Video Age International October 2007

In This Issue: Sea Videos MIPCOM’s Biz Stars Cable’s Day & Date Sportel Goes Xtreme THE BUSINESS JOURNAL OF FILM, BROADCASTING, BROADBAND, PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION OCTOBER 2007 VOL. 27 NO. 5 $9.75 ® www.videoage.org BY BOB JENKINS With half a trillion dollars in capital, private equity firms continue along their path to buy the world (the top 20 firms control companies with more than four million employees), despite increasing concerns in the money markets. VideoAge took a look at what’s happened so far, and wonders if Wall Street has any lessons to learn from Soggy Bottom USA. Over the past several months, private equity firms have demonstrated a great deal of interest in the media. The deals are often highly leveraged and, by implication, dependent on cheap loans. If an avalanche of U.S. mortgage defaults drives interest rates too high, the arithmetic underpinning these deals will start to unravel, and Private Equity: A Tale of Money, Madness, Mayhem (Continued on Page 42) In a few months since VideoAge last scrutinized the Latin territory during its major TV trade show — the L.A. Screenings — the area seems to have embarked on a whirlwind of television business activities, with Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela at the forefront. Two Brazil-based TV trade shows (one for content, the other for hardware) spotlighted the country’s great potential, which is reflected by the restructuring of the international division of TV Globo, the country’s major TV organization. Another TV trade show did the same thing for Argentina, only there, it’s Claxson that’s been restructured. This comprehensive report that unfolds on pages 48, 50, 52, 54 and 56, also takes a look at recent developments with TVes, the Venezuelan TV network that supplanted RCTV right in the middle of the L.A. Screenings. TV Biz Frenzy Hits Latin Countries Champagne, Caviar for Rich East Europe Markets When analyzing the Eastern European TV industry, it’s difficult to uncover hard data. The industry is expanding, but information is not keeping up. Although transparency has not yet reached those shores, VideoAge was able to assemble an accurate account of some of the region’s key markets: Russia, Poland and Serbia. The area’s TV trade show, DISCOP is also reviewed. Full reports can be found on pages 58, 60, 62 and 64. (Continued on Page 22) (Continued on Page 58) BY LUCY COHEN BLATTER This year’s fall season series have come out of the studio lot gates with many expectations. After a summer of sluggish U.S. TV network ratings, an overabundance of copycat game shows and numerous reality flops, the U.S. nets have been given another chance to wow the pants off U.S. and, indirectly, international viewers. While the jury’s still out on many fall shows (as some have yet to premiere), the studios are using MIPCOM to plan out their international strategies, a process that began with the L.A Screenings in May. “At the Screenings we found that international buyers were looking for non-continuous storylines,” said Marion Edwards, president, International Television at Full Orders in Order at Fall Mart. High Hopes for Series “I used to turn on the TV to get away from reality.” Sugar. Passion. Ambition. It runs in the family. CANE © 2007 CBS Studios Inc. www.cpitv.com (Continued on Page 48) My 2 Cents: “Green” TV Generates No Interest, Greenbacks

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V I D E O A G E • N o. 5 • O c t o b e r 2 0 0 7 Cover stories: Fall full orders serve MIPCOM well Caveat emptor: Take private equity money at your own risk and peril Champagne and caviar await the TV industry in Eastern Europe. Review of Russia, Poland and Serbia Frenetic TV business activities in Latin America pass muster. Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela are investigated 4. World News: Italy, Denmark, U.S., Canada, Turkey. Plus, Letters to the Editor 12. Book Review: The guy on that funny cover is uncle Walt. Disney will not be pleased about this book 16. MIPCOM Preview: It’s only a formality. The full report we’ll never know 18. SPORTEL goes X-treme. What would Prince Albert of Monaco say? 20. Slingbox: TV networks better take this new gizmo seriously 24. Touring the Food Network studios in New York for food and fun 28. German TV not über scrutiny. Achtung: the locusts are landing 30. Peace Arch fighting its own war of independence 32. Family viewing is not dead yet. “G” content makes a comeback 36. Seeing dollar signs at sea with videos. Below-deck entertainment is not what it used to be 47. Cable MSOs fight movie theaters for same day-anddate window 48. Latin America Report: • Argentina’s Jornadas are only about growing pains • Claxson survives lobotomy and grows new limbs • Venezuela post-RCTV: Not too many viewers for “you see yourself” TV • Brazil pay-TV market is not just playing around with the triple-play • Brazil’s TV Globo International moved to São Paolo and Scalamandré explains why • TV Forum Brazil is a winter springboard for entering the market 58. Eastern Europe TV Round-Up: • DISCOP starts the ball rolling • Russia TV has its three Musketeers too • The nouveau riche of Russian TV • Serbian TV is growing after all • Poland loves TV formats • New TV network Puls-ating with joy 66. Calendar of unforgettable events 62. Finally the end. My 2¢ cents of opinion

