Focus on local productions and original programming

The international buying community parks up on the Croisette for Mipcom 2018 with an increasingly finessed understanding of the emerging media landscape.

For example, if you operate a local subscription VoD service such as Elisa Viihde, Acorn TV or Starzplay, original programming is key. It drives customers to take your package over Amazon, Netflix or a pay-TV service.

A strong library of international acquisitions helps, but it’s the big-budget local productions that really make the difference, as Ani Korpela of Elisa Viihde tells Broadcast.

For countries with a long history of international co-production, this creates opportunities to experiment with big ideas – Acorn TV is working with British, Australian and Irish producers on original shows of scale, while Starzplay can lean on its premium US cable progenitor for high-end dramas and comedies for which its rivals would pay a handsome premium.

For traditional pay-TV channels, it’s the approach to content brands that is changing. They are still hunting for the best new ideas from all over the world to run as linear series, but it’s in the ‘execution’ where the real prospects lie, as Turner EMEA’s kids’ chief Cecilia Persson explains.

Our analysis should leave producers and distributors with one key lesson: everyone in the international TV industry is adapting to stand out, whether they are an upstart SVoD rearranging the shape of consumption or a linear incumbent with increasingly complex knowledge of the challenges facing them as we head towards 2019.

There’s no place for laziness in today’s market.

STARZPLAY

  • Headquarters Los Angeles, US
  • Parent company Lionsgate
  • Available in UK; France; Germany; Spain; Italy; Middle EastNew originals Vida; Sweetbitter
  • Content breakdown High-end originals from US cable forebear; acquired series
  • Content wishlist Crime series; appetite to acquire and commission third-party content
  • Key personnel Superna Kalle

ACORN TV

  • Headquarters Silver Springs, Maryland, US
  • Parent company RLJ Entertainment/AMC Network
  • Available in North America; Latin America
  • New originals Agatha Raisin; London Kills; Queen Of Mystery
  • Content breakdown Best of British and original series from English-speaking territories
  • Content wishlist High-quality shows from around the world
  • Key personnel Mark Stevens; Catherine Mackin

TURNER

  • Headquarters Atlanta, Georgia, US
  • Parent company Warner MediaAvailable in Worldwide
  • New originals Elliott From Earth; Summer Camp Island; Apple & Onion; Craig Of The Creek
  • Content breakdown Animated programmes from US studio; international co-productions; acquired shows on territory basis
  • Content wishlist Animated shows for Cartoon Network/Boomerang
  • Key personnel Cecilia Persson; Patricia Hidaldo; Edina Pitt

ELISA VIIHDE

  • Headquarters Helsinki, Finland
  • Parent company Elisa
  • Available in Finland
  • New originals Bullets; Arctic Circle; Shadow Lines
  • Contetnt breakdown Local Finnish dramas and comedies; acquired US and international series
  • Content wishlist European co-productions; crime series; experimental series
  • Key personnel Ani Korpela; Alan Sim

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