In This Issue: LAM TV Power MIPCOM Preview Turkish TV Special L.A. Screenings II THE BUSINESS JOURNAL OF FILM, BROADCASTING, BROADBAND, PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011 VOL. 31 NO. 5 $9.75 ® www.videoage.org If there were an Oscar for Best Film-Financing Deal, the winning transaction might look something like this: Original equity investors are returnedamultiple of their initial investment within a prescribed time frame; mezzanine investors get all their interest and principle paid; senior debt is fully serviced — and possibly recycled for another favorable round of financing. But that’s not an award likely to be given out any time soon — in part because even the non-televised portion of the Academy Awards ceremony is already too long; in part because of the many challenges to achieving that sort of success in a Hollywood film-financing deal; and in part because of the extremely confidential nature of these industry deals. Nevertheless, deals matching the above Film Financing Models: Rewards Against All Odds Are Varied (Continued on Page 58) (Continued on Page 56) The world has been going through the worst economic downturn since the ’30s, and some countries are suffering more than others. In Europe — Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain (the so-called PIIGS) are all suffering dramatically. So, VideoAge set out to explore whether these tough times and challenging markets are affecting the international TV business. Lionsgate Television International’s Peter Iacono was reasonably buoyant. “Ireland has been reliable and steady, as have Italy and Spain,” he insisted. “In fact,” he added, “with new entrants to the market, Spain has been on an upswing; it’s really only Greece that has been slow.” Although Iacono was quick to insist that, “all our partners in Greece have been honoring their commitments, it’s just that new sales have been tough.” According to Aldo Spagnoli of Funwood Media, a distributor for the Spanish TV market, the public national and regional stations are suffering the most due to government budget cuts. And, sincenational channels likeTVE1 and TVE2 cannot carry advertising, an alternate financing model, that assures them at least 500 million euro (out of Are PIIGS Countries Affecting Int’l TV Biz? From Idea To Pilot: The U.S. Dream Factory Adding Obstacles Turning an idea or concept into a TV show in the U.S. has never been easy. Nowadays, however, it’s almost impossible. One cannot help but marvel at how some 103 pilots were turned into 50 series at the recent U.S. TV upfronts. At last count, an aspiring independent scriptwriter or (Continued on Page 50) (Continued on Page 54) BY DOM SERAFINI This is what we know: At one point in the early ’80s U.S. TV network ABC wanted to get rid of its affiliates. In 1985, a group of its affiliates purchased the network. Subsequently, in the late ’80s, the U.S. TV networks lobbied politicians to eliminate certain restrictive rules because they wanted to buy the Hollywood studios that supplied content to them. In the mid-’90s the studios began buying up the networks. Today, the studios want to do away with their middlemen (retailers, exhibitors, MVPDs, digital providers, etc.). If history is a guide, it is possible that, ultimately, the middlemen will be buying the studios or the same U.S. Studios Bracing For Awesome “Incos” Rivalry “I’m the middleman and people are always trying to figure out how to eliminate me.”
V I D E O A G E • N o . 5 • S e p t e m b e r / O c t o b e r 2 0 1 1 Cover stories: U.S. studios bracing for awesome “Incos” competition Film financing models: Rewards in film investment are varied and against all odds Are PIIGS countries affecting the Int’l TV Biz? Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain are now paying for past government excesses From idea to pilot: The U.S. dream factory is adding obstacles to an already difficult process 4. World: Italy, U.S., Brazil, Canada, U.K., Famous quotes 10. Book Review: The dark side of late-night U.S. TV shows 14. DISCOP review. Changes, Turkish power, studios’ screenings made for a dramatic event 22. Trade ad campaigns. Results always come, but always at a price 26. MIPCOM Preview: Rubles, Rupee and Real. Money rumbles in Cannes 28. Fall 2011 season: Retro trend is forward thinking for U.S. television 30. L.A. Screenings in Cannes: MIPCOM’s vital Latin component 32. Indian animation houses set for growth and consolidation 34. Turkish TV Special *Turkish delights: The int’l TV scene hit by unexpected powerhouses *Turkey gets attention from Italy *Fox TV channels now speak Turkish *Turkish TV presence at MIPCOM *Turkey has its own Desperate Housewives 40. Digital delivery: Tapeless in Seattle. Swiss “bank” enters B2B content delivery 42. New dubbing biz models needed to get TV shows off the shelves and onto the air 44. EBITDA fever: The art of the takeover tends to exclude joint ventures 46. Traditional media losing “FT Global 500” rank 48. Theatrical distribution costs: For indies digital cinema is more real than reels 60. Conference and event news 62. My 2¢: Accuracy versus impartiality in news reporting. Uncertainty wins
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
