I N T E R N A T I O N A L www.V i deoAge.org THE BUSINESS JOURNAL OF FILM, BROADCASTING, STREAMING, PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION June/July 2022 - VOL. 42 NO. 4 - $9.75 ???? (Continued on Page 18) Forecasting gurus the world over have dire predictions for broadcast TV, which, according to those naysayers, will succumb to SVoD or streaming in general over the next few years. There is no turning back the tide, they say, adding that simply wanting the situation to change won’t do much good. Hope, after all, is not a strategy. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the gurus, use of digital antennas is actually increasing, and broadcast technology (with the new ATSC 3.0 standard, or “Next Gen” TV in the U.S. and DVB-T2 in Europe) will make over-the-air TV more interactive. Their streaming features will ensure that local TV stations MIPAfrica: ANew Mart That Bets on Proven Formula My 2¢: Digital TV is not philosophy, nor an academic dissertation Hollywood and NYC: Upfronts and L.A. Screenings are well A whirlwind of inperson trade events over 100 days French TV’s hot summer: Mergers, acquisitions, sales Page 22 Page 12 Page 6 Page 4 A new TV market is coming — thanks to RX Africa, part of the RX Group that includes RX France (which organizes, MIPTV, MIP China, MIPCOM, and MIP Cancun), and RX Singapore, which organizes Asia TV Forum. MIP Africa’s debut is set for August 24-26, 2022 in Cape Town, South Africa, and will be held at the city’s International Convention Center (CTICC), a three-story complex located in the city center, near the harbor and the V&A waterfront. With MIP Africa, the market’s leadership wants to “ensure that Africans are robust players in the market, rather than mere consumers.” NATPE Budapest Defies New CEE Challenges (Continued on Page 16) Broadcast TV Revived By Streaming Platforms’ Aid The preliminary interview with NATPE president JP Bommel about NATPE Budapest happened via Zoom from his New York City residence on Friday, May 13, notoriously known as an unlucky day in the Anglo world. Fortunately Bommel is French — in Europe, the unlucky date is Friday the 17th. By the way, fear of Friday (Continued on Page 10) reach more viewers (including those on the move), and the SVoD icon, Netflix, will soon join them by reaching a sort of “broadcast status” with live streaming and advertising. This, according to Jason Bazinet, a Citibank analyst, is to compensate for a loss of two million subscribers projected for this year. Bazinet estimated that Netflix can generate ad revenue of
MAIN OFFICES 216 EAST 75TH STREET NEW YORK, NY 10021 TEL: (212) 288-3933 WWW.VIDEOAGEINTERNATIONAL.COM WWW.VIDEOAGELATINO.COM P.O. BOX 25282 LOS ANGELES, CA 90025 VIALE ABRUZZI 30 20131 MILAN, ITALY EDITOR-in-CHIEF DOM SERAFINI EDITORIAL TEAM BILL BRIOUX (CANADA) ENZO CHIARULLO (ITALY) LEAH HOCHBAUM ROSNER (NY) SUSAN HORNIK (L.A.) CAROLINE INTERTAGLIA (FRANCE) OMAR MENDEZ (ARGENTINA) LUIS POLANCO (NY) MIKE REYNOLDS (L.A.) MARIA ZUPPELLO (BRAZIL) PUBLISHER MONICA GORGHETTO BUSINESS OFFICE LEN FINKEL LEGAL OFFICE STEVE SCHIFFMAN WEB MANAGER BRUNO MARRACINO DESIGN/LAYOUT CLAUDIO MATTIONI, CARMINE RASPAOLO VIDEO AGE INTERNATIONAL (ISSN 0278-5013 USPS 601-230) IS PUBLISHED SEVEN TIMES A YEAR,. PLUS DAILIES, BY TV TRADE MEDIA, INC. © TV TRADE MEDIA INC. 2022. THE ENTIRE CONTENTS OF VIDEO AGE INTERNATIONAL ARE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT IN THE U.S., U.K., AND ALL COUNTRIES SIGNATORY TO THE BERNE CONVENTIO AND THE PAN-AMERICAN CONVENTION. SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO VIDEO AGE INTERNATIONAL, 216 EAST 75TH STREET, SUITE 1W, NEW YORK, NY 10021, U.S.A. PURSUANT TO THE U.S. COPYRIGHTS ACT OF 1976, THE RIGHTS OF ALL CONTENT DONE ON ASSIGNMENT FOR ALL VIDEOAGE PUBLICATIONS ARE HELD BY THE PUBLISHER OF VIDEOAGE, WHICH COMMISSIONED THEM Features Cover Stories 8. Book Review: “He’s a regular buster” — the life of an iconic silent star 12. L.A. Screenings 2022 report: Trying to escape from the streamers’ den 20. Calendar of industry events & travel news: Air space is costly to airlines that want to save on fuel Elevating digital technology to a philosophy is a stretch, but European intellectuals are eager to jump into it! Page 22 4. Hot summer for French TV: Mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, new services 6. A whirlwind of TV and film trade events for the months of June to September News Against all odds, broadcast TV is saved by streaming platforms’ bell MIP Africa debuts in August and replicates MIP Cancun’s format NATPE Budapest defies challenges and opens its doors on the Danube Features
4 World V I D E O A G E June/July 2022 channel BFM-TV. To be added to this list is Germany-based RTL Group’s M6 French TV network, which is set tomergewith the leading French TV network TF1, owned by the Bouygues Group and controlled by Martin Bouygues. RTL Group is owned by Bertelsmann, and controlled by the Reinhard Mohn family. According to terms of the deal, Bouygues will hold onto 30 percent of the combined company and RTL Group will have 16 percent. The merge will follow the acquisition of an 11 percent stake by Bouygues from RTL for 641 million euro (U.S. $688 million). Officially, the merger is to “provide a French response to the challenges from global platforms.” Group Bouygues would have exclusive control over the merged company, acting in concert with RTL Group as a strategic shareholder. Meanwhile, Vivendi (controlled by French