FIVE PARTY GIRLS ARE IN FOR ONE ALMIGHTY EXPERIENCE - TVBIZZ
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
NATPE BUDAPEST INTERNATIONAL 2018
FIVE PARTY GIRLS ARE IN
FOR ONE ALMIGHTY EXPERIENCE…
AVAILABLE AS 4 X 45’ TAPE & FORMAT
www.keshetinternational.com
ADVERTISEMENT
A WORD FROM THE EDITOR
IN THIS ISSUE TEAM
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
GEORGI R. CHAKAROV
georgi.chakarov@tvbizz.net
EDITOR
Yako Molhov Georgi R. Chakarov
Editor-in-chief
DESIGN
Anastas Petkov
MARKETING
Stanislav Kimchev
sales@tvbizz.net
CONTRIBUTORS
CEE is booming: in figures
Iliyan Stoychev
Maria Chiara Duranti
Minko Todorov
Alexandra Shutova
Juxhina Malaj
10 Das Boot Evgenia Atanasova
he Central and Eastern European region higher consumption of online video. According
PUBLISHERS is often underestimated for its real poten- to IHS Markit, SVOD subscriptions grew by 65%
TVBIZZ Magazine is owned by tial to make business. However, the mar- in 2017 and will grow with a CAGR of 38% over the
TVBIZZ Group and published ket studies show that CEE will continue next five years. This means 11 million subscrip-
for all major international TV to lead the European continent in several cate- tions and accounting for a fifth of the total pay
markets. TVBIZZ Group owns gories: total ad growth, digital ad growth and subscriptions overall by 2021.
and operates CEETV VOD growth. All these numbers mean that CEE is and will
(www.ceetv.net) and TVBIZZ According to Dentsu Aegis, this year the total remain a booming market for broadcasters,
(www.tvbizz.net). ad spend in the region will see a growth of 7.4% online players and content creators. The oppor-
34 TVBIZZ Magazine is available
online at tvbizzmagazne.com
(up from a previous forecast of 6%). For compar-
ison, the expected growth in Western Europe is
tunities are out there as the audience is not as
conservative as it has been presumed for years.
2.6% (down from 3.6%). Also, the weCAN report People are quickly adapting to new technology,
showed that the market grew with over a bil- content and platforms while also staying true to
lion euros in one year to 11 billion in 2016, with the good old TV screen. This is well exemplified by
TV taking 44% of the sum and digital ad spend arguably the region’s most conservative country
increasing its share from 24% to 29%. In 2017, CEE – Turkey. The average viewing time in the house-
drove the digital ad spend growth with five coun- hold is 4.5 hours per day and the average time
tries from the region (Belarus, Serbia, Russia, young users spend online is 3.5 hours. In 2016,
the Czech Republic and Slovenia) filling the IAB the average online TV time was 84 minutes with
Europe’s Top 5 of fastest growing markets. The 56% of the population watching video on their
21 38
average growth rate of the 13 IAB metered CEE mobile phones in 2017.
HBO markets was 15.6% (including Greece’s +0.5%) This is what makes this market so exciting and
compared to Western Europe’s average of 11.5%. dynamic.
Television watching remains at very high lev-
els while increasing internet usage also leads to Now it’s time for business.
52 Globo
www.tvbizz.net
5 / TVBIZZ MAGAZINE / NATPE BUDAPEST INTL 2018
THE BIG GAME THE BIG GAME
Ukraine tightens language quotas Markiza files criminal complaint against Kočner and Rusko
Ukraine’s government plans to tighten the language quotas for television from Slovak commercial broadcaster Markiza has filed a criminal complaint against Mari-
October 2018, excluding bilingual shows from this quota. Currently, the regula- an Kočner and Pavol Rusko for alleged falsification and counterfeiting of the controver-
tions require that 75% of the content be Ukrainian-speaking. However, author- sial exchange bills, worth 70 million euros. The move came after the Bratislava District
ities are including content where other languages are used (mainly Russian) in Court V decided that Markiza’s former director Pavol Rusko and, secondly, the TV compa-
this quota. Inter Media Group’s chief Anna Bezlyudnaya was the only to react ny itself are obliged to pay 8.3 million euros to Marián Kočner’s company Správa a inkaso
strongly against the new legislation, saying this will destroy the TV market due zmeniek which owns the bills in question. Markiza has already appealed the ruling.
to increased costs and inevitable drop in production quality.
Belarusian channels to make CTC Media names new Half of Bulgaria’s homes
more original content content chief without internet access Kalimeris resurfaces at Epsilon ’Russian Hulu’ is ready to launch
The changes in Law on Mass Media of CTC Media has appointed Maxim Ry- According to fresh data from the Na- More than a year after he got fired by ANT1, Johnny Kalime- The major Russian TV holdings – National Media Group (NMG),
Belarus will force the TV channels to bakov to the position of Deputy GM of tional Institute of Statistics of Bul- ris has resurfaced at a top executive position at commercial Perviy, VGTRK and CTC Media, have completed the process of
produce more original content. Along- Production. He will be responsible for garia, almost half of the country’s net Epsilon. He took over the CEO position in June, replac- technical preparation for the launch of Vitrina TV, the so-called
side limiting foreign ownership in me- the content produced for the channels households don’t own a computer ing the British exec Ed Hall. According to reports, the chan- ‘Russian Hulu.’ In the first stage of the launch (B2B), the plat-
dia, the legislation requires that at least of the holding. He is the co-founder of and don’t have access to the internet. nel is also planning to change its name ahead of the start of form will be available to partners of the project.
