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THE MAGAZINE OF INTERNATIONAL MEDIA • APRIL 2011
www.worldscreen.com
MIPTV Edition
The Power of Television CBS’s Leslie Moonves Viacom’s Philippe Dauman RTL Group’s Gerhard Zeiler Globo’s Roberto Irineu Marinho Discovery’s John Hendricks Warner Bros.’s Barry Meyer Turner’s Phil Kent NHK’s Masayuki Matsumoto CTV’s Kevin Crull AETN’s Abbe Raven FOX’s Hernan Lopez CME’s Adrian Sarbu
! t o m H m a g H n n o i J k ’s n o e M m d S Ma
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contents
APRIL 2011/MIPTV EDITION
departments
Publisher Ricardo Seguin Guise
WORLD VIEW
16
Editor Anna Carugati
A note from the editor. GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
UPFRONT
22
New shows on the market. SPOTLIGHT
60
Mad Men’s Jon Hamm and Elisabeth Moss. CREATOR’S CORNER
66
Hawaii Five-0’s Peter Lenkov. MILESTONES
68
CTV at 50. LATIN BEAT
76
Cisneros Group’s Adriana Cisneros. WORLD’S END
Executive Editor Mansha Daswani
18
By the International Academy’s Bruce Paisner.
60
197
80
industry trends
80
In the stars.
TV FLEXES ITS MUSCLE
Editor, Spanish-Language Publications Elizabeth Bowen-Tombari
This special report on how TV has remained the dominant medium includes in-depth interviews with CBS’s Leslie Moonves,Viacom’s Philippe Dauman, RTL Group’s Gerhard Zeiler, Globo’s Roberto Irineu Marinho, Discovery’s John Hendricks, Warner Bros.’s Barry Meyer, Turner’s Phil Kent, NHK’s Masayuki Matsumoto, AETN’s Abbe Raven, FOX’s Hernan Lopez and CME’s Adrian Sarbu.
one-on-one
157
Executive Editor, Spanish-Language Publications Rafael Blanco Editorial Assistant Morgan Grice Production and Design Directors Matthew Rippetoe Lauren Uda Online Director Simon Weaver Art Director Phyllis Q. Busell
VIACOM’S PHILIPPE DAUMAN
The president and CEO of Viacom talks about the fuel that drives the success of all its many brands. —Anna Carugati
on the record
197
Contributing Editor Elizabeth Guider Special Projects Editor Jay Stuart
—Elizabeth Guider & Anna Carugati
406
Managing Editor Kristin Brzoznowski
Sales and Marketing Manager Cesar Suero Business Affairs Manager Terry Acunzo Sales and Marketing Coordinator Alyssa Menard Senior Editors Bill Dunlap Kate Norris
CBS CORPORATION’S LESLIE MOONVES
The president and CEO of CBS Corporation discusses building lucrative programming assets, distributing them across all platforms and making CBS the most successful network in America. —Anna Carugati
Contributing Writers Dieter Brockmeyer Chris Forrester Bob Jenkins David del Valle David Wood Copy Editors Lisa Haviland Grace Hernandez James Trimaco
Cover photo: Frank Ockenfels/AMC
WORLD SCREEN is published seven times per year: January, April, May, June/July, October, November and December. Annual subscription price: Inside the U.S.: $70.00 Outside the U.S.: $120.00 Send checks, company information and address corrections to: WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, Suite 1207 New York, NY 10010, U.S.A. For a free subscription to our newsletters, please visit www.worldscreen.com.
Ricardo Seguin Guise, President Anna Carugati, Executive VP and Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani,VP of Strategic Development
WORLD SCREEN is a registered trademark of WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, Suite 1207 New York, NY 10010, U.S.A. Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website: www.worldscreen.com
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APRIL 2011/MIPTV EDITION
SWITCHING ON Digital terrestrial is reshaping the TV landscape in Europe 126…GERMANY TUNES IN Great changes are taking place in the German market 134…JUMPSTARTING SPAIN A profile of the shifts happening in Spanish media 140…INTERVIEWS RTL Group’s Gerhard Zeiler 146… Zodiak Media’s David Frank 148…Sky Deutschland’s Brian Sullivan 152… ITV Studios’ Maria Kyriacou 154 EYES ON THE WORLD Current-affairs documentaries are always in demand 182… ON THE JOB The appeal of real-life series set in the workplace 188…INTERVIEWS Discovery’s John Hendricks 192…Simon Schama 194
BRINGING BACK THE MAGIC A look at the current state of the market 236… CLASSICS POUNCE BACK Shows based on iconic properties are as popular as ever 246…NOW PLAYING LIVE Live-action series are a hit with tweens 252… INTERVIEWS Nickelodeon’s Victoria Justice 258…Turner Broadcasting’s Stuart Snyder 260…The Hub’s Margaret Loesch 262 TAKING THE PLUNGE Production hubs are among the models being used by the format majors 284…GOT THE TALENT Singing and dancing shows continue to draw big audiences 292…INTERVIEWS Sony Pictures Television’s Kees Abrahams 298…Red Arrow’s Jan Frouman 300…Stephen Lambert 302…PROFILE Banijay’s Sold! 304 STORIES FROM THE EAST From Korean soaps to Japanese historical epics and Filipino telefantasies, Asian drama is in high demand 318…INTERVIEW NHK’s Masayuki Matsumoto 322
asia pacific ARABIAN APPEAL The media scene in Abu Dhabi is thriving 330…EMBRACING FORMATS Broadcasters across the Middle East are increasingly looking at international concepts 334
FLYING
HIGH
Latin American
content
distributors are focusing on sales to Europe, Asia
These targeted
and Africa 358…INTERVIEW Telemundo
magazines
Internacional’s Marcos Santana 366
appear both inside THE LEADING SOURCE FOR
World Screen
PROGRAM INFORMATION Listings
and as separate
of distributors attending MIPTV 371
publications. 12
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world view
A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR ANNA CARUGATI
Good Old Television Fifty years ago, Newton Minow, the chairman of the FCC during the Kennedy administration, made a famous—or infamous—speech before the National Association of Broadcasters, in which he described television as “a vast wasteland.” Minow has since expressed surprise at the fact that “vast wasteland” is the part of the speech that is most remembered. His aim was quite different. It’s true that he described television as “a procession of game shows...violence, sadism, murder, western bad men, western good men, private eyes, gangsters, more violence, and cartoons,” and too often, “a vast wasteland.” Minow’s intent, however, was to draw attention to broadcasters’ requirement to serve the public interest “in return for their free and exclusive use of publicly owned airwaves,” as he explains in a recent article in The Atlantic. “The two words I wanted to endure were public interest. To me that meant, as it still means, that we should constantly ask: What can communications do for our country? For the common good?” In his speech, he was also calling on the government and on the television industry to allow for the development of more choice, which he believed would result in more and better content. Certainly, these issues are still relevant today, even though broadcasting has changed NO ONE WOULD dramatically. Back then it was an analogue signal that traveled to TV sets through airwaves that were owned by the public. Today, HAVE PREDICTED the signal is digital and comes into the home via cable or satellite companies, many of THE RESILIENCE which are owned by a handful of vertically integrated conglomerates. Nowadays, we rarely talk about the “broadTELEVISION HAS casting landscape”—it’s a multiplatform media world and it’s constantly evolving. It seems every technology is offering a new screen, device SHOWN IN THESE day or tablet. In fact, it wasn’t long ago that many in the media business were decrying television as a LAST FEW YEARS. dinosaur—a traditional medium destined for extinction.After all, the Internet had brought the music industry to its knees; there was no doubt the same fate awaited our dear old television. No one would have predicted the resilience television has shown in these last few years.Viewing levels are at alltime highs in most countries. Smart network executives, whether in broadcast or cable, have embraced the Internet, rather than dismissing it as record companies did years ago, and have offered a wide range of catch-up TV services. Yes, people are watching online, but for now all data indicates that online viewing is incremental and drives audiences back to linear channels on good old TV. 16
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And good old TV is as strong as ever. This is the theme we explore in this issue. “Even though the landscape is much more fragmented than it was…years ago, being a broadcaster still is the most powerful way to reach a mass audience,” Leslie Moonves, the president and CEO of CBS Corporation, tells us. “If advertisers want to reach a large part of the population, they realize the best and biggest bang for their dollars…is still broadcast television.” The key, of course, to successful television is to make it well, and in the process, it can serve the public interest and make Minow proud, even in our era. As Gerhard Zeiler, the CEO of the RTL Group, tells us, “Our industry knows how to produce good television: First, TV has to be relevant and related to our lives. Second, successful TV has to get into our hearts and touch us. Third, it has to be original, not a copy. And fourth, it has to be executed brilliantly, in terms of both the story line and the acting. If we as an industry uphold these principles, then I’m 100percent sure that the future of TV is TV.” Another issue close to Minow’s heart was providing consumers choice, and as John Hendricks, the founder and chairman of Discovery Communications, tells us, “beyond the linear channel, they’re able to go to ondemand menus, and watch what they want to watch on their time.Today there’s more choice, and the consumer is in control of that choice.” As Philippe Dauman, Viacom’s president and CEO, explains, “That’s how you maintain all-time-high television viewership: increasing the consumption of your entertainment overall by making it available on new forms of distribution. We want to make sure that we get appropriately compensated from these new platforms.” Our main feature, “TV Flexes Its Muscle,” delves deeply into all these topics, and I’m proud to point out that Elizabeth Guider, a colleague whom I have admired for years, wrote it for us. In this issue we also examine the development of digital terrestrial television in Europe, the enduring popularity of current-affairs documentaries, reality shows based on real-life jobs, and formats for singing and dancing competitions.We look at the state of the children’s television business, the various production models used in the format business, and trends in Asian drama. Is it still a vast wasteland out there? At the very least, given all the choice we have, we can avoid the bad and enjoy the good.
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global perspective
REFLECTIONS ON MEDIA ISSUES BY BRUCE L. PAISNER
We Have Met the Enemy... I have my own theory as to why Americans are in a foul mood these days, and it doesn’t really have to do with the new health-care law or the war in Afghanistan. To paraphrase the great Pogo cartoonist, Walt Kelly, we have met the enemy and it is us. We in the media have, over the last ten years, created a dazzling array of gadgets, options and opportunities. From highly advanced TV recording devices to a bewildering array of electronic gadgets to the seemingly simple task of sending our Hulu signal through to our television sets. We have a range of choices that was unimaginable a few years ago, and a plethora of devices to accommodate them. The problem is, almost no one can make these things work. Just imagine you are an average citizen without either a corporate help desk or an unlimited Geek Squad account at Best Buy.Your problem is that you have to figure out all this stuff for yourself. Most people just can’t. A few years ago, people found their teenagers were reasonably SINCE ITS LAUNCH...THE helpful in the intricacies of new technology, but with the INTERNATIONAL DIGITAL explosion of inventions and devices, even that age group is increasingly inept. And how EMMY AWARDS many 8-year-olds are there to go around? So there is no one turn to when the cell COMPETITION HAS to phone drops the tenth call of the day, the DVD player keeps PROVIDED A GLOBAL blinking and the Internet connection goes down. However, I’m an optimist. SHOWCASE FOR THE BEST Unlike health care, which Republicans, Democrats and Supreme Court will fight MULTIPLATFORM the over and make ever more incomprehensible for years, or CONTENT. the war in Afghanistan, where troop departure keeps being extended, we will catch up with our technology. I’m encouraged in this belief by history. When Samuel Morse invented the telegraph in the 1830s, he may have said “What hath God wrought,” but no one else knew quite what to do with it—until the American Civil War came along. Suddenly, telegraphed intelligence and battle orders became a way to beat the enemy, and the system got simplified so that anyone could use it. As did the telephone half a century later. In our business, the last great watershed year for an explosion of technology was around 1980, when a 30-year 18
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comfort zone of three television networks was upended by the cable revolution and the later proliferation of hundreds of channel choices. Just look at the history of media from about 1976 to, say, 1984. Before 1975, before HBO was put on a satellite, Americans had three national choices for watching TV: CBS, NBC and ABC. Public television and a few local independent stations rounded out the options in the bigger cities. Then the HBO satellite feed came along, followed by other pay-TV channels. But 1980 was the watershed year, when Ted Turner started CNN. Later, Hearst and ABC started Daytime and Arts (to be relaunched as Lifetime and A&E in 1984). Viacom launched MTV. Other startups around that time included The Learning Channel and Black Entertainment Television. It was, as many said at the time, a bewildering array of choices. Now we take it for granted. My colleague Jonathan Miller, the head of digital at News Corporation and a former CEO of AOL, believes that 2011 could be the next historic watershed year, the time when we begin to make sense of the vast array of digital and Internet opportunities for viewing and communicating. If not this year, soon. What will ultimately make today’s choices as appealing as all the cable channels we now take for granted will be when someone figures out how to make the setup and the access very easy.Whoever does that will truly revolutionize the media business. There is much pioneering work going on, of course, and our Digital Awards honor some of it again this year at MIPTV with nominees in three categories: Digital Program: Fiction; Digital Program: Non-Fiction; and Digital Program: Children & Young People. Since its launch six years ago, the International Digital Emmy Awards competition has provided a global showcase for the best multiplatform content.Year after year, the nominated programs have demonstrated the strides that are constantly being made to enhance the audience’s experience both on a technological and a creative level. We also present the International Academy’s Pioneer Prize to someone who has made a major contribution. ( Jon Miller received the first one six years ago.) I do believe that out of all this cutting-edge activity, someone will figure out how to turn frustration into easy satisfaction in this exciting new digital world. Bruce L. Paisner is the president and CEO of the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. 4/11
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ALL3MEDIA International www.all3mediainternational.com • Royal Upstairs Downstairs • The Spice Trail • The Field of Blood • Skins USA • Monty Don’s Italian Gardens
The Field of Blood
With its diverse portfolio of content being launched at MIPTV, ALL3MEDIA International is keen to build on its strong network of broadcast platform relationships worldwide, “with an emphasis on the interactive opportunities and VOD,” says Louise Pedersen, the managing director. Highlights include the 20x30-minute Royal Upstairs Downstairs, about the grand houses and castles that Queen Victoria visited during her 63-year reign. Pedersen says the show comes with “strong travelogue and cookery elements.” Also for the BBC is Lion Television’s three-part The Spice Trail, which features a “charming and warm presenter to add flair and life to the subject,” and Blink Films’ four-part Monty Don’s Italian Gardens. In drama, the company has the thriller The Field of Blood, which has “a hugely appealing cast that includes David Morrissey and Peter Capaldi,” plus the MTV U.S. version of Skins.
“[We aim to] further establish key relationships
with existing and new broadcast platforms around the world.
”
—Louise Pedersen
American World Pictures www.americanworldpictures.com • • • • •
Jabberwocky Sand Sharks Somebody’s Hero Homewrecker Kill Katie Malone
The Los Angeles-based American World Pictures has an array of new feature films to showcase to TV and DVD clients from the international market.Titles like Jabberwocky, Sand Sharks, Somebody’s Hero, Homewrecker and Kill Katie Malone feature strong concepts and universal story lines, according to Jeffrey Goldman, the president of worldwide distribution.“We are not the biggest company at the market, so we’ve had to become very intelligent with our marketing decisions,” Goldman says. “Our content tends to work because it is highly marketable, well executed and simply fun for consumers to watch.” Heading into MIPTV, Goldman is eager to secure new television partnerships, given American World Pictures’ growing slate of its own film productions.“Our content generally performs very well at MIPTV, and as we’ve secured many new clients recently, I anticipate another busy and highly successful market,” he says.
“Our projects convey strong, colorful
concepts and universally themed story lines, appealing to MIPTV’s savvy buyers adept at gauging consumer tastes.
”
—Jeffrey Goldman
Jabberwocky
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Beyond Distribution www.beyond.com.au The Hunks
• The Hunks • Monster Bug Wars • Behind Mansion Walls • Tati’s Hotel • Iconicles
Beyond Distribution is stressing the diversity of its slate at MIPTV, with a mix of factual fare and kids’ properties.Topping the list of new shows is The Hunks, which Fiona Crago, the general manager, refers to as “great eye candy!” The series “can sit under a range of genre headings, from factual entertainment to observational reality.Women obsess about what goes on in men’s minds, so in an attempt to find out how they tick, ten beautiful, fit young hunks are put together for one long hot summer, in a stunning penthouse in Newquay where the truth is revealed about what men really think about women, love and relationships.” On the science end is Monster Bug Wars, where CGI and high-speed photography allow audiences to see insects’ “microscopic and brutal world in amazing detail.” Crago also has high expectations for the crime series Behind Mansion Walls and, in the kids’ space, the comedy Tati’s Hotel and the CBeebies commission Iconicles.
“ I expect there to be high demand for our shows at MIPTV. We’ve got some great properties across a range of genres.
”
—Fiona Crago
Breakthrough Entertainment www.breakthroughentertainment.com • • • • •
Crash Canyon Innovation Nation CrackBerry’d: The Truth About Information Overload Future Revealed My Big Big Friend
“Going into MIPTV, Breakthrough’s catalogue
has broadened even more from witty comedies to insightful documentaries and to fun-filled animations.
”
Factual properties feature prominently on Breakthrough Entertainment’s list of highlights for MIPTV. There’s Innovation Nation, which Nat Abraham, the head of distribution, says spotlights “mesmerizing and futuristic scientific discoveries.This in-depth look into discoveries that have only just been created from their patent stage will give viewers a provocative and compelling look into technologies that will shape their futures.” Of a similar bent is Future Revealed. CrackBerry’d:The Truth About Information Overload, produced for CBC’s Doc Zone, looks at how humans are coping with rapid changes in information technology. On the kids’ and family end, Crash Canyon was developed with The Simpsons’ co-executive producer Joel Cohen, and My Big Big Friend “is a distinctive animated series that shows kids how to use their imaginations to overcome everyday problems by helping them understand their emotions in a fun way. Its approach has a universal appeal to buyers.”
—Nat Abraham Innovation Nation
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Caracol Television www.caracolinternacional.com • Love and Fear • Couple’s Therapy • The English Teacher • Confidential
The Colombian distributor Caracol Television is debuting four new productions at MIPTV that it expects will fill a broad range of buyers’ needs. Berta Orozco, an international sales executive with responsibility for Western Europe, Asia and Africa, describes Love and Fear, a drama set in the 1950s. “The quality of the production is really impressive and the atmosphere of that time is very well captured,” she notes. There’s also Couple’s Therapy, a series of self-contained episodes about a marriagecounseling service. On the telenovela front, there’s The English Teacher, a comedy starring Victor Mallarino and Juan Alfonso Baptista. The fourth new production is Confidential, a contemporary mini-series. “As always, we expect to keep our clients satisfied with our content, and for those that are not our clients yet, we would like to encourage them to test our productions because we are sure once they try they are going to love them.”
“We feel very
confident about [our new series], as they have been designed for all tastes.
”
The English Teacher
—Berta Orozco
Cineflix International www.cineflix.com • • • • •
Nothing Personal Cash & Cari Conviction Kitchen Australia Remote Control Star Instant Cash
“ There is an emotional pull in all [these] shows.”
—Paul Heaney
On the back of a record year, Cineflix International is delivering to buyers at this market a strong slate of factual fare with an emotional hook, according to Paul Heaney, the president and managing director. Nothing Personal, for example, examines what drives a wife to have her husband murdered. In Cash & Cari, Cari Cucksey trolls through clients’ homes searching for items to sell. “The buying and selling of people’s possessions works well on TV due to the emotional investment the owner has in them,” Heaney says. And Conviction Kitchen Australia, which follows 12 former convicts as they run a restaurant,“gives the contrite wrongdoer a second chance.” Other focuses for MIPTV are the formats Remote Control Star and Instant Cash. According to Heaney, Cineflix will “use MIPTV as a platform and shop window...for our new content,” and “use the intensity of the market to analyze and investigate program trends.”
Nothing Personal
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Cinemavault www.cinemavault.com • Car Jack’d 3D • The 3D Chef • The Traveling Trio • Somewhere Tonight • When Harry Tries to Marry
“Our primary goal for MIPTV is to
introduce the new television product available from Cinemavault to our current and new buyers.
