World Screen ATF 2011 Edition

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THE MAGAZINE OF INTERNATIONAL MEDIA • DECEMBER 2011

www.worldscreen.com

ATF Edition

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contents

DECEMBER 2011/ASIA TV FORUM EDITION

Publisher Ricardo Seguin Guise

departments WORLD VIEW

Editor Anna Carugati Executive Editor Mansha Daswani Managing Editor Kristin Brzoznowski Contributing Editor Elizabeth Guider Special Projects Editor Jay Stuart Editor, Spanish-Language Publications Elizabeth Bowen-Tombari Executive Editor, Spanish-Language Publications Rafael Blanco

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A note from the editor.

UPFRONT

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New shows on the market.

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MARKET TRENDS

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BBC Worldwide’s Steve Macallister.

special report

SPOTLIGHT

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Comedienne Margaret Cho.

EMBRACING ASIA

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WORLD’S END

Latin American distributors are finding new ways to partner with broadcasters in Asia.

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In the stars.

—Mansha Daswani

Editorial Assistant Marissa Graziadio Online Director Simon Weaver Production & Design Director Michelle Villas

EYEING THE BEST

Art Director Phyllis Q. Busell Sales & Marketing Director Cesar Suero

asia pacific

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Pan-regionals and terrestrials alike are in the mood to

TV Asia Pacific appears both inside World Screen and as a separate publication.

stock up on content as they head to the Asia TV Forum.

—Mansha Daswani

Business Affairs Manager Terry Acunzo

FOX INTERNATIONAL CHANNELS’

Sales & Marketing Assistant Vanessa Brand

WARD PLATT

Senior Editors Bill Dunlap Kate Norris

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The president for the Asia Pacific and the Middle East at the pay-TV channel giant discusses his priorities for 2012.

Contributing Writers Chris Dziadul Chris Forrester Juliana Koranteng

—Mansha Daswani

CHILD’S PLAY

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New opportunities are arising for kids’ content sellers in Asia in linear TV, online and off-screen.

Ricardo Seguin Guise, President Anna Carugati, Executive VP & Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani, Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development

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—Kristin Brzoznowski

FREMANTLEMEDIA’S IAN HOGG

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As CEO for the Asia Pacific, Ian Hogg is eyeing new WORLD SCREEN is a registered trademark of WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, Suite 1207 New York, NY 10010, U.S.A. Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website: www.worldscreen.com ©2011 WSN INC. Printed by Fry Communications No part of this publication can be used, reprinted, copied or stored in any medium without the publisher’s authorization.

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opportunities in scripted drama while continuing the rollout of the company’s hit entertainment formats.

—Mansha Daswani

FINAS’S SRI KAMARUDDIN SIARAF

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Malaysia’s culture secretary general discusses the importance of the country’s investment in content.

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—Mansha Daswani

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world view

A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR ANNA CARUGATI

Finding Solace in the Small Screen We have been surrounded by so much bad news lately: the economy; unemployment; Greece on the brink of defaulting on its debt, giving us a reminder of the consequences of a global economy—European financial institutions in trouble affect banks and stock markets across the Atlantic and around the world. Plus, here in America, we are daily witnesses to the most toxic, stagnant, belligerent political environment, possibly ever.

What is one to do if one can’t take bad news anymore and needs proof that humans can be decent and lifeaffirming? I set off on a quest to find evidence of greatness, beauty and positive contributions to mankind.

The first stop for me whenever I want to feel better is a bookstore. Getting lost in lyrical prose or having my mind expanded by a scholar is a favorite tonic. I skirted right past the numerous books on the recent disgusting behavior of bankers and found Rome: A Cultural, Visual, and Personal History by Robert Hughes. Perfect choice, not only because my daughter and I are planning a trip to Rome, but because through its history Rome has been a testament to, yes, the darker, even barbaric side of human nature, but also to some of the highest accomplishments of man: a system of laws and government; masterpieces of architecture, painting, sculpture; gnocchi romana; and more. To my delight, I later TELEVISION...CAN alla found a review of the book by Simon Schama, who sums it up eloquently: “To behold the CALM, REASSURE greatest of Rome’s masterpieces is, Hughes writes, to be shown ‘what you cannot imagine doing, which is the beginning of wisdom.’ ” AND COMFORT LIKE I was starting to feel better, but looking at illustrations of monumental works by LITTLE ELSE. Michelangelo, Caravaggio and Bernini made me want to see some art up close—there’s nothing more life-affirming than being knocked in the senses and in the gut by a work of art.The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) had a retrospective of Willem de Kooning. His style is vastly different from those of the Renaissance masters, but still, what better way to escape bad news than to try to understand the scope and career of one of the most influential painters of the 20th century? I wish I had had Simon Schama to guide me through the exhibition, but nonetheless, I now have a better appreciation for the transition de Kooning made from figurative to abstract painting (I still can’t figure out if he liked women or not).

