TV Europe MIPTV 2018

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TVEUROPE

WWW.TVEUROPE.WS

APRIL 2018

MIPTV EDITION

Top Buyers / Banijay’s Marco Bassetti & Tim Mutimer

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CONTENTS FEATURE

Shows That Travel

10 IT’S A HIT! Leading channel buyers share their shopping lists and reveal the challenges of multiplatform rights acquisition.

I was recently sitting in a café in Manhattan that attracts coffee aficionados from various countries. I like doing work in cafés; I find the background hum of voices soothing and conducive to writing.

Ricardo Seguin Guise Publisher Anna Carugati Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani Editor Kristin Brzoznowski Executive Editor Joanna Padovano Tong Managing Editor Sara Alessi Associate Editor Victor L. Cuevas Production & Design Director Phyllis Q. Busell Art Director Simon Weaver Online Director Dana Mattison Senior Sales & Marketing Manager Nathalia Lopez Sales & Marketing Coordinator Andrea Moreno Business Affairs Manager

Ricardo Seguin Guise President Anna Carugati Executive VP Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development TV Europe © 2018 WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, #1207 New York, NY 10010 Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website: www.tveurope.ws

On this particular morning, a group of regulars, including women from the U.S., the U.K. and France, were talking about their current favorite TV shows. The words that emerged from the low buzz of voices were HBO, Showtime, Netflix, BritBox and Walter. Since I was working I wasn’t paying close attention, until one British woman popped up enthusiastically, singing the praises of a new Italian series set in Sicily in the ’70s about a police chief, quite a handsome guy, she pointed out, investigating a crime that was connected to the Mafia. She couldn’t remember the title of the show. “Mal-something,” she said; “maybe Marchese?” I almost jumped in because I knew the series she was talking about: Maltese, starring Kim Rossi Stuart, which aired on Rai in Italy and is distributed internationally by ZDF Enterprises.

The Walter she was referring to, I deduced, is Walter Presents, the online streaming service that offers exclusively non-English-language drama. The other women in the group became intrigued by the series and wanted to watch it—word of mouth in action! But what got me thinking was that this is a non-English-language show and in many of the interviews I have done lately with programming executives, a prominent topic has been the appeal of non-English-language European drama. British drama has been successfully exported for decades and so has non-English-language European drama, just not to Englishspeaking countries—until recently. It has been crossing borders within Europe for years. The European production community provides a rich and varied menu of scripted drama. Nonetheless, linear and nonlinear platforms need to supplement homegrown product with acquired programming. Our feature surveys some of the most important buyers in the region about their current needs.

Of course, the Europeans have made their mark in the format business; the first big reality hits came from the region. We hear from Marco Bassetti, the CEO of Banijay, which is active in both scripted and unscripted finished programming and formats. Today, it is quite evident that a great idea can come from anywhere and get people talking in cafés everywhere.

—Anna Carugati

INTERVIEWS

16 Banijay Group’s Marco Bassetti

18 Banijay Rights’ Tim Mutimer

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all3media international Mystery Road / Girlfriends / 24 Hours to Hell and Back

Girlfriends

Set in the Australian bush, the thriller Mystery Road is about two missing teenagers. “With hallmarks of frontier-land westerns and cinematic landscapes, this drama is appropriately dubbed ‘outback noir,’ and we feel it has all the potential of the prevalent Nordic noirs,” says Ben Packwood, sales manager at all3media international. The company is also presenting Girlfriends, a lighthearted drama following three women of a certain age who are dealing with all that modern life, husbands, children and grandchildren can throw at them.

From Gordon Ramsay’s Studio Ramsay, 24 Hours to Hell and Back sees the celebrity chef crossing the U.S. in a truck as he turns around struggling dining establishments. The show “builds on the superstar chef’s prowess at bringing dire restaurants back from the brink of disaster,” Packwood says.

“Our investment in quality content and sales reach is increasing year on year.”

