INTERNATIONAL www.VideoAge.org (Continued on Page 22) In 1988, the inventive U.S. baseball player and manager Yogi Berra said: “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” In January, the international TV industry will face a fork in the road. Coming via Highway 395 from the Miami Airport (or from anywhere connected by Interstate 95), one could turn right (to go north) to head towards the Hilton Miami Downtown for Content Americas, or turn left and go to the InterContinental for NATPE Global. Marts at Crossroads in Miami: NATPE or Content Americas Page 26 My2¢: The general press looked into the writers’ rooms, not the C-suites Page 16 AFM gets new home and a new life is reclaimed Page 12 Rain, wars, strike did not dampen MIPCOM biz Page 10 NAB New York is full of FAST and AI services (Continued on Page 20) These days, analysts, commentators, journalists, and TV executives cannot talk about MIP Cancun without also mentioning the Miami, Florida TV markets: NATPE and Content Americas, both to be held in January, two months from now. And that tends to open This Time MIP Cancun is to be FAST and Furious (Continued on Page 18) The New Trend: Migrating From Social Media to OTT The world is being inundated by FAST channels and AVoD platforms. The former are based on a linear programming structure, the latter on an on-demand offering. Both are delivered via streaming platforms. These days, newly created companies boast hundreds of YouTube channels, and broadcasters are jumping on the FAST channels bandwagon in order to recoup the audiences they lost on their generic networks with their thematic FAST channels. Meanwhile, thematic cableTV channels are losing out due to cord-cutting, and have been forced to migrate to streaming with free, ad-supported television channels (FAST, precisely). The increased number of streaming channels (of all kinds: SVoD, AVoD, and FAST), combined with labor strikes THE BUSINESS JOURNAL OF FILM, BROADCASTING, STREAMING, PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION November 2023 - VOL. 43 NO. 6 - $9.75
MAIN OFFICES 216 EAST 75TH STREET NEW YORK, NY 10021 TEL: (212) 288-3933 WWW.VIDEOAGEINTERNATIONAL.COM WWW.VIDEOAGE.ORG P.O. BOX 25282 LOS ANGELES, CA 90025 VIALE ABRUZZI 30 20131 MILAN, ITALY EDITOR-in-CHIEF DOM SERAFINI EDITORIAL TEAM SARA ALESSI (NY) 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. 2023. 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 C-suite execs were caught by surprise by the challenges posed by streaming platforms. People with common sense and those in the E-suites (trade Editorial) knew otherwise, and had been pointing out streaming’s pitfalls for years. Page 26 Cover Stories News The new trend: Migrating from Social Media to OTT Markets at a crossroads in Miami: NATPE or Content Americas This time MIP Cancun is to be FAST and furious Features 8. Book Review: A biography explores how Warner Brothers shaped American cinema 12. MIPCOM Review: Wars, strike, rain did not dampen spirits 16. AFM gets new home and a new life is reclaimed 24. Calendar & News: Brace for more chaos at U.S. airports 4. AI: What, how, and why to regulate? How much is Hulu worth? 6. Talent agencies looking for new roles 10. NAB Show New York Report: After 100 years, broadcasting can still show its muscles
4 World VIDEOAGE November 2023 (Continued on Page 6) In the U.S., the Federal Radio Commission was a regulatory agency created in 1927. In 1934, that was replaced by the Federal Communications Commission, which included a video division. It also oversees the telecommunications industry, which was previously under the Interstate Commerce Commission. However, cable TV is not regulated by the FCC, but by local franchising authorities. As for AI, the general opinion is that the technology will advance much faster than any legislative body’s resolutions, and that many of its rules will be obsolete before they’d even be put into play. But in the meantime it is hoped that the industry is at least clear about AI-generated and AI-assisted content. How Much Is Hulu Worth? According to Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, the Santa Monica, California-based Hulu is worth $30 billion, thus valuing Comcast’s one-third stake at $10 billion. When Disney became Hulu’s majority owner in 2019 with the acquisition of 21st Century Fox (which owned one-third), it reached an agreement with Comcast to fully acquire Hulu and to value it at $27.5 billion at minimum. Comcast’s share would then have been worth $9.12 billion (minus $567 million in outstanding capital calls — payments that Comcast didn’t make). Hulu has 48.3 million subscribers. In 2022, Hulu’s revenues were $10.7 billion and expenditures were estimated at $3 billion. The streamer was started in 2008 with a $100 million investment. Disney’s acquisition investment in Hulu is valued at $10.5 billion, consisting of $1.4 billion paid for Warner Media’s 9.5 percent ownership, and $9.1 billion out of the $71.3 billion purchase of 21st Century Fox. In 2009, Disney’s ABC had acquired 28 percent of Hulu with $25 million in marketing credits from the founding partners that included NBC. By 2019, Disney’s stake in Hulu reached 67 percent, with Comcast owning the remaining 33 percent. The benefits of AI are known — or mostly known — since it’s impossible to anticipate all of its future benefits. The abuses are also mostly known — and include such things as misinformation, labor disruptions, copyright infringement, electoral manipulation, and more. It’s clear that this technology needs to be regulated, and this is the comb where the hair tangles. Regulations mean minimizing potential risks while harnessing potential benefits. Therefore, before regulating, one has to understand why we are regulating. Plus, since some aspects of AI may not fall under any existing agency’s jurisdiction, are we to create a new one? History tells us that it has often taken many years for governments to create agencies to regulate new technologies. According to a chart published in The New York Times, the shortest period for a U.S. regulation to be put into place was four years, and that was for nuclear energy. Railroads on the other hand, took 60 years. Radio took 20 years. And television was just five years old before it began being regulated. AI: What, How and Why to Regulate DO YOU WANT TO REACH BUYERS? DO BOTH... ONLY WITH VIDEOAGE! DO YOU WANT DISTRIBUTION AT ATF?