As I was headed out of MoMA, an exhibit caught my attention. It was called Talk to Me: Design and the Communication Between People and Objects. The idea being, things “talk” to us, whether openly or subliminally. Cell 4

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phones and computers facilitate communication between people, but inanimate objects can also speak to us. OK, intriguing.Then I saw on the wall, as part of some conceptual exhibit, a saying: “I communicate, therefore I am.” Say what? That certainly got me thinking. We are constantly surrounded by all kinds of communication and information, from the 24-hour news cycle to email, instant messaging, websites, cell phones,Twitter.This is exactly what I was trying to escape. I wanted to find solace within the temple of creativity and craft and execution and perfection and thought and rendition, that is an art museum.“I communicate, therefore I am.” Doesn’t that reflect the culture in which we live, where there is too much regurgitation of sound bites, where every impression, regardless of how inane, is publicized instantly: “I feel, therefore I blurt”?

Whatever happened to “I think, therefore I am”? What has happened to researching, reflecting, pondering, considering, evaluating before communicating? We are deluged with information, and many doctors are finding evidence that the combination of a sedentary lifestyle, stress and excessive information and stimulation is really not good for us. These are factors that can lead to depression and affect our emotional and physical health.Aha! I am suffering from depression, not just from too much bad news, but from too much news, facts, figures, data, blah, blah, blah. (And I thought it was just the Republican candidates that were making me queasy.)

Exhausted, I returned home, plopped down in my favorite easy chair and, in a reflex action, picked up the remote control and started looking for the TV equivalent of comfort food: reruns of I Love Lucy or Bewitched. And I thought about different kinds of brain food TV offers: there is television to expand the mind: The Fabric of the Cosmos.

Television to broaden horizons: Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. Television to revisit and understand the past: The Borgias, Boardwalk Empire, Mad Men, Martin Scorsese’s George Harrison: Living in the Material World. Television with extraordinary characters: House, Criminal Minds, Person of Interest. This list goes on and varies for each person. TV is different things for different people. It can be awful and it can be great, but it can calm, reassure and comfort like little else. I just have to stay away from news channels.

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ALL3MEDIA International www.all3mediainternational.com Billy Connolly’s Route 66

• Undercover Boss • The Cube • Cash at Your Door • East to West • Billy Connolly’s Route 66

ALL3MEDIA International’s formats have found success in the Asia-Pacific region, as Undercover Boss and The Cube already have a high profile there. “We are confident that they will continue to build new clients across the region at the ATF,” says Sabrina Duguet, the VP of international format sales at ALL3MEDIA International.“With the recent success of Cash Cab on AXN in Asia, we believe that Cash at Your Door, a show with a similar element of humor, surprise and economic viability, will prove to be equally appealing to format buyers of strong family-entertainment shows.” Duguet and Stephen Driscoll, ALL3MEDIA’s VP of international sales, say that business over the past 12 months has been favorable and the company has enjoyed increased activity from China in particular. Highlight titles on the company’s ATF slate include East to West, a history series, and Billy Connolly’s Route 66, in the travel genre.

“We are very focused on developing

our format business across the region over the next 12 months.

”

—Sabrina Duguet

Beyond Distribution www.beyond.com.au This Vs That

• This Vs That • Classical Destinations • Wild Animal Baby Explorers • Toybox • Buzzy Bee & Friends

The Asia Pacific has been a successful market for content from Beyond Distribution’s children’s catalogue, such as its CG animated series Wild Animal Baby Explorers, which has already secured platforms in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia,Taiwan and Thailand. Joanne Azzopardi, the VP of international sales for Australasia at Beyond, says the company’s main goals for ATF are to finalize renewals for new series of Wild Animal Baby Explorers and Toybox, and secure a pan-regional pay-TV sale for the preschool series Buzzy Bee & Friends and the factual science series This Vs That, as well as terrestrial sales for Classical Destinations.

