Raphael Corrêa Netto

International Sales Director
Globo TV International

With pressures on their programming budgets, buyers are being particularly cautious these days, and for distributors, having research that can demonstrate a show’s potential is key. It was that rationale that led Globo TV International into the formats business at the beginning of this year, launching a portfolio of entertainment projects to the international market. For Raphael Corrêa Netto, who heads up sales at the distribution arm of Brazil’s leading broadcaster, Globo presents some unique strengths in this already crowded marketplace. "We have been recognized as a strong producer of fiction, but all that expertise has traveled to other content as well," he says. "That goes from news production to non-scripted format creation and production."

And, just as importantly, Corrêa and his team have the backup of ratings data from Brazil. "They are all proven and successful formats; they’ve all been on screen."

Globo is starting its format-sales efforts with five titles: The Spelling Game, featuring school kids; Xtreme Connection, in which regular people and celebrities compete in a range of challenges; the daily afternoon quiz show The Video Game, the stand-up comedy format Laugh-O-Meter and the car and lifestyle makeover series Wreckovery.

These were selected from Globo’s significant portfolio of non-scripted entertainment concepts. Corrêa says that process included executives from the distribution, marketing, product development and creative teams, sifting through the Globo library to come up with three to five shows with the greatest international potential. Also crucial in the selection process was coming up with a slate that fit different needs, from the more "complex and sophisticated" offerings like Xtreme Connection to stripped, lower-cost, studio-based series like The Video Game. This way, Corrêa says, Globo can reach broadcasters in markets across Europe, Asia and Latin America with varying budgetary constrictions.

Corrêa adds that the company’s formats catalogue also addresses two key themes in the business today: the demand for shows that include some element of transformation—as Wreckovery does—and for feel-good competition series, like Laugh-O-Meter.

In taking on the more established players in the format market, Corrêa sees the next year as a learning curve for the company. "I want to answer the market’s needs and demands, and have the chance to learn, to experience. We believe that by the end of the year, we should be able, within Latin America, Europe and Asia, to have at least three to five projects running."

Globo is also looking to keep building its co-production business, which began with a deal with Telemundo last year for a U.S. Hispanic version of the Brazilian hit novela The Clone. Executives from Globo and Telemundo’s operations in Miami and Colombia recently held a production meeting in São Paulo that Corrêa calls "fantastic. There is a chemistry there—we spoke one language only—it was ‘Portuñol!’" he quips.

As he pursues similar opportunities with other broadcasters for titles from Globo’s drama catalogue, Corrêa is on the lookout for "projects in which the partner values our contributions, not only with the script but in our ability to add value to the creative and production-planning sides. We are not in a hurry to do volumes of projects at the same time; we are willing to do qualitative projects in which we really contribute throughout the process."

Corrêa continues: "We want to bring alternative content to the market. We don’t intend to be one of the biggest format players in the world, we want to be a very good partner for formats in which we are recognized for the innovation and creativity that we can bring to our partners."

Formats and co-productions, however, are just a small part of Globo TV International’s catalogue for MIPTV, which also features novelas, such The Favorite, Forbidden Desire, The Prophet and Pure Beauty; comedies like Normal People and The Cleaning Lady; and the drama Maysa, telling the story of the famed Brazilian singer.

Indeed, the Globo international catalogue has undergone a radical transformation in the last year or so, prompting some changes within the company’s distribution structure. "The first is a cultural change," says Corrêa. "I have to go home every day knowing that I’m not representing a telenovela company; I’m representing a TV company. Once we were able to make this cultural change, everything become easier. We’ve been working very strongly on three fronts. One is product development, because it’s not just getting the product that airs in Brazil; it’s how you package it to become a very competitive product for the international market. Second, how do you communicate all of this successfully? And third, we created very strong [sales] teams that are working complementarily."

With this expanded portfolio, Corrêa says, "I think our clients understand that we are bringing the entire TV Globo to the international market. All of its people, all its creativity."