—Ben Packwood

ATRESMEDIA Televisión Heroes Wanted / Down Below / The Incident The ATRESMEDIA Televisión catalog features the comedy Heroes Wanted (Cuerpo de Élite), in which a secret team will try to protect the country, and the fourth season of Down Below (Allí Abajo), a romantic comedy about the relationship between a man from the north of Spain and a woman from the south. Further highlights of the fiction slate include The Incident (El Incidente), a sci-fi story that takes place as a big storm threatens humanity, and Plastic Sea (Mar de Plástico), a thriller set in a village located in southern Spain.

“Apart from fiction, we have a catalog of documentaries,” says Diana Borbón Cuchí, the company’s sales manager.

“We are presenting the new season of Privileged Observer (Enviado Especial).” The factual series follows journalist Jalis de la Serna as he travels around the world.

“ATRESMEDIA is recognized as a leading distributor of fiction, with captivating stories that work worldwide.”

Down Below

—Diana Borbón Cuchí

Imagina International Sales Side Games / Locked Up / Undiscovered Spain Imagina International Sales is offering a new scripted series at MIPTV: Side Games. “Based on the novel by Javier Tebas and Pedro Torrens and directed by Daniel Calparsoro, it’s an exciting thriller mixing the bright world of soccer fans with the dark underworlds around it,” says Beatriz Setuain, the company’s managing director. “Shady deals, matchfixing and power struggles set up this series, which will take the audience’s breath away.” Also in the way of drama, there is a third season of Locked Up in the catalog. In the format Undiscovered Spain, chef José Andrés takes viewers “on a journey to [discover] the most delicious culinary secrets of Spain,” says Setuain. “He will show a different side of this rich and amazing country with his unconventional and unexpected touch.”

Locked Up

“We arrive at MIPTV with new and original products in our great catalog with the aim of fulfilling our clients’ needs.”

—Beatriz Setuain

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Kanal D International Mehmed the Conqueror / Price of Passion / Wildrose Sultan Mehmed faces many obstacles on his way to achieving his dream of taking over Constantinopolis following his father’s death in the historical drama Mehmed the Conqueror.

Kanal D International’s slate also features the drama Price of Passion, about an idealist young doctor named Asli and a hitman named Ferhat whose paths cross in an unexpected way.

“In a world of corrupt relationships and ambition for power, these two opposite people will get along over time and get closer to each other,” says Kerim Emrah Turna, the director of content sales and business development. The company is also highlighting Wildrose. In the drama series, 25-year-old Gülizar writes songs and dreams of becoming famous. She lives with her mother’s friend in a poor neighborhood, but she inherits a large sum of money when her wealthy father passes away.

Wildrose

“We are working very hard to reach audiences across all platforms.”

—Kerim Emrah Turna

RTVE

Fugitive

Fugitive / Betrayal / I’m Alive Spanish actress Paz Vega stars in the thriller Fugitive, a highlight from the RTVE catalog. The company also has in its portfolio Betrayal, which follows the complicated relationships of a family that owns a law firm. There’s another season of the scripted series I’m Alive on offer. The show was a leader in prime time in Spain in its first season, and there’s a second coming later this year. María Jesús Pérez, international sales director at RTVE, describes the series as “a perfect combination of the fantasy genre and an authentic detective drama.” The main character is Police Inspector Andrés Vargas, who dies while pursuing a serial killer. He gets the opportunity to come back to life, but not until five years later and in the body of Manuel Márquez, another policeman.

“What makes these series so appealing is their perfect combination of emotions, love and action, as well as the high-quality production.”

—María Jesús Pérez

ZDF Enterprises

The Story of Europe

The Story of Europe/Ku’damm 59/The Bureau of Magical Things Among the titles on offer from ZDF Enterprises (ZDFE) is The Story of Europe, a six-episode factual series that shows the titular region’s evolution, “from the first physical beginnings to the first human settlers,” says Fred Burcksen, the company’s president and CEO. Another highlight is Ku’damm 59, a scripted miniseries that follows the success of the three-part drama Ku’damm 56.

Set in Berlin in 1959, Ku’damm 59 tells the stories of a group of contemporary women during that time in history.

There is also The Bureau of Magical Things, a live-action series for young viewers that comes from Jonathan M. Shiff Productions, the makers of the global hits H2O: Just Add Water and Mako Mermaids. Offerings for the younger set also include the animated series Lassie.

