32 May 2015 Buyers’ Wish List (Continued on Page 34) In 1983 VideoAge introduced the name L.A. Screenings. Before that, the event was known by the undescriptive moniker “May Screenings,” which didn’t really make any sense because, historically, the Screenings were held as early as February, then March, April, May and as late as June 27. In 2012 VideoAge made the Screenings a bit less freezing by suggesting that the studios provide blankets for buyers in the subfreezing screenings rooms, and in 2013 VideoAge documented the L.A. Screenings’ fascinating history. Years ago, studios screened series for individual buyers from big companies only. Nowadays, individual screenings are done only for Canadians and pan-regional Latin American groups, while the rest of the Latin buyers have general screenings and European, pan-Pacific and other buyers are mixed over the course of six days, ending before Memorial Day weekend. There was a time when the Screenings paused for the holiday (with backyard barbecues at sellers’ homes or football — a.k.a. soccer — matches between buyers and sellers taking place in Beverly Hills) and resumed afterwards. Five years ago, studios started to screen in some local markets for those buyers who couldn’t make the L.A. Screenings. In the past 10 years or so, the total number of international buyers attending the L.A. Screenings has remained stable; however, most individual companies are sending fewer buyers with the balance filled by new entrants like digital TV outlets — especially from Telcos and Internet companies such as Telus (Canada), Orange (France), SK Telecom (South Korea), BT Vision (U.K.), Terra (Brazil), Youku (China) and from the U.S. Netflix, Hulu and Google, among others. Localized screenings also helped the studios make the L.A. Screenings more manageable by controlling its expansion, considering that the event went from 450 program buyers in 1994 to 1,500 (with peaks of 1,600) buyers in recent years with many of them top-level, big-spender executives who need lots of attention. Plus, Commented Dermot Horan of Ireland RTE, “I really like watching all the pilots, comedies and dramas. It is very hard to judge a show [based] on a promo. At the end of the day, it wouldn’t be the L.A. Screenings if we didn’t screen [all] the pilots. And, as we Europeans are eight [and nine] hours behind our offices, we generally get to view without interruption or the need to call the office.” Added Zelda Stewart of Italy’s Mediaset, who also prefers to screen all of the pilots, “It would be great if all studios could put full episode screeners online the week following the screenings, as Fox and CBS already do.” [Editor’s note: Disney LATAM does as well.] Benedicte Steinsrud of Norway’s SBS Discovery and Bernard Majani of France’s M6 also prefer to watch all full episodes, as does Patricia Daujotas, head of Programming for Saeta TV in Uruguay. On the other hand, to Lanny Huang of Hong Kong’s Promo Group TV, it’s better to “watch promo reels before each program [since] they set the premise and expectations of the coming program’s screening. [Then] I prefer to watch one full drama, but not a full comedy. Actually, many buyers walk out or take a break with comedies. But I’m OK with promos for comedies.” since output deals in Europe are not as popular as they’ve been in the past and studios have to sell market-by-market, the local screenings help considerably to place product at individual TV outlets. Studio screenings start after the U.S. networks have made their pilot selections public at the Upfronts in New York City (except for Canadian buyers, who watch all the pilots because they have to return to Canada and make their own Upfront presentations to their advertising community). Over the years, Canadians at the Screenings have become very secretive, with one network even demanding that the studios screen in the top-floor suite they rent at the Four Seasons Hotel. At the general screenings, some studios show all the pilots, with three breaks (midmorning, lunch and mid-afternoon) if they have a large number of pick-ups; other studios add background material, like interviews with producers and screenwriters and some just screen a few complete pilots and promo reels for the rest, since full pilots are available to buyers on the studios’ websites. One of the advantages of the L.A. Screenings is that, although it’s an organic event (i.e., without a central organizer) the market has nicely evolved in accordance with both buyers’ and sellers’ needs and the changing environment. Buyers’ input is appreciated and suggestions are followed, whether they come via one-onone meetings or through the press. Lately, some studios have been monitoring buyers’ satisfaction with the presentations, and VideoAge is ready with a report after having polled over 50 buyers from Europe, Asia and Latin America. In this respect, the answers are divided into two camps, with the Europeans favoring screening all episodes in their entirety, while both Asian and Latin buyers are generally happy to watch promo reels. (Continued from Cover) Some studios have replaced big parties on their lots with multiple intimate dinners at studio executives’ houses. After VideoAge reported that buyers were cold in the screening rooms, some studios have provided blankets. Meeting stars and popular characters at the luncheons is always fun.
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