Antena 1

World Screen Weekly, March 22, 2007

COUNTRY: Romania

LAUNCH DATE: 1993

DISTRIBUTION: 5,780,000 homes throughout Romania

OWNERSHIP: Intact Media Group, which is owned by the Voiculescu family

DESCRIPTION: Antena 1 is the first commercial TV network in Romania, covering 92 percent of the country’s population and 90 percent of the urban population with 28 local stations and affiliates, and via cable operators in over 400 localities. The channel does particularly well among viewers in the 30-to-40 year old demographic and aims to provide its viewers with the best entertainment programs and credible news.

CEO: Dan Matiescu

VP, NEWS: Sorin Oancea

VP, SALES & MARKETING: Laurentiu Ionetiu

PROGRAMMING DIRECTOR: Florin Nicoara

PROGRAMMING STRATEGY: Antena 1 launched in 1993 under the banner, “the only news and film channel.” However, the channel underwent a rebranding process in 1998 that involved changing its logo and graphic identity. “It wasn’t a relaunch in its primary meaning,” explains Florin Nicoara, the programming director at Antena 1. Rather, the rebranding was meant to reflect the channel’s shift towards more programming that included “local productions with bigger budgets, American blockbusters and Romanian soccer.”

Antena 1’s daytime programming schedule kicks off with a morning show, followed by an original satirical press review. Then, there is a news bulletin in the afternoon that sees the audience through prime time. The prime-time schedule begins with the main news bulletin and offers a different local production each day and a local soccer match on Saturdays. From Monday to Thursday, the channel also airs a telenovela in prime-time, Voice of the Heart, which is produced in-house. “Our programming strategy has been designed to offer the viewer what he really wants to see in terms of TV entertainment on a generalist TV station,” says Nicoara.

In terms of its acquisitions, many come from the U.S., the U.K., and France. Feature films from major U.S. studios, especially action movies, have been well-received. In fact, Antena 1 holds the record in Romania for achieving the highest ratings for an acquired program, with the broadcast of the blockbuster movie Titanic. According to Nicoara, Indian Bollywood movies, acquired from companies such as Eros Entertainment and Suman Film, have also scored “surprisingly high ratings.”

However, focusing on local production efforts, rather than acquisitions, is a strategy that has paid off for Antena 1. In fact, it is currently producing 65 percent of its total airtime, with acquisitions at 35 percent. Some of Antena 1’s most successful programs have been locally produced, such as Romanian soccer competitions, the recently launched children’s talent show I Want to Be a Big Star, and All You Need is Love, which is going into its 14th season and is based on an Endemol format. The game shows Ciao Darwin, Judgment Day and Gente Con Chispa, which are based on international formats, have also fared well for the network. According to Nicoara, Antena 1 has “also invested in shows based on original local ideas, which [have] turned [out] to be big ratings’ generators.” These include Ethno Challenge, a competition between pop stars and popular music stars, and the very successful comedy show Divertis. Nicoara notes that this emphasis on local production “is, as well, a trend that the market is following now, proof of its maturity.”

The broadcaster’s main competitors are PRO TV, Prima TV and the public channel TVR.

WHAT’S NEW: Antena 1 is planning to launch an as-yet-untitled local production based on funny home videos. “This type of entertainment proved its potential while broadcasting acquired packaged shows and we hope we can benefit from it in prime-time as well,” says Nicoara. At MIPTV, Antena 1 will set its sights on acquiring prime-time formats, “funny clips,” and feature films mainly from the U.S. and Europe.

WEBSITE: www.antena1.ro

—By Irene Lew