Videoage International March-April 2020

22 March/April 2020 V I D E O A G E (Continued from Cover) In a collective statement, the companies said: “It is out of an abundance of caution, and with the health and well-being of our clients and employ- ees at the forefront, we have collectively decided to not hold L.A. Screenings events this year and will instead explore alternative options in which to showcase our respective upcoming content. While we look forward to hosting our clients at this time-honored industry event, in acknowl- edgement of –– and out of respect for –– the travel bans, travel restrictions, and evolving pub- lic health concerns of our global client base, we believe that not having our clients and executives travel into Los Angeles from various locations around the world is the most responsible course of action. Each major U.S. international TV dis- tributor will be individually communicating its alternative screening plans to clients soon.” The times, days, and places were already set, so were some of the parties. What remained to be seen was the number of pilots that the U.S. linear networks picked up, the changes to the pilot process that were in store for the industry, the effect the streamers were to have had over broadcast television, and the potential disrup- tions to the new U.S. TV season. As usual, the L.A. Screenings, an organic market (meaning one that’s not centrally orga- nized), would have started with the Latins and Canadians, then progressed to other territories. The LATAM buyers would have arrived in Los Angeles on May 11 (at the same time that the Up- fronts started in New York City), ready to visit indie distributors who would have set up shop at the InterContinental hotel in the Century City area the following day. The indies’ portion of the market would, for all practical purposes, have ended on May 15. The Canadians would have begun their screenings from their base at the Beverly Hills hotel during the week of May 11, and finished up with “Deal Night” on the night of May 18. The rest of the world would have conducted their screenings between May 17 and 22. Buyers who arrived in Los Angeles early were, as usual, invited to the studios to view the Upfronts live via satellite. As VideoAge has already reported, out of more than 178 development projects for the 2020-2021 season, the major U.S. TV broadcast networks have commissioned 60 pilots — 32 dramas and 28 comedies, of which eight are straight-to-se- ries — that will be shown at the Upfronts, which will now consist of video presentations. As recently as the 2015-2016 season, the major U.S. TV networks commissioned 82 pilots, then selected 48 for the new season. Now, what the networks order is what they get. In addition, the networks have increased their “straight-to- se- ries” orders, essentially copying the streamers, where such commitments are the norm. This strategy also serves to alleviate the talent shortage that streamers have created with their voracious appetites for original productions. It has been pointed out that, last year, the networks and streaming services combined produced 532 scripted dramas, comedies, and limited series, doubling the number of scripted shows produced a decade ago. Collectively, U.S. streaming platforms are expected to spend $30 billion annually on content by 2024. and writers are losing out on revenue from what would have been the syndication market. Last spring, the WGA instructed its member to fire their agents over “packaging fees” (in effect the agencies become writers’ employers as well as their representatives), and for not getting ex- tra money over union-mandate minimums. The process of assembling packages has be- come commonplace in Hollywood, to the point that over 80 percent of all TV shows can be con- sidered packaged. The WGA wants to eliminate the fees that studios pay agencies for delivering those packaged bundles. Reportedly, in the case of TV, the fee typically amounts to $30,000 to $100,000 per episode. That money is taken from a production’s budget for the project and then given directly to the agency; it is not part of a writer’s pay. In terms of new project output, ABC has seven dramas and seven comedies, CBS has six dramas and eight comedies, FOX has five dramas and four comedies, NBC has six dramas and nine comedies, and The CW has eight dramas. Another change generated by the aggressive streamers is the move, for some networks, like ABC and FOX, from a “traditional cycle” (mean- ing a pilot order given during the January- to- March window) to “off-cycle” or “second cycle” (pilot orders outside the traditional window). This serves to alleviate the talent shortage by not cramming all the pilots into a single window. Regardless, network officials whose parent companies have streaming services (e.g., stu- dios like Disney and NBCUni) have stated that the studios are not prioritizing their streaming projects over broadcast series. One aspect of the streamers that the broadcast networks are not emulating is the creative pro- cess. In the case of the broadcasters, said process still lies in the hands of creative types, whereas algorithms determine what the SVoD needs at a place like Netflix (after all, it is basically a tech company), and if an algorithm-designated proj- ect falls into their laps, they greenlight it. For example, if the algorithm generated by their viewers’ preferences indicates that a Pope- related project is desirable, and a Pope-related project comes along within budget, it’s a go with no questions asked or strings attached. Then there’s another possible writers’ strike to consider. The last one, in the fall of 2007, lasted 100 days. The Writers Guild of America’s (WGA) union contract with the studios expires May 1, however, negotiations with the Alliance of Mo- tion Picture and Television Producers, which represents major studios such as Walt Disney, Warner Bros., and NBCUni, as well as Amazon and Apple, are in progress. Netflix is not a mem- ber of the producers’ alliance, so it will not be affected by a writers’ strike. The ability to negotiate a separate deal with Netflix also gives the WGA and other talent unions some leverage with the studios. Con- tracts for SAG- AFTRA (the union for TV and Film actors and other entertainment talents) and the Directors Guild of America unions ex- pire on June 30. However, studios and WGA members are all eager to avoid a sequel to the last major disruption that cost the state of Cali- fornia an estimated 37,700 jobs and $2.1 billion in lost output. One of the problems is that, as streaming takes over the traditional broadcast network TV mod- el, studios are commissioning shorter seasons L.A. Screenings The InterContinental hotel in Century City was scheduled to host the indies