Jose Escalante: Latin Media has partnered with WRC to coproduce Telenovelas in Malaysia. Under the accord, WRC is also distributing LMC’s content in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

VA: Recently, both LMC and WRC teamed up with FINAS of Malaysia to produce two telenovela-style Malaysian dramas for the international market, can you explain what FINAS is?
JE: FINAS is a department of the Ministry of Communication of Malaysia.

VA: Can you elaborate about the telenovelas?
JE: WRC and Latin Media will be producing two Telenovelas for the government owned TV networks RTM.

In March we started to produce the first drama, Bola Cinta. The first season comprises 30 one-hour episodes and the second season will consist of 30 more hours. It will be entirely produced in Bahasa, Malaysia, with a Malysian cast. It’s final cost is estimated to be between 80,000 - 90,000 Ringits (U.S.$24,000- $27,000) per one hour episode.

VA: How will the international distribution rights be divided?
JE: Bola Cinta will be distributed in Asia, Africa and the Middle East by WRC, and in the  rest of the world by LMC.

VA: In addition to Malaysia's programs, what other content is LMC distributing?
JE: Currently, Latin Media distributes the catalogue from Channel 13, Chile; Ecuavisa, Ecuador, and other independent producers from Latin America. Latin Media is also distributing Asian content to Latin America and Hispanic TV in the U.S.

VA: At MIP-TV will you be exhibiting as LMC?
JE: Yes, LMC will be at the Palais at stand 5-19.

VA: Will LMC be attending the L.A. Screenings?
JE: Yes, LMC will attend the Los Angeles Screenings.

By Monica Gorghetto

Cartoons on the Bay is the 14-year old children’s TV festival organized by Italy’s RaiTrade, RAI’s program sales division. For the second consecutive year, the four-day event will be held in Portofino starting on April 15, just before the conclusion of MIP-TV. Portofino and the other event’s venues (Rapallo and S. Margherita Ligure) are a two-hour car ride from Cannes.

To get a sense of this year’s Cartoons on the Bay from a business perspective, VideoAge asked five pointed questions to the festival’s  artistic director Roberto Genovesi.

VideoAge: In your view, why is a children’s TV festival more important than a TV market?

Roberto Genovesi: It depends how the festival is conceived. If it has a classic structure, its importance should be determined by the contents. Cartoons on the Bay has both an artistic and market-oriented structure, which is important because it allows executives to see both sides of the world of animation.

VA: What does Cartoons on the Bay offer that other kids fests don’t offer?

RG: First of all, it is the first cross-media animation festival, and one of the first ones to have entirely opened to other sectors related to animation, like videogames and comics, which are crucial for future scenarios of this industry. These sectors, on our opinion, are very open-minded, and this is how we want to be. It is not possible to be close-minded anymore.

VA: What is the monetary value (or added value) for a producer and/or a program distributor of participating at Cartoons on the Bay?

RG: At Cartoons you are able to confront worlds other than animation, and confront professionals and sectors that can bring much to the final product; we are talking about different worlds influencing each other.

VA: How does Cartoons on the Bay facilitate business interactions among participants?

RG: This year’s edition of the festival will have, for the first time, an area exclusively open to business, where participants can network and tie up new business relationships. Moreover, the largest delegation of Chinese television and animation producers will be there.

VA: In one sentence, why is important for executives in the children’s TV biz to be at Cartoons on the Bay?

RG: At Cartoons, you will get a clear a complete view of animation today, from both artistic and commercial point of view.