“Business in the Asia-Pacific region has been strong,” Azzopardi says.“Some markets are more competitive for our content than others. For example, Australia remains a very dynamic market with good placement for our shows.”

“We are looking to build primarily on our business in Asia and expand our sales to Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines and China.”

—Joanne Azzopardi

Video interviews with leading players in the media business, industry analysis and a recap of the week’s events—delivered to your inbox every Thursday.

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Caracol Television www.caracolinternacional.com • Broken Promises • The Secretary • Infiltrated • The Witch • The Yellow Team

The Asia-Pacific region holds much potential for Caracol Television, says Roberto Corrente, the company’s sales executive for Eastern Europe and Asia. Caracol has a strategy to feature fresh, varied productions, says Corrente, and a flexibility to customize content to the local tastes of each market. “Our main goal for this key market is not only to keep the growth we have experienced recently in the region, but also to be able to offer more and better content,” Corrente says. “And, more importantly, to get to as many viewers as possible through [a] market strategy that includes all the media platforms available nowadays.”

Corrente says Caracol’s slate, featuring Broken Promises, The Secretary, Infiltrated, The Witch and The Yellow Team, will play a pivotal role in sales expectations for the Asian markets.

“Bringing fresh family entertainment and also strong social content series could satisfy a wide variety of viewers’ tastes,” Corrente notes.

The Yellow Team

“ This region represents for Caracol a huge

potential, and we are focusing our efforts on getting as close as possible to our clients.

”

—Roberto Corrente

Discovery Access www.discoveryaccess.com Rainforest footage

Previously unavailable HD footage, HD shorts, animations and stereoscopic 3D animations are now available to license through Discovery Access. Launched this year, Discovery Access features a collection culled from 25 years of cinematography around the world, Jocelyn Shearer, the VP of Discovery Access, explains. “We’ve digitized a good percentage of our material and put it on our website, but the volume is enormous, so we continue to both retroactively digitize material as well as upload material from new productions daily.”

Shearer notes. “It’s a very dynamic collection!” Online, creative professionals can quickly search, preview, create and share clipbins, download comps, transact license agreements and download master elements for traditional media, including film and TV production, as well as branded entertainment, viral video, e-books, digital signage, interactive learning and more. “With so many new platforms, so many new means of expressing one’s creative message with moving content, imagination is the only limit,” Shearer says. “We intend to be a content resource competitive with the Gettys and BBCs of the world.”

“We are competitive on every level, with the added benefit that our content is new to the marketplace.”

—Jocelyn Shearer

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GMA Worldwide www.igma.tv Children in My Heart

• Amaya • Losing Heaven • Little Heiress • Daldalita • Children in My Heart

Business in the Asia-Pacific region is thriving for GMA Worldwide, says Roxanne J. Barcelona, the company’s VP, adding that she expects double-digit growth for 2012 in both reach and revenue. GMA Worldwide’s drama series Amaya, which has been the number one drama on Philippine prime time since its launch, has received interest for both the finished show and the format across Southeast Asia, she notes. “We are continually launching quality series that are socially relevant yet culturally sensitive by Asian standards,” Barcelona says. “We try our best to launch at least one or two titles per market. At a time when buyers are more selective than ever, the range and depth of our programming offers them the best creative solution.” The result is a slate that includes the family-oriented drama series Little Heiress, the musical drama series Daldalita and Children in My Heart. The company is launching the series Losing Heaven at ATF.

“ Asia is, and will remain, one of our biggest markets.”

—Roxanne J. Barcelona

MediaCorp www.mediacorp.sg/contentdistribution Code of Honour

• A Song to Remember • Code of Honour • Love on the Plate • Being a Child • 8 International

With China as its largest consumer of content for newmedia platforms, MediaCorp is expecting other Asia-Pacific markets to soon follow suit, says Tang Yun Leung, the company’s VP of content distribution. “There are significant changes to the way viewers consume content, and we see an increase in the sales of content for new-media platforms,” he adds. “This is a potential new revenue stream, which we are building on.” The company is rolling out its first aggregated channel, 8 International (8i), an extension of Singapore’s leading free-to-air Mandarin channel, Channel 8. Leung says MediaCorp’s reputation for quality productions with good story lines helped presell the blockbuster drama A Song to Remember to China’s CITV. Also on the company’s ATF slate are the kung fu drama Code of Honour; the reality food series Love on the Plate; and the documentary Being a Child, about Asian parents preparing their children for good schools.

