NEWSLINE REPORT INTERNATIONAL MIPCOM 2018 OCTOBER 2018

MIPTV 2017 1
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over story

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OCTOBER 2018

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YEAR XXVI /SPECIAL EDITION MIPCOM

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www.newslinereport.com

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NELVANA ENTERPRISES

The need for alliances in an increasingly proliferated industry

How has evolved the business of
Nelvana over the last months?
Nelvana is the distribution and animation studio
of Corus Entertainment
Entertainment, one of the largest me-
dia companies in Canada, but we are its interna-
tional arm, and people try to monetize our content
internationally, outside of Canada.
We are focusing on two different areas in order to
evolve the revenues of the company. One is to be a
licensing agency in North America and in France. We have eOne properties
Pam Westman, Head of bution platform that has reached across the tra-
ditional broadcast boundaries. I think that the
the Company
Company,, an- Kids’ industry is now dealing with an audience
that can see content from all different parts of
nounced a new joint- the world and they’re no longer bound to their
venture with Discovery own culture and broadcasters restrictions.
I think this is a very exciting time for us, so as
Kids Latin America. to look at content from any part of the world
and how we can adapt it for many different
audiences. For example, we have just closed a deal with UP Stu-
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associated in ‘PJ Masks’ and ‘Sesame Street’, and the most recent addition dios in China for the distribution of their first show ‘Super BOOMi’.
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of Mattel’s ‘Thomas & Friends’ into our licensing agency portfolio.

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We also are embarking into several strategic partnerships. The Which is the influence of technology in the way that
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one that was recently announced is the one with Discovery Kids children consume the content, and in the kind of
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Latin America content they watch?

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America. This is going to be a joint-venture that will open

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the doors of Latam to us, so we’ll be joining different points of
view in order to develop new IPs. We’ll be announcing soon our
first project, as well as the name of the joint-venture.
How could you describe the current situation of the Kids’
industry and the expansion of content internalization?
Over the last couple of years, there’s a globalization of content that I
think that really comes from the expansion of YouT ube and that distri-
ouTube
The new platforms that we’ve embraced - both Netflix and YouTube
- have changed the way kids consume content. They definitively want
to see the content when they want it, and they have such a huge
variety of productions to choose. It has allowed us to tell stories in
many different ways and lengths. We have created content specifi-
cally for YouTube, and with SVOD platforms, and we create content
for the traditional lineal platforms. This is the way that we can tell
different stories, perhaps that we couldn’t have told in a traditional

2 MIPTV 2017
 @ newslinereport

format of half hour. This is also a huge way of increasing our pro-

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The alliance with Mattel

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duction slate. We have launched our show ‘Miss Persona’ and we

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developed it for the digital platforms, and it is now on YouTube, with

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goes beyond

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more than 20.000 views on its first couple of days.

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Also, when it comes the time to expand our slate, every single

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production that we start developing has a digital strategy and sup-
Nelvana has closed a Canadian licensing and broadcas-

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port the brand with different ways of storytelling on the different

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ting partnership with renowned toy and entertainment com-

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platforms, as kids want to see content everywhere.
pany Mattel for its iconic ‘Thomas & Friends’ property.

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Nelvana becomes the exclusive Canadian licensing agent for

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Do you consider that the proliferation of new platforms
Thomas & Friends across multiple merchandise categories ex-

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makes easier the monetization of content worldwide?

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cluding toys, which are manufactured and marketed by the

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I think that monetization with digital platforms is difficult and very
master toy licensee. Treehouse, the country’s #1 preschool

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challenging, as they certainly don’t pay the same as a production for

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channel*, becomes the new hub for the long-running Thomas

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the lineal channels. So, what happens is that you have to make content
& Friends series, which will be available across the network’s

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in a very creative way to make it expandable, with special qualities

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traditional and non-linear platforms, including Treehouse on

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that will allow kids to engage. YouTube doesn’t pay and monetize
Demand, Treehouse Classic, and the TreehouseGO App.

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content in a way that allows us to keep the traditional ways of doing it.

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* Source: Numeris PPM Data, BY17-18 (Aug 28/17 – Aug

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26/18), confirmed data, M-Su 2a-2a, K2-11, K2-5, AMA (000,
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How will you be driven your Original Programming
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CDN SPEC DIG ENG – Kids SPEC only, Total Canada.
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strategy for 2019? ○

We have on our Original Programming slate different programs

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that we’ve put into production worldwide. We need to try to maxi-

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mize the different platforms, and the different looks-and-feels of

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our productions. For example, we have one of our shows ‘P.U.R.S.T.

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Agent Binky’, a 3D pre-school production, and we are also creat-

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ing a 2D show called ‘Mr. King’, both based of very well-known

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books. We are working on expensive stories to be able to tell

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stories in different ways. For us, the availability of many platforms

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that exploit content, allows us to be absolutely on board to create ries ‘Esme & Roy’; we are working with Sony Pictures to create
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some amazing shows to put on those. ‘Hotel Transylvania, Season 2’. We are really looking for partner-
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ships on a global point of view and trying to bring the best studios
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How are you expanding the strategic partnerships all

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creative talent and stories on board.

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around the world?

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For us, partnerships are extremely important, not only does it allows Which are your goals for the last term of the year?
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us to get some great creative talent for different parts of the world into After MIPCOM, we’ll be focused on the holiday season in retail in
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our productions, but it also mitigates the financial risks in a very Canada, France and the United States for all our licensing part-
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expensive kids’ series, which is really important in today’s world. So ners. We are also trying to make sure that we are setting the stage
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you get great talent and both share the risks and the profitability. for a successful 2019. We have three major productions that are
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Aside the joint venture with Discovery Kids Latin America, we are greenlighted and that we’ll be delivering next year, and we are
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working with Sesame Workshop

Workshop, on creating the animated se- really excited of what 2019 is offering us.
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‘Hotel Transylvania’ expands its brand experience

The animated series renewal and upcoming home entertainment release of ‘Hotel
Transylvania 3’ builds on Sony Pictures Entertainment’s commitment to make
the brand a 365 day experience. The second-season of the hit animated comedy will be
available at Disney Channel in the U.S. and their global territories, and TELETOON
Canada, a network owned by Nelvana parent company Corus Entertainment.
In its first season, Hotel Transylvania: The Series was among Disney Channel’s top
three animated series among Kids 6-11 (340,000/1.4 rating), Girls 6-11 (221,000/1.9
rating), Kids 6-14 (430,000/1.2 rating) and Girls 6-14 (285,000/1.6 rating). Hotel Transyl-
vania: The Series is currently available on Disney Channels Worldwide, TELETOON Canada and Super RTL in Germany. The series’
first season also premiered on Netflix in the U.S. in June and will continue to roll out throughout the world starting fall 2018.

MIPCOM 2018 3
 INCOMPANY

STAFF

Year XXVII
MIPCOM 2018 Edition

Mauricio Correa joins Mediapro in Autentic Distribution announced the Editors • Directors
Latin America. With experience in Win hiring of Mirjam Strasser as Sales Di- Rafael Val
Sports, Sky Latin America and rector. With experience in companies like María Pía Pazzaglini
Telmex, the executive will be in charge Sky Vision, Parthenon Entertainment,
of the Rights Management in the re- Telcast or Discovery, she will strengthen Editorial Departament
gion. On this role, Correa will “sup- the team from Munich and will oversee Aldo Bianchi
port the networks in the Latin Ameri- the GST region in particular. Pablo Garcia
can region, besides working also on the consolidation of ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Rocío Scapolan
the Group in the continent”. ITV Studios Global Entertainment
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(ITVS GE) has appointed NBCU’s Dav-

MGM Worldwide Television Distribu- id Wilcox as Senior Vice President, Commercial Departament
Rafael Aboy
tion hired Tomas Davison as Senior Sales, EMEA. Wilcox returns to ITVS GE,
Javier Fiorellino
Vice President, International Television having spent nine years with the com-
Distribution, Latin America and U.S. pany prior to being appointed by NBCU
Hispanic. Based in Miami, Davison will in 2014. Wilcox will report in to Greg Design
be responsible for sales in Latin Amer- Johnson, EVP, EMEA & Americas, who completes his senior ADNOW
ica and U.S. Hispanic, reporting to team after taking up the role at the beginning of the year.
Matt Vassallo, Senior Vice President, International Tele- ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Printing House
vision Distribution, Latin America, Asia Pacific & Global Laura Miñarro joins Atresmedia Stu- Gráfica Pinter
Formats. dios as responsible of the Internation- info@graficapinter.com.ar
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al Business. The executive came from

A+E Networks has named Patricio Eccho Rights, and will report directly
Teubal as the new General Manager to Ignacio Corrales, General Director Editorial Office
of A+E Networks Italy, starting in of the Company. Sonia Martínez, also
Moreno 769 5th floor
December. In his new role, Teubal will director of fictional of Atresmedia, will
C.P. C1091AAO
oversee A+E Networks Italy and its be in charge of the editorial direction of Atresmedia Stu-
three channel brands History, dios; while Nacho Manubens assumes the role of Con- Buenos Aires
Crime+Investigation, and Blaze and tent Director of the company. Argentina
lead the growth of the SKY Italia partnership, while de- ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
Phone/Fax: +54(11) 4115 7610
veloping new opportunities in Italy. Christie Fleischer joins Netflix, as info@newslinereport.com
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Global Head of Consumer Products, www.newslinereport.com

James Baker is the new COO of Red overseeing retail and licensee part-
Arrow Studios. The executive will over- nerships, publishing, interactive
see the operations of the company, and games, merchandising and experien- Newsline Report
every division of distribution. The tial events. In her role, Fleischer leads is a monthly
Group is compound by 20 production a team focusing on developing the publication of
companies on six territories. Based in consumer products portfolio across all categories for Net- Avant Garde
London, Baker will report directly to flix original series and films. Ediciones S.A.
Jan Frouman, chairman & CEO of the company. ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Newsline Report
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Mattel, elected Adriana Cisneros,

is a trademark.
Starz, a Lionsgate company, adds CEO of Cisneros Group, and Roger
Darren Nielson and Jeff Cooke to In- Lynch, President and CEO of Pan- Intellectual
ternational Digital Networks team. dora Media, to the company’s Board property registration
Nielson will have the position of Se- of Directors. “As we continue to Nº 214.136.
nior Vice President of Distribution and transform Mattel into an IP-driven,
Business Development while Cooke high-performing toy company, we
assumes the role of Vice President of are also taking action to further strengthen and de-
Programming to the International Digital Networks team velop our Board of Directors,” said Ynon Kreiz, Chair-
led by Executive Vice President Superna Kalle. man and CEO of Mattel. Printed in Argentina
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4 MIPCOM 2018
 @ newslinereport

VIMEO
abandons the competition against YouTube
For several years, Vimeo tried
to make a place in the industry
as a new online video service.
However, in recent days, Anjali
Sud, CEO of the company, an-
nounced that this strategy was
left aside, so as to focus on the
sale of software tools to its huge
community of creators.
For the executive, the market
for video consumption platforms became saturated, turning
too competitive, so they decided to bet on a simpler market

I T
and where new opportunities could arise, such as software
“With the worldwide launch of Watch, we support pub-
as a service (SaaS). Oriented originally to independent film-
lishers and creators worldwide in two critical areas: help-
makers, Vimeo came to analyze the possibility of contributing
ing them make money with their videos on Facebook
on original content and even launch a subscription model
and better understand how their content is performing.
similar to YouTube Premium. But this initiative was dis-
Watch’s internationalization action also generates new
carded after assuming that the company could not offer the
opportunities to expand the Ad Breaks service to mone-
same values as YouTube or Facebook to invest in original
tize content. The service is already available in the Unit-
content and compete for the attention of viewers.
ed Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand; be-
Now Vimeo will focus on generating revenue through ‘Vimeo
Stock’, a software tool for creators, similar to Getty or Shut-
terstock; which includes a vast video library; in addition to
X sides the United States; and in 21 other countries, in-
cluding France, Germany, Spain, Argentina, Colombia,
El Salvador, Guatemala and Thailand.
content optimization tools that allow uploading videos to
This is a really important moment for us. It has been a
different social platforms.
year of real progress for Watch. Each month, more than
50 million people in the United States go to Watch, and
D I

the total time spent on the service has increased 14

times since the beginning of 2018".
Apple concluded the Fidji Simo
VicePresident, Video of Facebook
purchase of Shazam
Apple now owns the Shazam applica-
tion, which plans to make the music rec- Comcast acquired the 100% of Sky
ognition service available without ads
to consumers soon. Comcast surpassed 21st
“Apple and Shazam have a long history Century Fox in the auction
together, Shazam was one of the first for the acquisition of the
apps available when we launched the European company, Sky. In
App Store and it has become a favorite the operation mediated by
among music fans around the world,” said Apple’s VP of mu- the UK Acquisition Panel,
sic, Oliver Schusser. “With a love shared by music and Comcast offered around
innovation, we are delighted to bring our teams together to USD 39 billion, which repre-
offer users even more fantastic ways to discover, experience sents USD 22.57 per share,
and enjoy music.” Apple announced its intention to acquire against the USD 15.67 offered by Fox. Both companies fight
Shazam at the end of last year and although the amount has for 61% of Sky, from which 21st Century Fox owned the re-
not been confirmed, it would have paid an amount of USD maining 39%. However, the day after the operation was an-
400 million, according to some reports. The European Union nounced, 21st Century Fox declared that it would sell to Com-
gave Apple the green light for the acquisition of Shazam, cast its 39% stake in Sky. In this way, the US giant will control
based in the United Kingdom, earlier this month. the entire British company.
Shazam was founded in 1999 as a mobile music recognition ser- The day of the announcement, Sky shares on Monday climbed
vice. After initially requiring users to call a certain number to iden- up to 9%, placing it near the Comcast offer. However, Sky’s
tify a song, the company finally launched a mobile application that board recommended its shareholders not rush to make deci-
has since been downloaded more than a billion times. The applica- sive decisions.
tion is still used to identify songs more than 20 million times a day.

MIPCOM 2018 5
 KIDS
BBC STUDIOS
“We need to build new
ways to tell stories”
How has the business of
BBC Studios - Kids evolved over
the last months?
With the continued growth and
success of our key children’s brands,
such as Hey Duggee and Go Jetters,
there is an increasing focus on
children’s titles within BBC Studios
this year to bring additional ambition
to our portfolio of award-winning
content. We also continue to increase
the reach of our CBeebies branded
services globally and commission
content that supports these unique
pre-school brands. At MIPJunior and
MIPCOM we are launching Kit & Pup,
Yakka Dee and My World Kitchen. We
will also be launching Bluey, our new
co-commission with ABC Australia,
from Ludo Studios in Brisbane. In the
age six to twelve space we are
premiering Logan High.
How could you describe
the current situation of
the kids industry and the
expansion of content
internationalization?
Audiences worldwide expect to find
their shows when and where they want,
be that on CBeebies, iPlayer Kids,
Netflix or YouTube. Great shows, like
Hey Duggee, will continue to cut
6 MIPCOM 2018
Henrietta Hurford-
Jones, Director of
Children’s Content,
tells that CBeebies
will expand its pres-
ence thanks to a
recent deal with
iQiyi in China.
through but to truly succeed the
industry increasingly need to think
beyond the broadcast window and
meet the expectations of audiences
across an increasing number of
touchpoints and platforms.
What is the influence of
technology in the way that
children consume the
content, and in the kind of
content they watch?
We look for a breadth of ideas and
experiences in everything we do and
all of our content is available across
multiple platforms and formats. With
children consuming content in so
many ways, it is important that as
creators, broadcasters and distribu-
tors we take advantage of this and
build new ways to tell stories
alongside our core content offering.
Our most successful brands are
based on creator driven concepts with
distinctive design, strong characters
and compelling storytelling, and that
will never change whatever the
technological advances.
We are looking to new digital
platforms and formats to grow
these worlds. With both HeyDuggee
and Go Jetters we are developing
short-form content that remains
true to the spirit of the long-form
series but which allows us to tailor
content for particular markets,
develop back-stories, further
develop characters and give our
audience more of what they love.
How are you expanding
your partnerships all around
the world?
The launch of Bluey marks a new
partnership for us with the ABC
Australia and Australian producer
Ludo Studios. Whilst we already
partner on a number of our titles, this
is our first full partnership together
and we are thrilled with the initial
response to Bluey, which premiered in
its home market this month.
We continue to work with several
studios from around the world in
developing content but are also
very focused on working with BBC
Children’s, our in-house partner,
in providing global brands such
as Go Jetters and core content for
our CBeebies international
branded services.
Additionally we are looking to build the
reach of those branded services by
expanding platform partnerships such
as our recent deal with iQiyi in China,
bringing a CBeebies branded area to
the digital platform.
Which is going to be
your strategy of business
for next year?
We will continue to work toward
strengthening our content and IP
pipeline, build and grow our key
franchise brands Hey Duggee, Go
Jetters and Sarah & Duck as well as
successfully land our new franchise
brand BLUEY internationally.
What are your goals for
the end of 2018?
To drive the reach and revenue for our
franchise titles as well as look to
increase the reach of our CBeebies
branded services globally and
commission content that supports this
unique pre-school channel brand.
KIDS @ newslinereport