“The Story of Europe is a groundbreaking series that tells the story of the continent by exploring different chapters of its eventful history.”

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Warner Bros.’s Young Sheldon.

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Leading channel buyers share their shopping lists and reveal the challenges of multiplatform rights acquisition.

By Steve Clarke ow do you seize viewers’ attention when the competition for audiences keeps on growing? That is one of the critical questions European buyers were asking themselves as they weighed their priorities in preparation for MIPTV. Local television businesses are being transformed as the streaming giants, principally Netflix, continue to make broadcasters and platform owners across Europe nervous.

This is especially true in a dynamic and hyper-competitive TV environment like the U.K. Even pay-TV giant Sky has been forced to introduce a new, more cost-effective à la carte viewing menu to keep customers sweet and minimize cord cutting.

For distributors, the good news is that the demand for content has never looked keener. This is particularly true of scripted shows that can be streamed in single episodes or watched as boxed sets. In other ways, too, the fear of Netflix is altering the market for rights.

“The streaming services are competing for the same shows as us,” explains Sasha Breslau, the head of acquired series at British broadcaster ITV. “As we all know, some of the shows at last year’s L.A. Screenings were presold to Netflix and Amazon.”

H

WINDS OF CHANGE With a new senior management team in place and Brexitinduced confusion causing uncertainty in the British advertising market, ITV is keeping a close eye on its costs. One casualty is the pay channel ITV Encore, which is being reinvented as an online-only, boxed-set service.

“In the past, I bought Nordic noir for Encore and other high-end, foreign-language shows for the channel,” explains Breslau. But overall, her MIPTV shopping list remains extensive. “In all genres, there is a bountiful supply of content across both scripted and non-scripted,” she says.

At the market, her priority is to keep ITV’s portfolio of digital channels competitive. Last summer, ITV2 was the subject of intense social-media buzz when it experienced a surprise breakout hit in the form of homegrown reality show Love Island. At MIPTV, Breslau would like to balance the schedule by finding more scripted fare for ITV2, notably comedy.

“I am trying to reinforce and consolidate ITV2’s reputation for great American comedy. We already have Family Guy, American Dad and Two and a Half Men, which in the last six months performed very strongly,” she points out.

FACTS OF LIFE For female-skewing ITVBe, Breslau is hunting for glossy, fun reality shows that can sit alongside the Real Housewives franchise. The channel’s sweet tooth is well known by certain distributors. “Cake Wars has done well for us. Anything involving cakes, desserts, chocolates, sweets. But they’ve got to feel contemporary. In the last 12 months, I’ve passed on some of them because they felt a bit old. And they’ve got to have long runs.”

Plastic surgery, motherhood, home improvement and glamorous makeover series are also on ITVBe’s radar.

ITV4, meanwhile, is in the market for high-volume factual entertainment likely to prove popular with men. The channel’s staples include Pawn Stars, Storage Wars and

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U.S. procedurals continue to be popular across Europe, with shows like CBSSI’s SEAL Team landing on Sky in the U.K. and TNT Serie in Germany, among others.

Counting Cars. Breslau knows only too well that free-to-air rivals backed by U.S. firms like Blaze, which was launched in the U.K. by A+E Networks in 2016, are direct competitors.

RISING TIDE The U.K.’s Channel 5, owned by Viacom, has recently increased its audience share, according to ratings compiled by the London-based BARB service. “Alone among regulated U.K. broadcasters, we are putting on share,” says Katie Keenan, Channel 5’s head of acquisitions.

“We have such a huge range of channels to buy for.

There’s so much content we screen at MIPTV and we’ll think, ‘Well, this could fit on 5STAR or our new channel, 5SELECT.’ I am looking for a diverse and eclectic range of shows for all our channels.”

On the main network, Channel 5, the return of sitcom Will & Grace has been a winner, but other broad-appeal, high-volume scripted shows are needed for the station.

Meanwhile, 5USA is seeking crime procedurals, 5STAR wants series that can sit alongside such fare as Dance

Moms, and the upstart 5SELECT needs drama and factual.

The majority of 5SELECT’s content includes upscale shows that have already played on Channel 5. “We’re showing things like World War II in Colour on 5SELECT,” notes Keenan.

