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GUIDE 2018
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Contents A Note from the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Executives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Talent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 Distributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 Publisher Ricardo Seguin Guise Group Editorial Director Anna Carugati
Ricardo Seguin Guise President
Editor Mansha Daswani
Anna Carugati Executive VP
Executive Editor and Editor, English-Language Guides Kristin Brzoznowski
Mansha Daswani VP of Strategic Development and Associate Publisher
Production Director Victor L. Cuevas
Š 2018 WSN INC.
Managing Editor Joanna Padovano Tong
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Associate Editor Sara Alessi
Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940
Online Director Simon Weaver Senior Sales and Marketing Manager Dana Mattison Sales and Marketing Coordinator Nathalia Lopez
Website: www.worldscreen.com No part of this publication can be used, reprinted, copied or stored in any medium without the publisher’s authorization. For a free subscription to our newsletters, please visit www.subscriptions.ws
Business Affairs Manager Andrea Moreno 6
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WSGUIDE_0418_COLUMN_KGUIDE_1008_EDITORIAL 3/14/18 2:58 PM Page 1
A Note from the Editor Mansha Daswani
Digital platforms have continued to shake up the media landscape, and “FAANG”—Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google—has officially entered the lexicon. Apple ramped up its content ambitions in the last year, hiring a raft of television execs. And Facebook unveiled its Watch video platform. This year in the U.S., Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google are expected to take nearly two-thirds of all new TV and video revenue, Ovum has said. The firm predicts that Netflix, Amazon Video, YouTube and other online-only services will account for 18 percent of total paid and ad-supported TV and video revenues this year. In the U.S., cord-cutting has gained momentum, especially in the wake of rollouts of live TV services by Hulu and YouTube. PwC’s Consumer Intelligence Series: I stream, you stream report found that 73 percent of the almost 2,000 U.S. consumers surveyed subscribe to pay TV, down from 76 percent in 2016 and 79 percent the year before. The same percentage of people also subscribe to Netflix. Streaming also made gains outside of the U.S. recently, with Netflix adding to its subs base, Amazon making a significant play in markets like India and upstarts like the buzzy iflix expanding beyond Asia into the Middle East and Africa. As the streaming space becomes more crowded, platforms across the globe will have to fine-tune their strategies. According to PwC, when it comes to what drives the success of a streaming service, respondents are more drawn to having a wide variety of content versus exclusive content, and only 35 percent said that original programming is “very important” in their decision to subscribe to a service. Whether streaming or linear, platforms are on the hunt for the most compelling content in the marketplace, as they battle for viewers’ time and attention against a myriad of other entertainment offerings. The World Screen Guide has information on a wealth of programming across every genre. 10
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EXECUTIVES
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Bob Bakish President & CEO Viacom WS: Were there insights gained during the years you headed Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) that you were able to apply to other parts of Viacom? BAKISH: In the international playbook, a guiding theme is the power of partnerships, both externally and internally. When I first started running what we now call VIMN, it was essentially a confederation of independent nations. What we needed to do was create a multinational media company out of it, where we shared more than just some brands, and had a much more integrated model and could leverage the benefit of our scale. So first, we had to put the right leadership and organizational structure in place to capitalize on that global scale and maximize the power of our brands. That’s on the internal side. On the external side, we needed to spend a lot of time with clients and partners— distributors, advertisers, licensees, creative talent, music industry talent and others—to understand their businesses and challenges so that we could configure our assets to create mutual value. WS: You have also identified core brands. BAKISH: The rationale behind the flagship brands is twofold: first, I fundamentally believe that we need to increase our original programming investment in areas where we are already making a difference, and we want to make more of a difference; and just by the laws of business math, you can’t increase your investment everywhere, so you have to prioritize. Second, we felt we could have true multiplatform expressions of these flagship brands. We also believe each of these flagship brands has a role in live events. The brands also have a much larger opportunity in in-front-of-the-wall digital and social media, where there’s a lot of consumption. Finally, the flagship brands are all global; they’re not just distributed in the U.S. So the flagship concept was about choosing brands that we wanted to invest in more heavily and then bring to life in a true multiplatform expression, leveraging all the assets Viacom has. 12
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David Zaslav President & CEO Discovery, Inc. WS: What motivated the Scripps Networks Interactive acquisition? ZASLAV: When we look at Scripps, we see a lot of the same values and strategic ambition that we have. Discovery is a super-fan enthusiast content company. When I say that, I mean that we see the world [divided into] two types of content. There is scripted and movie content, with red carpets and stars and openings, and that is very expensive, very crowded and extremely competitive. And now with Netflix and Amazon competing aggressively in that space, there is more than $30 billion every year going into scripted TV and movies. It’s getting more and more crowded, competitive and disrupted. We’re not in the red carpet business or the star business or the scripted business. We’re in the nonfiction content business and we own our content globally. The average cost of our content is about $400,000 an hour versus $5 million an hour for scripted. We see the media business as being two ends of a football field. Scripps is on our end and together we have some meaningful weight in the nonfiction area. We have a lot of quality brands in the U.S. We have a very strong position in nonfiction, and we think that the ability to move that content around the world and onto all platforms gives us a real strategic advantage. WS: What direct-to-consumer products are you offering? ZASLAV: We have a few now. In Europe, we have our sports streaming product, the Eurosport Player. Through Eurosport, the Olympics were presented on broadcast, on cable, on all platforms in a way that had never been seen in Europe before. We have another direct-to-consumer car product called Motor Trend OnDemand, which we are really excited about. If you love cars, eventually, not only are you going to be watching our car channels around the world, you’ll have Motor Trend OnDemand on your phone or your device. 13
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Peter Rice President, 21st Century Fox Chairman & CEO, Fox Networks Group WS: How does the power of storytelling help linear channels maintain their relevance? RICE: In an on-demand world, people consume content whenever and however they choose. As a consumer, I think that’s fantastic and as a creator of content, Fox is fully supportive of that. There is, of course, still programming that people watch live. We have incredible live events in sports and powerful scripted and unscripted storytelling, which attract a large, global, live audience. But ultimately we’re agnostic as to how and when people choose to watch our content. WS: What is driving the growth in your international pay-TV channel business? RICE: What’s driving it for us is our four core brands: FOX, FX, FOX Sports and National Geographic. Ultimately, in a world of more choice, having fewer, stronger brands is the right way to go. As new distributors come into the marketplace, our brands are in every package. Whether they are telcos such as AT&T buying DIRECTV and then going over the top, or Optus in Australia launching a really good over-the-top service with National Geographic; or whether it’s Hulu or YouTube launching live-TV services, these new distributors need the best content, which increases competition for brands like ours that are truly meaningful to consumers. I believe we are very well positioned in a marketplace that is undergoing a lot of change. WS: What opportunities are you seeing in the U.S. and internationally for OTT and nonlinear ad sales? RICE: There’s a huge opportunity in marrying data to video delivery for advertising. The video product we have and the ability to deliver messages on behalf of advertisers is significantly more effective than Facebook or Google. What we lack right now is data. If we work together with distributors to take better advantage of data, we can make the OTT and nonlinear ad experience better for everybody: better for consumers because they won’t have to sit through 20 minutes of commercials every hour. Better for advertisers because we can be more efficient in delivering people who are actually interested in their product. And more efficient for us because we can use less inventory to make more money. 14
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Bert Habets CEO RTL Group WS: How have you been transforming the group to one that focuses on the production, aggregation and monetization of professional video content? HABETS: With FremantleMedia, we produce high-end dramas and big shows for all major free-TV channels, pay-TV channels and streaming services. With our growing number of digital studios and multiplatform networks, we also produce and aggregate more and more short-form content for platforms such as YouTube and Facebook. Maximizing the consumers’ attention to our broad variety of video offers, across all devices, is what we mean by Total Video. WS: What opportunities do you see in the channel business? Are you looking to increase catch-up or SVOD services? HABETS: Actually, we’ve decided not to have this traditional distinction between the channel business and the streaming services anymore—that’s what Total Video is about. In order to remain a global leader, we have to build what I would call a bridge between these two sides of our business. Consumers no longer care where they watch our content; they don’t make the distinction between linear and nonlinear anymore. So why should we still draw strict lines between linear and nonlinear, offline and online? In other words, we have stopped seeing nonlinear as an add-on to our established linear-TV channels. Today, 80 percent to 90 percent of our free cash flow is generated by our strong families of linear TV channels. However, there is no time for us to rest on our laurels, because growth in our industry mainly comes from nonlinear, whether it’s growth in usage or revenue, both from advertisingfunded and paid services. In the area of content production, particularly in the drama genre, the major streaming platforms need exclusive high-end productions. All of them are massively stacking up their content budgets. So our answer is: let’s go for Total Video at full throttle, building this bridge between our TV and digital activities, with an integrated, 360-degree approach. From content creation and production to distribution and monetization. 15
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Mike Fries CEO Liberty Global WS: What is the state of the cable industry in Europe? FRIES: The European cable industry right now is healthy and at the epicenter of all the exciting things happening in our ecosystem. The primary business of cable systems today is broadband. Demand for broadband is doubling every couple of years, so we’re in a great position to grow with that consumption in both B-to-B and B-to-C markets. As things get more exciting around the Internet of Things [interconnected devices that can send and receive data], fixed-mobile convergence and 5G, the cable industry is in the right position. The question for European cable operators is how we innovate and how we evolve to stay relevant in the home and in businesses with content and bandwidth. Interestingly, today only about a third of our revenue comes from video. So cable TV is a bit of a misnomer. Our business is driven by broadband, B-to-B services, increasingly by mobile and then, of course, by video. WS: What are consumers looking for? FRIES: Consumers want a number of things from cable operators. Most importantly, they want value—they want a great product for a great price. In Europe, as opposed to other markets, the pricevalue relationship is great for consumers. In any market we’re in, we offer 100-megabyte broadband, hundreds of digital channels, an innovative video platform that allows you to watch television on any device, anywhere you are. We’ll bring a mobile phone into the package and maybe we’ll charge you €40 ($48). That is a screaming good deal! Consumers want value and freedom. They want to know that when they are watching television at home, they can pause that show and pick it up on their iPad. Then they can order up another show and watch it on their cell phone. And then when they are on their mobile, they can schedule something else and go home and watch that in the evening. They want it all to work seamlessly and to look incredible and that’s what we provide. 16
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Yoshio Okubo President & Representative Director Nippon TV WS: What’s behind your ratings success? OKUBO: We at Nippon TV have a programming strategy that we dubbed “viewers always come first,” whereby we relentlessly keep our viewers as our top priority. We aspire to become an indispensable part of their lifestyles, and, feeling the pulse of their ever-changing tastes and preferences for content, we take proactive measures and meet their needs. WS: Are you adjusting your linear programming strategy in response to how viewers watch content today? OKUBO: We established the multiplatform programming department in June 2017 to plan and execute various strategies that will maximize the value of Nippon TV’s high-quality content through synergies with our linear, broadcasting satellite (BS), communications satellite (CS) and internet platforms. For example, this new department enables us to broadcast news and sports—content that people prefer to watch live—on our linear channel, while also programming them in our BS and CS timetables. We further diversify our distribution routes by streaming those programs on Nittele TADA! and Hulu to reach a broader audience and yield higher revenues. Another pillar that provides the multiplatform programming department with business opportunities is our stock content—a vast collection of dramas, movies, music and anime. The department is working tirelessly to take these long-standing revenue generators to the next level with new undertakings that lead to further optimization. WS: How has the advertising market in Japan held up? OKUBO: Nippon TV has consistently proven to be the best in the industry when it comes to sailing against the headwinds of Japan’s economy, and we plan to forge ahead with even greater success. Ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, our clients from all over the country will be boosting their marketing and advertising. Nippon TV is positioned to capitalize on these trends better than the other major broadcasters in Japan. 17