OC T O B E R 2 0 1 1 (Continued on Page 8) (Continued from Page 4) CCTV-RAI Co-Pro Opens Windows Marco Polo’s travels to China are well known, but there is a similar individual, up to now little known: Matteo Ricci, who in 1607 — over 300 years after Polo — arrived at the Imperial Court of Beijing with the task of evangelizing China. Ricci’s story will be retold in La Cina Vicina (Nearby China), a documentary film directed by Duilio Giammaria, co-produced by RAI-TG1, RaiWorld, the Chinese state television group (CCTV), the Region of Marche, the ItalianMinistry of Foreign Affairs, and the ItalianMinistry of Economic Development. The co-production agreement between RAI and CCTV (brokered by RAI’s recently established RaiWorld) has been developed in the wake of the Matteo Ricci exhibition, which was organized by the Marche Regional Government in four Chinese cities. Ricci, a native of Marche from the city of Macerata, was a Jesuit priest who introduced to China the first elements of Euclidian geometry (which he translated into Chinese), geography and astronomy. He was the first European to be buried in China. Ricci’s importance has been recognized by the U.S. magazine Life, which placed him among the 100 most important people of the second millennium. Today, the effigies of Marco Polo and Matteo Ricci decorate the interior of the Millennium Center in Beijing, the seat of the Chinese government. The narrative style of La Cina Vicina (which will be shot in high definition) will examine the past and present stories through various locations in Italy and in the Orient, with the voices of contemporary experts from China and Italy. According to a representative from RaiWorld, “With this film, China is opening a window on the histories of companies and people who, through many difficulties, developed successful activities in China by actualizing the teachings of Matteo Ricci.” La Cina Vicina also offers the opportunity to rediscover an important piece of Italian history during a crucial period that influenced the development of the world. Matteo Ricci began his long missionary journey (from which he never returned) at the founding of his order in Rome toward the end of 1500. Ricci was able to overcome the diffidence of the suspicious Mandarins right at the height of the Chinese empire’s isolationist period and, in less than 20 years he became, “The wise man from the West” with the Chinese name of Li Madou. During his journey, Ricci not only taught and translated scientific texts from the West, but he translated from Mandarin the works of main Chinese thinkers, including Confucius. U.S. Reality TV Filming On The Rise According to figures reported by FilmL.A., which handles local film permits in Los Angeles, reality TV productions have been on the rise this summer. FilmL.A.’s statistics indicate that approximately 50 new reality TV shows have requested permits to film on local streets or non-certified soundstages through early July. This is in spite of the fact that such productions were down 13 percent in the second quarter compared to the year before. This recent increase in production is a testament to the genre’s popularity in the U.S. It also serves as a reminder that reality TV fuels local TV production in Los Angeles, since far fewer dramas are shot locally, with cities outside of California acting as competing locations for filming hour-long dramas. Because scripted programming is more economically beneficial, FilmL.A. spokesperson Philip Sokoloski noted that he hoped to see more scripted programming filmed locally. Among the titles fueling the reality TV production fire are Punk Payback, dedicated to helping viewers avoid being “punked” on the street (Fuel TV); Dance Moms, about a dance company instructor and her students (Lifetime); Shahs of Sunset, centered on a group of young Persian American friends living in L.A. (Bravo); Dirty Soap, giving light to the personal lives of soap opera stars (E! Entertainment) and Barbies Reality, following the events that take place at a party rental hall (not yet sold at press time). V I D E O • A G E 6 ENTERTAINMENT ACTION CRIME LIFESTYLE Visit cableready.net to view all available programs Email sales@cableready.net to schedule a meeting at MIPCOM! Visit us at Stand R31.17 D E V E L O P M E N T • D I S T R I B U T I O N • R E P R E S E N T A T I O N +1-203-855-7979 l info@cableready.net
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OC T O B E R 2 0 1 1 (Continued from Page 6) Re, Italian TV Pioneer, Dies At one point, in 1984, Giuliano Re controlled Italy’s fourth largest TV network, EuroTV. But his biggest accomplishment was in the late ’70s when he introduced Italy to both TV syndication and TV barter. Giuliano Re died on July 27 at the age of 85 at his home in Rapallo, in the Liguria Region. Re’s career in advertising included running the Sales department of Corriere della Sera, Italy’s largest daily, and Il Sole 24 Ore, now Europe’s largest financial daily. He entered the television business in 1979, bartering and syndicating programs acquired mostly from the U.S. At that time the television ad revenues for the Italian private sector were the equivalent of U.S.$40 million. By 1984, when he created Euro TV by merging two ad reps, the figure reached $600 million. This was despite the fact that television in Italy did not yet have a regulatory framework and the laws applied were those pertaining to the criminal and civil codes. VideoAge featured a profile of Re in its October 1984 Issue. After departing the media sector in 1999, Re left Milan and retired to Liguria. He’s survived by his only child, Patrizia. CBC Gets DTV Switch Delay Last August 31, Canadian TV stations switched to digital transmission. The next day, September 1, about eight percent of the population, which doesn’t subscribe to cable, telco or satellite services, either bought an analog-todigital converter or saw a mostly blank screen when they turned on their TVs. The digital transition affected 30 major TV markets in Canada, including cities with populations of over 300,000 residents. CBC, the country’s public broadcaster, has earmarked C$60 million for 27 digital transmitters —14 English and 13 French — but it has yet to solve some transmission and retransmission problems. So, the CRTC, Canada’s telecommunications authority, has granted the CBC an extra year to complete its digital transition, allowing the broadcaster to keep its analog signal running in 22 markets until 2012. Naturally, the DTV switchover