OC T O B E R 2 0 1 1 (Continued on Page 6) In Brazil, Fun Is An Industry You don’t have to twist Brazilians’ arms to make them have fun. In Brazil, fun is a natural phenomenon, making the country wellsuited for the upcoming launch of Comedy Central (CC) in early 2012. Brazilian stand-up comedian Rafinha Bastos’ success is evidence that CC’s stand-up comedy is gaining ground in Brazil. Bastos is featured on two Brazilian television shows each week, has recently released a hit DVD, and has 2.7 million followers on Twitter —more than U.S. comedian Conan O’Brien. Álvaro Paes de Barros, GM for Viacom Networks in Brazil, who is supervising the CC launch in that country, commented that comedy is “turning into an industry” in Brazil and his channel will hire Brazilian writers to help churn out more. And because American and other international humor does not always readily translate to Brazilian audiences, the channel will also air locally produced programming. Comedy Central in Brazil will still feature hit U.S. series such as The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, South Park and Ugly Americans, as well as stand-up, with subtitles for Brazilian audiences. According to Paes de Barros, the company’s research indicates that due to globalization, there is indeed an audience for CC comedy in Brazil, specifically among urban males ages 24-35. The fact that cable TV is growing in Brazil contributed to the decision to launch the CC brand in that country. NBC Sports Scores A Goal In its latest attempt to outdo U.S. cable networks ESPN and Fox Sports, Comcast’s NBC Sports Group secured a broadcast and cable rights deal withMajor League Soccer (MLS), as football is called in the U.S. In this new deal, NBC Sports picked up the package that previously belonged to Fox Sports (Fox Soccer was only carrying one game a week). Comcast’s regional sports channels already carryMLS games, and according to the deal, MLS football will now be carried on NBC and Versus, the cable sports channel soon to be renamed NBC Sports Network. Versus is currently distributed in approximately 80 million U.S. homes, compared to just under 40 million homes for Fox Soccer. In total, the deal encompasses 45 games, most of which will be broadcast on cable. NBC will air two regularseason games and appearances by the U.S. men’s national team. Although the terms of the deal were not revealed, estimates reportedly put the price somewhere between $10 million to $12 million over three years. However, it is said that the Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN is still the place for Major League Soccer, as it carries the majority of the major games. Univision, a Spanish-language broadcaster in the U.S., also has rights to MLS. In addition, NBC Sports recently inked deals to keep U.S. rights for the Olympic Games through 2020, as well as National Hockey League games. Zappia Is New CEO Of Sky Italia Last August, News Corp. announced that Andrea Zappia was appointed chief executive officer of Sky Italia. Zappia replaced Tom Mockridge, who left Sky Italia to become chief executive, News International in London. Prior to this new position, Zappia served as managing director, Customer Group, BSkyB in the U.K. He joined BSkyB in February 2010, and was charged with leading its sales, marketing and customer operations teams. Zappia was also responsible for customer acquisition and retention for the company’s broadband, home telephony products and pay-TV. But before that, he worked at Sky Italia for seven years, most recently as vice president, Sports Channels. From 2003 through 2007 Zappia served as VP, Marketing, Promotion and Business Development at Sky Italia. Zappia has also worked at Ferrari, Fila and Procter & Gamble in various senior marketing positions. V I D E O • A G E 4 122 Sherbourne Street Toronto Ontario Canada M5A 2R4 t 4I6.766.6588 f 416.769.1436 distribution@breakthroughentertainment.com breakthroughentertainment.com Nat Abraham, Vice President, Distribution t 416.366.6588 x 114 e nabraham@breakthroughentertainment.com Kate Blank, Sales Executive t 416.366.6588 x 231 e kblank@breakthroughentertainment.com Laura Lemyk, Sales Executive t 416.366.6588 x 133 e llemyk@breakthroughentertainment.com
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