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THE MAGAZINE OF INTERNATIONAL MEDIA • JUNE/JULY 2010
www.worldscreen.com
DISCOP Edition
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contents
JUNE-JULY 2010/DISCOP EDITION Publisher Ricardo Seguin Guise
departments WORLD VIEW
8
Editor Anna Carugati
A note from the editor. UPFRONT
Executive Editor Mansha Daswani
10
New shows on the market. IN THE NEWS
Managing Editor Kristin Brzoznowski
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Editor, Spanish-Language Publications Elizabeth Bowen-Tombari
Power’s Justin Bodle. SPOTLIGHT
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GLOBAL NETS
Production and Design Director Jen Gilbert
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special report
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A NEW DIRECTION DISCOP is shaping up to be a vibrant opportunity for distributors to close deals.
TV5MONDE’s Marie-Christine Saragosse. WORLD’S END
Executive Editor, Spanish-Language Publications Rafael Blanco
44
34
Dori Media Group’s Nadav Palti.
34
In the stars. —Kristin Brzoznowski
BBC WORLDWIDE’S STEVE MACALLISTER
Sales and Marketing Manager Kelly Quiroz
Sales and Marketing Coordinator Cesar Suero
As managing director of BBC Worldwide’s sales-and-distribution division, Steve Macallister is leading the exploitation of some 50,000 hours of content. —Anna Carugati
on the record
48
Art Director Phyllis Q. Busell
Business Affairs Manager Erica Antoine-Cole
one-on-one
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Online Director Simon Weaver
DISCOVERY NETWORKS INTERNATIONAL’S MARK HOLLINGER
Present in some 180 countries with a host of brands, Discovery is continuing its international expansion under president and CEO Mark Hollinger. —Mansha Daswani
These targeted magazines appear both inside World Screen and as separate publications. PASSION RETURNS Latin American telenovela
Contributing Editors Lisa Haviland Grace Hernandez Bin Liu José Miguel López Spencer Sunshine Contributing Writers Dieter Brockmeyer Chris Forrester Bob Jenkins Elena Mora David Wood
Ricardo Seguin Guise, President Anna Carugati, Executive VP and Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani,VP of Strategic Development
distributors are holding on to the slots they’ve secured in Central and Eastern Europe 58…INTERVIEWS TV Azteca’s Mario San Román 62…Bandeirantes’ João Carlos Saad 64
Senior Editors Bill Dunlap Kate Norris Jay Stuart George Winslow
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FLOCKING TO RETAIL Rights-owners are betting
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on classic brands and compelling ideas to secure limited shelf space 72…INTERVIEWS Hasbro Studios’ Stephen Davis 78……Classic Media’s Andrew Kerr 79……Moonscoop’s Cynthia Money 80
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world view
A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR ANNA CARUGATI
Back to Basics The more things change, the adage goes, the more they stay the same. That seems to be the message from the U.S. networks and studios with their recent presentations of the new shows that will be premiering next season. The networks have apparently returned to their core strengths, investing in scripted dramas and comedies, two genres that have been the pillars of network schedules for decades. For all the talk in recent years of eliminating the cost of pilots and investing directly in 6 or even 13 episodes of a series, the networks and studios seem to be saying that in the high-stakes, hit-or-miss game of developing, producing and scheduling shows, the only way of having a chance at getting the whole process right is by doing it the old-fashioned way—investing a lot of money in quality product. In this year’s quest for quality and hits, there are plenty of big names in front of and behind the camera, from FOX’s new drama Terra Nova, whose executive producers include Steven Spielberg and Peter Chernin—the former president and COO of News Corporation—to NBC’s Undercovers, the new spy drama from J. J. Abrams, and ABC’s The Whole Truth, a legal drama from Jerry THE NETWORKS Bruckheimer Television. CBS is again betting on Chuck Lorre, the creator of the comedy Two and a Half HAVE APPARENTLY super-successful Men, with his new comedy Mike & Molly. FOX will have the new crime series RideRETURNED TO THEIR Along from Shawn Ryan, creator of The Shield, whose star, Michael Chiklis, returns to television in ABC’s drama No Ordinary CORE STRENGTHS, Family. ABC will also premiere a new crime drama, Detroit 1-8-7, with The Sopranos’ INVESTING IN Michael Imperioli. Lest we not forget how much the Internet and social-networking sites have influenced our SCRIPTED DRAMAS lives, CBS has picked up a new comedy called $#*! My Dad Says, which is based on a popuTwitter feed by Justin Halpern and stars AND COMEDIES. lar William Shatner. This is just a sampling of what’s to come in the fall, but this back-to-basics, stick-to-yourstrengths approach to scheduling is a smart idea, particularly as television, described so often in recent years with the derogatory “old media” label, is proving its resilience in the flashy “new media” world of websites, video streaming, message boards and tweets. Television’s staying power was extensively explained in a recent special report in The Economist. Reading it—and I encourage everyone to do so—provides ample reason 8
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for optimism about the future of our industry.The report is peppered with very encouraging facts: in the final quarter of 2009, the average American spent almost 37 hours a week watching television, and 106 million U.S. viewers watched the Super Bowl in February. As The Economist states, citing data from the marketing research company comScore, “The nation spent more time glued to that one match than it spent on YouTube…during the entire month.” Last year, at its peak, Britain’s Got Talent drew 68 percent of all British TV viewers and scored the biggest audience for any program since the highly anticipated football match between England and Portugal in the European championship in 2004. The pay-TV arena is proving that once people start paying for greater television choice, they are satisfied with their services and stick with them. In fact, despite the recession, pay-TV subscriptions grew by more than 2 million in the U.S. And in India, cable and satellite grew from two channels in the early ’90s to more than 600 today. The music industry was brought to its knees by the Internet, and newspapers seem destined for the same fate, but in television, smart, forward-looking broadcasters have embraced the web. Just look at the success of the BBC’s iPlayer—each month British viewers and listeners request some 120 million programs from the site. In the U.S., network websites and services such as Hulu are also extremely successful. It’s been found that series with self-contained episodes perform well on the web, and that bodes well for the U.S. studios, as the American networks have ordered up quite a number of cop and drama procedurals with story lines that wrap up at the end of each hour. So there is reason for confidence in the TV industry, and a feeling of cautious optimism is pervasive among distributors headed to DISCOP. While Central and Eastern European markets were pounded by the economic downturn, companies that sell programming into the region are finding numerous opportunities, as our feature in this issue found. Distributors of telenovelas, a genre that has long been quite popular in the region, are noticing that buyers are pulling out their checkbooks again. Finished product is faring better than formats, but the overall market for novelas has improved. I certainly try to have a glass-is-half-full attitude, and I think it’s fair to say that all those reports of television’s death have been greatly exaggerated.As long as the medium sticks to its strengths, its survival is guaranteed.
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AETN International www.AETNinternational.com American Pickers
• America: The Story of the US • Pawn Stars • American Pickers • Fugitive Chronicles • Life After People
AETN International has noticed signs of recovery throughout Central and Eastern Europe, according to Joss Duffield, the company’s sales manager for the region. “Advertising revenue has definitely improved and clients are acquiring new programming at a stronger pace again,” Duffield notes. The company’s sales in the region have grown year-on-year by 25 percent, in fact. AETN has high hopes that this will translate into strong sales at DISCOP, where the company will be presenting a number of new programs. Highlighting the lineup are America: The Story of the US, Pawn Stars, American Pickers and Fugitive Chronicles, the latest hits coming out of the company’s channels in the U.S. AETN will also be bringing new episodes of established hits like Life After People, Hoarders and How the Earth Was Made.“These programs feature compelling characters, storytelling and production techniques, all of which appeal to viewers and by extension to buyers.”
“We see room for further growth in program
distribution in the region, especially as our catalogue is about to take on a new dimension with the addition of Lifetime programming.
”
—Joss Duffield
ALL3MEDIA International www.all3mediainternational.com • Going Postal • Undercover Boss • Midsomer Murders • Wild at Heart • Skins
“This year we have been very happy to sign deals with new clients in Russia and Ukraine.”
—Stephen Driscoll
Drama has been the strongest revenue generator in Central and Eastern Europe for ALL3MEDIA Inter national.Titles such as Midsomer Murders, Wild at Heart and Skins have all performed well in the region, and the company has a large slate of new shows to present at DISCOP. Highlights include Going Postal, a $10-million fantasyadventure mini-series based on the novel by Terry Pratchett, “which will be very suitable for a holiday season slot,” says Stephen Driscoll, the VP of international sales at ALL3MEDIA. Another lead title is Undercover Boss, which has been a hit in the U.S. for CBS. Driscoll says the show is achieving strong sales for both the format and for the U.K. and U.S. finished versions. “I would say business this year has been challenging, with deals focused on the ‘must-have’ titles,” acknowledges Driscoll. He goes on to optimistically explain that he believes the worst of the downturn is passed, and that recent months have been “very encouraging.”
