38 next two years are going to be decisive for our industry.” Going further north to the U.S. mainland, Doris Vogelmann, VP of Programming and Operations for the Doral, Florida-based V-ME Media, gave this analysis: “The acquisition of film and TV content has become harder. I attribute this to the increase in the number of companies that are acquiring rights.” She continued: “Business has changed. Today, many programs are acquired on a nonexclusive basis. For some players not having any exclusivity or holdback doesn’t help differentiate themselves from the rest. But accessing this exclusivity comes with a price tag that might be too high for a smaller channel or platform to pay.” She went on: “With the proliferation of FAST channels and many platforms acquiring license fees with revenue share models, distributors and producers find themselves in a situation where they need to figure out how to monetize content. For this reason, distributors try to hit the big players first, looking for the big bucks they can provide for exclusive rights for all media, and in some instances, with worldwide as their territory. The content that doesn’t make it in this first round is available for the medium and smaller players whose budgets are not major, so the negotiation is tougher and sharing the same content on a non-exclusive basis becomes an easier way for distributors/ producers to recoup their investment.” From New York City, Max Einhorn, SVP of Acquisitions for FilmRise, saw things more positively: “Buying film and TV content has indeed faced challenges, but it’s not directly comparable to the difficulties in the vehicle market”, he said, pointing out that “the auto industry has grappled with supply chain disruptions. In contrast, the entertainment industry doesn’t face such supply chain issues. As of now, [even] while there’s an ongoing WGA/ SAG strike, the volume of quality content has been growing exponentially thanks to digital production.” Einhorn continued: “Unlike the rising costs in the auto industry, the real cost of producing content has significantly decreased. This has lowered the barriers to entry for content creation. While the budgets of TV series and blockbusters have grown, the creators’ economy and unscripted television ensure a steady supply of diverse content, at a fraction of those costs — and their audiences are loyal.” He further explained: “The industry is facing challenges, and many consumers are finding it hard to maintain multiple SVoD subscriptions. This has led to less competition and a potential slowdown in content pricing. The AVoD and FAST market, on the other hand, is maturing. However, while it seemingly promised a gold rush for content owners, the reality is setting in that it’s mainly a revenue-sharing model that has its own vulnerabilities. Only certain kinds of library content thrive, while others face challenges to get merchandising and thus monetization. Unlike the auto industry, where there’s a scarcity and sustained high demand, there’s an abundance of content and less demand, with many studios and streaming services writing off content from their books.” Einhorn also noticed, “There is a vast reservoir of unscripted content and platforms that are Creator-first, like YouTube, which can attract even more market-share of audience’s content viewing sessions.” “In conclusion”, he stated, “while both industries face challenges, the nature and reasons for these challenges are distinct. The entertainment industry’s dynamics are shaped more by technological advancements, market consolidation, and consumer preferences than solely from external supply chain issues.” For Maurizio Colombo, head of Programming and Acquisition Planning for Italy’s Mediaset, “Buying film and TV content for Italian free-toair television has become harder, and the causes can be traced back to two factors: the pandemic aftershock and the advent of streaming. At the beginning of the pandemic, the stoppage of film and television set production caused a drastic decrease in available product. “Subsequently, the growth of streaming throughout the pandemic has shifted almost all production to OTT services, limiting the access to purchases for free-TV broacasters. Less product also means higher prices.” In addition, Buying TV Content October 2023 (Continued from Page 36) Colombo believes “that the creative offer has grown but it is more often than not an exclusive prerogative of the OTT, and this makes it not accessible for free-to-air acquisitions.” Tarmo Kivikallio, head of Acquisitions and Commissioning for Finland’s Yleisradio, was more upbeat, pointing out that “[It] is difficult to compare the TV business to the car business, but from my point of view the business is in turbulence. We have reached some kind of peak and from now on it will be a survival game for some players. Buying TV content was very difficult after the pandemic, but right now the competition is not that fierce. It seems that the market in Nordics is shaping into a new position. Prices have gone up but I am quite sure that this development has reached the peak for now.” Manuel Alduy, head of Cinema and International & Digital Fiction for France Télévisions, had this to say: “The post-pandemic situation is quite different for film and fiction acquisitions in France and I guess in Europe as a whole.” He then explained that “the streaming sector has become a key influencer of the entire market. In 2021/2022, we observed a reduction in U.S. content available because of the streaming growth. In 2022/2023, the situation changed again. Some streamers faced difficulties and more content has been shopped to third parties, including SVoD originals.” Alduy went on to further explain, “The traditional L.A. Screenings are not the sole moment to discover new series. European screenings happen every quarter. For example, Series Mania has become a key business gathering. TV content production [in Europe] is booming and distributors try to pre-sell increasingly. This is one of the consequences of the [U.S.] reduction of film and series output deals in Europe, especially in France.” Finally, he said, “broadcasters are less predictable. It can be fierce or absent. Adsupported broadcasters suffer from the advertising downturn, public media services have limited budgets, and streamers are revisiting their content spending structures all the times. This complicates the business for everyone — buyers and sellers.” Audron Šepet , who served as Acquisition manager at Lithuania’s LR Television until last month, said: “As a public broadcaster, we are facing some issues with acquisitions and can’t find solutions. It is hard to license the content for FVoD platforms for popular programs. Either they are not available for licensing at all or the prices are too high. In the recent past we noticed that distributors are learning to create package deals, which leaves us either with some of the content that we were not planning to buy in the first place or without the programs we wanted.” Manuel Alduy, head of Cinema and International & Digital Fiction for France Télévisions “There is a vast reservoir of unscripted content and platforms that are creator- rst ... which can attract even more market-share of audience’s viewing sessions.” — Max Einhorn, FilmRise
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