World Screen NATPE Budapest International 2019

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NATPE Budapest International Edition

WWW.WORLDSCREEN.COM

THE MAGAZINE OF INTERNATIONAL MEDIA • JUNE/JULY 2019

Trends in Formats & Drama / Banijay’s Stéphane Courbit, Marco Bassetti & François de Brugada Russell T Davies / Endemol Shine’s Lars Blomgren / GRB Studios’ Gary R. Benz

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CONTENTS

JUNE-JULY 2019/NATPE BUDAPEST EDITION

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DEPARTMENTS WORLD VIEW

By Mansha Daswani.

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Publisher Ricardo Seguin Guise Group Editorial Director Anna Carugati

UPFRONTS 12 New content on the market.

BEHIND THE SCENES Russell T Davies.

Editor Mansha Daswani

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Executive Editor Kristin Brzoznowski

SPOTLIGHT 71 Endemol Shine’s Lars Blomgren.

Associate Editors Chelsea Regan Alison Skilton

MARKET TRENDS 73 GRB Studios’ Gary R. Benz.

WORLD’S END In the stars.

Editor, Spanish-Language Publications Elizabeth Bowen-Tombari

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71 RUSSELL T DAVIES

LARS BLOMGREN

Associate Editor, Spanish-Language Publications Rafael Blanco Editorial Assistant, Spanish-Language Publications Jessica Ávila

SPECIAL REPORT

Contributing Editor Elizabeth Guider

16 CREATIVE ALLIANCES

Production & Design Director Victor L. Cuevas

At MIPTV, Banijay Group Chairman Stéphane Courbit, CEO Marco Bassetti and Banijay France CEO François de Brugada shared with World Screen’s Anna Carugati the company’s approach to finding and fostering ideas that can travel.

Online Director Simon Weaver Art Director Phyllis Q. Busell Senior Sales & Marketing Manager Dana Mattison

These targeted magazines appear both inside World Screen and as separate publications.

Sales & Marketing Assistant Genovick Acevedo Business Affairs Manager Andrea Moreno Contributing Writers Steve Clarke Andy Fry Joanna Stephens Jay Stuart David Wood

FEATURES

FEATURES

32 FORMAT FRENZY

54 FRANCE TOONS IN

Distributors weigh in on the latest trends in the format business across Europe.

Producers and distributors evaluate the current opportunities and challenges facing the French animation sector.

35 A WORLD OF DRAMA

58 FULL SPEED AHEAD

Ricardo Seguin Guise President

Broadcasters across CEE have demonstrated a varied taste for international drama.

As the retail industry changes with the times, new opportunities are opening up in the licensing and merchandising business.

Anna Carugati Executive VP

INTERVIEWS

INTERVIEWS

28 TERRA MATER’S WALTER KÖHLER 62 NETFLIX’S MELISSA COBB The founder and CEO discusses the significance of delivering films that speak to the importance of conservation.

30 BBC STUDIOS’ MICHAEL GUNTON The creative director of the Natural History Unit and factual at BBC Studios talked about working with David Attenborough and immersive wildlife filmmaking at MIPDoc.

The VP of original animation at the streaming platform discusses the potential to bring local stories with global resonance to young ones across the globe.

66 RAINBOW’S IGINIO STRAFFI The chairman and CEO shares the plans for the live-action Winx Club series and explains what’s driving the success of the new preschool hit 44 Cats.

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Copy Editor Tamara Schechter

Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & 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 ©2019 WSN INC. Printed by Fry Communications No part of this publication can be used, reprinted, copied or stored in any medium without the publisher’s authorization.

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WORLD VIEW

BY MANSHA DASWANI

Piracy’s Fancy New Look Earlier this year, Spanish authorities announced that they had dismantled Europe’s biggest piracy ring, one that had reportedly brought its operators €8 million in ill-gotten gains from selling subscriptions to packages of bundled channels—all stolen from the rights holders.

This is the new face of piracy: the torrents of years past have been replaced by sophisticated set-top boxes delivering hundreds of illegally streamed channels for a fraction of the cost of a regular pay-TV package. And they are pulling billions of dollars out of a media ecosystem that is still coming to grips with new business models brought about by the advent of streaming.

“Consumers love the choice and convenience of official TV and film digital services and apps,” Stan McCoy, president and managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at the Motion Picture Association, tells World Screen. “One reason why piracy devices and apps are so insidious is because many present themselves as legitimate, easy-to-use offerings with names that imitate genuine services. beoutQ exemplifies that.” beoutQ is arguably the best-known brand in content theft today. It has been singled out by the BBC and Sky in complaints to the European Commission. It is the subject of legal action from the likes of FIFA. It is discussed in the U.S. Trade Representative 2019 Special 301 Report. “Saudi Arabia has not taken action against the rampant satellite and online piracy made available by illicit pirate service beoutQ,” the report says.

“While Saudi officials have confirmed the illegal nature of beoutQ’s activities and claim to be addressing this issue by seizing beoutQ set-top boxes, such devices nevertheless continue to be widely available and are generally unregulated in Saudi Arabia.”

The campaign to stop beoutQ has primarily been led by beIN Media Group, which has seen its channels stolen and retransmitted in Saudi Arabia since 2017, following the blockade against Qatar by a number of Arab countries.

Since then, beoutQ has also been selling its own branded boxes, delivering hundreds of channels, on-demand movies and TV episodes. “You can access everything from HBO to FOX, every entertainment channel you can think of, Netflix, all the sports channels, the latest blockbuster films, almost the day they are in the cinemas,” Tom Keaveny, the managing director for beIN MENA, told me recently when discussing the company’s battle against beoutQ. The boxes are available across the Middle East and North Africa, but, Keaveny notes, they are spreading further afield. “These boxes are appearing in Florida, in Geneva, in London, any major city—it’s a contagion.”

The extent of the offering is shocking, with channels organized by country (U.S., U.K., France, Turkey, the Netherlands, etc.) and even multiple feeds of premium channel bouquets like HBO and Starz (East and West Coast versions), per a video demonstration of the box supplied to World Screen by beIN. And beoutQ is just one company distributing socalled illicit streaming devices (ISDs)—they are everywhere. A recent study commissioned by the Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) and conducted

by YouGov says that 29 percent of Indonesian consumers are using ISDs to access pirated content. Of those using ISDs, 66 percent said they had already canceled a legitimate subscription to pay-TV service.

ISDs are also prevalent in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan. “The illicit streaming device ecosystem is impacting all businesses involved in the production and distribution of legitimate content,” says Louis Boswell, the CEO of AVIA. “ISD piracy is also organized crime, pure and simple, with crime syndicates making substantial illicit revenues from the provision of illegally re transmitted TV channels and the sale of such ISDs. Consumers who buy ISDs are not only funding crime groups, but [they are] also wasting their money when the channels stop working.” beIN is using a variety of approaches to battle beoutQ, including launching a $1 billion international investment arbitration suit against Saudi Arabia (which has denied that it is backing beoutQ) and unveiling a website, beoutq.tv, detailing the background of the piracy platform and laying out evidence of Saudi Arabia’s involvement. Per beIN, $1 billion is an estimate of lost revenues for a six-month period in this now two-yearlong saga. beIN has also had to change its approach to licensing expensive sports rights, opting not to renew its Formula One agreement this year. “People’s responsiveness and respect for their own IP is a definite factor when we renew our deals,” Keaveny says. “Saudi Arabia’s beoutQ has poured petrol on the world’s broadcast piracy problem and, if it is not stopped now, the economics of the sports-and-entertainment industry will never be the same again.”

[ISDs] are pulling billions of dollars out of a media ecosystem that is still coming to grips with new business models.

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Diary of an Uber Driver

UPFRONTS

all3media international The Feed / Diary of an Uber Driver / Race Across the World From dramas to formats to factual series, the highlights on offer from all3media international at NATPE Budapest run the gamut of the programming spectrum. The Feed, for one, is an original drama series created by a former writer and co-executive producer of The Walking Dead that deals with people’s addiction to technology. Based on a popular blog, Diary of an Uber Driver is being offered as both a finished series and as a scripted format. The company is also offering the tape and format for the globetrotting expedition show Race Across the World, which comes from Studio Lambert. “We feel that our highlights will be particularly appealing for buyers,” says Debra Bergg, sales manager. “They all are creatively innovative, made with high production values and tackle international subjects.”

“We’re proud of our entire catalog and pride ourselves on being able to offer buyers such a variety of programming that suits all tastes and budgets.”

—Debra Bergg

Calinos Entertainment Forbidden Fruit / Woman / Our Story Launched last year, Forbidden Fruit tells the tale of sisters Yildiz and Zeynep, who have very different values and aims in life. Then there’s Woman and Our Story, which “have been two of the most talked-about and best-rated TV series in Turkey this season,” according to Asli Serim Guliyev, international sales director at Calinos Entertainment.

While the former tells the story of a young widow named Bahar, who with her two children at her side, faces a series of hardships, the latter stars Hazal Kaya as an eldest child who becomes her family’s matriarch as they struggle to survive in a poor district. “All of these stories depict the lives of strong, independent and driven women who would stop at nothing to protect their families or their dreams,” says Guliyev.

Our Story

“Our aim is to strengthen our relationships with our current customers and establish new ones with potential customers.”

—Asli Serim Guliyev The Queen and The Conqueror

Caracol Internacional The Queen and The Conqueror / Living to Love / The Road to Love Catalina, a female icon in the time of the conquest, is the queen and Pedro de Heredia is the conqueror who goes on to establish the city of Cartegena and betray and break the heart of his lover in Caracol Internacional’s The Queen and The Conqueror. A romance also propels the series Living to Love, which centers on the lead singer in a group called Los Milagrosos, Irene, and a mechanic named Joaquín, who fall for one another and fight for their dreams and to be together in an intense love story. The Road to Love, meanwhile, follows “La Chiqui,” the youngest daughter in a family of truck drivers, who manages to earn respect within her guild against the odds in the macho world of truckers. Both The Queen and The Conqueror and The Road to Love are billed as super series.

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Sisters

Global Agency Battle of the Couples / Upgrade / Sisters Eight pairings confident in the state of their relationships are at the center of Global Agency’s French format Battle of the Couples, in which they’re challenged to team up to protect their €50,000 jackpot. Upgrade, an Israeli game-show format that Global Agency recently added to its catalog and is bringing to NATPE Budapest, goes into viewers’ homes and gives them the chance to upgrade various household items by correctly answering trivia questions. The drama Sisters is a story of love and betrayal that sees the daughters of estranged sisters Ümran and Umay hurtling toward a similarly tumultuous fate after crossing paths in Istanbul.

Senay Tas, Global Agency’s sales director for CEE, says, “All three shows contain ingredients that have proven successful in the region.”

“Our drama Sisters is performing really well in Turkey right now.”

—Senay Tas

GRB Studios Untold Stories of the E.R. / On the Case / Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter Currently in its 13th season, Untold Stories of the E.R. is a GRB Studios title that is “a proven success in the U.S. and many countries around the world,” according to Melanie Torres, a senior consultant at the company. The medical docuseries goes behind the scenes to follow doctors as they exhibit grace under fire while tackling unpredictable emergencies. On the Case, meanwhile, seeks to unravel unsolved murder mysteries through in-depth interviews with those involved in the cases and by taking a hard look at forensic evidence. “Everyone loves a good murder mystery and trying to solve a whodunit,” Torres says of the series, now in its ninth season. Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter features actors and directors discussing what it’s really like to be a part of blockbuster films and hit TV series.

Inter Medya

Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter

“We are excited to get the word out about the new seasons available for many of our popular titles, as well as to introduce our newer content.”

—Melanie Torres Bitter Lands

Bitter Lands / Broken Wings / The Perfect Couple Bitter Lands, on offer from Inter Medya at NATPE Budapest this year, is the story of an epic love affair that begins in Istanbul during the 1970s. It asks whether love can withstand the throes of evil, tyranny and murder. The Perfect Couple, another of Inter Medya’s slate highlights, is a reality dating show set on an island, where 11 men and 11 women compete for keys to the rooms of a house they must share—the only problem is, there isn’t enough space for everyone. Broken Wings, a drama produced by Koliba, follows a single mother struggling to take care of her four children. “This title has been performing very well in Turkey and has already been sold to the U.S. Hispanic market, Puerto Rico, Colombia and Chile,” says Ahmet Ziyalar, Inter Medya’s COO.

“Bitter Lands is the story of a legendary love.”