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Armando Nuñez President & CEO CBS Studios International (CBSSI) WS: How is CBSSI catering to the diverse needs of the global market? NUÑEZ: The last couple of years have seen a divergence between procedurals and serialized shows. They are both valuable assets, but platforms look at them differently. Certainly from a broadcast perspective, when you look at the history of the CBS network and its content, we have more procedurals than anyone else. They tend to be broad; they tend not to be niche—they are the definition of what broadcast television is supposed to be, which reaches as wide an audience as possible. Procedurals are still very much in demand from a broadcast perspective. The benefit of procedurals for broadcast networks is that they repeat fairly well. They have a very long shelf life, for the most part, and we relicense them over and over again. Highly serialized content [such as the Showtime programming] performs extremely well in a premium environment, whether it’s pay or digital. This is about driving subscribers to your service and getting people to either subscribe or stay subscribed. WS: How have you seen windowing change and what factors are contributing to these changes? NUÑEZ: Generally speaking, windowing, holdbacks and protection are a function of pricing. The more you pay, the more you get, to oversimplify it. But then again, when people are working within budgets and don’t have the ability to do that, we need to think, OK, how can we meet our CBS monetization objectives yet still make this content available to people who want it? And that becomes a windowing discussion. As you can imagine, it gets very complex across the board, with our legacy clients and our more recent digital clients. We are all trying to figure it out together. We’ve been as protective as we can to our broadcast partners. But at the same time, we need to monetize our content. At the end of the day, if we are cannibalizing our own business then we are not doing our job. We try to do this in a way that continues to protect our core business but builds through the various new, different licensing opportunities that exist out there. 18
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Gina Brogi President, Global Distribution Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution WS: How are you approaching the complexities of rights management today? BROGI: We always try to do what’s best for the show in a given marketplace, and we try to be as flexible as we can with our clients, with the idea that we’re both working toward the same goal of promoting a show. If we’re granting rights just for granting rights’ sake, that doesn’t make nearly as much sense to us as when a client comes to us with a plan. And we’re also committed to making sure that our shows are successful and that our clients are successful. There’s an enormous amount of competition coming from all different angles. So if there’s a way for us to figure out how to use our content to allow our clients to be successful, we’re going to pursue that. With the amount of content that we have, we’re doing a higher volume of deals—so gone are the days when you’re selling all of your content to one client in a particular market. Together with the creativity that comes to us from our production studios, we have to have similar creativity in our deal-making. WS: Do SVOD platforms look for different types of series than free-TV broadcasters? Or are they open to all content? BROGI: It’s a different viewing experience, and I think consumers have come to expect the ability to binge on an SVOD service. As a result, SVOD services are drawn more toward those serialized shows that really feed the binge. Free-to-air clients have traditionally catered to a viewer who just wants to check in week after week—or however it is that they watch—so logic tells us that [that type of viewing] lends itself more to procedurals. As more free-to-air or ad-supported services, which historically have been linear-focused, offer on-demand experiences to their customers, these [programming differentiations] become less and less clear. Do SVOD services buy procedurals, and do freeto-air services buy serialized shows? Yes, to both. Do they lean toward one or the other? Yes, they do that as well, as we would expect. But the lines are blurring. 19
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Gerhard Zeiler President Turner International WS: Would you give some examples of how Turner International has been rethinking television? ZEILER: We are a truly global company with very strong and powerful brands. We operate more than 175 channels in more than 200 countries that showcase 40 brands in 33 languages. Curating those brands and providing quality content is our core, our DNA. Additionally, we try to move the TV experience beyond the living room at a time when consumers are shifting more and more from passive viewership to high-engagement behaviors. To say it in one sentence: We are focusing on our fans. They are streaming more, watching ondemand more and bingeing more. That is why we offer our brands and our content across more touchpoints than ever before. WS: In this environment of constantly changing viewer behavior, what do pay-TV platforms want? ZEILER: Let’s be clear: the choice of content and brands for the consumer is bigger and brighter than ever before. In this environment of what I call “consumer power,” pay-TV platforms need musthave brands, for which consumers are ready to pay. The time when it was important for platforms to offer as many networks as possible regardless of whether the consumers actually watched them is over. Or at least will be over soon. Quality is more important than quantity. The second thing that all platforms do more and more—at least the successful ones—is that they develop their own OTT experiences in order to be competitive with stand-alone SVOD services like Netflix. Which, for us, means that we also have to be more and more in control of the SVOD rights ourselves. WS: Is Turner thinking as much about providing content to the end consumer, the viewer, as it is about providing content to payTV platforms? ZEILER: The answer is a simple yes. This is a major part of our strategy, as in my opinion, no media company will be successful in the future without a direct-to-consumer business. 20
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Cecile Frot-Coutaz CEO FremantleMedia Group WS: There is a lot of drama in the market. Has the increased volume impacted your drama strategy in any way? FROT-COUTAZ: You are right—there is a lot of drama and a lot of good drama out there. Does it impact us? Of course it does. We’re not a volume player, and we’re never going to be. So far we’ve focused on a small number of what we believe are great titles that are also original and different. I think that is the key: focusing on shows that we believe will cut through—and hopefully we will continue to do that. Obviously, it’s not easy to do that. I’m not saying this strategy applies to everybody, but for us, that’s the path that we’ve chosen: do a lot less but focus on shows we believe bring something new and different. I suppose that having a global footprint makes it a little easier to deliver, because most of the content so far has come out of the U.S. or the U.K. So if you can bring—even if it’s just one show a year—a show that comes out of Italian creators, French creators, German creators or Israeli creators, then you will by definition bring a slightly different viewpoint. That’s how we’ve been tackling it. WS: Is constant innovation necessary in unscripted programming? FROT-COUTAZ: Like everything, these big shows need to stand out, but they also need familiarity. If you look at shows that have worked recently, The Great Bake Off is a huge hit in the U.K., and I don’t think people saw it coming. It has a simple premise, but it worked because it was incredibly authentic and warm and relatable. If you look at television over the last 50 years, genres have pretty much all been the same. The talent shows have existed this entire time, and so have game shows and documentaries. When it comes to the big unscripted shows, a lot of it is about tweaks to something that is a formula people know. Until there is some new big technological advance that means we can do something that is completely different, then [unscripted] will continue to be about finding interesting characters and telling authentic stories about the characters, which isn’t so different from scripted. 21
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Sean Cohan President, International & Digital Media A+E Networks WS: From your perspective of the international market, what is the health of the linear business? COHAN: The business is healthy at the core because people are consuming as much or more video than they were yesterday. It’s healthy because in a lot of markets outside the U.S., there is still strong economic growth and therefore more ad dollars. There are more subscribers because of the growth in the middle class in many countries. So, the near-term demise of the international linear business is greatly exaggerated! The flip side is, the world is changing. In the U.S. it’s obvious there is a fragmentation of viewership between pay TV, SVOD and online video. The ad model is also evolving. All these big shifts are presenting some uncertainty in the U.S. business; however, at A+E Networks we are immersed in some highly innovative ad models, targeted data and multiscreen attribution that are taking hold. All of this speaks to the fact that linear channels are not going anywhere. WS: How is the concept of brand evolving in this environment? COHAN: I fundamentally believe that in a very crowded content landscape, where there is so much noise, brands are a key part of the discovery of content. Brands are one part road sign in a labyrinth of roads and one part stamp of quality. In particular, if you can convey to a consumer/user/viewer what a brand stands for and create clear expectations of what they are going to find at that road sign/stamp, brands are increasingly valuable. With strong brands, storytelling capabilities and content that plays well across platforms, and with an eye toward creating for different audiences across platforms, we feel we are well-positioned for success in this evolving world. WS: Do you need to be in a lot of places beyond the TV screen? COHAN: Yes, and you need to be in those places not as a redeployment of the same content. You need to understand the platforms that are available, who is using them and why, and then deliver to their needs. 22
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Jane Turton CEO all3media WS: What have been your priorities in acquiring companies? TURTON: It’s always about talent. We bring talent into the group in a number of ways. It can be through recruitment; it can be by starting people up in new corporate entities or labels. It can also be through the acquisition of an existing business. When we acquire a business, we look for creatively strong, entrepreneurial program makers and business leaders—people with ambition and creative vision who think globally and want to grow their program slate and business. In all3media, we have a portfolio of companies, and when we acquire, we identify opportunities where we can add to the group with new people who will fit in and who will thrive in the all3media federal model. Recently, our acquisition focus has been on scripted, and I’m delighted that in bringing Neal Street, New Pictures, Raw and Two Brothers into the group, we have added such unbelievable drama talent and incredible shows like The Missing, Fleabag, Call the Midwife, Britannia, Harley and the Davidsons, American Animals, Liar, Rellik and Requiem. Acquisition is something that we know well, because this business has been created through “buy and build.” I find bringing new people in exciting and stimulating and love the opportunity it creates. WS: Is the best way to manage an indie production company to let them do their thing? TURTON: Of course, it’s very important that people have creative freedom. And that they work within a supportive environment so that they feel that they can take risks and innovate. You listen. You act as a sounding board. You encourage and motivate. You incentivize. You add the strategic vision. Our all3media model is that each production business is run by a strong leader, and it’s that individual who manages the team and, in turn, his or her development-andproduction slate. 23
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Can Okan Founder & CEO Inter Medya WS: How do you see the position of Turkish dramas in the global market today? OKAN: In the past ten years, Turkey has become the second-biggest exporter of TV series following the U.S., with the current volume estimated to exceed $300 million. The Turkish Exporters’ Assembly plans [for the industry] to reach $1 billion in content exports by 2023. So far, more than 150 Turkish series have been sold abroad and watched by more than 500 million viewers in 100plus countries, reaching from the Middle East to Latin America, from Central and Eastern Europe to Southeast Asia. The number of territories where Turkish content is finding its way is increasing every day. In fact, Turkish series are now being watched in Western Europe. We have recently sold Black Money Love and 20 Minutes to Canal+, one of France’s largest television channels. There is no doubt that other European countries will soon follow the Turkish drama trend. WS: Can Turkish dramas continue to sustain their popularity in the international market? OKAN: Turkish drama series have been so successful everywhere because of their exciting and captivating scenarios, outstanding production quality and their attractive and talented casts. Because of its strategic location and historic background, Turkey has been ruled by various cultures for centuries. Born from a combination of cultures, Turkish writers and directors are able to develop universal stories that appeal to everyone. While classic Turkish dramas with more conventional stories featuring love triangles and betrayals are still extremely popular, new genres are starting to attract more and more interest across the globe. Dramas with some comedy elements, such as Hayat, and dramas with some criminal features, like our newest title, The Pit, are generating a new trend in the Turkish television industry. 24
