Water Cooler

By Lauren Gitlin

More than ever before, this year’s third annual Roma Fiction Fest, taking place July 6-11 at the Conciliazione Auditorium, Adriano Multiplex Cinema and LUMSA University in Rome, is striving to become a destination event for the international and Italian drama-producing television industries. This year marks the inception of the first-ever Roma TV Screenings, a new initiative that serves to underscore the growing significance of the event. “We want to be like the L.A Screenings,” Carlo Macchitella, director of the new Screenings section told VideoAge, “and not in competition with MIP-TV and MIPCOM. We hope to serve as a venue where TV executives can screen our fiction and weigh its value to their TV schedules.”

        The festival (now cum-market) has, in a short two years, become a significant marketplace for Italian drama, and its growth is indisputable. Last year’s edition, which screened 194 titles from 24 countries (including 15 world premieres), drew 40,000 attendees, of which 4,000 were professionals. Similar numbers are expected to flock to the Italian capital for some 14 hours of Italian drama production, featuring the very best in series, miniseries and TV movies broadcast between September of 2008 and June of 2009.  “Italian fiction needs to become more aggressive on the international arena,” added Macchitella, “and we are hopeful that this will happen with new stories, new actors and more competitive production values. We hope that the TV executives who will be attending the Screenings will begin to appreciate [Italian drama] and start thinking of how it can work for their TV networks.”

    In addition to providing its pitching and “Speed Dating” sessions (July 8-10 ) aimed at pairing up creatives and producers itching to wheel and deal, this year boasts appearances by Lost creator, writer and executive producer Damon Lindelof and his colleague, Carlton Cuse, who serves as a writer and executive producer on the hit show. The duo will be awarded with the “2009 Roma Fiction Fest Special Award,” a prize bestowed upon them because of the series’ “new and compelling narrative style.” Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles (City of God) will also be on hand to speak about television production. “Colorful Mysteries in Black-and-White,” a special retrospective organized in collaboration with RaiTeche (RAI’s archives division) that takes a look back at the history of television drama, will also take place.

The event will be full of competing programs, conferences, business activities, a retrospective and workshops, in addition to the aforementioned activities.

 

Posted by watercooler at 12:51 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

By VideoAge Staff in Budapest

The mother ship, DISCOP East, started its 17th annual event a bit slowly, but picked up steam during the market’s second day (of three) in Budapest, Hungary June 17-19. The slow start is justifiable considering the organization’s recent spawns: DISCOP Africa 1 (February 25-27 in Dakar, Senegal), DISCOP Africa 2 (Sept. 16-18 in Nairobi, Kenya) DISCOP Africa 3 (February 17-19, 2010 again in Dakar), and the newly tweaked DISCOP Middle East, formerly DISCOP Gulf. The latter market has been moved from Dubai to Istanbul, Turkey, and will take place in mid-March 2010. Next year, only the February Dakar event will remain.

Despite this proliferation of additional markets, Sonia Danieli of Italy’s Mediaset and Delmar Andrade of Brazil’s Record TV expressed concern over the slow start of the market and the fact that some of their scheduled appointments were no-shows. Ron Alexander of the U.S.-based TPI also noted the quieter nature of this year's edition, though he seemed more reflective than worried. It should be noted, however, that DISCOP has not been much different than other international TV trade shows held this year, with the possible exception of the L.A. Screenings for the U.S. studios. There has been an overall trend toward decreased attendance due to economic woes.

As far as the increasing number of DISCOP offspring, Roberto Farina of Italy’s MondoTV said he doesn't mind the proliferation of new trade shows, so long as they bring in new business and make sense financially. MondoTV will be attending the Nairobi edition of DISCOP Africa because the Dakar event was very successful for the company, and because African companies have thus far proven reliable from the collection standpoint (a sore issue for indie distributors these days).

As for current licensing fees in the Eastern European territories, Farina commented that, unfortunately, they are dropping dramatically. Much to his chagrin, some Ukrainian clients are offering as little as 60 euro per half-hour episode.

Andrade also commented on the downward direction of license fees in Central and Eastern Europe and indicated that some clients are now requesting that multiple territories be included in the same deal. Even so, collection remains his main concern, so much so that his company has occasionally offered to pay the bank fees involved in obtaining warranties for contracts.

DISCOP East reported the attendance of approximately 510 sellers and 890 buyers, though market organizers complained of many buyers who, even after registering or being invited to attend all expenses paid, canceled at the last minute. Sellers were scattered throughout 120 suites on four floors of the Sofitel hotel, as well as some 60 tables (most of them shared) and 60 individual viewing boxes (not shared) located in the mezzanine and basement areas. The basement also housed the registration area and conference rooms. The conferences covered topics spanning from the emerging roles of Brazil, China and India in the African TV landscape to the importance of TV in providing health care and medical news. Furthermore, there were three training and case study workshops aimed at African audiovisual content producers.

