MIPCOM 2018 News 3

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MIPCOM PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

Issa Rae receives her award at a gala dinner tonight

CHINA COUNTRY OF HONOUR

Special events, deals and conferences

MEDIA MASTERMIND KEYNOTE

Facebook’s Matthew Henick and Paresh Rajwat, speaking today

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Star profiles; keynotes and conferences; MIPCOM deals; China Country Of Honour; and more...

FULL CONFERENCE PROGRAMME

BRITISH actor Dominic West was presented on Monday with the inaugural CANNESERIES Excellence Award by the mayor of Cannes, David Lisnard; CANNESERIES’ managing director Benoit Louvet; and Reed MIDEM’S CEO and president, Paul Zilk.

ARI EMANUEL, CEO of entertainment, sports and fashion giant Endeavor, was in Cannes this week to receive the Variety Vanguard Award, acknowledging his outstanding contribution to the international television business. He also delivered a MIPCOM Media Mastermind Keynote in which he stressed the importance of “staying curious about the business” and having “emotional endurance”. Pictured are: Laurine Garaude, director of the Reed MIDEM television division; ; Endeavor’s Ari Emanuel; and Variety’s managing editor, TV, Cynthia Littleton, who presented the prize.

“I’ve been lucky enough to work alongside some of the best producers, writers and directors in television, so I’m truly honoured to receive this award,” said West, who is in Cannes to promote Andrew Davies’ up-coming adaptation of Les Miserables for the BBC and Masterpiece.

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The second annual Diversify TV Excellence Awards, supported

by A+E Networks, took place last night at the Carlton

Actor, writer, director and producer Issa Rae presents Diederick Santer of Kudos Film & Television with the Diversify TV Award for excellence in the representation of race and ethnicity (scripted) for The Boy With The Topknot

Sean Cohan of A+E Networks (right) presented the Award for excellence in the representation of race and ethnicity (non-scripted) to David Cornwall of Scorpion TV for Against All Odds: The Fight For A Black Middle Class from producers Public Square Media

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Actor Sunetra Sarker (right) presents the Award for best representation of LGBTQ (non-scripted) to Dolores Emile of Viceland France for My House, produced by Vice Media

In its 30th year, long-running drama Home And Away wins best representation LGBTQ (scripted). Actor Alfonso Herrera (right) presents the Award to Richard Hanson of producer Seven Studios Australia

Blind Donna wins the Award for excellence in the representation of disability (scripted). Music legend Stevie Salas (right) presents the Award to Liisa Akimof (centre) and Heikki Kujanpaa of Production House

Different Like Me wins the Award for excellence in the representation of disability in the non-scripted category. Actor Michael Jai White presents the award to Natalie Hill of Hello Halo

First Day, from Australia’s Epic Films, wins the Award for excellence in kids’ programming (all genres). The Award is presented by Reed MIDEM’s Laurine Garaude and accepted on behalf of writer/ director Julie Kalceff

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AMC Networks’ Sapan acclaims TV’s ‘great creative endeavour’

AMC Networks’ Josh Sapan

Colman Domingo, actor, writer and director

TELEVISION has become “a premier place to work in which technology has enabled great creative endeavour that is neither

formulaic nor redundant,” Josh Sapan, president and CEO of AMC Networks, said during his Media Mastermind Keynote

“She’s lost her filter and shares the family secrets. Does that upend the family, or bring them closer?”

He admitted that he had tried to sell the idea to other networks before coming back to AMC. “I didn’t think they would want such an intimate tale,” Colman said.

“But then my agent reminded me that all of AMC’s successful shows have been family stories.”

Under Sapan, AMC’s hits have included Breaking Bad, Mad Men, The Walking Dead and recently Killing Eve and Dietland.

“We have always believed that content is precious, that storytelling can’t be compromised,” Sapan said. “In an industry where there are some very big companies that are getting bigger, material can get lost along the way.”

He added: “I hope that when we speak to creatives they realise that we’re looking for the right front window for each project, so that the world can find it,” he said.

yesterday. “The old hierarchy has flipped around,” he added, referring to the cachet traditionally associated with working in film or theatre.

Sapan was joined on stage by Colman Domingo, star of AMC show Fear The Walking Dead, who confirmed that character actors had shunned the medium of television in the past. “The deep emotion and storytelling on TV now has changed all that,” Colman said.

Actor, writer and director Colman is currently making a new series for AMC called West Philly, Baby, based on his stage-play, Dot. “It’s a dark comedy about a matriarch who gets Alzheimer’s disease, and about her relationship with her adult children,” Domingo said.

‘Quality drama now lives on television’ FREMANTLE Italia CEO Lorenzo Mieli was obsessed with TV as a child. Vancouver Media CEO Alex Pina started out as a journalist, segued into comedy and ended up writing drama. And Narcos showrunner Eric Newman was in movies until Hollywood stopped making “the movies I love and a lot of us love”.

The panelists at yesterday’s Talent Behind The Camera session were answering the question of what drew them into television.

Newman said: “I was exhausted with the movie business, which had become polarised between tentpoles and genre movies. Quality

drama now lives on television.”

Newman explained that Narcos had started out as a movie proposition back in 1996, but failed to find studio backing. “I was always kinda into drugs,” he added, to the audience’s amusement. “Or I should say the politics of drugs. So I had done a fair amount of research.”

Research into the workings of the Vatican was also key to HBO’s sumptuous drama The Young Pope, produced by Mieli and directed by Oscar-winner Paolo Sorrentino in his first foray on to the small screen.

“We had a lot of anonymous consultants, which meant the detail was very authentic,” Mieli said.

He added: “It wasn’t a show about the dark side of the Vatican, but a show about a complex character.”

Complicated people are also central to Pina’s La Casa De Papel (Money Heist), made for Atresmedia and acquired by Netflix, where it went on to become the streaming giant’s most-watched series ever.

Vancouver Media’s Alex Pina

Screen Arcade’s Eric Newman

DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS Paul Zilk MARKETING DIRECTOR Mathieu Regnault

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2018

NEWS 3 Wednesday 17 October 2018 www.mipcom.com

Today’s audiences want characters that can be both good and bad “because they are more interesting and rewarding”, Pina said.

Newman agreed: “People tend to see the world as good guys and bad guys. I don’t. I see the world as bad guys and very bad guys. But the mistake people make is to deprive villains of their humanity. We are all human, even the worst of us.”

Fremantle Italia’s Lorenzo Mieli

THE MIPCOM NEWSROOM IS LOCATED IN PALAIS 1

EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Editor in Chief Julian Newby Managing Editor Debbie Lincoln Reporters Stuart Braun, Ben Cooper, Andy Fry, Juliana Koranteng, Isobel Lee, Max Leonard, Rachel Murrell, Gary Smith, Joanna Stephens, Editorial Assistant Hannah Stephens Sub Editors Clive Bull, Neil Churchman, Nigel Willmott Web and Social Media Sunnie Newby Editorial Management Boutique Editions Head of Graphic Studio Herve Traisnel Graphic Studio Manager Frederic Beauseigneur Graphic Designers Muriel Betrancourt, Veronique Duthille, Carole Peres Head of Photographers Yann Coatsaliou / 360 Media Photographers Christian Alminana, Phyrass Haidar, Olivier Houeix, Michel Johner PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT Publishing Director Martin Screpel Publishing Manager Amrane Lamiri Printer Riccobono Imprimeurs, Le Muy (France).

ADVERTISING CONTACT IN CANNES Silvia Ferreira: +33 7 78 35 43 99 Reed MIDEM, a joint stock company (SAS), with a capital of €310.000, 662 003 557 R.C.S. NANTERRE, having offices located at 27-33 Quai Alphonse Le Gallo - 92100 BOULOGNE-BILLANCOURT (FRANCE), VAT number FR91 662 003 557. Contents © 2018, Reed MIDEM Market Publications.

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AI set to transform entertainment more than internet, says Gong Yu GONG YU, founder and CEO of iQIYI, has spent the last decade building China’s biggest online video streaming platform. But he used his Media Mastermind Keynote at MIPCOM to predict that advances in machine learning over the next two decades “will reshape the entertainment industry more than the internet has done until now”.

Presenting to a packed audience in the Grand Auditorium, he outlined how iQIYI’s AI division is transforming every stage of the creative and commercial process from scriptwriting and casting right through to content acquisition and marketing.

Gong Yu referred to iQIYI’s business model as being like “Netflix+”, meaning that it is not just reliant on subscriptions

iQIYI CEO Gong Yu

Twitter content needs bespoke design KAY MADATI, vice-president and global head of content partnerships, Twitter, used his Media Mastermind Keynote to tell MIPCOM delegates that the social media platform is complementary to TV and has three key value propositions.

“We’re a true partner for anyone in sports, news and entertainment. We offer an engaged, influential audience that extends the reach of linear content providers. And it’s possible to make money out of working with Twitter through advertising and sponsorship,” he said.

Madati said Twitter works with around 150 content partners globally and called it the “ultimate mobile platform where video and conversation come together.

When something happens in the world, it happens on Twitter first.”

To support his case, Madati invited three leading media executives on stage to discuss the way they work with Twitter.

Viacom Digital Studios president Kelly Day focused on a series of daily news shows that have just been launched on the platform including one called Extra Damn Day. She made a key observation that content for digital platforms like Twitter needs to be designed “in a bespoke way”.

