World Screen NATPE Budapest 2016

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NATPE Budapest Edition

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THE MAGAZINE OF INTERNATIONAL MEDIA • JUNE/JULY 2016

Drama in CEE / Red Arrow’s Jan Frouman / ZDFE’s Fred Burcksen Content’s John Schmidt / Zodiak Rights’s Tim Mutimer

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CONTENTS contents contents

JUNE-JULY 2016/NATPE BUDAPEST EDITION Publisher Ricardo Seguin Guise

DEPARTMENTS WORLD VIEW

By Anna Carugati.

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UPFRONTS New content on the market.

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Group Editorial Director Anna Carugati Editor Mansha Daswani Executive Editor Kristin Brzoznowski

IN THE NEWS ZDF Enterprises’s Fred Burcksen.

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SPOTLIGHT Content Media’s John Schmidt.

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Associate Editors Sara Alessi Joel Marino

MARKET TRENDS Zodiak Rights’s Tim Mutimer.

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Editor, Spanish-Language Publications Elizabeth Bowen-Tombari

DIRECTORY Restaurants and hotels in Budapest.

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Associate Editor, Spanish-Language Publications Rafael Blanco

WORLD’S END In the stars.

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Managing Editor Joanna Padovano

Contributing Editor Elizabeth Guider Special Projects Editor Bob Jenkins

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

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Online Director Simon Weaver

SPECIAL REPORT

40 DRAMA ON THE DANUBE Europe’s ever-growing demand for scripted titles is opening up new opportunities for Turkish and Latin fare across the continent.

—Joel Marino

ONE-ON-ONE

47 RED ARROW’S JAN FROUMAN The chairman and CEO of Red Arrow Entertainment Group talks about his disciplined approach to investing in companies.

—Anna Carugati FORMATS IN CEE FACTUAL TRENDS

Production & Design Director Victor L. Cuevas

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Art Director Phyllis Q. Busell Senior Sales & Marketing Manager Dana Mattison Sales & Marketing Manager Elizabeth Walsh Business Affairs Manager Andrea Moreno Contributing Writers Steve Clarke Andy Fry Jane Marlow Joanna Stephens Jay Stuart David Wood Copy Editor Amy Canonico

Ricardo Seguin Guise President Anna Carugati Executive VP

L&M STRATEGIES ZDFE’S KIDS’ SLATE MATTEL’S RICHARD DICKSON M4E’S HANS ULRICH STOEF MONDO TV’S MATTEO CORRADI STUDIO 100’S PATRICK ELMENDORFF

Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development

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WORLD VIEW

BY ANNA CARUGATI

Remakes and Track Records Years ago, when three U.S. broadcast networks—ABC, CBS and NBC—were the only game in town, the Upfront presentations were the first of the two main events of the U.S. television season. The second was premiere week in September, when the new comedies and dramas announced in May would make their debut.

There was much anticipation for both back in the day when television dominated the landscape as the mostwatched medium and the most efficient way for advertisers to reach mass audiences. And “mass” truly was the right word. In a world of three networks, shows easily reached 30-percent shares. Yes, that’s how long ago that was—several lifetimes in media years, but just three decades in calendar years. Perhaps the quaintest of recollections about those good old days is the fact that back then if we missed an episode of a series, we only had one shot to see it: during the one rerun in the summer. (More about catching missed episodes in a minute.)

Taking a long view of the television industry, it’s interesting to note the trends coming out of this year’s Upfronts. I would summarize them in three words: reboots, remakes and track records.

Recent and even older successful shows are being brought back: 24, Prison Break, MacGyver. Shows based on successful comic-book franchises continue to go strong, thanks to Greg Berlanti. ShondaLand will undoubtedly offer more jawdropping, OMG moments in the five series she will have on the air. And Dick Wolf is growing the Chicago franchise in the same way he crafted the Law & Order franchise. With so many stunning, addictive serialized shows on television, Wolf’s success is a testament to the enduring popularity of the procedural. And more procedurals will surely delight international program buyers. (More about them in a minute, too.)

The track record of a showrunner counts. So does a show or brand that already has awareness. As this past season saw more than 400 scripted series across broadcast and cable networks, the challenges of marketing and getting a new show sampled cannot be underestimated.

That’s why reboots and remakes offer some comfort— they have built-in audience recognition. This coming fall we won’t only see reboots of TV shows but also of feature films: Lethal Weapon, The Exorcist and Training Day, just to name a few.

With so many series on the air, even those of us who watch television as part of our jobs find it impossible to follow all of them. (No, honey, I really can’t go out tonight, I’ve got to watch six shows and I’m already behind.) That brings me back to reruns and catching up on missed episodes. What was once, literally, a once-a-year occurrence that took place in the summer has now become

Tried-and-true concepts and remakes are experiencing

a renaissance.

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routine—a weekly, even daily habit. Being able to watch a show we missed has become so essential that inseason stacking rights—a network being able to offer all previous episodes of a current series on-demand—were a key element of this year’s negotiations for new shows between networks and studios. In-season stacking rights are critical to the networks. They want viewers to be able to watch a missed episode or catch up and jump into a series midseason. The more viewers, the longer the show will remain on the air. The longer a show remains on the air is, of course, good for the network and for the studio that produces the show (more license fees), but equally advantageous to the international broadcasters that acquire the show (reduced risk of a series being canceled). And the more episodes international broadcasters buy, the higher the studios’ revenues. And we know how important international revenues are to covering the ever-mounting production costs of today’s addictive, high-end, sophisticated series.

International buyers have perhaps never had it so good.

Not only do they have American shows to choose from but Europe has also been boosting its production of drama and the pool of shows to choose from is constantly increasing. And there are more trends emerging in scripted programming. Foreign-language fare is traveling better than ever. Yes, the Europeans have been watching series and movies dubbed into their native languages for decades, but now even American audiences are watching foreign shows with subtitles. When the show is that compelling, it will find an audience. As viewers are exposed to more and different subjects, they are becoming even more interested in topics, situations, locales and characters from other countries.

In addition to American and British series, which have always traveled, shows about Italian politics, Cold War Germany, and cops and criminals from all countries, are increasingly crossing borders. Of course, unscripted shows have been crossing borders for years—the whole premise of the format business is a series whose idea can be adapted in many territories. Here, too, track record is key.

In this issue, we examine various genres that are finding success in multiple territories, from dramas to formats to factual programming. There is no question that tried-and-true concepts and remakes are experiencing a renaissance, but original stories are also breaking through. There is so much choice, so many shows—that once-a-year rerun is unthinkable now. A show’s key to success is its must-see quality, and our ability to watch and catch up whenever we choose—well that’s just an unalienable right.

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UPFRONTS

A+E Networks Roots / Manson’s Lost Girls / The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe One family’s will to survive the hardship and inhumanity of American slavery is at the center of the historical miniseries Roots, which A+E Networks is promoting at NATPE Budapest. It’s a remake of the 1977 miniseries of the same name inspired by Alex Haley’s book. The company is also presenting the movie Manson’s Lost Girls, based on the infamous murders, as told from the viewpoint of Linda Kasabian and the other “Manson Girls.”

The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe, another highlight on A+E Networks’s slate, is a miniseries that offers a personal look at the Hollywood bombshell’s troubled life. The lineup also features factual titles and formats, including Man vs. Child: Chef Showdown, Seven Year Switch and Fit to Fat to Fit.

Roots

The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe

Armoza Formats La Famiglia / The Foodies / Still Standing From Armoza Formats’s scripted slate, La Famiglia is an Israeli comedy that follows the lives of a normal suburban family living in the divorce capital of the country.

Each episode features a new therapy session, in which the family members bring up embarrassing, bizarre and awkward moments. The company is also promoting the factual-entertainment format The Foodies and the studio game show Still Standing. “We are thrilled to be able to offer our CEE partners the use of [production] hubs for Still Standing and Who’s Asking?, two of our studio game shows that are already successful in the region and that we expect to enter into new territories by the end of the year,” says Avi Armoza, the founder and CEO of Armoza Formats.

“We have a very strong presence in CEE and we have seen this continue to grow over the last year.”

—Avi Armoza La Famiglia

Beyond Distribution You Should Really See a Doctor /Quarx / Mountain Rescue Beyond Distribution has already seen quite a bit of interest for the 6x30-minute series You Should Really See a Doctor from buyers in Central and Eastern Europe, according to Zoe Allen, the company’s regional sales executive. “Factual programming, especially titles that focus on the medical profession or look at people’s wellbeing, seems to be in vogue at the moment,” she says.

Beyond is also bringing to NATPE Budapest the kids’ series Quarx, which uses a mix of CGI and social media to explain science in a new way. “Children’s programming with an educational twist has been a great success for us, with previous titles in this genre selling well in CEE,” Allen says. Another highlight is the male-skewed Mountain Rescue, which has six one-hour episodes.

“CEE has always been a key territory for Beyond Distribution.”

—Zoe Allen Mountain Rescue 8 WORLD SCREEN 6/16

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Caracol Internacional The White Slave / The Girl / Digging for Love The White Slave, a 4K series that Caracol Internacional is offering at NATPE Budapest, uses the story of a woman raised by slaves to highlight issues of colonialism. The series “is clear proof that combining great production values with an excellent story is the best way to capture audiences around the world,” says Paloma García, the company’s sales executive for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Among Caracol’s other new titles is The Girl, based on the real-life story of a child, recruited to fight for a guerilla group, who has a hard time readjusting to normal life after escaping the conflict. Also on offer is Digging for Love, about two neighboring families who become enemies when a giant gold statue is found buried between their houses.

“Eastern Europe is a region where our productions continue to find success.”

—Paloma García The White Slave

Cisneros Media Distribution Just Looking / Super Genius / The Sex Sense Cisneros Media Distribution’s drama Just Looking follows five couples within the same building who are not aware that a psychopath has installed cameras in their apartments. The title is a NATPE Budapest highlight, along with the drama The Sex Sense, which presents couples on the brink of breakups who try to redefine their relationships through sex, trial and error.

On the factual side, the distributor presents End of Days, the first season of its Hot Wire news special. Also on offer are the educational kids’ show Super Genius and the HD-footage showcase SHÄK. “Our catalog has evolved to include more generic genres and themes,” says Marcello Coltro, the executive VP of content distribution at Cisneros Media. “We are presenting ready-to-air programs that vary from news specials to children’s educational series and sports.”

“We are ready to deliver a range of customized productions to attend to clients’ needs everywhere and in any language.”

—Marcello Coltro Super Genius

CJ E&M Another Miss Oh / Melody to Masterpiece / Look What Your Hubby Did The romantic comedy Another Miss Oh, which CJ E&M is offering for NATPE Budapest buyers, centers on two women with the same name who are fighting over a man.

“This light but joyful romantic comedy garnered attention from the Korean audience and we believe it can be appealing to international audiences looking for a fresh romance series,” says Jangho Seo, the company’s head of international sales and acquisitions. CJ E&M is also offering buyers the music makeover and performance show Melody to Masterpiece, as well as Look What Your Hubby Did. The latter is a home-makeover prank show that has already been commissioned for a third season in Korea. “The show garnered a lot of attention when we premiered it at MIPTV this year,” Seo says.

“The steady influx of Korean content into CEE over the past few years has shown us the growing importance of the region.”

—Jangho Seo Another Miss Oh 10 WORLD SCREEN 6/16

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Comarex Young at 40 / Juana Inés / State of Grace The iconic Mexican nun and poet Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz takes the spotlight in Juana Inés, which follows her life as she overcomes adversity and pursues her passion for knowledge. The series is part of Comarex’s NATPE Budapest slate, which also features Young at 40, about a man who awakens 27 years after falling into a coma to find that the future is not quite what he expected. Other catalog highlights are It Was Worth It!, I Am Franky and State of Grace. The latter title centers on a congresswoman who seeks to legalize drugs in Mexico. “It’s a series with very high production values that brings one of the country’s key issues to the small screen,” says Marcel Vinay, Jr., the CEO of Comarex. It Was Worth It! tells the story of a successful real estate agent who becomes the guardian of her friend’s daughter when the child is orphaned.

“Juana Inés is a fiction series that reviews the most significant moments in the life of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz.”

—Marcel Vinay, Jr. Juana Inés

Dynamic Television Madiba / Wynonna Earp / Lidia Bastianich’s franchise The event series Madiba, which Dynamic Television is presenting at NATPE Budapest, is based on two books by Nelson Mandela about his heroic journey to bring racial equality and democracy to the people of South Africa. Also on offer at the market is Wynonna Earp, an action series that follows the great-granddaughter of Wyatt Earp as she slays the demons of her family’s tainted legacy, and the lifestyle franchise of Italian chef and TV personality Lidia Bastianich.

“Our first and foremost goal is to bring quality programming to broadcasters around the world,” says Gilda Demirtas, Dynamic’s VP of international sales. “While we specialize in European and American scripted series, lifestyle content that fits our brand of quality will allow Dynamic to engage with new buyers in Eastern Europe.”

“We are very selective with all our content and we are expanding our portfolio with much care.”

—Gilda Demirtas Madiba

ITV Inter Medya Endless Love / In Between / Join Instant ITV Inter Medya is putting the Turkish drama Endless Love, produced by Ay Yapim, in the spotlight for NATPE Budapest buyers. The series tells the story of two young lovers, Nihan and Kemal, who inhabit separate worlds in the same neighborhood. Another Turkish drama highlight from the company is In Between. Can Okan, the president and CEO of ITV Inter Medya, believes the strength of the stories is what will grab buyers’ attention. “Another strength of the Turkish dramas in our catalog is that they are fast-moving and very exciting,” Okan adds. Alongside its drama slate, the company will be speaking to buyers about its format catalog, including the interactive quiz show Join Instant and the game show Fifty Fifty.

“The production quality of our titles is world class.”

—Can Okan In Between 12 WORLD SCREEN 6/16

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Keshet International Touch / Battle of the Chefs / Master Class Keshet International’s new cross-media format Touch is based on the simple concept of identifying what’s wrong with a given picture. “The CEE region is accustomed to more traditional content, but it’s also rapidly embracing new media and platforms,” says Paula Cohen McHarg, the company’s regional sales manager. “As people start to embrace technological advances in entertainment, Touch is the perfect format for broadcasters and brands [looking] to get closer to their audiences, as well as to add value for commercial partners.” Keshet International is also showcasing for buyers Battle of the Chefs, a reality-based cooking format, and Master Class, a children’s talent show. “Master Class already has a strong track record in CEE, with standout success in Greece and Hungary,” Cohen McHarg says.

“We will be showcasing some of our most successful and innovative non-scripted formats at NATPE Budapest.”