By Karen Ruttner

Outside of the misinformation and disinformation brigade at Fox News, the whole world seems to know of the trouble caused to air travelers and airlines alike by the incompetent and incapable White House administration under president Bush.
     Even so, the latest salvo directed at air travelers by president Barack Obama’s administration took everyone by surprise. Yes, I was prepared for former Wall Street executives to roam the Obama cabinet, and thus resigned to accepting Goldman Sachs’ rule over the White House, but I never could have imagined such Bush-style incompetence as far as air travel was concerned.
     I’m talking about the attempted Christmas Day bombing on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit. Nowadays, what does a terrorist have to do to get noticed? It seems that no matter what terrorists do or say beforehand, American government officials are oblivious to their actions. Mind you, this is a bi-partisan predicament. The biggest problem is that it’s the people the world over and never the incompetent U.S. government officials who end up paying the consequences.
     The father of the Christmas Day terrorist, one of the most respected bankers in Nigeria, walked into the American Embassy on November 19 and turned in his own son. And yet nothing happened. When his son tried to blow up the airplane over U.S. soil, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) simply stated, “the system worked [well].”
     I would have replied, “Too bad travelers now have to endure more discomfort, airlines risk loss of business and people feel less secure!”
     Traveling is a serious business, especially for us in the international entertainment industry, therefore anything the U.S. government does or doesn’t do affects us tremendously.
Among other new measures, here is a list of procedures that the various incompetents at U.S. government levels have imposed on us innocent travelers:
• Be rendered naked by security personnel’s body scanners.
• Refrain from all movements in the cabin and any access to personal items for a full hour before landing (apparently going to the bathroom one hour before landing is a cause for alarm to U.S. officials).
• Slower lines at security checkpoints mean many more missed flights.
• Chuck, Dick and Missy can no longer board a plane to and from the U.S. if they are not listed under their real names –– Charles, Richard and Melissa.
• Since airports (bless their designers) have restaurants outside the security check-in areas, be happy with some candies found near the gates when you get hungry before boarding.
     Paul Leyh, director of the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA), wrote in USA Today, “Protecting the transportation network in a post-9/11 world requires utilizing intelligence in developing sound security practices, protecting privacy and forging strong partnerships with industry.” One wonders where Leyh has been all this time, because according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) inspector general, “The TSA is failing to ensure the security of boxed cargo in passenger planes, leaving the airplanes at risk for a terrorist attack.” Unlike luggage, airplane cargo is not screened by the TSA. DHS’s inspector general Richard Skinner stated that “the TSA has not been effective” in tightening scrutiny of the 5.5 million kilos of cargo carried each day alongside luggage in passenger planes.
     At this point, air travel should be the litmus test of any U.S. President: if one is able to solve the predicament that travelers face today, that Chief is capable of resolving all other problems.
     In the U.S., national security is handled by the CIA, FBI, NSA, TSA, the Department of State, the U.S. Marshals and the DHS. Plus, at the local level, police departments have their own counter-terrorism squads (like the SWAT team) for a total of 16 agencies (without counting the military’s own security and investigative forces). Basically, this constitutes a platoon of people operating domestically and internationally, but still unable to digest a simple tip from the father of the terrorist.
     Why not give the job of keeping the U.S. safe and air passengers comfortable to the Israelis? They seem to know how to handle, deal with and prevent terrorist attacks. Israelis are careful about what goes in a plane’s cargo area and pay close attention to who is getting on board, not just what is in the luggage. That’s the way to go to make traveling to a TV market more painless.

