Flying High

June 15, 2009 World Screen
June 2009
 
The story of the telenovela genre in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is filled with as many ups and downs as any good romantic tale. In the ’90s, stations that were popping up across newly liberalized markets were in need of cost-effective, volume programming deals to build viewer loyalty. Latin America’s telenovela distributors were there to supply that demand, in the process developing passionate fans of the genre across the region. But as broadcasters began investing in local productions, the plethora of slots for imported novelas began to dry up. Today, however, the tide seems to be turning again.
Distributors agree that there are two forces at play when it comes to the resurgent demand for Latin American novelas in this part of the world. The first is the economic downturn that is taking its toll on broadcasters around the world.
“We have believed for some time now that the financial crisis will enhance the selling of telenovelas and daily dramas,” says Nadav Palti, the president and CEO of Dori Media Group. “Telenovelas are known for their ability to create strong loyalty and commitment viewing habits and are relatively low cost. Meaning, telenovelas supply high value per rating point.”
 
 

PROVIDING A SOLUTION

“That part of the world is getting hit quite heavily,” says Marcel Vinay, the CEO of Comarex, which represents TV Azteca’s large portfolio of content. “Local production is going to decrease” as networks scale back their bud­gets. “There will be a demand for foreign [content]—fortunately, we produce more than 1,500 hours of new programming every year. That is an opportunity for us to be there with our clients. We’re supporting them through this time…with innovative, creative ways for them to acquire programming.”
The second factor aiding the novela business is that the television market in CEE is still maturing, and opportunities for growth remain. “There are new TV stations opening in some of these countries—they need good content and they are coming to us,” says Claudia Sahab, the director of sales for Europe at Televisa Internacional; she adds that the region accounts for 55 to 60 percent of the company’s business in Europe. Televisa has volume deals in place with a number of key partners, including Acasa in Romania and HRT in Croatia.
“The sustained increase of digital television channels across the region will govern programming needs and requirements,” says César Díaz, the VP of sales for Venevision International. “This is the area where we can help our clientele by offering our diverse catalogue of programs, which have a proven track record of obtaining high ratings with magnificent cost-effective ratios.”
For DISCOP, the Venevision sales team will be focusing on the teen series ¡Qué clase de amor! (The High School Nerd), as well as La vida entera (For a Lifetime) and Alma indomable (Untamed Soul).
At Artear Argentina, an in-house distribution team, established just four months ago, has already shored up slots for its titles in such markets as Russia, Poland, Ukraine and Hungary, says Mariana Fernández, a sales manager in the international sales department at Artear.
“We have a wide range of novelas, from historic ones to comedies to action” to youth-skewing properties. “The most [important] thing about most of our novelas is that they appeal to men, too, due to the interesting stories, the presence of more action and intense romance.”
New titles from the company that will be available at DISCOP include 099 Central, Love in Blue, centered on a 30-year-old police officer, and Gypsy Blood.
While sellers agree that there is certainly a demand for novelas in CEE, many add that broadcasters have become much more discerning. “The selectiveness of our clients has increased,” says Melissa Pillow, the sales director for CEE at Telemundo Internacional, which is highlighting Falling Angel, Simply Delicious and Daniela at DISCOP. “Buyers are now, more than ever, searching for high-quality products, as they are maintaining or increasing the number of time slots dedicated to tele­novelas—they want the best value for their money,” she adds.
Telemundo has licensed Victoria across the region, and has seen success with Betrayed, which, Pillow says, “attained 60-percent market share in Bulgaria and the leading position in Serbia, Armenia, Poland and Georgia.”
Pillow continues, “In Eastern and Central Europe, the no­velas that are in demand are those that contain a classic romantic story, that take place in an urban setting and have an attractive element for audiences of adults 18 to 35, such as secondary characters that this demographic group can identify with.”
 