“ We want to focus our efforts on

growing in new territories such as Brunei, Myanmar and Thailand, as well as exploiting new-media platforms.

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—Tang Yun Leung

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Modern Times Group www.mtg.se Viaplay

Among the highlights of Modern Times Group’s (MTG) recent achievements is the launch of its Viaplay Scandinavian Internet pay-TV service.Viaplay offers a combination of catch-up free-TV services, thousands of movies, live sports and TV series under one subscription plan. Also of note, MTG has now debuted four of its pay-TV channels on third-party networks in Africa, and this year is celebrating the 20th anniversary of launching its satellite pay-TV platform in the Nordics. “All of our broadcasting divisions are growing,” says Hans-Holger Albrecht, the president and CEO of MTG. “We see two key drivers moving forward: technology that changes consumer behavior, and the ever-increasing focus on high-quality local content. We are investing more and more in both of these areas.” Albrecht says further growth is on the planner for the year ahead, with “more channels on more platforms in more markets. We see great opportunities at this particular time for broadcast media companies due to the speed with which the industry is changing in terms of both content production and distribution.”

“ For us, it is all about growth. MTG [equals] Made to Grow!”

—Hans-Holger Albrecht

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

Eager to pitch its game-show formats to the AsiaPacific region, Novavision-MEG is bringing The Prize of Surprise and The QuizZz to ATF. Other shows on the company’s slate include the comedy compilation show Pop Corn TV, the candid-camera show Crazy Hidden Camera and the comedy sketch series Bubble Comedy Show. François-Xavier Poirier, the founder and CEO of Novavision, says these shows “meet [the] audience’s need of laughing and advertisers’ need of visibility. They are safe: no sex, no drugs, no alcohol, no religion or politics, no violence….” Poirier says Novavision’s business with Asian players has been booming this year, with an increase of 30 percent in sales compared to 2010. He adds that the company’s main goals for the market are to develop relationships in Indonesia, Korea and Japan and with regional players who don’t attend other international trade shows.

“ We are confident that the

notoriety we have built by providing major players with high-quality content will help to also develop our sales with smaller players.

”

—François-Xavier Poirier

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market trends

A LOOK AT THE BUSINESS OF INTERNATIONAL MEDIA BY MANSHA DASWANI

BBC Worldwide’s

Steve Macallister The sales and distribution division at BBC Worldwide generated a profit of £58.8 million ($93.4 million) for the 2010–2011 fiscal year on revenues of £230.5 million ($366.3 million), making it the company’s biggest profit center. Led by Steve Macallister as managing director, the sales and distribution arm handles the exploitation of a catalogue of some 50,000 hours that runs the gamut from drama and comedy to blue-chip documentaries, light entertainment, kids’ programming, music content and more. The biggest exporter of content outside of the U.S. studios, BBC Worldwide has made further international growth and digital expansion key priorities for its business this year, Macallister tells World Screen.

the world, but we’re also seeing a lot of local players launching in most of the key markets. It’s purely an opportunity, in my book.

WS: What are the strengths of the

MACALLISTER: We’re looking at 10 percent of our

BBC Worldwide distribution portfolio this year?

MACALLISTER: We’ve got a fantastic slate of new drama this year. Death in Paradise is a groundbreaking coproduction between the BBC, France Télévisions, Red Planet Pictures and Atlantique Productions with BBC Worldwide and Kudos Film and Television. It’s actually shot in Guadalupe, so it hits a real sweet spot for our international buyers. It’s got a beautiful, exotic location. It’s soft crime, which our clients keep on saying they want more and more of. We’ve got Ben Miller and Sara Martins, who’s a very famous French actress. It has all the ingredients for success and there’s a real buzz about Death in Paradise. We also have Parade’s End. Parade’s End [by Ford Madox Ford] has often been quoted as one of the great novels of the 20th century. [Sir Tom Stoppard adapted the novel for the five-part mini-series, co-produced with HBO.] We’ve been pitching that as a presale to a number of key buyers. Nine Network from Australia is already on board. It stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Rebecca Hall in the lead roles and we actually think this could be one of the big television events of 2012. We’ve got lots more [drama] and we’re getting some very favorable responses from our buyers from all around the world.

