Buyers from France and Australia on what they are looking to add to their slates at a time when greater flexibility in rights and finance means they have a better choice of content than for some time
The global TV industry has experienced huge fluctuations over the past two years and where once US-based, globally facing streamers would strive to take all rights to new shows, now there is increased flexibility and even pan-streamer partnerships.
Country-by-country distribution is back, largely by necessity, and buyers are finding richer pickings as they look to entice audiences with programming that delivers on screen and on budget.
The streamer pull-back is also providing a chance for some buyers to make the most of shifting strategies to adapt to new realities. France Télévisions head of international fiction and cinema Manuel Alduy tells Broadcast International that acquisitions continue to play a key, if changing, role for the Paris-based public broadcaster as it looks for more cost-effective programming.
UK crime procedurals such as Death In Paradise and Vera, as well as Kommissar Dupin from Germany, continue to perform well, but ratings are declining, he says. “They are in our comfort zone but they don’t bring new viewers, and our own local crime shows are much stronger.”
“Our European acquisitions are, more than ever, a way to balance our budget, including for event series”
Manuel Alduy, France Télévisions
Among recent deals, Alduy highlights the acquisition of Nautilus (pictured top), based on French author Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, which was acquired after Disney+ dropped the project. The show scored “extremely well” last summer with “a much younger audience”, and exemplifies his “opportunistic” approach, he says.
“French local series [attract] double the audience but they are more expensive,” Alduy continues. “Our European acquisitions are, more than ever, a way to balance our budget, including for event series [such as Nautilus].”
High-end and high-concept mini-series are on his wishlist at present, alongside a limited number of returning crime series and young-adult stories – he points to the successful Fallen, created by Claudia Bluemhuber, and the upcoming Dates In Real Life from Dynamic Television as key titles for this age group. “We want to select the best of European YA series,” the former Disney exec adds.
Rights flexibility
Rights requirements are relatively straightforward, Alduy says, underlining the importance of free VoD and linear. “That’s what our audience requires. We are flexible on everything else – windowing, exclusivity, marketing.
“The shift to non-linear has really happened: more and more primetime series now grab high volumes of non-linear viewership. We don’t licence any series when preview, replay and AVoD rights are not significant.”
Reflecting the pressures on most public broadcasters around the world, budgets are tight.
“We have also reduced the volume of licensed series in favour of French series re-runs in nonstrategic slots,” Alduy says, while increasing flexibility in windowing, licence periods and exclusivity has been introduced to encourage deal-making.
Co-productions are also welcomed, but they need to have a “French touch” in location, cast and/or storyline. “In 2024, we co-produced Kabul [2425 Films and Cinétévé], The Kollective [Submarine] and Monte Cristo [Palomar; DEMD] with our European Alliance partners ZDF [in Germany] and RAI [in Italy],” Alduy says.
Yet such projects are becoming trickier to finance. “We still have 15 developments in the pipeline,” Alduy says, adding that he is now more focused on pre-buys and acquisitions in the short term, providing more opportunity for distributors with ready-to-go shows.
Distinctive content
On the other side of the world in Australia, a not dissimilar story is playing out for another public broadcaster. With a remit to embrace difference and advocate for diversity, Sydney-based SBS has always had one eye on taking risks, and another on the international market.
SBS is celebrating its 50th birthday this year and Peter Andrews, who heads up programming for TV and online, runs Broadcast International through a spectrum of shows that range from a local remake of History format Alone and “landmark documentaries” such as Australia: An Unofficial History, to scripted series Rogue Heroes and Blue Lights.
The latter two UK dramas have created particular buzz, Andrews says, as has Constantin Film’s Smilla’s Sense Of Snow, an adaptation of the Peter Höeg novel that explores the death of an Inuit boy, which was previously turned into a 1997 feature.
“We want distinctive content that appeals to both broadcast and digital audiences, with associated rights,” says Andrews of SBS, which operates streamer SBS On Demand, the flagship SBS linear channel and five other channels.
The focus is on “distinctive Australian and international series that will hyper-differentiate us from other networks and streamers, which are becoming increasingly risk-averse”.
“We want strong storytelling that is fearless and explores different perspectives”
Peter Andrews, SBS
SBS’s domestic commissions cross most genres, with three new SBS Digital Original dramas on the cards this year: Warm Props, Moni and Moonbird. However, deals for shows such as BBC scripted series Virdee and Brendan Foley’s Sherlock & Daughter, produced for The CW in the US and Discovery+, reflect a broad international acquisition strategy.
Andrews says he wants “strong storytelling that is fearless and explores different perspectives”, with shows that “inspire conversation and elevate debate both globally and locally”.
Full digital rights are required – “no exceptions” – but there is flexibility to be had. “We are extremely happy to co-exist with streamers and to co-ordinate our scheduling and marketing efforts to create a win-win for both partners and the audience,” he says.
SBS tends to strike pre-sale deals and acquisitions, but the broadcaster is happy to come in at any stage if creative elements – such as proof of concept, script, cast and budget – are “robust and clear”.
Budgets have remained relatively static over the past three years, but Andrews – like Alduy at France TV – also suggests there is flexibility in his approach.
“It’s case by case, depending on a first or second window, the licence period and exclusivity versus co-exclusivity,” he says.
While SBS and France TV may be on opposite sides of the world, the similarities in their current requirements reflect the broader state of play in the industry at present.
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