Let’s make a case for a Hollywood Standard Time. The world needs a more modern way to reference time. In 1884, 41 delegates from 25 nations gathered in Washington D.C. for the  International Meridian Conference to determine from where time and space should be measured.
     England won the vote with its Greenwich Meridian Time (GMT), aka Greenwich Mean Time (or Zulu Time in the military phonetics). As a point of reference, the Conference chose the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, which was assigned the imaginary longitudinal line of 0º 0’ 0”.
     Today, 126 years later, GMT has, for all practical purposes, been replaced by the HMT, aka Hollywood Mean Time. Since the word “mean” has a derogatory meaning in Hollywood, we’ll refer to it as HST or, Hollywood Standard Time, not to be confused with the “standard” definition: something that Hollywood insists on preserving.
     Therefore, today, the new longitude for the world to use as reference is 80º 09’ W. This self-importance is the reason U.S. studios are often referred to as the 809 pound gorillas. In addition, the Hollywood longitude may also be considered an “imaginary line,” since for many people, Hollywood is not “real.”
     Now, if one is not part of the international entertainment industry, it is reasonable to ask, “Why should Hollywood be the new GMT?” Well, it’s difficult to say, but the reality is that the whole world revolves around Hollywood. In the U.S. outside California, one cannot call Europe in the morning (which is afternoon over there), because executives go to their offices starting around when Hollywood opens for business. To their credit, Hollywood executives tend to feel sorry for the Europeans and thus open rather early or take calls from their homes (while exercising) or in their cars (when not listening to National Public Radio).
     From New York, for example, it’s impossible to get someone on the phone in Miami, Florida or Latin America before 12:30 PM, since Latin companies operate on HST.
     To accommodate Hollywood, film and TV executives in Australia go to work very early, because after their morning, Hollywood closes and then there is nothing for them to do in the office.
     Because of HST, newspapers in Hollywood are able to report international news a day in advance of their East Coast counterparts; therefore, they tend to look more informed then anyone else.  Even the Oscars telecast is based on HST. While California can enjoy the Academy Awards TV show during dinnertime, the rest of the world either has to stay awake past midnight or set the alarm clock for 4 AM if in Europe, to see it through to the end.
     Hollywood did not invent the expression “time is money.” Actually, it was Benjamin Franklin who coined it in 1748, and he was on the East Coast. But it took a Hollywood actor, Frank Dane, to refine it: “Time is money, especially when you are talking to your lawyer or buying commercial time.”
     Time in Hollywood is never free. To have “free time,” one has to swing by nearby San Diego.
     In Hollywood, time is appreciated more than any place else, and expressions like “big-time producer” are thrown around with abandon. Hollywood can even make “time” sentimental, as in “once upon a time.”
     Indeed, nothing is more valued in Hollywood than time. When movies aren’t completed on time, companies go bust, like what Heaven’s Gate did for United Artists in 1980 and Ishtar almost did for Columbia in 1987.
     Time is also an expression of fun –– something that Hollywood is great at generating –– as in “Having the time of my life” or “Having a good time.”
     Nowadays, when one talks about “time,” any kind of time, Hollywood always comes to mind. So at this NATPE, let’s get Hollywood’s attention back by laying down the foundation for a new International Meridian Conference where HST becomes the new GMT.
     Besides, if Hollywood was to become the new Standard Time, the merchandising rights alone will create a whole new set of billionaires.