Emma Lloyd, director of business development and strategic partnerships at Sky, said her company had been working with Twitter for five years: “It works well alongside live news and sport and special events like the Royal Wedding. We regularly post in-game football clips on Twitter, which are edited in real time.”

While monetisation is a key theme with Twitter, Sean Cohan,

Twitter’s Kay Madati

MIPCOM News 3 • 10 • 17 October 2018

for revenues. Going forward, he expects the business to thrive as Chinese advertising and subscription revenues continue to accelerate and the online entertainment market starts to steal share from the offline world.

One area of particular interest to MIPCOM delegates was Gong Yu’s observation that the company will move more towards content origination as opposed to acquisition.

With increased investment in movies, drama series and variety shows, he cited three key benefits as “differentiation, cost efficiency and better monetisation”.

Currently, he said, an oligarchy of three companies control around 80% of the Chinese online video market. He said that is unlikely to fragment much “because of the high cost of entering the market”.

But neither will it consolidate further “because producers and advertisers won’t favour a market that only has one dominant player”.

president, international and digital, A+E Networks, said the platform also adds value in terms of “audience engagement and marketing”.

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Hehe the panda, with Little Head Dad, Big Head Son and Apron Mom

Vice-Minister of the NRTA Fan Weiping speaking at the MIPCOM Opening Party – China Night

Chinese dignitaries at the MIPCOM Opening Party – China Night, in the presence of Hehe the panda

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Reed MIDEM presents the Global Content Award to Teng Junjie (SMG) and Shen Jianing (CITVC) for organising the China Pavilions at MIPTV and MIPCOM. Pictured are: Reed MIDEM’s Paul Zilk (left), SMG’s Teng Junjie, CITVC’s Shen Jianing and Fan Weiping, Vice-Minister of the NRTA

Reed MIDEM’s Paul Zilk receives a Chinese paper-cutting artwork from Fan Weiping, Vice-Minister of the NRTA. They are pictured with members of the Chinese delegation and Reed MIDEM’s director of the television division, Laurine Garaude

Ling Li, director of the International Promotion Bureau of the State Council Information Office, speaking at the MIPCOM Opening Party – China Night

Actor Liu Ye, on the red carpet before the MIPCOM Opening Party – China Night

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CROSS-CULTURAL COLLABORATION THE RESULT of a SinoRussian cultural exchange project is highlighted at MIPCOM by China’s CCTV; an animation series that followed on from Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Russia in July 2017. In September of that year Chinese Vice-Premier Liu Yandong and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets attended the launch of Panda And Krash in Guangzhou.

Produced by CCTV Animation and Russian animation studio The Riki Group, Panda And Krash features the Panda character created and owned

by CCTV, and Krash, a cartoon character created by The Riki Group. In the series, toys wake up at night and create stories.

Panda And Krash expresses the animation styles and national customs of both countries, and aims to promote kindness, courage and inclusiveness.

Panda And Krash (CCTV/The Riki Group)

SANSANG MEDIA IN KEY NEP DEAL CHINESE content company Sansang Media has secured a deal with Japanese broadcaster NEP for drama series Burning Ice. The series, which aired on streaming platform iQIYI in China, has already achieved recognition at the New York Festivals World’s Best TV & Film Awards, where it secured two awards. It tells the story of disgraced former cop attempting to find a serial killer who murdered his wife.

NEP’s Kayo Fukuda, left, with Yang Xiaojun of Sansang Media and Tomoko Maruda of NEP

Huace and eOne take global partnership to the next level CHINESE TV producer and distributor Huace Film & TV has signed a major deal with the Entertainment One (eOne) at MIPCOM, marking the start of a new phase of collaboration and co-production between the two companies.

The deal was celebrated at a special ceremony in Cannes on Monday, as work began on a major new kids’ animation series to be produced jointly by Huace and eOne. The new show, Delivery Service (52 x 11 mins), takes viewers on a fantasy journey across space and time, thanks to a cast of characters with special powers. Aimed at six- to 10-year-olds, it will be made in a mixture of 2D and 3D. The companies will soon go into development on the show, which is due for release in China in 2020 with the potential for international distribution. The project

marks what the company says is a new phase of thinking more internationally, with animation, which it describes as “a bridge between China and the world”, at the heart of the strategy.

Among existing eOne children’s shows is the hugely popular Peppa Pig series, which has been broadcast in multiple languag-

es and markets including China, where it made its debut on CCTV in 2015.

Signing the deal at MIPCOM yesterday were Zhi Liu, executive vice-president of Huace Croton, a subsidiary of Huace Film & Television, and Oliver Dumont, president of eOne’s family and brands division.

Oliver Dumont of eOne (left) with Huace’s Zhi Liu

China ‘hungry for premium content’ THE FOUNDER of one of Asia’s fastest-growing digital media companies has said that the time is ripe for new content-makers to think about China, Vietnam and other burgeoning markets.

Speaking ahead of a session at the Majestic hotel in Cannes yesterday, WebTVAsia group CEO Fred Chong said that despite there being unique hurdles and challenges involved in entering the Chinese market, “if you persevere you will be able to tackle the world’s biggest market”.

“There is demand for premium content to be brought into China,” he said. “They are looking for really good content. Depending on what content you have China is an open market; entertainment, comedy and music especially are very popu-

lar. We started offering content two years ago and we have been growing ever since.”

Chong was in Cannes to host the event at the Majestic yesterday, which included a conversation with Ciwen Media chairman and president Ma Zhongjun, and to announce the signing of two major deals with Ciwen and Viacom International Media Networks.

The deal with Ciwen sees the two companies embark on a co-production project, Gangsters Of Shanghai, based on the international thriller mystery novel by Irish author Gerry O’Sullivan. WebTVAsia has also embarked on a project with Viacom to produce new short-form content for MTV, aimed at the Chinese youth market.

Commenting on the deal, Viacom International Media Net-

MIPCOM News 3 • 14 • 17 October 2018

works senior vice-president and general manager for Greater China, Pierre Cheung, who attended the event, said: “The young generation is clearly watching more and more video via mobile, which is driving the popularity of short-form video apps in China, along with the growing demand for original short-form content.”

WebTVAsia’s Fred Chong

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Top Chinese media companies embrace AI for audience data AT TUESDAY’s China, Big Data And Content session, senior executives at high-profile media conglomerates explained how technology will enable them to select the best international shows to import and the best domestic content to export.

“We have been developing our artificial intelligence technology to create a profiling system to customise content for our viewers,” Xiaohui Wang, chief content officer at video-sharing platform iQIYI, said.

The platform currently boasts 200 million subscribers globally. With the AI tech, it is able to profile what iQIYI users want with around 80% accuracy.

Now it plans to end the system of using video view counts to

determine a show’s popularity and relevance to viewers. “We shall use only the backend data to guide our partners when it comes to content creation,” he said.

Suman Wang, chief editor

of Tencent Video and senior vice-president of Tencent Penguin Pictures at tech conglomerate Tencent Holdings, said China’s online video market was maturing, with viewers prepared

Alibaba’s Youku Business Group’s Lina Zhang

iQIYI’s Xiaohui Wang

to watch more long-form videos and pay for them.

Tencent also plans to use AI to improve the profiling of its 74 million-plus Chinese subscribers to ensure they can access the most relevant content. “Not only will this be personalised, we will also be able to produce quality original content for them.”

This will apply to international co-productions and licensing deals, such as its partnerships with the UK’s BBC and Japan’s NHK. “We want to use big data to create a comprehensive value system that will win the support of global audiences,” Lina Zhang, chief editor of Youku Business Group, a subsidiary of Chinese conglomerate Alibaba Digital Media & Entertainment Group, said.

The session also featured speakers from China’s Mango TV, international analytics firm The Wit and US entertainment company Cinedigm.

GMA WORLDWIDE (GWI), content distribution arm of GMA Network, has signed an exclusive distribution agreement at MIPCOM with Chinese multimedia company FZ Entertainment for the distribution in China of GMA’s highest rating romantic comedy for 2018, Happy Together (Inday Will Always Love You). China was once a challenging market to penetrate for foreign content producers, but through GWI’s partnership with FZ Entertainment, GMA-produced content will soon screen in China through pay TV and OTT-IPTV. This also expands GMA’s presence in the Asian region. At the signing ceremony were: Ling Li, deputy director of the propaganda department of the central committee of the CPC (left); Joshua Jiang, CEO and founder of FZ Entertainment; and Roxanne Barcelona, GWI vice-president.

Co-pro the way forward for China FAN WEIPING, deputy head of China’s State Administration of Radio and Television, gave a powerful speech at MIPCOM’s Co-producing With China Forum, in which he emphasised the importance of international collaboration in the film and TV industry.

According to Weiping: “Policies for China’s film and television industry are shaped by openness.

As of 2018, China has signed

film co-production agreements with 21 countries, including New Zealand, the UK and India.

“In recent years, Chinese and foreign media agencies have cooperated in creating a series of high-quality film and television products, including Kung-Fu Yoga, jointly produced by China and India; Born In China, produced by China and the US; China-Czech co-produced animated cartoon series Panda And Little

Mole; the documentary series Big Pacific, co-produced by China and New Zealand; and the China-US co-produced documentary series Treasures Of The Earth.”

Looking forward, he said, China was “ready to take a more active participation in festivals, including MIPCOM, in order to build a bridge for cultural communication in international film and TV”.

