World Screen L.A. Screenings 2014

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THE MAGAZINE OF INTERNATIONAL MEDIA • MAY 2014

www.worldscreen.com

L.A. Screenings Edition

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contents MAY 2014/L.A. SCREENINGS EDITION

DEPARTMENTS WORLD VIEW

Publisher Ricardo Seguin Guise

6

Editor Anna Carugati

A note from the editor.

UPFRONTS

Executive Editor Mansha Daswani

8

New shows on the market.

SPOTLIGHT

Managing Editor Kristin Brzoznowski

14

Contributing Editor Elizabeth Guider

Borgia’s Tom Fontana and The Mentalist’s Chris Long.

IN THE NEWS

Special Projects Editor Bob Jenkins

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20

El Rey Network’s Robert Rodriguez.

NETWORK SCORECARD 151

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Associate Editor, Spanish-Language Publications Jessica Rodríguez

special report

The top 50 shows on U.S. network television.

WORLD’S END

25

Editor, Spanish-Language Publications Elizabeth Bowen-Tombari

20 THE RIGHTS STUFF

154

Associate Editor Joanna Padovano

A host of top buyers weigh in on shorter-run series, windows and navigating the ever-more-complex business of rights management.

In the stars.

—Anna Carugati

one-on-one

Assitant Editor Joel Marino Online Director Simon Weaver Art Director Phyllis Q. Busell Production & Design Director Victor L. Cuevas

25 FOX’S MARION EDWARDS

Production Associate Meredith Miller

The president of international television at Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution has been forging relationships with buyers at channels around the world for more than 20 years.

—Anna Carugati

Sales & Marketing Director Cesar Suero Sales & Marketing Coordinator Faustyna Hariasz Business Affairs Manager Terry Acunzo

on the record

Senior Editor Kate Norris

32 EONE’S DARREN THROOP The president and CEO of Entertainment One shares highlights of the company’s solid growth across TV, film, family entertainment and more.

—Anna Carugati

THESE TARGETED MAGAZINES APPEAR BOTH INSIDE WORLD SCREEN AND AS SEPARATE PUBLICATIONS:

Contributing Writers Steve Clarke Andy Fry Juliana Koranteng Jane Marlow Joanna Stephens Jay Stuart David Wood Copy Editor Maddy Kloss

Ricardo Seguin Guise President Anna Carugati Executive VP & Group Editorial Director

Feature LOOKING FOR FANTASY

Feature 72

Interviews TELEVISA’S EMILIO AZCÁRRAGA JEAN AZTECA’S MARIO SAN ROMÁN LIONSGATE’S JON FELTHEIMER DISNEY’S ANNE SWEENEY KERRY WASHINGTON MICHAEL EMERSON

DEMANDING CONTENT

Features 88

Interview 80 101 104 110 134 136

FERNANDO GAITÁN

Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development

96

PRESCHOOL PLAYGROUND INTL. EMMY KIDS AWARDS

120 130

Interviews VIACOM’S ROBERT BAKISH SABAN BRANDS’ ELIE DEKEL NEVILLE ASTLEY & PHIL DAVIES

124 126 128

WORLD SCREEN is published nine times per year: January, March, April, May, June/July, September, October, November and December. Annual subscription price: Inside the U.S.: $70.00/Outside the U.S.: $120.00.

Send checks, company information and address corrections to: WSN INC., 1123 Broadway, Suite 1207, New York, NY 10010, U.S.A. For a free subscription to our newsletters, please visit www.worldscreen.com.

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WORLD SCREEN is a registered trademark of WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, Suite 1207 New York, NY 10010, U.S.A. Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website: www.worldscreen.com ©2014 WSN INC. Printed by Fry Communications No part of this publication can be used, reprinted, copied or stored in any medium without the publisher’s authorization.

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world milestones view

BY ANNA CARUGATI

The Timelessness of Stories Since the beginning of mankind, the phrase “Once upon a time” has held irresistible appeal.We have always enjoyed stories, in whatever form they were told, whether through pictures in prehistoric caves, passed on in the oral tradition from generation to generation, performed on the stage or written on the page.

Today, the most common iteration of printed storytelling is the novel. And for many, many years, novels have either influenced or been the source of countless movies, TV movies, miniseries and even series. One recent example: Matt Weiner, the creator of Mad Men, told The New York Times that the author John Cheever’s style of writing has served as inspiration in crafting the tales of Don Draper and the other characters in the multiple-award-winning AMC drama. What’s interesting is the inverse: I’ve learned that television, in particular serialized drama, is influencing how novels are written and presented to the public today.

While scholars are not in agreement on the origin of the novel, some claim it was Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe in 1719, while others hail Samuel Richardson’s Pamela in 1740, and still others say novels were being written much earlier. I will let academia debate novel vs. saga and folk epics vs. legends, but enjoying stories in chunks has been popular for a very long time.

In the 19th century, numerous novelists took part in very advantaTODAY, SERIALIZED geous arrangements with magazines and newspapers. Honoré de Balzac his novel La Vieille Fille (The Old FICTION IN ITS had Maid) printed in installments in 1836 in a French daily newspaper, FINEST FORM IS FOUND La Presse, which was just launching.

The publisher wanted a way to draw in readers, and Balzac wanted IN TELEVISION SHOWS. his book to reach a wide audience— the rudiments of marketing.

Several other renowned authors wrote serialized novels that were printed either weekly or monthly in newspapers or magazines. Charles Dickens’ The Pickwick Papers was published that way, and, interestingly, the first three installments didn’t excite anyone, but the fourth one caught fire—the rudiments of letting a story find its audience.

Dickens, I’ve read, not only published serially, he also wrote serially. He planned each installment very carefully, keeping in mind not only the readers who would read in installments, but also those who would read the novel as a whole, once it was published in its entirety— similar in today’s TV world to watching an episode a week or bingeing on a bunch of them.

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Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert’s first novel, was serialized in La Revue de Paris. The now classic tale of Emma Bovary’s adulterous affairs was so racy at the time that Flaubert was charged with obscenity. A trial ensued, Flaubert was acquitted and when the novel was published in its entirety, it immediately became a best seller.

Henry James’ The Portrait of a Lady and Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina were also serialized in periodicals before being published as novels.

Serialized fiction is making a bit of a comeback thanks to e-books. Penguin’s digital imprint InterMix specializes in romance, mystery, science fiction and fantasy. Amazon has Kindle Serials, which are books published in “episodes,” as the online retailer describes them.

There is even an app called Rooster, and it serves up novels, both classic and contemporary, in bite-size chunks—portions that take about 15 minutes to read.You make your selection and determine when the installments are delivered to you, which days of the week and at what time: first thing in the morning for your commute or later in the day—lunch break, bedtime, whenever you want.

One of the founders of Rooster, novelist Yael Goldstein Love, told the press that the aim of the app is to make reading fiction as convenient and flexible as possible. You can read one installment at a time or you can binge on several— yes, she likens Rooster, from the reading experience itself to the way the app curates future book selections, to Netflix.

Amazing, huh? The freedom of choice and the whereverwhenever model of an OTT like Netflix is becoming the model for enjoying other forms of storytelling.

Today, many argue, serialized fiction in its finest form is found in television shows. As we explore in our main feature, digital platforms and changing viewing habits have dramatically altered the way program buyers around the world acquire series and how the Hollywood studios and other licensors are carving windows to maximize the value of their product. In our One-on-One interview, Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution’s Marion Edwards provides a clear explanation of catch-up versus stacked rights and much more. Also in this issue, Entertainment One’s Darren Throop gives a view of the business from an independent’s perspective. Regardless of the genre, all good television series have the same irresistible pull of “Once upon a time.”

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upfronts

Band Content Distribution • Head on a Plate • Amores Expressos • Amazônia Niemeyer Band Content Distribution is showcasing a catalogue at the L.A. Screenings that displays the company’s diversity, from documentaries to feature films to series. Among the highlights is the feature film Head on a Plate, which tells the story of two brothers from the Brazilian countryside who maintain a drug-dealing network.The cast includes Alice Braga, Eduardo Moscovis and Cássio Gabus Mendes. Amores Expressos is a documentary spotlighting 16 different love stories from all over the world, while Amazônia Niemeyer depicts the population living along the vast Belém-Brasília highway. Series highlights include Natália, about a religious girl who joins a modeling agency.“We truly believe that this great and varied range of options will fulfill our clients’ needs and expectations,” says Elisa Ayub, Band’s director of international content.

“Our focus is to strengthen our relationships with existing customers as well as attract new partnerships with various platforms.”

Amores Expressos

—Elisa Ayub

Entertainment One Television International • Halt and Catch Fire • Matador • Turn

Set in the early 1980s at the height of the personal-computer boom, Halt and Catch Fire is among the top drama highlights for Entertainment One (eOne) Television International. The series is due to premiere in June on AMC, which is also home to Turn.The political thriller, also part of the eOne catalogue, is set during the American Revolutionary War and focuses on the country’s first spy ring.The company also has in its slate Matador, an action-adventure series chronicling the unlikely rise of Antonio “Matador” Bravo, a soccer star who went undercover as a covert operative.“This is definitely a stand-out title for buyers who are looking for top-quality production value and a high-intensity drama with riveting story lines that is sure to travel well internationally,” says Prentiss Fraser, the company’s senior VP of worldwide sales and acquisitions.

