Latin Flair

April 2008

It’s a steadfast rule of nature that organisms cannot survive without adapting to their environments. The same holds true for TV formats. A hit show can be built on a great idea, but in order for that idea to successfully cross over borders, it needs to be adapted.

This particularly applies in Latin America, where format distributors face the challenge of tailoring their product to accommodate local tastes, cultures and budgets.

Now that countries across the region are enjoying economic stability, broadcasters are seeing their revenues increase, and the number of outlets in the region is growing, smaller boutique companies are also experiencing growth in distributing their formats across Latin American markets.

Being an Argentinean outfit, Telefe International has the advantage of knowing firsthand what the local audience wants. The distributor honed in on producing novelas, which are in high demand and well loved throughout the region. Latin American schedules are home to “more than three, four, five hours of telenovelas daily, Monday through Friday,” explains Gonzalo Cilley, Telefe’s head of formats and international production. “You don’t have too many slots available for other types of entertainment.”

Beyond just having a large market for its product, Telefe was dealing with high-quality programs centered on “good stories and good fiction concepts that made sense for other Latin American countries,” says Cilley. Telefe plays with a home-turf advantage, partnering with local production companies and networks in many Latin American countries, which gives it a better idea of how to make these stories and concepts work for outside markets. “We find a partner that we get along with well, decide what is the best format for their target audience, and we are very much involved in the process of adaptation.”

Last year, Telefe’s Montecristo, based on the Alexadre Dumas novel, was the number one telenovela throughout Argentina. Being confident that it had a hit on its hands, Telefe produced a Mexican version with TV Azteca, sending out a team of five people to live in Mexico during its production. Since then, Telefe has rolled out the series in Chile for Megavision, in a three-part partnership that includes the local production company Roos Film, and in Portugal, as well as recently launching a Colombian version produced by Caracol.

Telefe also benefits from a portfolio of programs that has a track record in other territories. “When we sell a format to Mexico, the original show has already been sold to 22 countries around the world; it’s proven not only in Argentina, but in a lot of other countries,” says Cilley.

Titles with proven success are also paving the way into the market for companies outside of Latin America. Carsey-Werner International boasts a catalogue of classic U.S. comedies, whose “story lines are so solid that these formats can be adapted to any societal situation in any country,” according to Rolando Figueroa, the company’s VP of international. The company’s catalogue also includes the top-rated comedic game show I’ve Got a Secret, which is available in a fresh, fast-paced, celebrity-driven format, and several Latin American broadcasters have already requested screeners for the property.

“Our philosophy in placing these formats is that we are flexible enough that we don’t want to re-create what we did in the original programs,” he notes, recognizing the need for locally relevant content. Figueroa adds that Carsey-Werner aims to “find topics that will make sense to that specific audience, to include nuances and expressions of the present time and use the jargon in the specific country.”

The company is making inroads in Chile for its formats, having shored up sales with Efetres for the comedy 3rd Rock from the Sun and Chilevision for the comedy That ’70s Show. “This is really important,” says Figueroa, “because if we prove that it works, then other good things will come along.”

RAPID EXPANSION

It’s quite true that once a company can illustrate that its programs can adapt across borders, it will gain a reputation that pushes the market open even wider. Two behemoths of the international format industry, FremantleMedia and Endemol, both carry clout because of their expertise, and both have made considerable headway with Latin American channels.

In fact, Endemol’s creative director for Latin America, Martin Kweller, describes the growth of the business in the region as “too much. The format market has grown a lot and Endemol has one of the biggest format catalogues in the industry.” Endemol Argentina produces ten programs simultaneously in Argentina, plus international productions. In the last few years, the production company has expanded its graphics department in Buenos Aires and has grown to more than 300 employees with four studios and 20 editing rooms. Endemol has closed deals for Fear Factor in Colombia and Mexico, Police in Action in Argentina and The Last Passenger and Diet Club in both Chile and Argentina, among others. The company is offering up a new format, Mother of the Year.

Endemol’s experience gives it the know-how to make cutbacks where needed, depending on the market. Kweller explains, “In some cases, the program has to become smaller in order to adapt it to the local budget.” But he points out that certain elements will still need to remain at the core, adding that “the casting, host and rhythm may be an essential part of the adaptation.”

FremantleMedia has also seen its business grow in the region, piggybacking on its established reputation in the rest of the world. “The client base has increased, and the Fremantle brand in the territory has really been enhanced,” says Sheila Aguirre, FremantleMedia Enterprises’ (FME) VP of sales and development for Latin America and the Hispanic U.S. “Broadcasters now know we have a really wide variety of genres in our catalogue—we are able to offer canned product in addition to formats.”

Aguirre, who took over FremantleMedia’s format activities in Latin America (except for Colombia, Mexico and Brazil) in 2006, has sold the hit shows Got Talent and Hole in the Wall to Telefe in Argentina, and is negotiating Hole in the Wall with Chile and Ecuador. Family Feud, which Aguirre sold in Uruguay to Canal 12, has also begun taping.