Wild at Heart
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Fugitive Chronicles
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Armoza Formats www.armozaformats.com Comedians at Work
• The Frame • Extreme Wedding Album • The Common Denominator • The Ran Quadruplets • Comedians at Work
Poland and Romania have been strong territories for Armoza Formats. “We have seen several local versions of shows from our catalogue produced and broadcasted there,” says Avi Armoza, the company’s CEO. These include deals on The Bubble, a show that involves quizzing isolated contestants on pop-culture events, as well as the dating formats Foreplay and Approved for Love and the financial-coaching series Overdraft Family. Meanwhile, Comedians at Work and Upgrade are currently on air in Romania. Shows that Armoza will be focusing on at DISCOP include the cross-platform reality format The Frame, the reality game show Extreme Wedding Album and the game show The Common Denominator. The company also has a new drama format to offer buyers, The Ran Quadruplets. The show turns a lens on four siblings as they grow up.
“ In the five years that Armoza Formats
has been selling to CEE, our business has increased noticeably and significantly.
”
— Avi Armoza
Banijay International www.banijayinternational.com • • • • •
Love Games Dr. Steve-O One Ocean View Styl’d My Parents Are Gonna Love You
One Ocean View
Banijay International, which includes Nordisk Film TV World’s activities, distributes all formats and finished programming produced by Banijay Entertainment companies. This includes a roster from Bunim-Murray Productions in the U.S., which Jan Salling, the head of international sales and business development at Banijay, says is a particular focus. Titles of note are Love Games, Dr. Steve-O, One Ocean View and Styl’d. Banijay also has a lineup of formats, with My Parents Are Gonna LoveYou topping the list. “Any genre with a glossy, high-quality look—that can be produced for a limited budget—will succeed there right now,” Salling notes. He is relatively optimistic about the recovery in CEE. “We have seen many signs of positive talking, but we are waiting for the spending to start.... I guess they also need to see the money from increased advertising sales in their accounts before they can begin acquiring international programming at higher levels.”
“There is definitely more
interest in international programming from all over the region.
”
My Parents Are Gonna Love You
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—Jan Salling
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Beyond Distribution www.beyond.com.au Highway Patrol
• Wild Animal Baby Explorers • MovieStar • Stop. Rewind • Highway Patrol • Love It or List It
Beyond Distribution cites solid business in Russia, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland, and it hopes to add some new clients to its list from meetings at DISCOP. “Our aim is to continue to nurture the relationships we already have, develop new ones and [bring] to the region high-quality programming that appeals to large audiences,” says Cristina Lowe, the VP of sales for Scandinavia, Benelux, Central and Eastern Europe, and Israel at Beyond. On offer is the preschool series Wild Animal Baby Explorers, along with Stop. Rewind, showcasing technological changes over the last few decades. In the always popular celebrity genre are MovieStar, which focuses on the lives and careers of Hollywood’s elite, and Six Degrees of TV, a look at how celebrities are all connected. Beyond also highlights its nonfiction slate, such as the home-makeover show Love It or List It and Highway Patrol, which follows a group of police who are tackling crime on the road.
“Our aim is to…[bring] to the region
high-quality programming that appeals to large audiences.
”
—Cristina Lowe
Cineflix International www.cineflixinternational.com • Nazi Hunters • Pitchin’ In • The Last 10 Pounds Bootcamp • The Cupcake Girls • Conviction Kitchen
Cineflix International recently acquired more than 150 hours of new programming for its slate, which also features its own in-house productions. “Our new drama documentary Nazi Hunters is a great example of the high caliber of programming we produce annually,” says Chris Bluett, Cineflix’s sales manager for the region. Other offerings include Pitchin’ In, The Last 10 Pounds Bootcamp and The Cupcake Girls. As lifestyle has been a popular category for the company, Cineflix notes as being of particular interest Colin & Justin’s Home Heist, Conviction Kitchen and The Opener. “Drama documentaries are also high on buyers’ shopping lists,” says Bluett. “The focus at DISCOP is to ensure all our buyers are up to date with Cineflix International’s portfolio.... The aim is to assist our buyers in filling specific slots in their schedules, which can often cause problems, as well as giving them the option to strip programming when needed.”
“ The market is certainly in
better shape than 18 months ago, and sales have been on the rise since the turn of the year.
”
—Chris Bluett Conviction Kitchen
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Claxson Media www.claxsonmedia.com • Volcano Hunter • Brotherhood of the Snow • All That Show: The Trip • In the Deep
“ Overall we are doing good business
and are planning to expand even more a year from now.
”
Music, fashion and sports have been the strongest genres in Central and Eastern Europe for Claxson Media, according to Ariel Taboada, the company’s head of programming, production and operations. “We have been strong in Spain and Italy for some time now, and we are keeping strong. There have been a couple of new countries that have been added to our client list, such as Romania and Poland,” he says. Claxson is looking to expand on this roster by closing new deals in the region for titles such as Volcano Hunter, an adventure series that explores some of the most impressive volcanoes in Hawaii, and All That Show:The Trip, which features a trip to the theater capitals of the world. Brothers Ruben and Isaac Vergès take viewers into the world of competitive snowboarding in Brotherhood of the Snow. Descending down to the depths of the ocean, deep-sea diver Gianluca Genoni is on a journey from Italy to Egypt in In the Deep, discovering the mythology of the sea and the story of the men who have tried for thousands of years to overcome its frontiers.
—Ariel Taboada
In the Deep
Flor Latina Entertainment Group www.flor-latina.com • • • • •
Swindlers
Swindlers Easy Money Guilty for Being Women Marriage Bowls Nothing Is What It Seems
Flor Latina Entertainment Group returns to DISCOP this year, and the Argentinean outfit has high hopes that buyers are back on track with their spending. Silvana D’Angelo, Flor Latina’s president and CEO, says, “I think that companies tried to restrain as much as possible during 2009 in acquiring new programming, but they cannot continue only by recycling their old library if they want to be competitive in their markets.They are betting again and they will try to find easy-to-produce formats from renowned writers that are not so expensive to recreate.This is exactly what we offer to our customers in Eastern Europe: tailor-made programming with all these characteristics from all genres.” Flor Latina offers a range of series, including Marriage Bowls. D’Angelo points to Swindlers as a series that has a particularly “European look” to it, “but with Latin flavor,” she says. Further highlights include Guilty for Being Women and the romantic comedy Easy Money.
“ Argentinean productions
have always found a good place in all European TV schedules.
”
—Silvana D’Angelo
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Globo TV International www.globotvinternational.com • • • • •
India: A Love Story Seize the Day Internal Affairs Profession Reporter GloboDOC
“ With these highlights we hope to be able to do good business with programmers of the region.
”
With Central and Eastern Europe’s media markets maturing and recovering, “the search for quality has increased,” notes Raphael Corrêa Netto, the international sales director at Globo TV International. Corrêa Netto says that to find success in the region, offering shows with high production values is crucial, and that at DISCOP, Globo is offering a portfolio that fits that requirement. In addition to Brazilian novelas—a slate that this year includes India: A Love Story, Seize the Day and the Telemundo co-production El Clon—Globo has the action series Internal Affairs, while on the comedy front there’s The Cleaning Lady. And on the unscripted side, Globo is showcasing formats—Sketch It Out and Profession Reporter—and documentaries, with Brazilian Beats and GloboDOC.“We’re putting a lot of faith in the documentaries about Brazilian culture and personalities made exclusively for the international market,” Corrêa Netto says.
—Raphael Corrêa Netto
Profession Reporter
Mediaset Distribution www.mediasetdistribution.com • The Deli • In the Eyes of the Assassin • Police District • A Matter of Respect • My Daughters
Maintaining the strong ties it has already established with channels in Central and Eastern Europe is the main focus for Mediaset Distribution at DISCOP. Manuela Caputi, the company’s international sales manager, says that it’s all about “being flexible and understanding of the difficulties that some channels pass through, but nevertheless not diminishing the value of our programming.” The company launched a format-distribution branch just a few years back, and Caputi says this has helped open up new relationships with clients in these markets. For DISCOP, Mediaset is launching new seasons of successful series such as Police District, A Matter of Respect and My Daughters. “We believe that the channels that showed interest in these series can now benefit from more episodes,” Caputi says. “As per the new releases, we can count on TV-movies titles like In the Eyes of the Assassin and [series such as] The Deli.”
A Matter of Respect In the Eyes of the Assassin
“ The possibility to explore the
adaptation of some of our fiction series enabled Mediaset to establish new relationships with its clients in these markets.