“Halt and Catch Fire is compelling television at its best.”

—Prentiss Fraser Halt and Catch Fire

GRB Entertainment • The Haves and the Have Nots • The World Class • West Coast Customs: La Competencia Produced for OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, the series The Haves and the Have Nots comes from creator Tyler Perry.The show, which GRB Entertainment is highlighting at the L.A. Screenings, follows the dynamic between the rich and powerful Cryer family and the hired help who work in their opulent Georgia mansion. GRB is also presenting The World Class, about the timely issue of globalization, and West Coast Customs: La Competencia, in which teams from all over Mexico face off against each other in a custom-car competition. “West Coast Customs: La Competencia is a Latin take on the famous West Coast Customs series that was made for Azteca in Mexico,” says Mike Lolato, the senior VP of international distribution at GRB.“Car customization and competition shows are always a hit worldwide.”

“The Haves and the Have Nots is based on one of the greatest themes in society—the privileged versus the working class— with all the great drama surrounding it.”

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—Mike Lolato

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Keshet International • Rising Star • BOOM! • Master Class

Shoring up sales for the interactive talent format Rising Star continues to be a top priority for Keshet International. “We have broadcast partners in Brazil (where the first version is already on air and doing well) and Argentina, and are in advanced negotiations with other key territories in the region to roll out the format and see it become a long-standing entertainment staple in Latin America,” says Kelly Wright, the company’s sales director. Wright calls the show “a game-changing format” and says that in the marketplace “there is nothing else quite like it.” Keshet International is also talking to buyers about the U.S. version, which launches in June on ABC and is available as a ten-episode finished series. Another highlight of the company’s slate is BOOM!, which launched at MIPTV and has already sold into five countries. “BOOM! is easy to produce and visually very impactful,” says Wright. “It brings broadcasters a new twist on the typical trivia game by combining mental and physical challenges as well as high drama and a lot of fun.”

Also topping Keshet International’s roster is Master Class, a feel-good show featuring musically talented youngsters.

“There are no eliminations and no negative criticisms of the contestants so it presents a perfect family entertainment program,” says Wright.

“Our focus is on continuing the successful rollout of Rising Star and showcasing the upcoming ABC version of the show.”

Rising Star

Lionsgate Entertainment • Deadbeat • Houdini • Rosemary’s Baby A man who helps ghosts resolve their unfinished business is the focus of Deadbeat, a ten-parter led by Tyler Labine (Rise of the Planet of the Apes). The supernatural comedy, created by Cody Heller and Brett Konner (Wilfred), is a co-production between Lionsgate and Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment.

Deadbeat is just one of the highlights that Lionsgate Entertainment is showcasing at this year’s L.A. Screenings. Also on the company’s slate is Houdini, a four-hour scripted drama miniseries starring Adrien Brody (The Pianist) as the famed magician and Kristen Connolly (House of Cards) as his wife. Houdini is a co-production for HISTORY by Lionsgate and A+E Studios. Then there is Manhattan, another drama series, which takes place in Los Alamos, New Mexico, during the construction of the world’s first atomic bomb. The 13-part production takes a look at the effects the Manhattan Project had on the individuals involved. Other highlights from the company include The Partnership, a ten-episode comedy starring Kelsey Grammer and Martin Lawrence; Rosemary’s Baby, a four-hour scripted miniseries based on the novel and movie of the same name; Royals, about a fictional royal family in modern-day London; and Saint George, a ten-part comedy led by the Mexican-American comedian George Lopez.

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—Kelly Wright

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Multicom Entertainment Group • The Secret Life of John Paul II • Classic TV series • Feature films & miniseries The Secret Life of John Paul II tells the true story of the friendship between a ski instructor and the late Pope John Paul II. Set in the Italian mountains and starring Aleksey Guskov as the pontiff, the feature is one of Multicom Entertainment Group’s top highlights this year. Among its other offerings is a catalogue of series from the golden age of television, including Peter Gunn and The Invisible Man. Multicom is also presenting a wealth of feature films, miniseries and factual programming. On the movie front, it’s presenting the action titles Send No Flowers and The Night Never Sleeps. Network miniseries include JFK: RecklessYouth and Harts of the West, while its factual package boasts more than 3,000 hours of history, music and biography specials, along with documentaries and multiple-episode series.

The Secret Life of John Paul II

Shine International • Gracepoint • The Third Eye • I Wanna Marry “Harry”

The upcoming FOX drama Gracepoint, which tops Shine International’s L.A. Screenings highlights, features an all-star cast led

by David Tennant (Broadchurch) and Anna Gunn (Breaking Bad).

Another drama in the Shine International catalogue is The Third Eye, which comes from the makers of Lilyhammer. The Nordic crime series stars Kyrre Haugen Sydness, who plays a Norwegian policeman trying to find his missing daughter.The slate also features some reality fare, including the new prime-time dating show I Wanna Marry “Harry”. Nadine Nohr, the CEO of Shine International, characterizes the show as “reality meets romance, with a little twist.” In it, 12 single American women are duped into believing they are competing for the affection of Prince Harry, though it is really just a royal imposter.

“Shine International will be attending the L.A. Screenings with the world premiere screening of Gracepoint, a heart-stopping new ten-part prime-time crime drama for FOX.” Gracepoint

—Nadine Nohr

World Media Pictures • Gilgamesh: The Immortal • Spin the Bottle • I Want Alex’s Job World Media Pictures is representing the new series Gilgamesh:The Immortal, based on a successful comic book published in the 1970s and ’80s in Latin America and Europe. The comic featured the story of the legendary Sumerian prince turned king, who is said to have ruled circa 2500 B.C.World Media Pictures is also presenting Spin the Bottle, based on the party game, and I Want Alex’s Job, a reality show featuring the photographer Alex Manfredini. World Media Pictures is partnered with RealFiction Group for the worldwide production and distribution of content.“From our technical facilities in Miami and with a select group of creative producers and technicians, we have launched a reliable and efficient media production machine,” says Juan Antonio Fernández, the general manager and VP of World Media Pictures.

“These are three fantastic products that are innovative, fresh and attractive proposals for our clients’ audiences.”

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—Juan Antonio Fernández

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spotlight

orgia’s Tom Fontana and The Mentalist’s Chris Long took part in a Media Mastermind Keynote: Creatives Talk session at MIPTV, moderated by World Screen’s Anna Carugati, where they discussed the alchemy and science behind developing successful, long-running drama series.

Fontana wrote and produced such landmark dramas as St. Elsewhere and Homicide: Life on the Street, and is more recently known for his work on Copper and Borgia. Long is an exec producer on CBS’s long-running The Mentalist, and previously worked on hits like Gilmore Girls, Weeds and Without a Trace.

Carugati began the session by asking about the challenges of keeping series fresh season after season.

“Dick Wolf is a very good friend of mine. He used to say he wanted to do Law & Order: Lost and Found—that’s what he would eventually get to!” quipped Fontana.

“When we finished Homicide, I didn’t want to do another cop show.When we finished Oz, I had run out of ways to kill people, so that’s when we stopped. HBO wanted the show to keep going, but I realized it was running its course. If you establish really good characters, they will continue to feed you their lives. And if you have wonderful actors playing really interesting characters, then you just have to listen.The other key element is, if you can listen to the actors, the rhythm of the actors, that starts to feed you.”

The Mentalist has been on for six seasons and Long attributes that longevity to series star Simon Baker. “He owns that character; he had the absolute voice of that character. I like to think Bruno Heller [creator of The Mentalist] and I contributed something as well! [Laughs] He is the heart and soul of The Mentalist.”

Carugati asked if creative fatigue can sometimes set in around season three or four. Fontana noted that it really

CREATIVE depends on the show, as well as other considerations.

“When Andre Braugher left Homicide at the end of season six, there was a seismic change in the rhythm of the show because he had over time become the lead in an ensemble series. It took us half a season to get our bearings back.

In terms of stories, I’ve never had a problem of, Oh, what are we going to do next? It’s easier when you’re dealing with a show about homicide because there’s a homicide in the paper every day, unfortunately.”

Long believes The Mentalist hit its “creative stride” around season three. “We were still full into our nemesis Red John story arc. We hiccupped in the first season, where the show swung from its darkest moments, [reminiscent of] Criminal Minds, to its lightest moments, [such as] Monk and Psych [week to week]. We were lucky enough to survive. That was toughest for us.”

The discussion also touched on American broadcasters commissioning shorter-run series of 8 or 13 episodes, as opposed to the general 22 or 24. “Because of this limitedseries idea, we can do different kinds of storytelling,” Fontana said. “You start to attract a different kind of talent, because people are willing to make a shorter commitment.”

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“Doing 24 [episodes] a season is brutal,” said Long.

“Bruno [Heller] and I both really wanted to make a big smash network hit, and when we got there it was the juggernaut that kept coming. When you make 24 episodes, you’re always going to make some you’re not happy with.”