In continental Europe, Jörg Graf, COO of program affairs at Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland, makes the point that securing first-run series is more important than ever. Consequently, output deals have gone out of fashion.

“People won’t watch dross anymore, they want original shows,” he insists. Not that he has any complaints regarding the quality of American shows, despite the trend of locally produced drama outperforming acquired content.

“We’re not buying less, but we are buying differently,” he says. “At MIPTV, we’ll be looking for non-scripted and formats. But on the other hand, you never know if there will be a good drama. If it’s a good offer, we will consider it.”

RTL Group–owned VOX, which recently celebrated its 25th anniversary, now ranks among the top tier of German channels. “The schedules on Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings used to have a lot of U.S. drama,” Graf says.

“We’ve dropped them and are running domestically produced shows, including a German version of The Red Band Society, which doubled our market share.”

Last year in Germany, RTL increased its lead over rival ProSiebenSat.1 Media. But Rüdiger Böss, executive VP of group programming acquisitions at ProSiebenSat.1, remains bullish. He highlights the success of Young Sheldon. “It’s our best-performing new comedy in the last 17 years. When the show launched, it achieved a share of almost 26 percent and [has stayed] at around 18 to 19 percent.”

While this prequel to The Big Bang Theory has been a hit, at MIPTV Böss is seeking “fresh blood in comedy and drama.” High on his agenda are “easy” shows, such as procedurals featuring self-contained stories resolved in a single hour-long episode, and a strong medical drama.

The Starz original Counterpart, distributed by Sony Pictures Television, has been a strong performer for MTG in the Nordics.

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Similarly, Anette Romer, the head of acquisitions and formats at Denmark’s TV 2, will be eyeing drama at MIPTV. British drama that can play successfully on TV 2 Charlie is on her radar. “We continue to see a shift away from U.S. series to European drama, particularly U.K. titles,” she says. Meanwhile, TV 2 Fri and TV 2 Zulu need factual entertainment, and entertainment and comedy, respectively.

The final season of the Danish drama Norskov performed strongly for the broadcaster, as did the stripped 24episode pre-Christmas family drama Tinka’s Christmas Adventure. In non-scripted, a parenting show based on Twofour’s Happy Families; The Farm, making its debut; and Farmer Wants a Wife all stood out.

“Together with Location, Location, Location, these factual-entertainment titles perfectly fit Danish viewers’ continued interest in everyday issues and the day-to-day agenda—housing, health, cost of living, education and parenting,” says Romer.

At the Stockholm-based MTG, Jakob Mejlhede, executive VP of programming and content development, has shows that engage the emotions at the top of his MIPTV wish list.

“I’m looking for feelings. Viewers can choose from so many films and series across so many platforms, we only remember the content that makes us feel something. As long as that criterion is fulfilled, I am bringing a very open mind to this year’s MIPTV,” he declares.

Recent breakout hits have included Counterpart (the first episode was directed by Norway’s Morten Tyldum), S.W.A.T. and Absentia. “These are very different shows and attract very different audiences, but they get all the essentials right,” Mejlhede says. “When you tell a story in a unique way through interesting characters and a sharp script, usually everything else falls into place.”

The growth of MTG’s streaming service Viaplay means Mejlhede is casting his net wider than ever. “We have every type of viewer you can imagine,” he says. “It’s a serious business, keeping everybody happy. As long as it’s good, people today are ready for pretty much anything.

On-demand creates so much freedom, both for us and for our customers.”

This point is not lost on Sarah Wright, the director of acquisitions at Sky. The platform’s U.K. streaming service, Now TV, has given the pay box another winner—and a way of responding to the challenge from Netflix and Amazon. It curates hundreds of boxed sets.

“I am very pleased with the rise of the streaming services because we’re part of it,” she says. “It’s different services for different customers at different times in their lives. Acquired content is a key part of Now’s offer.”

Wright adds, “Sky’s customers love acquisitions. I recently spent time with some focus groups. They told me we have the best of the U.S. and beyond at Sky. That’s why they subscribe.”