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Cathy Payne CEO Endemol Shine International (ESI) WS: What has been ESI’s strategy with drama? PAYNE: There’s never been as much drama available in the marketplace as there is now, but in some ways, it’s still just as challenging to place drama. Sales overseas of American drama— broadcast-network series—have significantly fallen off. They’re not traveling as widely as they used to, and we’ve seen output deals stopped. The product is just not delivering. And there are so many other new outlets for drama in the U.S. trying to differentiate themselves by having specific subject matter that might appeal to the American audience, but it just doesn’t travel. Buyers still want good broad-audience drama, and if you look at the shows that are performing best from the U.S., the good procedurals still work, so do the superhero shows, and the big fantasy and the big HBO and Showtime product does travel. We’ve also seen streaming services open the world to different storytelling and, in particular, shorter runs. WS: Do you work with various production companies within the Endemol Shine Group to help them finance their scripted projects? PAYNE: We do that constantly. We are always going through their development slates looking at what’s coming up, what are the likely homes for their project, what the financing options are, and working out the ideal situation. Sometimes if we are doing a firstrun deal with a global streaming company, they are going to take a large number of the rights and a holdback. That’s fine, as long as we’re getting compensated properly for the rights. Sometimes that’s the right track. Sometimes there will be shows for which we think we’ll be able to bring in a partner or presale very early, while some projects don’t presell until a lot later. There is no clear rule, but what’s best is to talk about everything, and we do. I’ll give the production companies in the group feedback on the likely market potential of a project, potential buyers and any intelligence regarding any issues that need to be changed or adapted. We talk about casts that work, directors that work and lots of different things. 25
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Benjamin Salinas CEO TV Azteca WS: TV Azteca has been increasing its investment in original productions. SALINAS: I took the reins as CEO on October 1, 2015, and we didn’t have our own original dramas then, everything was acquired. This form of programming had already been around for years, but when I arrived, I said, “This isn’t the strategy.” We have to own the content in prime time and it should be made up of drama. This has been a great achievement. Production is very complex and making [multiple] original stories [isn’t easy]. In regards to the [stories] that make up the novelas, we’re living in a modern world and so we have to be open to what the world is living today. [A result of this] was the success we had with Rosario Tijeras. We also announced [the development] of María Magdalena [with Sony Pictures Television]. This production will without a doubt be controversial, but the world is already prepared to see these types of content. Editorially, TV Azteca is different from what it was ten years ago. WS: Tell us about Dopamine. SALINAS: Dopamine is an independent company from TV Azteca, where we’re looking to invest a permanent stake of $200 million. TV Azteca is a Mexican company where my job is to be close to local audiences. As CEO, making content for the international market is secondary. However, Dopamine is different. [Through this company] we’re obtaining a global perspective, [which allows us to produce] premium content with bigger budgets, [considering the scale] of the global market. In this way we can create original scripts and produce premium content in order to manage this ecosystem of windows and platforms. Although TV Azteca and Dopamine are independent companies, TV Azteca has always acquired content, be it from Disney, Sony or any of the other international studios. In this case, Dopamine will be another option and will be able to sell content rights to TV Azteca, Televisa or Imagen Televisión. That’s Dopamine’s view—to be a global company, not a local one. 26
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TALENT
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Benedict Cumberbatch Actor The Child in Time WS: What appealed to you about The Child in Time and the role of Stephen Lewis? CUMBERBATCH: It’s a fantastic script and a great opportunity to play an “everyman” character. The material itself is written by one of my favorite authors, Ian McEwan. I’ve been lucky enough to take part in his work before when I was in [the feature film] Atonement. Logistically, it made sense with my schedule as it was a short London shoot. Everyone came together on it for the right reasons and so from the beginning until the end the spirit was really supportive and fantastically committed from all departments. Plus, it is the first McEwan adaptation for television, which in itself is a great honor. WS: What is your process for preparing to play a character? CUMBERBATCH: Having a book to work from is a gift for an actor. It gives you an incredible insight into the character so that your actions can be colored with subtext. Ian McEwan is a very filmic writer, and it’s a joy to bring that to life, especially with a script as skilled and respectful of the original material as Stephen Butchard’s is. And when you have a director like Julian Farino, the collaboration is even deeper. WS: What different creative challenges do television and feature films offer an actor? CUMBERBATCH: The cliché is time—you often have less time on a TV set, you get fewer takes and are working on a tighter schedule, but that’s not completely true. In Doctor Strange, for example, it takes longer to do setups, but you have to work equally quickly once you’re on the set. There’s a rawness about being in a smaller television crew and doing things guerrilla-style on the street. Doing the most intimate scene of losing a child in a supermarket on a Sunday afternoon in Crouch End and bringing traffic to a standstill was a moment when I required every fiber of concentration in my being to not be distracted! In film, you have much more of a lockdown of public spaces and have bigger sets that aren’t on location. 28
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Seth MacFarlane Actor & Creator The Orville, Family Guy WS: The Orville is somewhat unique because it blends comedy and drama. What challenges did that entail? MACFARLANE: There are shows—not a lot of them—that have done it successfully and have been terrific models for us. Certainly M*A*S*H is a show that walked that line beautifully. I think shows like Freaks and Geeks worked very well. In many ways, The Sopranos delivered some of the best comedy on TV at the time. I remember laughing more at that show than any sitcom on the air at that time. There are a lot of shows that achieve that balance in different ways and it’s really up to each individual show to choose its tone. The biggest challenge is trying to figure out where those [comedic] moments are appropriate and where they detract from the story. The advantage of being an episodic show—where each episode is its own little story—is it makes it a little easier because if there are tonal shifts from week to week, it’s because you are telling a story that is more of a comedy than an adventure story or vice versa. We let the nature of that week’s story dictate whether we lean more into the comedy or the drama that week. WS: From all the years that you have worked in animation, were you able to apply anything to live action or are they just completely different animals? MACFARLANE: No, it’s funny, for this kind of work where you’re dealing with special-effects-heavy cinematography, I have found there is no better training ground than animation. I’m glad that that’s where I came from because the planning and the forethought that it takes is pretty extensive. You have to plan everything out so specifically from the get-go when you are dealing with action and visual effects. So if I had come out of sitcoms or live-action family half-hours, I would have had a tougher time acclimating to this world. Animation was the best schooling I could have gotten. 29
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Antonio Banderas Actor Genius: Picasso WS: What research did you do to prepare for the role of Pablo Picasso? BANDERAS: I read a lot. I read practically every book that has been written: the biography by John Richardson and then probably the book that is more detailed about certain aspects of Picasso’s personality, Life with Picasso, by Françoise Gilot [an artist who lived with Picasso and had two children with him]. She is alive and living in New York; she is now 96 years old. Charlie Rose interviewed her in 2012 and she was in perfect shape. I don’t know how she is now, but at that time she was still in perfect shape. And then I painted. I wanted to get familiar with brushes and oils and acrylics and all the stuff that surrounds the little things—the manual gestures and mannerisms. I watched some footage; there is not too much footage of him, but there are a lot of pictures. And then I read the scripts, of course! WS: As an actor, do you approach a character that existed in real life differently from a fictional character that the writer invented? BANDERAS: Yes, it’s a different approach because there are certain rules you have to respect. And the research is greater because you want to know about the personality of somebody who has existed, especially if you are working with National Geographic, because they love to be very factual. Many years ago I did And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself, directed by Bruce Beresford for HBO. It was interesting because I studied practically every book, every biography. I talked to historians in Mexico. But the key to my character came from one picture. Pancho Villa was going to be executed one morning—the execution was actually a stunt by President Madero of Mexico at that time—but he was in front of a peloton with weapons pointed at him. The picture shows the attitude that he had in front of the peloton and in front of death; the expression on his face as he was defying these people, I thought, Oh my God! I saw in those eyes and that face all the material that I needed to play that character. 30
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Catherine Zeta-Jones Actress Cocaine Godmother WS: What intrigued you about the role of Griselda Blanco? ZETA-JONES: Griselda fascinated me because she was a woman who came from nowhere, the slums of Medellín, Colombia, who built up the biggest empire in the drug world. She was the most powerful, most revered and most feared gang leader of the drug trade in Miami in the ’70s—the height of the drug business—and she was a woman. How did she live so long in that world? How did she get so much success in that world? That, as an actress, is something you want to play. And for me, to get under the skin of such a woman was something I became kind of obsessed with. And I’m so happy that I got the chance to do it the way that I wanted to do it, in a medium, television, where I know a lot of people are going to see it, not just in America. And I’m always fascinated by great stories, and great stories about women are something that I, of course, gravitate to. WS: She’s so different from you in so many ways, physically as well. Did that take a toll? ZETA-JONES: Yes, physically I wanted to put on some weight. I worked on my body language, my posture, even my Latino way of speaking and working and moving. She was a woman who could take a punch and not really fall over, someone who could take pain. In a lot of the [roles] I’ve been cast in, the character’s name and description were preceded by beautiful, sexy, glamorous, and it’s just boring as an actor. For many years I got a little disheartened by that. Playing Griselda reminded me why I love acting. It reminded me why at 9 years old I was in the theater in London, why I wanted to be in this world, and it was to immerse myself in a story of a character that’s not me, or playing somebody who’s not me. So Cocaine Godmother was a real treat, it was a gift for me. 31
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Michael Weatherly Actor Bull WS: When Bull was created, did anyone realize how timely a show about human behavior analysis would be in today’s political climate? WEATHERLY: No. They started developing the show in 2014. It takes a long time to go from concept, to pitch, to somebody buying the pitch, to finding a writer, to selling that pitch to a network. Then you have another year to develop, so it’s a longer process than a lot of people understand. So there’s no way that anyone could have known Donald Trump was going be President of the United States. But I think you’re right; it is an absolutely timely show. It’s not just because of the human behavior and the analysis of why people do what they do—what are these populist swings? What is it a reaction to? We all understand that fear is this driver that can move any animal on Earth into a herd mentality, and in these elections where you have confirmation bias, people vote against their own instincts and interests. It is an astonishing time, and that’s why a show like Bull, rather than being disturbing, is comforting for us. It helps us understand that predictive analysis of behavior is choice, because every day, every minute, every second, we’re making choices about how we want to be. WS: Is there anything from your experience on NCIS that you’re carrying over as the lead actor on Bull? WEATHERLY: I grew up in an environment with a true alpha male, from a certain generation. As a father, I’m very different. I raise my family differently; I interact with my wife differently. So when I look at my experience on NCIS, Mark Harmon came from a certain world of television, he grew up a certain way and his leadership style was a certain way and mine is very different. And I have absolutely no intention of trying to replicate that, but what I did learn is one major, major thing that Harmon showed me: it’s all about the team, and if they don’t feel plugged-in, if they don’t feel their characters, and if they want to play someone else’s character or want to change their character so much that it’s a different show, that’s not going to be good. 32