MIPCOM 2018 7
 KIDS

RAINBOW

“We must adapt to the new

entertainment landscape”
Iginio Straffi, CEO, wants to
transform the company into an
international content provider
with a 360° reach.

dictated kids viewing habits. Instead, kids have huge choice

How has evolved the business of Rainbow
over the last months?
Over the last few months, we have continued to put greater
focus on expansion into international markets, by delivering
more quality content to more territories through a
multimedia and multi-genre strategy.
This has been enabled through our acquisition
of Bardel and Iven Group, which have signifi-
cantly boosted our production capacity. We are
now able to take a production from initial
sketches right through to the final frame, and produce
different types of content, genres and target demograph-
ics. All this while retaining quality.
Having Bardel as part of Rainbow Group means we now
have a strong presence in the North American animation
services business and further afield – as this is a company
with a formidable international reputation for innovation
and quality, which in turn gives us greater power in
targeting global markets.
With Iven Group, we have invested in a group that takes in
film and TV production, as well as artistic management and
talent management. Combined with Rainbow’s own
strengths, thus has created an entertainment giant that
can make and distribute quality content to all demographics
– from pre-schoolers up to adults. Thanks to this new
alliance, we are planning more investment in the live action
sector – building on the success we have already enjoyed
with Maggie and Bianca Fashion Friends.
– in both the content they choose to watch and when they
choose to watch it. The effect of this is to create a more
fragmented audience, which makes it more difficult to
produce shows that really grab kids’ and persuade them to
watch for the whole episode, or more. As a content creator,
we must adapt to this new entertainment landscape, whilst
not forgetting that quality content based on solid concepts
is vital in a multiplatform world.
How has it worked your property ’44 Cats’,
launch next year; and the evolution of ‘Maggie
& Bianca’ with its concerts?
44 Cats was first revealed to the industry at a
MipJunior screening last year, and since then
partnerships have been agreed across the world, with many
major broadcasters. The show will debut in Italy in November
on Rai Yoyo, and then worldwide from 2019. A licensing
programme is also underway, with Toy Plus signed up as
master toy partner, whilst global baby care leader Artsana will
develop a range of 44 Cats-themed educational toys, as well
as apparel, an accessories collection, and a nursing line.
Maggie and Bianca Fashion Friends is a major global
success, reaching millions of fans, through TV broadcast in
Italy, Russia, Brazil, France, Germany, Greece, Poland and

How could you describe the Kids Industry?

Do you think that technology has influenced
on the way kids consume the content, and in
the production of that content?
The rise of multichannel content and SVOD has had a
massive effect on the kids’ entertainment industry, as it has
completely changed the way children access and consume
content. Gone are the days when broadcasting schedules

8 MIPCOM 2018
KIDS
Benelux, and on Netflix worldwide. A new series will enter
production soon. Also, the live concerts featuring The
MoodBoards – the band from the show – sold out across all
dates, so we are now planning a new tour.
Why do you think that Rainbow titles are so well-
known all over the world?
Our overall content strategy is to keep our brands fresh and
relevant, as it is vital to develop new content to maintain fans’
interest. We devote a huge amount of time and resources to
production, as we know that we can’t just sit on our laurels and
expect existing content to do the job for us. This requires a lot of
hard work and attention to detail, but this is what is needed to
keep a global audience interested and engaged.
Which are the main features you take into account
when it comes the development of a new brand?
The biggest factor is to look at the target market and
assess what will appeal to it. With 44 Cats, for example,
we concentrate on the key themes of friendship and
altruism – as well as using lots of music - as young
children can easily relate to this and it gives the show
strong appeal. And these are universal themes, so the
show can work in any territory across the world.
Which is going to be the business strategy
for next year?
This will see us building on the potential offered to us by our
acquisitions of Bardel and Iven Group. This has expanded
our reach across Europe, Asia and North America and we will
be building on this next year with a string of new properties,
as well as exploring production opportunities across live
action, animation, comedy and drama.
@ newslinereport
We will also be exploring multiple co-production opportuni-
ties, as we see partnerships as a strong method of develop-
ing global TV series and brands. The combination of two
major partners – and all the experience, innovative thinking
and resources that results from it – can lead to the
creation, distribution and licensing of even stronger content
than would be possible individually.
Which are your goals for the last term of 2018?
We are working towards our ultimate goal of becoming an
international content provider with a 360° reach – deliver-
ing shows to all age groups and through many formats,
including animation and live action, and through both TV
shows and films. So the last few months of this year will see
us working towards the global growth of Rainbow.
Rick Mischel is the new CEO of Bardel Entertainment
Rick Mischel is a renowned industry profes-
sional, with a strong background that includes
executive positions at some of the world’s best-
known companies in animation, games and fam-
ily entertainment. As the new CEO of Bardel En-
tertainment, Mischel will build on the compa-
ny’s strong reputation for quality, creativity and
innovation to develop a new business strategy
by exploring new opportunities.
MIPCOM 2018 9
 KIDS
9 STORY MEDIA GROUP
Looks for the expansion of its
business in China
How could you describe the
expansion of content internatio-
nalization on the kids industry?
Kids content, and animation in particu-
lar, has always travelled well interna-
tionally and it continues to do so. Sever-
al of our shows have been sold to over
150 countries and have been dubbed
into over 20 different languages. 9 Sto-
ry Distribution specifically looks for pro-
grams which will have a universal ap-
peal. What has changed has been that
some of the global OTT players are snap-
ping up a given program across all ter-
ritories, meaning you don’t always have
first window rights available to sell terri-
tory by territory anymore. 9 Story tries to
balance off the number of shows that get
made this way with ones that are commis-
sioned by one or a handful of linear broad-
casters, for example our new shows Let’s
Go Luna! and Xavier Riddle and the Secret
Museum which were both commissioned
by PBS KIDS in the U.S. and are now avail-
able for the rest of the world.
Which is the influence of techno-
logy in the way that children
consume the content?
Technology has had a huge impact on
how and where kids are watching their
favorite shows. They might be watching
it on lineal TV, via DVR, on YouTube, or
OTT. On YouTube and other online plat-
10 MIPCOM 2018
Federico Vargas, Senior Director, Distri-
bution, explains that the company has
some of its shows dubbed into over 20
different languages.
forms, short form content is incredibly
popular and kids are not just watching
scripted high end television, but also
lower budget productions like game play
and unboxing videos. Watching digitally
often means less opportunity for co-view-
ing, so the parents don’t always have
the same degree of input into what their
kids are consuming. Digital trends can
also affect our acquisitions strategy. 9
Story’s recent acquisition of the app
based series Dr. Panda is an example of
capitalizing on digital trends in new
ways. The 2D series is based on a suc-
cessful global app franchise that has
already seen over 95 million downloads.
How is 9 Story expanding
its partnerships all around
the world?
When searching for the best quality con-
tent that will complement 9 Story’s li-
brary and appeal to an international
audience, our acquisitions team has
acquired content from all over the world.
Examples of content partnerships far
and wide include deals with China (Luo
Bao Bei, Dr. Panda), Spain (The Diary of
Bita & Cora), Australia (Guess How Much
I Love You, Grace Beside Me), Italy (Mon-
ica Chef), Brazil (Haunted Tales, Vivi),
Canada (Nerds & Monsters, My Friend
Bubbles, Finding Stuff Out, Anne of
Green Gables) and the U.S. (Kiss & Cry,
Garfield and Friends, Barney).
In terms of broadcast partnerships, we
have direct relationships in almost ev-
ery territory in the world and service over
200 broadcasters and digital platforms
worldwide. We have longstanding rela-
tionships with global players in the kids
and family space including Discovery
Kids, Disney, Cartoon Network and Nick-
elodeon. We also have direct relation-
ships with key digital platforms includ-
ing Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, Amazon, Al-
ibaba and Youku.
How will you be driven your
strategy for 2019?
9 Story is looking to produce more of its
own IP, which we can then distribute in-
ternationally and manage global M&L
rights. For distribution we are focused
on a few key growth areas, including ex-
panding our business in China, and
building momentum in growing territo-
ries like Russia and India.
KIDS @ newslinereport

MIPCOM 2018 11
 KIDS
CYBER GROUP STUDIOS & BEE PROD
Start developing new IPs for the
international market
Pierre Belaisch
Under the terms of a signed partner-
ship, Pierre Belaïsch founder of Bee
Prod, will supervise the creative depart-
ment of Cyber Group Studios in France,
and will also work with Cyber Group
Studios USA development team to cre-
ate joint global properties.
Both Cyber Group Studios’ develop-
ment units are currently working on
a slate of over fifteen new IP’s. From
preschool to kids & family, these prop-
MATTEL
Launches New Theatrical
Film Division
Mattel has created Mattel Films, a new
division of the Company focused on de-
veloping and producing motion pictures
based on the Company’s iconic and glo-
bally-recognized franchises. Academy
Award-nominated producer Robbie
Brenner has been appointed to lead
Mattel Films as Executive Producer, re-
porting to Ynon Kreiz, Mattel’s Chair-
man and CEO.
“Mattel is home to one of the world’s great-
est portfolios of beloved franchises, and
the creation of Mattel Films will allow us
to unlock significant value across our IP.
12 MIPCOM 2018
Pierre Sissmann
erties will be targeting various po-
tential clients and consumer seg-
ments on all continents.
Together with the Studio division of Cy-
ber Group, headed by Olivier Lelardoux,
Cyber Group Studios’ development
teams and Bee Prod are committed to
bring ground-breaking stories and im-
ages to an always more demanding
public throughout the world.
“I’m very proud of this partnership with
Robbie Brenner
joins as Head of
Mattel Films.
Robbie is a gifted storyteller and a highly
respected filmmaker with deep relation-
ships in entertainment. She is the per-
fect leader to bring our celebrated brands
to life”, said Mr. Kreiz.
“Generations of children around the
world have grown up with deep emotion-
Under a new part-
nership, the compa-
nies expand the
slate of properties
with the studios in
France and USA.
Pierre Belaïsch and join our talents for
the development of new international
IP’s, as we have worked together already
for over ten years in the past, develop-
ing award-winning properties. With this
innovative partnership in France and Ira
Singerman in the US, Cyber Group Stu-
dios is clearly well positioned to address
the creative future of the animation in-
dustry”, declared Pierre Sissmann, CEO
of Cyber Group Studios.
al connections to Mattel’s brands and
characters. There are so many stories to
be told and so many imaginations to be
captured by these iconic brands, and I
look forward to working with Ynon and
his team to do so”, concluded Brenner.
KIDS
SQUEEZE STUDIOS
“Technology has empowered
the audience”
Denis Dore, CEO &
Founder, describes
the relationship be-
tween tech and the
consuming behavior
of children.
“Technology has empowered the audi-
ence, and especially kids who quickly
adopted the digital world, by giving ev-
erybody the power to choose what they
want to watch and how and when they
are going to watch it. And this is good
news. Because when people got to choose
the content, then they stick to it and
want more. Our challenge is to provide
the content that they want,” establish-
es Denis Dore, CEO & Founder of
Squeeze Studio. However, the executive
admits that technology also gave the
DHX MEDIA
Licensed 10 Kids’ shows to
Amazon Prime Video
DHX Media signed a new agreement
providing Prime Video’s U.S. streaming
service with Spanish versions of 10 kids’
shows, including Strawberry Shortcake:
Sky’s the Limit, Bob the Builder, Fire-
man Sam, Busy World of Richard Scar-
ry, Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Mario
World, Madeline and more. The new con-
tent was launched for U.S. Prime Video
members on October 4, 2018.
“We’re delighted to provide Amazon
Prime Video with Spanish versions of
these popular kids’ shows,” said Jerry
Diaz, VP of Distribution at DHX Media.
“With our deep library and strong pro-
ability to get in touch directly with audi-
ences through online platforms such as
Youtube. Being connected to audiences
provides us invaluable data that “we
couldn’t even dream of a few years back.
A true dialogue can take place between
the fans and the creators which is great.
Knowing what the fans think of each sto-
ry and character and why is a precious
chunk of info that we add in our ‘creative
mix’ when we start brainstorming for new
episodes or new shows”, confirms Dore.
Continuing on the relationship between
technology and consuming behavior, Dore
explains that “the major digital plat-
duction capabilities, DHX Media contin-
ues to be a one-stop-shop for streaming
platforms looking for both original and
classic content that kids’ and families
love to watch.”
DHX Media titles newly available on
Amazon Prime Video in the U.S. in Span-
ish: ‘Bob the Builder, season 2’ (52 x
11’); ‘Bob the Builder: Mega Machines’
(movie) (1 x 60’); ‘Fireman Sam, season
7’ (13 x 11’); ‘Strawberry Shortcake: Sky’s
the Limit’ (movie) (1 x 70’); ‘Sonic the
Hedgehog, season 1’ (13 x 30’); ‘Super
Mario World, season 1’ (7 x 30’); ‘Busy
World of Richard Scarry, season 5’ (13 x
@ newslinereport
forms like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu are
now well-established and they are forc-
ing traditional broadcaster to innovate
in order to please the audience that now
has the power to choose. New players
(and not the least) like Apple and Face-
book are joining the battle for content.
The appetite for kids’ content is huge.
That means a lot of new opportunities
for us to form win-win partnerships. But
at the end of the day, the quality of the
content is all that really matters”.
Regarding the strategy of business for
2019, Squeeze Studio will be focused more
and more on world-class projects requir-
ing top-of-the-line CGI animation, mainly
feature films, high profile TV series and
theme park animated content. “And we
intend to do just that with our very own
original creations as well. More Cracké
crazy slapstick content is coming next year
along with some groundbreaking action-
adventure cg animation with our new show
Jax. A show that we promise to be nothing
but outstanding,” concludes Dore.
30’); ‘Madeline, season 1’ (6 x 30’); ‘Pad-
dington’s Birthday Bonanza’ (special)
(1 x 30’); and ‘Sabrina, the Animated
Series, season 2’ (13 x 30’).
MIPCOM 2018 13
 KIDS

MONDO TV IBEROAMÉRICA

Focused on the Mexican

& Caribbean market
Maria Bonaria Fois, General Manager,
announces the launch of a new series,
with a target audience different from
what they are used to.

How has evolved the expansion of
your brand ‘Heidi Bienvenida’?
Our flagship product, Heidi Bienvenida,
is evolving very well. The first season
was broadcast on the main internation-
al channels and operators with a great
reception by the audience. We are about
to launch the second season (Heidi, Bi-
envenida al Show) and we have a great
expectation due to the great results we
are getting in the Italian market, where
the audience of the RAI Gulp channel is
very positive and we have an extensive
licensing program in progress.
Other agreements with some of the main
international players are under negotia-
tion; very soon we can announce a major
issue agreement for Heidi. Thanks to the
television exhibition we are able to build
a solid licensing and merchandising pro-
gram to ensure the strength of the brand.
Following the good reception of the se-
ries and to give continuity and time to
the licensing program to develop, we
decided to launch a film based on Heidi
under a co-production partnership, an-
nounced the past MIPTV.
Which are Mondo TV
Iberoamerica main titles
for this MIPCOM 2018?
Our main focus is to continue making
original, attractive series, proposing a
great innovation in the formats, as well
as in the content that is what our part-
ners are looking for. We are currently
very excited about a special project that
we are announcing during the days of
MIPCOM. It is a fiction series that has
a high quality production, in collabo-
ration with international partners of
the caliber of VIP 2000 TV and Casa-
blanca, destined to a target quite dif-
ferent from the usual for us, which is a
major challenge.
As a Group, Mondo TV is also present-
ing MeteoHeroes, the latest 2D anima-
tion series in co-production with presti-
gious partners such as the Italian me-
teorological society MOPI (Meteo Opera-
tions Italia). Obviously, we are also fo-
cused on leading titles in our animation
catalog like ‘Invention Story’ (104x11'),
a co-production between Mondo TV and
York Animation, and the third season
in 3D of ‘Sissi, The Young Empress’
(52x11'). Another title is Robot Trains,
an animation series produced with CJ
E&M of Korea. Mondo TV Iberoamérica
manages television distri-
bution in the Iberian mar-
ket, and the first season,
already released throughout
Europe, has 32 episodes of
11 minutes, and it is expect-
ed that the 52 episodes of
the second season will ar-
rive at the beginning of
2019. The series has recent-
ly made its entry into the
market of Portugal (Canal
Panda) and Spain, where it
is being broadcast on Clan
TV since last August.
Internationally, we also highlight Yoo-
Hoo to the Rescue, a Netflix original se-
ries. Also, ‘The Treasure Island’ is at-
tracting great interest in several opera-
tors of public television in LATAM, as it
is high-level co-production between Mon-
do TV and RAI Fiction.
Which are the advantages of
children’s content when it comes
the time to commercialize it?
Children’s content seems to travel more
easily internationally. Always interest-
ing, always challenging, the animation
market continues to attract many of the
biggest international players every year,
who bring their own approaches and in-
fluence both trends and styles. This
makes us always attentive and sensi-
tive to new trends.
What are the goals of Mondo TV
Iberoamérica for this 2018?
Our goal for the rest of the year and for
the future is to generate new alliances
in the region of Mexico, Central America
and the Caribbean, strengthen the ex-
isting current, and to be well positioned
in the market as a strategic partner for
original productions, as well as increas-
ing the distribution of the rich Mondo
TV catalog, which has around 2000 hours
of programming.
One of the most interesting news for
2019 will be our intention to expand
the target of our productions to inter-
cept new audiences and new market
dynamics. I think we have to adjust to
the new patterns of consumption by
producing more and more original con-
tent and acquiring it.