”
A well-known provider of independent feature films to platforms across the globe, Cinemavault has added TV series to its slate this year. “The TV product selected for MIPTV can be marketed towards a wide range of audiences, giving flexibility to buyers in how they can schedule the series,” says Racquel Mesina, the executive VP of international sales and markets. “Car Jack’d 3D reaches out to the MTV generation in addition to car enthusiasts alike. It is a perfect fit for male-oriented channels, teen programming, specialty automobile slots and 3D channels.” The 3D Chef is a health-oriented cooking show. And The Traveling Trio is a children’s educational travel show. “We hope to reach out to new channels who are seeking such product while maintaining our relationships with those buyers who continue buying features for broadcast,” Mesina adds. Other features in the mix include Somewhere Tonight and When Harry Tries to Marry.
—Racquel Mesina
The Traveling Trio
Car Jack’d 3D
Content Television www.contentmediacorp.com Heartland
• Republic of Doyle • Heartland • Nuclear Family • The Secret Life of Birds • Wild Wales
ContentFilm has been rebranded as Content Media Corporation. As part of this initiative, Fireworks International is now Content Television, one of three divisions along with Content Digital and Content Film. “These...will allow us to really play to our strengths in each separate arena and provide a holistic approach to acquisition and distribution,” says Greg Phillips, the president of Content Television and Content Digital. “For producers, we have the depth of expertise and the flexibility to devise the best distribution model for each individual property and, for broadcasters, we are able to offer truly multiplatform titles that have the ability to maximize audience engagement and revenue.” At MIPTV, Content Television will be distributing season three of Republic of Doyle and season five of Heartland, plus Vuguru’s multiplatform thriller Nuclear Family. Factual is also on the agenda with the wildlife series The Secret Life of Birds and Wild Wales.
“We are looking forward to attending MIPTV under the recently announced new banner of Content Media Corporation, operating as three distinct divisions—Content Television, Content Digital and Content Film.
”
—Greg Phillips
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DRG www.drg.tv • Doc Martin • Shameless • How to Live with Women • Antiques Road Trip • Secret Fortune
How to Live with Women
Now in its eighth season, boasting more than 100 episodes, Shameless has been a huge success on Channel 4. DRG will have the show on offer at MIPTV. “The outrageous and sexy story lines and fine ensemble cast continue to amuse and shock audiences around the world in equal measures,” says Patrick Roberts, the senior VP of international sales. DRG also presents Doc Martin, with a fifth season ready for buyers. “The show brilliantly appeals to buyers on multiple levels,” Roberts notes. Other highlights include the recently launched How to Live with Women, from the creators of Don’t Tell the Bride and Mad About the House, and Antiques Road Trip, which has performed well for BBC Two this year. Roberts points out that DRG’s entertainment format Secret Fortune is consistently rating number one in prime time for the BBC and is “fast growing into a global hit with a superb array of partners, including Nigel Lythgoe for the U.S.”
“ How to Live with
Women is creating a massive amount of interest as both a format and a completed show.
”
—Patrick Roberts
Entertainment One www.eonetv.com • Finding a Family • Kenny Hotz’s Triumph of the Will • The Hollywood News Report • The Walking Dead • The Devil You Know
“ What eOne has always
been proud of is that we’re able to offer a wide variety of programs.
”
—Prentiss Fraser
The AMC and Fox International Channels’ co-pro The Walking Dead ranks among the properties that Entertainment One (eOne) will be showcasing at MIPTV. The zombie drama, the highest-rated basic-cable show ever in the U.S., is joined on the slate by a family-drama TV movie, Finding a Family, produced for Hallmark Channel. On the unscripted end, top titles include the reality comedy Kenny Hotz’s Triumph of the Will, with Kenny Hotz of Kenny vs. Spenny fame; the weekly entertainment show The Hollywood News Report and the true-crime show The Devil You Know, recently renewed for a second season by Investigation Discovery.“We are a one-stop shop for cable, broadcast and home-video outlets globally,” says Prentiss Fraser, the VP of worldwide sales and acquisitions. Fraser says of her goals for MIPTV, “We plan to secure free-TV broadcasters for our slate that launches on pay TV this year and meet with our existing partners.”
The Walking Dead
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Globo TV International www.globotvinternational.com • Cat’s Cradle • Passione • The Cariocas • GloboDOC
Globo TV International is emphasizing its new telenovelas in Cannes this April. “Cat’s Cradle and Passione are sure bets for success in 2011,” says Raphael Corrêa Netto, the head of international sales. “Cat’s Cradle is based on a love triangle, and Passione reveals the secrets of a powerful family’s past and weaves the mystery, intrigue, jealousy, passion, love and hate of the characters together to make a fascinating drama.” Corrêa Netto also sees strong international potential in The Cariocas. “It shows a different type of woman in each episode: married, loved, single, sensual or lonely, with distinct beauties and peculiarities.Another characteristic is the beautiful scenery from Rio de Janeiro.” New episodes from GloboDOC add to the company’s portfolio.“The series of documentaries is about the cultural diversity of Brazil and the Brazilian characters who made a name for themselves around the world,” Netto says. One of the episodes, Kuarup:The Lost Soul Will Return, was nominated for an International Emmy.
The Cariocas
“The new portfolio is varied, and we
continue to bet on programs that were successful in Brazil.
”
—Raphael Corrêa Netto
Imagina International Sales www.imaginasales.tv The Boat
• The Boat • 3 Meters Above the Sky • My Ex, Cop • Look at My Neighborhood • Snails
Bolstered by an upbeat NATPE, Imagina International Sales arrives at MIPTV with high hopes for securing new deals on its diverse slate of product, which is led by two Spanish hits. The Boat (El barco) has been tremendously successful in its first season on Antena 3, while the feature film 3 Meters Above the Sky was the number one movie at the Spanish box office in 2010, says Géraldine Gonard, sales director. “Both are strong concepts, targeting young adults and families.” Gonard also expects broadcaster interest in the new laSexta comedy My Ex, Cop, as well as Look at My Neighborhood, “a fresh program about discovering small suburbs or localities and people living in them. Its format could be exportable everywhere as we are all curious about discovering what happens in our suburbs!” Capping off the list of highlights is a stop-motion animation from OQO filmes called Snails.
“ The Boat, airing on Antena 3, [is
attracting] more than 4 million viewers every Monday (more than a 20-percent share) in prime time.
”
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—Géraldine Gonard
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Incendo www.incendo.ca • Stealing Paradise • Exposed • No Surrender • Dead Lines • Wandering Eye
The TV-movie market saw a resurgence in 2010, and that trend is expected to continue this year.The Canadian producer and distributor Incendo is tapping in to this demand with its strand of Incendo Thrillers.The company, according to Gavin Reardon, who heads up international sales and co-productions,“continues to create high-quality television movies with compelling story lines and strong characters,” as well as recognizable female stars. The current slate includes Stealing Paradise, with Rachael Leigh Cook; Exposed, with Jodi Lyn O’Keefe; No Surrender, starring Mena Suvari; Dead Lines, featuring Jeri Ryan; and Wandering Eye, with Amanda Righetti. “Now boasting a library of over 45 movies, Incendo will continue to produce five to six movies per year,” Reardon adds. “Incendo is committed to expanding its production activities to include provocative television series in the coming months.”
“ Our high level of casting
and production values have ensured that the Incendo brand remains a staple for our international clients.
”
Stealing Paradise
—Gavin Reardon
J Group www.jgroup.tv • Pura Vida, Open Sky Studios
The relatively young Argentinean production outfit J Group—established just a year and a half ago—is eager to raise its international profile as it heads to MIPTV.The company has produced a range of commercials and has been offering its production services to companies across the globe. It is led by a team whose experience includes serving as Promofilm’s production partner for Survivor Bulgaria and providing production services for Brazil’s TV Zero on Herbert Vianna & Paralamas for A&E Mundo. J Group has now set up a joint venture with Paprika Latino, led by Peter Marschall, which has offices in seven countries in Eastern Europe. They are partnering to set up Pura Vida, Open Sky Studios in Costa Rica, says Julieta Camarda, the managing director of J Group. “We will be able to provide location and logistic ser vices, technical facilities, equipment and human resources or full production [services] for different reality-show formats and hotel-based reality formats.” Camarda set up J Group after several years of honing her production experience; she is a former head of international productions at Promofilm and worked on several documentaries.
“ Our main business is production services, and [we have worked with some of] the top companies in Europe.
”
— Julieta Camarda 34
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MarVista Entertainment www.marvista.net • Power Rangers: Samurai • Super Eruption • Xtinction: Predator X • Crash Site: A Family in Danger • A Christmas Kiss
Super Eruption
Following the MIPCOM launch of Power Rangers: Samurai, the show has secured slots on Televisa in Mexico and Nickelodeon and TELETOON in Canada.“Power Rangers: Samurai has garnered great interest with broadcasters across the globe,” says Fernando Szew, the CEO of MarVista Entertainment.The debut delivered strong numbers for Nickelodeon U.S. in February, Szew adds.“This level of viewer excitement will certainly be of interest to additional broadcast partners, several of whom we are currently finalizing agreements with that we hope to announce in the very near future.” MarVista’s other priority for MIPTV is its lineup of TV movies: Super Eruption, Xtinction: Predator X, Crash Site:A Family in Danger and A Christmas Kiss.“Our own TV-movie productions, combined with an aggressive acquisition strategy, provide that once again MarVista will be at MIPTV with a diverse slate that will certainly be of interest to our broadcast partners.”
“ In the TV-movie
genre, we have firmly established MarVista as a proven producer and distributor of quality programming that consistently performs well both in the U.S. market and overseas.
”
—Fernando Szew
Mentorn International www.mentorninternational.com • The Promise • Naked Apes • Katie: My Beautiful Friends • High: How Drugs Work • On the Run and Over Here
Best known for its factual, factual-entertainment and reality brands—including the recent hit An Idiot Abroad— Mentorn International is making a big push into the drama arena, according to David Leach, the managing director. Representing the output of its sister company Daybreak Pictures—also owned by the Mentorn Group—Mentorn International is launching two dramas produced for Channel 4 at MIPTV: The Promise, which “has been an enormous critical and ratings success,” says Leach, and Naked Apes, a comedy drama now in production. “The second major area for us this year is documentary series,” Leach adds, with the headlines being Katie: My Beautiful Friends; High: How Drugs Work; and the onehour On the Run and Over Here. “We will also, of course, continue to market our successful formats such as Paradise Hotel, Worst Driver and The Ultimate School Musical,” Leach says.
Katie: My Beautiful Friends
“Our big story for MIPTV this year is the
launch of our drama slate, as we now represent Daybreak Pictures internationally.
”
—David Leach
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Moving Pictures Film & Television www.mpfilmtv.com • • • •
Mayor Cupcake
Spooner Miss Nobody Mayor Cupcake Endgame
The distribution team at Moving Pictures Film & Television is aiming for a 30-percent increase in sales at this market over MIPTV 2010. “With recent successful, mid-range independent films like Wake, See You in September and First Dog, we have moved into a higher level of sales worldwide,” says Paul Rich, the president of worldwide film and TV sales. “We intend to propagate among buyers of every stripe the fact that Moving Pictures Film & Television is constantly improving the volume and quality of its film offerings. At MIPTV, in total, we will be introducing 18 new films.We literally have something to offer for every type and size of television, DVD and broadband buyer.” Highlights include Spooner, which was released theatrically by Moving Pictures in select U.S. markets in March; Miss Nobody, with Leslie Bibb; Mayor Cupcake, starring Lea Thompson and Judd Nelson; and Endgame, with William Hurt.
“The variety (romantic comedies, family,
drama, action) reaches across a wide spectrum of television and DVD buyers.
”
—Paul Rich
National Film Board of Canada www.nfb.ca • Prosecutor • The Future Is Now! • Highrise/Out My Window • Holy Mountain!
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is working with leading developers and artists to create interactive works, expanding the boundaries of nonlinear storytelling. Highrise/Out My Window and Holy Mountain! are two projects from NFB’s new interactive catalogue, which it is launching at MIPTV. “Many of our clients have been mandated to expand their web programming, and we have compelling, award-winning original content available,” says Christina Rogers, the head of sales. The NFB also has a collection of 3D animation and has kept an eye on the doc genre. “Prosecutor in particular should appeal to many of our clients—the film’s subject matter is timely given that the International Criminal Court in The Hague is now investigating Muammar Gaddafi’s actions in Libya,” says Rogers. The Future Is Now!, spotlighting some of the world’s best minds in art and science, is another doc on offer from NFB.
“ The NFB is a well-
known brand, so we hope to achieve strong television sales for our new slate of documentaries and animation.
”
—Christina Rogers
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Prosecutor
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Opus Distribution www.opusdistribution.com
“[These titles] are all
• Deadly Sibling Rivalry • Truth About Kerry • The Christmas Bunny • Love at First Lie • The Dead Undead
strong for broadcast with recognizable casts and content that can play in multiple time periods.
In the short time since its formation, Opus Distribution has solidified a reputation for delivering theatrical features and TV movies across the globe. One of the company’s key strengths has been offering up TV movies with recognizable casts that can play in daytime or prime time on channels worldwide, according to Ken DuBow, the company’s president. For MIPTV, he cites the Lifetime feature Deadly Sibling Rivalry, with Charisma Carpenter, and the mystery thriller Truth About Kerry, starring Castle’s Stana Katic. “There’s a continued need for Lifetime-type movies, women thrillers, among certain broadcasters in Western Europe and digital pay broadcasters in other parts of the world,” DuBow notes. Also available is The Christmas Bunny, with Florence Henderson, as well as the romantic comedy Love at First Lie and the action/horror title The Dead Undead.
”
—Ken DuBow
Love at First Lie
Parthenon Entertainment www.parthenonentertainment.com
“ We will be bringing a host of new
• Hope for Wildlife • Mystery Files • Templars: The Last Stand • Wild Amazon • Zoo Babies
titles, along with a new-look exhibition stand and viewing facilities.
”
—Leona Connell Parthenon Entertainment’s new crop of series and specials all deal with topics that will appeal to buyers worldwide, says Leona Connell, the director of global sales and acquisitions. Plus, she says, “they all tell a really good story. We have also ensured we provide a variety of top quality bluechip programming across a range of key genres. From unearthing previously unknown facts surrounding the fall of the Knights Templar over 800 years ago, to finding out about the innermost workings of the Amazonian rain forests, you will be hard-pressed to find a more varied range of new award-winning programming at this market!” Titles available include the new seasons of Hope for Wildlife and Mystery Files; Zoo Babies; the two-parter Wild Amazon; and the one-hour special Templars:The Last Stand. “Our goals for this market are to offer our new programs and quality catalogue to our existing customers, strengthen relationships with clients in emerging markets and new VOD operators.”
Mystery Files
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Playboy Television International www.ptvioriginals.com • • • • •
Brooklyn Kinda Love Swing Playboy’s Beach House Playboy Trip: Patagonia Foursome
Brooklyn Kinda Love
“Playboy is excited
to introduce a group of series that are fresh, young and more couples-friendly.
”
“Couple-friendly” adult content takes top billing from Playboy Television International. “Some of our new shows target a wider demographic with a new slate of female-friendly reality series we refer to as ‘TV for 2,’” says Marisa Tamburro, the director of sales and marketing. “Most notable is Brooklyn Kinda Love, which perfectly exemplifies the idea behind TV for 2 by putting more emphasis on intimacy, learning as a couple and, of course, the higher production values buyers have come to rely on us for.” The show comes from the team behind Taxicab Confessions and explores the lives of four couples living in Brooklyn, New York. Also on offer are Swing; Playboy’s Beach House; Playboy Trip: Patagonia; and Foursome. “We aim to satisfy both men and women alike, and it’s all available in HD,” Tamburro says.
—Marisa Tamburro
Princ Films www.princfilms.com Four Stories of St. Julian
• The 7th Hunt • Four Stories of St. Julian • Afterlife • Yugoslavia for Beginners • Fearless Music TV
The 7th Hunt is among the new feature films that Princ Films is excited to be showcasing at MIPTV. Igor Princ, president, calls it “a remarkably intuitive and intense film that will bring to the genre the freshness and intensity of the new Australian cinema.” Four Stories of St. Julian, meanwhile, is an an “amazing thriller, inspired by Hitchcock’s Lifeboat, that takes place entirely inside an elevator [in a] hospital.” There’s also TV product in the mix, with Afterlife, “an inspirational documentary that examines the science and evidence of life after death,” Princ says. The 16-episode Yugoslavia for Beginners is a series “produced as a truly multinational effort,” according to Princ. “This docuentertaining series for the first time does not talk about the conflict, but about all the reasons people of the former Yugoslavia lived together for so long.” On the lighter end is Fearless Music TV, now in its tenth season, featuring performances by a host of up-and-coming artists.
“ I believe that our new programs will
indeed meet the content needs of the buyers and programmers looking for quality niche entertainment content.
”
—Igor Princ
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Scripps Networks International www.scrippsnetworks.com • Food Network • Fine Living Network
The last few months have seen great gains for Scripps Networks International. In December, for example, the company launched Food Network in South Africa on MultiChoice. “Since the launch, Food Network has consistently delivered solid ratings in the region,” says Greg Moyer, president. Growth continues, meanwhile, across Europe, with a launch in January on Portugal Telecom’s Meo IPTV service and, more recently, according to Moyer,“Food Network launched in Iceland for the first time on two platforms—365 Media and Icelandic Television Company.” In Asia, Food Network Asia has secured carriage in Malaysia and the Philippines. “We plan to double the number of territories served by Food Network Asia” in the next 12 to 18 months, says Moyer. The channels are served primarily with U.S. content, but original programming is making its way to the networks. “We have commissioned original programming to reflect local food cultures.” Shows include A Culinary Coup:The Launch of Ku De Ta and Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam in Asia and Andy Bates’ Street Food in the U.K.
A Culinary Coup: The Launch of Ku De Ta
“ We plan on
bolstering our distribution for both Food Network and Fine Living Network with a particular eye on Central and Eastern Europe.
”
—Greg Moyer
SevenOne International www.sevenoneinternational.com William & Kate
• William & Kate • Isenhart • Russian Roulette • You Deserve It! • The Insiders
Broadcasters worldwide are eager to tap into the feverpitch interest in this April’s royal wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton. As a response, the new TV movie about the couple, William & Kate, is one of SevenOne International’s lead offerings. It joins several other TV movies and mini-series in the catalogue, including the period piece Isenhart and the two-part conspiracy thriller Russian Roulette. “Adventure events such as Isenhart, true love stories like William & Kate and thrillers like Russian Roulette [are] high-quality TV entertainment [that] captures TV audiences all around the world,” says Jens Richter, managing director. Formats are also a strong focus, with the “sciencetainment” show The Insiders and the Dick de Rijk game show You Deserve It!, which has been sold to ABC in the U.S. “Being part of Red Arrow Entertainment, we constantly receive fresh ideas from our partnerships with the world’s top creative minds.”
“ Our strategy is to
offer great innovative programs on a regular basis.
”
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—Jens Richter
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Shaftesbury Films www.shaftesbury.ca • Good Dog • From Spain with Love • About Her • Vacation with Derek • Connor Undercover
Good Dog
The last few years have seen a dramatic expansion in Shaftesbury Films’ catalogue for the international market.A prolific producer of a range of content in Canada, Shaftesbury has been best known globally for its slew of tween live-action hits, including Life with Derek and, more recently, Connor Undercover. At MIPTV, in addition to those shows and the family TV movie Vacation with Derek, Shaftesbury is distributing the Ken Finkleman comedy Good Dog. In addition, “We’ve expanded our sales slate to include compelling factual programming focused on food, travel and health,” says Shane Kinnear, the senior VP of sales, marketing and digital media. “We look forward to speaking to both existing and new partners about our new range of offerings.” This expanded slate includes the 13x30-minute From Spain with Love, billed as a food-adventure series, and the one-hour About Her, narrated by Kim Cattrall and focused on women living with breast cancer.
“From award-winning kids’
titles that resonate with audiences around the world to comedy and factual entertainment, Shaftesbury offers a broad range of the highest quality programming.
”
—Shane Kinnear
Sullivan Entertainment www.sullivanmovies.com
“Sullivan Entertainment
• Out of the Shadows • Anne of Green Gables • Road to Avonlea • Wind at My Back • Mozart: Decoded
has established a strong brand that is based on high-quality television and films.