30% of the airtime be filled with nation- Pelican Production and has produced The data comes from a survey made the new season.
al content; otherwise the channels will a number of entertainment and reali- in 2017 with 3.000 households. On-
be shut down. The new law is expect- ty projects for REN TV, Perviy, Pyatnit- ly 55% of the responding households
ed to come into force during the fall sea- sa and U. Earlier, the company named said they owned a computer and 56% Hungarian quiz format sold in
son. Anton Fedotov as the new General Pro- have access to the web. In 2008 this
France
ducer of CTC. percentage was 27.9% and 24.3%, re-
spectively. Hungary has landed its first major interna-
tional format deal since the days of Fish on the
Cake. The original quiz format Honfoglaló (Triv-
Lattelecom unites its entertainment channels iador) has been sold for adaptation in France.
under a single brand The show airs daily on Duna TV and is pro-
CEE markets are the
duced by Show & Game. The rights were picked
Lattelecom has introduced its new brand Helio, under which will be united all up by Adventure Line Productions, part of fastest growing in
of its entertainment products - TV platforms, TV viewing apps, movies and live Banijay Group. The show is based on Hunga- Europe in terms of digital
broadcasts as well as the company’s own TV channels, sports and other pro- ry’s most popular internet game.
grams. In the future, the range of programs offered by Helio will be extended. advertising
Digital advertising expenditure in Eu-
Turkish channels to change strategy rope has doubled over the past five
years, according to new data from IAB
with one-hour series in primetime
Europe. The market grew 13.2% in 2017
Turkish media report that the local channels will to 48 billion euros. The UK (15.6bn),
start airing two series of 60 minutes per night Germany (6.6bn) and France (5.1bn)
from next season. The goal is to reduce costs and were the largest markets but the fast-
increase the volume of productions that will have est growing ones were all in Central
potential for international export. According to and Eastern Europe, including Belar-
Haberturk, ATV will be the first channel to intro- us (+33.9%), Serbia (+23.7%) and Rus-
duce the new strategy during the fall season. The sia (+21.9%) - the last of these now the
MG Baltic plans to sue VSD for damages Alpha and Star join forces plan also foresees a bigger volume of non-scripted fourth largest market overall at 3.3 bil-
The MG Baltic holding, owner of LNK Group, intends to file a The new cooperation between Alpha TV and Star Channel will studio productions. lion euros.
lawsuit for damages directed not only against the State Secu- be much more than just sharing facilities. According to re-
rity Department (VSD) as an institution but personally against ports, the two broadcasters will set up a new entity which United Group plans big investments in the Western Balkans
its director Darius Jauniškis and the Chairman of the National will be split between the Vardinogiannis family and Dimitris
Security and Defense Committee of Parliament Vytautas Bakas. Kontominas on a 60%-40% ratio. The two stations will merge United Group is planning to invest over 600 million euros in south-eastern Europe over the next
MG Baltic has also turned to court regarding the fact that the their news and entertainment production divisions. Thus, five years. The company is currently awaiting approval from Slovenian authorities to finalize
data submitted by VSD to the Parliament in which it accused Alpha’s news will be moved to the studios in Kifissia, while the acquisition of CME’s former operations in Slovenia and Croatia; the deal has already been
the company of threatening the state security was not based on Star’s entertainment shows will be shot in Alpha’s premises. approved in Croatia. UG has also closed the acquisition of Serbian Scientific Television (SNTV)
the actual facts. and is all set to add the channels Pink BH in Bosnia and Pink M in Montenegro to its portfolio.
8 / TVBIZZ MAGAZINE / NATPE BUDAPEST INTL 2018 9 / TVBIZZ MAGAZINE / NATPE BUDAPEST INTL 2018
DAS BOOT The epic returns as super series Das Boot, the epic WWII movie, is returning as a super series production during the new TV season. The huge budget and stellar cast have already attracted the interest of international buyers and fans of the classic fea- ture alike. Sky, Sonar Entertainment and Bavaria Fiction invested close to $33 mil- lion in the 8-episode project which makes it one of the most expensive TV productions in recent years. Moritz Polter, Executive Producer Internation- al TV Series, Bavaria Fiction, and David Ellender, President, Global Distri- bution and Co-productions, Sonar Entertainment, tell Stanislav Kimchev how the big enterprise of putting Das Boot into water actually happened.
MUST WATCH MUST-WATCH
oritz, Das Boot is inspired as the movie had. The other ground- D’Arcy; etc. Was the casting process because she’s an extraordinary charac- Whenever you do a show like this, it is
by Wolfgang Petersen’s breaking device that the movie deliv- difficult? ter who is also very well known, and all about authenticity. We wanted to
movie which is based on ered was a story of German U-boat We started the casting process by look- carries a certain authenticity with her bring all the accuracy and credibility to
the novel by Lothar-Gün- sailors that didn’t present them as ing at the German U-boat crew and we and has a unique quality to shine in dra- the drama that we could, so traveling
ther Buchheim. Have you had the Nazis or as just evil people. This is did that with our German casting direc- mas of this kind, as she has proven with to La Rochelle and shooting there was
chance to consult with Mr. Petersen something that we have reaffirmed in tor. We decided to have an open casting Masters of Sex. It was Sonar and Bavaria a must. The mayor was very helpful in
while shooting the project? our series. call and we had a lot of people sending Fiction together who secured her, and getting us permission to do whatever we
Before we started shooting the proj- in tapes because in Germany everyone similarly, the same happened for the needed to do in order to turn the current
ect, our director Andreas Prochaska Tell us a little bit more about knows the movie and everyone wanted rest of the cast. For example, Vincent streets back into the streets of 1942.
reached out to Wolfgang Petersen the plot of the series which is set to be part of the series. This meant Kartheiser is another of our internation- We had people walking up to us during
and they discussed the old movie and months after the original movie. we took a long time to hone down so ally known actors from his success in the shoot, who chatted to us about the
challenges for the series. It’s abso- What are the main storylines? many good actors to eventually produce Mad Men. original movie, remembering (posi-
lutely correct to say that the series was It is set roughly 9 months after the the brilliant cast that we have on the Following her role in Phantom Thread, tively so) of the time when Petersen was
inspired by the book and the movie, movie finishes, so in the autumn of U-boat. That’s where we wanted the Vicky Krieps has become really big inter- there. We filmed at the same bunkers,
it’s not a sequel or a remake, it is set 1942 and we have two main storylines. cast to be fairly unknown and actually nationally and when we cast her she we were parking in the same streets and
Moritz Polter in the world of Das Boot, just like the One is the story of the people on the make some talent discoveries ourselves. was actually shooting that Oscar-nom- we had families that had worked on the
Executive Producer series Fargo is set in the world of Fargo U-boat and the other is set in the har- We wanted great characterful faces and inated movie in London. It was very original that marked our work on the
International TV Series, the movie. bor of La Rochelle, and this narrative strong actors who didn’t need to be well- fortunate that we were able to meet series decades later, so that was quite
Bavaria Fiction chronicles the German occupation, known and recognizable. with her because she was right in the something.