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Sterling K. Brown Actor This Is Us WS: To what do you attribute the success of This Is Us? BROWN: I think it unifies people. We can all agree that family and connection are of the greatest importance. While we may differ politically and on many fronts, we all love family. We all recognize the need for community and we all know that we are doing the best that we can with whatever place we are in life. [In the show] we have a bunch of thirtysomethings trying to figure out the next step. Everybody can recognize that it’s a pivotal time; there are big choices that can change the course of your life. WS: What appealed to you about the character of Randall? BROWN: The script was outstanding. The pilot for this show was one of the best pilots for network television that I had read in some 16 years. And Randall has this gigantic heart. Even when he wanted to release 36 years [of pent-up] venom and bile toward William, his biological father who abandoned him, and he ends up doing that, Randall didn’t realize his need for connection. While he wanted to tell this man off, what he really wanted was to know who he was and enfold him into his life. Not having had my father for 30 years now—he passed away when I was 10—the need to connect with fathers has always been strong for me. WS: How does Randall feel as an African American being raised by a white family in a white community and being successful in a predominantly white world? BROWN: I think he counts his blessings; he recognizes the love of his mother and father, brother and sister, while simultaneously feeling like a fish out of water. When you look around, and the images that are reflected back at you are not images that resemble you, you can’t help but feel like an outlier. So Randall is always appreciative but also simultaneously searching and thirsty to find exactly where he belongs. It’s a tough road to navigate for all people who are the products of transracial adoption. But it’s one that you figure out as you go along. 33
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Elisabeth Moss Actress The Handmaid ’s Tale WS: How did you hear about The Handmaid’s Tale, and what appealed to you about the project? MOSS: The script for the pilot was offered to me when I was in Australia doing the second season of Top of the Lake. It was one of the best pilot scripts I’ve ever read. I was most interested in how [the writers] were going to continue to adapt the story, so I asked to see the second script. And the second script was, in my opinion, even better than the first. Both made me cry and made me extremely entertained. When someone gives you something like that, where you’re carrying the show in a lead role, it’s exciting, and it’s also really scary and very flattering. I took a lot of time to think about it, but I just couldn’t imagine not doing it, and I couldn’t stand the idea of anyone else doing it! [Laughs] WS: Is there a difference in your approach to a character that exists in a book, compared to a new character? MOSS: In a way it’s a lot easier when you’re creating a character from scratch. All you have are the scripts in front of you. But with The Handmaid’s Tale, I had this incredible novel to refer to that is so inspiring. Anything that I needed to know about the character, how she felt or who she was, was there in the book, right down to certain scenes. [The book] has been like a bible for me. I’ve got this copy that my friend gave me years ago, and I’ve read it everywhere, even in the bathtub, and it’s been in so many different bags! [Laughs] If there’s a moment when I need to be inspired, I go back to the book and I’ll read a passage from it. So, in a way, it’s a lot easier because somebody already thought in such depth about a character. At the same time, you’re bringing something to life that hasn’t been brought to life before, so there is that challenge. But for me, [the book] was a great, great gift, and it really made my job a lot easier. 34
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Bob Odenkirk Actor Better Call Saul WS: When did you first start talking to Peter Gould and Vince Gilligan about the prospect of a show focused on Saul from Breaking Bad? ODENKIRK: Vince Gilligan came to me in the third season of Breaking Bad and said, “Do you think there’s a show in that character? Because I do.” A few months after Breaking Bad ended production, we got together to talk about it seriously. They didn’t know what it would be. They thought it could be a half-hour comedy, it could be a one-hour procedural. In the end it became a lot more like Breaking Bad than either of those two ideas, but still not entirely like Breaking Bad. WS: You’ve done so much comedy—what was the biggest challenge in taking on more dramatic work? ODENKIRK: I was thrilled at the idea of getting to do something fundamentally different from what I’ve spent 30 years doing. I knew that the only way to do it would be to completely give myself over to it and try to do it as honestly as I could and work hard at it. I do a lot of rehearsal. I guess the fear of failing on a world stage was pretty massive! On the other hand, I was risking something that I didn’t even have, which was a presence as a dramatic actor and a reputation in that department. So I wasn’t risking something that I’d worked toward all my life. WS: How does your improv background inform the scripted work you’re doing now? ODENKIRK: I was initially drawn to sketch comedy because of Monty Python’s Flying Circus. In doing sketch comedy, you’re going to be around a lot of improvisation. Most improvisation exercises were invented to be used for dramatic purposes—to get an actor to play the moment and to be in the moment and to listen and to be present. Your job is to get to know the character, but at some point it’s to let go of all that planning and be that person and be in the moment and react. 35
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Tim Roth Actor Tin Star WS: Why did you say yes to Tin Star? ROTH: I read episode one and thought it was quite bold, and also a bit crazy. It wasn’t fully developed yet, but I could see there could be some real fun to be had, and a lot of anarchy; Rowan [Joffe, creator and writer] constantly keeps twisting the story. You think the show is about one thing, but it keeps changing. So I just fancied it! WS: How did you prepare to play Jim and then Jack, his far more dysfunctional alter ego? ROTH: It is a Jekyll and Hyde-type situation. It is a revenge thriller. It is bonkers. But there are rules. [Jim] was, is, a blackout drunk, so my constant worry was, who remembers what? So we made a rule book, pretty simple stuff, and everyone needed to be on the same page, so we knew what we were dealing with. The main rule is, when it’s Jack, he remembers everything. When he wakes up as Jim, he can’t remember a thing he’s done. You bring [Jack] back by drinking. It’s an incredibly dangerous and fun character to play. WS: And I understand there was a lot of improvisation on set. ROTH: Everyone rolls their eyes at me, but I have a red pen, and I start [making notes on] scripts immediately. Change this, flip this around, do this. It’s what I did on Lie to Me [which ran on FOX for three seasons], and it became an easy way to work on a television show. So I was just going about it, and I came up with some ideas. Me and the [on-screen] family developed this shorthand and Rowan loved it. It kind of became the way that we worked. And you could go to him and say, what about if they did this? And he’d go away and scribble it down. We [filmed] it all in sequence, which really, really helped. The only episodes out of sequence were the last two. The last one we shot was episode nine. With that one, we got the story of it, and then we pushed the script aside and got the actors involved. We improvised the entire episode. It was brilliant fun. 36
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Cillian Murphy Actor Peaky Blinders WS: What kind of challenges does playing Tommy Shelby present, both emotionally and physically? MURPHY: It’s a real gift to have this sort of character, particularly a character that you can return to. It is draining. He’s very complex and he’s about as far away from me as a person as you can possibly get! He has that physical capability, which I certainly don’t possess. It seems like he never sleeps or eats. In fact, over the whole four seasons so far, we never see Tom Shelby eat; a morsel never enters his mouth! He is all-consuming and obviously the nature of television— being that you are shooting so many episodes and so many setups per day and you have so many lines to learn—means that it does take over your life, but in a brilliant way. It’s what every actor would want. WS: How did you prepare and step into the role? MURPHY: Originally, it was for me to prove to the producers and to the creator that I could make that transformation. We worked as hard as we could, regarding the hair and the costume and me going to the gym! Then there was the emotional pain of this man, who is a damaged man. There was a pre-First World War and a post-First World War man and the trauma and PTSD. I read a lot about that. I read about the First World War and shell shock, as it was called then, and had a lot of protein shakes. WS: It’s a period piece, and it deals with the British working class; we haven’t seen too much of that on television. MURPHY: It was definitely one of Steve Knight’s priorities to mythologize the working class for a while instead of the aristocracy, which has been the tradition in British television. If you look at American television, Westerns and the gangster genre are all about mythologizing the working man, or immigrants, or cowboys. Americans are very adept at doing that, and we in British television hadn’t done that before. So yes, I think that was a new idea, and people reacted very strongly in a positive way to that. 37
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George Blagden Actor Versailles WS: What research did you do before taking on the role in Versailles? BLAGDEN: I was cast about five weeks before we started shooting, and I had about four and a half weeks left to shoot on Vikings. But a lot was done for me. I was surprised when I got to Paris, a couple of days before we started shooting, to hear that the costume and set designers had been working for the better part of a year on prepping the show. Even for season three, our costume department started to work in February/March for production that began in May. As an actor, you think, my job is to tell the human story and character here, and an army of people have spent three years researching this project—every little button that Louis wore, even how he walked down the corridor. One of the scriptwriters who created the show did his doctorate at Cambridge University on Versailles and Louis XIV. It sounds like a cop-out, but we were so supported that we didn’t need to do any research. WS: Was there an unknown side of Louis XIV that you thought the audience should see? BLAGDEN: That is the point of historical drama, to try to show the audience something they don’t know about a period in history they may have learned about in school. I would say it always starts with the writing and what the writers want to do with the show and what sort of story they want to tell an audience. I was very lucky that, when we started season one of Versailles, the producers and the writers wanted to tell a story about Louis’s vulnerability. That was a major reason why I was cast, because that is something I can do quite well as an actor—play vulnerability and sensitivity in characters and show their weaknesses. We wanted to start Versailles season one with a king who was very much a boy still, and show the growth of this man, how he built his palace and how he became this brand, the Sun King. 38
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DISTRIBUTORS
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41 Entertainment ADDRESS: 500 W. Putnam Ave., 4/Fl., Greenwich, CT 06830, U.S.A. TELEPHONE: (1-203) 717-1120 WEBSITE: www.41e.tv MANAGING DIRECTOR: Allen Bohbot VP, SALES & MARKETING: Nancy Koff CONTACT: nancy.koff@41ent.com PROGRAMS: Skylanders Academy: 1x44 min. & 37x22 min., action comedy; Shooting Star: 13x22 min., adventure comedy; Super Monsters: 52x11 min., preschool comedy; The Mini Musketeers: 52x11 min., preschool adventure comedy; Kong— King of the Apes: 26x22 min./1x83 min. & 22x22 min., action adventure; Tarzan and Jane: 13x22 min./2x83 min. & 5x22 min., action adventure; PAC-MAN and the Ghostly Adventures: 52x22 min. & 2x44 min., action comedy.
“41 Entertainment focuses on worldwide animation development, production, distribution (linear and nonlinear) and licensing and merchandising. Operating globally in the creation and distribution of children’s original proprietary characters and intellectual properties, we invest in each production and manage rights, including Skylanders Academy, Shooting Star, Super Monsters, The Mini Musketeers, Kong—King of the Apes, Tarzan and Jane and PAC-MAN and the Ghostly Adventures. Not only do we secure the best exposure through our network of major broadcasters and distributors worldwide, including linear and nonlinear, we also look for the best licensing and merchandising partners for our brands through an in-house licensing and merchandising division. Managed by experienced individuals with extensive knowledge in animation production, distribution, sales, marketing, legal and business affairs, copyright and trademark protection, 41 Entertainment believes that market success is not based on quantity of projects, but rather in the careful exploitation of a few high-quality intellectual-property projects for global consumption.” —Allen Bohbot, Managing Director
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Artist View Entertainment ADDRESS: 5775 E. Los Angeles Ave., Suite 218, Simi Valley, CA 93063, U.S.A. TELEPHONE: (1-818) 752-2480 WEBSITE: www.artistviewent.com PRESIDENT: Scott J. Jones VP, WORLDWIDE SALES: Jay Joyce CONTACT: jay@artistviewent.com PROGRAMS: The Meanest Man in Texas: 1x105 min., drama; Chronology: 1x94 min., thriller; Mistrust: 1x90 min., drama; Chasing Gold: 1x90 min., thriller/drama; Crow: 1x101 min., drama/thriller; Chokehold: 1x98 min., action/MMA fighting; Snowbound: 1x85 min., thriller; Untold Story: 1x106 min., drama/comedy; Game Day, 1x101 min., drama/comedy; Slipaway: 1x88 min., drama.
“Established in 1991, Artist View continues to represent some of the finest independent filmmakers in the world. From its representation of the Polish masterpiece Warsaw 44 to its most recent success with Mistrust, starring Jane Seymour; Chasing Gold, with Paul Sorvino; and Chokehold, starring Casper Van Dien, the company has never been genre-specific but instead takes pride in acquiring and marketing projects that incorporate a unique marketing hook. Artist View’s wide variety of films, coupled with our strong relationships with wellestablished distributors and broadcasters, has allowed the company to be a reliable supplier of quality product for close to three decades. As Artist View continues to move forward, the plan is to increase its role in the co-production business. The need for content has never been greater, and the end-user must be at the forefront of the producer’s mind. It is our goal to oversee these projects, so more attention is placed on the needs of the marketplace and success can be enjoyed at all levels.” —Scott J. Jones, President
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Atlantyca Entertainment ADDRESS: Via Leopardi, 8, 20123 Milan, Italy TELEPHONE: (39-02) 430-0101 WEBSITE: www.atlantyca.com HEAD, ANIMATION DEPARTMENT, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER & DISTRIBUTION DIRECTOR: Caterina Vacchi EXECUTIVE PRODUCER & DIRECTOR: Niccolo Sacchi DISTRIBUTION MANAGER: Alessandra Dematteis CONTACT: alessandradematteis@atlantyca.com PROGRAMS: Bat Pat: 52x11 min. HD & S2 in prod., 2D; Geronimo Stilton: 78x23 min. HD, 2D; Nutri Ventures: 52x23 min. HD, 2D; Jurassic Cubs: 52x13 min., 3D/CGI; Dive Olly Dive: 104x11 min., 3D/CGI; ZDFE.junior catalog.