By Erin Somers

On June 11, 2009, the U.S. became among the first 10 countries to complete the transition to digital broadcasting television (DTV). A handful of European countries beat it to the punch by three years, with Luxembourg and the Netherlands switching over as early as 2006, and Finland, Andorra, Sweden, Norway and Switzerland following suit in 2007. Unsurprisingly, the change in the U.S. was a magnet for controversy, with both broadcasters and the U.S. authority, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), dragging their heels over deadlines and consumers in an uproar over the prospect of their terrestrial channels going black. Congress got in on the game by delaying the whole process when its digital conversion voucher program (that subsidized the digital-to-analog decoders) ran out of money, pushing back the target date from the original February 17 until mid-June.
             The U.S. government had allocated $1.34 billion to distribute coupons for converter boxes to U.S. citizens. At $40 a voucher, this sum seemed adequate to cover the expenses of those who weren’t quite ready to trade in their old analog TVs. However, with analog TVs in the U.S. numbering roughly 70 million, the program came up short.
Complications notwithstanding, the switch has been in full effect for about seven months, but the turbulence is far from over. Once again, U.S. broadcasters and the FCC are locking horns. This time, it’s over unused extra channels in the digital spectrum.
             Since the June transition, new intermediate channels have been made available for broadcast. Because of the nature of the digital spectrum, broadcasters are able to “multi-cast,” or broadcast different content from a few channels at once. These channels are known in the industry as “dot channels” for their numerical designations (7.2, 7.3, etc.), and have created airtime where once there was none. With each core channel comes a total four dot channels for standard television (hi-definition takes most of the spectrum), and broadcasters, faced with an unprecedented amount of airtime, have floundered for content to fill them (see related editorial in the October 2009 issue of VideoAge).
             For high-powered stations, meaning stations with a powerful signal that reaches a larger coverage area, the switch to a multi-cast format was mandatory. But for low-powered stations, the switch was optional, and came at the broadcaster’s own expense.
             Lately, the FCC has been claiming that broadcasters — high-powered and low-powered alike — are making poor (or no) use of the dot channels, and has begun threatening to take them back all together. The FCC argues that multi-casting was supposed to be one of the greatest advantages of DTV, yet it is largely neglected by broadcasters. The issue is complicated by the financial interests of the FCC and the newness of the situation in general.
             Tune in to one of the dot channels today, and one might find foreign language programming, a community oriented public access type show or, as is perhaps most prevalent, a rerun of an old movie or series. Over-the-air channels still reach about 12 million viewers in the U.S., which is why, contends the FCC, they should not be wasted on old episodes of Mister Ed and vintage movies.
             FCC commissioner Michael Copps, who chaired the DTV transition, has been vocal about the channels being squandered on filler material. “If the spectrum is going to be used just for home shopping and Doppler radar,” he said in a recent interview, “It’s falling short of the purpose that it could be serving.” Making good use of multi-cast has been Copps’ goal since the early 2000s, when the DTV transition was still the pie in the sky. “I have always thought that a properly fashioned [multi-cast regime] would redound very much to the interest of localism and diversity and competition.” He said. With DTV up and running, Copps maintains his dedication to making sure that, as he put it, “the enhanced digital capacity broadcasters have available to them [goes to] good and solid public interest use.”

Editors’ note: VideoAge will return to the topic of dot channels in one of its upcoming NATPE Dailies, in which broadcasters get a chance to respond to the FCC’s criticisms.

To weigh in on where the Latins stand at this year’s NATPE and what areas of the region are poised to take off in 2010, VideoAge called on:Jose Antonio Espinal, COO of brand new Miami, Florida-based Somos Distribution; Raphael Correa Netto, head of International Sales for Sao Paulo, Brazil-based Globo TV International; and Susan Bender, president and CEO of New York-based Bender Media Services.

VAI: How is this NATPE shaping up for Somos Distribution?

Jose Antonio Espinal: This NATPE is very important to us. We are just launching the company, and this is an event where we will meet our friends and many people with whom we have had great relationships over the years. We hope to show them what we can do and demonstrate the business philosophy of the company, as well as its products and standards of service.

That being said, we have a great catalog of movies, series, animation and a variety ofprograms of high quality from the companies we represent in Latin America and Europe. We will also be showing our first original production.

VAI: How is this NATPE shaping up for Globo TV International?

Raphael Correa Netto: We always have big plans for NATPE. It’s a key market for us because it’s like the year’s kickoff game. All our Latin American partners attend NATPE, and it’s the first and best platform for meeting with them. We’re bringing a brand new catalog this year, which we’ll present at a breakfast screening on Monday the 25th.

VAI: How is this NATPE shaping up for Bender Media Services?

Susan Bender: We are always very excited about NATPE, as so many of our clients are in attendance.  Our “dance card” is very full, so it looks as though it will be a very good convention for our company.

VAI: Do you expect a lot of buyers to be in attendance?

JAE: We expect this NATPE to be on the positive side of business. The economy is improving, which should make a difference in the market’s attendance and the disposition of the buyers. It’s the ideal time for us to be present and premiere Somos Distribution.