billionaire Vincent Bolloré) will exit Italian television by drastically cutting its stake in Italian broadcaster Mediaset, thus ending years of legal disputes. Now, Vivendi is eyeing entering the U.S. market not only with Paramount+, but also with a bid for a minority stake in the premium TV channel Starz, owned by Lionsgate. According to an official statement from the company, Paramount+ on Canal+ will be “the home of Showtime in France,” and will feature Paramount Pictures’ films, Paramount+ originals, Nickelodeon, MTV, and CBS Studios content. Canal+ has about 8.9 million subscribers in France, reaching a total of over 21 million people internationally. Finally, the French government is looking to merge all public service media, which includes France Télévisions, Radio France, France Monde, and Institut National de l’Audiovisuel (INA), and to combine regional media outlets France 3 and France Bleu. Pictured above left, the faces of French television (from left to right): Vincent Bolloré, Martin Bouygues, Patrick Drahi. The Americans are coming, and will be bringing the Paramount+ streaming service to French viewers later this year as part of a long-term partnership with Vivendi’s Canal+ Group. The Canadians, though, are planning to leave France, with Canadian investment management company Brookfieldputting its 45percent of TDFup for sale. It’s valuedat $5billion(U.S.). TDF (formerlyTélédiffusiondeFrance) provides radio and television transmission services, services for telecommunications operators, and other multimedia services. Then French-Israeli billionaire Patrick Drahi’s Altice Group is planning to buy Azul TV, a Nice-based local television station from Franco-Lebanese magnate Iskandar Safa. Drahi also has control of France’s news Hot Summer For French TV: New Services, Mergers, Acquisitions, Divestitures (Continued on Page 6) VideoAge’s Int’l TV Distribution Hall of Fame Fascinating Stories Honoring 10 Additional Executives Who Built An Industry Volume 2 By Dom Serafini Available in Print and e-Book
6 World V I D E O A G E June/July 2022 Hungarian capital city, Content Tokyo on June 29-July 1, and Karlovy Vary International Film Festival on July 1-9 in the Czech Republic. After that, the film/TV sector takes a well-deserved break until July 29, when it will head to La Jolla, California for the International Fashion Film Festival, just before travelling down under for the MIFF South Market on August 4-7 in Melbourne, Australia, or cooling off at the Locarno International Film Festival (August 3-13) in Switzerland. The month of August also sees the inaugural edition of MIP Africa, which will take place in Cape Town, South Africa, on August 24-26, on the same exact dates of the Edinburgh International TV Festival in Scotland. Both the NATPE Budapest and MIP Africa events are previewed in this Issue’s front cover stories. The month of August will end with the opening day of the Venice Film Festival (to run August 31-September 10) and the Nigerian International Film & TV Summit (August 31-September 2), while September will welcome the return of Rendez-Vous in Biarritz, France (September 4-8), after two yearly virtual editions. Organized by the TV division of UniFrance, Le Rendez-Vous welcomes member companies, international buyers, and industry professionals to promote French film and audiovisual content, from fiction and animation to documentaries and entertainment titles. Themarket also includes presentations and project pitches in its agenda. Next on the industry’s September calendar is the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), to be held in the Canadian city on September 8-18. If any film and TV executives are in the mood to return to New York after that, a traveling caravan could also attend the Woodstock Film Festival, September 28-October 2, before heading to the South of France for MIPJunior and MIPCOM in mid-October. MIPCOM organizers have already unleashed their marketing blasts, but before the start of the Cannes trade show juggernaut (set to take place in October), the international TV sector has a slew of other in-person film and TV events to consider between the months of June and September 2022. The calendar is so busy that cable TV mart Jornadas, traditionally held in Buenos Aires in September, this year will take place in November. It started with Cartoons on the Bay, which took place June 1-5 in Pescara, Italy (pictured at right), and continued with NEM Dubrovnik, June 6-9, the New Images Festival held in Paris, France, June 8-12, for the digital visual world, and the Tribeca Film and TV Festival in New York City, June 8-19. It then moved to the Annecy International Animation Festival, held in Annecy, France between June 13 and 18. Then there’s the Monte Carlo TV Festival, June 17-21, and Sunny Side of the Doc (June 20-23 in La Rochelle, France). That’s followed by Conecta Fiction & Entertainment, happening June 21-24 in Toledo, Spain. Then there are NATPE Budapest, to be held June 27-30 in the A Whirlwind of Film and TV Events Is Coming (Continued from Page 4) www.videoageinternational.net/topics/watercooler/ VideoAge’s Twice-a-Week Water Cooler: The Industry’s Digital Feature Companion