 

A POINT OF DISTINCTION
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When approaching buyers who are very clear about what they’re looking for, having a diversified and distinctive novela slate is crucial. Michelle Wasserman, the head of international distribution for programming, formats and production services at Telefe International, points to her company’s ability to fulfill the needs of a cross section of broadcasters. The Argentinean distributor’s slate runs the gamut from teen and children’s nove­las to family fare, classic love stories, suspense tales and more. The company has licensed Montecristo, Amor en custodia (Love’s Guard) and Floricienta (Flinderella) across CEE.
“Due to the current circumstances, people are looking at the telenovela genre as a driver of entertainment,” says Wasserman regarding what’s currently working in the market. Buyers, she says, are looking for feel-good stories with happy endings, and Telefe aims to deliver with its DISCOP slate, which features Legacy of Passion, Taking Lives and season three of TeenAngels.
Sahab, at Televisa, similarly singles out her company’s ability to target a large variety of buyers with its titles, which include a mix of teen fare, contemporary series, costume dramas and more, such as Love Spell, Dare to Dream and Summer of Love. “Televisa has a lot of content. We produce a lot, we have 10 to 12 new releases per year. Now, with the associations we’ve made with our partners in Argentina and Colombia, we have more in our catalogue, which is making us more competitive in the market,” Sahab says.
Caracol TV Internacional, according to Camila Reyes, the sales executive for Eastern Europe, has built a business on offering novelas that “go beyond the classic romantic drama without leaving that aside, and have a sense of humor and a more lively touch that attracts audiences beyond women, who are the typical audience of telenovelas.”
Reyes is already seeing strong demand from broadcasters for the new series Love Her to Death, which she describes as a “classic drama telenovela,” as well as for The Cartel. Also being presented to buyers in Budapest are Gabriela, Beautiful, Neighbors and Roman x 2.
“Eastern Europe loves the classic telenovela format,” says Marc Paneque, the director of international sales at RCTV International. He adds that the most important elements are a great story that viewers can relate to emotionally, and an attractive-looking cast. “In our latest crop of titles, we have great diversity, great stories, and plenty of titles that buyers will find to be very attractive prospects.”
RCTV’s recent business in CEE has included licensing Passionate Revenge (La trepadora) to Bulgaria and Romania, and Beauty Is Not Enough (Ser bonita no basta) and Chameleon (Camaleona) to Armenia and Bulgaria. Paneque says he is eyeing growth opportunities in Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania and Estonia. At DISCOP, he will be talking to his clients about World’s Apart (Calle luna, calle sol) and The Lady (Toda una dama), among others.
Raphael Corrêa Netto, Globo TV Inter­national’s director of international sales, says that the company is coming to the market with several new novelas, all of which delivered impressive ratings in their home market of Brazil. With The Prophet, The Favorite, Forbidden Desire and Pure Beauty, the company is looking to replicate the success it has had in the region with Pages of Life and Seven Sins. “Countries like Romania, Albania and Russia are important partners for Globo TV International; they historically acquire our products and air them during prime time,” Corrêa says. “We’ve even noticed the development of new markets like Croatia, Bulgaria and Georgia.”
Comarex, meanwhile, will be showcasing new productions like the thriller Demente at DISCOP, as well as Morena (Pasión morena). The shows, says Vinay, point to TV Azteca’s abilities to bring “innovation to the market.”
At Dori Media, Palti stresses that the company is offering what he calls “new-velas, which suit the region, as they contain all the basic elements of the traditional telenovelas, but with an edge—their story lines are more up to date and unique; their pace is faster; and the way they are shot and edited is innovative.”
 