“Atlantyca Entertainment maintains production and distribution, licensing, publishing and foreign-rights sales divisions, and has expanded into the development and production of live stage events with the establishment of its newest division, Atlantyca Live. The company manages the IP rights for the Geronimo Stilton brand and all of its franchises. Atlantyca is the producer of Geronimo Stilton, the animated series featuring the adventures of the most famous mouse journalist. Seasons one and two have been sold in more than 130 countries around the world, while the new season sold in 60 countries and premiered in more than 30. The company was recently bestowed two of Italy’s most prestigious awards. The first was the Moige Prize for its Geronimo Stilton: Animated Adventures animated series, which was recognized as the best in children’s TV shows, movies and commercials as determined by a network of over 30,000 parents. Atlantyca was also bestowed the 2017 Governance Advisors Digital Award in the ‘skills’ category. The award is dedicated to recognizing the work and significant accomplishments of company directors who, as a result of progressive governance, have led their companies to become leaders in digital innovation. The company has completed production on its newest entertainment franchise with the comedy adventure series Bat Pat, a co-production with Imira Entertainment and Mondo TV. Bat Pat is a spooky animated adventure comedy that proves the supernatural isn’t always evil, just misunderstood. RAI Fiction (Italy) and RTVE (Spain) are broadcast partners.” —Caterina Vacchi, Head, Animation Department, Executive Producer & Distribution Director
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ATV ADDRESS: Barbaros Bulvari, Cam Han No: 153, 34349, Balmumcu Besiktas, Istanbul, Turkey TELEPHONE: (90-212) 354-3000 WEBSITE: www.atvdistribution.com GENERAL MANAGER: Metin Ergen LICENSING & DIGITAL MANAGER: Ziyad Varol CONTACTS: Emir Duzel, emir.duzel@atv.com.tr; Emre Gorentas, emre.gorentas@atv.com.tr; Muge Akar, muge.hanilci@atv.com.tr PROGRAMS: Lifeline: 60x45 min., drama; Don’t Leave Me: 60 min. eps., drama; Love and Hate: 111x45 min., drama; Orphan Flowers: 297x45 min., drama; Wedlock: 137x45 min., drama; She Was Pretty: 28x120 min., romantic drama; Stolen Life: 100x45 min., drama; Torn Apart: 66x45 min., drama; Price of Love: 60x45 min., drama; Nazli: 35x45 min., drama. “With its creative and pioneering outlook, ATV successfully produces many unique and original programs, bringing an abundance of fabulous stories and first-rate actors into your homes via the TV screen. Furthermore, ATV’s distribution unit provides a vast range of choices and diversity, offering over 40,000 hours of TV series as well as movies. The popular TV channel’s contentsales department is one of the key figures of the Turkish distribution industry, exporting the highest quality drama series to over 60 countries worldwide. At ATV, we are proud of our achievements and continue to strive to bring you even more.” —Corporate Communications
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Boat Rocker Rights ADDRESS: 595 Adelaide St. E., Toronto, ON M5V 1N8, Canada TELEPHONE: (1-416) 591-0065 WEBSITE: www.boatrocker.com PRESIDENT: Jon Rutherford VP, GLOBAL SALES, FACTUAL: Natalie Vinet VP, GLOBAL SALES, KIDS & FAMILY: Gia Delaney CONTACT: jon@boatrocker.com PROGRAMS: Bitz & Bob: 42x11 min. & 44x4 min. & 1x22 min., animation/adventure/STEAM/preschool; Body Hack: 12x60 min., factual/adventure/science & technology/travel; Danger Mouse: 98x11 min., animation; History in the Making: 13x30 min., civilization/documentary/history; Inseparable: Ten Years Joined at the Head: 1x60 min., documentary; Last Stop Garage: 12x30 min., factual/adventure/reality/travel; Late Nite Eats: 13x30 min., factual/adventure/food & travel; The Next Step: S6 26x30 min., live action/drama/kids 8-14; The Polos: 26x11 min., animation/adventure/educational/ preschool; Tougher Than It Looks: 22x30 min., factual/ adventure/reality/travel.
“Boat Rocker (BR) Rights is the global content distribution, sales and licensing division for Boat Rocker Media. We are committed to partnerfriendly interaction, absolute transparency and building long-lasting alliances with clients all over the world. Currently, Boat Rocker Rights represents a catalog of over 6,000 half-hours of content, which includes a variety of kids’ and family, scripted drama, comedy and factual programming. BR Rights develops strategies and executes global marketing and monetization plans for high-potential entertainment brands, including Radical Sheep (The Next Step, Stella & Sam), Industrial Brothers (Remy & Boo, Kingdom Force), CBBC/CBeebies (Danger Mouse, Bitz & Bob), Proper Television (Tougher Than It Looks, Last Stop Garage), Crooked Horse Productions (Late Nite Eats, History in the Making), Temple Street Productions (Orphan Black) and our animation services arm, Jam Filled Entertainment. Through in-house expertise, audience analysis and a network of corporate partnerships, BR Rights expands intellectual properties into revenue streams that extend beyond traditional content monetization. BR Rights is built to be a leader in multichannel sales and partnerships in an ever-changing media landscape.” —Jon Rutherford, President
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Bomanbridge Media ADDRESS: 8 Smith St., #02-01, Singapore 058922 TELEPHONE: (65) 6224-4211 WEBSITE: www.bomanbridge.tv CEO: Sonia Fleck DIRECTOR, SALES & PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT: Aegena Tay CONTACT: Josephine Lim, josephine@bomanbridge.tv PROGRAMS: Claude: 50x11 min. & 11x2 min., kids/animation; Delicacy Hunter: On the Silk Road: 6x30 min., food/travel; World Cup Postcards: 105x2 min., sports; Buddy Thunderstruck: 24x11 min., kids/animation; Gamerz: format; The Fashion Hero: 8x60 min. & format; Hanakappa: 450x5 min., kids/animation; Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Home Again: 1x120 min., drama/mystery; Wolf vs Bear: 1x60 min., nature & wildlife; Morocco from Above: 1x90 min./2x45 min., factual. “A leading Singapore-based distribution agency and production company, Bomanbridge Media exclusively distributes renowned programming from around the world. The company’s team has earned a stellar reputation in the region as the go-to company for profitable programming results. Its diverse catalog currently holds thousands of hours of topquality programming, consisting of formats, lifestyle, specialist factual, factual entertainment, drama, kids’ and educational content. Offering brand strategy, program distribution and format development, Bomanbridge is an effective programming partner.” —Corporate Communications
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Cyber Group Studios ADDRESS: 44B Quai de Jemmapes, 75010 Paris, France; 9696 Culver Blvd., Suite 208, Culver City, CA 90232, U.S.A. TELEPHONE: (33-1) 5556-3232; (1-424) 341-4911 WEBSITE: www.cybergroupstudios.com CHAIRMAN & CEO: Pierre Sissmann SENIOR VP, SALES, ACQUISITIONS & NEW MEDIA: Raphaelle Mathieu CONTACT: Eve Cohen, ecohen@cybergroupstudios.com PROGRAMS: The Pirates Next Door: 52x11 min. HD, kids 6-10/CGI/2D/animation/comedy; Mini Ninjas 2: 104x11 min. HD, kids 6-12/CGI/2D/animation/action/comedy; Zak Jinks: 52x13 min. HD, kids 6-10/2D/animation/adventure/comedy; Ernest and Rebecca: 52x13 min. HD, kids 6-10/2D/comedy; Zou 3: 156x11 min. HD, kids 3-6/CGI/animation; Mirette Investigates: 52x11 min. HD, kids 6-10/2D/animation/ comedy/adventure; Gigantosaurus: 52x11 min. HD, kids 4-6/CGI/2D/action/comedy; Sadie Sparks: 52x11 min. HD, kids 6-11/CGI/2D/animation/comedy; Taffy: 78x7 min. HD, kids 6-12/2D/animation/comedy; Nefertine: 52x11 min. HD, kids 4-7/2D/animation/comedy.
“Cyber Group Studios is a multi-awarded French independent producer and distributor specialized in top-quality kids’ programming with strong international appeal. Our rich and varied library boasts 1,000 half-hours of programming targeted at kids and families. To bring the highest quality entertainment, we collaborate with the best creative talents around the world and develop breakthrough technology to enhance our productions. We are also proud to continue the development of partnerships with top producers by bringing them high-value access to key players in the international market. After opening new offices in Los Angeles, Cyber Group Studios decided to extend its international exposure on digital platforms thanks to key partnerships and a new digital specialist. Cyber Group Studios opened its new interactive division, which will aim to develop games and interactive experiences on digital platforms, traditional console platforms and PCs. The company is proud to bring to MIPTV its latest series slated for 2018, among which are the hit shows The Pirates Next Door, Zak Jinks, Ernest and Rebecca, Zou 3 and Mini Ninjas 2. Last but not least, the series Tom Sawyer, Nefertine, Sadie Sparks, Taffy and Gigantosaurus are in production, and Droners is in development.” —Raphaelle Mathieu, Senior VP, Sales, Acquisitions & New Media 52
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DHX Media ADDRESS: 207 Queens Quay W., Suite 550, Toronto, ON M5J 1A7, Canada TELEPHONE: (1-416) 363-8034 WEBSITE: www.dhxmedia.com EXECUTIVE VP, CONTENT & DISTRIBUTION: Josh Scherba VP, DISTRIBUTION: Jerry Diaz CONTACT: sales@dhxmedia.com PROGRAMS: Massive Monster Mayhem: 22x22 min., kids/live action; The Zoo: 30x11 min., kids/live action; Mega Man: 52x11 min., kids/3D; Polly Pocket: 26x22 min., kids/2D; The Deep: 52x22 min., kids/3D; Waffle the Wonder Dog: 30x11 min., preschool/live action; Peanuts: kids/2D; Bob the Builder: 130x11 min., preschool/3D; Fireman Sam: 138x10 min., preschool/3D; Little People: 104x11 min., preschool/3D. “This market, we’re really excited by the potential of Polly Pocket, a contemporary animated series based on the enduringly popular toy brand. It has been reimagined to combine a fresh look and new adventures for the next generation of kids. Continuing the trend for launching new animated content for evergreen brands, the new Mega Man is also on our MIPTV slate, featuring exciting new technologies and robots geared to kids 6 to 11. We are also featuring content from the much-loved Peanuts brand for the first time. On the live-action front, Massive Monster Mayhem combines live-action gameplay and CGI animation. Last but not least, we are launching the brand-new preschool series Waffle the Wonder Dog, about the world’s most mischievous puppy, from acclaimed producers Darrall Macqueen.” —Josh Scherba, Executive VP, Content & Distribution
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Gaumont ADDRESS: 750 N. San Vicente Blvd., Suite 1550, East Tower, West Hollywood, CA 90069, U.S.A. TELEPHONE: (1-424) 281-5200 WEBSITE: www.gaumont.us VICE CEO: Christophe Riandee PRESIDENT, WORLDWIDE TV DISTRIBUTION & CO-PRODUCTION: Vanessa Shapiro CONTACT: sales@gaumont.com PROGRAMS: Narcos: 40x60 min., drama; NOX: 6x60 min., thriller; The Art of Crime: 6x60 min., drama; The Frozen Dead: 6x60 min., drama; Hetty Feather: 40x22 min., kids/family/drama; Relationship Status: 36x10 min./13x22 min., drama; Trulli Tales: 52x11 min. & 13x1 min., animation/ comedy/upper preschool; Belle and Sebastian: 52x11 min., animation/comedy adventure/kids 5-9; Bionic Max: 52x11 min., animation/comedy adventure/kids 6-11; Furiki Wheels: 52x11 min., animation/comedy/kids 6-11.