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8 Book Review V I D E O A G E June/July 2022 When you think of actor and comedian Buster Keaton, the first thing you probably picture is his face. That face, deadpan yet chiseled like a sculpture, earned him the nickname “The Great Stone Face.” A thin head, a sharp jawline, a pale demeanor whitened further by stage powder and glassy eyes — Keaton’s singular look is among the most recognizable in films of the 20th century. The second thing you might picture is him performing one of his many stunts. Throughout his career as a silent film star, he was always in flight. He jumped out of windows, dove off of buildings, and stumbled down mountain ledges. He was blown over by gusts of wind, flapped in the air like a flag, and swung through waterfalls to save a plummeting damsel. Automobiles and trains were also essential elements of the Buster Keaton repertoire. He was an incredibly skilled stuntman, nailing his landings like an acrobat, and the speed and movement of motors added an extra layer of humor to his tricks. While his stunts were bafflingly funny, they were nearly backbreaking, too, considering that they took place in an era without many special effect tools. Sherlock Jr., the 1924 silent comedy classic in whichKeaton played amovie theater projectionist dreaming of becoming a detective, showed how Keaton’s daring came with real danger. In one of his most notorious antics from the film, he ran along a moving train, hopping from boxcar to boxcar, until he had to jump off — and the only thing he was able to hold on to was a waterspout. But once he latched onto said spout, it released a stream of water so strong that it knocked Keaton down and his neck struck the train tracks, leaving him with a broken neck that he wouldn’t realize was broken until a decade later. This death-defying accident is among the many anecdotes and episodes retold in Buster Keaton: A Filmmaker’s Life (832 pgs., Knopf, 2022, U.S. $40), a new biography from cultural and film historian James Curtis. Buster Keaton is the latest biography on the acclaimed comedian in more than two decades. With this sweeping book, Curtis has offered a substantial addition to the growing body of literature on one of the most irresistible artists of physical comedy and storytelling. Curtis previously wrote six books and edited two others. His work includes several biographies, the subjects of which span 20thcentury luminaries across arts and culture in the United States, including Hollywood production designer William Camron Menzies, Hollywood Golden Age actor Spencer Tracy, playwright and director Preston Sturges, and CanadianAmerican comedian and social satirist Mort Sahl, among others. With his latest book, Curtis continues to show his ability and thoroughness as an accomplished biographer. Buster Keaton was born in 1895 in Piqua, Kansas, a rather random town that his parents, Joseph Keaton and Myra Keaton, were passing through as part of a travelling medical show. The child of performers, he was born as Joseph Frank Keaton, and the origins of his stage name of Buster are at first slightly mysterious. Later in life, Keaton would self-mythologize and say that the escape artist and stunt performer Harry Houdini gave him the name. The role of the biographer is to present a portrait of his subject, not only to record the truthfulness of events but also to point out where his subject might be embellishing. Curtis informs the reader that the name “Buster” came about through family friend George A. Pardey, a former comedian and manager of a travelling group. “Born in London, Pardey was a repository of colorful slang,” notes Curtis. It was Pardey who, having seen how the toddler Keaton fell down stairs with playful joy, called out: “He’s a regular buster!” At over 800 pages, Buster Keaton is a wealth of information and detail. The book covers Keaton’s early life on the stage and his travels with his family, the three of whom participated in a vaudeville act. Curtis comprehensively chronicles all of Buster’s life, from his time as a child performer to his start in silent shorts up to his heyday as a silent film star, following the ups and downs of a man who worked in one of the most transformative moments in cinema. Included are episodes from Keaton’s depression, alcoholism, and divorce following his employment in the late 1920s at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which he was notoriously unhappy with. There’s also plenty of scenes from Keaton’s three marriages, as well as the revival of the public’s interest in his silent films later in his career. Curtis offers an in-depth chronology of every significant event in Keaton’s life, project to project. The author made use of extensive researchmaterials, and the book features reviews of Buster’s performances in the trades of the time. Readers will find plenty of stories to enjoy and deepen their understanding of Keaton’s life. Buster Keaton: A Filmmaker’s Life provides an exhaustive account of the life and career of the celebrated performer. Curtis has produced a hefty compendium for 20th-century film buffs and Keaton admirers. With his face so stoic yet capable of expressing authentic emotions, Keaton drew in swaths of viewers. As Curtis remarks, “On-screen, he was a tabula rasa of emotionless energy onto which audiences could project their aspirations, triumphs, and misfortunes.” Author and biographer James Curtis tells the compelling and carefully researched life story of The Great Stone Face, Buster Keaton. “He’s a Regular Buster” The Life of an Iconic U.S. Silent Star By Luis Polanco Curtis has offered a substantial addition to the growing body of literature on one of the most irresistible artists of physical comedy and storytelling.