has not been easy for the commercial sector either, with millions invested just to serve a small portion of viewers that are not subscribing to other digital services, such as cable TV. CanadianTV stations are not required to use their sub-channels. They can broadcast in either HD or in SD. 10 Shows NotTo-Be-Missed On U.K. TV The daily newspaper The Telegraph has suggested that its U.K. readers not miss 10 TV shows in the new season. Only one is a U.S. import, and there is one remake for American TV. These shows made the list: The second season of Downton Abbey, ITV-1; Frozen Planet, BBC-1; PanAm, BBC-2; The Killing, BBC-4; Life’s Too Short, BBC-2; The Comic Strip Presents… The Hunt for Tony Blair, Ch.4; The Jury, ITV-1; The Body Farm, BBC-1; The Choir: Soldiers’ Wives, BBC-2 and Young James, BBC-1. Famous quotes “The overseas magazine subscription price [for RTS’ house organ, the monthly Television] is £135 [U.S.$223] annually, which is £32 more than the [RTS] membership fee.” A note from the U.K.-based Royal Television Society. VideoAge calculated that the RTS publication costs subscribers 57¢ per page, versus 20¢ for VideoAge’s overseas paying subscribers. Giuliano Re V I D E O • A G E 8 11x60
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V I D E O • A G E OC T O B E R 2 0 1 1 10 BY SARA ALESSI It’s fairly safe to say that nothing in the last decade quite rocked the U.S. television world like the NBC late-night debacle of 2009, when the network tried to juggle Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien as hosts of late-night talk shows and dropped the ball with O’Brien. Late-night TV shows require little more than a set with a desk and some chairs, plus an in-house band, so they cost considerably less than other TV programs. Thus, late-nighters are soft on networks’ pockets, but at the same time generate hard cash — making ratings-winning hosts invaluable. The New York Times TV reporter Bill Carter explores The War For Late Night: When Leno Went Early and Television Went Crazy in his new book from Viking (405 pages, $26.95). Carter relied on his own firsthand reporting and interviews from sources such as Rolling Stone magazine to tell the story of NBC’s late-night blunder. Carter does a fairly solid job of objectively presenting the facts and opinions he gathered in interviews with the key players. He introduces the information in an organized, pointed fashion — beginning with background on O’Brien and Leno that is relevant to their actions during the late-night war — that demonstrates the care he took in stepping back to absorb and properly convey the information he gleaned. For instance, to understand why O’Brien agreed to wait five years for a shot at The Tonight Show (which Leno agreed to turn over to him), and why he later walked away from a delayed 12:05 a.m. start time, it’s essential for readers to know how important Tonight was to O’Brien. It’s also important that readers know about Leno’s obsession with ratings and his disinclination to take a vacation (he and his wife, Mavis, rarely vacation together, and Mavis often takes trips while Leno books his act in Las Vegas clubs or remains at home tending to his car collection), in order to understand why Leno took NBC’s 10 p.m. offer to create a new program, The Jay Leno Show, and later switched back to The Tonight Show at its traditional 11:35 timeslot. The book opens with an account of the NBC 2009 New York City Upfronts, where NBC put on its biggest comedy show with its biggest talent to sell Jay Leno at 10 p.m. Carter hurtles readers headfirst into the drama that was unfolding in the world of NBC’s late-night comedy, hooking the readers and inviting them to learn what led NBC into the predicament in which it found itself at the Upfronts. Readers are taken back to 2004, when then NBC CEO Jeff Zucker devised a plan to “Keep the consistently winning Jay as long as possible while also preventing Conan from taking his increasingly impressive talent elsewhere.” According to the plan, Leno would leave The Tonight Show in five years, clearing the way for O’Brien to step in as host. This plan seemed genius to Zucker until it became a real possibility that Leno might find a new home at NBC’s competitor, ABC network. To avoid losing Leno, NBC offered him another comedy show during NBC’s 10 p.m. timeslot, which he accepted. However, when NBC’s affiliate stations began barking about Leno’s horrible 10 p.m. ratings, and O’Brien’s overall viewership consistently sank below David Letterman’s late show ratings on CBS, NBC had to act quickly. Leno’s enthusiasm for returning to 11:35 p.m. contrasted starkly with O’Brien’s devastation at NBC’s plan to move him and The Tonight Show back a half hour to 12:05 a.m. Ultimately, O’Brien left NBC for cable network TBS, while Leno returned to his previous post on The Tonight Show at 11:35. Despite his best efforts to present solely the facts, as with any writing, Carter’s bias at times seeps through, particularly in the diction he uses to describe O’Brien, whom he seems to support. Therefore, it’s important that readers bear this in mind and freely question whether O’Brien was always as gracious as Carter suggests. When Carter tells us that O’Brien once stated, “I wouldn’t want to do anything with NBC that I wouldn’t be able to tell Jay I was doing,” Carter assures the readers that O’Brien “was being entirely sincere.” By using the word “sincere” and speaking of O’Brien’s good intentions, the author paints O’Brien as a “good guy” in the readers’ minds. Most telling is the way Carter describes O’Brien’s approach to leaving The Tonight Show. The author states that on the last episode, “consistent with his approach throughout, [O’Brien] took the high…road” and thanked NBC for making his career possible, while also acknowledging Jay Leno. The readers sense that Leno, in opting