Other speakers at the Forum included Teng Junjie, chairman,

MIPCOM News 3 • 16 • 17 October 2018

board of supervisors, Shanghai Media Group; Jing Shuiqing, vice-president, China Intercontinental Communication Centre; Shen Jianing, EVP of China International Television Corporation; Lian Jie, chairman and CEO, Perfect World Pictures; Jonathan Spink, CEO, HBO Asia; Keertan Adyanthaya, executive vice-president content and communications, Asia Pacific and Middle East, Fox Networks Group; and Wayne Garvie, president of international production at Sony Pictures Television.

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ISSA Rae is MIPCOM Personality Of The Year for 2018 and she receives the award at a gala ceremony tonight. She doesn’t particularly like award ceremonies — but this one is going to be different. “I don’t like award ceremonies that don’t have food,” she told Julian Newby. “But there’ll be food here.”

That this award comes from the industry, and recognises the worldwide success of her work is another bonus, she said, although that success — notably with her HBO series Insecure — comes as a surprise to her because the shows aren’t made with an international audience in mind. “I think on a very local level. I think of family and friends first; I think about whether or not I am doing Los Angeles justice. And the fact that my neighbourhood — which is a very specific part of southern LA — is translating across the globe, well I’m just beginning to get my head around it. Because we are very specific and use specific cultural references — American cultural references, black cultural references. So yeah, the fact that is working around the world is so cool to me.”

Rae’s on-screen presence and infectious sense of humour have led to Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress for Insecure.

Her web series, The Misadventures Of Awkward Black Girl, won the coveted Shorty Award for Best Web Show, and her first book, a collection of essays, is a New York Times bestseller. Rae’s upcoming feature films include an adaptation of Angie Thomas’ novel The Hate U Give, and Little, with Regina Hall and Marsai Martin.

But acting wasn’t part of her original plan and even now it’s not her first love.

“I started out focusing on directing and producing and it wasn’t until I really got into Awkward Black Girl that I started to think ‘Yeah,

I kinda like this’. But even now I don’t think of myself as an actor first,” she said. “I consider myself a writer and producer first. I can have fun with acting, but I can take it or leave it.”

Having started out on the web and now enjoying the freedom that creatives enjoy on HBO, Rae has managed to avoid the commercial restrictions of network television in the US, something that suits her personality perfectly. “I did go from an internet show to a network show but it didn’t work out, I think for those very reasons — and also because of some of my own personal shortcomings,” she said. “I felt like I was trying to appease and fit into a box that I didn’t fit into. It doesn’t seem like it’s for me.”

While capable of writing and performing some risque material, Rae is also very much a family person — so do the two things sit comfortably together? “Absolutely not! My mum hates it,” she said. “Even when I used to produce and direct my little brother’s show — he had a huge YouTube hit — she hated it. The language, how his friends would refer to women and all that. And it’s the same with my own shows. It’s like, she’ll say, ‘Why did I even bother with parental control and having you not watching R-rated movies, if you grow up to be making these things that you couldn’t watch as a child?’ I’m not a cub any more. But it’s also not lost on me and I want to produce content for the little girl in me. I think that’s something I want to do next.”

Issa Rae gives a Media Mastermind Keynote today at 11.30.

She will receive the MIPCOM Personality Of The Year Award from Reed MIDEM CEO Paul Zilk “in recognition of her generation-defining influence on the entertainment industry” at a gala dinner tonight at the Carlton.

MIPCOM News 3 • 17 • 17 October 2018

© 2018 by Karl Ferguson Jr.

“I want to produce content for the little girl in me”

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Fox showcases latest generation of shows from Latin America “THIS is a great time to be in TV in Latin America,” Lali Esposito said. The judge on Talento Fox — a new talent show that aims to find the best unsigned singers across the region — is in Cannes with other Fox Latin America stars promoting a new raft of programmes that they believe will have international appeal. “Production quality has risen, and we’re making shows across multiple genres that appeal to the whole region, as well as the Hispanic demographic worldwide,” she said.

Esposito shared the red carpet at MIPCOM’s opening night with actors from Me Chama De Bruna (My Name Is Bruna), Sitiados (Besieged) and El Host (The Host).

“Around 10 years ago we started our original production unit, specifically with the object of going beyond the boundaries of the telenovela,” said Edgar Spielmann chief operating officer, Fox Networks Group, Latin America. “From the very beginning our challenge was that on our premium channels, we had to programme an original production side by side with Hollywood productions.”

Now, he believes that technical production levels are equalling the onscreen and scriptwriting talent.

“Technology has allowed us to do this,” he said. “If the picture looks exactly the same, the actors are well-known local actors, and the stories are relevant as well, then you have a great product.”

One of the shows Fox Latin America is showcasing is Sitiados, a retelling of the Spanish conquest of South America, currently in production in the Caribbean, Patagonia and Mexico. Another is Me Chama De Bruna, a Portuguese-language production about a middle-class girl who runs away to become a call girl. Bruna,

starring Maria Bopp, is now in its third season.

“It’s been a great performer across Latin America, we’ve sold the format and sold the tape in many other countries. And it’s based on a true story,” Spielmann said.

“We produce stories that reflect our DNA,” said Mariana Perez, senior vice-president of production and development.

She highlighted a series in development about legendary Argentinian politician Eva Peron, based on a book, Santa Evita. “It’s about what happened when Eva Peron died,” she said. “This story is about Argentina, but it’s for all Latin Americans, because she’s for everyone.”

“It’s a very relevant story also outside Latin America,” Spielmann said. “At the same time, the angle we’re taking for the show is that this is a woman who is at the centre of power. So it’s very relevant for today.”

Maria Bopp, actor in Me Chama De Bruna (left); Alfonso Herrera, actor in Sitiados; and Lali Esposito, a talent judge for Talento Fox

Fox Latin America’s Mariana Perez and Edgar Spielmann

MIPCOM News 3 • 18 • 17 October 2018

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TCB MEDIA LANDS SHAKE MY BEAUTY BARCROFT Media has secured a worldwide partnership with TCB Media Rights for a show based on its digital brand, Shake My Beauty.

The series (8 x 60 mins) tells the stories of people who use social media as an empowerment tool to help overcome body-image insecurities.

Barcroft has produced 25 short-form episodes in the strand that have collectively attracted over 17 million views to date on their YouTube channel and over 5 million views on Facebook Watch.

Paul Heaney, CEO of TCB Media Rights, said: ‘‘Barcroft’s expertise lies in its brilliant execution of shows combined with a proven track record and sheer integrity to back it all up.”

NORDIC DEAL FOR ZERO ZERO ZERO HBO EUROPE has acquired new drama series Zero Zero Zero for the CEE and Nordic territories in an agreement with Studiocanal. “This is our first pan-regional deal with HBO Europe and we are delighted to kick off our relationship with the pre-sale of such a highlyanticipated new title,” Beatriz Campos, head of international sales at Studiocanal said.

“We were drawn to the authenticity of Zero Zero Zero, in the difficult area of global drug trafficking and with multiple storylines”, Ragnhild Thorbech, senior vicepresident acquisitions & programming, HBO Europe, said.

Complex dramas driving rise in French ratings and sales TV EXPORTS from France are booming, according to Herve Michel, president of the industry’s trade association TV France International (TVFI).

Speaking to MIPCOM News, Michel said the industry is currently enjoying its “best ever figures” thanks to a surge in drama sales.

“Animation has always been strong — the sector really has the know-how to produce and sell animation. But the new development is in fiction. We’ve had problems in the past — even in our domestic market — but now the genre is on track and securing strong ratings and sales.”

The change has mainly been driven by new styles of storytelling, he said. “French TV drama used to be quite simple, but we’ve learned from the US and UK. French dramas like Spiral have complex characters and difficult situations that appeal to international buyers.”

Sarah Hemar, who has just joined TVFI as executive director, said

the sector has also benefited from the growing number of international platforms that are happy to stream or air foreignlanguage shows. “I also think the business has learned to be more industrial, producers and broadcasters understand the need for more episodes.”

T V F I i s f u n d e d by t h e government and has around

140 members, representing 95% of French TV exporters.

It brings members to markets like MIPCOM and has its own annual event Le Rendez-Vous.

Also, Hemar said, “we have our own digital platform Screenopsis.

We’re very optimistic about the future but it’s important for us to be agile and ensure we are open to new opportunities.”

TVFI’s Sarah Hemar and Herve Michel

VIEWERS’ attraction to Love Island, ITV Studios’ reality dating show featuring a host of photogenic young people looking for love, is expanding internationally as the finalists (pictured) came to MIPCOM to celebrate a very successful year for the series. After breaking viewing records in the UK, Australia and Germany this summer, one of the hottest new formats is making its debut in Denmark on October 22, after premiering in other Nordic markets in recent months. And to ensure everyone understands what makes Love Island resonate with international audiences, MIPCOM hosted the panel: Love Island: Not Just An Overnight Relationship on Tuesday to share the secrets of this year’s stand-out success.

The Love Islanders, the dating show’s finalists, hook up at MIPCOM

MIPCOM News 3 • 20 • 17 October 2018

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news

Jenna’s emotional marathon

Jenna Coleman in The Cry: “it’s a drama that keeps redefining your expectations”

THE STAR of the BBC hit psychological thriller The Cry (4 x 60 mins) described the role as, at times, “an incredibly gruelling” experience. Jenna Coleman told MIPCOM News that making the series had taken her on an “emotional marathon”.