Carlo Sartori: RAI’s New Tsar It is officially known as the “RAI Worldwide Project,” but the awkward title is a temporary one, created by officials at Rome-based RAI, Italy’s state broadcast organization. According to RAI’s Carlo Sartori, the “project” serves to better define the role and tasks of the newly consolidated RAI division under which RAI will operate worldwide. This “new” division, called NewCo RAI International (and shortened to RAI NewCo), was originally created in 2003, but remained dormant until Sartori was appointed its president last August. Prior to this appointment, Sartori was president of RaiSat, a bouquet of RAI channels distributed via satellite on the SkyItalia platform. Within NewCo, RAI International — the radio and TV channel for expatriated Italians outside Europe — will have the most prominent role, as its flagship channel. The plan or “project” envisions the integration within NewCo of several RAI divisions currently operating in the international sector — such as RaiTrade (content sales), New York-based Rai Corp. (services), Rai Cinema (film production and distribution), in addition to RAI International and other channels, such as RaiNews24 and events such as PrixItalia (the oldest TV festival in the world). The RAI Worldwide concept is modeled after England’s BBC Worldwide, and could include other RAI entities such as RaiSat, RaiClick and RaiNet (computer-based Internet services). The most interesting part of the project (at least for North American audiences) is that it calls for monetizing all RAI broadcast channels currently broadcast in Europe (Rai1, Rai2, Rai3) through Eutelsat’s Hot Bird satellites. These channels (with the exclusion of RAI International) are now available in Europe via satellite, cable and IPTV (Internet protocol for traditional TV set viewing). The RAI Worldwide project also aims to make RAI International available in Europe (Italy included), and other RAI channels available outside Europe. DR’s Headquarters Spell Trouble Amidst an increase in foreign investments in the Danish media and the upcoming digitalization of airwaves, the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (known as DR) could be facing a crisis. But the source of the company’s financial woes is neither foreign investments nor the planned 2009 digitalization, but rather the building of a flashy new headquarters and symphony hall, which is turning out to be more expensive than originally intended. Cost overruns and construction delays at the Oersted, Copenhagen-based facility have accounted for more than 220 million euro (U.S.$245 million) and resulted in 300 job cuts (representing 10 percent of the total payroll). Experts fear that DR is now ill-prepared for the competition that will inevitably come with digitalization. Additionally, this financial nightmare will likely lead to programming cuts that will affect award-winning radio reportage programs, live concert transmissions, and even 2008 Olympics coverage. When the plan to build the new headquarters (and the 1,600 seat symphonic hall) was first conceived in 1999 it enjoyed political backing. The idea of consolidating radio, television and online staff as well as the upgrade in technology was welcomed. The government was eager to convince highprofile companies to make Oersted their base. But things began to go awry in 2004, when DR first appealed to the government for loans to cover its exploding budget. OC T O B E R 2 0 0 7 (Continued on Page 6) Carlo Sartori withVideoAge’s Dom Serafini

auspicious one. Promax is the Los Angeles-based association of media marketing executives that now includes the Association of Electronic Interactive Marketers. Clinton delivered a low-key speech in an undertone that was certainly not worth the $150,000 price tag — in addition to the $50,000 for his Secret Service entourage — that the association paid. The thunderous applause that welcomed the 42nd U.S. President clearly indicated that expectations were high, but the sparse applause sprinkled throughout the talk showed some disappointment. The speech sounded like it was recycled from another event and dressed up for the occasion with a “branding theme.” Basically, the former president, a Democrat, blamed himself for not having better branded his universal health plan and other proposals that failed. “The Republicans were so much better at branding than us,” he commented, giving as an example what the Republicans nicknamed his proposal to tax very large inheritances the “death tax.” “With that tag, even the people who benefited the most –– and they were the overwhelming majority –– became afraid of the death tax!” The former President also used the Promax platform to exculpate his candidate wife, Hillary, from the accusation now haunting her that she approved of the war in Iraq. According to the ex-President, his wife, a Senator from the State of New York, did indeed sign a resolution calling for diplomatic actions. Lee Hunt, Promax vice chairman, assumed the interim managing director post for the mid-June conference in New York, replacing president Jim Chabin who departed the association for the second time. Since then, Jill Lindeman has taken over as permanent managing director. Lindeman stepped in as a consultant for the organization earlier this year to run both the MI6 and Promax/BDA conferences. Marenzi to Peddle Backdoor Pilots Gary Marenzi brought luck to venerable Hollywood studio MGM. It’s for this reason that the studio’s new owners — a group of private investors and Sony Pictures — called him in to head its international division. Actually, they called him back, since Marenzi served as president of MGM’s international TV division from 1992 to 1997, prior to heading to Paramount’s international TV division. To Marenzi, who divides his time between his Lucca, Tuscany, residence and his home in Santa Monica, California, Italy is a trampoline to Europe. When he was at Paramount, he successfully opened a sales office in Rome and now, at MGM, he’s planning to do the same. For now, however, he’s fully utilizing MGM’s London and Munich offices. According to Marenzi, competition within the Italian TV market is increasing, thanks to growing TV networks such as La7 and Murdoch’s Sky Italia. Plus, he added, “We found a OC T O B E R 2 0 0 7 (Continued on Page 8) (Continued from Page 4) PROMAX Clinton-ized Some 3,500 marketing, promotions and design executives crowded the Grand Ballroom of the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan to hear a keynote speech delivered by former president Bill Clinton. It was the highlight of the whole 52nd annual Promax/BDA convention, but not an Gary Marenzi poses by MGM’s many Oscars