The original is considered one of the French collaboration and the For the land story, we wanted some- middle of shooting. She speaks both We actually shot the U-boat scenes
MORITZ POLTER is Executive Producer the best World War II movies so you resistance. We have opened up the thing slightly different and decided to German and French. She grew up in both in Malta and in La Rochelle, and
International Series, Bavaria Fiction. have big shoes to fill with the new world that was created by Buchheim cast people that are more well-known. Luxembourg and she has a history that that in itself was very memorable, to
Recently named among Variety’s Top 10 series. What were the main ele- and used these two scenarios to create We began this process once we knew connects her to the character she plays see this huge power ship come with the
Global Creatives to Watch, Moritz leads
ments from the Oscar-nominated our 8-part series. We jumped back and who our U-boat crew was and built as she can look back into her family’s U-boat on top of it and lift it up and drop
the creation, development and funding
feature that you tried to recreate in forth to tell these two very different this group of performers around it. ancestry. it in the water was unforgettable. You
for series such as Das Boot, Germanized
your project? stories and have created tension and We had casting directors in France, in could see when the cast first set foot on
and Arctic Circle. Previously Moritz Polter
spent nine years with Tandem Produc- What the movie reproduced incredi- speeded up the momentum by doing the UK and in the US, alongside our Das Boot was shot in four countries: our U-boat, their eyes lit up, because
tions, where he supervised internation- bly well were the intense moments of so. German casting director and between Czech Republic, Germany, France and there’s nothing like having a full-size
ally successful TV series like Crossing Lines claustrophobia inside the U-boat and the partners it was very easy to come Malta, for a total of 105 days. How U-boat to actually get you into your
and the critically acclaimed Spotless. the feeling of actually being inside one The international cast of Das Boot to an agreement on who we wanted for was your experience shooting in four character and to make you feel closer
of those vessels. That’s what we tried features Lizzy Caplan, August Witt- the lead role. Lizzy Caplan was some- different countries? What were the to what it must have felt like to live
to replicate, or at least we wanted to genstein, Tom Wlaschiha, Vincent one who very early on we knew would most memorable moments for you through something like that. It’s defi-
reach a similar level of claustrophobia Kartheiser, Thierry Fremont, James be completely right for the part of Carla during production? nitely the star of our show - that U-boat.
12 / TVBIZZ MAGAZINE / NATPE BUDAPEST INTL 2018 13 / TVBIZZ MAGAZINE / NATPE BUDAPEST INTL 2018
MUST WATCH MUST-WATCH
We like to work with partners collab- were playing was absolutely crucial for
oratively. We have projects that we’ve the series.
produced both in the US and co-pro- This is a European production. It’s
duced internationally. We saw Das Boot possibly one of the largest-budgeted TV
as a project that is universal in subject productions of 2017/2018 and in terms of
matter, not just something for the Ger- canvas, one of the biggest stories being
man audience. Das Boot also works very told. So yes, of course, there is interest
well with Sonar’s strategy, because we and we have made pre-sales in markets
are always looking for big, epic stories in Eastern Europe. We’ve also closed
to tell. deals in The Netherlands, Belgium,
Spain and are in negotiations with a
The event series has a huge budget number of other markets within the
- $32.8 million for its eight episodes. European continent. We have pre-sold
What makes it so expensive, besides in the US, Australia and New Zealand
the fact that it is a period drama? and we will soon be able to announce
How was this budget distributed those deals.
David Ellender
between the co-producers?
President, Global Distribution and
The budget was split between our- Sonar Entertainment has many new
Co-productions, selves and Sky. Sky is taking rights projects in the pipeline, i.e. The Fifth
Sonar Entertainment for Germany, Italy, and the UK, so it’s Beatle, Rift, Watchdog and you also
the European Sky footprint. Bavaria announced your move into non-
DAVID ELLENDER is President, put money in as well. There were tax scripted and kids and family content
Global Distribution and Co-Produc- credits we received in the number of last year. What else are you cur-
tions, Sonar Entertainment. the territories where we produced rently busy with?
In his current position, Ellender the show, and we handled the deficit Our focus is primarily in the scripted
is responsible for all worldwide pro-
against international. drama space. We have a whole slate of
gram sales for Sonar, including North
When you’re producing in four dif- dramas that are in active development
America. He oversees the company’s
ferent countries in Europe and you’re with networks. The Fifth Beatle is one
expanding presence in Europe, Latin
America, Asia and other key terri- producing on water, and the star of the of the projects that we have taken to
tories. Ellender came to Sonar after show is a U-boat - all of these things market. We’ve just completed Season 2
serving as CEO and board member are not cheap to do. We worked very of The Son with Pierce Brosnan. We are
for Slingshot Global Media, which closely with Sky and Bavaria on the greenlit on Season 2 of Taboo with Tom
he founded in 2014. Prior to that, budget and genuinely felt that with the Hardy and executive producer Ridley
Ellender was CEO of FremantleMedia scope of what we were trying to make, Scott. We have Mr. Mercedes, Season 2,
Enterprises (FME). He joined Freman- the budget was about right. When you which is just being delivered.
tle International Distribution as MD see it - the money is on the screen, it We continue to develop projects off-
in 2001, and was named CEO of FME
looks great! Sky is looking at the fall/ shore with different international part-
in 2006. Ellender has also held senior
winter period for a premiere across ners. We have projects with Netflix,
positions with Universal Studios
their channels. Amazon, and Hulu, and we also have
Television Distribution, where he
was MD, Europe, and at PolyGram shows with cable platforms, everybody
Filmed Entertainment, where he On top of excellent production, the from Nat Geo to Showtime.
served as President, PolyGram TV series boasts a great international In the children’s and family space,
International. which will surely drive interest for we have Go Away, Unicorn!, which we
the show. Do you have closed any announced a few months ago. It’s an
deals outside of Sky’s territories? animated, 52 x 11 aimed at the pre-
From an international perspective, school market. We’re licensing that
it’s great to have young talent on the to a number of Disney channels in the
avid, Sonar came on board as U-boat and rightly so because the sto- international market place as well as
co-producer and distributor ryline demands it and probably faces Disney Channel in the US.
of Das Boot, joining Bavaria that are not necessarily known outside On the factual side, YouTube just
and Sky in late 2016. What the German market and that’s great, announced its order for a new series on
attracted you to this project? it’s a balance that adds certainly for the artificial intelligence to be executive
Wolfgang Petersen’s epic movie is a international marketplace but for the produced by Robert Downey Jr.’s Team
classic and a global success, so it’s a US as well. As Moritz said, to have Lizzy Downey, with whom Sonar has a first
high benchmark to hurdle. But what and Vincent, who are known through look deal.
attracted us was the vision that Bavaria crime series and theatrical films, cer- We also have multiple projects with
Fiction and Sky shared for the proj- tainly gave us faces that were familiar Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Produc-
ect, explaining that this is neither a to a lot of the international buyers. tions, including a non-scripted project
remake nor a sequel. We were immedi- Above all else, the casting was about called Lorena and a scripted series
ately enthused about the project. being authentic to the characters they named The Hunt, both with Amazon.