Coleman (Victoria; Doctor Who) plays new mother Joanna, who finds herself caught up in every parent’s worst nightmare when her baby son disappears during a visit to Australia. Joanna and her husband Alistair (Ewen Leslie) are thrown into a web of secrets and lies, played out in the glare of a media frenzy. But is Joanna just a grieving mother — or is there something darker going on?

“It’s a tense, claustrophobic story,” said Coleman, who is in Cannes to help distributor DRG promote The Cry. “At the beginning, Joanna is clearly on the edge of disintegration, battling with post-natal depression, isolation and loss of identity. But it’s a drama that keeps redefining your expectations. As soon as you think you know what’s going on, there’s a curve ball. Everybody’s got theories, but nobody I’ve spoken to has managed to wholly work out the ending.”

That ending will be revealed to UK viewers next week, when the fourth and final episode of The Cry airs on BBC 1. “It seems to be going down really well,” Coleman said — and not just with audiences. DRG confirmed this week that the series, which ranks as the UK’s second-biggest drama launch of 2018 with consolidated ratings of 7.3 million, was presold to France’s M6, Norway’s TV2, Sweden’s C More (TV4), Canal+ in Poland, New Zealand’s TVNZ, NPO in the Netherlands and BBC Studios for its channels in the Benelux, the Middle East and Africa. These deals followed a co-production pact with ABC in Australia and an exclusive US rights deal with Sundance Now. Based on Helen FitzGerald’s best-selling book of the same name, The Cry is produced by Synchronicity Films for the BBC, in association with ABC, Creative Scotland, December Media, Film Victoria and Sunbird Media. It was written by Jacquelin Perske (The Secret Life Of Us), directed by Glendyn Ivin (Gallipoli) and produced

by Brian Kaczynski (Peaky Blinders).

MIPCOM News 3 • 25 • 17 October 2018

news

SPOTIFY JOINS UP WITH THE FOUR ARMOZA Formats has today announced a new partnership with music platform Spotify for its hit music competition, The Four. Spotify will be partnering with Israel’s Reshet 13 to create a special section for The Four that includes songs from the show and additional, exclusive content for viewers.

In The Four, four finalists are announced in the season premiere before having to face talented hopefuls trying to steal their spot in subsequent episodes. Anyone can become a contestant via submissions on the dedicated app, but only the best will be able to challenge the four.

“Spotify is the platform that connects music to people,” said Michael Krause, managing director EMEA at Spotify. “Our partnership with The Four will allow fans of the show to connect with the music of the contestants that they love on a daily basis, allowing the contestants more exposure between episodes.”

Avi Armoza, CEO of Armoza Formats, added: “We are proud to partner with one of the biggest brands in the music industry to enhance the viewing experience that comes with The Four.

By allowing The Four to be part of the daily lives of the Israeli viewers, their connection to the format, to the contestants and to Reshet 13 will only deepen.”

The Four (Armoza Formats)

Star India’s Sita And Ram heads to Russia in breakthrough deal INDIAN broadcaster Star India has secured a landmark deal with Russian broadcast network Kultura at MIPCOM for its period drama Sita And Ram. The sale is the culmination of a strong year for Star which has also seen licensing agreements in Latin America, Turkey and Central Europe.

Guneet Anand, Star’s executive vice-president international business, said: “We have licensed Indian dramas to around 100 territories, but the recent deals in these key markets represent a real breakthrough. As the DNA of Indian scripted content has changed, more doors are open to us.”

While India’s domestic audience favours dramas with large volumes of episodes, Anand says new creative voices are giving dramas a more contemporary feel that fits in with international demand. “Sita And Ram, for

example, is a re-telling of the classic Ramayana story from the female protagonist’s perspective — and that has gone down well with buyers.”

Star has had particular success in Turkey, having licensed six shows there: “Our most successful series, Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon, quadrupled the ratings in its slot for our partner Kanal 7,” Anand said.

New titles for MIPCOM include Kasautii Zindagii Kay (Love Conquers All) and Karn Sangini (Karna’s Wife). “Karn Sangini is a love story about a queen who leaves a life of privilege to marry an outcast,” Anand said, “while Kasautii Zindagii Kay is a contemporary narrative about unrequited love. Another show, Kullfi Kumar: The Singing Star is a top 10 performer in India and has had strong interest from buyers.”

Anand says the company’s success

with tape sales has also stimulated increased interest in Star’s shows as potential formats. “It’s too early to announce anything but we are in negotiations on some series.”

Star India’s Guneet Anand

Dangerous Wife returns to Japan KANSAI TV has inked a licensing deal with Turkey’s Global Agency for the Turkish version of its original drama series, My Dangerous Wife.

“The drama was first made

by Kansai TV Japan, then MF Productions in Turkey licensed the series from Kansai,” Global Agency CEO Izzet Pinto said.

“In Turkey, the programme was made for Show TV. After it was produced, Global Agency got onto the project and signed the worldwide distribution deal for the format. We then licensed the local remake back to Japan.”

“Some Turkish drama airs on Japanese channels but this is a first for us,” said Kazuhiro Sato, global sales manager for Kansai TV. “I saw the Turkish version of this

psychological suspense story and I just really liked it, the Istanbul landscapes are really compelling.

We have an OTT platform so we can stream shows as well.”

“Japan is a key market for us,”

Pinto said. “Not financially, but in terms of prestige. It’s a highly protected market so it’s great to be able to license a show to Japan, even more so since the format was originally Japanese.”

Kansai TV general manager Miho Okada and Global Agency CEO Izzet Pinto shake on the deal for My Dangerous Wife

MIPCOM News 3 • 26 • 17 October 2018

news

BANIJAY GROUP is celebrating its 10th anniversary at MIPCOM. Pictured are company founder and chairman Stephane Courbit (left) and CEO Marco Bassetti, who joined the firm in 2013. In its first decade, Banijay has grown to become one of the largest media groups in the world through a combination of strategic acquisition and organic growth. The company is active across drama, factual, entertainment and kids.

JOINING the star of Taffy, centre stage at the premiere of the new Cyber Group Studios kids’ series Taffy, is Pierre Sissmann, chairman and CEO of Cyber Group Studios.

AARDMAN’s latest series Interstellar Ella was launched at MIPCOM. Pictured here are the BBC’s Sarah Legg-Barratt (left); Mark Mertens of Grid Animation; Justine Bannister, founder Tinker Group; Jackie Edwards of the BBC; Alison Taylor of Aardman; and Ketnet’s Telidja Klai.

MIDDLE Eastern producer M for Media has secured the exclusive production rights to Fremantle formats and will represent the company’s catalogue of entertainment formats in Saudi Arabia.

Included are mega-brands The X Factor, Idol, Got Talent, Family Feud and The Price Is Right. “We look forward to bringing our local Arabic flavour and expertise to this partnership,” said M for Media managing director Ralph Matar (left), pictured here with Fremantle CEO of international Jens Richter.

MIPCOM News 3 • 27 • 17 October 2018

news

Jamaica’s TV industry game plan beginning to bear fruit THE JAMAICAN TV industry is going through a period of “transformative” change thanks to a long-term plan to stimulate inward investment, infrastructure growth and international collaborative partnerships, the managing commissioner at the country’s trade and investment agency has said.

Renee Robinson, film commissioner and manager at the Jamaican Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), said concerted efforts to develop a domestic industry based around TV and animation production, and capitalise on the Caribbean island’s popularity as a filming location, are starting to come to fruition.

Speaking to MIPCOM News, Robinson, who is leading a del-

egation of Jamaican content producers in Cannes, said that a “new chapter” was beginning for Jamaican TV and animation.

“There’s been a strong push to support the content production industry,” Robinson said.

“There’s a lot of activity which is now snowballing; we are transitioning into a different type of economy. The government has prioritised the digital industry; it is a big driver of employment, especially for young people.

“We’re at MIPCOM to talk about developing business opportunities in Jamaica, and also to promote the producers who are attending from Jamaica and looking for co-production agreements” The delegation led by JAM-

PRO is made up of a number of animators, writers and producers with a range of content and concepts to showcase to the markets.

Including revenues from studios filming on location, the Jamaican film and TV industry currently contributes some J$1bn

($7.5m) to the Jamaican economy, but Robinson said that this figure was rising as the country’s creative industry grows and becomes more outward-looking.

Currently around 150 productions take place in Jamaica each year across a range of genres, but after years of investment and development of the country’s infrastructure, including the establishment of special economic zones to support new studios, Robinson said that this figure is set to increase significantly in the coming years.

The Jamaican delegation led by JAMPRO

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Getting to the top: Women in media hold mentoring event

MediaClub’Elles’ Florence Sandis

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IT IS a year since the Harvey Weinstein revelations sparked a global debate on sexual harassment and female empowerment in the workplace — or lack of it. But how much has life really changed for women working in the TV and digital-content industry?

Not enough, according to Florence Sandis, president of mediaClub’Elles, which represents and champions women working in French media.

“There has been a lot of talk in the last year, but now it’s time to give women concrete help,” she said. “Things are changing, but there’s still a lot to do to improve the sisterhood in our field.”

Sandis added that women still represent fewer than 20% of the people cited in French media, and remain significantly under-represented on both French radio and television.