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way to sell TV shows to smaller [Italian] TV stations.” From his office on the 14th floor of the new MGM building in the Century City part of Los Angeles, Marenzi went on to explain his strategy: The studio will start offering 15 MGM TV movies a year –– some of which are “backdoor pilots,” or MoWs that have the potential to become TV series –– and five theatrical films from UA (of which Tom Cruise is a co-president), in addition to four more titles from independent producers. This is in addition to the titles that are currently available — new episodes of Stargate for the Sci-Fi channel (and for the international market) as well as a library of over 4,000 Hollywood classics. Ninemuse’s PBS TV Debut When Montreal, Quebec-based singer-songwriter Chantal Chamandy took the stage at the foot of the Sphinx in Cairo on September 7, she became one of only a handful of artists who have been granted permission by the Egyptian government to use the site for a live performance. Chamandy, who was born in Egypt but moved to Canada as a young child, “wanted to go somewhere to capture her roots.” Her performance included members of Cirque du Soleil, the Cairo Opera House Ballet Company, the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, as well as OC T O B E R 2 0 0 7 (Continued from Page 6) her own band. The taped performance has been made into a TV special, and an upcoming DVD release, both directed by French director Gérard Pullicino, who has produced and directed shows for Celine Dion (to whom Chamandy is often compared), Madonna and Joe Cocker. The performance, titled Chantal Chamandy, Beladi, A Night at the Pyramids has been distributed to all stations within the U.S.’s Public Broadcasting System (PBS), and will begin airing in March 2008. The Montreal-based Ninemuse Entertainment — Chamandy’s label — will talk international sales at MIPCOM, where some five company executives will hold court under the Horizon Québec umbrella and attempt to license TV and DVD rights to international broadcasters. Chamandy explained that while “music will always be [in Ninemuse’s] background,” the company –– up to now only a record label –– is leveraging the Chamandy special to branch out into all forms of entertainment. Turkey Film Fest Goes Eurasian Awho’s who of the globe’s most promising film talent will be on hand to celebrate the silver screen at the 44th annual Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, which will take place October 19-28, 2007. The event, jointly organized by the Foundation of Culture and Arts in Antalya (Antalya Kültür Sanat Vakfı, AKSAV) and the Foundation of Turkish Cinema and Audiovisual Culture (Türkiye Sinema ve Audiovisuel Kültür Vakfı, TÜRSAK), will also host the third edition of the International Eurasia Film Festival — which started out as the international section of Antalya but has fast become a major attraction for filmmakers from all over the world. Considered the Golden Orange Film Fest’s “international gateway to the world,” the Eurasia event will open with Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution, the latest film from the Oscar-winning director. Prizes will be awarded by a jury of film critics from European and Asian countries. A new feature of this year’s Eurasia festival will be a special jury prize from the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC). This year, Antalya has created the Script Development Fund, a new resource with the goal of encouraging Turkish co-production initiatives. TURSAK (the festival’s organizing committee) asked that co-producers (at least one of whom must be of Turkish origin) send in applications as well as screenplay treatments to the TURSAK Foundation in order to be considered. The top five projects will be chosen by an electoral body from the Antalya Festival, Chantal Chamandy discussed plans with director Gérard Pullicino

and will be announced on October 10. The producers and scriptwriters of the chosen projects will then be invited to the festival to make presentations about their scripts and explain why their movie should win the $20,000 pot. Eurasia will also include an homage to recently passed directors Ingmar Bergman and Michelangelo Antonioni. The festival will honor the pair’s impressive contributions to the film canon by showcasing some of their most famous works. Redstone’s Own Drama Sumner Redstone’s family dramas could easily inspire one of his company’s films. After a muchpublicized feud with son Brent Redstone, the 84-year-old Viacom chief is exiling his daughter, Shari, whom many expected to take over the reins after Redstone retires. Last year, Brent Redstone sued his father, claiming he was being excluded from the business in favor of his sister, Shari. Two years ago Shari Redstone was promoted to vice chairman of Viacom and CBS, where she appeared to be in line for the chief position. Previously, Redstone soured on Tom Freston, one of MTV’s founders, and ousted him as head of Viacom. This came as a surprise as Redstone was often quoted in the media saying he regarded Freston like a son. For now it seems as though Phillipe Dauman — longtime Viacom board member, Freston replacement and Redstone’s personal lawyer and estate trustee — is most likely to succeed his boss when that time comes. However, while the elder Redstone doesn’t spend as much time in the office as he once did, it’s clear from his actions that he has no plans to leave anytime soon, and his grip on the business is as strong as ever. Letters to the Editor Regarding Ralph Baruch’s Book… In my opinion, your comments regarding the book were totally within your purview as publisher of VideoAge. You witnessed firsthand many of the events that Ralph wrote about and therefore have the right to comment on Ralph’s perspective and how effectively, or accurately, He recalled those events and the perspective in which he viewed those events. I was very moved by his recitation of past events. I know that, for me, Ralph put a lot of what happened into a fuller picture, and it represents an important