Working from a proven track record, FremantleMedia knows where to step in and when to step back, and that’s important for a seasoned distributor. The company sends out “flying producers” to set things up and give advice before letting a broadcaster “run with it.” Aguirre boasts, “We really have a talented pool of flying producers. They are experts in their field, derived through decades of national and international production experience and expertise. This team has produced these formats in nearly every corner of the world you can think of.” FremantleMedia can also use its experience with licensing to guide producers and increase their revenues, says Aguirre.

But even with a strong name, a company still needs to come with strong products in order to keep up its momentum. FremantleMedia has managed to do just this, and Aguirre says it’s “a reflection of how our catalogue has grown, formats as well as canned.” Aguirre also points to the improved economy, noting “an increase in the number of outlets in Latin America. So there are a lot of factors that have contributed to the fact that revenues have improved in the territory.”

PRIMED FOR NEW PLAYERS

It’s not just power players like FremantleMedia and Endemol who are seeing growth in the region anymore. Throughout Latin America, countries are experiencing economic stability, which is helping to open the market for smaller companies. These boutique distributors are using what they know about what sells in the region, and what the audiences like, to get their foot in the door.

Zodiak International’s head of formats and acquisitions, Sarah Coursey, has found that in Latin America, “music and dance are so important to people’s regional identities. And there is a lot of tradition that is more regional than national.” To accommodate this cultural nuance, Zodiak has introduced the prime-time entertainment show Sounds of Saturday, which follows the search for musical artists—local performers of traditional folk and popular music. Zodiak is currently in talks with Chile, but Coursey explains that “this is the format that we would like to be pan-Latin, because it’s about folkloric and local music and it would be interesting with the Spanish-speaking Latin American countries to show different traditions.” Zodiak’s other entertainment format, Stars on Stage, is currently on Rede Globo in Brazil, with the second season set to air next summer.

The telenovela giant Televisa Internacional has also experienced similar success with music- and dance-based properties. Its portfolio includes the international hit reality series Dancing for a Dream (Bailando por un sueño), which watches celebrities partner with ordinary people who have a dream they want to fulfill. Each week, the contestants get narrowed down by a panel of judges, and rather than a cash prize, the winner gets his or her wish granted. Local versions of this Mexican series have been made throughout Latin America, including in Ecuador, Costa Rica and Colombia.

Game shows and entertainment formats are selling across the region as well. Si Hay Ideas has optioned SMS Attack, a family offering with interactive elements, as well as Heart Beat, to Grundy Producciones in Spain. Also, Vocalist Wanted and Love’s Roulette have gone to RCN in Colombia. Vocalist Wanted has already started preproduction and will air this year. Si Hay Ideas’ VP, Juan Pablo Gaviria, who has been responsible for adapting Survivor, The X Factor and Power of 10 for the Colombian production outfit Teleset, notes that “all our team comes from the production side; we don’t come from the creative side,” so when creating a program, “we have in mind [broadcasters’] production facilities and the production design [that has to be implemented] in different countries.” By having production expertise, the company creates programs that are “down to earth and fairly simple to produce.”

Gaviria says that since the company was “just born,” its focus right now is to gain a name for itself on the global map, and “when people start seeing the different creative options within the market, we’ll be opening up to other countries throughout the world.”

STRIKING WHILE IT’S HOT

Now that buyers, broadcasters and distributors are standing on stable ground in the region, some companies are using this as an opportunity to stretch their reach. In the case of Distraction, it is broadening its program offerings from formats to an original idea of formatting channels. Distraction has taken over the exclusive worldwide representation for Ripe Digital Entertainment’s (RDE) three multiplatform channels: Ripe TV, Octane TV and Flow TV. Not only can it sell the formatted channel as a whole, but it can also sell off the content, “so we get the best of both worlds,” says Distraction’s president and CEO, Michel Rodrigue. Since the launch of the Ripe catalogue, at MIPCOM 2007, Distraction has had some “very exciting exchanges” with several Brazilian companies about the channels, which offer free on-demand programming for cable, VOD, broadband and mobile. “The opportunity to format an actual multiplatform video network in the international arena is exciting,” says Rodrigue. “We are paving new ground for both consumers and advertisers in the global marketplace.”

When offering options to buyers, some distributors are using human-interest programs with positive messages as a big pull. Outside of the comedy genre, Carsey-Werner is looking for sales for The Scholar, a reality competition series that offers qualified high-school seniors a chance at a full-ride scholarship. The contestants must demonstrate excellence in academics, leadership, creativity and community service, and the winner will receive a college education from a top-rated school. Buyers from the Caribbean and South America showed interest in the property at NATPE, and Carsey-Werner’s Figueroa notes, “It’s the only reality show that has more profound substance.” He sees the program as not just having great ad potential, but “a lot of potential for a broadcast station or cable network that might be interested in associating themselves with pushing new talent or allowing people to get a higher education who otherwise couldn’t because of lack of money.” The program really sends a message of hope and goodwill, and, Figueroa says, “It’s something that has good positive substance involved.”