V I D E O A G E June/July 2022 10 Now, in order to make this review story more analytical, it is necessary to provide data, facts, and figures. According to the New Rochelle, New York-based Horowitz Research, TV antennas are now used in 48.4 million TVHH, or 40 percent of all U.S. TV content viewers 18-plus. These U.S. TV antenna households are replacing the loss of some of the 55.1 million U.S. TVHH that, according to San Francisco, California-based Zippia Research, are cordcutters. For broadcasters this is a mixed bag. On one hand they’re losing some retrans fees. On the other they are getting more viewers that have cut viewing options from cable and satellite services. It should also be pointed out that cord-cutting in Canada is not as severe as in the U.S. because the Canadian communications authority has imposed an a-la-carte cable subscription model, therefore consumers don’t have to pay for channels they don’t watch. Broadcast television is also benefitting from the ATSC 3.0 technology, which is a hybrid broadcast and Internet Protocol-based delivery standard. It is the world’s first IP-based television standard. This means that it can carry Internet content and services alongside the traditional over-the-air 4K broadcast signals. The advantage of digital antennas, especially with the Next Gen TV standard, among many others, is getting to watch programs in 4K for free, and getting to place sports bets using a remote. In addition, each TV station can now broadcast up to seven channels (four is most common) per signal, which are usually available on cable for extra fees. With ATSC 3.0 the number of sub channels can reach up to 30 per station. In certain areas there are now more than 100 free TV channels available to watch with an antenna. Smart TV sets (like Sony Bravia and Samsung Super 6) already have built-in ATSC 3.0 tuners. About the decline of TV broadcast ratings, Nielsen (the leading U.S. rating service) recently lost its Media Rating Council (MRC) accreditation for under-counting TV viewing. In a statement, MRC said that total usage of television by persons 18-49 — the key demo used to sell advertising — was understated by Nielsen approximately two percent to six percent for the February 2021 measurement period. Decline, however, doesn’t mean demise. Indeed, research data from the New York Citybased eMarketer shows that streaming now accounts for 26 percent of the time people spend daily with TVs, which, even though edging past broadcast TV, still accounts for 25 percent of total viewing. The issue, however, is not the share between broadcast and streaming TV, but the reduction of the viewing time in general. eMarketer forecasted that TV viewing time in 2023 would continue to decline. In 2021, the average viewing time of TV was three hours and 17 minutes, but the estimated amount for 2023 is two hours and 51 minutes a day. Still, according to eMarketer, this trend is expected to reverse, meaning that the average U.S. adult will spend 15 minutes less with television in 2022, but only 11 minutes less in 2023. (By Dom Serafini) (Continued from Cover) $10 per month from U.S. users, and $3 per month from non-U.S. users. Observers from Africa also rebuke the naysayers: “Terrestrial television isn’t going to die. [In Africa] there are government mandates to keep doing it”, said Sisanda Henna, the recently-appointed MIP Africa’s chairman of the Advisory Board (full story on page 18). It would certainly be a surprise to those gurus if broadcast TV defies “their” odds and turns out to be as vibrant as ever. Indeed, research often results in known facts becoming even more obvious, but surprising results are often observed. Yes, broadcast programming will undoubtedly change, with more news and weather (especially live storm coverage), parades, and concerts at local levels, and sports, reality, and talk shows at national levels. This programming will make up the bulk of broadcast schedules. Now, more than ever, should the 1971 saying “Act locally, think globally,” be applied (The original phrase was actually “Think globally, act locally,” but in the case of broadcasting, the order could be switched). Even though broadcast TV won’t let producers “push the envelope” like subscription channels do with scripted shows, reality shows on broadcast TV are certainly pushing boundaries. Thebroadcast businessmodelwill alsochange, with less traditional ad revenue, and lower cable and satellite retransmission fees. But product placement will increase, as will advertising from subscription streaming platforms. So the very culprit that is expected to cause the demise of broadcast TV will actually provide it with more revenue. OtherincomeforbroadcastTVcouldcomefrom local stations licensing their local productions both domestically and internationally. Sports betting could be another source of income, as it would be safer than general Internet betting (after all, broadcasting is regulated, while the Internet is not). In the past, some good local productions came from PBS stations (like WTAE in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), commercial stations (like WCVB in Boston, Massachusetts), and now station groups like Sinclair and Nexstar are licensing some news programming. On the other hand, the business model of SVoDs is to constantly increase their number of subscribers, either picking up new ones or siphoning them off from other similar platforms (the so-called churn). SVoD uses a “dog chasing its own tail” type of business model that requires constant promotion to justify spending large amounts of money to offer original content in order to attract more subs. And the best way to promote their offerings is through broadcast television. Because, you see, even though broadcast ratings are getting lower, the stations’ cume (cumulative audiences or total reach) remain high, and streamers need to reach those viewers in order to wow consumers enough to lure them away from the competition. Naturally, promotion within their own streaming platforms is ineffective in generating new subscribers, since those who are watching are already subscribers. Another benefit of broadcast television over streaming platforms is their ability to brand and popularize new series before they go on to attract new subs in their SVoD services. Examples of this phenomenon include Friends, The Office, and the CSI franchise. Yes, broadcast programming will undoubtedly change ... Now, more than ever, should the 1971 saying “Act locally, think globally,” be applied. Television Evolution