”
—Manuela Caputi
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ON TV www.ontvcontenidos.com • • • •
Bernarda Llorente and Claudio Villarruel
3, 2, 1…a ganar! Los Otros Secretos de Amor Cain y Abel
Just a few months ago, Bernarda Llorente and Claudio Villarruel, formerly at Argentinean broadcaster Telefe, set up a new content venture, ON TV. Villarruel and Llorente left their posts as artistic and programming directors at Telefe in December, and reflect back on their experience with fondness and appreciation. “We are very thankful to all the people from the business that we know,” says Villarruel. “They have given us a lot of energy. Some of them didn’t understand why we left such a privileged place after 10 years, but we had to build other paths.” ON TV has a handful or projects in the works currently, including 3, 2, 1…a ganar! Further highlights include Cain y Abel, which features two brothers who battle because of religions reasons, politics and ideology. Los Otros is a TV movie, while Secretos de Amor is a telenovela. Llorente says that the creative process at ON TV is quite collaborative. “For me, the creative process has two parts,” Llorente adds. “One is the sensibility and the other one is the experience.”
Programas Para Television www.programasparatv.com • The Hollywood News Report • Forever Animation • Caribbean Conspiracy: The Assassination of Trujillo • A Touch of Class • Medical Breakthroughs & Discoveries in Science
Programas Para Television is showcasing its original news program The Hollywood News Report. The half-hour show takes a look inside the entertainment industry. Jacqueline López-Silvero, the company’s president, says that promoting the English-language weekly production throughout Europe is a top priority. “I am certain it will achieve the same success it has in Latin America,” she adds. The company is further focusing on Forever Animation, a slate of award-winning animated films and series. A Touch of Class spotlights the making of a party. Medical Breakthroughs and Discoveries in Science deliver 3x90-minute weekly clips about health news, covering new medical procedures, treatments and technologies. As 2011 marks the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the Dominican Republic’s tyrannical dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina, Programas Para Television is presenting the documentary special Caribbean Conspiracy:The Assassination of Trujillo.
Unfinished Sky The Hollywood News Report
“ Our lineup is a very diverse bouquet that contains global, compelling themes.”
—Jacqueline López-Silvero
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SevenOne International www.sevenoneinternational.com
“ Our strength is our large portfolio of
• Danni Lowinski • Floor Faber • The Frontier • Fugitives • The Secret of Loch Ness II
fiction, entertainment formats and magazines catering to the channels’ needs and interests of viewers of all target and age groups.
”
SevenOne International has noticed that business is picking up in CEE, “especially in Russia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Bulgaria,” according to Axel Böhm, the company’s regional sales director and head of international fiction acquisitions. Böhm points out that SevenOne’s slate of catastrophe events has been in demand, with standout titles such as Sea of Death, Factor 8 and Blackout. A further highlight is the big-budget event The Frontier, which features a terrorist attack on oil reserves. Fugitives recounts the fate of three best friends who find themselves on the run from authorities. In the way of family entertainment comes The Secret of Loch Ness II. “CEE market buyers are usually also looking for long-running series,” Böhm says. “Consequently, we are excited to present our dramedies Danni Lowinski and Floor Faber, and our latest telenovela, One in a Million, following the success of Love Is in the Air.”
—Axel Böhm
Danni Lowinski
Telefe International www.telefeinternational.com The Resistance
• Secrets of Love • WAGs, Love for the Game • The Resistance • 3, 2, 1 Let’s Win! • Everybody Against Juan
On the heels of the success of its entertainment format Just in Time, Telefe International is eager to build its unscripted business in Central and Eastern Europe at DISCOP. “We’ve discovered we can do more than fiction,” explains Michelle Wasserman, the head of international distribution, programming, formats and production services at the Argentinean distributor. Russia has already proven to be a major format market for Telefe International, both in terms of variety and game shows and telenovelas. “Sometimes we provide much more than the format,” Wasserman adds. “It’s also the production services. We have produced an entire telenovela in [Argentina] for Russia.” New on the formats slate for DISCOP is 3, 2, 1 Let’s Win!, a game show. Meanwhile, there are a number of telenovelas available for buyers at the market. Leading the offerings is a co-production with ON TV called Secrets of Love. There are also WAGs, Love for the Game, Everybody Against Juan and The Resistance.
“ Our core is fiction
but we can do much more than that, in a very good way, a cheap way, an easier way.
”
— Michelle Wasserman
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Televisa Networks www.televisanetworks.tv • Canal de las Estrellas • TL Novelas • Telehit • Ritmoson Latino • Clásico
Televisa Networks broadcasts its signal in most European countries. However, its most important markets are Sweden, Switzerland, Portugal and Spain. “We have a wide range of content, from music to series and soap operas,” explains Fernando Muñiz, the CEO of Televisa Networks. “Canal de las Estrellas has the top programs from Televisa, besides in-house productions for Unicable. This is what makes the channel unlike any other, as it is not only aimed to Mexicans, but to all Latin Americans and Spanish speakers in Europe.” The most attractive features of the channel, according to Muñiz, are the soap opera premieres, the bull fighting, which is very popular in Europe, and the in-house series like Netas Divinas, Miembros al Aire and Es de Noche y ya llegué. Muñiz says that expanding to reach more households is a key priority for the channels in Central and Eastern Europe.
“ [Canal de las Estrellas is]
not only aimed to Mexicans, but to all Latin Americans and Spanish speakers in Europe.
”
Netas Divinas
twofour54 www.twofour54.com • Driver Dan’s Story Train
Driver Dan’s Story Train
With a mission to grow a sustainable Arabic media industry, twofour54 identified the children’s arena as one with great potential in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The outfit is putting its efforts behind Driver Dan’s Story Train. Jane Smith, the general manager of Ibtikar Commercial, explains that the rollout strategy for the series is twofold. “Firstly, we are involved in producing the highest quality content working with our partners 3LineMedia and CBeebies.This content production spearheads the brand’s development across international markets as we launch Driver Dan across TV, home entertainment, publishing (with our partner Macmillan), consumer products and digital platforms.” Smith continues, “Secondly, our approach in the MENA region is to reimagine the production for an Arabic-speaking audience. This involves totally adapting the content so that it feels and sounds home made for an Arabic-speaking child. We are working with Blink Studios...to adapt the scripts, produce brand-new live-action segments featuring local children, and to repurpose the animation to reflect the cultures of the Arab-speaking world.”
“twofour54 could not have found a better
production to kick off their strategic content investment plans than the brand-new preschool series Driver Dan’s Story Train.
”
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—Jane Smith
—Fernando Muñiz
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in the news
MAKING HEADLINES IN THE MEDIA INDUSTRY BY ANNA CARUGATI
Big and Bold Television
territories across the world now. As you can see from our development and production of series, it’s all about delivering those big audiences and those big shows. And because stations want to invest in things that can offer a return and that will allow them to tick that box and know, “I’ve got a very strong audience and there is a creative journey to continue on this series,” they can support that and deliver what [the viewers] need. We are not only doing series, but we are looking at producing extended mini-series, going to six hours and eight hours, and not just a four-hour format. Drama is one of those critical genres that is incredibly important in a depressed market, as well as a strong market, particularly to deliver a personality to the station that the advertisers can say, “Yes we’re safe with that; we really want [to be associated with] that.”
Power’s Justin Bodle Founded in 1995, Power has become a leading independent producer and distributor and has partnered with major broadcasters around the world to finance high-quality and award-winning mini-series, series and movies for television. Power’s productions and co-productions include the International Emmy Award–winning mini-series Henry VIII and the epic disaster mini-series Flood , both for ITV; and, most recently, The Day of the Triffids , an adaptation of John Wyndham’s bestselling novel, for BBC One. Power’s chairman and CEO, Justin Bodle, talks about the enduring appeal of event television.
WS: Is quality critically important to attract viewers as
well as advertisers? BODLE: Absolutely, you need a point of difference
WS: Why are high-budget TV movies and mini-series important to broadcasters, even in a depressed economy? BODLE: They are more critical now than ever. It’s all about securing high ratings and strong demographics. It’s all about delivering in one night or two nights [of programming] that will guarantee big returns, and we’ve been doing better now than we had been before. Event TV movies and mini-series are more expensive, a lot more expensive, and we’ve had many different broadcasters investing in our shows in order to get them made, [more so than for] a standard drama, but events are delivering big, big audiences. If you are searching for advertising revenues certainly you are searching for big audiences, so why [not go for the] biggest type of show possible. WS: Why have you added long-running series to your slate of event TV movies and mini-series? BODLE: The big event minis are really getting much bigger, much more technical, much more ambitious. It’s coming from audiences expecting more and more and more. While we are seeing the theatrical market polarized between big studio pictures and small indie films, with a gap in the middle, so in terms of big international TV drama, we are seeing polarizations. And we are creating a need in audiences that sometimes a four-hour miniseries doesn’t necessarily deliver. For instance, if you look at The Tudors in America on Showtime, that was effectively a four-hour mini-series that was delivered across a whole series structure because they could keep delivering that to an audience. And that is happening in many 26
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with advertisers, as well. When the markets are in a downturn, advertisers are pretty cruel. They expect a lot of competition and they exploit that competition—rightly so, that is their job. If you’ve got a point of difference, if you’ve got real quality that is showing through, the advertisers will always have the ability to say, “Actually, that is what we are looking for, it’s not just about the fact your CPP [cost per rating point] is the best. It’s also about the fact that you are offering a strong environment for our product.” If you’ve got a very attentive, very engaged audience, what a great place to have your advertising. WS: Tell me about Power’s new division for local drama
and format production, Powerlocal. BODLE: We’ve worked with Sue Green—who is the man-
aging director of that new division—on a number of different productions. She’s one of those extraordinary mixes of being an incredibly good businesswoman at putting packaged product together, but she’s also a brilliant producer. As our first foray into [local production] we are developing a European novela brand because we feel that is an area of drama that is very underexploited in Europe. The novela is a Latin American genre that works incredibly successfully in very Catholic countries in Europe. And we feel there is a bit more that could be available because the genre is very strong.We also have a number of different reality formats to combine with what we do in drama, and with what we do with our big advertisers, who are looking very closely at what we are doing. We also distribute two soap operas for Procter & Gamble, the CBS soaps As the World Turns and Guiding Light. When we took over the distribution of those shows, we always said the way forward with these is to get them on the air and see how they work so that we can start developing local versions of [serial dramas and novelas].