14 / TVBIZZ MAGAZINE / NATPE BUDAPEST INTL 2018 15 / TVBIZZ MAGAZINE / NATPE BUDAPEST INTL 2018
CEOS TALK CEOS TALK
must anticipate changes in customer series to shows like The Lyrics Board and
behavior before the competitors do, and Your Face Sounds Familiar.
timely react to these changes by offer- This year marks two important anni-
ing customers new formats. We have versaries – Latvia’s centenary and the
been successful so far, and the inter- 20th birthday of TV3. We are celebrat-
national media industry experience of ing together with our viewers, offer-
the group’s investor, combined with ing them wide range of entertainment
substantial investments in technology, as well as a look into pressing issues
gives us good reason to believe that we for Latvian society, for instance, labor
will continue to be successful in the shortages, remigration, social prob-
Baiba Zūzena future. lems aggravated by the ageing popu-
CEO All Media Latvia At the same time, the acquisition of lation of Latvia. These issues prompt
MTG’s business in the Baltics brought us to develop new formats and find
along new regulations from the Latvian new narratives within our broad news
aiba, what has changed at Competition Council’s for AMB in Lat- and infotainment programs. CSR has
your company following last via but we can live with that. We are always been important for our group
year’s ownership change? confident that the business strategy– to – as a medium, we feel a great respon-
Eight months have passed since invest in modern, competitive digital sibility and consider it our duty to be
global asset management company products and HD transmission quality engaged in a dialog with society about
Providence Equity Partners (Providence) combined with the best in class locally important matters in our lives. So, for
acquired the Modern Times Group produced content offering – will ensure over 10 years, we have been organiz-
(MTG) businesses in the Baltics, Already we continue to serve the needs of the ing charity campaigns on our chan-
at the end of last year, we began imple- most demanding content users as well nels to help those in need and it is safe
menting Providence’s over 10 million as advertisers and other partners. to say that we, together with soci-
euro investment program aiming to ety, are building a better Latvia. This
create a completely new entertainment Actually, your biggest competitors past spring has also been special as we
experience for Latvia’s demanding are the Russian-language channels. launched a new social responsibility
audience. Our offer and our promise Latvia is currently preparing legisla- initiative promoting children’s safety,
are to deliver the most demanded local tion to limit Russian content on TV. Svešu bērnu nav (There Are No Strange Chil-
All Media Baltics –
and international content – from news What is your view on this? dren), in order to educate and encourage
and local shiny floor shows to the latest In the digital era, people in fact have people to get involved in kids safety on
blockbusters from Hollywood till Russia unlimited opportunities to use any con- a very practical level.
– on the time, device and service most tent they want, almost all the linear TV
Leading the Change
convenient for the audience. To deliver content can also be found on the Inter- The TV ad spend increased in 2017.
the promise, a unified digital platform net, so we do not support restrictions What is the current situation on the
for the Baltics is being developed. The and bans. We believe that the only way advertising market? How big is the
second most important investment to counter our neighbor country’s pro- digital threat for the TV players in
program project, which we are launch- paganda is through improving media Latvia?
ing is TV signal and content production literacy and strong local content offer- Overall, Latvia’s advertising mar-
in HD quality. Our strategic vision is ing. If market conditions remain sta- ket is stagnating and growth in 2017
to become a technologically advanced ble and allow both public and commer- amounted to just 4% as compared to
entertainment leader in Latvia and the cial media to generate more content 2016. According to the Advertising
Less than a year ago, Providence Equity Partners closed the acquisition of MTG’s media assets Baltics, we want to become the first interesting to Latvian viewers, soci- Association of Latvia, the TV segment
in the Baltics, announcing plans for major investments with a focus on digital development. choice of entertainment content for any ety’s self-esteem and people’s sense of remained in the lead last year, worth
The deal gave the new owners control over the leading media companies in Estonia, Latvia user in our region. Our current digi- belonging to the nation will enhance. a total of 34.27 million euros. Online
tal footprint is very strong already with advertising placed second –18.15 mil-
and Lithuania, which were united under the new brand All Media Baltics (AMB). The name of
infotainment portal skaties.lv and lead- Are you satisfied with the first half lion. The amount of spot advertising
the new holding clearly reflects its ambition – leadership in all media segments. ing local AVOD platform TVPlay.lv, and of 2018 and what were the main hits was steady in 2017, which proves the
The domination of flagship channels TV3 in each of the three countries will be used as a we continue the company transforma- for TV3 and LNT during the spring efficiency of TV commercials in reach-
basis to create a new digital platform which is set to revolutionize the Baltic media market, tion to become a true leader in digital season? ing out to a wide audience.
entertainment and will launch the new It has been an exciting spring season For the past couple of years, we have
offering unlimited opportunities in terms of content and technological solutions. We talked
platform already this year. with a lot of novelties for our view- been observing a phenomenon that
to Baiba Zūzena, CEO All Media Latvia, Priit Leito, CEO All Media Estonia, and Laura ers. During the first five months of could be described as “content explo-
Blaževičiūtė, CEO All Media Lithuania, about the new strategy and ongoing transformation All Media Baltics remains the sole the year, our TV audience was 1.7 mil- sion”. It means that consumer behav-
of their companies following the change of ownership. commercial player of large scale on lion – almost the entire population of ior, or the way they consume content,
the Latvian market. Is this an advan- Latvia. It is therefore safe to say that is determined by technological devel-
tage or does it create more problems TV3 and LNT are the most popular TV opment. New technology offers new
than it seems? channels in the country. We offered a ways to ensure content availability any-
For seven years already, All Media Bal- broad range of infotainment content time, anywhere, on any device, and
tics (AMB) has been the leading media combined with various entertainment in very high quality. This in turn leads
group in Latvia. Being a leader, you formats, from reality shows and local to consumption of unlimited amounts
16 / TVBIZZ MAGAZINE / NATPE BUDAPEST INTL 2018 17 / TVBIZZ MAGAZINE / NATPE BUDAPEST INTL 2018
CEOS TALK CEOS TALK
Priit Leito
CEO All Media Estonia
riit, what has changed at your
company, following last year’s
ownership change?