revenue coming from digital this year, across the whole BBC Worldwide portfolio of businesses, and we’re looking at growing it even further to 15 percent by 2015. I think we’ve reached a turning point this year, a tipping point, if you will, with digital services. There’s a survey we were looking at the other day, which basically said that 23 of the top 50 markets in the world are now over 50 percent broadband penetration. I think that [combined] with consumer acceptance and general comfort around on-demand services means that we’re really going to see a significant uptake in digital sales, certainly for BBC Worldwide. So I think we’re definitely on track to achieve our 10 percent in digital sales this year. Netflix and Hulu are both aggressively rolling out around

WS: Co-productions appear to be the new trend in the international drama landscape.

MACALLISTER: Co-production is becoming more and more important in the scripted-drama space. It has to be done well.You have to have partners who are totally on board from the outset. Certainly since 2008 people have been really looking at co-production for drama series as a real viable option.There have been some great examples of that, certainly our own Parade’s End.The fact that you bring in European co-producers, or in fact co-producers from any international country, by definition makes those shows more likely to travel.We’re very interested in this model and we can see that it’s going to be a growth area for us.

WS: You recently announced the appointment of three

regional VPs to oversee your businesses in Asia, Latin America and EMEA. How important have these regional hubs been for the expansion of BBC Worldwide’s sales and distribution business?

MACALLISTER: BBC Worldwide has a pretty significant international presence in all of the key markets around the world—more than 20 offices, in fact.

Certainly we’re committed to growing our business overseas, so I can see us actually placing more emphasis, putting more resources behind our international operations. The fact that we’ve just appointed three EVPs in the regions [Ted Lai in Asia, Fred Medina in Latin America and Joerg Bachmaier for EMEA] underscores our commitment to growing our business globally.Their focus is going to be on business-development opportunities, so opportunities over and above the scope of our existing businesses.

WS: How important are digital-media opportunities for

BBC Worldwide?

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Comarex’s Cielo Rojo.

Embracing

Asia

By Mansha Daswani

Delivering loyal viewers at affordable prices, telenovelas have been a staple on broadcasters across Southeast Asia for years. As these markets have matured, however, Latin American distributors have found themselves facing intense competition from home-grown productions, Korean and Filipino soaps, and Western drama and reality shows. Looming on the horizon are Turkish and

Middle Eastern serials, which have been making an impact in other parts of the world this year and are likely soon headed to Asian shores.

Coping with this new reality, Latin America’s leading distributors are pursuing new strategies in Asia, from delivering light-entertainment formats and documentaries, among other genres, to exploring co-production opportunities with broadcasters.

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Latin American distributors are exploring co-productions and diversifying their slates as they look to expand their businesses in Asia.

The good news is that 2011 was a relatively healthy year for Latin America’s top programming exporters. Comarex, the exclusive distributor of the Mexican broadcaster Azteca, saw its business in Asia grow by about 40 percent this year, says CEO Marcel Vinay, with continued sales to its longstanding clients in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia

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and Vietnam. In addition, Vinay adds, there have been some new opportunities with nonlinear television platforms.

“Our business has shown a good growth trajectory in Asia after a great performance in 2010, when we increased our [business] in China, Taiwan, Mongolia, Singapore and Indonesia,” notes Raphael Corrêa Netto, the head of international sales

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at Globo TV International. For Corrêa Netto, a promising sign of things to come for Globo in Asia was the telenovela Passione’s recent win at the Seoul International Drama Awards.“It is good to know that the products we offer to the international market are recognized…for their high quality production,” he says.

MIXING IT UP

Passione is one of several Brazilian novelas that Globo will be showcasing at the Asia TV Forum. Corrêa Netto concedes that the sale of telenovelas has been hindered in parts of Asia by regulatory restrictions as well as a rise in local output—however, the genre continues to “open doors for our productions” in the region. Also driving Globo’s dealings in Asia have been its documentaries. “The demand has been great,” Corrêa Netto says.“Documentaries are great products for the Asian market, and with Brazil’s good standing in the international market there is an increase in [demand for] more detailed information about the country.”

The distributor has a new GloboDOC special, Brazil 2014:The Cup of Hope, about the preparations for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, as well as Extreme Planet, in which Brazilian

journalists travel to Antartica and the Andes, among other far-flung locations.