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spotlight
A LOOK AT INNOVATION IN THE TELEVISION INDUSTRY BY ANNA CARUGATI
Building Out the Business
Dori Media’s Nadav Palti The Dori Media Group has ridden the wave of telenovelas’ worldwide popularity to great success. It has produced and distributed some of the most popular and innovative titles in the genre, including Lalola and Amanda O , and has launched channels and even an Internet portal entirely dedicated to novelas. Nadav Palti, the company’s president and CEO, talks about the importance of diversifying revenues and making content available on multiple platforms.
WS: Last year was a very difficult time for everyone in advertiser-supported media. Are you seeing signs of improvement? PALTI: Yes, we are seeing signs of improvement, and MIPTV was surprisingly very good. We signed a lot of deals and that’s very unusual. Most of the time, you present your new content, and you negotiate at MIPTV, but you don’t sign the deal during the market. But we did and that was a very, very good sign that the market is improving, as we expected. It will take time, but 2010 will be much better than 2009, and 2011 will be better than 2010. I also think people have learned not to establish their businesses only on advertising. Cable and satellite are strong because part of their revenue is subscription based; they are not entirely dependent on advertising. People are learning to get more revenue from cell phones, from the Internet; the revenue comes from all the platforms that are being developed. It’s a process, it’s not one shot, but first of all I think advertising will increase because the market is getting better.
WS: How is Novebox.com, Dori Media Group’s content
portal, performing? PALTI: We launched Novebox.com one and a half years
ago in all of Latin America and the U.S. Hispanic market, and it is doing great.We finished March with more than 1 million unique users per month, and by June we expect 2 million unique users, and we want to reach 3 or 4 million unique users by the end of 2010. We also want to offer a VOD platform on the Internet. In Israel, we are developing very advanced technology that allows viewing, as well as billing, collecting, and placing content on our platform from other producers. Novebox can track what’s being watched. They can go online and see what programming works well or doesn’t, and they can push more of the content that works, and take out what people don’t want to watch.The Novebox.com business model will depend more and more on VOD—a monthly subscription that allows people to watch whatever they want. We are going to have all Latin content and maybe even content from the majors that we subtitle or dub into Spanish. We want to create a new world where people who like Latin content—telenovelas or daily series or TV movies—can come and watch for a relatively very small amount per month, and it will be for the whole family. I believe we will also add children’s programming like BabyTV. Novebox is doing much better than we expected and it is part of today’s new world. We have to respond to viewer demand and we have to diversify our revenues. TV distribution today does not pay enough money, so we must be able to derive more revenue streams from our content in order to have the opportunity to cover the cost of the production and produce profits.
WS: How is your channel business, and do you have plans
to launch more services? PALTI: The channel business is doing very well. We now
have 18 channels on the air, six outside of Israel and 12 in Israel. All of them are subscription based and not dependent on advertising, so it’s a very stable business. Every month we have more and more revenue and it’s very profitable. We plan to launch at least another two TV channels in 2010, so that by the end of the year we plan on having 20 TV channels. Production and distribution is one leg of our business model. It has more risk but the opportunity is huge: if a program sells well, you can make a lot of profit; if it doesn’t sell, you can lose a lot of money. On the other hand, the TV channels, which are the second leg of our business model, are very stable. Our third leg is our newmedia offerings, and it is between the TV channels and the production. 28
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WS: Are you also having success with cross-platform content? PALTI: All our cross-platform telenovelas and formats are doing very well. Amanda O is selling all around the world. uMan has been very well accepted and we sold it to more than 15 countries. uMan could be the next Big Brother, but it’s for cell phones, the Internet and TV. It’s fully interactive—the audience influences and decides everything 24 hours a day. In the past, content was made primarily for TV, with few applications for Internet and cellular, while uMan’s main platforms are the Internet and cell phones and there is an application for TV. So Dori New Media, the new company we created one and a half years ago, has really performed, and the decisions we took back then are paying off. In Israel we are now developing three or four new formats and even drama for the Internet and cell phones. 6/10
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global nets
CHANNEL HOPPING THE INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS OF CABLE AND SATELLITE BY ANNA CARUGATI
Bringing France to the World
TV5MONDE’s Marie-Christine Saragosse When asked which are the most widely distributed global channels in the world, most people will say CNN or MTV, but they probably won’t mention TV5MONDE, the Frenchlanguage, general-entertainment channel, which broadcasts 24 hours a day and is available in 200 territories with a cumulative audience of 55 million individual viewers each week. TV5MONDE launched more than 25 years ago. It premiered in 1984 with five French-language broadcasters—France’s TF1, Antenne 2 and FR3, Belgium’s RTBF, and Switzerland’s SSR—providing programming. It rapidly enlarged its footprint and the number of its broadcast partners. Today, TV5MONDE is comprised of nine different feeds serving the U.S.; Africa; Latin America; Asia-South Pacific; Europe; France, Switzerland and Belgium; Orient; and Quebec, Canada, reaching 207 million households. The service has 10 partners (France 2, France 3, France 4, France 5, France Õ, ARTE France, RTBF, TSR, Radio Canada and Télé-Québec) contributing programming. TV5MONDE boasts a schedule that includes contemporary and classic French films, news, children’s and magazine and lifestyle programming, explains MarieChristine Saragosse, who as managing director oversees all of the company’s channels.
tongue,” says Saragosse. Consequently, while the channel’s programming is aired in French, some is subtitled in English. “U.S. subscribers spend around 60 percent of their total TV viewing time watching TV5MONDE, and the channel’s churn rate is less than 1 percent,” continues Saragosse. TV5MONDE USA serves this very engaged audience with the type of all-things-French programming they can’t get anywhere else. During the Cannes Film Festival last month, for example, the channel offered the weekly magazine show Lumière et Caméra, which provided wrapups of each week’s highlights; the daily show L’Invité, which featured insight from top newsmakers at the Festival; and daily newscasts from Cannes. SPORTS AND SKILLS
FRANCO-AMERICAN RELATIONS
In America, TV5MONDE USA has some 330,000 subscribing households, and management wants to increase that number. To better serve its subscribers, and to allow them the ability to watch whatever show they want whenever they want, TV5MONDE has begun rolling out on-demand services. “It started in New Orleans in March of this year, because of the strong historical and cultural ties the city has with France, and because 20 percent of the households in that market are French-speaking,” says Saragosse, who plans to introduce on-demand offerings in other cities in the U.S. and around the world. She also wants to expand the distribution of the linear channel in the U.S., which is currently carried by the satellite service DISH Network as well as on Verizon FiOS and AT&T U-Verse. “Fifty-seven percent of TV5MONDE’s viewers in the U.S. are American, so French is not their mother 30
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In addition to these programs, the channel aired critically acclaimed feature films that had been screened in the official selection competition at previous Cannes Film Festivals. France is not only renowned for its famous film festival, but for the Roland Garros tennis tournament, also known as the French Open, one of four major grand-slam professional tennis tour events and the premier clay-court tournament in the world. To provide U.S. fans of the tournament with coverage of this prestigious event, for the second year in a row, TV5MONDE USA has secured a sub-license agreement with the Tennis Channel for French-language broadcast rights of the 2010 French Open. As part of its global media expansion strategy, TV5MONDE launched its first iPhone application, 7 Jours sur la Planète (7 Days on the Planet), in March. This program, which airs each week on all TV5MONDE feeds, is central to the channel’s “Learning and Teaching French with TV5MONDE” initiative, which helps tens of thousands of students learn French thanks to the interactive exercises on the web. Initially aimed at English speakers, the 7 Jours sur la Planète iPhone app will be adding German, Spanish and Japanese to the language menu. TV5MONDE USA has plans for a new program, says Saragosse, which will air twice a month, and will focus on cultural events in the U.S. that are linked with French culture or French-speaking countries’ culture. Saragosse and her team want to continue to expand TV5MONDE’s reach around the world. Proof of the popularity of the service is that last year, despite the bad economy, the channel increased its subscriber base by more than 10 percent.