The conversation moved on to serialized versus procedural dramas, and Fontana noted the importance of there being a mix of both in the media landscape today.“If there are too many procedurals, then it gets very hard to write them because everybody has seen everything and you have to constantly figure out how to surprise them. And if you write too many serialized [shows], if there are too many on the air, then the audience gets exhausted [thinking], ‘I can’t commit to another series.’”

Carugati asked both creatives if they are influenced by any of the great shows on TV today.

“When we were doing Homicide, besides Law & Order, there was NYPD Blue,” Fontana said. “I remember one week I had seen an episode. About a month later, I was writing a scene for Homicide and thought, what a good scene! And then I stopped and went, of course it’s a good scene, David Milch wrote that. [Laughs] I had plagiarized

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From left: World Screen’s Anna Carugati with Chris Long and Tom Fontana.

By Mansha Daswani

PROCESS in my writer brain! So I stopped watching anything when I’m working.”

“I don’t watch anything, only because there’s no time,” added Long. “Our shooting schedule is nine months of the year. We work 12, 13, 14 hours a day in production, and then there’s post and pre. The gig is 11 months a year.”

The panelists also addressed the issue of co-productions, which are increasingly common in the drama business today. Fontana spoke about his experience on the European co-pro Borgia, which sold to 80-plus markets in its first season. “There were so many partners and so much negotiation that had to go on between the European partners, it took forever for us to get the greenlight to start writing, let alone start shooting [the second season]. That was a real downside to the whole global international model.”

Another feature in many dramas today is a lead character who is an antihero. For both Fontana and Long, this is a cyclical trend. Fontana also noted, “The audience for cable compared to the people who watch The Mentalist every week is infinitesimal.... Most people

don’t want to see the kind of screwed-up characters that are on cable.”

Long added, “It also depends on what’s going on in the world. We honestly attribute some of the massive success of The Mentalist to the fact that it came out right at the end of the Bush government and [the start of ] the financial crisis. The stock market was crashing—it was a dark time, and people didn’t want to invite more dark characters into their homes.”

Carugati asked Long and Fontana about the elements they think networks consider when deciding to cancel a series. Long noted that The Mentalist’s fate is still in doubt, partly because of its Sunday “death slot” that is frequently impacted by sports coverage going into overtime.

Moreover, Fontana said, “The longer a show goes, the more expensive it gets—all the talent gets [salary] increases and eventually it becomes problematic.”

The conversation ended with Carugati asking the panelists if they had any dream projects they wanted to do but hadn’t done yet, to which Fontana quipped, “My fear is I’ll be on my deathbed and I’ll get that great series idea!”

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in the news

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The cult classic From Dusk Till Dawn, directed by Robert Rodriguez and written by Quentin Tarantino, was adapted for the small screen as the first original scripted series for El Rey Network, an English-language U.S. channel targeting Latinos that was founded by Rodriguez himself.

El Rey (Spanish for “The King”) has since commissioned a second season of the supernatural crime saga, which is also available as a Netflix exclusive outside the U.S. and is represented in the international market by Miramax. Rodriguez talks with World Screen about bringing this fan favorite to television, and about curating content for the recently launched network.

WS: How did the idea come about to adapt the

From Dusk Till Dawn feature film as a series?

RODRIGUEZ: I thought it was a great first project to do when I started [El Rey] Network because it would help draw attention, since it was a known title. The film was one of the fan favorites. It was one that never would have been [adapted for] television otherwise because Quentin [Tarantino, screenwriter on the film] and I control the rights and we would never have let anyone do it. But for El Rey Network it made sense, and I was able to have a big hand in it.

This first season takes the film and deconstructs it, adds new characters, and different things happen to the characters that existed; it almost retells the story in a different, more dynamic and bigger way. The feature film was a short story and this is the novel.

WS: How did you take the visual style you’re known

for in your films and make it work in television?

RODRIGUEZ: I had never done television before; I had only heard TV was lower budget and shot really, really fast. I was curious because I tend to shoot pretty fast myself with my features and I try to keep the budgets low. I do [my films] in Austin, Texas, and now I did the show in Austin as well, so I got to use my usual crew.

I came to find that we had already been shooting in a TV-shooting schedule all this time! It really wasn’t that much faster than what we were used to. We were able to get our usual feature quality because of the way we do things down there; we created our own way of making movies way back when in Austin, and it really translates perfectly for television, so we got a lot of bang for our buck. The money we put in, which is on par with other networks, goes a lot farther on our production.

WS: Did you take the same hands-on approach with

the series as you’ve done with your films?

RODRIGUEZ: Yes, and because I’m also running the network, I pretty much do everything but turn the TV on for you! It’s been fun to be that hands-on. I handpicked directors and the writing team. When I’m on my own set, I’m operating, directing, writing and working on the music. I’m also the still photographer because I have found that television shows can’t afford to have a still photographer around on a regular basis and I don’t want to miss out on getting good publicity photos. Even if I’m not directing, I go to other

people’s episodes and I’m their still photographer and I get the good still shots.

WS: Are there any other films of yours you’d like to bring to series?

RODRIGUEZ: We want to try to focus on more original shows [for El Rey], but it is a possibility that we could be adapting others in the future.This one seemed like a good one to start with because the network was new, and rather than start with a show that no one had heard of, we wanted to start with something that was never able to come to television before. People knew the title and it helped draw them to the network. Now that they know what the network is, we can do more original programming.

WS: What’s the programming strategy for El Rey? RODRIGUEZ: It’s pretty cool! It’s a curated network,

in that everything that goes on it is something that I personally love or a creative collective really loves. One of the reasons I came up with the name El Rey for the network is because I wanted people, when they turn on the TV, to feel like they’re being treated like the king.

Anything that they could possibly want that’s cool is there on one network; they don’t even have to change the channel. So, curated content is really important, with grindhouse films and TV series that I’ve always been a fan of. Everything is on there for a reason and it’s because we’re really big fans of it, and we give it a lot of love; it doesn’t just sit there and fill up a slot. We curate it in a way that makes the audience feel like they are in on why it is essential viewing. It’s been working!

WS: How does the network target a new generation of Hispanic viewers?

RODRIGUEZ: This is something I’ve been doing even in my films—so for the past 20 years, making movies like Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn, Sin City, Machete— where you don’t even think of them as being Hispanic films, yet they are, but they have such universal appeal.

Those who are Hispanic can look at them and say,That’s me as the hero, I’m in front of the camera, behind the camera, and it’s inspiring. Although it has an eye for the Hispanic audience, the network is for everybody. It is very universal, addicting and exciting television that you watch first and foremost because it’s cool, and then if you look closer, you might see that there’s a lot of diversity on the screen that you haven’t really seen before.

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the

RIGHTS ANNA CARUGATI TALKS TO A HOST OF BUYERS ABOUT SHORTER-RUN SERIES,

T

he first paragraph of Charles Dickens’ classic novel A Tale of Two Cities starts with the famous sentence, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times....” If tweaked slightly, that renowned phrase can be adapted to the international television business: “It was the best of times, it was the most complex of times.” I will let the reader decide if the rest of Dickens’ sentence, which refers to wisdom, foolishness, belief, incredulity, light, darkness, hope and despair, also pertains to today’s TV business—but best and most complex apply, for sure.

It’s the best of times because never before has so much highquality, diverse TV product emanated from the U.S. studios. It’s the most complex of times for a number of reasons, many of which we already know: technology has created numerous platforms and devices that consumers use to enjoy content— while also disrupting existing business models. In response to the disruption, licensors have been changing the traditional windowing of product in an effort to draw more value from movies and TV series.

As a result, windows have collapsed, shortened or been squeezed out by other windows, and the number of rights an acquisition executive has to buy has become seemingly endless: pay TV, free TV, OTT, hold-backs, catch-up, stackup and on and on.

“Because of the newcomers to the content-distribution business, which include Netflix and Amazon, the actual concluding, signing and papering of a deal is incredibly lengthy compared to what it was,” says Herbert Kloiber, the chairman of Tele

München Gruppe (TMG). “You think the deal is done and six months later you are still talking about the misunderstanding that was never discussed because, as [the licensees] move along, they are discovering new facets and aspects and overlaps and relative exclusivities, and so are you.”

The other problem is that it’s hardly possible any more to acquire exclusive rights.“It’s exclusive against pay, exclusive against this or that; there is no longer any exclusivity in absolute—everything is now in relation to, and the moving parts are infinite. Therefore, there are a lot more layers in the deals and it’s much more complicated to actually put them to bed,” Kloiber continues.

the future,” he continues.“For the most part, all the studios have been fine; they understand that.

What we can’t have is investing in show A and showing it on one screen size and having another company potentially owning the same rights to that show in our country on another screen and monetizing it that way.”

Negotiating the value of rights and discussing the definition of windows and devices is

FUTURE-PROOFING

The deals are complicated because broadcasters want rights for existing platforms, but they also have to be aware of what new ones might open up in the future.

