Videoage International December 2018

8 December 2018 V I D E O A G E (Continued from Cover) Sel l ing TV Rights The question now is, when, for example, a TV show is sold to a French company, be it a TV outlet or a French distributor, does the license include all of France’s overseas territories? France is a good example because with 12 posts outside the E.U., it has the largest number of overseas territories among E.U. states. In short, when French broadcasters acquire TV content, do they acquire language rights or territorial rights? “They acquire both rights: French territories and French-language (even if they also pick original versions with French subtitles),” said Nathalie Bobineau, senior vice president, International Development, at France Télévisions. She added: “[And] it includes French [overseas] territories. Especially for France Télévisions, as we are under themust-carry law, which obliges us to reach every single French household, whether metropolitan or overseas. And that goes as far as New Caledonia!” And if the content seller doesn’t want to include French territories? “Then thedeal can’t be signed,” said Bobineau. (Last month, New Caledonia held a referendum to become a sovereign state, but 59.5 percent voted to remain part of the E.U.) This requirement tends to upset some U.S. distributors because, they say, the deals also include French-speaking Belgium, French- speaking Luxembourg, French Monaco, French Switzerland and, at times, even French Canada. A former U.S. studio executive reported that, “In some instances the rights may also include the French-speaking territories in Northern Africa and Southeast Asia (i.e., Vietnam), but that generally requires an additional fee. In my experience, TF1 and M6 buy primarily for France, but themajority of growth in the satellite business of Canal Plus, which has operations in all those territories, is driven from overseas.”    But France is not the only country that wants its overseas territories included in its content acquisitions. Los Angeles-based ACI, for example, reported that when U.K. rights are sold, they include British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Channel Islands, Falkland/Malvinas Islands, Gibraltar, Isle of Man, Pitcairn Islands, St. Helena, and Turks and Caicos Islands. However, Amsterdam-based Talpa TV reported that, “We buy content for our Dutch channels: SBS6, Net5, Veronica, and SBS9 — not for the [Dutch] territories.” At times, the French company that acquires French-language rights can sell the licensed shows to the local TV stations in the Dom-Tom territories, and, said Bobineau, “This can happen in the case of France Télévisions, as we do have overseas channels that can acquire independently in Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, etc. There are nine of them all together.” Added Hervé Michel, president of France TV International, “When there are local overseas stations that do not belong to national groups (for instance, Reunion), they have to take responsibility to buy rights for their programs.” As for the value of the combined rights for 12 French territories that are part of the E.U., Bobineau underscored, “We are talking about a population of 2.2 million people versus 67.2 million people in mainland France. A vendor can sell only to those territories, but I wouldn’t know the value of such rights.” (In regard to the population, the former U.S. Nathalie Bobineau, senior vice president, International Development, France Télévisions studio executive also pointed out that, by the year 2030, there will be 700 million French-speaking people in the world.) A veteran international TV distributor from Hollywood who asked not to be named, placed such value at less than five percent of the sale. “It’s not a business,” he concluded. However, according to Bobineau, there are companies that sell directly to French territories. “Our overseas channels [independently acquired the] broadcast for the 2018 World Cup, for instance.” Added Hollywood TV consultant Russ Kagan, “I used to sell directly to Antilles [24 islands between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, of which eight are sovereign states], including Martinique, to fill needs they didn’t get from France TV distributors. License fees are not big, so they are sold with the Caribbean rights. These rights are licensed by companies [like Dick Blayney’s Eurotel in London, now no longer in operation] who sub-distribute.” However, Kagan doesn’t know how rights are sub-distributed in territories like Vanuatu, the sovereign state of 80 islands in the South Pacific Ocean (former shared colonies between France and the U.K.). ( By Dom Serafini ) E.U. TERRITORIES OUTSIDE THE E.U. Denmark Greenland (currency: Danish Krone): 2 TV stations, 30,000 TVHH Faroe Islands (Danish Krone): 3 TV stations, 15,000 TVHH (Greenland is associated with the E.U. Faroe Islands are not associated with the E.U. Citizens of both territories are citizens of Denmark). France French Guiana (euro zone): 3 TV stations, 70,000 TVHH French Polynesia (CFP *zone): 3 TV stations, 44,400 TVHH Guadeloupe (euro zone): 5 TV stations, 118,000 TVHH Martinique (euro zone): 11 TV stations, 95,000 TVHH Mayotte (euro zone): 3 TV stations, 50,000 TVHH New Caledonia (CFP* zone): 6 TV stations, 62,000 TVHH Reunion (euro zone): 22 TV stations, 200,000 TVHH Saint Barthelemy or St. Barts (euro zone): 1,500 TVHH Saint Martin (euro zone): 6,000 TVHH Saint Pierre and Miquelon (euro zone): 4,000 TVHH Wallis and Futuna (CFP* zone): 2 TV stations, 2,500 TVHH Clipperton Island (uninhabited) *CFP, Change Franc Pacifique, fixed exchange rate with the euro Great Britain Anguilla (East Caribbean Dollar): 3,000 TVHH Bermuda (Bermudian Dollar): 30,000 TVHH British Virgin Islands (USD): 8,000 TVHH Cayman Islands (Cayman Islands Dollar): 9,000 TVHH Falkland Islands/ Malvinas (Falkland Pound): 1,000 TVHH St. Helena (St. Helena Pound): 1,000 TVHH Turks and Caicos Islands (USD): 8,000 TVHH The Netherlands Aruba -- Currency: Aruban Florin, 21,600 TVHH Bonaire* -- Currency: U.S. Dollar, 5,000 TVHH Curaçao -- Currency: Netherlands Antillean Guilder, 20,000 TVHH Saba* --Currency: U.S. Dollar, 300 TVHH Sint Maarten -- Currency: Netherlands Antillean Guilder, 7,000 TVHH Sint Eustatius* -- Currency: U.S. Dollar, 500 TVHH *Municipalities of the Netherlands. All islands are Dutch citizens/passport holders Portugal Azores (euro zone): 50,000 TVHH Madeira (euro zone): 90,000 TVHH There are eight independent countries whose official language is Portuguese: Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, and Sao Tomé e Príncipe. However, these tend to be under the influence of Brazil. Spain Canary Islands (euro zone): 500,000 TVHH