6 World VIDEOAGE November 2023 (Continued from Page 4) deal will be pursued via the Pinault family investment company Artémis, which operates separately from Kering. Artémis holds a 40.9 percent equity stake in Kering. Over the years CAA has expanded beyond film and television representation to professional sports. The agency has been valued at $7 billion. Pinault’s CAA acquisition indicates a growing overlap between the luxury and entertainment industries. The link was first explored by Italian fashion houses that relied on Hollywood’s red carpets to promote their brands. CAA rival Endeavor has also diversified into sports with TKO, which resulted from the merger of Endeavor’s Ultimate Fighting Championship with World Wrestling Entertainment. And Kering’s competitor, Paris-based group LVMH, which is headed by Bernard Arnault, and controls brands such as Dior and Louis Vuitton, has partnership deals with Hollywood celebrities. And just last week, reps for private equity giant Silver Lake, which owns about 71 percent of Endeavor’s voting stake, said that it is working on a proposal to take Endeavor, the owner of talent agencies WME and IMG, private. Endeavor went public in 2021. Still, despite all this proof, the industry insiders who were contacted by VideoAge still insisted that the talent agent business model has not changed over the years. “Agents are licensed for finding work for their clients and make a commission, leaving the contract negotiations to the lawyers, who are paid fees, and the daily interactions to the talents’ managers, who get salaries”, said U.S. entertainment lawyer Steve Schiffman. Nonetheless, today, agencies like Endeavor can no longer control production companies and cannot broker packaging deals since they create conflicts of interest. In early September 2023, VideoAge sent out a query to talent agents and entertainment lawyers to explore whether the talent agency model has changed in light of the recent industry upheaval caused by streaming services. The answers we received were a resounding, “No! The business model has not changed.” Then, a week later came news that French billionaire Francoise-Henri Pinault (probably best known in the U.S. for being married to star Salma Hayek) is buying a majority stake in Creative Artists Agency, a Hollywood talent agency, from private equity firm TPG. The acquisition would come a year after CAA acquired ICM Partners, another Hollywood talent agency. Pinault controls Kering, a luxury conglomerate with brands like Gucci and Saint Laurent, but this Talent Agencies Looking For New Roles Lise Romanoff: lise@vision lms.net Andres Santos: asantos@screenbright.net Please Visit Our Website: WWW.VISIONFILMS.NET VISION FILMS A WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTOR OF INDEPENDENT FILMS, MUSIC & DOCUMENTARIES We welcome you to MIPCANCUN 2023 Nov 14 - Nov 17
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8 Book Review VIDEOAGE November 2023 Film and media historian Chris Yogerst presents a fascinating family saga that follows the four Warner brothers through the major turning points of 20th-century Hollywood. A Biography Explores How Warner Brothers Shaped American Cinema By Luis Polanco Today, Warner Bros., one of the longest running entertainment companies in the U.S., might be best-known for producing classic and contemporary movies and TV series that stand as cultural landmarks of the 20th century. The company’s film catalog boasts classic titles such as Michael Curtiz’s 1942 romantic drama Casablanca and Victor Fleming’s 1939 historical romance Gone with the Wind from the Golden Age of Hollywood, and closer to the new millennium there are the fantastical Harry Potter and Batman franchises. The company’s animation and television divisions brought about iconic touchstones such as the entire Looney Tunes franchise, as well as exemplary TV shows such as Friends and The West Wing, among others. Behind all these recognizable titles and remarkable stories associated with Warner Bros. is the story of four brothers who originally founded the company. There was Harry (1881-1958), the sharp businessman; Albert (1884-1967), the more reserved brother; Sam (1887-1927), the technology enthusiast; and Jack (1892-1978), the showman. Chris Yogerst’s The Warner Brothers (360 pgs., University Press of Kentucky, 2023, $34.95) presents a family history that delves into the lives of the brothers behind the studio. Yogerst is a film and media historian, and he serves as associate professor of Communication in the Department of Arts and Humanities at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. His writing has been published in several publications, including The Hollywood Reporter and the Washington Post, and his academic writing can be found in various journals dedicated to the history of film and popular culture. In addition to this latest book, he’s published two previous books, the first being From the Headlines to Hollywood: The Birth and Boom of Warner Bros., which focused more on the studio’s activities. With The Warner Brothers, Yogerst shares details from the lives of these four brothers and how they shaped the film catalog at the studio that bears their name. The book is organized chronologically and gives a decade-by-decade play-by-play of their activities: their Polish-Jewish origins in Krasnosielc, Poland, where most of the brothers were born (except for the youngest, Jack, who was born in London, Ontario in Canada); the studio’s prolific output during the Depression; their fierce opposition to Fascism and support of the U.S. in World War II; the studio’s post-war affairs, including labor strikes and HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee) testimonies; and how the studio fared in the transition to New Hollywood standards. The book also features an afterword, an ode to the studio, from Michael Uslan, one of the executive producers of Warner Bros.’ Batman franchise. As Yogerst reminds his readers, here is a family whose struggles and achievements represent the American dream. “The story of the Warners is simultaneously an immigrant story, an American story, and a Hollywood story”, he writes. “The Warner brothers serve as a perfect cross section of substance, struggle, and success in Hollywood.” A key claim of the book is that the brothers’ sensibility shaped the movies the studio put out, and this differentiated them from other contemporary studio moguls. “The brothers’ strong sense of civic responsibility was evident in their interviews, memos, public speeches, and films. They created and embodied their own brand of tough, gritty, bold Americanism.” The story of four brothers in the entertainment industry does not lack in excitement. As one might expect, the book explores the family dynamics, loyalty, rivalry, pride, betrayal, as well as tragedy in the form of Sam’s sudden death in 1927. Yogerst has a special fondness for Harry, the eldest brother. The impetus for the project originally came out of the desire to write a biography of only Harry. Among the brothers, how Harry conducted himself singles him out as a model businessman. Yogerst writes that “Harry’s desire to combine good citizenship with good picture making is a high bar maintained by many of today’s best filmmakers.” Yogerst’s The Warner Brothers is a key text for anyone interested in the lives of Hollywood’s most significant families. While the book offers a compelling narrative of the family, it also represents changes in the film and entertainment industry and shows how one studio responded to those economic and historical forces. Yogerst’s talent as a scholar and storyteller come into strong relief, and his enthusiasm for his subject makes the experience that much more pleasing. The brothers are the central focus of the book. No matter the tone and content of the studio’s output, the brothers’ values come through. “Warner Bros. produced its share of fun, escapist films”, he writes, “yet the movies that mirrored and engaged contemporary culture were those that best represented the brothers’ sense of social responsibility.” “The story of the Warners is simultaneously an immigrant story, an American story, and a Hollywood story.”
10 VIDEOAGE November 2023 After 100 Years, Broadcasting Can Still Show Its Muscles NAB Show New York Report As the most important and influential U.S. broadcast association, the Washington, D.C.-based National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is proudly promoting its 100th anniversary, having started both its convention and association in 1923. Its first convention was held in New York City. It then moved around to 14 U.S. cities before it outgrew most of the spaces offered by various venues. In 1991, it moved to Las Vegas, where it has staged its major event in April ever since. However, in 2015, NAB returned to New York City, taking over the Content & Communications World (CCW) event, which it rebranded as NAB Show New York. With this year’s preliminary attendance number of 12,231 people (in 2022 it reached 9,500 attendees), the New York event is just one-tenth of the size of NAB Las Vegas, but it’s still good in terms of the film/TV and broadcast industry’s participation, especially considering that the recently concluded MIPCOM in Cannes, the content industry’s largest gathering in the world, officially recorded 11,000 attendees. Held, as usual, at the Javits Center, which is located on the West side of Manhattan, this year’s NAB Show New York began on October 24, five days after the conclusion of MIPCOM — the events typically run concurrently — a change that was especially appreciated by NAB participants who had just returned from MIPCOM, such as Toronto, Canada-based Nextologies, which was able to send some of the same group of executives to man its stands at both MIPCOM and NAB New York this year. Next year, the gap will be even better with the NAB Show New York starting earlier (October 8-10, with exhibits October 9-10) at the Javits Center, and MIPCOM occurring later (October 21-24) in Cannes. Similarly, their spring shows won’t be colliding since MIP-TV will take place in Cannes, April 8-10, 2024, and NAB Las Vegas will follow later, April 13-17, 2024 (with exhibits April 14-17) at the very large Las Vegas Convention Center. The three-day NAB Show New York event featured both an exhibition hall that opened on October 25 with 270 exhibiting companies, of which 50 hailed from outside the U.S., and a series of seminars, including “AI Creative” (with 20 sessions), “Post-Production” (with 36 sessions), and “Streaming” (with 21 sessions, one of which touched on the market saturation of FAST channels). Other seminars included 11 sessions aimed at TV station groups, which also explored FAST and AVoD channels for local TV stations, and 11 sessions about broadcast content. There were 225 sessions hosting 300 speakers. Among the 225 NAB sessions, the one titled “TV2025: Monetizing the Future” gathered TV station group CEOs, COOs, CFOs, CTOs, CROs and CDOs for strategic conversations about how changing technology is powering emerging and developing revenue streams. The session addressed topics from the rise of streaming and Next-Gen TV to historic changes in audience measurement and advertising technology to the role of the cloud in creating more content for a multimedia audience. TV2025 offered TV industry leaders insights into their changing industry. Speakers included Blake Russell, EVP, Station Operations and Content Development, Nexstar Media Group; and Brian Morris, CISO, Gray Television. Broadcasting is now able to offer linear addressable advertising, as demonstrated in the U.K. by ITV with a service that will soon be available in 1.3 million TV households, and thus be able to compete with the advantage that streaming now provides. The ITV announcement follows a successful beta trial of the ad-replacement technology over the last 12 months, during which more than 30 million addressable ads were deployed. This is the first step in ITV’s roll-out of addressable targeting in live linear viewing and it is considered a game-changing move forward for the TV broadcasting industry. As was expected, streaming was a big attraction at this NAB Show, both on the exhibition floor and in the conference rooms, as were live demonstrations of production wizardry. NAB Show New York featured both an exhibition hall with 270 exhibiting companies and a series of seminars. The Nextologies stands at MIPCOM (left), and at NAB (right). Streaming services were a big draw at this year’s NAB Show One of the sessions that were held on the exhibition floors