“We don’t enter very many new deals at all if they don’t include all screens,” says Phil King, the president of CTV, sports and entertainment programming at Bell Media in Canada. “We need online rights to show a program in our authenticated CTV GO app. We’ll need rights for mobile, because the lines are starting to blur bet ween tablet and computer—they are kind of all one in the same. You argue about screen size now as opposed to device.

“So we are pretty insistent on getting rights to things now and in

CBSSI’s Elementary.

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STUFF

WINDOWS AND NAVIGATING THE EVER-MORE-COMPLEX BUSINESS OF RIGHTS MANAGEMENT.

not new—it’s been the complicated new normal of the business for the last couple of years.

DARK MATTER

A new complication has arisen more recently, and it’s due to the type of shows that are popular now in the U.S.They are the more sophisticated, nuanced, serialized shows, most often featuring flawed characters, which are populating the American cable channels. These shows typically run 10 to 13 episodes per season. While these shows are captivating audiences in the U.S. and garnering critical acclaim and awards, they are not finding homes on mainstream free-TV broadcasters around the world.

“Everyone is talking about the golden age of television, which is fantastic for the trade TV audience, but the golden age of television has also resulted in a lot of cable shows which aren’t really the right fit for the broad linear audience,” explains Jakob Mejlhede, the senior VP of acquisitions and programming at the Modern Times Group (MTG) and chief content officer of MTGx, the company’s digital services.

MTG operates a variety of pay-TV, free-TV and OTT services in Scandinavia, Central and Eastern Europe and Africa. They have numerous deals with the Holly wood majors, and they are glad to have them. However, if the nature of madein-Hollywood product starts to change, it may not find as many time slots as it used to.

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“If we are to commit to major volume deals, which we do at the moment, we need to be able to offer more of those series to a more dedicated audience,” continues Mejlhede.

“And as we don’t have small cable networks, we need to place those cable shows on our online services.”

THE BUYING GAME

And in order to place those shows online, Mejlhede needs the proper rights, and this leads us right back to the complicated deals that must now be hammered out.

When negotiating a deal for a TV series, Mejlhede first asks for linear rights to broadcast the show on his free-TV channels. “It would be a number of runs, including reruns, and it would be either with exclusivity or hold-back against anything that could be competing for the show. So I would have the premiere exclusive for my free-TV channels for a number of years and a number of runs.”

Viewers, with the abundance of programming available to them nowadays, often miss the original broadcast of shows and need to find and watch them at a later time. This has driven the incredible popularity of on-demand and catch-up sites.

“I would never buy a show without catch-up rights,” Mejlhede says.

“A lot of our viewing is moving online or to catch-up, so I need catchup. The other parameters are negotiable, but I try to obtain as long a catch-up period as possible and then hold back as long as possible so I can stagger the episodes behind a catchup service, an AVOD [advertising video-on-demand] service, or use them on an SVOD [subscription video-on-demand] service.”

The world of catch-up has introduced a whole new jargon to the industry—most notably stack-up

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While procedurals from the U.S. broadcast networks remain popular, many buyers are also looking to edgier cable fare such as Lionsgate’s critically acclaimed AMC series Mad Men.

rights.“Stack-up” refers to the number of episodes available for a given series on a catch-up service.

Say a series launches in September.

You, the viewer, don’t start watching it, but by November your friends and colleagues are raving about it, piquing your interest. However, by the middle of November about seven episodes have already aired and you don’t want to jump in to the series at that point.

You go to the channel’s catch-up service and want to start watching the series from the first episode. But the channel will not always have the right to “stack” all episodes from the beginning of the series and keep them on the catch-up service.The most common catch-up rights are given for seven days. Getting stack-up rights for longer is a common negotiating point, with many broadcasters asking for 30-day catch-up rights. The argument made by distributors is that after seven days, it’s no longer “catchup,” it’s video on demand, and therefore requires another set of rights and another fee to be paid.

STACKING UP

“Everyone agrees that a seven-day catch-up window is standard,” says Jörg Graf, the head of program acquisitions for Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland.“Two or three years ago, we had discussions about whether this was an additional exploitation or not.

I think we agree with all our licensors that at least for the first runs, as a part of our free-TV license, we have the right to show catch-up. The problem is if you discuss new distri-

bution platforms. Is it really a new platform if you use an OTT platform to distribute your simulcast signal and offer seven–day catch-up that way? We think in most cases the rights remain the same. It doesn’t matter whether I distribute my signal through a cable provider or over an OTT platform, but sometimes licensors see it in a different way because they see the potential to slice and dice the rights a little bit more.”

While the definition of catch-up, stack-up and other types of rights will eventually be resolved—in the end it’s a matter of price—what may be more difficult to resolve for some free-TV broadcasters is whether or not what Hollywood is offering these days can garner large audience shares.

“The fragility of acquired programming in performance is something that is really quite worrying,” says TMG’s Kloiber. “If you talk to Anke Schäferkordt [co-CEO of the RTL Group] or to Rüdiger Böss [the senior VP of group programming acquisitions at ProSiebenSat.1] and you look at how much mileage they get out of how much product they have to absorb in these volume deals, it is becoming quite frightening. Most of the series get put on for three episodes. If they don’t get the audience share that their network should do at that time period, the series goes right down to RTL Nitro or ProSieben MAXX, networks whose average audience share is 1 percent. That means that they get a 10-percent amortization rate and the rest is

write-off. Very few U.S. hits from the last two seasons have actually been hits on German TV.” Well, we have talked to Rüdiger Böss and to Jörg Graf, who works for Anke Schäferkordt, and they are struggling with much of Hollywood’s current output. The U.S. shows that have been working well in prime time on the ProSiebenSat.1 stations are NCIS, The Mentalist, Criminal Minds and Hannibal. More serialized shows, like Homeland and Sons of Anarchy, air at 11 p.m. and later. On the RTL stations, Bones and CSI are the top-rated imported series and Revenge, a more serialized show, is doing well on VOX. “My hope is that with more and more serialized series, maybe the trend will shift and come back to family dramas, easier-to-watch dramas—like a procedural that can air once a week,” says ProSiebenSat.1’s Böss. “I think both serialized shows and procedurals will live on, but I hope procedurals will come back because this is our bread and butter.

They are easier to repeat.”

And repeatability is key. “It’s great to have an event series, but an event is a one-run wonder,” says Böss. “And with one run we are not making money.We have to air series again, in other time slots, on other channels, in order to make money out of them. This will be the challenge in the future—we have to have a mix of different types of series, otherwise it will become very difficult.”

RTL’s Graf agrees.“Yes, it’s a complex story because it’s not just about

22 World Screen 5/14

finding the right audience, but about having the potential to repeat the episodes of these serialized shows.

Our financial calculation is still based on the fact that a scripted show has to air three times. What we see is that it is more difficult to air an episode of a serialized show and the first repeat successfully.We never had a dogma saying never to put a serialized show on air. But if I could choose between a classic procedural cop show and a serialized show, I would always take a procedural because it’s easier to schedule.”

POSITIVE PROCEDURES

The desire for procedurals is not unique to the German market. The Blacklist—which many consider a hybrid between a broadcast network and cable show, because each episode solves a case, à la procedurals, but there are ongoing story lines—is working well for MTG. So are NCIS, Bones and The Mentalist.

In Norway, at the commercial broadcaster TV 2, procedurals like NCIS and CSI perform well. NCIS is also a top performer on M6 in France.The buyers in Italy and Spain have been keeping a low profile as of late because of the economic difficulties in those countries, but procedurals are valid investments for broadcasters who are strapped for cash.

As Dermot Horan, the director of production and acquisitions at RTÉ in Ireland, points out, broadcasters want a combination of shows.

“If you get a serialized drama that is six, eight or ten episodes, you can make an event of it—it freshens the schedule, it doesn’t go on forever. Some of the procedurals are 22 episodes.They are very useful. If you miss one, because they are selfcontained, you haven’t lost the plot.

But they tend to have a sameness about them, so in terms of promoting your schedule, having an event like Homeland actually creates a talking point and a watercooler moment that perhaps the crime procedurals don’t have.You need both.”

BSkyB in the U.K. can easily accommodate both. “We always pick a show from the heart, thinking of

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what our customers love,” says Sarah Wright, the controller of acquisitions at Sky. “They love a serialized show like Game of Thrones that builds momentum season after season.

Equally, they absolutely love Modern Family, which still has a series arc, but each episode is slightly closed. Or you can go to a procedural like Criminal Minds that has a crime of the week, which is wonderfully compelling.”

And as BSkyB operates both linear channels and on-demand services, they have many ways of delivering a show to customers.

“Usually we will preview a show on-demand just to get the buzz going,” Wright says. “And then we’ll air the show on linear. Just before that new season launches, we will have a box set of previous seasons on our ondemand service. That gives the customer a real chance to join a show.

During the course of a linear run, we’ll have catch-up for viewers to watch the episodes they missed.

When a series finishes, we will probably release the DVD, then you go into a new season and another box set. That is the pattern we offer our customers—you can catch up any time; there are no barriers to entry.”

ALL-ACCESS PASS

But to assure viewers have no barriers to entry, a broadcaster needs access to all rights.And new players in the business have been snatching up rights not only in individual countries but also across territories.