MediaClub’Elles seeks to “move society and the media towards greater equality”, she said.

That mission finds concrete form at today’s mentoring and networking event Getting To The Top, co-hosted by MIPCOM and

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MIPCOM News 3 • 29 • 17 October 2018

mediaClub’Elles. A powerful line-up of female executives from around the world and across the industry spectrum will share their experiences and offer advice on how to succeed in what remains predominantly a man’s world. The nine ‘mentors’ include Newen Studios’ Bibiane Godfroid, BBC’s Jackie Edwards, Sky UK’s Sarah Wright, A+E Networks’ Hayley Babcock, EbonyLife’s Mo Abudu, Studiocanal’s Rola Bauer, TF1’s Sabine Chemaly, Canal+’s Aline Marrache-Tesseraud and WeMake’s Bouchra Rejani.

“We need women at the top of their professions to hold out a benevolent hand to younger women,” Sandis said. She added that men are not excluded from mediaClub’Elles: “We are an inclusive association, because we believe that improving the gender balance and the representation of women in media is in the interests of all.”

Laurine Garaude, Reed MIDEM’s director of the television division, added: “We are pleased to partner with mediaClub’Elles to host MIPCOM’s first international mentoring for women in the TV and digital-content industry.

This is a great opportunity to encourage younger generations to develop their careers through access to experienced professionals from different backgrounds.”

news

DEAL WINS SMALL FORTUNE FOR DRG

Small Fortune (DRG/Youngest Media)

INDEPENDENT distributor DRG and production company Youngest Media closed a deal Sunday that will see DRG launch the producer’s innovative new game-show format Small Fortune across international markets.

While Youngest Media will distribute the format in Germany, France, Australia and North America, DRG is representing the format in the rest of the world.

Commissioned as a 6 x 60 mins series by ITV in the UK, and premiering in 2019 with Dermot O’Leary (The X Factor) as its host, Small Fortune is billed as the world’s smallest physical game show in which teams made up of friends and family compete over games set in perfectly miniaturised worlds and win large cash prizes.

Richard Halliwell, CEO of DRG, said: “[Youngest Media] has developed an exciting business, bursting with big ideas, and are constantly injecting creative new thinking into our world.

Small Fortune is a truly original idea and a fantastic format for primetime family slots, packed with jeopardy, big money prizes and the most incredible visuals.”

Youngest Media’s recent productions include dating series Game Of Clones, which has travelled to five territories, and BBC quiz show Hardball.

Songwriters take the limelight in NBC music competition show RECENT NBC commission Songland is one of NBCUniversal International Formats’ flagship MIPCOM launches.

Pitching the show to buyers this week are showrunner Audrey Morrissey and music producer and Eurythmics co-founder Dave Stewart, a participant and co-creator of the show.

In each episode, five songwriters are granted the once-in-alifetime chance to perform their own compositions to three music producers and a guest celebrity artist (Charlie Puth in NBC’s pilot episode). The artist chooses three songs to advance to the studio, where they are each arranged by one of the producers. The songwriters then perform this arrangement and the celebrity chooses one to release worldwide.

Speaking to MIPCOM News, Stewart said: “It’s very difficult to make a show about songwrit-

ing because it’s such a personal process. But Songland works because it goes behind the scenes and reveals to the audience what happens when different creative talents come together and collaborate. You get to see that little bit of magic.”

Morrissey, who has been showrunner of The Voice for eight years, was drawn to “the three dimensional nature of the show.

Songwriters get this priceless opportunity to present their songs, but the producers also have something at stake because they get to arrange the songs for the guest artist. Then on top of that the artist is also looking for great material. Added to that, the artists remember what it was like to be in the position of the songwriters and want to pay it forward.”

Dave Stewart and Audrey Morrissey

Gigantes’ pulp fiction view of Spain SCREENWRITER Miguel Barros and actor Isak Ferriz were in Cannes this week with Gigantes, their new crime series for Movistar.

“It’s a different view of Spain,” Barros said. “Very dramatic. Not a documentary. But elements — the corruption, drugs, racism

and machismo — are present.

“The tone is harsh, violent and dry. The characters are a little larger than life — a bit like 1950s pulp fiction. We’re playing with cliches without fearing them. And we make very few concessions to our audience.

We respect our viewers’ intelli-

Miguel Barros (left) and Isak Ferriz

MIPCOM News 3 • 30 • 17 October 2018

gence and their ability to solve the puzzle we are showing them.

“This is a saga about a father who dooms his three sons to a life of violence and self-destruction. It’s the story of a family eating itself. Instead of getting bigger and stronger, the family is getting smaller and more bitter.

A little like the country, I guess.”

But – spoiler alert – the men don’t have it all their own way.

“Carmen is the youngest character, and she’s the one to watch,” Barros said. “When we first meet her, she is 16. She embodies the values of the family. The actor who plays her, Sofia Oria, is gifted.”

Season one launched on Movistar+ last week, and the team finished shooting season two a week ago.

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TOONZ AND PMG TEAM UP TO GROW IN CHINA TOONZ Media Group and Pacific Media Group (PMG) have announced at MIPCOM an extensive kids and family content joint venture with three main partnership pillars: co-production, L&M, and the creation of a digital content channel for the Chinese market. As part of the alliance, a new Baby Toonz digital channel will be created specifically for China to showcase Toonzproduced titles, including the pre-school series Emmie The Elephant, across various platforms.

The Toonz/PMG partnership has seen Toonz’s flagship digital property, Gummy Bear & Friends grow in popularity in China, to the point that at a recent charity event 20,000 Chinese students danced to the Gummy Bear song after singing the national anthem, an event that was broadcast nationally on TV. Toonz Media Group CEO, Jaya Kumar, said: “China represents the second biggest entertainment market, in which we have already secured substantial business, and our partnership with PMG will allow Toonz to expand further, enhance its presence, and create mutually beneficial opportunities in the evergrowing kids and family content space.”

“We believe this coproduction model will both highlight the amazing talents of our partners and entertain the world with dynamic content,” Grace Hung, PMG’s co-founder added.

Future titles and IPs that result from the Toonz/PMG venture will be distributed internationally via Toonz’s global relationships and partnerships.

KBS and Zed joining forces to chronicle Korean conflict KOREAN public broadcaster KBS and French producer and distributor Zed have announced a co-production agreement for the landmark documentary series, Korea: The Never-Ending War (2 x 52 mins).

Slated for completion in December, the series, which is helmed by award-winning director John Maggio (American Experience), will bring critical historic context to the current crisis on the Korean peninsula thanks to recently opened archives in Russia, the US, China, and South Korea.

“More than just a contemporary look, the series goes back to where it all started,” Charlotte Tachet, Zed’s international sales manager, told MIPCOM News.

“It goes back to the roots of the conflict.”

Co-produced by Ark Media, WETA/PBS and Zed in association with ARTE France, BBC 4, ZDFInfo, Foxtel, Tele-Quebec,

Middle East News, RTBF, RSI, NRK, VRT, AMC Networks International and YesDocu, the series has already attracted a lot of worldwide interest from markets that want to know more about a 70-year conflict.

Kim Jeong Joong, director of acquisition and chief producer

at KBS, said the series gives important context to the current attempt at a detente between North and South Korea, “You can understand the current situation. The war begins in 1950 but it actually started after World War II in 1945 when the Korean peninsula was divided in two.”

KBS’ Kim Jeong Joong with Zed’s Charlotte Tachet

New chapter for DQE’s Jungle Book DQ ENTERTAINMENT’s (DQE) The Jungle Book is swinging into the US on the

back of a deal with Sinclair Broadcast Group’s children’s channel KidsClick.

DQE’s Swastik Sekhar (left), Shona Chakravarti, Vishnu Ravindranathan and Manoj Mishra; Sinclair Broadcasting Group’s Eric Marks and DQE’s Tapaas Chakravarti

MIPCOM News 3 • 32 • 17 October 2018

DQE’s chief operating officer, Manoj Mishra, said the classic animated series is now in 65 countries. “Everybody loves The Jungle Book, wherever they are and whatever age they are,” he said. “Its family appeal never fades.” He added that the third season of DQE’s adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s much-loved book is now in production.

Sinclair Broadcast Group owns and operates 192 TV stations and 611 channels across the US, making it one of the largest and most diversified television broadcasting organisations in the country. KidsClick, which has a reach of more than 75 million households, will be broadcasting all three seasons of The Jungle Book.

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WORLD CUP FOR MICHELIN CHEFS IF COOKING became a sport, would your town be top of the league, or would your country win the World Cup? A new competition looking for international broadcasters in Cannes aims to settle this last question. World Cup Of Cuisine (32 x 90 mins) will pit Michelin-starred chefs from 16 countries against each other in live cooking battles, culminating in a final on January 1, 2020, that will decide the winner.

The idea is the brainchild of FCTV, a Belgian company. It’s the evolution of a format that has already run for 13 seasons on CCTV in China. And in 2017 the company staged the Belgian Cup, pitting chefs from Brussels, Wallonia and Flanders against each other live in an arena. “We’ve been dreaming since day one of an international competition,” FCTV founder Olivier Viatour said.

Viatour is pitching for broadcast partners at MIPCOM, to input into the live show — by giving guidance on their countries’ chefs, for example — or to buy the finished programmes post-event. “It could be a hybrid between TV and online,” Viatour said.