document in the growth and history of the industry, the companies he was an important part of, [a testament to] his important role in so many factors of this business — worldwide. I thought your comments were yours to make and by and large I believe you gave Ralph’s book a favorable review (which, I too, felt it deserved). Your getting into the issue of Ralph’s advertising support of VideoAge, and you personally, I thought was misplaced. You have every right to make that point if you think publishing it is a prudent thing to do. However, within the context of reviewing Ralph’s book — a perspective of a man’s body of work and his significant contributions to our industry over his lifetime to date — in my view, is not the proper place to express your personal past issues. It would be [advantageous] for a newsman delivering the hard news to report it unbiased, and then, if he, or she wants, to give a personal “commentary”” — appropriately labeled — as his personal point of view. This way the reader, or the viewer, continues to trust the professional reporting of the newsperson, or the publisher, and separately gets to read, or hear, their personal point of view. Larry Gershman, Los Angeles I just read your article on Ralph Baruch... It was excellent!!! Seriously, you pulled no punches and were refreshingly honest and sincere. Anthony D. Friscia, Los Angeles OC T O B E R 2 0 0 7

Despite the dozen or so books written about him there have always been a lot of questions surrounding the personage of Walt Disney. Was he a misunderstood artist, a visionary entrepreneur, or both? Was he a fatherly figurehead to his isney employees or a self-serving egomaniac? Was he cremated or cryogenically frozen when he died? Michael Barrier sought to answer these queries and more about the man behind Mickey Mouse in the biographical The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney (2007, University of California Press, 393 pages, U.S., $29.95). Barrier, an animation historian who founded and edited Funnyworld — the first serious publication dedicated to comics and cartoons — as well as the author of “Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age,” delved deep into Disney’s background to give readers a full-bodied understanding of how a Missouri farm boy with a paper route was transformed into the unlikely head of an empire. And while Barrier’s work occasionally refers to Disney in less than glowing terms, The Walt Disney Company has — as it seems to always do with new books about its polarizing founder — opted to ignore the new tome. In 1969, three years after Disney’s death, Barrier, who had long been spellbound by a man he considered a “stunted but fascinating artist,” began recording interviews with dozens of people who had worked with Disney throughout his storied career. Barrier combined these discussions with Disney’s own recollections, as well as research from the Disney studio’s archives to create a work with such attention to detail that it would have made the exacting Disney proud. Even though the story of his humble beginnings has been retold many times, it is helpful here to briefly recount it. Born on December 5, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois, Disney always loved to draw. But his father, a perennially failed entrepreneur who had lost money on a number of ill-fated ventures, including a jelly company, tried to convince his child that doodling was a waste a time, and that only hard labor would win monetary rewards. A good son, Disney took in all that his dad spoon-fed him for a time, but soon the entrepreneurial spirit that led to his father’s financial undoing took hold of him too. After brief stints at a number of commercial art studios, Walt and his older brother Roy decided to go into business for themselves, making their very own films, then a mixture of liveaction and animation. Animated Man deftly documents the birth of this oncetiny operation, including the brothers’ seemingly endless search for financing, as well as their occasional need to lay off huge numbers of employees in order to stay in the black. Roy was the consummate businessman, Walt the dreamer. While the duo faltered at first, losing money on pictures more often than not, Walt quickly established himself as a creative thinker who was uncommonly in touch with the common man. “‘He had a very earthy sense of humor,’ said Jack Cutting who joined the Disney staff in 1929. ‘His humor was what I would call rural, or rustic… It was an unsophisticated sense of humor, and because he had that, he instinctively sensed what might go over well with the average audience,’” wrote Barrier. That Disney had his finger on the pulse of America’s tastes is undeniable even to his most outspoken detractors. From Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck to Snow White and the Seven Dwarves to Mary Poppins, Disney proved he knew exactly what would appeal to consumers’ hearts in order to make them open their wallets. When the studio was still small, Disney could easily exert his control over each picture, making decisions as seemingly insignificant as a change in a character’s color or the addition of shading to a sketch. But as his business grew, Disney never could quite figure out how to remain as intrinsic a part of his films as he felt he needed to be. Production would be forced to halt on several films whenever Walt took a holiday or when he simply would not or could not keep up with the sheer number of films being produced at his eponymous firm. Contrary to the avuncular “Uncle Walt” persona he’d cultivated as host of Disney’s successful ABC Disneyland television show, he was downright dictatorial when it came to his studio. “If Disney would not make decisions and let stories move forward into animation, the people making his short cartoons would be left without work or would spend their time redoing what they had already done,” wrote Barrier. While Disney was indubitably a hands-on if at times overbearing boss, it was only because he absolutely adored what he did for a living. His