not to mention O’Brien when he returned toTonight, did not “take the high road” in Carter’s eyes, falling short of the praise Carter reserves for O’Brien. In describing Leno, Carter at least tries to be impartial, offering two viewpoints: The way both Leno’s supporters and detractors interpreted his actions, allowing readers to decide which side they are on. Throughout the book, Carter makes the readers empathize with these latenight giants. He recreates volatile phone conversations between one of O’Brien’s agents, Rick Rosen, and NBC’s Zucker, depicting Rosen’s disbelief so well that the readers are just as shocked and upset as Rosen was when he heard Zucker shouting at him and demanding that O’Brien make a decision about the time shift immediately. After O’Brien left Tonight and began to accept the reality of his situation, the readers feel his devastation. Carter uses emotional language, writing that O’Brien “still felt shattered to his last bone.” And we also feel bad for Leno when ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! host Jimmy Kimmel (whom Leno tried to become chummy with while considering a move to ABC) turns the tables on him during an interview on The Jay Leno Show. Leno had invited Kimmel onto the show thinking they were allies, but as Kimmel takes his funny but hurtful jabs at Leno — “‘Oh, this is a trick, right? Where you get me to host The Tonight Show and then take it back from me?’” — Carter describes the unsuspecting Leno’s reaction: Leno was “trying to laugh along agreeably” and “smiling as best he could…he just let Kimmel pummel him without really throwing a punch in return.” Carter’s piece is valuable to understanding the dynamics andpolitics of U.S. television and the interactions between executives and stars, and will spark the interest of television fans and professionals alike. He tackles a controversial, sensitive and very public issue with care and taste. Putting the war for late night in perspective while respecting the viewpoints of the many figures involved from the Leno and O’Brien camps couldn’t have been easy, but Carter offers a thorough examination of just what happened when NBC’s late-night television was turned on its head. The Dark Side Of Late-Night Shows B o o k R e v i e w
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V I D E O • A G E OC T O B E R 2 0 1 1 14 So many things happened at this past DISCOP in Budapest that one hardly knows where to start. To begin with, there was the overwhelming dominance of Turkish TV distribution companies, not in terms of number but in terms of programming sales (see related story starting on pg. 34). The U.S. studios had a strong presence, which caused some rumbles among the indies when they found out that buyers were bussed off to screen studio product outside the Sofitel Hotel, DISCOP’s market site. Prices for Latin telenovelas and European dramas, especially for Eastern Europe (and the Baltic states in particular) have dropped dramatically. Finally, NATPE and Basic Lead, the two companies that jointly organize DISCOP East in Budapest, announced that, starting next year, DISCOP East will become NATPE-Budapest under the exclusive control of Los Angelesbased NATPE. This was the market in a nutshell, but there was even more — like a press breakfast announcement about the creation of new localized licensing trade shows; a press lunch warning from the Association of Commercial Television in Europe (ACT) about “Rights, New Media & Football;” and a cocktail by Japan’s NHK Enterprises (NEP) to announce its network’s new shows. In addition, there was the widely popular party organized by HBO Budapest, which announced its HBO Go service at the event’s closing bash on its traditional boat floating on the Danube River. The fact that this DISCOP East was different could be gauged on opening day by the news conference where DISCOP founder Patrick Jucaud and NATPE CEO Rick Feldman announced that DISCOP East will become NATPE-Budapest in 2012. Basically, as VideoAge reported in late June, after six years of co-habitation, NATPE has takenmajority ownership of DISCOP East. The DISCOP brand will continue to exist for Jucaud’s other TV trade shows, like DISCOP Africa and DISCOP Istanbul. For these DISCOP trade markets (including the Remakes Market and the Montreux Comedy Market), NATPE will continue to have minority ownership, while Jucaud will retain majority ownership. NATPE-Budapest will thus become NATPE’s second annual market after its traditional U.S.-based trade show, once again to be held in Miami, Florida, next January. Feldman said that he’s not planning to make drastic changes, however all options are open. Next year the Budapest market will take place a week later than usual. In addition, the Sofitel Hotel is not to be taken for granted, as a possible move from Budapest is in the works (although not for next year). Negotiations with the Sofitel are taking place now and the outcome will determine future plans. Finally, all organizational operations for NATPE-Budapest will be moving from Basic Lead’s Paris office to Los Angeles, under the guidance of Jucaud’s people. On day two of the three-day event that ended on June 23, former U.S. studio marketing executive Vincent Alati, currently with Basic Lead, announced the creation of “Signature,” a series of local licensing trade shows “for qualified buyers,” that will start with a Warsaw, Poland event on January 18, 2012. Other venues include Istanbul, Moscow, São Paulo and Seoul. New trade shows organized under the company name Patent International (a 50-50 company by Basic Lead and Alati), include a B2C market, a product placement event and an African Sports Rights Market. But the talk of the market was the reduced license fee that buyers were offering to independent companies. Latin American distributors, as well as Italian and French exhibitors