The biggest change is invest-
ments in new technology: HD trans-
mission of our main channels and
soon-to-be executed launch of web plat-
Your Face Sounds Familiar form TVPlay.ee. Providence is very good
of content. That trend in content con- What will be your content strategy owner as it guarantees our journalistic
sumption strongly correlates with the for the rest of 2018? What are the independence and development of our
structure of the advertising market, new projects your teams are working media assets. All Media Eesti currently
where the segment of digital and var- on currently? operates the Number 1 commercial TV
ious integrated advertising solutions Captivating, honest, engaging nar- channel in Estonia, the Number 1 radio
has been growing at the expense of TV rative is the main driving force in the station and the Number 1 internet video Bitches
advertising. The strongest growth is infotainment and entertainment con- portal. We have full confidence that
observed in the digital environment, tent development. And that is the under the new owner we will keep and
ity series and do that profitably. The The advertising market has been quite
and it is important to point out that, cornerstone of our content strategy – strengthen our position. From every-
new cooperation model with Telia flat in 2018 and that is disappointing as
besides a number of strong local digi- engaging our viewers with stories on day practical perspective people feel less
was used allowing Telia subscribers to the GDP of Estonia is growing at a rate
tal resources, significant amounts are how to bring positive change to the bureaucracy and fast decision-making
watch all episodes in a row for reason- of 3-4%. The digital threat is definitely
being invested in international giants environment we live in, combined with process which is especially important
able price. there as Google and Facebook have
like Facebook, YouTube, Google. As a a wide entertainment offering – qual- in the digital era.
changed the market not only in Esto-
result, the local media has to compete ity shows featuring local and interna- The Estonian commercial nets left nia but worldwide. That being said – TV
not just with other local media, but tional stars, newest as well as all-time TV3 led the charts in the commer-
the FTA market last year. The pro- still remains the biggest mass medium
also with big international players. greatest films, most popular local and cial demo last year. What have been
cess went pretty smoothly without with the best contact price and most
international series, live sports, or in the results so far this year and what
any significant audience losses. TV3 of the big players on the market know
How far are you in the process of other terms – everything our demand- were the main hits for TV3 during
recently launched its channels in that. We see big FMCG companies like
launching your new digital platform? ing viewer needs to fulfill his/her need the spring season?
HD. How are you planning to enrich L‘Oreal and Procter&Gamble increas-
What should we expect? for entertainment. TV3 continues to be the Number 1 com-
your TV offer? ing their investment in TV advertising.
Very soon, already at the end of the The fall season on TV3 will see the mercial TV channel in Estonia with a
That is correct – the FTA market exit What we also see is a massive increase
summer, we will be able to say that a return of the internationally-acclaimed 25% share of viewing in 2018. The total
went very smoothly as there were less in TV advertising from online retail-
new era has begun in the Baltic media show The X Factor on TV3 – the show’s audience share of All Media Eesti chan-
than 10% of the people in the country ers – they know where to get valuable
and entertainment industry. After second season in Latvia will get under nels is close to 50%. The spring season
using FTA signal for TV viewing. We contacts!
the launch of the new digital platform way in September. The first season saw two main hits for TV3: the sev-
plan to enrich our offer by investing
AM Baltics will change the ecosystem achieved record ratings and became enth season of Idols and the launch
into high-quality content. The slogan Viaplay is among the most popular
of the entertainment industry, offer- immensely popular with viewers in Lat- of high-quality historical drama
of TV3 is “We are in the heart of Enter- VOD services in Estonia. At the same
ing unlimited opportunities in terms via. We will also start several new proj- Bitches dedicated to Estonia 100 year
tainment” and we take entertaining time, All Media Baltics is planning to
of both content formats and techno- ects in the fall, including the local ver- celebrations.
people to our heart and work very seri- launch a new digital platform. Will
logical solutions. The platform’s con- sion of Big Star’s Little Star, giving viewers Idols had the best season ever with
ously. During the fall season we will Viaplay become part of it, or just
tent will be offered both free of charge a chance to see celebrities through chil- nearly everybody in the younger target
add one new local series, two realities complement it?
and as a subscription service, apps will dren’s eyes. The LNT channel will bring groups watching the grand final (yes,
and one big studio format. Plus, we are The plan is to launch a new digital
make platform’s content available on on series of events marking Latvia’s young people do watch TV!). We like to
investing in sports by showing Esto- platform which unites the current
ALL screens – from mobile devices to 100th anniversary, which we will cele- think of TV3 as the creator of Stars in
nian heroes in the World Rally Champi- AVOD and SVOD assets and in addition
the large TV screens, partnerships will brate on November 18. Finally, we will Estonia and a lot of new stars were born
onship or on the football field. brings in short-form content and TVOD
ensure individualized content offers. close the year with the charity cam- in the 2018 spring season. More than
solutions. Our aim is to become „The
We dare to believe that there are no paign Eņģeļi pār Latviju (Angels Over Latvia), 50.000 people participated in the final
What is the current situation on the Coca-Cola of Video” in Estonia – we are
analogs of our platform anywhere in which has by now become an inte- phone voting during the final.
advertising market? How big is the everywhere, on all platforms, with our
Europe, definitely not in the Baltic gral part of the channel’s Christmas The series Bitches showed that com-
digital threat for the TV players in unique video content of best local pro-
region. program. mercial TV can also produce high-qual-
Estonia? ductions, series and sports.
18 / TVBIZZ MAGAZINE / NATPE BUDAPEST INTL 2018 19 / TVBIZZ MAGAZINE / NATPE BUDAPEST INTL 2018CEOS TALK
Laura Blaževičiūtė
CEO All Media Lithuania
hat has changed at your
company, following last
year’s ownership change?
