MIPTV 2012 NEWS 4

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Wednesday 4 April 2012 MIPTV DEALS Deal-making has been at the core of MIPTV 2012 with companies worldwide announcing key strategic partnerships. China has struck high-profile deals with companies around the world including the UK, France and Latin America. Pictured here, Zhejiang Huace Film & TV Company’s Karen Fu and Venevision International’s Manuel Perez See page 16

BRANDED ENTERTAINMENT Brands and agencies are at MIPTV ready to do business with producers, delegates heard yesterday in a series of Branded Entertainment sessions See page 7

Nestle’s Birgit Becker

EYE ON 3D Broadcasters and viewers have developed a thirst for 3D content according to The International 3D Society’s Jim Chabin who spoke at the two-day MIPTV 3DTV Focus events See page 4

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OFFICIAL CONFERENCES & EVENTS WEDNESDAY 4 APRIL 3DTV FOCUS 3DTV PRODUCER BOOT CAMP 10.00 – 12.30 Audi A

Producers’ Hub 10.00 – 11.00

In partnership with

powered by

HOW TO MIP IT: THE FOLLOW UP! Blue Lounge In cooperation with the Entertainment Master Class

Moderator Q Chris Forrester, Contributing Editor, Advanced-Television.com, UK

Speaker

Q Jonathan Glazier, Creative Director, Entertainment Master Class, Germany

11.00 – 12.00 Making of Stereo 3D commercials, 3DTV and live content Q Marc Briede, Stereographer, Chroma Film & TV, Germany

PRESS CONFERENCE: THE MIPTV 2012 OVERVIEW Blue Lounge

Sky 3D - 18 months and counting Q Stephan Heimbecher, Head of Innovations & Standards, Sky Deutschland, Germany

12.15 – 13.00

SOCIAL MEDIA PRODUCERS’ WORKSHOP Why so many movies and parts of movies need conversion Q Sebastian Knorr, Director R&D and Knowledge Management, Imcube, Germany

Driving New Formats by Leveraging Social Media and How Second Screen Changes the Game

Blue Lounge Speaker

Q Richard Kastelein, Managing Director, Agora Media Group, The Netherlands 3D Innovation Center @ Fraunhofer HHI - Who are we and what do we do for you? Q Kathleen Schroeter, Executive Manager 3D Innovation Center, Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute, Germany

Q Marc Goodchild (photo), Managing Director & Chief Creative, IpDipSkyBlue.tv and Partner, Agora Media Group, UK

14.00 – 15.00

Production concept & realisation of 3D concerts and documentaries Q Gerd F. Schultze, CEO, Producer & Director, Music-Delight GmbH, Germany

THE MIPTV WRAP UP Analysis of the week, trend predictions for the coming year and more

Blue Lounge Moderator Q James Martin, Community Manager, MIP Markets, France Deutsche Telekom - 3DTV Live & on Demand on Entertain Q Dr Sven Weissenfels, Manager Content Partnering, Deutsche Telekom, Germany

A showcase of Marchon 3D great passive 3D glasses with curved lenses to the audience Q Guenther Herrmann, Director 3D Business Development, Marchon Europe BV, Germany

Speakers Q Richard Kastelein, Managing Director, Agora Media Group, The Netherlands Q Marc Goodchild, Managing Director & Chief Creative, IpDipSkyBlue.tv and Partner, Agora Media Group, UK Q Omri Marcus (photo), Creative Partner, Red Arrow Entertainment Group, Israel Q Simon Staffans (photo), Format Developer, MediaCity Finland, Finland @simon_staffans


Contents

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miptv neWs 4 ®

The official MIPTV daily newspaper Wednesday 4 April 2012

MIPT distribute V News : d ev at MIPTV erywhere more th , and in an in Cann 80 hotels e s a nd vicinity the

Director of Publications Paul Zilk Director of Communications Mike Williams EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Editor in Chief Julian Newby Deputy Editor Debbie Lincoln Sub Editors Clive Bull, Sarah Kovandzich, Joanna Stephens Reporters Marlene Edmunds, Andy Fry, Emelia Jones, Juliana Koranteng, Max Leonard, Rachel Murrell, Gary Smith, Chris White, Nigel Willmott Deputy Technical Editor in Chief Frederic Beauseigneur Graphic Designers Muriel Betrancourt, Veronique Duthille, Marie Moinier, Carole Peres Head of Photographers Yann Coatsaliou / 360 Media Photographers Christian Alminana, Georges Auclaire, Olivier Houeix, Michel Johner Editorial Management Boutique Editions. PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT Publishing Director Martin Screpel Publishing Co-ordinators Nour Ezzedeen, Emilie Lambert, Amrane Lamiri Production Assistant, Cannes Office Eric Laurent Printer Riccobono Imprimeurs, Le Muy (France). MANAGEMENT & SALES TEAM Director of the Entertainment Division Anne de Kerckhove Director of the Television Division Laurine Garaude Sales Director Sabine Chemaly Director of Market Development Ted Baracos Conference Director Lucy Smith Marketing Director Stephane Gambetta Programme Directors Tania Dugaro, Karine Bouteiller, Cathie Laven Managing Director (UK/Australia/New Zealand) Peter Rhodes OBE Sales Manager Elizabeth Delaney Vice President Sales and Business Development, Americas Robert Marking Vice President Business Development, North America JP Bommel Sales Managers Paul Barbaro, Nathalie Gastone, Samira Haddi Regional Sales Director Fabienne Germond Sales Executives Liliane Dacruz, Panayiota Pagoulatos, Cyril Szczerbakow Digital Media Sales Manager Nancy Denole New Media Development Manager Bastien Gave Australia and New Zealand Representative Natalie Apostolou China Representative Anke Redl CIS Representative Alexandra Modestova English Speaking Africa Representative Arnaud de Nanteuil India Representative Anil Wanvari Israel Representative Guy Martinovsky Japan Representative Lily Ono Latin America Representative Elisa Aquino Middle-East Representative Bassil Hajjar Poland Representative Monika Bednarek South Korea Representative Sunny Kim Taiwan Representative Irene Liu Germany Representative (Digital Media Sector) Renate Radke Adam ADVERTISING CONTACT IN CANNES Christine Mendes 01 41 90 49 89 christine.mendes@reedmidem.com

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news 4 Conference reports; market deals

people 10 Doing business in Cannes 17 CCTV China Dinner 23 Celebrating in Cannes

Luo Ming, vice-president and editor-in-chief of CCTV, and Remy PÀimlin, director general of France Televisions, sign a memorandum of understanding for documentary programming for broadcast on CCTV’s new documentary channel CCTV9. The agreement also covers the possibility of future co-productions between the two public broadcasters as well as the sharing of expertise and technical knowledge

Published by Reed MIDEM, BP 572, 11 rue du Colonel Pierre Avia, 75726 Paris Cedex 15, France. Contents © 2012, Reed MIDEM Market Publications, Publication registered 2nd quarter 2012. ISSN 1967-5178. Printed on FSC certified paper

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neWs Watch the State Of The 3D TV Market video presentation by IHS Screen Digest here http://bit.ly/HhE8b3

Tweet of the day 3DTV Focus: The London 2012 Olympics 3D coverage will either make or break the 3DTV market. No pressure. #miptv

3D Society sees real and Indies should embrace and growing thirst for content explore the new medium S PRESIDENT of the International 3D Society of America, Jim Chabin is a professional evangelist for the new medium and reported in his keynote a thirst for content that is real — and growing. Admitting that some of the 3D movies released in 2011 were not up to par, he said: “That’s true of lots of theatrical releases. And the point is, the quality is getting better all the time. There are some major tentpole movies coming in 2012. We’re very excited to see how they are.” 3D movies have already generated $6bn (€4.5bn) in ticket sales. And with A-list directors such as Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, James Cameron and Steven Spielberg producing in 3D, the new technology has powerful advocates. In television, the 2012 Olympic Games are a real driver for takeup, but there remains a ‘knowledge gap’ between what people hope for and fear from 3DTV. Worldwide there are now 40+ 3DTV channels looking for content,” said Chabin. “In addition, CCTV in China has committed to adding 10 3D channels within ¿ve years.” While YouTube and NVidia already have 3D channels, Apple is rumoured to be working on a glasses-free 3D screen, and there are predictions of 148 million handheld mobiles in the market by 2015. “Research by the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing shows that the public