were beside themselves. For example, Russia, which up until recently was paying $3,000 an hour for a drama series, is now offering $1,000. Baltic countries that were looking to pay $100 per episode for Latin telenovelas were willing to pay $1,500 an hour for a Turkish series. Indeed, Turkish companies made out like bandits at this DISCOP, with buyers even engaging in a bidding war for Turkey’s Global Agency’s new series Magnificent. All of Turkey’s six major distributors were in attendance, including ITV, Calinos and TRT, in addition to the aforementioned Global. However, the changing nature of DISCOP was something that distributors, especially Latin American companies, were well aware of. Indeed, only a handful of Latin companies sent Changes, Turkish Power, Studios’ Screenings D I S C O P R e v i e w (Continued on Page 18) The theme of this year’s HBO party at DISCOP was absinthe Starz’s Kristen Stanisz, Gene George, Cynthia Burnett TVFI’s president Xavier Gouyou Beauchamps and executive director Mathieu Bejot Record TV’s Delmar Andrade from Brazil
Tanya McQueen PICKER SISTERS Gene Simmons GENE SIMMONS FAMILYJEWELSTM Rick Harrison PAWN STARS® ENTE LIFE IS © 2011 A&E Television Networks, LLC. All rights reserved. 1004. MOVIES CRIME LIFESTYLE ENTERTAINMENT BIOGRAPHY
Go to aetninternational.com and visit us at MIPCOM, Booth G3-18 MONSTER IN-LAWS HUNT FOR THE I-5 KILLER DANCE MOMS TITANIC STORAGE WARSTM BILLY THE EXTERMINATORTM RTAINING HISTORY REAL-LIFE COMPETITION REALITY FORMATS TECH + ENGINEERING PARANORMAL CONFLICT 550+ NEW hours for MIPCOM + 1,200+ ORIGINAL hours annually + 9,500+ hours across all genres + Programs from the hottest brands in US cable – HISTORY®, A&E® and Lifetime® + Content that breaks network records and is regularly #1 in time slot for all US TV viewing, including broadcast
V I D E O • A G E OC T O B E R 2 0 1 1 18 “ Feldman said that he’s not planning to make drastic changes, however all options are open. Next year the Budapest market will take place a week later than usual. In addition, the Sofitel Hotel is not to be taken for granted. D I S C O P ( C o n t i n u e d ) top-level sales executives, and some even reduced their advertising presence. It is hoped that, with NATPE now taking over, the trade show will further expand from its traditional Central and Eastern European (CEE) base. It has been pointed out that the CEE TV market is now mature: Stations are making money and, at the L.A. Screenings, are willing to pay studio prices. For those buyers who didn’t attend the Screenings in Los Angeles, some of the U.S. studios rented theaters in Budapest, pointing out that screenings were held early in the morning, taking away buyers only for a short while, and, in the case of Warner Bros., their screenings were done before the market even started. But the studios weren’t the only ones taking the buyers off the market site. The producers of the two-episode miniseries Titanic organized a party at their Budapest set, which was described by one participant as a “gate crasher.” Nevertheless, those outside events caused some consternation among exhibitors. TV France International’s Mathieu Bejot commented, “We were extremely unhappy about the screenings that took place this year outside of the [DISCOP] market. It is very positive that the studios wish to increase their presence atDISCOPEast (nowNATPEBudapest). The more exhibitors, the stronger the market. However, taking buyers out of the venue could be fatal for the market. Why bother paying for a suite if the buyers aren’t going to attend anyway? Many exhibitors are debating whether they will go back next year if the studios maintain their own screenings.” Helge Koehnen, Bavaria Media Television’s Sales manager, said, “For me DISCOP was a good market, but as you can imagine I wasn’t amused about the fact that the U.S. majors had their screenings during the first two market days! Several buyers told me that they had no time to meet as they were busy attending the ‘Post L.A. Screenings.’ Such screenings should take place the day before and/or after the market — this would be a good upside to the market — but not simultaneously.” In addition, Koehnen “was disappointed about the number and quality of buyers. DISCOP was very busy, but mostly due to the enormous amount of sellers trying to meet fewer buyers. The big channels from Russia, Ukraine, the Baltics, Poland and some of the Balkans did not attend.” Nevertheless, he said, “We will most probably attend NATPE-Budapest next year, but I hope they will solve the issue with the screenings.” And, in terms of business, “It was a good (Continued from Page 14) Basic Lead’s Patrick Jucaud (l.) and NATPE CEO Rick Feldman at the press conference announcing that DISCOP East will become NATPE-Budapest NHK’s Shigeru Aoki at the cocktail presentation of NEP’s new programming Russ Biggam, director general of the Brussels, Belgium-based ATC, making the case for “Rights, New Media & Football” Crowd at the opening party market for us. The meetings I had were efficient and productive with some promising new contacts.” For his part, NATPE CEO Rick Feldman said, “We understand and appreciate the issue of the majors holding screenings off site atDISCOP inBudapest. I have already spoken with Warner Bros., Fox, NBC Universal, and CBS and I will meet with them in the fall to see how we can meet their needs without disrupting the market. The truth is that we all benefit by having the majors as a part of what will be NATPE-Budapest. “Everyone I have contacted understands that doing something that hurts themarket helps no one and that incorporating the screenings into the fabric of the NATPEBudapest marketplace is what would be best for all. We will try for a fair, systematic approach to this for June 2012 in an attempt to enhance the value of the market for the buyers and the sellers.”