”
It was the 1985 TV adaptation of the much-loved Anne of Green Gables books for CBC that put Sullivan Entertainment firmly on the map as a provider of high-quality drama. The entire franchise will be on offer from the company at MIPTV, including the most recent version, a TV movie for CTV called Anne of Green Gables:A New Beginning. Another literary adaptation being distributed by Sullivan is the longrunning series Road to Avonlea. Rounding out the drama highlights is the family drama Wind at My Back, while on the doc slate there are Mozart: Decoded and Out of the Shadows. “These titles are unique for their timeless visual beauty, strong storytelling and outstanding performances by Oscar and Golden Globe–winning actors, making each of them legendary classics,” says Trudy Grant, president of international. “Sullivan is primarily known for exquisitely produced period dramas that are authentic, compelling and family-friendly. Programs that continue to entertain international audiences.” 46
—Trudy Grant
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Wind at My Back
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Tandem Communications www.tandemcom.de The Lost Future
• Labyrinth • World Without End • Action Pack(ed): Volume One: The Lost Future • Action Pack(ed): Volume One: Treasure Guards • Pompeii
On the heels of the global success of The Pillars of the Earth, Tandem Communications is continuing its relationship with Ridley Scott and Scott Free Productions. The companies are working together on Labyrinth, a $20-million production based on the bestseller by Kate Mosse; the adaptation of Ken Follett’s World Without End; and, with Sony Pictures Television and Peace Out Productions, on the four-parter Pompeii. “Many broadcasters and home-video partners in major territories have come on board for this new high-quality TV event,” says Bernhard Schwab, sales director. TV movies are also in the mix, with two releases from the Action Pack(ed):Volume One collection: The Lost Future and Treasure Guards. “It is important to have topics and genres that appeal to audiences worldwide—Australia, Japan, Europe, the U.S.A. and Latin America at the same time,” Schwab says.
“ These fiction TV events can capture viewers and advertising dollars.”
—Bernhard Schwab
Telefe International www.telefeinternational.com • Superclumsy • The One • A Year to Remember • Just in Time • Everybody Against Juan
“ The One is a
The One
different telenovela, with a very innovative script dealing with adult topics.
”
Telefe International’s telenovela The One and romantic comedy A Year to Remember were presented at NATPE and well received by buyers, according to Michelle Wasserman, the head of international business, programming, formats and production services. Telefe is betting on the two prime-time programs to replicate that success at MIPTV. The teen comedy Superclumsy is another title Telefe believes will be a big draw. Superclumsy comes from the team behind Rebel’s Way and TeenAngels, Wasserman notes, and is coproduced by Disney. On the format front, Everybody Against Juan is being adapted in Spain, Italy, Mexico and Russia, with options in the U.S., China, France and Italy. Wasserman expects that the first two seasons, which fared well in Argentina, will also be on offer. In the way of entertainment formats, a third season of Just in Time is being released with new games.
—Michelle Wasserman
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Telemundo Internacional www.telemundointernacional.com • The Queen of the South • Love Again • Paula, for Love or Money • 40 Something • The Family Next Door
A co-production with Spain’s Antena 3, The Queen of the South, premiered on Telemundo in February as the highestrated novela ever in the U.S. Hispanic broadcaster’s history. The show heads Telemundo Internacional’s new slate of telenovelas for international buyers.The distributor is also offering Promofilm’s Love Again; Telemundo Studios’ Paula, for Love or Money, and two series from Chile’s TVN: 40 Something and The Family Next Door. “Telemundo’s variety of cutting-edge, high-quality productions comprised of amazing stories gives buyers their pick of the bunch,” says Karina Etchison, the VP of sales for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “As always, the universal language of love and a great escape is always the appeal.” Etchinson is eager to open up new markets in EMEA with these titles, as well as to drive gains in the company’s format business. “Expectations for this MIPTV are quite high.There seems to be great attendance and great products.”
“ We have a very
diverse catalogue that includes everything: romance, drama, mystery and suspense, and comedy.
”
The Queen of the South
—Karina Etchison
Televisa Networks www.televisanetworks.tv S.O.S.: Sex and Other Secrets
• TLN • Canal de las Estrellas
Televisa Networks’ TLN airs in the Portuguesespeaking markets of Brazil, Portugal, Angola and Mozambique. The service features a lineup of tele novelas, series and comedies. Lead titles on the channel include El Pantera, which is centered on a lonely hero in a world filled with delinquency and crime. After having been unjustly imprisoned for the murder of his fiancée, he escapes and soon comes to work for the new chief of police, General Porfirio Ayala. TLN also airs S.O.S.: Sex and Other Secrets, which tells the story of five women who live in Mexico City. They are all quite different, yet they share a common friendship. Their conflicts and problems are solved every day, as they reach out to each other to strengthen their friendship. Another Televisa Networks channel, Canal de las Estrellas, airs the talk show Miembros al aire, which features Raúl Araiza, Jorge “El Burro” Van Rankin, Mauricio Castillo and Leonardo de Lozanne, who give their perspectives on different issues.
Miembros al aire
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Tricon Films & Television www.triconfilms.com • • • • •
InSecurity Decked Out Livin’ Loud Sanctuary Corpus
“ All of our titles
Livin’ Loud
have international appeal and represent genres that are extremely popular with viewers.
It’s been a busy year for Tricon Films & Television, according to Jon Rutherford, itsVP of international sales and acquisitions. With a recently opened Los Angeles office and an expanded catalogue, the company is taking a bigger booth at MIPTV and is expanding into the children’s programming market.The company heads to the market with the comedy InSecurity and the sci-fi drama Sanctuary. Rutherford notes, “Sanctuary has been doing exceptionally well on Syfy internationally for three years and is a hit in every market. We’re confident InSecurity will do equally well, as it’s well written and shot beautifully. Plus the spy genre is hot, so we’re excited to have a show so timely.” Lifestyle fare comes in the shape of Decked Out and Livin’ Loud, which have a “unique twist that makes them fresh and appealing,” says Rutherford.“Our odd little jewel is Corpus, a fascinating documentary that explores in a compelling way the myriad things you can do with your body when you die.”
”
—Jon Rutherford
Turner Broadcasting www.turnercontentsolutions.com Ma’s Roadhouse
• Falling Skies • Ma’s Roadhouse • Big Brian: The Fortune Seller • La Banda • Yes, Chef
Turner is keen on extending its presence in the generalentertainment genre in international markets, with content from its U.S. stable of TNT, TBS and truTV. “We have access to a lot of great new product and aim to make sales and establish partnerships that reflect the quality of our catalogue,” says Casey Harwood, the senior VP for Turner EMEA.This product includes the new drama Falling Skies, which Harwood says “has an amazing pedigree with its Steven Spielberg connection, and the premise is a popular theme, encompassing alien invasion, disaster aftermath and human spirit.”Turner is also presenting Ma’s Roadhouse, set in a biker bar/tattoo parlor, and Big Brian: The Fortune Seller, featuring Brian Elenson and his team at 2 Much Stuff 4 Me.“The quirky characters in Ma’s Roadhouse are an entertaining mix and Big Brian: The Fortune Seller has seen—and sold—it all.” Topping off the slate are the telenovela La Banda and the reality format Yes, Chef.
“ The diversity of our new shows make
interesting viewing and schedulers will find the range of programming refreshing.
”
—Casey Harwood 52
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TV Azteca www.comarex.tv
Emperatriz
• Emperatriz • Bajo el alma • Al caer la noche • Lucho en familia
TV Azteca’s lead new telenovela for MIPTV is Emperatriz. The series features Gabriela Spanic in the leading role. Marcel Vinay, the CEO of Comarex, the exclusive distributor of TV Azteca content, says, “This will be a telenovela that promises to become a classic.” The company is also presenting Bajo el alma, a drama about a family that runs a pharmaceutical lab, and the thriller Al caer la noche. Also available is a comedy series called Lucho en familia. “This year is very exciting as we are presenting alongside our famous telenovelas our new original series, a genre that is having amazing results with audiences in Mexico.... Our catalogue this year includes something for everybody.”
“ TV Azteca always
stands out from the crowd by presenting great and original stories that audiences love and which bring families together.
”
—Marcel Vinay
Venevision International www.venevisioninternational.com • Eva Luna • The Perfect Woman • Tribulation: The Battle Before the End • XRC (Xtreme Reality Clips) • Work of Genius
In a bid to broaden its clientele base, Venevision International has been adding new types of programming to its catalogue, complementing its lineup of telenovelas. At MIPTV, for example, it is presenting a science-fiction and action drama called Tribulation: The Battle Before the End, plus the reality show Work of Genius. The latest addition to the catalogue is XRC (Xtreme Reality Clips). “These are ideal for creating an original local program of actionpacked home-video clips of wild chases, horrific crashes, wild stunts and so much more,” says Cesar Diaz, the VP of sales.Topping the company’s list of MIPTV highlights are two telenovelas, The Perfect Woman and Eva Luna.
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Eva Luna
“We are confident
that at MIPTV we will present our clientele with an interesting variety of programs that complement our primary lineup of telenovelas.
”
—Cesar Diaz
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Vision Films www.visionfilms.net Love’s Kitchen
• Love’s Kitchen • Night Wolf • King George VI:The Man Behind the King’s Speech • Music Docs • Gerry Anderson’s New Captain Scarlet
Timely documentaries rank among Vision Films’ new product launches, including King George VI:The Man Behind the King’s Speech, on offer following the Academy Award win of The King’s Speech.There’s also a special about teen pop icon Justin Bieber, part of a collection of music docs. Lise Romanoff, the managing director and CEO of worldwide sales, also mentions William & Kate: A Fairytale Romance and Prince William and Catherine: A Royal Love Story. On the feature-film side,“We are putting more emphasis into acquiring good TV movies,” Romanoff continues. “We are debuting Love’s Kitchen, a romantic comedy starring Claire Forlani and Dougray Scott with Gordon Ramsay playing himself.”
“ Following an
excellent EFM in Berlin, we expect a very healthy MIPTV and first half of 2011 overall.
”
—Lise Romanoff
Watch It Now Entertainment www.watchitnowentertainment.com • TaeBo BootCamp • InsideOut Method • Jane Fonda’s Workout • Fit in Your Jeans by Friday
Since 2006, Watch It Now Entertainment has been assembling a library of fitness products featuring celebrities. This includes the workout-video legend Jane Fonda. “After nearly 30 years and 23 videos produced, Jane Fonda’s Workout has proven to be a trusted household name with more than 17 million home videos sold,” says Darren Capik, producer. “The members of Team Fonda are respected leaders who are accredited with unique and specialized backgrounds and workouts to provide a fitness routine that can be specialized to fit individual needs to garner extraordinary results.” Capik also mentions Fit inYour Jeans by Friday with celebrity socialite Kim Kardashian, TaeBo BootCamp with Billy Blanks and InsideOut Method with Bob Harper.
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Fit in Your Jeans by Frida y
Jane Fonda’s Workout
“ These will surely be the biggest
fitness titles of 2011, and our international buyers will profit with these star-branded products.
”
—Darren Capik
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World Wrestling Entertainment www.wwe.com • WWE Tough Enough • WWE Studios • Weekly Flagship Shows • WWE PPV Specials • WWE Digital Opportunities
WWE Superstar Triple H
WWE Studios, WWE’s film-production arm, is planning nine movie releases over the next three years.“Our move into independent movie production and distribution has been a great success,” says Dominic Hayes, a senior VP and the managing director of international media distribution, who will be showcasing the slate to buyers at MIPTV. Continuing sales on WWE’s weekly flagship shows, such as Raw, will also be a focus for the company, as will the launch of WWE Tough Enough. “This program will give fans an insider’s view of how WWE develops our talent.”
“ WWE continues to innovate and push the boundaries to remain one of the leading brands and names in pop culture and entertainment.
”
—Dominic Hayes
ZDF Enterprises www.zdf-enterprises.de • • • • •
Repossessed! Hard Time Licence to Drill Sherlock Yack: Zoo Detective Flickering Hearts: Lifeline, Loveline
Factual series are a priority for ZDF Enterprises at MIPTV, reports Fred Burcksen, the VP of sales, merchandising and coproductions. The slate includes Repossessed! and Hard Time, produced for National Geographic Channel in the U.S., and the six-part Licence to Drill. All “follow a select group of protagonists who prefer action to discussion, and who never accept ‘no’ for an answer,” says Burcksen. He also mentions the Gruppe 5produced documentary Dawn of the Ocean, available as a 90-minute special or as three 50-minute episodes, produced in HD. ZDF Enterprises is also bringing the kids’ series Sherlock Yack: Zoo Detective, the family film The Hunt for Hannibal’s Treasure and the drama Flickering Hearts: Lifeline, Loveline.
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Flickering Hearts: Lifeline, Loveline
“ Our overall goal is again to sit with our clients and partners and discuss their content needs and possible solutions.
”
—Fred Burcksen
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spotlight
A LOOK AT THE BUSINESS OF TELEVISION BY ANNA CARUGATI
Jon
Mad Men’s
Hamm behind it. We all were basically these little engines that could. And we decided that this is such a different show, and such an interesting piece of television that we wanted to be a part of it. And we created something that we were very proud of. The fact that it’s now four seasons in and it’s found this worldwide audience is baffling to us, and yet also incredibly gratifying. So, yes, for me it was just that I was tremendously attracted to the script and the character and how different it was. It was something to really be proud of as an actor.
It’s slick, it’s sexy, it’s stylish and oh so well written and acted. It’s Mad Men, the first basic-cable drama to win a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Drama—and it did so back to back for three years—and the only show to win the Golden Globe Award for best drama three years in a row. Created and executive produced by Matthew Weiner, Mad Men looks at the ruthlessly competitive world of Madison Avenue advertising firms in the ’60s. It gained tons of critical acclaim, became an international hit, catapulted AMC from relative obscurity to being a top player in the scripted drama genre, and has women around the world drooling over Don Draper. Jon Hamm, who plays Draper, talks about the complexity of his character and the success of the show.
WS: What appealed to you about the show and the character you play? HAMM: Five years ago, when we started making the first episode of Mad Men, it was for a very tiny network in the U.S. that no one had really ever heard of and that did not have a history of making original programming.We all took a risk as actors signing on for this. But what the script had going for it was that it was tremendously well written by Matthew Weiner, who was coming off one of the greatest shows in the history of television, The Sopranos. So we all decided we love this show. We don’t care that it’s not on some huge network, that it’s not got some huge studio 60
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WS: And the fact that the characters are so flawed must be fantastic for you as an actor. HAMM: The fact that these characters are tremendously flawed is really a compliment to Matt’s writing. He’s created these incredibly flawed characters that make so many bad decisions, that make so many mistakes, and yet are so eminently relatable and you can identify with them, and you can actually hope that some day they’ll have redemption. That’s what people identify with. I think that’s why the show has reached out beyond just a Stateside audience, and has really resonated with people in South America and Scandinavia and Mexico and Germany. People are finding that’s the human condition.And that, nestled into this show, is what I think made it resonate worldwide.
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The men of Mad Men: Beyond its success on AMC, the Lionsgate-produced series has sold well around the world.
WS: Your character began as the man that every man would want to be: good looking, with a beautiful wife, a fantastic job, respected in his profession—and in the fourth season he was falling apart. What are the challenges in dealing with the changes in Don Draper’s life? HAMM: One of the tenets in Matt’s philosophy of storytelling is that actions have consequences.The fourth season for Don has been the result of many of those actions that he had undertaken in the first three seasons. Everything’s kind of coming home to roost at this point.This lifetime of bad decisions and mistakes [is] finally landing.And he’s getting older, and he’s finding that he doesn’t have the ability to pull out of these terrible situations as easily as he once did. Drinking and smoking and trying to manage all of these relationships is harder and harder. The more you start telling lies, the harder it is to get out of them.And he’s realizing that’s not really a way to live a life. Obviously, the wonderful irony of Don Draper is that from the exterior it looks like he has it all. He at one point had the beautiful wife, and the two kids, and the great car, and the great job, and the house in the country and everything else—but, inside, the man was a wreck. And I think that that interior is now becoming exterior for Don and he’s got to figure out a way to handle that. WS: Do you give Matt ideas for story lines? HAMM: Yes and no. We have a very open line of com-
munication to Matt. He’s on the set a lot and he’s wide
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open for questions. And the good thing about Matt is that he has answers. And he has very strong opinions. He has very particular opinions about why things are the way they are. If you disagree with him, it’s a conversation. And if your way makes sense, or is better, eventually he’ll come around to that. But it’s a conversation. The thing about Matt is, we’ve sat with our own characters for five years now. He’s sat with all of them for five years and essentially created all of them, so he knows a lot about them as well, but from a far, far different perspective. He’s writing this entire show, conducting this entire orchestra. And he knows, far better than we do, where the end of that is going to be and why we need to do what we need to do to get where we need to go. So, a lot of it is just taking it on faith that we’re going to get to that end point, but I think that our faith has certainly been rewarded. In my opinion, we’ve had such a wonderful four seasons of story that has really come and turned in ways that we—that I—certainly never would have been able to guess. And that’s all thanks to Matt. This is a man who created these stories out of thin air. WS: How much do you know in advance? HAMM: We don’t know anything in advance! I usually
sit with Matt before he starts writing the show. We sit down to lunch for two or three hours and we talk
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about possibilities of where the next season is going. I’ve done that now at the beginning of the first, second, third and fourth season. It’s a great, very loose, very unstructured conversation. We don’t sit down to map anything out or write anything down, although he does take notes sometimes. It’s great because I get to have some kind of input, and it just feels like a very familiar conversation. But I don’t think many of us get to see where we’re going. In fact, if we go into the writer’s room, they generally cover things up and don’t want us to see—and I don’t want to see, either. I don’t want to play the end of the story.You want to just come across things, as you would in life.
Mad Men ’s Elisabeth Moss Elisabeth Moss plays Peggy Olson, the ambitious yet naïve secretary whose skills allow her to move up to junior copywriter in an exceedingly male-dominated agency. Moss shares her insights into her character and others on Mad Men.
WS: Do you like the fact
that these characters are flawed? MOSS: Yes, absolutely. That’s where the drama comes from; it’s when you have flaws and things are complicated and mistakes are made, that causes the chain reaction that makes for interesting television. And so, to have these characters that have these double lives, and these secrets, and these lies, and problems—that’s something that you want to play.You don’t want to play the person who just has one note or one side to them and is very simple, and sweet, and everything just works out perfectly. You want to play something that is not working out so well. WS: Peggy has evolved a lot over the course of the four seasons. How have
you dealt with those changes? MOSS: I’m super lucky in the sense that Peggy has gone from 20 to
26, and there’s so much built-in room for change there. I feel like in the beginning she was sort of a blank slate and she didn’t know who she was and she didn’t know who she was supposed to be, and then she thought, well, maybe she’s supposed to be the sexy secretary, and that didn’t work out. Maybe she’s supposed to be like Don—maybe she’s supposed to be a man. Maybe she’s supposed to cut herself off from being a woman. And that didn’t work. Over the past three seasons, that 64
WS: Is there a moral compass on this show? Some might
think Cooper is, because he’s older. HAMM: No one on our show is evil. Cooper, I think, has
the most Zen approach to it. Being this sort of elder statesman of the group, he has the best perspective on things. But also he has his own flaws and issues. So, again, it’s a story about people trying to do the best they can with what they have, which is, in many ways, the American dream. Using what you have to get what you want. But it’s the wonderful irony of the whole thing—these are people whose job is to define and sell happiness. And the fact that they are, for the most part, unclear as to their own happiness is the beautiful irony.That’s what I love about the show—the fact that it really explores that irony.
was her arc. In the fourth season, I really feel like she’s starting—she hasn’t yet—but I really feel like she’s starting to become the person that she will be. She’s starting to become herself, and not feel like she has to be something that she has seen, or someone in the office, someone that she’s followed or dated. I feel really lucky that I have gotten to have such a wide arc, which doesn’t always happen, and incorporate—when I started, I was 23, now I’m 28—my own changes in my life, and things that I’ve learned, into her changes. WS: Do you ever know what will happen next to your character? MOSS: The only time that I ever knew what was going to happen for
Peggy was in the first season when she was pregnant—because I had to go through the wardrobe fittings, and makeup tests and things like that pretty early on and map out what we were going to be doing with that. That was the only time that Matt called me into his office. It was two weeks before we started shooting, and he sat me down and launched into this really long-winded story about where she was going, and her sexuality, and how she was covering it up, and suppressing it and this whole thing was very psychological and very deep. He got to the end, and said, “And, it turns out, you have a baby!” And I said, “Excuse me?” [Laughs] And, he was checking to make sure that I wanted to do it, and I said, “Yeah, absolutely. Put me in, coach!” I loved the idea, so that was the only time I had any advance of anything. WS: Do you think there is a moral compass to this show? MOSS: The great thing about the show is that the characters make mis-
takes and they do bad things. But they’re not bad people, and that’s very true to life. That’s very true to human beings. It’s so much about people trying to do the right thing or trying to make their way, trying to be happy. And their jobs [involve] selling happiness every day to the public. That against their own struggle for their own personal happiness is very interesting. So, I don’t consider any of the characters bad people—they do very bad things, and are amoral—but that comes from being an actor, and you tend to like your character, and you’re not supposed to judge it. But I have a lot of sympathy and empathy for all of these characters. And that’s a testament to the writing, and also to the acting—to people like Jon [Hamm] and [John] Slattery and Christina [Hendricks] and January [ Jones], who bring that complexity and those multiple levels [to the characters they are playing] that says not just, this is a bad person, but also this is a good person, which is very true to life.