The World Cup Of Cuisine will take place over the holiday period next year: “Christmas is the best time of year for food,” he added.

FCTV’s Olivier Viatour

Fremantle takes rights to Enslaved on anniversary of shameful trade FREMANTLE has taken the global rights, excluding the US, Canada and Israel, to 6 x 52 mins documentary Enslaved, hosted by Hollywood legend and social-rights activist Samuel L Jackson (Glass, Captain Marvel, Pulp Fiction).

Created by documentary maker Associated Producers, Enslaved marks the 400th anniversary of the first African taken to the New World as a slave. The series retraces the harrowing voyages that brought millions of Africans over hundreds of years to a life of bondage and degradation. Underwater archaeologists also go in search of sunken slave ships that went down with their human cargo.

“For me, this is much more than a TV series. Enslaved is an attempt to give voice to the millions whose voices were silenced,” said Jackson, whose own ancestors came from Gabon in West Africa.

Jens Richter, Fremantle’s CEO of international, said Enslaved was a “transformative, moving series that exposes the shocking realities of slavery”.

Emmy Award-winning journalist and series director Simcha Jacobovici added: “Our goal is to tell a global story of suffering and resistance, of oppression and overcoming, through the

adventure of finding and marking sunken slave ships. The goal is not only to produce an incredible series — the goal is to make history.”

Enslaved is produced by Felix Golubev and Ric Esther Bienstock, and executive produced by Samuel L Jackson, LaTanya Jackson, Eli Selden, Rob Lee, Simcha Jacobovici and Yaron Niski.

Enslaved: Fremantle secures extensive rights to landmark documentary

Welsh LGBT series is out and proud A WELSH political drama se- da Rees, S4C creative content ries which won local fans for its director, said. take on LGBT issues is set to grip audiences across Europe and further afield.

S4C series Byw Celwydd (Living A Lie) has been sold to international LGBT broadcaster OutTV, which will show the series in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Swedish-speaking Scandinavia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Hungary, Spain, Israel and South Africa.

“I don’t know if it’s the first time, but it’s certainly unusual for a Welsh-language drama to find such an international platform,” Aman- Amanda Rees, S4C creative content director MIPCOM News 3 • 34 • 17 October 2018

The series, which follows the fictional characters of a rainbow coalition government, is the brainchild of Branwen Cennard and late playwright Meic Povey. It will be broadcast in Welsh with English subtitles.

“There’s a new appetite for Welsh content and Welsh-language content, which creates a fabulous opportunity for us,” she said. “But it’s not happened by chance — it’s the result of a five-year strategy by S4C to bring the world to Wales and Wales to the world.”

Rees added: “The fact that our budgets are small doesn’t mean that our ambitions are small.”

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Fox Networks grabs rights to Yu Zheng’s latest blockbuster FOX NETWORKS Group Asia has announced the acquisition of global rights (excluding China) to The Legend Of Hao Lan, a period TV drama produced

by Yu Zheng and featuring the same cast as its 2018 blockbuster, Story Of Yanxi Palace.

With the official signing ceremony held yesterday at MIPCOM, Cora Yim, senior vice-president and head of Chinese entertainment at Fox Networks Group Asia, said that “viewers today are voracious for the most exciting and dramatic Chinese series”.

“Joining forces with best-inmarket players like Huanyu Film enables us to make bold investments in top-quality acquired content as we continue to create and deliver premium original productions for our worldwide

Chinese-speaking viewers.”

The Legend Of Hao Lan revolves around three main characters as they form an unconventional union to overcome their rival states’ ferocious battles for power, land and love.

Producer Yu Zheng was excited

to see the drama reach a global audience: “The Fox Networks Group Asia distribution platform will enable us to extend the reach of The Legend Of Hao Lan so that we can share this gripping story with audiences worldwide,” he said.

Cora Yim, senior vice-president and head of Chinese entertainment at Fox Networks Group Asia (left), and Coco Yang, CEO of Huanyu Film

INDIA’s Ultra Media & Entertainment is talking to buyers in Cannes about its original feature film, Chippa, telling the story of a homeless child’s search for his father on the streets of Kolkata. The 90-minute film stars eight-year-old Sunny Pawar, who came to fame in the critically acclaimed film Lion, starring Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman. “One night Chippa is given a letter, in Urdu, which is supposed to be from his dad,” said Vishal Kanungo, senior executive, content syndication at Ultra Media & Entertainment. “The film tells the story of how he searches for someone to help translate the letter, and how he eventually meets his father.”

A scene from Chippa starring Sunny Pawar

Flurry of deals for Korean UHD content KOREA Radio Promotion Association (RAPA) has reported a raft of deals by the country’s

fast-growing UHD content industry, with several of them signed at MIPCOM this week.

RAPA’s Jong-ki Chung (left); Caravan Media’s Dinah Lord; JTBC’s Su Young Lee; and Sejun Kim of the Korean Ministry of Science

CJ ENM has agreed a MOU with NHNZ to co-produce the UHD documentary Time-Off. Meanwhile, CJ ENM and Insight TV have agreed to co-produce the UHD martial-arts documentary The Story Of Masters. JTBC has also signed a MOU with UK producer Caravan Media to co-produce the UHD documentary Rail Connection Between South And North and RAPA has signed a MOU with Beijing JIanyI ZhuIwen Media to distribute Korean content for UHD TV channels, UHD IPTV and streaming sites in China.

MIPCOM News 3 • 35 • 17 October 2018

MADHU IS ON THE UP UP & UP INDIAN producer/distributor Madhu Entertainment is at MIPCOM with a strong slate of movie titles including kids feature film Up Up & Up. Madhu chief operating officer Hirachand Dand said the film was aimed at six- to 12-year-olds and was written and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Govind Nihalani, who did the second-unit work on Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi.

“Ideally we are looking for a theatrical release first and then TV channels — though we would also be interested in talking to the in-flight market and digital platforms such as Netflix and Amazon.”

The decision to go with the movie format rather than TV was mainly due to Nihalani’s experience but also because the market is relatively underserved. “There are many animated TV series from India but the availability of animation movies from India is very low,” Dand said.

Dand expects a good reception from buyers around the world.

“Animation is a universal concept with no language boundaries so it can perform well in the international market. Also buyers are interested in productions that have an Indian fairy tale/heritage feel.”

Madhu’s Hirachand Dand

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TRACE MARKS AN AFRO-URBAN HIT THROUGH ITS 24 pay-TV channels and plethora of digital and mobile services, Trace connects around 200 million people in over 160 countries with its content, specialising in afro-urban entertainment.

Launched in 2003, Trace says it has become the number one media brand for lovers of afro-urban culture in subSaharan Africa, Europe, the Caribbean and beyond. It is back at MIPCOM to buy and sell content, and connect with its global distributors in order to further expand its global audience.

“All our distributors are present at MIPCOM, so it’s very interesting for us as we have developed an afrourban catalogue with 500 hours of brand new content,” Trace Global CEO, Xavier Spender, said.

With content ranging from music and animation, to fiction series and feature films, Trace is not only pitching at African nations, or African diasporas in America and Europe, but to young people globally. “Urban culture is now a major trend; it’s spreading everywhere,” Spender told MIPCOM News.

Trace is especially focused on its digital platform, TracePlay, which amalgamates all content.

Trace’s Xavier Spender

Parrot claims its metrics a truer measure for Global TV Awards “NINETY per cent of the world’s data has been generated in the past two years,” Parrot Analytics CEO Wared Seger said as he launched the Global TV Demand Awards yesterday.

His company believes that its TV metrics — which aim to harness much more of this data — provide a more accurate and more rounded view of how people engage with content than traditional TV ratings, which are based on limited sampling methods.

The Global TV Demand Awards has two categories: Digital Original Series (first available this year on a streaming platform) and Overall TV Series (across all OTT, cable and broadcast platforms).

In the former, the shortlist is: 13 Reasons Why; Black Mirror; Narcos; Star Trek Discovery; and Stranger Things.

In the latter: The Big Bang Theory; Game Of Thrones; Grey’s Anatomy; The Walking Dead; and Vikings.

Seger said that Parrot Analytics processed 1 billion datapoints every day on the web, in 100 languages and across 100 countries, taking into account social mentions, photo posts, fan and critic sites, blogging, streaming and downloading — and even illegal viewing — and weighted them to create a true picture of “demand” for a show.

This could give companies insights into audience engagement and market analysis and highlight opportunities for their shows.

The shortlisted shows were based on Parrot’s data from January 1 to September 30 this year. The firm will keep measuring until the end of the year and announce the winner in January.

Parrot Analytics’ Wared Seger

Arrow goes extra mile on colourising “WE VIEWED 23.2 miles [37.3 km] of footage to make the new season of America In Color,” Tom Brisley, joint creative director at UK production house Arrow Media, said. “That’s a marathon, almost literally, as well as metaphorically.”

David Royle, commissioner of the series and Smithsonian Channel’s executive vice-president and chief programming officer, agreed. “This is the biggest ongoing colourisation project in non-fiction television today,” he said. “Colour brings history back to life and draws you in.”

Loren Syer-Willoughby, head of acquisitions at distributor Off the Fence, said the new programmes take a different approach from earlier series.

“Whereas season one dealt with the history of America decade by decade, season two is themed

around topics like crime, Hollywood and the Wild West.”