V I D E O • A G E OC T O B E R 2 0 1 1 22 With the popularity of Lionsgate’s Mad Men, the art of advertising is taking center stage once again. Whether it is to promote a product or (increasingly, a political) idea, to position it or simply sell it, advertising is now returning to a level of prominence not seen since the golden era of Madison Avenue in the mid-’1960s. Advertising also played an important role in pre-war Japan and Europe, especially to promote ideologies such as Fascism and Nazism, and in post WWII Soviet Russia to promote Communism. After the war, it was used successfully in the U.S. to promote products from former enemies: Germany, Japan and Italy. The campaign created by Helmut Krone and Julian Koening of U.S. ad agency DDB to change the perception of Volkswagen as a vehicle for the Third Reich was memorable. Three ads served the purpose: “Think Small,” “Lemon” and “Will we ever kill the bug?” All three featured just a bold headline and a picture of the VW Beetle. In the latter case, the car was shown with the tires up. Still in the ’60s, Jerry Della Femina, who was known as the “Madman” of Madison Avenue, came up with a popular spoof tagline idea for Panasonic: “From those wonderful folks who gave you Pearl Harbor.” That did not prevent his agency from landing an account with Japanese car manufacturer Isuzu. In 1970 he used the tagline for his book, which eventually inspired the television series Mad Men. In the late 1980s, when BPME (now Promax) was at its zenith, it used to stage workshops where promo and ad directors explained how ad campaigns changed the future of TV shows. Among its successful outcomes was the campaign to make syndicated show Magnum PI appreciated by an elusive female audience. When changing the time slots did not work, an exasperated programmingmanager turned to his marketing executive, who devised a campaign depicting the show’s star, Tom Selleck, shirtless while kissing a woman. The ad worked and the series turned out to be a success for the local TV station. In 1992, while at Genesis Entertainment, Doug Friedman (who in 1997 became chairman of Promax) was facing the challenge of positioning for his company’s international sales people a show called Grudge Match, a juvenile but successful U.S. syndicated half-hour show in which two contestants inside a ring fought with pillows and Silly String. This was during a period when international critics were lambasting reality TV as a cultural wasteland. Taking into consideration that most international TVbuyerswere intellectuals, he chose to leverage their superiority complexes by positioning the strips as an example of the best television America had to offer, prompting acquisition execs to buy the episodes just to show viewers how bad the U.S. really was. More recent success stories come from Italy, where Luca Federico Cadura, chairman of NBC Universal Global Networks Italia, has been involved with some popular ad campaigns for both trade and consumers. “We just made a campaign with a challenging task: Propose to media planners the target of women 40-plus, delivered by our channel Diva Universal, and we found a very appealing proposition,” said Cadura. Reported Christian Murphy, senior VP, International Programming and Marketing, A+E (formerly AETN International), “We’ve been publishing for the last year or so the ‘So Much More’ campaign. We launched it at MIPCOM last year. It talked directly about what we, as broadcaster and content provider, are doing. It was a fresh new look.” He then added: “At [this] MIPCOM you’ll see our new look. We have a new font and graphics package. It’s fresh, it’s new, it’s vibrant.” But creativity can come with some risks. Recalled Cadura: “Some years ago, for Studio Universal, we were describing a special slate of movies related to food. To make it fun, the ad showed a sausage inside a film magazine box and the headline was ‘100% fat.’ We got sued by the Italian Sausage Association, which wanted to make the point that sausages weren’t that fatty.” From Canada, Lisa Wookey, VP, Marketing and Communications, at Toronto-based Entertainment One Television, related her own horror story: “In the early days of my career I was working in marketing at Viewer’s Choice and thrilled to be doing our first promotion with Disney. The promotion involved a trip for two to Toronto to see the premiere of Beauty and the Beast. The offer was advertised through a Rogers Cable bill stuffer and had been carefully vetted through Disney and myself many times over. Everyone was happy, everything had signed off. That night, I nervously attended the print run — and have been happy I did ever since. Somehow, the copy that read: ‘...win two tickets to see Disney’s hit musical’... had mysteriously morphed to: ‘...see Disney’ *hit musical,’” Wookey added: “Yes, it’s a true story.” Friedman, who’s now director of Creative Services at TV station KUSI in San Diego, California, recounted, “The most memorable result from one of my campaigns came when I got a call from Sylvester Stallone, who was in producer Joel Silver’s office and saw my Tales from the Crypt promo kit sitting on his coffee table. I put him on speaker so my staff could enjoy the great compliments he was paying us on the work, but to this day none of them believe it was really Stallone on the phone!” So, are ads primarily to position a product or strictly to induce sales? “What we sell is our positioning, so the sales message must be strictly connected to a differentiating positioning,” said Cadura. To Priscilla Pesci of Los Angeles-based Elumines, “Within the various studio and broadcast configurations, we were always focused on the bottom line — specific to converting advertising awareness into sales transactions, although that process inherently includes product positioning in order to generate effective ads.” Replied A+E’s Murphy: “A bit of both really. We build our brand through our content. It’s all really about trying to move more product. It’s hard to induce sales through marketing and advertising. It’s best to use those tools to create buzz. The sales process in programming takes a long time. Our job is to get them interested in or just aware of a program.” Results Always Come But Always At A Price T r a d e A d C a m p a i g n s (Continued on Page 24)
