Hernan Lopez

This interview originally appeared in the MIPTV 2014 issue of World Screen.

With popular brands like FOX, National Geographic, STAR World and FX in its stable, FOX International Channels (FIC) has rolled out more than 300 channels around the globe arguably faster than any other media company. Led by President and CEO Hernan Lopez, the group has focused on building brands that create strong connections with viewers, either with appointment viewing like The Walking Dead or the factual series Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, or by aggressively increasing its sports programming.

WS: FIC is one of the fastest-growing international channel groups. It seems that FIC has “zigged” where many other groups have “zagged”. What has been FIC’s approach to the channel business? Has it been different from other channels groups and what factors have fueled FIC’s success?
LOPEZ: I actually believe we have more in common with our peers than we have differences, but it is true that there are some places where we’ve taken a different approach. Organizationally, I think we were the first ones to spread out power and knowledge throughout the world, in a network that now has 64 offices, more than anyone else. That comes at a cost—an organization of 4,000 empowered people spread out geographically is not as easy to manage as, say, if it were 1,000 people more concentrated in a few hubs. But the effort and the cost I believe are worth the benefit. I also believe we were the first ones to launch an entertainment series worldwide in near day-and-date with The Walking Dead four years ago. And The Walking Dead itself is an example of going against the tide, as many other networks had passed on the show before we picked up international rights.

WS: National Geographic launched after several other factual channels had already become established in several markets. Undoubtedly, the world-renowned National Geographic brand helped with the channel’s launch, but how has Nat Geo differentiated itself from other factual channels?
LOPEZ: Obviously, all of the factual channels rely on character-driven series for viewership and continuity. National Geographic has them too, but adds two things that set it apart: shows that “Entertain Your Brain,” including Brain Games, None of the Above and the upcoming Science of Stupid. These are three series where viewers can really learn science things while being entertained. We also have mega-events, like the upcoming 13-part series Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, a new-millennium take on the classic Carl Sagan series that showed the universe to audiences around the world. In the same week as the Cosmos premiere, we will have another mega-event, “Live From Space.”

WS: Original productions have been important for many of the FIC channels. Producing, however, can be expensive. What are some of the innovative financing models FIC has used to make some of its popular shows?
LOPEZ: Producing is expensive—yes, it is. We concentrate our bets on the places where we believe we can get a return. For global series, we partner with other content producers at an early stage, as we did with AMC on The Walking Dead, or we’re about to do with Cinemax on Outcast, the new series from Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman, and we explore different models, allowing all parties to mitigate risk and share the upside, but we bring something unique to the table: a guarantee that we are able to launch a show worldwide, giving it a great promotional platform.

WS: FIC has put a lot of focus on sports. What is the strategy for your sports channels?
LOPEZ: Sports is the most ambitious part of the transformation we’ve done at FIC in the last three years. We want FOX Sports to become a true destination for sports fans around the world. But unlike the NatGeo or FOX businesses, which are truly global, FOX Sports has to be built country by country, and we will only do it in the places where we have a true shot at being one of the top players in the marketplace. There are huge synergies in running our entertainment channels together with our sports channels, from cross promotion, to affiliate sales to operations.

WS: In general, what are pay-TV platforms looking for? Is it still possible to launch a general-entertainment channel? Or are platforms looking for targeted channels, such as women’s, crime, movies, retro?
LOPEZ: We offer platforms both options. For instance, we launched the FOX channel in the Netherlands a few months ago, broadly available in digital basic, and it is already one of the top performers in pay TV. We are in conversations with multiple platforms about launching NatGeo People, the lifestyle extension of the National Geographic brand.

Platforms have different needs, depending on the tier. They see some channels as acquisition tools, some as retention tools and some as upsell drivers. The advantage of doing business with FIC is that we have a large portfolio of global brands and content that serves all three purposes.

WS: As on-demand viewing becomes more and more popular, how are you satisfying your customers? How are you making your programming available off-channel? 
LOPEZ: We offer our authenticated players, primarily under the Fox Play brand, all around the world. Our viewers want to see on their tablets the content they already pay for, and the best solution to do that without cannibalizing the pay-TV ecosystem is through the use of authenticated players. Obviously we, like everybody else, occasionally will offer, for instance, the first episode of a series freely available to everybody in order to drive interest in the series. Our platform clients are supportive of that. We also participate in the VOD services of nearly all of our platforms, under FOX-branded sections where we monetize advertising.

WS: Today, is the key to establish brands that can live on multiple platforms, rather than think of channels, online or mobile as separate entities?
LOPEZ: It is the former. Internally, we are using the words “branded destinations” where we used to say “channels.” One of the reasons why we have pursued the tent-pole-brand strategy is precisely because in the places where we have FOX, FOX Sports and FOX Life, all FOX brands are stronger—and that is true in TV as it is in mobile or online (which, by the way, we see the latter two as the same).

WS: Some people in the industry are concerned that linear channels may lose their relevance as people increasingly watch online or on VOD. Do you share this concern?
LOPEZ: Obviously we are aware of that concern. There is an important share of content that will continue to be watched live, including sports content, but more broadly, all forms of events. Our job is to “eventize” television series, for lack of a better word, and turn them into water-cooler conversation starters so that people feel that they have to watch them at the same time. That’s one of the reasons why we have reduced the time lag in airing The Walking Dead, from up to seven days from the premiere in the U.S., to on average 24 hours globally.

WS: What opportunities for growth do you see in the next 12 to 24 months?
LOPEZ: Execution, execution, execution.