12 V I D E O A G E June/July 2022 All the signs at the L.A. Screenings 2022 event pointed to a relaxation of the grip that the U.S. studios’ streaming platforms have over international TV distribution. “We’re open for business,” declared Lisa Kramer, president, International TV Licensing for Paramount Global Content Distribution, during her opening remarks at Paramount’s screenings. That sentiment was echoed by Pearlena Igbokwe, chairwoman of Universal Studio Group, during a press luncheon: “Production for our [NBCUni] Peacock streaming platform is available for international licensing.” At the broadcast Upfronts in New York City (which started on May 16, and immediately preceded the L.A. Screenings), the chatter mostly focused on advertising money, ratings measurement problems, and the large number of broadcast series that were canceled after just one season. As far as ad revenue goes, it was pointed out that political spending, among other sectors, is expected to rise. Curiously, Marianne Gambelli, president, Advertising Sales, FOX, said that FOX’s audience skews young so they don’t depend on pharmaceutical or cleaning products as much as tech, sports, and financial. Following that admission, a Wall Street Journal reporter asked if the young FOX audience doesn’t use soap. As for the series canceled after but a single season, ABC, FOX, and NBC each canceled three series, while CBS and The CWcanceled two series each. But it was also pointed out that streamers were not far behind, with Netflix canceling five TV series after one season. In Hollywood, even though the studios’ series that were newly available for world sales were not at pre-streaming era levels, all the majors were able to screen up to seven new series each to a good crowd of international buyers — many of whom were high-level execs —who numbered about half of those at the pre-pandemic L.A. events. All the studios’ own U.S. network fare was still available for licensing to Canadian TV channels, with the screenings done in two stages. The first was for the major TV networks, and the second was for the “independent” (i.e., smaller) TV outlets. As expected, talks about the major streaming platforms dominated conversations at the Screenings, which were saturated with statistical data that either revealed a failed business model or a successful one. After all, data can sometimes reveal surprises, and sometimes not. One other dictum was that the industry is not going back to former business models despite the fact that no one can predict how to move forward, but only hope for the best. ThenMcKinsey, a data-research company, shattered that idea by announcing that “hope is not a strategy.” Streaming was also the topic of a VideoAge luncheon held in Beverly Hills on Friday, May 21, that had four international TV executives in attendance (see photo below). The question posed was whether “streaming will be a Trojan Horse for the studios (the same way the elimination of Fin Syn was for the networks).” The consensus was that the giant social-tech media will not be gambling the studios, and that Amazon’s acquisition of MGM is not a test case. When asked about the future of Netflix, it was noted that it is considered a streaming pioneer that will end up being “the Polaroid of the sector,” in the sense that it created an industry, but has since been taken over by other, better services. One of the participants, Rallie’s John Laing, added: “Streaming exerts immense economic pressure on the [U.S.] studios due to fierce competition to attract and retain subscriptions. Rather than ordering content, gauging its performance by audience uptake and mitigating the risks of new content production costs with foreign broadcasters through license fees and output deals, they have abandoned their traditional economic model for an unfamiliar and traditionally untested economic arena betting the whole house on streaming. Additionally, the studios are now forced to compete by financing and constantly producing more brand-new content and bearing all the costswhile ransacking the value of their content libraries, which are the foundation of their economic power. The irony is streamers as such, other than the BBC, have forgotten the power of broadcasters.” Back to the Screenings, over 49 suites from 46 distribution companies (a few companies reserved multiple suites) were reserved at the newly refurbished Century Plaza (which is now under the Fairmont brand, which in turn is part of the French conglomerate Accor), in the Century City section of Los Angeles for the indie portion of the L.A. Screenings, which mostly catered to LATAM buyers, and which was set for May 18-20. The suites were located throughout the nine floors of the hotel, from the 3rd floor to the 11th. In addition, since the allotted number of suites was sold out, 14 meeting desks (i.e., tables) for some 13 other distributors (one company reserved two tables) were added to the floor just below the lobby. These exclude last minute L.A. Screenings 2022: Trying to Escape From The Streamers’ Den Market Report Indie exhibitors’ suites were located throughout nine floors of the Fairmont Century Plaza hotel Marianne Gambelli at the FOX Upfronts presentation Multicom Entertainment’s Irv Holender, VideoAge’s Dom Serafini, Incendo’s Gavin Reardon, Media Dorothy’s Dorothy Crompton The industry is not going back to former models despite the fact that no one can predict how to move forward, but only hope for the best. Then McKinsey shattered that idea by announcing that “hope is not a strategy.” (Continued on Page 14)
The Best Way to Make Sales... I N T E R N A T I O N A L www.V i deoAge.org THE BUSINESS JOURNAL OF FILM, BROADCASTING, BROADBAND, PRO DUCTION, DISTRIBUTION April 2019 - VOL. 39 NO. 2 - $9.75 By Michael Bancroft* “I t exceeded our wildest expectations.” Those were the words used by Dr. Simon Ziegler (Toby Jones) to describe the artificial intelligence (AI)-based protagonist in the trailer for the Hollywood thriller Morgan. Yet they could just as easily describe the producer of the trailer itself: none other than IBM’s Watson AI. TheAIplatformneeded just 24hours 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 will be in the years to come. The potential of artificial intelligence to revolutionize media and entertainment isn’t lost on industry executives. A recent industry survey by adtech firm Xaxis and IAB Europe found that 80 percent of respondents believe AI will have an impact similar to that of the industrial revolution, while 62 percent believe the technology will improve strategic decision-making, and 