OC T O B E R 2 0 1 1 as these were the most compelling in terms of generating buyer enthusiasm and awareness for the fall broadcast line-up of new shows,” she answered. Has digital technology increased creativityandreducedcosts?“Absolutely,” said Pesci, “Digital technology improves immediacy, accessibility, trackability, and overall cost-effectiveness.” “Yes,” added Cadura, “[But] it has also worsened everybody’s lives as changes are possible up until the last second.” What is preferred, multi-product ads or single product ads? “Single,” said Universal’s Cadura, “Messages should be as simple as possible. Possibly, multi-messages for a single product.” Elumines’ Pesci concurred that she prefers, “Single product ads: A series of them has proven most effective.” “The challenge for me in contentstyle advertising,” added A+E’s Murphy, “is making creative choices focusing on one show and having the ad look great, or six shows and having the ad look bad. We try to maintain a really strong brand message, look and feel while promoting the depth and breadth of our content.” How can one determine the ROI of an ad? “This is very difficult in scientific terms on our scale,” reported Cadura. “Phone calls from clients, press articles and word of mouth are still our way of measuring the ads.” According to Murphy, “There’s no hard measure of ROI,” but A+E makes use of “a number of different ways: Feedback from clients, our sales team and from the trade magazine publishers. I remember two of the publications e-mailing us to say that they loved an ad campaign. I don’t necessarily believe that one ad makes the sales. Content sales is a much longer, drawn out process. However, if a client walks into a meeting and mentions an ad, we consider that a successful campaign.” When it comes to competitors’ ads, “I have always appreciated Warner Brothers’ integrated and forwardthinking approach toward advertising,” said Pesci. “I can’t think of anything specific,” commented Murphy, “but I always take a look and keep an eye out for what the competitors are doing. We do pick out little elements from other ads when we see a good idea and incorporate them into our own creative approach,” he said. “Thinking of specific trade ads, Turner does a very good job in Italy with their kids channels Boing and CN,” concluded Cadura. Over the years ads have changed. Explained Cadura: “We spent the first years focusing specially on branding consistency. Until awareness and positioning were fully achieved we preferred to keep very close to our institutional campaigns. Once we realized our brand was established, more flexibility and fun has been allowed.” “They’ve changed markedly”, commented Murphy. “We’re very much a company that builds brands. In years past we’ve had a lot more singleminded focus on our channel brand. Ads were presented through the filter of a channel. Now we’re very much interested in building Networks as a brand and on content. We’re focused on our catalogue and the stars we have in our programming. And that’s quite a change from where we were a few years ago. Program buyers are interested in programming. I wanted to have a more single-minded focus on the content and talent in particular.” VideoAge asked Pesci what she considered her best print trade ad. “When I was marketing chief for MGM Worldwide Television Group, I always favored our L.A. Screenings ads, T r a d e A d ( C o n t i n u e d ) (Continued from Page 22) V I D E O • A G E 24 Sample our programming at: www.tpiltd.com CART MAN’ S R T DVEN RE A G HD HD HD HD A drug lord and his hippos... unthinkable riches, corruption, and a life of crime... and that’s just the hippos! 1 x 75minutes 1 x 60 minutes or 1 x 80 minutes 1 x 52 minutes or 2 x 52 minutes 1 x 52minutes powerful stories from those who lived the revolution po erful stories fro those ho lived the revolution Imagine life without photos... no record that you even existed. VISITTPI AT MIPCOM STAND R36.04 The world at his feet . . . ONE agonizing ep at a me! C M Y CM MY CY CMY K Video Age junior ad.pdf 1 9/8/11 2:55 PM
V I D E O • A G E OC T O B E R 2 0 1 1 26 International television trade show preview stories have acquired a style of their own with reports about market figures, planned activities, new product, expected business and potential issues. MIPCOM 2011, its 27th iteration, won’t be very different from those before it. Already MIPCOM’s Laurine Garaude reported that the organizers, Paris-based Reed-Midem, project a total of 12,400 participants, including 4,200 buyers and 1,700 exhibitors from 100 countries. This is just slightly up from 2010’s 1,700 exhibitors and 4,000 buyers. A larger number of buyers are expected from Russia, India and Latin America: Three buoyant territories that, along with China and Brazil, make up the so-called BRIC nations. But good activity is also expected from the PIIGS nations (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain): A combination of the low euro-dollar exchange rate and the poor economy of those countries makes acquisition a better alternative to local production. However, there are rumbles of problems, especially from Greece, as explained by John M. Triantafyllis of Athens-based JTTVFilm International: “The stations that will attendMIPCOM will do so for the sake of being kept updated on what new [product] is available, regardless if it comes from the majors or independents. The general trend is that all acquisitions have generally been put on hold until a clearer picture will be available of the television market. It is safe to say that there will definitely be a decline of attendance from buyers from both Greece and Cyprus.” But, lost Greek sales could be replaced by those from Japan, where, even in the midst of a recession, the yen is strengthening against the U.S. dollar. This year MIPCOM’s theme is “Focus on Russia.” As of last year, Russia had 330 television channels, including 20 free-to-air networks, bringing in revenue equivalent of $4.3 billion in advertising. So it made sense for organizers to turn the spotlight on the country’s TV landscape with a number of Russia-centric events. Seminars include an overview of the Russian television industry, a co-production and matchmaking event to link producers with financers, a number of production case studies examining specific series and more. A similarly fortunate choice was the selection of Anne Sweeney, co-chair of Disney Media Networks and president of Disney-ABC Television Group, to receive the MIPCOM 2011 Personality of the Year Award. Sweeney will also deliver a keynote speech on October 5, day three of the four-day market. With the Russian theme aside, MIPCOM 2011 boasts 45 sessions and keynotes addressing a