14 MIPCOM 2018
KIDS @ newslinereport

MIPCOM 2018 15
 KIDS
GLOOB/GLOOBINHO
“Remaining relevant as a content
producer is a major challenge”
Paula Taborda dos
Garanys, Director of
Content and Pro-
gramming, assures
that it is a challenge
to create a narrative
that will travel among
linear and nonlinear.
How do you describe the
current situation of the kids
industry and the expansion of
content internationally?
In a scenario of high competition in
the audiovisual industry, especially in
the children’s segment, with new
players and business models emerging
every year, remaining relevant as a
content producer is a major challenge,
but it also brings opportunities. Today,
producing successful content requires
not just an excellent capacity to
narrate and create good stories, but
also a global perspective that
broadens possibilities for the returns
from this investment.
Which are the key features
for global content?
It is essential for content to be viable in
multiple countries, but it also needs to
transit perfectly across all content
windows currently offered to end
consumers. Developing projects in
partnership with international players
with different business model (broad-
cast TV, PayTVs, OTTs, digital media)
could be a smart solution for attaining
this fundamental diversity of perspec-
tive. In the end, the content comes to
life in complementary windows and
countries that do not compete with each
other. The Children’s Unit of Globo
Group has been creatively opening up
16 MIPCOM 2018
new business opportunities, both locally
and internationally, through co-
productions and partnerships such as
these. Gloob has made several copro-
ductions since its debut in 2012 and we
are proud to bring Gloob’s premium
content to countries such as Sweden,
China, Uruguay, Angola, Italy, Israel
and to regions such as the Middle East.
Which is the influence of techno-
logy in children’s behavior
towards global content?
Children have a huge variety of
entertainment options and they can
consume content through all screens
and devices they have. You need to
offer a great storytelling considering
all available touch points. It is a
challenge to create a narrative that
will travel among linear and nonlinear.
Technology is out there. Our target is
digital native. No one would be
surprised to see a kid sliding his or
her finger on the TV screen.
This October 17th will be the first
anniversary of Gloobinho? How
do you analyze this year of your
latest bet on pre-school kids?
Gloobinho continues to grow in terms
of distribution and programming
lineup. We expect it to reach the
relevance of Gloob in a short time,
within the target of two to five years.
The major challenge is that while
Gloob communicates directly with
children, Gloobinho talks to parents
and caregivers. What both have in
common is depicting children as
protagonists in all our stories.
Which is going to be your strate-
gy of business for next year?
Gloob’s strategy will be focused on the
consolidation of its growth which has
achieved 49% of audience CAGR since
its launch. We need to pursue our
track of great storytellers, amazing
Brazilian stories, which are made to
work globally as laugh and kindness
will always remain global. Original
premium content is on the rise and we
are looking for innovation. Gloob is
setting a trend within Latin America.
We were able to generate a huge
impact in our audience through live-
action shows, animations, CP and
digital content. We want to grow our
audience and firmly establish Gloob as
the second favorite among children by
the end of 2018. To achieve that, we
continue to invest in strong brands
such as Miraculous and Blue Building
Detectives, which in addition to the
new episodes, will gain a sequel for
the big screen scheduled for the
holiday season. We will also have the
debut of our new major production,
‘Genius School’.
KIDS @ newslinereport

MIPCOM 2018 17
 KIDS

EONE

“Traditional TV remains as the key platform

for driving preschool awareness”
become more sophisticated, so too has
Monica Candiani, the way they engage with brands. Tra-
ditional TV remains the key platform
EVP Content Sales, for driving preschool awareness but we
have to think beyond that and new
Family & Brands, media can be a very effective way to
launches ‘Ricky offer new content and to support exist-
ing content. We’ve never had so many
Zoom’, as the heir of touchpoints for kids to access our con-
‘PJ Masks’. tent and that’s a huge advantage. How-
ever, there’s also a proliferation of con-
tent so it’s important we anchor our
to PJ Masks and we hope audiences will properties with robust marketing and
love our new properties too. digital support to cut through the noise.
We have a strategic focus on live events
In your opinion, what is the most and experiential to drive fan engage-
influential factor of technology ment and redirect interest back to
in the way that children consume broadcast. Fresh content is also key to
How has eOne Family & Brands content, and the kind of content maintaining interest as kids consume
evolved the business over the they watch? content at a much faster rate on VOD
last months? As is true for technology globally, digi- platforms. Both Peppa Pig and PJ Masks
This year we’ve seen huge success for tal platforms and mobile devices have have new episodes in production that
our preschool property PJ Masks which had a big impact on consumer behav- will ensure there is a pipeline of fresh
was introduced to the market on Dis- iour and as kids viewing habits have content for several years to come.
covery Kids two years ago and launched
at retail in the LATAM market in 2017.
Series 1 heads to Netflix in December
this year and we’re celebrating great
sales figures. Our new series Cupcake &
Dino is set to launch on Disney Channel
in Brazil in November following the glo-
bal launch on Netflix earlier this year.
Peppa Pig is maturing into an evergreen
preschool property which led us to open
a dedicated office in São Paulo to
strengthen our business in Brazil and
maximise long term opportunities for
growth. We’re now launching a new pre-
school property called Ricky Zoom which
comes from the producers behind PJ Masks
and it will begin airing on Discovery Kids
in Latin America in 2019. We are really
pleased with how the market has taken

18 MIPCOM 2018
KIDS
THE JIM HENSON COMPANY
Appoints Claudia Balzer Scott-Hansen
for the Global Distribution
The Jim Henson Company has appoint-
ed Claudia Balzer Scott-Hansen to the
role of Senior Vice President, Global Dis-
tribution, reporting to Chris Lytton, the
Company’s COO & Executive Vice Presi-
dent of Strategy and Business Affairs.
“Claudia has a rich knowledge of the
media landscape and a deep under-
standing of the ever-changing opportu-
nities for innovative content producers
like The Jim Henson Company,” com-
mented Lytton. “Her expertise in the glo-
bal market with both traditional and
new outlets will be extremely valuable
as we continue to reach international
audiences with classic and contempo-
rary award-winning programming In-
cluding educational, fantasy, and
primetime genres.”
“The Jim Henson Company has built a
robust and diverse library of new and
established properties, and there is tre-
As Senior Vice President, the executive will
lead Global Sales of the Company’s Titles
Across all Platforms and Genres.
mendous interest worldwide to exploit
them across multiple platforms,” com-
mented Scott-Hansen. “In particular, the
all-new season of the iconic Dinosaur
Train, a favorite of mine and my own
children, as well as children and fami-
lies around the world, is sure to be a hit
at MIP Junior and MIPCOM.”
Scott-Hansen and her team - including
veteran Henson executive Anna Moore-
field, Vice President of Global Distribu-
tion - will focus their efforts on licens-
ing television, digital and DVD rights
across the Company’s classic and more
recent offerings of children’s, fantasy
and sci-fi programming that collective-
ly have amassed over 50 Emmy Awards.
Headlining the slate is the new Season
5 of the six-time EMMY®-nominated and
Parents’ Choice Silver Honor series Di-
nosaur Train, to air in the U.S. on PBS
KIDS®. The new season’s 11 colorful
CG-animated half-hour episodes (or 22
x 11’ episodes) continue the exploration
of natural science with an emphasis on
adventure, discovery, new inventions and
traveling outside our comfort zone with
Buddy the young tyrannosaurus and his
adoptive family of Pteranodons.
Additional titles include Dot., the digi-
tal citizenship series for preschoolers
about to debut its second season in the
U.S. on Universal Kids and Hulu; the
marine biology-themed animated series
@ newslinereport
Splash and Bubbles, airing in the U.S.
on PBS KIDS; Doozers, a Hulu original
series (also available on Universal Kids
in the U.S.) featuring the wildly popular
characters from the classic Henson se-
ries Fraggle Rock; and the Emmy®-nom-
inated Sid the Science Kid, airing in the
U.S on PBS KIDS. Classic television pro-
ductions include the internationally be-
loved Fraggle Rock, now available in HD
for a whole new legion of fans, Jim Hen-
son’s popular The Storyteller, and the
sci-fi cult classic series Farscape.
Claudia Scott-Hansen is an accom-
plished media professional with over 20
years-experience in media rights distri-
bution and global franchise develop-
ment. Since September 2015, Claudia
served as Vice President, Business De-
velopment, at 9 Story Media Group. In
that role, she led the company’s global
partnerships, as well as the strategic
management of the Digital and Con-
sumer Products divisions and worked to
align development and co-production
partners to finance the production of
new properties. Previously, the executive
was SVP/Group Director Broadcast,
Americas and EMEA at HIT Entertain-
ment (owned by Mattel since 2012). Pri-
or to joining HIT in 2006, Claudia was
the Head of Formats and Head of South-
ern European Distribution at BBC
Worldwide, based in London.
MIPCOM 2018 19
 KIDS
IMIRA ENTERTAINMENT
Launches ‘Mondo Yan’ for the
international market
How has evolved the ‘Mondo
Yan’ project?
Mondo Yan is a fantastic show that
has heart, great story telling and
characters that kids’ will relate to.
We have got much closer to our
partners on the show, TV3 Barce-
XILAM
Celebrates the 20th anniversary
of ‘Oggy and the Cockroaches’
Leyla Formoso, SVP Media Distribution at Latin America,
MEA & Southern Europe, admits that the renewal of clas-
sic IPs allows the success of brands.
“We are producing new seasons of
our globally successfully series
Oggy and the Cockroaches and Zig
& Sharko. In addition, we’re con-
tinuing to diversify our portfolio and
have recently added our first se-
ries for preschoolers, Paprika ,
which will launch in Latin America
this October on Disney Junior. We
are also in production of a new
series, Coach Me if You Can, that
is in the same humorous vein as
our other TV shows,” explains Ley-
la Formoso, SVP Media Distribu-
20 MIPCOM 2018
Paul Robinson, CEO, is looking for
new agents and partners for markets
with specific local needs.
lona, Telegael, and Toonz and to-
gether we have created something
special. It is also wonderful to see
Spanish writers and creators craft-
ing something that will delight
kids around the world.
Which is the influence of
technology in the way that
children consume the
content, and in the kind of
content they watch?
The availability of connected por-
table devices (tablets and smart-
tion at Latin America, EMEA &
Southern Europe of Xilam.
On the expansion of its animated
series, the company is licensing ‘Mr
Magoo’, based on the hugely suc-
cessful 1960s cartoon. Xilam has
already secured over a dozen of
presales worldwide for the new se-
ries, which will be fully delivered
for July 2019.
Continuing on classic IPs, the com-
pany has ‘Oggy and the Cock-
roaches’ that continues to achieve
huge figures on social media. The
phones) has revolutionized the ac-
cess that kids have to content and
rendered the TV remote and the
family TV in the living room in-
creasingly less and less important.
Kids now have the ability to watch
whatever they want, at anytime,
anywhere, which puts a new re-
sponsibility on platforms and con-
tent producers and distributors to
provide wonderful entertaining and
educational content for kids that
is also age appropriate and en-
courages positive behaviors.
Hispanic Facebook page launched
in August 2017 has already
notched up almost 120k fans.
There’s also been more than 6.5m
impressions and 230k likes on the
page. The Hispanic community of
the brand on YouTube and Insta-
gram is also rising significantly
increasingly. Thanks to the brand’s
success on Facebook, the public
broadcaster in Peru, IPE, acquired
Oggy and the Cockroaches for its
kids’ channel. Boosting the
brand’s digital presence, Nazara
How are you expanding
your partnerships all
around the world?
We are also looking for new agents
and partners to help with the distri-
bution of content, particularly in mar-
kets where there are specific local
needs and building partnerships with
broadcasters and the new non lineal
and digital platforms to meet their
increasing and changing needs.
Which are your goals for the
last term of the year?
Our goals are to secure lots of part-
ners for our new shows, including
Mondo Yan, Miniforce X, Sindbad &
the 7 Galaxies, Bookwork GoGo, Dee
Dee the Little Sorceress and Spy Pen-
guin and to have a fantastic end to
the year that we can celebrate.
launched the first Oggy mobile
game that has notched up over
3.9M downloads across India, Lat-
in America and Southern East Asia.
“It’s also a hugely exciting time for
Xilam as we celebrate Oggy’s 20th
anniversary this year. Starting from
this October, we have a fantastic
line-up of activity planned in France
– the brand’s home territory – that
includes the opening of a branded
escape room, museum partner-
ships, a road show across France
and social media campaigns.
KIDS @ newslinereport

MIPCOM 2018 21
 by Alejandro J. Rojas
Regional Director
PARROT ANALYTICS ale@parrotanalytics.com

IS YOUR
CONTENT RELEVANT
TO YOUR AUDIENCE?
When it comes the time to choose programming, digital
services and networks are looking at the prevailing themes
of the local audiences that are being targeted.

