Peter Pas

TV Real Weekly, November 26, 2008

Commercial Director,

Factual
Parthenon Entertainment

Offering a varied slate of factual programs, Parthenon Entertainment has seen a healthy appetite from buyers who are looking for two genres in particular, “wildlife programs for a family audience, and popular science,” as Peter Pas, the company’s commercial director for factual programming, explains.

Among Parthenon’s most requested factual shows during MIPCOM were The Legends of Santa, a documentary that shows how today’s Santa is a fusion of cultures and traditions associated with the Christmas season; Baby Planet, a series that follows the lives of newborn animals from all over the world, and Known Universe. “It’s a lavish science series about the creation of the universe,” explains Pas. “It’s top end and quite challenging, but it approaches everything in laymen’s terms and that’s what people are looking for. There is always an interest in space documentaries, though often the hard scientific facts are difficult to absorb. This show is dynamic and different.”

The brisk sales Pas and his team saw during MIPCOM support his belief that the television industry may withstand tough economic times. “Broadcasters say they will have less money, because they will be experiencing a drop in advertising revenue,” he says. “They will probably be spending less on production because it’s quite risky, but they will be buying more than they have in the past, as they still need to fill the slots. Some channels will clearly run more repeats and will come in for renewals. I’m cautiously optimistic. I’m aware of what’s happening, I watch the news and read the papers, but we’ve always maintained that television is somewhat recession-proof. Shows will still have to be broadcast. I think there’s a chance that the crunch may bypass the distribution business to a large extent.”

Pas was pleasantly surprised by the response for Parthenon’s titles from the DVD market. “Demand is greater than I would have forecast and that is probably the clearest sign that people expect viewers to be spending more time in front of the TV for the foreseeable future; instead of going out they will seek entertainment at home.”

Parthenon is intent on keeping its programming pipeline full. “We are working on a second series of Ancient Megastructures from Darlow Smithson, which will launch at MIPTV. It’s six one-hours and it’s in HD,” explains Pas. “We’re also very excited that we’re the first independent to distribute a series from Animal Planet in the U.S., which we will also launch at MIPTV. It’s a full CGI series of eight one-hours.”

“We’ve started a co-operation with Windfall Films in the U.K. and they will be delivering two military series for us,” continues Pas. “One is called Generals at War that looks at some of the major battles during World War II and compares them from the point of view of the generals of opposing sides. They are also producing Helicopter Wars, which looks at how helicopters have been crucial in specific battles throughout history.”

In addition, Parthenon will have another crime series from Story House called The Real NCIS, which will be 13 one-hours all in HD, plus more wildlife specials and series.

Parthenon, founded in 2002 by Carl Hall, who had previously been managing director of HIT Wildlife, has a reputation for delivering high- quality factual and children’s programming. Much of its success, as Pas points out, is driven by its ability to attract top-notch producers. “We know the buyers and we know how to market factual programs. In the past we have specialized in one-hour programs, and now we have grown and evolved to take on series. We work our catalogue and our producers and partners see the results; it’s quite a small world, so hopefully that word gets spread.”

What Pas finds most enjoyable about his work is also what is most challenging at times, “Sometimes I don’t know what my day is going to look like!” he quips. “We’re a small, energetic and busy company, it’s all hands on deck—you have to be sort of a jack-of-all-trades. It’s not just the selling and it’s not just managing a team, it’s a bit of everything and that is the appeal for me.”