RCN: I think we’re going to have more or less the same attendance that we’ve seen in recent years, despite the fact that the market is going through a structural change. It seems like the market continues to grow from year to year, even though the economy has been bad. Regardless of attendance, NATPE always fulfills our expectations. The quality of networking we accomplish is more important to us than the attendance figures.

SB: In our case, our client base remains practically the same as last year.

VAI: Are you happy about the hotel suite format of the market?

JAE: The suite format has worked for everybody in recent years and is more efficient in terms of cost for many participants. We know the organizers are aware of all the pros and cons of the format and do their best. We have not seen any problems in the years that this option has been made available, and in fact, it’s being used more and more by all companies, so we have to assume it’s been successful.

RCN: To be honest, it doesn’t effect us very much. Globo has been in the suites for many years, so it’s more of a continuation for us. At the end of the day, I think the change will make the market more concentrated.

SB: Bender Media Services has always been a suite exhibitor. In our opinion, having everything in the Suites will expedite the needs of our clients.

VAE: In your view, is the TV business improving?

JAE: The TV business is always tied to the economy, since advertising revenue is the key driver in the market. As the economy moves out of the recession and businesses start spending more in media, the effect spills over to the TV business, which is what we expect this year. Positive signs were already present at the last events of 2009.

RCN: The market is bouncing back from 2009. Last year at this time, we didn’t know what to expect. No one had a clue as to what the crisis would do to the industry, so it caused a lot of tension. Now, a year has passed, and we know where we are. The television environment around the world has been able to react positively to the economic downturn. We’ve been able to manage a repositioning in the new economic environment without suffering too great of a loss.

SB: In my view, the TV business is ever changing!  I began my career 35 years ago, selling product in Latin America, and over the years there has been a “revolution” in the needs of our clients and products they are looking for.

VAE: What is your company’s primary growth area?

JAE: As a new company, all areas have the potential for growth. We have been very careful in selecting attractive programming from companies that have been successful in their markets, but need support in penetrating such a complex territory as Latin America. We have been in this business for more than 25 years and know the players and the ins and outs of the industry and its audiences. We hope to be helpful to our partners on both sides: producers as well as channels.

RCN: International business has been growing in the last few years. Additionally, we expect tremendous growth in the Brazilian advertising sector this year, specifically in the free TV industry.

SB: Bender Media Services currently continues to license predominately to traditional TV, Pay/Cable, and DVD.  We are currently pursuing ancillary sales to cruise ships, airlines, mobile phones, etc.

VAE: Which Latin territory do you see improving or increasing?

JAE: We are very optimistic about several countries in Latin America: Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Argentina and several Central American countries. We’re also looking to the increasing importance of the Hispanic market in North America, where we have great experience with all the players and the different distribution platforms.

RCN: Latin America as a whole has suffered from advertising investments. Mexico has suffered a lot. But the Latin American economy has been able to hold on. Latin America as a region will improve when it gains more maturity in the political and regulatory areas.

SB: Our company continues to license to all of the Pan-Regional Pay/Cable Channels, as well as the Free TV channels throughout Latin America.

With NATPE 2010 less than three weeks away, buyers and sellers alike have their fingers crossed that a successful market will set the tone for the year to come. VideoAge spoke to Irv Holender from Los Angeles, principal director of Toronto-based Fremantle Corp., and Stamford, Connecticut-based Thomas Sitrin, director, International TV and Affiliate Relations of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). We asked how they expect this year’s market to match up against years’ past and what they see as Latin America’s primary growth areas.

VideoAge International: How is NATPE shaping up for Fremantle Corp.?

Irv Holender: The markets have gotten weaker and weaker over the last few years. Our feeling is that by expanding the amount of co-productions we have going on around the world, we will continually produce good family product. So that’s our focus for NATPE this year.

VAI: How is NATPE shaping up for WWE?

Thomas Sitrin: We are looking forward to NATPE. It’s a great way to usher in the New Year, and allows us to connect with our international affiliates and prospective broadcasters, as well as prioritize our collective agendas for 2010 and beyond. 