—Paula Cohen McHarg Battle of the Chefs

Lionsgate Entertainment Feed the Beast / Graves / Nightcap Best friends Tommy (David Schwimmer) and Dion (Jim Sturgess) open an upscale restaurant in their downtrodden Bronx neighborhood in Feed the Beast, a drama that Lionsgate Entertainment is presenting to buyers at NATPE Budapest. The company’s slate also features the ten-episode series Graves, about a former U.S. president who, in the midst of a spiritual and political awakening, sets out to right the wrongs of his administration. Meanwhile, the edgy comedy Nightcap, starring Ali Wentworth, goes behind the scenes of a fictional late-night talk show. “With such a broad portfolio of high-quality programming, we have a compelling and diverse offering to benefit all types of distribution outlets,” says Peter Iacono, Lionsgate’s president of international television and digital distribution.

“Distinctive and original programming epitomizes the highly successful Lionsgate brand.”

—Peter Iacono Graves

Silver Wolf International Inside Things / Animal Societies / The Last Fish Hunter Silver Wolf International is a relatively new player in the global market, and the company is heading to NATPE Budapest looking to build its business in Central and Eastern Europe. “CEE is a growing market, and it’s one that we have not penetrated,” says Abdul Rashid Budin, Silver Wolf International’s CEO. The company will be promoting its factual slate, including Inside Things. The series explores the nuts and bolts of how things work, examining both natural objects and manmade inventions. Animal Societies is a 13x30-minute series that looks at how animal families live together and create communities. The documentary The Last Fish Hunter journeys through the coasts of Terengganu to shine a light on the ancient art of fishing.

“There will always be demand for factual programming in the CEE region.”

—Abdul Rashid Budin The Last Fish Hunter 14 WORLD SCREEN 6/16

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Telemundo Internacional Eva’s Destiny / Would You Take Your Ex Back? / Rich in Love At NATPE Budapest, Telemundo Internacional is presenting series from the HBO Latin America Originals catalog.

These productions “are very different from what our clients are used to seeing, as they are series and documentaries between 8 and 13 episodes, many with several seasons,” says Melissa Pillow, the company’s VP of sales for Europe. Additionally, Telemundo Internacional is offering telenovelas such as Rich in Love and Eva’s Destiny, along with the reality competition Would You Take Your Ex Back? Pillow calls the latter title “one of the hottest new entertainment formats on the market.” She adds: “Given the upsurge in demand for these kinds of programs, we are certain it will be very appealing to buyers.” There’s also Don’t Be Late, an adaptation of a Chilean scripted format.

“Business in Central and Eastern Europe has been quite active for us this year.”

—Melissa Pillow Rich in Love

Televisa Internacional Yago / Amazonas / Lying Heart In Amazonas, two separated lovers must fight to achieve the happiness that destiny has denied them. The telenovela is one of the key titles Televisa Internacional is presenting at NATPE Budapest, along with Lying Heart, about a woman who must choose between stability and passion. Both of these titles represent Televisa’s recent foray into shorter-run novelas, says Claudia Sahab, the company’s director for Europe. Additionally, the distributor is offering at the market Yago, its latest series.

“These productions are very different from what you’d expect from telenovelas,” says Sahab. “In fact, not only do they look more polished, they also tackle stronger themes such as murder and crime and even add a more sensual element.”

“We have a permanent presence in Central and Eastern Europe, plus long-standing partnerships with clients who trust us.”

—Claudia Sahab Amazonas

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Good Food America / Sairat / Happy & Lucky Danny Boome returns for the latest season of Good Food America, which Zee Entertainment Enterprises is showcasing at NATPE Budapest. The real-life medical-mystery series I Beat the Odds is another highlight from the company’s U.S. channel Z Living. Zee is also offering its latest epic love story, Sairat, along with a “rich collection of Indian drama series and Bollywood and Indian movies,” says Sunita Uchil, Zee Entertainment Enterprises’s global head of syndication and CRO of international ad sales. “Viewers across the globe respond positively to compelling storytelling, characters and situations to which they can relate,” she adds. On the kids’ front, Zee has the animated series Happy & Lucky, which Uchil describes as a “fun-filled show [about] two neighbors.”

“The Zee catalog captures experiences and emotions that are universally understood.”

—Sunita Uchil Good Food America 16 WORLD SCREEN 6/16

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IN THE NEWS

WS: You also have other new dramas.

BURCKSEN: We are very proud of new product coming from Germany, which is a little bit edgier. Dr. Klein and Bettys Diagnose are edgy family series that people probably won’t expect from Germany, but [will generate a lot of interest].

WS: ZDF has also had a long tradition of quality factual programming.

BURCKSEN: Factual has always been important for ZDF and ZDFE. The new lineup consists of many different genres.

We have a title called First Flight: Conquest of the Skies, which questions the fact that the Wright brothers were the first to fly, so that is a challenging subject. We have a production called Why Size Matters and it teaches that there is a reason behind size and why we are bigger than certain animals, which is a very interesting subject. And the third title is The Lesser Caucasus: Between Ararat and the Caspian Sea, a wildlife show portraying the edgy border between Europe and the Caucasus.

WS: You have been branching out into entertainment formats as well.

BURCKSEN: Entertainment is a smaller genre for us that we are trying to get into. We brought a show to MIPTV called The Game Begins! It’s a shiny-floor show with a fantastic German host. It’s a true family format show; that’s what’s exceptional.

It brings kids, parents and celebrities together and they [play] life-sized board games—games that everybody knows. The good thing is that you don’t have to explain the rules because everybody knows the games.

By Anna Carugati

As a wholly owned subsidiary of the German public broadcaster ZDF, ZDF Enterprises (ZDFE) is tasked with the international distribution of ZDF-produced and third-party programming, co-productions, licensing and merchandising. ZDFE has built a reputation as a supplier of quality drama, factual and children’s programming, in addition to being a reliable co-production partner. As Fred Burcksen, the company’s executive VP and COO, tells World Screen, he and his team are always looking to serve the market with the best product possible.

WS: There is a lot of demand in the market for drama. One of ZDF’s new dramas, Ku’damm 56: Rebel with a Cause, performed quite well recently.

BURCKSEN: Ku’damm aired in March on ZDF. It’s a threepart miniseries. It did very well for us. What’s fascinating is that, as you know, with miniseries you are scared of losing your audience in the second and third episodes. In Germany with Ku’damm, it was the other way around: the second episode got higher ratings than the first and the third higher ratings than the second, so we’re very happy with that.

Ku’damm was produced by our friends at UFA, a great production company, and it takes place in the ’50s, a period that has not been highlighted much in the last few years. It’s a beautiful story. It’s about prosperity coming back to Berlin ten years after the end of World War II, but the city is still destroyed. It’s about women’s liberation and it’s about rock and roll. It has all those elements.

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WS: And there aren’t that many shows that bring all the family together in front of the television.

BURCKSEN: That is the unique selling proposition of this format.

WS: ZDF is the German public broadcaster, but ZDFE has gone beyond German borders and works with many different countries.

BURCKSEN: We do, but it’s always in partnership with the network. And the bottom line is we have to serve our network.

We are there to make our network stronger, not the other way around. We have been able to do so by partnering up. It’s really about synergies. So we always have two missions when we are out in the market: first, we look for good content for the network, and second, we look for distribution deals. And of course we try to combine forces there and bring substantial money to the table.

WS: There seem to be more topics that can travel nowadays—viewers are more sophisticated and interested in a variety of subjects.

BURCKSEN: Definitely. These are very interesting days and there are lots of opportunities. German programs have always traveled, like Sturm der Liebe and Alarm für Cobra 11. You will see many German series, such as SOKO Köln, in Italy and France. But what we see now is that there is a strong interest in original stories, no matter where they come from. Everyone is still interested in what the U.S. is doing and what the English are doing, but there is an authentic interest in Danish drama, in Italian politics. We also see a development in Germany toward edgier programs, faster-paced programs. So that is very inspiring.

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TVEUROPE

WWW.TVEUROPE.WS

JUNE /JULY 2016

NATPE BUDAPEST & SUNNY SIDE OF THE DOC EDITION

Formats in CEE / Factual Trends

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TV EUROPE

CONTENTS

Rules and Regulations

FEATURES 8

Across the globe, countries are quickly realizing that their media laws need to adapt to the world we live in now—one with VPNs and geo-blocking, global licensing deals and cross-border co-pros, rising production costs and an advertising market that has been upended with changing consumption habits.

Ricardo Seguin Guise Publisher Anna Carugati Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani Editor Kristin Brzoznowski Executive Editor Joanna Padovano Managing Editor Sara Alessi Joel Marino Associate Editors Victor L. Cuevas Production & Design Director Phyllis Q. Busell Art Director Simon Weaver Online Director Dana Mattison Senior Sales & Marketing Manager Elizabeth Walsh Sales & Marketing Manager Andrea Moreno Business Affairs Manager

Ricardo Seguin Guise President Anna Carugati Executive VP Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development TV Europe © 2016 WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, #1207 New York, NY 10010 Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website: www.tveurope.ws

The European Commission (EC) recently issued a new directive regarding audiovisual media services “in view of changing market realities,” updating regulations that have been in place for nearly three decades. The move comes as part of the EC’s Digital Single Market strategy, which aims to “bring down barriers to unlock online opportunities.”

One of the biggest proposals included in the directive is a European content quota for online platforms: ondemand providers must ensure that at least 20 percent of their offerings are sourced from the continent. (The region’s OTT market is picking up, particularly in the U.K. and France, but the penetration rate of subscription streaming services still lags well behind the U.S., according to recent data from Parks Associates.)

The updated EC directive also addresses changes in the ad market, with viewers often switching to online ondemand services in order to avoid the 30-second spots on TV. The new regulations give broadcasters more flexibility as to when ads can be shown. The overall limit of 20 percent of broadcasting time from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. will be maintained, but channels will have more flexibility when it comes to the 12 minutes per hour rule. “Broadcasters can choose more freely when to show ads throughout the day,” the directive states. In addition, broadcast and on-demand services will have more options for product placement and sponsorship models.

The ad market in Europe is most definitely in flux— digital revenues edged past television in 2015, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s AdEx Benchmark.

Digital grew the fastest in Ireland, followed by Bulgaria and Poland.

We take a close look at trends in Central and Eastern Europe in this edition, with an in-depth report on the booming formats market. Local production has long been a valuable commodity in this part of the world, and broadcasters are keen to find the best concepts from the global market, from scripted dramas and comedies to shiny-floor game shows and talent competitions. This edition also looks at trends in the factual-content business ahead of Sunny Side of the Doc in France.

—Mansha Daswani

GET DAILY NEWS ON EUROPEAN TELEVISION

8 TUNING INTO FORMATS A range of distributors weigh in on the current format trends across Central and Eastern Europe.

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12 MATTER OF FACT Reality shows, factual entertainment and high-end docs are finding slots across Central and Eastern Europe.

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4 TV EUROPE

Mediaset Distribution A Sicilian Story / Task Force 45: Friendly Fire / The Siffredi Family The new crime series A Sicilian Story (Romanzo Siciliano) is one of the titles that Mediaset Distribution is presenting to buyers from the CEE region at NATPE Budapest.

The show spotlights a special task force operating in Sicily. The company is also offering up Task Force 45: Friendly Fire, which follows an Italian military officer who becomes involved in a terrorist conspiracy in Afghanistan, and The Siffredi Family, a reality show focused on the family of a former adult-entertainment star.

“We like to offer series [that are] adaptable for all countries,” says Manuela Caputi, who serves as head of international sales for the Mediaset catalog. Caputi also highlights the unscripted format Mr Brown, which aired successfully for many years on Italia 1.

“Our plan is to increase the catalog and be ready to organize a big event dedicated to our Italian creativity.”

—Manuela Caputi The Siffredi Family

MISTCO Resurrection / Filinta / What Happens to My Family MISTCO has been appointed as the exclusive sales agent for Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT), and is headed to NATPE Budapest with a range of Turkish dramas to offer CEE buyers. “It is a well-known fact that there has been a huge demand for Turkish series and dramas all over the world,” says Aysegul Tuzun, MISTCO’s VP of sales and marketing. “And our main aim is to make a difference and bring a breath of fresh air to the industry.” Titles on offer include Resurrection (Ertugrul), about a man struggling to find a home for his tribe and the woman he is in love with; Filinta, a detective series set in the Ottoman era; and What Happens to My Family, a family drama. “We also offer over 30 TV movies that would provide never-before-seen slot opportunities for channels,” says Tuzun.

“Every title represented

by MISTCO has been produced to international standards and tells its story to the audience with the highest production quality and strong casts.”

—Aysegul Tuzun Resurrection

ORF-Enterprise Suburbia: Women on the Edge / Turtle Hero: A Cold Blooded Passion / The Secret Life of Snakes Brand-new episodes of Suburbia: Women on the Edge are part of ORF-Enterprise’s NATPE Budapest and Sunny Side of the Doc slates. “The ten new episodes live up to the resounding success of the first season and will capture the [attention] of both male and female viewers,” says Marion Camus-Oberdorfer, the head of international content sales at ORF-Enterprise. 4K documentaries from the UNIVERSUM strand are also among the company’s highlights. CamusOberdorfer says one such title, Turtle Hero: A Cold Blooded Passion, showcases “astonishing and exclusive 4K impressions of the natural habitat of cold-blooded reptiles.”

Another UNIVERSUM documentary, The Secret Life of Snakes, “stands out with enthralling and astonishing shots of Europe’s most stunning snake species,” she adds.

“One of our main focus areas is the ongoing production of Ultra HD 4K programs, which meet the high expectations of ORF-Enterprise’s global buyers.”

—Marion Camus-Oberdorfer Suburbia: Women on the Edge 22 WORLD SCREEN 6/16

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Red Arrow International Bosch / Kiss Bang Love / Cleverman The sophomore season of the crime series Bosch is being promoted for sales in Central and Eastern Europe by Red Arrow International. The show, which is based on books penned by Michael Connelly, stars Titus Welliver (Argo) as Harry Bosch, a homicide detective working in Los Angeles.

“Season two sees Harry Bosch back on the job after an involuntary leave of absence,” says Bo Stehmeier, Red Arrow International’s senior VP of global sales. “Ready for action, his first case may prove his biggest challenge yet.” The company is also promoting Kiss Bang Love, a dating format from the creators of Married at First Sight, and Cleverman, a genre drama for Australia’s ABC and SundanceTV in the U.S. led by Iain Glen (Game of Thrones) and Frances O’Connor (The Missing).

“Now more than ever before, broadcasters and platforms in the CEE region are looking for the highest quality scripted drama and truly groundbreaking formats.”