Posted by watercooler at 12:07 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

By Lauren Gitlin

The 54th edition of the annual Promax|BDA marketing conference is set to kick off its sixth consecutive year in New York City this Tuesday, June 16 at the Hilton Hotel, drawing industry leaders across platforms for three days of panels, discussions, networking events and seminars aimed at providing marketing strategies for the ever-changing media industry. VideoAge spoke to Promax|BDA president Jonathan Block-Verck, who discussed this year’s special sports and politics-themed content and a groundbreaking study examining TV-watching behavior, and hinted at a big announcement regarding the future of the conference.

VideoAge International: Last year there were over 3,400 attendees from around the globe, including more than 700 local station executives from over 150 television markets in the U.S. Are similar numbers expected this year?

Jonathan Block-Verk: The general consensus is that Promax|BDA is more relevant and critical than ever. But consistent with the precipitous decline in ad pages in industry trade magazines, conferences across the board are feeling the effects of the economy on attendance, and Promax|BDA is no exception.  
While the number of attendees has changed, the caliber of registered delegates is top-notch. In essence, the same major media companies are coming, but they’re sending fewer people.  Attendees are generally VP level and higher.  
As far as the local station community, we’ve developed a very sophisticated sponsor-supported platform which allows them to attend- in near-real time- online.  In that respect, we’ll have more registered local-station delegates than we’ve had in the last 2 years.

VAI: Has the continued devaluation of the dollar increased the ratio of foreign to domestic attendees for this year’s conference?

JBV: We’ve always been an international organization and welcome the increasing number of attendees from other nations.

VAI:  Last year, much of the content was geared toward local U.S. stations. What’s the focus this year?

JBV: Aggregating audiences and finding new ways to monetize them is what Promax|BDA is about- and that’s as relevant to local stations as it is to MTV.

VAI: A number of panels are devoted to ESPN’s 30th anniversary and there’s also one  discussion that continues on last year’s topic involving news coverage of the Obama’s presidential campaign. Is it accurate to say that sports and politics are characterizing much of this year’s content? 

JBV: This year’s Conference is about aggregating audiences and finding new ways to monetize them, as it always is.  Each year we choose panels based on where we see innovation and best practices in marketing and design. With three days packed with panels and sessions, there is a wide range of topics – on everything from sports and politics, to the evolving TV business, to new design technologies, to running a successful agency and re-branding an entertainment property – at this year’s Promax|BDA.  In terms of the two sessions you’ve identified, the first is a retrospective on ESPN’s 30-years of marketing.  It is a common opinion that ESPN has been one of the most important, fastest-rising, aggressive and creative brands in history and we’re going to explore the evolution of that brand.The second session is a presentation by Jim Margolis, who was Barack Obama’s Chief Media Strategist.  I think that the marketing and branding of Obama is the number one marketing story of the past 12 months and we’re honored to have one of the key executives behind the initiative address the conference.VAI.

VAI: Warner Brothers is the only TV distributor (and international to boot) exhibiting this year. Why? What does this say about how television fits into new modes of marketing?

JBV: That is incorrect information. Virtually every major national and international distributor will have a presence at Promax|BDA this year.

VAI: Tell us a bit about how this co-study with TiVo pertaining to subscriber behavior came about. Why was the decision made to include these findings this year?  Can you give us a preview of the data that will be presented?

JBV: The data confirmed that promos are less fast forwarded among TiVo subscribers than paid advertisements.  For the full results, you’ll have to come to the show.  But I can tell you that it’ll be worth the trip!

VAI:. Are you planning to stay in New York City next year as well?

JBV:We’re making a pretty major announcement about next year’s venue on Thursday.  I seriously can’t wait!

VAI: What measures are being taken to restore Promax to its former glory as a must-attend TV distribution event? 

JBV:Promax|BDA remains the most relevant, informative and action-oriented conference for marketing, promotion and design professionals in the entertainment industry. The Conference is just one aspect of the international association that is relevant year-round. Between the 10 international Promax|BDA events, the MI6  Video Game marketing event, a number of new initiatives including Brief Magazine, DailyBrief and the C4 Creative Clinic Series, and a groundbreaking web initiative that will debut in the coming weeks, we’re working hard to instill a new sense of pride, excitement and relevance to arguably the most influential and important sector of the entertainment industry.

VAI: Why we don't see Promax at such major TV trade shows as MIP and MIPCOM?

