No Reservations. In No Reservations a lot of the experiences, while they may be representative of the culture, they are not easily attainable for ordinary travelers.These are things we were able to do—have dinner at El Bulli or be with a tribe in Liberia.These are difficult things for ordinary tourists to be able to do. With The Layover we’re trying to do a cooler version of an informational show—things that I would actually do myself on a layover that other people might be able to do, too.

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I’ll drink to that: No Reservations has been a huge hit for the Travel Channel in the U.S. and has sold widely across the globe through FremantleMedia Enterprises.

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TV REAL: How is your U.S. expansion progressing?

ANSTEY: Recently we launched in Manhattan and prior to

that we were seen in Washington, D.C., and various other pockets of the United States. But the launch in New York was very significant for us. It’s obviously a very important market. It’s an outward-looking, intelligent audience that is interested in what’s going on in the world. We believe that we’re putting out high-quality, in-depth information from journalists across the globe who are eye-witnessing events for themselves. Within the context of the wider industry where, through economic challenges, people’s commitment to onthe-ground field reporting is ever decreasing, it was important to us to enter into the marketplace in the New York metropolitan area.

We’re having some very fruitful meetings with all of the key cable and satellite operators [about full 24-hour carriage], so I always say it’s a question of when, not if. What we’ve seen in recent months is an increasing recognition of the quality and the depth and the integrity of the journalism that we put out every minute of every day. From the beginning of [the protests in] Egypt, for example, we saw a 2,500percent increase in the online viewership of the channel.

More than half of our online traffic, live streaming and web traffic, comes from the United States. Evidence of demand is also being witnessed by people contacting the operators themselves—people have been sending e-mails to their operators asking for Al Jazeera English to be put onto their systems. So we’re confident that we’ll be breaking through in the near future.

TV REAL: You were part of AJE’s founding team five years

Al Jazeera’s

Al Anstey

By Mansha Daswani

Five years since its launch as the global offshoot of the Qatarbased Arabic news network Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera English (AJE) has finally made inroads into the U.S. market. While still not available nationwide, AJE is currently carried in select cities, and on the heels of its acclaimed coverage of this year’s Arab Spring—winning a Columbia Journalism Award in May— Al Anstey, the network’s managing director, is confident that wider distribution is on the horizon. He speaks to TV Real about building upon the current reach of more than 200 million homes in 100-plus countries, and the challenges of covering the fastmoving political developments in the Middle East and across the globe.

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ago. What were the channel’s goals, and what obstacles did you see?

ANSTEY: I would describe us as a child in a way within a very adult, very mature industry. When we launched the channel the philosophy was [based on] a number of key points. First, the original reporting, being an eyewitness to events across the globe with our own journalists. Second, to be truly global. I would describe it as, you put the countries of the world on a level playing field and then you evaluate the stories on their merit. That means we’re able to cover the developing world as well as the developed world. The third point is the comprehensive nature of the coverage, to give viewers a full picture of what’s going on. When you look at a story as complicated as Libya, for example, it’s fast moving, it’s very dynamic, we’re watching the live picture, but it’s critical to explain why that story is happening. The final thing, which is really important, is reliable information. It’s got to be information with integrity, upholding the higher standards of journalism and upholding the higher standards of balance.

I think the real challenge was getting to be known. Our main competitors have been established for a very long time.

TV REAL: AJE’s coverage of the Egyptian protests raised its profile worldwide. What challenges did you encounter with that reporting?

ANSTEY: Basic journalistic challenges at the first instance. It was a fast-moving, very dynamic story. It had many sides to it, from the opposition to the government 10/11

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to the army to various dynamics that were happening in remote geographical parts of Egypt. To actually get fully comprehensive, balanced coverage was one of the key challenges first and foremost. The second one was a challenge that I think faced all journalists covering that story, and indeed many of the stories that we’d been witnessing in the Arab world in recent months, and that was the sheer danger the journalists were in.

We were shut down at one point—the authorities asked us to stop broadcasting. Our signals were interrupted. And we had to take serious measures to protect the safety of our people in the field. We stopped naming our correspondents; some of them came out of vision to protect their privacy so they could continue doing the job.

It was so fast moving from the very beginning, events were unfolding minute by minute, and one of the challenges was to provide that context, the in-depth coverage.

We weren’t just showing what was happening now, we gave our audiences a full picture of what was happening with the different sides that were at play, and ultimately why those events were happening. That full understanding is very critical.

TV REAL: What do you say to those critics who question

AJE’s independence given its relationship to the Qatari government?

ANSTEY: I always describe us in a way as a public broadcaster. The fabric of Al Jazeera English is editorial integrity, and therefore editorial balance and editorial independence. It’s not just part of the corporate fabric, it’s part of the fabric of every one of the journalists who work for us.

We are headquartered in Qatar but…we are editorially independent of Qatar. We cover Qatar like we cover every other country and [it’s at the core] of this channel that we are here to carry out the job of journalism and do that with integrity.

TV REAL: What are your plans for further expansion of the channel?

ANSTEY: The U.S. clearly is a very important territory.