—Ahmet Ziyalar 6/19 WORLD SCREEN 13

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Ruthless City

Kanal D International Ruthless City / Wounded Love / Price of Passion The new drama Ruthless City, which launched at MIPTV, heads up Kanal D International’s slate at NATPE Budapest this year. It follows Seher, a mother of three living in a small town in Turkey, as she grapples with the sudden changes that befall her family after one of her daughters is sold into marriage and the family is forced to move to Istanbul. In addition to Ruthless City, the Kanal D series Wounded Love, Price of Passion, Double Trouble and the family drama Twins will be presented again at the market. “We launched the first global Turkish drama channel, Kanal D Drama, in cooperation with Thema in LatAm in October,” notes Kerim Emrah Turna, executive director of Kanal D International, and further expansion is on the planner. “With Kanal D Drama, the Turkish drama phenomenon has gained new momentum.”

“For the last two years, Turkish dramas have continued expanding into new territories while getting stronger in the existing ones.”

—Kerim Emrah Turna

Russia Television and Radio/Sovtelexport Godunov / Blackout / Two Tickets Home There’s a bevy of dramas from Russia Television and Radio (RTR) on offer from Sovtelexport, including the period piece Godunov. Set in the 16th century, the historical series focuses on the Russian Tsar Boris Godunov.

Blackout, meanwhile, is set in Russia during the turbulent times of the 1990s and centers on a veteran of the SovietAfghan war who struggles to find his place after returning home. The drama Two Tickets Home is about an orphan out for revenge against the father she only recently learned is alive and in prison for her mother’s murder. “Every year the RTR catalog is being replenished by the best and most successful local productions,” says Julia Matiash, the director of Sovtelexport. The company also represents animated shows, including Piglet and Mountain of Gems.

Two Tickets Home

“Our mission has always been to introduce the best Russian TV products to the world.”

—Julia Matiash

ZDF Enterprises

Victor Lessard

The Worst Witch / The Greatest Race / Victor Lessard The adventures of a young trainee at Cackle’s Academy come to life in the children’s series The Worst Witch, part of the ZDFE.junior slate. From ZDFE.unscripted, The Greatest Race focuses on the charioteers of ancient Rome. “This documentary goes behind the scenes of the greatest spectacle of the classical world, as it closely follows the legendary rise of the young Scorpus from a slave to one of the most successful charioteers in the lion’s den at the impressive Circus Maximus, which held more than 150,000 spectators,” explains Fred Burcksen, the president and CEO of ZDF Enterprises. Victor Lessard, from the ZDFE.drama catalog, features a troubled cop who becomes involved in a series of dark and disturbing murders—he winds up sacrificing his own peace of mind in the pursuit of justice.

“Victor Lessard is a dramatic crime series that tackles identity issues, recovering memory loss and a need for recognition.”

—Fred Burcksen 14 WORLD SCREEN 6/19

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At MIPTV, Banijay Group Chairman Stéphane Courbit, CEO Marco Bassetti and Banijay France CEO François de Brugada shared with World Screen’s Anna Carugati the company’s approach to finding and fostering ideas that can travel. By Mansha Daswani

B

anijay Group Chairman Stéphane Courbit, CEO Marco Bassetti and Banijay France CEO François de Brugada took part in a MIPTV keynote session moderated by World Screen’s Anna Carugati.

Courbit talked about creating Banijay in 2008 after he left his post at Endemol France. “We considered the fact that the market was very fragmented. We wanted to bring something with a creative and entrepreneurial spirit. We decided to consolidate the market in different territories and create the group.”

Bassetti weighed in on the advantages of having already been a producer before taking leadership of the Banijay Group. “You know what producers need. To be a producer today is even tougher than it was in the past. [In the past] there were just a few channels, there was not so much competition. Today it is much more difficult. Our mantra was always people and formats. In order to know what [producers need], it’s very important to speak the same language. From the top, we are all producers. We believe that we have created a platform where the producer can

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XXXXXXX

On territorial expansion, English-speaking markets “are the most attractive to us. The U.K. is a market where we want to be bigger. There is space for growth in the U.S. The other countries where we have room to grow are Spain and Germany. And sometimes, to stay a leader in a country with so much competition is more difficult.

Another area that is mature for Western content is Southeast Asia.”

In terms of genre, scripted is a key area, on the heels of 30-percent growth in that area this year. “Our goal is to grow more.

There is an appetite. We don’t know for how long there will be this bidding war with the FAANGs, but we are very cautious.”

The conversation then moved on to formats, with the company boasting a slew of long-running, successful shows. “Keeping your big brands as successful as they were in the past and making them progress is a tough job,” de Brugada said.

“You need teams that are able to polish your diamonds daily. From one season to the next, each of these shows has been transformed.”

Bassetti used the session to announce some key deal news, with ABC picking up Don’t, a new original game show created From left, Banijay’s Marco Bassetti, Stéphane Courbit and François de Brugada, with World Screen’s Anna Carugati.

by Banijay Studios North America with Ryan Reynolds on board as executive producer. “Our goal is to create formats. That is the base of our have autonomy; we don’t have a lot of bureaucracy. We try to be as business model—creating formats that can be successful in other much as we can in the service of the people who work in the field.” countries and distributed and produced in other countries.”

De Brugada talked about the success at Banijay France, On working with streaming companies, Bassetti said, “It’s an which is making more than 2,000 hours of content every year opportunity for us. The business model is changing, and for us across all genres, including factual, game shows, talk shows, being a producer, there are a couple of issues that are fundacurrent affairs, documentaries, scripted and kids. “We are a mental, like the retention of IP.” The bidding war with the people company,” he said. “It’s not one single entity. Each has FAANGs for talent is another opportunity, Bassetti added. its own culture, its field of expertise. We can adjust, be agile, When asked about scale, Bassetti responded, “Scale is always listen to the market, understand our clients’ needs. That’s how good. If scale means you create more bureaucracy, as we’ve we succeed.” De Brugada noted that 35 million French people watch at least one Banijay show a week. seen before, more control and less autonomy, that’s not good.

Bassetti said that Banijay’s growth strategy is multifaceted We don’t have that. Having scale today is important. The more and goes well beyond M&A. “Last year, three top creative proyou have scale, the more leverage you have, the more opportuducers joined us: Deepak Dhar in India, Marcus Wolter in nity you have to generate value, to deficit your own shows, and Germany and Paolo Bassetti in Italy. That’s one strategy. We you can keep IP. Scale also attracts talent. You need to be lean can grow by buying IP, like we did with Castaway. Before, we and mean. To be a medium-sized company will become diffiwere producing Survivor in four countries. Now, we are procult in the coming years.” ducing it in nine countries. We merged with Zodiak. We created Courbit agreed with Bassetti, stressing that at the core of the several JVs. We’ve tried to grow in digital, and we bought a comcompany are people and IP. “If you can be bigger, you have to pany in France called Shauna Events. So there are many different do it.” ways to grow. To go into the market and just buy the first company As the session came to a close, Carugati asked the Banijay is not our strategy. We try to use all the ways possible in order to execs about speculation that the company is looking to acquire give a good return to our investor.”

Endemol Shine Group. “No comment,” Bassetti said.

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BEHIND THE SCENES

WS: Was it the election of Donald Trump that inspired you to write Years and Years?

DAVIES: It was, you’re absolutely right. To be honest, it’s been ticking away in my head for a long time. It almost seems like common sense, really, to write a drama in which fictional characters are engaged with the real world and reacting to it. I’m surprised more dramas don’t do that. We’ve had a hell of a few years, with the banking crisis and then Brexit and then Trump’s election. I sent an email to the BBC saying, If he gets in, that drama I’ve been talking about for years, I think I should start writing it straightaway. And lo and behold, that’s what happened.

WS: Why did you choose to unfold the story over a 15year period?

DAVIES: After 15 years, you might have to change the lead actors and all the prosthetics would start to become heavy; too many wrinkles around the eyes!

Also, in 15 years, life actually will truly start to change in a way that might affect the budget. In 15 years time, I think the climate will start to change. There’s a limit to how many scenes you can shoot on a street, for example, because cars will start to become expensively unrecognizable. Also, a child is born in the first episode, and that child is 16 by the time it’s done; that feels nice.

You’ve seen a modern generation pass. In the first episode, we start in May 2019, and then it rapidly leaps five years ahead. But then every episode moves a year or so into the future. Upstairs Downstairs used to do that.

Downton Abbey did that, too. It’s quite a classic structure. It’s just no one has ever used it to go forward [into the future] before. That’s the exciting thing about it.

WS: I was struck by the tonal shifts in the first episode—it ranges from emotional family moments to comedy to abject terror by the end. How do you manage that?

DAVIES: I don’t think of them as tonal shifts at all. I simply write each scene as it should be written. I do think

By Mansha Daswani

A

s the world learned that a reality-TV star and millionaire businessman with zero political experience had been elected the leader of the free world, Russell T Davies (Doctor Who, Queer as Folk, A Very English Scandal) knew that he finally had to bring to fruition a long-gestating idea about following an everyday family living in turbulent times. The result is Years and Years, a BBC One, HBO and Canal+ limited series from RED Production Company, sold by STUDIOCANAL. It follows the Lyons family over a 15-year period, beginning in the present day and jumping forward to a world in which President Trump has earned a second term, relations between the U.S. and China are at a breaking point, technology is even more deeply integrated into our everyday lives, climate change is having devastating consequences and a brash, populist politician, played brilliantly by Emma Thompson, is coming to power in the U.K. Davies talks to World Screen about the critically acclaimed series.

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I’m a bold writer and I go for it. If it seems funny, I’ll make it very funny. If it seems scary, I’ll make it very scary. I don’t believe in hanging around in the margins.

And I think life is like that. Life isn’t meant to be a genre; you don’t say today is going to be tragic or funny.

WS: How did you think about what technology is going to look like 5, 10, 15 years from now?

DAVIES: We didn’t kill ourselves over that, to be honest. Otherwise, you’d end up with very fancy devices that would upstage all the actors around them. It’s all meant to be normal and relaxed. You’re not distracting the viewer with the latest flashy technology. That was a decision, to not be very fancy with it. We really brought it down to earth. It’s not about [the technology]; it’s about who we are, as opposed to what we’re using.

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TVEUROPE

WWW.TVEUROPE.WS JUNE /JULY 2019

NATPE BUDAPEST INTERNATIONAL & SUNNY SIDE OF THE DOC EDITION

Terra Mater’s Walter Köhler / BBC Studios’ Michael Gunton / Drama in CEE / Trends in Formats

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6 TV EUROPE

CONTENTS

Stories to Tell

Millions of TV viewers around the world are still scratching their heads over the Game of Thrones finale. Series finales seldom satisfy all fans, but in this case, the level of frustration over unanswered questions about characters and plotlines, not to mention shock over coffee cups and water bottles, is remarkable.

Ricardo Seguin Guise Publisher Anna Carugati Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani Editor Kristin Brzoznowski Executive Editor Chelsea Regan Alison Skilton Associate Editors Victor L. Cuevas Production & Design Director Phyllis Q. Busell Art Director Simon Weaver Online Director Dana Mattison Senior Sales & Marketing Manager Genovick Acevedo Sales & Marketing Assistant Andrea Moreno Business Affairs Manager

Ricardo Seguin Guise President Anna Carugati Executive VP Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development TV Europe © 2019 WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, #1207 New York, NY 10010 Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website: www.tveurope.ws

What is the point of character arcs if Jon Snow, Tyrion and Jaime all ended up right back where they started?

Dany went mad like her father, even though she spent nearly eight seasons trying to demonstrate she was not like her father? And where, pray tell, did Drogon take her?

The level of fans’ investment in the finale is proof of the power of an iconic show that made television history and also reveals how caught up we can get in characters and stories.

The television landscape has changed so much since GoT’s premiere in April 2011. Viewers have been bingeing on shows on devices and screens large and small. We have learned that great ideas can come from anywhere, including a great many from Europe, as we’ve seen again and again with extremely accomplished dramas from Scandinavia, Spain, Italy, France, Germany and Turkey, in addition to the U.K. We’ve also realized that big budgets and snazzy special effects aren’t always necessary in drama. Of course, added resources can provide access to bigger and better talent and locations and allow more time to shoot, reshoot and edit. But compelling, thrilling, suspenseful, heartrending, thoughtprovoking stories can indeed be told on smaller budgets.

In this issue of TV Europe, we spotlight the varied appetite for drama in Central and Eastern Europe. We also look at trends in the format business.

We talk to Walter Köhler, the founder and CEO of Terra Mater Factual Studios, about the significance of delivering films with a message of conservation.