Comarex has similarly been balancing a mix of scripted and unscripted properties. Vinay mentions the Asian success of novelas like Cielo Rojo, Emperatriz and the teen-targeted Grachi. Another major success in Southeast Asia has been the Academy Fantasia format, which has been adapted in Malaysia and Thailand, among other territories. “It’s not just a singing contest,” says Vinay of the talent format. “It’s a contest where you see people blossom; regular people becoming stars. It gives a closer insight into the contestants’ lives.”

SCRIPTED SAVVY

Comarex has also found a good business in the sale of its telenovela scripts in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and India, as have a number of other Latin American distributors.

“In this region we have seen…a more important presence of adapted formats, produced locally,” says Roberto Corrente, the sales executive for Asia at Caracol Television. “We are witnessing how the production facilities are

Bewitching television: Caracol has continued to see strong demand for its novelas in Asia and heads to ATF with offerings like The Witch.

getting better, [the growth in] the number of TV channels and how the demand for local adapted content keeps increasing.”

Scoring a win: Globo’s Passione was recognized at the Seoul International Drama Awards this year.

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Corrente, who is placing his focus on the sale of both formats and completed programming, says that the Colombian broadcaster has put an emphasis on “producing cutting-edge shows which won’t leave our audiences [feeling] indifferent. [We are offering] not only excellent and compelling dramas but also more urban, down-to-earth series with a touch of humor that could be adapted, broadcast and viewed in different formats and content platforms.”

He adds, “Our series, reality shows and content for younger audiences are working very well, especially with the arrival of the new technologies and the array of new distribution platforms.”

Beyond delivering a topquality product offering,

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Indeed,Vinay expects co-productions to be a main theme of the novela business in Asia in 2012, along with further format deals and new demand from emerging platforms.

NEXT STEPS

Head over heels: Televisa’s Asian business consists of both local co-productions and the sale of canned novela product like Rafaela.

Corrente says that Caracol has been looking to expand its Asian business by aligning with local partners. For example, this year the broadcaster signed an agreement with Korea’s Arirang TV. “The agreement means that both networks will be able to cover news, sports and other generalinterest topics using each other’s technical and human resources to develop local productions,” Corrente says. The two broadcasters will also “exchange cultural, art, scientific, sports, news and other kinds of programs, whenever necessary, and team up to co-produce TV shows.” For Caracol, Corrente notes, the pact “means a broader approach to Asia defined by a closer relationship with its Asian viewers.”

Also working closely with a local partner is Telemundo Internacional, which has an agreement with Korea’s SBS, says Xavier Aristimuño, the senior VP of sales and

international business development for Asia. “We’re constantly searching for good [scripts],” he says. “We’ve been expanding our search [beyond Latin America] and we started to acquire from different countries of the world. A telenovela from Korea that has outperformed in every Asian market is something that would trigger our interest.We work very closely with SBS in Korea.There’s a strong relationship there where we not only search for good content but also distribute their content in Latin America quite successfully.”

Aristimuño says that co-production partnerships in Asia are also strategically important for the company, largely because they help Telemundo maintain the quality of its format adaptations. Ensuring a successful local version of a format “starts with honesty,” Aristimuño says, and must include a level of flexibility, so that a broadcast partner can “make some 18

small cultural change if needed.”

Telemundo novelas that have been adapted in Asia include the hit Where Is Elisa?

ASIAN STORIES

Another company deeply involved in the adaptation of its formats in Asia is Televisa Internacional, which, from a base in Beijing, has been steadily building a strong business in China. Currently in the works are adaptations of Until Money Do Us Part, originally from RCN in Colombia, and the Televisa original A Woman’s Word.

Comarex had not yet formalized a co-production deal in Asia, but Vinay notes that plans are well under way.

“We are working on several deals.

[Co-productions], due to the complexity, take more time than regular original programming deals.They are going to be more and more important in the coming months.”

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Aristimuño plans to continue developing Telemundo’s business in the key Southeast Asian markets of Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines, while also driving gains in more challenging territories such as Japan, China and India.

Corrêa Netto notes that Globo is busy “strengthening our presence in South Korea, Macau, Timor and Singapore. We are currently looking for opportunities to grow in India, Japan, China and Australia.” Over the next 12 months, he will be looking to “consolidate and expand partnerships” inked over the last few years and expand into territories that have not historically aired Globo products.