“The vast amounts of money that are being made available for pan-European or pan-Scandinavian, or even global in the case of Amazon or Netflix, has meant that the traditional buyers can’t compete—it’s just impossible,” says John Ranelagh, the head of acquisitions at TV 2 Norway.

“Netflix is definitely in talks with everyone, including the studios and us,” says TMG’s Kloiber. “I think the prime concern of the free-TV players is that Netflix may ask for two-year exclusivities, which blocks the interesting life period of any product.”

MTG’s Mejlhede has not yet seen pan-regional deals done in the territories where MTG operates.

Should that happen, he says, “My response to that is very simple: if anyone starts doing deals that stretch across bigger regions, I will not be interested in doing volume deals with them. They will lose the business they already have if they start doing tricks like that.”

As buyers flock to Los Angeles to view the new shows that will premiere in the fall, they will be pleased with one new trend in American programming: the move toward straight-to-series orders rather than producing pilots.

“Pilots were always made to minimize risk, but if you look at the failure rate of new series, you can’t really

argue that it reduces or removes the risk of premiering a new show,” says MTG’s Mejlhede. “So I don’t necessarily think that going straight to series with 10 or 12 episodes is going to be more risky than the pilot business. It’s going to put the development money where it should be: on the creative development of scripts, on the writers and the actors and all the stuff that really matters. The pilot business is damn expensive.”

SENSE OF SECURITY

TMG’s Kloiber has preferred the straight-to-series model for years.

“When 13 episodes get ordered, at least you know that there is product for your client to air. And if the series turns out to be not a great hit for free TV, it may well be the hot item for a first pay window.”

For TV 2 Norway’s Ranelagh, whether or not to bet on a straightto-series show depends on the talent involved in the project.“Twenty odd years ago, if Steven Bochco [Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue] was going straight to series, we would have said yes; and then he made Cop Rock!” quips Ranelagh about Bochco’s legendary series flop. “But with Jerry Bruckheimer or J.J. Abrams

In the case of serialized series like HBO’s Game of Thrones, allowing viewers to watch multiple episodes on demand has become crucial.

5/14 World Screen 23

or whomever, it may be you can close your eyes and safely say, I’ll go for broke and not worry about it.”

So in these best of times and most complex of times, distributors and buyers have much to grapple with.

And while discussing the sequencing of windows, definition of rights and terms of contracts, in the end, what matters is the quality of the show and the people seated at the negotiating table.

“When all is said and done, despite the fact that the square-briefcase brigade is taking over the world and we are infected by McKinseyitis, nevertheless, in our game it’s still the truth that the relationships between people are key,” says Ranelagh. “We all move around from different companies, so the companies don’t really matter, the brand doesn’t really matter—the program does, the person does.”

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one-on-one

wentieth Century Fox Television has produced some of the industry’s most successful and groundbreaking shows. Starting with M*A*S*H in the ’70s and followed in later years by NYPD Blue, Ally McBeal, The Practice, The X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 24 and, of course, the series about those irreverent, subversive inhabitants of Springfield, The Simpsons, which, now in its 25th season, is the longest-running prime-time sitcom in U.S. history.

More recently, the studio and its sister companies have produced the likes of Bones, How I Met Your Mother, Modern Family, Glee, Sons of Anarchy, Homeland and The Americans.

The portfolio encompasses procedurals with self-contained episodes like Bones—which has sold in more than 200 territories—and serialized, edgier, darker fare for cable, like the critically acclaimed Homeland.

Given the high cost of producing such quality series, revenues from international distribution have become critical in getting these shows from words on a page to engaging visual storytelling on the small screen. Marion Edwards, the president of international television at Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution, has been forging relationships with the buyers at channels around the world for more than 20 years.

Edwards has also established a successful international format division, which created an additional revenue stream for the studio. Local versions have already been produced of Modern Family in Chile and Israel, Prison Break in Russia and 24 in India, with Glee about to go into production in China.

Even though digital platforms have been disrupting existing business models, Edwards has embraced the digital world, not only as a consumer, watching on-demand and bingeing like the best of them, but seeing the business potential in platforms that have made the viewing experience so much more convenient for consumers. She has been making deals with all sorts of digital platforms, creating windows that didn’t exist before for product, selling TV series as well as feature films. The studio’s recent slate includes X-Men: Days of Future Past, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, The Fault in Our Stars, Gone Girl and Exodus: Gods and Kings.

Edwards was recently awarded the MIPTV Médaille d’Honneur, given to industry leaders who have made exceptional contributions to international television. She talks to World Screen about the ever-changing yet exciting nature of the business she loves so much.

Marion Edwards

Twentieth Century Fox

WS: Is the sequencing of windows for movies relatively stable compared to windows for television series?

EDWARDS: We’ve always had what I call a fairly regimented progression through the windows for film.

Nowadays, the windows have shortened, but it’s still pretty much from theatrical to home entertainment to pay television to free television. With pay-television content, it was always pay TV, free TV or maybe pay TV, and in the case of HBO, nothing else, maybe DVD, maybe not.With network television content, it was always just one free-TV window, followed by other free-TV windows.

Now, all of a sudden, you’ve got a very interesting series of opportunities and choices to make regarding how you want to window that television content, and what happens within those windows in order for you to maximize the value of the content. In addition, a combination of factors has been changing the television business. First, the value of TV series in home entertainment has been diminishing. People have understood they don’t really need or want to buy complete seasons of shows. Many people are making the transition to the non-physical world of entertainment consumption.

There’s a school of thought that the SVOD business has really damaged the home-entertainment business, but, I have to tell you, I think of myself as being a pretty ordinary consumer of a lot of entertainment content, and I gave up buying complete seasons on DVD long before I discovered Netflix. It was unlikely I would ever sit down and watch 22 episodes of anything, so I moved away from that model before Netflix became an oppor5/14 World Screen 25

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From Homeland ’s Howard Gordon and Gideon Raff comes Tyrant, a drama for FX that Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution is selling in the international market, following an unassuming American family in a turbulent Middle Eastern nation.

tunity for me to watch certain kinds of shows. I’m much more of a Hulu consumer because I like to stay current with the handful of shows that I watch. Now, with the various ondemand services that you get through cable or satellite, like primetime on-demand, you can follow current shows. There is a wide variety of ways to consume content.

Second, there are networks around the world that are looking at their broadcast window, where they invest millions of dollars in production and millions of dollars in marketing and advertising to create a major asset for somebody else. They would like to have a change, in some cases, in the rights that they license to more fully exploit the value they work to create. They’d like to have more flexibility in what they’re allowed to do with the product they acquire or produce. So I think you’re going to see a continuing evolution of how those windows play out in terms of timing and what kind of usage is allowed within the window.

Another thing we’re seeing is that more and more broadcasters are looking at what they can offer their consumers in terms of an on-

demand experience. We recently closed a deal in the U.K.: Sky, being the most advanced digital platform in the world, is offering an experience that begins with broadcast and includes catch-up and ultimately “stacked” episodes, which is the buzzword this year.

We are seeing two versions of stacked episodes. The first of which is that you broadcast the show. It then goes up into the ondemand catch-up service and stays there until you have all the episodes of the current season available to view. All the episodes are then available for a negotiated period of time, and at the end of that period, the broadcaster has no further on-demand rights. What BSkyB has chosen to do is to offer the normal catch-up following the first telecast of all the episodes. They then take all episodes off their on-demand service, and approximately nine months after the start of the original broadcast, all the episodes are put up on-demand in a box set.

WS: So viewers can catch up

before the next season starts?

EDWARDS: Yes. So those are two interesting stacked models that I think you’re going to see a lot of broadcasters looking to emulate.

BSkyB has advertising breaks within that content, and they don’t charge their consumers to watch it. So for them, it’s an opportunity to create a really robust ondemand television experience and not charge for it. It’s what we call the AVOD model, the advertiser video on demand, versus the SVOD, which is subscription video on demand and is free of advertising interruptions.

It’s a very interesting time in television, and watching these models evolve is fascinating. In the U.S., FX has its own app called FXNOW. You have to be an authenticated subscriber through a service, whether it’s DIRECTV or Comcast or other services, and once you enter the app, you are able to see their content. It’s a fabulous time to be a consumer, but it’s certainly a deeply challenging time if you’re a broadcaster or a rights licensor trying to figure out how to best monetize your content.

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WS: How have serialized shows

been selling? I’ve been speaking to a lot of buyers, and free-TV broadcasters are having a bit of a problem with them.

EDWARDS: Yes, I know they have had some problems. When you talk to Fox, you’re talking to the company that a few years back had a show called Murder One that was way before its time, and everybody understood that when they saw it. If you remember, that first season of Murder One was in fact one case. It was intriguing, it was fascinating, and people were really, really attracted to it, but it was hard to get an audience to commit to 22 episodes. We then followed it up with 24, and 24 was the series that created binge viewing. [Twentieth Century Fox] Home Entertainment released 24 on DVD and people started watching it, and suddenly it would be 3 o’clock in the morning! You would give up huge amounts of time and say, “One more, just one more episode!” It really did create that appetite and that appreciation for how those shows are best consumed in big chunks.