At MIPDoc, I had the thrill of speaking with Dr. Michael Gunton, the creative director of the Natural History Unit and factual at BBC Studios, before he was presented with the World Screen Factual Trendsetter Award. He talked about working with the legendary David Attenborough and discussed several of the incredible experiences he has had working in immersive wildlife filmmaking.

Quality scripted drama, formats and documentary filmmaking have one indispensable element in common: they tell extraordinary stories. And as Tyrion answered his own query in that marvelous speech in the GoT finale, “What unites people? Armies? Gold?

Flags? Stories. There’s nothing in the world more powerful than a good story.”

—Anna Carugati

GET DAILY NEWS ON EUROPEAN TELEVISION

FEATURES 14 FORMAT FRENZY

A look at the latest trends in the format business across Europe.

14

17 A WORLD OF DRAMA

Broadcasters across CEE have demonstrated a varied taste for international drama.

17 INTERVIEWS

10 Terra Mater’s Walter Köhler The founder and CEO of Terra Mater Factual Studios discusses the value of conservation docs such as Sea of Shadows.

12 BBC Studios’ Michael Gunton The creative director of the Natural History Unit and factual at BBC Studios talks about immersive wildlife filmmaking.

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ABS-CBN Corporation The General’s Daughter / The Heiress / A Mother’s Guilt Led by Angel Locsin, the ABS-CBN Corporation highlight The General’s Daughter explores the story of a highly trained assassin who goes undercover as a military nurse.

“Fans are glued to their TVs, and the show has earned such positive feedback from its viewers,” says Laarni Yu, ABSCBN Corporation’s sales head for EMEA. A Mother’s Guilt, another title driven by a female protagonist, follows a mother who will do anything—even commit murder—for the sake of her son. The Heiress, meanwhile, centers on a family that appears to be tightknit but has deception and cruel desires at its core. “Our series will surely appeal to the NATPE Budapest buyers, as they tell stories that are very relatable,” says Yu. “What we create touches and transforms lives on a deeply personal yet universal level.”

The Heiress

“We believe that our production skills and talent are world-class, and it’s time that we work with international players in the industry.”

—Laarni Yu

ATV Hercai / Lifeline / Don’t Leave Me ATV’s new drama Hercai will be its main focus at NATPE Budapest. The series presents an epic romance, as the two main characters must choose between love and revenge.

“Hercai builds its story from oppositions: one of the main characters is innocent, purely filled with love, but the other main character kindles a huge fire of revenge inside,” says Müge Akar, deputy manager of content sales at ATV. “This strong story is supported with excellent casting and a picturesque view of southern Turkey and Mardin.” The company is also presenting Lifeline, centered on a woman who is the victim of domestic violence. She crosses paths with a stranger, who will help her fight against the abuse. In addition to these prime-time series, ATV is presenting its first daytime drama, Don’t Leave Me.

Hercai

“ATV’s mission is to broaden its presence and to bring more high-quality content to audiences.”

—Müge Akar

The Mediapro Studio

Paradise

Side Games / Paradise / Money Balls Side Games and Paradise, thrillers from The Mediapro Studio, are two of the offerings leading the company’s slate at NATPE Budapest. Side Games mixes the cheeriness of soccer fans with the dark underworlds that often surround the sport. It follows an executive at a regional soccer club who becomes immersed in a game of corruption, violence and betrayal as shady deals, match-fixing and power struggles surround him. Paradise tells the story of a detective from Helsinki who arrives in “Little Finland,” an outwardly idyllic town in Spain where Finnish tourists vacation, to solve two seemingly unrelated murders. Meanwhile, the quiz show Money Balls takes on a lighter tone, combining knowledge and luck as contestants vie for the grand prize.

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ORF-Enterprise Empire of the Vineyard / Beauty and Despair: Austria’s Empress Sisi / Beer-tastic!

Returning to Sunny Side of the Doc, ORF-Enterprise has a slate that includes Empire of the Vineyard from its ORF Universum strand. The program provides “exceptional insights into the wildlife of European vineyards,” says Armin Luttenberger, head of content sales international. The ORF Universum History lineup features Beauty and Despair: Austria’s Empress Sisi.

ORF-Enterprise is also presenting at Sunny Side four episodes of the 4K series Beer-tastic!, following beer sommelier and author Conrad Seidl on a journey around the globe. Meanwhile, at NATPE Budapest, the company is shining a spotlight on ORF Universum wildlife and history fare and other unscripted content, as well as successful scripted shows such as Walking on Sunshine, Suburbia: Women on the Edge, K-Files and Fast Forward.

Empire of the Vineyard

“Together with our colleagues from the ORF Universum production and editorial departments, we proudly present new wildlife and history projects to international decision-makers.”

—Armin Luttenberger

Record TV Jezebel / Jesus / Leah Jezebel, a soap opera highlighted on Record TV’s slate for NATPE Budapest this year, tells the story of the titular Phoenician princess who marries an Israeli king and attempts to impose her pagan gods upon the Israelite people, encountering resistance from prophets and adversaries along the way. Jesus, meanwhile, tells the detailed story of the figure who changed mankind, delving into little-known parts of his life and deepening the stories of the cast of characters that surrounded him. Also on offer from Record TV is Leah, which chronicles the story of the eponymous lead who falls in love with and marries a man who she knows would rather be with her sister.

After years of an unhappy marriage, she resolves to turn her life around.

Jezebel

Terra Mater Factual Studios Borneo: Earth’s Ancient Isle / Cute Little Killers / Dragons & Damsels Terra Mater Factual Studios arrives at Sunny Side of the Doc with Borneo: Earth’s Ancient Isle, which takes viewers on a journey to one of the most biodiverse places on the planet. Tiny marsupials from Australia with a taste for blood, bone and meat take the spotlight in Cute Little Killers. “This film tells the story of some of the strangest and rarest predators with pouches and the equally unusual people who track their secret lives,” says Sabine Holzer, the company’s head of specialist factual. The behaviors of dragonflies and damselflies are under examination in Dragons & Damsels. The plan for Sunny Side of the Doc is to “finalize some editorial discussions with potential partners to be able to start production right after summer,” Holzer says.

“We’re not only bringing new hours of available programming, but we’ll also bring new projects to the market that require co-production and presale funding.”

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10 TV EUROPE

By Mansha Daswani

A

fter a storied three decades at ORF, Walter Köhler founded Terra Mater Factual Studios (TMFS) to further his passionate commitment to high-end documentary filmmaking. From activism feature films like The Ivory Game to specials with natural-history icon David Attenborough to ambitious science docs like The Moon: Our Gateway to the Universe, TMFS has been serving the documentary needs of broadcasters and platforms across the globe. Köhler talks to TV Europe about the company’s recent distribution partnership with Off the Fence, the new film Sea of Shadows and the significance of delivering films that speak to the importance of conservation.

TV EUROPE: What was the reasoning behind your new distribution partnership with Off the Fence?

KÖHLER: This was a logical step in our development. I always took the word “studio” in Terra Mater Factual Studios very seriously. We want to protect our content from the cradle to the grave. But in nine years, we produced more than 220 hours of prime content! Dinah [Czezik-Müller, Terra Mater’s COO] and I talked a lot about if we should build up our own distribution business. The figures routed us in the other direction. Ellen [Windemuth, CEO and founder of Off the Fence] and I are age-old friends. We knew each other before Off the Fence was a reality. So this was a natural fit.

It’s amazing that the corporate cultures in

our two companies are really similar. So Ellen is doing all of our post-sale business and we are doing all the co-productions and presales. We are good at production. This is where our heart is. Therefore, to have a partner in distribution is a natural fit.

Then there is the German team coming on top with ZDF Enterprises [Off the Fence’s new parent company]. That’s quite helpful! [Laughs] TV EUROPE: Tell us about your investment in conservation docs such as Sea of Shadows, about the endangered vaquita whale in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez.

KÖHLER: I’ve been in this business for more than 30 years.

I’ve lived a good life on natural history. My feeling is that it’s time to give a bit back. The first attempt was The Ivory Game, where, from the start, we not only wanted to produce a film—we wanted to change politics with the power of film. We achieved that. With Sea of Shadows, we wanted to do the same, but [go further]. Where Ivory Game was about a species, Sea of Shadows is on a whole ecosystem. It was a thousand times more dangerous [to film]. It’s really hard to accept that the smallest whale on the planet is dying out, five hours away from Los Angeles [in the Sea of Cortez]. It’s not somewhere in the jungle. It’s one of the busiest tourist spots. We also wanted to show that it’s not only the conservation of animals; it’s also the conservation of humans. What the Chinese Mafia and the drug cartels are doing there [supporting poachers] is destroying the local economy, too. One of the main protagonists [in the documentary, Carlos Loret de Mola], who is a renowned journalist in Mexico, made a live [broadcast about the vaquita crisis] and 30 minutes later, the new minister of the environment called and said, You have pictures of the vaquita? We were going to declare it extinct! If they declare it extinct, they don’t have to do anything.

We said, This film is coming out in Mexico, so you better search for a solution. Otherwise, you have a problem. This worked.

They are now searching for [solutions].

TV EUROPE: There are so many threats to the environment.

How do you and your team figure out which ones you want to tackle in your films?

KÖHLER: On the vaquita, it was simple because it’s one of the first mammals to go extinct now. And it’s not just for the animal; it’s for the whole Sea of Cortez. If this goes, you cannot count the number of species that will go.

And this will have a significant impact on biodiversity.

We also invested in Watson, our newest film with Participant Media on the founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Paul Watson. He says the same thing. At the moment, the overfishing rate is so enormous that we have to think about whether we can live on a planet without fish. He thinks this is quite impossible. If a whole group is missing in the food chain, the biodiversity rules will go against us. We have to think about this.

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World Screen’s Anna Carugati interviewing BBC Studios’ Michael Gunton at MIPDoc.

By Mansha Daswani

D

r. Michael Gunton, creative director of the Natural History Unit and factual at BBC Studios, was honored with the World Screen Factual Trendsetter Award this year. He received the award at MIPDoc, following a keynote interview with World Screen’s Anna Carugati. Gunton’s impressive list of credits includes Planet Earth II and Dynasties, among many other landmark naturalhistory series.

In the early days of his career, Gunton initially aspired to be an observational documentary filmmaker. “Some of that approach has permeated what I do now,” Gunton said. He had seen many David Attenborough docs and knew that if the opportunity ever arose to work with the icon, he would take it. Such a chance occurred with The Trials of Life. After three years of working with Attenborough on that show, Gunton never looked back, and he has worked in the nature docs space for the past three decades.

Technology was far more cumbersome back then, and Gunton had to tote his filmstock out into the wild. “The good thing about that is, it forced you to be very decisive about what you do. The myth of wildlife filmmaking is you go out and sit around and wait for stuff to happen. To do good stuff, you have to be very clear about what you’re trying to achieve, what story you’re trying to tell.”

On his approach to storytelling, Gunton noted, “A lot of it is research. Natural-history audiences love to see new things.

When the camera can draw the veil back and show things that are remarkable, that’s the approach. Trying to find surprising stories. Some of the best surprises come from when you think you know an animal, and you show something that completely turns [that belief] on its head.”

He continued, “One of the things I’ve been obsessive about is trying to tell stories, not about animals but about a particular animal—that rhino on that day.”

About landmark series like Planet Earth, Gunton stated, “Every time you make one of these, people say, You’ve done it all! Mother Nature is so extraordinary and so fascinating, if you dig deep, you find new stories. Of course, you want to bring in new technology that allows you to show things you might have seen before in one way but can now be shown in another way.”

Gunton said that ahead of embarking on production for Planet Earth II, he found himself thinking, “Is anyone going to buy the idea that there’s a sequel? It was a challenging thing to do. But there was new technology that allowed us to bring the camera closer to the animals, which is something I always wanted to do.

“Season one was about seeing the world from almost a God’seye view. I wanted to reflect that and also say, We’ve moved on, there’s new technology, and we look at the world in a slightly different way now. We’re much more aware of the fragility of the planet. I also wanted to do something [Attenborough] hadn’t done before. I said, Let’s take him up in a balloon. It was two weeks before his 90th birthday! He agreed to do it.”

Planet Earth II let audiences “savor the wonders of the world,” Gunton said. “It came at the right moment. The idea was to get close to the animals. Get down there and use the camera and the storytelling to make you feel you were experiencing their lives.”

He showed as an example the much-watched “Iguana vs.

Snakes” video shot in the Galápagos. “People all around the world were shouting, ‘Run iguana, run!’ It’s immersion, engagement and empathy with the animals. The camera is super close.

We wouldn’t have been able to do that five years ago.”