41 percent see it yielding competitive advantages. However, the most telling 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 With the increasing uncertainty, confusion, and unpredictability surrounding the 2019 edition of the L.A. Screenings, it’s a comfort to take stock of what actually is known. It’s a definite that Twentieth Century Fox TV Distribution won’t be L.A. Screenings: New Schedules, Changes, Mergers (Continued on Page 30) (Continued on Page 28) These days, TV market organizers 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 preparation for their own challenge some 70 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 on Page 4) At this year’s edition of MIPTV buyers committed to attend 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 commissioning editors to exclusive previews of 10 upcoming series. The summit opened yesterday with a lunch at the Majestic Hotel, which was followed by a session hosted by K7 Media that aimed to provide trend insights and forecasts on drama content in the television industry. The screened drama productions came from different parts of Europe, except for The Gulf, the New Zealand crime thriller distributed 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 After 15 years, France returns to the MIP-TV pedestal to be celebrated as the market’s Country of Honor. During this time, the country’s television industry has grown in size, sales volume, and content output. As TV France International (TV FI), the Paris-based export association of French TV content producers, distributors, and broadcasters, reported last September, overall international sales have doubled over the past 10 years. In 2017, the country’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 on Page 4) Challenges and Areas of Focus for MIP Attendees MIP-TV 2019 is officially underway. But before it began, we spoke with a host of attendees 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 that are being held during the event. 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 dramas. “As a consequence, the distributor is required to take a greater risk,” he said. In the past, commissioning broadcasters would have taken on responsibility for the whole budget. “These days, they are paying up to 50 to 70 percent, and it is up to the distributor to find the rest of the money.” Gerrit Kemming, managing director of Quintus Media, said that the biggest challenge the German company is facing “is the tendency for broadcasting partners to take longer (Continued on Page 4) VideoAge Daily on the go MIP-TV 2019 April 8, 2019 MIPTV2019_TradeAds_VideoAge_FrontCover_TheRook.indd 1 3/26/19 12:18 PM DAY 1 1 (Continued on Page 4) Yesterday 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 Médailles d’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 Carlton Hotel. Forbes magazine described Abudu as “Africa’s Most Successful Woman.” She launched the Nigerian broadcaster Ebonylife TV in 2013 and went into filmmaking with EbonyLife Films in 2015. Sony Pictures Television (SPT) announced a three-project agreement with EbonyLife TV in March 2018. 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 It’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. To get a sense of what these companies –– which tend to dominate the international TV content scene these days –– are featuring in Cannes and their strategy for the market, we asked them a series of questions. Turkish Content On Display atMIP-TV Medals of Honor Salute Talent and Leadership (Continued on Page 10) With Armando Nuñez MIP Celebrates Int’l Television This is the second award at MIPTV received by the 59-year-old Armando Nuñez (pictured), president and CEO of CBS Global Distribution Group and Chief Content Licensing Officer of CBS Corporation. His latest award was for Achievement in International Television with a ceremony that was held yesterday at the Palais followed by a cocktail reception at the Carlton Hotel. Previously, in 2013, Nuñez received the MIP-TV Medal of Honor, together with his father Armando Nuñez, Sr., a former U.S. studio executive. That award marked the first time a Medal of Honor was instituted at the market. At that time Nuñez served as the CEO of CBS Global Distribution. In his 36-year career, Nuñez also held executive positions at ABC, Viacom, New World, Universal, and CBS Paramount. The award is an annual event presented by Variety in association with Reed MIDEM, MIP-TV organizer. MIP-TV 2019 DAY 2 April 9, 2019 At 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, the U.S. studios will keep their best content for their own 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 operations that will force the studios to return to monetizing their content through international sales. Because of the impending changes in Hollywood that are going to impact 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 As the expression goes, “The blessing and curse of the TV trade media is that everyone thinks they can do what it does, even though no one has a clue what it does.” 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 that he actually does. His very first MIP-TV was in 1979, 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 was at the adjacent La Malmaison. Serafini continued attending the market as VideoAge International’s 1, when the L.A. Screenings Challenges Reflect Industry’s Change (Continued on Page 4) Donald Duck Embracing Fox Leaves BuyersMisty-Eyed Since the start of the television business, many a U.S. studio has disappeared. Orion, Lorimar, DIC, Embassy, Filmation, Group W Productions, ITC, King World, Metromedia, Republic Pictures, and Tribune Entertainment are just some of the many that have closed their doors over the years. Some of them are still remembered fondly today, while others have been forgotten. All of them made some impression on the entertainment business, but no merger has made an impact as big at that of Fox Studios being absorbed by Disney. It’s not just a studio that’s going away, but a business model. Fox is soon to return as a distribution company that will be part of New Fox, but to get a sense of the overall effect of this loss on the industry, VideoAge Daily asked a group of acquisition executives to comment. Dermot Horan, director of Acquisitions & Co-productions, RTE, Ireland: “Throughout my professional life Fox has been a constant –– a studio that made some of the best and most coveted shows. (Continued on Page 6) MIP-TV 2019 April 10, 2019 DAY 3