VAI: Do you expect more buyers than last year?

IH: From the preliminary list I’ve seen, there will be less than last year. I think the reason for that is a combination of the economy and the direction of the industry. More and more people are asking for scripted programming.

TS: With NAPTE being the inaugural trade show each year, we anticipate a healthy attendance by international buyers. Last year, most businesses and industries underwent a diligent operational examination, and the reactionary measures taken drastically impacted how business was conducted across the board. With the year behind us, there’s an increased level of comfort amongst all and this will undoubtedly restore confidence in the way we do business once again.

VAI: Are you happy about the change from the convention format of past years to the hotel suites?

IH: We’ve been involved with suites for almost 30 years at AFM, so we’re used to it. I still like the booth concept, but unfortunately the majors turned it down. It’s becoming more of an appointment market rather than people walking in on you. But, NATPE has suffered more because the majors are not supporting it, than because of the shift to suites.

TS: WWE has been exhibiting in the suites for the past several NATPE’s and we believe it’s a great alternative to the floor.

VAI: In your view, is the TV business improving?

IH: We’ve seen an improvement with family product, especially in the international market. With the consolidation of networks, we find that the need is for specific programming and product that has continuity.

TS: It’s still too early to tell, however, the TV business is a living organism, perpetually evolving and adapting to the changing environment. Last year, there were downturns in many areas of TV, but there was an immense progression in digital media connectivity (including analog switch offs) and platform penetration with new IPTV operations and channel availability. The increased viability of digital and mobile platforms has proven to be a brilliant balance to the temporarily deflated global economy.

VAI: What is your company’s growth area?

IH: Right now our growth areas are co-productions and family shows like The New Adventures of Black Beauty, as well as prime-time series. This year we’re also celebrating the 40th  anniversary of All My Children. And shows like Snapped and Look Alike have been renewed and picked up for additional seasons.

VAI: Which Latin territory do you see improving or increasing?

IH: I think overall, the Latin market will be improving as digital platforms mature. You’re going to see more and more regional network deals being done. From our point of view, the VOD sector, meaning distributing the back catalogs digitally, seems to be the fastest growing area in Latin America.

TS: We have broadcast partners in Mexico (Televisa and TV Azteca), all of Central America and all Spanish speaking countries in South America. We are looking forward to improving our market stature mostly in South America, with an emphasis on Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and Peru.

As 2009 winds down, TV buyers are focusing on the New Year and the new programming budgets that will come with it, while sellers are wrestling with sales projections and market preparations. NATPE kicks off as the first market of the year, held January 25-27 at Las Vegas, Nevada’s Mandalay Bay resort. This edition of the convention marks NATPE’s last year in Vegas before it moves to Miami in 2011. In its final Vegas iteration, NATPE has switched from a convention floor format to a suite-based event, a change that many attendees see as a good thing. VideoAge caught up with Gary Lico, president and CEO of Norwalk, Connecticut-based Cableready Corp. and Duccio Donati, senior vice president of Los Angeles-based Comcast International Media Group to talk about whether NATPE’s shift to suites is a welcome change, as well as their expectations for the market’s last hurrah in Sin City.

VAI: How is NATPE shaping up for Cableready?

Gary Lico: For us, NATPE is always about seeing people, and that’s our major goal again this year. We’re also interested in meeting with producers, and there’s a ton of them there.

VAI: How is NATPE shaping up for Comcast International Media Group?

Duccio Donati: Things look okay. On the Latin side, it’s still rather well attended. On the rest of the world side, meaning Europe and Asia, it’s a little spotty with no real discernable attendance trend. But, we have some exciting stuff coming up, including definite expansion in the digital realm and quite a few big reality shows that will help us build a better year than 2009.

VAI: Do you expect more buyers than last year?

GL: To be honest, I don’t know. Last year was so strange. Things were just starting to happen with the recession, and business was just starting to decline. This year, business is getting a little better again. Plus, because of the switchover to digital, stations need programming to fill those extra channels. Regardless, the focus for us is on meeting with producers and cable subscribers.