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A New
Direction The markets of Central and Eastern Europe continue to show positive signs of recovery, making DISCOP a vibrant opportunity for distributors to close deals from a number of genres. By Kristin Brzoznowski
As a relatively young and enthusiastic television market, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is showing many signs of a healthy recovery. Most of the countries across CEE were hit hard by last year’s economic downturn, but a steady upswing in advertising spending has left many distributors with renewed confidence. ZenithOptimedia is forecasting that ad spend will grow by 5.7 percent this
year, and a further 8.5 percent in 2011. With television attracting more than half of the media-buying pie, distributors are finding plenty of opportunities in CEE to shop programming from a wide variety of genres: drama, events, music and more. This has created quite positive sentiment among the suppliers heading to DISCOP East in Budapest, where some 800 buyers 34
will be on hand looking for new product to fill out their schedules. “DISCOP is definitely a market that we are focusing on in 2010,” says Jan Salling, the head of international sales and business development at Banijay International. “We are optimistic that the much-talked-of upturn in business in the region is about to happen and we want to be top of mind and first choice to all major players there.”
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Banijay’s offerings for buyers span a number of genres, as the company includes Nordisk Film TV World’s activities and distributes all formats and finished programming produced by Banijay Entertainment companies. “We have had limited format-sales success in Central and Eastern Europe in 2009,” Salling notes. “However, this has been compensated by an increase in finished program sales to the region.” Satisfying the apparent appetite for finished product, Banijay is highlighting its programming lineup from Bunim-Murray Productions in the U.S. Salling points to Love Games, Dr. Steve-O, One Ocean View and Styl’d in particular. “Any genre with a glossy, high-quality look—that
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The new frontier: America: The Story of the US made a big splash with its U.S. debut on HISTORY and AETN is taking the title worldwide.
can be produced for a limited budget—will succeed there right now,” he says. “And if it has some kind of revenue stream built in or if it comes with [the possibility for a sponsor], this will all add to the sales potential.” SevenOne International is also finding that finished product is in demand across CEE. Axel Böhm, the regional sales director for CEE, Italy and Spain at SevenOne, notes a “huge desire” for catastrophe events in the market. “Hence our highlights Sea of Death, Factor 8 and Blackout will hit a nerve.” He adds that CEE market buyers are usually also looking for longrunning series. “Consequently, we are excited to present our dramedies Danni Lowinski and Floor Faber, and our latest telenovela, One in a Million, following the success of Love Is in the Air, which has aired on Poland’s TVP 1, Bulgaria’s bTV, Latvia’s LNT, Estonia’s Kanal 2, and has also been a smash hit on Italy’s Canale 5.” Böhm says that overall sales in the region have been stable for SevenOne, despite the economic downturn. “We had really good feedback from clients after this year’s MIPTV: the business is picking up again, especially in Russia,
Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Bulgaria.” For AETN International, Hungary, Poland and Russia have also been the strongest markets, according to the sales manager for CEE and the Middle East, Joss Duffield. She adds that the Czech Republic is where the company has seen the most growth. “The economic downturn did not hit us in a significant way—our sales in the region have grown year-on-year by 25 percent,” says Duffield. “A major reason for this is that AETN saw opportunity in the region and created a position dedicated to program sales in these territories.”
of established shows like Life After People, Hoarders and How the Earth Was Made. “These programs feature compelling characters, storytelling and production techniques, all of which appeal to viewers and by extension to buyers,” Duffield says. Factual, along with factual entertainment, tops the list at Cineflix International as well. The company
recently picked up more than 150 hours of new programming for its slate, in addition to continuing to produce its own shows. “Our new drama documentary Nazi Hunters is a great example of the high caliber of programming we produce annually,” says Chris Bluett, the company’s sales manager for the region.“Nazi Hunters is just one of the new shows Cineflix International will be highlighting at DISCOP. Pitchin’ In, The Last 10 Pounds Bootcamp, The Cupcake Girls, ÜberGuide and Weird or What? with William Shatner are some other titles to keep an eye out for,” he adds. “These titles provide our buyers with a real spread across factual programming and factual entertainment.” Lifestyle programming has also been proving to be a particularly strong genre for Cineflix, Bluett notes.“Home makeover and cooking channels are on the rise and shows like Colin & Justin’s Home Heist, Conviction Kitchen and The Opener cater very well to our buyers. Drama documentaries are also high on buyers’ shopping lists—none more than Mayday: Air Disaster. A certain volcano erupting helped boost awareness on this,” Bluett quips. Australia’s Beyond Distribution has found similar success in the nonfiction
THE REAL DEAL
At DISCOP, Duffield is highlighting the factual offerings America:The Story of the US, Pawn Stars, American Pickers and Fugitive Chronicles, which are the latest hits coming out of AETN’s channels in the U.S. The company will also be bringing new episodes Moments of reflection: The daily docu-soap Cases of Doubt is a lead title from ALL3MEDIA. 36
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arena. From its multi-genre catalogue, “the strongest performers have all been factual programs,” says Cristina Lowe, the VP of sales for CEE, among other territories, at Beyond. Titles the company is highlighting at DISCOP include Highway Patrol, a series following a group of policemen tackling crime on the road, and Love It or List It, a homemakeover show with a twist. Outside of the factual realm, Beyond has high hopes for Wild Animal Baby Explorers, a preschool series; MovieStar, which focuses on the lives and careers of Hollywood stars; Stop. Rewind, a look at the technological changes of the last 30 years; and Six Degrees of TV, which explores how every star can be linked by a chain of no more than six relationships with every other star. “We are focusing on these titles, as they are innovative, fresh, appeal
Cultivating culture: While the format market has been challenged in the last year, SevenOne sees strong potential for its Scandinavian hit format Culture Shock: Norway.
to a large audience and travel well across countries,” Lowe says. Beyond has additionally found success in the region with drama series, a category that has also been a top-seller for ALL3MEDIA Inter-
national.“Drama is by far the strongest revenue generator for our company in CEE,” says Stephen Driscoll, the VP of international sales at ALL3MEDIA. “Midsomer Murders, Wild at Heart and Skins all perform extremely well in this region year on year.” After signing deals this year with new clients in Russia and Ukraine, Driscoll is optimistic heading into DISCOP. “We are [over] the worst of it and the past three months have been very encouraging,” he says, “with Poland making a particularly strong return.” Among the large slate of new shows ALL3MEDIA has for the market, Driscoll is particularly keen on showcasing Going Postal, a $10million fantasy-adventure miniseries based on the novel by Terry Pratchett, and Undercover Boss, which has been a huge hit for CBS in the U.S. Undercover Boss has been notching up strong sales for both the U.K. and U.S. finished versions, but also as a format. LOOKING TO LOCALIZE?
Healthy sales: Banijay International is focusing on a range of finished products for the market, including a lineup from Bunim-Murray that features Dr. Steve-O. 38
Scoring a format pickup in CEE isn’t always easy, however. As budgets have been cut throughout the region—drastically in some countries—the cost of producing a local adaptation may not be feasible for all companies. “It has been challenging to get broadcasters to commission new formats,” acknowledges Nick Smith, ALL3MEDIA’s VP of
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format sales. “However, they have been keen to keep the formats they already have on air. There do seem to be increased opportunities now, as broadcasters are looking for new formats to refresh their schedule. Also, production companies are becoming more proactive in the region in optioning formats, which is very healthy.” Smith says that it’s the more established channels in the region that are investing in local productions, though he notes that opportunities are emerging for inexpensive formats on newer stations in some territories. “Traditionally, game shows work very well in the region,” he says. “Cash Cab, for example, has been (and continues to be) very successful in lots of CEE territories. It is cost-effective and can play virtually anywhere in the schedule.We’re also seeing a lot of interest in our scripted reality formats. Cases of Doubt launched earlier this year on Polsat (after a strong launch on RTL in Germany at the end of last year), where it has rated excellently, meaning that they have commissioned more episodes and we’ll be able to announce another format deal in the region at DISCOP.” The formats ALL3MEDIA is bringing to DISCOP cover a wide spread,“so we should have something for everyone,” Smith says. He points in particular to daily scripted reality formats, like Families at the Crossroads.
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Trends of the times: Beyond is looking to score sales in the region on Stop. Rewind, which looks at the discoveries, breakthroughs and innovations that shaped the last three decades.
“The stories used in these formats are things that are happening every day in countries in the region, which makes compelling viewing for audiences. The fact that they can be produced for half the price of a daily soap makes them very appealing to broadcasters!” Another player in the formats arena is the Israel-based Armoza Formats, which has established a solid relationship with many countries across Central and Eastern Europe. “Overall, in the five years that Armoza Formats has been selling to CEE, our business has increased noticeably and significantly,” says Avi Armoza, the company’s CEO. “From the start it was a great region for us sales-wise, and broadcasters [had] enthusiasm for our formats. Each year we are continuing to see an increase in the opportunities there.”
ries for the company, Armoza says. “We have seen several local versions of shows from our catalogue produced and broadcast there, including the pop-culture quiz show The Bubble, the game show Upgrade, the dating formats Foreplay and Approved for Love and the
financial-coaching series Overdraft Family.” Armoza has also had success in Lithuania with Overdraft Family and Taste Case. It’s been only a few years since Italy’s Mediaset Distribution launched its format distribution arm, yet the move has proved to be a positive one
for making deals in CEE. “The possibility to explore the adaptation of some of our fiction series enabled Mediaset to establish new relationships with its clients in these markets,” says Manuela Caputi, the international sales manager at Mediaset.