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D is ready for TV, and TV is ready for 3D,” said Erwin Schmidt of German independent producer Neue Road Movies at yesterday’s keynote session on 3DTV. “We’re still at the start but change is happening as we speak. Independent producers should get involved.” As the producer of one of the earliest independent ¿lms to be shot in 3D — Wim Wenders’ award-winning dance documentary A Film For Pina Bausch — Schmidt and his team had to invent ways of filming 3D on independent budgets. And that’s not just a technical challenge. “It’s not about which cameras to use,” he said. “3D is a new visual language of which we have so far discovered only a couple of words and a few bits of grammar. For example, if you’re shooting a face against a background in 2D, that’s basically all you can do. But in 3D, you can choose whether to put the face in front of, or behind, the screen. And people read that very differently in emotional terms.” “Embrace, exper iment, dare to speak in this new language,” Schmidt exhorted his audience. “There is no other way.”

Jim Chabin: “3DTV makes viewers feel part of the action”

is very interested in 3D,” said Chabin. “57% of viewers agreed that 3DTV makes them feel more like they are part of the action, 48% said it makes them feel closer to the characters, and over 29% of those currently seeking a new TV set would consider a 3D set.” Chabin added that research from the American Optometric Association says that 3D is not harmful to young eyes. The 3D content at MIPTV is presented with the help of Prime Focus World, London.

Erwin Schmidt: “change is happening as we speak”

3D seems naturally suited to big structures and landscapes, and Schmidt’s new projects include Cathedrals Of Culture, a 10-part series about outstanding European architecture. But his new drama Everything Will Be Fine breaks the mould. “Up to now, 3D dramas have focused on the spectacular,” Schmidt said. “But we are focusing on the actors.” Schmidt appealed to independent ¿lmmakers not to leave it to Hollywood to push the medium forward, but to embrace the new technology and explore the new visual language that it makes possible. “The question is not ‘What ¿lms can I make in 3D?’, but ‘How can 3D add depth and emotion to the story I want to tell?’.”



neWs Time for manufacturers Sporting action drives to include glasses with 3D viewing figures 3D sets, Morrod says John Cassy, director, Sky 3D BSkyB, UK

NLESS TV manufacturers find an economic way of retailing 3DTV sets with the 3D glasses included, the 3DTV sector is in danger of stalling, according to Tom Morrod, senior principal analyst, TV and broadcast technology at industry research ¿rm IHS Screen Digest. He said there are currently around 30 3DTV channels worldwide during the 3DTV State Of The Market presentation yesterday. Broadcasters have transmitted more than 35 one-off major TV spectaculars, mostly sports events. Additionally, 3D-movie consumption at cinemas remains steady and is compensating for the decline in traditional DVD sales. But the format’s reach in consu-

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mers’ homes is not yielding as much revenue as 3D in cinema theatres. This is not surprising, Morrod argued, considering a decent 3DTV unit sold at UK department store John Lewis, for example, can cost up to £6,999 ($11,200). Glasses-free autostereoscopic TV sets will not be available for a few years, he said. Yet, currently, 3DTV manufacturers refuse to sell the sets with the glasses enclosed in the packaging. “Having no glasses is a genuine problem,” Morrod said. “People rarely go out to buy a universal remote control, for example, so it is vital to add glasses to the TV sets they sell. But in doing so, the prices will be too high and consumers could ¿ nd them too expensive.”

IHS Screen Digest’s Tom Morrod

3D TELEVISION continued to be under the spotlight at the 3DTV Sports & Action session yesterday, moderated by Advanced-Television.com’s Chris Forrester. According to John Cassy, director, Sky 3D BSkyB, subscribers to the Sky 3D channel are sold on the idea. “The satisfaction levels of our viewers are off the chart,” Cassy said. “We’ve now been on air since October 2010 for 16 hours each day. We have transmitted 160 live sports events in 3D — which continues to drive our viewing ¿gures.” However, there are still complaints that there is not enough choice in 3D programming. Although it is clear that there is an increase in 3D content availability from both broadcasters and studios, it is also plain that consumer demand and willingness to pay for 3D content

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will only improve if they catch sight of excellent, diverse programming that shows it off. Perhaps the highly-anticipated 3D broadcast of the London Olympic Games, with 10 hours of 3D coverage every day across all sporting disciplines, will do just that. The groundbreaking coverage of London 2012 will present a number of challenges for Olympic Broadcast Services (OBS), the official Olympic broadcasting images provider. The plans involve 3D programming on an unprecedented scale. OBS is deploying a production team consisting of up to three fully equipped OB vans and six separate crews. There will be an operations centre where the signals will be received and distributed to participants. From there a daily highlights programme will be produced as part of the 3D transmission.


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Time to jump on brand wagon? RANDS and agencies are at MIPTV ready to do business with producers — but the advice from the experts at yesterday’s Branded Content In The Marketing Mix session is “be patient”. Chet Fenster, managing partner at MEC Entertainment, said: “Opportunities for creative collaboration exist, but the development process isn’t the same as for TV — you’re trying to create content that achieves a new set of objectives.” Patou Nuyteman, EAME chief digital of¿cer at Ogilvy & Mather, said branded entertainment achieves brand goals because it engages emotionally with the audience. But she admitted that more marketers need to redirect money out of media and campaign planning into production. “The issue is the need for a shift in mindset towards a dialogue with audiences,” she added. Birgit Becker, marketing and

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Nestle’s Birgit Becker: Blue Bear re-imagined

communications manager for Nestle, said brand-owners have been cautious because branded entertainment is still slightly unproven. But at Nestle, the decision has now been taken to re-imagine Blue Bear, the 40-year-old logo attached to the company’s baby range. “He has been given a fresh and consistent 2D and 3D look as part of our efforts to create a connection with mothers and babies,” Becker said. Evan Shapiro, president, of Independent Film Channel (IFC) TV and Sundance Channel, provided a TV channel perspective, arguing that marketers and agencies need to stay focused on the fact that branded entertainment still needs to do a great job for TV audiences. He added: “With the rise of DVRs, it’s an increasingly important part of the business model. But they are still crashing on our couch.” IFC/Sundance’s Evan Shapiro: “still crashing on our couch”

No rewards without risks in fight for engagement Holler Digital’s James Kirkham: moving on from Likes

BRAND-owners must take risks and project a strong voice in their branded-entertainment messages, said speakers at the Audience Engagement With Brands session on Monday. Relying on the number of Facebook Likes no longer means much in digital marketing, said James Kirkham, managing partner at UK-based agency Holler Digital. “Facebook has made some bold changes in the last few weeks because they want to go head to head with TV,” he said. “But I’m spending time with brandowners who are still thinking in terms of Likes.” Co-panelist Nick Bailey, executive creative director at digital agency AKQA in the Netherlands, added: “Any brand has the right to create content, as long as

you create value for yourself and your consumers and are prepared to take risks.” A typical example of such a risk was taken by Samsung Electronics, which wanted a branded-entertainment campaign for its new Samsung Galaxy S II smartphone last October. It appointed UKbased The Third Act, part of the Digitas group, which worked with Los Angelesbased FreddieW (real name Freddie Wong), a filmmaker with a popular YouTube channel. FreddieW produced Gamer Commute, in which several scenes were shot with the Samsung Galaxy S II and a professional HD video camera. The fact that no one could tell the difference turned the ¿lm viral with more than 545 million upload views in 30 days.