With the more recent Dynasties, Gunton said he wanted to “change the rhythm of these films. A lot of the Planet Earth–type shows are shot in multiple locations with multiple stories. They have a particular approach. There’s a frustration as filmmakers that…there’s so much more story to tell. I thought there was an opportunity to tell stories about a life. It was risky.

I had to pick five animals and tell the story of the challenges individuals face when they are fighting against their own kind, their own family and rivals.” When Gunton conceived of the project, he envisioned it as a “Game of Thrones for animals.”

Natural-history docs have “many roles,” Gunton added. “We had 2 million years of evolution that connected us with the natural world, and the last 250, 300 years, we’ve stepped away from that. People want to make a connection with the natural world. And there’s endless fascination about our fellow creatures on the planet. They’re a reminder of the wonder and value and fragility [of the natural world].”

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Global Agency’s Shopping Monsters.

Kristin Brzoznowski checks in on the latest trends in the format business across Europe.

W

ith cord-cutting heating up in the European TV landscape and the number of on-demand platforms mushrooming, the craving for shows simmered in local flavors has intensified among broadcasters in the region. Channels in Western Europe and across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), hoping to attract younger viewers in particular, are looking to formats as a way to stand out amid the vast buffet of entertainment options on offer these days.

“Across Europe, there is an appetite to create homegrown content,” says Mark Lawrence, executive director for EMEA at

Endemol Shine International. “The constraints on the volume of regional production will always be governed by budget considerations, which can be balanced with finished acquired programming—and indeed, the finished and format of the same show on a platform can complement each other.”

Lawrence points out that long-running global formats are continuing to do well in Europe. For example, from the Endemol Shine stable, Big Brother is celebrating its 20th anniversary and “is enjoying one of its best years yet,” he says. “The teams have been implementing innovative tech to revitalize the production process.” The show made a comeback in Poland after 11 years off the air and also returns in Finland this year.

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MasterChef, too, is “universally loved in [many] countries and is constantly being innovated,” Lawrence adds. “In Spain, they have launched bespoke content on YouTube to draw in a new, younger audience.”

“Our globally successful talent shows continue to be renewed and are delivering for our respected partners, especially our iconic entertainment brands Got Talent, Idols and X Factor,” says Daniela Matei, CEO for the Nordics, Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans at Fremantle.

The company has also recently received “a lot of interest” for its new entertainment format The Greatest Dancer, according to Matei. She adds that prime-time game shows such as the classics Family Feud and Golden Brain, as well as comedy panel shows, including What’s My Line (Inkognito), To Tell the Truth and Who Knew, are continuing to notch up recommissions.

HERE TO ENTERTAIN “Generally, the interest from Western Europe and CEE is in the same genres, such as shiny-floor entertainment, game shows, dating shows and comedy panel shows,” Matei says of the regional format tastes.

Keren Shahar, the COO and president of distribution at Keshet International, reports “very healthy” format sales across both Western and Eastern Europe. “We haven’t seen much change in Western Europe in the past six months, and the needs remain the same. We have, however, seen steady growth in Eastern Europe, in both scripted and non-scripted formats,” she adds.

Like Matei, Shahar says that game shows have been top draws.

“Studio-based game shows for access prime very much remain in demand,” she notes. “BOOM!, our best-selling game show, works very well in the daily access-prime slot.” The format has been licensed in 20 territories to date, including Italy, where more than 400 episodes have aired, and Spain, where the show celebrated its 1,000th episode this year.

“In CEE, prime time is still very much dominated by shinyfloor, studio-based formats and reality shows that have a proven track record in several territories,” she says. “While in Western Europe, factual entertainment is being added to the mix,” a trend she also sees beginning to make its way into CEE territories.

“In general, CEE is becoming more open to experimentation, with different genres and also formats that have not necessarily aired in major, or multiple, territories being considered,” Shahar adds. “We are also seeing increased interest in the Nordics for our fact-ent formats.”

“The Scandinavian territories are, in a way, waking up,” agrees Amos Neumann, the COO of Armoza Formats. “There was quite a decline in their consumption of formats recently, but we now see an interesting awakening in these territories. They have realized that there is a limit to what you can do with older things that keep coming back, that you need to open yourself up.”

In CEE, he says, “Besides the usual suspects—which are the big prime-time shows—they are looking for strong factual entertainment.” The Western part of Europe is “more U.S.-oriented in terms of content,” Neumann adds. “Shows that will find themselves in prime time in Eastern Europe will be daytime, afternoon

or access-prime-time shows in Western Europe. They are still looking for the big franchises for prime time.” However, he has seen that broadcasters in this part of the world are getting edgier in the content that they are seeking out. “Channel 4 in the U.K. [which aired Armoza Formats’ social experiment Sex Tape] has been edgy for a while. But in Poland, they bought the U.K. [version] of Sex Tape, and we have a Belgian version, a Dutch version and soon it’s going to be picked up in Germany. They are more inclined to get edgier content than they used to be.”

One reason for this, he says, is the declining audiences for traditional linear broadcasters. “When you’re looking at the opportunity to attract the audience, you have to be different.... Another thing is attracting younger audiences. The decline in younger audiences is much greater than in the 55-plus demo that is watching traditional TV. This decline drives the broadcasters to try different things and to engage their digital outlets—to perhaps start things on digital and move them to traditional channels and vice versa.” He points to Scandinavia and the U.K. as positive examples of this.

Ben Packwood, sales manager for EMEA North at all3media international, says that recently, Eastern Europe has proven to be “a strong market for formats because local productions are necessary there to grow channels, and local content is needed to resonate with audiences. Successful, well-traveled formats tend to be the most attractive in the region, as they generally look for tried-and-tested ideas.”

RISK-TAKERS Russia and Poland are willing to take more risks, Packwood says, highlighting the sale of 24 Hours to Hell and Back into Russia as the format’s first international version. “Other countries in the region tend to look at Poland and Russia; if they have adapted a format, it’s easier to get the attention of other countries, as they can better see that it works for budgets typical for the region.”

Indeed, according to Packwood, one of the most noticeable differences between the regions is budgets. “Another difference is that CEE has an appetite for constructed reality,” he adds. “This has contributed to the success of our constructed-reality strand over the last decade,” with hits such as Day and Night and Cases of Doubt. “Other factors include that it offers a large volume of scripts. This allows channels to strip content.”

Likewise, Global Agency has seen the greatest traction in CEE with its daily stripped shows, says Senay Tas, regional sales director. “Our style shows have sold best, but also our cooking shows.

In CEE, we recently licensed our cooking format My Wife Rules to Bosnia, and we are very excited to see how it will work, as this is our first format sale to the country in many years. We are also pleased to collaborate with the Slovenian public broadcaster on our quiz show Joker. The channel has already ordered additional episodes for next year.”

Looking ahead, she forecasts that “the trend of reality, cooking and daily stripped shows will continue in CEE for another couple of years. In Western Europe, we will continue to see reality, social experiments and factual entertainment in the future.

Shiny-floor talent shows always have a chance.”

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Inter Medya’s Broken Wings.

Broadcasters across CEE have demonstrated a varied taste for international drama, licensing titles from the U.S. to Turkey to the Philippines—and everywhere in between.

By Mansha Daswani

A

large contingent of rights holders will be showcasing their wares at NATPE Budapest International this year, including a raft of drama distributors eager to tap into the seemingly endless appetite for compelling scripted series from around the world. While content from established scripted suppliers like the U.S. and the U.K. remains in high demand, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) has long been open to a diverse range of sources, with Turkish series, in particular, finding a solid foothold in the region.

“Turkish dramas have been on air for more than ten years in this region,” reports Can Okan, founder and CEO of Inter Medya. “Buyers have a high level of awareness about the storylines, casts and performance of all Turkish programs.

Since the beginning of their popularity in the international market, there has been strong demand for Turkish series in Central and Eastern Europe, especially in the Balkans, where many of our series and feature films have been exported.”

Kanal D International has also established a robust trade in the region, reports Ekin Koyuncu, the company’s regional sales executive. “Our penetration in Central and Eastern

Europe has been and still is in great shape. We are constantly working on expanding our reach and maintaining our longstanding relationships with leading TV stations, pay-TV platforms and telcos. Buyers have a high level of awareness of and excitement for Turkish dramas. The production quality is always something that we are proud of, and when it is combined with our unique but relatable storytelling, the buying decision comes very quickly. We are working closely with almost all CEE territories and lately, we also managed to increase our penetration in Poland and the Czech Republic.”

For ATV, Bosnia, Greece, Montenegro, Romania and Serbia have become key markets, according to Müge Akar, deputy manager for content sales. “Our latest deals include Lifeline’s sale to Slovenia last year. In addition to Slovenia, Romania acquired one of ATV’s new big hits, Hercai, right after its third episode release in Turkey.”

One of Calinos Entertainment’s top sellers in the region has been its recent hit Woman, based on a Japanese scripted format. Asli Serim Guliyev, international sales director, notes that the drama has secured slots in Croatia, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia, while Forbidden Fruit was recently sold into Poland.

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While Turkish content is well established in CEE, new opportunities are emerging for Asian series, including shows from India and, more recently, the Philippines. “There is strong interest in our content from Greece, Macedonia, Ukraine and Russia because of how the stories relate to their viewers,” reports Laarni Yu, the sales head for EMEA at ABS-CBN Corporation. “We are setting foot in the region by offering stories with strong women leads, familial conflicts and more mature storylines.”

ABS-CBN is also eyeing opportunities with OTT platforms across Europe, Yu adds.

Similarly, Inter Medya’s Okan sees significant potential with digital platforms emerging in the region. “Europeans have usually spent less time watching TV than others around the world. This has recently changed thanks to the popularity of OTT. With many Europeans watching so much television, it is an optimal time for international media companies to enter into the region and for European broadcasters to invest resources in OTT. This clearly shows us that we have a lot of leeway in this area.”

DIGITAL SPIN

Turkish dramas that have generated interest across CEE include, from top, ATV’s Hercai, Kanal D’s Price of Passion and Calinos’ Woman.

Selim Türkmen, the sales executive for Western Europe, MENA and Africa at Kanal D International, reflects a similar sentiment, noting, “We see how local players are trying to find the right way to compete against giants like Netflix. Cooperation and alliances seem to be a common strategy. This competition creates a huge demand for exclusive and original content. This is where we can help make a difference.

OTT can be an additional window to monetize our content, and in new markets, it can help us test our content and get a better understanding of local viewing habits.”

Türkmen also mentions Kanal D’s growing business in Western Europe, an area that is opening up to Turkish distributors following the success of the country’s series in Spain. “In general, European broadcasters prefer picking regional content, [which is] less risky and more familiar. Lately, they’ve discovered Turkish content has these qualities.

This is a great chance for us, since we strongly believe in the quality of our production, the strength of our stories and the talent of our actors.”

ATV’s Akar adds, “We believe that other countries will follow the Spanish case and make a domino effect for Turkish dramas.”

Inter Medya’s Black Money Love has sold into Spain, and Okan is expecting the more recent Broken Wings to fare well across Western Europe. “The Western European market has become more fruitful for us,” Okan notes. “Turkish dramas have great potential, and the success of our dramas will soon spread to more countries in Western Europe.”

Calinos Entertainment has also found Spanish success, with The Girl Named Feriha on air in the country and a recent deal on Woman. “Due to the great success of The Girl Named Feriha, we expect to license it to Portugal and Italy very soon,” Guliyev says.

“Since Turkish dramas have universal themes like family and love, emotional issues with high-quality scripts and high production values, we believe more new markets will open, not only in Western European territories but all around the world.”

Drama distributors are also eager to pursue remake and coproduction opportunities in Europe.

“We actually have ongoing talks for a remake of one of our narratives,” ABS-CBN’s Yu says. “We are hoping that this would set a great start to our expansion in Europe.”

“We have licensed the remake rights of our titles in recent years, and co-production seems the logical next step,” Kanal D’s Türkmen notes.

“Building joint ventures with producers in the region has been a priority for us for the past few years,” adds Calinos’ Guliyev. “We are currently working on co-production opportunities with partners from Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary, to name a few.”

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TVKIDS

WWW.TVKIDS.WS

JUNE/JULY 2019

LICENSING EXPO, ANNECY & NATPE BUDAPEST EDITION

French Animation / L&M Strategies / Netflix’s Melissa Cobb / Rainbow’s Iginio Straffi

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8 TV KIDS

CONTENTS

It Takes Two (or More)

FEATURES

16 FRANCE TOONS IN Producers and distributors weigh in on the current opportunities and challenges facing the French animation sector.