OPENING THE PLAYING FIELD
“It’s a dynamic market,” Armoza continues. “The major players shift and give rise to new companies and channels, which provide a constant flow of new outlet opportunities. It’s a young, growing market, with room within its indigenous creative infrastructure for the incorporation of outside material, and, for a distribution company, it’s a great place to work.” Poland and Romania have always been strongly performing territo-
Looking through the lens: Armoza Formats’ business has been strong throughout Central and Eastern Europe, and the company is looking to continue on this path by closing new deals for formats such as the new drama The Ran Quadruplets. 40
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Icing on the cake: Cineflix is keen to present its roster of factual and factual-entertainment titles to buyers in CEE, with highlights such as The Cupcake Girls.
Caputi says that action and crime and investigation are the categories most in demand in the region. “There is less space for sentimental drama these days,” she adds. In keeping with this trend, Mediaset is launching at DISCOP new seasons of the successful series A Matter of Respect, set in the world of organized crime, and Police District, a cop show. There’s also a new season of My Daughters, skewed toward women. “We believe that the channels that showed interest in these series can now benefit from more episodes,” says Caputi. “As per the new releases, we can count on TV-movie titles like In the Eyes of the Assassin and [series such as] The Deli.” PLENTIFUL PLATFORMS
The region’s healthy sales opportunities have even paved the way for new entrants into the market, such as Latin America’s Claxson Media. The Argentinean company had been doing solid business in Spain and Italy for some time, but it has been adding new clients to its list from CEE, including Romania and Poland. “Overall we are doing good business and are planning to expand even more a year from now,” says Ariel Taboada, the
like the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Russia has had an impact,” says Böhm. “There are more thematic channels launching with clearer focus on certain demographics and quite often on female audiences.” The experience has been similar at Cineflix. “We have seen a rise in thematic channels, which works well for Cineflix International, given the range of programming we have to offer,” Bluett says. “As a result, we have seen a significant rise in revenue across the region in all genres.” Bluett goes on to note, “MIPTV gave a real indication that buyers are back on track now, and looking at their end-of-year and early 2011 schedules.” Many distributors, in fact, are still riding high on the buzz generated at MIPTV, where a sense of optimism was felt throughout the Palais that business is getting back to usual. And, with CEE’s growth rates more attractive than those in more developed regions, DISCOP is poised to be a promising market for making sales from a variety of categories.
programming and production tal channels brought new buyers to the director at Claxson. table, it has also redefined the programMusic, fashion and sports have been ming needs and strategies for existing the top genres for Claxson in the channels,” says AETN’s Duffield. region, according to Taboada. In the SevenOne has also seen its busisporting category, In the Deep, about ness increase as a result of the deep-sea diving, and The Long Bros, a region’s pay-TV growth. “The rollsurf series, have been two of the comout of digital channels in countries pany’s strongest shows this year. Adding to this is the new offering Brotherhood of the Snow, which looks at snowboarders who are training for a world championship. In the way of music, Taboada highlights Sounds of Freedom as a title that has generated much interest. “We have seen an increase in channels, and we have designed many of our productions for these [secondary] channels,” Taboada notes. Indeed, the pay-TV market in CEE has been expanding quickly in recent months, and there’s no sign of it slowing down. And Claxson is not the only company that is benefiting from the booming channel business. “Not only A cut above: The Deli leads off the slate of new releases from Mediaset Distribution, the international has the launch of new digi- distribution branch of the Italian group Mediaset. 42
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one on one
t
he sales-and-distribution division of BBC Worldwide is a behemoth in the international television business. Second only to the Hollywood studios, it is the biggest exporter of TV programs outside the U.S. The sales-and-distribution division is one of seven core businesses of BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the British public broadcaster BBC. The other divisions are channels, content and production, digital media, magazines and children’s and licensing, home entertainment, and global brands, all of which provide a global showcase for the best of British creative talent. As managing director of sales and distribution, Steve Macallister is responsible for the exploitation of intellectual property of some 50,000 hours of inhouse and independently produced content from BBC Worldwide’s catalogue. In 2008-2009, Macallister’s division reported profits of £59.2 million ($86.3 million) with a turnover of £231.2 million ($337.25 million). BBC Worldwide’s primary purpose is to bring value to the BBC in the form of
profits and program investment. BBC Worldwide acquires the commercial rights to programs such as Planet Earth, Doctor Who and Top Gear and finds ways of earning money from these across different media and markets. It then channels funds back to the BBC to be invested in new programming and services. Each year in February, Macallister and his team host BBC Showcase, a unique annual sales event with stars, premieres and events that kick off 1,400 hours’ worth of program screenings. BBC Worldwide, of course, is also present at major markets throughout the year. Among the many new shows BBC Worldwide is offering buyers this year are the drama Married Single Other; the action series Strike Back; Hartswood Films’ Sherlock; and the new BBC crime drama Luther. Factual programs include the ambitious Human Planet, a co-production from the BBC, Dis covery and France Télévisions, and the new science spectacular Seven Wonders of the Solar System. Rounding out the slate are the new formats Drop Zone and Kidnapped by the Kids and the children’s series ZingZillas.
WS: After Showcase and MIPTV, do you
feel that buyers are willing to open up their checkbooks again or are they still a little risk averse? MACALLISTER: Certainly buyers are opening up their checkbooks, but they are slightly more risk averse and are looking at new models. Co-production is certainly higher up on the agenda than it has been before, which is great because that is really in line with our strategy to build some bigger co-production partnerships.
a new team in our EMEA [Europe, Middle East and Africa] division to focus on coproductions and work with the BBC and our indie partners as well. We are in the process of retooling our U.S. team. Obviously, the U.S. is a very significant partner in co-productions, as a sizeable amount of revenue comes from that particular territory. If you want to be successful in the U.S. you’ve got to have a successful coproduction strategy and sales team. We have basically re-geared our team and we are seeing an uptick in that activity.
WS: What is your overall strategy
WS: Are you seeing an increase in the
Steve Macallister BBC Worldwide
toward international co-productions? MACALLISTER: The key thing is you can’t have too many partners. There is an optimal number. It doesn’t need to be just one.We have recently put in place 44
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demand for British drama? MACALLISTER: There is more of an
interest in drama than there has been before, and I think it’s fair to say that was kick-started by the U.S. In Britain we’ve got a great tradition of quality drama. At
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MIPTV, BBC Worldwide had one of the strongest slates of contemporary drama we’ve had in a very long time. We had Sherlock, which is a contemporary version of the iconic detective Sherlock Holmes. We launched it at BBC Showcase but at MIPTV, which for us is really a follow-up market to Showcase, it was selling like hotcakes. It really was, I don’t say that lightly. We’ve launched a new show that has been commissioned by Sky. It’s called Strike Back, based on the Chris Ryan bestseller, and stars Richard Armitage. There is a lot of strong interest on that. And Idris Elba, famous for his part in HBO’s The Wire, is starring in another iconic detective show coming from Britain called
Ready to strike: Based on the novel of the same name written by ex–British Special Forces soldier Chris Ryan, the action series Strike Back is a Sky commission.
Luther. That is looking very, very strong, and that is very much in the tradition of British drama, so we are really getting back to our strengths.
WS: How important is it to be a
multi-genre distributor that is active in every segment of the business? MACALLISTER: We cover all the
On the case: A new spin on the detective genre, Luther, which stars The Wire’s Idris Elba, is a dark psychological crime thriller, which BBC Worldwide scored presales on ahead of its BBC One premiere. 6/10
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major genres. It’s part and parcel of being a distributor for the BBC, a major public-service broadcaster. Part of the reason people come to us is the strong BBC brand, our association with quality, and the fact that we do cover all the major genres. If you’re looking for great drama, you should come to the BBC. We are clearly known for our factual content, but this year we are particularly proud of our drama slate. I should also say that we’ve got a great children’s preschool show, called ZingZillas. For those old enough to remember Banana Splits and The Muppets, it’s slightly reminiscent of that kind of show. It’s evergreen, very musical, and we are very excited about that as well. WS: When you look at all of the BBC’s output, how do you decide what is going to have strong international potential that you can roll out to every territory? MACALLISTER: We obviously look for shows that we think will have resonance across the world, whether it’s star power, whether it’s a great story, whether it’s just a great look, or whether it’s something that is really, really contemporary or new. There isn’t really a formula.We’re very fortunate that we’ve got a lot of shows on our slate this year. When we are actually pushing shows at MIPTV and MIPCOM, we try to highlight the
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one on one ones that are representative of the genre and something that we feel will really draw people through the door and be of benefit for the whole slate. Besides our drama slate, we’ve got some fantastic natural-history shows. Life, which I think most
people are aware of, has performed very well in the U.K. and in the States. Human Planet is a first for the BBC Natural History Unit. It’s the first time we actually take a look at ourselves. It was shot in about 80 locations around the world and I
think it’s going to create an enormous amount of buzz in the marketplace. WS: What are your goals for the next 12 to 24 months? MACALLISTER: We want to continue to grow the business. We’re in
Neil Ross Russell Managing Director Children’s and Licensing BBC Worldwide
Those in the licensing business know that having a top-rated broadcast partner associated with your brand is crucial to securing shelf space at major retailers. In that light, BBC Worldwide’s children’s and licensing business, run by Neil Ross Russell as managing director, is in an enviable position—its key brands have aired on the leading British preschool service, CBeebies, as well as on BBC One, plus a host of other networks around the world. Ross Russell tells World Screen about his plans for the company’s brands, from the new preschool show ZingZillas to Doctor Who and Top Gear.