compulsive attention to detail extended to his personal life, as well. He was a model train enthusiast who built full-size reproductions that actually worked in his own backyard. He also so loved miniatures that he wanted to take his collection of them out on tour. But it wasn’t until plans were under — way for the building of Disneyland that Disney truly found his new obsession. And when the park was finally complete, it really was his happiest place on earth. Barrier described Disney’s fervor for the park as a “lover’s fierce passion.” Disney himself told an interviewer in 1964: “This place is my baby, and I would prostitute myself for it.” Yet while Disney’s love of Disneyland was explained at length, it is that Barrier only briefly addressed widespread rumors of Disney’s purported antiSemitism — which he discounts just as quickly — that is the only serious flaw in an otherwise unparalleled memoir. While there’s no way to know for sure where Disney’s prejudices lay, surely Barrier could have delved deeper in the years he researched the man. Walt Disney continued to make pictures up until the very end of his life — when the cigarettes he’d smoked for decades finally destroyed his lungs in 1966. But his name will not be soon forgotten. He left behind an empire that churns out a wide range of films and TV series each year, and encompasses DisneyABC Television, as well as kid-aimed channels, general interest networks and a slew of theme parks that bear his name. In 2001, then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner said: “You ask what is the soul of the company and what is our direction?” Almost 40 years after his death, Eisner knew the answer was still Walt himself. Walt Disney remains both the heart and soul of the company he built with nothing but ambition and the desire to make people smile. The Disney moniker, once just the last name of a Missouri-bred boy, has become so much more than he’d ever dreamed. It screams of money and power and a realm so vast that it seems impossible that anyone, anywhere has never heard the name. Walt Disney the determined businessman would’ve loved that. But his other self, Walt Disney the passionate artist, might’ve cringed at how far-reaching his company has become. Cringed and then counted his money, that is. Such was the duality of The Animated Man. LHR V I D E O • A G E OC T O B E R 2 0 0 7 12 B o o k R e v i e w Walt Disney Comes Alive In a New Book. But Is He Animated? A unique book cover with an amateurish quality

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At this MIPCOM, celebrity executives are taking the spotlight away from behind-the-scenes bigwigs. Some of the most internationally famous TV and film business personalities are making a cameo on the Croissette. This year’s market, which takes place October 8-12 –– the day after two-day children’s TV market Mipcom Jr. ends — will kick off with a keynote from Leslie Moonves, president and CEO of CBS Corporation. Moonves’ session will be followed by six additional keynotes from industry leaders the world over, including Televisa’s Emilio Azcarraga Jean; Zee Network and Essel Group’s Subhash Chandra and NBC’s Ben Silverman. But aside from the big names, it’s business as usual on the French Riviera. This year, MIPCOM will shine a spotlight on India — a test to evaluate the real potential of this large and populous country. In addition to Chandra’s keynote, “India Day” (the first day of the market) will examine the growth of the country’s film, TV and animation sectors, and look at areas in need of development. Ronnie Screwvala, founder and chairman of UTV Group will present a speech entitled “Indian Media – A Global Destination,” which will explore emerging sectors. The whole day’s activities, which are presented in partnership with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, will close with an Opening Night Party with a distinctly Indian flavor. While there’s no doubt that the Internet makes screening film reels and promos from the comfort of one’s own office much easier, it’s the face-to-face time that makes MIPCOM invaluable. “For us, it’s really important to meet with our international channel affiliates. But I also wouldn’t underestimate the value of seeing what our compatriots are doing,” said Michael Katz, vp, Programming and Production at AETN International, from New York. “It’s all pretty collegial when it comes down to it.” From his London office, Joel Denton, president of Production and Distribution at RHI Entertainment concurred. “If we’re sending material over electronically, we’re sending it to busy people and it’s possible that it can get lost in the shuffle.” London-based RDF Rights COO Jane Millichip said, “Deals are not signed around the markets as much as they once were, but the markets are part of an ongoing process.” This year, RDF Rights is focusing on its breadth of programming — expanding from the reality and documentary series for which it’s known to kids, drama and entertainment programming. The company will attend Mipcom Jr. as well to mark the launch of its kids’ division. “Because it’s such an expensive business to be involved in, we staggered the launch, but now we’re ready,” she said. MIPCOM will see the launch of Studio 100 Media — the Munich-based rights management subsidiary of vertically integrated Benelux media conglomerate Studio 100 — which opened in July 2007. The company will unveil flagship kids series (and BBC, YTV and Studio 100 co-pro) Big & Small at MIPCOM (and Mipcom Jr.). According to Patrick Elmendorff, MIPCOM is the perfect venue to introduce his company for international distribution, to acquire series for thirdparty distribution and invest in coproductions. The company’s catalogue runs “from preschool to preteen,” according to Elmendorff. For Colombia-based telenovelero Caracol, MIPCOM’s value is increased by the tendency of buyers to “drop by” the booth. According to Angelica Guerra, who will come to MIPCOM with the new title of international vice president of Caracol Television (taking over from