—Bo Stehmeier Kiss Bang Love

Terra Mater Factual Studios David Attenborough’s Light on Earth / Brazil: A Natural History / Ostrich: A Life on the Run Leading Terra Mater Factual Studios’s Sunny Side of the Doc (SSD) slate is David Attenborough’s Light on Earth, which sees the titular host explore bioluminescence. The company is also showcasing Brazil: A Natural History, celebrating the natural history of the South American country, and Ostrich: A Life on the Run, which shines a spotlight on the often-overlooked species. “Normally not more than an extra in natural-history films, the world’s biggest bird hits it really big this time,” says Sabine Holzer, Terra Mater’s head of TV, of Ostrich: A Life on the Run. She adds: “Our goal is to finalize our editorial discussions with potential partners at SSD to be able to move forward in the course of the summer and start production in autumn.”

“We’ll bring a mix of natural-history, science and history projects to SSD that require coproduction and presale funding, as well as a raft of available fresh docs.”

—Sabine Holzer David Attenborough’s Light on Earth

ZDF Enterprises First Flight: Conquest of the Skies / Ku’damm 56: Rebel with a Cause / The Game Begins!

At NATPE Budapest, ZDF Enterprises’s (ZDFE) labels are showcasing a lineup that covers a range of genres. ZDFE.factual is promoting First Flight: Conquest of the Skies, which questions whether the Wright brothers were actually the first to fly. There’s also the science documentary Why Size Matters and the nature and wildlife film The Lesser Caucasus: Between Ararat and the Caspian Sea. “Factual has always been an important genre for ZDF and ZDF Enterprises,” explains Fred Burcksen, ZDFE’s executive VP and COO. Ku’damm 56: Rebel with a Cause, meanwhile, is an event miniseries from ZDFE.drama that is set in 1956 at a dance school. “It’s a beautiful story,” says Burcksen. In terms of formats, ZDFE.entertainment’s offering includes game shows such as You Can’t Fool Me! and The Game Begins!

“We are always out there looking for the next big thing— everywhere, anytime.”

—Fred Burcksen First Flight: Conquest of the Skies 24 WORLD SCREEN 6/16

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Keshet’s Rising Star on TV2 in Hungary.

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TUNING INTO Kristin Brzoznowski speaks to a range of distributors about the current format trends across Central and Eastern Europe. he lingering clouds of economic recession have parted in many of the countries across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), and those working in the TV business are enjoying the prospects of the brighter days ahead. Distributors have been reporting an upswing in program sales in the region for a few years now, and with broadcasters’ budgets opening up, format licensing has been in a particularly sunny spot.

“Over the last five years we have been selling a lot of finished content in CEE, but especially in the last two years we are achieving some format sales there as well,” says Izzet Pinto, the founder and CEO of Global Agency. “It’s growing year after year.”

Pinto cites increasing programming budgets in Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria and Serbia in particular. He says that in these territories, buyers are interested in daily, stripped formats, which is why titles such as Shopping Monsters and Blind Taste have been strong sellers.

Both of these formats present opportunities for advertisers and sponsors as well, Pinto notes. “Sometimes buyers can recoup around 50 percent of their investment from sponsors and the rest from ad sales,” he says. “We let them keep the sponsorship revenue so that they can recoup some of their investment. Showing them this flexibility is also comforting for them, because we have to make sure that they don’t lose any money and that the show gets profitable so that both sides benefit from it.”

ITV Studios Global Entertainment’s (ITVS GE) wellestablished unscripted format brands continue to thrive in CEE, according to Jennifer Ebell, the company’s VP of sales for southeast EMEA. ITVS GE has seen recommissions across the region for formats such as Four Weddings (Hungary), The Chase (Croatia and Serbia), Come Dine with Me (Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland) and Hell’s Kitchen (Poland).

Ebell says that factual entertainment has been selling best in CEE countries. “Being more of a hybrid genre—where one can see cooking, docusoaps, lifestyle, competition, etc.—it has broad appeal; it provides entertainment for everyone,” she explains.

“From public broadcasters to small DTT channels, factualentertainment formats deliver low costs and easily adaptable scale. That is why we see formats such as Come Dine with Me continue to be successful across the region.”

For Keshet International (KI), formats such as BOOM!, Rising Star and Master Class have been strong performers in CEE. In Hungary, for example, the local version of Master Class has delivered solid ratings for TV2. The third season was peaking with a 30-percent share, which is 88-percent above the channel’s average.

T

Paula Cohen McHarg, who manages sales for KI in CEE and CIS, among other territories, says that a format like the musicbased Master Class is well suited for audiences across Central and Eastern Europe. “It’s family-friendly and heartwarming, and the traditional songs performed in the series also match the culture of the region and are loved by many.”

The distributor has also made headway with some of its scripted formats, notably with comedies. The local version of Traffic Light had seven seasons in Russia on CTC, while Your Family or Mine was adapted in Greece and Ukraine. The Baker and the Beauty was also remade in Greece.

“There are more and more similarities between CIS and CEE countries and forward-thinking, tech-savvy nations such as South Korea and Israel than there were before,” observes Cohen McHarg. “CIS and CEE countries that were used to broadcasting more traditional content are now embracing ‘the new’ and becoming more youthful as market pressures force them to modernize.”

NEW HORIZONS This bodes well for South Korea’s CJ E&M, which is looking to ramp up its business in this part of the world. “With the steady rise of our finished-tape sales in CEE, we are also witnessing growing interest in our formats there,” says Jangho Seo, the company’s head of international sales and acquisitions.

And this is for both scripted and unscripted formats, Seo says. “Buyers are looking for big, shiny-floor, prime-time shows on the non-scripted side, while on the scripted side, they want strong scripts focused on family and romance, with conflicts among the characters.” CJ E&M’s Korean drama Ice Adonis was remade in Ukraine and several European countries have started to develop localized scripts.

Scripted formats have proven popular in CEE for Mediaset Distribution, the international-sales arm of the Italian group Mediaset. Series with a lot of drama and action have been of particular interest to buyers in this region, according to Manuela Caputi, who heads up international sales for the Mediaset catalog at the company. This includes A Matter of Respect, adapted in Turkey and Russia; Tuscan Passion, licensed in Turkey; Police District, commissioned in Russia; and CentoVetrine, localized in Poland.

Caputi says that the next step is to make inroads with its unscripted slate. At NATPE Budapest, the company will be talking to buyers about Rocco to the Rescue, which sees former adult-entertainment star Rocco Siffredi giving tips to couples in crisis, and the family-targeted Mr Brown.

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Mediaset Distribution has found success in CEE with its scripted formats, including Beyond the Lake, which was licensed in Croatia and Slovenia.

While Turkey and Russia have been the main clients in CEE for Mediaset Distribution’s scripted-format sales, Caputi believes that showcasing its unscripted entertainment catalog will open up new possibilities in Romania, Poland and Bulgaria.

KI’s Cohen McHarg, meanwhile, has her sights set on the CIS. “CIS countries, particularly Russia, are taking more risks,” she says. “The most popular formats in Russia used to be big, established, proven formats, whereas now we’re starting to see a lot more smaller channels commissioning edgier and more risktaking content.”

This is true outside of Russia as well. “New opportunities for sales lie with the smaller channels that in the past only acquired finished content,” says ITVS GE’s Ebell. “In some markets we are seeing these smaller DTT and satellite channels looking to commission their first local production.”

LEARNING TO ADAPT While budgets may have opened up enough that local production is viable, there are still many cost constraints that need to be addressed when selling formats in CEE. Oftentimes, studio sets are pared down and “less fancy,” notes Global Agency’s Pinto, “and sometimes there is a smaller production crew. In the end, the quality is probably lower than [Western] European standards, but it’s still pretty good.”

Alongside scaling budgets, changes to episode duration are frequently requested in local markets. “Extending the running time of a show by tweaking its structure is very common,” says ITVS GE’s Ebell. “This is specifically to fit the viewing habits of the local audience and it provides greater ROI [return on investment].” Hell’s Kitchen, for example, is traditionally 60 minutes, but in Poland it runs as a 90-minute version.

Ebell acknowledges that it’s still difficult to launch a new format into CEE that doesn’t come with a track record. “There are some great concepts out there, but locally the risk can prove to be too high. With limited time slots and constrained budgets, channels are hesitant to acquire that brand-new format. We have seen more local development, where the risk is the same but there is value to the broadcaster in owning the IP outright.”

CJ E&M’s Seo agrees, and this is why co-development deals with broadcasters are among the avenues the company is exploring to get its formats business off the ground in CEE. According to Cohen McHarg, KI’s format business in the region is bolstered by the fact that the series it presents have already worked elsewhere. “The majority of our shows have been tried and tested in Israel, and some of them are the 28 WORLD SCREEN 6/16

highest rated in the country,” she says. “They are also family friendly and perfect weekend event entertainment, which is in high demand.”

Cohen McHarg says that the greatest challenge when doing business in this part of the world is finding a balance between providing cost-effective solutions that allow smaller territories to commission big formats and doing so without compromising on quality.

Global Agency’s Pinto cites fees as the biggest challenge when working in this market. “The fees offered are quite small,” he says. “We don’t want to [do a deal on a format] that underestimates its strength and value. We believe in our projects, but we also try to be supportive. We always try to find a middle ground. So, sometimes we will offer reasonable fees for first seasons and higher fees in the following seasons. Once they see the success, they are happy to share more [of the money] with us.”

This benefits business in the long run, Pinto says, since once other territories in the region see how a format was able to be adapted successfully with a smaller budget, it spurs interest from neighboring countries. “Sometimes when there’s a success in Serbia, then Croatia buys it, then Macedonia, then Albania. If you can reach seven or eight territories, all added together the income isn’t bad. You have to make sure that you enter several territories in CEE so that it makes sense profit-wise.”

Overall, Pinto is optimistic about the CEE format business, as he sees more opportunities opening up to score prime-time slots. “Greece currently has a better market for prime-time shows, but all countries in Central and Eastern Europe are growing to become potential buyers for primetime formats,” he says. “For example, Bulgaria is becoming an important market.”

IN THEIR PRIME Mediaset Distribution has already managed to score primetime slots in CEE with remakes of some of its long-running Italian series. Caputi believes the prospects for prime time will remain bright as long as the company continues to bring formats with “great stories, intense emotions and flexibility for adaptation.”

“As for any region, the greatest opportunity is to develop the next big entertainment hit, or the next big long-running factual-entertainment format like Come Dine with Me,” says ITVS GE’s Ebell of her CEE priorities. “There is also a potential opportunity in scripted formats.”

KI’s Cohen McHarg believes pooling resources could be a way forward for format success in CEE. “We see a great opportunity in creating CEE production hubs. Closing group deals and creating a production hub for formats such as BOOM! would be hugely beneficial, especially for multiple broadcasters.”

With buyers across the region taking more risks, prime time continuing to open up, and producers and distributors becoming increasingly savvy about how to adapt to tight budgets, the forecast for the format business across CEE is sunny indeed.

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A+E Networks’s Pawn Stars.

Reality shows, factual entertainment and high-end docs are finding slots across Central and Eastern Europe.

By Mansha Daswani he countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), given their history and geopolitical significance, have been the subjects of countless academic docs retelling crises of the past and current-affairs specials about the social and economic problems of the day. But when it comes to what kinds of factual fare the residents of this part of the world want to consume themselves, it’s all true crime and animal close-ups, quirky personalities and dramatic real-life situations.

“We’ve seen a pickup [in the demand for] our big factual franchises, particularly the transactional franchises,” says Joel Denton, the managing director of international content sales and partnerships at A+E Networks, referencing properties like Storage Wars, Pawn Stars and American Pickers. “It’s those big factual juggernauts, if you like, the character-based shows [that are] selling and rating well.”

Natural history is also a hot commodity, as BBC Worldwide has seen with the rollout of its BBC Earth brand across the region. “We’re now in nine territories across CEE and in three local languages: Romanian, Hungarian and Slovenian,” says

T

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Grant Welland, the executive VP for Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa at BBC Worldwide. “After an excellent first year, we’re looking to expand distribution and launch in new territories across the region in 2016 and 2017.”

GET WILD! On the program-sales side, too, wildlife is proving to be a major seller for BBC Worldwide, with hits that include The Hunt, Shark and its Wild programming strand.

High-end wildlife tops the slate for ORF-Enterprise, which is showcasing the UNIVERSUM titles Turtle Hero: A Cold Blooded Passion and The Secret Life of Snakes at NATPE Budapest.

“With our passion for the production of high-quality wildlife and nature documentaries, we are ambitious to keep discovering more and more of the many secrets and wonders that our planet and its inhabitants still keep,” says Marion Camus-Oberdorfer, the head of international content sales at ORF-Enterprise, on the message the Austrian company is looking to get out to buyers in CEE.

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ORF-Enterprise is showcasing 4K blue-chip wildlife titles like The Secret Life of Snakes.

Elsewhere on the factual spectrum, GRB Entertainment is letting viewers in on other kinds of secrets in Untold Stories of the ER, its best-selling series in CEE. The show is part of a wave of reenactment series that have become popular in the territory, according to Benn Watson, GRB’s VP of international sales.

Crime shows are also in demand, Watson notes, particularly investigative reporting. He also cites the popularity of the “over-the-shoulder” filming style used in series like GRB’s own FBI Takedowns.

Rive Gauche Television has also placed several crime series in the region, among them Homicide Hunter, Pretty Bad Girls and Happily Never After. Its best sellers, meanwhile, have been My Strange Addiction, about people battling obsessive behaviors, and Fix It & Finish It, fronted by TV personality Antonio Sabato, Jr. In general, CEE buyers tend to prefer shows without presenters, “as that naturally gives them a better opportunity to either insert a voiceover or their own local host,” observes Marine Ksadzhikyan, the company’s senior VP of distribution and development.

“But with names such as Sir David Attenborough, Louis Theroux and Gordon Buchanan, this is not always the case,” adds BBC Worldwide’s Welland. “These presenters work really well for audiences across CEE.”

POLE POSITION Nevertheless, Welland notes that the demand for local programming is on the rise. As such, BBC Worldwide is beginning to see interest in its factual formats, such as Junior Doctors, adapted by Poland’s TVP, and Maestro, remade for HRT in Croatia.

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The factual-formats space is also a growth area for A+E Networks, which has clinched deals outside of the region on Pawn Stars, American Pickers and Dance Moms. Adaptations, Denton explains, “tend to rate better because you’ve got local talent and local stories. For us, it means those franchises get larger and we can then push those additional episodes to other clients around the world.”

GRB’s Watson reports that he’s starting to hear format requests, particularly from Ukraine. “That’s an exciting area for us,” Watson says. “They are always happy to look at paper formats, whereas other territories wait for something to become big in the U.S. and then follow suit.”