Corrente from Caracol says that Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia have been the company’s best Asian markets thus far, “but there are countries like Vietnam and China, which have been acquiring our productions and adapting our scripts, that are going to be very important for us in the near future, mainly because of the huge potential in terms of content demand and size of their TV markets.”

Building on its partnerships with Arirang and with China’s CCTV, Corrente notes that Caracol is “willing to explore new ways to get together with important media players in the region.” Discussing his goals for Caracol’s Asian business, Corrente says the plan is to “keep the growth we have experienced recently in the region, but also offer more and better content.

The most important [goal is] to get to as many viewers as possible. That includes not only [offering] fresh and innovative productions but also [having] the flexibility that allows us to customize those contents to the local taste of each market and the particulars of the new platforms available today.”

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spotlight

PROFILING TELEVISION’S HOTTEST STARS

BY MANSHA DASWANI

Margaret Cho Beyond Distribution has been dramatically expanding its catalogue of comedy for the international market, aligning with a host of big-name comics, including Margaret Cho. The Asian-American comedienne, known for tackling taboo topics like race, gender and sexuality, recently wrapped her new special, Cho Dependent. Broadcast on Showtime in the U.S. and launched to the international market at MIPCOM by Beyond, Cho Dependent features Cho’s distinctive brand of stand-up comedy together with performances of her own songs. She tells World Screen about coming up with new material, working on the hit cable show Drop Dead Diva and her experiences touring around the world.

start shooting that in February. I’m going to tour [in Europe] and then I’ll go back to America. I’m going to try to finish up some of my own musical projects, creative stuff, before I start shooting again. I love the show and it’s fun to do different kinds of work.

WS: Why do you think that

WS: Stand-up comedy is an arena that has historically been dominated by men. Are you finding that it’s easier today for female comedians today?

CHO: It’s pretty easy in the United States. The more I travel internationally the more I sense a kind of acceptance. In the U.K., when I do shows there, there’s a real issue people have with female comics from the U.K., so they import them! It’s a little bit of a colonialism thing; it’s a little bit of an exoticism thing; it’s a little bit of American romanticism thing.

In America the female comics are actually more successful than the male comics, like Kathy Griffin or Sarah Silverman or myself or Wanda Sykes. We’re at the top of the profession where a lot of the men who are our peers are not as successful.

your comedy has translated in so many international markets?

CHO: The world has gotten smaller, we’re all getting information the same way, we all have the same media; some of the same things that are culturally popular. I think that there is a need for more of an outsider voice, so people in these places are just getting it. I’m also very willing to go and tour. I like to challenge people’s thinking, challenge the status quo. I think if you’re clever enough you can actually get away with it. When you’re able to be honest with people, I feel like that’s really valuable. I love Australia because [there’s a large Asian population].

I really do have a fun time in the United Kingdom because they’re very reserved.They enjoy it so much but they can’t express it because they feel so self-conscious expressing laughter when there’s other people that would know their laughter meant that they are in agreement [with what I’ve said] or they’ve experienced what I’m talking about. I think privacy is really an overrated thing.

If we can break down privacy and realize that we’re just human beings, who have the same feelings and emotions and experiences—that’s really powerful.

WS: What’s next for you?

CHO: I have a TV show that’s very different [from my

WS: Have you toured in Asia?

CHO: That’s next. I really want to play Korea and I

comedy specials] on Lifetime, Drop Dead Diva. We just got picked up for a fourth season, so we’re going to

feel like that’s something I need to do. All of Asia I need to do.

WS: What can you tell us about Cho Dependent?

CHO: It introduces some of my music, which is part of a

project I was doing with different musicians like Ani DiFranco and Tegan and Sara and Fiona Apple; really great people who wrote songs with me. We got nominated for a Grammy [for the album Cho Dependent]. I then took the show on the road and toured with it.

WS: What’s your creative process for coming up with

new material?

CHO: I try to do shows everyday and I try to perform as much as I can. I really love stand-up comedy. It’s a really important art form to be in. I’ve gotten so much more obsessed with it; it’s like a new toy even though I’ve been doing it for a long time.

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World Screen

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world’s end

IN THE STARS

Almost every national constitution forbids the establishment of an official state religion. But this secular bent doesn’t stop people from looking to the heavens for answers to life’s most troublesome questions: Will I succeed? Will I find love?

