Videoage International January 2020

The Best Way to Make Sales... I N T E R N A T I O N A L www.VideoAge.org THE BUSINESS JOURNAL OF FILM, BROADCASTING, BROADBAND, PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION April 2019 - VOL. 39 NO. 2 - $9.75 ByMichaelBancroft* “I texceededourwildestexpec- tations.” Those were the words used by Dr. Simon Ziegler (Toby Jones) to describe the artificial in- telligence (AI)-based protagonist in the trailer for the Hollywood thrill- er Morgan . Yet they could just as easily describe the producer of the trailer itself: none other than IBM’s Watson AI. TheAIplatformneededjust24hours to create the piece and drop the jaws of film creatives everywhere. It was a groundbreaking application of AI in the media business and a reminder of just how influential the technology willbe intheyearstocome. The potential of artificial intel- ligence to revolutionize media and entertainment isn’t lost on industry executives. A recent industry sur- vey by adtech firm Xaxis and IAB Europe found that 80 percent of respondents believe AI will have an impact similar to that of the indus- trial revolution, while 62 percent believe the technology will improve strategic decision-making, and 41 percent see it yielding competitive advantages. However, the most tell- ing response of the survey is that CuttingCosts andUnleashing Creativity: AI in theTV Industry (Continued on Page 24) My 2¢: My 40 years of reporting the good news and the bad at MIP-TV Dubbing enters a revolutionary phase through technology NATPE Review: A double-edged market for exhibitors TCA History: Critics set the stage for the new TV season Page 34 Page 22 Page 18 Page 14 W ith the increasing un- certainty, confusion, and unpredictability sur- rounding the 2019 edition of the L.A. Screenings, it’sacomforttotakestock ofwhatactually isknown. It’s a definite that Twentieth Cen- tury Fox TV Distribution won’t be L.A. Screenings: New Schedules, Changes, Mergers (Continued on Page 30) (Continued on Page 28) T hese days, TV market orga- nizers scrutinize the number of buyers — not exhibitors — at competing markets as a measure of an event’s success. So it was that MIP-TV executives at NATPE were reported to be combing through the Miami market’s published reports to assess this element in prepara- tion for theirownchallengesome70 days later. The issue of the participation of acquisition executives at MIP-TV — set to take place April 8-11 — is rather fluid. The major baits (in this case the large U.S. studios) are not readily available as only a few will be exhibiting, and the acquisition pool is shrinking with the defection of buyers from Latin America who MIP-TVPreview: TheGood, TheBad, AndTheUsual 1 (Continued onPage4) A t this year’s edition of MIP- TV buyers committed to at- tend are being recognized with a special event within the market. Reed MIDEM is giving the buyers center stage by teaming up the MIPDrama Buyers Summit with the newly created MIP Buyers Exchange. The fourth edition of the MIP- Drama Buyers Summit kicked off during the weekend. The event drew 450 buyers and commissio- ning editors to exclusive previews of 10 upcoming series. The summit opened yesterday with a lunch at the Majestic Hotel, whichwas followedbya sessionho- sted by K7 Media that aimed to pro- vide trend insights and forecasts on drama content in the television industry. The screened drama produc- tions came from different parts of Europe, except for The Gulf , the New Zealand crime thriller distri- buted by Banijay Rights. In terms of numbers, two drama series MIP-TV Buyers’ Baits: Summit and Exchange INSIDE: New program slates on offer at MIP-TV INSIDE: Mnuchin’s con ict of interest, Kloiber unbundles My 2 Cents: Perception problems at MIP and unsolicited advice Pages 10-14 Page 8 Page 3 A fter 15 years, France returns to the MIP-TV pedestal to be celebrated as the market’s CountryofHonor. During this time, the country’s television industry has grown in size, sales volume, and contentoutput. As TV France International (TV FI), the Paris-based export associa- tion of French TV content produc- ers, distributors, and broadcasters, reported last September, overall in- ternational sales have doubled over the past 10 years. In 2017, the coun- try’s TV programming brought in a total revenue of 325 million euro (U.S.$370 million), 37 percent and 28 percent of which accounted for France TVWalks The Palais’ Red Carpet Again (Continued onPage4) Challenges and Areas of Focus for MIP Attendees M IP-TV 2019 is officially un- derway.Butbefore itbegan, we spoke with a host of at- tendees to find out what challenges they’re facing at this year’s market, which territories they’re focusing on, and whether or not they’ll make time for any of the panels or conferences thatarebeingheldduring theevent. London-based Banijay Rights is in Cannes with an eclectic slate that includes drama series Hierro and Wisting — both of which are being launched here. According to CEO Tim Mutimer , the biggest challenge the company is facing at the market is the growing complexity of putting together financing for high-end dra- mas. “As a consequence, the distribu- tor is required to take a greater risk,” he said. In the past, commissioning broadcasters would have taken on responsibility for the whole budget. “Thesedays, theyarepayingup to50 to 70 percent, and it is up to the dis- tributor tofind therestof themoney.” Gerrit Kemming , managing di- rector of Quintus Media, said that the biggest challenge the German company