“Gaumont is a producer and distributor of high-quality programming for the U.S. and international markets, and part of the motion picture studio Gaumont. This year, the company will be focused on developing new coproduction alliances and launching new divisions around the world, including Gaumont Germany and Gaumont U.K., focusing on developing and producing scripted drama series. At MIPTV, our drama series include the Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated Narcos, currently in production for season four for Netflix; NOX, a Creation Originale series produced for Canal+ that debuted on March 12; The Art of Crime, which debuted in November 2017 on France 2 with over 4 million viewers; and The Frozen Dead, which debuted on M6 last year, also with over 4 million viewers. We will also be premiering a brand-new animated kids’ TV series, Bionic Max, currently in development with Gulli.” —Vanessa Shapiro, President, Worldwide TV Distribution & Co-Production
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Global Agency ADDRESS: Abdi Ipekci Caddesi, Park 19, K3, 34367 Nisantasi, Sisli, Istanbul, Turkey TELEPHONE: (90-212) 240-5769 WEBSITE: www.theglobalagency.tv FOUNDER & CEO: Izzet Pinto PROGRAMS: Heritage: 60 min. eps., reality; The Remix: music talent show; My Life Is a Scenario: 90 min. eps., comedy talent show/reality; Looking for My Mother: 120 min. eps., reality; My Dangerous Wife: drama; Sultan of My Heart: drama; Aria of the Doomed: period drama; The Deep: drama; Golden Horde: 16x60 min., period drama. “Established in 2006, Global Agency is the world’s leading independent TV content distributor of series and formats for international markets. Global Agency was founded in the second half of 2006 with only one project and a team of two people. It now has over 150 projects and a team of 28 people. Our company slogan is ‘Content that Creates Buzz’ and we live up to it through the distribution of our hit content, including Magnificent Century, 1001 Nights, Broken Pieces, Keep Your Light Shining, Perfect Bride, Shopping Monsters and The Remix. In just a few short years, we have become one of the fastestgrowing distributors in the industry and now we are known as the world’s leading independent distributor thanks to our strong lineup of content and our experienced team. Our catalog includes formats and series from around the world, and due to our long-established relationships with some of the world’s most creative individuals and companies, we are able to offer buyers the hottest new content throughout the year. At Global Agency, we are committed to acquiring the highest quality and most original new content through our partnerships with leading broadcasters and production companies in all the major territories. With an international team and bases in Turkey, France, the U.K. and Spain, our knowledge of the global entertainment industry allows us to find and sell cutting-edge content that can be adapted in territories around the world. We have built a reputation for our dynamic and high-profile marketing strategy, and attending over 15 international markets a year is a major part of our global reach.” —Corporate Communications
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Global Screen ADDRESS: Sonnenstrasse 21, 80331 Munich, Germany TELEPHONE: (49-89) 2441295-500 WEBSITE: www.globalscreen.de MANAGING DIRECTOR: André Druskeit HEAD, TV SALES & ACQUISITIONS: Alexandra Heidrich CONTACT: alexandra.heidrich@globalscreen.de PROGRAMS: The Joshua Profile: 1x105 min., thriller; Charité: 6x48 min., historical drama; Weissensee: 24x48 min., drama; Buried Truth: 6x60 min., drama/crime; eLegal: 10x52 min., crime; Streets of Berlin: 6x90 min., crime; Welcome to Hindafing: 6x45 min., dramedy.
“Global Screen delivers high-quality entertainment for adults and kids alike, with fiction and documentary programs for successful exploitation on TV, video and online. Our dedicated acquisition team is constantly on the lookout for new programs with strong market potential, from Germany and the rest of the world. We focus on unique series and event movies that enable broadcasters and platforms to satisfy their audiences’ demand for high-quality entertainment. Most recently, we acquired The Joshua Profile, [based on] the best seller of the same name by internationally renowned author Sebastian Fitzek. This nail-biting thriller deals with an explosive subject that’s already frighteningly real: predictive policing—data-based crime prevention. In a race against time, a law-abiding citizen and loving father is chased through the vibrant metropolis of Berlin for a crime he hasn’t committed— yet. Breathless tension is guaranteed.” —Alexandra Heidrich, Head, TV Sales & Acquisitions
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GMA Worldwide ADDRESS: 10/Fl., GMA Network Center, EDSA corner Timog Ave., Diliman, Quezon City 1103, Philippines TELEPHONE: (632) 333-7572 WEBSITE: www.gmaworldwide.tv PRESIDENT: Annette Gozon VP: Roxanne J. Barcelona SENIOR SALES MANAGER: Manuel Paolo J. Laurena CONTACT: mjlaurena@gmanetwork.com PROGRAMS: The Stepdaughters: 40x45 min., contemporary/ revenge drama; Sherlock Jr.: 45x45 min., contemporary drama/action adventure; The One That Got Away: 45x45 min., contemporary drama/romantic comedy; Sirkus: 20x30 min., fantasy adventure; Heart and Soul: 45x45 min., contemporary drama/fantasy; Stay with Me: 40x45 min., contemporary drama; My Korean Jagiya: 67x45 min., contemporary drama/romantic comedy; Impostora: 80x45 min., contemporary drama; A Woman Scorned: 170x45 min., contemporary drama; Angela: 80x45 min., contemporary drama/fantasy. “GMA Worldwide Inc. (GWI) is the distributor of content for GMA Network, the Philippines’ largest and most trusted broadcaster. GWI enlivens the TV landscape with its lineup of breakthrough shows meant to keep the viewer awed, entertained and inspired. GWI is recognized in the global arena as a dependable distributor and premier source of quality Filipino programs. GMA’s content is seen in over 30 countries on five continents through GWI. With the network producing over 26 new dramas a year, GWI’s clients and partners can expect a consistent stream of well-crafted, innovative and top-rating programs, which feature the Philippines’ brightest stars. GWI hopes to establish partnerships with broadcasters and aggregators across the globe by providing quality Filipino dramas that help boost ratings.” —Roxanne J. Barcelona, VP
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Inter Medya ADDRESS: Istanbloom Offices, Kore Sehitleri Caddesi 16/1, Zincirlikuyu, 34394 Istanbul, Turkey TELEPHONE: (90-212) 231-0102 WEBSITE: www.intermedya.tv CEO & FOUNDER: Can Okan COO: Ahmet Ziyalar CONTACT: info@intermedya.tv PROGRAMS: The Pit: drama; Broken Wings: drama; Mrs. Fazilet & Her Daughters: drama; Runaway Brides: romance/comedy. “Founded in 1992, Inter Medya established itself as one of the most successful content distributors in Turkey. Specializing in the sales of Turkish TV series and feature films, the company has also recently started to develop and produce entertainment and reality formats, taking important steps to becoming a significant content distributor in the field. The company managed to earn its clients’ trust and loyalty through a satisfactory and sustained service record and a library that always manages to stay current. Consistently and reliably spreading the Turkish TV, film and format industry to the foreign market, the company is adamant about developing and increasing this contribution in the coming years.” —Can Okan, CEO & Founder
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Lightning International ADDRESS: Khuan Ying Building, 11/Fl., 85-89 Wellington St., Central, Hong Kong TELEPHONE: (852) 2815-7481 WEBSITE: www.lightninginternational.net CEO: James Ross DIRECTOR, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT: Amanda Yang CONTACT: james@lightninginternational.net PROGRAMS: Trafficked: 1x120 min., movie; Puppy Academy: 8x30 min., lifestyle/pets; Royal India with Samira: 12x30 min., food & travel; The Winemakers: 13x30 min. 4K HDR, lifestyle; Time Travel Girl: 12x30 min., animation; Our New Zealand Escape: 10x30 min., travel; Discover China: 60x30 min., documentary; Who Killed Jim Thompson, the Thai Silk King?: 1x60 min., documentary; Luxury Hunters: 6x30 min., lifestyle; Playboy Asian Model: 24x60 min., entertainment. “Lightning International distributes highquality programming of many kinds from small- and medium-sized independent producers. While we are specialists in the AsiaPacific region, we offer distribution globally and regularly exhibit and attend major markets, including MIPCOM, MIPTV, ATF, NATPE, Realscreen and TIFFCOM. We have a passion for quirky subjects in genres ranging from movies to reality, animation to lifestyle, drama to factual, comedy to food and music to formats. We offer a personal boutique-style service, with a team who collectively has more than 40 years of experience with major broadcasters. We have offices in Hong Kong, London, Singapore and Tokyo. Content is in our blood, and through our network of connections we license programs to as wide a variety of platforms as possible, including traditional terrestrial broadcasters, cable, satellite and IPTV, in-flight and ancillary, and, of course, the full range of OTT and SVOD services.” —James Ross, CEO
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MISTCO ADDRESS: Murat Reis Mah, Yeni Ocak Sok, No: 45 Uskudar, Istanbul, Turkey TELEPHONE: (90-21) 6695-1300 WEBSITE: www.mistco.tv VP, SALES & MARKETING: Aysegul Tuzun SALES & MARKETING MANAGER: Beyza Nur Torun CONTACT: info@mistco.tv PROGRAMS: Mehmetcik: Kûtulamâre: 26x140 min., drama/ epic; The Prisoner of Love: 180x45 min., drama/romance; The Last Emperor: S1-2 150x45 min., drama/epic; Resurrection: Ertugrul: S1-4 300x45 min., drama/epic; Lion Family: 35x140 min., drama/family; Let’s Go: 30x150 min., drama/family; Ege and Gaga: 88x7 min., animation; Jade: 39+x13 min., animation; Little Lamb: 52x13 min. dialogue & 71x5 min. non-dialogue, animation; Erdem: Little Treasures Bookstore: 24+x13 min., animation. “As the foremost distribution agency of Turkish content, MISTCO represents the most diverse Turkish content catalog, consisting of dramas from all genres, animation, movies and documentaries as well as miniseries. With compelling epic dramas like our brandnew series Mehmetcik: Kûtulamâre, ratings leader Resurrection: Ertugrul and The Last Emperor, which has an appealing story and cast, we are providing the best epic dramas for our partners. TRT by far has the most extensive know-how in epic drama storytelling and producing. However, we grab our partners’ attention with our other dramas as well. The Prisoner of Love is a good selection for the female-oriented genre with its international story, and Lion Family and Let’s Go are family-oriented series, which we will launch at MIPTV. TRT always has high-budget and high-quality projects, which are located at the top of the ratings [charts]. It pleases us to see how our content receives interest from all corners of the world, and we are proud to represent such a diverse catalog.” —Aysegul Tuzun, VP, Sales & Marketing
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Mondo TV Group ADDRESS: Via Brenta, 11, 00198 Rome, Italy TELEPHONE: (39-06) 8632-3293 WEBSITE: www.mondo-tv.com CEO: Matteo Corradi HEAD, ACQUISITIONS & TV SALES: Micheline Azoury CONTACT: micheline.azoury@mondotvgroup.com PROGRAMS: Adventures in Duckport: 52x11 min. HD, animation; Invention Story: 104x11 min. HD, animation; Cuby Zoo: 52x11 min. HD, animation; Eddie Is a Yeti: 52x3 min. HD, animation; Heidi Bienvenida al Show: 60x45 min., live action; Secret Wings Pollen Princesses: 26x13 min. HD, animation; Sissi the Young Empress: 52x26 min. HD, animation; The Treasure Island: 26x26 min. HD, animation; YooHoo to the Rescue: 52x13 min. HD, animation; Heidi Bienvenida a Casa: 60x45 min., live action. “Mondo TV is a group of companies operating across a number of sectors in the entertainment business. It is the leader in Italy and is named among the largest players in Europe in the production and distribution of animated TV series and full-length feature films for TV and cinema. Mondo TV also owns one of Europe’s largest animation libraries. It consists of more than 2,000 episodes of television series shown all over the world, along with more than 75 animated movies. The company is headquartered in Rome. Its international sales team is headed by Micheline Azoury, who takes direct care of all French-speaking territories worldwide as well as the Middle East, African territories and Asia, and Alessandro Venturi, international sales manager, who handles Eastern Europe. To support the growing sales activity in Eastern Europe, the group has also appointed Theo Kouroglou as a direct sales manager for Greece, Cyprus and the former Yugoslavia. Mondo TV also has a strong presence in the Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American territories, a position reinforced by the founding of Mondo TV Spain by Maria Bonaria Fois in 2008. This division, rebranded and now called Mondo TV Iberoamerica, is in charge of distributing Mondo TV’s animated catalog in the region. Since 2011, its main activity has been the distribution in Southern Europe of third-party productions, mainly youth fiction series produced in Latin America. In 2016, the company entered the co-production of the series Heidi Bienvenida a Casa as main investor and, as a confirmation of its plans for expansion and growth, has decided to create a new production studio: Mondo TV Producciones Canarias, based in Tenerife, which aims to [operate] as a producer and worldwide distributor of animation series and, for the future, also fiction.” —Corporate Communications 72
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Invention Story: The tale of a creative young fox who comes up with a new invention in each episode, delighting the inhabitants of Carrot Town and infuriating the angry, jealous mayor. This 3D and HD comedy and action series for preschool audiences offers a combination of fun and learning. YooHoo to the Rescue: Five friends help endangered animals in a show that aims to inspire respect for the environment and its inhabitants among its young audience. The show is based on the globally successful line of Aurora World plush toys. Sissi the Young Empress: Sissi, the charming young empress of Austria, is a historical figure who has impressed the popular imagination, especially among women. Novels, films and TV dramas have [focused on] the life of Elisabeth of Wittelsbach, who everyone calls Sissi. In this project, there is a version of Sissi based on her story with an emphasis on the modern personality and freedom of the young empress, on the relationship with her large family and, above all, with her lover Franz. Heidi Bienvenida a Casa: A co-production with Alianzas Producciones, this is a modern, live-action adaptation of the famous story of Heidi, one of the best-loved characters in fiction. It has a mix of music, humor, comedy, color, magic and extraordinary characters. Heidi Bienvenida al Show: The happy, friendly girl from the mountains is back in a new series, again based on an original idea by the renowned author Marcela Citterio. In this new series, the popular and positive heroine is moving back to the big city, lured there thanks to an ingenious plan dreamed up by her aunt Dete and the eccentric Mr. Conejo. There, along with her old friends—Emma, Pedro, Diego and Imanol—Heidi will be part of a new and very unconventional family.
