Exclusive Interview: FME’s David Ellender

PREMIUM: David Ellender, the global CEO of FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME), sat down with World Screen to talk about buzz-worthy programming, big-name talent and the growing importance of social-networking sites.

WS: What recent FME titles are creating a buzz in the market?
ELLENDER: This year, we launched a lot of new content and a lot of new formats, but we’re bringing one of our formats that we have had in distribution for the last six or seven years in other parts of the world to America and that’s The X Factor. That will start on FOX later this year so that’s very exciting. It’s a great opportunity for us to continue to have a really strong entertainment brand in the North-American market. And we also just launched The X Factor U.S. tape sales, pre-selling that show around the world. So we’ve got 20 or 30 markets where we have already licensed it and obviously a lot of those markets already have the local format. So that is one of the most exciting opportunities and events for us so far this year.

WS: The X Factor has the Simon Cowell name attached to it. You have many shows that have celebrity attached them. When you have an Oliver Stone or a Sarah Jessica Parker or Jaime Oliver or a Simon Cowell connected to a project how does that generate even more interest in the show?
ELLENDER: Without doubt the talent that you mentioned has provided enormous cut through. Buyers are obviously very aware of the titles when we launch them in the market. Essentially, it’s really important that we have good content regardless of the marquee value. It’s really about having the best show, the best format. And when you bring a piece of talent attached to a show that’s a win-win. But also I think broadcasters are looking for cut through to their audience so to have a very marketable international name attached is a great boost for them and a great marketing hook.

We are also working with a lot of off-screen talent. To give you an example, Original Productions’ Thom Beers and the array of series that his production company has produced, from Deadliest Catch to Ice Road Truckers. Actually, amongst the buyers around the world, Thom is a well-known personality in his own right. He’s obviously not on-screen, so there is talent behind the camera as well that buyers are very aware of. 

WS: FME has a really impressive selection of new programs. When you set the quality bar so high, what are the challenges involved in continuing to deliver at that level?
ELLENDER: It’s the relationships that we have with producers externally and IP creators. I just mentioned Thom Beers as a good example. Thom’s Original Productions produced 16 series last year. This year they are going to produce probably about the same volume. So, it’s about developing relationships with IP creators that are well known for producing good-quality content.

Obviously, it’s getting tougher with vertical integration and consolidation. There are fewer producers with rights available. Certainly we’ve developed a lot of first-look deals with third parties. We’ve also looked at increasing our own development within our company and that is proving to be a success as well.

WS: On the other hand, when you have such a high quality bar, it obviously sends out a message to the creative community. When you have all these high-profile names is it easier to attract more?
ELLENDER: Going back seven or eight years, working with Martha Stewart, the Martha relationship introduced us to Emeril Lagasse, the celebrity chef, and we have been working with Emeril. So, yes, in many ways it has been very positive for us because we have given producers and IP owners a very positive experience and I think they have enjoyed working with us.

Recently we worked with Magical Elves production company, and Sarah Jessica’s production company, Pretty Matches Productions, plus, Oliver Stone, they were very impressed with the way we marketed their shows and made sales. And certainly they are a great advocate of the work that we are doing. So that absolutely helps.

WS: As the FME library gets larger, which is a good thing, is there also a challenge in dedicating the attention and nurturing that each show deserves in order to be distributed well?
ELLENDER: Yes. Strategically we’re focused on not being just a distributor, but being very selective about the content and the IP that we take into distribution or whose rights we manage. But we’re really looking to build brands and franchises, so for us it’s really about quality less than volume. And then that gives us the ability to be very strategic about what we do with that piece of IP. And also the benefit that we have as a global organization—we are in 11 cities and will be in 13 cities later this year—enables us with sales executives on the ground to visit our clients, whether that’s in television, or home entertainment, or download to own, consumer products, or brand licensing, whichever it may be, and be very, very focused in how we approach our businesses.

WS: How is social media enhancing your shows?
ELLENDER: Within FremantleMedia, we are very focused on the viewer’s experience off the television screen. And it’s absolutely crucial that you now create IP that can live on multiplatform whether it lives on a tablet like the iPad or on a smartphone. That’s absolutely critical to the business moving forward.

We’ve had some successes in the last year and that’s really around social media where we’ve launched The Price is Right and Family Feud as Facebook games. Family Feud was the first branded Facebook game and we had seven million monthly active users. It’s a huge number. That’s just something we’ve done recently with two of our brands. We are looking at how we can now expand into that space, either with original IP but also with some other brands from our catalogue.