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EXPLORING THE CREATIVE MINDS BEHIND THE WORLD OF TELEVISION PRODUCTION BY ANNA CARUGATI
Hawaii Five-0’s
Peter Lenkov
the forensics they used. I felt like we do all that stuff in television today, but the one thing that really wasn’t mined in the original show was the character development, getting to know these people and relating to them. That was really important to me and I felt like that was where we could add some value to the franchise—understanding who these characters are. But for the most part, if you’re a real fan of the original, there’s a lot of the same stuff in the new show. If you’re not, what we kept were a lot of the themes that made the original work. But if you’re a real hard-core fan, you’ll see a lot of stuff, and not just the storytelling technique, or the opening credits, but even down to the little details of the accoutrements in the office or the car that McGarrett inherits from his father. But for the most part, when I first sat down, I thought, OK, I wanted to mine the themes of that original show, I wanted to keep the characters consistent, but I also wanted to feel like they could live and breathe in modern society. And I think that today television is about character, so that’s where I probably made the most radical shift from the original.
With its signature opening featuring a huge crashing wave and an unforgettable theme song, Hawaii Five-O premiered on CBS in 1968 and quickly became a hit. The series, which ran for 12 years, told the crime-solving stories of a special state police unit in Hawaii headed by Steve McGarrett and his partner, Danny Williams. Episodes often ended with McGarrett saying, “Book ’em, Danno,” a phrase that entered the pop culture lexicon of the time. Last fall, CBS brought back Hawaii Five-O; executive producer Peter Lenkov talks about remaking this classic cop show.
WS: What appealed to you about the original show? LENKOV: When I answer this question, I wish I could answer in a more exciting way, but honestly, it was a big show in my house when I was growing up. My dad was a huge fan and I remember him watching it and watching it religiously. I grew up in Montreal, where winters were very harsh, and when you get to go to Hawaii once a week, that was a big deal. That was the appeal. I just remember that show being on and it being good television. So for me, when the opportunity came around, it was a no-brainer because I felt like I already knew the show through osmosis. On the other hand, there’s a challenge doing these kinds of shows because usually they don’t work. If you could be the one to make it work, that’s very satisfying for a writer. So personally, I had that also driving me. I really wanted to make it work and show that not all of these remakes are just remakes to rebrand something, but really because they mean something to the creator. WS: What did you keep of the original show, and what
did you change or feel needed updating? LENKOV: If you watch the show today, obviously it’s a
differently paced show, but what [remains] are good plots and good mysteries. In its day the storytelling was really cutting edge in terms of the crime solving and 66
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WS: How does Hawaii Five-0 compare to some of the other shows you’ve worked on, like 24 or CSI: NY ? LENKOV: Those shows were great experiences. The one ingredient that Hawaii Five-0 has and that those shows didn’t have is the comedy. That’s a completely different muscle to exercise week to week, and when you have that ability to have moments of humor in the show, it opens it up to ultimately a bigger audience, but it also just makes the show more relatable. Some of those shows become very niche because of their storytelling. Instead we’ve been given the freedom to add some humor into the mix, which just makes it a more rounded experience. WS: I imagine the actors enjoy the humor, too. LENKOV: They love it, and we love it as writers. In some
of the experiences I’ve had, people are very earnest and very righteous and after a while, you want them to be human, you know? Sometimes they feel like they’ve got blinders on and they’re not reacting to things around them, and I feel [that adding humor] was very liberating. WS: Do you write only when you’re with the other writers or can you be doing something else and that sets off a spark and you think, Oh, that would be perfect for Danny, or That’s just what McGarrett would do? LENKOV: All the time, all the time! And, usually, I’ll send myself e-mails and end up collecting them and putting them in files on my desktop. But usually my day consists of doing a little bit of writing, a little bit of editing, a little bit of time in the room with the other writers, a lot of phone calls and management of the show here in L.A. with post-production, and back in Hawaii. And I’m usually in Hawaii one week a month, so it’s hectic, but I still get to have a life!
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CELEBRATING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF LEADING MEDIA COMPANIES BY ANNA CARUGATI
50
@
Kevin Crull CTV is Canada’s largest private broadcaster. The wide range of programming it offers—everything from news and sports to dramas, comedies, talk and entertainment shows—has made CTV the most-watched network in Canada for the past nine years and the number one choice in prime time. Its programming mix includes successful U.S. series, including The Big Bang Theory, American Idol and Grey’s Anatomy, CTV’s three highest-rated shows so far this season, and top Canadian shows along with very strong news coverage. In fact, the CTV National News with Lloyd Robertson is the number one newscast in the country. In addition, CTV broadcasts the top-ranked local newscasts in 11 of the 12 major Canadian markets, reaching more than 25 million viewers each week. Owned by CTVglobemedia, CTV is also Canada’s leading multimedia company, with 28 conventional free-TV stations, 29 specialty channels, 33 radio stations, and Canada’s premier online network. CTV’s ownership is about to change. BCE Inc., Canada’s largest communications company and the parent of Bell Canada, announced last fall that it would acquire 100 percent of CTV. Bell currently owns a 15-percent equity position in CTV and will acquire the remaining 85 percent, giving it full control of the media interests of CTVglobemedia. Upon completion of the deal, which is expected to close by early April, Kevin Crull, who is currently CTVglobemedia’s COO, will become the president of CTV. He talks about what makes CTV such a strong network and media company. 68
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WS: What are the strengths of CTV’s programming strategy? CRULL: The depth and breadth of our schedule—all genres, all time slots, all days—is unmatched anywhere. We have the top 20 hits from all genres on every night. We schedule prime time throughout our schedule, [with highly-rated, marquee programs not only in prime time, but also in daytime and late night]. We are always looking for strategic opportunities with new formats and with creative brand partnerships, and we don’t follow trends—rather we seek great content that will resonate with the Canadian audience. Our schedule is organic—programming is more an art than a science. Due to the availability of the American networks in Canada, maintaining the perfect schedule is a 24/7 challenge. Today we are number one in news, number one in sports, and number one in entertainment, but we behave like we’re number two. We know how fast leadership can slip. WS: How is CTV investing in Canadian content? CRULL: We remain committed to original production
and dedicated to telling fresh Canadian stories and building homegrown talent. Seen around the world, CTV’s robust slate of critically acclaimed, award-winning original productions includes, among others, the upcoming period drama The Borgias; the ratings success story Flashpoint; the Gemini Award–winning So You Think You Can Dance Canada; the drama series The Listener; the scripted comedies Dan for Mayor and Hiccups; the lifestyle series The Marilyn Denis Show; and, promoting it all, Canada’s number one source for everything entertainment, etalk. CTV is also responsible for Canada’s most-watched awards broadcasts, including The Juno Awards [presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands] and The Giller Prize [presented annually for excellence in Canadian fiction]. WS: What is CTV’s strategy with regard to specialty
channels? CRULL: We can’t go into details for competitive rea-
sons, but suffice it to say this is one area where we definitely see opportunity for growth and investment.
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WS: What kind of content is CTV offering online—
only clips or full episodes? CRULL: CTV offers a wealth of content, from full
episodes of shows to support content like supplementary guest interviews and companion material. It’s a rich online video library; the best in Canada.
Canadian connection: CTV original dramas like The Listener, from Shaftesbury Films, are finding slots abroad.
WS: How popular has online viewing been with the CTV audience? CRULL: Online viewing gets more popular every year, and continues to trend upward. In 2010, CTV websites saw a monthly average of 53.8 million video views, which is 2.3 million hours of video. That’s about a 46percent increase over the previous year. CTV’s online properties have been the number one Canadian-owned online video network for the past three years.
This year viewers will see significant investment in HD for many of our specialty channels currently in the market. We continue to assess which brands are appropriate for refreshing and evolution and to look for new opportunities. WS: CTV has the leading newscasts in Canada. What
has led to the strength of CTV’s news? CRULL: CTV News’s strength is in its mandate to provide Canadians with news that is important and relevant with accuracy, speed, credibility and integrity. Our core programming principles are trust and tradition, and because of that our viewers and colleagues have confidence in our newscasts. We are also very adept at leveraging our resources, including 12 big-city newsrooms, CTV’s news bureaus around the world, and our specialty services CTV News Channel, CP24, BNN— Business News Network.
WS: How are you monetizing the content you offer online? CRULL: At the moment, we serve up pre-roll as the
main form of monetizing video content. In some cases, we will offer exclusive sponsorship around programming online. We can put a video player in a show page and skin it with the sponsor’s graphics. We can also do interesting things with pre-roll, like placing an
WS: How do you envision CTV’s news in the
future? CRULL: More news. More places. More often.
We must embrace new platforms. CTV News has been a leader in adopting new technologies over the last 50 years. To cite one example: the live coverage of the Olympic Torch Run across Canada [prior to last year’s Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver] transmitted live video across cell towers, making every second of the run available live. Canadians have an enormous appetite for information, and today our journalists are demanding that our news be available on smartphones, tablets and other devices not even invented yet. We’re looking at a four-screen universe. For example, in British Columbia we recently launched a new digital noon newscast. The goal was to deliver compelling stories to our audience and so we launched an app-less newscast, delivering a very streamlined user experience. It’s a prime example of where we’re going—we aim to deliver convenient, innovative, compelling and useful news. 70
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Blessed be: CTV’s upcoming highlights include The Borgias from CBS Studios International. 4/11
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overlay that acts as pre-roll but is a separate clickable ad unit. The most exciting thing for advertisers is that there are really no limits to the imaginative integrations that can be done online. We have a very creative sales and production team. WS: How will CTV benefit from being owned by Bell? CRULL: This transaction brings stability and a strong financial backing to the company. Bell will make significant investments in CTV, including HD, new specialties, new news programming. And, of course, we will invest to extend our leadership to all four screens and to innovate in order to bring deeper engagement with our content to viewers through digital platforms. WS: How are you restructuring CTV in
Vamped up: Several Warner Bros. shows air on CTV, including The Vampire Diaries.
Hugging it out: One of CTV’s latest pickups was Mad Love, a CBS comedy from Sony Pictures Television.
light of this new ownership? What new management team are you putting in place and what are your goals for them? CRULL: The goal is simply to remain Canada’s number one media organization. We have flattened the organization, put significant executive focus on key growth areas of sports, specialty and digital, elevated all revenue depart-
ments to the executive level, and most importantly, put in place extensive governance and measurement procedures to ensure we can execute on our mission and objectives. It’s our belief that a core strategic imperative is to view programming assets as interchangeable tools to drive all our businesses: conventional, specialty, digital and radio. Due to persistent trends where viewers are leaving conventional media and profits are concentrated in specialty, we really need to think holistically. Creation and selection of hit programming will continue to be the overriding focus of this executive team, and will therefore receive tremendous attention. For these reasons, we have also created a programming council. The council is made up of six senior executives from across the business who will guide our programming evaluation and investment. WS: How will CTV ensure that on one hand, its audi-
ence still has access to a plurality of views, and on the other, that independent producers still have the opportunity to pitch their story ideas to programming executives? CRULL: As always, CTV is fundamentally committed to finding our best stories that will resonate with the diverse audience that makes up the rich tapestry of Canada. Independent producers have always played a big role in the development of our top-rated indigenous programs. We remain an open door to the creative community and will continue to draw from this well of talent as we push into the future. Combined with our unparalleled communications and promotional exper tise, we are confident that the most compelling and entertaining programs will continue to deliver big audiences across all of our platforms. 72
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A History of CTV 1961 CFTO launches. CTV begins its network operations as an informal group of eight independent affiliated stations.
1999 CTV and Bell Canada launch the first website to offer high-speed video news, with live streaming of CTV News 1, which is later renamed CTV Newsnet.
1966 CFTO becomes the flagship station of the CTV Network after the 11 CTV affiliates collectively purchase the assets of the network.
1967 CFTO is the first Canadian television station to broadcast in full color.
1971 Baton Broadcasting Incorporated is created. CFTO is owned by the new company.
1972 Baton Broadcasting Incorporated acquires CFQC
2000 BCE Inc. acquires CTV Inc. CTV wins fall ’99 television season; CTV fall ratings up 15 percent in one of its most successful fall seasons ever. CTV News launches CTVNEWS.com, an interactive website that streams CTV Newsnet and C TV N ews wit h Lloyd R ob ertson and is available on the web simultaneously. Ivan Fecan is named president and CEO of the new media company Bell Globemedia, combining print, broadcast and Internet assets of CTV Inc., The Globe and Mail, Globe Interactive and Sympatico-Lycos.
Radio (later divested) and CFQC Television.
2001 CTV launches six new digital specialty channels: 1988 CTV switches to a satellite delivery system. CTV is the first national Canadian TV network to broadcast in stereo.
Animal Planet, CTV Travel, Discovery Civilization, ESPN Classic Canada, NHL Network and WTSN. CTV acquires broadcast rights to the Juno Awards.
1993 Baton acquires the assets and broadcasting licenses
2002 CTV Inc. becomes the first national conventional broadcaster in Canada to transmit over the air in high definition. A record 2.65 million tune in to watch Ryan Malcolm be crowned the first-ever Canadian Idol on CTV.
of CFPL-London, CKNX-Wingham and the rebroadcasting station CHWI-Wheatley. CTV and its owners enter into a new shareholders agreement, which transforms CTV from a cooperative to a typical business corporation.
1995 Baton enters into a strategic alliance with Electrohome Limited in Southwestern Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta, extending Baton’s reach from 58 percent to 70 percent of English-speaking Canada.
1996 Ivan Fecan becomes president and CEO of Baton and Douglas G. Bassett becomes vice-chairman of the board. Baton acquires CFCN-Calgary and its 14.3 percent of CTV shares. Baton and Electrohome announce a strategic merger agreement in which Baton acquires Electrohome’s broadcasting assets and its equity share in CTV.
Reliable source: Lloyd Robertson has anchored the CTV national newscast for more than 30 years.
1997 Baton becomes the sole owner of CTV. 1998 Baton Broadcasting Incorporated changes its name to CTV Inc.
2004 CTV makes history, finishing as the year’s mostwatched broadcaster in prime time in all three key adult demographics (18–34, 18–49 and 25–54). 2006 CTV launches Canada’s first multichannel broadband service. Bell Globemedia acquires CHUM Ltd. through a C$1.4 billion transaction. Bell Globemedia’s new ownership structure is completed. Shareholders are the Woodbridge Company Limited (40 percent), Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (25 percent), Torstar Corporation (20 percent) and BCE Inc. (15 percent). Bell Globemedia Inc. announces company’s name will change to CTVglobemedia Inc., effective January 1, 2007.
2008 CTV announces rebrand of the A-Channels and ASN. The stations are rebranded as “A” and ACCESS will fold “A” programming into its schedule.
2010 In February, CTV and Rogers provide unprecedented coverage of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. In September, BCE Inc. announces it has agreed to acquire 100 percent of CTV for C$1.3 billion. The transaction has an equity value of C$3.2 billion. Ivan Fecan, president and CEO of CTVglobemedia and CEO of CTV Inc., announces he will retire within the next year. In November, CTV Inc. launches E! channel, one of the world’s most popular brands for celebrity and entertainment news.
2011 On January 1, CTV Toronto celebrates its 50th anniversary. On January 20, CTV Montreal celebrates its 50th anniversary. On January 31, CTV Montreal installs an over-the-air highdefinition transmitter in Montreal. CTV becomes Canada’s only broadcaster to have HD transmitters in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal. 74
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TUNING IN TO LATIN AMERICAN TELEVISION BY ANNA CARUGATI
Cisneros Group’s
Adriana Cisneros de Griffin The Cisneros Group of Companies (CGC) is one of the largest privately held media, entertainment, telecommunications and consumer-products organizations in the world. Among its holdings are Venevisión, the leading television network in Venezuela and one of the top producers of Spanish-language programming in the world; and the distribution arm, Venevision International, which sells content around the world and is a main supplier of programming to Univision, the leading Spanish-language network in the U.S. Adriana Cisneros de Griffin, the vice chairman and director of strategy, is poised to become CEO of the Cisneros Group. In this exclusive interview, she talks about the group’s plans for the U.S. Hispanic market and adapting content to today’s multiplatform world.
WS: What is the strategic focus of the CGC in today’s
digital world? CISNEROS: It’s a very interesting time for media compa-
nies.About two years ago we sat down to really think about what, at its core, a media company should look like today. The formula that we came up with is that a media company like ours, which comes from the traditional side, should really protect the traditional assets, but should look to grow aggressively when it comes to the digital platforms and the alternative ways of getting extra content out there. Our mission is to help viewers be better viewers, to help them be better fans, to help them want to watch the TV screen even more. We found that the formula that works, while keeping the sanctity of the TV screen, is to produce very good material for TV, and also produce enough alternative material online, video that you can watch on your phone, become a member of a virtual community, so that you want to watch what’s on TV even more. We’ve been implementing that for two years very successfully. WS: How is online content enhancing the programming
you offer on television? CISNEROS: I’ll give you two really interesting examples,
one in Venezuela and one in the U.S. In Venezuela, we launched a telenovela, a Venezuelan production called La mujer perfecta (The Perfect Woman). It follows women and plastic surgeons that are obsessed with beauty, as we in Latin America tend to be. And for the first time in the Venezuelan market, we actually developed, from the beginning, a very strong digital strategy. So in Venezuela, the day after 76
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you’ve watched the telenovela at night, in the morning you can actually download the entire episode and watch it on your computer. We have about 15,000 downloads a day, which is impressive, and we have about 44,000 fans on Facebook. All of the Facebook community is geared towards enhancing the experience of La mujer perfecta on TV. For Venezuela this is very new. Those numbers in Venezuela are very impressive. It started being an experiment that has now proven to be the way we have to do things in Venezuela, because Latin Americans are ready to have access to that sort of entertainment as well. In the U.S. we launched on Univision the soap opera Eva Luna. It’s a classic prime-time telenovela that has got extremely good ratings; about five and a half million viewers every night. And this time around we worked very closely with Univision Interactive Media to develop a digital strategy from day one of Eva Luna’s production in our studios in Miami. It has also proven to be a very successful way of doing things because we are helping viewers be better viewers. We are helping them be even more excited about tuning in to watch an episode on TV. We’re giving them behind the scenes, we’re giving them access to the lives of the actors, we’re giving them scenes they can download on their computers, which are side stories to what they see on TV. This is a very exciting time because it’s giving us new opportunities to do product placement. The whole gamut of advertising is very different. When you can offer advertisers several ways to advertise beyond the TV screen, you are giving all the other screens they can make use of as well the social media part that you are offering. WS: What plans do you have for the U.S. Hispanic market? CISNEROS: The U.S. Hispanic market has been core to
our company for about 30 years. Thirty years ago we thought Hispanics had great potential in the U.S. It has been proven that we do have great potential. We have the greatest purchasing power of any minority in the U.S. It’s also a very interesting group when you think about it from a media perspective, because Hispanics are actually very early adopters when it comes to technologies and formats and so forth.We have found, pleasantly, that Hispanics have always been quicker to adapt to new formats that we are launching.They are totally predisposed to wanting to watch interactive stuff on their phones or on their computers, not just on the TV screen, and it’s made for a very dynamic and interesting market to understand and to work with. Today Univision gets 45 percent of its content from us, which is a big number. It’s a great relationship. Our content does extremely well. And it’s a relationship that we love having and we enjoy working for them very much. 4/11
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TV
Flexes its
Muscle Despite audience fragmentation and a multitude of smaller screens and devices competing for viewers’ attention, television is as resilient as ever.