In the era of abundance of con- during the last 3 years and the The explosive growth
tent where more TV shows are expectation for 2018 at the be- of space-themed TV
competing for limited attention, it ginning of the year: This growth permeated to the TV
is becoming crucial to stay rele- A quick glance tells it all: “space” industry as demonstrated by the
vant for audiences. as a theme is gaining traction given amount of new productions about
This year we have seen some the explosive growth observed in space premiered between the end
examples of how content creators 2017 and expected in 2018. of last year and the beginning of
are choosing to address themes
that resonate with audiences.
One strategy is to observe trends
Fig. 1.
in adjacent areas, not necessa-
Demand for Space Related Content in the US
rily entertainment, which may
have an impact on pop culture:
For example, take a look at the
completed missions by SpaceX

Table 1.
Chronology of completed
missions by SpaceX

Number of
YoY
completed Missions
Growth
by SpaceX

2018E 30 67%
2017 18 125%
2016 8 33%
2015 6 0%

22

this year. Monthly average demand
for content related to space has
quadrupled from January 2017 to
April 2018.
Another strategy is to look at the
prevailing themes of the local au-
diences that are being targeted.
Local audiences reveal
preferences for political
drama in Brazil
For example, in Brazil the “Lavo
Jato” case created a political tur-
moil that extended well into this
year, an electoral year in Brazil
where political tensions were ex-
pected to rise.
This expectation has also influen-
ced the TV content that is being
made available. Since early 2018,
Brazilians have increased their
demand for shows within the “Po-
litical Drama” genre, demand that
peaked in late March with the pre-
miere of “O Mecanismo”, a Netflix
original series based on the “Lavo
Jato” case. Since this premiere,
monthly average demand for this
genre has remained within a range
that is two to four times as high as
the range seen in 2017.
Fig. 2. Demand for Political Drama Content in Brazil
parrotanalytics.com
Fig. 3. Global demand for ‘Suits’ and ‘The Crown’ in May 2018
Brazil Demand for Political Drama
Content in Demand Expressions
A third strategy is banking on exter-
nal events that can lead audiences
to go after your content.
Banking on external events
An example of this externality effect
was observed during the royal
wedding of Meghan Markle, now
Duchess of Sussex. Given the noto-
riety of the event around the world,
global audiences flocked to con-
tent related to it.
Meghan’s presence in “Suits” led to
a 60% global increase in demand
during the day of the wedding on
May 19, 2018. Similarly, the same
day, global demand for The Crown,
a Netflix original series about Bri-
tish Royalty, jumped 46%.
The question of staying relevant for
audiences is gaining significance
as TV industry players reassess the
value that original content brings to
their business.
And as major content IP owners
like Disney move to target con-
sumers directly, the rest of the
industry is on a quest to find the
right balance between investing in
and strengthening its distribution or
increasing its original content.
Achieving the right balance will
require a deeper and broader
understanding of what makes au-
diences tick and new metrics and
analytics to foresee market dyna-
mics, ahead of the competition.
23
 PRODUCTION
HBO LATIN AMERICA
“Genuine and quality content
tends to be universal”
How has evolved HBO’s arm of original
Productions over this 15 years?
During this time, HBO has been by side of the
industry since we went out to look for several
formats for the original production in Latin
America, as in that moment there wasn’t any
independent production company in the
regional, as there was only content generated
for Free TV channels. At the beginning, it was
really hard to find this productive ability to
develop very particular content, that didn’t look
like a telenovela or any other format of the Free
TV and that could be related to a theatrical
experience, but divided into episodes.
Since our first production: ‘Epitafios’, made
in Argentina, or ‘Mandrake’ and ‘Hijos del
Carnaval’ in Brazil, and ‘Capadocia’ in
Mexico, we have made a great journey across
Latin America, and came back now to
Argentina to produce ‘Jardin de Bronce’ on its
second season, and the production of our first
title in Colombia: ‘Mil Colmillos’.
We are also pioneers on the tech area as we
evolved from the production of HD content
when the migration of SD to High Definition
24 MIPCOM 2018
Roberto Rios, CVP, Original Productions, explains
which are the key factors for the creation of original
content in the region, and the celebration of 15
years since the launch of its first title.
was already happening; to 4K, UHD and HDR
that provide more colors and contrasts.
With several years since the
production of some of your titles,
they are still contemporaries, why
do you think that this happens?
Allowing myself a moment of modesty, it’s
because of our concern on the quality of our
elements. We don’t only have strong stories,
but also directors, actors and process of
scripts writing in which we put all our time and
energy, particularly with original stories.
Another very important component is the
technology used to keep a same look-and-feel
and sound that remains the transition. That’s
why we want to stay a step ahead in technolo-
gy, so as to avoid being obsolete immediately.
This shows our commitment with quality and
several elements in order to make HBO a well-
known company worldwide, as they add value to
the storytelling, and turn it into more attractive
to a wider and more universal audience.
Which are the features that you
look in a project so as to be part of the
Original Productions of HBO?
It has to be a unique and original story, with
complex, genuine and tridimensional
characters. It doesn’t mean that the
storytelling is aggressive or disorganized.
But intense, real and genuine elements are
the ones that add value to our audience.
Which are HBO goals for this
last part of the year, in terms
of Productions?
We are having a huge amount of original
productions, beginning with the launch of
the third and last season of ‘Magnifica 70’;
finishing the shooting of ‘Sr. Avila’ and
‘Psi’ that will be launch next year, and in
the middle of the shooting of ‘Mil Colmil-
los’, besides the second season of ‘Jardin
de Bronce’ in Argentina.
On the side of miniseries, we have just
finished ‘Huésped Americano’, and we are
finishing ‘Santos Dumont’. We are also
beginning with the second season of ‘La
vida secreta de las parejas’. During the
next couple of months we’ll be announcing
new projects. These 15 years have been a
very important frame in the creation of
Latin American content that it didn’t exist
before and looking into the future, we’d like
to have more products.
PRODUCTION @ newslinereport

MIPCOM 2018 25
 PRODUCTION
DICK CLARK PRODUCTIONS
Achieved significant milestones in China
“Working on a long term relationship with FIFA,
extending our business with Jukin Media and
also extending relationships within China to
produce localized programming. We need to find
the right partners to fit the project. You have to
be overly patient with all your agendas, the time
is not always right to get what you want done
when you want it, but with perseverance, you
can ultimately achieve your goals,” explains
Mark Rafalowski, EVP International Distribu-
tion, Dick Clark Productions.
Describing the alliance with FIFA, the executive
SONY PICTURES TELEVISION LATIN AMERICA
“We continue to focus on development”
How has the area of SPT Original
Productions evolved in the last time?
In Latin America, it has been a very fast growth.
Last year there were about 1000 hours of con-
tent between Mexico and Colombia, which is a
lot. Sony has managed to position itself in the
market in a very strong way working with all the
channels, relevant creators in the region, as
well as growing local talent whether they are
writers, directors, etc.
Why do you think that SPT productions
are so well-known in regional and
international level?
Sony’s productions in the region, regardless of
gender, have always been characterized by high
quality on screen, a very well achieved look and
feel as a result of been seeking to have excellent
production elements, equipment, directors and
creators that take care of the product. Without
a doubt it is all a team effort.
26 MIPCOM 2018
Mark Rafalowski, EVP In-
ternational Distribution,
analyses the success of
the alliance with FIFA.
assures that ‘The Football Show’ “is very well
received, we announced at MIP, but realistically
it was always a MIPCOM rollout, it launches on
Sky at the end of September then will go out
around the world after that premiere. It’s a very
iconic show, a very positive take on football and
footballers and the worldwide impact. Zig Zag
productions delivered a beautifully shot show,
we look forward to being able to expand on this
in the future, potentially with FIFA involvement,
maybe a bit similar to ESPN’s 30 for 30”.
Regarding the influence of technology when it
comes the time for the audience to consume its
content, Rafalowski describes: “It was evident
in China years ago that people were consuming
Ana Bond, SVP & Man-
aging Director, Interna-
tional Production, says
that during 2017, the
company had produced
1000 hours between
Mexico and Colombia.
Are you considering the chance of
continuing with the development of
content for digital platforms, as they did
with ‘El Rey de Valle’, for Claro Video?
Yeah of course. In fact there are a couple
of short projects that we hope to announce
soon. They are project in a tone also of
comedy or dramedy .
TV shows on their phones, they were ahead of
the curve, and the rest of the world is following
suit now. People lifestyles are on the move, so
they are getting used to watching on
devices. There will always be theaters and al-
ways big TV screens in homes, but people will
watch more and more on devices”.
Based on Dick Clark Productions’ plans for the
future, the EVP International Distribution, con-
cludes: “We’ll still be working on the continued
growth which we have had since the inception
of dcp international in 2014, with some signif-
icant milestones achieved in China this year
after many patient years of foundation setting.
We are looking at things now from a bit differ-
ent viewpoint as we are part of Valence Media,
which includes MRC (House of Cards, Ozark,
Counterpart) and also Billboard/The Hollywood
Reporter. This is a great combination of cre-
ativity and access to talent. We want to make
the right moves, with process over speed, but
Valence has great promise and we hope to be
able to show that in 2019”.
Which are SPT’s goals for this last
quarter of the year?
We continue to focus on development before any-
thing else, continuing that work of ants to find
the stories that the audience wants, relevant
and varied content.
PRODUCTION
ENDEMOL SHINE LATINO
Nowadays has 29 formats on air
How has the business of Endemol Shine evolved over
the last couple of months? How have your formats
worked in the region?
The 2018 was a great year. We will end the year having issued
more than 40 formats in territories where we do not have a local
operation. We currently have 29 formats on air in the region, not
counting the contents originally produced by the production hous-
es of Brazil (ESB) and Mexico (ESBoomdog), which will include
more than a dozen additional shows, in addition to the tape
shows distributed by Endemol Shine International.
The main titles in Latin America during 2018 have been: ‘Mas-
terChef’, ‘The Wall’, ‘Your face sounds Familiar’, ‘My name is’,
‘Money Drop’, ‘Family Food Fight’ and ‘Don’t lose the Money’.
Why do you think Endemol Shine formats are so
successful all over the world?
I think the group has a unique formula. In fact, it was one
of the things that most captivated me when they offered to
be part of it. It has presence in 23 countries, with 120
production companies, 4,321 registered formats, and 2.7
million monthly views. These seems only numbers, but the
most interesting fact is that they are built from a coopera-
tive of associated producers whose creative assets are
shared ideas enhancing the work in an incredible way. By
exchanging ideas and improving them from the knowledge
and experience of colleagues and professionals, these ideas
may end up in a different place from where they are origi-
@ newslinereport
Michelle Wasserman, SVP, Format
Licensing & Content Development,
confirms that the company will
have more than 40 formats in dif-
ferent LATAM territories.
nated, or even end up mutating to even more valuable ideas.
Particularly in the Latin American region, the Group has shown
through its different local operations, and distribution arms
to its local partners a strength as a company, consistency in
the creation of new content and business opportunities, and
has generated content that has triumphed by those results
and loyalty to the viewer. The presence is precisely the result of
this trajectory of content and professionalism with which the
representative team in the region works and manages its as-
sets: contents, relationships and what is generated from it.
Are you thinking about producing special formats
for digital platforms?
Yes of course, we are not only thinking on it, but also we are
already working on it. In the case of dedicated channels, such
as MasterChef that has its exclusive channels and original
content in Brazil, it is already a fact that has generated more
than 2 million subscribers on Facebook and another 2 million
on YouTube. We are currently working on original content for
large digital platforms that we will soon announce.
How will you be addressing your strategy for next year?
Working on digital opportunities, although we are already trav-
eling in an interesting way, there’s still much more to learn,
and a lot of business to work with, not only at the economic
level, but also at cross-promotions with other platforms, and
to give more power and push to the scripted genre.
MIPCOM 2018 27
 DISTRIBUTION
DORI MEDIA GROUP
Offers a catalogue with more
than 100 titles
How have evolved the commercia-
lization of Dori Media titles during
the last months?
2018 was a great year for Dori Media in
terms sales (scripted and non-scripted),
production, co-productions and awards. Fol-
lowing are a few examples of the success:
‘The Road to Calvary’ is now streaming on
Netflix following the sale to Greece, and is
nominated to the Content Innovation
Awards 2018. The second season of ‘El Mar-
ginal’, continues the success of the first
one, reaching 24,4% share, increasing time
slot by 500%. The show was sold to US,
France (Canal+), Latin America, UK, Spain, Nadav Palti, Presi-
Portugal, Israel, Poland, Uruguay and Tur- dent & CEO, ex-
key. Also, ‘Dumb’ became a huge success
on HOT in Israel, with its third season in plains that through
production for beginning 2019.
On our entertainment format side, Power
its MeMeMe Studios,
Couple is an international success. Its the company man-
third season in Germany reached 17,5%
on RTL’s prime time, and 2.8 million ages 15 channels
watched the final episode. The second reaching 440 million
season debut in Hungary was marked by a
24.1% share, and its final episode, 24.2% monthly views.
- that is a huge success, and so was the
whole season, it never went below 20%,
which is very good on the Hungarian market. In Brazil it was
also a huge success reaching 12.6% share on TV Record.
How have you been working at your MeMeMe Studios?
We started our relationship with YouTube as early as 2009 when
we uploaded our back catalog of Spanish telenovelas, estab-
lishing our status as a MCN and building our knowledge in the
YouTube eco system. In 2014 we founded MeMeMe Studios as
a classic MCN, managing third party content but very early we
understood that without creating our own IP we will not build
a lasting value. So we developed a new production pipeline to
create content for USD 300-500 per minute, trying many ideas
and kill those who don’t grow fast enough. Today we manage
15 channels reaching 440 million monthly views.
After the success of the first season of ‘El Marginal’,
and the recent finalization of its second season in
Argentina, which are the next steps of your latest hit?
As mentioned, season 2 continues the success of season 1,
and the title is attractive for many reasons: the production
quality is amazing, shot in a real jail, with huge actors, and
remarkable directors and production team. It is violent, edgy,
realistic, mixed emotions for the viewer that cannot relax at
28 MIPCOM 2018
all. Each episode takes you to a limit of
tension and alert which is exciting. It is a
glimpse to an outsider world, a jail, full of
criminals, with their own stories in which
the good or bad is no longer a discussion.
Representing the invisible outsider peo-
ple, in an outsider place, with outsider
rules in which you have to decide whether
to fight to survive, die, or kill. All deci-
sions are to the limit. El Marginal is
unique, is risky, it is a content diamond.
Due to the success of season 1 and 2 we see
a big interest in the title and therefore we
have many deals in negotiation that we will
announce when signed, for both seasons.
Are you thinking on the production
or co-production of content only
for the digital platforms?
Regarding the digital platforms we stick
to two main rules, first to keep production
low focusing on great ideas and talent and
nor on production value, as in this way we
can create a lot of content and still remain
profitable. Second, try anything but kill all
that is not bringing results. We don’t fall
in love with our ideas if they don’t work
even if we think they are brilliant.
How will you be addressing your strategy
for the next year?
Our goal for Q4 2018-2019 is to focus on production, co-
production and digital. We see a continuing growing trend for
scripted shows, both for weekly prime time and daily shows.
Because of the change in the way viewers watch the series, the
demand for scripted shows is growing. Also, the new OTT plat-
forms increased the demand for content, mainly scripted one.
Therefore the key to success is to meet
the market demand. This world trend
has a good effect on Dori Media as a
big producer of high quality content.
We are also focusing on increasing
co-productions and distribution col-
laborations worldwide, following the
past years’ success. And last, the Dori
Media sales team will continue to of-
fer buyers a very strong and diverse
slate, both scripted and non-scripted
formats form our catalogue that con-
sist of above 100 titles offering each
client the best solution for his needs.
DISTRIBUTION @ newslinereport

MIPCOM 2018 29
 DISTRIBUTION
TALPA GLOBAL
“Our volume of distribution of formats
tripled in the last three years”
How have evolved the business
of Talpa Global?
It has been a busy year so far with quite a
few highlights. In June the first season of
Utopia, the longest running reality show
ever on Dutch televison, came to an end
after being on air non-stop for 4-5 years.
It was immediately followed by season 2
the next Monday with a news cast and on
a new location, and again continues to
be a steady pillar for the channel in the
access time slot. With an average market
share of 11.9% (20-49) and 504.000
viewers per episode, season 2 of Utopia
is even outperforming Utopia series 1.
And we just finished the first season of
The Voice Senior in the Netherlands. The
show consisted of just 4 episodes and
scored stellar ratings each week in all
age demos. People genuinely enjoyed the
warm and positive vibe of the show. It
has already been commissioned in sev-
eral other territories.
This proves again that the trend of fea-
turing elderly in TV formats is working
really well. Our formats ‘Around the
World with 80-year-olds’ and ‘The World
According to 80-year-olds’ have also
scored well and have been picked up by
several other territories. In Germany, the
first season of Around the World with
80-year-olds scored fantastic ratings
and has already been re-commissioned
for a second season. It continues to
prove that they are fascinating charac-
30 MIPCOM 2018
ters with interesting life stories that ap-
peal to a broad audience.
And in Asia our business is booming. We
are currently the number three player in
the Asian format sales market. Our for-
mat distribution volume almost tripled
over the past three years, with Talpa shows
reaching new markets like Singapore, Ma-
laysia and Mongolia to name a few.
Why do you think that your
formats are so successful on
their local versions?
We create content with a global appeal
and a local relevance. Our formats are
always evolving and are being adapted
for local markets.
With full focus and dedication, we con-
tinuously improve formats with new
elements to keep it fresh and relevant,
in order to guarantee the longevity of
our formats. We have a team of flying
producers, our Global Productions
team, to look after this. We are in-
volved in the entire process from start
to finish of producing the shows. Look-
ing at our flagship format The Voice,
we always update this format with new
elements to keep it fresh, like the re-
cently introduced ‘Family room’. Dur-
ing the blind auditions the relatives
of the candidate are standing behind
a glass window (in the Netherlands)
or under the stands (rest of the world)
so they can see the performance and
Annelies Noest,
Head of Formats,
describes the bet on
Senior formats.
have eye contact with their family
member that is auditioning. Also we’re
developing different digital spin-off
formats related to the brand, that are
available to our licensees.
Do you think that OTT platforms will
affect the way audiences consume
entertainment formats, like it did
with the scripted shows?
Yes absolutely. With the OTT platforms,
audiences can then choose what they
want to watch and when they will watch
it. Watching a show on an OTT platform
is a conscious decision of the consumer,
rather than accidentally tuning into the
show on linear tv. With some OTT plat-
forms like Facebook Watch for example,
there is also the opportunity to make the
entertainment shows more interactive for
audiences, which in turn is generating
(more) data for the OTT platforms itself
that they can use for profiling.
At the same time, we see that those few
strong big family skewing shows like The
Voice are stronger than ever all over the
world. Apparently, there remains a
strong appetite for this type of consum-
ing entertainment on linear basis, as
long as it is relevant.
DISTRIBUTION @ newslinereport

How do you see the current
situation of the industry?
Digital is changing how and where peo-
ple consume and create content, and it is
causing advertisers to move a growing
percentage of their advertising spend to
digital and mobile platforms. Consum-
ers need to be reached on different touch-
points, and the smaller media compa-
nies are facing heavy competition of the
FAANG’s (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Net-
flix and Google) and their Asian counter-
parts like Alibaba, Line and Tencent. At
Talpa Media we make big, premium con-
tent that activates and engages users
across multiple touchpoints, while at the
same time it triggers new revenue
streams. In doing so, we cater to the needs
of our clients. For example our latest new
format House of Talent was created as a
perfect solution for consumers in today’s
media landscape. The show reaches the
young audience with music, social and
reality tv elements across all different
platforms. It is not just enjoyed on the
big screen, but will keep the audience
engaged on all available screens. Social
media is fully integrated in the format.
Which is going to be the tent across multiple platforms that
strategy of Talpa Global connects the new masses. We want
for next year? to create formats that everybody
Our plans in general are always to grow, stays home for to watch, leading to
expand and continue to bring innova- a ‘Watercooler moment’; content
tive new formats to the world! The me- that people will talk about the next
dia world is changing rapidly, which of- day in the office.
fers great new oppor-
tunities for us to work
with new clients and
new players in the
market, parallel to
growing our business
with our existing net-
work of clients.
Which are your
goals for the last
term of the 2018?
We are furthering our
ambition to continue developing big con- Besides the linear platforms, we will also
tent with global appeal and local rele- focus on the new players, the OTT players.
vance. We take good care of our existing We have high expectations for this mar-
brands, making sure they are refreshed ket and are very excited to showcase our
with new elements and maintain a long broad range of formats. From The Voice
life, while at the same time we bring Senior to Dance as One, we’re launching
new and innovative shows. formats from multiple genres targeting
Plus, we will continue to develop con- different audiences.