“Themes give us a great way in,” Brisley said. “Newsreel and institutional footage gives us context. Then we use never-before-seen family footage to tell human interest stories.”

In a separate development,

Royle has commissioned Brisley to make a one-hour special about aviation safety.

In the run-up to the 10th anniversary of the “Miracle on the Hudson”, the documentary Safer Skies: Bird Strikes will look at the science of avoiding bird accidents.

Off the Fence’s Loren Syer-Willoughby (left); Smithsonian Channel’s David Royle; and Arrow Media’s Tom Brisley

MIPCOM News 3 • 36 • 17 October 2018

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Blockchain technology set to revolutionise IP and funding THE WAY content creators and rights owners retain their intellectual properties’ value and access investments is entering the world of bitcoin and blockchain technologies, delegates at the Production Funding Forum were told.

During yesterday’s session entitled Financing Evolution: Tokenized Content Investments, speakers discussed how lawyers might have to learn how to develop software to handle the smart contracts required when investing digital tokens, such as bitcoin, in media.

“A smart contract is a piece of code that controls the value of the content, and the code is the law,” said Adrian Garelik, CEO of Flixxo, the community-based distribution platform. “It can help with transparency in the way revenues are generated, but it means lawyers will have to become software developers.”

Although smar t contracts

Ta Ta Tu’s Andrea Iervolino

are in the early development stages, Mihai Crasneanu, CEO of streaming video aggregator Grey Juice Lab, added: “I want to encourage any content owner and

distributor to start using smart contracts now.”

During the second panel called Blockchain Impact On Content Discovery, Community & Rights

Mediametrie’s trends for China NEW INSIGHTS for the Chinese TV industry were unveiled by Laurent Battais, executive vicepresident of Mediametrie and Eurodata TV Worldwide at the firm’s The Global Dynamics Television event. Battais said the findings reflected the growing importance of China both as the second highest spender on TV content, and also increasingly as a producer and exporter of shows.

Head of content insight Avril Blondelot listed format and series trends with global traction and potential interest for Chinese broadcasters: “The #MeToo movement has become very important and as a result female empowerment is a subject that

Laurent Battais of Mediametrie and Eurodata TV Worldwide welcomes delegates

MIPCOM News 3 • 37 • 17 October 2018

Management, entrepreneur/ distributor Andrea Iervolino explained how his new streaming TaTaTu platfor m applies blockchain. It ensures the viewer, rights owner and the platform are rewarded every time a video is watched.

“TaTaTu, which will be available worldwide in the next 12 months, uses blockchain to stream videos for free and then we share the advertising revenue, in the form of tokens, with the content provider and subscribers,” Iervolino said.

“The number of streaming platforms is growing, especially as companies like Disney and WarnerMedia come on board,” Ben Pyne, founder/principal in investment consultancy Pyne Media Group, added. “Content owners will want to know where their content is going and who is watching it. Blockchain will make that possible.”

“We need more transparency in the market, especially when we don’t know what is happening to our content on social media,” said Niels Teves, co-CEO of rights-management specialist Fintage House.

resonates with viewers,” she said.

“This is something we’re seeing in series such as The Scarlet Letter Reports which features celebrity interviews, and also in dramas such as An Ordinary Woman which is about a woman who runs a flower shop but who is also the owner of a brothel.”

Further potentially fruitful areas include shows that feature friendly competition such as France’s Burger Quiz, Making It from the US and Secret Audition where contestants are lured into an audition by their friends or family and do not know they are being auditioned. “And finally,” Blondelot said, “old is the new young. By that I mean there are several shows like 180 Days and The Cool Kids where pensioners take centre stage, a reflection of our ageing but still fun-loving society.”

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MONDO TV UNVEILS NEW PRODUCTIONS LEADING Italian content studio Mondo TV has secured a new deal for its animated series Sissi: The Young Empress at MIPCOM this week.

Sissi, targeted at four- to eight-year-old girls, has been picked up by Nickelodeon for German-speaking Europe, having recently been licensed into Canada. The show has now been licensed to around 40 territories with a new season due to be launched in 2019.

Mondo also announced two new shows at its MIPCOM press conference yesterday.

These include live-action science-fiction series 2050, which is targeted at adults, and the animated eco-adventure MeteoHeroes (52 × 7 mins) which will launch in early 2020.

A new development for Mondo TV, 2050, is a 13 x 60 mins co-production with VIP 2000 TV and Casablanca. It is set in a post-apocalyptic world where feelings are controlled by a specially created microchip. Mondo TV CEO Matteo Corradi said the company “is continuing to diversify its output while still focusing on our reputation for innovative ideas and great storytelling. Both 2050 and MeteoHeroes take us in exciting new directions.”

Sci-fi series 2050 (Mondo TV)

Big deals for tiny Polly Pocket as networks sign up for series THE NEW series of Polly Pocket, from DHX Media and Mattel, has been snapped up by 16 broadcasters internationally.

The series premiered in Canada in July on DHX Media’s Family Channel and Family Jr, and will roll out globally throughout late 2018 and into 2019.

Deals include: Sony Pictures Television’s Pop channel (UK); RTL Telekids (Netherlands); Kidzone TV (Baltics); Lagardere’s Gulli and TiJi (France), Gulli Africa (22 African French-speaking countries) and Gulli Girl (Russia); teleTOON+ (Poland); AMC Minimax (Eastern Europe); vtmKzoom (Belgium); Canal Panda (Portugal); Turner (Italy, Middle East, Turkey and Greece); Star Channel (Greece); kidZ (Israel); SABC (South Africa); and Discovery Kids (Latin America).

Based on the Mattel toy brand, the new Polly Pocket series features Polly and her friends as they embrace big adventures in a shrunken size, thanks to Pol-

ly’s magic locket. “Broadcasters around the world are snapping up the new Polly Pocket series because they know it’s based on a proven toy brand from Mattel that girls have loved for decades,” said Jerry Diaz, vice-president distribution, DHX Media.

Earlier this year, Mattel relaunched Polly Pocket toys, featuring the original micro-scale figures and compacts that made

Polly a phenomenon in the 1990s. The brand has sold more than 10 million compacts over the years, and the new product line nods to the brand’s heritage and surprise factor, while reflecting the updated look of the characters and animated series.

In addition to Polly Pocket, new animated series from the DHX Media/Mattel collaboration include Bob The Builder, Fireman Sam and Little People.

Polly Pocket (DHX Media/Mattel)

Guru Studio teams with d-rights

TORONTO’s Guru Studio this week signed a development deal with Tokyo’s d-rights to develop Fairy Stones, an animated series for five- to nine-year-olds about

the power of friendship.

Guru Studio’s credits include pre-school series True And The Rainbow Kingdom and two-time Emmy-nominated se-

D-rights’ Rika Sasaki (left); Guru Studio’s Frank Falcone and Guru’s Louise Jones; with d-rights’ Noriko Akiyamaww

MIPCOM News 3 • 38 • 17 October 2018

ries Justin Time, while d-rights is most recognised for global brands such as Beyblade and B-Daman.

“We are extremely excited to be working with the team at d-rights who have a strong history and unique approach to building international brands,” said Frank Falcone, president and executive creative director at Guru Studio.

“We are thrilled to start our new partnership with Guru Studio,” added Rika Sasaki, general manager at d-rights. “This project has great potential for very wide exposure and appeal.”

Guru Studio and d-rights plan to bring a full series bible and brand plan to market in 2019.

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Fuji TV’s Toru Ota highlights landmark co-productions YESTERDAY’s MIPCOM Co-produced Series Lunch at the Carlton hotel, hosted by Fuji Television Network, saw the launch of three “milestones in Japanese drama”, said Toru Ota, the company’s senior executive managing director.

The first is a co-production

Reed MIDEM’s Paul Zilk presents Fuji TV’s Toru Ota with the MIPCOM 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award

with Germany’s ZDF Enterprises for a primetime drama series called The Window.

Billed as a thrilling human drama that does for football what House Of Cards did for politics, The Window (10 x 45 mins) goes far beyond the simple business of winning and losing matches to reveal the dark circus behind a multi-billion dollar business of professional football.

Ota’s second milestone is the US adaptation of Fuji TV’s Japanese drama phenomenon Train Man by Emmy Award-winners Phil Rosenthal and Tucker Cawley (Everybody Loves Raymond). “In the 60-year history of Japanese television, this will be a ground-breaking achievement,” Ota said.

Based on a true story, Train Man starts when a nerdy young man rescues a young woman from a drunk on a train. With encouragement from his online comic-book chat group, he overcomes his shyness and

embarks on a life-altering love affair.

Ota also announced a new co-production with China’s Shanghai Media Group. “A market with 1.3 billion people is exciting enough,” he said. “But I’d like to look beyond China and hope that a new trend of content coming out of East Asia will become a trigger to stimulate the hearts and minds of viewers across the globe.”

The event was crowned with a prize for Ota, who received the MIPCOM 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award from Reed MIDEM president and CEO Paul Zilk.

“Toru Ota has dominated Japanese primetime with a string of successes in what is known locally as the ‘trendy drama’ genre, often using young actors in dramas with a strong love story,” Zilk said. “His forward thinking, his ability to evolve and his understanding of the international production market is truly exceptional.”

Cyber partners with Soyuzmultfilm FRANCE’s multi award-winning producer and distributor Cyber Group Studios is partnering with Moscow’s Soyuzmultfilm Studio on two major animated series for kids, the two groups announced this week.