WS: What are your overall priorities
for the division, 12 to 18 months out? ROSS RUSSELL: ZingZillas is a big priority. It’s going to be very big in the U.K. this year—we have complete confidence—and the international rollout process starts now. Top Gear goes from strength to strength. It’s commissioned for the
next two years. In terms of the licensing and merchandising, we’re building it up slowly. It’s one of those brands where I think had we gone very big and very broad in terms of the range right at the beginning, then it would have damaged the brand. It’s a question of going softly, and making sure that every product we bring out is absolutely on brand and just adds to the overall value. There’s Lonely Planet, the travel brand.We’ve got some very exciting plans for that over the coming year. [For] BBC Earth—our title for the BBC’s natural-history content, which is some of the most mindblowing TV that’s ever been made— we’ve got some really exciting product and ideas coming through. Strictly Come Dancing, which you will know better as Dancing with the Stars, that lends itself very well to licensed product as well because of the glitz and the glamour that comes with a show like that. It’s a bit like Top Gear, it’s one where we want to tread very carefully rather than rush out and [have] it look a bit cheap. We’ve done some really high-quality product that’s going to roll out in the U.K. this year. And hopefully will be seen around the world in the years to come.
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WS: What’s your rollout strategy for
ZingZillas? ROSS RUSSELL: It is a music-
based show with an original song in [most] of the 52 episodes. As such, we’re very conscious of the fact that reversioning for local languages does cause some problems. So where possible we have tried to minimize those. For example, the human characters that appear, the music specialists—the bagpipe player or the didgeridoo player or the opera star—they don’t speak, so there’s no question of having to dub over the adult voices. The only dubbing that is required is of the characters themselves, and the songs, which are the most complicated pieces to dub. It works because it’s a preschool show, with quite a lot of repetition, so there’s a maximum of two verses in each song—there’s not an enormous amount of dubbing. The international rollout of preschool shows is a nice part of the industry to work in because pre schoolers really are the same the world over—they have the same needs, the same developmental stages, whether they’re in the U.K. or in China. And [ZingZillas] is very relevant for everybody around the world. With 47 different songs we’ve got 47 different styles of music. There’s everything from bhangra to bluegrass, didgeridoo to bagpipes.
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a very good place, but we can’t afford to stand still. We’re really focused on the U.S. We’re definitely seeing a recovery in most parts of the world, but the U.S. is really where we feel there is more upside for us.
WS: Are you already thinking about the L&M strategy? ROSS RUSSELL: The whole series is shot in high-definition at Pinewood Studios, so we were able to take our retail partners, our licensees, out to the set, show them the animatronics and how they work, and really get them involved in the show itself. The reaction we’ve had has been phenomenal. We’ll be at retail for Christmas 2010 in the U.K. It works incredibly well as a licensing property because the characters are the sort of characters that children want to engage with beyond the TV screen and they want to take them home, they want to be able to play with them and learn more about the music. WS: Do the shows on CBBC, like The Sarah Jane Adventures, lend themselves to consumer products? ROSS RUSSELL: We’ve never had quite the same success with that age group in the U.K. Most of our portfolio focuses on the preschool shows. The Sarah Jane Adventures is part of the Doctor Who franchise, and obviously Doctor Who is an enormous brand. We will again be at retail with a new range of Doctor Who properties. For the first time this year we did an almost day-and-date launch of some of the merchandise, so where the show first broadcast on the Saturday, we launched on the Monday with a whole range of merchandise based on the new doctor and the new characters. That range will build up over the year.
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on the record
i
n the first quarter of this year at Discovery Communications, international channels experienced a 16-percent boost in revenues, driven by gains in both advertising and affiliate fees. Already present in some 180 territories, there is still plenty of growth ahead for Discovery’s international business, according to Mark Hollinger, the president and CEO of Discovery Networks International (DNI). A Discovery veteran—he has been with the company since 1991— Hollinger took the reins at DNI at the end of last year. One of his priorities is strengthening the company’s existing brands, and introducing new ones to the global market. The expansion of the HD channel, among other services, continues. The company has recently embarked on an international rollout strategy for TLC, and there are other U.S. channels—including the upcoming OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network and The Hub—that could also eventually be part of the Discovery Networks International roster. Also on the horizon is the new 3-D channel that Discovery is set to launch in the U.S. this year in partnership with Sony and IMAX. Hollinger talks to World Screen about the company’s flagship brands internationally, and discusses his plans for Discovery’s businesses in Asia, Latin America and Western Europe.
Mark Hollinger
been to have a strong U.S. production engine that supports our international channels. And we feel like TLC now is at that point in the U.S. where it can be a great supplier of programming for the international channel. Having said that, I think that TLC will be a channel that will draw on a larger group of networks out of our U.S. portfolio. Between Investigation Discovery (ID), Planet Green, Discovery Health and FitTV, we have a great pipeline [of content] for TLC.
WS: Are there other brands in your portfolio that you see as having global potential? HOLLINGER: I think there are. What we’re focused on is to find, beyond Discovery, beyond TLC, a third and a fourth strong channel brand. We’re not necessarily focused on the fact that it would have to be a single brand that travels everywhere. ID has been on an incredible hot streak in the U.S. recently, and there may be markets where ID could be a very strong brand. We think that there’s probably a place in our portfolio for a younger, male-targeted brand. We don’t necessarily have a single young male-targeted channel in the U.S., but we do produce programming for that demographic on Discovery, HD Theater, Military Channel. Discovery Kids is an incredibly strong story in Latin
Discovery Networks International WS: What led to the decision to expand
TLC outside of the U.S., and how has the response been from pay-TV platforms thus far? HOLLINGER: We’re very excited about the response we’ve gotten so far. There is an appetite in the market for a very strong female-driven nonfiction entertainment franchise. There isn’t one in many markets. We saw an opportunity there. Part of the timing was driven by the success of TLC in the U.S. It’s been a strong channel for a while, although in the last couple of years it seems to have come into its own with a very specific editorial mission and target demographic. One of the secrets of our success has 48
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America—we think it may make sense to supplement the kids’ business in Latin America with a rollout of our joint-venture channel with Hasbro, The Hub, which is creating its own, very strong production pipeline. And OWN is a channel that we’ve definitely had interest in on an international basis. WS: What are the international plans for
Discovery’s upcoming 3-D channel with Sony and IMAX? HOLLINGER: We’ve made one 3-D VOD deal already. I suspect the international deals will start with VOD. A lot of distributors are uncertain at this point what the right business model is going to be. We’ll be an early provider of VOD content. When the opportunity comes along, and we’re certain that it will, then we will be there with the channel as well. WS: And the expansion of the HD ser vice continues? HOLLINGER: HD has grown like gangbusters. It comes from the very basic business premise of Discovery Communications, which has been get out early and do it in an efficient way. We did that internationally by getting out early, we did that with digital channels by getting out early, and we certainly have done it with HD in getting out early. Our HD channel was one of the first two or three [high-definition]
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on the record channels that launched in the U.S.We were one of the first players internationally in HD, and so distribution has been great. What we’re seeing internationally, as has already happened in the U.S., is that the business model for distribution of HD is changing somewhat. It started out as a premium offering, a limited set of channels, available at an incremental fee to subscribers. As there are more channels available, and more channels become simulcast channels of their SD counterparts, then it’s less of a premium offering, it’s more a part of an overall digital offering. We obviously are very tuned in to the needs of our distributors, and have moved to simulcast. In some markets we still have a separately programmed HD Showcase channel. As we roll TLC out, TLC will have an HD version as well. For us, it’s become a norm of doing business. HD needs to be part of your production process and part of your distribution strategy. WS: The HD feed has expanded
rapidly across Asia. What are your priorities for this region? HOLLINGER: India is certainly a big priority. It’s a big market, it’s a great market for programmers to come in to. It doesn’t have the same restrictions as some of the other big markets do. Discovery and our type of programming have been exceptionally well received there. Our distribution joint venture with Sony has been a big success. We’ve got a number of new channels in the pipeline and we would expect the portfolio to expand there pretty dramatically in the next year or two.