ECCHO RIGHTS

Multiplatform Turkish content

Barbora Suster, Head of Latin
America and Iberia,

that “as an independent distributor we are able to choose care-

Eccho Rights continues to be very strong in Turkish Drama.
Representing over 20 hours per week of series on air this au-
tumn, its catalogue from Turkey continues to grow and develop
at a great rate. At the same time they are growing its business
in Western Europe, and have a number of top premium titles
from the region, including ‘El Accidente’ from Spain and ‘Con-
spiracy of Silence’ from Sweden. “We are also growing the
number of adaptations coming from scripted formats we rep-
resent. In the past two years we have had 20 remakes of script-
ed titles from our catalogue and demand for formats from
around the world continues to grow”, explains Barbora Suster,
Head or Latin America and Iberia of Eccho Rights.
On the success of its diverse portfolio, the executive assures
fully the projects that we want to work with, and at the same
time we are lucky to be in a position to meet with many fine
independent producers. We understand an increasing trend that
a story can be successful regardless of where it comes from. As
long as it speaks to people and their emotions then a series can
find a home on channels and platforms anywhere in the world”.
Regarding the business strategy for 2019, Suster admits that
the company is “very focused on getting more content to global
and regional OTT platforms. We have made a number of major
deals with Netflix but we are also working with local players in
Asia, Latin America and across Europe. While of course we will
continue our very strong relationships with linear broadcast-
ers providing them the top content”.
At MIPCOM, Eccho Rights is offering a good stock of returning
titles from Turkish producers, as the second season of Stiletto
Vendetta, the third of New Bride and Prisoner of Love and the
fifth season of Elif.

MIPCOM 2018 31
 DISTRIBUTION

MEDIASET DISTRIBUTION

“Scripted drama is our main focus”

and now Mediaset’s catalogue is in good aired by Canale 5 next fall. The other
as MGE is distributing our catalogue in title, over anticipated, is the second sea-
LATAM and US Hispanic. son of the crime
Crime series ‘Code Name Solo’ has been series ‘ Code Manuela Caputi,
optioned for a local adaptation in Turkey Name Solo’
and police-series ‘Antimafia Squad’ will (8x50’ produced Head of International
have its local version in Latam and US by Taodue), in
Hispanic by W Studios, the independent which the police
Sales, describes the
production arm of Televisa and Univi- agent Marco will alliance with MGE.
sion. We also sold MGE telenovelas ‘For- continue with
give our sins’ to Poland to Pulse TV and his undercover mission and will do his
there is a big interest for the unscripted best to find the young boss’ daughter
reality ‘Would you take your ex back?’. on the run at the end of season 1.

How could you describe your
alliance with MGE?
We are very happy to share this impor-
tant joint-venture since MGE choose us
for the distribution of their long-running
catalogue in Europe, recognizing the im-
portance of the group in Easter Europe.
We worked together developing the strong
work made by Esperenza Garay in LATAM
Where is focused the strategy of
Mediaset Distribution?
We have been focusing on drama and on
the last series launched by our flagship
Canale 5 in prime time. Good series with
a high quality production value and big
stars-actors. Now at MIPCOM we are
launching the drama series: ‘Ultimo –
Chasing Narcos’ (4x50’ produced by Tao-
due) as the new miniseries that will be
How will you drive the operations
during 2019?
Scripted drama is our main focus now and
we have a very big range of dramas to offer
by concentrating our efforts on this grow-
ing genre. Scripted drama has discovered
an incredible explosion and it an impor-
tant business for us. We are now concen-
trated on the possibility to sell the format
rights or our series for other adaptions.

KANAL D INTERNATIONAL

Distributes more than 100.000 hours

of programs
Which is the reason why
Kanal D dramas are so
Emrah Turna, Head of Sales successful all over the world?
and Business Development, Turkish series are still in the process
of expanding into new territories. In
assumes that Turkish series are most territories, like in LatAm our
still in the process of expanding series are aired on prime time be-
cause of their success. They have be-
into new territories. come an important role player in their
program scheduling.

Do you consider that language is no longer
a barrier for productions?
We as Kanal D International place importance to distribute
universal content that global viewers can empathize with. Also
dubbing overrides the barrier for productions. Kanal D Interna-
tional has over 100.000 hours of programs and 60.000 epi-
sodes, reaching audiences in more than 150 countries and ter-
ritories, including Europe, America, Africa, Asia, MENA region.
How could you describe the
current situation of the industry and the expansion
of content internationalization?
The current situation is, that nearly every broadcaster is trying
to produce localized and global fitting content. The most im-
portant thing is to create or adapt series or formats to target
multiple cultures. Transnational adaptation is important in
the contemporary tv industry.

32 MIPCOM 2018
DISTRIBUTION @ newslinereport

MIPCOM 2018 33
 DISTRIBUTION
FRANCE TV DISTRIBUTION
The expansion of French
content worldwide
How have evolved the business
of France TV Distribution over the
last months?
With our strong new line-up of French
Drama productions we are part of the
growing success and increasing export
market of French fiction first of all. There
is a real dynamic and a new appeal of
channels and platforms from Europe and
from all around the world for the cre-
ative talent and the quality of the new
French drama productions. As the lat-
est study from the French distributors
association TVFI shows, French drama
export numbers increased by 28% be-
tween 2016 and 2017. At the same time
our own export figures for French drama
productions almost doubled. And the
trend continues due to a strong lineup:
our propositions like the new 6x52’ se-
ries Inside or our newly launched and
highly successful daily drama series
Chronicles of The Sun (260x22’) launched
in access Primetime on France 2 are
34 MIPCOM 2018
Catherine Bernard,
COO, and Julia
Schulte, SVP Inter-
national Sales, ex-
plain the new inter-
national strategy of
the company.
already creating a lot of interest. Other
positive evolutions concern certain key
territories, like China that that are in-
credibly increasing and where our local
strategies start to pay, especially in our
animation business. The documentary dis-
tribution has been taken to another level
as well, with our key brand Apocalypse and
the two new series: Apocalypse War of the
Worlds and Apocalypse Never-Ending War
presold in many territories and the contin-
uation of Real War of Thrones.
How can you describe the interna-
tionalization of French content? Did
SVOD platforms help on this issue?
The internationalization is of course first
of all based on highly creative, ambi-
tious French producers imagining new
ways of story-telling, having new ambi-
tions to propose interesting projects to
their national broadcasters. But in the
changing environment they are also
more focused on international markets
and international audiences to be able
to close financial gaps and have a wid-
er income perspective. The SVOD plat-
forms have contributed to this dynamic
in two ways in my opinion: They have
shown that European fiction can have
the power to travel to markets all over
the world, like it was the case with our
drama series The Chalet and Call My
Agent, two recent global releases. But
they have also created the appeal of
the consumers for this type of creative
and ambitious contents, and this
seems to put some pressure on any se-
ries creator in Europe.
Which is the strategy for
the commercialization of
your content?
As any distributor, we have to finely de-
fine our distribution strategy to each
genre, each project and of course each
territory with its culture and customs.
The trend is to work earlier and closer
with the producers, to advise early
enough to be able to adapt each project
to the different markets and media by
proposing different versions for exam-
ple. And to be a partner not only in dis-
tribution, but in financing, helping to
find the right co-producers, the right
pre-buyers or financers in every region
based on the projects need.
Which are your goals for the last
term of 2018?
We would like to continue in this dynam-
ic of course, pushing the sales during
the important markets like MIPCOM, ATF
in Singapore, and starting to prepare
the upcoming 2019 projects in terms of
presales to international partners. We
have high ambitions for the end of the
year in each of the genre: fiction, ani-
mation, drama aiming continuous
growth, so we also rely on developing
new opportunities and business until the
last months of 2018.
DISTRIBUTION
GAUMONT
“We want to ramp up production
of local drama content”
How has Gaumont’s business
evolved over the last months?
Our strategy is to ramp up production
of local drama content, including co-
productions. In fact, Latin America is
a prime focus for us. We have several
TV co-productions in the works, and
we expect to announce our first one in
the coming weeks. Outside of the re-
gion, we have expanded our footprint
in Europe. We opened our first UK and
German offices this summer
with Alison Jackson, serving as Pres-
ident of Gaumont UK, and Sabine de
Mardt, serving as President
of Gaumont Germany.
Which is the influence of techno-
logy in the way that people
consume content?
Platforms such as Netflix, Amazon
and Hulu produced a new consumer –
the binge viewer – moving the drama
trend away from procedurals to seri-
alized series. Add to that the multi-
tude of devices that we can now view
programming on – from mobile
phones to Smart TVs, tablets, lap top
computers, etc. — the industry is tran-
sitioning to an on-demand world,
where viewers can watch programming
whenever and wherever they want to.
Vanessa Shapiro,
President, World-
wide TV Distribution
and Co-Productions,
admits that the
company is able to
get involved quite
early in the process
of local productions.
How are you expanding your
partnerships all around the world?
Having boots on the ground in the form
of local offices lead by some of the in-
dustry’s top executives is a key focus for
Gaumont. With offices in Paris, Los An-
geles, the UK, Germany and Buenos
Aires, we are primed and ready to take
advantage of all possible opportunities.
Agility is an important factor in any com-
pany’s ability to be successful. At
Gaumont, given our global presence, we
are able to get involved quite early in
the process and have meaningful con-
versations in order to identify projects
to develop, which makes us an optimal
partner for local production companies
who can attach top talent.
@ newslinereport
Now you have acquired the
distribution rights of ‘El Chapo’,
how will you addressing your
narco-content strategy? Will you
be selling the full package of
content related?
We now have four seasons of Narcos to
present to our partners. The series over-
all looks at the rise and fall of the drug
trade across multiple cartel factions
lead by the most dangerous and power-
ful criminals in the world. The first two
seasons highlighted Pablo Escobar’s Co-
lombian empire which upon his ultimate
demise, led to the rise of the equally
violent Cali cartel, featured in season
3. And now in season 4, we explore the
Mexican drug trafficking world. While the
location has changed for the fourth sea-
son, the theme remains consistent to
the DNA of the series.
El Chapo, which is a three season Univi-
sion series produced in the Spanish-
language is about the rise and ulti-
mate capture of another of the world’s
most notorious drug lords making it
the perfect companion to Narcos. We
believe the two shows exemplify our
continued commitment to expand our
efforts throughout the Latin American
market through both the acquisition of
high-quality Spanish-language series
and upcoming co-productions in the
market, the first which will be an-
nounced soon.
MIPCOM 2018 35
 DISTRIBUTION

ALL3MEDIA INTERNATIONAL

Scores early presales for ‘The Bisexual’

The comedy pro-
duced by Hoote-
nanny will be avail-
able in Channel 4,
Hulu, CANAL+
Group, Sky Network
and Stan.

The independent distributor all3media extremely candid portrait of sex and Nick Forward, Stan Chief Content
international has signed major identity and we’re incredibly proud to Officer said “Desiree Akhaven is an
presales for its new contemporary be presenting her unique take on extraordinary talent, and her unique
comedy The Bisexual. The six-part series contemporary dating to audiences in take on the complications of modern
is written, directed and stars Iranian- France, New Zealand and Australia.” dating is incredibly timely. We’re
American filmmaker and Sundance Louise Pedersen, CEO at all3media looking forward to bringing The
Grand Jury Prize Winner Desiree international, commented, “In The Bisexual to Audiences at the same
Akhavan. Produced by Hootenanny – a Bisexual, Desiree Akhavan gives us a time as its worldwide premiere.”
Sister Pictures company – for Channel unique and very honest view of The Bisexual also stars Eva Birthistle
4, UK and Hulu in the USA, The contemporary dating. It’s a testament (The Last Kingdom, Brooklyn), John
Bisexual, which is currently in post- to the quality of the show that major Dagliesh (Justice League, Sunny
production, has been secured by broadcast partners CANAL+ and Stan Afternoon, The Monuments Men),
CANAL+ Group to be broadcast in have come on board at such an early Naomi Ackie (Lady Macbeth, Yardie,
France and all its territories, while Sky stage alongside Channel 4 and Hulu, Star Wars:Episode 9), Niamh Algar
Network in New Zealand has acquired and we look forward to further deals (The Virtues) and newcomers Saskia
exclusive rights to the series.Stan, over the coming months.” Chana and Michelle Guillot.
Australia also has exclusive rights.
Set to debut on Channel 4 and Hulu,
The Bisexual is a six-part comedy
drama exploring the differences
between dating men and women
from the perspective of a person who
finds herself – for the first time -
doing both. BAFTA-nominated
Maxine Peake (Peterloo Three Girls,
Funny Cow) and Brian Gleeson
(Hellboy, Phantom Thread,
Stonemouth) star alongside ac-
claimed screenwriter, director and
actress Desiree Akhavan (The
Miseducation of Cameron Post,
Appropriate Behaviour) in her first
television project.
Naomi De Pear, Executive Producer,
said, “Desi is a singular talent who
has lent her distinct wit, authorial
voice and unflinching director’s vision
to the ‘last taboo’ – the result is The
Bisexual, an intimate, funny and