By Elizabeth Guider
T
o paraphrase Mark Twain, the report of the death of television has been greatly exaggerated. In fact, the medium is thriving as never before: think mushrooming channels and burgeoning viewership around the world, more diverse, edgier or otherwise compelling content, and advertisers paying ever closer attention to the small screen to jump-start brand awareness. The concept of TV Everywhere is no longer just a mantra chanted by corporate titans like Time Warner’s chairman and CEO, Jeffrey Bewkes, and others in the U.S. and Europe, but increasingly and insistently a selfevident right demanded by people from Asunción to Algiers to Ashgabat, by the emerging world as well as by advanced countries. Most notably, old and new media are beginning to complement each
other, as they did most convincingly during the uprising in Egypt. Just as quickly as the government pulled the plug on one outlet or another, news channels finagled new frequencies and online operators adroitly found work-arounds, like Speak to Tweet, to get the message through. Both the attempt at repression and the creative responses to it were testament to the crucial role that platforms of all kinds now play in the lives of people wherever they may be. The resilience of television, creatively and financially, will be seen by the 11,000-plus participants at the upcoming MIPTV market in Cannes, which comes as most national economies, broadcasters’ balance sheets and ad markets around the globe start to percolate again. It wasn’t obvious that the small screen would continue to loom so 4/11
large on the media landscape. Newspapers are reeling, sour notes are bedeviling the music business, book publishers are perturbed about Kindles, independent movies are struggling for exposure, but television? It’s holding its own and then some. Still, as they scurry along the Croisette, the folks who buy, sell, create, package or fund TV programming should have not only a lilt in their step but their ear to the ground. There are still challenges to be met as well as victories to savor. FRANCHISES RULE
On the positive side, at least for the big players: It’s not just content that’s king, but franchise content that’s lording it over country after country. Beginning with the CSI juggernaut a decade ago, Hollywood producers have been
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on a consistent tear, turning out wellacted and astutely plotted shows that rivet mass audiences and occasionally coming up with envelope-pushing fare to delight the elites so dear to advertisers. Think The Good Wife, NCIS, Glee and The Vampire Diaries in the first category; The Sopranos, Mad Men, Californication and Boardwalk Empire in the second. Not to mention nonfiction nonpareils like the Idols, Got Talent and Dancing with the Stars brands. Bruce Rosenblum, the president of Warner Bros.Television Group, points out that “the appetite for good episodic storytelling has never been stronger.Viewers everywhere enjoy living with well-drawn characters 22 episodes a year, for sometimes five, six or ten seasons.” Consumers have come to expect a high level of quality from TV shows, he says.
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The thrill of victory: Global sporting events continue to be a major draw for advertisers and viewers; the World Cup final last year (left) drew an estimated 700 million across the globe, while the Vancouver Winter Olympics generated record ratings for NBC.
And apparently they’re getting it in spades. A recently published annual survey by the accounting and consulting firm Deloitte called The State of the Media Democracy concluded that, despite an environment saturated with new and evolving entertainment platforms, “television continues to hold significant power, both from a content and device perspective.” Consumers may not always watch programming on the traditional TV set, but they are watching. Some 71 percent of U.S. households consistently rate watching TV content on any device as one of their top three media activities. The latest Nielsen figures bear this out: the average American watches television an astounding 143 hours a month or almost five hours a day. Viewership abroad, while lower, is also increasing by leaps and bounds. And, despite the proliferation of smartphones, computers, game consoles, pads, pods, tablets and what-not, a lot of the watching is on those square contraptions in the den. Those boxes themselves have thrown off their 1950s fustiness and
stretched out into movie theater-like rectangles, slimmed down like starlets, and moved up onto walls. Flatscreens, now in 60 percent of households in the U.S., are so popular that they’ve become the number one target of burglars. TV producers and executives are no longer dismissive of new-media upstarts and challengers but rather coming to terms with them, embracing them or in some cases co-opting them. As The Economist put it in a report last May, new devices and platforms haven’t replaced television: “Rather, they have squeezed around it.” Viewers, especially the younger demos that advertisers so covet, are admittedly taking to new gadgets with alacrity, but the chief thing that they are doing on these devices is watching, sharing and interacting with TV shows. And producers are returning the compliment by enriching their linear story lines via these new platforms. It is telling that the buzz at MIPCOM in October and likely at 82
MIPTV this April is no longer about digital darlings who show up for the semiannual rendezvous on the Riviera, but rather about the stars of this or that hot TV show: not Joost, but Jon Hamm; not Zune, but Eva Green. BALANCING ACT
The conglomerates that control most content—not just the major Hollywood studios but also FremantleMedia and Endemol, the BBC, RTL, TF1, Globo, NHK, et al.—have to tweak the timing for content availability on these proliferating platforms and calibrate the balance between ad-supported and subscription viewing on them. Warner Bros.’s Rosenblum says the new-media business is “constantly shifting and very fluid right now.” He notes that emerging over-the-top digital-subscription systems (with companies like Amazon and Apple behind them) are the next big thing to rattle the current sequence on windows.Warner Bros.’s parent company, Time Warner, recently inked a
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deal with Comcast to support TV Everywhere and supply its cable channels TNT and TBS to the latter’s new VOD service. Big players also have to get or keep their cost structures under control. While they benefit from economies of scale and pacts with top talent, they are encumbered by huge overheads and bound by union rules. Broadcast and cable producers alike could take a page from those digerati who are, by necessity, making content for less. Many converts are already finding inventive ways to stretch their budgets, often by shooting outside expensive cities like Los Angeles and NewYork, by harnessing technologies like CGI—or just by being scrappier. Generate, a company co-founded five years ago by traditional media mavens Jordan Levin (ex-CEO of The WB) and Peter Aronson (former head of Regency Television), is one such upstart, which prides itself on being a platform-agnostic producer and turning out content for much less than the studios’ going rate. Given rising costs for talent and marketing,
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Aronson thinks producers will increasingly rely on international presales to get shows made and that advertisers will play a greater role in funding entertainment. “It’s very hard, for example, to make money on broadcast: you’re either a hit or a strikeout after 6 or 13 episodes,” Aronson says. “And there are many more flops than hits.” For the sellers of rights to content, the ricochet effect of new media means their jobs have gotten more complex. “Because licensees are terrified they might leave something on the table or give up some usage they might later want, we’re often trapped in a negotiation paralysis,” says Marion Edwards, the president of international television at Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution. Buyers, she explains, feel they have to chase rights even when they have no foreseeable plans for exploiting them. “Closing a programming deal, even with clients we’ve worked with for decades, can now take months and many meetings,” she points out. Despite all the time and effort devoted to divvying up the digital
Standard delivery: Devices like Apple TV allow viewers to access online content directly from the television screen.
opportunities, nothing has really replaced the value of the broadcast rights to content, as over-the-air networks, in whatever territory, command the most eyeballs and the most efficient ad dollars. In short, it is the big broadcasters and the franchise shows that still dominate and define the television experience worldwide. And bring in the biggest bucks. Although it’s tricky to extract official numbers, the Hollywood majors together with key U.S. independents like Lionsgate will rake in upwards of $10 billion this year from program
sales to terrestrial and pay-TV outlets outside North America, with Europe still accounting for the bulk of the revenues. Add to that haul the estimated $5 billion that Yankee spin-off channels—HBO Ole, FOX International Channels, Discovery’s panoply of outlets, etcetera—mint from their dual stream of ad revenues and carriage fees abroad, and it’s clear that the international TV business is going from strength to strength. A good thing too, since the DVD business continues its downward trajectory. And where TV goes, so follow advertisers. As
Coming soon: 3D is seen as the next major evolution for TV, with BSkyB, Canal+, ESPN and 3net—a joint venture from Sony, IMAX and Discovery—among the first to take up the technology.
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John Hayes, the chief marketing officer for American Express, puts it, “Advertising on television is a great conversation starter. It’s up to the marketer to manage that conversation—and now it’s a two-way, interactive one.” CHASING VIEWERS
American Express has been energetic and inventive in its relationship to television of late, collaborating with Glee writers and cast members to come up with brand-building, philanthropic-tilted vignettes on air. “What can I tell you?,” says Hayes. “The networks are creating franchise programming, live broadcasts of sports are booming—and people still want to see great event TV. The most important thing for us is to focus on how consumers use each ‘channel’ of communication and to be there to shape the conversation.” From Hayes’s perspective, the most important thing for an advertiser is not to be afraid to experiment. “There’s a revolution going on now in that smart devices are changing the habits of global audiences—buying habits as well as social habits. We have to harmonize across channels of communication.
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The hard sell: Advertisers are learning to be more adept at getting the attention of viewers, from sponsorships like Ford’s long-term association with FOX’s American Idol (left) to Old Spice’s buzz-worthy “Smell Like a Man, Man” campaign, which went viral and secured a legion of fans.
You can’t just create a great spot for the Super Bowl and go home.” Peter Tortorici, the CEO of GroupM Entertainment, says the growth of brand-funded entertainment is hard to quantify but that it inarguably has skyrocketed as TV producers have become more receptive to the idea (and needful of money) and digital opportunities have complemented broadcast’s reach by allowing for more targeted relationships with consumers. Back in 2003, when he left the network-TV business for the ad-agency trenches, Tortorici says, talking about brand integration was like the sound of one hand clapping. Today his company fields hundreds of projects, which try to speak “the language of production and the brand.” And not only is the quality of entertainment programming exceptional right now,Tortorici agrees, but it has raised the bar for advertisers to tell their stories as deftly.That doesn’t mean long, lingering close-ups of a product in a show but rather organic integration that doesn’t disrupt the
storytelling. There is so much competing content, and bad content dies so quickly, that unless you provide a compelling narrative, the end user will not be convinced, he points out. 30-SECOND GORILLA
Still, the basics are not to be sneered at. David Klein, the publishing and editorial director of Advertising Age, suggests that that much maligned cornerstone of advertising architecture, the 30-second spot, is still carrying the weight of campaigns as gamely as ever. As the Deloitte report indicates, a whopping 86 percent of respondents say that of all media they encounter, traditional TV advertising has the greatest influence on their buying decisions. Sure, it’s no longer the be-all and end-all of what an advertiser must do, but, Klein points out, a TV spot is still “the center post” that sparks mass awareness. From there, digital and social media have to come into play, so most key advertisers now enhance their campaigns to include Twitter, Facebook, viral video, YouTube, events, philanthropy—you name it. 86
Sometimes their efforts surpass expectations.The “Old Spice Guy,” for example (the hunky actor in commercials for Old Spice deodorant who has become a sensation), started out on a TV spot and movie trailer but then moved to Twitter and went viral. Other times content comes across as too “out there” for mainstream clients.Take MTV’s Skins, from which a passel of major brands yanked their spots once they got a closer look at the racy story lines, for example. So, where is the growth in content plays and branded entertainment going to come from in the next few years? After decades of focus on the U.S. and Europe, the sights of both content suppliers and advertisers are shifting toward the emerging markets in Asia, Latin America and Africa. Consider these projections: the ad agency giant ZenithOptimedia estimates that global ad revenue will grow by 4.6 percent this year, and the spend on TV, the largest venue, by 6 percent, with Asia’s on-air investment surpassing Europe’s for the first time. Further, the growth in consumer
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spending for subscription TV worldwide will, according to the consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers, edge up by almost 7 percent this year. Set to overtake Germany in 2011 as the third-largest ad market in the world, China is by fits and starts turning into a mass consumer and mediaobsessed society. Latin American and Hispanic nets in the U.S. are tuning up telenovelas as never before for their increasingly well-heeled viewers at home, as well as exporting them far and wide.That in turns means more money freed up to invest in original programming. And on the cycle goes. Given a boost by the World Cup last summer, Africa is starting to crank up its own production machine and to become an attractive market for Westerners to sell into. DISCOP recently held a trade show in Accra, Ghana, to help galvanize the nascent transnational content business. In short, as the Deloitte study put it: “Long Live the King: the power of TV persists”—and the medium shows no sign of abdicating its role any time soon.
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bbe Raven Moonves Leslie A PRESIDENT AND CEO, LIBERTY GLOBAL & CEO, CBS CORPORATION
For seven out of the last eight TV seasons, CBS has been the most-watched broadcast network in the U.S. With a string of lucrative hits, including NCIS and the hit comedy The Big Bang Theory, CBS’s programming team, led by Leslie Moonves, keeps getting it right.
WS: Why is it that being a broadcaster today,
despite fragmentation and competition from new media, is more important than ever? MOONVES: Even though the landscape is much more fragmented than it was five years ago, or ten years ago, being a broadcaster still is the most powerful way to reach a mass audience. In a world of 500 channels, and not to mention the million or more websites that are available, the fact that a network like CBS can reach more people at one given time than any single one of them is very significant.The fact is the communal broadcasting model still is very effective. If advertisers want to reach a large part of the population, they realize the best and biggest bang for their dollars is still
broadcast television. And that’s why even though the absolute [viewing] numbers may be smaller, the impact is larger than ever.
the year we were number one in every single demographic, and in some of them by a very large margin.
WS: What are some of the programming choices and scheduling decisions that have led to CBS’s success? MOONVES: We really view our schedule as a bunch of building blocks, and it’s taken us a number of years and the blocks are pretty much in place. Our attitude has always been, be a broadcaster.We like 18-year-olds and we
WS: You have a strategy of steadily accumulat-
ing programming assets, such as the CSI franchise, the NCIS franchise, and the list goes on. In the ’80s there were only a handful of revenue streams. In today’s media landscape, how many revenue streams are there for a hit show? MOONVES: As proud as we are of broadcast, it’s not to say we could stand still and put our
“Even though the landscape is much more fragmented...being a broadcaster still is the most powerful way to reach a mass audience.” also like 60-year-olds.We haven’t been driven to a smaller demographic despite what some of the people out there may be saying. It is important to program broadly and for a mass audience with shows that have mass appeal. We have taken our time with a very specific development idea about that, and we do shows that fit with our audience. In addition, we’ve had a very, very stable management team. Most of the people that are involved with our programming are people who have been together 15, 20 years. That is very effective, and it’s worked really well for us. I know that the word “teamwork” is a cliché, but it really is in effect here, and there is a reason why our schedule seems to work year after year.
feet in the mud and just say broadcasting is all that matters. A few years back there were a limited number of revenue streams—you could put a show on a network and syndicate it internationally and a little bit domestically. But now the world has changed so much with online viewing and iTunes and CBS.com and Hulu and all the different platforms where you can put your content. So the idea is, yes, the network is still the mother lode and it’s still our focal point, but people are watching our shows all over the place on a lot of different platforms. As long as we get paid appropriately for them and it’s not hurting our main forms of revenue, we’re now getting paid 14 or 15 ways for the same piece of content.
WS: In addition to having been the mostwatched network for so many years, this season, CBS also started to make inroads into the much-coveted younger demographic. Any particular reason why that came about? MOONVES: Once again it goes back to the consistency. Ultimately, at the end of the day, the 18-to-49 demographic is not the be-all and end-all to us, but if you put on very good programming, everybody will watch. Big hits are generally watched by everybody, so I think the fact that our schedule is packed with a number of successful shows on virtually every night of the week, that just tends to broaden our demographics out. Through the first of
WS: Showtime, which is also part of CBS Corporation, is doing very well and seems to have stolen HBO’s thunder lately. MOONVES: HBO is still doing great, but I’m really proud of the job the people at Showtime have done.They have put on a number of very exciting original series and original sporting events that have really boosted Showtime, not only financially, but in the eyes of the world as a major supplier of premium content. HBO still does a good job, they still have some excellent programs, but now the good news is that Showtime is competitive in that area.
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For more from Moonves, see page 197.
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bbe Raven Dauman Philippe A PRESIDENT & CEO, VIACOM
Viacom is home to some of television’s most successful and popular brands: MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central, just to name a few. Its nearly 160 networks around the world have very strong connections with children, teens and young adults. As Philippe Dauman explains, fresh original content is fueling Viacom’s growth.
WS: Which Viacom shows have been the most successful? DAUMAN: As we looked at our brand strategy, the one thing that we focused on during the last few years was on defining the brands very clearly and using original programming that ties into the brand image. Because there’s so much content available, on television and elsewhere, it’s important to have content that is fresh, that has immediacy to it. Young people in particular, who are the largest part of our audience, are very sophisticated and if you’re not offering them something that really resonates strongly with them, they’ll just tune out and move on.
We give free rein to our programmers; we take a lot of chances and try different genres. We have a lot of people devoted to market research to really understand our audiences. As a result, we are achieving higher ratings with MTV shows than we have had in its entire history. Jersey Shore has pumped up the entire MTV audience. Jersey Shore is a top-five show across all of television. Teen Mom has done really well, so has 16 & Pregnant. There are a lot of new scripted and reality shows in development for MTV, including the scripted
Technology should be our friend, but we have to use it wisely. Let me use Jersey Shore as an example. On our own sites, we have a lot of activity taking place when Jersey Shore airs. Kids and adults have an almost unlimited thirst for gossip about the characters and they want supplemental material.We get a lot of traffic that drives great viewing every week. Across our company, including at Paramount, we use social networks like Twitter and Facebook a lot.We found they really drive the conversation around our films as well as our TV shows.
“We’re producing more...original programming and that’s resulting in greater brand vitality, [and] more monetization for advertising.” show Teen Wolf. And we’re bringing back a fan favorite, Beavis and Butt-Head! On Comedy Central, we have the incomparable The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report.These shows are becoming an increasingly important and relevant part of the conversation, and in the case of Jon Stewart, even impacting legislation. TV Land did scripted shows for the first time with remarkable results. The network originated as a 100percent repeat channel and now we have Hot in Cleveland and Retired at 35.TV Land still has classics, but having the fresh shows helps drive viewership on the repeats, as well. Nickelodeon is going from one success to another. BET is enjoying all-time-high historic ratings. Across our networks, we’re producing more and more original programming and that’s resulting in greater brand vitality, more monetization for advertising and it also gives us an unparalleled library of content that can be used for international and digital distribution. WS: What’s been the strategy for providing
content online? DAUMAN: Our strategy has evolved as
we’ve seen how consumers like to enjoy our content.We also want to ensure that our digital distribution deals with new platforms are compatible with our more traditional distribution relationships through which we derive a lot of revenue. 90
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We want to make sure that when we put our current shows online, we get appropriately compensated, so we are windowing our content. Some shows, like The Daily Show, are very topical and every day you have a fresh episode, so it doesn’t hurt the viewing of our show on television if we put last night’s episode online today. On the other hand, there is Jersey Shore, which we repeat throughout the week, so we don’t make it available online right away.We’ve been testing various models to determine what are the right windows for different content.We recently did a deal with Hulu’s new premium service, Hulu Plus. The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are available in a short window and we have some current shows with a minimum 21-day window. During those 21 days, we feel that we can fully exploit the shows on air, so it’s okay to release them online where the Hulu audience can consume them in a different way. There’s also a vast new mobile world that’s developing. We’re following it to determine when and how we can show video on the platform in a way that people can really enjoy it. That’s how you maintain all-time-high television viewership: increasing the consumption of your entertainment overall by making it available on new forms of distribution.We want to make sure that we get appropriately compensated from these new platforms. For more from Dauman, see page 157.
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erhard Raven Zeiler Gbbe A CEO, RTL GROUP
During his career, Gerhard Zeiler has headed up a state-run broadcaster, ORF; small commercial stations, Tele 5 and RTL II; a market-leading network, RTL Television; and a major media company, the RTL Group. His true passion has always been programming, and he maintains a firm conviction in the power of television.
WS: Viewers have many other entertainment
choices; why do they keep coming back to TV? ZEILER: Because the programming is great.