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Multicom Entertainment Group ADDRESS: 8530 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 550, Beverly Hills, CA 90211, U.S.A. TELEPHONE: (1-310) 693-8818 WEBSITE: www.multicom.tv CHAIRMAN: Irv Holender PRESIDENT: Darrin Holender VP, SALES: Niloo Badie CONTACT: Rachel Weisbruch, rachel@multicom.tv PROGRAMS: Streaker: 1x113 min., comedy/sports; America Adrift: 1x80 min., drama; The Broken Ones: 1x82 min., romance/drama; Divine Access: 1x113 min., comedy/drama; M.I.A.: A Greater Evil: 1x87 min., mystery/thriller; Generational Sins: 1x90 min., drama/suspense; Above All Things: 1x94 min., drama/mystery; After the Sun Fell: 1x111 min., comedy/drama; The Stream: 1x87 min., adventure fantasy; The Side Show Christmas: 1x48 min., holiday/animation. “Founded in 2010 by veteran film and television executive Irv Holender, Multicom Entertainment Group has acquired rights to a deep library of premium programming that is distributed through a global network of broadcasters and digital platforms. Multicom has established itself as an industry leader in content distribution, cultivating strong relationships with partners worldwide, delivering content wherever, whenever and however consumed. As a producer of original content, Multicom collaborates on joint ventures with leading broadcasters and entertainment companies. Multicom’s catalog in the aggregate delivers over 4,500 hours of broadcast-quality content and over 100 potential properties to remake or reboot. From Leonardo DiCaprio to Reese Witherspoon, Jared Leto to The Beatles, and with countless acclaimed classic television series and current theatrical films, Multicom’s expansive catalog boasts a powerful portfolio of global superstars across every format and genre.” —Darrin Holender, President
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ORF-Enterprise ADDRESS: Europlaza, Building C, Am Europlatz 5, 1120 Vienna, Austria TELEPHONE: (43-1) 87878-13030 WEBSITE: contentsales.orf.at MANAGING DIRECTOR: Beatrice Cox-Riesenfelder HEAD, CONTENT SALES INTERNATIONAL: Marion Camus-Oberdorfer CONTACT: Eva Siedlecki, contentsales@orf.at PROGRAMS: Wild Caribbean—Rhythms of Life—Part III: Corals and Quetzals: 3x52 min. 4K, documentary/nature & wildlife; Wild Boar—The Comeback: 1x52 min. HD, documentary/nature & wildlife; Kestrels at Close Quarters: 1x52 min. 4K, documentary/nature & wildlife; The Nero Files— Uncovering an Ancient Conspiracy: 1x52 min. HD, documentary/history & biographies; Suburbia—Women on the Edge: 30x48 min. HD, dramedy; Scene of the Crime—The Fist: 1x90 min. HD, crime; Backwoods Crimes—Styrian Child: 1x90 min. HD, crime; Ely Kahn: New York Cities Mastermind: 1x30 min. HD, documentary/history & biographies; Egon Schiele—Between Love and Hate: 1x52 min. HD, documentary/ history & biographies; World Domination: 1x52 min. HD, documentary/current affairs & social issues. “Alongside new seasons of our all-time favorite series and movies, we are proud to present the third season of ORF’s dramedy series Suburbia—Women on the Edge, which premiered in early 2018 with remarkable ratings. Explore our portfolio of high-quality documentaries while reopening a cold case in The Nero Files—Uncovering an Ancient Conspiracy. Join us also for a breathtaking journey with our two-part season highlight Russia’s Wild Sea, presenting the impressive wildlife between the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Japanese island of Hokkaido in 4K.” —Marion Camus-Oberdorfer, Head, Content Sales International
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Rainbow ADDRESS: Via Le Brecce, 60025 Loreto (AN), Italy TELEPHONE: (39-071) 7506-7500 WEBSITE: www.rbw.it FOUNDER & CEO: Iginio Straffi HEAD, SALES, TV SERIES, MOVIES & CO-PRODUCTION: Andrea Graciotti HEAD, SALES, TV: Luana Perrero CONTACT: info@rbw.it PROGRAMS: 44 Cats: 52x13 min., comedy/3D/CGI; Regal Academy: S1-2 52x30 min. HD, comedy/2D/toonshade animation; Maggie & Bianca Fashion Friends: S1-2 52x30 min., comedy/drama/live action; Maggie & Bianca Fashion Friends: S3 26x30 min., comedy/drama/live action; Maggie & Bianca Fashion Friends—TV Movies: 2x50 min., comedy/drama/live action; World of Winx: S1-2 26x30 min. HD, action/mystery/2D animation; Winx Club: S1-7 182x30 min. HD, adventure/action/2D animation; Winx Club The Mystery of the Abyss: 1x80 min., comedy/action/3D animation; PopPixie: 52x13 min., comedy/2D animation; Huntik: S1-2 52x30 min., adventure/comedy/2D animation.
“Rainbow Group is one of the biggest animation studios in the world and a leader in kids’ entertainment, employing over 1,000 people worldwide. The company comprises many divisions, including three Canadian animation studios (two in Vancouver, one in Kelowna), two in Italy (in Rome and Loreto) and subsidiaries in France, Russia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. Rainbow also recently acquired the Iven S.p.A. group, which includes Colorado Film, Moviement, San Isidro and a stake in Gavila, enlarging its target market to include young adults and adults. Rainbow’s successful distribution of its content in the media (TV, theatrical, internet), as well as in the consumer-products industry, has led to the company being 11th on the yearly global licensor list worldwide and first in Europe. Rainbow’s property list includes 44 Cats, Winx Club, World of Winx, Regal Academy, Maggie & Bianca Fashion Friends, Tommy & Oscar, Prezzy, Monster Allergy, Huntik Secret and Seekers, PopPixie, Maya Fox and Gladiators of Rome.” —Corporate Communications
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Record TV ADDRESS: Rua da Várzea, 240 Barra Funda, 01140-080 São Paulo-SP, Brazil TELEPHONE: (55-11) 3300-4022 WEBSITE: www.recordtvnetwork.com INTERNATIONAL SALES DIRECTOR: Delmar Andrade INTERNATIONAL SALES MANAGER: Edson Mendes CONTACT: Weslei Yassue, wyassue@recordtv.com.br PROGRAMS: Apocalypse (Apocalipsis): 180x45 min. HD, soap opera; Belaventura: 150x45 min. HD, soap opera; The Rich and Lazarus (El Rico y Lázaro): 170x45 min. HD, soap opera; The Promised Land (La Tierra Prometida): 179x50 min. HD, soap opera; The Slave Mother (La Esclava Madre): 151x60 min. 4K, soap opera; Moses and the Ten Commandments (Moisés y los Diez Mandamientos): 242x60 min. HD, soap opera; The Miracles of Jesus (Los Milagros de Jesús): 35x50 min. HD; Victory! (¡Victoria!): 208x45 min. HD, soap opera; Joseph from Egypt (José del Egipto): 38x45 min. HD; Flames of Life (Llamas de la Vida): 253x45 min., soap opera. “Record TV was created in September 1953. Back then, Record TV was one of the broadcasters that helped popular Brazilian music evolve and its history is made up of a series of successful shows. The company’s initiatives help Brazil’s society and culture. Record TV is today the oldest broadcaster in Brazil, still scoring excellent ratings and extending its market share in the Brazilian landscape. Record TV has strengthened its performance in the international market by giving foreign clients and viewers some of the highest quality products from Brazil. The company’s list of products features telenovelas, series and documentaries, [synonymous with] information, entertainment, culture, diversity and tremendous success.” —Corporate Communications
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Saban Brands ADDRESS: 10100 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 500, Los Angeles, CA 90067, U.S.A. TELEPHONE: (1-310) 557-5230 WEBSITE: www.sabanbrands.com CEO: Janet Hsu EXECUTIVE VP, GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION & CONSUMER PRODUCTS: Frederic Soulie CONTACT: fsoulie@sabanbrands.com PROGRAMS: Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel: 22x22 min., kids/action/adventure/live action; Luna Petunia: Return to Amazia: 66x11 min., preschool; Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty: 52x11 min., kids 6-11; Treehouse Detectives: 40x11 min., preschool. “In 2018, Saban Brands, a leader in kids’ and family entertainment, celebrates Power Rangers’ milestone anniversary of 25 continuous years on the air, including the current season on Nickelodeon (U.S.), Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel. Saban Brands will also debut two new kids’ properties: the highly anticipated buddy comedy in partnership with Funrise, Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty, coming fall 2018 on a major broadcast network, and Treehouse Detectives, launching summer 2018 [as a] Netflix original. Luna Petunia: Return to Amazia, the fourth season in the Luna Petunia series in partnership with Cirque du Soleil, premiered [as a] Netflix original earlier this year. Additionally, Saban Brands has several exciting properties in development, including some short-form content.” —Frederic Soulie, Executive VP, Global Distribution & Consumer Products
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Serious Lunch ADDRESS: 14 Limekiln Place, London SE19 2RE, U.K. TELEPHONE: (44-20) 8771-7310 WEBSITE: www.seriouslunch.co.uk CEO: Genevieve Dexter CONTACT: gdexter@seriouslunch.co.uk PROGRAMS: Art Ninja: 40x26 min., kids 6-9/entertainment; Horrible Science: 10x26 min., kids 7-9/comedy/drama; Operation Ouch!: 69x26 min., kids 7-11/factual entertainment; Ronja, the Robber’s Daughter: 26x26 min., kids 8-12 & family/animation. “We are continuing to build our four key brands. In addition to launching Ronja, the Robber’s Daughter and Horrible Science in the U.S.A. last year on Amazon Prime, this year the BAFTA Award-winning Operation Ouch! is nominated for an International Emmy Kids Award and will transmit in Germany on KiKA in June (Operation Autsch). It is also going into a third series in a locally produced version by EO for Zapp in the Netherlands as Top Doks. We will be announcing our fifth brand at MIPTV.” —Genevieve Dexter, CEO
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Studio 100 Media & m4e ADDRESS: Neumarkter Str. 18-20, 81673 Munich, Germany TELEPHONE: (49-89) 960855-0 WEBSITE: www.studio100.m4e.de CEO: Ulli Stoef HEAD, GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: Martin Krieger CONTACT: martin.krieger@studio100media.com PROGRAMS: Arthur and the Minimoys—The Series: 26x26 min., boys 5-9/CGI/animation/adventure/fantasy; Tip the Mouse: 78x7 min., kids 2-6/CGI/animation/adventure/comedy; Mia and me: 78x23 min., girls 6-12/CGI/animation/live action/ fantasy/adventure; Wissper: 52x7 min., kids 3-5/CGI/ animation/comedy/adventure; Nils Holgersson: 52x13 min., kids 6-11/CGI/animation; The Wild Adventures of Blinky Bill: 52x12 min., kids 6-9/CGI/animation/adventure/comedy; Maya the Bee: 130x12 min., kids 4-7/CGI/animation/ adventure/comedy; Ghost Rockers: 209x12 min. & 1x92 min., kids 8-12/live action/mystery; Drop Dead Weird: 26x24 min., kids 6-12/live action/comedy; Rhandom & Whacky: 15x24 min., kids 6-12/live action/comedy. “Our mission in the kids’ entertainment world is to bring brands to life that are content-driven and entertain kids and families, on every platform and wherever they are. This vision has been in the heart of Studio 100 from the very beginning and can be seen in successful and popular brands like Maya the Bee, Mia and me or Heidi. Now Studio 100 Media and m4e, which are still in the process of bundling their forces on all of their business activities, are forming one of the largest European kids’ and family entertainment companies. We are excited to be heading to MIPTV with a new season of the preschool series Tip the Mouse and with the adventure CGI series Arthur and the Minimoys that will be ready for delivery this summer. Our diverse catalog features over 17,500 episodes of high-quality content for kids and families. The new company constellation will allow the financing and production of many new exciting projects. All of them will not only be attractive programs for broadcasters and other platforms, they all can be transformed into [valuable] licensing properties as well.” —Martin Krieger, Head, Global Distribution