The biggest change for us
was the start of high-definition broad-
cast. Actually, now we broadcast all
three our TV channels (TV3, TV6 and
TV8) in HD. We are the first commercial
TV in Lithuania to offer our audience
the best quality of picture. Bearing in
mind that TV3 and TV6 show the most
important sports events – FIBA Europe
Women Lie Better
Cup and World Cup, UEFA Champions
League, 2018 Winter Olympics and 2020 euros. Is this enough to is the most popular and most desirable
Summer Olympics, we are very happy support two large commercial play- kind of content in the world now. Con-
to give our viewers this advantage. ers like TV3 and LNK? tent allows to increase the value of any
The advertising split between the other services, so if we have at least sev-
TV3 led the charts in once again last media is healthy and TV continues to eral platforms (not only free-to-air TV),
year. What have been the results keep biggest share of almost 50%. Even we can satisfy the needs of the most
so far in 2018 and what were the though the market hasn’t fully recov- demanding viewer. We don’t think TV
main hits for TV3 during the spring ered since the crisis in 2008, now there only anymore. We are a media group
season? are positive signs of recovery. As we are which covers digital as well.
In 2018 TV3 continues to increase its not only a TV broadcaster, but also run
audience share. Compared to same a radio station and internet portals, we Are you satisfied with the first half
period last year, TV3’s audience share are strong believers in cross-platform of 2018? What will be your content
increased by 4% and now accounts for campaigns that should contribute to strategy for the rest of the year?
17.7% of the total viewing time. TV3 the market growth. We are happy with the results but we
shows the most watched news in Lith- believe that in the TV world you can
uania and we also have strong enter- Are you planning to launch new digi- never stop and just enjoy the moment;
tainment content: popular shiny tal or pay TV channels? everything is changing quickly, and we
floors, evening shows, series, social We are constantly developing our digi- must keep pace with the market and
projects and sports events. The most tal products. With the new ownership, viewers’ needs.
viewed spring events were Golden our internet TV will be relaunched Our main project now is the new
Onions (humorous political awards, offering our audience access to the digital platform which we plan to
51.1% share) and the Euroleague Final entertainment and news content in launch this autumn. These changes
Four Žalgiris games (39.7% share). The the preferable format, in the preferable will, of course, influence our content
most viewed own production program device and at the preferable time. We strategy since we must separate and
was The X Factor (30.7 share), which are planning to expand our digital port- classify our content. If we talk about
attracts predominantly young audience folio to help us in our goal to take the our TV channels, we are now finalizing
and this year we will start the sixth sea- leading position among online players. our program for the new fall season.
son. Our local drama Women Lie Bet- We have several ongoing primetime
ter also hits the top of the charts (25.9% How big is the digital threat for the projects that are successful and will
share). We are also proud to have the TV players in Lithuania? continue. We will show the sixth sea-
most objective and most viewed news We don’t think of anything digital as of son of Lithuanian X Factor, we’ll have a
(30.4% share) in Lithuania. the threat. We think of it as of a possi- new talkshow and we are getting ready
bility. This point of view is probably our for our big challenges – the 2019 Bas-
The TV advertising market in Lith- main strength. As TV players, we cre- ketball World Cup and 2020 Summer
uania is worth close to 50 million ate a lot of audiovisual content which Olympics.
20 / TVBIZZ MAGAZINE / NATPE BUDAPEST INTL 2018 21 / TVBIZZ MAGAZINE / NATPE BUDAPEST INTL 2018INSIDE HBO EUROPE INSIDE HBO EUROPE
Great storytelling –
the key to HBO’s hits across Europe
An interview with Steve Matthews
What unites countries like Hungary, Spain, Norway, Croatia and the Czech Republic?
It’s not the language, it’s not the culture, it’s not even similarities in viewing habits; it
is HBO. In each of those countries, HBO Europe is present and developing HBO Orig-
inal Dramas – aimed not only at the local market but also at international audiences
across the continent and beyond.
The hard job of finding the stories and creating the future hits of the HBO brand
in the region is in the hands of Steve Matthews, who is in charge of all European
productions of the US pay TV giant. Yako Molhov tried to find out what is the right
approach when working with creative talent from such diverse territories and what
is the right formula to making a hit series.
teve, you are the EVP, Original er’s voice and vision and style to shine
Programming and Production through.
at HBO Europe. What are your
main tasks at this position? What are the territories you are
I provide development support to writ- responsible for at HBO? What is
ers and creative teams in all of our terri- HBO’s development strategy in each
tories. We are passionately committed of those?
Steve Matthews
to supporting local talent and develop- I am currently across the slates of all
EVP Original Programming
ing stories from the community. It is HBO Europe Original Programming ter-
HBO Europe
challenging sometimes as I am always ritories. That is Poland, Czech Repub-
working on translated scripts, and lic, Hungary, Romania, Adria, Nor-
STEVE MATTHEWS is EVP of Orig- the deep cultural resonances of a proj- dic and Spain. I spend a lot of time at
inal Programming and Production ect will always be slightly out of my airports!
reach. And of course, I couldn’t do it There are differences between the
at HBO Europe. He has worked on
without the hard work of our talented different territories of course. The mar-
HBO Originals like Pustina, Aranyélet executives in each of the territories. kets work in different ways, but more
and Valea Muta. Steve was Consult- But when it works well, I can use my important to me in my role are the con-
ing Producer on all three series of experience to show writers how a script cerns and themes that lie in the zeit-
or story can be improved. The crucial geist are different. Across the territo-
The Borgias for Showtime Networks,
point is that I’m never telling writers ries the strategy is the same – to create
and produced four series of RTE’s what to do - the job is to try to under- an opportunity for local writers, direc-
award winning Dublin gangster series stand and what the writer is trying to tors and producers to do a kind of work
achieve and help them get the best pos- no one else in the region is attempting.
Love/Hate. He was formerly Head of
sible version of their own vision. This is inherently exciting but brings
Development at Size 9 Productions. That’s basically my job: finding the its own challenges: as no one else is
He worked as a script editor for BBC’s best way to support and work with a doing what we are trying to do we have
writer - to bring what skills and expe- to educate the local creative commu-
Silent Witness and co-created and pro-
rience I might have to strengthen or nity about HBO creative values, and the
duced Channel 5’s late night horror support a universal story structure kind of ambitions we have for televi-
Wasteland series Urban Gothic. but always leaving space for the writ- sion drama.
22 / TVBIZZ MAGAZINE / NATPE BUDAPEST INTL 2018 23 / TVBIZZ MAGAZINE / NATPE BUDAPEST INTL 2018INSIDE HBO EUROPE INSIDE HBO EUROPE
Pustina
Where would you like to put more language series. We believe that a local series do you have in the pipeline
efforts into? approach is the right way to go: we are and how many will debut this year?