Camilo Cano), since her company exhibits in a booth rather than a suite (as at NATPE), “we have a lot of people walk in and start deals.” She added that exhibiting on the floor lends itself to strolling and observing fellow distributors’ activities. When it comes to what international colleagues will be doing, AETN’s Katz had a few predictions. “We’re going to see HD programming catch on more, as it already has in places like the U.K., Japan and other Asian territories. There’s also going to be a focus on short-form programming,” both that which complements long-form programming and stand-alone programs. RHI’s Denton added that his company has been pleased with a widespread appetite for drama. “There aren’t too many big-scale dramas being produced by companies other than the studios. We appeal to an appetite for independent releases with our big-event movies, miniseries and action movies.” RHI recently completed a plethora of action movie sales — 50 to Sky in the U.K., 40 to Telemunchen in Germany, 50 to M6 in France and 25 to Quatro in Spain. “We expected to see demand from payTV channels, and in the on-demand space, but our movies are also being programmed for late night on free-TV channels. A lot of the terrestrial channels are picking up all rights,” Denton said. On the Latin side, the telenovela trends are all about formats. “We will continue to offer our telenovelas for local production,” said Caracol’s Guerra. She explained that despite formats’ lower price tags, the trend is not hurting her company financially because, “We’re being able to sell to countries — like Russia — that we weren’t selling to before.” “Trends are very often the hyped-up tip of the iceberg of business conducted at MIPCOM,” said Mathieu Bejot, managing director of TV France International. “Buyers are simply looking for good quality content across every single genre. With the dramatic increase of new delivery platforms, demand for content is high even though business models may still be unclear,” he said. “One of the biggest problems with MIPCOM is also it’s greatest asset: its sheer scale,” said RHI’s Denton. “We get to meet with so many people, but we just don’t have time to sit down with them and screen an entire episode. Every territory in the world is there and we need to meet with everyone,” he said. TVFI’s Bejot provided some advice to Reed MIDEM. “Provide downloadable lists of participants with email addresses,” he said. “This is the only way to prepare the market and make the most of limited time.” Caracol’s Guerra had no gripes about a recent addition to the MIPCOM schedule — the preceding Telenovelas Screenings — which takes place during the weekend before the market. “We are very grateful to Reed MIDEM, because they have brought us results,” she said. Finally, while business models continue to change, one thing that always induces executive grumbling is the shortage of accommodations. With higher prices, and increasing demand for hotel rooms, many executives are choosing to take apartments. They are less expensive — though at times less convenient than hotels — and with the rising euro and falling dollar, there isn’t much choice. LCB V I D E O • A G E OC T O B E R 2 0 0 7 16 M I P C O M R e p o r t Fall TV Market Offers Biz, Show, Power and Trends RDF Rights COO, Jane Millichip Mathieu Bejot, managing director of TV France International Studio 100 Media’s general manager, Patrick Elmendorff

The success of the 18th annual SPORTELMonaco — the international sports convention for television and new media executives, to be held in the principality of Monte Carlo, October 15-18 — was officially declared in late August, two months prior to its opening, when it had already surpassed expectations, selling out 95 percent of its exhibition space. “We’ve had to put stands in the lobby area for the first time,” said Bill Vitale, chairman of Vital Communications, the exclusive worldwide Sales and Marketing representative for SPORTEL. The market, which will be held at Monaco’s Grimaldi Forum three days after MIPCOM in Cannes, will once again feature the biggest names in sports programming distributors, including U.S. V.I.P.s: the National Football League, NASCAR, the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, ESPN and the PGA Tour, and European bigwigs such as Eurosport, the International Softball Federation and more. “It’s a very focused market, much like a MIPCOM Jr. or a MipDoc,” said Matthew Ody, whose eponymous firm, Matthew Ody & Associates, handles the international distribution of Chuck Norris’ World Combat League (WCL), a series that showcases mixed martial arts (MMA) combat. “You can achieve a lot in a short period of time and be effective without having to walk around searching for people like you do at bigger markets. You can just do your job better.” Ody is certain that World Combat League, which airs in primetime on the Versus network in the U.S., will be met with much fanfare as buyers search for the next big thing in male-oriented programming. “Advertisers are finding that men can’t watch organized sports like soccer or baseball all the time due to the sports’ confined schedules,” said Ody. “So what do you air when they’re not on?” This year, the answer is easy: fight shows. In addition to World Combat League, Alfred Haber Distribution will be on hand touting its International Fight League (IFL) slate. And the mother of all things MMA, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), will also take a booth at the Grimaldi Forum. “The hot new trend this year is mixed martial arts,” said SPORTEL’s Vitale. “The numbers in the U.S. are staggering. MMA gets more viewers than the baseball playoffs!” For UFC president Dana White, the reason why is simple. “It’s the most exciting sport out there,” he said. The company recently began expanding beyond the U.S., holding matches in the U.K. “It’s already the biggest combat sport in the world,” said White. “I want to be the first fight promoter who does global pay-per-view. I want the whole world to watch. And SPORTEL is the place to