36 MIPCOM 2018
 DISTRIBUTION
TELEFILMS
“90% of what it works in the US
also works in Latin America”
In which stage is your
original production both of
movies and series?
While our core business is the 35 Amer-
ican films that are being distributed in
the United States, today there is an ex-
plosion of production in our Group both
of movies and series. In this sense, to-
gether with THR3 Media Group, we are
producing five Mexican films per year
and several series. This action will be
replicated in the rest of Latin America,
taking care of Brazil, Mexico and Argen-
tina. Although we add much more work,
this task is very interesting because we
are in a process of rebirth in all this
work and learning. THR3 Media will be
dedicated to Mexican products, with the
possibility of jumping to the Latin mar-
ket in the United States; in the rest of
the territories surely The Magic Eye will
support us, as in Argentina and Brazil.
Taking into account the giants and
those companies established in the
market, the only way to move forward
in this business is to grow and also
continue to invest in Hollywood. The
combination of factors will allow us to
survive and grow in the market.
How could you describe
the presence of the company
in Mipcom?
In the different markets of Television and
Cinema we acquire films and make long-
term agreements. The markets today are
an excuse, since we don’t take some-
38 MIPCOM 2018
thing specific, as we think about the
future. Of the 35 films that we currently
have, I can highlight the winner at the
Toronto Festival (TIFF), Greebook, star-
ring Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala
Ali, which is very commercial and will
have its awards track. We also have Ben
is Back, starring Julia Roberts; At Eter-
nity’s Gate, where Williem Dafoe plays
Vincent van Gogh. Among many films,
we are premiering Mile 22 throughout
Latin America with great success, ex-
ceeding one million spectators in Mexi-
co. We have a lot of work and we already
have over 200 people in the Diamond
Group, which is expanding to Spain and
Portugal to take all of Latin America.
Are you looking for ways
to co-produce originals to
market them in the regions
where they operate?
The issue of co-production is delicate
because of the combination since they
must first work in the territories where
it was created. It is difficult for a film
made in a certain Latin American ter-
ritory to travel to other places in the
region. The impact is usually in the
country where it occurs. In addition
there are not many examples of co-pro-
ductions of films between countries
that work equally in the two territories.
It’s something risky, as if we produce
originally we do it for a certain market,
and then it will be welcome if it travels
to other places.
Tomas Darcyl, CEO,
maintains that the
public recognizes
quality products and
attractive stories.
Which are the trends you’ve been
watching in the different Interna-
tional Festivals?
There is a lot of interest in the ‘Me-Too’,
where women are protagonists. Also real
stories like Greenbook, which continue
to work great as they are relevant and
interesting stories. Animation is also
interesting as well as the genre of terror
in Latin America. Even in the TIFF we
acquired the film In Fabric, which is
small but with a great potential. And
we had good results with Hereditary,
which will surely get an Oscar, like it
happened with ‘Get Out’. The trends in
cinema are changing very fast, with a
great entertainment frontier.
How would you define the
characteristics of your titles
so as to be recognize at the
regional level, beyond interna-
tional success?
It is a combination. The success of the
United States does not always augur a
success in Latin America but it does in
90% of the cases. The public recognizes
quality products and attractive stories.
That’s why we believe in commercial films,
pop-corn, with a high budget and script
that is the structure and basis of the
film. For this you have to read it and un-
derstand it, and then make the decisions.
That’s why today our strategy is to pro-
duce the pending projects and acquire
the best films. As a service company, we
offer this explosive combination of the
best original and Hollywood products to
the big operators, solving the critical
mass not only with Hollywood tanks but
also with local production.
DISTRIBUTION
SABBATICAL ENTERTAINMENT
More than 200 hours in less than 2 years
Miguel Somoza, President & CEO, des-
cribes the evolution of Sabbatical Sports.
A few months after the launch
of Sabbatical Sports, how was
the reception of the market to
this new sports offer?
Extraordinary Innovation has been
the key to the success of our sports
content, both at the conceptual and
at an esthetic level. We created vi-
gnettes with impressive images,
written by specialists in the sub-
ject, where information is condensed
and presented in a very dynamic
way, with an attractive and contem-
porary language. In addition, the
first outreach platform that we used
to attract consumer traffic to our
channel was the social network Fa-
cebook, where we achieved high en-
TONDERO
Celebrates its first 10 years
How has Tondero evolved in
these ten years?
Tondero started 10 years ago as a
representation company of the most
important actors in Peru. Then it
went on to generate great shows for
theaters, and in 2012 it made a
great bet on films production, hav-
ing created a great change in the
production and commercialization of
the Peruvian Cinema, with national
cinematographic successes; as well
as important author films of great
success in international festivals.
But in this time, the company went
further more. It has added a strate-
gic area, Tondero Distribución, and
there’s when I joined the partner-
ship, so as to expand the third par-
ties and to start an interesting fic-
tion co-production process for dif-
ferent platforms. This new company
is in charge of the local distribution
and international sale of movies,
documentaries, series and novels of
gagement with sports fans, who
were enthusiastic, participated and
were redirected to our channel to
have access to more information.
So some of the capsules could be
seen on FB, others on our channel,
on mobile apps and even on TV chan-
nels where they were broadcasted.
How have Sabbatical’s
businesses evolved in
the last time?
Our evolution has been exponential
in every way. Both in the creation
and production of original content,
since in less than 2 years we have
made more than 200 hours of pro-
gramming, as well as in sales and
América TV of Peru, with great re-
sults in a short time.
How did the company’s port-
folio migrate with the incor-
poration of original produc-
tions and co-productions?
This has been a great challenge,
since it has led us to raise our qual-
@ newslinereport
distribution, since we have three
children series on the air with E/I
certification in Univision: Planet of
children, The world is yours and
Human Nature, as well as five ex-
clusive documentaries that we have
broadcast on CNN in Spanish, for
all the Spanish-speaking public of
the United States, as for the CNNE
signal for Latin America, from Mex-
ico to the Patagonia
Cecilia Gómez de la Torre, General
Manager of the Distribution area,
analyses the growth of Peruvian pro-
ductions worldwide.
ity to a world standard and to a spe-
cialization of the team. Nowadays,
we are generating many innovative
proposals on a creative level, and
most importantly, and take the de-
cision to open soon management in
Mexico, Colombia and Spain.
Why do you think that Peru-
vian content grew so fast over
the last couple of years?
I think it has to do first with the
proposal of original contents, then
with the level of our productions,
also the fact that the Peruvian
accent is very neutral, that it col-
laborates a lot and finally a great
How have Sabbatical
alliances evolved in an
international perspective?
We firmly believe that borders do
not exist thanks to technology, so
we can work remotely with who we
want. Our content is universal, so
it is consistent that we join forc-
es with teams in all parts of the
world, from all disciplines and
cultures. We are working with
start-ups or Sabbatical Stations,
as we like to call the production
houses full of young profession-
als who are in different places:
Barcelona, Bogota, Buenos Aires,
Mexico, São Paulo. We have con-
ceived an alliance model that al-
lows us to associate with them in
an efficient formula to win = win,
which transcends the limits we
had imagined.
constancy in our production, as we
are increasing the number of pro-
ductions and the quality of them.
Which are Tondero’s goals for
the last quarter of the year?
The main goal is to overcome the
results of the previous year with
the Premiere of Asu Mare 3 and
generate through this a new para-
digm in our Cinema. We are aware
that the challenge is high, since it
is not easy to get back 3 million
viewers like the first two ones, but
the whole team has been working
on it and great strategies have
been generated to achieve it.
MIPCOM 2018 39
 DISTRIBUTION
KESHET INTERNATIONAL
“Finished content sales is a growing
part of our business”
Kelly Wright, VP Distribution and New Business, boosts high-profile
TV and film projects through the KI Content Fund.
How have you evolved the business
of Keshet International?
This has been a big year for Keshet Inter-
national across the globe. We acquired a
majority stake in Greenbird Media guar-
anteeing us a new pipeline of English lan-
guage finished tape and formats from
some of the UK’s top indie producers, in-
cluding Crackit Productions and Tues-
day’s Child. Finished content sales is a
growing part of our business and we have
excellent titles on our slate from interna-
tional dramas to high quality factual. We
also launched our $55M KI Content Fund
in March to bring more high-profile TV and film projects to the
market, closely followed by our first project – Ecosse Films’ The
Trials of Christine Keeler for BBC One. So, we’re really looking
to deficit fund similar commissioned, high-end drama projects
with global appeal this year.
Why do you think that your formats are so successful
in their local versions?
I believe there are three factors, and the first is scalabil-
ity. Israeli budgets sit in the middle, towards the lower
end of global television budgets, and can be scaled up or
down, which suits 95% of TV production models. The sec-
ond thing is creativity. Being a nation of immigrants,
Israelis have always had to contend with an audience that
watches global content, with the challenge being to com-
pete against content and strike a chord with local audi-
ences. Those unique elements – whether humor, clever
plot twists, or innovative storytelling methods – are not
just unique in Israel, but unique in the global market,
and therefore worthy of replication on a local level. The
third factor is partnerships. At Keshet, we are quite flex-
ible format owners, and we understand that partners need
the freedom to adapt. We work hand-in-hand with part-
ners on local development, ensuring a hybrid product that
both retains the structural integrity of the original, but is
imbued with the local flavor of the host country.
How are you working with your drama strategy?
At KI, we continue to develop, produce and acquire compelling
dramas on both a local and a global level. Our viewers can
easily escape into a fantasy of their choice, whether it’s a
40 MIPCOM 2018
thriller such as When Heroes Fly, or a love
story with a scripted ending such as Tele-
visa’s current adaptation of Mythological
Ex. It’s our job to keep exploring new worlds
with viewers, exploring the boundary be-
tween local and global, and continuing to
bring to the world an innovative new line-
up of content each year, without losing
what is familiar, popular, and beloved.
How do you see the current
situation of the industry?
No matter in what part of the industry
you work, we are all facing massive chal-
lenges to what has been the steady business model for de-
cades. With technological growth comes both organizational
challenges and global spread. We are all expanding our au-
diences from the borders of our own territories to the global
stage, and how do you service such a massive global audi-
ence, while reflecting the local plots inside of the universal
truths that make each series so unique and relevant? We’re
facing a paradigm shift in perspective, and organizations
need to work hard to make a tricky 180-degree turn from
being inward-facing to outward-looking, while continuing to
strengthen their core business pillars. Some will topple while
making that turn, and they won’t be able to pick themselves
up. Others will gracefully rebound, and they’ll thrive. The
next 5 years will see a “natural selection” amongst compet-
itors – the strongest will survive.
Which is going to be the strategy of Keshet Interna-
tional for next year?
An important message we want to get across this year and
moving forward is that we are not just about formats, even
though we’ve had huge success here in the past. We have
production capabilities around the world and are also able to
finance original properties we believe in. We are committed to
creating a diverse slate of quality finished tape. From high-
end dramas like Autonomies, which premiered at Series Mania
in May and Stockholm, which debuted to critical acclaim this
month at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), to Crac-
kit Productions’ docu-reality Bad Habits, Holy Orders, finished
content sales across all genres are now as important to us as
formats. One of our aims is to become a key destination for
every buyer of finished content globally.
DISTRIBUTION @ newslinereport