Will I have a “fleeting affair” with Hugh Grant?

Every day, papers and magazines worldwide print horoscopes—projections for people born in a specific month, based on the positions of the stars and planets. While many people rely on these daily, weekly or monthly messages for guidance in their lives, some readers skip over them entirely.

Steven Tyler

Hugh Grant

Demi Moore

George Clooney

Kim Kardashian

Demi Moore

Global distinction: Reality TV mega-mogul.

Sign: Libra (b. October 21, 1980) Significant date: October 31, 2011 Noteworthy activity: After just 72 days of marriage,

Global distinction: Hollywood leading lady.

Sign: Scorpio (b. November 11, 1962) Significant date: October 28, 2011 Noteworthy activity: The waif-thin actress was spot-

Kim K. files for divorce from her basketball-playing husband, Kris Humphries. However, this savvy businesswoman may be crying all the way to the bank. Kim reportedly made $15 million from a two-part TV wedding special and another $3 million off wedding photos.

Horoscope: “The self-indulgent side of a Libra has been known to harm a relationship.They must focus on not only themselves, but also their romantic partner.” (romancestuck.com)

ted exiting an L.A. nail salon by paparazzi, and the shutterbugs started snapping. A photographer claims the brunette beauty lost her temper and “verbally abused” him, screaming obscenities and lunging toward his camera. A battery report is filed over the incident.

Horoscope: “Your day may get turned upside down, but it’s nothing you won’t be able to overcome if you remain calm. Keeping a positive and easygoing attitude will make all the difference.” (zimbio.com/astrology)

Steven Tyler

George Clooney

Global distinction: Rock ‘n roll icon.

Sign: Aries (b. March 26, 1948) Significant date: October 27, 2011 Noteworthy activity: The Aerosmith frontman

Global distinction: Self-proclaimed eternal bachelor.

Sign: Taurus (b. May 6, 1961) Significant date: October 29, 2011 Noteworthy activity: Elisabetta Canalis, Clooney’s

turned American Idol judge takes a spill in a hotel shower in Paraguay, leaving him with cuts to his face and two missing teeth. In a phone interview with the Today show about the incident, the rocker is adamant that his injuries were the result of an accident and not from a relapse of the drug and alcohol problems he’s battled in the past.

Horoscope: “Aries people are accident-prone, not because they are clumsy but because they move quickly and impulsively. You crave the adrenaline rush of novelty and will often take unnecessary risks in order to achieve it.” (suite101.com)

former girlfriend of two years, says the two had more of a “father-daughter relationship.” In a new book, the 33-year-old Italian actress talks candidly about her romance with the actor, who is 17 years her senior.

“He’s been special for me, and very important, just as a father would be,” she says.

Horoscope: “A slow start is always better than a rushed matter.The love of your life will require your care, which you will gladly provide.” (mydearvalentine.com)

The editors of WS recognize that these little pearls of random foresight occasionally prove prophetic.

But rather than poring over charts of the zodiac to predict world events, our staff prefers to use past horoscopes in an attempt to legitimate the science.

As you can see here, had some of these media figures remembered to consult their horoscopes on significant days, they could have avoided a few surprises.

Hugh Grant Global distinction: English actor.

Sign: Virgo (b. September 9, 1960) Significant date: November 1, 2011 Noteworthy activity: The 51-year-old actor becomes a

first-time father with the birth of his baby girl.The child’s mother, however, remains a mystery. His rep discloses only that Grant and the mother “had a fleeting affair.”

Horoscope: “Let feelings lead you now, even if they sometimes seem strange and unreliable. Listening with your heart and giving your head a rest makes more sense than you might think.” (huffingtonpost.com) 58

World Screen

Lindsay Lohan Global distinction: Overexposed party girl.

Sign: Cancer (b. July 2, 1986) Significant date: October 25, 2011 Noteworthy activity: The troubled actress is facing a

string of legal problems, currently coming off yet another jail sentence, but none of this can keep Lohan down. After receiving an offer somewhere in the field of $1 million, the 25-year-old signs up to pose nude in Playboy. Her mother and 17-year-old sister accompany her to the shoot.

Horoscope: “You like your job but you want to have more independence and freedom. It is important to remain focused on your goals to stay on track.” (nature-harmony.com)

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