12 VIDEOAGE November 2023 MIPCOM 2023 came to a close in Cannes, France on Thursday, October 19, during a downpour. However, for many participants, the rain did not dampen the excitement they had for the market, which began the previous Monday. Of course, initial excitement for the market was tempered by the horrific Hamas terrorist attack against Israel. Over 70 executives from Israel had to cancel as a result of the war. But MIPCOM has never been immune to tragedies. Throughout its 39-year history, it has survived through several wars, and even helped to explain why they happened. After all, our industry best reflects what’s really happening in these war zones since our TV screens report the news from the battlefronts. Market organizer RX France tried its best to lift people’s spirits, hosting Friday’s pre-MIP Junior drinks for delegates before going all out with an opening party on Saturday, MIP Junior’s starting date. The celebration continued with MIPCOM’s official opening party, which was followed by many more shindigs from exhibiting companies: both at the exhibitors’ stands and at outside venues. Show business without some sort of a show becomes a shoe business of sorts (or at least as boring as the shoe biz), so film and TV companies exhibiting at MIPCOM were eager to up their showmanship levels this year — not only with the content that they sell, but also with the parties that they host. After all, if they themselves don’t show some excitement about their content, how can they expect buyers to do the same? The long lines at the market’s entrances couldn’t be attributed to an increased number of attendees, but was instead due to heightened security following the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel. In terms of attendance, according to official figures, there were 320 exhibiting companies with stands and 11,072 participants from 100 countries, including 5,630 participants registered as buyers. Looking at the plethora of new trade publications that were being distributed, on top of the large number of already existing ones, one could say that the international TV industry had high hopes for a successful market. Traditionally, this kind of response is not found at less successful events. This year’s MIPCOM hosted a glut of companies hawking AI and related products, including dubbing, as well as a plethora of Social Media companies like V Channels, Viral Media, and VAMedia. Another sector that made lots of noise in Cannes was represented by European AVoD and FAST channels. Still, traditional players were also in abundance, with all the major U.S. studios exhibiting at the Palais. There was even unity between the new and the old, perfectly epitomized by the Beverly Hills, California-based V Channels’ Niccoló Messina. His senior adviser in V Channels is veteran studio executive Michael J. Solomon, a former president of Warner Bros. Distribution, who was welcoming buyers’ at the V Channels’ stand. While Messina’s V Channels is busy producing 100 feature films and 100 documentaries a year, Solomon, he said, “is helping us build the international sales.” In terms of business, the indies at MIPCOM had a field day(s) since the actors’ strike that is continuing in the U.S. (following a prolonged writers’ strike that was recently settled), has drastically reduced the content output from the U.S. studios. Nonetheless, all the major studios in the U.S. were back exhibiting in a big way and getting lots of attention, with a keynote speech delivered by Gerhard Zeiler, president of Warner Bros. International, and Bob Bakish, CEO of Paramount, receiving the MIPCOM Personality of the Year Award. In his speech, Zeiler explained that even though Warner Bros. is committed to streaming, “if it makes sense to license content to third parties, we will.” Similarly, Bakish said that the streaming business is central to Paramount Global’s vision, but content licensing is still “a fundamental part of our economic model.” On Tuesday, another keynote speech was delivered by Laura Fernández Espeso, CEO of the Barcelona, Spain-based The MediaPro Studio, which is controlled by Chinese equity firm Orient Hontai Capital. China is also this year’s MIPCOM Country of Honor — a prize that’s appreciated by Hollywood (as China is the world’s number two box-office market), but despised by Washington D.C. politicians since China is a totalitarian state. The elusive Latin American buyers — who are expected to be at MIP Cancun next month — also made appearances, with Argentina’s Telefe and Mexico’s Azteca and Televisa in attendance in Cannes. And the U.S. studios had their LatAm divisions readily on hand, with Disney LatAm in particular, out in full force. Moving on to controversies — because there are always some at a big market such as this — during a press conference at the Majestic Hotel, when asked about the joint Media For Europe project with Italy’s Mediaset, Bert Habets, CEO of Germany’s ProSiebenSat.1, limited his comments to: “Italian TV and German TV cannot be more different.” Habets was joined by Henrik Pabst, CCO of Seven One Entertainment Group, which is part of the ProSieben company. Finally, in terms of next year’s dates, MIPCOM 2024 is scheduled very late in October, from the 21st to the 24th, while MIP-TV, on the other hand, will be held very early, April 8-10, 2024. Wars, Strike, Downpours Did not Dampen Spirits MIPCOM Review Long lines at all entrances of the Palais Inter Medya’s Can Okan with the stars of The Ivy, which had its European premiere at MIPCOM Incendo’s Effi Eustace with Entertainment Studios’ Tom Devlin
THE LION’S SHARE History of the Mostra A documentary by Baptiste Etchegaray and Giuseppe Bucchi 57’ - 2023 Execuitve producer FlabProd in collaboration with RAI CULTURA RAI COM and CANAL PLUS presents RAI COM INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION With the participation of PEDRO ALMODOVAR • ALBERTO BARBERA • MARCO BELLOCCHIO • MONICA BELLUCCI • JULIETTE BINOCHE • CATE BLANCHETT DAMIEN CHAZELLE • ROBERTO CICUTTO • PENELOPE CRUZ • AUDREY DIWAN • VIRGINIE EFIRA • LUCA GUADAGNINO ISABELLE HUPPERT • ALEJANDRO G. INARRITU • ALBA ROHRWACHER • TILDA SWINTON Foto di: Giacomelli, Jacopo Salvi, Giorgio Zucchiatti - Archivio Storico della Biennale di Venezia, ASAC sales@rai-com.com