places, and right now, we would look at Central and Eastern Europe as a great growth market. Some of the biggest economies in the region are the most challenging from a payTV point of view. And so we continue to try to figure out the best way to optimize the portfolio in those markets. In some it’s through further development of pay television. In some markets like Germany and the U.K. we have gone a free-to-air route with DMAX in Germany and Quest in the U.K. So it’s not one size fits all. But we do see, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe and Russia, the Middle East, some good growth prospects for us.
there’s an opportunity to enhance what’s already a great kids’ business with The Hub in the market. WS: What are your goals for the overall global business? HOLLINGER: Our priority at a very high level would be to build more strength at the top end of the portfolio. We have Discovery as one of the strongest brands in pay TV—great distribution, great audience, great ad-sales vehicle. It feels to us that in a world of increasing consolidation in distribution and in ad sales, with all the threats to the television ad-sales model from broadband and other things, having other strong audience-delivery
vehicles in the portfolio is really important. So as we look at everything we do—from a portfolio optimization perspective to an M&A strategy to where we prioritize investment geographically—where can we build a second and third and fourth big brand in the portfolio to help drive the ad-sales business, to help drive our positioning with distributors? We have right now about a seventy-thirty split on revenue, affiliate to ad revenue, in the international market, versus the company overall, which is about a fifty-fifty split. That represents an opportunity on the ad-sales side. We think we need to have some bigger vehicles to drive audiences.
WS: Central and Eastern Europe was hit hard by the downturn. Are you seeing signs of a recovery? HOLLINGER: From an ad-sales point of view, we’re already seeing a very nice recovery. From a distribution point of view, in some ways it’s a good market for us because there are so many distributors. It’s hard to imagine that all of those [platforms] can make it for the long term. There’s a level of competition within the distribution marketplace that will be hard to survive for the long term. So our take would be that there will be some rationalization [among pay-TV operators] within the next couple of years. But we’re agnostic as to who we distribute to. We distribute to everybody, and so whatever road the distribution market takes, we anticipate to be in a strong position. WS: How is your business perform-
ing in Latin America? WS: What about Europe? You seem
HOLLINGER: Latin America has
to operate many brands, but not all of them are pan-regional. HOLLINGER: It’s not necessarily a consistent portfolio, and I think that’s OK. Part of what we do every day is try to balance the efficiency of global or pan-regional operations with the customization needs of individual markets. Within Europe, markets are in a number of different
been very strong. And even in a down market, Latin America has just continued to be an outstanding performer for us. We think Brazil is a very good growth market for us. In terms of the portfolio, we just rebranded People+Arts as Liv. We’re hoping for bigger things out of that as the entertainment brand in the portfolio. And we do think 50
Cream of the crop: TLC, which has found ratings success in the U.S. with series like Cake Boss, is the newest Discovery brand to make its international debut.
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Light Years Ahead
PRINT AND DIGITAL MAGAZINES WORLD SCREEN TV LATINA TV EUROPE TV ASIA PACIFIC TV MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA TV KIDS TV NIﾃ前S TV REAL TV FORMATS TV FORMATOS TV NOVELAS TV LISTINGS PRINT AND DIGITAL GUIDES WORLD SCREEN DISTRIBUTORS GUIDE TV KIDS DISTRIBUTORS GUIDE TV FORMATS DISTRIBUTORS GUIDE LATIN AMERICAN CHANNELS GUIDE LATIN AMERICAN DISTRIBUTORS GUIDE WEBSITES WORLDSCREEN.COM TVLATINA.TV WORLDSCREENINGS.COM TVLATINASCREENINGS.TV TVKIDS.WS TVEUROPE.WS TVREAL.WS TVFORMATS.WS TVDATA.WS TVLATINA.WS TVUSA.WS TVNOVELAS.WS TVINTERACTIVE.WS TVLISTINGS.WS NEXTMEDIA.WS WORLDSCREENJOBS.COM ONLINE NEWSLETTERS WORLD SCREEN NEWSFLASH WORLD SCREEN WEEKLY TV KIDS WEEKLY TV REAL WEEKLY DIARIO TV LATINA TV LATINA SEMANAL TV NIﾃ前S SEMANAL TV NOVELAS SEMANAL TV CANALES SEMANAL VIDEO MEDIAMINUTE TELEMINUTO WORLD SCREEN VIDEO REPORTS TV LATINA VIDEO REPORTS
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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 Fergie try to bribe me? Every day, papers and magazines worldwide print horoscopes—projections for people born in a specific month, based on the positions of the stars and planets. While many people rely on these daily, weekly or monthly messages for guidance in their lives, some readers skip over them entirely. The editors of WS recognize that
Sarah Ferguson
Tom Cruise
Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Ferguson
Sarah Jessica Parker
Global distinction: Former British royalty. Sign: Libra (b. October 15, 1959) Significant date: May 24, 2010 Noteworthy activity: The former Duchess of York is
Global distinction: Sex and the City icon. Sign: Aries (b. March 25, 1965) Significant date: May 26, 2010 Noteworthy activity: While promoting the new Sex and
caught on videotape shilling access to her ex, Prince Andrew, for more than $750,000. An undercover journalist, disguised as a businessperson, taped the incident, in which Fergie says she can secure the man a “big deal” by introducing him to Andrew as soon as he wires her money. Horoscope: “Libras are pleasure-seeking, luxury-loving individuals. These traits are generally assets, but they can cause them to become their own worst enemies. Don’t get caught in a trap of greed.” (ganeshaspeaks.com)
City sequel, the fashionable starlet accidentally calls her husband, actor Matthew Broderick, “average.” In describing how he compares to her 6-year-old son’s height on the Late Show with David Letterman, Parker says:“Matthew is average...not in personality or in intellect....no, no, no, no, no.” She continues immediately trying to backtrack after she realizes her backhanded comment. Horoscope: “The voice inside your head doesn’t always need to make it to your mouth. Some things are just better kept to yourself.” (cafeastrology.com)
these little pearls of random foresight occasionally prove prophetic. But rather than poring over charts of the zodiac to predict world events, our staff prefers to use past horoscopes in an attempt to legitimate the science. As you can see here, had some of these media figures remembered to consult their horoscopes on significant days, they could have avoided a few surprises.
Lindsay Lohan
Cristiano Ronaldo Global distinction: Sports sex symbol. Sign: Aquarius (b. February 5, 1985) Significant date: May 25, 2010 Noteworthy activity: The Real Madrid superstar
Lindsay Lohan Global distinction: Hard-partying starlet. Sign: Cancer (b. July 2, 1986) Significant date: May 28, 2010 Noteworthy activity: The Hollywood party girl is
appears shirtless and in tight underwear on the cover of Vanity Fair. Chelsea striker Didier Drogba is pictured alongside him in a barely-there undergarment. A source tells the New York Post that “Ronaldo is freaking out” over the shot, since he didn’t know that he would be sharing the cover. Horoscope: “Upgrades are likely in your career this week, as are praise and ‘focused attention’ for your talents and accomplishments. Extras, bonus, tips and profit can easily go ‘on the rise’; make sure to show gratitude when you get them.” (0800-horoscope.com)
ordered by the courts to wear an alcohol-monitoring ankle bracelet. She is spotted out wearing bootcut jeans to hide the SCRAM bracelet. She later tweets: “can CHANEL please help me out by getting me some stickers to put on my SCRAM bracelet so that I can at least wear a chic dress?!” Horoscope: “Cancerians need to be aware of falling into the role of martyr in certain situations. Avoid perpetuating the stereotype that has landed you in this role.” (elore.com)
Tom Cruise
Oprah Winfrey
Global distinction: Eccentric Hollywood A-lister. Sign: Cancer (b. July 3, 1962) Significant date: May 28, 2010 Noteworthy activity: Rumors spread across the Internet
Global distinction: Media mogul. Sign: Aquarius (b. January 29, 1954) Significant date: May 28, 2010 Noteworthy activity: The talk-show queen and her
that the Mission: Impossible star has passed away following a bizarre plumbing mishap while in New Zealand.The actor takes the hoax in good humor, admitting that he was amused by the odd manner in which he was “killed.” Horoscope: “A minor emotional disequilibrium or feeling of being off-center is apt to disrupt your day.You are in a bit of a funk, which, fortunately, is to be short-lived. Take what comes to you in stride.” (homepagers.com)
once-closest companion, Gayle King, are rumored to be feuding. The National Enquirer reports that in a very public spectacle, the two engaged in a shouting match, which ended with King yelling, “I hate you!” Horoscope: “The typical Aquarius tends to hold onto bitter feelings and resentments. So, if you cross and Aquarius, don’t expect to be welcomed back with opened arms.” (horoscopes.lovetoknow.com)
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