Poland, however, remains the region’s most lucrative territory. “Poland is by far the largest market in that region and it’s been great for us,” A+E’s Denton says. The Czech Republic and Hungary are slowly recovering from the economic turmoil of the last few years, says Denton, who adds that Croatia has also emerged as a key market.

Another emerging market is the digital space. “In the last 12 months, we’ve finalized various package deals for OTT platforms within CEE and expect to service these outlets even more going forward,” Rive Gauche’s Ksadzhikyan says. “This area is rapidly expanding and evolving, and broadcasters themselves are creating their own digital platforms. We’re seeing a big appetite when filling content for these types of slots.”

BBC Worldwide’s Welland, too, says that the OTT arena is “becoming increasingly significant.”

Indeed, even as drama and entertainment shows make the most noise, factual series remain a staple of the CEE media diet, and with an expanding universe of pay-TV and OTT platforms to service in the region, the prospects for distributors heading to NATPE Budapest look upbeat.

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SPOTLIGHT

With a library that includes more than 5,000 hours of television, 200 hours of digital content and 250 feature films, Content Media Corporation offers traditional broadcasters and nonlinear services a wide range of programming. Its slate includes the acclaimed police dramas Line of Duty and 19-2, feature films like 400 Days and Anti-Social and documentaries such as The 4%: Film’s Gender Problem and Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown. The company is divided into three main divisions: Content Film, Content Television and Content Digital. It also owns stakes in television and digital production companies, including Collins Avenue, Spirit Digital Media, Campfire and Jigsaw Productions, which is headed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney. Content has also acquired production and distribution companies in China. As John Schmidt, Content Media’s CEO, tells World Screen, further geographic expansion and a continued emphasis on premium scripted and nonfiction fare are the primary areas of focus for the company.

WS: There is a growing appetite worldwide for drama.

How is Content Media satisfying that demand?

SCHMIDT: The growth of the appetite for drama is a great thing for all of us in the production and distribution business. I think our largest customer now worldwide is Netflix, and a lot of that is nonfiction, but a lot of that is on the drama side as well. They are just one of many platforms that have emerged very strongly in the last three or four years. We are very proud of the brilliant drama we bring out of the U.K. We have the third season of Line of Duty and The Secret Agent, [both] from

JOHN SCHMIDT CONTENT MEDIA the same company, World Productions. We have a lot of competition, but we are proud of the shows that we have been able to acquire from the U.K. Of course, we have Canadian drama that we have always had as part of the Content Television catalog and this year is no different.

Slasher from Shaftesbury and 19-2 from Sphere Media Plus are two examples, and we are chasing a few others.

And we are developing original drama both internally and with our majority-owned production companies in New York and Los Angeles. All that effort amounts to more drama for the market that we hope can hold its own and have a unique place. [We are focusing on] premium quality—really that’s what it’s all about.

WS: You also have a strong documentary business.

SCHMIDT: We do. It’s a golden age for documentaries, and the exciting thing is that the theatrical documen-

tary has formed a foundation for an explosion of nonfiction programming. Again, it’s buyers like Netflix and Amazon, and others, that are taking great documentary filmmakers like Alex Gibney, who we are in business with, but others as well, and mapping their ideas out into six or eight or ten hours and coming up with gamechanging programming, like The Jinx. So yes, we’re doing theatrical documentaries with Alex and many other filmmakers, and we’re doing very strong multihour episodic programming for Amazon, Netflix, HBO, Showtime, CNN and many others, and we’re very excited about that.

WS: Content Television is only one pillar of Content Media.

SCHMIDT: My previous career was in independent feature film and when we started the company in 2001 it was called ContentFilm. We have our roots in that business, 6/16 WORLD SCREEN 35

By Anna Carugati

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Content’s drama slate includes the British series Line of Duty, which comes from World Productions.

so we still have a strong feature-film distribution business. But what I’ve seen over the last two or three years is the convergence of sales, as well as the production and development sides, of film and television. A lot of my old friends in independent film are making a living in television, and the kind of quality storytelling that is going on in episodic television is very reminiscent of some of the things we have been most proud of in independent film over the years. So yes, there is a strong film part to our business too, but the distribution and sales effort is converging. We have Content Television and Content Digital, but we are also selling feature films and continue to see that convergence within the company.

We also have our production companies and they are mostly in television but are also working in feature film.

Campfire is a feature-film production company in Los Angeles, and Alex at Jigsaw Productions is also doing featurefilm work. So the production companies and the distribution business are the pillars of Content Media.

WS: The cross-pollination of film and television is so interesting. I speak to a lot of actors who tell me it used to be that they either worked in one or the other.

SCHMIDT: Yes, I know, you never crossed over; if you did there was some bad reason! But that has completely changed. It’s very interesting, and being as invested as we are on both the production side as well as the distribution side gives us a chance to participate in the 36 WORLD SCREEN 6/16

growth of that demand for programming. It’s competitive, of course, to buy programming on the distribution side. It’s never easy, but the [increasing] demand for programming is fueling the growth in the production companies and that’s great.

WS: As you look out 12 to 18 months, what growth opportunities do you see?

SCHMIDT: We will continue to do what we can to ride the wave of premium programming—investing in that at our production companies and acquiring distribution rights when we see the opportunity. We’d like to step that up and see that as a measure of organic growth. We had good luck in investing in production companies early in their cycle and helping them grow, and that’s been true with several deals and we hope to do more of that in the next 18 months.

We started a business in China with Bruno Wu. That has had its second year now and has done quite well.

We’re excited to continue to invest in original television production and nonfiction as well for the Chinese market, and that could be explosively exciting in terms of growth. So [the growth opportunities lie in] new acquisitions on the production side to continue what we’ve been doing in television and film, growth through premium programming and more acquisitions, and continued geographical expansion and hopefully growth in China.

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MARKET TRENDS

and have first-look deals with. We’re starting to ramp up [our scripted business] and we want to represent more ongoing scripted franchises. We recently announced a deal with Arise Pictures, a scripted production company based in L.A. They’ve got a lot of good commercial projects in development, and we’re working hard with them to secure funding so that we can take them out into the international market.

WS: What trends do you see in the scripted market?

MUTIMER: The competition that comes from the big SVOD players means that there’s more demand than ever before, but the linear broadcasters are fighting back and [placing] appointment-to-view, must-see scripted programming in key slots in their schedules. Broadcasters are also using technology to make sure that their audiences can catch up and watch programming on their iPads. So there’s a real demand.

Last year we launched Versailles—which is the most expensive drama ever produced in France—in the English language, and we’ve sold that now into 135 territories, [including] the U.S., where it’s going to air on a broadcaster [Ovation] and on Netflix.

Wolf Creek, which was commissioned by the Australian SVOD service Stan, is great because it’s a brand that people know from the film franchise. We launched The Returned, from Yellow Bird, a production company in our group. We’ve got a French-language Belgian series called Public Enemy, which won the MIPDrama Screenings award. There’s been so much buzz about it. It just shows the broad appeal that even non-English-language scripted has these days.

By Anna Carugati

The merger of Banijay Group and Zodiak Media earlier this year formed a leading independent producer, acquirer and distributor of television content, with a network of production companies in 17 territories around the world. Tim Mutimer, the CEO of Zodiak Rights, is in charge of a catalog that spans scripted, unscripted, factual and children’s programming. Mutimer has begun working with producers across the entire group while furthering existing relationships with third-party producers in search of must-see programming that will satisfy the needs of traditional broadcasters and nonlinear platforms.

WS: What are the strengths of the combined BanijayZodiak catalog?

MUTIMER: Together, Banijay and Zodiak are now present in 17 territories, so we’ve got lots and lots of production companies to work with, and they’re the leading production companies in many of those territories. Part of the fun for us is working with our producers to see what’s on their slates and what we think has international appeal. We’ve got producers now in all of the major English-speaking territories—Australia, New Zealand, the U.S., the U.K.—and we know English content travels well.

So we have lots of great content coming through for us. And we continue to work with our third-party producers. That’s a really important part of the catalog that we represent; probably about 40 percent or 45 percent of our overall business comes from third-party producers.

WS: Tell us about some of the first-look deals or distribution partnerships that you’ve made.

MUTIMER: In terms of non-scripted, we’ve got a lot of deals in place. They can vary from seeing a project that we love and getting involved at an early stage to seeing something that’s coming to market and bidding alongside other distributors to identifying producers that we work with on a longer-term basis 38 WORLD SCREEN 6/16

WS: In unscripted programming, what are buyers looking for?

MUTIMER: In terms of non-scripted, people are interested in franchises as well. Increasingly, people want something that they can put their marketing money behind and attract an audience and repeat. And again, the strength of the group is that we’ve got ideas that are coming from all around the world, and we can make them travel quickly. Undressed is a series that started in Italy. It’s traveling into lots of other territories.

We’ve already announced the U.K., and there are many more coming. In terms of formats, shows like Wild Things, which we make with GroupM Entertainment, is uplifting, fun, original and different. We launched that a year ago, and it’s in six territories already.

WS: As you look toward the future, what opportunities do you see with this larger catalog?

MUTIMER: The next few months are going to be about understanding what we’ve got and talking within the group to our production partners and looking at their slates. We’re a distributor of scale and we’ve got the know-how, so if we get in early, we can see an idea that we like and we can work with our producers to make sure that they deliver us international versions and we can market them properly. It’s quite exciting to be able to do that with a lot of new producers within the group. I think you’ll see more of the kind of development deals that we’ve got with Arise. We’ve got some great partners that we want to carry on working with. I’ve also got an incredible team. We’ve come through a merger, which is always a tough time, but they’re passionate about what they do, from sales to acquisitions to the international programming team that makes sure that we get the materials to our customers; we’ve got great people and that’s important. With that and some great content, the future looks bright.

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FOX’s Cherry Season.

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Europe’s ever-growing demand for scripted titles is opening up new opportunities for Turkish and Latin fare across the continent.

By Joel Marino y all accounts, the drama fever that’s swept the globe over the last few years shows little signs of breaking. And nowhere is this truer than in Europe, a region whose frenzied hunger for all things scripted has created ample space for new types of productions to prove themselves. Chief among them: fiction’s current belle of the ball, the Turkish drama.

“For some time now, Europe has been a very rich market for series from Turkey,” says Can Okan, the president and CEO of ITV Inter Medya, which sells Turkish fare such as Black Money Love and In Between. “It’s really where the dramas first took off. Once global buyers saw how well these series were doing [for European broadcasters], they wanted to be a part of the success as well. So, selling into Europe has always been an important strategy for us.”

But it’s not just Turkish distributors who are profiting from Europe’s booming Turkey mania—even global players now

B

count series from that country in their catalogs.

“We have more than 700 hours of Turkish dramas that we’re bringing to various markets,” says Prentiss Fraser, the senior VP, global head of content sales at FOX. “We’ve only had these titles within the last two years, and even though they’ve been late entering the FOX catalog, they’re taking the region by storm.

It’s been a fun ride.”

DIZZY FOR DIZI Whether old pros or new to the game, many distributors of the glossy dramas (known in Turkey as dizi) point to Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) as key pieces of their business plans. This is, after all, where the genre first gained a foothold on the continent, says Ozlem Ozsumbul, the head of sales and acquisitions at Kanal D. “We started working with Eastern Europe in 2008, and we continue to have great friends and colleagues there who like our productions,” she says. “We sold many titles from our catalog [into that market]. Because they’ve already acquired and aired

so many of our previous series, we’re now in the process of offering them our latest titles.”

Besides hits such as Fatmagül, Forbidden Love and Mercy, Kanal D’s library also relies on more recent series, among them For My Son and War of the Roses.

“Obviously, our first success was in the Balkan region and Eastern Europe, because of how close those countries are to Turkey,” says Okan of ITV Inter Medya. “Former Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania—it all started there.”

But Okan also chalks up the ongoing triumph of dizi in these crucial territories to more than just geographical happenstance.

“The stories we are creating tend to be quite international,” he says. “However, when we’re talking specifically about this part of Europe, I think that our cultures are very similar. We share a strong sense of family values, and that is a theme that is very important to the plots of our dramas. [Audiences in CEE] have always identified with that, which is why they keep returning to our titles.”

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FOX’s Fraser agrees that noticeable cultural links are at the crux of why these series have resonated so well in this market.

A FAMILY AFFAIR “Central and Eastern Europe have always been strong supporters of the Turkish drama, and it’s true that people there can relate to the family dynamics in these stories,” she says. An example is the FOX hit Cherry Season, a romantic comedy offered to buyers at MIPTV this year. Though the series focuses on its heroine’s hurdles to find true love, it also showcases her domestic life with her mother and younger brother.

According to Fraser, this is the type of balance that makes characters stand out in the increasingly cluttered drama space.

“Once you get the audience to fall in love with these characters or be addicted to these stories, they come every night to see what happens next,” she says. “[Broadcasters] are finding that it’s quite a useful tool in helping to increase ratings for their channels.”

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“We have several format requests from our clients,” Ozsumbul says.

“To remain competitive, it’s important to become a key content provider to all markets.”

THE LATIN FACTOR

ITV Inter Medya has notched up sales all across Europe for its slate of Turkish dramas, which includes the hit series 20 Minutes.

In fact, a strong focus on family ties and chaste romances is what has helped differentiate Turkish dramas from the glut of U.S. imports jostling to find space in CEE schedules, says Besir Tatli, the general manager of Calinos Entertainment.

“Our series are very different from American series,” he says. “We have high production values, like dramas from the United States, but we’re not making science fiction or fantasy. We are telling stories about love, family and passion, so broadcasters who want something truer to life will turn to our content.”

CONTINENTAL EXPANSION “I think there’s been a backlash to American series in CEE,” says Mark Lawrence, the executive director of Europe, the Middle East and Africa for Endemol Shine International. “[Turkish dramas] feel safe, and they fit better with their schedules.”

Endemol Shine will be presenting its first self-distributed Turkish production, Intersection, at NATPE Budapest. (Endemol Shine Turkey’s first domestic production, Broken Pieces, is sold by Global Agency.)

“These dramas are something new and different,” says Lawrence.

“Rather than just having a programming slate full of American stuff, you have something like Turkish drama, which is sunny and glossy and full of good-looking people. It adds a great deal of diversity to the schedule.”

And the dizi competition with Hollywood productions isn’t just happening in CEE. “Though there’s a big appetite in Central and Eastern Europe for this

type of content, there are countries throughout the continent that are taking a second look at this genre,” Lawrence says. “We’ve shopped it around Benelux, France, Spain and Germany. There are plenty of territories that are searching for new dramas.”

Indeed, Western Europe has long been a holy grail of sorts for Turkish-content distributors; though the series have made strong headway in regions as diverse as Latin America and Asia, markets like Spain, Germany and France have, for years, seemed out of reach.

