Distribution in Focus: Beta Film's Oliver Bachert

With buyers flocking to London TV Screenings and Mip London this week, Broadcast International speaks to Oliver Bachert, Beta Film’s chief distribution officer, about the macroeconomic effects on TV and adapting to cautious decision making from buyers.

The distribution and content production sectors are still undergoing a transformation, driven by rising costs, consolidation, and streamlining efforts. New alliances and collaborations are key to bridge increasing financial gaps and creating synergies in expertise and creativity. But what remains and will never change is that content is key. Great stories will always find an audience.

The general economic outlook, which obviously has an impact on the entertainment industry as well. Another big challenge is that license fees are rather under pressure due to rising production costs. For us as distributors, it is therefore crucial to keep up with these challenges, to be agile and combine resources – while keeping compelling stories and engaging content as our top priority.

A great opportunity lies in new collaborations, more flexibility by all players, and expanding into growing markets and territories. We’re grateful for essential B2B markets, such as London TV Screenings and Series Mania, which are important content launch platforms leading up to, of course, MIPCOM. For us, every market has a unique quality and importance. The London TV Screenings are perfectly tailored to meet our buyers’ desire to watch full programs, rather than the usual fast-paced, speed-dating-style meetings where we can only show trailers. This year, we’ll showcase our extensive UK slate, presenting recent highlights from our partners at Eagle Eye, as well as European dramas such as our Berlinale Panorama entry Other People’s Money, about the biggest tax fraud in European history, Unforgettable - Memories of Revenge, which is the French remake of the Turkish success format Persona, and the Norwegian drama, A Better Man. 

Discussions with partners have changed in the sense that content compatibility discussions now start earlier than some years ago, which is due to budget cuts and more cautious decision making.

By embracing a global perspective and identifying high-quality content from diverse regions, we are driving growth and strengthen our partnerships across Europe and beyond. Another important aspect is focussing on both, “lighthouse” signature shows as well as content with broad appeal to large audiences. We are also very excited about the dynamic development within the Beta Group: Beta Fiction Spain, who recently won at the prestigious Spanish Film Awards GOYA, Beta Nordic Studios, and Drugi Plan in the CEE region, among others. We have many exciting projects in the pipeline and are thrilled to present our new shows very soon.

Global streamers play a crucial role in the worldwide entertainment ecosystem, and we collaborate both globally and locally. As with all our partners, it’s essential to stay flexible to meet the changing needs and demands, to make sure our content remains aligned with their requirements.