is facing“is the tendency for broadcasting partners to take longer (Continued onPage 4) VideoAge Daily on the go MIP-TV 2019 April 8, 2019 MIPTV2019_TradeAds_VideoAge_FrontCover_TheRook.indd 1 3/26/19 12:18PM DAY 1 1 (Continued onPage 4) Y esterday evening, EbonyLife Media CEO Mo Abudu, producer Ilene Chaiken, Banijay Group chairman Stéphane Courbit, and Sky Vision’s MD Jane Millichip received MIP-TV 2019 Médaillesd’Honneur. MIP-TV recognized executives fromNigeria,theU.S.,Franceandthe U.K. for “their talent and leadership in the international television community.” The ceremony took place at Cannes’ InterContinental CarltonHotel. Forbes magazine described Abudu as “Africa’s Most Successful Woman.”She launched theNigerian broadcaster Ebonylife TV in 2013 and went into filmmaking with EbonyLife Films in 2015. Sony PicturesTelevision(SPT)announced a three-project agreement with EbonyLifeTV inMarch2018. Chaiken is best known as the creator of The L Word , as well as her role as showrunner of The Handmaid’s Tale , for which she received an Emmy. She is also the VideoAge Daily on the go INSIDE: Report from Lille’s Series Mania INSIDE: Cannes Visuals — MIPTV Photo Report My 2 Cents: Nowadays politics is mor fun than entertainment Page 8 Page 13 Page 3 I t’s now common to see an abundance of Turkish content brought by international sales companies to exhibit at MIP-TV. In addition to the usual Turkish Pavilion, all six major Turkish TV distributors (referred to as the “six sisters” — soon to become seven with the recent addition of Madd Entertainment) are in Cannes with individual stands, many of them impressive in terms of size and decor. Togeta senseofwhat thesecom- panies –– which tend to dominate the international TV content scene thesedays––arefeaturing inCannes and their strategy for themarket,we asked thema seriesofquestions. Turkish Content On Display atMIP-TV Medals of Honor Salute Talent and Leadership (Continued onPage 10) With Armando Nuñez MIP Celebrates Int’l Television T his is thesecondawardatMIP- TV receivedby the59-year-old Armando Nuñez (pictured), presidentandCEOofCBSGlobalDis- tribution Group and Chief Content LicensingOfficerofCBSCorporation. His latestawardwas forAchievement in InternationalTelevisionwithacer- emony thatwasheldyesterdayat the Palais followed by a cocktail recep- tionat theCarltonHotel. Previously, in 2013, Nuñez re- ceived the MIP-TV Medal of Honor, together with his father Armando Nuñez, Sr., a former U.S. studio ex- ecutive. That award marked the first timeaMedalofHonorwas instituted at the market. At that time Nuñez servedas theCEOofCBSGlobalDis- tribution. In his 36-year career, Nuñez also held executive positions at ABC, Via- com,NewWorld,Universal,andCBS Paramount. Theaward isanannualeventpre- sented by Variety in association with ReedMIDEM,MIP-TVorganizer. MIP-TV 2019 DAY 2 April 9, 2019 A t MIP-TV, this time the “talks” about the upcoming L.A. Screenings are just as loud and worrisome as those about MIP-TV itself. Some buyers are concerned that, in the short run, theU.S. studioswill keep theirbestcontent for theirown SVoDs. But the understanding is that, in the long run, the fearsome rivalry among the many competing streaming services will create many Netflix-style, money-losing opera- tions that will force the studios to return to monetizing their content through international sales. Becauseof the impendingchang- es inHollywood thataregoing to im- pact the whole television industry, MIP No. 40 For VideoAge ’s Editor-in-Chief VideoAge Daily on the go INSIDE: Cannes visuals — MIP-TV Photo report INSIDE: Football fever in the U.S., digital vs. TV campaigns My 2 Cents: A new book about Italy’s simple life in the ‘60s Page 13 Page 10 Page 3 A s the expression goes, “The blessing and curse of the TV trademedia is thateveryone thinks they can do what it does, even though no one has a clue what itdoes.” And, for 40 years, VideoAge ’s editor-in-chief, Dom Serafini, has been attending MIP-TV and doing what everyone seems to think they can do — without having a clue of what it is thatheactuallydoes. HisveryfirstMIP-TVwas in1979, when he attended as International Editor of Television/Radio Age . The market was then held in the Old Palais (the current site of the JW Marriott), and the registration area wasat theadjacentLaMalmaison. Serafini continued attending the ge International ’s L.A. Screenings Challenges Reflect Industry’s Change (Continued onPage 4) Donald Duck Embracing Fox Leaves BuyersMisty-Eyed S ince the start of the television business, many a U.S. studio has disappeared. Orion, Lori- mar,DIC,Embassy,Filmation,Group WProductions, ITC,KingWorld,Me- tromedia, Republic Pictures, and Tri- bune Entertainment are just some of themany thathaveclosed theirdoors over theyears. Some of them are still remem- bered fondly today,whileothershave been forgotten. All of them made some impression on the entertain- ment business, but no merger has made an impact as big at that of Fox StudiosbeingabsorbedbyDisney. It’s not just a studio that’s going away, butabusinessmodel. Fox issoon to returnasadistribu- tioncompanythatwillbepartofNew Fox, but to get a sense of the overall effect of this loss on the industry, VideoAge Daily asked a group of ac- quisitionexecutives tocomment. DermotHoran ,directorofAcqui- sitions & Co-productions, RTE, Ire- land: “Throughout my professional life Fox has been a constant –– a stu- dio that made some of the best and mostcoveted shows. (Continued onPage6) MIP-TV 2019 April 10, 2019 DAY 3