Elizabeth Guider Reports: Latin Buyers Screen NBCU Fare

LOS ANGELES: More than any one single show, NBCUniversal’s slate as a whole got thumbs-up from a crowd of 300 Latin buyers Sunday as the LA Screenings began to gear up for its crucial phase over the next five days, writes Elizabeth Guider.

It was the first time in years that NBCUniversal had enough top-level product to stage an all-day viewing session for foreign clients.

The potential acquirers seemed receptive and pleased with particular series—most notably the legal drama Suits, from the O.C. creators Doug Liman and David Bartis, and the musical Smash, which boasts Steven Spielberg as well as the Craig Zadan-Neil Meron duo among its exec producers.

While other Hollywood majors hosted smaller sessions Sunday for key European broadcast groups, the Latins en masse descended on the Universal city complex at 9 a.m. Sunday morning for an all-day session with the studio newly acquired by Comcast.

“I feel that the overall slate reflects a new point of view from the studio,” said Raúl Campos Delgado, who buys for TVC networks in Mexico. “There’s definitely a different, more coherent voice which comes through in the shows we saw.”

Not that buyers’ positive perceptions or personal predilections translate necessarily into deals. But knowing that an American network and its sister production studio are on firmer ground is reassuring: It means shows tend to be nurtured and stay on air longer. The jury is still out as to whether the Peacock will strut this year, but judging from both the reactions domestically at the Upfronts last week and from this first wave of foreign acquisition execs, some of its prime-time lineup looks promising.

As for personal tastes, every program buyer from abroad parks those at the door when he or she has to size up the likely value of a particular Yank show for his broadcast or cable outlet back home.

Thus, for example, there were divided opinions about Smash, a musical drama which NBC intends to pair with its hit The Voice come January. Among a random survey of a dozen Latin buyers during a lunch break Sunday, several raved about its storyline, acting and production values. “It just grabbed me,” one said. Others, though, opined that it was “dated” or “demo-challenged,” in that their own target audience of 18-34 year-olds had “no real idea of who Marilyn Monroe was and simply wouldn’t get it.” Still others jumped in to argue that point, which may mean the show will stick in buyers’ minds—even after they’ve sifted through the 40-odd series from the various other studios.

Certainly the NBCUniversal executives were upbeat about their prospects. “We’ll be in deal mode with some buyers by this evening,” the international distribution unit’s president, Belinda Menendez, said. Fluent in Spanish, she worked the room for an hour before sending them back to the Alfred Hitchcock Theater for the afternoon session.
In addition to a full complement of network and cable shows on offer, Menendez pointed out that given the new Comcast ownership, her catalogue now includes some 3,000 hours of nonfiction programming as well.

Menendez, who now reports to Comcast alum Kevin MacLellan—president of NBCUni International TV—as well as to NBC Uni Pictures vice chairman-COO Rick Finkelstein, will soon transfer to London to head up distribution operations there and oversee the studio’s foreign channels as well.