Our industry knows how to produce good television: First, TV has to be relevant and related to our lives. Second, successful TV has to get into our hearts and touch us. Third, it has to be original, not a copy. And fourth, it has to be executed brilliantly, in terms of both the story line and the acting. If we as an industry uphold these principles, then I’m 100-percent sure that the future of TV is TV. WS: As TV viewing has fragmented, how has the RTL Group’s “family of channels”
concept helped the group grow and maintain loyal viewership? ZEILER: When we saw, five to ten years ago, that technology is moving in the direction where there will be hundreds of channels in every single country, we decided we’d rather fragment ourselves than have others fragment us.That was the origin of our “family of channels” concept. RTL Group operates five freeTV channels in Germany plus three digital pay channels. M6 Group has 11 channels in France, RTL Nederland has four free-TV channels
bookings at the beginning of 2009, we had one goal: cut as many costs as possible, but without losing audience share. RTL Group’s whole incentive program was built around this. Some of our competitors didn’t impose that condition—they cut costs but didn’t focus on retaining their audience share. Our strategy helped us maintain both our audience shares and TV-advertising market shares. Advertisers rediscovered that there is no way they can get their message to consumers without TV because it’s the only medium that
“I haven’t seen any country in Europe where TV’s share in the advertising...mix has been reduced significantly in the past five years.” plus a digital pay channel, and so on. If you want to be number one, you need a 30-percent audience share, which you can capture with a complementary family of channels. And that’s what we’re aiming for. WS: And through the family of channels you aggregate audiences and build market share? ZEILER: You look at the combined audience share of the family. It’s a simple equation: the higher the audience share, the higher the advertising market share and eventually the financial results. To obtain the critical mass, you need a strong flagship channel such as RTL Television in Germany, M6 in France or RTL 4 in the Netherlands. However, even the most successful channel won’t be able to cater to all the needs of our viewers. So the main channel needs brothers and sisters—and building this family is all about positioning. For example,Vox in Germany is focusing more or less on three genres, and it’s highly profitable. Finding the perfect positioning for your channel, building a strong brand, is the art. WS: Are you bullish on TV in the next
five years? ZEILER: I’m very bullish. After all, what did
the industry prove during the economic downturn? We can be flexible with our costs to a much higher degree than anyone had predicted.When we saw the rapidly declining ad 92
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touches the heart.Whenever you want to build an image or introduce a new product, you need TV. It establishes the central concept of a major campaign, which then resonates through other media. Thus, TV is compatible with online, radio, newspapers and magazines.You can argue whether it makes sense to go with TV and online or with TV and radio, but you can’t argue whether TV is essential. I haven’t seen any country in Europe where TV’s share in the advertising media mix has been reduced significantly in the past five years. I believe that in the next five to ten years Europe will be having the same discussion we’re seeing in the U.S. right now, between the big platform owners and the major networks. The networks are saying the platform operators get most of their audience and most of their money from our programs, so they should take a small part of their profits and give this fair share to us.This whole retransmission-fees discussion will come to Europe. As a consequence, broadcasters will get a second revenue stream, whether it’s from the cable and satellite operators paying us or opening some space for us so we can launch additional channels. Apart from that, broadcasters have to invest in content, get their business models for catch-up TV and video-on-demand right and be creative for their advertising clients. For more from Zeiler, see page 146.
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bbe Raven Irineu Marinho Roberto A PRESIDENT, ORGANIZAÇÕES GLOBO
Organizações Globo is a media powerhouse in Brazil and its businesses include television, radio, newspapers, publishing and film. Rede Globo, the TV broadcast behemoth and market leader, does more than inform and entertain its massive audience. As Roberto Irineu Marinho explains, Globo provides educational and job-training programming as well as prosocial campaigns that have helped fuel the growth of Brazil’s middle class.
In 2010, advertising grew by 20.6 percent from January to October, compared to the year before. Free TV strengthened its position as the country’s dominant medium, growing its audience share and capturing 63.2 percent of advertising expenditures. Naturally, as the market leader,TV Globo had excellent results. WS: How has the strong economy stimu-
lated the growth of pay TV in the country? MARINHO: The last few years have been
WS: Brazil’s economy has been quite strong.
How has economic growth stimulated the advertising industry in Brazil and how has this benefited Rede Globo? MARINHO: The Brazilian advertising market showed excellent results in the last few years, especially during the second half of 2009 due to the growth of the economy and of consumer spending. In 2009, the ad market reached R$22.3 billion [US$13.3 billion], which represented 0.70 percent of Brazil’s GDP.
excellent for pay TV in Brazil. After a long
on the world stage, and also provide opportunities to cover related topics, such as ecology and diversification. Consequently the role of Organizações Globo in these events transcends the role of its teams of sports journalists—more than 1,000 professionals at TV Globo and Globosat, and more than 200 additional professionals hired from independent production companies to help cover these events. Coverage of these events involves our entire group and all its divisions: new technologies, new ways of cov-
“Free TV strengthened its position as the country’s dominant medium...capturing 63.2 percent of advertising expenditures.” period of sluggish growth, which lasted till the beginning of this decade, several factors contributed to the growth of the pay-TV subscriber base: the growth in infrastructure, the entry into the market of new DTH operators, the growth in families’ disposable income, the greater participation of the C Class in the market and the perception of pay TV as an aspirational product. Today in Brazil, there are nearly 10 million pay-TV subscribers, with a penetration of 17 percent of Brazilian homes and there is still much room for additional growth. Consumers have demonstrated a strong preference for Brazilian content and quality programming, a trend that strongly benefits our Globosat channels.We reached first place in pay-TV viewership with SportTV and we have nine of the 20 most-watched channels. WS: How is Globo preparing to cover the
FIFA World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016? MARINHO: For Globo, the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics are not two isolated events. They are reference points to what will happen in Brazilian sports throughout the next decade. They will trigger expansions in the program schedules in our free-TV, pay-TV and events businesses throughout this entire period. But more than this, they will be symbolic of Brazil’s new presence 94
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ering events and promoting them, a special focus on journalism and new digital products. The World Cup and the Olympics represent for Globo more than two events we will be broadcasting. They represent our overall arc for this decade, with all the business opportunities connected to them. WS: Can product placement and product
integration help combat the habit of skipping through commercials when watching shows recorded on DVRs? MARINHO: It’s important to remember that free TV is now, and will continue to be for a long time, the dominant media platform in Brazil. This fact is reflected by the audience dominance of free-TV networks, as well as cable and satellite channels. Despite forecasts to the contrary, this dominance was reinforced in the last two years. Live TV events will continue to be very relevant, both in news and in sports. Advertising will continue to be an integral part of these events. Other forms of integrated advertising are already being used in telenovelas, miniseries and reality shows.The creative efforts of advertisers and producers of content will take integrated advertising to an even higher plateau. Given this picture, I believe that any mechanism designed to curtail the exposure of advertising will have a limited impact in the Brazilian market.
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bbeHendricks Raven John A
FOUNDER & CHAIRMAN, DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS
John Hendricks is one of the true visionaries of the television industry. He based his company on what was most important and intriguing to him: satisfying curiosity. Under his leadership, Discovery has grown to include more than 100 networks representing 28 entertainment brands, including TLC, Animal Planet, Science Channel and Investigation Discovery.
WS: How has your bouquet of channels contributed to the resilience of TV? HENDRICKS: Television’s resilience stems from the fact that it is a perfect medium for long-form storytelling, whether that’s in 30 minutes or two hours in a movie. I believe we’re witnessing the third revolution in television. First, there was just television on demand, which was a miracle in itself in the ’40s, when people had the sight and sound that they could witness, first in black and white and then in color.Then we had genre on demand, which was at the heart of the cable revolution, where the breakthrough in 1975 was giving
people a movie channel, which sounds so dreadfully simple, but it was revolutionary.The first promise of HBO was you’re going to get a different movie every night at eight o’clock. Then there was sports on demand, that was ESPN, and Ted [Turner] had the good vision to think of news on demand in 1980. That’s when I was thinking, well, my favorite kind of television is real-world television—the form of documentary. No one had picked that genre yet, so we were just so fortunate to be able to jump into the nonfiction genre and offer that
little closer to reality than just listening to the voices of stories.Then we went to color television, again, a step closer to reality, but a lot of times that color television signal, which was delivered by the local broadcasting station, had snow associated with it. So the cable revolution really cleaned up the signal. It started giving you a better signal, again, closer to reality. The digital signal was a revolution in itself because when you convert that analogue signal, which can be degraded, into the digital language of 0s and 1s, you get a perfect replication of the sig-
“We are not surprised that viewing has gone up because all along we thought people would be even more satisfied with television.” consistently. I had that idea in ’82, and we got Discovery Channel up in ’85. Then digital started to materialize in the early ’90s. I always felt that the consumer would migrate to the third revolution in television, which was the show on demand. In addition to getting wonderful genres on demand consistently, they could have a whole channel devoted to classic movies, or science, like we do with the Science Channel, where you could actually pick the particular science show that you wanted to watch, or the particular movie that you wanted to watch.That’s what we’re basking in now: this third revolution of television in which consumers have choice on demand, where beyond the linear channel, they’re able to go to on-demand menus, and watch what they want to watch on their time. Today there’s more choice, and the consumer is in control of that choice. WS: Technology has provided more choice
and consumers have more control. will always migrate toward closer-to-reality viewing experiences. That’s always been the magic of the movies.You go into that darkened theater setting and you’re able to suspend reality for a while and get lost in that two-hour movie on that big screen, which is pretty close to reality. With television we’ve gone from black and white, which was certainly better than radio, a
HENDRICKS: Consumers
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nal while you’re watching digital television at home. Then we went to HD, again, closer to reality. Now we’re starting to see the first penetration of 3D into the marketplace. We were bullish on HD and we’ll be bullish on 3D because it’s a step closer to the reality. That’s what’s driving this resurgence of television viewing. We are not surprised that viewing has gone up because all along we thought people would be even more satisfied with television. And with Discovery, we have this great fortune that the whole world is our stage. And the whole world is fascinating. Discovery Communications’ broad mission is to bring people the world, nature, science. We’re excited about the channel we’re doing with Oprah [Winfrey] because people want to live a life that has meaning.This new channel is devoted to that.We also have our children’s network called The Hub that we’re doing with Hasbro. We also have the Science Channel along with Discovery,TLC and Animal Planet. Television is resurging and people are curious about the world.We just happened to be at the right place at the right time. Discovery was all about, “Can we create a business that’s all around helping people satisfy their curiosity?” This is a very exciting time for all of us here at Discovery because we’re seeing that all of these positive trends are really converging for us. For more from Hendricks, see page 192.
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bbe Meyer Raven Barry A
PRESIDENT AND CEO, LIBERTY GLOBAL CHAIRMAN & CEO, WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT
For decades, Warner Bros. has been producing some of television’s biggest hits, from Cheyenne in the ’50s to the more recent The Mentalist, Th e C l os e r and T h e B i g B a n g T h e o r y. Barry Meyer started his career at the studio in the television division in 1971 and was instrumental in making it one of the most prolific and successful television production companies of all time.
WS: What factors have contributed to
Warner Bros.’s ability—year after year—to produce such a broad slate of TV shows? MEYER: At our heart, we’re storytellers— it’s in our DNA, it’s what Warner Bros. has been doing since the 1920s. We create the stories audiences want to watch, week in and week out.We’re also smart and fortunate enough to work with the best in the business—Chuck Lorre, J. J. Abrams, Jerry Bruckheimer, Janet Tamaro, Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, David Kelley—and to have an incredible TV group led by Bruce Rosenblum and Peter Roth.
We’re also strategic in how we allocate risk, which increases our opportunities for success. We produce content for multiple television platforms and spread our investments over a slate of demographic opportunities within each of these platforms. It’s this allocation of risk that mitigates the volatility inherent in our business. And in a business that has been traditionally based on deficit financing, most of our dramas are profitable from day one through our network licensing fee, international revenue
WS: As production costs escalate, can the broadcast networks learn anything from the cable model, which produces quality shows more efficiently with smaller budgets? MEYER: Everyone is conscious of producing shows on tight budgets—it’s a reality of doing business today. Our TV-production people work with our partners to help find the right creative solutions, whatever their financial appetite.We launched Warner Horizon Television a few years back with an eye toward creating compelling programming
“At our heart, we’re storytellers....We create the stories audiences want to watch, week in and week out.” and home-entertainment exploitation (digital and physical product).
under a different economic model, and it’s working quite well.
WS: Some of the top names in the business,
WS: What is Warner Bros.’s strategy when it comes to making its movies and TV shows available online and on other digital platforms? MEYER: Warner Bros., along with most other entertainment companies, has adapted its strategies and integrated multiple new digital delivery models that enable consumers to access content across multiple platforms and myriad devices. We seek to deliver high quality content, a wide variety of choices and portability all at reasonable price points.
from Jerry Bruckheimer to J. J. Abrams, work with Warner Bros. to produce their shows. What does this say about WB’s relationship with the creative community? MEYER: That statement speaks for itself.The leaders of all the creative groups at Warner Bros., including the Warner Bros. Television Group, make it a priority to be the first choice for talent. We have the brightest executives, a wealth of resources and the advantage of not being aligned with a major broadcast network, allowing us to maintain a strong independent voice in the community. We sell our shows to all networks—broadcast, cable, pay, as well as burgeoning digital platforms—and the community values our independent status and market share. WS: What environment do writers and pro-
ducers find at Warner Bros.? MEYER: Open dialogue in working with
creative people is where you start, and I think every studio would agree with that. I think what does give us a competitive advantage is the executive stability across all divisions that is a hallmark of Warner Bros., as well as our status as such a robust, diverse and independent supplier of programming. 98
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WS: Which of the studio’s many successes
are you most proud of ? MEYER: Certainly we’re extremely proud of
Harry Potter, and I must tip my hat to my longtime partner Alan Horn, who did a magnificent job transforming J. K. Rowling’s literary genius into the most successful film franchise in history, cinematic spectacles that people have embraced beyond our wildest dreams.Then you look at the resurgence of the Batman franchise, TV megahits like Friends, Two and a Half Men, ER, The Big Bang Theory, The Mentalist—the list goes on. And certainly our aggressive and successful move into digital entertainment and video games, the exciting possibilities a newly strengthened brand like DC Entertainment offers…we feel good about the future.
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bbeKent Raven Phil A
PRESIDENT & AND CEO, LIBERTY GLOBAL CHAIRMAN CEO, TURNER BROADCASTING SYSTEM
Turner Broadcasting was one of the pioneers of multichannel television in the U.S. and internationally, with the first all-news network, CNN, and the first animation-only service, Cartoon Network, followed by TBS, TNT and more. Phil Kent describes how the focus on quality programming, across several genres, has paid off around the world with audiences and advertisers alike.
Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. We’re bullish on India, where we’ve been investing for more than a dozen years. And we are building our presence in Japan, where we recently acquired two more entertainment networks. Our goal over the next few years is to grow international revenues to 20 percent of Turner’s total.
WS: Where are the growth opportunities in your international business? KENT: Turner has the benefit of a significant global footprint and two truly global brands—CNN and Cartoon Network. Our growth strategy internationally is to extend those core brands, as well as TNT and TCM; target the markets that matter most in each region; and build scale in those markets. We are the number one multichannel network provider in Latin America and we’ll continue to grow our profile and revenue there, particularly in Brazil and Mexico.We see growth opportunities for our brands in Central and
WS: Turner Broadcasting now accounts for nearly half of Time Warner’s revenues. In what areas are you looking for growth in revenues?
Broadcasting’s revenue, but it has implications for the larger brand. So we are working to make smart changes across prime time. WS: What have been the keys to TNT and TBS producing high-quality scripted shows at lower costs than broadcast network fare? KENT: It starts with hiring the right people: showrunners who embrace the opportunity to create great television within our budget models. We focus on genres built on strong characters and storytelling, as opposed
“Turner has the benefit of a significant global footprint and two truly global brands—CNN and Cartoon Network.” KENT: We continue to invest in quality programming, like Conan and our partnership for NCAA basketball, to drive affiliate revenue growth. We are leading the shift of advertising dollars from broadcast to cable. And we are growing our business internationally, where we see an upside in key markets.
to expansive set pieces and elaborate special effects. The Closer and Rizzoli & Isles draw huge audiences as character-rich procedural dramas produced within our budgets. WS: Why has original programming been
important? KENT: Original programming differentiates
WS: There is still disparity between ad rates for scripted cable shows and scripted network shows.What can be done to close the gap? KENT: The gap is narrowing. But with twothirds of viewing going to cable networks and only one-third of the dollars, there’s [a lot] of opportunity for cable networks. We are well positioned to take more than our fair share on the strength of our brands, the quality of our programming, and the innovation and leadership of our advertising-sales effort driving growth in ad dollars to our company. WS: What are the strengths of CNN? KENT: CNN is a portfolio of some of the
most respected and most profitable brands in the media landscape. Its strengths are its brand promise—quality, nonpartisan journalism and breaking-news leadership—and its multiplatform profile on linear television, online and on mobile platforms around the world. CNN has an execution challenge in one daypart on one network: prime time on CNN in the U.S.This represents a small subset of CNN’s and Turner 100
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our networks in the marketplace, reinforces their brand promises, builds audience, and drives advertising and distribution value. WS: As more and more viewers find TV
shows on services like Netflix, will the value of off-network shows decrease? KENT: The marketplace will continue to determine the value of content.We are beginning to see the impact of Internet exposure on some programming coming into the syndication market. Exclusivity is a differentiator for our brands.We’ll continue to be aggressive bidders for content that has high value to us. WS: Why is the concept of authentication, as
in the TV Everywhere model, important? KENT: Authentication rewards consumers
with more access to content on more platforms, and it protects the value of premium content to and for networks, advertisers and distributors. It both expands the consumer experience and ensures the continued health of the multichannel ecosystem.
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asayuki Raven Matsumoto Mbbe A PRESIDENT, NHK
NHK, the Japanese public broadcaster, operates terrestrial and satellite TV channels, as well as an international service called NHK World. As Masayuki Matsumoto explains, NHK’s penchant for quality programming is making it a preferred international co-production partner especially for documentaries, while at home Japanese viewers spend almost four hours a day with the channel.
WS: News, information about natural disasters and current-affairs programming have always been a mainstay of NHK’s schedule. How did this commitment first come about and why is it still important today? MATSUMOTO: As a public broadcaster funded by receiving [license] fees, we are committed to maintaining public security. We protect our citizens and their property by giving up-to-the-minute coverage during emergencies and natural disasters, which are a reality in this earthquake-prone country. This policy will always be part of our man-
date. It is considered just as important as our responsibility to provide accurate and impartial information on the latest developments in Japan and abroad. WS: NHK has had a long tradition of producing high-quality documentaries. Why has this commitment been important and how have your producers kept the genre fresh and appealing? MATSUMOTO: NHK has a big in-house production team and a wide network, including
WS: How does NHK maintain public-
service responsibilities and still keep its ratings and audience shares competitive? In other words, has NHK found over the years that it can provide public service and not see a drop in its audience share? MATSUMOTO: We do not compete with other broadcasters for ratings or audience share. Instead, our focus is on extending our weekly reach, which is measured as the proportion of people who view NHK content for at least five minutes over a seven-day period. So we are
“We protect our citizens and their property by giving up-to-the-minute coverage during emergencies and natural disasters.” 31 bureaus and stations overseas, so we are fully capable of producing our own original content. Our production teams are always looking for new styles of storytelling and new approaches. One of NHK’s strong points is the usage of cutting-edge technology, such as using super-high-sensitivity image-intensifier cameras. We will continue to pursue high-quality documentaries that meet viewers’ expectations. Broadcasting around the world is a ratingsdriven game, and public broadcasters cannot ignore that reality. But we also cannot let it define the scope and variety of our programming. We will invest necessary expenditure when needed. We will also devote time to topics we believe deserve in-depth coverage from many different angles. WS: How does NHK satisfy its responsibility
to provide news and public-service programming and at the same time maintain its independence from political influence? MATSUMOTO: It’s my strong belief that one of the prime responsibilities of NHK’s president is to protect and defend this corporation’s editorial independence and political impartiality. NHK’s broadcast guidelines embody the maintenance of editorial independence and impartiality. Everything we produce—especially when it touches on political issues—must be unbiased, impartial and fair. 102
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always trying to find ways to widen the spectrum of people who watch our programs, whether or not it will result in higher ratings. WS: How important have co-production part-
nerships been in producing high-quality documentaries and other types of programming? MATSUMOTO: We see international coproduction as an effective way to blend different approaches and create programs that have global appeal. We need to offer grandscale, innovative, high-end content to meet our audience’s ever-rising expectations. We must also obtain high-quality content that can be broadcast on multiple platforms— content that is dynamic and responds to the fast-changing media industry. Given the current budgetary environment, co-production is essential if we’re to achieve this goal. We’ve already seen some success in this area with projects that include Discover Science, a new science-entertainment series produced with NHK Educational Corporation, Al Jazeera Children’s Channel (JCC), SWR, UR and EBS. We’ve also created exceptional nature series such as Life Force with NHNZ, France Télévisions, Science Channel and Animal Planet. We are now producing Legends of the Deep with NHK Enterprises and Discovery’s Science Channel and JCC. For more from Matsumoto, see page 322.