MIPCOM 2018 41
 DISTRIBUTION
A+E NETWORKS
Launches its first programming event
for Crime+Investigation
Building on its rich, 20+ year legacy
in the true crime space, A+E
Networks announces Twisted Faith,
its first Primetime programming
event across its global flagship
channel Crime+ Investigation. The
seven-day block will feature a strong
lineup of original content, new
season premieres of continuing
series and locally produced long-
and short form content.
Crime+Investigation channels
around the world will kick off the
event the week of November 18,
2018 on the 40th anniversary of the
Jonestown massacre. The announce-
ment was made by Sean Cohan,
President, International & Digital
Media, A+E Networks.
“Twisted Faith was created for
Crime+Investigation’s highly
engaged, loyal viewers, many of whom
represent life’s investigators – smart,
curious students of human behavior,”
said Cohan. “The event is an optimal
platform to exploit the channel’s
strong pipeline of cults and twisted
faith related programming, while
providing significant opportunities for
localization as we present investiga-
tions of universal and broader themes
across the week.”
This first-ever global programming
event created for
42 MIPCOM 2018
Sean Cohan,
President, Interna-
tional & Digital Me-
dia, explains that
during seven days,
the channel will
have special pro-
ductions all around
the world.
Crime+Investigation channels
focuses on cults and twisted faith
around the world. The weeklong
initiative will premiere new hours of
programming headlined by A&E
Indie Film No Greater Law; as well
as new episodes of the original
investigative series Cults and
Extreme Belief featuring Emmy®
Award-winning journalist Elizabeth
Vargas; as well as local originals
from Italy, Germany and the UK.
The event will air in over 100 territo-
ries around the world including in the
U.S., Canada, the UK, Poland, South
Africa, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and
Southeast Asia. In Germany, Twisted
Faith will premiere on A&E Network.
Headlining the event in the UK is a
locally commissioned Special – Cults,
Taboos and Twisted Faith – produced
by Phoenix TV and bringing together
British cult survivors, victims and
family members, some of whom are
talking for the first time about the
trauma of indoctrination and escape
from cults and fringe groups and how
it’s impacted their lives. The special is
produced by local UK production
company Phoenix TV and Executive
Produced for the network by Di Carter.
Twisted Faith global premieres are
compounded by ‘No Greater Law’
(120’) that explores Idaho’s Treasure
Valley, a pastoral and devout corner
of what was once America’s western
frontier, where worldly and funda-
mentalist ideas of faith clash. With
some beliefs affecting literal life and
death consequences, in a domain
where church and state lines blur,
child fatalities linked to faith healing
and medical neglect occur largely
without scrutiny. Parents who refuse
medical care for their children in the
name of God are immune from
prosecution, and religious freedom is
elevated above all else.
‘Cults and Extreme Belief’ (9x60’)
features Emmy Award-winning
journalist Elizabeth Vargas, who
has traveled the world reporting in-
depth investigations and conducting
newsmaker interviews. Now, in this
explosive series, she lifts the lid on
life inside some of the world’s most
controversial organizations, exposing
their manipulative tactics and
destructive belief systems. From the
self-help group NXIVM and the
Twelve Tribes to the United Nation of
Islam, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and The
Family, each episode takes an
immersive look at one group through
the eyes of past devotees and gets
perspective from believers and
leaders who are still inside.
‘Escaping Polygamy, Season Three’
(10x60’) begins more than 10 years
after four sisters escape from “the
Order,” a secretive polygamous cult
in Salt Lake City. Now Andrea,
Jessica, Shannell, and Kollene
devote their lives to helping other
young men, women, and children
break free from polygamous groups
and adjust to life on the outside. In
Season 3, the women continue their
DISTRIBUTION
dangerous mission, with Jessica
even taking a public and political
stance against polygamy in a
controversial hearing before Utah’s
legislature.
Last but not least, ‘Leah Remini:
Scientology and the Aftermath: The
Jehovah’s Witnesses’ (120’) features
Leah Remini and Mike Rinder as they
shine a light on the Jehovah’s
Witnesses, giving voice to former
members who share their stories of
trauma and survival.
MISTCO
Shows two new drama series of TRT
TRT and MistCo are bringing two new
drama series to Mipcom this year.
One of these series is named Hold My
Hand, premiered on TRT this July,
and remains as the N°1 TV show on
Sunday nights in all target groups.
Following two main characters, Azra
and Cenk, the story focuses on the
crossing lives of these two young
people. Azra is a beautiful, well-
educated girl who mysteriously loses
her father and finds herself out in
the streets with no money or shelter
all of a sudden. Things get more
complex when Azra’s brother goes
missing. Cenk is a very handsome boy
coming from a wealthy family. He
rejects to live the traditional life his
@ newslinereport
Mipcom this year. Hold My Hand
‘Hold My Hand’ adopts both a romantic and a
tragic main story. And thus, we
and ‘Two Parts One believe that the success it reached
in Turkey will be reflected globally
Love’ are destined and the series will receive great
to be the new flag- interest from all around the world
especially from Latin America.
ship titles. Right after the launch of the show,
there are deals we are about to
close. As the leader of family
grandma Mrs. Feride try to impose drama production, TRT produces
upon him. One day Mrs. Feride meets the best family drama series and
Azra and adores her, so she decides to Two Parts One Love has proven to
assign Azra as her new and only be one of them with its ratings
heiress. That’s how the bound of Azra result so far. It is a great choice
and Cenk starts to be formed. for the global partners who are
The second drama series to be searching for fun on their screen.”
launched is a family drama named
Two Parts One Love. The series has a
very emotional and entertaining
story. Deniz and Zeynep are two
young people coming from the most
distant regions of the country.
Zeynep is a newly graduated girl and
she lives with her father. Deniz is a
young man living with his mother
and he wants to establish his
business. However, Deniz and Zeynep
start to work for the same company
and their parents end up having two
restaurants across each other as
competitors in a small town.
Aysegul Tuzun, VP, Sales &
Marketing, MistCo, comments: “We
are very honored to announce these
two successful launches for
MIPCOM 2018 43
 DISTRIBUTION
BBC STUDIOS LATIN AMERICA - USH
“There is an enormous opportunity
offered by new technologies”
Which was the reception of the
market to BBC Studios’ main
formats as is the case of ‘Bake Off
...’ in Latin America? How could
you describe the success of the
formats both as tapes and
adapted local versions?
The reception has been very good, Bake
Off Brazil - Mão na Massa entered its
fourth season in August, the first sea-
son of Bake Off Argentina, El Gran
Pastelero was a success obtaining a
growth of almost 35% in ratings week
by week. The success of this format in
Argentina opened the way to Bake Off
Chile, El Gran Pastelero , the second
adaptation of the format in Spanish,
which also premiered in Chilevision in
August and has caused a phenomenon
in social networks and in the audience.
The success essentially lies in the fact
that a good story, of good quality always
travels and especially this kind of format
that touches audiences so personally with
childhood memories of the kitchen, the
challenges that we all live to make a cake
and that in the background it reaches
the hearts of the viewers.
How have BBC Studios busines-
ses evolved in the last time?
The balance has been very positive, fo-
cused on supporting our partners by of-
fering them the right content for their
needs. Our team is divided to cover dif-
ferent genres and clients. In recent
times, we have closed agreements with
Discovery in Latin America, VTR in
44 MIPCOM 2018
Chile, Cablevisión in Argentina and Glo-
bo in Brazil so as to name a few. At BBC
Studios our partners are instrumental
and we always look for new opportuni-
ties while we follow up and continue to
present businesses.
Do you think that technological
evolution influences the develo-
pment and consumption of
productions?
Of course, as we know, the growth of the
OTT is forcing the broadcasters to ex-
pand their catch-up and digital offer.
In addition, there are many DDT that
are emerging and looking for content
that is not the traditional one. We offer
content for all types of platforms and
when we are in production we have al-
ready planned it in another way taking
into account all the platforms. For ex-
ample, our emblematic series that pre-
miered this year, Blue Planet II, this series
also had content in short format so that it
can be used in mobile or online. This al-
lows an optimization of the productions
and the ability to link with our series in any
environment. I see an enormous opportu-
nity offered by new technologies.
How do the alliances of BBC
Studios evolve with their main
international players?
We continue working with the great in-
ternational players like Netflix and Am-
azon of course, but we also seek to inno-
vate in the region and our partners like
the big ones of open TV and Pay. They
David Hanono, SVP,
Sales & Digital, seeks
to innovate in the re-
gion and its partners
like the key players of
Free TV and Pay TV.
have evolved satisfactorily. We reached an
agreement with Endemol Shine Brasil and
MB Produções de Murilo Benício and Débo-
ra Falabella to produce a Brazilian version
of Doctor Foster. This will be the debut of
the BBC within the segment of dramatic
series based on script in Brazil.
We have established partnerships and
worked very closely with our transmit-
ting partners (Discovery, Globo, SBT,
RecordTV, Univision) and our OTT part-
ners (Netflix, Amazon, Sony Crackle, Cla-
ro Video, Looke, TV Cultura, Netflix, En-
terplay, VTR, Antel , etc.). We support
the development of innovative platforms
for our clients, such as VTR Chile or the
Cablevision Flow multiplatform service
in Argentina, expanding and creating a
dedicated offer of BBC On Demand.
What are the goals of BBC
Studios for this last quarter?
We want to distribute the largest amount
of BBC content on all existing platforms.
One of the main focuses of attention
are the telcos, they are requesting short
and long term content. We believe that
we will open new business models with
companies such as Telcel in Mexico or
Vivo in Brazil, for example. It is a fact
that today audiences are seeing content
in all kinds of devices, so you have to
target those areas. We have to be cre-
ative and recognize all the opportuni-
ties we have for our titles to be con-
sumed. Blue Planet II, for example, gives
endless content that can be shared,
arouses emotions and it is material that
people want to share on their social net-
works or see on their cellphones.
DISTRIBUTION
LEDAFILMS
Starts investing in co-production projects
Which were the first results of
‘Everybody Knows’ after its
premiere in the main cinemas?
It has been a pride for us to have
a title like ‘Everybody Knows’ of
Asghar Farhadi, not only because
this was the title that opened the
last Cannes Festival but also
because it is also reaping excellent
reviews and very good results from
viewers in the territories where it
has released to date. In addition
to the great director, the cast of
luxury formed by: Penélope Cruz,
Ricardo Darín and Javier Bardem
are important attractions for the
public in Latin America.
How have the Ledafilms busi-
ness evolved in the last time?
We are very satisfied with the
results we have had in the last
time. Not only by agreements that
we have specified and the
attractiveness of the titles that
have been incorporated into our
catalog, but also by the new
business units in which we are
venturing. During the last years
we have premiered a large
number of titles in cinemas
throughout Latin America in
partnership with local partners
and now we are going to venture
into the North American market
with the titles: Mia And The White
Lion with Mélanie Laurent,
Langley Kirkwood, Tessa Jubber
about a girl who develops an
incredible friendship with a white
lion on a farm in South Africa and
The Queen’s Corgi that tells the
adventures of the favorite dog of
the Queen of England when
leaving Buckingham Palace must
learn to be a true Top Dog.
How would you describe
the current situation of the
content industry?
The present is a great moment for
content. The audience has shown
like never before that when the
content is good, it likes a lot. There
is a great feedback of screens and
social networks. People want to
share their experience when they
like content and that forces us to
be in constant search and
analysis of the tastes, themes,
genres and trends that are being
required by the viewer. In the
current context it is very important
to identify attractive content that
can reach as many people as
possible. You have to be very
@ newslinereport
Moira Mc Nama-
ra, Sales Manager,
announces that
the company is
going to venture
into the North
American market.
attentive to the needs of different
screens as not everyone is looking
for the same content time.
How do Ledafilms alliances
evolve with you main
international partners?
Fortunately, we work with several
of the largest and most recog-
nized players in the industry. Each
agreement is unique, but what we
can discuss is that titles and
projects of the highest quality are
the tools that help us in the
assembly of each of the negotia-
tions with our different clients.
How will be managed
the Ledafilms operations
for 2019?
Ledafilms has more than 45
years of experience and through-
out our history we have been
characterized by our flexibility
when dealing with the different
changes in the industry. The
challenge today is that nothing
is rigid anymore, it is impossible
to speak of a standardization in
distribution, each production,
each negotiation is unique in
itself and this permanent
change requires a dynamic,
proactive direction and is always
oriented to create and develop
new opportunities of business.
What are the goals of Ledafil-
ms for this last quarter?
We have several co-production
projects under development and we
hope to be able to advance in them
in the coming months to be able to
comment on news about them soon.
Go back to venture into production,
as well as enter the North American
market, is one of the objectives in
which we are working at full speed.
Also, we have several titles coming
to premiere in cinemas like: ‘I Still
See you’, ‘Replicas’ and ‘Playmobil:
The Movie’.
MIPCOM 2018 45
 DISTRIBUTION
SONAR ENTERTAINMENT
“Development is key to our strategy”
How has Sonar’s business
evolved recently?
Investment into our own development
together with collaborating with third
party content creators has enabled us
to build a strong development portfolio
of ‘high end drama’. These third party
creative relationships vary from ‘first
look’ deals with Smokehouse (George
Clooney), Team Downey (Robert
Downey Jr) and MTG (Geyer Kosinski) to
a number of ‘multi project’ deals with
the likes of Scott Free UK (Ridley
Scott) and Monkey Paw (Jordan Peele)
plus we are building additional
relationships with creators in Europe,
specifically UK & Italy, plus Asia.
Development is key to our strategy as
we are financing the option on IP
rights, we then attach and fund a
writer to execute a script and treat-
ment then subsequently we package
the project. In order to elevate the
content above the surfeit of other
competing drama projects in the
marketplace we look to secure a ‘name
showrunner’ or ‘feature director’ and
then make the material undeniable
with top level casting.
How would you describe
the current situation of the
content industry?
The international distribution business
in the last 24 months has changed
immensely and that change is being
felt nowhere more keenly than in the
drama creation sector. Mass consolida-
tion and the rise of streamers taking
global licenses means there are
arguably fewer sources of IP to draw
from and a requirement to pay higher
prices to buy into shows earlier in their
lifecycle. Traditional deal structures are
now outdated and business that once
relied on sales of finished tape are
having to move fast to adapt to the
46 MIPCOM 2018
Andres Santos, VP,
International Distri-
bution, Latin Ameri-
ca, Brazil & Hispan-
ic North America,
describes the differ-
ent alliances estab-
lished with several
companies.
changing marketplace. Now as a
producer/distributor you have to extract
value from projects in different ways
(through co-production, co-financing
models, soft monies, tax funds) which
then become more IP building invest-
ment and a production play. Being a
relatively small indie we can be nimble,
agile and flexible in responding to the
shifts to the industry while continuing
to be a collaborative partner to both
creative partners and distribution
platforms & networks.
How will Sonar’s operations
be managed for 2019?
We will continue to focus on finding
great stories and storytellers plus
finding brands, franchise and great
talent – we are looking to create shows
with market cut through. We will
adapt to the needs of the market and
the consumer. We are not part of a
broadcaster/platform led vertically
integrated structure (BBC Studios/
BBC, ITV Studios/ITV Network, All 3/
Liberty, Red Arrow/ProSieben, Studio
Canal/Canal Plus, plus all the US
consolidation Lionsgate/Starz, Disney/
Fox and Comcast/Sky etc.) so we have
to maintain our focus on ‘high end
drama’ that attracts great talent
which is content that is most sort
after by all platforms and networks.
On the sales side we will continue to
maintain and build closer relation-
ships in all markets globally.
What are Sonar’s objectives
for this last quarter?
Our objective, of course, in the last
quarter is to meet our 2018 budget.
Additionally, we will start the process
at Mipcom, then Mip Cancun and in
Singapore at ATF to engage with our
buyers in early discussions about our
new drama projects that will com-
mence production in the next 6
months. It’s becoming increasingly
important to have our clients involved
with projects at the earliest possible
moment as drama series take shape
(we have an episode one script and
series bible). Early engagement is now
a necessity for both producer, distribu-
tor and platform partners.
DISTRIBUTION
MEGA GLOBAL ENTERTAINMENT
“Digital platforms let us knock down
barriers and reduce distances”
After the launch of MGE in LA
Screenings, how was the recep-
tion of the industry towards this
new distributor?
The first experiences of MGE were
satisfactory, thanks to having
content that they like a lot and a
different genre that can travel easily.
The customers were very receptive
with the strong content of Mega,
especially because they were very
impressed by the excellent perfor-
mance in a competitive Chilean
market. In addition to Mega’s
portfolio, the company has the
distribution of ATF Korea, which
introduced Korean telenovelas in
Latin America through “Escalera al
cielo” that opened the doors to this
genre in the region, and the catalog
of short series from Mediaset, with
whom we have a two-way relationship
(MGE represents Mediaset content in
Latin America, while Mediaset carries
the MGE catalog to Europe). We also
made a strategic alliance with
Caracol to represent us in Africa and
other territories. We have an alliance
with Zona A of Colombia, which
provides formats and different
genres of telenovelas, movies, and
short and long series, besides several
biopics. We have a portfolio that
allows us to offer all our customers a
variety of content.
Which is the strategy behind the
partnerships you have made?
With globalization we intend to do a
double-sided marketing. Just as we
want our content to travel internation-
ally, we bring foreign content to the
region because that distribution is
exclusively for Latin America. In the
case of Zona A, we have their formats
available for everyone. But both
Mediaset and ATF are destined to Latin
America. The Koreans have offered the
market a short novel format, which can
include between 20 and 30 episodes.
@ newslinereport
Esperanza Garay,
CEO, presents a
different kind of
content that could
travel easily.
How do you describe the moment
of production in Latin America?
Latin American production is
growing and we have high levels of
quality, so that we can’t envy any
producer of the world. Today, Latin
America has become a producer that
supplies its own regional signals but
its contents created in the region
are being consumed internationally.
Digital platforms allow us to break
down barriers and shorten distances
for globalization. This allows the
content to travel without any
restriction and has been very
favorable for the industry.
What will you be presenting
during the last term of the year?
At Mipcom we are presenting the
contents and fiction formats of
Mediaset for Latin America for the
first time, as well as showcasing
the latest products and launches
we have to offer to the market. We
will also attend MipCancun where
we will focus on the Korean ATF
product, heading the portfolio with
Gift of God , and the Mediaset
series. For Natpe Miami 219, we
will be having an important launch
with new contents of MGE and all
our represented.
MIPCOM 2018 47
 DISTRIBUTION
DRG
The importance of having sub-titled
and dubbed content
How is it working your most recent
alliance with The Format Factory?
So far we’re off to a strong start. For-
mats continue to work even as the plat-
forms in which we’re brokering deals con-
tinue to change. As a UK based interna-
tionally minded organization, we make
a major point to find format-table con-
tent that stands a great chance to reach-
ing wide global. Subjects like dating,
cooking or game shows have not been
exhausted, despite what some people
say. The Format Factory is an entity that
can do exactly that. To help people fur-
ther find formats that work for them we
have adapted our catalogue to focus on
genres such as reality, crime and talent
shows. In this way the format ideas
stand out more and our clients can more
readily find what they are looking for if
there is a gap in their schedules.
How have evolved the business of
DRG over the last couple of months?
TV distribution is a constantly evolving
sector and I like to think DRG is lead-
ing the way. Over the past few months
we have undertaken new partnerships
with a range of producers, we are more
integrally involved at the outset of a
production than ever before – from both
a financial and creative standpoint –
and significantly, with Manson’s Blood-
line, we undertook our very first com-
mission. We are moving our business
to sit at the very heart of content and
distributing it internationally will just
be one aspect of what we do.
With the expansion of your team
of international sales, how will
you be addressing your strategy
for the next year?
We’re bringing in sharp talent from
strong companies: Lucy Roberts joined
us from All3Media, Jess Khanom joined
us from Fox. We need people to help de-
liver our evolving content strategy and
who can work with our broadcaster and
platform clients – as well as producer
contacts – to make sure everyone gets
48 MIPCOM 2018
Scott Kirkpatrick,
SVP North & South
America, says that
the company needs
people to help deliv-
er its evolving con-
tent strategy.
what the need. We no longer just recruit
sales executives – people need to be
more rounded. Both Jess and Lucy join
us with tremendous formats experience
– and this too is a major strategic focus
this year. We have a newly re-focused
formats catalogue – with more than 150
titles, including a number of new ones
to be launched at MIPCOM and we are
keen to be seen as a leading formats
partner worldwide.
How did it work your dubbed offer
for the Latin American territories?
We’ve just secured two seasons of our
hit Baby Animals franchise with a chan-
nel in Costa Rica and are currently ne-
gotiating a major deal on our Nat Geo
series Genius; both of these opportuni-
ties would have been impossible with-
out the library of dubs we’re
creating. Having a library of both sub-
titled and dubbed content has opened
doors of opportunity for DRG and we’re
continuing down that path.
How are you working with the
digital platforms around the
world? Which kind of content are
you trying to introduce into them?
I tend to let the digital platforms sim-
ply tell me what they need. Digital enti-
ties have more access to consumer/user
data than anyone on the broadcast side
could ever hope to see. They know exact-
ly what programming tends to drive
numbers and have no qualms in being
direct with their content objectives. So
my strategy is simply to listen, to hear
about their content and audience goals
and provide the titles that meet their
needs and help digital platforms be
successful in the US, or for those plat-
forms branching out globally.
Which are your goals for the end
of the year?
Formats is a key focus for the business
internationally and I want to bring more
formats to Latin America. Our most suc-
cessful format, The Farm, is doing phe-
nomenal business in Brazil but it can
easily work elsewhere in Latin America.
I’ll be pushing strong formats both
scripted—such as Shameless (recently
remade in Turkey) and Melk— and fac-
tual/factual entertainment formats at
both MIPCOM and MIPCancun. New for-
mats for launch at MIPCOM include
Ready, Set, Go!, a brilliant, wacky new
sports quiz; Top Ten, a primetime music
show where celebrities have to reveal the
top ten hits of a given year and Ridicu-
lously Smart , an innovative format
whereby stand-up comedians are tasked
with learning about a new field of scien-
tific research and then delivering a hi-
larious stand-up show on the subject –
all within five days. I hope to sign with
broadcasters or independent producers
looking to develop and produce formats
for Latin American audiences.
DISTRIBUTION @ newslinereport