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and I think you’re going to see that kind of mix going forward.We also have another mid-season show called Runner, which is based on a format, and it has been ordered direct to series. How this all ultimately ends up playing out over time, I don’t know. I guess we’ll all watch and see.

WS:

The crime procedural Bones, which has been running on FOX in the U.S. for nine seasons, is one of the top-selling titles internationally for Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution.

The interesting thing is that serialized drama has reached its real flowering in the 13-episode model, because people are more than happy to give you 13 weeks; they’re just not happy to commit to 22 or 24 weeks. So, 13 episodes is great for the serialized-drama model, and it’s really worked well for cable to specialize in it. However, a broadcast network like FOX has started to transition to that model where they’re doing 13 episodes of Sleepy Hollow in the fall and 15 episodes of The Following in the spring. We’ll have Hieroglyph with them, which may well be 13 episodes in the fall. We’ll have Backstrom, which could very well be 22 because it’s a procedural, similar to our biggest procedural drama, Bones.

WS: Everyone is talking about Bones. I can’t tell you the number of buyers who say they love it and they want another one.

EDWARDS: I know, but when you go back to a studio and say, the number one international hit is Bones, they say, you’re kidding me!

It’s not Game of Thrones? But Bones is our number one hit show, and Backstrom is very much in that style of a procedural drama. It will do incredibly well for international networks, as they still prefer those kinds of series. They like to get 22 a year as opposed to the very intense, very cool, very hip, very

edgy 13 episodes. But the wonderful thing about international is that we have so many different outlets.

Many of our clients are networks, but they also run digital channels.

If you look at ITV, they have ITV and then ITV2 and ITV3. The BBC has BBC Three and BBC Four. They have a portfolio of channels where they can place product, so they license across different kinds of programming.

WS: And you have something for

everybody, right?

EDWARDS: Boy, do we ever!

[Laughs] Yes.

series. I don’t think it’s going to ever be 100-percent straight-to-series or a return to all pilots.

If you look at what we have for the L.A. Screenings, we have Backstrom and Hieroglyph that were both ordered straight to series, but we will have first episodes for both. Then we have Empire and Babylon Fields, both of which are network pilots, and we have Rush and Complications, which are cable pilots that have been ordered to series. So that’s potentially six onehours, pretty much divided between pilot and direct-to-series,

Where are you seeing growth, either in a geographic region or with certain platforms?

EDWARDS: The miracle of the international marketplace has always been that when one market is in trouble, other markets will be strong. Certainly right now many of us are having difficulty in Italy and are still having difficulty in Spain. Those are big markets that really can’t be replaced by the fact that you’re doing more business than usual in some other territory. It’s definitely a challenged universe now.

The other thing that’s different—and God knows my career goes back to the Dark Ages of international free TV—is it used to be that there wasn’t so much content. And now, if you have a show that’s doing pretty well but

WS: Tyrant is another show that is

coming up.

EDWARDS: Yes. Oh boy, it’s great!

It’s going to air in July. We have another show called The Strain.

They are both phenomenal, really interesting shows. I think that FX is doing some of the most interesting drama on television. I’m a huge fan of The Americans, too.

WS: Does the move toward

straight-to-series orders, as opposed to producing a pilot, change the way you do business?

EDWARDS: Well, you know, it’s interesting, because certainly I’ve been asked that question a lot by many clients who are concerned about what that may do to the L.A. Screenings. I think you’re going to see a variety of ways networks order

The vampire drama The Strain, an FX original series from FX Productions, is among the new titles that Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution has in its slate.

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Twentieth Century Fox rebooted the classic Planet of the Apes franchise with the 2011 blockbuster Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which is being followed up this summer with the sci-fi sequel Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

it’s not a hit, broadcasters have like 12 other new shows they could put on. They don’t have to keep your show on anymore.

There has been a lot of challenge in those areas, and the value of film on free TV is deeply challenged. Thank God we’ve got such good shows to offer because there is so much out in the marketplace. If you think of how much is coming out of the U.S. right now, it’s just staggering. Then on top of it, how much

people are producing locally. I think that’s the bigger challenge.

So, it’s tough. I’ve been very fortunate, because when you’re at a studio, the world does seem to be a bit easier because you are able to be in business with people with a lot of different kinds of content.

WS: Another challenge must be

the shorter series. There must be an impact if you have 13 episodes to sell instead of 22 or 24.

EDWARDS: It does impact you economically, and it also means, in some cases, that channels won’t air the first season until they have the second season in hand. And if there is no second season, it’s pretty tough.

WS: In America, the current trend is to really put the showrunner or writer in the driver’s seat, and they prefer 13 episodes to 22. It’s the old battle of art against commerce, right?

As it is doing with TV series, Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution is pursuing multiple windows to exploit its feature-film slate, which includes the upcoming blockbuster X-Men: Days of Future Past.

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EDWARDS: Yes. The other big

thing that’s changed is that even the artists now who are creating the content understand the value of the international marketplace. It used to be everyone would think you were speaking Swahili if you even said the word international, and now they all understand it, and they all value it.

They all understand the contribution and the necessity of having their shows translate outside the U.S. One of the shows, just as a funny aside, that we’ve had a really interesting ride with is Sons of Anarchy. It’s a fantastic show, very Shakespearean, an incredibly big drama with wonderful roles for women. It really is a very interesting program, but it’s very tough to find people who will air it, because it’s also very violent.

So, again, you’ve got some fabulous stuff out there but, boy....And look at Broadchurch. I used to sit around and talk about American shows, but there are some great shows coming the opposite way, too. TV is just great. I have a daughter who’s 26 and is leaving her studio job, not at Fox, to work for a producer who’s producing ten episodes of a very gritty drama for DIRECTV, and [it makes] you think how great it must be to be a young person working in an area that’s so rich in possibility. Look at the different kinds of content and the different stories that are being told. I think it’s an amazing time to work in television.

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on the record

ith businesses stretching across film, television, family entertainment, licensing, international distribution and music, Entertainment One (eOne) is a leading independent media company.

What started as a Canadian record and tape retailer has become a global company specializing in content. Its output includes more than 35,000 film and television titles, 2,800 hours of television programming and 45,000 music tracks. eOne distributes films in Canada, the U.S., the U.K., Spain, the Benelux, Australia and New Zealand. With partners that include Lionsgate, Relativity, The Weinstein Company and STUDIOCANAL, eOne Films acquires and distributes the best in independent movies. eOne Television invests in and produces programming that is then distributed in 150 countries around the world. Some of the most recent titles include Klondike (Discovery), Saving Hope (CTV), Hell on Wheels and The Walking Dead (AMC), Rookie Blue (ABC/Global) and Haven (Syfy/Showcase).

Beginning with The Walking Dead and then Hell on Wheels, eOne has continued to expand its relationship with AMC Networks, which now includes an exclusive multiyear international distribution agreement. As part of the pact, eOne handles sales for original scripted series from AMC and SundanceTV, including Turn, Halt and Catch Fire and The Red Road.

Beyond scripted shows, eOne Television also distributes factual, lifestyle and entertainment programming, as well as TV movies.

Family programming, a genre that has proven challenging to several other independents, is another area where eOne has found significant success. With the preschool show Peppa Pig headlining its catalogue, eOne Family has taken a less-is-more strategy with product aimed at the youngest viewers.

As Darren Throop, eOne’s president and CEO, tells World Screen, the company has been experiencing solid growth. And, as announced in March 2014 in the company’s pre-close trading update, the group has released 278 films and anticipates delivering more than 300 half-hours of TV content in the current financial year.

Investment in content and production is expected to increase to more than $437 million.

Darren Throop

Entertainment One

WS: Tell us how the output deal with AMC Networks

came about.

THROOP: Our relationship with AMC started many

years ago when we started distributing The Walking Dead internationally.Through that relationship came the opportunity for us to produce and distribute another TV series called Hell on Wheels, which is now going into season four. That was a great start to what’s going to be a very fruitful relationship. They wanted a long-term strategic partner, and we sat down and started talking about what that would look like, and that evolved into an output deal. So, all of the scripted series coming out of AMC Networks’ AMC and SundanceTV are coming through eOne, whereby we sell all rights for them internationally. We participate in the productions, so it’s been a great relationship for them, a great relationship for us, and it really elevates the quality and stature of the library that we’re selling internationally.

WS: Your television division has shown impressive

growth. What’s driving those gains?

THROOP: The company has grown quite a bit and we’re very strong financially, but we really need to be conscious of the fact that we should attach ourselves to the very best opportunities out there. I always tell everyone that we have limited resources and limited bandwidth. Not all opportunities are good opportunities. So, we’re quite selective about what projects we get involved with. With the fragmentation of the marketplace and what’s happening with Netflix and [Amazon] and with so many networks in the multi32 World Screen 5/14

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Through its output deal with AMC Networks, eOne Television handles the international distribution for all original scripted series from the U.S.-based SundanceTV and AMC channels, including the new drama Turn.

channel world, there’s a big, big demand for original programming.

What’s going to separate everyone from the limited few is quality— quality programming with great writers, great showrunners and excellent casts. So, we’ve really been selective about what we do.