The market asked and she is back. INTERNATIONAL SALES Delmar Andrade dandrade@recordtv.com.br www.recordtvnetwork.com
16 VIDEOAGE November 2023 As if strikes by Hollywood creatives haven’t been enough for industry insiders to be concerned with, attendees at the American Film Market’s (AFM) new venue, the Le Meridién Delfina Hotel in Santa Monica, had to contend with an extremely noisy strike protest at the entrance to the hotel by hotel workers. Members of Local 11, the union representing hotel workers (who have been on their picket lines longer than any of the current Hollywood strikers) kept up their barrage of drum-banging and shouting for several hours each of the first two days, while members of the Santa Monica police department did nothing but look on. For many of the AFM delegates it was the type of early morning wake-up call they neither expected nor wanted! Once inside, rooms and corridors in the new quarters seemed claustrophobic compared to the event’s previous venue, the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel. But comparisons did eventually appear. Elevators had attendees packed like sardines just as in previous years, despite notices suggesting that use of the stairs would be quicker. More than a surprise for many attendees was the appearance of not just buyers but sellers from Russia, who, according to reporters from trade publication Screen, were allowed to attend because they, “are not subject to U.S. sanctions and are not affiliated with the government of Russia.” This did not go down well with many. Despite such distractions, VideoAge managed to get some time with a variety of execs in between their business meetings. Regular AFM-ers Multicom, led by chairman Irv Holender, introduced the company’s two new streaming channels — via the Multicom app — The Archive and The Grapevine, which VP of Content Development and Acquisitions, Jesse Baritz, outlined as true stories and biographies for the latter and old TV series for the former, including all 153 episodes of The Adventures of Robin Hood. For Sir Lancelot, they did a full 4k restoration from the 1956 original 35mm print. There’s also lots of classic television from the ’50s and ’60s. Additionally, the company had the film Desert Rose and a true crime doc series, Devilsdorp. They also have a new film, Cold Betrayal as well as Skate Face, about how the art associated with the world of skateboarding has broken out into the mainstream. It’s the first doc on this topic and skateboarding legend Tony Hawk is participating in the film. Romania was another new face in the film and TV industry, with nine different entities under the Romanian Creative Industries Business Federation banner, which was headed by Mihai Lupu, who recently attended MIPCOM. According to him, MIPCOM “was really good for us. Due to the strike in Hollywood the buyers are a little bit more open to new ideas and new producers. After that we went to TIFFCOM [in Tokyo]. We had a pavilion and it was good. It was their first in-person market after the pandemic, but it was a promising market, especially in terms of co-productions and new productions that could be done in Romania. I expect the buyers and distributors to be more open to our titles and propositions. We also came with several projects, some of them quite big. We are trying to get an American partner on board. The [Hollywood] studios are not going to be able to provide content to the viewing public, so we are very optimistic. The industry has been more about industry than it has about cinema [and TV]. We have seven screenings in the market. We have several projects in post-production and more in production and we also have an animation project. We also have several projects on Ukraine, as we should not lose focus on this matter and now the troubles in Gaza.” Lise Romanoff, CEO of Vision Films, saw that, “buyers are back, they need product, [and] some attended both MIPCOM and AFM, but for the most part it’s a different crowd. MIP Cancun is Latin America. NATPE is U.S. and Latin America so they don’t really cross over.” The new venue has caused some consternation? “My room is smaller”, said Romanoff, adding that “the corridors seem thinner, but it is what it is because a Chinese [company] took over the Loews. They’re making suites and renovating. This was the best in Santa Monica at the time [when the choice of a new venue had to be made]. AFM had to stay in Santa Monica because there are lots of screening venues, everything is really close. And anywhere else you just don’t really have that. Otherwise people would be all over the place.” As for what Vision Films is doing, Romanoff reminded, “We release two to four new films every month in the U.S. so we aggregate a lot of films for international in addition to licensing buyers in each country. We started to go direct on VoD in many countries — SkyStore in the U.K., Foxtel in Australia, Univision in Latin America, Viacom in India, and Starz Play in MENA, so we’re expanding our direct distribution around the world. AVoD has more than doubled [the revenue] compared to what we would have had from the likes of Netflix and Amazon.” As for the AFM (October 31-November 5), she suggested it was, “the same Day One as usual. We were packed and even busier Day Two, Three, and Four. The strikes [did not] affect anything to do with MIPCOM or AFM — not internationally or saleswise because buyers don’t buy that close to the date, some are booked a year out, and they’re not hurting for programming.” When it came to content on offer at the AFM, Romanoff suggested, “We have a little of everything — Forever Young, a drama, another about an influencer whose looks are going south. Lock and Load is a really good action film. Call to Duty is a female Top Gun with Joseph Baena, the son of Arnold Schwarzenegger, a really good Sci-Fi and we’ve got documentaries, including one on Harry Styles [the former One Direction member] and Tom