14 V I D E O A G E June/July 2022 cancellations and companies that participated without exhibiting. When the indies’ portion of the L.A. Screenings at the Century Plaza concluded, the contentbuying contingent moved to the studios’ lots (this time around without Fox and Disney), starting with Paramount and NBCUni on Saturday, May 21. (Technically, the buyers who “moved” were the Latins and some Canadians because executives from Europe had only arrived the previous day.) The indie portion officially ended with a party/ presentation from Argentina’s Telefilms, while the studios’ screeners were entertained the following week at parties thrown by Paramount and by mini-majors such as Lionsgate and eOne. The studio portion stretched from May 21-25, with their LATAM screenings scheduled on May 21 for Paramount, May 22 for NBCUni, May 23 for WarnerMedia, and May 24 for Sony. Disney had a suite at the Century Plaza, and it screened there on May 25. Paramount screened six series (two from CBS, one from The CW, and three international coproductions) at its usual location, the Paramount Theater (but this time no talent worked the buyers’ tables during lunch). NBCUni screened seven new series, this time at Universal City Walk (and not at various theaters on its lot). And WarnerMedia screened eight series at its traditional Steven Ross Theatre (one each from CBS and NBC, two from The CW, and four from HBO). Disney did not have its traditional general screenings, but screened for the major Canadian TV buyers in their hotel earlier in the week, and on May 21 for the independents (mostly cable networks). For LATAM, limited screenings took place towards the end of the week at the Century Plaza hotel. With the exception of Canada (the long border with the U.S. makes sales of broadcast shows necessary for all studios), most of Disney’s TV shows will end up on its own streaming platforms. On Monday, Universal Studios also staged a new season press luncheon at a restaurant near its lot since members of the press weren’t allowed to attend the actual screenings. All studios required proof of vaccination, but Universal and Lionsgate went one step further. Universal reps messengered COVID home-testing kits (at least to journalists) before its event, while Lionsgate rapid-tested all guests onsite before allowing entry to the hotel rooftop for its party. As predicted, the studios screened and offered fewer new series compared to the prestreaming era, with the bulk going straight to their international DTC platforms, even though the attraction to potential new subscribers is doubtful. In terms of buyers, the return of the in-person L.A. Screenings — after skipping two events due the pandemic — has found not only Fox and Disney missing, but also a reduced number of acquisition executives (about 50 percent fewer than 2019). However, the ones who attended were high-level, and all were excited to be returning to Hollywood to screen the new 2022-2023 TV season. In terms of territories, all the countries that were at past events were in attendance, with the exception of Asian countries, many of which were represented by U.S.-based executives this year. The largest contingent was from Europe, especially Germany, the U.K., Italy, and France, all scattered at their favorite hotels. LATAM also had a large contingent of program buyers, who were mainly housed at the Century Plaza Hotel. Another large contingent hailed from Canada. It reportedly had the largest number of buyers in attendance this year. As for the Century Plaza, the renovated hotel has a luxurious lobby that was bustling with L.A. Screenings participants. As for the buyers, many were in for a bit of a trek as exhibitors rented corner suites that were at the far end of the hotel’s long and dark-carpeted corridors. Buyers roaming the Century Plaza included Canada’s Aldo Di Felice, president of TLN, who concluded the Canadian screenings with the U.S. studios and later cruised the Century Plaza in search of indie fare. And according to Carmen Roberts, Communications director for Chile’s Canal 13, her network’s top executive, Maximiliano Luksic, spent much of his time visiting the Century Plaza suites looking for Latin and Turkish telenovelas. Market Report Disney Media Distribution LATAM’s Alis Perez, Barbara Lorenzo, Fabiola Bovino at their Century Plaza suite FilmRise’s Emilia Nuccio and Alejandro Veciana at their Century Plaza meeting table The Telefilms team at their traditional screening and cocktail reception Lionsgate’s Jim Packer and Chase Brisbin at the Lionsgate rooftop party Kanal D International’s Ekin Koyuncu was on hand at the Century Plaza Paramount Global Content Distribution’s Dan Cohen and Lisa Kramer at the Paramount Theater Global Agency’s Ivan Sanchez was representing the Istanbul-based company at the Century Plaza (Continued from Page 12)
The Weight Serving the international TV industry in good and in challenging times with print Issues, PDF editions, weekly online features, and daily e-newsletters. www.VideoAge.org www.VideoAgeDaily.com of VideoAge Reaches unusual HEIGHTS
V I D E O A G E June/July 2022 16 NATPE Budapest the 13 is known as paraskevidekatriaphobia. For the brief in-person follow-up interview in Los Angeles, the 17 — even though not a Friday — was avoided, so it took place the day after, on May 18, with further e-mail exchanges throughout June. Before the interview, NATPE sent a press release announcing a fortuitous line-up of confirmed exhibitors, including the U.S. studios. Stated the release: “NATPE International is returning [June 27-30 at the InterContinental Hotel] to an in-person event in Budapest.” The last time the event was held in person was in June 2019. According to the release, “the marketplace is expected to attract around 300 buyers, including 37 broadcasters from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), and more than 60 exhibitors from the U.S., U.K., Latin America, and Central Europe.” By early June the number of exhibitors had increased to 87. Can Okan, founder and CEO of Turkey’s Inter Medya, “will be attending the market with great motivation [since we’re finally] back after two years.” Okan plans to focus on new territories this time around. “Germany, Croatia, Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Albania, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Czechia, North Macedonia, Korea, India, and Serbia, are among the countries we would like to meet with,” he said. “NATPE Budapest is looking to be one of our strongest markets despite the current situation [in Ukraine] because of the timing,” said Sonia Mehandjiyska, head of International