DD: I think there’s probably going to be fewer buyers than last year. Latin America will still probably have a strong presence, but I expect a small drop off in the smaller territories in region. European attendance will probably decline.

VAI: Are you happy about the change from the convention format of past years to the hotel suites?

GL: My thoughts have always been, “Whatever makes it easiest for the buyers.” The move to the suites this year means a shorter walk from the hotels, which is much more convenient. NATPE organizers have always been good about hearing what attendees want. This year, they heard them with the suites, and they heard them loud and clear with next year’s move to Miami, which people are excited about.

DD: The buyers will be happy, which is what’s important. It was getting really hard for the buyers to get to and from the convention floor with the layout in Vegas being so huge. Overall, it will give a more intimate feel to the market.

VAI: In your view, is the TV business improving?

GL: It’s always two steps forward and one step back. Where the recession is concerned, I don’t think anything is bouncing back. Internet ad revenue is not where is should be yet, so there’s a lot of room for growth there. Overall though, the TV industry will never be what it once was because there are too few companies out there these days.

DD: I think it’s definitely recovering a bit from 2009. Like every industry, the first two quarters of 2009 caused a lot of panic and the spending stopped. You’re going to see the spending come back a little. But overall, there are other challenges for the TV industry apart from the economy, such as fragmentation of audiences and the future of digital media. But 2010 should be a better year.

VAI: What is your company’s growth area?

GL: Original product development. For the first time, we’re taking matters into our own hands and producing our own content where as we used to be buying it from other people.

DD: The channels continue to grow. On the Style side, we’re looking to grow the distribution of the Style Network. Where formats are concerned, we’re looking to expand into Latin America. There’s also a lot of growth in licensing. There is a lot more product coming through for Style, particularly for Latin America on a pan-regional basis. With respect to digital, you’ll see expansion as well.

VAI: Which Latin territory do you see improving or increasing?

GL: Pan-regional deals are really big right now. And Brazil, without a doubt, will be a growing region leading up to the Olympics in 2012.

DD: There is definitely growth in the pan-regional space for us. E! already has a presence there and there are a lot of opportunities for Style licensing in that area, because women’s lifestyle products are enjoying so much growth at the moment.

Even something as relentless as the Water Cooler is taking a break to wish everyone happy holidays. To those who celebrate the holidays for religious purposes and those who simply go along for the ride, we wish a great time, your needed rest, some distraction away from rating points, yearly projections, market preparations, sales estimates and all the other stressful things you deal with day to day, like annoying press, for instance.

Most of all, we wish you all a fantastic 2010! This year that is ending was a tough one, but the industry managed to ride the downturn rather well. We all had a great L.A. Screenings and a successful MIPCOM. Even second-tier TV trade shows fared better than expected.

We’ll be starting the year at NATPE, followed shortly thereafter by some smaller markets in New York City, Dakar and Bologna. True to its Las Vegas location, NATPE may turn out to be a winner, but as always, it’s a crapshoot. We hope for the better because it’s always good to start the year well.

Our regular Water Cooler will return next week. Meanwhile, we’d like to take this opportunity to thank our readers, especially the TV program buyers who make VideoAge look so good in the eyes of its advertisers. Also a heartfelt thanks to our supporters, contributors, staff and suppliers.

Happy holidays and Happy New Year!

It’s pronounced Globalive, but for some Canadians it is written Murdoch! This seems to be the root of the fight between the Canadian government and the regulatory telecommunication agency, CRTC over the proposed relaxation of the country’s foreign ownership rule.

The case concerns wireless communications, but it has greater implications.

First, some background. Canada’s wireless market is dominated (like a cartel) by three companies; therefore, the conservative government putatively wants to break this de-facto cartel by allowing Globalive into the marketplace, presumably for more competition. The problem is that even though Globalive is a Canadian company, it is controlled by foreign interests and thus considered a non-Canadian company. Globalive relies on debt financing and technology from Egyptian wireless giant Orascom Telecom.

