All Eyes on Budapest

A look at the range of factual content that will be on offer from various companies at DISCOP.

The markets of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) are showing many signs of a healthy recovery. Most of the countries across CEE were hit hard by last year’s economic downturn, but a steady upswing in advertising spending has left many distributors with renewed confidence.

For AETN International, Hungary, Poland and Russia have been the strongest territories, according to the sales manager for CEE and the Middle East, Joss Duffield. She adds that the Czech Republic is where the company has seen the most growth.

“The economic downturn did not hit us in a significant way—our sales in the region have grown year-on-year by 25 percent,” says Duffield. “A major reason for this is that AETN saw opportunity in the region and created a position dedicated to program sales in these territories.”

At DISCOP, Duffield is highlighting the factual offerings America: The Story of the US, Pawn Stars, American Pickers and Fugitive Chronicles, which are the latest hits coming out of AETN’s channels in the U.S. The company will also be bringing new episodes of established shows like Life After People, Hoarders and How the Earth Was Made. “These programs feature compelling characters, storytelling and production techniques, all of which appeal to viewers and by extension to buyers,” Duffield says.

Factual, along with factual entertainment, tops the list at Cineflix International as well. The company recently picked up more than 150 hours of new programming for its slate, in addition to continuing to produce its own shows. “Our new drama documentary Nazi Hunters is a great example of the high caliber of programming we produce annually,” says Chris Bluett, the company’s sales manager for the region. “Nazi Hunters is just one of the new shows Cineflix International will be highlighting at DISCOP. Pitchin’ In, The Last 10 Pounds Bootcamp, The Cupcake Girls, ÜberGuide and Weird or What? with William Shatner are some other titles to keep an eye out for,” he adds. “These titles provide our buyers with a real spread across factual programming and factual entertainment.”

Lifestyle programming has also been proving to be a particularly strong genre for Cineflix, Bluett notes. “Home makeover and cooking channels are on the rise and shows like Colin & Justin’s Home Heist, Conviction Kitchen and The Opener cater very well to our buyers. Drama documentaries are also high on buyers’ shopping lists—none more than Mayday: Air Disaster. A certain volcano erupting helped boost awareness on this,” Bluett quips.

Beyond Distribution has found similar success in the nonfiction arena. From its multi-genre catalogue, “the strongest performers have all been factual programs,” says Cristina Lowe, the VP of sales for CEE, among other territories, at Beyond.

Titles the company is highlighting at DISCOP include Highway Patrol, a series following a group of policemen tackling crime on the road, and Love It or List It, a home-makeover show with a twist. There’s also MovieStar, which focuses on the lives and careers of Hollywood stars; Stop. Rewind, a look at the technological changes of the last 30 years; and Six Degrees of TV, which explores how every star can be linked by a chain of no more than six relationships with every other star. “We are focusing on these titles, as they are innovative, fresh, appeal to a large audience and travel well across countries,” Lowe says.

ALL3MEDIA International, meanwhile, has its eye on format sales. Scoring a format pickup in CEE isn’t always easy. As budgets have been cut throughout the region—drastically in some countries—the cost of producing a local adaptation may not be feasible for all companies. “It has been challenging to get broadcasters to commission new formats,” acknowledges Nick Smith, ALL3MEDIA International’s VP of format sales. “However, they have been keen to keep the formats they already have on air. There do seem to be increased opportunities now, as broadcasters are looking for new formats to refresh their schedule. Also, production companies are becoming more proactive in the region in optioning formats, which is very healthy.”

Smith says that it’s the more established channels in the region that are investing in local productions, though he notes that opportunities are emerging for inexpensive formats on newer stations in some territories.

“Traditionally, game shows work very well in the region,” he says. “Cash Cab, for example, has been (and continues to be) very successful in lots of CEE territories. It is cost-effective and can play virtually anywhere in the schedule." At DISCOP, ALL3MEDIA will also be presenting The Cube, which puts contestants through seven simple physical and mental challenges.

"We’re also seeing a lot of interest in our scripted reality formats," says Smith. "Cases of Doubt launched earlier this year on Polsat (after a strong launch on RTL in Germany at the end of last year), where it has rated excellently, meaning that they have commissioned more episodes and we’ll be able to announce another format deal in the region at DISCOP.”

The formats ALL3MEDIA is bringing to DISCOP cover a wide spread, “so we should have something for everyone,” Smith says. He points in particular to daily scripted reality formats, like Families at the Crossroads. “The stories used in these formats are things that are happening every day in countries in the region, which makes compelling viewing for audiences. The fact that they can be produced for half the price of a daily soap makes them very appealing to broadcasters!”

Another player in the formats arena is the Israel-based Armoza Formats, which has established a solid relationship with many countries across Central and Eastern Europe. “Overall, in the five years that Armoza Formats has been selling to CEE, our business has increased noticeably and significantly,” says Avi Armoza, the company’s CEO. “From the start it was a great region for us sales-wise, and broadcasters [had] enthusiasm for our formats. Each year we are continuing to see an increase in the opportunities there.”

Armoza continues, “It’s a dynamic market. The major players shift and give rise to new companies and channels, which provide a constant flow of new outlet opportunities. It’s a young, growing market, with room within its indigenous creative infrastructure for the incorporation of outside material, and, for a distribution company, it’s a great place to work.”

Poland and Romania have always been strongly performing territories for the company, Armoza says. “We have seen several local versions of shows from our catalogue produced and broadcast there, including the pop-culture quiz show The Bubble, the game show Upgrade, the dating formats Foreplay and Approved for Love and the financial-coaching series Overdraft Family.” Armoza has also had success in Lithuania with Overdraft Family and Taste Case.

Further offerings from the region from Armoza include The Ran Quadruples, The Inconceivable, Extreme Wedding Album and The Common Denominator.

The region’s healthy sales opportunities have even paved the way for new entrants into the market, such as Latin America’s Claxson Media. The Argentinean company had been doing solid business in Spain and Italy for some time, but it has been adding new clients to its list from CEE, including Romania and Poland. “Overall we are doing good business and are planning to expand even more a year from now,” says Ariel Taboada, the programming and production director at Claxson.

Music, fashion and sports have been the top genres for Claxson in the region, according to Taboada. In the sporting category, In the Deep, about deep-sea diving, and The Long Bros, a surf series, have been two of the company’s strongest shows this year. Adding to this is the new offering Brotherhood of the Snow, which looks at snowboarders who are training for a world championship. In the way of music, Taboada highlights Sounds of Freedom as a title that has generated much interest.

“We have seen an increase in channels, and we have designed many of our productions for these [secondary] channels,” Taboada notes.

Indeed, the pay-TV market in CEE has been expanding quickly in recent months, and there’s no sign of it slowing down.

And Claxson is not the only company that is benefiting from the booming channel business. “Not only has the launch of new digital channels brought new buyers to the table, it has also redefined the programming needs and strategies for existing channels,” says AETN’s Duffield.

The experience has been similar at Cineflix. “We have seen a rise in thematic channels, which works well for Cineflix International, given the range of programming we have to offer,” Bluett says. “As a result, we have seen a significant rise in revenue across the region in all genres.”

Bluett goes on to note, “MIPTV gave a real indication that buyers are back on track now, and looking at their end-of-year and early 2011 schedules.”