The AMC deal was an important deal for us because the quality of the programming coming through that network is indisputable. And that floats all boats! We set up a distribution deal with Robert Rodriguez and the El Rey Network—very edgy, clever, expensive, well-produced, well-written content. We’ve made conscious efforts to do some things, and not to do other things. We can’t be everywhere, so let’s pick our spots, let’s go to the very highest level we can in each one of those spots, and so far it’s been working pretty well for us.

WS: You’ve also been willing to try

funding formulas that others haven’t.

THROOP: We’re a very entrepre-

neurial group and we’re very opportunistic. Our reach has really

given us a lot of opportunity; we have an international sales group both in TV and in film, we’ve got our own production capabilities, we’ve got a very strong balance sheet, and we’re really good at international co-pros. Put all that together and we can decide, maybe this project should be funded with Canadian resources and get a Canadian broadcaster sale and a U.S. sale, but maybe none of that should happen at all.

Maybe we should produce in Europe and sell to SVOD before we even go back to Canada and the U.S., and save that sale for last. The TV group is really very strong at exactly that—putting some really clever funding models together, giving us the opportunity to produce things that, as little as three or five years ago, wouldn’t have been produced, because the old model was built on the premise that it has to be for a network. And networks have to do it this way and if you can’t do it that way, it just doesn’t get done. Well, it’s a whole new world out there.

WS: eOne has become a leader

in independent film distribution. What’s been the strategy?

THROOP: We’ve had a consistent strategy in film. We have grown an international footprint by doing very similar things over a long period of time. We’ve made quite a few acquisitions and we look for the same things in all of those acquisitions. We want a library of rights, which underpins the cash flow of the business itself. We want a multichannel distribution infrastructure, which means they have relationships with the cinemas, the broadcasters, the DVD retailers, and we really want great management that culturally fits the way we run eOne. So, each one of our acquisitions has followed that protocol and it has worked very, very well for us.

WS: Is it important to find a balance between big franchises and independent movies?

THROOP: Yes. As it pertains to the strategy of how we run the companies once we have them, we do a mixture of output deals

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and single-picture acquisitions.

We’ve got great relationships with some of the best independent film producers in the world: Lionsgate, Summit, The Weinstein Company, Relativity, and the list goes on.

They provide a lot of the content for our film-distribution business, but to augment that great Hollywood-style production, we also do single-picture acquisitions with independent filmmakers from around the world. So, it’s almost a fifty-fifty balance of what we’re getting from output deals and what comes through single-picture acquisitions.

WS: The kids’ content business

has been challenging for many companies, but not for eOne. How come?

THROOP: Well, we’ve been fortunate in our family business to partner with great creatives: Astley Baker Davies is the creative team that brings us Peppa Pig and Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom, for instance.

And our family business has been successfully anchored by Peppa Pig, which has become a global phe-

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eOne Family has found success in the kids' business by aligning with creative partners like Astley Baker Davies, the outfit behind Peppa Pig.

nomenon. In the U.K., it’s been the number-one-selling children’s brand for years, number one in Spain, Italy, Australia. It’s now broadcast three-and-a-half hours a day on Nick Jr. in the U.S. Our strategy has been to manage that brand very, very carefully, and we’re in no hurry. We really look at each market and work to find the very best broadcast partner that we can. We get prominent placement on that broadcast channel, and then we let the demand for consumer products grow and grow and grow. Once we think that the awareness for the brand has hit a critical mass, then we start licensing and placing those products in the retail locations. It’s a very patient, slow and methodical process managing those brands on a global level.

WS: Are you applying the same

process to Peppa Pig’s rollout in the U.S.?

THROOP: A lot of questions have come up regarding the U.S., and our strategy is the same, which is, we’re in no hurry. Some of the suc-

cess, or lack thereof, of certain children’s companies or brands pertains to the fact that a lot of them rush products to retail.There are pressure points from a business standpoint, and sometimes companies push things harder than they should be pushed, and if products go too early to retail, you never get another chance. With eOne, we’ve got a diverse enough business—film, television, music, family, licensing—that one year, maybe this territory or this business isn’t performing as well, but something else is. It gives us consistency in earnings and revenue and growth, and we don’t need to force it. So, if the time isn’t right to launch Peppa Pig with a certain retailer in the U.S., we’ll wait another year. We own Peppa Pig into perpetuity; it’s a fantastic brand and it’s evergreen in some territories. It has been the number one preschool brand in the U.K. for five years in a row. This year there will be more than $800 million and approaching a billion dollars’ worth of retail merchandise sold on that brand alone. Sometimes people make decisions—I have to hit a

number, I have this payment, I have this expectation.We just don’t work like that. It’s very much, Let’s do what’s right for the brand. If it takes an extra year, it takes an extra year.

We’re completely fine with that.

WS: Are digital platforms providing business opportunities?

THROOP: Absolutely. New entrants bring new opportunities. Everybody’s working with [Amazon] and Netflix. We have a global franchise deal for Trailer Park Boys with Netflix. Seven seasons were already produced in Canada and through Netflix we’ve revitalized the brand.

Netflix came in to take worldwide rights. So, that’s a brand-new opportunity, and we would never be able to sell those rights globally in that way without those new platforms. Netflix has been great for our business. The Amazon folks and their digital platform have been fantastic partners, too. We secured an output deal with them three years ago in the U.K.; it was transformational for our business. The size and scale of eOne has

34 World Screen 5/14

changed over the last number of years, and we are competing at the highest levels with the studios. So we are getting seats at the table in all markets. The new digital platforms are fantastic, and it’s just starting. As these SVOD platforms and the multichannel networks continue to develop and grow, the concept of day-anddate global distribution [is] coming and it’s coming very quickly.

WS: And day-and-date helps

against piracy, doesn’t it?

THROOP: It does help against

piracy. There are some authoring issues and language issues that you have to deal with, but where it can be done, it brings that piracy number down. Hopefully governments around the world will continue to work against theft, because it is stealing. And if piracy does continue, it’s going to affect the quality of the program that you’re going to get to watch, even if you are a paying consumer, because it takes the lifeblood out of a lot of the production companies.

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network scorecard Source: The Nielsen Company, September 23, 2013, to April 20, 2014 A rating point represents one percent of the estimated 115.6 million TV households; shares are the percentage of sets tuned to a particular program or station.

Courtesy of ABC.

Rank Program

Network

Distributor

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 10 11 12 13 13 15 16 17 18 18 20 20 22 22 24 25 26 27 28 29 29 31 32 33 34 34 36 36 38 39 40 41 42 42 42 42 42 47 47 47 50 50

CBS CBS CBS ABC NBC NBC CBS CBS NBC ABC ABC CBS ABC ABC CBS CBS FOX CBS CBS CBS ABC FOX CBS CBS CBS CBS CBS CBS NBC ABC CBS CBS CBS ABC CBS NBC ABC NBC FOX CBS NBC CBS ABC FOX ABC CBS NBC CBS CBS FOX ABC

CBS Studios Intl.

Warner Bros. Intl. TV Dist.

CBS Studios Intl.

BBC Worldwide Sony Pictures Television Talpa Media Warner Bros. Intl. TV Dist.

CBS Studios Intl.

Talpa Media Disney Media Distribution Disney Media Distribution Disney Media Distribution Disney Media Distribution Disney Media Distribution CBS Studios Intl.

CBS Studios Intl.

FremantleMedia Intl.

CBS Studios Intl.

CBS Studios Intl.

CBS Studios Intl.

Twentieth Century Fox FremantleMedia Intl.

Warner Bros. Intl. TV Dist.

CBS Studios Intl.

CBS Studios Intl.

Warner Bros. Intl. TV Dist.

Twentieth Century Fox Disney Media Distribution NBCUniversal Intl. TV Dist.

Warner Bros. Intl. TV Dist.

Warner Bros. Intl. TV Dist.

Twentieth Century Fox Warner Bros. Intl. TV Dist.

Disney Media Distribution Disney Media Distribution NBCUniversal Intl. TV Dist.

Disney Media Distribution NBCUniversal Intl. TV Dist.

Twentieth Century Fox Warner Bros. Intl. TV Dist.

NBCUniversal Intl. TV Dist.

CBS Studios Intl.

Disney Media Distribution Twentieth Century Fox Warner Bros. Intl. TV Dist. all3media intl.

NBCUniversal Intl. TV Dist.

Warner Bros. Intl. TV Dist.

Sony Pictures Television Warner Bros. Intl. TV Dist.