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Abbe Raven
PRESIDENT & AND CEO, CEO, A&E LIBERTY TELEVISION GLOBAL NETWORKS
Original programming has been the fuel that has driven the success of AETN’s portfolio of channels, which includes A&E, HISTORY, Bio, Crime & Investigation Network and Lifetime. Hit shows not only live on linear channels, but also on a number of platforms, and as Abbe Raven explains, exposure on iTunes or the Xbox drives viewers right back to the core networks.
WS: Do you agree with the assessment that
television has shown remarkable resilience? RAVEN: I do. Everyone has been talking
about where TV is going, and I’ve always remarked, just walk into an electronics store and see what people are buying.They are buying big-screen TVs to put into their living rooms and bedrooms. If they’re not going to be watching television, why are they buying them? And there is also this incredible interest in HD sets and now in 3D. WS: How has AETN’s portfolio of channels maintained loyal viewing?
RAVEN: We have demonstrated that resilience
RAVEN: One thing that we look at very
you talk about first and foremost through our programming. We consider ourselves a global media content company and we have a strong commitment to investing in original programming. That is what people want to watch and that’s why they come to television. And that’s why television is still such a strong medium. Here at AETN, we have been able to continue to grow in that vein because of our creative team. We have an extremely
carefully is how this new platform or device helps support our core brands.We recognize the need to make sure that our brands and our programming are available on multiple platforms. One way that we’ve done that is we have focused on our own websites to make sure they are robust. But we have taken a leap in a couple of different areas. Last year we relaunched History.com and there were two facets to this—positioning it not just as a marketing extension of our television
“No matter what the platform, if you are not developing compelling programming, the viewers won’t turn up.” talented group of programming executives across all our brands who are very busy developing innovative, cutting-edge programs that viewers want to watch. Our ratings have never been higher. We see our competitors copying us in many of the genres or specific shows that we have created. And right now AETN is extremely fortunate to have some of the biggest hits in cable. If you look at A&E, our hits include Intervention, Hoarders, The First 48 and The Glades. And HISTORY is growing dramatically. In 2010 we were about 30 percent over the previous year, which is unheard of for a cable network, with big hits like Pawn Stars, American Pickers and Ice Road Truckers. And Lifetime continues to have very high performing programs like Army Wives, Drop Dead Diva and Project Runway, as well as original movies. So we continue to live by the belief that traditional television is the main driver for viewership and we recognize the need to make our brands and programs available on other platforms, but our focus is TV. No matter what the platform, if you are not developing compelling programming, the viewers won’t turn up. WS: Would you give some examples of how
you decided to take a chance on a new-media platform or device? 104
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brands, but as the go-to source on the web for all things history. One thing that helped us do that is our relationship with the Library of Congress, which has the largest collection of digitized information. We have become their marketing partner and help disseminate that information in conjunction with HISTORY. We have also taken a leap in some other areas. We just launched something called History Here, which is an app for the new Microsoft Windows Phone 7. And History Here is the first mobile app that combines GPS with HISTORY’s award-winning content. We have created a mobile travel guide that lets users experience the historical context of their surroundings, no matter where they are. We have about 7,000 locations nationwide which allow you to find where you are through your phone. It will point you to a lot of the content that we have about that particular historical point of interest. It has exclusive video, it may have audio of a famous speech that was given there, maybe some narratives from key moments in history that took place there, maps, pictures; it’s a dynamic visitor’s guide with a very strong historical bent. That is a good example of extending our brand onto new media and taking a leap that that would be successful for us. So it’s a little different from creating traditional television programming.
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ernan Raven Lopez Hbbe A
& CEO, FOX INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT AND CEO, LIBERTY GLOBAL CHANNELS
The FOX International Channels (FIC) bouquet is one of the fastest-growing groups of channels in the world. Ranging in genres from scripted dramas and comedies to unscripted, factual and blue-chip documentaries, the FIC brands—linear, nonlinear and mobile—reach 875 million cumulative subscribing households worldwide. Hernan Lopez explains the reasons for FIC’s success.
WS: The FIC bouquet has been one of
the fastest-growing groups of channels. What fueled their growth and their appeal among viewers as well as cable and satellite platforms? LOPEZ: It’s down to four things: great brands, great content, great people and good timing. Great brands because we have some of the world’s most recognizable brands in entertainment and factual, such as the FOX brands and National Geographic Channel. Great content because we supplement the best Hollywood movies and series with local original productions and global
original productions that you can’t see anywhere else on television usually for a long period of time. Great people because we are lucky.We have hired very talented people in each of the local markets and in each of the larger regions of Asia, Europe and Latin America. And good timing because at the end of the day, you can do all these things but if your timing is off then it’s not going to result in growth. We were actually arguably late entering many of these markets. If you think about it, Discovery was in
WS: And in this world of many different plat-
forms there is something to be said for owning your own product. LOPEZ: Absolutely right.We have to control all rights in order to make sure that our viewers or subscribers, in order to get our content, have to come through us or through somebody who is authorized by us. We have to think about all devices, but we don’t miss the fact that even in the U.S. still 95 percent of all the time that people spend in front of a screen, it’s in front of a television screen.
“95 percent of all the time that people spend in front of a screen, it’s in front of a television screen.” many of our markets many years before Nat Geo was. Turner and HBO were in a substantial number of markets before we were, so we had a lot of catching up [to do]. And we still learn a lot from our competitors about what they do better in each of our markets as well as in the U.S. WS: You have acquired production companies in several territories. Why has that been important and are you looking to acquire more? LOPEZ: We are not. The reason we did it is that at a certain point we realized that on the entertainment side we couldn’t rely on acquiring content from third parties. So we had to be in control of our own destiny. And we thought that one way of jumpstarting our position into original productions would be to learn from both sides of the table. It’s a lot more instructive when you can sit on the buyer’s side and on the seller’s side and you can see what makes a show successful every step of the way. It starts with a great story but it doesn’t end there. When you commission you don’t always get the same granular information as you do when you actually own the production house. Now that doesn’t mean that you need to own the production house, in fact, a couple of shows that we do commission on the factual side come from houses that we don’t own. 106
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WS: How do you decide if you have enough channels in a given market or if you should launch more? LOPEZ: It starts with platforms. We have to find consensus between a number of platforms about the need to cover a specific niche. We talk informally to them to see whether any of the ideas they put to us tie into our core company. For instance we’ve had Utilisima in Latin America for four years now and it’s become our third most widely distributed channel in Latin America. There is FOX, then Nat Geo, then Utilisima. Utilisima is the only one that we have also launched in the U.S. Hispanic market. When we were talking to platforms in Brazil, it was apparent there wasn’t anything like Utilisima in their market, which is why first we launched a block called Bem Simples on the FOX Life channel and we will turn it into a 24-hour channel this year. At what point do you stop? It’s the hardest question in the business. There is the argument that platforms want each of their channels to be stronger and they don’t want the brand to dilute its content across several windows.You can over-expand. There are many examples of that in our world. But when you have core strengths in a certain genre that have to be sufficiently leveraged, it’s always more economic to have more than one channel in the same content genre.
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bbe Raven Sarbu Adrian
PRESIDENT&AND LIBERTY GLOBAL MEDIA ENTERPRISES PRESIDENT CEO,CEO, CENTRAL EUROPEAN
After the fall of communism, the Central European Media Enterprises (CME) commercial TV stations brought audiences programming they had never seen before: hit shows from the West and independent news coverage, as opposed to the government-influenced news of state-run broadcasters in the region. Adrian Sarbu talks about the strengths of the CME stations today.
WS: How have CME’s stations built on
their foundation of providing balanced news coverage? SARBU: We are not only the undisputed leader in six countries (Slovenia, Croatia, the Czech and Slovak Republics, Bulgaria and Romania), but we are strong leaders in news. Our evening news programs achieve audience shares of between 30 and 70 percent.This is a clear acknowledgement of what we did to build news as an integral part of the brands of our stations. We see news not only as a means of informing the audience—because today the
audience can be informed by various means—but we see news as a form of entertainment in the good sense of entertainment. That’s probably the reason we are so successful.The CME brands are driven by the success of the stations’ news. WS: Does the CME station group as a whole
have a certain programming mission that sets it apart from other stations in the region? SARBU: The last two years have been an interesting experience. On one hand there
’90s. The development of distribution platforms—cable, satellite, IPTV and others— requires a more diverse offer from any broadcaster who wants to maintain audience share. So in effect we are looking to maintain our share by diversifying our portfolio of channels. We are aware that if we do not do this, our competitors will eat away at our audience. However, from now on we are looking to diversify our revenues and increase the subscription fees, which we get from the cable or satellite operators.
“We see television as the main growth driver for our content, which can be produced by us both locally and abroad.” was the [financial] crisis, which affected our region deeply. On the other hand we had to reposition CME from a simple broadcaster to a vertically integrated media company with strong content, broadcasting and new-media divisions. We produce CME content not just for one but for several countries. Today we have common programming projects—for example, in the Czech and Slovak Republics, in Slovenia and Croatia, and in Romania and the Czech Republic. In the development pipeline are projects that we hope will be successful across all our regions. These projects will retain the flavor of a local product but will be international enough to work in cultures that are quite different, while still satisfying the expectations of the audience. We see television as the main growth driver for our content, which can be produced by us both locally and abroad. We then have the means to export it outside the region. We also acquire strong formats and programs from the international market, which complement the programming mix of our general-entertainment stations. WS: What are the advantages of having sev-
eral channels in the same country? SARBU: Today we have more than 20 chan-
nels in six countries.The multichannel strategy is a normal evolution of television.You experienced it in America in the ’80s and 108
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The multichannel strategy was a choice and also a must for us ten years ago. We understood the need, we understood the expectations of the audience, we understood the way we should evolve our operation. And the result is that we are leaders in audience. We have shares between 35 percent and 55 percent in our six markets. WS: What benefits has CME derived from
the Time Warner investment? SARBU: To have a strategic investor like
Time Warner is the dream of many media companies in the world. Time Warner is a strong content company. We are a strong content company in our region and there are a lot of affinities with respect to the way we see the development of our businesses. We think we can share expertise and resources. We are a buyer of Time Warner content, not only for television, but also for theatrical and home-video distribution. We also have several projects in development with Warner Bros. A lot of investors ask me what the benefits are of Time Warner’s investment. The first benefit of having Time Warner as a shareholder is the fact that it’s Time Warner. The second is the way we can structure CME in the future and harmonize with Time Warner’s strategy for content, which is similar to ours.
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one on one erhaps no other major media company has as strong a connection with children, tweens, teens and young adults as Viacom does. Say “SpongeBob,” “Carly,” “Victoria,” “Snooki” or “Jon” and they will immediately trigger recognition among fans of SpongeBob SquarePants, iCarly, Victorious, Jersey Shore and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. These are just a few of Viacom’s most popular shows. Viacom has built its businesses on a stable of brands created by its three multiplatform divisions: MTV
Networks, BET Networks and Paramount Pictures. MTV Networks includes MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Comedy Central, CMT, Spike TV, TV Land, Logo and approximately 160 networks around the world, as well as digital assets such as Neopets, Atom and Quizilla. BET Networks houses BET, Centric, BET.com, BET Mobile, BET Event Productions and BET International. Paramount Pictures Corporation offers audiences a huge library of top films through brands like Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, MTV Films, Nickelodeon Movies and Paramount Home Entertainment. Paramount has refocused its strategy by releasing fewer feature films each year. While concentrating on franchises, including Star Trek and Transformers, the studio has also released the Academy Award–winning The Fighter as well as Ethan and Joel Coen’s remake of True Grit. As Philippe Dauman, who has been the president and CEO of Viacom since 2006, explains, the fuel that drives the success of all brands is original programming. And creating fresh content and reinforcing its many brands has been Viacom’s main focus. As a result, MTV had three of the top five original cable series in the U.S. last quarter and Nickelodeon continues to be the number one destination for kids. BET broke new records with the debut of The Game, the number one adsupported sitcom telecast in cable-TV history, which was followed by the premiere of its newest scripted series, Let’s Stay Together, ranked among the top five ad-supported sitcom premieres in cable-TV history. In addition, Comedy Central, Nick at Nite and TV Land are all broadening their reach with new original shows. Dauman has overseen a new emphasis on research because even though Viacom has a strong foothold within young demographics, these consumers can be fickle. As early adopters of new technologies, they are the first to grab the latest smartphone, portable device or PC to fulfill their entertainment needs. Viacom’s programmers have to be sure they are carefully following and understanding the viewing patterns of young consumers. To that end, Viacom does extensive research to know its audience, and the resulting data is used to guide the development of programming. Viacom’s total revenues amounted to $13.36 billion for the 12-month period ending September 30, 2010. As the company’s shows have been rating well, this has been consistently attracting advertisers, through the recent recession and especially now. In the first quarter of fiscal year 2011, advertising revenues were up 10 percent in the U.S. and 7 percent worldwide. While total revenues fell 5 percent in the first quarter, Dauman told shareholders this was due mainly to sluggish DVD sales. But he and Viacom’s management are always looking for new ways to monetize the company’s content, making deals with Netflix and other platforms. As Dauman told World Screen in this exclusive interview in his Manhattan office, Viacom is always focused on what’s next.
Philippe Dauman Viacom
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one on one WS: Many media companies have
seen their stock prices increase lately. Have they just been riding the wave of the improved econ omy, or are analysts, who have been a little leery about the uncertainties of where technology was taking media, starting to view media companies differently? DAUMAN: Clearly, the recession impacted a lot of companies and [it] hurt certain kinds of media companies more than others. If you were primarily in the broadcast business, your ad sales went down more than cable network companies because the national advertising market held up better than the local advertising market. If you’re a magazine company, you really got hurt. If you’re a newspaper company, you really got hurt, too. So, it depends what sector of media you were in. Viacom is in a great sector of media, namely cable networks, which is the largest piece of our company. In our particular case, our stock price has performed particularly well for several reasons. One, we are totally focused on content, and people realize how important content is. We’re also very focused on our brands, and people realize how important brands are. Second, our ratings at our major networks
A shore thing: MTV’s biggest hit to date, Jersey Shore, has been drawing in millions of viewers in the U.S. and internationally, and recently secured its first format deal, in the U.K.
have been growing substantially and, accordingly, so have our ad sales. Third, our affiliate revenues increased at a double-digit rate consistently through the recession, and continue to rise today. Even during the recession, we were able to secure significant increases in our affiliate agreements because of the value of our brands and of our content. We’ve put a lot of focus on operating efficiencies throughout our company. In fact, we were probably the first of the media companies to take some belt-tightening measures ahead of the recession because we saw it coming. On the studio side, we’ve changed the Paramount strategy in the last few years. We’ve reduced the number of pictures we were putting out to approximately 15 films a year. And we’re focusing on our franchises and our branded films. Our franchises include Transformers, Star Trek, Mission: Impossible and many others. We’re blessed with a lot of franchises, and we’re creating new ones, such as Paranormal Winning combination: Eva Longoria hosted the Activity.We’ve already European edition of the MTV Video Music Awards. 158
released Paranormal Activity one and two, and we have a third one planned. That’s a great new franchise, and, because it didn’t cost a lot to make, it’s very profitable. We’ve also moved into the animated business with Rango, which is a Nickelodeon film featuring the voice of Johnny Depp as Rango. We combine that new film strategy with a real focus on controlling overhead and finding more efficient ways to conduct our business. The results of Paramount have been improving, both creatively and operationally. As a result of all of these actions, we’ve been able to generate solid growth in our operating income, our earnings per share and our cash flow. Last year, we initiated a dividend for the first time and we resumed our buyback program on October 1, which our shareholders perceive to be very investor friendly. We’re turning a lot of capital back to our shareholders. So it’s a combination of all those things: investing in our content through good times and bad times—that was one category where we increased spending even during the recession—getting results; avoiding a lot of crazy acquisitions; and returning money to shareholders. These are the things that have driven a very significant improvement in our stock price.
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As I said, it all starts with being clear about what our company’s mission is: to produce great content, to create great brands, to nurture them and then monetize them in every way possible. Operate the company with greater efficiency. Expand globally, which is an important part of our future, and take advantage of new technologies to expand the audiences’ experiences with our content and our brands. People are starting to see what the value-creation opportunities are at Viacom and, to varying degrees, at other media companies that are in the most promising sectors of media. WS: Cable has been somewhat
safeguarded by its dual-revenue stream, hasn’t it? DAUMAN: Dual or more. Think about Nickelodeon. Nickelodeon has a significant consumer-productslicensing revenue stream, which we intend to grow dramatically over time as we secure more franchises. We did a deal with an Italian company called Rainbow, which has the Winx Club franchise—a very popular franchise in Europe—and we’re going to be introducing that property in the U.S., Latin America and other parts of the world. We took a 30-percent interest in Rainbow because we think it has a lot of potential to grow and we wanted to share in that growth with the creator
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of the company. That’s a great new opportunity for us. It’s nice to have those multiple revenue streams, and they can be replicated if you have the right brands and new forms of distribution. For example, we just did a deal with Hulu. One of the appeals of that deal was that it creates dualrevenue streams online where we now receive a combination of advertising revenue and subscription fees. It works well in the cable world, and there’s no reason why models that work well in one form of distribution can’t work well in another. WS: In today’s fragmented market,
what do advertisers look for in Viacom’s portfolio? DAUMAN: They look for several things. One, they look for the passion that our viewers have for our brands and our shows. If you are a toy company, you must advertise on Nickelodeon. If you want to reach kids and their parents— there’s a lot of co-viewing on Nickelodeon—it’s a must buy. If you are opening a movie this weekend, you have to advertise across a broad swath of our networks because we reach and connect with young demos. In fact, we have over 20 percent of all view-
ing on basic advertiser-supported cable in the U.S. If you take the 12to 34-year-olds segment, we have about 30 percent of all viewing. So, if you are trying to reach 12- to 34-year-olds, then you want to advertise on our networks. We also garner a large proportion of the under-12-year-olds audience. We have a lot of opportunity with advertisers who have not historically advertised on our networks. For example, we underperform traditionally in the automotive category. That’s an area where we can grow and we are growing, particularly now that the U.S. auto companies have been revamped.The auto companies today are putting out models that are more geared toward young people than the models they were putting out before, so they need to reach this audience. So, that’s the appeal of our networks, and the same is true internationally. For a global marketer, we can offer compelling opportunities across many of our networks around the world. WS: Where are the opportunities
in the international market? DAUMAN: The international oppor-
tunities for us are great. We recently reorganized our international-
media networks group, so that Bob Bakish, who was running MTV Networks International, is now running a group called Viacom International Media Networks, which reports directly to me. We have a very strong and growing presence, and some of our brands are pretty ubiquitous around the globe. MTV, certainly; Nickelodeon, not yet, but it’s in more than 50 countries and we have plans to expand. Comedy [Central] is rolling out into new territories, as is BET. We also have the general-entertainment network Colors, which started in India and now is rolling out in other parts of the world. There’s opportunity for the Paramount brand as a cable channel. We might take Spike TV, which is primarily a U.S. brand right now, into other countries.There’s no question that international is a big opportunity for us. Along with the opportunities, there are challenges in the international marketplace. Some countries don’t allow you in. But technology offers a great opportunity for us because it allows us to bypass some of the regulatory restrictions that may exist for foreign-owned media companies. For our film studio, the international marketplace is becoming
increasingly important. The U.S. market is finite—the theaters are pretty well built out—whereas movie theaters are being built at a much greater rate outside of the U.S., and that creates more opportunity for theatrical releases. This is why our focus on franchises that resonate with global audiences is an important part of Paramount’s strategy. There are more and more films released today that derive significantly more box-office [revenues] overseas than they do in the U.S. WS: What is Viacom’s relationship
with Netflix? DAUMAN: We have multiple rela-
tionships with Netflix. We did a deal between Netflix and our joint venture EPIX, which was for film content. In that case, we created a new window within the pay window, making movies available 90 days after the pay window opens. That deal was really an inflection point in monetizing content online because it was the first time that an online-only company was paying anywhere near that amount of money for content. We do have some content from our television cable networks on Netflix. Up to this point, it’s been the library content—at least 18
And the award goes to...: Paramount’s True Grit (left) and The Fighter (right) were major contenders at this year’s Oscars, scoring nominations for best picture and best director, among others. The Fighter swept the supporting-performance categories with wins for Christian Bale and Melissa Leo. 4/11
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one on one months old—but that’s worth a lot to them because there’s usage of those shows.We try to find as many ways as we can to make use of all this great content we own. WS: How can Facebook and Twit-
ter be harnessed to help channels and even individual shows perform better? DAUMAN: We have huge fan followings for our networks and our shows both on Facebook and on Twitter. We have had tremendous success integrating Twitter feeds into some of our major live events, such as the MTV Video Music Awards, which drives viewers to the show on television as well as to our website. And both of these platforms are great tools when it comes to marketing movies. For example, it was our use of Twitter to market Paranormal Activity that really got people’s attention. When we did those midnight showings of the first Paranormal Activity, we placed computer terminals at the theaters, so people could tweet about it as they came out of the theater. At 2 a.m. there’s relatively less Twitter traffic, so Paranormal Activity quickly rose to the very top of the trending topics, which drew a lot of attention.