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TCB Media Rights ADDRESS: The Lightbox, 111 Power Rd., Chiswick, London W4 5PY, U.K. TELEPHONE: (44-203) 735-5222 WEBSITE: www.tcbmediarights.com CEO: Paul Heaney SENIOR SALES MANAGER: Mem Bakar SALES MANAGER: Simona Argenti SALES EXECUTIVE: Holly Cowdery CONTACTS: mem.bakar@tcbmediarights.com; simona@tcbmediarights.com; holly@tcbmediarights.com PROGRAMS: Animal Airport: S3 26x30 min./13x60 min., animals; Bondi Rescue: S13 10x30 min., reality/entertainment; Vikings: The Lost Realm: 6x60 min., history; Combat Machines: 8x60 min., science & technology; A Killer’s Mistake: 10x60 min., crime & investigation; Marry Me, Marry My Family: 3x60 min., health & lifestyle; Modern Royals: 1x60 min., reality/entertainment; Rich Kids Go Skint: 6x60 min., reality/entertainment; SUV Superbuild: 10x60 min., reality/entertainment; Murder Made Me Famous: S5 6x60 min., crime & investigation. “TCB Media Rights launched in late 2012 to offer a full suite of distribution services, leveraging its global contacts, experience and knowledge to unlock the maximum creative and commercial potential from each project. Focusing on presales, IP co-creation, cofinancing and now crucially bringing content briefs from broadcasters directly to producers, this is a distributor with a difference. TCB has gone on to become one of the fastest-growing unscripted distributors in the business, forging relationships with some of the most highly regarded production companies in the global business. TCB Media Rights now has more than 150 titles and 2,000 hours in its rapidly expanding portfolio and brings over 20 brand-new as well as successful returning series to MIPTV.” —Paul Heaney, CEO
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TV Azteca International ADDRESS: Periférico Sur 4121, Col. Fuentes del Pedregal, México C.P. 14140, Mexico TELEPHONE: (52-55) 5166-2330 WEBSITE: www.tvaztecainternacional.com VP: Patricia Jasín OPERATION CONTENT DIRECTOR: Ramón Salomón MARKETING MANAGER: Andrés R. Payá INTERNATIONAL SALES: Jorge Berthely SALES REPRESENTATIVE, SPAIN, AFRICA, MENA, ASIA & FRENCH-SPEAKING TERRITORIES: Berta Orozco SALES REPRESENTATIVE, EUROPE, TURKEY, ISRAEL, U.S., NEW ZEALAND & AUSTRALIA: Melissa Pillow CONTACT: jrico@tvazteca.com.mx PROGRAMS: Wild by Nature: 30x30 min., wildlife/docu-reality; Two Lakes: 12x60 min., drama/horror; El César: 26x60 min., biographical drama; Bad Maids: 90x60 min., melodrama; Missing Bride: 80x60 min., mystery; 3 Families: 100x60 min., comedy; Nothing Personal: 80x60 min., melodrama; Iron Lady: 80x60 min., drama/action; Living to Race: 40x60 min., drama/action.
“TV Azteca is one of the world’s largest producers of Spanishlanguage television programming. Generating over 10,000 hours of content per year, the company operates two national television networks through its 300-plus owned stations. Its national channels are the family-driven Azteca 13 and the mid- to high-income and youth-focused Azteca 7, covering 97 percent and 95 percent of Mexican television households, respectively. Recently the company began operations of ADN 40, an over-the-air UHF channel that brings the most noted cultural, social, economic and political Mexican opinion leaders together. TV Azteca also owns Azteca America, the fastest-growing Hispanic television network in the United States, with a presence in 67 markets and 89 percent of U.S. Hispanic households.” —Corporate Communications
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Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution ADDRESS: P.O. Box 900, Beverly Hills, CA 90213-0900, U.S.A. TELEPHONE: (1-310) 369-1000 WEBSITE: www.foxfast.com PRESIDENT, GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION & INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY: Mark Kaner PRESIDENT, GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: Gina Brogi CONTACT: foxtvd@fox.com PROGRAMS: The Resident: 14x60 min., drama; Trust: 10x60 min., drama; The Orville: 12x60 min., sci-fi comedic drama; 9-1-1: 10x60 min., drama; LA to Vegas: 15x30 min., comedy; Better Things: 10x30 min., comedy; The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story: 9x60 min., drama; Snowfall: 10x60 min., drama; The Chi: 10x60 min., drama. “A unit of 21st Century Fox, Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution is a global leader in the distribution of awardwinning motion pictures, television programming and entertainment content across pay TV, broadcast television and SVOD. Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution connects audiences around the world with premium content from the production divisions of Twentieth Century Fox Films, Twentieth Century Fox Television, FX Productions as well as other 21st Century Fox companies.” —Corporate Communications
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Viacom International Media Networks Américas ADDRESS: 1111 Lincoln Rd., 6/Fl., Miami Beach, FL 33139, U.S.A. TELEPHONE: (1-305) 535-3700 WEBSITES: mtvla.com; telefe.com; comedycentral.la; mundonick.com PRESIDENT: Pierluigi Gazzolo SENIOR VP, CONTENT DISTRIBUTION MANAGEMENT: Rita Herring VP, CONTENT SALES & CO-PRODUCTIONS: Guillermo Borenzstein PROGRAMS: 100 Days to Fall in Love: 80x60 min., dramatic comedy; Vikki RPM: 60x60 min., teen telenovela; Rhizome Suites: drama; Sandro of America: 13x60 min., miniseries; Se Busca Comediante: 23x60 min., reality; Borges Importadora Ltda: 10x30 min., comedy. “Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) Américas, a unit of Viacom Inc., owns and operates the company’s portfolio of entertainment brands, which include MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Comedy Central, Paramount Channel, VH1, Telefe and their respective properties in Latin America, including Brazil. Additionally, the portfolio includes Tr3 in the U.S., which targets a broad U.S. Hispanic audience, and VIMN’s programming partnerships in Canada with Corus Entertainment for Nickelodeon and Bell Media for MTV and Comedy Central. VIMN Américas also holds a majority stake in Porta dos Fundos, one of the main comedy content creators in Brazil. The company’s multiplatform business includes the mobile apps MTV Play, Nick Play, Comedy Central Play, Mi Telefe and Telefe Noticias; the on-demand products Nick First and My Nick Jr.; and the SVOD product Noggin, in addition to multiple websites.” —Corporate Communications
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Viacom18/IndiaCast Media Distribution ADDRESS: 703, 7/Fl., HDIL-Kaledonia, Sahar Rd., Opp. Vijay Nagar Society, Andheri (East), Mumbai 400069, India TELEPHONE: (91-22) 6697-7715 WEBSITE: www.indiacast.com GROUP CEO: Anuj Gandhi SENIOR VP, SYNDICATION & DIGITAL: Debkumar Dasgupta CONTACTS: debkumar.dasgupta@indiacast.com; Sonal Gupta, sonal.gupta@indiacast.com; Bhavishya Rao, bhavishya.rao@indiacast.com; Keerthana Anand, keerthana.anand@indiacast.com PROGRAMS: Bepannah: 260x30 min. HD, romance/thriller; Ishq Mein Marjawan: 260x30 min. HD, romance/thriller; Tu Aashiqui: 260x30 min. HD, romance; Laado (Veerpur Ki Mardani): 260x30 min. HD, family; Dil Se Dil Tak: 260x30 min. HD, family/romance; Belan Wali Bahu: 260x30 min. HD, romance/comedy; Naagin 2: 76 hrs. HD, fantasy; Ishq Ka Rang Safed: 341x30 min. HD, family/romance; Meri Aashiqui Tum Se Hi: 446x30 min. HD, romance; Madhubala: 648x30 min. HD, romance. “IndiaCast is India’s first multiplatform content asset monetization entity, jointly owned by Viacom18 and TV18. Our flagship Hindi general-entertainment brand Colors has been among the top channels in India and has redefined the viewing trends in the entertainment space in India, thus making it the prime-time leader. We bring our unique brand of entertainment to the table that could significantly enhance audiences’ viewership. We have been growing our syndication business at a very fast pace, and it is one of the strongest growth stories that we have, with over 35,000 hours of content available and adapted in over 135 countries, in more than 35 international languages. Our network’s flagship channel Colors has been a category-definer in the Hindi entertainment genre and is known for bringing in the most differentiated drama series. Our shows encapsulate social messages that are relevant to most cultures across the world. We have always adapted constantly to the market demands and expectations, keeping up the standards that we have proliferated for a while now and delivering high-quality content to the audiences.” —Debkumar Dasgupta, Senior VP, Syndication & Digital
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ZDF Enterprises ADDRESS: Erich-Dombrowski-Str. 1, 55127 Mainz, Germany TELEPHONE: (49) 6131-9910 WEBSITE: www.zdf-enterprises.de PRESIDENT & CEO: Fred Burcksen VP, ZDFE.DRAMA: Robert Franke VP, ZDFE.UNSCRIPTED: Ralf Rueckauer VP, ZDFE.JUNIOR: Peter Lang VP, MARKETING & CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS: Christine Denilauler CONTACT: info@zdf-enterprises.de PROGRAMS: The Story of Europe: 6x50 min., history & biographies; History of Weapons: 10x50 min., science & knowledge; Africa River Wild: 7x50 min., wildlife & nature; Cash or Trash: 55 min. eps., docutainment; You’ll Never Get It!: 90 min. eps., quiz show; The Manipulation Game: 60 min. eps., docutainment; The Crimson Rivers: 8x50 min./4x100 min., crime & suspense; Kudamm 59: 3x90 min., family drama; The Bureau of Magical Things: 20x26 min., kids/live action; Lassie: 52x22 min., kids/animation.
“ZDF Enterprises was founded in 1993 as a commercial subsidiary of ZDF, one of the largest and most renowned TV broadcasters in Europe. Headquartered in Mainz, Germany, ZDF Enterprises is responsible for the worldwide sale of programs, the making of international co-productions, the acquisition of licenses as well as the merchandising of strong program brands in its own name, for ZDF and for third parties. ZDF Enterprises has successfully established itself as an independent market player on the German and international stage. Bound into a strong group, the company manages the largest German-language stock of programs in the world and, next to this, a continuously growing portfolio of international productions consisting of series and miniseries, TV movies, documentaries and children’s programs. In the course of the development and diversification process carried out up to now, many business fields in the television and media domains were made accessible in the ZDF Enterprises group. ZDF Enterprises can provide a comprehensive, full-service offering today and covers every step in the chain of origin and exploitation of successful TV programs, from development to production and up to the marketing of TV licenses, merchandising rights, online rights and much more.” —Corporate Communications
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