AKQA’s Nick Bailey: “be prepared to take risks”

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neWs MEDIA says funding in Europe doesn’t have to be a drama

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R AMA funding is available from the Eu ropean Union’s MEDIA programme,

with the goal of strengthening the pan-European audiovisual sector, said Virve Indren, one of MEDIA’s programme co-ordi-

nators. She was speaking at the Drama Co-production Financing Opportunities event at the Producers’ Hub. She explained that funds for European audiovisual companies were split into Development and Broadcasting strands, with budgets of €9m ($12m) and €10.8m available respectively in each. Development support covered all activities before production, including rights acquisition, writing, casting, looking for partners, travel, festival and legal costs, for European audiovisual companies. Companies could apply for either single project (€10,000-60,000) or slate (€70,000-190,000) funding, depending on their capacity, with a premium paid for feature animation and relevant interactive projects. Once determined eligible, bids were passed to expert professionals, Europe-wide, to judge the merits of the project. “You must have a ¿nancing plan,

Formats in China can be beautiful DESPITE the problems of language, culture and censorship, a western company can break into the Chinese market with branded entertainment — provided it does the research and maintains the integrity of the artistic concept. Alexis de Gemini, CEO, director and producer, A2G Creations, told a Branded Entertainment conference that he took his Beauty Academy concept to China because no one was buying local formats in France. From Xue Xinran’s book The Good Women Of China, the former Big Brother and Popstars producer realised that there was a great interest Alexis de Gemini: capitalising on Chinese interest

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and it’s best to have a ‘Plan B’,” Indren advised. “It’s also important to have a vision of how your project will travel outside your national territory — and to look further than the normal places.” She added that MEDIA would ¿ nance up to 50% of development costs; it didn’t matter where the rest came from — producers’ own money, national funding or investors — but it had to be in place. As for TV broadcasting, this fund was intended for distribution support — production funding is not allowed. However, in reality many companies used the MEDIA money for gap ¿nancing. To qualify, a minimum of three broadcasters from different countries had to be on board, committing 50% of the production budget. Various eligibility criteria were applied to each application, including ¿nancing and international appeal. New EU members and smaller countries received special weighting. Finally, Indren advised applying early, to avoid mishaps: “The processes are long — it takes ¿ve months for a decision — and you cannot go into production before funding is received.” in learning about make-up in China, because the Cultural Revolution had destroyed the traditional knowledge that until then had been handed down from mother to daughter. Then it was necessary to make sure that the sponsor — French beauty products company Sephora — supported the format, not the other way around. “The DNA of Sephora was built into the programme, but each episode was not a 50-minute advert for the company,” he said. However, the requirements of the sponsor, properly handled, could enhance the programme. “To incorporate a partner company, Make Up For Ever, we hired a synchronised swimming group and ¿lmed an underwater ballet, which was ¿rst-class entertainment and took the show to another level.”


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3D games are enhancing TV’s repertoire of quality content ITH 62 million PlaysStation 3 consoles capable of replaying 3D Blu-ray, 3D photos and 3D games, plus a growing catalogue of more than 80 3D games, there is already a stock of content for the 3D televisions hitting the market, Mick Hocking, vice-president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, told a 3D Focus keynote yesterday. The development of 3D games might also give another boost to the ¿lm and television industry, as technologies such as automated stereography migrate back to the CGI sector. Hocking stressed that 3D was enhancing

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not just the technical and visual aspects of gaming, but also its creativity. “It is a natural addition to racing games, improving the player’s judgment of speed, proximity and breaking distance,” he said, noting that top racing drivers were now trained on high-end simulators. With all major games platforms now supporting 3D, games, Hocking said developers could move to the new format with con¿dence. But it was essential, he added, that the 3D content was of high quality, because viewers’ ¿ rst experience of it would shape the market response.

It helps to be funny on social media

The Wit’s Virginia Mouseler: “People like comedy, soaps and reality TV”

COMEDY, soap operas and reality TV attract intense audience engagement on social media, said Virginia Mouseler during yesterday’s Fresh TV: The Top TV Shows In Social Media. Mouseler, CEO of France-based audience-research company The Wit, based the results on her company’s WITspotter, an analytics tool for assessing social media’s impact on TV entertainment. From a pool of 59,188 TV shows in 44 countries and the 650 new shows added to the database each month, WITspotter found that Berlin: Tag Und Nacht, a reality soap opera on German network RTL2, was the most talked-about TV show worldwide on Facebook during its ¿ rst season. It also had the most Facebook Likes in Germany. The French comedy series Bref on Canal+ was the second most talkedabout TV show on Facebook. The most talked-about new show from the US was New Girl, which premiered on Fox last September. “We can conclude that people like comedy, soaps and reality TV and that you need to be funny to be popular on social media,” Mouseler said. The most anticipated shows on Twitter included Smash, NBC’s musical drama co-produced by Steven Spielberg, which has been renewed for a second season.

DON’T SHOUT — ENGAGE IN CONVERSATIONS YESTERDAY’s Measuring The Value Of Branded Entertainment session began with the launch of Ogilvy’s Branded Entertainment Assessment Model (BEAM), which gauges programme objectives, and creates and measures benchmarks. BEAM was developed because Ogilvy believes “strategy drives measurement”, said Abby Marks of OgilvyEntertainment. “Our goal was to set forward some guiding principles,” she added. Chantal Rickards of media agency MEC said storytelling was vital to promote brands and their products. Programme-makers shouldn’t “shout at people”, she said, but engage in two-way conversations with the audience. ITV’s Francois Florentiny said it was important for branded entertainment to be easy to scale: “Our main concern is to find formats that can be replicated. Our goal is to make sure that, if it works in the UK, it can be done in France, the US, Australia, Germany and Scandinavia right away.” The C4 Group’s Sean Finnegan expressed his distaste for Facebook Like chasing. “If you’ve ever used any of these social-based sharing tools, you know there’s probably 1% of your audience that’s commenting on your material. Ninety per cent of the people out there are lurking.” Rickards concluded: “The best content projects are the ones that are collaborative between producers, brands and platform. Then branded entertainment works like a dream.”

OgilvyEntertainment’s Abby Marks (left), The C4 Group’s Sean Finnegan, ITV Studios’ Francois Florentiny and MEC’s Chantal Rickards

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neWs Experts compare notes on making money from VOD EADING experts in the video-on-demand business used yesterday’s VOD On Tap session to show producers and distributors where the money gets made in on-demand. Jeff Henry, CEO of SPT/Disneyowned movie-on-demand jointventure FilmFlex Movies, provided stats which showed that premium transactional on-demand accounts for 63% of VOD revenues despite representing just 1% of activity. By contrast, ad-funded VOD accounts for just 24% of revenues despite 98% of activity. Both are valid models, Henry said, “but with 80% of FilmFlex income coming from new movies as opposed to our library, you can see the audience desire for immediate grati¿cation.”

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Rightster’s Charlie Muirhead: working behind the scenes

FilmFlex Movies’ Jeff Henry: audience desire for immediate gratification

Ashley Mackenzie, founder and CEO of Base79, explained how his business is about aggregating content from rights holders like Tiger Aspect and Zodiak then building a volume of audience that appeals to advertisers. “Advertisers want scale. So for me the question you should ask isn’t how to build distribution or achieve monetisation, it’s how to connect audiences with your content. It’s audiences that are scarce, not distribution.” Rightster CEO Charlie Muirhead is in a similar business to Base79, working behind the scenes to help rights holders monetise content. He gave the example of ITN Productions, which Rightster helped double its revenues in six months through cutting out costs, developing audience and improving ad sales.