It’s a very symbiotic relationship between our content and brands and social networks, because the passion that their users have for our shows drives traffic to them. So, it works for both parties, which is usually the best kind of relationship. WS: What is Paramount’s reputa-
tion among the creative community? Is it a director’s studio? How does it balance original films against franchises? DAUMAN: Paramount under Brad Grey’s leadership has established itself as a great studio for talent. They are very focused on the pictures they make and they’re at the top of the pack in terms of marketing movies. Brad and his team have great relationships with the leading director talent of the day, and it’s a mix of people like J. J. Abrams, Martin Scorsese, Michael Bay and Ethan and Joel Coen.We also have a lot of newcomer talent and we have relationships with acting talent. A studio today needs to have the right blend of films. Our strategy is anchored in franchises with great casting, great special effects, great stories. We can have the franchises and then we can do something like True Grit with the Coen brothers. It’s now
Man of the hour: Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart is seen as the primary source of news for many young Americans.
at $160 million in the domestic box office and counting, which is certainly way beyond our expectations. Having the business strategy of releasing fewer movies allows for greater creative success and greater marketing success. It’s hard for any studio to really be successful at putting out 30 or 35 movies a year.You just don’t have the capacity to give each picture the attention it deserves in the development and production phases, as well as on the marketing side. Paramount has found the right mix. WS: Facebook has some $2 billion
in revenues and is being valued at more than Time Warner or Viacom. Do you get the feeling that this is AOL all over again? Is this another Internet bubble? DAUMAN: Well, even in the last Internet bubble, there were certain companies that survived and continue to be successful today. So a few companies will endure and many others will not. I’m not in the business of predicting how individual companies will do, and we haven’t positioned Viacom to be dependent on any one company or form of distribution to survive.What we strongly believe is that if we do what we do well— which is to produce great content that’s difficult for others to replicate and to create Girls just want to have fun: Nickelodeon has had a string of live-action tween hits, most enduring brands that recently with Victorious. people will follow— 160
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we will do business on the right terms with all comers. A lot of technology companies at first thought that they could build a model that doesn’t rely on professional content. Then they realized, “We can’t just put dreck up there; we need the good stuff.” That’s why you’re seeing real money being paid by online players.The same was true when other generations of technology came along, such as satellite companies or telcos. Some of these companies that have very high valuations today will have disappeared five years from now. Others will become really strong, stable companies that will be a part of what we do every day. Technology is a tough business. In many ways, it can be tougher than what we do. Don’t get me wrong, it’s tough to come up with hit shows and hit movies. It’s very hard to quickly replicate a creative enterprise. It’s hard for us who are in the business to turn around a broadcast or a cable network overnight. It takes a lot of lead time. In technology, some new device or platform can suddenly appear and have a transformative impact over night.Valuations rise quickly, and it’s great for those who are able to cash out. But it also means that you’re always vulnerable.You can be a $50billion-dollar market-cap technology company and then somebody else comes up with a slightly better way of doing it, or a new algorithm, and a few years from now, you’re gone. The good news is that Viacom will be able to ride through whatever waves there are because of the tremendous consumer demand for our content. WS: Because content is king? DAUMAN: Or queen.
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on the record BS was established in 1928, when its founder, William Paley, purchased 16 independent radio stations and called them the Columbia Broadcasting System. The company moved into television and soon earned the nickname the Tiffany Network in recognition of Paley’s penchant for quality programming, whether it was the anthology drama series Playhouse 90, I Love Lucy or Edward R. Murrow’s See It Now. More quality hits followed in the ’60s and ’70s, with shows like 60 Minutes, All in the Family and M*A*S*H, whose series finale still holds the record as the most watched series episode in U.S. television history, with a whopping 106 million viewers—a 77-percent audience share. The ’80s brought the megahits Dallas and Magnum, P.I., and Murder, She Wrote, but the Tiffany Network was starting to lose its luster, being seen as appealing to an older rural audience, while edgier ABC shows were pulling in young viewers and NBC started its Must-See-TV franchise, which attracted an upscale urban demo. CBS was dealt an even stronger blow when the fledgling FOX network snatched away the rights to NFL football games. CBS persisted, launching the occasional hit show, but it was the arrival of Leslie Moonves, in 1995, as president of CBS Entertainment, that marked the beginning of the network’s turnaround. He joined CBS from Warner Bros. Television, where as president, he had overseen a division
that supplied the greatest number of shows to network television for nine consecutive years, including the hit series ER and Friends. Through the years, Moonves, who today is president and CEO of CBS Corporation, has pulled together a team of executives who have shown a nearly unmatched ability at consistently developing hit shows. Breakout successes have included the CSI franchise and a string of other successful procedurals: NCIS, The Mentalist, Criminal Minds, The Good Wife, NCIS: Los Angeles and the remake of Hawaii Five-O. CBS has also found success with comedies like Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory and the newer Mike & Molly. During the 2009–10 TV season, CBS was the most-watched network among all viewers for the seventh time in the last eight years. CBS had the number one drama, NCIS; the number one sitcom, Two and a Half Men; the number one newsmagazine, 60 Minutes; and the number one daytime drama, The Young and the Restless. These strong ratings have been drawing advertisers; 2010 saw a 12-percent jump in advertising revenues, to $9.15 billion. CBS Corporation, which includes the CBS network and its stations; The CW, a joint venture with Warner Bros.; Showtime Networks; CBS Films; CBS Radio; CBS Outdoor; Simon & Schuster; CBS Interactive; CBS Records; CBS Television Studios; CBS Studios International; and CBS Television Distribution, saw its revenues rise 8 percent, to $14.06 billion, in 2010. Moonves is widely considered one of the most talented programmers in the history of U.S. television. While keeping focused on the company’s businesses in the U.S., he is not ignoring growth opportunities overseas. In the past year, CBS Studios International has formed a number of joint ventures to launch channels around the world, with Chellomedia in the U.K., with Reliance Broadcast Network in India and with Network Ten in Australia. In this exclusive interview he talks about what he loves most: building lucrative programming assets, distributing them across all platforms and making CBS the most successful network in America.
Leslie Moonves CBS Corporation
WS: I imagine that CBS’s stable management sends a consistent message out to the creative community of what to expect from the network. MOONVES: That is exactly right. They know what they are getting. They know when they are developing a show at CBS that the people are going to be there to see it through to fruition.They know that the people who are championing their shows will be around and will continue to champion their shows, not only during development, but the year after and the year after that. The same sort of philosophy goes throughout our pipeline. 4/11
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Our distribution people have been here for a very long time, and when Armando Nuñez, Jr. [the president of CBS Studios International] goes into the marketplace to talk about our product throughout the world, they know that Armando is going to be there next year when the show is either a big hit, which has happened an awful lot of the time, or when it doesn’t work and there are other things that need to be done. And I think that gives people great comfort because they know we’ve delivered what we’ve promised them, and we will continue to deliver, and they trust us.
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on the record WS: How important are international sales? MOONVES: They are very, very important. They were important many years ago and, frankly, the growth in the marketplace has been terrific. Even with tough economic times, both in the U.S. and, obviously, abroad, the demand for premium content remains very strong. And that’s very heartening. So the fact we’re doing the best content is very important to us. If you put on premium content the viewers will come and the advertisers will come and you can withstand [any fluctuation in the market]. Television is still the best bargain in town, because by and large it’s free, so even at a time when people maybe can’t afford to go out as much, television remains the constant, and you can’t replace
premium content. So the numbers that Armando has brought in have been terrific.When we have a show that we produce, we look at it glob- Battle for viewers: The drama The Good Wife, now in its second season, has emerged as one of the ally. We look at strongest performers on the CBS schedule. what we are going to get from a network, we look at MOONVES: Last year we sold made the development process so what we are going to get inter- NCIS: Los Angeles domestically after good at the network? nationally, and it enables us to six episodes had aired. They will air MOONVES: There are a number produce it at the highest quality [on USA Network] a few years of factors going into it. It comes from now, but the sale took place as down to a) the people who prolevel, knowing we will get soon as it became apparent that the vide a good creative environment rewarded both domestically and show was a hit.The marketplace was for our producers and writers, and internationally. so strong, and it’s also quite different b) knowledgeable people to schedWS: While traditionally networks from ten years ago, when the ule and market. It really is a team have waited until they had about domestic marketplace for dramas effort, and the fact that this solid 100 episodes to go into domestic was not nearly as strong as it is today. group of executives has won for syndication, you approached the many years, and does it year after market when you have had fewer WS: Given the number of hits year, leads us to feel like [the sysepisodes. CBS has on the schedule, what has tem is working]. It’s a team effort
Crime pays: Procedural dramas have consistently delivered big numbers for CBS, with NCIS frequently ranking as the top-rated drama across all network TV, and selling widely around the world courtesy of CBS Studios International. 198
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throughout the whole process: it’s development, it’s casting, it’s finding the right people, it’s knowing who the up-and-coming good people are. And it does have something to do with the fact that we have terrific people who work well together—it makes for a good team, and success comes from that. WS: How involved are you in any
of those steps along the way? MOONVES: I’m involved some-
what in all of them, depending on the steps, depending on the project. Nina Tassler is the president of the entertainment division of the network, Dave Stapf is the president of the CBS Television Studios. They are both terrific managers. They do show me scripts and rough cuts, and I get involved in the process, but they are the focal points. WS: CBS has accumulated an attractive stable of online assets, from CNET to TV.com and of course CBS.com. What’s been the strategy in building that group? MOONVES: The strategy has been how do we best maximize the content that is currently on the CBS network or Showtime, which is also one of our assets, and make it available either as full episodes or some offshoot of those shows. TV.com is also a social-media site for commenting on television shows. At the same time, with sites like CNET and the games site, we want to offer original content that frankly has nothing to do with CBS content. So overall you could say CBS is trying, as we do on our network and on Showtime, to put premium content in as many available places as people can get it, and the content can come from CBS or it can come from elsewhere as well. WS: Is the industry at large and CBS in particular getting closer to being able to monetize content online?
Touchdown: Since the 1990s, CBS has been the U.S. network home of the NFL’s American Football Conference games, part of a stable of sports rights acquired by the broadcaster. MOONVES: There is no question.
but sports as well) is a very important part of it. It leads the cable and satellite operators to recognize the value of having the networks and paying appropriately for them.
We are monetizing our content online. It will be important that online advertising grow, so that you get the same price per viewer as you do on air, so that an eyeball watching TV is equal to an eyeball watching online. Right now that is not the case, but there is no question that the online component is very important and will become more and more important as time goes on.
WS: Do you think the day will come when a network like CBS is valued at least the same if not more than a USA Network or a TNT? MOONVES: Absolutely. I see that day in the not too distant future.
WS: Even though advertising is
WS: You mentioned sports. CBS
recovering, most everyone in the media business is looking to diversify their revenues, and if I’m correct, retransmission fees have become an important point for a broadcast network like CBS. MOONVES: Yes, that’s absolutely true. A few years ago the retransmission fees were nonexistent. Now they are a major part of our lives and, once again, having a strong schedule (and that includes not only the entertainment shows,
has found an innovative deal for NCAA basketball rights with Turner Sports. MOONVES: Exactly, sports rights in a lot of areas have escalated to a very high number. Clearly they are very valuable. We were able to come up with a very original way to share the rights, because there are a number of games on the air, and made a very creative business deal. This helps all three parties involved: Turner as well as CBS as
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well as the NCAA. It took a lot of terrific effort on the part of our sports guys and the Turner guys, and everybody won. WS: Even though the cost of rights is escalating, do sports still comprise an important portion of the schedule? MOONVES: No question about it. Being able to have the NCAA Tournament, even if it’s in partnership, is still far, far better than having lost those rights. They are important to our identity, who we are and where we are in the future. WS: Is it possible that other net-
works are paying too much for sports events? MOONVES: I really don’t know. We are really very happy with what sports we have. We have the NFL, we have the NCAA, we have the SEC (the college football Southeastern Conference), we are the largest purveyor of golf on network television, we have the
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on the record Masters Golf Tournament and we have the U.S. Open Tennis Championships. We are very pleased with the sports we have on the air and, frankly, we’re not looking to expand. WS: People are getting their news
in a variety of ways throughout the day. Obviously, broadcast news is changing. What do you see as the future of network news? MOONVES: It’s hard to say. It’s obviously evolving. People get their news in a lot of different
ways. So broadcast news has to look at itself as a place not necessarily only to deliver the news but also to give you a point of view, and by that I don’t mean a politicizing of it. I mean more of an in-depth look at events. Unlike the old days with Walter Cronkite, when Walter would be the main purveyor of news and you would rush home to get the 6:30 p.m. Evening News to get your information, today, by the time you get home you mostly know about [what happened
during the day]. I think network news is about getting in-depth and getting more knowledge of what is going on in the world. WS: Putting news events in con-
text because we are bombarded with so much information. MOONVES: Exactly, providing context for them. And certain news services do it with a political point of view, and that’s OK also—that’s why there are 500 channels, so there can be different points of view and different peo-
ple who want to tell it from one side or the other. WS: The 10 p.m. time slot is par-
ticularly important because it serves as a lead-in to your affiliates’ late news, which is a money generator for them. MOONVES: Absolutely, that’s what the affiliates and the O-and-Os [CBS-owned and -operated stations] care about more than anything else—the 10 p.m. programming. WS: So, given the strength of your
10 p.m. slot and of your primetime schedule in general, tell me a little about CBS’s relationship with its affiliates. MOONVES: Forty percent of our network consists of O-and-Os. We are a big part of that, and as you stated, clearly, 10 p.m. is very important because the local news is a major source of revenue to them. And the fact that we win most nights, if not all nights, Monday through Friday at 10 p.m., leads them to feel very good about their network and their relationship to us. Our affiliates are very important. A network is comprised of some 220 stations. It is important to us that they remain very healthy, and providing them with good 10 o’clock lead-ins, which helps their local news, then helps the Late Show with David Letterman, is good for the food chain that we are all part of. WS: You mentioned that a number
of your top executives have been at CBS a long time, but so have you. MOONVES: Absolutely, I’ve been here since 1995.
Let there be blood: Showtime, the premium network owned by CBS Corporation, has become a major player in the original programming space thanks to acclaimed hit series like Dexter. 200
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WS: What have these years meant to you? MOONVES: CBS is such a great place and there is such a great culture and I love working with the people I get to work with and the people I get to meet. I’m at my core a content guy, and I love the content we’re putting out there and I’m very happy here. I like coming to work every day.
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world’s end
IN THE STARS
Almost every national constitution forbids the establishment of an official state religion. But this secular bent doesn’t stop people from looking to the heavens for answers to life’s most troublesome questions: Will I succeed? Will I find love? Will I be as “winning” as Charlie Sheen? Every day, papers and magazines worldwide print horoscopes—projections for people born in a specific month, based on the positions of the stars and planets. While many people rely on these daily, weekly or monthly messages for guidance in their lives, some readers skip over them entirely. The editors of WS recognize that
Charlie Sheen
Sarah Palin
Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi
Mark Zuckerberg
Charlie Sheen
Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi
Global distinction: Highest-paid U.S. TV actor. Sign: Virgo (b. September 3, 1965) Significant date: February 24, 2011 Noteworthy activity: On the heels of a number of vit-
Global distinction: Housemate on MTV’s Jersey Shore. Sign: Sagittarius (b. November 23, 1987) Significant date: March 2, 2011 Noteworthy activity: In an interview for a Rolling Stone
riolic public rants from the Two and a Half Men star, CBS and Warner Bros. cancel the rest of the sitcom’s season. Though the actor may be out of work, Sheenisms dominate popular culture and discourse, as he also clinches the Guinness World Record for more than 1 million Twitter followers in 25 hours. #winning. Horoscope: “This period will give a lot of mental and emotional stress at your workplace. Things will not move ahead as per your wishes.” (horoscope.xaapa.com)
cover story, the pint-sized party girl likens her life on Jersey Shore to jail. According to the star, “We can’t have cell phones,TV, radio or the Internet.... It’s just like prison, with cameras.” She makes no mention of her $30,000 per episode paycheck or her $20,000 personal appearance fee. Horoscope: “Recognizing the benefits of spending time alone allows you to retreat from the world comfortably, without longing for the social contact and stimulation you must give up.” (mydestinyastrology.com)
Sarah Palin
Prince William of Wales
Global distinction: Polarizing politico. Sign: Aquarius (b. February 11, 1964) Significant date: February 22, 2011 Noteworthy activity: The former governor of Alaska
Global distinction: Second in line to Britain’s throne. Sign: Gemini (b. June 21, 1982) Significant date: February 23, 2011 Noteworthy activity: Graphic artist Lydia Leith cap-
allegedly creates a second Facebook account that she uses to praise the comments posted on the real Sarah Palin page. The Facebook page for “Lou Sarah” (Sarah Palin’s middle name is Louise) features a string of “Likes”for the things Sarah Palin likes and writes about on the main Sarah Palin page. Horoscope: “Raising your self-esteem can better your chances for success. It’s okay to give yourself a pat on the back from time to time, when it’s deserved.” (tarot.com)
italizes on the hype surrounding the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton by producing a line of sick bags for those who risk “being nauseated” by the pomp and ceremony. The novelty screen-printed bags, bearing a picture of the happy couple and the words “Throne Up,” sell like hotcakes across the U.K. Horoscope: “This is a favorable time to proclaim your love for the one you’re with, as the positive feelings you generate now are likely to be an aid to you in the future. This doesn’t mean, however, that you must shout it from the rooftops.” (kamalkapoor.com)
these little pearls of random foresight occasionally prove prophetic. But rather than poring over charts of the zodiac to predict world events, our staff prefers to use past horoscopes in an attempt to legitimate the science. As you can see here, had some of these media figures remembered to consult their horoscopes on significant days, they could have avoided a few surprises.
Joan Collins Global distinction: Former Dynasty star. Sign: Gemini (b. May 23, 1933) Significant date: February 27, 2011 Noteworthy activity: Following Graydon Carter’s
swanky Oscars after party, Collins is rushed to a local hospital via ambulance after reportedly feeling faint. The culprit? The 77-year-old former soap star’s skintight frock. Collins later explains, “The truth was, I made the wrong decision to wear a very tight dress, and had something rather like a Victorian swoon.” Horoscope: “Geminis dress up with no fuss. For women, sleek lycra dress is ideal. Elegant crepe churidar-kameez can be worn for formals and semi-formals.” (astrology.findyourfate.com) 406
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Mark Zuckerberg Global distinction: Billionaire entrepreneur. Sign: Taurus (b. May 14, 1984) Significant date: February 7, 2011 Noteworthy activity: The Facebook CEO is granted a
permanent restraining order against a man accused of stalking him. Zuckerberg claims the man sent him a string of creepy messages via the social-networking site, among other unsolicited acts. Horoscope: “You may experience an increase in your earning and prosperity in business, but you will be getting much more than you bargained for. Success always comes with some unfavorable effects.” (vedicastroindia.com)
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