Cruise.” Chevonne O’Shaughnessy, co-founder and president of American Cinema International, had a different take on the AFM, “All the trade publications were low on ads — seemingly because of so many markets on top of one another and companies don’t want to waste money on an ad in every publication for every market.” She continued: “MIPCOM was good for us. We were busy and the buyers who came, they came to buy! There was purpose in every one of them and the meetings on day one were the same thing. But [at AFM] we only had two meetings on Day One, though the rest of the week looked good. However, she added: “There’s no Germans, hardly any Spanish people, there’s no South Africans, there’s nobody from France!” While much has been made about the increase in FAST, O’Shaughnessy sees two sides to that coin. “FAST channels may be expanding, along with audience interest, but costs per minute for the content suppliers can mean content creators are losing out.” She warned others to watch and see as to whether some outlets are worth such a cost. By Mike Reynolds Market Reboots Amid Strikes, Russian Sellers, Narrow Corridors AFM Report From l. to r.: Multicom’s Josie Childs, Irv Holender, Darrin Holender, and Jesse Baritz
14-17 November 2023 Moon Palace Resort Hotel, Cancun, Mexico The TV Market that will put you face-to-face with LATAM & US Hispanic executives thanks to its 1-to-1 pre-scheduled meetings format. The #1 Content and Co-Production Market for Latin America and US Hispanic Television MIPCANCUN® is a registred trademark of RX France - All rights reserved
VIDEOAGE November 2023 New Trend 18 (Continued from Cover) (Continued on Page 20) — first the writers, then the actors — in Hollywood, have created an enormous demand for talent that was cultivated in the Social Media space, and has now been harvested by traditional media to feed their numerous OTT (Over The Top) channels, as the mainstream streaming outlets are called. These days, in the U.S., for example, it’s nearly impossible to watch broadcast TV shows like Entertainment Tonight (on CBS) or Access Hollywood (on NBC) unless you’re next to a 12-year-old. Why? Because adults likely wouldn’t know who the reporters are interviewing or who the TV hosts are talking about. With the proliferation of influencers and Social Media stars, the entertainment world has been invaded by so many transient and mostly dim-witted personalities that only teenagers can keep track of them. Teens the world over see many of these personalities as real “celebrities” — even if they’re just funny-looking folks posting videos of themselves on TikTok. There is even a promotional model developed around this seemingly strange phenomenon: Broadcast TV hosts invite Social Media celebrities onto their shows specifically so that said “celebs” promote the shows to their millions of followers online. This symbiotic relationship also allows the Social Media stars to expand into the OTT universe, thereby increasing their reach and getting them more sponsorships. In the past, the generational divide was between those who could understand (and laugh) at the antics of John Cleese in Monty Python’s Flying Circus and those who simply didn’t get why anything he was doing would be considered funny. But at least everyone in a given family knew who Cleese was. Today, the divide is as wide as the Red Sea. Even The Wall Street Journal recently acknowledged, “Scores of online personalities enjoy status among children, yet most parents have no idea who they are, why they are famous or even how to watch them.” Many Social Media viewers (billions of them, in fact), are now consuming content on OTT platforms, and one can spot them looking at their iPhones on subways, busses, trains, in the back seats of cars, and even on bicycles going against traffic or riding on sidewalks — everywhere, it seems, except in their homes. Apparently, nowadays, watching broadcast television at home is something that only older people tend to do. In the last U.S. broadcast network TV season (which ended in May), the median viewer was older than 60 for most entertainment shows. According to various researchers, there is a distinct generational divide for broadcast viewing starting at the age of 45. Boomers still cling to old viewing habits, and younger people watch the same shows, but on streaming platforms. For example, ABC’s Abbott Elementary, which has a memigrating from the Social Media environment into the OTT ecosystem in order to maximize their revenues, and all is driven by viewing data: research on the type of content favored by this type of audience. This kind of content production doesn’t allow for creativity. They don’t look at what could work — only what is working now. If these videos can be transferred from a vertical format (typical of iPhones) to a horizontal format (for TV screens), the clips are then tied together in post-production with interstitials, a term for short TV shows that air between a channel’s primary programming. The business model of both AVoD and FAST channels is advertising-based, mostly administrated by a “programmatic” system. Programmatic advertising is the use of automated technology for media buying (the process of buying advertising space), as opposed to traditional methods of TV advertising (calling on clients). Programmatic media buying utilizes data insights and algorithms to serve ads to the right user at the right time, and at the right price. Some streamed channels can also have a mix of programmatic and traditional ad sales. Two-minute ads are usually inserted every eight minutes per hour, and on average in the U.S., channels receive between $7 to $10 CPM. This aspect of the streaming ad business opens up another set of “problematic” issues. Commented Gustavo Neiva de Medeiros, president of the New York City-based FAST Alliance, “Determining CPMs in the FAST advertising ecosystem is complex and varies significantly due to numerous factors. The lack of transparency is a challenge, especially for publishers without direct ad server relationships. The key issue is distinguishing the average revenue received by publishers (channels) from what platforms or intermediaries receive. While a channel might