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Panelists seek the rights opportunity for digital Yahoo!’s Sima Sistani: “hold back those shoulder rights”

MEDIA lawyers and indus- tainty may explain why so try execs grappled with the much rights value is left on problem of how to slice and the table. “Producers are so dice content rights during focused on getting their prithe session Digital Deal mary screen [TV] deal they Making Trends In The Te- throw in all their digital levision Industry. rights,” said Sima Sistani, Rights lawyer Jeff Lieben- director of business deveson outlined the dif¿culty lopment at Yahoo!. “What of writing contracts which they really need to do is hold protect existing revenue back those shoulder rights to streams while allowing new grow and monetise the seones to grow: “The chal- cond screen environment.” lenge for rights owners is The situation isn’t going to knowing how platforms will get any easier, said Graceevolve even within the dura- note head of sales EMEA, tion of the current contract. Chris Cass: “Manufacturers How do producers and plat- of connected TVs, set-top forms maximise returns wi- boxes and second screens thout cannibalising their re- all want to own the end user venues?” Lawyer Massimo as well — a big battle is Travostino of Studio Legale brewing in this area.” Pecoraro-Travostino took Gracenote’s Chris Cass: “a big battle is brewing” a similar line, saying it was much easier to carve up rights before the advent of digital distribution: “The challenge for all players is to f ind a way to live in and create new markets. But no one is sure what they will get anymore.” Lack of cer-

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neWs ROME REPORTS VATICAN NEWS ROME Reports TV News Agency has sold A Love Affair With The Truth: Benedict XVI, a 50-minute documentary on the current leader of the Catholic Church, to some 20 territories in the run-up to the market and is in Cannes with a line-up of 10 other documentaries. Rome Reports, a private and independent media company owned by Palio News, is the first television news agency specialising in the Vatican. Among the line-up of documentaries at MIPTV are Christians In The Gulf: Where Sunday Falls On Friday and The Papacy Of Reason: Inside The Mind of Benedict XVI.

QUATERMAIN’S ADVENTURE SONAR Entertainment and Ecosse Films have joined forces to develop and produce Quatermain, a new 10 x 60 mins action-adventure series based on the classic swashbuckling stories by iconic early 20th-century author H. Rider Haggard. Sonar Entertainment CEO Stewart Till and founder and managing director of Ecosse Films Douglas Rae, who will also executive produce the series, finalised the project at MIPTV. Till said: “Allan Quatermain is one of the great adventure heroes in the history of literature. This will introduce his work to a new generation and bring his timeless exploits into the 21st century.”

ViKi.com ViKi CEO and co-founder Razmig Hovaghimian

ViKi partnership with SBS hub boosts Korean wave in Europe IKI, the global video site powered by fans, has announced a partnership with SBS Contents Hub, the distribution arm of the South Korea’s leading broadcaster, Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS), to simulcast popular SBS shows throughout Europe. ViKi will power a co-branded destination site that will bring the latest SBS line-up, translated into multiple languages, to European countries. The site will give access to dramas, K-pop music videos, variety shows, documentaries and other exclusive content developed by SBS. “Europe is one of the fastest growing markets for Korean content,” Razmig Hovaghimian, ViKi CEO and co-founder, said. “We’re thrilled to deepen our partnership with SBS and

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connect fans with great shows, including the highly anticipated dramas Ghost and Rooftop Prince.” The SBS venture marks the ¿rst time ViKi has partnered with a major broadcaster to deliver exclusive localised content to Europe. ViKi has distribution relationships with Hulu and NetÀix in North America, Yahoo! in Southeast Asia and Samsung globally, across devices, including smart TVs. “Partnering with ViKi allows us to rapidly enter new markets previously limited by geographical boundaries,” Hwi Jin Kim, head of content business of SBS Contents Hub said. “Now, we can broadcast our shows to fans we haven’t been able to reach before, and in partnership with ViKi, we’re looking to take the Korean wave in Europe to the masses.”

ITV Studios go on demand in China ITV STUDIOS Global Entertainment (ITVS GE) has signed an agreement with Joy.cn, one of China’s largest content websites. The multi-year output deal will see leading dramas such as ITV Studios’ big budget co-production Titanic and US network drama Prime Suspect made available via video-on-demand. Initially over 140 hours of content from ITVS GE’s portfolio will

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be accessible by local audiences. Augustus Dulgaro, senior vicepresident, Asia Paci¿c, ITVS GE said: “Many audiences in China are now watching more content online than they do via traditional television and with the appetite for British and US programmes continuing to grow, this deal is a very natural step for us in the region.” Meanwhile ITVS GE has concluded a raft of MIPTV international sales

for its returning crime drama franchises. Agreements have been signed for Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Italy, Netherlands, Hungary, Estonia, China, Singapore, Thailand and Africa. Australia’s Seven Network has bought brand new series Endeavour and the second series of the drama Vera, while TVNZ in New Zealand, Belgium public broadcaster VRT, and Netherlands Public

Broadcasting (NPO) have taken Endeavour. International broadcasters have also picked up the most recent series of crime franchises Above Suspicion, Murdoch Mysteries, Agatha Christie’s Poirot, Agatha Christie’s Marple and Lewis. Estonia’s ETV, TVNZ and VRT have bought Above Suspicion: Silent Scream, the latest installment of the hit series by awardwinning writer Lynda La Plante, while VRT and BBC Entertainment in Africa have acquired the third series, Deadly Intent.


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ORF’s Tatort team helps close multi-territory deals USTRIAN broadcaster ORF has closed a raft of deals at MIPTV, including ones with Tele-Quebec and Oasis HD for numerous wildlife and nature documentaries. And Tatort, its police show that has been running since 1972, has enjoyed a ¿llip: lone cop Moritz Eisner was recently joined by a female partner, and the resultant surge in audience interest has helped it sell to SPI, who will show it across its Eastern European territories. It has also been picked up by RTV Slovenia, and will go to Italy soon. Brazil’s Globosat has picked up The Secret World Of Termites, which has also gone to China, Korea, Thailand and Japan’s NHK. The Japanese broadcaster also acquired Mystery Of The Fairy Circles, Zambezi and Secret Of The Flooded Forest. ORF kids programmes Explorer Express and Seven Wonders have been sold to ARTE, along with a package of documentaries, while Christmas In Vienna has gone to SRF (Switzerland) and RUV (Iceland). Meanwhile, 151 episodes of K Files, the detective series that also stars a chef, will air on FT Prisma in the Czech Republic, and Fox Crime Italy has acquired Four Women And A Fune-

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Tatort: it takes two (copyright: ORF/Ali Schafler)

Minika’s Mahmut Ipsirli (left) and DQE’s Tapaas Chakravarti

MINIKA ATV SWOOPS ON ROBIN HOOD DEAL MINIKA ATV Turkey has entered into a co-production agreement with DQ Entertainment (DQE) and Method Animation on the kids 3D animation Robin Hood.

ral. The show featuring four women snif¿ng out unlikely murders is also broadcast in Hungary, Italy, Ukraine and many other countries.

Electric Sky’s move East drives raft of Asia deals BRITISH factual distributor Electric Sky’s new Hong Kong of¿ce is paying off: it has announced several Asian deals. NHK has picked up the second 10 x 23 mins series of cookery title Glamour Puds, as well as the Royal Opera House-produced Alice’s

Glamour Puds goes east

Adventures In Wonderland — a full-length ballet created by Christopher Wheeldon (1 x 150 mins). Also in Japan, Tokyovision has taken Britain’s Youngest Undertaker, a one-hour documentary following a 15-year-old schoolgirl’s move into the world of caskets and coffins. And Nippon Television Network has acquired the World’s Fattest Man (2 x 44 mins), which charts 70-stone (980lb/440kg) Paul Mason’s attempt to lose weight. It has now been sold to 15 territories. Topical shows on the Olympics and Titanic have also sold. Phoenix Satellite TV in Hong Kong has acquired docu-drama Waking The Titanic and Discovery Networks Asia Paci¿c has acquired documentary special Game Changer: London 2012, along with two other titles.

Minika is ATV’s kids network. The deal, which follows an earlier one for Peter Pan with Method and DQE, ”is part of our strategy to be the leading kids network in the region,” said general manager Mahmut Ipsirli. He continued: “We believe that they are the ideal partners to fulfill that strategy. Minika is coming in as a broadcaster as well as a financial partner. TF1 And ZDF TV have also come aboard as broadcast partners on the 52 x 11 mins series. “ Minika’s partnership with us is extremely important in helping our company expose many of our classical and global brands,” DQE CEO Tapaas Chakravarti said.