variety of topics. Unsurprisingly, many of the conference topics are geared toward the affects of technology and social networking on the TV biz. To name a couple of note, on Tuesday (day two) there is “Tales From the Cloud: Here Comes Ultraviolet,” which will tackle “the cloud” as a content storage phenomenon, and “Redefining RealTime Engagement: What’s Next in Social TV.” Overall however, the most prevalent seminar topic seems to be financing, with a handful of panels addressing how and where to find funding. When it comes to the main event, the Media Mastermind series of speeches takes center stage on the agenda with three Media Mastermind keynotes: Miramax CEO Mike Lang and Robert M. Bakish, president and CEO of Viacom International Media Networks will kick things off on the first day with one speech each. But with many worldwide regions in full-on rebound mode, it’s likely that some executives will be too busy to attend conference sessions. A+E Networks’ Ian Jones, expects a very busy market. “We’re doubling our booth size,” he said, elaborating that A+E has a lot of changes to debut at MIPCOM, not the least of which is a newly minted slogan and the company’s rebranding from AETN International to A+E. Added Jones, “Since we acquired Lifetime as a network, we’ve been increasing our programming and taking up an involvement in the international market.” In addition to A+E’s rebranding, it will be using the market to highlight some 650 hours of new programming, including around 11 TV movies, reality series Russian Dolls and a big event project investigating the sinking of the Titanic, just in time for the disaster’s 100th anniversary. Meanwhile, Los Angeles-based Rive Gauche will be maximizing its faceto-face time with clients at the market. Said president David Auerbach, “Our goal is not just to sell our product, but to really listen to our customers and understand their needs.” Starz Media’s Gene George emphasized that the company’s goal for the market is, “building the credibility of Starz as a supplier of premium content. We came out of the gate about 18 months ago when we launched Spartacus and we’ve continued to have a good flow since then.” He was confident that Starz will have “a steady flow of content for the long term.” Starz is taking a global approach this year, as he stated that the company is “dealing in all of the key territories.” Looking toward 2012, George noted that the company’s TV movie business is fairly stable. Therefore, Starz is “focused on continuing to flow the series side of the business.” To that end, Starz is excited about its new series Magic City, which the company expects will follow in the successful footsteps of Spartacus. George informed VideoAge that Starz would be “showing some never-beforeseen footage [from Magic City] at MIPCOM.” The company will also have an extended promo on the second season of Spartacus, titled Spartacus: Vengeance, and animated series Dan Vs., which is in its second season as well. Trish Kinane, acting president, Worldwide Entertainment of FremantleMedia, predicted a buoyant market. “MIP-TV proved that broadcasters are buying again,” she said, adding, “with the range of quality programming that we are bringing to MIPCOM, we’re sure that we’ll continue to see very strong demand.” Kinane and company are bringing a broad slate of proven hits and brand-new original formats in different genres, including titles such as Got Talent, The X Factorand Idol. “I am confident that this will be a very successful market for us,” she noted. Where trends are concerned, Kinane pointed to primetime entertainment shows as well as game shows. Marcel Vinay Jr., CEO of Mexicobased Comarex, explained his plans for the market: “It gives us the opportunity to meet face-to-face with clients from Europe, Asia and Africa. After a very successful year with our telenovelas, such as Cielo Rojo andEmperatriz, MIPCOM gives us the chance to present them to our clients and international buyers.” Like many distribution companies, Comarexwill be takingaglobal approach, rather than targeting specific territories. Said Vinay, “Each and every territory is important to us, but at MIPCOM it is very important for us to get together with our clients from Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America.” For those looking for a respite from buying and selling, a number of screenings will also be on offer. The now-traditional World Premiere TV Screening (which began two years ago) will take place on Monday and will feature ABC Studios’ action series Missing, which centers on a former CIA agent determined to track down her son. The screening will be followed by a question-and-answer segment with stars Ashley Judd, Cliff Curtis and Adriano Giannini, as well as members of the production team. After last year’s success, the Asian Content Exchange will also return to the Palais. Asia will be well-represented at the market with some 1,200 Asian participants and 451 Asian buyers occupying 53 stands. The biggest delegations are expected from Japan, Korea, China, India, and Singapore. A number of events on Wednesday will cater to the Asian crowd, and those looking to partner with them, such as the Networking Breakfast, the West Meets East Buyer Panel and the Asian Content Exchange Lunch Party. Also, in light of one of Asia’s fastest growing sectors, a dedicated session will introduce producers and distributors to animation financers. There will, of course, also be numerous parties. Monday promises a Russia-themed opening night bash and day three is the MIPCOM Personality of the Year Dinner at the Carlton Hotel. Not to mention all the customary private soirees hosted by companies at convention booths, hotels and yachts. MIPCOM events will kick off even before the official start day with kids mini-market MIPJunior taking place October 1-2 at the Martinez Hotel, a short walk from the Palais. Organizers expect 600 companies, including 500 buyers from 35 countries to participate in the screenings. Plus, with the Kids’ Jury Awards, the 8th annual Licensing Challenge, the world’s largest library of youth and children’s programming and a number of seminars and sessions for buyers and sellers, MIPJunior 2011 promises to be a lot more than child’s play. Rubles, Rupee And Real. Money Rumbles In Cannes M I P C O M P r e v i e w Trish Kinane is acting president, Worldwide Entertainment of FremantleMedia, filling Rob Clark’s role while he’s on sabbatical.
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