“Maybe because of our different cultures, Western Europe didn’t look at our series at all,” says Tatli of

Calinos Entertainment. “Our series meant nothing to them.”

Times have changed, though, as have strategies.

“Selling the ready-made products in Western Europe has always been difficult,” says ITV Inter Medya’s Okan. “But there is interest in several territories for our scripts. We expect to be selling our drama formats there very soon, and that is a big, positive change for us.”

Kanal D’s Ozsumbul acknowledges that “because of the success of the finished dramas in many parts of the world, the format side was second-tier for us.” However, the company now offers a slate of format rights for international remakes.

The Latin American players are very familiar with competition. Until the advent of dizi, they offered Europe’s de facto programming alternative, the telenovela.

“There’s no denying that Turkish romances have resonated very well throughout the continent,” says Claudia Sahab, the director for Europe at Televisa Internacional.

“They’re certainly taking up many [programming] slots, though fortunately novelas continue to have their own spaces, too.”

As with Turkish dramas, Latin telenovelas first made a splash in Europe via CEE. That was around two decades ago, when classic productions such as The Rich Also Cry (Los Ricos También Lloran) and Esmeralda found wild success in a region broken by the Cold War. “The countries that had formerly been under the Iron Curtain just fell in love with these productions,” says Sahab. “These were places that had suffered so much, and in our novelas they found a means to escape their problems.”

Turkish broadcaster Kanal D has a robust distribution business for bringing its titles, among them the drama War of the Roses, to international buyers.

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Televisa Internacional is touting Secrets at the Hotel, a long-running series that has a shorter episode count than typical novelas, for CEE buyers.

Despite the threat of competition posed by Turkish dramas, Sahab says that CEE markets will always find room for telenovelas based on the strong track record the genre has in the region.

“We have a permanent presence there, plus long-standing partnerships with clients who trust us,” she says. “Logically, every market has its cycles: there are lean years and then there are years of plenty. It’s a natural progression in the TV industry, and we’ve been here long enough that we can easily acclimate ourselves to any changes.”

NOVELA NOVELTIES But evolving markets also provide new opportunities, says Paloma García, international sales executive for Caracol Internacional. The Colombian distributor first broke into CEE in 2004 and has since fed a steady pipeline of novela finished tapes and formats into the territory.

“After a period of diminished activity in the region, audiences there are just beginning to refresh their taste for Latin content,” says García. “This is true of telenovelas, but also, in particular, of our series.”

In fact, a pivot away from the classic novela format and the introduction of shorter, higher-quality series has become the secret arsenal of Latin American companies fighting for relevancy on crowded broadcast schedules. At NATPE Budapest, Caracol is offering two such productions: The White Slave, a period drama that has already sold into Poland, Armenia and former Yugoslav countries, and La Niña, which is based on true events. Both

series have much lower episode counts than traditional novelas.

“To surprise audiences, we’re always looking to innovate the stories we tell,” says Caracol’s García.

“We’ve done this through novelas with a focus on humor, our ‘narco’ productions [about the drug trade] and now with series based on reallife people. I’m sure this is the strategy that will allow us to reach larger audiences in new territories.”

Even market stalwart Televisa has begun tinkering with its formula.

Though ready-made telenovelas continue to form the heart of its catalog, the company is expanding into other forms of storytelling.

“We are now starting to produce more series, which in the past had never really been a big [area] for Televisa,” says Sahab. “We also have long-running series, such as Secrets at the Hotel, which at 80 or so episodes are far shorter than what you’d expect from a novela.”

The expansion into new genres also allows Latin companies to branch out of the well-worn constraints of novelas, Sahab says.

“These productions are very different from what you’d expect from telenovelas; in fact, not only do they look more polished, they can also tackle stronger themes such as murder and crime, and even add a more sensual element,” she says.

However, both Latin and Turkish distributors concur that the real tugof-war is not with each other, but with the U.S. dramas that continue to fill slots from daytime to prime time.

“In reality, we’re not looking to replace American series, because we can’t compete directly with

them,” says Sahab. “But we are hoping that our new productions will at least be able to reach territories such as Northern Europe, where telenovelas have never been accepted. There’s space for all types of programming in Europe’s schedules.”

For Endemol Shine International’s Lawrence, the real promise lies outside of traditional programming slots.

“Broadcasters realize that they can offer this content on their

SVOD services,” he says. “They see the appeal and the opportunity of these titles. A few years ago, picking them up would have been a problem because distribution was so limited. Now, with so many devices and so many services, they have the opportunity to do something different from just filling a slot with traditional English-language fare from the U.S. or the U.K.” And who’s to say that this ultraconnected world won’t bring more opportunities for collaboration between producers from different cultures? At NATPE Budapest, Televisa Internacional is offering Yago, the latest in its experimentation with shorter-run content, which also happens to be an adaptation of a hit Turkish drama (Ezel).

“There’s no lack of quality drama content in the market whatsoever,” says FOX’s Fraser. “There’s an opportunity to do a lot of new things out there. And really, it’s a buyers’ market right now. They have a complete selection of anything they could want in front of them. It is an exciting time.”

Caracol has high hopes for The White Slave in Europe, with deals already signed in a few countries.

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ONE-ON-ONE

By Anna Carugati

ed Arrow Entertainment Group is the international production-and-distribution arm of ProSiebenSat.1 Media, one of Europe’s major media companies. With 16 production companies in seven countries, Red Arrow has established itself as a leading independent producer and distributor of scripted dramas and comedies, unscripted and factual programming, formats and feature films, as well as digital content.

Red Arrow’s chairman and CEO, Jan Frouman, has been steadily expanding the company’s footprint, acquiring stakes in production companies and forging partnerships with producers. The strategy behind every deal is to add to the group’s output of product and increase the chances of finding a show that will cross borders and become successful in multiple territories. Even more important, though, Frouman is looking for like-minded producers with whom he can build long-term creative relationships.

Frouman has bolstered Red Arrow’s presence in the American and British markets, which he considers the company’s anchor territories. He has secured stakes in companies such

as Fabrik Entertainment, Endor Productions, Left/Right, Half Yard and Kinetic Content. In February, Red Arrow and Smuggler created a new production company, Cove Pictures, which has a creative alliance with Eon Productions, whose principals are the producers of the James Bond franchise. And in line with parent company ProSiebenSat.1 Media’s focus on digital content, Red Arrow has invested in several digital companies, including Collective Digital Studio (now rebranded Studio71) and Ripple Entertainment.

With more than 800 titles, Red Arrow’s catalog includes the scripted series Bosch, Cleverman, Donny! and Lilyhammer. In the unscripted space, the company has had considerable success with social experiment formats, with Married at First Sight and Kiss Bang Love each selling in multiple territories and creating huge buzz on social media.

Frouman, who was recently appointed to ProSiebenSat.1’s executive board, talks to World Screen about his disciplined approach to investing in companies and his strategy for forming partnerships that provide access to talent.

WS: Tell us about your recent investment in Cove Pictures.

FROUMAN: This was one of those unique opportunities to expand our scripted profile with creative partners who have amazing access to talent. Cove is a production group based in the U.K. and the U.S., with Heather Rabbatts running the business. They have a creative alliance with Eon Productions, the producers of the James Bond franchise. Thus, Cove brings a new dimension of projects and talent into the group, and [their team is] exactly the kind of people we want to be in partnership with. It took quite a long time to get the deal done, in part because this was the first time Eon had made a move into television, so it had to be done right. We consider very carefully if the partnership is the right fit for all of us. And in this case, yes, we’re convinced and very excited about it.

WS: Television is becoming such a fertile creative ground; there is a lot of feature-film talent moving in.

FROUMAN: Yes. When we first started to talk with Cove, we went through some of the projects that they had cooking, and they told us: We’ve got this project with this many scripts and this talent potentially attached.

Is that sufficient to take it out? And we were like: Are you kidding? Where do we sign? So yes, that’s exactly right. For talent, there is now a complete blurring of the lines between film and TV, and companies like Cove Pictures are capitalizing on that.

WS: That fits in with the scripted portfolio that you already have.

FROUMAN: Exactly. In the last few years, we’ve made good headway in scripted, whether it’s what we’ve done with Bosch, Odd Mom Out and Donny!, or what we’re currently doing with Cleverman on the distribution side. We’re probably producing more scripted than we ever expected to at this point. And yet, success feeds appetite—we want to have access to more.

That’s where the balance comes in between being

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the U.S. sportsman market: fishing, hunting and outdoor adventure.

This is a really valuable market with a dedicated and loyal following. Dorsey has produced lots of branded entertainment focusing on that market, and this was our chance to go into that space. They are extremely smart and thoughtful about how they approach branded work. An ambition for us is to now go digital with them, creating some verticals around outdoor content. The total spending in that space in the U.S. is around $80 billion, I believe. It’s a massive yet fragmented market.

But there are a handful of players who know what they’re doing, and Chris Dorsey and his team are among them.

Fabrik Entertainment, an L.A.-based outfit that is part of the Red Arrow group of companies, is behind the Amazon drama Bosch, now in season two. commercially disciplined and creatively brave: we are trying to find smart ways of building partnerships to access promising content.

Frankly, there are certain shows— Odd Mom Out is one example— that I would love to own the distribution rights to for the benefit of the group as a whole. We don’t because in that case [the deal] didn’t come together in a way that allowed us to. But if we can find good partners who are going to create great shows where we can justify making a co-investment in owning the show, that’s the perfect combination.

WS: You have an equally ambitious non-scripted slate. Tell us about the investment in Dorsey Pictures that took place earlier this year.

FROUMAN: We recently made two non-scripted production company investments in the U.S. The first was Karga Seven Pictures and the second was Orion Entertainment, which has now rebranded as Dorsey Pictures.

We did these deals for the same reasons we did deals in the past: identifying a market that we like and finding amazingly talented,

culturally compatible partners.

They run their businesses well and have huge growth potential, and they are at a stage where they add a lot of value to us in terms of scale. In both cases we also felt that they were doing the deals for the right reasons: they wanted to

be within a larger group to take their business to the next level. All of those are the underlying priorities that we have for Red Arrow when we look at a deal.

In the case of Dorsey Pictures, it is interesting that they have a unique and dominant position in

WS: When setting up a partnership, aside from making the numbers work, there has to be a connection with the people you want to work with.

FROUMAN: Absolutely. Because once the financials of the deal are done, we have to want to talk to each other and collaborate. We need partners who are going to keep their passion, their excitement and their enthusiasm for the next couple of years. If that’s not there, a deal is not going to work

Red Arrow International struck up a partnership with SundanceTV in the U.S. for the ABC Australia genre drama Cleverman, which stars Iain Glen.

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Red Arrow International is showcasing both the ABC finished tape version and format of My Diet is Better Than Yours, a new fitness competition from U.S. outfit Kinetic Content. out. So far, we’ve been smart about finding companies who not only want to monetize what they’ve achieved but are also determined to choose their partner based on the best possible fit.

That’s the key sign for us. With our existing partners, we put a lot of time upfront into discussing how we can further develop our relationships. We are always aiming for partnerships that add value to both sides of the couple.

WS: Are you happy with the company’s current position in the U.S.?

Are you looking for more growth?

FROUMAN: I’m very happy with our current position. I love the collection of companies that we’ve brought together, and I love the producers who are part of this group. We gathered the leaders of every company together in New York at the start of the year for a workshop, and there were so many great people in the room who enjoyed each other’s time and company. Of course, we always keep our eye open for the next thing. But it’s got to meet the criteria I described earlier, and it also has to match the priorities that ProSiebenSat.1 has as a group.

We are not on a conveyor belt of acquisitions for their own sake.

Previously, we had done lots of deals and then took some time to focus operationally and to integrate the companies properly. And this approach paid off. Now, we’ve had some great opportunities that we didn’t want to miss, with deals like Dorsey and Karga. The nice thing with these [companies] is that it has almost been a turnkey scenario: they run their businesses so well and they fit in so nicely with us.

WS: Are there other territories where you would like to build your presence, or is the portfolio good at this point?

FROUMAN: We’re really pleased with our portfolio; but we can imagine adding on to it, whether it’s via minority investment, majority investment, start-up….

Territorially, there were countries like the U.S. and U.K. that were obviously key for us. I’m always open to doing something in another big market where we’re not represented, but it needs to make sense. If it’s just a flag-in-the-ground producer position where it’s tough to

make the business really work, where the formats coming out of that territory don’t travel that well, then it’s not worth it. We run our business pretty lean and we want to keep it that way. Of course, there are some big markets where we’re not represented.

But we’re being very patient at the moment.

bringing in third parties. Ripple is working very closely with Studio71, and we’re trying to push that ball down the field, but in a thoughtful, disciplined way.

ProSiebenSat.1 is very forwardthinking in the digital space and whatever we do at Red Arrow needs to fit into the group’s overall portfolio.

WS: Tell us about rebranding Collective Digital Studio as Studio71.

FROUMAN: The rebranding is really about the fact that ProSiebenSat.1 took a controlling stake in what was Collective Digital Studio in the U.S. We already had Studio71 in Germany. Then we combined the operations organizationally, structurally, financially, and thus it made sense to have a single brand.

WS: Can you tell us about plans for branded entertainment?

FROUMAN: Not yet, but hopefully very soon. As I mentioned earlier, our company Dorsey Pictures is already doing a lot in that area and their work with brands such as Ford is truly impressive. We want to find more opportunities in that field and are also aiming for synergies with ProSiebenSat.1.

SevenOne AdFactory is part of our ad-sales house in Germany and they are doing great branded entertainment work. Dorsey and the AdFactory team are already talking to each other to see if there is a way to collaborate. We aim to find every group contact point to extend the value of our businesses. I fully expect to have some great branded announcements coming up soon.

WS: The potential of short-form and digital content is endless, isn’t it?

FROUMAN: Definitely. That’s why Red Arrow started a company called Ripple Entertainment in L.A. last year, where we partnered with two senior executives in the digital space. With Ripple, we are building digital verticals on the back of our catalog, plus

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TVKIDS

WWW.TVKIDS.WS

JUNE /JULY 2016

LICENSING EXPO & NATPE BUDAPEST EDITION

L&M Trends / Mattel’s Richard Dickson / m4e’s Hans Ulrich Stoef Mondo TV’s Matteo Corradi / Studio 100 Media’s Patrick Elmendorff

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4 TV KIDS

CONTENTS

Meaningful Connections

FEATURES 10 I WANT THAT! Leading content rights owners share their strategies for building kids’ brands in a crowded and fragmented market.

10

The internet erupted with #LOLs over a viral video of a woman giddy with her newly purchased Star Wars Chewbacca mask, and the licensors are laughing all the way to the bank.