16

Illustrators, producers and rights holders from across the globe descend on the French city of Annecy this month to celebrate the best in animation today and find smart ways to make the hits of the future.

Ricardo Seguin Guise Publisher Anna Carugati Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani Editor Kristin Brzoznowski Executive Editor Chelsea Regan Alison Skilton Associate Editors Victor L. Cuevas Production & Design Director Phyllis Q. Busell Art Director Simon Weaver Online Director Dana Mattison Senior Sales & Marketing Manager Andrea Moreno Business Affairs Manager

Ricardo Seguin Guise President Anna Carugati Executive VP Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development TV Kids ©2019 WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, #1207 New York, NY 10010 Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website: www.tvkids.ws

The Annecy International Animation Film Festival and its associated market, Mifa, has indeed become one of a handful of must-attend events for those operating in the kids’ sector.

“We have woven a longstanding relationship with the community,” says Annecy CEO Mickaël Marin on the growth of the event. He also notes the importance of having “talent and industry professionals in the same place at the same time.

Furthermore, every year we reinforce the complementary features between the two events and promote exchanges between the diverse professional categories. Annecy is not sidelined by just one single format. This is a surefire bonus that lets us show the best animated creations.”

Marin adds that “Annecy is the sole event that encompasses the [animation] industry’s entire chain within the same week, and all on a global scale.” The festival also places a heavy emphasis on supporting the next generation of animation talent. Plus, Marin adds, “Despite currently reaching almost 12,000 accreditations, Annecy is an exclusive place for meetings, exchanges and conviviality [against] an extraordinary backdrop—the beautiful Lake Annecy.”

Partnerships are still taking center stage across the production and distribution industry, despite the march of SVOD services insisting on exclusivity. Digital platforms are opening up a host of opportunities for animation producers and distributors across the globe, including in France, a prolific animation production market that we spotlight in this edition.

Those in the challenged L&M sector are also exploring new partnership opportunities, both with traditional brick-andmortar and online retailers, as they look for new ways to engage with kids (and their parents) on every platform. This edition of TV Kids explores the latest developments in kids’ merchandising, in time for Licensing Expo in Las Vegas.

This issue also features insights from two leading executives in the kids’ and family sector: Iginio Straffi of Italy’s Rainbow talks about flagship brands like Winx Club and opportunities in live action, and Netflix’s Melissa Cobb discusses how she is working with first-time and established animation talent worldwide to craft compelling kids’ series for the platform.

—Mansha Daswani

GET DAILY NEWS ON KIDS’ PROGRAMMING

20 FULL SPEED AHEAD As the retail industry changes with the times, new opportunities are opening up in the licensing and merchandising business.

20 INTERVIEWS

24 Netflix’s Melissa Cobb The VP of original animation at the streaming platform discusses the potential to bring local stories with global resonance to young ones across the globe.

28 Rainbow’s Iginio Straffi The chairman and CEO shares the plans for the live-action Winx Club series and explains what’s driving the success of the new preschool hit 44 Cats.

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10 TV KIDS

AnimalFanPedia

Cisneros Media AnimalFanPedia / Wowzu / Dinosaur project

Among the new children’s titles that Cisneros Media is developing is AnimalFanPedia, a wildlife program shot exclusively in HD that will take young viewers around the world and introduce them to giraffes, sharks, tigers and more, exploring how they live and what they need to survive. “AnimalFanPedia not only entertains, but it is also culturally relevant and essential, offering an incredible and wildly enjoyable adventure through the animal world,” says Ailing Zubizarreta, Cisneros Media’s VP of creative services. The live-action series Wowzu will see children reacting to animal behaviors through memes, dance-offs, lip-syncing and other challenges meant to entertain. There is a brand-new dinosaur project in the incubation stage that “will attract many young dino lovers both on the regular screen and on digital platforms,” according to Zubizarreta.

“We strive to develop our content with a visual language that children can relate to.”

—Ailing Zubizarreta Taffy

Cyber Group Studios Taffy / Sadie Sparks / Gigantosaurus Leading the slate of titles Cyber Group Studios is taking to the marketplace is Taffy, the company’s first Boomerang original series. “This is a modern version of classic cartoons in the spirit of Tom and Jerry,” says Raphaelle Mathieu, senior VP of sales, acquisitions and new media for Cyber Group Studios, who calls Taffy an “evergreen program for the whole family.” Sadie Sparks follows a schoolgirl as she discovers magical powers and receives training from a grumpy rabbit. Winner of the Cartoons on the Bay Pulcinella Award for best upper preschool TV series is Cyber Group’s Gigantosaurus, which has successfully launched on Disney Channel in the U.S. “We are really overwhelmed by [the success of] this show, for which we have worked so hard to appeal to young kids worldwide,” says Mathieu.

“We are coming with three very different types of series—all of them of the highest quality and with great storytelling.”

—Raphaelle Mathieu

FUN Union

Panda and Krash

BabyRiki / Panda and Krash / PinCode Panda and Krash, a Russian-Chinese co-production, is among the highlighted properties in FUN Union’s catalog.

The show, which is set to premiere simultaneously in Russia and China in June, provides “pure entertainment” and is a “fun TV series for preschoolers about real friendship and exciting adventures,” says FUN Union’s CEO, Diana Yurinova.

The company’s BabyRiki property, aimed at toddlers, is expected to create numerous licensing opportunities. “Our focus is on master toy companies in Europe, North America and Latin America, in countries where we already have secured broadcasting of our series,” says Yurinova. For older kids, the series PinCode tackles science through stories, making learning scientific facts a fun experience that can be enjoyed by the whole family.

“Panda and Krash is the first RussianChinese co-production in animation.”

—Diana Yurinova

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Bionic Max

Gaumont

Bionic Max / Furiki Wheels / Calimero Bionic Max, a 2D buddy comedy aimed at kids in the 6-to-11 set, leads Gaumont’s slate of offerings at NATPE Budapest this year. It follows the friendship between Max, a prototype for a bionic guinea pig, and Jean-Claude, a social outcast at the lab where Max was born. While watching the show, “kids will escape into the chaotic madness, laugh out loud and do what kids should do—have fun!” says Vanessa Shapiro, Gaumont’s president of worldwide TV distribution and coproduction. Other highlights from Gaumont include Furiki Wheels, which features a sloth who has the unique desire to be a racecar driver, and Calimero, a CGI series that follows a little chicken and his pals, who encourage children to “take a fresh look at the world around them with an open heart,” says Shapiro.

“Gaumont will be at NATPE Budapest this year meeting with buyers and potential partners.”

—Vanessa Shapiro

Green Gold Animation

Mighty Little Bheem

Mighty Little Bheem

Green Gold Animation is focusing on its preschool series Mighty Little Bheem, Netflix’s first original animated series from India, at Licensing Expo. Each six-minute episode of the series follows the adventures of the title character from Chhota Bheem, a popular kids’ series that has been running on Pogo TV in India since 2008. Bheem hails from a small town in India, where his strength gets him into—and out of—all kinds of trouble. “With Mighty Little Bheem, which is now being watched by millions of young viewers and their families on Netflix globally, Green Gold is proving that audiences respond to irresistible storytelling and characters they can relate to, regardless of cultural affinities or country of origin,” says Rajiv Chilaka, founder and CEO of Green Gold.

“Green Gold’s senior team is looking forward to discussions with various publishing, toy and apparel companies at the market.”

—Rajiv Chilaka

Mondo TV Group

MeteoHeroes

MeteoHeroes / YooHoo to the Rescue / Robot Trains Mondo TV Group’s highlights center on the theme of respect for the environment. MeteoHeroes sees six kids with the power to control the weather fight against extreme climate phenomena, with each episode taking its theme from real weather reports.

“MeteoHeroes was created to answer some of the questions that arise from climate change, which affects the lives of people and animals and the entire ecosystems,” says Luana Perrero, the company’s head of content sales. “We are, therefore, looking for partners to embrace this series and the changes that it promotes.” YooHoo to the Rescue follows the titular character as he and his pals travel to Earth to confront threats to wildlife, meeting endangered animals along the way. Robot Trains teaches kids about the planet’s balance of water, fire, wind and light through talking trains that transform into robots.

“The objective is not only to entertain kids with special and well-made content that brings with it a positive message but to work with big institutions and get as many partners as possible to take action, to make a difference.”

—Luana Perrero

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14 TV KIDS

Monster Entertainment

WowWow Rolling Friends

The Day Henry Met…? / Earth to Luna! / WowWow Rolling Friends Monster Entertainment’s The Day Henry Met…?—which is currently broadcasting on free-TV channels in Poland, Latvia and Estonia—follows the titular character on a different adventure each day, as he befriends everything from animals to the Moon. The series Earth to Luna!, which hails from Latin America, follows the eponymous 6-year-old as she explores the world through science, bringing her little brother and pet ferret along on her adventures. Meanwhile, Korea’s WowWow Rolling Friends, Monster’s first Asian property, is a storytelling-themed series aimed at 3- to 5year-olds that helps them develop problem-solving skills by using imaginative block toys. These three programs “show our versatile catalog,” says Andrew Fitzpatrick, chairman of Monster Entertainment.

“All of these titles are unique, and this is what we would like to show our existing and future clients.”

—Andrew Fitzpatrick

Studio 100 Media & m4e Heidi / Tip the Mouse / Wissper The series Heidi is touting 26 new adventures of the happy orphan girl who handles the challenges of everyday life with a smile. The show is a “real worldwide evergreen,” says Dorian Bühr, head of global distribution at Studio 100 Media and m4e. “Heidi, as an authentic character, has already inspired kids for more than a century.” Season three of Tip the Mouse will become available this fall. The CGI preschool series is based on a publishing success that has sold over 11 million books worldwide. Meanwhile, there’s a second season of the preschool series Wissper. “The show is designed to attract kids and families, offering a unique story about a cute animal whisperer and her animal friends,” says Bühr. “Its style, design and production quality meet the highest market standards.”

Wissper

“Studio 100 Media and m4e is always trying to make great content accessible to a wide audience and to help kids have fun and thrive.”

—Dorian Bühr

ZDF Enterprises

The Athena

The Athena / The Bureau of Magical Things / Zoom—The White Dolphin In The Athena, a young model’s career implodes when she complains about a famous designer treating her like an object. She decides she wants to design her own clothes and wins a place at The Athena, London’s most prestigious art school. Also in the way of live action is The Bureau of Magical Things. “Zoom—The White Dolphin is only one of the several new additions to our animation catalog,” says Peter Lang, VP of ZDFE.junior at ZDF Enterprises. “After being the hero of the 1970s cult series, the most famous cetacean in the history of cartoons makes his comeback in this animated series.” In addition to sales for the series, Lang says all of these properties “are ideally suited for L&M exploitation in the very best sense.”

“ZDFE.junior is the number one address when it comes to successful live-action series.”

—Peter Lang

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16 TV KIDS

Cyber Group Studios’ Mirette Investigates.

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France Toons In

TV KIDS

Kristin Brzoznowski explores the current opportunities and challenges facing the French animation sector.

T

he history of French animation is among the longest, and most enviable, in the world.

France was the birthplace of some of the earliest animated films, dating back to the late 19th century. Throughout the years, the country has cultivated a rich tradition of storytellers and animators that is still alive and thriving today, as it’s home to a number of highly respected and internationally renowned animation schools, the famed Les Gobelins among them.

“There is not only a long tradition of French animation but also a strong foundation,” says Pierre Sissmann, chairman and CEO of Paris-based Cyber Group Studios. “I’m talking about 70 or 80 years of people working in the industry, learning and being nourished by fairytales and then creating original stories.

That explains why France, today, is the number one country in Europe for animation, not only with television series but also feature films.”

Indeed, the latest figures from the CNC (National Center for Cinema and the Moving Image) and TV France International illustrate animation as France’s most valuable programming export. In 2017, a year when the country set an all-time TVprogramming export record, animated content accounted for 37 percent of French sales, for a total revenue of nearly €76 million—compared to €64 million for fiction and €36 million for documentaries.

“The industry has reached a new high,” affirms Jérôme Alby, managing director of Mediatoon Distribution, which is part of the French conglomerate Media-Participations. “There are lots of good IPs in Europe that travel quite well. The free-to-air channels were commissioning so much animation, plus movies, that France developed an expertise. That is a key asset that we have in terms of having students who are very well taught; we have very strong schools and very good writers.”

The commissioning landscape in France, however, is bracing for some changes, Alby explains. For one,

France Télévisions is planning to shut down the free-to-air France 4 channel, which boasts a bevy of kids’ and family programming. Meanwhile, Gulli, the country’s leading free-to-air digital channel for children, and its sister networks, Canal J and TiJi, are transitioning ownership to M6 Group. “So, there are some worries within the French animation sector,” he says.