make that happen.” Despite the seeming overabundance of series devoted to MMA, Ody feels there’s a place for each of them — especially considering that appetites for blood and gore vary greatly worldwide. “UFC is doing well, but it has a certain style of violence not acceptable outside of the pay-TV and cable environments in certain regions,” said Ody. “You need programming that’s realistic, yet controllable, and World Combat League is just that.” Alfred Haber’s Bob Kennedy noted that IFL’s team-based match-ups (as opposed to the UFC’s individual face-offs) present MMA at its best. “You get all the action of Brazilian jujitsu, but it’s more advertiserfriendly and more palatable to the viewer in this form,” he said. UFC’s White disagreed. “Would you rather see Rampage Jackson vs. Chuck Liddell,” he asked, referring to two of the UFC’s biggest fighters, “or, say, the Beavers vs. the Woodchucks?” Just before the market Alfred Haber struck a deal with Asia’s Star TV for IFL Battleground, and IFL Fight Night. Star, IFL’s first television partner in Asia, will carry both series on its Star Sports platform, available in over 50 countries to a viewership of approximately 300 million. “We have more deals in the works,” said Kennedy, citing negotiations with broadcasters in Scandinavia, Israel, Central Europe and Romania. He hopes to sign contracts with another 20 territories in the near future and feels SPORTEL is the place to do it. “The market is so concentrated on male-oriented action programming that it’s been very useful for us,” said Kennedy, noting that he’s already scheduled more than 50 meetings for what will amount to a relatively short stint in Monaco. “SPORTEL has become a major annual appointment for us.” The market has also become a critical one for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). “SPORTEL’s been an integral part of our growth,” said WWE’s Andrew Whitaker, mentioning that the company’s been coming to Monaco since it was a relatively small $2 million business. “We’re now over $100 million, and that goes off the back of what we’ve done at SPORTEL.” Whitaker isn’t at all worried that the proliferation of MMA programming will impact the wrestling shows WWE produces. “My view is it’s the ultimate compliment to us as pioneers in the category of action entertainment.” Although it’ll play a big part, SPORTEL won’t be all MMA all the time. Monaco has also become an important yearly destination for Brazil’s Globo TV, which will be bringing programming devoted to Brazilian football, as well as indoor volleyball and stock car racing. “For those of us in sports media, SPORTEL is far better than MIPCOM,” said Globo’s Vinicius Pagin. “It’s just so much more focused and allows us to deliver our product to our clients much more easily.” GRB Entertainment’s Marielle Zuccarelli concurred. The Californiabased company recently struck a deal to represent Live Nation, a U.S. firm that possesses a large motor sports catalogue, which includes shows like Monster Jam and Supercross. “Live Nation is right behind NASCAR,” said Zuccarelli. “That’s how big they are in this arena.” GRB recently sold Supercross to the U.K.’s Channel 5 and Italy’s Fox Sports. While this will be GRB’s very first trip to Monte Carlo, Zuccarelli is confident. “We don’t generally talk to sports V I D E O • A G E OC T O B E R 2 0 0 7 18 S p o r t e l X-treme Sports Give Monaco Market Punch Alfred Haber’s IFL Battleground UFC president Dana White GRB’s Marielle Zuccarelli programmers but we’ll be able to meet with the right buyers and expose Live Nation to the world.” Each and every company headed to Monaco is hoping for the same level of exposure. But whether it’s motor sports or MMA that holds buyers’ attention most at the market, SPORTEL’s Vitale is enthusiastic. “I’m just looking forward to the buzz created when the Grimaldi Forum is full,” he said. LHR

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Time-shifting technology has taken the TV world by storm and IPTV has taken TV networks by surprise. Now, by marrying those two technologies some entrepreneurs are introducing a third element into the already problematic TV broadcasting equation: Place-shifting, the next big thing to capture consumers’ interest. Though large conglomerates like Sony are entering this business, in the U.S., the one company leading the brigade is California-based Sling Media. Sling’s flagship product, the Slingbox, allows users full access to at-home TV programs anywhere in the world they happen to be (as long as there is a broadband connction), on an array of mobile devices. Two of the company’s founders, brothers Jason and Blake Krikorian, are San Francisco Giants fans, and in 2002 they found themselves frustrated with an inability to watch their favorite team’s games while away on business. They couldn’t comprehend why, with all the advancements in Internet technology, it was still impossible to access the programs they’d recorded on their home DVRs outside of the house. Flash forward three years, and a phenomenon was born. For a TV station or network, the implication of place-shifting is that viewers are no longer bound to “appointment television,” or even to a particular location. While this prospect could work well for some ethnic channels (by increasing audiences outside a given territory), for English and Spanish TV stations it could represent increased license fees, or even a change in the business model for international program distribution. Depending on the model, Slingbox devices can be hooked up to cable, satellite connections or even DVRs. The devices take in a signal and redirect it to the viewer wherever he/she happens to be — on PCs, Macs or mobile phones (computers with AV outputs can transfer signals to TV sets as well). Because more high-end versions of the Slingbox are compatible with DVRs, customers traveling outside their home countries can align their viewing with local time. All they need is a broadband Internet connection capable of 256 kbps or greater (though connections of 384 kbps or greater