We received our landing license to broadcast into India some months ago and we’ll be pushing forward into that marketplace very soon. Obviously we’re seen widely across the Middle East, across Africa, across many parts of Asia, so really now it’s consolidating in those places where we want to push our distribution even further. It does also come back to building on the reputation, to reaching out to new viewers and of course to reaching out to these viewers on all the new platforms that are available. We talk about “TV Everywhere,” I believe it’s content everywhere. We’ve got to make sure that we’re available to people at a time and place of their choosing.

And I think that’s one of the key elements moving forward that we have embraced. We’re available on all the main platforms both for live streaming and for web content—through the BlackBerry, the iPad, the iPhone, all of the main devices. Obviously this is a fast-moving world where it seems like every week there’s a new platform that becomes available to the consumer. We want to make sure that we keep to the leading edge of the new technologies as well as the traditional methods of getting information out to audiences.

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TV REAL: Internationally, is there curiosity to see regular

people in really interesting situations or jobs or dilemmas?

COHAN: Done right, I believe there is a global curiosity for

“everyday people” doing different kinds of things, there absolutely is. In some markets, whether you’re talking buyers or viewers, there may be an initial hesitation because these contexts are very foreign. Many people don’t know what a pawn shop is, or pawn shops are viewed in some places as seedy. But I think once people get over the initial sense of “I’m not going to be able to relate to that,” there is a curiosity around the items and the characters. There are different levers we can push and have pushed to make stories even more compelling for global audiences, with interesting and relatable characters.

TV REAL: Although your format business is growing, will

finished product remain the backbone of your catalogue?

COHAN: Given the excellence of what the U.S. team does, the

A+E’s

Sean Cohan The company may have a new a name and logo—A+E Networks replaced A&E Television Networks—but the mission remains the same: reinventing storytelling, taking history out of the history books, developing new genres and creating new networks. A+E Networks’ channels and programs are now available in more than 125 countries reaching more than 235 million TV households. Sean Cohan, the senior VP of international, is spearheading the company’s efforts to distribute programs and channels around the world.

By Anna Carugati

TV REAL: What level of quality and what type of subject

matter have buyers come to expect from A+E Networks?

COHAN: We’re very excited about the recent rebranding of

our portfolio to A+E Networks and our tag “Life Is Entertaining.” The visual execution of the rebrand is more creative, more colorful and in a lot of ways it speaks to what we are—we’re great storytellers, we’re entertainers and we tell stories in an authentic way. I’d like to think that what A+E Networks and our content means to buyers is authentic stories, great factual entertainment, and, at times, fiction that they can rely on. Buyers have come to expect quality and great storytelling and products that have tended to rate well and have generated a fair amount of buzz in the U.S. There are certain parts of the entertainment spectrum that we’ve become real experts in, character-based factual programming that is both informative and entertaining, such as Pawn Stars, Ice Road Truckers, etc. We still do a lot of documentaries and a lot of specials, but a lot of the character-driven programming is starting to take off.

TV REAL: And you have broadened your catalogue.

COHAN: Absolutely. The Lifetime channels and their content

does increase the amount of product we have. Even on the HISTORY side the amount is going up. We’ve got a lot more stuff and we’re selling movies and more character-driven programming than we ever had before.

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tremendous investment that they make in content, I think finished product will always be a driver, but over the last couple of years with the increasing innovation coming out of teams in the U.S. with the addition of Lifetime, there are more formatable properties. In turn, we’ve been able to do more format business— that is certainly a growth business for us. We have Intervention, which we’ve done formats for in several places, Celebrity Ghost Stories, I Survived…, The People Speak. I think you’ll see a bunch of format activity with our newer character-driven properties.

TV REAL: Which brands are resonating most internationally?

COHAN: We’re doing very well right now in Latin America

with HISTORY. We’re the number one factual channel panregionally, with a number two cable channel in Mexico, which is pretty amazing to me. Two or three years ago we might’ve had it as an aspiration and I think the industry wasn’t sure that we could do it.We’re confident and have got even loftier goals.

HISTORY’s got pretty strong momentum in the U.K. with shows like Storage Wars, IRT: Deadliest Roads or Pawn Stars, which is delivering 110 percent above HISTORY’s average share in prime time. IRT: Deadliest Roads is the number one HISTORY series of all time in the U.K. On the A&E side, we have a very localized Intervention that’s doing very well. We’re doing well in Asia—Pawn Stars is the number one HISTORY series of all time in Malaysia.

TV REAL: What is your strategy for growing the bouquet of channels internationally?

COHAN: It’s a continuing effort to launch channels where we think there’s demand and where it makes economic sense, which is pretty much everywhere.That does encompass both launching in a couple of places in the world where we don’t currently have channels; we don’t have a channel in France or Russia, but we sell a bunch of content in those markets. We don’t have a channel in China, we’ve got a branded block.The first priority is getting channels in those markets. Another priority is that we’d like to be in most markets with five, six or seven channels.The U.K. is a great example where we do have four SD channels and three HD properties today. In Latin America we’ve got three SD channels and two HD simulcasts. Where we have strong teams or a strong first or second channel, we believe we have legs to add additional channels, be they new brands, HD brands, or other services.We’d like to bring the full portfolio, where it makes sense, to virtually every market.

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