Game of Thrones remains a huge show for Sky Atlantic, while on Sky 1, The Simpsons continues to help drive the schedule. Of late, Sky Arts has made a splash, thanks to its Passions series. The strand has featured left-field takes on a range of English writers, including Jane Austen and the controversial, politically incorrect poet Philip Larkin.

Such is the demand to feed the Sky content pipeline that Wright and her team now buy throughout the year. “MIPTV provides an opportunity to reconnect with the market,” she explains. “We might see the small- to mediumsized distributors there. We discuss all sorts of projects. We’re in that golden age of scripted shows.”

That, of course, is true. But buyers struggle to secure all the rights to scripted content in an era when catch-up platforms are essential to everyone who runs TV networks.

PLAYING CATCH-UP

RTL bought John Wick: Chapter 2 from TMG, which represents the German rights to the film.

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“We rarely buy stand-alone nonlinear rights,” says TV 2’s Romer.

“Catch-up, in addition to clearing linear rights, is a must. We consider it to be an integral part of the deal.

Subscribers to TV 2 Play expect to be able to find titles for preview or time-shifted viewing. Stacking is

Formats are key for TV 2 Denmark, which has adapted such titles as BBC Studios’ Strictly Come Dancing.

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Club der roten Bänder, the German version of Filmax’s The Red Band Society, has been a strong performer on VOX.

crucial to drama titles, but each deal is distinct and we have to fight every single case.”

Romer’s comments strike a chord with Breslau at ITV, who notes, “All distributors are keen to retain stacking rights because they can extract secondary value from them.”

She was pleased to obtain series stacking rights for the comedy Ghosted at last year’s L.A. Screenings, but that deal was the exception rather than the rule. “Distributors can window these rights to SVOD services,” adds Breslau.

But as a free-to-air network, ITV can exist comfortably without stacking rights, unlike Sky, whose subscribers expect flexible viewing opportunities.

“Sometimes we may buy a show as a boxed set only,” Wright says. “Or we might buy a show for Sky Store across all the territories. We’ve always acquired a broad set of rights because we utilize them.”

MTG’s Mejlhede is adamant that stacking rights are crucial in today’s environment. “As a viewer, I am going to get much more from a new season if I’ve had the chance to dig into earlier runs.” Earlier this year, the latest season of the rebooted The X-Files and every previous season were made available to viewers via a mix of free-to-air channels and subscription platforms. “We want deals that allow us to do that,” he stresses.

In other words, buyers know that, once again, there will be a lot of drama waiting to be sold at MIPTV. But what, if anything, is missing from the market? “There is too much attention on scripted,” says Sky’s Wright.

In common with several other buyers, she still hasn’t given up hope of finding the next big entertainment hit—“a brand-new format that knocks everybody’s socks off.”

If a successor to The X Factor, Strictly Come Dancing and The Voice is turning out to be elusive, so too are shows aimed at the hard-to-reach audience of 16- to 24-year-olds. “They are the hardest shows to find,” says Channel 5’s Keenan. “That audience is very picky, and they are spending a lot of time away from TV sets watching on other devices, but as Love Island proved, find the right show, and that audience will come to it.

We have successfully served that audience many times across our channels, but in terms of content targeted at that demographic, there is a lack of programming.”

TV 2’s Romer has a different perspective. “No genres are missing from the market—it is more the thirst for original, groundbreaking ideas,” she says. “Or new takes on existing stories. It is refreshing when developments like ‘true crime’ blow fresh air into crime.”

But perhaps the last word should go to MTG’s Mejlhede, who pinpoints the contemporary audience’s lack of patience in an on-demand era. “First episodes are fast becoming a genre in themselves,” he says. “The competition is so tough you need to hook viewers straight away. Think of it as a pilot for a series that’s already been made. It’s a genre like all the others, and there are so many ways you can bend the rules. Just don’t forget the emotion. Don’t make me wait to feel something. Get me right from the start.”

WINDOW WATCHING In Germany, ProSiebenSat.1’s Böss highlights the value of securing a catch-up window. “We need 35-day catch-up rights,” he says. “We are addressing that with all of our licenses. They are very helpful and see that the market is changing. It’s an essential part of our strategy.”