SINEMA TAKES PANNINI TITLES TO TURKEY ISTANBUL’s Sinema TV, which has 10 pay-TV channels in Turkey, has signed a MIPTV output deal with Panini’s The Licensing Machine. It includes several new series, such as Signs, Chronicles and Metal Hurlant. Apart from Turkey the series will also be seen in several other Middle Eastern territories. Sinema TV CEO Fatih Oflaz said: “Our mission is to deliver current, quality entertainment for all Turkish viewers to enjoy.”

From left: Sinema TV’s Fatih Oflaz and Sena Argun, and the Licensing Machine’s Bruno Zarka

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neWs SPANISH FOOD ENJOYS SALES CANADIAN producer-distributor Shaftesbury has sold food adventure series From Spain With Love to broadcasters including XYZnetworks’ LifeStyle Food channel in Australia, Food Television in New Zealand, Asian Food Channel in South East Asia and Fox Traveller India (via Fox International Channels). The show, which explores Spain through the eyes of gastro nomad and host Annie Sibonney, has now been licensed in 100 countries worldwide. “With Annie Sibonney’s fun and relaxed approach to food and culture, this is a series that travels across many regions,” said Shane Kinnear, senior vice-president, sales and marketing, Shaftesbury. Produced by Shaftesbury in association with Henry Less Productions, From Spain With Love premiered on Food Network Canada and Cooking Channel in the US in the second quarter of 2011.

WENDA SET TO GET ANIMATED WANDERING Wenda & Friends, the children’s book series by award-winning Canadian writer Margaret Atwood, has been optioned by Breakthrough Entertainment from Toronto-based publisher McArthur & Company for development as an animated series. “We look forward to developing Margaret Atwood’s extraordinary children’s books into an exciting pre-school television series,” said Joan Lambur, executive producer for children’s programming at Breakthrough.

Wandering Wenda

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International broadcasters savour Ramsay’s latest culinary delights PTOMEN International repor ts a string of deals for Gordon Ramsay formats and finished shows, including the superchef’s new US hospitality-rescue series Hotel Hell (6 x 60 mins) and the Kitchen Nightmares franchise. W9 France, Kanal Fem Sweden, TVM Belgium and TVN Poland have licensed Hotel Hell, which premieres on Fox this summer. The new series sees Ramsay travel across the US to fix the nation’s most horrible hotels. Gordon Ramsay said: “These are stories everyone can relate to, because virtually all of us have had a bad hotel experience that’s turned a holiday or business trip into a total disaster. It’s time to put the hospitality industry to the test.” Hotel Hell follows on the success of Fox’s Kitchen Night-

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Kitchen Nightmares: into five new territories

mares, which has been renewed for a fifth season by the US network. The latest sales for Ramsay’s restaurant-rescue franchise include deals with Poland (TVN), Ukraine (1+1 Studios), Finland (Nelonen), the Czech Republic (TV Prima) and

Spain (La Sexta). Caroline Stephenson, Optomen’s director of sales, said: “Gordon continues to go from strength to strength. We’re very excited about his latest venture, Hotel Hell, which has all the hallmarks of a global Ramsay hit.”

Futurecode’s Dibidogs head to Russia FINNISH company Futurecode has signed a deal with Russian distribution company Total Content for the ¿ rst season of the 26 x 5 mins 3D animation series The Dibidogs. “This is the ¿rst of what will be a four-season 104-episode project,” Futurecode CEO Jim Solatie said. Last year, Futurecode was voted the most innovative media company in the world at MIPTV 2011’s Connected Creativity Ventures (CC Ventures) event for its Dibidogs augmented reality applications. Partner Pia Solatie added: “The recognition has spurred a number of deals for us across the globe, including with CCTV in China and KBS in Korea, so you can understand why we love MIPTV.” The Dibidogs, about a bunch of school-age pups living on the beautiful planet Bonecity in outer space, started out as a

hobby and the project was given its title by the couple’s children. “They were behind the creativity and the creation of the ¿rst character,” said Jim Solatie. “As parents, we recognised that children are reading less and less so we put TV inside the book. In that way, it encourages kids to read and watch TV through their

mobile phone and web camera.” Total Content’s Genny Belyaeva said: “It’s colourful, it’s sweet and it’s made by kids for kids. That’s why I liked it.” In addition to Russia, the deal, brokered by Finnish content and talent agency Screening, included the Baltics and CIS territories.

Screening’s Jape Kantola (left) and Total Content’s Genny Belyaeva with Futurecode’s Pia and Jim Solatie


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Camera rolls as cinema fund boosts Russian film revival N THE current economic climate, coming to MIPTV with a pot of money is like taking a cat to a dog show. But no time-wasters — and no TV series, is the message from Elena Romanova, head of the international department of the Russian Cinema Fund, set up two years ago to revive the Russian ¿lm industry. It has a broad remit, for both live-action and animation, but productions must have a theatrical release, even if funded by broadcasters. The Cinema Fund’s aim is “to bring Russians back to a national cinema and to improve national

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Russian Cinema Fund’s Elena Romanova: Russia has the locations, new studios and comparable costs

Making the most of MIP So you’ve had some great meetings this week, 17 people want you to send further details, and there’s a genuine buzz around your project. But how do you convert that into deals once you’re back home?

Larry Bass, CEO of leading Irish independent Screentime ShinAwiL, will be answering this and related questions in How To MIP It: The Follow Up!, a 10.00 session at the Producers’ Hub in the Gare Maritime today. The session is one of a series run by Entertainment Master Class, the international media academy where students learn about the business from industry experts. “Entertainment Master Class is now in its fifth year,” prog r a m me m a n age r Cla ra Brock ma n n said. “We run weeklong modules on a whole range of topics, and we have a growing community of 200 alumni from Entertainment Master Class’s Clara Brockmann 36 countries.”

production” — to bring a new vitality to the cinema of Eisenstein and Vertov, Tarkovsky and Klimov. Phase one is well under way with over 70 projects funded and 50 releases planned for this year. The Fund now aims to increase co-productions to bring in business to Russia’s revamped production facilities. Five collaborations are under way, starting with traditional partners, such as Germany and France, but the Fund is also keen to develop co-productions with countries such as the UK and China. “We have the locations, new studios and costs comparable to other eastern European countries,” Romanova said. In the pipeline is a RussianFrench-UK co-production of Pushkin’s Queen Of Spades, scripted by The King’s Speech writer David Seidler, and plans are advancing for Ralph Fiennes to star in Turgenev’s A Month In The Country.

Appointments

Fancy selling MIPTV, MIPCube, MIPFormats, MIPDoc, MIPJunior and MIPCOM? We are looking for a top flight Sales & Biz Dev Professional to work in our London office. As successful candidate you will be able to demonstrate your long term success in bringing in new business and working with companies in the Entertainment industry. While knowing the TV Industry you will be knowledgeable about growing digital media trends including transmedia, branded content and online video. You will be excited about the opportunities offered by MIPCube. Your previous experience may be in the digital space or in media or programme sales. You are looking for a challenge and an opportunity to bring UK companies to the world stage.

If this sounds like you then let me have your CV. Peter Rhodes OBE Managing Director Reed MIDEM Ltd 28 Brook Street, London W1K 5NQ peter.rhodes@reedmidem.com

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neWs MIPTV NEWCOMER

CARLOS GONZALEZ VALERA, COMMERCIAL MANAGER, ERREQUERRE, SPAIN

“ERREQUERRE is an online catalogue accessible to distributors and broadcasters that aims to create an environment where it is easy to purchase and sell audiovisual rights and facilitate the entry of new formats at low prices. “Through private web browsing and access to a powerful search engine, you can find news and complete works (movies, TV series, soap operas, animation etc.), and view and purchase with secure, fast downloading. “MIPTV is a meeting place, a perfect setting to present this innovative solution to an audiovisual market that strives to adapt to technological developments. We must be present to spread information to other participating companies that may be interested in collaborating. We are open to working with all producers and distributors who are interested in publishing their catalogue. We allow you to buy and also sell your own products — easy, fast and economically. A few weeks ago, we opened an office in Miami. We expect good results based on the growth of the sector.”

