12 All in all, an estimated 750 international buyers gathered at this year’s L.A. Screenings — a far cry from the over 1,500 recorded at Screenings held prior to the pandemic, with the reduction attributed to the TV outlets sending fewer acquisition executives, as well as concerns about entering the U.S. under the current U.S. administration. (Indeed, a French scientist was denied U.S. entry in Houston, Texas after messages critical of President Trump were found on his phone. A May 20, 2025, front cover story in USA Today confirmed that U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers have the authority to search the content of electronic devices.) Also, many of the studios’ screenings were shorter this year, with several majors, including Fox, Amazon MGM, and Lionsgate, taking up just one day each. Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery took two days each, while Disney took three days and NBCUniversal took four days. Sony Pictures TV had originally planned on taking two days, but later opted for just one day. When asked about it, a Sony Pictures spokesperson said: “We are not, in fact, having day-long screenings as we did last year, but instead doing an Upfront-style presentation on Sunday night.” Commented an English-language content buyer: “The networks themselves are commissioning far less new shows these days, and many are spin-offs and go straight to series without a pilot. It’s a very different world to years gone by when we could screen over 30 brand-new network drama and comedy pilots.” Indeed, with most new pick-ups going straight to series, all the studios had a few pilots ready for screening. Nonetheless, the Screenings lasted a full five days for most of the buying contingents, as it has for the last few years, with the exception of the LatAm buyers who were in town earlier to attend the L.A. Screenings Independents portion on May 15 and 16. Ultimately, the L.A. Screenings is still a popular event for the international buyers who attend, not only to preview the new U.S. TV season, but also to observe trends, like the fact that the 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. hours are now, according to various research firms, becoming very popular with linear TV viewers. For example, the 7 p.m. newscasts on network affiliates have grown their audiences by eight percent over the last five years, while the 8 p.m. hour is now generally considered the most popular time for live viewing. American television has always been overrun by procedurals featuring police officers, lawyers, and doctors, but this year is definitely the year of the doctors, with renewals that feature hospitals in all their glory, starting with HBO Max’s The Pitt, a medical drama set over a 15-hour emergency room shift using the real-time style of one-time FOX hit 24. Other medical dramas that aired this past season include Watson (CBS), Doc (FOX), Doctor Odyssey (ABC), Brilliant Minds and St. Denis Medical (both on NBC), and Pulse (Netflix). And these were in addition to longtime ABC hit Grey’s Anatomy. The independent portion of the L.A. Screenings 2025 concluded on Friday, May 16, following a two-day run at the newly “adopted” 12-story Roosevelt Hotel, which, for the first time in the L.A. Screenings’ 62-year history, replaced the Century Plaza Hotel. The studios’ portion began promptly on Saturday. The indies closed this year’s event on Friday with an evening panel with LatAm buyers, and, on Saturday, with an evening party and screenings from Argentina’s Telefilms — whose executives flew straight from the Cannes Film Fest to Hollywood to welcome their guests at the Roosevelt’s Blossom Ballroom. According to organizers, the L.A. Screenings Independent had 275 buyers registered, 58 content companies exhibiting at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, and a total of 500 participants. Traditionally, only an estimated 50 percent of content buyers attending the L.A. Screenings Independent tend to register with market organizers, therefore, one could assume that over 400 acquisition executives, mostly from Latin America, ultimately roamed among the 43 companies scattered on nine floors of the hotel, as well as the Academy Calinos Entertainment’s Goryana Vasileva and Cristina Duffy Inter Medya’s Beatriz Cea Okan and Sinem Aliskan Multicom Entertainment’s Irv Holender, Niloo Badie, Jesse Baritz, Ryne Dillon Kanal D International’s Duda Rodrigues Hollywood’s Star Power Still Attracts International Buyers (Continued on Page 14) VIDEOAGE June 2025 L.A. Screenings 2025
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTI4OTA5