But complicated rights deals stretch budgets. “I never have enough money,” says Böss. “Our budgets are not decreasing, but there are a couple of players out there with deep pockets. It’s a very competitive market. We have to spend our money cleverly.”

At Sky, there have been hints from CEO Jeremy Darroch that the company is earmarking more cash for acquired shows. Wright declines to elaborate. “We have a programming budget. We work out where it’s best spent depending on the projects. I would never rush to buy a show I didn’t think was right for us.”

ITV’s Breslau indicates that overall license fees are on the rise, but there are a lot of dramas that distributors can’t shift. “If you look at the L.A. Screenings for the last three years, you’ll see a lot of shows that haven’t found a home in the U.K.”

ProSiebenSat.1 acquired Flickering Hearts from ZDF Enterprises.

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Banijay Group is one of Europe’s leading media companies. Owned by LOV Group, De Agostini Group and Vivendi, Banijay has production entities in Europe, the U.S., India, Australia and New Zealand. Marco Bassetti, Banijay’s CEO, began his career as a producer and has firsthand knowledge of the challenges and opportunities facing content creators. He talks to TV Europe about attracting talent for high-end projects, managing the newly acquired Survivor franchise, boosting the group’s scripted output and expanding

By Anna Carugati its digital capabilities.

TV EUROPE: What is Banijay doing to attract talent?

BASSETTI: Attracting talent and retaining it has always been at the heart of Banijay’s culture. That is why so many of our production companies have been created or are run by big names such as Jonathan Murray [cofounder of Bunim/Murray Productions], Nagui [founder of Air Productions] and Stefan Raab [co-owner of Brainpool].

We also recently produced the docuseries The American West with Robert Redford attached, and we are currently working on The Men Who Built America: Frontiersmen with Leonardo DiCaprio for HISTORY in the U.S. The search for key talent to attach to productions is a logical result of today’s dramatic increase of content—partly thanks to new content buyers—but also combined with a trend towards less constructed shows. In this regard, top talent has become a hallmark of quality and the insurance required to gain exposure for the show.

TV EUROPE: What plans do you have for the recently acquired Survivor franchise?

BASSETTI: We are very proud of the acquisition of Castaway Television Productions, as Survivor is one of the few format franchises that is still delivering excellent results after 20 years on the air! It is a “must-have” for every big generalist broadcaster in terms of ratings and image, which is key for advertisers. That’s also the reason why so many derivative formats have emerged in the past few years, with none being able to replicate the success of Survivor. It is the perfect example of a TV show that reconciles authenticity with strong format pillars.

Having said that, we cannot just rely on the inherent strength of the format. We need to look after the brand to ensure its longevity. We have invested in two different ways: first, by offering full development and production services to the format licensees, whether they are production companies from the Banijay Group or third parties. That’s why we created Survivor Central Productions, a company gathering all the know-how and expertise within the group as well as production hub facilities. And secondly, by pooling the expertise in the group and actively working on new concepts in the adventure reality genre. In this respect, Adventure Line Productions, our

company in France, launched a brand-new celebrity format, Stars on the Rocks, co-developed with TF1 in France.

TV EUROPE: In November, Banijay announced it was increasing its scripted output. What is the strategy going forward?

BASSETTI: Scripted is a key space for Banijay to grow [for two reasons]; first, because there is a huge demand for premium drama from our clients, both linear and digital players; and second, because we are already very strong in non-scripted. We have invested a lot in structuring our scripted business with the creation of a worldwide entity called Banijay Studios International, in order to facilitate co-productions, financing of big, ambitious drama projects, as well as format adaptations. We have also invested a lot in promising new talent by setting up new ventures in key territories such as the U.K. In recent months, we launched BlackLight Television, Neon Ink, Fearless Minds and Yellow Bird UK Productions, just to name a few.

TV EUROPE: What plans do you have for expanding the group’s digital capabilities?

BASSETTI: In digital, as in all businesses we consider, we never invest if we do not have a clear vision of its profitability. That is why we have been quite cautious until now in this field and will remain so, cherry-picking smart opportunities.

Through the acquisition of Shauna Events, we want to exploit talent outside of TV, especially on social media. It is a way to consolidate our relationships by offering them new businessdevelopment opportunities, as well as a chance to create original content fully financed by product placement or brand sponsorship—with a high level of return on investment for brands.