Ricardo Seguin Guise Publisher Anna Carugati Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani Editor Kristin Brzoznowski Executive Editor Joanna Padovano Managing Editor Sara Alessi Joel Marino Associate Editors Victor L. Cuevas Production & Design Director Phyllis Q. Busell Art Director Simon Weaver Online Director Dana Mattison Senior Sales & Marketing Manager Elizabeth Walsh Sales & Marketing Manager Andrea Moreno Business Affairs Manager

Ricardo Seguin Guise President Anna Carugati Executive VP Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development TV Kids © 2016 WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, #1207 New York, NY 10010 Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website: www.tvkids.ws

The clip, streamed live from her car outside a department store, has racked up more than 140 million views, making it the most watched Facebook Live video ever.

More impressive, though, is what the post did for interest in the licensed product. The Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens Chewbacca Electronic Mask by Hasbro quickly sold out at major U.S. retailers such as Kohl’s, Target, Walmart and Toys“R”Us. Eager shoppers also went looking on online outlets such as Amazon and eBay, where some are now selling the mask (which retails for around $20 to $30) for as much as $299.95.

Perhaps what ignited the firestorm of interest was the genuine, heartfelt delight the video showed (the post was titled “It’s the simple joys in life...”). This connection that a person feels with a product associated with one of their favorite movies, TV shows or entertainment brands is something that many others can (and did) relate to. Those working in the children’s licensing and merchandising (L&M) business are well aware of the importance of this meaningful relationship.

The extension of beloved brands for little ones with plush toys, action figures, games, apparel and more will be top of mind for many of the attendees at this year’s Licensing Expo in Las Vegas. Last year’s event saw more than 5,000 brands and properties represented, with a good number of them hailing from the kids’ television sector.

It’s no secret that once a child has a favorite show, they want to continue to connect and engage with those characters, even when they’re not watching TV. In this issue of TV Kids, Mansha Daswani explores the strategies for turning kids’ shows into successful L&M properties. The edition also contains an interview with Richard Dickson, the president and COO of Mattel, which is home to a slew of iconic brands, including the beloved Barbie. In addition to a profile of ZDF Enterprises’s kids’ and family highlights, m4e’s Hans Ulrich Stoef, Mondo TV’s Matteo Corradi and Studio 100 Media’s Patrick Elmendorff share with us the latest news about their respective companies. Common among these producers and distributors is the ethos that creating good content is key, and so is ensuring that IP will connect with viewers far beyond the TV screen.

—Kristin Brzoznowski

16 KIDDING AROUND Fred Burcksen, the executive VP and COO of ZDF Enterprises, talks about the company’s children’s and family highlights.

16

INTERVIEWS 15

Mattel’s Richard Dickson

18

m4e’s Hans Ulrich Stoef

20

Mondo TV’s Matteo Corradi

22

Studio 100 Media’s Patrick Elmendorff

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6 TV KIDS

m4e Mia and me / Wissper / Sherazade: The Untold Stories As Mia and me’s linear presence continues to grow, m4e is also looking to expand the property in the L&M space. “This brand has already proven its marketability, and we are looking into extending the licensing program into the North and South American markets,” says Peter Kleinschmidt, m4e’s senior VP of group marketing and brand management. Also a priority in the licensing arena is Wissper. “The foundation is already laid; after signing with Nick Jr. for the U.S. broadcast, we are coming to Licensing Expo to talk to possible agents for the North American market, as well as LatAm—and, of course, to meet with possible toy partners and potential licensees for those markets,” Kleinschmidt says. It’s still early days for Sherazade: The Untold Stories, which is in production, but conversations about licensing are under way.

“The successful original series Mia and me was extended with 26 new episodes in season two in 2015, flanked by many new products on shelves.”

—Peter Kleinschmidt Mia and me

Mercis BV Miffy Mercis BV owns the global rights for the book-based property Miffy, which inspired the new CGI animated series Miffy’s Adventures Big and Small. Regarding how the company has updated its L&M strategy for the show’s launch, Marja Kerkhof, Mercis’s managing director, says, “We still continue with the 2D style for some products. For other products, we have a whole new style guide for the TV series.” In the digital space, Kerkhof says the company is pursuing opportunities with games and apps. “The world is very large, and though we are active in quite a lot of countries, there are still countries where we’re not as active—obviously, we’re looking at that,” Kerkhof adds about the company’s goals for Licensing Expo. The Miffy brand has 250-plus licensees worldwide, covering books, theme parks, musicals, exhibitions and much more.

“For Licensing Expo, [we] find it very inspiring to see all our agents again and to learn from each other about what we do in different countries.”

—Marja Kerkhof Miffy’s Adventures Big and Small

Mondo TV YooHoo & Friends / Cuby Zoo / Sissi, the Young Empress Mondo TV is working with co-production partner Aurora World to introduce YooHoo & Friends and Cuby Zoo to the international market at Licensing Expo. Another focus will be Sissi, the Young Empress, which already has a presence in Europe.

“Mondo TV is proud to take this success overseas and is working with local agent Lawless Entertainment to strengthen the consumer-products program,” says Guido Bertè, the general manager of Mondo TV Consumer Products. A number of licensing categories are already in place, including stationery and apparel. “Our aim is to continue to build the Italian and international consumer-product program, and we will also be liaising with key partners to drive the brand further in 2017 and 2018 through events and activities,” adds Valentina La Macchia, the director of Mondo TV Consumer Products.

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Sissi, the Young Empress

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Serious Lunch Ronja, the Robber’s Daughter / Horrible Science /Art Ninja The book-based property Ronja, the Robber’s Daughter is one of Serious Lunch’s highlights. “Ronja has a big publishing program planned for 2017 and a limited range of product in Japan and Sweden, which our client the Astrid Lindgren Company would like to extend into other territories,” says Genevieve Dexter, the founder and CEO of Serious Lunch. The 26-part series from Studio Ghibli and the Astrid Lindgren Company won an International Emmy Kids Award this year for best animation. Another book-based property from Serious Lunch is the scripted comedy Horrible Science, starring Ben Miller. There is also Art Ninja, which encourages kids to experiment with modern art techniques. The company’s catalog features new seasons of both Horrible Science and Art Ninja.

“These are very well-known brands in many territories.”

—Genevieve Dexter Ronja, the Robber’s Daughter

Studio 100 Media Maya the Bee / Heidi / K3 Toys and publishing are currently the top categories for Maya the Bee and Heidi, both of which are being presented by Studio 100 Media at Licensing Expo. “Maya and Heidi are properties tailored for L&M exploitation,” says Christophe Drevet, the company’s international consumer products director. “Broadcast in more than 140 countries, both brands are known worldwide. Not only do kids show a strong affection for those brands, they also benefit from a full endorsement [from parents].” Drevet notes his desire to bolster the textile and liveentertainment categories for Maya and says Heidi would benefit from increased activity in the textile and fast-moving consumer goods spaces. Studio 100 is also showcasing the girlskewing property K3. The company will also be at NATPE Budapest talking to CEE buyers about these properties.

“Studio 100 will take advantage of Licensing Expo to highlight the preschool property Maya the Bee, Heidi and its girls’ brand K3.”

—Christophe Drevet Heidi

ZDF Enterprises Scream Street / Wolfblood Among the kids’ highlights on ZDF Enterprises’s (ZDFE) slate is the stop-motion-animation series Scream Street.

The book-based program follows Luke Watson, a regular kid who happens to have the werewolf gene. Wolfblood, meanwhile, is a live-action series about a teen who is neither fully wolf nor completely human and must learn to live with her super speed, strength and senses. Another title from the ZDFE.junior catalog is Dance Academy, which targets teen and tween audiences. “It is very difficult to touch that group, but Dance Academy has worked very well for us,” says Fred Burcksen, the executive VP and COO of ZDFE. For the younger set, there are preschool shows such as Coconut, the Little Dragon. ZDFE is heading to NATPE Budapest and Licensing Expo.

“We’ve done amazing things on a global scale, and everybody knows our brands.”

—Fred Burcksen Wolfblood 58 WORLD SCREEN 6/16

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Mansha Daswani surveys brands in a crowded and mericans spent almost $20 billion on toys last year, a nearly 7-percent increase on how much they shelled out in 2014. The key driver for that boost? Content. Whether movies, TV shows, apps or YouTube channels, content-based properties continue to propel the market.

The list of last year’s top-selling traditional toy items, compiled by NPD Group, reflects an interesting new development in the licensing space, at least as far as TV rights owners are concerned. The biggest seller wasn’t something inspired by PAW Patrol or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (although both are in the top ten), or even the mega franchise Star Wars (also on the list). It was a set of collectibles for Shopkins, a brand that just hit the market in 2014; as of January of this year, more than 240 million characters had been sold worldwide.

There’s no Shopkins film or TV series (yet?)—but there are videos, lots of them, on YouTube and fan sites, and they had logged more than 900 million views as of this January.

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MAKING A HIT The good news is, in an ultra-crowded and competitive market, it is still possible to come out of nowhere with a brand and set off a buying frenzy. Less comforting? The market is shifting dramatically, and changes in kids’ consumption habits and the media landscape could present a whole new set of opportunities, or woes, for the industry.

“Consumers still demand great stories and when they find one they like they will consume it ferociously—the rise in binge-watching is a testament to this,” observes Rick Glankler, the president and general manager of FremantleMedia Kids & Family (FMK). “But with so much platform fragmentation and content saturation, the stories have to be really good and highly original if they are going to stand out and drive deeper brand engagement, which is what drives successful consumer-products programs. In addition, the plethora of blockbuster theatrical releases that have become sustainable franchises has further saturated an already congested market and, with their massive investment, eaten into an area that was traditionally dominated by broadcast—even in preschool. This broad choice is great for consumers, but continues to pose massive challenges for IP owners and licensors competing to reach kid audiences.”

As Glankler notes, engagement is the key word—if a child doesn’t feel an attachment to your characters, they won’t be interested in urging Mom and Dad to buy the toys, apparel and more. Television (or OTT) success is just stage one, however, in building a long-term brand. And retailers are looking for a lot more than strong viewing figures when they’re determining what to put on their shelves.

Products from Mercis’s Miffy.

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some leading content rights owners about building kids’ fragmented marketplace.

“While still critically important, ratings are no longer the single most important driver for securing shelf space,” Glankler says. “Retailers are looking to see how brands engage with kids off- and on-screen and are relying more and more on IP owners and licensors to invest heavily in marketing their brands.”

Cristiana Buzzelli, the senior VP of licensing and acquisitions at Italy’s Rainbow, has a similar perspective. “The scenario for girls’ IP is very competitive, so good broadcasting is crucial but no longer enough to ensure the success of the franchise.

You need to appeal to the audience and hit them with strong identification power that can really tie kids to the brand in a unique way. Then, product-wise, the creative assets to be provided to licensees have to be great.”

For the veteran brand Miffy, which originated in children’s books by Dutch author Dick Bruna more than 60 years ago, the key has been keeping the product line fresh. “We’ve had licensees for 50, 60 years—some have been with us the entire time, which is amazing!” says Marja Kerkhof, the managing director of Miffy’s brand-owner, Mercis. “Also, there are always new parties to work with, especially in apparel. We are primarily a preschool character, but we have a big program with Uniqlo for tween and teen t-shirts.”

Mercis has product lines built around the original 2D images of the little rabbit, as well as a style guide for the 3D Miffy from the new series, Miffy’s Adventures Big and Small.

“We make a trend book every year and we keep it updated,” Kerkhof says. “Also, we have projects that are very different.

In some countries we have programs with athletics clubs for young kids to exercise. We have art projects. We have exhibitions in museums. There are always new initiatives.”

Zorro the Chronicles, meanwhile, is just beginning its global rollout following its international launch at MIPJunior 2015.

Partners on board include Hachette for publishing in France and French-speaking countries and Swatch for a Flik Flak watch. Discussions with toy licensees are under way.

At Licensing Expo, Rainbow will be focusing on its new animated series Regal Academy, aimed at girls 4 to 7, and the liveaction kids’ and tween show Maggie & Bianca Fashion Friends.

Buzzelli says that “Regal Academy is a very toyetic show, where great storytelling is developed alongside appealing play patterns based on role-play concepts, collectability (thanks to the main and secondary characters) and different outfits for the characters.” Key categories include toys, back to school, stationery, gifts, fashion accessories and publishing. Giochi Preziosi has signed a pan-European master toy deal.

“Maggie & Bianca Fashion Friends is driven by two of the most appealing elements for the audience: music and fashion,” Buzzelli continues. “Simba, which is already the European master toy partner, is exploiting the great potential of the show with a product line based on arts and crafts, musical toys, role play [and] fashion accessories.”

For FMK, three shows will take center stage at Licensing Expo: Kate & Mim-Mim, Danger Mouse and Tree Fu Tom. For Kate & Mim-Mim, FMK has toys, publishing, digital and apparel covered in the U.S. “We are looking at signing additional secondary categories, including bedding and bath, seasonal, activity and party goods,” Glankler says. Danger Mouse toys rolled out in the brand’s launch market of the U.K. this spring. Other key categories will be launching this fall. For Tree Fu Tom, meanwhile, toys are on shelves in Australia and are rolling out in the U.K. and other markets this year.

SKEWING THE SKUS The key for brand owners is having a diverse mix of products.

Cyber Group Studios, for example, has already amassed some 50 licensees for its flagship preschool brand Zou, which is broadcast in 150 territories.

Alexandra Algard, the international licensing and marketing director at the Paris-based company, says that books and DVDs have been the strongest performers so far. “In France, we have a huge partnership with Larousse for books,” she says.

“We have also developed a program in Italy with key publishers.” In the U.S., meanwhile, the company partnered with fastfood outlet Chick-fil-A on a promotion where Zou books were featured as part of kids’ meals.

With a third season currently in production, Zou is a well-established property, although Algard notes that the brand’s market awareness is not at the same level in every territory. “For example, we’re just starting to launch a licensing program in the U.K. and in Spain.”

CLASSIC COMEBACK DHX Brands’s main focus for Licensing Expo is the new Teletubbies. “The original was an absolute phenomenon for L&M,” states Tom Roe, the commercial director at DHX Brands.

“The characters are very appealing—cuddly, bright and colorful—and resonate strongly with a young preschool audience. So when DHX Media acquired Teletubbies, it was decided our focus for the new series would always be about not losing their core appeal: it’s evolution rather than revolution, updating them and modernizing them for a 21st century audience. ” Initial merchandise results have been strong so far in the U.K., and Roe is keen to replicate that success in other markets, particularly in the U.S., where the company is working with CPLG North America. Partnerships have already been signed with Spin Master for toys, VTech for interactive electronic toys and Hybrid for apparel, “as well as stacks of other best-in-class licensees,” Roe says. “We’re still working on other categories, up to and 6/16 WORLD SCREEN 61

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during the Licensing Expo, and there are very few we won’t look at for Teletubbies, given the wide appeal.”

