WorldScreenings: Eccho Rights’ Fredrik af Malmborg

Fredrik af Malmborg, managing director of Eccho Rights, spoke to Anna Carugati, World Screen’s group editorial director, via video conference about the strengths of the company’s varied offering and where the bright spots can be found even in darker times.

Even within the challenging environment brought about by the global coronavirus pandemic, Eccho Rights has launched two Turkish series to the global marketplace: My Home, My Destiny and Legacy. The company has been able to rise above the challenges of the current times to find new opportunities, especially in a unique production ecosystem like that in Turkey.

Alongside its bevy of Turkish dramas, Eccho Rights is fortunate to have a considerable lineup of series from Sweden, where production has continued throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the company will have four new seasons of various shows premiering in the fall. Scandinavia has long been famous for Nordic noir, and crime stories continue to be in demand, but there is also a Nordic romance genre emerging from the region, as audiences are welcoming lighter “blue-sky” fare—and Eccho Rights is ready to deliver this.

With countries’ production sectors having been impacted in different ways (and to varying degrees) by shutdowns, Eccho Rights has certainly benefited from the diversity of its portfolio—which counts series from all across Asia, Europe and Latin America. This diverse portfolio of drama has allowed the company to thrive in meeting the needs of broadcasters in these “new normal” times, but also pre-COVID-19. A lot of local broadcasters are launching SVOD services, as viewers move online, and Eccho Rights’ programming is helping them, too.