Steve Macallister

 

This interview originally appeared in the June 2010 issue of World Screen.

 

The sales-and-distri­bution division of BBC World­wide is a behemoth in the international tele­vision business. Second only to the Hollywood studios, it is the biggest exporter of TV programs outside the U.S. The sales-and-distribution division is one of seven core businesses of BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the British public broadcaster BBC. The other divisions are channels, content and production, digital media, magazines and children’s and licensing, home entertainment, and global brands, all of which provide a global showcase for the best of British creative talent.

 

As managing director of sales and distribution, Steve Macallister is responsible for the exploitation of intellectual property of some 50,000 hours of in-house and independently produced content from BBC Worldwide’s catalogue. In 2008-2009, Macallister’s division reported profits of £59.2 million ($86.3 million) with a turnover of £231.2 million ($337.25 million).

 

BBC Worldwide’s primary purpose is to bring value to the BBC in the form of profits and program investment. BBC World­wide acquires the commercial rights to programs such as Planet Earth, Doctor Who and Top Gear and finds ways of earning money from these across different media and markets. It then channels funds back to the BBC to be invested in new programming and services.

 

Each year in February, Macallister and his team host BBC Showcase, a unique annual sales event with stars, premieres and events that kick off 1,400 hours’ worth of program screenings. BBC Worldwide, of course, is also present at major markets throughout the year.

 

WS: After Showcase and MIPTV, do you feel that buyers are willing to open up their checkbooks again or are they still a little risk averse?

MACALLISTER: Certainly buyers are opening up their checkbooks, but they are slightly more risk averse and are looking at new models. Co-production is certainly higher up on the agenda than it has been before, which is great because that is really in line with our strategy to build some bigger co-production partnerships.

 

WS: What is your overall strategy toward international co-productions?

MACALLISTER: The key thing is you can’t have too many partners. There is an optimal number. It doesn’t need to be just one. We have recently put in place a new team in our EMEA [Europe, Middle East and Africa] division to focus on co-productions and work with the BBC and our indie partners as well. We are in the process of retooling our U.S. team. Obviously, the U.S. is a very significant partner in co-productions, as a sizeable amount of revenue comes from that particular territory. If you want to be successful in the U.S. you’ve got to have a successful co-production strategy and sales team. We have basically re-geared our team and we are seeing an uptick in that activity.

 

WS: Are you seeing an increase in the demand for British drama?

MACALLISTER: There is more of an interest in drama than there has been before, and I think it’s fair to say that was kick-started by the U.S. In Britain we’ve got a great tradition of quality drama. At MIPTV, BBC Worldwide had one of the strong­est slates of contemporary drama we’ve had in a very long time. We had Sherlock, which is a contemporary version of the iconic detective Sherlock Holmes. We launched it at BBC Showcase but at MIPTV, which for us is really a follow-up market to Showcase, it was selling like hotcakes. It really was, I don’t say that lightly. We’ve launched a new show that has been commissioned by Sky. It’s called Strike Back, based on the Chris Ryan bestseller, and stars Richard Armitage. There is a lot of strong interest on that. And Idris Elba, famous for his part in HBO’s The Wire, is starring in another iconic detective show coming from Britain called Luther. That is looking very, very strong, and that is very much in the tradition of British drama, so we are really getting back to our strengths.

 

WS: How important is it to be a multi-genre distributor that is active in every segment of the business?

MACALLISTER: We cover all the major genres. It’s part and parcel of being a distributor for the BBC, a major public-service broadcaster. Part of the reason people come to us is the strong BBC brand, our association with quality, and the fact that we do cover all the major genres. If you’re looking for great drama, you should come to the BBC. We are clearly known for our factual content, but this year we are particularly proud of our drama slate.

I should also say that we’ve got a great children’s preschool show, called ZingZillas. For those old enough to remember Banana Splits and The Muppets, it’s slightly reminiscent of that kind of show. It’s evergreen, very musical, and we are very excited about that as well.

 

WS: When you look at all of the BBC’s output, how do you decide what is going to have strong international potential that you can roll out to every territory?

MACALLISTER: We obviously look for shows that we think will have resonance across the world, whether it’s star power, whether it’s a great story, whether it’s just a great look, or whether it’s something that is really, really contemporary or new. There isn’t really a formula. We’re very fortunate that we’ve got a lot of shows on our slate this year. When we are actually pushing shows at MIPTV and MIPCOM, we try to highlight the ones that are representative of the genre and something that we feel will really draw people through the door and be of benefit for the whole slate.

Besides our drama slate, we’ve got some fantastic natural-history shows. Life, which I think most people are aware of, has performed very well in the U.K. and in the States. Human Planet is a first for the BBC Natural History Unit. It’s the first time we actually take a look at ourselves. It was shot in about 80 locations around the world and I think it’s going to create an enormous amount of buzz in the marketplace.

 

WS: What are your goals for the next 12 to 24 months?

MACALLISTER: We want to continue to grow the business. We’re in a very good place, but we can’t afford to stand still. We’re really focused on the U.S. We’re definitely seeing a recovery in most parts of the world, but the U.S. is really where we feel there is more upside for us.