Videoage International - 2020: A Year in Review

6 January 2021 V I D E O A G E MIP-TV Buyers’ Survey: But Will They Be There? T he question everyone seems to be asking is: “Will the content buyers go to MIP- TV?” Some sellers seem to have pre- determined that many buyers simply won’t go. But it is VideoAge ’s contention that a good number of buyers will indeed attend MIP-TV and that they will actually be pleased about the content available from indie exhibitors. However, since this MIP-TV is turning out to be a buyers’ market — in the sense that buyers will bemaking or breaking this totally overhauled edition of MIP-TV — VideoAge reached out to buyers from six different countries to answer a few questions. VideoAge: Did MIP-TV organizers invite you and offer free accommodations? “Yes I was invited and offered free accom- modations,” said an English-language buyer who’d prefer to remain anonymous. “No! Never ever! Not in the previous 14 years,” retorted Adham Nasrallah, content manager at Safe Media in Beirut, Lebanon. A buyer from Spain said that he didn’t receive free accommodations, either. VideoAge: If MIP-TV offered free accom- modations, will you be sending junior people to get some hands-on experience? “No new or junior people were offered free accommodations,” said the anonymous English- language source. “Just me and my deputy.” “We are sending the usual senior team in charge of ‘Superindies,’ E.U. Studios, and Indies. The team in charge of U.S. majors won’t attend,” said an Italian buyer who gets free accommodations. “Yes, we get free accommodations, and no we’ll not be sending junior executives,” reported a buyer from Scandinavia. Added the buyer from Spain: “No, only one person from [our network] procurement team goes.” VideoAge: Will the fact that the exhibitors’ stands are different and have been relocated affect you? “It makes it more difficult to plan meetings as wedon’t knowwhere people are,” said theEnglish- language buyer. “I usually plan my appointments geographically. But there is less exhibition space so the distances will be smaller between stands.” “No,” answered Safe Media’s Nasrallah. “It could be a little confusing at the beginning,” explained the Italian buyer. “But this doesn’t seem to be the biggest issue from a buyer’s perspective. MIP-TV’s future is more about who’s going to be there.” “No,” was the simple answer from the Scandinavian buyer. The buyer fromSpain offered amore elaborate answer: “That they are physically different does not affect me, but the location is important because as a buyer you don’t want to waste time in finding the new locations. At amarket likeMIP- TV, not wasting time looking for meeting stands is essential.” VideoAge: Will the absence of the major studios give you more time to see the indies? “Yes, and this has been the case for a while for MIP-TV. It also gives me the opportunity to discuss co-productions and to have some longer meetings,” said the English-language buyer. For Nasrallah, the answer is “no.” “We have dedicated teams so we are giving more time to indies as we always did in the past,” added the Italian buyer. Said the Scandinavian: “Yes, but I am disap- pointed that the big ones won’t be there.” Marcus Ammon of Sky Germany has not been invited with free accommodations, and he’s not attending MIP-TV. However, if he were going, he said that he’d spend more time with the indies. For the Spaniard, “It’s not a matter of having more time. We are looking for specific products that small independents do not offer.” VideoAge: Do you like that the market starts in March? “The week suits me,” commented the anon- ymous English-language buyer. “Not at all,” said Nasrallah. “It could reduce competition with the L.A. Screenings, but it might increase the overlap with the growing London Screenings event,” said the Italian buyer. “The date is indifferent to me,” added the buyer from Spain. “It really doesn’t matter,” concluded the Scan- dinavian. Ellen Baine Ends TV Season in March A t the end of March, Ellen J. Baine, a le- gendary former programming executive for Canada’s CHUM, is retiring as VP of Programming for the Toronto-based Hollywood Suites, a company she joined in 2010. During her 17-year tenure at CHUM — which ended in 2007 —Baine’s official title was actually “Princess of Programming.” She began her television career in the Traffic department of CHUM’s Citytv. To replace Baine, Hollywood Suites has tapped Sharon Stevens, who joined the company in 2017, as the firm’s new senior director of Programming. London Screenings In The Year of Brexit E .U. buyers, as well as American and British distributors, will experience firsthand the initial consequences of Brexit at the BBC Showcase, which is set for February 9-12 in Liverpool, and at the consequent London TV Screenings, which is happening February 12-14. The events will begin just seven days after the official British exit from the E.U. on January 31. A large number of buyers at the BBC Show- case will reportedly hail from the BBC’s own TV channels. Some are said to be pretty unhappy about their company dismissing 450 BBC jour- nalists in order for the BBC to save £80 million (U.S.$104 million) by 2022. It’s unknown how many of the content buyers who’ll attend the BBC Showcase will then travel 350 kilometers south to London to screen programs from some 15 distribution companies scattered about town — some of which have conflicting schedules. The first fatality of this organic London Screenings arrangement is Disney, which, after sending invitations to a screening that was to be held on February 7 at the Ham Yard Hotel, elected to cancel, possibly realizing that buyers could have been reluctant to be in London two days before the BBC Showcase, travel to Liverpool, and then head back to London. It is expected that each screening will house between 30 and 50 buyers on average, with peaks of 150 for some companies. It is also said that neither London event will be costly since they are staged by companies based in London whose only major expense will be renting the screening facilities. Pictured below is the Charlotte Street Hotel, the London venue of the Lionsgate television screenings. In Other News • February 4: SPI announces new streaming service FilmBox Plus. • February 6: Warner Bros. Picture Group and HBO Max launch production arm Warner Max. • February 13: FilMart was postponed from March 25-28 to August 27-29 (on June 18, it was turned into a virtual market). • February 20: Herbert L. Kloiber launches Night Train Media. • February 25: Searchlight and ForgeLight buy majority stake in Univision. • February 26: The Walt Disney Company names Bob Chapek as CEO. February 2020 Review