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Miss World 2011 Ivian Sarcos poses with Venevision International’s Daniel Rodriguez (left), Miguel Somoza and Manuel Perez, SMH’s Christobal Ponte and Venevision Productions’ Peter Tinoco

Venevision ups presence in Asia after telenovela deal with China S-BASED entertainment company Venevision International and China’s Zhejiang Huace Film & TV Company have signed a deal to co-produce and mutually distribute a telenovela that will be completed in China this year. “It was our mission to strengthen our positioning in Asia and I really feel we’ve reached our goal,”

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said Miguel Somoza, Venevision International’s regional sales director. Venevision International also brings Bikini Destinations to MIPTV, following a recent deal with Hollywood-based TV production and distribution company Mance Media. The company’s programming portfolio includes its flagship beauty pageant titles, showcased in Cannes with the Miss

Venezuela Organization and special guest Miss World 2011, Ivian Sarcos. “Beauty pageants are our most prestigious franchise — it’s our Super Bowl,” said Somoza. “Venezuela has six Miss Universe titles — two of them consecutive — and for us the TV is huge. We are here to see how we can export the franchise to other countries around the world.”

Legal change boosts business in Brazil A NEW law being implemented this month will bring a sea change in the television market in Brazil. For the ¿rst time, telcos will be allowed to enter the pay-TV market, but at the same time, quotas for national and independent production are being introduced, funded by a new tax on operators. There will be three key changes, according to media lawyer Jose Mauricio Fittipaldi, who presented the new law and what it means for doing business in Brazil at a MIPTV

breakfast session for Brazil TV Producers, the trade organisation for Brazilian independents. First, said Fittipaldi, the pay-TV market will become pro¿table. Fuelled by the growing prosperity of the middle class, the sector now has 10 million subscribers and is growing at 30% a year. Second, there will be a huge growth in the production of Brazilian content. For the ¿rst time, there will be money to produce and space to show local shows. Third, this means new opportu-

nities for the international TV market, through co-productions with local companies. Until now, Brazil has mainly been a source of co-finance, Fittipaldi said, but now it will be pro¿table for international companies to coproduce for the Brazilian market. Members of the Brazilian Producers’ Association are also meeting their counterparts from Ag Dok, the largest association for German independent producers, at a MIPTV matchmaking brunch.


people

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SARFT brought together international and Chinese professionals with experience of co-production earlier in the week. The heavyweight gathering set out to list the issues and challenges facing Chinese co-productions in drama, documentary and animation

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Luo Ming, vice-president of CCTV, is presented with the Guinness World Record Luo Ming, vice-president of CCTV, addressed certi多cate for the most-watched national TV show. The award was presented by Alistair invited international guests at the CCTV In Cannes Richards, global managing director of the Guinness World Records, for Spring Festival Gala, which had a unique reach of more than 498 million viewers on CCTV-1, 3 or 4 dinner on Monday night Shaolin martial-arts performers from Henan Province


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neWs BRB AND KIDOBI IN PRE-SCHOOL WEBSITE DEAL SPANISH production and distribution company BRB Internacional has announced a content partnership deal with pre-school website Kidobi that will see 40 hours of programming made available via the Torontobased company’s subscription service. The programmes include Teo (45 x 7 mins), Bernard (52 x 3 mins), David The Gnome (26 x 26 mins) and Around The World With Willy Fogg (26 x 26 mins). All titles will be available to Kidobi’s subscribers worldwide. Kidobi creates tailor-made video playlists based on a child’s age, interests and skills. Its technology can adapt to the child’s skill level and preferences to create ad-free playlists, or parents can choose educational topics, set the difficulty level and search the media library themselves. The library features pre-school programming from top producers and distributors around the world. BRB is celebrating 40 years in the industry, creating animated classics such as Dogtanian. It is currently producing branded series through its Catalan studio, Screen 21. Marijo Arnaiz, digital media director at BRB, said: “Kidobi’s platform is unique in that it gives every child something different and unique to their tastes. We are glad to be part of this innovative new approach.” Eric Sorenson, director of research and content at Kidobi, added: “We support BRB’s philosophy to educate young viewers and communication positive values in a entertaining way.”

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Take Me Out: US debut on Fox

FOX makes a definite date with FremantleMedia’s Take Me Out OX HAS given the green light to Take Me Out, the hit UK speed-dating format developed by FremantleMedia France, which is set to debut on the US network in early June. The US version will be produced by FremantleMedia North America, producers of American Idol and The X Factor. No US host has yet been announced for the show, which will be ¿lmed in front of a

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live studio audience and feature 30 women vying for a summer f ling with the same bachelor. Take Me Out was ¿rst commissioned in Australia, since when it has aired in over 20 territories, including Denmark, Chile, Estonia, Indonesia, Ireland, Korea, Norway, Malaysia, the Philippines, Spain, the Netherlands and Sweden. In the UK, it has been the number-one dating show for ITV1 for the third year running,

performing on average 129% higher than the channel’s primetime average. FremantleMedia is now casting “charming, spontaneous, fun” single men and women to compete in the show, which is being executive produced by Jeff Apploff (Don’t Forget The Lyrics; Million Dollar Money Drop), with Jack Martin and Kevin Williams serving as co-executive producers.

NEW MOVE: Chad Gutstein of US arts network Ovation (left) and Noel Hedges of Shine International shake on a deal that will see Shine distribute Ovation’s new reality show A Chance To Dance (7 x 44 mins). The show features dancers William Trevitt and Michael Nunn and is executive produced by Nigel and Simon Lythgoe

Magic shares for FME’s Tree Fu Tom ANIMATION series Tree Fu Tom has already worked its magic on UK pre-schoolers and FreemantleMedia Enterprises (FME) is hoping to repeat the trick around the world. The FME co-production with the BBC, animated by Blue Zoo, scored a 25% audience share for its ¿rst 11 episodes. Tree Fu Tom is set in an enchanted world where movement creates magic. Its young

viewers are encouraged to join in the physical activities devised by child-development specialists. “The success of Tree Fu Tom on CBeebies gives us the best possible springboard for using FME’s global network to take the series around the world and explore a range of really exciting partnerships across brand licensing, consumer goods and more,” said Sander Schwartz, president of

kids and family entertainment at FME. The company has also announced sales for Canadian animator Fresh TV’s tween shows, Really Me and My Babysitter’s A Vampire. ABC in Australia and HBO Family in Latin America are among those that have acquired Really Me. Russia and Turkey are among those taking both the series and the TV movie of My Babysitter’s A Vampire.


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neWs Broadcasters must be brave to take 3D to another dimension HE SOLUTION to making money from embryonic 3DTV production is to be disciplined about costs, while taking risks with the creativity, was the message from the Where Are The Broadcasting Revenue Opportunities In 3DTV? conference session. But making a pro¿t remains dif¿cult as the format continues to evolve and seeks to establish a standard. Advertisers remain wary, said Ruth Cartwright, broadcast account director and head of video on demand at Maxus UK, part of WPP, the global media agency. “We still have to ask our clients for a separate budget, but I want to see 3D as part of a whole campaign. We’re not there yet, but that is coming.” Laurent Baldoni, a 3D producer at UK production house 3D Mania, argued that broadcasters have to be brave if they want the most creative 3D shows. “There are many 3D producers with tons of ideas,

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not just sports or nature programmes. But broadcasters are waiting for everyone else to start ¿rst.” Cosetta Lagani, head of 3D Channel, Sky Italia, said that 3D is still more expensive to produce than 2D, but her company is developing its ¿rst 3D-only production, of Verdi’s opera Aida. However, the quality of any content has to be high to keep viewers watching, David Wood, the European Broadcasting Union’s deputy director, technology and development, said. “Make the viewer choose the programme in the ¿rst place,” he added. “The sector has started thinking outside the box, which I ¿nd very exciting,” said Jacquie Pepall, producer and 3D consultant at the UK’s Dimension Media.