are recommended for better quality). Thanks to consistent monitoring between the Internet connection and the Slingbox device, it is impossible for more than one user to access a single device at any given time. “Otherwise it’s not fair to the content deliverers and it’s not legal,” said Rich Buchanan, Sling Media’s vp of Marketing. While there’s no way to control it, Buchanan said his company strongly discourages customers from sharing passwords because “anyone who logs on to your system has access to your entire living room entertainment system, and can buy pay-per-view movies,” he said. Buchanan added that digital monitoring also allows for an optimization of the video compression. SlingStream is the technology within a Slingbox that adjusts video quality. It takes into account various factors, including network bandwidth, SlingPlayer device characteristics, video content, and the type of video input. Using patent pending algorithms, SlingStream automatically adjusts compression level, video bit rate, frame rate and other settings to create a quality video experience. While this technology is attractive for business travelers and local news junkies, a wide range of companies across the U.S. have found new applications for it. In San Francisco, one local CBS affiliate plugs cameras into Slingbox devices all over town, eliminating the need for expensive satellite cameras and vans while doing traffic reports. Slingbox devices have also been hooked up to surveillance cameras in retail stores. U.S. cable provider Comcast has plugged thousands of Slingboxes into its headend to monitor channel transmission. HBO uses the device to monitor its Latin American feeds and check its signals. Sling Media’s newest technology, called Clip+Sling, became available to Slingbox users this fall. It allows them to isolate content from live or recorded TV shows and share it with others (even non-Slingbox owners). Clips can be sent via an email message or accessed from an interactive portal that’s available to anyone. The new application appeals specifically to sports fans who can send their favorite clips of goals and shots to their friends. The U.S.’s National Hockey League (NHL) has entered into a deal with Sling Media by which the long-suffering league hopes to put an end to its ratings slump. At the CES 2007 conference in Las Vegas, CBS president and CEO Leslie Moonves announced his company’s partnership with Sling Media, celebrating the fact that CBS content will be “slung” by users. “The symbiotic relationship [between old and new media] will only tighten,” Moonves acknowledged during a CES keynote address. “We’re doing just about everything we can to see what’s going to work now and in the future.” While some embrace the application, not everyone’s a fan. Major League Baseball (MLB) has voiced opposition to the fact that Clip+Sling would make clips that are available for a fee on its website free to users of Slingbox. But MLB has opted against taking legal action, for fear of making the same mistake the music industry did — trying to get in the way of advancing technologies. At the moment, the U.S. has the largest proliferation of Slingboxes. But they are also available outside the States. The devices are marketed and sold directly through Sling Media in the U.K. and Canada, and through partnerships in Asia. They come in both NTSC versions and PAL versions. There is a range of models out there, with different prices (though there’s never a recurrent monthly fee). The Slingbox TUNER sells for $129 and provides access to basic cable only. The mid-level unit, the Slingbox AV, is available for $179 and is additionally compatible with DVRs, digital cable and satellite receivers. The Slingbox PRO, which retails at $249, “is designed for the home theater enthusiast,” according to Buchanan, and is compatible with up to three standard definition devices and one high-def video device. When asked whether he expects other companies to create rivals, Buchanan was unabashed: “Absolutely. We have patent protection, but we welcome the competition,” he said. Sony, in particular, has its very own devices and propriety software, dubbed LocationFree. The products were available a year before Sling’s, but were hobbled by high prices, a need for proprietary hardware, wonky connections and difficult installations and setups. Back then (and until this year), LocationFree base devices were sold with LCD monitors. Like the Slingbox, they are compatible on desktop and notebook PCs, and Windows Mobile and Macs (in addition to PlayStation Portables). While Sling Media’s devices have caught on more in the U.S., in Japan the opposite is true. “As a start-up, Sling Media spent a lot of money on promotion in the U.S., so they’ve become more well-known,” explained Shigeo Saito, Sony’s director for LocationFree marketing. Sony used to promote LocationFree as a home entertainment device, but is now marketing it as a networking device (the way Sling Media does), under the VAIO brand. The software now comes preinstalled in any new Sony VAIO computer. “LocationFree software is not only compatible with VAIO, but we’re treating it almost as a VAIO accessory,” Saito said. Base stations can register up to eight clients; a feature he said “is appreciated by the broadcast industry. We had discussions with the studios, and they understood and appreciated our proprietary software,” he said. One major difference between the Slingbox and the LocationFree base station is the technology inside. “Base station technology is wireless, so you don’t need an Ethernet cable to connect between the box and a cable or DSL connection. Given the popularity of these technologies there’s no doubt other companies will follow in their footsteps. Soon enough the idea of missing your favorite TV shows while on vacation will seem incomprehensible. LCB V I D E O • A G E OC T O B E R 2 0 0 7 20 I P T V E v o l u t i o n Place-Shifting Adds To TV Networks’ Woes The Sling Media family of place-shifting devices

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