Distribution for the Los Angeles-based Electric Entertainment. “We have two series in production and one in pre-production.” However, Mehandjiyska cautioned that “the war would certainly affect business in CEE. The halt on sales to Russia… will add to the many restrictions theworld is imposing onRussia [and] will affect overall sales in CEE, Russia, and CIS as a whole being one of the biggest territories. [But] the region is united behind Ukraine and the situation certainly requires sacrifices.” She “will be meeting with broadcasters from Poland, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and ex-Yugoslavia.” As for the buyers, the CEE networks will be sending some personnel, but not all of their top executives. “Members of my team will be at NATPE,” said Jan Rudovsky, director of Content Acquisition for the Czech Republic’s Prima. Similarly, Silvia Majeská, program director The issue is the incompatibility of the Czech Republic’s plans to compensateDTT operators for simulcasting DTT programs both on the original networks using DVB-T/MPEG-2 standards and the new networks using the improved DVB-T2/ HEVC standards, since the aid would practically finance their upgrade. However, the grant also aims to ensure that DTT operators release the 700 MHz band from DTT services. On a regional level, a CEE TV overview indicates that, in terms of local TV production, Romania tops the CEE list, but Poland is on top with the number of local production houses, and is at the bottom of the list as far as acquired TV series are concerned. The top CEE content acquirer is Lithuania, followed by Estonia, then Latvia. These three countries are also active with local TV productions and have a good number of local producers. Estonia in particular is second only to Poland for the number of local production houses. Other large content acquirers include Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, and the Czech Republic, in that order. NATPE Budapest proper will open at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 28, and will consist of hotel suites, stands, meeting tables, and viewing stations. Of the 90 exhibiting companies from 25 countries, the bulk will hail from the U.K., followed by France, then the U.S. and Germany, then Turkey. Late Tuesday afternoon there will be an opening party. The closing party will take place the following evening. The conference portion of the show, which had been a tradition in the past, won’t be taking place this year. “We don’t want participants to be distracted by that,” Bommel explained. Then VideoAge touched on the subject of cost, mentioning that reps for the Santa Monica, California-based American FilmMarket had announced reduced costs for exhibitors compared to 2019, when its last in-person trade show was held before the pandemic. “Costs for NATPE Budapest will be comparable to those of 2019,” he said. “This is despite industry-wide hotel increases of 20-30 percent. We managed to secure no-increases and the InterContinental will be fully open and fully staffed.” Bommel directed VideoAge’s readers to The Points Guy, a travel website, which explains how airfare increased an average of 10.7 percent over the pre-pandemic period, and hotel rates went up 29 percent on average compared to 2019. (Leisure-oriented cities like Miami saw hotel rate increases in the order of 43 percent). for the Czech Republic’s TV Nova, reported that “neither [TV Nova’s Matthias] Settele nor myself normally attend NATPE, but we have our acquisition team attending.” The market will also highlight Ukraine, a country that could use the boost at the moment. “We are proud to host the Ukrainian Pavilion on the exhibition floor,” said Bommel. The Pavilion is a free service to five Ukrainian companies under the umbrella of Ukrainian Content Global Cooperation initiative: Film.UA Group, 1+1 Media, Ukraine TV Channels, StarLight Media, and public broadcaster UA Suspilne. The initial interview with Bommel consisted of six questions, starting with one about banning Russian executives who support the invasion of Ukraine (as the Cannes Film Festival did). When answering, Bommel pointed to NATPE’s official statement issued in February, which stated, in part: “What we can do is join the world community and prevent Russian presence from conducting commerce. Therefore we are banning Russian companies from our upcoming international television sales market to be held in Budapest.” The second question made reference to the fact that many exhibitors were very disappointed by the cancellation of NATPE Miami, and if NATPE Budapest was going to happen no matter what. To that, he answered: “Yes — apart from a nuclear war, the market is going to happen.” Sincethepress releasetoutedtheparticipation of the U.S. studios, the next question concerned whether they would be screening their new TV seasons locally, as they did in the past. “As far as I know, they are,” said Bommel. And indeed a few weeks later the program appeared on the NATPE website indicating Monday, June 27, as the date of the Warner Bros. Screenings. The Paramount Screenings are to be held the next day in the morning, while NBCUni’s will be in the afternoon. All will be screening at the Puskin Cinema, where they typically take place. Traditionally, the U.S. studio screenings are a mixed blessing for NATPE Budapest. On one hand they siphon off buyers from the hotel’s exhibitors for most of the two days, but on the other, the very presence of the studios attracts more buyers to the market. This time, however, with a war ravaging the region, lifting the mood of TV buyers from countries bordering Ukraine and those facing a direct threat from Russia (like Lithuania and Latvia) will take more than viewing new U.S. studio fare or the traditional NATPE Budapest Buyers’ Reception on Monday. Then there are the internal disputes. The government of Hungary, under the leadership of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, is not the only CEE country to fall regularly under the wrath of the European Union. Now the E.U. is investigating whether public financing that the Czech Republic plans to grant in favor of DTT operators in the tune of 473 million koruna (U.S. $ 20.5 million) is in line with E.U. State aid rules. The beneficiaries of the grant would be the Czech public service broadcaster Ceska Televize, and private DTT telecommunications company Ceske Radiokomunikace. (Continued from Cover) Puskin cinema is the studios’ screening venue Meeting tables at the InterContinental hotel
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