That’s an interesting question! I sup- looking for universal exciting and emo- We have a very exciting raft of new
pose the answer is “Everywhere”! We tional stories, but we also believe that material to be broadcast in the next
all know competition is increasing as the more rooted a story is in its local year. Three brand new drama series:
new players enter the market, so we culture the more it resonates with a Hackerville, a high-tech thriller from
have to focus our efforts to make sure sort of integrity. All we can do is tell Romania which is a coproduction
we’re finding, developing and making good stories and hope people like them with Germany, our Polish gangster
the best material in all our territories. - but why shouldn’t the next big break- epic Blinded by the Lights, and of course
out hit come from Zagreb or Belgrade? Uspjeh from the Adria region. In the
You have worked on projects like Czech Republic and Hungary, we have
Blinded by the Lights in Poland, Hun- Last year HBO announced its expan- returning for third seasons Terapie and
Valea Muta
garian series Aranyelet, Czech mini- sion to the Adria region. What are Aranyelet.
We like writers,
series Wasteland and others. What your plans for this region?
would you say are the specifics Our creative strategy in Adria is the Is it harder to produce series in CEE
of CEE series compared to other same as that we have applied to our ter- than in the rest of Europe?
we support writers, regions and what made them popu-
lar internationally?
ritories of Central Europe and beyond -
identifying and developing key creative
No, I don’t think so – producing great
shows is hard anywhere! As I’ve said
we like to
When I joined the company, we were talent and supporting them in bring- the territories have different levels
only producing in four Central Euro- ing us exciting ideas. We’re looking of experience in developing high end
pean territories - Poland, Romania, for daring original series ideas from series, but I would add that the crews
get involved Czech Republic and Hungary. The
exciting thing about working there is
authors with distinctive voices and pas-
sion - universal stories rooted in local
are fantastic. All the CEE territories
have proud cinematic traditions and
the wealth of stories to be told and the culture and themes. Above all projects have been supporting big interna-
exciting pool of writing talent. How- should grow organically from the local tional series (Game of Thrones being an
ever, those markets are not as mature talent. obvious example) and commercials for
as for instance the UK in terms of TV Uspjeh/Success, our first original series many years. The production values are
development experience - sheer hard- from the region, is a perfect example of amazing.
core day to day storylining, so we tend this. We discovered the project and its
to drive development more than a creator/writer Marjan Alčevski through You have held script competitions in
broadcaster say in the UK who would our First Draft competition which we the CEE region. Do you plan to con-
expect the production company to do launched to uncover talent from the tinue with such events and will you
that work. My newer territories of Nor- region. His script showed an incredibly add additional territories?
dic and Spain are different in that they high level of professionalism, with an We have used script competitions a
have highly mature markets of inde- exciting narrative and a real ambition number of times and they are very use-
pendent production companies with to say something about the world we ful. The concept reflects our commit-
huge experience in development. But live in today. After developing it with ment to local talent and local story-
we’re finding the same applies: we like Marjan, his first series for television is telling. We are delighted that we are
writers, we support writers, we like to now in production with Oscar-winning in production with the joint winner of
get involved. Danis Tanovic directing. our competition in Adria - it achieved
As for international popularity - well exactly what I wanted which was to
of course, Nordic Noir showed us all the What are HBO’s latest scripted proj- find the raw talent. We would certainly
Aranyelet international potential for non-English ects from the CEE region? How many use the strategy where appropriate.
24 / TVBIZZ MAGAZINE / NATPE BUDAPEST INTL 2018 25 / TVBIZZ MAGAZINE / NATPE BUDAPEST INTL 2018WINNER OF
BEST SERIES AWARD
WHEN
HEROES
F LY
could the truth about her death
give them a second chance at life? A NEW TV GAME FROM THE CREATORS
A NEW ACTION THRILLER OF MONEY DROP AND BOOM
1 X 80' & 9 X 40' OR 11 x 40'
VISIT US AT NATPE BUDAPEST, MT # 22
Catalogue: www.keshetinternational.com Contact us: info@keshetinternational.com
@KeshetIntl KeshetInternational @KeshetInternationalMARKET TIME
Inter Medya -
ready to conquer new territories
r. Okan, you have an million. How have the past couple
Inter Medya has created a name for
impressive portfolio of TV of years been for Inter Medya busi-
itself as one of the most successful series, formats and feature ness-wise and what are your targets
and biggest distributors of Turkish films. What have been the for 2018?
content – hit drama series, star-stud- bestsellers for Inter Medya? Indeed, the popularity of Turkish drama
In recent years, Turkish content has series has increased more and more in
ded films and original formats. The
become more and more popular around the past decade, especially in the MENA
company is constantly increasing
the world and we have broken many region, Latin America and Eastern Euro-
its portfolio as it aims to enter new sales records, specifically with our pean countries. Turkish series have been
territories and satisfy buyers’ demand series. We launched two new series in exported to more than 140 territories and
with a great selection of titles. The late 2017; Mrs. Fazilet and Her Daughters, we are very proud to have contributed to
produced by Avsar Film, and Broken Wings, the worldwide sale of Turkish content,
hard work is paying off and 2018 is set
produced by Koliba Film. Very success- with our varied catalog full of intriguing
to be yet another successful year for ful in Turkey, both series have attracted stories and talented cast members. Our
Inter Medya as CEO Can Okan tells quite a lot of interest from buyers across goal this year is to sell more and more
Alexandra Shutova. the globe. At MIPTV, we added The Pit, to Africa, Southeast Asia and Western
a new series from Ay Yapim, to our cat- Europe.
alog. Perfectly blending romance with
action, this title has already been sold in You recently signed a deal with Mex-
a number of territories. ico’s Imagen TV and also with Cine
We also have a wide-ranging film Latino for a package of movies in the
catalog. From romance to action to his- US, with earlier deals announced for
toric movies, we have something to Latin America. Have North and South
offer to every region. Lately, we have American territories become your
closed package deals in Spain, Mex- main focus?
ico and the MENA region. We have also At Inter Medya we try not to focus on
sold a package to Air Astana, which is just one territory and believe that every
our first airline sale. In addition, for the territory holds the same importance.
first time, we have sold one of our mov- Our main aim is to satisfy our produc-
ies, Entrusted, to be shown in theaters in tion partners and our buyers, by pro-
Chile, Peru and Argentina. We are cur- viding them with a varied catalogue of
rently planning a trip to these countries products and by facilitating a transpar-
with the main actor, Engin Akyurek. ent and easy sales experience.
