Videoage International December 2018

4 World December 2018 V I D E O A G E wreaking havoc on payments to the distributors. The exceptions are ERT and the Hellenic Parlia- ment station. Program acquisi- tions by the Parliament station are transmitted after 10 p.m. on a daily basis and from 5 p.m. onwards during the weekends. In terms of viewership, among the 10 top networks, Skai TV dominated audience shares with 18 percent, followed by Alpha with 13.4 percent, Star with 11.9 percent, and ANT1 with 10.6 percent. The big winner since the same period last year was Star with a 21 percent gain, while the biggest loser was ANT1 with a 26 percent decrease. All 10 networks’ target audien- ces are largely female (with the exception of EPT1), and the age group is mainly 55-plus (with the exception of Star). The time spent per viewer watching those 10 channels increased per day to 326minutes from 318 minutes last year. Hopping AlongThe MagellanLine J ust four days after the conclusion of MIPCOM, the international TV industry had seven more events to attend. TIFFCOM, the Japanese market, was held October 23-25 in Tokyo. Some companies, especially those with sports TV rights, opted for SPORTEL instead. The Monte Carlo sports TV market began on October 22. Some Tokyo participants also RSVP’d to the eight-day Ameri- can Film Market (AFM), which was held in Santa Monica, Cali- fornia beginning on October 31, barely five days after TIFFCOM. Six days after the AFM, the international TV contingent was asked to split in two: One half ventured to DISCOP in Johan- nesburg, South Africa, while the other traveled to MIP Cancun in Mexico. Both events started on November 14. But DISCOP and MIP Cancun were not alone in provoking that split. Earlier, MIPCOM was held concurrent with NAB New York, the conference and market organized by the U.S.- based National Association of Broadcasters. Then there was an 18-day rest period before industry execs headed to Singapore for the four- day Asia TV Forum and Market, taking place December 4-7. J ohn Triantafyllis of Athens-based J.T. TV Film International spoke about the activity of 10 TV stations during the April to September 2018 period in a new report. Trends in theGreekTVmarket have remained the sameas inyearspast. There seems tobenoneed for international series fromother locales, as this programming type has been replaced by additional Greek-language series, formats (such as reality and game shows), feature films (both Greek-language and otherwise), and Turkish series. This has also caused a radical decrease in demand for TV movies. Moreover, U.S. series, despite their high production values, began showing a gradual yet substantial depletion in viewership, partially because pay-TV subscribers have access to the latest series and can watch them before they come to free-TV. Another major factor is the length of episodes. It appears that longer programs (such as those produced in Turkey) are performing better for Greek TV stations than the usual hour-long versions. The suffering economy continues to play a significant role in the overall business plans of a variety of stations and is Greek TV Prizes 90-minute Series Coming From Turkey