eOne Launching New Dramas and Eyeing New Partners at MIPCOM

CANNES: In addition to driving sales on two new buzz-generating dramas at MIPCOM this week, Entertainment One Television will be looking to further expand its roster of co-production partners, its CEO, John Morayniss, told World Screen Newsflash in Cannes today.

"The focus is on the new shows we’re launching," says Morayniss, citing Hell on Wheels, a co-venture with Endemol for AMC, and The Firm, for NBC, Global and AXN. "We have our slate and our library. For me personally, it’s more about the co-production conversations, sitting down with partners and prospective partners and talking about new shows, projects that are generated in Europe that we can bring back to the U.S. and Canada, [projects where we can] help put together the financing."

Morayniss is also keeping a close eye on the developments in the over-the-top television space. "With all the new digital platforms, it’s always about being smart about how we exploit rights and windows in every territory. We’re platform agnostic. We recently did a deal with LOVEFiLM in the U.K. That was significant. Two years ago that deal wouldn’t have happened. There are more entrants, new digital SVOD platforms, and there’s a hunger [for content]. These services will only survive if they have high-end quality content and a lot of content. That mirrors our strategy: we need to develop and produce and exploit high-level shows, build our library and have a volume of titles and hours so we can take advantage of these new services that are coming up."

Entertainment One has dramatically ramped up its U.S. scripted business over the last few years, structuring innovative partnerships that have brought to its production and distribution slates such shows as Haven (with Syfy, Universal Networks International and Shaw Media) and The Walking Dead (with AMC and FOX International Channels).