In terms of formats, we have just
recently launched an exciting format What have been your latest deals in
called The Perfect Couple, for which we are Central and Eastern Europe? Where
in serious talks with a number of broad- are Turkish long-running drama
casters and hope to come back to you series most popular in the region?
with some positive news in the near Since the beginning, Turkish series
future. have been successfully sold all over Cen-
tral and Eastern Europe. The Balkan
Earlier this year, it was announced region has been an especially important
that Turkish series have now been market for us, where we have recently
Can Okan exported to over 140 territories, gen- signed deals for Mrs. Fazilet and Her Daugh-
CEO Inter Medya erating an annual income of $350 ters as well as Broken Wings.Y O UYOUR D I E N C E OUR
R A UAUDIENCE O U RSTORIES
S TO R I E S
DRAMA SERIES
NAPTE 2018 - Viewing Box 8SOUND OF THE NATION SOUND OF THE NATION
Peter Nunez Ruyhan Durali
creator of Sounds of the Nation creator of Shopping Monsters, Lucky Room
eter, last year you won Pitch & Play LIVE uyhan, Global Agency signed a deal with Nunez NFE for
with The Land is Singing. What were your talent format The Land is Singing which is now being dis-
expectations when entering the competi- tributed as Sounds of the Nation. How did you discover
tion? What changed for you after winning the show? What attracted you the most to this format?
the award for best CEE format? We met with Peter at the last NATPE Miami market via one of my
I had no expectations. It was interesting for me to friends. Peter told me that he has a format about folklore and how
go to Budapest and have a look behind the curtain it succeeded in Slovakia by increasing the channel average from
of a market like NATPE. After I won, I signed the 7% to 30%. When he mentioned the format itself, I was already
contract with Global Agency and I opened a new file attracted by the idea of folkloric show which has never seen before.
in my business activities. Never before have I even In addition, its success in Slovakia excited me because I believe
thought about international distribution of my that there is magic in a show which gets these numbers on TV.
formats. When I watched the show, I saw the magic: There are 3 celebri-
ties in each episode and they go to their hometowns which actu-
In January, you also had the opportunity to ally they go to their roots! Imagine that the folkloric songs which
present the format at NATPE Miami. Tell us are like anthems for many cultures, for many societies, are going
more about your experience and meetings to be sang by the new generation. The presenters of the show are
Pitch & Play LIVE 2017 winner there?
I was lost in translation in Miami: horrible English,
not ready for meetings and presentations like this.
the digital influencers, so also the new generation. They learn
the traditions and the customs of their culture via this show with
the audiences too... These songs, the costumes, all the cultural
starts its international roll-out
But luckily, also with your help, in Miami Ruyhan aspects of the show that can be adapted to any territory, attracted
Durali from Global Agency found me. me deeply. I was in a hurry on the day I met Peter but I postponed
my meetings and we chatted with Peter for almost 4 hours about
The format was picked for international dis- the show.
tribution by Global Agency and is now sold as
Sounds of the Nation. Could you tell us how this Together with Peter you introduced new elements to the for-
partnership was born? mat. What are they?
The ultimate goal of format pitching contests is to produce new international hits. We often hear
Ruyhan just come to me and told me: “This for- The show itself was already so successful in Slovakia and I did
about the winners of such events but very rarely do we hear about them getting sold. Our Pitch & mat is interesting to me, let’s discuss it.” Then, we quite like the original version. However, I thought that I need to
had few hours of discussion and then we signed add something different to the format for Turkey to be able to com-
Play LIVE now stands out with a winner that has also turned into an international hit.
the contract. Since Miami, I have been a few times pete with the big budget dramas in primetime. So, in the Turkish
in Istanbul and this month I have a meeting with version, 3 celebrities go to their hometowns and they choose 3 per-
Herve Hubert in France, who optioned the format. formances which means we’ll watch totally 9 performances in one
A year ago, Peter Nunez won the 2017 edition of Pitch & Play LIVE, the contest for fresh formats
We have the same situation in Greece, and serious night. And for the voting part, I came up with the idea to use a sys-
from around the region organized jointly by NATPE and CEETV. The successful Slovak producer discussions are in place for Russia. Everything is tem similar to the Eurovision Song Contest.
was invited to present his show at NATPE Miami in January and after meeting with producer Ruy- going better than I supposed.
Could you reveal some details around the Turkish production?
han Durali, he signed a distribution contract with Global Agency which is currently finalizing the Sounds of the Nation had another successful sea- We are already in touch with two big channels in Turkey and got
son in Slovakia this spring. How do you explain positive feedback. Our preparations are going on smoothly and we
first licensing deals for Sounds of the Nation around the world.
the huge popularity of the format? Are you plan- are so lucky to have the Slovak version in our hands which is guid-
ning a third edition? ing us in a perfect way. I was also in Slovakia during the shootings
Folklore is pure beauty, but it’s difficult to turn this and even if I don’t know the language, the atmosphere of the stu-
As co-organizers of Pitch & Play LIVE, we were more than happy to see the Slovak format achieve
beauty into a TV show. And I succeeded. The second dio and the energy, the vibe there amazed me.
such international success in short time and got back to Peter to talk about everything that edition started eight months after the final episode Additionally, I must say that Turkey is a very rich country for
of series one. They asked immediately for season a show like Sounds of the Nation, with various traditional songs,
happened during the past year. We also talked to Global Agency CEO Izzet Pinto and Ruyhan
three, but I told them it will not happen before Fall dances, costumes and different cultural aspects in almost every
Durali who discovered the show at NATPE Miami and is currently preparing a Turkish version of 2019. Such a high frequency can kill the format in part of the country. I sincerely believe that this format can be very
my opinion. I’m pleased also that the two commer- successful anywhere it is aired, including Turkey and many differ-
the format.
cial competitors of state TV are asking for this for- ent regions in the world.
mat. That’s a kind of miracle.
34 / TVBIZZ MAGAZINE / NATPE BUDAPEST INTL 2018 35 / TVBIZZ MAGAZINE / NATPE BUDAPEST INTL 2018You can also read