average $7, the platform or intermediary could earn $20. Addressing this disparity is a key area where the Alliance aims to assist publishers.” In addition, some ad servers carry monthly fixed costs and ad manager fees. For comparison, YouTube sells advertising averaging U.S. $33 CPM. The split between the platform and the channel is usually 50-50, but some platforms ask for 60-40 in their favor, and others 45-55 in the channel’s favor. Out of their portion, the channel pays the talent and/or the company that they acquired the content from. The split with the talent/ acquisitions is confidential and on a caseby-case basis. Usually, large content owners can develop their own streaming channels, or they can license the content to third parties on a rev-share basis. The third parties brand the channels as their own, but in most cases the technical aspects are farmed out to specialized companies, like the Toronto, Canada-based Nextologies, which takes the “assets” (i.e., content) and programs dian viewer age of 60.5 on broadcast TV, is also popular with younger viewers when it is streamed on Hulu. But, since older viewers watch a lot of television, advertisers love them and their spending power. And, considering that many new people pass the threshold age of 45 every year, a fresh supply of viewers is assured to watch traditional TV at home. Meanwhile, considering the large number of YouTube channels, other AVoD, and FAST channels, the amount of new content needed is astonishing. In July 2023, YouTube was the most-watched streaming platform in the U.S. with 9.2 percent of overall viewing time (according to Nielsen). Netflix was second with 8.5 percent. The YouTube platform operates as an aggregator and the powers that be at various channels like it because it offers an ecosystem similar to a cable TV operator. With 14 million active YouTube channels from over 1,000 partners worldwide, plus an estimated 3,000 AVoD channels from other world operators (though we only know for sure that there are 1,500 of these in the U.S.) and 1,500 FAST channels around the world (75 percent of which are U.S.-based), the need for new content is astronomical. It is a totally different ball game than traditional television, which in comparison is limited in both scope and reach. AVoD and FAST channels are based on a long-tail model where content in low demand can make up market share that rivals blockbusters, but only if the distribution channel is large enough. And this drives the quest for the channels to be on multiple platforms. A good portion of AVoD and FAST content consists of existing film and TV library material, with a smaller portion of that coming from licensing deals on a revenueshare (rev-share) basis, which only a few established distributors are willing to do, and only with the 10 major players, such as Pluto, Roku, Tubi, Vudu, or Freevee. However, the bulk of this new type of content is generated by talents that are Gustavo Neiva de Medeiros, president of the New York City-based FAST Alliance
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VIDEOAGE November 2023 MIP Cancun 20 a can of worms that is best dealt with in depth with a separate article (on this same front cover). Here’s a sample comment from Alexander Marin, a former exec at Sony Pictures and a current principal at the Miami-based company Media Advisors: “MIP Cancun is affordable and easy to attend. Content [Americas in Miami] is the one that has done the best work. NATPE is going to be U.S.-focused.” And from a publicist at Ecuador-based Ecuavisa, VideoAge was told: “Ana Cecilia Alvarado, CEO of Ecuavisa Studios, will not be at MIP Cancun this year. She will participate at both NATPE and Content Americas in January, where she will be an official jury member of the Rose D’Or.” But then a group buyer for Latin content from Miami who wants to remain anonymous commented: “The success of MIP Cancun is their organization: the way they organize the meetings. People like Cancun (weather, beaches, hotels, etc.), and most important and attractive, the organizer pays for air tickets, hotels, food, etc. for all buyers. I will not be attending this year but I heard that most of the Latins will be going.” VideoAge asked Vivian Reinoso of Miami-based J2911 Media how she positions MIP Cancun, considering that it comes at the end of the budget year, and is currently happening is in the midst of a number of economic crises in the LatAm region. “It will be interesting to see if deals actually get closed as a direct result of attending the market”, she answered. “For a distributor, a successful market means that you close many deals either on the spot or right after it. If it is successful in terms of attendance because buyers (some of whom otherwise would not be able to attend the market) have expenses paid by the organizers, it can be tricky since the license fees that they can offer tend to be not what a company expects in order to have a good ROI for attending the market.” Meanwhile, for its 10th anniversary, to be celebrated November 14-17, 2023, MIP Cancun is going with the flow, in the sense that it will be riding the FAST wave, which is now all the rage on the international TV market scene. Indeed, the “FAST Global Americas’ Summit” will be taking up the whole afternoon of the opening day at the event’s traditional Moon Palace Convention Center (part of the large Moon Palace Resort), located just outside Cancun, Mexico Developed in the U.S. a few years ago, Free Ad-supported Streaming TV (or FAST) channels have already conquered Europe, as indicated by the business activities at MIPCOM 2023, and now they will land in Latin America, as was pointed out by Maria Perez-Belliere of RX France, MIP Cancun’s organizer. “Azteca TV is planning to start 30 FAST channels”, she announced. According to Perez-Belliere, now in her second year as head of the market, MIP Cancun will be welcoming 900 participants, many of whom have given the market a “high satisfaction rating.” High hopes are also reserved for its co-production market, which will be improved in terms of number of commissioners (46 this year, compared to 36 last year) and in terms of “improved selection.” As for the cost of attending