3D Mania’s Laurent Baldoni

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Wed. W e 4 April Ap pril 10.00-12.30 3DTV Producer Boot Camp Workshop

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Including speakers from: 3net, Atlantic Productions, BSkyB, Deutsche Telekom, EBU, HIGHT TV V 3D, Orange, Prime Focus, Sky Deutschland, Sky Italia, Sony

www.miptv.com In partnership with:

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The first meeting of the newly expanded Newen Network

Only Lifestyle’s Clemence Porret

ONLY LIFESTYLE MOVES ONLINE

Newen’s new members focus on creativity at first meeting HE NEWLY expanded Newen Network held its ¿ rst ever meeting as a four-member group at the beginning of MIPTV. As a result the pan-European independent umbrella group, which unites Globomedia of Spain, TeVe Media group of the Netherlands and Germany’s Bavaria Film with French production group Newen, now has a range of new projects in the pipeline. “There are already several productions that have come out of our relationship including Globomedia placing the Be Aware Group’s How Well Do You Know Your Country? for-

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mat with TVE1,” Tanguy de Franclieu, managing director international at Newen, said. “And Newen has taken and adapted a format from Bavaria Film which is currently the subject of advanced negotiations with a French broadcaster.” At the heart of this indie powerhouse is a proven record in creating and adapting formats, and creativity in scripted shows. “All four members have excellent track records in both national and international trade,” de Franclieu said. “One of the main ideas behind the Newen Network is to build on that through a ¿rst-look agreement on formats, scripted co-productions and also bundled

acquisitions which will enable us to compete with the established multi-national independents.” “But the basis of all four members is in creation, and we aim to boost that by strategic commercial collaboration, including co-financing pilots,” de Franclieu said. “We are also, of course, looking to expand the group further and I am currently negotiating with a major Scandinavian company, and one in the UK. I have already spent the last two years bringing the network to the point it is now, and negotiations for such close collaboration are never quick, but I hope that at least one of the two will be part of the group before the end of the year.”

ARTE signs up to Spies Of Warsaw ARTE France is the latest broadcaster to sign a co-production deal with BBC Worldwide for espionage drama Spies Of Warsaw (2 x 90 mins). ARTE has previously collaborated with BBC Worldwide on Sir Tom Stoppard’s TV adaptation of Parade’s End. Ben Donald, executive producer

for international drama at BBC Worldwide, said: “We have big ambitions for Spies Of Warsaw and for making it the beginning of a run of adaptations of Alan Furst’s novels and it is fantastic to have ARTE on board at the start. With the story taking place in Poland, France and Germany the adaptation offers some really in-

teresting casting opportunities.” It was confirmed last month that TVP in Poland will also be a co-producer on the miniseries, which is Fresh Pictures’ ¿ rst drama commission. David Tennant (Doctor Who) has been con¿ rmed as the lead, starring alongside Janet Montgomery (Black Swan).

ONLY Lifestyle, the sevenyear-old French distributor of lifestyle film footage and content, is expanding its international reach by making its catalogue accessible online for the first time. Until now, the Paris-based company had distributed its 4,000 hours of lifestyle videos on food, design, the environment and interior decoration, among other genres, to clients by disc. But access to the catalogue online enables clients to search by various categories, including genres, titles and languages. They can also access promotional material, clear copyrights, and download the content within a couple of days. “Otherwise, by the time you have negotiated all the rights, agreed on a licence period and reached an agreement, it has taken six months to deliver the content,” Clemence Porret, Only Lifestyle’s head of distribution, said. “An online platform is cheaper to operate, is convenient and it means we can offer breaking-news footage easily as well.” The move also means Only Lifestyle can target more international markets, including Latin America and Asia.

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neWs TOTAL CONTENT ACQUIRE TINTO BRASS TITLES RUSSIAN distributor Total Content has acquired the free-to-air, VOD and pay TV rights to five erotic titles made by Italian director Tinto Brass from FilmExport at MIPTV. “We have the rights for The Key, Miranda, Manella, Transgression and All Ladies Do It, for the Commonwealth of Independent Soviet States (CIS) as well as the Baltic States,” Total Content’s director of acquisitions Genny Belyaeva said.

RUSSIAN LAND OF DINOSAURS AN INTRIGUING team from Russia, including representatives of a leading palaeontology museum, is at MIPTV looking for partnerships with international TV producers to bring their youth-focused project to life. The project, entitled Zveroyaschers (Theromorphs), aims to make the creatures of the pre-historic era enchanting to young people, using the scientific research and new discoveries made in Russia and around the world as source material. Ambitions for the project are high, from television and publishing, right through to merchandise and development of an entertainment park in the Kirov region. The Zveroyaschers MIPTV stand boasts drawings and casts from excavations in Russia.

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Oscar-nominated ro*co films seals documentary deals O*CO Films International has sold three documentaries to DR (Denmark) including Oscar winning short Saving Face, about Pakistani women subjected to acid attacks, and The Invisible War, an expose of sexual abuse within the US military. “I always keep an eye on ro*co ¿lms,” DR head of documentary and co-productions, Mette Hoffmann Meyer said. “It always has the best documentaries from America.” In a separate deal, ro*co ¿lms has renewed its two-year output deal with the documentary channel of Israel-based Yes DBS Satellite Services for a further three years. “It’s important for us to have high pro¿le documentaries for our channel, and ro*co ¿lms has a knack for ¿ nding them,” said Yes DBS’ acquisitions manager Osnat Eden-Fraiman. “We broadcast the Academy winners every year, and very often it’s a ro*co ¿lms ¿lm.” “We do go for strong narrativedriven ¿lms,” Cristine Dewey, president ro*co films international, said. “And we currently represent ten Oscar-nominated documentaries.” “We’re seeing a real rise in the quality of the titles out there,” Dewey said. “As a result we have twice as many docs this year as last. Storytelling is getting better every year.”

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Yes DBS’ Osnat Eden-Fraiman

Mette Hoffmann Meyer of DR (left), ro*co films’ Cristine Dewey and DR’s Anders Bruus

Titanic series to mark 100 years DE ANGELIS Group has announced a series of licensing deals at MIPTV with broadcasters in Europe, Asia and Scandinavia for the big-budget mini-series Titanic: Blood And Steel (12 x 60 mins). De Angelis Group’s managing director Andrea Zoso announced the licensing agreements for Belgium with Telenet

and VMMA; Bulgaria with Fox; Denmark with DR; Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia and Macedonia with Visionary; Iceland with Screen One; covering Pan Asia with AETN; Romania with Pro. TV; and Slovakia with TV JOJ. The drama recently wrapped in Dublin, Ireland and is slated for delivery in 2012 to mark the

100th anniversary of Titanic’s maiden voyage. The stellar cast includes Neve Campbell (The Glass Man, Scream) and Sir Derek Jacobi (The King’s Speech, Henry V). De Angelis Group is co-producing the series with Rai Italy, 3 Arts, CBC, Artists Studio, Tandem Communications, Epos Films and Antena 3.