CHANGING TIMES “The French and European animation market is definitely going through some big changes, which triggers numerous new challenges but also creates many new opportunities,” says Delphine Dumont, senior VP of sales, acquisitions and co-productions at Zodiak Kids. “These opportunities vary, depending on what point of view you are looking at things from (content creators, producers, distributors and platforms, both linear and digital), but we are all in a period of transition.”

The transformation of distribution and the proliferation of platforms are causing the biggest changes in the sector, she says. “Viewing habits are now incredibly varied, but importantly, demand for content has never been so strong, resulting in a healthy commissioning market.”

“One of the greatest challenges is being able to produce enough content to satisfy the demand, which has accelerated as a result of the rapid multiplication of platforms,” says Morgann Favennec, the executive VP of global sales development at Xilam Animation. “With so much competition, it’s also a challenge for the industry to create content that will cut through the noise and keep audiences tuning in. Our strategy is to look for new properties with a distinct, unique concept and engaging characters, to hook kids in immediately and keep them coming back week after week.”

Lionel Marty, the managing director of APC Kids, agrees that competition is as stiff as ever. “More and more titles are produced in Europe every year, and the traditional contentprovider markets, such as France, the U.K., Italy, Spain and Germany, are now not only facing competition from the U.S.,

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The preschool series Lilybuds, produced by Zodiak Kids Studio France, has been sold into markets such as the U.K.

Canada and Japan, but also from growing rivals, including Russia, Latin America and Asia.”

“Meanwhile, consumer demand has not accelerated at the same pace as the content offering,” he continues. “Traditional broadcasters still have limited time slots for kids’ content, and the schedules of kid-dedicated channels rely heavily on multiple runs of the most successful titles, while SVOD platforms tend to focus on properties with built-in audience awareness.

Therefore, it takes high creative values, combined with the right marketing approach, for a property to stand out.”

RAISING THE BAR

For the time being, we found a maximized balance by starting with linear broadcast.”

He sees that digital platforms are increasing in importance for the French animation sector. “For Mediatoon, if we add up free VOD, AVOD, SVOD and TVOD, it’s more than a third of our global turnover, in terms of exploitation.”

With the growth in OTT and the impending changes to the country’s free-to-air landscape, the pay-TV channels “are facing new challenges,” says Alby. “They are constantly enriching a combined linear and nonlinear strategy so as to avoid being cornered by the linear free-to-air channels on one side and the SVOD and OTT on the other side. So, most of the key pay-TV networks are developing their SVOD and/or OTT offers. The same goes for the free-to-air channels, making for exciting times ahead!”

“The OTT alternatives created by European networks and telecom companies keep improving,” notes APC Kids’ Marty, highlighting the impact this has had on the creative community in France, and in Europe as a whole.

“We anticipate that the demand for more and more content will continue to grow, with an increasing number of requests for exclusive rights,” says Xilam’s Favennec. “As a result, if you want to produce for a broad range of platforms and broadcasters, you have to be robust and have a solid business strategy, while also remaining attractive to new creative talent.”

“French animation remains one of the most prolific markets, thanks to an abundance of kids’ channels and service providers—producers, studios and distributors—and very strong funding grants such as the CNC model,” adds Zodiak Kids’ Dumont. “The metamorphosis of France TV and the arrival of Disney+ in the territory will definitely change the landscape and the way things have traditionally been done.”

Even with the changes looming in France’s TV market, Cyber Group’s Sissmann maintains an optimistic outlook for the country’s animation sector. “I’m feeling positive about the future,” he says. “But I think the challenges are very big.

How do you adapt to the new platforms? How do you manage your SVOD rights? How does that impact storytelling?

These are some of the challenges that we’re facing. But, with its strong foundation and tradition of artists, with its worldrenowned animation schools and with the French government’s support, France is better positioned than anywhere else to face these challenges.”

Cyber Group’s Sissmann says that with regard to creativity, digital platforms have opened up more potential for serialized storytelling. “Another good thing is that some of the platforms have a lot of money, so your ambitions, in terms of special effects and storytelling, can be [greater]. One of the series that we’re currently doing has a budget of about €9 million, another one has a budget that went to €12 million, and these are both for traditional television. We felt that we had to compete—in terms of visuals, special effects and storytelling— with all the other new series on digital platforms.”

Of course, being ambitious is a good thing for the animation business at large, but the issue is finding the financing to remain competitive, says Sissmann. “If you look at the traditional [budget] for a French series, the average price is €7 million to €7.5 million, because that’s what the market allows in terms of financing and how you can recoup your investment. To compete on the world market can be much more expensive, and hence, this creates financing issues.”

Sissmann also notes that many OTT platforms want to own all rights to the IP created for them.

“I’m afraid that independent producers are going to struggle,” he says. “They will need to fight to get this new budget and will eventually wind up doing work for hire and not for their IPs anymore.”

Mediatoon’s Alby says that in this changing marketplace, it’s important for distributors to “manage the best possible balance between exposure, exclusivity, holdback and revenue. Based on a picture book, The Fox-Badger Family is part of the Mediatoon Distribution catalog.

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20 TV KIDS

Mondo TV’s Robot Trains.

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Full Speed

Ahead

As the retail industry changes with the times, new opportunities are opening up in the licensing and merchandising business. By Chelsea Regan

M

uch was made last year of the liquidation of Toys“R”Us, the ultimate purveyor of toys. There were fears that its bankruptcy not only underscored a singular company’s financial woes, but perhaps foretold unavoidable ails for an entire industry. But those fears may have been unfounded, or at the very least, premature.

Despite a 2-percent decrease in toy-industry sales in 2018, as reported by the NPD Group, the Toys“R”Us liquidation was possibly indicative of an isolated problem: an outmoded business model for a soon-to-be bygone era. Once the industry adapts to make up for its absence, it seems reasonable to believe that more growth lies ahead.

As broadcasters launch streaming apps and media megabrands like WarnerMedia and Disney unveil SVOD and AVOD platforms, they’re acknowledging a pivot in how viewers want to consume television. So too, kids’ media brands and merchandisers must acknowledge a pivot in how consumers want to buy toys and other branded merchandise for the children in their lives.

EVOLVING RETAIL “Amazon and Walmart have to top your list each and every time,” says Jennifer Coleman, Konami Cross Media NY’s VP of licensing and marketing, about the routes brands are taking to bring their products to retail in light of the closures of many brick-and-mortar toy sellers. What’s more is that Konami, which recently rebranded from 4K Media and manages the YuGi-Oh! brand, in addition to Contra, Frogger and Bomberman, is meeting the buyers where they are—on the internet. “We’ve had our own small Yu-Gi-Oh! shop online.”

Natasha Gross, SUNRIGHTS’ director of licensing and merchandising, also sees the rising importance of having a strong presence in the online sphere to reach consumers directly and with more flexibility.

“Brands could feature select products and attract niche consumers, but this area is still challenging because you need to attract your audience and build awareness,” says Gross. One solution is to take Konami’s route of creating an online shop.

“Many manufacturers, and even brands, are creating their own e-commerce platforms that are very targeted toward a particular buyer, but it will take time to grow these sites.”

In Italy, where Mondo TV is based, the retail industry has yet to dramatically shift away from brick-and-mortar, though that doesn’t mean that the company is turning a blind eye to online retail’s encroaching prevalence in the region.

“We still do a lot of business through traditional retail, shops, stores and kiosks,” says Valentina La Macchia, Mondo TV’s licensing director. “It’s true that online trading is making inroads into these markets, and we are factoring this change into our planning. However, we are wary of overcommitting to any one retail approach when the retail market remains fairly diverse.”

Ian Shipley, the head of licensing at Monster Entertainment— whose The Day Henry Met...? property has inspired a series of books—is not entirely immune to the internet’s many charms, but he maintains the belief that brick-and-mortar still serves a fundamental function in the L&M business.

“Without the brick-and-mortar retailers, brands and properties lose out massively on the exposure in-store and the ability to present a range of products and undertake brand promotions. Suppliers also miss out on the impulse purchases generated in-store,” he says, adding, “Grandparents and other relatives looking for a present would often buy if they could see a range was popular; they don’t get this with online retailers in the same way.”

Shipley has an idea of one category in particular for which Amazon could help brands develop products that frequent toy buyers like grandparents might be keen to buy. He thinks that a key opportunity in the coming years for the L&M business could be “for a major [retailer] like Amazon to get in on the print-on-demand model and become more innovative with the products that can be personalized. There are many people doing print-on-demand, but at the moment, they just do not have the reach to generate long-term high revenue for IP owners.”

“Every segment of the L&M business is getting more personalized and consumer-oriented,” observes Valeria Korotina, FUN Union’s international marketing director. She explains that the company is constantly researching and studying its

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target audience. “Which social networks they are using; which platforms they watch. We can adapt our content by analyzing which episodes are more popular and by attending to audiences’ comments. It’s not enough now just to produce content; you have to be in a dialogue with your audience.”

In keeping with the theme of looking toward what’s next rather than at what is, Konami’s Coleman suggests that Kickstarter might become A new wave of toys for FUN Union’s BabyRiki has been launched to the market. a vital platform for even established brands in the play it safe,” he says. “If they only have three SKUs of lunch merchandising industry. She’s witnessed companies “using it as boxes, they will play it safe and go with a mainstream franchise.” a promotional tool to drive awareness, to create buzz and really SUNRIGHTS will be representing the well-known Beyblade to sort of seed it within that category, within that fan group that IP across all non-toy categories at Licensing Expo, as well as you’re targeting, that target market.” some select ancillary novelty toy products, as master toys are the brand’s key driver. “We have an entire demographic that is nostalgic for Beyblade who are older, and we are marketing to While conventional wisdom might dictate that a brand as stoour original fan base,” says Gross. ried and established as Konami’s Yu-Gi-Oh!, with its sprawling If nostalgia isn’t in a brand’s corner, it’s feasible to break into franchise of series, wouldn’t need to consider avenues like the competitive field and stand out from the crowd through Kickstarter, Coleman would beg to differ. From her point of quality and originality, according to Mondo TV’s La Macchia. view, the assumption that established IP has a firm leg up on “We try to make sure the positioning of our brand is somethe competition profoundly misunderstands the retail game, thing that we have done differently from every other channel. which requires continuous effort to stay ahead.

The Robot Trains app is an obvious example,” La Macchia says, “You have to work hard, you have to be creative, you have to referring to the augmented reality app that’s both free to downbe innovative, you have to make sure that you are on trend— load and available through product purchases. not only with the products that you’re putting out here, but also FUN Union has responded to the competitive market by with the style guides that you’re developing for your partners to seeking out the right partners. KingBee in China produced its work with,” says Coleman, suggesting that these musts hold BabyRiki toys, which launched six months ago with more than true for all brands. “I think you have to look hard and every70 SKUs in more than 120 stores. The company is also finding thing has to be aligned, and it has to be a concentrated effort new ways to work with retailers on IP. across numerous departments across an organization to really While partnerships are central to the licensing business, find success in this competitive landscape.”

SUNRIGHTS’ Gross points out that when it comes to categories Monster Entertainment’s Shipley, meanwhile, sees how difand timing, strategizing is as important as ever. ficult it can be to crack through the BPA-free plastic ceiling of “The days of signing up hundreds of licensees globally in the industry. anticipation of launching a brand are no longer the reality, and “I am saddened when I continually see the major householdpartners across the board are more conservative to align with name franchises and nothing else—great for these brands, but retail interest and economic change,” she says. they are blocking new IP from breaking through as retailers With Avengers: Endgame ushering in the end of the most recent great age of the superhero flick—and its corresponding stronghold on collectible toys—Konami’s Coleman sees an opportunity in the gaping hole that the megabrand will leave in its wake, one that can be filled by smaller brands, particularly ones tied in to the gaming industry.

“I’m excited about what the future holds for some of these game entities, and that as a new medium for content development and putting that out there in the marketplace. I’m a little happy that superheroes are kind of on the downturn so that other things can try to find their place in the category,” says Coleman, adding, “I like seeing the continued growth of Crunchyroll for our anime sector,” referring to the streaming platform whose success underpins what’s changed on the content side of the industry, and which goes a long way to forecasting what lies ahead in L&M. Mondo TV’s La Macchia, too, acknowledges streaming’s potential, as well as that of online media at large, though not without a caveat echoing one of Coleman’s concerns. “The growth in viewing platforms and online media is helping to democratize brand exposure and reach highly targeted, licenseerelevant audiences,” she says. “This is a major opportunity—if it can be properly managed.”

