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‘Our definition of success will evolve’ ARMANDO Nunez, president and CEO of CBS Global Distribution Group and CBS chief content licensing officer, received Variety‘s International Achievement in TV Award on Monday at MIPTV. The Award is Nunez’s second high-profile MIPTV honour after his Medaille d’Honneur in 2013. The Award celebrates a career during which Nunez has overseen the distribution of global drama hits including CSI and NCIS, the emergence of Showtime as a premium international drama label, and the current global rollout of CBS’s direct-to-consumer business.
However, he was quick to share the plaudits saying: “This industry is not about individuals. At CBS we have a great team that has done an incredible job of monetising our content for many years.” Asked whether CBS might have another CSI-style hit in the future, he said Bull is get-
ting a lot of traction: “But with changes in the way content is utilised, our definition of success will evolve.” Arguably the biggest challenge facing Nunez is how to manage the company’s direct-to-consumer/streaming business — currently limited to the US (via CBS All Access), Canada and Austral-
ia. He said it was unlikely that CBS would just “flick the switch” and launch a global streaming business like rival Disney. Instead, he said, “we will pick and choose where it makes sense to launch direct-to-consumer. And when we do we have the luxury of going with either the CBS All Access brand or Showtime. It’s important to remember that the traditional distribution business is still strong.” Armando Nunez of CBS
Variety’s Stewart Clarke (left), CBS’s Armando Nunez and Reed MIDEM’s Paul Zilk
Game changers of the world unite for Ilene Chaiken WHEN Ilene Chaiken walks on stage to give her Game Changers Keynote this afternoon, expect a collective sigh of appreciation from the lesbians in the room. And the feminists. And the people of colour. Everyone, basically, from a minority that used to be ignored by primetime drama and first saw themselves on screen in a show written, directed, produced or executive produced by Chaiken. But there will be other fans in the room too. Because when Chaiken takes on issues, she doesn’t just make the show for
the people who are in it. She makes it for everyone. Chaiken co-created The L Word, Showtime’s series about a group of lesbian friends in 2004, that broke many stereotypes of gay women who were often portrayed in fiction as difficult and downbeat. The show ran for six seasons and spawned numerous spin-offs and a devoted fanbase. She co-executive produced the first four seasons of Empire: epic and unmissable drama set in a feuding family in America’s black-music industry.
In 2016, she helped turn The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood’s terrifyingly dark novel about a misogynist dystopia from a 1985 must-read-butwish-you-hadn’t into Hulu’s single most thrilling and empowering series — which inspired numerous women who had never before been on a protest to don a red cloak and a white headdress and take to the streets to protest misogyny in the wake of the #MeToo. Game Changers of the world unite. You have nothing to lose but boring drama.
MIPTV News 2 • 13 • 9 April 2019
Ilene Chaiken