Roe says that for DHX, building Teletubbies as a “long-term proposition” is paramount. “Teletubbies is a unique property in that it’s new but it also has a heritage. As a result, the opportunity is there to accelerate the time frame if we choose. Normally we’d like to get the broadcast launch, building the popularity and awareness first. We have a new audience, so it’s about making sure we introduce the property to a new generation and really seed it well, making sure people pick up on it and fall in love with it, and then we launch toys. Going too quickly in terms of launching products and categories after broadcast is definitely a way to increase the risk of having a shorter-term piece of business overall.”

Developing a mutually beneficial relationship with retailers —especially the big ones—is crucial. “They’re going to make a significant difference to the awareness and revenue performance” of your property, Roe says. “One of the major frustrations for a lot of retailers is that they’re going into a competitor’s store and seeing pretty much exactly the same product being offered.” The key, he explains, is “coming up with tailor-made solutions for these retailers, rather than simply offering the same or similar solutions to everyone.”

FMK’s Glankler notes the development of opportunities outside of the big-box retailers. “The independent toy chains in the U.K. continue to grow year on year and are becoming an essential part of the retail mix,” he says. “Retailers are also becoming more savvy about the need to drive footfall by offering more immersive in-store retail experiences, which provide great opportunities for us with character costume tours and similar initiatives that help expand brand engagement.”

Another expanding area is the digital space, where e-books, games and apps are providing a wealth of opportunities.

“For our preschool properties, the world of apps and mobile games is huge,” DHX’s Roe notes.

DIGITAL DOMAIN FMK’s Glankler says that “online is the single most important destination for moms to find out more about the content their kids love, and kids are the first to adopt new technology. Once we have that digital engagement in place, and it’s still early days for some of our brands, we can then look at ways to drive commercial revenue. In terms of commercial revenue, apps are a key focus area, but platforms like YouTube also provide us with an opportunity to seed our own content and to generate revenue.”

Of course, the games and apps landscape is crowded, so gaining awareness for your properties can be a significant challenge.

“We launched Zou in the digital market and made an app and two e-books,” Cyber Group’s Algard says. “We supported the launch with a lot of marketing aspects. We partnered with broadcasters in order to promote the app. We made a lot of deals with distributors. It’s a challenge to be on the top of that market, but we succeeded.”

Mercis, too, found innovative ways to promote its digital assets. “There are various ways to present them and incorporate them, for example in preschool activities with kindergartens,” Kerkhof says.

For DHX’s Roe, “It comes down to consumer feedback: people look at the ratings. If you come out with a quality product and it gets picked up early and you start to get those ratings, then it can snowball. It’s the consumer-driven endorsement that really helps.”

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Mattel’s Richard Dickson with World Screen’s Anna Carugati.

Mattel is home to a slew of beloved and iconic brands, from Barbie and Hot Wheels to Thomas & Friends and Polly Pocket. The challenge for Mattel is to continue to create toys that kids will love while also extending characters and stories to all the digital platforms children are flocking to today. Richard Dickson, Mattel’s president and COO, gave a keynote speech at MIPTV this year and then sat down for a conversation with World Screen’s group editorial director, Anna Carugati, to talk about reaching young ones wherever they are and about Barbie’s exciting new evolution.

TV KIDS: How is Mattel providing beloved brands and characters on digital platforms and portable devices?

DICKSON: Kids are the early adopters. They’re incredibly savvy in the context of today’s world and technology. It’s important for a company like ours, which is about traditional play, to integrate our content into storytelling on digital [media]. Any brand today needs to be where their consumers are. And the consumers are everywhere; they are platform-agnostic. Parents know there’s the beauty and the beast of technology: it’s incredibly engaging, exciting and creative, and at the same time it’s also concerning. We’re at an interesting place where we have to value open-ended play and spark kids’ imaginations with our toys— and at the same time, we’ve got to be on [multiple] screens, we’ve got to be telling compelling stories. We think about it as one holistic approach to engaging our consumer.

TV KIDS: What was the thinking behind creating different body shapes for Barbie?

DICKSON: There’s a lot of secret sauce behind the Barbie brand, and it’s an incredibly exciting time for us with the brand as well.

But make no doubt about it: it’s very difficult to keep an 11-anda-half-inch fashion doll relevant for 57 years. Part of Barbie’s history is she was always a perfect reflection of what was happening in fashion and pop culture. Barbie was the first astronaut and the first president. We tried to [inspire] girls to [believe that] through their imagination and drive they could be anything.

What we’ve done today isn’t necessarily so brilliant, it’s just embracing the DNA of the brand and looking at the history of it and saying, What makes Barbie relevant today? Today girls are growing up believing that they can be anything. And Barbie needs to start to look like women look today. Kids are looking at multicultural ethnicities and [women of different] sizes. Part of Barbie’s evolution was in terms of what girls look at and aspire to today. I think as we move forward with the brand, it’s not only going to be about inspiring girls—and boys, by the way—to imagine that they can be anything. We’ll start to think about, What can they do with the power of their imaginations?

How can they change the world in the context of engaging social media? Does Barbie become a conduit in terms of messaging and help kids not only imagine what they can be but ultimately help them accomplish what they can do? That’s an exciting new chapter I think you’ll hear about as the brand moves forward.

TV KIDS: Do you have a message for international content creators who may want to work with Mattel?

DICKSON: We’re not shy, and we certainly can’t do what we do on our own. I think those days are long gone at Mattel. We are embracing creativity not only in our house but with open arms out in the community. One of our most important strategic goals is to be best-in-class partners, and that doesn’t mean just the output, it also means the input. So we’re wildly welcoming new ideas, new thought-processes, and leveraging talent out there to continue to build our legendary portfolio. It may be working on one of our brands, or it might be inventing a whole new brand. The capabilities that we have as a company are largely untapped. What we can do at Mattel with the resources that we have and the instant connection from a global perspective with distribution and content, marketing and media and product development—it’s astounding. So the message that I would have [for international content creators] is: we’re in business, and we’ve got some amazing talent.

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ZDF Enterprises’s Coconut, the Little Dragon.

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Fred Burcksen, the executive VP and COO of ZDF Enterprises, tells TV Kids about the company’s children’s and family highlights. By Anna Carugati omething for everyone is very much the motto behind ZDF Enterprises’s ZDFE.junior catalogue.

The commercial arm of the German public broadcaster ZDF believes in having children’s and youth programming for all different kinds of television outlets and all ages and tastes.

ZDFE.junior, in fact, offers animation and live-action series for everyone from preschoolers to teens, and children’s programming remains a fundamental component of the larger ZDFE catalogue. “It is important and has been important over the last decades,” says Fred Burcksen, the executive VP and COO of ZDF Enterprises.

ZDF has invested in several aspects of the children’s business.

“We have a very strong editorial department within the network,” continues Burcksen. “We have a children’s channel called KiKA in which we are a fifty-fifty partner with ARD, and with our expertise at ZDF Enterprises we have done amazing things on a global scale.

“Everybody knows our brands,” he adds. He cites the liveaction series H2O: Just Add Water and Mako Mermaids. From Jonathan M. Shiff Productions in Australia, both are about teenage girls who are mermaids. Mako Mermaids was picked up by Netflix for its global footprint, as was the animated spinoff H2O: Mermaid Adventures, from Les Cartooneurs Associés and Fantasia Animation.

Another well-known brand is Wolfblood, a live-action series about a teen girl who is neither completely human nor completely wolf, but has super speed, strength and senses and must learn to deal with these powers. “We have just finished the

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fourth season of Wolfblood, and other big things are coming up,” says Burcksen.

ZDFE has had success with its programming aimed at teenagers, a group that’s hard to please. One such series is Dance Academy, of which three seasons have been produced in Australia with Joanna Werner of Werner Film Productions.

The series focuses on a 15-year-old Australian girl, raised on a farm, who dreams of becoming a dancer. But when she is accepted at the National Academy of Dance, she quickly realizes how challenging training and surviving the academy will be.

“They are coming-of-age stories, but they deal with issues that are really in between generations, so to speak, not for kids, not for adults, but just in between. It’s very difficult to touch that group, but Dance Academy worked very well for us.”

ZDF Enterprises has an equally rich offering for younger children. One recent series is the animated preschool show Coconut, the Little Dragon, from Caligari Film, based on bestselling books with more than 6 million sold worldwide. Encouraging problem-solving and emphasizing the importance of friendship and tolerance, the series focuses on Coconut and his friends Oscar and Matilda, who find that life doesn’t always prove to be easy on Dragon Island. Another new show for preschoolers is JoNaLu, from Scopas Medien in cooperation with ZDF and ZDF Enterprises.

ZDF Enterprises has a reputation among international broadcasters and production companies as a reliable partner. “We like that, and we need it,” says Burcksen. “We are always open to good ideas and useful cooperation.” And always looking to have something in the catalog for everyone.

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financing. This is our first trial on the live-action side. From time to time there will be more, but it’s not our core discipline.

Our core will remain animation.

TV KIDS: Is there a certain volume you try to maintain for production and development each year?

STOEF: We are not a volume producer. It sounds like we have a large volume because we have so many series in development and shows going on simultaneously. We have 150 episodes in production, but it’s mostly second or third seasons of our existing brands.

We never had a very large development slate before. It takes a long time from [starting with an] idea until you can get it financed and produced, so we need to have a number of quality projects in development to make a long-term plan for the next six to eight years. That’s what’s happening for us right now. We believe more in quality than in quantity.

TV KIDS: What qualities does a property have to have to secure shelf space in the crowded L&M market?

STOEF: Retailers are looking for big brands. It helps if you have a series that’s been adapted from a very well-known book; that at least can open some doors. Retailers are also looking

By Kristin Brzoznowski

Since its inception, m4e has focused on turning children’s and family entertainment IP into fully developed brands, with extensions that go far beyond the TV screen. This includes a robust licensing and merchandising (L&M) business, in addition to the creation, production and distribution of original animated and live-action programming. Hans Ulrich Stoef, the CEO of m4e, tells TV Kids about the company’s current production and development pipeline and shares insight into what retailers are looking for in the competitive L&M space.

TV KIDS: What are some of the current drivers of m4e’s business?

STOEF: Our major brand is Mia and me. We are in the third season, which will be delivered by the end of 2016 or start of 2017. We are already in development on season four and a feature film on top of that.

We came to MIPCOM 2015 with the new preschool show Wissper, which has sold really well for us. We’re very happy to have Nick Jr. in the U.S. on board. We have Discovery Kids as our partner in Latin America, ZDF and KiKA for Germany, CANAL+ in Poland and many others throughout Europe. The commissioning broadcaster on that show is [Channel 5’s] Milkshake!

The latest ratings showed that it’s performing 75-percent above the channel average, which is a phenomenal success.

We are going into a second season on Tip the Mouse, so we’re quite busy!

TV KIDS: Tell us about m4e’s foray into live action.

STOEF: We have a series in development called Me, Mum & Mystery. It’s a family-oriented co-viewing show based on a book that we optioned from Atlantyca IP Agency. During the development process, Atlantyca signed on as a co-producer as well. MIPTV was the first market where we introduced Me, Mum & Mystery to our broadcast partners in order to close the 68 WORLD SCREEN 6/16

for famous brands that are coming from toy companies. On the other side, though, broadcasters don’t like this as much.

They don’t want to just be a gatekeeper for the toys.

The key is to have a good balance between story, brand and digital these days. It’s not enough to just create a TV series based on a book. You need to add more to it in order to really attract [retailers] and the toy aspect needs to come in right from the beginning.

It’s so difficult. Sometimes retailers will say, We want to see something fresh and have a new toy concept. Then you come with something new and fresh and the next day they tell you, We need a pre-promoted brand in order to put you on the shelf. Everybody believes that the [licensing] of existing brands is the safest business, and I would agree. It’s not a guarantee for success, but it is the safest [strategy].

TV KIDS: What areas of the business will you be focusing on in the year ahead?

STOEF: For Mia and me we have many more markets that we’d like to crack. So far it’s doing really well in Italy, Germany, France and some Eastern European territories. Next, we’d like to go into Asia; this is a big priority.

We want to have a successful launch for Wissper. It has only started broadcasting in two territories so far, and we have another 45 territories where it’s been sold and still needs to launch. We will then be coming out with the first licensing and merchandising products in about 12 to 16 months.

We also need to fill the pipeline of projects for the coming years. We need to close the financing [on a number of them].

Coming from Germany, it’s not an easy task! We are not a country with a lot of subsidies and don’t get the necessary tax breaks in order to have a fair competition against other countries. So it takes a little longer [to put the financing together].

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channels from Qatar; and Aurora World Corp., the famous Korean toy company. And we are working with three American companies: Toon Goggles for Eddie Is a Yeti, Lawless Entertainment for Adventures in Duckport and Animagic for Bug Rangers. We are also working with Russian Mobile Television for Cat Leo. So we have an extraordinary world of co-producers, and our business model is very simple: we co-produce with them, we share the costs and the revenues. It is nice because they are happy with our TV distribution and we are happy with their toy distribution.

The business risk is very low because we participate in 27 projects, so we have 27 eggs in our basket—some eggs will be cooked well; some eggs will not! But this is part of the game, and with 27, the risk of big problems for the company is very small.

TV KIDS: And this has worked very well for the company’s market cap?

CORRADI: Exactly. Three years ago our share price was €0.37 ($0.41) and the market cap was around €15 million ($16.7 million). At this moment our share price is around €4.50 ($5) and our market cap, including the two controlled companies that we were able to list in the last three years in France and Switzerland, is around €165 million ($184 million).

By Anna Carugati

Mondo TV is one of Europe’s leading producers and distributors of animated feature films and TV series. The group consists of four companies located in Italy, France, Spain and Switzerland. It owns a library of 1,600 half-hours of TV episodes and 90 TV movies.

Established in 1964 with the aim of importing animation into the Italian market, Mondo TV has branched out through the decades into production and co-production and today is home to such evergreen properties as Puppy in My Pocket, Angel’s Friends and Sissi, the Young Empress. CEO Matteo Corradi tells TV Kids about the benefits of putting co-productions and well-known brands at the heart of the company’s business strategy.

TV KIDS: How have you reorganized the company?

