Video Age International June/July 2016

10 June/July 2016 V I D E O A G E I n his 20 years with MCA and beyond, British- born Colin P. Davis saw the group, which was founded in 1924, go through a roller coaster of ownership changes. It was first sold to Matsushita (Japan) in 1990 and renamed MCA-Universal. Five years later, it was acquired by Seagram (Canada) and renamed Universal Studios. Subsequently, in 2000, the studio was sold to Vivendi (France) and became Vivendi-Universal. Four years later, it was sold to General Electric, which owned the U.S. TV network, NBC, and was renamed NBCUniversal. In 2011, NBCUniversal was takenover byComcast. However, Davis explained that he went through three out of the five ownership changes before retiring. Davis came from the TV sponsorship sector and joined MCA TV in Toronto in 1977, where he handled all licensing of television product produced by MCA-Universal Studios for English and French Canada. The NATPE market of that year was his first TV trade show, followed by MIP- TV in 1978. In those years, only 150 international program buyers, he recalled, attended the L.A. Screenings (then called the May Screenings). Remembered Michael J. Solomon, then VP at MCA TV International, “As soon as Colin was hired, I was dispatched to Toronto for a week to instruct him about the international TV content distribution business, since he didn’t have experience in the field.” However, he learned fast. Ron Suter, who worked under Davis from 1986 and who’s now EVP NBCUniversal Television & New Media Distribution Canada, recalled that Davis was “misunderstood by many due to his business centered focus, [but] he was a team player, great entrepreneur and philanthropic with his knowledge, friendship, and support of corporate, personal and team growth.” Roger Cordjohn, who started at MCA TV in 1964 first in London and later in Paris, said: “Colin’s management style was visionary, inspirational and rewarding ... and let’s not forget his unique sense of humor. He had excellent narration skills and enjoyed a good relationship with the trade press. Colin’s introductory presentations to our L.A. Screenings became a highlight for our clients, so much so that they were asking copies of his speeches!” Cordjohn retired from what was then NBCUniversal in 2005. About the L.A. Screenings, Davis recalled a funny vignette with Italy’s media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi. During one of his Hollywood’s visits, Berlusconi and Davis met over lunch at the Polo Lounge of The Beverly Hills Hotel where, in order to get the 1982 series Tales of the Gold Monkey , he insisted on unilaterally changing the agreement to rotate MCA product between his network and Italy’s RAI. Since it was RAI’s turn to get the new series, Berlusconi left empty-ended, but the series was cancelled after just five episodes, so he came on top after all. In 1978, Davis moved to New York City as EVP of International for MCA TV, first under Ralph Franklin, who hired him. Later, in 1980, Davis transferred to Hollywood to work under Bob Bramson, a former FBI agent who went first to work in the legal department of MCA’s Chicago office before taking over the international TV distribution division. Davis remembered that working under Franklin was very difficult, but wouldn’t elaborate. A story widely circulated at various TV trade shows told of Bramson being wounded in the ill-fated paratroopers’ drop in March of 1945 over the Rhine, where German soldiers were awaiting for them. Reportedly, among the soldiers shooting at the Americans was Franz J. Elmendorff, who in 1961 was hired by MCA and later worked affably under Bramson. However, the story cannot be fully verified, and the two men would never speak about their wartime experiences. In 1986, Davis was appointed president of MCA International Television. Ten years later, he retired and moved to Bermuda. He now divides his time between Bermuda, Toronto (where his daughter, Sharon, lives), and Los Angeles. He still travels with a Canadian passport even though he has dual U.K. and Canadian citizenships. During an interview with VideoAge in Los Angeles, Davis and his former number two, Canadian-born Peter G. Hughes (who was hired by Davis in 1978 in Toronto), recalled some of his accomplishments in the international television distribution business. For example, he’s proud of being “one of the four executives who claim to have invented the ‘output deal’ in 1988,” although he declined to name the other three executives. Davis explained that under that deal, buyers committed to acquire new product and library material, and that the new sales strategy was refined from the then-existing output deal. Davis also recalled how he didn’t like the name MCA TV because it “wasn’t clear to all that it was actually Universal Studios,” and at every occasion during trade shows, he would place a Universal sign under MCA TV in his stand. (From 1962 to 1995 MCA had been the parent company of Universal Studios.) To Davis, the biggest challenge of those early days of private television was “dealing with people who actually owned the TV networks.” Additionally, he said, “Only a few corporate executives in the U.S. really understood international television.” Davis had his own understated style of management. While other studios would race each other to get the largest booths at trade shows, he’d be happy chain smoking (when it was still allowed) inside a tiny booth. In between meetings, he’d stand outside his booth greeting passersby. The reason for such parsimony was to show his bosses, and in particular MCA’s top executive, the widely feared Lew Wasserman, that his division was cost-conscious. However, knowing Colin Davis: One of Four Fathers of The “Output Deal” Int’ l TV Distribut ion Hal l of Fame (Continued on Page 12) NATPE 1996: Colin Davis, Jeff Ford (who was controller of Acquisitions for ITV Network) and Roger Cordjohn At MIP-Asia 1995, Peter Hughes and Colin Davis holding a copy of VideoAge While other studios would race each other to get the largest booths at trade shows, he’d be happy chain smoking (when it was still allowed) inside a tiny booth.