SNL Looks to Format Deals to Boost International Presence

NEW YORK, April 5: Following the successful launch of the
Italian version of NBC’s late-night, long-running sketch show Saturday Night
Live, the series’ distributor, Broadway
Video Enterprises, is looking to do further format deals in key European
markets. BVE’s senior VP and general manager, Britta von Schoeler, tells World
Screen Newsflash about plans to expand the brand worldwide.

According to von Schoeler, Saturday Night Live has been placed in some 115 markets worldwide “The
library is so vast that there’s something in there that appeals to every type
of audience. We’ll have some international licensees who only want the current
season, but then we'll have others who just want the classic episodes.”

BVE aims to continue doing finished program sales worldwide,
particularly as international interest in the brand increases thanks to the
availability of short clips from the series on YouTube. “I’m sure you heard
about the recent digital short that parodied an R&B video with Justin
Timberlake. That has been viewed so far over 16 million times worldwide.
Happenings like that occur naturally. They really help us spread the word about
SNL and get people interested.”

Moving forward, von Schoeler is increasingly looking at
format prospects, following the October launch of Italia 1’s version of the
series. “Now that we have a successful template, we hope to do the same type of
deal in additional territories, like Germany or France or any country that has
enough major stars to come through and be able to host an SNL episode.”

Digital distribution is also a priority for BVE, both in the
U.S. and around the world. The series is available on iTunes in the U.S., and a
mobile deal is in place with Cingular. “We’re also working on international
wireless deals that will mirror the Cingular deal. As we roll out across
new-media channels, we want to be careful that our efforts internationally
complement and support our network partners. That’s always top of mind as we
move forward.”

BVE is also making full seasons available on DVD for the
first time. “In December we put out all 24 episodes from the first season,
which haven’t been seen in years and years in their original broadcast format.
That was a huge feat for many reasons, but mostly because of the music. A lot
of the people who performed in 75, 76 are now some of the biggest stars [in the
world,] the library was incredibly expensive to clear. We had the backing from
Universal and were able to do it. That’s been really successful.”