June/July 2014 24 Developing Markets to the question of emerging markets. Benmore’s views as to which markets offer the greatest potential are “motivated by our assessment of the market’s economic prosperity and stability. Additionally, a territory with a diverse and robust slate of channels competing for airtime indicates a market offering solid future business potential,” he said. Tess Charman of Canada, U.S. and U.K.-based eOne concurred with Benmore, noting, “it is important to look at the proliferation of channels in order to assess the opportunity for placing content, while also assessing whether there are opportunities to place international content on major terrestrial channels, or whether the focus of international acquisition is more toward basic cable/DTT/pay channels.” Although she said, “all emerging markets are vital to the progression of our business and eOne is fully aware all these territories present important opportunities to grow our audiences.” Specifically addressing the emerging markets within the orbit of NATPE Europe, Marielle Zuccarelli, managing director of Content Distribution at A+E Networks, said that, at the moment, their policy is to “look for sales to panregional channels or to Russia and the CIS.” This is because of the low fees paid by many of the channels in the region’s emerging markets, although she also stressed that, “We have a large sales team that spends a lot of time on the road, so this is not a question of sales resources, it is more a question of business sense.” Yet, Zuccarelli pointed to Bulgaria and Romania as regional markets “beginning to reach a level at which we will be looking to deal on an individual basis. Romania in particular is becoming a good market for TV movies and non-scripted formats, and, of course, Russia is also significant.” Zuccarelli, however, has no doubt that the emerging markets of the NATPE Europe orbit “will develop into an area of real significance,” and, for her, the importance of regionally specific markets such as NATPE Europe is that “they allow us to present an important presence emerging market is understanding the major broadcasters, their market position, audience and programming needs and corporate goals. This allows you to assess which product is right for which broadcaster, and to therefore present your content to each broadcaster in the best possible light.” For these reasons, Benmore believes both a presence at markets such as NATPE Europe and visits to individual territories play a role in the development of emerging markets. “Marketspecific trips are valuable as they confirm to the broadcaster that our company is keen to do business in the region, while territory-focused trips are important for developing long-term relationships and creating the time for in-depth discussions, allowing us to tailor our offerings and create bespoke packages for individual broadcasters.” These are sentiments echoed by eOne’s Charman, who believes that the effective development of emerging markets depends upon “understanding local broadcaster requirements, maintaining regular contact and holding ongoing discussions about local trends and program requirements, which allow for the development of tailored pitches of relevant shows.” While the emerging markets of NATPE Europe and other regions of the world, such as Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America, continue to grow in importance to the international TV content distribution community, they do present particular challenges. But thesearechallenges that — with the proper approach, time and patience — can be overcome, delivering the potential for strong future growth. By Bob Jenkins in London in the region, and, additionally, our significant presence at such markets allows us to develop clever ways of working on a more individual basis with regional markets that are starting to become individually viable.” For eOne’s Charman, “trade shows offer some of the best ways to meet new potential partners in one consolidated trip, which is why attending key focused markets such as NATPE Europe and Kiev Media Week is so important to the growth of our business.” Although Charman accepts that “an individual territory trip is hugely beneficial as it enables you to get valuable face time connecting with the local buyers,” she is equally convinced that, “providing programming updates and maintaining regular contact ensure broadcasters are kept abreast of all new content.” Content’s Benmore said, “key to establishing and developing strong position in an eOne’s Tess Charman A+E Networks’ Marielle Zuccarelli Content Television and Digital’s Mark Benmore (Continued from Cover) “A territory with a diverse and robust slate of channels competing for airtime indicates a market offering solid future business potential.” — Mark Benmore
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