MIPCOM 2018 49
 DIGITAL
AMAZON PRIME VIDEO LATIN AMERICA
“We do not have a unique model”
Through Amazon Originals, Amazon
Prime Video continues to feed its cata-
log with original productions in Latin
America, being Mexico one of the most
important markets, as it has already fin-
ished its first two series: ‘A strange en-
emy’ and ‘LOL: Last One Laughing’, star-
ring Eugenio Derbez and that will be re-
leased in December.
“The way Amazon sees the product is
because of the value we are offering.
By acquiring a Prime membership, us-
ers have a lot of exclusive services in
Mexico, as Latin America does not have
them yet. 2018 was focused on search-
ing and accommodating the product:
we duplicate the content, thinking
about the taste of the local audience.
At the company we listen to the cus-
tomer’s comments and we see what
kind of content they’re looking for. The
Amazon Originals are the access door”,
comments Pablo Iacoviello, head of
contents Acquisitions of Amazon Prime
Video Latin America.
On the way to choose content, as well
as the news and objectives of the com-
pany for the next months, the execu-
tive said: “We are working in two ways,
first adding and updating the con-
tent, looking for local production, what
we are doing is approaching to the
producers and creators, looking for
that kind of differential content that
is unique, fresh and innovative ideas
that did not have an opportunity in
other places, the fashion project of
50 MIPCOM 2018
that person. Amazon gives that open-
ing to the Premium and at the same
time popular content, to which the fi-
nal client responds favorably when it’s
shown something local, as it feels iden-
tified. The international content is al-
ways very good and they attract a lot
of attention, but when you give the
public well done content in their re-
gion, they enjoys it a lot and that good
response makes the difference.”
“The ideals and goal are to build a cre-
ative and pleasant environment for the
director and producer to have all their
potential. An example of this is the se-
ries A strange enemy that we made with
Televisa and Gabriel Ripstein. We be-
came very involved in each of the stag-
es, as we followed everything in a very
closely way and generated a great at-
mosphere for bright talent, it is a great
story that deals with the massacre of
1968. We do not have a unique model,
we analyze each project independently
and use it differently. Amazon comes
from an origin of experimental innova-
tion and from there it is transmitted to
the video, to bring the best contents to
the platform “.
The executive adds that: “It is impor-
tant to adapt to different structures and
business models, we sometimes bet on
a license, we agreed on an original se-
ries or hybrids. In the case of Falco, where
we participated in the scripts and the
creative stage, it came out first in Tele-
mundo, then via streaming in Latin
Pablo Iacoviello,
Head of Contents
Acquisitions, de-
scribes the bet for
original content in
the region, provid-
ing new chances for
creatives with inno-
vative ideas.
America and finally on TNT, while El
César premiered at the beginning of the
year, first on TNT and then we went on a
second window together with TV Azteca.
Each model is different and we try to
adapt to the structure that might be
necessary, so that all participants feel
comfortable and have what they need. “
Regarding the benefit of inserting lo-
cal and original content, Iacoviello,
highlights: “The benefit of the original
content depends on where you see it,
we have three important pillars to pro-
duce: the creative, friendly environ-
ment, with a push and a strong mar-
keting action, as well as a global exhi-
bition. Diablo Guardian was presented
in more than 200 countries and had an
incredible impact. Maradona is a very
interesting case, because it is a prod-
uct that was thought for Latin Ameri-
ca, and other countries began to ask
for more participation, so it turns to be
a very ambitious production that is
being recorded in Spain, Italy and Ar-
gentina, with great talent “.
“Another project that is coming is LOL:
Last One Laughing, a co-production with
Eugenio Derbez and his production house
3Pas Studios, together with Endemol
Shine Boomdog. It is an adaptation of
the Japanese series of Hitoshi Matsu-
moto. The premiere is scheduled in De-
cember, and we hope to have repercus-
sions in more than 200 countries, for
the talent and acceptance of Derbez in
the public,” concludes.
DIGITAL @ newslinereport

OLYMPUSAT

“The content industry is

experiencing its best moment
of transformation”
How have
Olympusat’s busi-
nesses evolved in
the last time?
Olympusat is one of the
independent media
conglomerates in
Spanish and English
specialized in owner-
ship, distribution and
technical services
related to television content, through
a group of companies such as: Ocean
Communications, Olympusat, Inc.,
Olympusat Telecom, Olympusat
Entertainment, Ocean Distribution,
Ocean New Media, Hatch Entertain-
ment, Magicorp and Road 8 Entertain-
ment, all managed under the philoso-
phy of constant innovation and
implementation of new technologies
adapted to communication.
One of the achievements of this new
times has been Vemox, a platform that
combines technology with content,
offering access to more than 50 live
channels in Spanish, as well as
thousands of hours of movies and a la
carte series. VEMOX is available on
Amazon Fire TV Stick, Amazon Fire TV,
Google Play, Apple Store and on some
smart TVs, such as Samsung and LG.
At a time when content production is a
reference for companies like Olympu-
sat, agreements have been estab-
lished with producers in Europe and
Asia to jointly produce original titles
from those countries to be dubbed into
Spanish by our dubbing subsidiary
located in Mexico City. The same thing
applies to media companies in Latin
America, with whom agreements have
been signed to create content.
Aurora Bacquerie, VP, Channel Rela-
tionships & Content, describes VEMOX,
its platform that offers access to more
than 50 live channels in Spanish.
ces the development that can be accessed through
and consumption of platforms like Vemox.
productions? To the extent that the broadband of the
The content industry is experiencing Internet becomes much wider, the
its best moment of transformation to spectrum of consumption will expand to
offer the viewer the opportunity to a larger audience eager to be able to
choose from a variety of alternatives experience what it entertains visually.
the best of the options tailored to
personal taste. Technology has How will be driven the operational
opened the possibility of opening strategy of Olympusat for 2019?
windows to experience visual enter- Both for the last quarter of this year,
tainment in a way never before seen and for the rest of 2019, the goal is to
in the past and it is only the begin- increase the daily addition of up to 30
ning of a virtual world that is hours of content on our platforms,
prepared every day to provide a much including 15 original fiction series,
more vivid experience of emotions adding new channels of direct
through series of fiction, competi- transmission to Vemox, expand content
tions and even documentaries. distribution partners, add new devices
Alternatives can be found in the to existing ones in order to reach a
diversity of channels that Olympusat larger number of national and
operates, in which all genres are international audiences, as well as
accommodated for the whole family: include content and channels in
large, medium and small live English to meet the demand of the
television viewers or content libraries English-speaking community.

How would you describe the

current situation of the content
industry? Do you think that
technological evolution influen-

MIPCOM 2018 51
 PAY TV
RTVE
“There has been an explosion of
content producers worldwide”
How have the businesses of RTVE evolved
in the last time?
We have worked hard in the diversification of products and
deepened in the new options that the digital world offers,
so we are in line with the transformations that the industry
is experiencing and the new forms of consumption of televi-
sion entertainment.
How would you describe the current situation of the
content industry?
It is an industry that is experiencing a very interesting moment
in which several factors are taking part: 1) the consumer is
increasingly demanding quality, quantity, gender and mode of
consumption, 2) new players have appeared in the market,
and have yet to appear more, that are very agile in meeting the
user’s demand. 3) the technical development of the digital
world allows unthinkable features and really innovative qual-
ities. 4) There has been an explosion of content producers
worldwide 5) who creates with a global perspective and 6)
those are able to reach a wide international audience, which
favors 7) the transfer of professionals and talents.
A year after the international presentation of CLAN
and PLAYZ, what was the reception of the market, and
how has the penetration of both brands evolved?
We are very satisfied with the welcome and recognition that
our new products are having. Especially happy with Clan, which
52 MIPCOM 2018
María Jesús Pérez, Head of Interna-
tional, admits that CLAN is very close
to be launch in North America.
already reaches an important penetration in America that is
increased every month. It is currently present in Mexico and
almost all the countries of Central America, Colombia, Peru,
Bolivia, Ecuador, Argentina and Chile and is very close to be-
ing launched in North America. Playz, with its hits in fiction
and entertainment for young people, is also making its name
and its place in the industry.
What was the reception of the industry to the titles
presented in your Showcase held in the month of June?
It was a great success, which has resulted in new sales and co-
production agreements that are giving us many satisfactions.
For next year we are designing an even more special event
based on emotion and interaction with buyers to create an
indelible mark on them.
What are the goals of RTVE for this last quarter
of the year?
Grow the international distribution of STAR, which has been
available worldwide for several days; keep going on the Ameri-
can distribution of CLAN and consolidate the positioning of TVE
and 24 HOURS, to which news on programming and design are
coming to contribute. All this on the side of the RTVE channels.
Regarding our shows, TVE productions are increasingly recog-
nized internationally for their quality and connection with the
audience. Our series for the prime time, such as Estoy Vivo,
whose 2nd Season is being premiered this week, Cuéntame,
which goes for its Season 19, The Continental, The Other Look,
Fugitive, Betrayal, Sonata Del Silencio or Bonuses, are conquer-
ing an international public. In the field of the weekly series, I
would like to highlight the success of Acacias 38, Servir y Prote-
ger or Medical Center, currently on air both in Spain and in other
countries. Our main goals are to close a record year of interna-
tional sales of the own productions of the RTVE Corporation.
PAY TV
CISNEROS MEDIA
“We will start the 2019 a step ahead”
Cisneros Media is having a very posi-
tive 2018, as most of its relevant mea-
sures are showing its growth: subscrib-
ers, audience, affiliates, advertisers and
also the amount of original hours pro-
duced. Based on this factors, Carlos
Cabrera, VP of Sales, Pay TV, exclaims:
“We have many reasons to celebrate and
to start the 2019 a step ahead. We’ll
still be working on the original produc-
tions so as to reinforce the program-
ming of all our networks, in order to in-
crease our reception even more, and
AZ TV DE PAGA
Celebrates its 4th anniversary
The company reaches 17 countries with its
portfolio compound by AZ Mundo, AZ
Corazón, AZ Clic and AZ Cinema.
The business unit AZ TV de Paga cele-
brates its four years since the launch of
its brand and its new portfolio of chan-
nels, with distribution in more than 17
countries, thanks to the creation of new
signals, the generation of original and
exclusive content under a new produc-
tion model, the adaptation of the tech-
nological infrastructure and a direct
sales and customer service.
“We are happy to celebrate a new anni-
versary of our channel portfolio AZ Mun-
do, AZ Corazón, AZ Clic and AZ Cinema.
We celebrate in the best way we know how
to do it, which is renewing our commit-
ment with the audience and with our ca-
ble-operators partners and customers
through a solid offer of contents linked to
a dynamic and innovative commercial
Carlos Cabrera, VP of
Sales, Pay TV, sug-
gests that User Gen-
erated Content is
gaining an important
share against tradi-
tional offering.
growing our ad sales business”.
Regarding the chance of international
alliances, Cabrera suggests that “on
Cisneros side we perfectly understand
the need to give some more value to our
affiliates and clients in every territory
where we are operative. The idea is to
keep working on their needs so as to ex-
pand the partnerships and create new
strategy. This allows us to face the great
challenges presented by today’s televi-
sion industry and thus continue with the
growth curve we have experienced during
these first four years. This new stage will
find us more competitive in the offer of
contents and more ambitious in quality
and business models,” said Patricia Ja-
sin, VP of TV Azteca International.
“Launching a network to the internation-
al market is not so simple, it requires a
specialized vision of the industry and its
audiences, of proposing and betting 4
years ago we are committed to becoming
the preferred network in Latin America
with the greatest growth in the region,
based on its programmatic offer and its
negotiation flexibility, we adapt to the
needs of the market and we understand
@ newslinereport
opportunities of collaboration”.
The executive also believes that the
market is having such a movement,
“not only on the consolidation of impor-
tant players or in the acquisition of soft-
ware by the MSOs, as this it quiet fore-
seeable in a mature industry. The most
interesting and dynamic thing we could
find it in the preference of the consum-
ers, now that they have a bigger offer of
content than a couple of years ago, not
only from the formal production com-
panies, but also the User Generated
Content is gaining an important share
in terms of time on screens”.
As a conclusion, Cabrera says that Cis-
neros “has some pending agreements
to close related to the distribution in key
territories. We are working so as to
achieve them as soon as possible and to
reach even more homes both in Latin
America and the USA”.
that the alliances are much stronger when Patricia
you make equipment. Today we have not Jasin y Jorge
only covered the expectations of our cli- Gutiérrez
ents and audiences, we continue propos- de Azteca
ing new work schemes that support and
strengthen the changing scenario of pay
TV in the world, we owe it to all of us,
thanks to the AZ TV de Paga team that
has made this journey possible, thanks
to our customers for believing in our con-
tent and products and thanks to the au-
dience for preferring us and for enjoying
what we do, “commented Jorge Gutiér-
rez, Director of AZ TV de Paga.
MIPCOM 2018 53
 BUSINESS

PROMÉXICO

“In 2017, Mexico had a

production of 175 films”
César Fragozo, Head of the
Sectorial Development Unit,
describes the functions of the
promoter agency.

Which are your main functions as

a promoter agency?
The main function of ProMéxico is to contribute to the
conduction, coordination and execution of the actions in
matters of promotion to the foreign trade, and the attrac-
tion of direct foreign investment for the dependencies
and entities of the federal public administration.
The range of services and supports provided by ProMéxico
has served to orient and empower small and medium-
sized enterprises, especially when they explore the possi-
bilities of venturing out of the country and decide on the
conquest of new markets. ProMéxico has a team of multi-
disciplinary experts in sectorial development, international
markets and business intelligence.
How has evolved the performance of the
audiovisual content industry in Mexico?
In 2016, creative industries accounted for 4.8% of total GDP
and since then a promising upward trend has been observed.
The content created by Mexican television companies is seen
by more than one billion people in more than 100 countries
around the world. In addition, Mexico has distinguished itself
as one of the leading exporters of creative products in Latin
America and an important exporter of animation, video games,
software and digital content on a global scale.
During 2017, Mexico had a production of 175 films, which
placed the country in the 18th place among the main film
producers. In addition, in terms of attendance, the coun-
try is the fourth largest film market in the world.
Mexico has an ecosystem of leading audiovisual industry com-
panies in the region supported by factors such as: its creative
talent offer, the most competitive digital creation costs in the
region, strategic location, attractive offer of locations, audiovi-
sual production infrastructure class global and digital anima-
tion companies, VFX and videogames, globally competitive.
In the same way, ProMéxico is a promoter
organization in MIPCOM, supporting the Mexican
Delegation, how do you do it and who are they
leading this 2018 participation?
After our participation as Country of Honor in MIP-
COM 2014, we began to diversify into other events
and markets for different disciplines of the audiovi-
sual and at the same time we decided to concentrate
more our resources and efforts in MIPCancun. Howev-
er, some companies in the sector made us see the
importance of maintaining a country presence in MI-
PCOM, being the world forum per excellence for TV
and OTT content. That is why we join efforts to open a
space under the Mexico brand to support as federal
government the activities of the companies that make
up the Mexican delegation at the event.
Which are your short and medium term projects?
In the short term we want to continue detecting compa-
nies with enough maturity to export, to make strategic
partnerships and to propose quality coproduction projects
with a global relevance. At the same time, we want to
support emerging companies of content and services re-
lated to production so that they arrive ready to pitch in the
big markets and ensure their success.
This can be extended to companies of video games, digital
animation and virtual and augmented reality that have
great potential, not only in the entertainment market, but
also in education, culture and health.
In the medium term, we would like to see a greater scale
and level of participation in markets and strategic fairs,
because in such an internationally competitive business
environment, a strong and solid presence backed by the
federal government guarantees benefits in terms of busi-
ness and foreign direct investment.

54 MIPCOM 2018
BUSINESS @ newslinereport

MIPCOM 2018 55
 SERVICES
UNIVERSAL CINERGIA DUBBING
Global attendance for a leading
position in the market
Universal Cinergia Dubbing begins
the fall season by attending the main
content markets and consolidating its
position as one of the leading dub-
bing studios worldwide in the indus-
try. The studio offers dubbing and sub-
titling in Spanish, Portuguese, English
and French to distributors, digital
platforms, networks, content aggre-
gators and indie-producers. The com-
pany’s client portfolio includes Fox,
NBC, Lionsgate, Deluxe, Televisa,
Telemundo-NBC, RCN, Caracol and
Nippon TV, among others.
The recently renovated studios in São
Paulo, Brazil, have been working non-
stop in Portuguese with a highly effi-
cient response time. The studios in Mex-
ico are working at full capacity, which
gives rise to the possibility of opening
new studios in Mexico City. Examples of
titles dubbed by the company are: Un-
56 MIPCOM 2018
The Company will
sponsor the Interna-
tional Emmy Awards
for the first time.
real, The Crown, That is My Life, Pope-
The most powerful man in history, Man-
hattan, Deadbeat, The Royals, Nash-
ville, Anger Management, Hidden Truths,
Broken Pieces and Wings of Love.
“Attending the markets throughout the
year is a very effective way to establish
new contacts and find our customers,
we continue to be at the forefront with
Turkish productions, working with most
of Turkish distributors, among which are
Eccho Rights, Kanal D, Calinos, Inter-
medya, Rayas, TRT, ATV Global Agency”,
says Liliam Hernández, CEO.
As part of its marketing strategy, Uni-
versal Cinergia will sponsor the Inter- Gemma Lopez,
national Emmy Awards for the first time. Liliam Hernan-
“Being a sponsor of the International dez y Elisa
Emmy Awards puts us in a unique posi- Aquino
tion to reach and connect with the main
production and distribution companies
worldwide. We are the first dubbing stu-
dio to join the prestigious group of com-
panies sponsoring the event, and we are
proud to have a presence at the next
International Emmy Festival in New
York,” says Hernandez.
NEWSLINE REPORT INTERNATIONAL MIPCOM 2018 OCTOBER 2018