Nadav Palti

June 22, 2009 World Screen

President and CEO
Dori Media Group

 
Dori Media Group has coined a phrase for the kind of titles it is offering on the international market: “new-velas.” The term reflects the company’s ambition to refresh and renew the telenovela genre, both in terms of the story lines and settings being used and in how those shows are distributed. With Amanda O, the company delivered what is being billed as the first multiplatform novela, which can be deployed online, on mobile phones and on TV. Dori also created a portal, Novebox.com, featuring content for novela fans, and has launched channels on YouTube. President and CEO Nadav Palti speaks to TV Novelas about the company’s plans.
 
TV NOVELAS: How has your business been in Europe?
PALTI: In 2008, 27 percent of Dori Media Group’s global sales income was generated in Europe. We found that there is a high correlation between the success of certain products worldwide and in Europe specifically. Meaning, when a product has a story line that breaks boundaries, a talented cast and fast-paced editing, it will succeed all over the globe and in Europe.
Our continued presence, customer support, client relations, visits to the territories, presence in all the major trade shows, etc., are all factors that have strongly benefited Dori Media Group as a leading telenovela presence in Europe. The most recent success is Amanda O, which was sold to 22 countries worldwide in six months since its debut—half of them are located in Europe.
Another good example is Lalola, which was sold to 65 countries since its debut, in mid-2007, and a large part of these countries are from Europe. Russia, Poland, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, Cyprus, Serbia and Montenegro, Austria and Turkey have all acquired Lalola, either the original product and/or the format.
The success of Lalola was also in terms of ratings—it became a hit in every launch country. For instance, in Turkey it debuted on Kanal 1 and tripled the share in that time slot. It gained a 15-percent share of audience compared to a 5-percent share gained by a local sitcom that was broadcast previously in that time slot.  
 
TV NOVELAS: What are your biggest markets in Central and Eastern Europe, and where do you see new opportunities for growth?
PALTI: In terms of TV rights, we can name Russia and CIS, Romania, Poland and Hungary as big markets. HBO Central Europe has recently acquired from Dori Media Distribution the rights to produce the Israeli format In Treatment for Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and Moldova. HBO CE will produce local versions of the series for transmission on its channels throughout the region.
We are working tirelessly on maintaining our penetration in these markets and are also developing in this area other platforms, such as the Internet and mobile.
If we look at Europe in general, besides Spain, which has always been a strong telenovela market, Germany has led the pack as it managed successful productions adapted from formats. France, Belgium and Italy followed shortly afterward. Even the Scandinavian countries are now actively seeking and programming one of the best Latin exports. Only recently, Dori Media Distribution concluded a deal and sold Lalola to the Scandinavian markets: Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark.
There is still work to be done: the U.K., for example, is still one of those markets that will eventually come around. We are already witnessing a relatively new trend with the U.S. buying foreign content (besides British content), and we believe that the U.K. will also soon follow. Dori Media Group sold Lalola to Sony Pictures and Rebelde Way to a major network, and we are in advanced negotiations in the U.S. regarding two of our new titles.
 
TV NOVELAS: What are the strengths of your catalogue?
PALTI: Dori Media Group carries a varied catalogue that can satisfy the clients’ different requests in terms of audience (children, teen, young adult, family, general entertainment) and in terms of style (epic, romantic, classic, comedy, drama, etc.). For this reason, we are offering our clients a complete collection of titles, which could be suitable, and in accordance to their needs and profile. We have it all: Champs 12, Split and Big Deal for younger audiences; Danny Hollywood is a musical daily drama; Cupido: El negocio del amor, Maybe This Time and Amanda O are for a general audience, etc.
Among the titles already sold to countries in [Central and Eastern Europe] we can name Sos mi vida, Lalola and Amanda O. These productions combine several parameters that suit local audiences’ viewing habits: a story line which breaks boundaries, an international-looking cast and innovative editing and shooting techniques. In Amanda O, for example, the lead actress is Natalia Oreiro, who is admired all over the world.
We believe that at DISCOP we will witness high interest from buyers for the telenovela and daily-drama genre. Since we are producing for one single territory—the world—our productions tend to appeal to a wider target of potential buyers.
 
TV NOVELAS: Have you seen the demand for novelas change over the last year?
PALTI: In general, the demand for telenovelas is on the rise. The telenovela is a universal and undying genre, which can be transformed or adapted to different viewers since the genre goes beyond different cultures, languages and social strata.
We at Dori Media Group produce new-velas, which suit the region, as they contain all the basic elements of the traditional telenovelas, but with an edge—their story line is more up-to-date and unique; their pace is faster; and the way they are shot and edited is innovative.