In the coming months, we are going to launch multiple initiatives that combine innovative business models with the storytelling expertise of our subsidiaries throughout the world. On one hand, we are approaching platforms—for instance, Bunim/Murray is producing Ball in the Family for Facebook Watch. But we are also working more closely with brands in search of new ways to communicate.

TV EUROPE: As you look ahead 12 to 24 months, what challenges and opportunities do you see for Banijay Group?

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Banijay’s high-profile period drama Versailles is heading into its third season on Canal+.

BASSETTI: We will continue to be committed to investing in creativity and development, because delivering high-quality content is our core business and the number one factor supporting our growth. We will pursue more scripted development opportunities and expand on our 360-degree activity—looking for new ways of extending our projects through digital, branded content and talent management.

Geographically speaking, we will reinforce our position in some of our key markets, such as the U.K., Spain and Germany, and expand into new fast-growing markets.

We will also work across the group to develop new business models, which ensure we are producing for the way that OTT platforms work; for example, projects with worldwide appeal, as I am sure the question of rights ownership will be one of the main challenges international production and distribution groups like ours will face in the coming years.

By Anna Carugati Banijay Rights manages more than 20,000 hours of drama, entertainment, formats, factual and theatrical content, roughly half of which comes from third-party producers. CEO Tim Mutimer talks about catalog highlights and working with production entities in the Banijay Group.

TV EUROPE: How does Survivor fit into Banijay Rights’ portfolio of formats and factualentertainment shows?

MUTIMER: We’re the home of adventure reality. We’ve got shows like 71 Degrees North, Fort Boyard, SAS: Who Dares Wins, so it’s a really good fit with those adventure brands, and a lot of our producers within the group produce that kind of adventure reality. Formats are in our DNA; we’ve got a really strong format catalog, so to have a format of this magnitude joining our portfolio is fantastic!

TV EUROPE: How does Banijay Rights work with production entities in the Banijay Group?

MUTIMER: Regarding distribution generally, we’ve got good relationships with those production companies, and about half of our catalog comes from our internal companies. It’s just important that we work closely with them, we know what their pipeline of content is and we try and identify what we think has got a good opportunity [to sell internationally]. The whole group gets together regularly to go through the slate. As for Survivor specifically, we’re doing lots of work to make sure that everyone has all the information they need

to pitch the show. We’ve got Survivor Central Productions—spearheaded by Julia Dick, consultant executive producer—which offers the opportunity for third-party producers as well as our own inhouse production companies to use a site/hub with experts who can produce the show for them. It is of real benefit, as it takes any complications out of the format. You’ve got a team of people who know how to produce it and a fantastic location all ready to go.

TV EUROPE: What type of drama projects are you interested in?

MUTIMER: The demand for drama from our buyers is exponential and shows no sign of abating. We look for quality and creative storytelling.

We’re lucky we’ve got companies including Yellow Bird, Jarowskij and Screentime who can attract the best writers, the best directors and the best producers. There’s opportunity for every single genre within drama. People are looking for crime, thrillers or sci-fi, so quality is the important thing. If you can attract good creative and on-air talent, then there’s a home for most scripted at the moment.

In the unscripted world, there aren’t many series that can stand up next to the huge, high quality of drama. But I think Survivor—both in the storytelling and the look of it—absolutely stands up next to some of those fantastic dramas. So that’s probably another reason for its longevity.

TV EUROPE: What are some of the highlights of your catalog?

MUTIMER: When you talk about scripted, we’ve got a host of returning scripted series this year, which is fantastic—the third season of Versailles; Occupied, Black Lake, Public Enemy and Wolf Creek are back, and The Restaurant has a second and third season. We’ve also got three new series that we’re going to be launching later this year. We’ve got a great new factual show called Sun, Sea and Brides to Be. It’s produced

by Nimble Dragon, who we have a first-look arrangement with, and that’s a commission from Channel 4. It’s a 20-part series, which is incredible for a producer that we’ve only just recently started to work with.

We’re really trying to focus on those long-running factual brands that broadcasters can get behind and market and know that people will come back to week after week.

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