CORRADI: Four years ago we decided to change Mondo TV’s business model and strategy. We decided to move away from the business model that is typical in this industry—idea, animation, toys. We went to the toy makers worldwide, the publishing companies and the online game companies and proposed joint ventures with them: fifty-fifty operations on their famous brands in order to do an animated TV show. This strategy brought the group 27 co-productions currently in place with 15 different co-producers on five continents. That has allowed us to be the most active producer of animated TV shows in the world at the moment, in terms of quantity, because we are going to have 650 half-hour episodes ready in 18 months. Our main clients are York, which is a big public Chinese group; Abu Dhabi Media, which is a major media branch of the Abu Dhabi government; the Baraem and Jeem 70 WORLD SCREEN 6/16

TV KIDS: Unfortunately many companies working in the children’s business have struggled in the last few years. Has your international strategy helped you?

CORRADI: Now we are doing only 10 percent of our turnover in Italy and 35 percent in Europe, so 65 percent is coming from outside Italy and Europe, mainly from China, North America and from the Gulf area. I think the problems that our competitors are having are due to the fact that they are still focusing on TV license fees. Of our turnover, which in 2016 will be €32 million ($36 million), only 10 to 15 percent is coming from TV fees. The rest is coming from L&M and toys. And the nice thing about our company—and we published the Q1 preliminary results on April 1—is that we have EBITDA that is 75 percent of the revenues and EBIT that is 40 percent of the revenues. This is the main point of our company. We have an enormous marginality because our business is very simple and secure. We have zero debt and total equity of the group is €41 million ($46 million). So we are in a very good position. And with the show Heidi, Welcome Home we are entering the teen soap-opera business. That is also another part of the business that we think will be very important for the future: we serve kids from 2 years old, with the preschool shows, up to 18 years old with Heidi.

TV KIDS: You mentioned China. How important is it to have partners there now?

CORRADI: China will become in a few years the new United States for media. China’s box office is sometimes three times what it is in the U.S. It’s amazing. So we made a big agreement with York, which is a publicly listed company in Shenzhen and Shanghai. I travel to China four times a year. We are co-producing in China. We are selling our library in China and our toys, and all the co-productions we are doing are airing in prime time on CCTV. China today is 45 percent of our revenues, and in the future this will increase dramatically

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Anubis and a number of other properties that were very successful, including Hotel 13. We have a very interesting lineup.

We can offer people the existing dubbed version, and we’re talking to partners about the possibility of doing format deals.

TV KIDS: What are some of the new animated properties you’re most excited about?

ELMENDORFF: We’re very excited about Nils Holgersson. There was an animated series [inspired by the book-based brand] coproduced by Nippon Animation and ZDF in the 1970s. We were approached by Bayerischer Rundfunk, one of the big regional broadcasters in Germany, who was interested in doing a new version of Nils for themselves and for KiKA. It’s based on a well-known novel from Selma Lagerlöf, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature. We completely changed the concept. We did a version where it’s not an ongoing story—every episode is closed within itself. We changed the character and we introduced new characters. It has become a very cool action comedy and we see the responses we’re getting are very positive.

The presales are also very positive.

The next thing we have is Arthur and the Minimoys, which we’re producing with Luc Besson. He wrote the books that sold successfully and there were three movies that did very well on an international scale. It’s a great brand. And being able to team up with [Besson and his team at EuropaCorp Television] and create a series is very exciting. We’re very enthusiastic about this project.

By Mansha Daswani

With the announcement earlier this year of its alliance with beIN Media Group to launch a kids’ channel in the Middle East and North Africa, Studio 100 Media continues to find new ways to exploit and expand its extensive catalog of animated and live-action properties. CEO Patrick Elmendorff offers TV Kids an update on the latest developments at the company.

TV KIDS: How has the emergence of new digital platforms for kids’ content impacted your distribution business?

ELMENDORFF: It’s all about windowing. You need to understand your local markets better than before because the windowing is different in every country. It’s important to have a clear understanding of what is possible. On one side you need to be able to service the needs of your traditional partners. Most of our co-productions are financed via broadcasters. On the nonlinear side, it’s exciting to work with global players like Netflix or Amazon and with other VOD platforms on a territoryby-territory level. I find it especially interesting that they are producing content exclusively for their own platforms.

TV KIDS: You recently partnered with beIN to launch a cobranded kids’ channel in the Middle East and North Africa.

How did that deal come about?

ELMENDORFF: We were approached by beIN. Their setup is amazing on the sports side. They asked us if we’d be interested in making a kids’ channel for them, similar to the channel we have in Germany [Junior, available on Sky Deutschland]. We were thrilled by the idea. It’s a very exciting deal for us. They are great partners.

TV KIDS: How is your live-action slate doing?

ELMENDORFF: Our Belgian parent company has the largest live-action studio within the Benelux. We did House of 72 WORLD SCREEN 6/16

TV KIDS: A lot of the shows we’ve discussed are based on existing properties. How difficult is it to introduce a new, unknown brand in the market today?

ELMENDORFF: There is a lot of content on the market, so there’s a lot of competition in the market. We’ve always had more of a brand focus rather than a project focus. You can see it with Maya the Bee. We’re doing a second season of 52x13 minutes. We had a very successful feature film for Maya the Bee, which we sold into 160 territories. We will now produce two more movies for Maya.

We’ve always believed that to keep a brand interesting, you have to continually invest in the content. Everything is content driven.

Kids buy merchandising and licensing products because they’re fans of the brand. It’s not that they buy something and then become fans of the brand. Everything starts with great content.

We try to find completely new things. On the live-action side we have a number of new projects—Night Watch and Kosmoo are shows we created ourselves from scratch. In general it is easier to work with a brand that is already established than to create something from scratch. But both have their ups and downs.

TV KIDS: You mentioned the Maya movies. Are you replicating that strategy with other shows, expanding the brand with theatrical releases?

ELMENDORFF: Definitely, yes. With Maya, we sold the series in over 170 territories. In certain territories it wasn’t so well known by the kids, but it was definitely known by the parents and grandparents. There is also the aspect of family viewing. I personally find this two- or three-generation phenomenon quite exciting. The parents or grandparents can sit together with their kids to watch these properties, and there’s an emotional connection. We established Maya in many territories and after that it was a lot easier to work on the theatrical side because it was so present in the minds of families. That is a concept that works very well for us.

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a DIRECTORY

selection of

Hotels

Restaurants

in

HOTELS

R E S TAU R A N T S

Bohem Art Hotel

0,75 bar & bistro Szent István tér 6 (36-70) 370-7474 European

Chef Café Sörház u. 4 (36-30) 211-7368 European

Kispiac Bisztró Hold u. 13 (36-1) 269-4231 Eastern European

Prime Steak & Wine Sas u. 18 (36-70) 331-8666 Steakhouse

Akademia Italia Szent István tér 12 (36-1) 301-0563 Italian

Comme Chez Soi Aranykéz u. 2 (36-1) 318-3943 European

KOLLÁZS Brasserie & Bar Széchenyi István tér 5 (36-1) 268-5184 European

Red Pepper Visegrádi u. 2 (36-1) 352-1394 European

Apostolok Kígyó u. 4-6 (36-1) 269-9566 European

Cyrano Kristóf tér 7 (36-1) 266-4747 European

Magyar Qtr Belgrád rkp. 18 (36-70) 329-7815 Eastern European

Salaam Bombay Mérleg u. 6 (36-1) 411-1252 Indian

Aszú Étterem Sas u. 4 (36-1) 328-0360 European

ÉS Bisztró Deák Ferenc u. 12 (36-1) 429-3990 Hungarian/Austrian

Monk’s Bistrot Piarista köz 1 (36-30) 789-4718 International

St. Andrea Wine & Gourmet Bar Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út 78 (36-1) 269-0130 International

Bali Caffe Károly krt. 4 (36-70) 389-3642 European

Europa Café Váci u. 45 (36-30) 738-7714 European

Nobu Restaurant Erzsébet tér 7-8 (36-1) 429-4242 Japanese/sushi

Bangkok Thai Restaurant Só u. 3 (36-1) 266-0584 Thai/Asian

Fat Mo’s Restaurant & Music Pub Nyáry Pál u. 11 (36-1) 266-8027 Pub

Onyx Restaurant Vörösmarty tér 7-8 (36-30) 508-0622 European

Molnár u. 35 (36-1) 327-9020 Corinthia Hotel Budapest Erzsébet krt. 43-49 (36-1) 479-4000 Danubius Hotel Astoria City Center Kossuth Lajos u. 19-21 (36-1) 889-6000 Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace Széchenyi István tér 5-6 (36-1) 268-6000 Hilton Budapest Hess András tér 1-3 (36-1) 889-6600 Hotel Erzsebet City Center Károlyi u. 11-15 (36-1) 889-3700 Hotel Parlament Kálmán Imre u. 19 (36-1) 374-6000 InterContinental Budapest Apáczai Csere János u. 12-14 (36-1) 327-6333 Sofitel Budapest Chain Bridge Széchenyi István tér 2 (36-1) 235-1234 K+K Hotel Opera Révay u. 24 (36-1) 269-0222 La Prima Fashion Hotel

Baraka Dorottya u. 6 (36-1) 200-0817 Central European Boom & Brass Vigadó u. 4-6 (36-1) 877-7788 European BorLaBor Étterem Veres Pálné u. 7 (36-1) 328-0382 European Borssó Bistró Királyi Pál u. 14 (36-1) 789-0975 European Buddha-Bar Restaurant Váci u. 34 (36-1) 799-7300 Asian/sushi

Hanoi Pho Akadémia u. 11 (36-1) 951-4427 Vietnamese

Pampas Argentin Steakhouse Vámház krt. 6 (36-1) 411-1750 Steakhouse/Argentinean

Taverna Dionysos Belgrád rkp. 16 (36-1) 318-1222 Mediterranean/Greek Tigris Restaurant Mérleg u. 10 (36-1) 317-3715 European Trattoria Mamma Hercegprímás u. 3 (36-1) 267-5268 Italian

Hungarikum Bisztró Steindl Imre u. 13 (36-30) 661-6244 Hungarian

Paris Budapest Bar and Restaurant Széchenyi István tér 2 (36-1) 235-1230 French

Up & Down Fővám tér 1 (36-1) 226-2329 French/European

Iguana Zoltán u. 16 (36-1) 331-4352 Mexican/Spanish

Parisi 6 Párizsi u. 6b (36-1) 266-4334 European

Véndiák Étterem Egyetem tér 5 (36-1) 267-0226 European

Kanpai Izakaya Japanese Bistro Szent István krt. 17 (36-1) 301-0373 Japanese/sushi

Pizza EATaliano Andrássy út 41 (36-1) 413-6589 Italian/pizza

Verne Váci u. 60 (36-20) 980-9689 International

Piarista u. 6 (36-1) 799-0088 6/16 WORLD SCREEN 75

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WORLD’S END

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

Every day, papers, magazines and websites worldwide print horoscopes— projections for people born in a specific month, based on the positions of the stars and planets. While many

Emilia Clarke

Helen Hunt

GILLIAN ANDERSON

Global distinction: Celebreality star.

Sign: Libra (b. October 21, 1980) Significant date: May 16, 2016 Noteworthy activity: Iranian officials raise suspi-

Global distinction: The X-Files actress.

Sign: Leo (b. August 9, 1968) Significant date: May 21, 2016 Noteworthy activity: Amid speculation about who

cions that the selfie-snapping reality-TV maven is actually a secret agent. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps claims that Kardashian is working with Instagram’s CEO to influence the Islamic republic’s youth, and notably its women, by portraying a lifestyle that is at odds with Islam.

Horoscope: “Others are taking notice of your actions, so it’s time to be on your best behavior.” (cafeastrology.com)

might take over for Daniel Craig as the next James Bond, the 47-year-old star of The Fall tweets a mocked-up poster of herself as 007 along with the caption “It’s Bond, Jane Bond.” She adds, “(And sorry, don’t know who made poster but I love it!)” with the hashtag #NextBond. Social media gushes with support and a petition, #GillianForBond, receives nearly 16,000 signatures.

Horoscope: “Resist the urge to start a rumor or spread any gossip. Today is not the time for it.” (mysask.com)

EMILIA CLARKE

weekly or monthly mes-

Global distinction: Mother of Dragons.

Sign: Scorpio (b. October 26, 1986) Significant date: May 23, 2016 Noteworthy activity: During a chat on Live! with

lives, some readers skip over them entirely.

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

But rather than poring over charts of the zodiac to predict world events, 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 significant dates, they could have avoided a few surprises.

David Hasselhoff

KIM KARDASHIAN

people rely on these daily, sages for guidance in their

Gillian Anderson

Kelly, the English actress admits to awkwardly watching the May 15 episode of Game of Thrones— in which she appears naked for the first time in a few years—with her parents. “I ended up sitting them down and being like, ‘Let’s watch it’—and then instantly regretting it,” she recalls. “My dad was like, ‘Again?’”

Horoscope: “Take a mental pause every time you are faced with a decision and ask yourself what the potential outcomes might be.” (dailyom.com)

BLAKE LIVELY Global distinction: Gossip Girl gal.

Sign: Virgo (b. August 25, 1987) Significant date: May 17, 2016 Noteworthy activity: While attending the Cannes Film Festival, Lively publishes an Instagram post featuring front and back pics of her wearing a gold Versace dress, along with the lyrics “L.A. face with an Oakland booty”— a line from Sir Mix-a-Lot’s 1992 song “Baby Got Back.”

Many of the actress’s followers take offense to her caption, which they interpret as being ignorant and racially insensitive.

Horoscope: “Take care about what you say—even goodnatured jokes are likely to be taken the wrong way.” (philipgarcia.com)

HELEN HUNT Global distinction: Mad About You alum.

Sign: Gemini (b. June 15, 1963) Significant date: May 23, 2016 Noteworthy activity: The actress places a drink order at a Starbucks, where she gets mistaken for another Oscar-winning blonde. “Ordered my drink @Starbucks.

Asked the barista if she wanted my name. She winked and said. ‘We gotcha’ #JodieFoster,” the 52-year-old star tweets alongside a photo of her cup with the first name “Jody” scrawled across the side (and misspelled).

Starbucks replies with the tweet: “Sorry about that! We hope the drink was still As Good as It Gets.”

Horoscope: “If clarity is absent, you should try to establish it by directly speaking your mind— openly and honestly.” (gotohoroscope.com) 78 WORLD SCREEN 6/16

DAVID HASSELHOFF Global distinction: The Hoff.

Sign: Cancer (b. July 17, 1952) Significant date: May 20, 2016 Noteworthy activity: The Baywatch star claims that he is running out of funds and can no longer afford to pay $252,000 a year in spousal support. He is requesting that the court lower the amount he is legally required to pay ex-wife Pamela Bach, who argues that Hasselhoff has plenty of money to spare and is worth nearly $120 million.

Horoscope: “You must change your approach toward dealing with money so that you can manage your finances smartly and progress in monetary terms.” (askmyoracle.com)

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