STANDING OUT

Monster’s The Day Henry Met...? has inspired a set of books.

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24 TV KIDS

Melissa Cobb

Netflix

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K

ids’ and family content has become an increasingly important pillar for Netflix in its quest to maintain its position as the largest SVOD platform in the world.

Melissa Cobb, VP of original animation, recently sat down for an in-depth conversation with TV Kids to discuss her remit, upcoming projects and the potential to bring local stories with global resonance to young ones across the globe.

TV KIDS: At an event in Mexico earlier this year, Guillermo del Toro talked about the “creator-friendly” environment he’s found at Netflix. How have you fostered that?

COBB: I’ve been at Netflix for about a year and a half. When I got here, there wasn’t [an animation studio] yet. I had to think a lot about what we could create that would be different.

What is the experience that can be different? One of the things I realized was that so many creators in the kids’ and family space are working in environments where there is a very clear brand profile to work under, and often one arbiter of that taste profile. I don’t know if there had been a studio yet that was truly creator-driven, with very different styles and tastes based on the creators working there. That seemed like an intriguing idea. So that was what we set out to do. It’s about bringing in the right creators. You need creators who have a strong enough vision that they can take it all the way to the finish line. We’re there to help provide them with support and guardrails and someone to bounce ideas off of. It’s not necessarily the level of experience—we have first-time creators as well as experienced creators. But it’s a level of vision and confidence to be able to run their own show. It starts with picking the right people. There are people for whom that’s not a comfortable thing, and they are probably not the right people to work for us. People like Guillermo are super clear in their vision! People like that work really well in that environment.

And then they are fearless about sharing what they know with the other creators. It becomes an interesting environment where people aren’t afraid to say, Can you take a look at this? I’m having some trouble, do you have any suggestions about this character design? They all want their work to be great for themselves.

TV KIDS: The programmers at kids’ channels often talk about finding content that fits their particular brand values. What’s your approach to finding shows that will work on Netflix?

COBB: Again, it’s about who you bring in and what the projects are. And then we’re trying to look across all the projects and we have to make sure there is a real variety—more comedic things and more actiony things and things that appeal to the whole family and things that appeal to different age groups within the family. We look at our slate holistically to make sure we have a broad offering, with different tastes and kinds of creators too.

TV KIDS: How are you experimenting with formats and episode durations?

COBB: That 11-minute, 22-minute format has been ingrained for so long! There are some fun things we’re doing. We have this show called True and the Rainbow Kingdom, a preschool series. Something like that, rather than order X number of 11minute episodes, Dominique [Bazay, director of content acquisitions for kids], the content executive on that, sat down with the creators and said, Let’s do 200 minutes of content.

Let’s think about how we can divide that up in a different way. Our order size is the same, but we think of it differently.

There are slightly longer specials, maybe 18-minutes long, there are short-form music videos and then there are episodes. That’s helpful for kids because there are moments

when they need different kinds of content. Maybe they just have a couple of minutes, or perhaps they have a favorite song and want to watch [the video] over and over again, or they have more time before bed and want to watch something longer. It’s been interesting to see how the audience reacts to that. It’s been pretty encouraging so far.

On the other side, we have something like Maya and the Three that Jorge Gutierrez is doing for us. That’s a miniseries, for lack of a better word. It’s nine episodes of about a half hour each but done through a feature pipeline and feature-quality production. Just because something is a series doesn’t mean it can’t also be a feature-quality experience. It’s suited for a family to gather together and watch an animated event series over several nights. That seems like a really interesting experience to me. We can provide different types of experiences for families.

TV KIDS: You’ve also done some interactive storytelling. Is there more to come in that space?

COBB: We’ve aired four interactive series in the kids’ space.

They’ve all done well for us. They’ve all been well embraced by the audience. We recently announced another one, called Battle Kitty, which uses interactivity differently. It’s not so much branching narrative. You get to choose the order in which you have adventures. So it’s a slightly different lens on it. It’s a creator-driven situation where we’re saying, Let’s take these brilliant engineers and put them together with these great creators and see what they can come up with. [Battle Kitty] is the first show from Matt Layzell. He had a bit of an internet following because he made these funny cartoons online, and the engineer who was doing our interactive turned out to be a big fan of his. So, we put those people together. That’s the unique thing about Netflix—that partnership between the product and engineering side and the creative side. We think that can result in really interesting collaborations.

TV KIDS: Tell us about some of the originals you’re making outside of the U.S. COBB: Asia is a super important region for us. It’s a big growth opportunity. There’s a lot of family viewing in Asia, a lot of extended families living together, particularly in India and Southeast Asia. We think a lot about this audience. We now have an executive based in the Singapore office who is just focusing on finding content from the region that is appropriate for kids and families. There are a few shows we’ve already done. It’s still early—we’re just getting started! We had a couple of shows out of Korea, YooHoo to the Rescue and Larva Island.

Both are doing really well, in the region and outside the region. Mighty Little Bheem is a new show from Green Gold Animation in India. It’s a very specific Indian IP, and now everybody outside India knows about it. That’s doing really well outside of Asia. That, particularly in animation, is a great opportunity—finding those great creators and great stories and IP in the region and helping develop them in a way that they can resonate globally. We’re doing a movie, Over the Moon, which is based on a Chinese folktale about the Moon Goddess. It’s a big musical adventure that Glen Keane is directing for us. It’s big universal storytelling based on a very specific story from China. [Asia] is a rich source of great stories, great art and really strong animation, so it feels like there’s a big opportunity to continue to grow.

We have one executive in Singapore, one in Brazil and two in London. The way we think about it is not necessarily local content for local [audiences]. Our content team is looking for creators around the world [to develop content that will resonate globally]. There are a number of different projects

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By Mansha Daswani

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26 TV KIDS

we’re developing [in Europe and Latin America]. We just announced a show we’re developing out of Africa, Mama K’s Team 4, which we’re super excited about. We have a real passion for finding those creators and helping them be successful.

TV KIDS: How important are acquisitions and co-productions to the Netflix kids’ slate?

COBB: Super important. Licensed acquisitions are a big part of what we do. They always will be—working with the independent studios that are making great content. We are, more and more, working with those creators further upstream so that we can have more territories and it makes our lives easier and it’s good for our audience. It’s always going to be part of what we do. The big deals, like the DreamWorks deal, will continue on.

There are market forces that lean us more toward our own original content, but it will always be a balance.

TV KIDS: What will you be focusing on over the next year?

COBB: International is probably our biggest growth area, in terms of where we’re looking for creators. If you look at the Netflix audience overall, that’s where our big growth is.

There is still growth in the U.S., but we’re seeing really rapid growth in Europe and Latin America and Asia. So we want to make sure we’re tapping into the creators there. In animation, it takes a couple of years to make something! We’re always having to look at the long horizon of where we think our audience is going to be and where their interests are going to be and where we think there are going to be more families and more kids. We have to anticipate that.

TV KIDS: We’ve talked a lot about animation. Are you also investing in original live action for kids?

COBB: We’re doing more tween sitcoms. We have No Good Nick on now and a number of other series coming out this year, like Malibu Rescue and Family Reunion.

Those tend to do OK globally. We’re looking a bit more in Europe for live action. And we have a tween tele novela from Latin America called Go! Live Your Way that is really fun. It’s a soapy series set in a performing arts high school. We’re also starting a big initiative around tween/teen movies, more PGrated. Tall Girl comes out later this year. We just started shooting The Half of It, a modern Cyrano story. It has a wonderful message about friendship and love.

TV KIDS: How do you use Netflix’s treasure trove of data analytics in your content decisions?

COBB: There are a couple of things that analytics are super helpful for. One is in identifying white spaces. There will be clusters of viewers around a certain type of content, say anime. We can look at those and say, Do we have enough for the people who like to watch this type of content?

The analytics are also pretty good at being able to identify what the size of the audience is for a certain piece of content. That is quite a luxury. That helps us find the appropriate budget for something.

Not everything needs to appeal to everyone.

We’re not in that business. We’re in the business of the appropriate number of people for the budget watching something. It helps us tune and identify a budget number early on. And then, where it’s really powerful, is in finding the viewers. It’s quite remarkable to watch that process happen.

Netflix’s Mighty Little Bheem from Green Gold Animation is built on a beloved Indian IP.

TV KIDS: What excites you most about making content for kids and families today?

COBB: Netflix is in every country in the world, except for China. We can find creators from all over the world, and every show we make will be dubbed into every language and put into every household. There’s this whole generation of kids growing up with access to a platform where they will see shows from all over the world.

There’s an opportunity for a more globally aware, empathetic group of kids who will be more exposed to different cultures. That, to me, is exciting.

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TV KIDS: Expanding into live action has been a significant focus for Rainbow over the last two years. Why has this been such an important strategy for the company?

STRAFFI: We realized that in both the kids’ and the adult spaces, there was a lot of demand for live-action content.

As a content company, we had to expand our portfolio.

So we started with tweens and teens—we produced Maggie & Bianca and now Club 57 with Nickelodeon. At the same time, we acquired one of the most established and prestigious Italian live-action companies, Colorado Film. With them, we now have the know-how and a network of talent attached that can help us in growing our content into the adult space as well.

TV KIDS: How has it been for you working in the live-action space, having been an animation producer for so long?

STRAFFI: For live action, you can see the results of your story, your ideas or something from a book, within a maximum of two years from the first initial concept development. With animation, the process is longer. However, this is not the only reason [we expanded into live action].

We want to grow Rainbow as a media content company beyond kids and animation, and this is the right moment to do it. There are many players—from traditional broadcasters to Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Apple and others—that are putting good budgets behind content. Most of the time, it’s live action. There’s a budget for animation as well, but it’s much smaller compared to what is dedicated to adults. We want to grow as a global player in content.

For me, personally, the move into live action completes my experience professionally. I’ve been in kids’ and family entertainment for 25 years. Live action is a different challenge. It is very exciting for me to put my ideas behind something that is about emotion, touching your heart or inspiring you, but using different elements and real actors. Real actors have a lot of complexity compared to cartoon characters, who never get sick, never complain and never ask for more money! They bring real life and real emotion to what you are doing, if they are real talents.

By Mansha Daswani

A

s it nears its 25th anniversary in 2020, Italy’s Rainbow is cementing its position in the global marketplace as more than just a provider of high-end animation for kids and families. The company that made a name for itself with the megahit Winx Club franchise has upped its live-action game with tween shows like Maggie & Bianca: Fashion Friends and the more recent Club 57, while its Colorado Film business is producing Italian feature films and scripted dramas. Iginio Straffi, chairman and CEO of Rainbow, shares with TV Kids the growth strategy for the company he founded in 1995 and the plans for the liveaction Winx Club series. He also explains what’s driving the success of the new preschool hit 44 Cats.

TV KIDS: Club 57 is being produced in two countries with a multinational cast. How has that experience been?

STRAFFI: It has been a really nice experience. The cast, which is a mix of American, Latin American and Italian actors, has created real friendships. I visited the set many times, both in Italy and Miami. They have real chemistry.

That was experiment number one accomplished! And the know-how of Rainbow and the know-how of Nickelodeon are very complementary; the sensibilities of the Americans, with our European touch. It’s a beautiful show.

TV KIDS: I interviewed Luca Milano at Rai recently, and he mentioned that 44 Cats has been a hit since day one, and you’ve done a number of deals on the show around the world. Why do you think the concept is resonating so strongly with children?

STRAFFI: We had never done a preschool or bridge show; we were more on the older kids side. Trying to create a show that could be more gender neutral was very stimulating. We wanted to bring universal values—messages of friendship, defending against bullies—in a comedic way.

And there are all these songs that are very interesting

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Rainbow has been ramping up its roster of live-action series, which includes Club 57.

because they are not the classic, super-simple-to-sing songs for kids. They are a bit more complicated, faster, with rhymes, with funny meanings. The more the kids listen to them, the more they want to learn to sing them. You need to be successful in the first run but even more in the reruns—the thematic channels do a lot of reruns. So, what we believe is working well in 44 Cats is the combination of comedy, values, the excellent quality of the animation, good stories and the songs. The first time you hear the song you like it but maybe don’t love it, the second time you start to like it more and the third time you really enjoy it and it gets into you and you want to learn it. That’s how the reruns work well.

TV KIDS: Winx Club was the show that put Rainbow on the map globally. How has the franchise been able to evolve to remain so popular over the last 15 years?