Sony Pictures Television

NCIS The Big Bang Theory NCIS: Los Angeles Dancing with the Stars The Blacklist The Voice Monday Person of Interest Blue Bloods The Voice Tuesday Grey’s Anatomy Castle Criminal Minds Resurrection Scandal 60 Minutes CSI American Idol Wednesday Elementary The Good Wife Hawaii Five-0 Modern Family American Idol Thursday The Mentalist The Millers Survivor Two and a Half Men How I Met Your Mother Intelligence Chicago Fire The Bachelor Mike & Molly The Crazy Ones 2 Broke Girls Once Upon a Time The Amazing Race Law & Order: SVU Revenge Chicago PD Bones Mom About a Boy 60 Minutes Presents Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Sleepy Hollow The Middle Undercover Boss Grimm Hostages Unforgettable Almost Human Shark Tank

Average Share

Kids

Teens

M18–49

F18–49

M25–54

F25–54

M50+

F50+

12.6/20 12.1/20 10.1/16 9.8/15 9.4/15 9.1/14 9.0/15 8.7/15 8.7/14 8.4/13 8.2/14 8.1/13 8.0/12 8.0/14 7.9/13 7.8/13 7.6/12 7.5/13 7.5/12 7.3/12 7.3/11 7.2/11 7.2/13 7.1/11 6.9/11 6.7/11 6.6/10 6.5/11 6.4/11 6.4/10 6.2/9 6.0/9 5.9/9 5.8/9 5.8/9 5.7/9 5.7/9 5.6/10 5.5/9 5.4/8 5.3/8 5.2/8 5.2/8 5.2/8 5.2/9 5.2/9 5.1/9 5.1/8 5.1/9 5.0/8 5.0/8

0.9 1.7 0.7 1.3 0.7 1.9 0.5 0.6 1.8 0.9 0.6 0.8 1.2 0.8 0.6 0.6 1.6 0.5 0.4 0.7 1.2 1.7 0.4 0.9 1.1 0.6 0.8 0.4 0.7 0.9 0.6 0.7 0.7 1.5 0.9 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.8 0.5 0.8 0.5 1.1 0.8 1.1 0.7 0.7 0.3 0.4 0.7 0.7

1.2 2.9 1.1 1.2 1.7 2.8 1.0 0.8 2.6 1.2 1.1 1.4 2.0 1.0 0.7 0.9 2.2 0.9 0.6 1.0 2.2 2.2 0.7 1.2 1.5 1.1 1.5 0.6 1.2 1.5 1.0 1.1 1.3 2.1 1.2 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.9 0.9 1.4 0.4 1.5 1.4 1.6 0.8 1.1 0.5 0.4 1.2 0.9

3.0 5.8 2.6 1.4 4.0 3.4 2.6 1.6 3.1 2.0 2.0 2.5 2.8 2.1 2.4 2.0 2.5 2.5 1.4 1.7 3.9 2.4 1.8 2.5 2.7 2.9 4.1 2.1 2.0 1.5 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.4 2.0 1.7 1.4 1.9 2.0 2.0 1.9 1.3 3.5 3.0 1.8 1.3 2.3 1.5 0.8 2.9 2.1

3.7 6.6 3.1 3.5 4.8 6.1 2.6 2.1 5.6 6.7 3.4 4.2 4.8 6.0 1.9 3.2 4.5 2.8 2.4 2.3 5.1 4.2 2.3 3.3 3.5 2.8 4.6 2.2 3.6 4.7 3.3 2.8 3.6 4.2 2.6 3.3 3.6 2.8 3.1 2.9 2.9 1.2 2.7 3.4 2.7 2.0 2.8 2.4 1.4 2.4 2.5

4.3 7.5 3.6 1.9 5.0 4.3 3.7 2.3 3.9 2.2 2.6 3.2 3.8 2.4 3.3 2.8 3.4 3.5 2.0 2.5 4.6 3.3 2.5 3.5 3.5 3.9 4.3 2.9 2.5 1.8 3.0 3.3 3.3 2.9 2.7 2.1 1.7 2.3 2.4 2.7 2.4 1.9 4.1 3.6 2.5 1.8 2.9 2.0 1.1 3.6 2.6

5.4 8.4 4.4 4.6 6.0 7.4 3.9 3.3 7.0 7.6 4.3 5.3 5.9 6.7 2.8 4.2 5.8 4.0 3.7 3.3 6.1 5.4 3.3 4.7 4.6 3.9 5.0 3.1 4.5 5.0 4.5 3.8 4.5 4.7 3.7 3.9 4.2 3.4 3.7 3.9 3.7 1.8 3.2 3.9 3.7 2.7 3.5 3.1 2.0 3.0 3.2

13.2 9.9 10.6 6.0 8.2 5.8 10.2 9.0 5.4 2.8 5.9 6.2 5.3 3.2 9.3 6.7 5.2 7.5 6.7 7.2 3.9 5.1 7.0 6.1 5.6 6.6 4.0 7.0 4.0 2.4 5.1 5.6 4.4 3.2 5.0 3.7 3.0 4.1 4.1 4.3 3.5 6.0 3.6 3.8 3.4 4.6 3.9 3.9 5.0 4.5 3.6

15.8 10.7 12.3 14.7 8.9 8.5 10.2 11.9 8.6 8.2 10.6 9.0 8.3 7.8 8.8 9.1 8.0 8.1 10.2 9.2 5.9 7.3 9.0 7.6 7.0 6.0 4.4 6.8 6.9 6.8 6.3 5.8 4.7 4.8 6.6 5.8 6.2 5.7 5.6 5.1 5.4 6.0 3.4 3.8 5.4 6.4 4.6 5.4 7.1 3.7 4.9

For a complete list of the top U.S. network shows, visit www.worldscreen.com.

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on the world’s end record IN THE STARS

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

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

The editors of WS recognize that these little pearls of random fore-

Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Sofía Vergara

Johnny Depp

Global distinction: Fictional VP. Sign: Capricorn (b. January 13, 1961) Significant date: April 8, 2014 Noteworthy activity: The Veep star appears on the

Global distinction: Quirky movie star.

Sign: Gemini (b. June 9, 1963) Significant date: April 3, 2014 Noteworthy activity: During an appearance on Late

cover of Rolling Stone naked with the U.S. Constitution written on her back. The signature of founding father John Hancock appears near her tailbone.The problem?

Hancock signed the Declaration of Independence, not the Constitution.

Horoscope: “The way the planets are configured today makes you even more likely to get something so wrong that you could dine out on this story for weeks. So, check your facts before making a move.” (glo.msn.com)

Show with David Letterman, the 50-year-old actor addresses the fact that he has been sporting a diamond engagement ring that is too big for fiancée Amber Heard. “I think people are scared to comment,” Depp tells the comedic host. “‘Why is a grown man wearing a woman’s engagement ring?’ Because it fit.”

Horoscope: “It can be so easy to fall into a drill.... The only way to get away from this is to make a decision to break free by doing something unique.” (glo.msn.com)

Leonardo DiCaprio Boris Johnson

But rather than poring over charts

Global distinction: British politico.

Sign: Gemini (b. June 19, 1964) Significant date: April 11, 2014 Noteworthy activity: The mayor of London gets

our staff prefers to use past horoscopes in an attempt to legitimize the science.

As you can see here, had some of these media figures remembered to consult their horoscopes on signif-

reimagined as the hero of a copycat version of the wildly popular Flappy Bird game. Flappy Mayor, available for the iPhone and iPad, sees the figurehead flying through the air, avoiding obstacles, including the recently deceased union boss Bob Crow.

Horoscope: “People may mock your intelligence. In such a situation, we would just warn you not to get demoralized.” (mykundali.com)

icant dates, they could have avoided a few surprises.

Ice Cube

Julia Louis-Dreyfus

sight occasionally prove prophetic.

of the zodiac to predict world events,

Johnny Depp

Global distinction: Hollywood heartthrob.

Sign: Scorpio (b. November 11, 1974) Significant date: April 12, 2014 Noteworthy activity: While attending California’s

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, The Wolf of Wall Street star, who seems to be trying to keep his identity under wraps, dances enthusiastically to an MGMT song. A spectator recognizes the actor and takes a video of his impromptu performance, which involves kicking and punching the air. DiCaprio, meanwhile, is too focused on his moves to notice the camera.

Horoscope: “Someone is watching from afar.... So, be on your best behavior and in tip-top shape.” (weekly.ahram.org.eg)

Sofía Vergara Global distinction: Latina bombshell.

Sign: Cancer (b. July 10, 1972) Significant date: April 11, 2014 Noteworthy activity: The Modern Family star tells

Women’s Health magazine that it upsets her that people are so obsessed with her breasts, but not for the reason you may think: it’s because she believes her derrière deserves more attention. “I’ve always been known for my boobs, but it pisses me off, because I do also have a great ass!” the confident Colombian tells the ladies’ mag.

Horoscope: “Optimism and confidence are with you, and you are able to attract fortunate circumstances into your life as a result.” (cafeastrology.com) 154 World Screen 5/14

Ice Cube Global distinction: Rapper turned actor.

Sign: Gemini (b. June 15, 1969) Significant date: April 13, 2014 Noteworthy activity: Outraged that he and Ride Along

co-star Kevin Hart lost for Best On-Screen Duo at the MTV Movie Awards, Ice Cube vents to USA Today, saying things like “We was robbed” and “Shame on you, MTV.” He also speculates that the recently deceased Paul Walker, who was nominated alongside Vin Diesel for Fast & Furious 6, only won because of “sympathy” votes from fans.

Horoscope: “Hard work is usually rewarded, but don’t get frustrated when not all your attempts end up in perfect results.... Don’t be a sore loser!” (psychic.com.au)

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