Reportedly, the CRTC is concerned about an agreement that allows Globalive’s Canadian chairman to sell his shares at a guaranteed minimum price, even if the company fails. To the CRTC, this reads as a guaranteed payout and implies that Orascom can oust the chairman at any time.

And so, regulators and the opposition are up in arms. “You can interpret what’s happening with Globalive as essentially changing foreign ownership rules through the back door,” complained media critic Marc Garneau to The Globe and Mail newspaper.

“Now they’ve opened the door. So what’s next? It opens the door to companies picking apart telecom and broadcasting,” Democratic Party member of Parliament, Charlie Angus is quoted as saying.

This is the crux of the matter: assuring protection of the television broadcasting industry in solid Canadian hands. Examples abound. Television groups that own unprofitable television stations are selling them to management and employees of the local stations for just C$1 each, simply to get rid of them, since they’re unable to approach potential foreign buyers for even a partnership.

Another bone of contention between the Canadian government and the telecommunications regulators is the government interpretation of the Telecommunications Act concerning the foreign ownership rule that should be enforced “when possible.” Meaning, not always.

In effect, this government action allows for a broad interpretation of Canadian telecom laws, and effectively renders the CRTC irrelevant.

Considering the sad financial state of Canadian broadcasting, politicians and the CRTC are said to be worried that allowing any loopholes within the foreign ownership rule will allow Rupert Murdoch entry to the Canadian TV market like Napoleon the Conqueror.

During a one-week, 35,000 km journey that included stops in France, Germany, Singapore, Italy and New York City, I had time to think about an ideal airline service for me and the thousands of TV executives who criss-cross the globe. Considering the ordeal I experienced on the Air France’s new superjet A380 on my way to the German Screenings (as documented in last week’s Water Cooler).

First of all, airlines should recognize that airports are no longer consumer friendly environments. Indeed, travelers nowadays can fully consider airports hostile, inhospitable places. In order to help alleviate travelers airports’ discomfort, airlines should have decent sit-down, full-service restaurants and not just fast-food chains. It is also important that airport restaurants and convenient stores be open at all hours and, in particular, well before the first planes are due to take off. Plus, these facilities should be inside the terminal and not in the check-in area before passengers rush through the time-consuming and disquieting security check process.

Secondly, allow passengers to disembark using multiple jetways. It’s ridiculous having to wait up to 20 minutes just to get off the plane, especially considering tightly-timed connection flights.

Thirdly, increase the number of direct flights. Avoiding U.S. hubs like Dallas-Ft.Worth, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Houston, etc., would be greatly appreciated by all.

Fourthly, make economy seats more spacious (seat pitch and legroom), from the current average of 44.3 cm wide and 81.2 cm long, to at least 90 cm deep.

Fifth. Make obese people purchase two economy seats at the price of one-and a half fare. It’s a nightmare traveling while seated next to someone who basically traps you on the seat, without any possibility of movement.

Sixth. Offer the same fare for recurrent customers (family or company) who take at least 10 trips a year with the same airline. Eliminating the fluctuating costs would make people fly more, assure loyalty to an airline and offer better budgeting to all concerned.

Seventh. Install Wi-Fi service and electrical plugs (power ports) on board.

Eight. Make connection gate information available on the on board TV monitors.

Nine. If the plane is late, give new boarding passes while on the plane to those who will miss ticketed or scheduled connections, before landing (after all the only thing needed is a printer!).

Ten. If the aircraft has technical problems, get passengers rescheduled after one hour. If rescheduling cannot be done, find nearby accommodations. It’s unfair to leave passengers on the aircraft for more than one hour, without giving the option of taking another flight or resting from the ongoing ordeal.

These ten recommendations are not necessarily listed in order of importance, but are definitely important if not necessary for all.