with an exhibition table, the rate, Perez said, will “increase a bit, in line with inflation.” Last year, the event housed 149 market tables, plus a dozen stands located in the hall of the convention center’s second floor, facing the large marketplace space where the meeting tables were located. The co-production tables were located on the first, or ground floor. This year, there will be 29 prearranged meetings for content sales, and 23 for co-productions during the three-day market, which will also have an opening party on Wednesday, November 15, and a closing party the next day, even though the market will continue up until Friday. In terms of conferences, 10 are scheduled, together with a screening hosted by Turkish distributor InterMedya. There will also be a celebration from the Worldwide Audiovisual Women’s Association (or WAWA), a group for female TV executives. Going back to the furious pace at which FAST channels are multiplying around the world, a question arises as to whether these thematic streaming channels will cannibalize the networks’ traditional channels. However, the fact remains that broadcasting is losing audiences to streaming platforms, and FAST is a way for broadcasters to enter into the streaming realm in order to regain viewers in multiple ways, who they can then offer up to advertisers as a cumulative audience. (Continued from Cover) them in a server following a “play list” provided by the content owner, with a process called a “play out.” According to the Middlesex, U.K.-based Digital TV Research, global Free Advertising Supported Television revenue is now an $8 billion industry. Currently, the U.S. accounts for 56 percent of the total FAST business. Global FAST revenues are expected to increase by $9.4 billion between 2023 and 2029. This compares to $39 billion in global revenue for AVoD channels (the U.S. accounting for 40 percent) in 2023. The growing number of FAST channels cannot yet compete with the 900-pound gorillas represented by the AVoD channels offered by the U.S. studios, with streaming platforms such as Disney+, Hulu, and Netflix, all of whom have recently “discovered” that consumers who cut cable TV subscriptions to save money couldn’t afford to pay for full-rate streaming subscriptions, and instead moved services to their ad-supported lower-cost streaming versions. Those U.S. households that still stick with cable spend about $103 a month on average for cable TV (which often includes broadband service), according to the New York Citybased S&P Global Market Intelligence. This compares to an average $54 monthly subscription fee for streaming media (plus the cost of broadband/Internet service). However, due to several challenges with streaming platforms (competition, high cost of operation, piracy, high churn, loss of subscribers, and last but not least, search fatigue), the studios have introduced advertising in order to have a two-tier model: subs and ads. Since advertising is still based on a mass audience at once (not cumulative over long periods), streamers are also moving towards live television (with awards shows and sports). In effect, SVoD platforms and TV networks are losing out to AVoD and FAST channels. This new “viral” ecosystem that is now engulfing the international TV industry is also flooding the market with low-cost, lowquality content that is financed on a revshare basis, with the talents absorbing most of the initial financial burden. Nonetheless, this new ecosystem is shaping up the TV sector with seminars galore about AVoD and FAST channels, and new trade publications are popping up, like Viral Media, edited by veteran journalist K Dass in Singapore. Some of this new Social Media content that manages to move to OTT with broadcast-quality results is subsequently licensed worldwide by established international distributors. The New York City-based FilmRise, for example, licensed Preston & Brianna, a popular YouTube reality show. Similarly, distributors with extensive film libraries, such as the Los Angeles-based Multicom, license content, in the words of Jesse Baritz, Multicom’s vp of Content Acquisition & Development, “to all different kinds of media, including for their own FAST channels.” (By Dom Serafini) (Continued from page 18) MIP Cancun’s Maria Perez-Belliere of RX France Pictured on the front cover from l. to r.: Roxana Rotundo of Miami-based VIP 2000, Liliam Hernandez of Miami-based Universal Cinergia, and Cecilia Gomez de la Torre of Lima, Peru’s Tondero Distribución.
REGISTER NOW TO STAY AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE EVER-EVOLVING INDUSTRY global.natpe.com Over 400 key buyers from 50 countries confirmed and ready to do business, including: InterContinental Miami January 16-18, 2024 The top choice for media executives looking to cultivate new and existing partnerships. Adolfo Alvarez Rivas VP, On Air Programming ¡HOLA! TV Marisol Amaya VP, Content Acquisitions LatAm, All Platforms Paramount Brandon Brito Sr. Programming Exec Apple TV+ Eduardo Calvo Licensing Manager RTVE Radio Television Espanola Mariano Cesar Head, General Entertainment Content, LatAm & US Hispanic Warner Bros. Discovery Liliana Chavez Scripted Content Strategy Univision Olimpia Ciribe Director Content Strategy & Acquisitions Sony Pictures Television Patricio Cordero Head, Televisa Studios Televisa Univision Ronald Day President, Entertainment & Content Strategy NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises Lou Fazio Senior Director, Content Acquisitions and Programming WatchFree+ VIZIO Joao Fonseca Senior Content Acquisition Manager Prime Video William Graff Sr. Content Acquistions Manager BeIN Sports Sam Harowitz VP, Content Acquisition & Partnerships Tubi Katie Keenan Group Director of Acquisitions, UK & ROI Sky TV Sophia Kelley VP, Head of Content Acquisitions Scripps National Networks Gave Lindo Head, Content Programming, North America TikTok Eduardo Ruiz President & General Manager A+E Networks Latin America Stefania Scarfo Head, Content Strategy & Planning Paramount Jennifer Vaux VP, Content Acquisition & Programming Roku Danny Villa Head of Development & Production TPlus on Peacock Telemundo
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