JBV: MIP and MIPCOM have a different focus and audience than Promax|BDA. They are primarily markets for buying content, whereas we are the leading global association for marketing, promotion and design professionals in the entertainment industry.

VAI: Any possibility of a tie-in with NATPE or the L.A. Screenings?

JBV:We’re always looking to deliver benefits to our membership and would consider all possibilities.

Posted by watercooler at 02:24 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

By Dom Serafini

This year’s 10th annual Forum Brasil International TV Market welcomed 600 participants from 22 countries to São Paulo, Brazil’s new Transamerica Expo Center June 3-5. Despite attendance being down roughly 50 percent from 2008’s edition, there were some definite perks at this year’s event.

The annual “30 Minutes With” program included 22 meetings with 28 TV executives from nine different countries. Panels, workshops, and pitching sessions -- including one hosted by Cartoon Network and one presented by the Brazilian Ministry of Culture and Brazilian TV Producers – were the highlights of this year’s edition.

Despite having fewer exhibitors and participants than in years past, there were a great number of well-attended panels, including ones about “Production Business Models” and “Business Models in a Changing World.” The latter was moderated by VideoAge’s Dom Serafini and featured panelists Farrell Meisel, an American TV broadcast and satellite consultant, and Charles Zamaria, professor of Radio and Television at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada.

During his presentation, Professor Zamaria addressed the unique challenges the TV industry faces in a changing media landscape: “Internet ain’t TV. Internet is a destination.” Meisel pointed out that with the popularity of the Internet, “[People] have more options. It’s a jungle out there.” Serafini challenged the panelists with questions about technology and programming, prompting debates about the switch from broadcast to broadband and whether, with IPTV availability looming, DTV (or DTT) is a useless and costly temporary technology.

This year marked the first meeting of television stations from Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) and associated states (Bolivia, Chile and Perú). A new Canadian project was presented at the event, which closed with a full day of meetings with TV stations from the eight Portuguese-speaking countries of the world and the city state of Macau (spanning Europe, South America, Africa and Asia).

Rede Globo, one of the largest sponsors and exhibitors, took the opportunity to introduce a series of books written by college professor Mauro Alencar, who adapted scripts of five popular telenovelas into books, in effect reversing the usual process of books being adapted to screenplays.

Attending the events were all Brazilian TV networks, including SBT, Band and Record TV, the latter operating without a stand. Al Jazeera English Service made its first appearance at this year's edition.

The next Forum Brasil is set for June 16-17, 2010 in Sao Paulo.

Posted by watercooler at 02:40 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

By Dom Serafini

More than 1,100 international program buyers attended the recent L.A Screenings. Some TV outlets sent fewer acquisition executives than usual, others (particularly those from Italy) sent more.

Most of these buyers had one thing in common: reluctance to speak openly about the shows deemed promising at the studios’ screenings. They feared that eagerness regarding particular pilots might result in increased license fees from the studios.

VideoAge met Dermot Horan from Ireland’s RTE at the London West Hollywood Hotel, a new and relatively economical accommodation favored by a large European TV executive contingent that had been asked to cut costs at this year’s event.

Horan was ecstatic about the full network slate, saying, “It’s great. U.S. television is back in force.” In terms of genre trends, he noted that “the biggest genre, the one with the most volume, is medical.”

“Actually,” he added, “there are too many medical shows. Three of these new shows are all about nurses. Of those, the dark comedy, [starring Edie Falco, premiering June 8 on on Showtime and distributed by CBS Studios International] is my personal favorite.” He later clarified, “I say ‘personal’ because it doesn’t necessarily mean that my network will go for it.”

Furthermore, Horan predicted that “at least half [of these medical dramas] won’t succeed, but a few will replace ."

Another trend Horan observed was the proliferation of teen shows, like Fox’s Glee (distributed by 20th Century Fox) and ABC’s Make It or Break It (distributed by Disney). “The CW network is back to the WB days, targeting teenaged girls,” he said, referencing , the new , [all distributed by CBS Studios], and others.

The third major trend in Horan’s view is the “high-concept show, like ABC’s [distributed by Disney] and NBC’s Day One [distributed by NBC-Universal].  Those are good for drawing in the male audience.”Even though Horan  “focuses on drama” because he has “no confidence in U.S. comedies,” he was pleased that U.S. comedies have gone back to the multi-camera production model that, in his view, adds the positive factor of a live audience. “Laughter is contagious,” Horan said, “and if there is an audience in the studio, the actor will perform better and the laughter becomes natural.”

A final comment was about , moved to prime time from its traditional late night slot: “It will offer little competition,” he said, “and will only get an audience if he can get big names, which is difficult to do five nights a week.”

Posted by watercooler at 01:43 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)