“Like us, Soyuzmultfilm is a creatively-driven studio,” said Cyber Group chairman and CEO Pierre Sissmann. “Russia’s animation tradition goes back 100 years and it’s a great pleasure to work with Russian animators and see their process.”

The first project, Digital Girl (26 x 22 mins), is a CGI series created by Sissmann and Sylvain dos Santos. It follows 14-year-old Chrissie, the world’s first digital super-heroine, and her battles in

cyberspace with frenemy — and digital supervillain — Hack Girl.

The second, Magic Chess Odyssey (26 x 22 mins), is an adventure series in which chess and magic save the world. Also

created by the French partners, it has the support of the World Chess Federation.

A third project will soon be announced, and this will be based on Russian IP.

Cyber Group Studios’ Pierre Belaisch (left), Olivier Lelardoux, Raphaelle Mathieu and Pierre Sissmann, with Soyuzmultfilm’s Yuliana Slashcheva, Irina Mastusova, Yulia Titova and Boris Mashkovtsev

MIPCOM News 3 • 39 • 17 October 2018

TOEI SETS SIGHTS ON WIDER REACH

Toei Animation’s Kazutomo Yamashita

JAPANESE studio Toei Animation is pressing ahead with long-term plans to reach wider European audiences with the unveiling of new productions at this year’s MIPCOM. The company, which has its European headquarters in Paris, is launching a new animated film based on its renowned Dragon Ball series, due to air in Japan for the first time in December this year.

The Dragon Ball franchise, which is one of the most iconic animated brands in Japan, dates back to the 1980s. It has been revived and updated for modern audiences, with a number of new series including Dragon Ball Super and Dragon Ball Z, which debuted in 2015.

“Dragon Ball is a classic of Japanese animation,” said Kazutomo Yamashita, director at Toei Animation.

“We have brought the series back for modern young people but the essence of the story isn’t any different.”

Next year will mark the 20th anniversary of the One Piece series, another staple of the Toei output. A feature-length animated movie based on the series is set for release in the summer of 2019.

Toei is also using MIPCOM to launch a new show, Bakutsuri Bar Hunter, an animated children’s action series.

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Legendary World War II film in ‘extraordinary’ restoration CINEFLIX Rights, the UKbased distributor, has acquired a new, digitally restored version of legendary film The Memphis Belle from Creative Differences and Vulcan Productions.

The Memphis Belle was filmed by director William Wyler in 1943 on the US 8th Air Force bases in England and on B-17F bombing missions over Europe.

It was edited in Hollywood and released in 1944. Since then, copies of the original prints have deteriorated significantly.

For the updated version of The Memphis Belle: A Story Of A Flying Fortress (1 x 45 mins), producer Erik Nelson used new techniques, described as “absolutely extraordinary” by Wyler’s daughter Catherine.

“You can see more in this 4K restoration than you could ever see in the original 16mm film.

What Erik has done is restore the power to The Memphis Belle, perhaps more so than ever,” she added.

Nelson said he re-cut the film

ESTONIA RELIVES BANKING CRISIS A VISIT to MIPCOM has enabled a UK-Estonian co-production set during Estonia’s turbulent financial crisis in the 1990s to find a home on MHz Networks, the US public broadcaster specialising in international programming.

Pank (meaning “the bank”) is a joint creation by UK-based Videoplugger and Estonian production group Itamambuca Filmproduction.

It centres on a group of characters whose personal values are tested when the Baltic state is beset by an economic meltdown that follows the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s.

Thanks to the MHz deal, Pank will now be widely available to audiences in the US and Canada.

“Watching Scandinavian noir on HBO is not on the rise anymore,” Lance Schwulst, vice-president of content strategy at MHz Networks, said. “The new cool is to watch Estonian drama on MHz. I think Pank is a great addition to our selection — it has fantastic visuals, the characters draw you in and it is based on a true story.”

The Cold Blue revisits the heroes of World War II with original footage

from scratch, while preserving the original content and existing soundtrack. New footage found of the crews has been added along with music by Richard Thompson.

“As the 75th anniversary of The Memphis Belle’s 1944 premiere and D-Day looms, this classic documentary’s resurrection has never been so timely,” Nelson said.

The Memphis Belle: A Story Of A Flying Fortress sits alongside Vulcan Productions’ The Cold Blue (1 x 60 mins/1 x 90 mins), which pairs interviews with surviving veterans of B-17 missions with Wyler’s original footage.

Cineflix Rights holds exclusive worldwide distribution rights for The Cold Blue, which will debut on HBO in the US in June 2019.

CANADA’S Blue Ant Media has joined the global broadcasters that have bought All3Media’s factual entertainment series Worst Cooks In America. Series 13 and 14 (13 x 60 mins in total) will air on its T+E channel.

Discovery in Latin America has also renewed its interest, with series 11, 12 and 13 (24 x 60 mins in total) now to air throughout the region. Series 11 and 12, meanwhile, are heading to Ananey in Israel, and series 12 to 24Kitchen in the Netherlands.

Worst Cooks In America follows the country’s most useless home cooks as two top chefs put them through a boot camp to try to turn them from kitchen disaster to master, and good enough to

work in a professional kitchen.

There are now 14 series available — with series 11 and 13 featuring special guests including

La Toya Jackson and Carmen Electra — and two more series are in production for broadcast next year.

© Optomen and all3media int

Blue Ant signs up for Worst Cooks

MHz’s Lance Schwulst (left), Videoplugger’s Emanuele Galloni and Itamambuca’s Paul Aguraiuja Worst Cooks In America’s top chefs Robert Irvine and Anne Burrell

MIPCOM News 3 • 41 • 17 October 2018

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RUSSIA DOUBLES ITS SHOWCASE RUSSIA is making a big splash at MIPCOM this year thanks to a bumper-sized Made In Russia stand.

“Russian projects have been acquired by Netflix, Amazon and Hulu, as well as by major worldwide distributors,” said Nikita Gusakov, senior vice-president of the Russian Export Centre, the government body which backs the initiative. “This year we have 22 companies on the stand — more than twice as many as last year.”

Russian company CTC Media licensed four drama shows to Amazon Prime Video, and Soyuzmultfilm finalised its agreement to co-produce three new animated shows with France’s Cyber Group Studios. The Riki Group signed an agreement with French distributor and producer Go-N for its animated pre-school series Tina And Tony in Frenchspeaking territories, and Wizart licensed animated series Yoko to Middle East broadcaster AlJazeera/ BeIN. “The Made In Russia stand hosts leading producers like Sreda, TV3 and Central Partnership too,” Gusakov said. “We have a long-term ambition to support the best original content from Russia.”

Russian Export Centre’s Nikita Gusakov

Quality content helps make Brazil an international player BRAZIL is in high profile at MIPCOM with 41 companies in the Brazilian Pavilion, including animation studio 2D Lab. The firm is launching its latest preschool series Count On Me at the market. “In terms of presence at the pavilion, animation makes up a significant part simply because it travels better than live action, especially given that Brazil is not part of the international star system. By that I mean that we don’t have actors that are well known globally so we can slip in an actor like Tom Cruise who immediately gives a show more international presence,” 2D Lab CEO Andre Breitman said.

But as Edison Viana, facilities director at Moonshot Pictures pointed out. The popularity of pay TV is driving ever more premium content. “Perhaps the first show that really proved that Brazilian TV producers can compete on the international market was

3% (Netflix) from Boutique Filmes, which was followed by Samantha! (Netflix) from Los Bragas and O Negocio (HBO Latin America) from Mixer. We’re currently starting production on supernatural thriller Spectros for Netflix. The show is based in

Liberdade, the colourful Japanese quarter of Sao Paolo, and is a collaboration with screenwriter and director Douglas Petrie (Buffy The Vampire Slayer). It is based on an original concept by Michael Ruman, Anderson Almeida, and Antonio de Freitas.”

Moonshot Pictures’ Edison Viana (left); Brazilian Content’s Mary Morita; and 2DLab’s Andre Breitman

Philippines puts talent on show REPRESENTATIVES from three Philippine state bodies are at MIPCOM this year to promote the country’s programme-making credentials.

“The Philippines has traditionally been seen as very strong in terms of providing services, but we also have great content creators,” said Monchito B Ibrahim, undersecretary to the government’s department of information and communications technology.

“This year, we’ve brought over lots of small programme makers to help them get a feel for the industry, be inspired by the scale of MIPCOM, and also gain some experience in pitching,” he added.

“Animation is one of our strengths, and one of the shows we are promoting here is Barangay 143, the Philippines’ first-ever anime, which demonstrates our country’s

love for basketball,” said Wilfredo C Manalang, executive director of the Film Development Council of the Philippines.

“Over the past few years we’ve been increasingly collaborating with the private sector and have reached the conclusion that MIPCOM is

the best place for our home-grown talent to showcase their skills,” said Anthony B Rivera, assistant director of the export marketing bureau, in the Philippines’ department of trade and industry. “In fact, one of the government’s successes has been finding this marketplace.”

Wilfredo C Manalang (left); Anthony B Rivera; Monchito B Ibrahim; Emmy Lou V Delfin, division chief, ICT industry development bureau; and Froilan Emil D Pamintuan, from the Philippine trade and investment centre

MIPCOM News 3 • 42 • 17 October 2018

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