Marina Williams 

Marina Williams 
CEO, Central and Eastern European Operations
Endemol

With 12 years of experience in the television business in Central and Eastern Europe, Marina Williams was a natural choice to run Endemol’s businesses in the region. Before joining Endemol at the end of last year, Williams had been instrumental in the launch and operation of a number of international and local TV channels in CEE, including CNN International, Cartoon Network and Jetix, as well as TV-6 in Russia, bTV in Bulgaria and Studio 1+1 in Ukraine. Most recently she had been the executive VP and a member of the Management Board at Central European Media Enterprises (CME). Williams talks to World Screen Weekly about Endemol’s production operations and plans for growth in the region. 

WS: Are you working to diversify Endemol’s businesses in CEE?
WILLIAMS: Yes, absolutely. We already have fully owned operations in Russia, Poland and Turkey and now we are assessing whether we should establish our own bases in other major markets such as Greece and Romania or pursue co-production agreements instead.

In the smaller territories, our approach varies between simply licensing formats or entering into co-production agreements, using our extensive production experience.

Overall, our main focus so far has been on the production of entertainment formats, but we are now also beginning to grow our drama business as well. Among other things, we have just secured our first drama commission in Poland—a local version of Endemol’s hit series Roses and Vodka Lime, which will broadcast on TVN.

WS: What are you hearing from buyers? How are they spending their programming budgets?
WILLIAMS: Surprisingly enough, despite the economic situation, the demand for top-quality big shows has not diminished. At the same time there is now a lot of demand for entertainment shows in late prime-time slots both during the week and at the weekend.

This appetite for big shows has allowed us to successfully market Wipeout. It’s a big attraction. The international set has been built in Argentina, so it’s a relatively inexpensive show that delivers high ratings.

Also, while we don’t yet have completed episodes of Endemol’s new show for CBS in the U.S., The Whole 19 Yards, broadcasters are already showing interest in securing options for the format.

At the same time there is no doubt that broadcasters are feeling pressure on their production budgets, so in the territories where we operate production companies, we have to be a lot more focused on cost-effectiveness.

Broadcasters still need product, they still need local product, they still need formats and scripts; but their main question is how to purchase them cost-effectively.

WS: I’m hearing from many broadcasters that they really have to protect their prime-time schedules because viewers are very aware of the financial crisis, but when they turn on the TV they want to be entertained.
WILLIAMS: That’s true. In particular, I don’t see any major scaling-down on investments in prime time. However, if you look at a country like Russia, which is an extremely competitive market in terms of the fight for advertising dollars, the ad market has shrunk substantially and will shrink more this year.  

So on the one hand, yes, it’s an unfavorable economic situation, but on the other hand, broadcasters understand that now more than ever they have to compete to get the highest ratings and the largest advertising market share. So the competition is fierce, with more demand for more top quality.

WS: The Wipeout obstacle course in Argentina provides broadcasters with a high-quality production at a cost they can afford.
WILLIAMS: Exactly, and the set can be used and shared by several broadcasters, thereby providing cost savings on the production. And we can amortize the development of the set across the region. That is the advantage of being a global company. We are able to leverage the network of companies we have.  

WS: Do you also produce for more than one country on a smaller scale than the Wipeout production? 
WILLIAMS: Yes, sharing production hubs is something I’m looking at especially for territories that have certain synergies. We are in the early stages of developing this strategy in Central and Eastern Europe. 

There are a lot of territories where the cultures are quite similar and people can communicate in the same language, like Russia and Ukraine, so you could easily create a hub in Russia and use the studio to produce for Ukraine or visa versa—whatever makes more sense from a cost perspective. 

The same can be done across the Balkan territories. We don’t have our own entity in the Balkans, so we are working with a successful local production company that produced Star Academy in a number of countries in the region. It’s one production, but the show can be licensed to several territories because it has a local flavor.

WS: Does Endemol have specific strengths that will help it navigate this recession?
WILLIAMS: Yes, there are not many companies that are investing in development, especially in this climate. But we are continuing to invest in new pilots and new programs, which will give us a strong advantage next year by enabling us to offer more new ideas to clients.

This is very important because this year even major production companies are going through big changes. They have to concentrate on budget cuts and staff cuts and they don’t really have the opportunity to develop a lot of new products, so there is an opportunity for us as a global company to come to the market with new ideas.

WS: So perhaps Endemol is being affected a little less than other companies by the recession because you have a variety of options to offer broadcasters.
WILLIAMS: Yes, we are continuing to develop our business in CEE and the region represents a significant growth opportunity for us. We can tailor our approach to any client because Endemol has a diverse library with content that suits either thematic channels or big general entertainment channels.
We have the bigger, more expensive formats; we have the smaller formats that can work for smaller stations. We have reality shows that work for younger stations and so on. Being able to tailor content from your library to the specific needs of your clients creates a lot of opportunities.