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people Gary Lico (centre) celebrated CABLEready’s 20th anniversary at MIPTV. The CABLEready CEO is pictured with Reed MIDEM’s Paul Zilk and Laurine Garaude

Louise Pedersen, (left) and Maartje Horchner, of All3Media International with Every Cloud Productions’ Fiona Eagger and Deb Cox at the All3Media party for Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries

The cast of Midsomer Murders celebrated a new deal with Radio-Canada Television. Pictured in Cannes are: programme actors Fiona Dolman (left) and Neil Dudgeon, Radio-Canada Television’s Marie Sylvie Lefebvre and Louise Lantagne, and actor Jason Hughes

German children’s broadcaster KiKa has acquired Alphanim’s eco-adventure series, The Green Squad (52 x 11 mins) in a deal brokered by Alphanim’s German co-producer Telepool. The show — about three siblings battling to save the world’s natural treasures — already airs on France 5, RTBF (Belgium), Minimax (Central and Eastern Europe), Noga (Israel), Al Jazeera (Middle East) and Canal Plus (Poland). Pictured are Telepool’s Julia Muntefering (left) and KiKa’s Sebastian Debertin with Alphanim’s Pierre Belaisch and Heath Kenny

Sonar Entertainment celebrated its launch at MIPTV with a party on its stand. The company, formerly known as RHI Entertainment, is expanding its TV movie and mini-series slate to include more drama series. From left: John Alexander, senior vice-president and head of international sales; Stewart Till, CEO; and David Ozer, executive vice-president and head of worldwide distribution

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Save the date

MIPDoc, MIPFormats, MIPCube 6-7 April 2013 MIPTV : 8-11 April 2013 Cannes, France

Visit our MIPTV/MIPCOM stand N째04.02 Level 01 or see you next year! www.miptv.com


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DISCOVERY BUYS CREEPY CRAWLY

Animasia’s Balla Bowl

MONSTER Entertainment has sold pre-school series I’m A Creepy Crawly (52 x 2 mins) to Discovery Networks International for its Central/ South Asian, India and Pacific Rim territories. The series, due for delivery in June 2012, has already pre-sold to 60 territories. “We are delighted to have such a highly respected brand as Discovery Networks onboard for this series,” Andrew Fitzpatrick, chairman of Monster Entertainment, said. “In this show insects reveal all sorts of fun, interesting and disgusting facts about where they live, what they do, and how we humans have got creepy crawlies all wrong.” Discovery has also taken pre-school series I’m A Dinosaur and I’m A Monster.

Animasia signs multiple deal with CAMD for Kazakhstan alaysia-based animation studio Animasia has licensed a raft of shows to Central Asia Media Distribution (CAMD) for use in Kazakhstan. The slate includes Balla Bowl (2 x 70 mins); ABC Monsters (26 x 22 mins); Bola Kampung (78 x 22 mins); and pre-sales for Chuck Chicken (52 x 11 mins) for Kazakhstan. Balla Bowl is about a young boy

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called Sachin who loves cricket while Chuck Chicken is about a bunch of birds that provide Kung Fu-style security. Bola Kampung is a soccer-based series and ABC Monsters is an educationallyfocused show about a group of “curious and happy creatures who often wander off from Alphabet Gardens to try new and fun things”. Edmund Chan, managing director of Animasia Studio, said: “We are so pleased that

our Malaysian-made animation is now made available for Kazakhstan, which reinstates that our quality stories and characters are universally adaptable worldwide.” Mohd Naguib Razak, director general of The National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (FINAS), said he was pleased that Malaysian content is being distributed well, “particularly animation content which can be easily dubbed”.

FME shows in TNT Benelux launch FREMANTLEMEDIA Enterprises (FME) has licensed 135 hours of high-end drama, comedy and entertainment programming to Turner Broadcasting to support the launch of the broadcaster’s new TNT cable channel in Benelux. TNT Benelux, which will launch In April, has picked up UK dramas

Exile, The Crimson Petal & The White, Laconia and Holy Flying Circus; comedy series including The IT Crowd, Phoneshop and Trollied; and international series Satisfaction, Killing Time, Web Therapy, and Cops LAC. FME’s Richard Tulk-Hart, vicepresident sales, distribution (Benelux, Malta, Sub Saharan

Africa & Cyprus) and home entertainment (EMEA) said: “We’re pleased to be providing a great mix of top content from FME’s slate of rich and diverse programming to help support TNT’s launch in Benelux. We look forward to working closely with the channel and developing our relationship.”

I’m A Creepy Crawly (Monster Entertainment)

SECOND SCREEN ADVERTISING LIKERS TV, an on-screen advertising platform, has signed a deal with Mongolian broadcaster Mongol TV. The social media-based system aims to bridge the gap between the TV viewer’s second screen, and the TV itself. It overlays a live ticker on to existing programming, which displays pictures and names of a brand’s new fans on social media, allowing live public endorsement on TV. Viewers can also Like specific programmes or show contestants, and engage in voting or competitions in a new way — creating new advertising income and driving fan engagement and consumer awareness.

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miptv

neWs 4RIGHTS HUNTS FOR PARTNERS IN CRIME SERIES 4RIGHTS rights development manager Dominic Schreiber has been in Cannes this week looking for co-production partners on Pigalle, a French drama series that is being adapted for US TV by Emmy Award-winning writer James Manos (Dexter, The Sopranos). Aired on Canal+ in 2009, Pigalle debuted with 1.2 million viewers, and an audience share of 18.5%. Originally set in Paris, the new version takes place against the backdrop of the Moscow mafia. 4Rights, the rights exploitation arm of Channel 4, is working with Helion Pictures to adapt Pigalle. Schreiber said: “As our first investment of this kind, we’re thrilled to be working with such an experienced and talented group of partners. There’s huge interest in scripted formats in the US, and having a writer like Jim on board takes this project to a whole new level.” Manos, who will write the pilot and executive produce, added: “The original series was gripping and suspenseful. We’re going to build on the success of that show to create a series that uses the global phenomenon of organised crime as a backdrop for a story of one man’s corruption and his struggle for redemption.” Helion Pictures optioned the rights to Pigalle from Lincoln TV, through a development deal with 4Rights.

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Radio Television Suisse celebrates Olympic athletes’ tools of the trade IT HOU T h is gloves, Ali would not have punched his way to gold. Without his bike; Chris Boardman would not have won the Individual Pursuit in Barcelona; and without their baton, the US 4 x 100-metre team would not have set their world record time at that same Olympics. Behind each medal was an object, whose story is waiting to be told — which is the idea behind Radio Television Suisse’s series Un Objet, Un Exploit (Origins Of Success), a 40 x 61 mins series of short ¿lms, each one treating a different piece of memorabilia and the famous feat of which it was a part. Dick Fosbury, Usain Bolt, Nawal El Moutakawel and others who have changed the face of global sport feature. Each ¿lm has been made with the full participation of the IOC — the objects are usually housed in the Olympic Museum in Lausanne — and use Games footage from the Olympic archive. “The Olympic movement only

W

Is the swimsuit behind the success of Olympic swimmer Kirsty Coventry?

associates itself with high-quality products, and our ¿lms are very elegant packages,” said Chantal Bernheim, RTS’s public relations director. RTS has already partnered with France Televisions, Radio Canada and TV5 Monde and has been using MIPTV as a springboard to ¿nd other broadcasters. Only those showing the Games VIDEOFASHION has developed a new programming series with interactive capabilities, allowing MIPTV buyers to drop by the company’s stand and cast their vote for the ultimate ‘top model of all time’. A total of 13 ¿nalists from Videofashion’s 100 Top Models Of The World series are in the ¿nal running including Australian supermodel

are eligible, but conditions of use are Àexible — for example, non-Olympic sponsors would be allowed for transmission outside the Games weeks themselves. France2 will be showing the ¿lms before the evening news, but there is great potential to use them as interstitials, or ¿llers during live Games coverage, Bernheim said. Elle Macpherson, Brazil’s Gisele Bundchen (pictured), China’s Liu Wen, and the Netherlands’ Lara Stone. Market participants have been able to vote either by email or in person on the company stand. “Everybody has the opportunity to nominate the number one model of all-time,” said Marlene Cardin, Videofashion president/CEO.

Beta Film sees viewers flock to Mary BIBLICAL mini-series Mary, distributed by Beta Film at MIPTV, has scored record ratings on Rai Uno this week. Produced by Lux Vide, Tellux Film, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Rai Fiction and Telecinco Cinema, the 2 x 90 mins production reached a

market share of up to 30%.Lux president and executive producer Mathilde Bernabei said: “Despite big competition in the fragmented TV market, Mary scored 8.3 and 7.2 million viewers on April 1 and 2 respectively. These are extraordinary ratings making it a true

TV event.” Directed by Giacomo Compioti, Mary depicts the story of the young virgin mother, who gives birth to Christ. When her son grows up to be a rebel, she understands that she has to overcome her maternal feelings and accept Jesus’ death.


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