STRAFFI: We always try to reinvent the story every time we write a new season. We never want to repeat the same thing over and over, so we’re always adding a lot of strong elements, secrets for the audience to discover. That was what kept it very entertaining for kids for 15 years. The other point I think is important is that, while the first three or four seasons of Winx Club were written and targeted to 8- to 12year-olds, the last couple of seasons—especially season eight—were restyled visually and the stories [adapted to] a younger audience. In the last ten years, the animation audience has skewed younger. Nowadays, it’s very difficult to get a 10-year-old to watch cartoons. They all go for the live action, like Club 57, Maggie & Bianca and the Disney and Nickelodeon live-action shows. When your target is 4-to-8, your story cannot have the same level of complexity as the beginning seasons of Winx, where we had a lot of layers of different stories that came together at a certain point: love stories, school stories, the big adventures, the big threat.

Now everything is toned down, but we still have a lot of original elements, beautiful visuals and nice songs.

TV KIDS: And will the live-action version for Netflix skew older?

STRAFFI: Much older. The fans of the previous Winx Club say on social media that the new seasons are childish, but they don’t know that we had to do that. At Rai YoYo in Italy, the target is kids up to 8 years old, so we can’t do the kinds of stories we did on Rai 2 15 years ago. So for those fans, the 20-year-olds who still like to watch Winx, they will hopefully find their sweet spot in the Netflix original live-action version. It is edgier and darker than what they can imagine after being used to the colorful world of Winx. The target is clearly young adults. The things we had to tone down in the animation have been emphasized in the live action—the relationships, the fights, the love stories. I hope the Netflix series will please all the loyal Winx Club fans around the world who have grown into young adults.

TV KIDS: What are some of your other priorities for the year ahead?

STRAFFI: We are developing some new animated shows, and at the same time, we have successfully launched some family comedies in Italy. We have When Mom Is Away, the highest-grossing Italian movie of the current year. We will continue to do these kinds of family comedies. At the same time, we will continue the thrillers based on books by the writer Donato Carrisi. We have produced The Girl in the Fog and now, Into the Labyrinth, a new movie we are shooting in Rome with an international cast that includes Dustin Hoffman. We are doing The Lost Girls of Rome, a series with Sky based on his books. We have a lot of exciting things coming up!

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SPOTLIGHT

WS: What are your responsibilities as head of scripted for EMEA? BLOMGREN: My focus is on the non-English-language side. Of our 70 projects going on across the globe, 50 are non-English—and [that number is] growing. Understanding the different cultures, how they work and what makes them tick is so important, so that’s really my focus, and we have identified the most important markets. Now a lot of the focus is on India, for instance, and the Hispanic side, with Pilar’s [Blasco, CEO of Endemol Shine Iberia] business in Spain. Italy is important for us and, of course, the Netherlands and the Nordics because [our companies] are market leaders there. The other thing is to go down to the project level to see what we have in development, which is anything that we believe is more than just a good local show, something we can supercharge and make it work for the international market as well.

WS: Is there a difference between what broadcasters and OTTs are looking for?

BLOMGREN: What I believe everyone wants, including Netflix and Amazon, is something truly local, but the story needs to be on a scale that is interesting for other people. A good example is the Ibis trilogy that we’re doing in India. That’s an Indian story, but it’s something relevant for us all because it’s part of our history. Everyone is trying to stay away from the Europudding. A project needs to be unique.

WS: Are you seeing a big discrepancy in the quality of writing and production values in different countries, or has the quality risen in many places?

BLOMGREN: I think that quality is defined in different ways in different territories. But if you look at the output over the last few years, the quality in Europe in some respects has gone up, but it has also gone down. If you’ve been writing and creating shows for many years in one tradition, it’s challenging to work another way.

We’re not used to writing [while a show is in production] in the U.K., and in the Nordic countries, [the writing process is similar]. We did Bron/Broen (The Bridge), for instance, and it’s the same as Broadchurch: you write for a year, you shoot for a year, you write for a year, etc.

The writing does not happen in parallel with the shooting. You have to do one step at a time.

By Anna Carugati

L

ars Blomgren first captured international attention as executive producer of the critically acclaimed Nordic noir series Bron/Broen (The Bridge), which sold to some 180 territories and was the genesis for five local adaptations. Blomgren was also previously managing director of the Swedish production company Filmlance International, which is part of the Endemol Shine Group.

Last June, Blomgren was appointed Endemol Shine’s head of scripted for EMEA, as the group is looking to boost its production of non-English-language content. Blomgren shares with World Screen what kinds of concepts he is looking for.

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WS: In the U.S., the showrunner is both a creative and an executive. In Europe, do the writer and the producer work side by side?

BLOMGREN: Yes, in the U.S., the system and the creative process are all based on delivering the episodes on time.

So for a showrunner, one of the most important talents is to be able to keep pushing and delivering on time.

That takes a certain type of personality. I think that in a way, the European creative person can be more vulnerable and more delicate because they have another kind of support. They have the non-writing producer next to them doing all of that work. So, it’s different. I think the key, for all of us, is to work with people who are as creative—and crazy—as possible! And the U.S. network system, with its pilots, is pushing away a lot of creative people who can’t work in that system.

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MARKET TRENDS

cloned 3,000-year-old trees. He [David Milarch] is now taking his cloning technique to seven different continents and is repopulating, from the best DNA possible, some of these trees that are endangered.

The Ancients: Secrets Revealed has to do with ancient sites that have withstood the test of time. We’re assembling space archaeologists, who are able to look beneath the dense forests at ancient sites and [explain] who was responsible for making some of these structures.

WS: What goes into keeping your returning brands—like On the Case and Untold Stories—fresh after so many seasons?

BENZ: On the Case is a terrific show. Crime stories that are well told have worked all around the world. We’re very proud to have created and produced Untold Stories of the E.R. for 15 years now. If you’re clicking around to see what’s on TV and you come upon this show, you see a re-creation of what went on in an emergency room, where a doctor was hit by something puzzling and dramatic. It’s also told in a campy fashion. We have fun with it, even though they’re all true stories. I think the audience goes, OK, I think I’m going to wait around, there has to be a great payoff at the end or some twists and turns that will make it worthwhile to watch. We’ve been very happy with our partners at TLC. They said to me, It doesn’t matter when they program this show, whether it’s prime time or late night or daytime or early morning, it always seems to pull [audiences]. A new season will premiere in July.

Gary R. Benz GRB Studios

By Mansha Daswani

ith a slate of some 3,500 hours of content that includes Intervention, Untold Stories of the E.R. and On the Case, GRB Studios is home to some of the longest-running factual series on U.S. television. Under CEO Gary R. Benz, the Los Angeles–based outfit has been filling the needs of a broad array of U.S. networks and platforms, and its international sales team has fostered relationships with clients in 190 countries.

W

WS: Tell us about your new shows in development.

BENZ: One is with the psychic medium John Edward, who is well-loved in Australia, England and the U.S. Now, more than ever, people love his message of positivity and hope, and they are looking for some answers in very difficult times.

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WS: Are you looking at opportunities to remake the show internationally?

BENZ: We’re talking to all kinds of networks and production companies around the world to see if they want to work with some of the shows we have as formats. It’s a new business for us. This is something we’re moving into quite aggressively now. We’re willing to lend our expertise to anybody who wants to learn and see how a program that has worked in the U.S. can work in their country.

WS: What are the most significant challenges for companies operating in the factual space today?

BENZ: In the U.S., especially, there’s been a huge proliferation of channels. And there’s been a huge proliferation of production companies. So, it’s much more competitive than it ever was. There are far more places where the audience can go for programs. That pie is cut up into so many more slices, so the budgets have to be smaller to accommodate that. The audience doesn’t think about, Oh, this would be a really good show if it had a bigger budget. They get involved in the story or they don’t.

You have to tell your story well, and you have to engage the audience right away or they’re not going to pay attention to it. So one of the biggest challenges is, how do you take a reduced license fee, because it’s a smaller network, and still make something that is going to engage the audience and hold their attention and deliver a good payoff for them?

A lot of Hollywood has been exported internationally for a long time, since the advent of television. Now [broadcasters internationally] are looking more for localized programming. They’ll take some of the big studio movies and TV series, but they want to see people they recognize from their communities and hear their stories. That’s where formats can play a big role.

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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 get made fun of by Rob Lowe?

Every day, papers, magazines and websites worldwide print horoscopes— projections for people born in a specific month, based on the positions of the stars and planets. While many

Constance Wu

Harry Styles

ROB LOWE

Global distinction: Crazy Rich Asians star.

Sign: Aries (b. March 22, 1982) Significant date: May 10, 2019 Noteworthy activity: The actor reacts to the news

Global distinction: TV & film star.

Sign: Pisces (b. March 17, 1964) Significant date: May 28, 2019 Noteworthy activity: The actor is asked in an inter-

that the ABC sitcom she stars in, Fresh Off the Boat, has been renewed with an unexpected tweet: “So upset right now that I’m literally crying. Ugh. Fuck.”

A fan responds with, “Congrats on your renewal!

Great news :),” to which she replies, “No it’s not.”

Wu has since apologized for her “ill-timed” tweets.

Horoscope: “When you show gratitude towards others, you become a magnet to prosperity.” (russellgrant.com)

view with U.K. newspaper The Telegraph if he thinks he’s “more or less vain than British men,” to which he replies, “That’s a low bar! Can we talk about William? I mean, the future king of your country let himself lose his own hair.” When the article is published, Lowe is taken to task on social media for mocking the royal and accused of bullying, teased for his own past hairstyles and reminded of one of his more infamous controversies.

Horoscope: “Arrogance and vanity can be a failing.” (indiatoday.in)

HARRY STYLES

weekly or monthly mes-

Global distinction: English pop star.

Sign: Aquarius (b. February 1, 1994) Significant date: May 9, 2019 Noteworthy activity: The Mexican entertainment

lives, some readers skip over them entirely.

The editors of WS recognize that these little pearls of random foresight occasionally prove pro phetic.

But rather than poring over charts of the zodiac to predict world events, our staff prefers to use past horoscopes in an attempt to legitimize the science.

As you can see here, had some of these media figures remembered to consult their horoscopes on significant dates, they could have avoided a few surprises.

Jamie Foxx

CONSTANCE WU

people rely on these daily, sages for guidance in their

Rob Lowe

JAMIE FOXX Global distinction: American actor & singer.

Sign: Sagittarius (b. December 13, 1967) Significant date: May 22, 2019 Noteworthy activity: Foxx plays George Jefferson in

show Cuéntamelo Ya! mistakenly congratulates the former X Factor contestant turned One Direction frontman on the birth of his first child with the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle—who had a baby with Britain’s Prince Harry. Over footage of the prince holding his son, the ticker tape reads “Harry Styles y Meghan Markle.” Eagle-eyed fans share the gaffe on social media.

Horoscope: “Take time to set the record straight.

You might learn that someone has spread misinformation.” (mercurynews.com)

ABC’s live reenactment of All in the Family alongside Marisa Tomei, Anthony Anderson, Woody Harrelson, Wanda Sykes and others. During a scene with black-ish’s Anderson, he flubs a line, stuttering on a phrase a few times before turning to his castmates and shouting, “It’s live! Everyone’s sitting at home just thinking their TV’s just messed up.”

Horoscope: “Your mind is on overload and causing you to forget things.” (thepsychiclink.com)

JESSIE J

ELLE FANNING

Global distinction: “Bang Bang” singer.

Sign: Aries (b. March 27, 1988) Significant date: May 9, 2019 Noteworthy activity: The pop star, who is a frequent

Global distinction: Film actress & model.

Sign: Aries (b. April 9, 1998) Significant date: May 20, 2019 Noteworthy activity: The starlet attends a dinner

coach and mentor on The Voice, posts a bikini pic on Instagram, revealing a tattoo that reads: “Don’t loose who you are in the blur of the stars,” meant to be the lyrics from her 2011 song “Who You Are.” She captions the snap, “Yes I spelt the tattoo wrong…. Yes the tattoo artist didn’t mention it. Yes I was 18. Yes I still don’t know the difference between lose and loose.”

Horoscope: “Get your facts straight before you make choices that will affect your financial, physical or emotional well-being.” (mercurynews.com)

party at the Cannes Film Festival alongside fellow actress—and her older sister—Dakota Fanning in a Prada gown. Mid-meal, Fanning faints at the table, falling out of her chair, victim to a too-tight built-in corset. Addressing the incident in an Instagram post, Fanning writes, “Oops, had a fainting spell tonight in my 1950’s Prada prom dress but it’s all good!! #dresstootight #timeofthemonth.”

Horoscope: “If you must make a scene, style it.” (mysticmedusa.com)

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