 

GOING LOCAL

Dori Media has already fared well in CEE with Lalola (which has been licensed to more than 60 territories worldwide, including Russia, Poland, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, Cyprus, Serbia and Montenegro, and Turkey) and the multiplatform project Amanda O. Also available at DISCOP are Champs 12, Split and Big Deal for teen audiences, as well as Danny Hollywood, Cupido: El negocio del amor (Cupid: The Business of Love) and Maybe This Time.
Palti notes that about 70 percent of Dori Media’s business from CEE is finished program distribution, with the remaining 30 percent generated by format sales. Acknowledging that the economic crisis will undoubtedly have an impact on Dori’s format business, Palti remains optimistic that there are still prospects available.
“Local programmers and producers are increasingly seeking to program or adapt telenovelas containing elements of comedy and romance,” Palti says. “Humor/love are the perfect escapism, a language that is universally recognized and sought after. That mix of ingredients has been a winning formula for countless channels and producers worldwide.”
Palti cites as an example Dori’s success in Russia, where two of the company’s novelas have been adapted locally: Lalola, which airs as MarGosha, and The Champion.
Russia has been of crucial importance to Telefe’s business in CEE, says Wasserman. A version of Hermanos & Detectives (Detectives, Brothers & Co.) was made in the country, as was one of Montecristo. “These two formats were in the top five within fiction programming in Russia during 2008,” she says.
Currently, a Russian version of Telefe’s new hit series The Successful Mr. and Mrs. Pells is in development.
Wasserman explains that Telefe has become such a prolific provider of scripted formats because it has remained flexible with its clients, offering them the option of production services, tapping into Telefe’s own capabilities in Argentina, or just providing the scripts. “Basically, it will depend on several variables in each country, such as the capacity of production, the size of the economy, the kind of client (broadcaster, production company, distributor, IPTV platform), time slot, etc.”
Caracol, too, is looking at format opportunities, particularly on its worldwide hit Without Breasts There Is No Paradise. And at Comarex, Vinay notes the format success of Lo que callamos las mujeres (Women’s Stories). “This series offers much more than giving great ratings for our clients. It’s also helping women overcome obstacles. That is a feel-good project because you get ratings and you contribute to society.”
 
 

ANOTHER AFFAIR

But, Televisa’s Sahab notes, there are challenges in convincing broadcasters to produce a local version of a Latin American telenovela, particularly now that the region has developed its own indigenous novela-production community. “The local production of telenovelas has grown a lot, like in Romania, where they have done a great job with these—but with their own original stories,” she says. “There is interest but they are more interested in developing their own stories than in buying successful stories from someone else.”
Therefore, distributors are exploring other ways to expand their presence in the region. Televisa, for one, has had tremendous success with Dancing for a Dream, which has rolled out in Romania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, among other markets. Sahab is aiming to replicate that success with the new entertainment formats The Show of Dreams and Hazme Reír (Make Me Laugh).
Comarex, too, is not just focusing on novela formats, offering up the fantasy game show Asgaard. “We’re exploring other genres outside of telenovelas,” Vinay says.
Venevision, similarly, is expanding its horizons, with its internal formats and production-services division rolling out novela scripts as well as shorter-run dramas and game shows. “Our team of expert producers and directors can collaborate with local television [stations] to adapt and produce successful and proven programs catered to their respective markets and demographics,” Díaz says.
And Dori Media recently clinched a deal with HBO Central Europe for local versions of the daily drama In Treatment in Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and Moldova. It’s an Israeli format that has proven to be a hit for HBO in the U.S.
For Globo, DISCOP will present an opportunity for the company to showcase its new non-scripted formats slate to CEE buyers for the first time. The portfolio, which includes Laugh-O-Meter and Xtreme Connection, “are appropriate to channels with different characteristics, be they general or niche,” says Corrêa.
Outside of formats, Globo is touting comedies, such as The Cleaning Lady and Normal People, the Globo DOC series and the mini-series Maysa: When the Heart Sings.
Novela distributors may be diversifying, but no one is in any rush to abandon the genre altogether. The economic times are clearly challenging in Central and Eastern Europe, but the opportunities are there for the taking and the telenovela has proven to be a resilient, enduring form of content. “The tele­novela is a universal and undying genre,” says Dori Media’s Palti, “which can be transformed or adapted to different viewers, since the genre goes beyond different cultures, languages and social strata.”