Tom Toumazis

World Screen Weekly, November 30, 2006

Executive VP and Managing Director,

EMEA and Canada

Buena Vista International Television

Tom Toumazis has been with Buena Vista International Television (BVITV) for five years and he has not only witnessed incredible changes in the international media landscape, but he was also seen his catalogue of hit shows increase exponentially.

“Five years ago we had Once and Again and Alias, and now we have slightly more successful content,” he quips, referring to the mega hits Lost, Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy and Criminal Minds. “Can you imagine if you had asked me the question five years ago, ‘What do you think about streaming video? What do you think about mobile, or subscription video on demand, or free video-on-demand services? Can you imagine that broadcasters are going to run streamed services of episodes the day after they air on a network or a week before, as we do in Germany?’ I wouldn’t have understood the questions, much less been able to answer them.”

Toumazis, who today is the executive VP and managing director of BVITV for Europe, Middle East, Africa and Canada,is quick to admit that this fast-changing media environment has required that the company fine-tune its business plan. “We put together a document,” he explains. “This is our map of how we want to run the business. And one of the components is something we describe as 3-2-1. Our campaign is ‘Remarkable Television’. We use the word remarkable in a lot of what we do. It’s catchy; people remember it. But in our 3-2-1 strategy we ask, What are the three things that will make us look remarkable, what are the two things that we are going to do differently and what is the one risk we are going to take?

“One of the things we were not great at three or four years ago was taking risk. When you are in large corporations there is always the feeling that it’s safer not to make the tough decisions because there is always something else to do. So we want to try and introduce some degree of risk in the company.”

The driving engine behind BVITV’s 3-2-1 business plan, of course, is a diverse slate of programming, ranging from prime-time dramas and feature films, to Disney Channel original movies, such as the smash hit High School Musical, to preschool fare like Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Disney’s Little Einsteins.

Series like Lost, Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy have sold in more than 200 territories. Criminal Minds and Ghost Whisperer are also selling very well.

BVITV recently closed two very important deals in the U.K.: Sky licensed seasons 3 and 4 of Lost (the series had previously been airing on Channel 4), in what was the biggest ever U.K. deal for a U.S. drama series. And after having a very successful run with the first two seasons of Desperate Housewives, Channel 4 licensed seasons 3 and 4 of in another record-breaking deal.

But Toumazis is not only excited about the business he does in major territories. He is equally excited about the potential of emerging markets such as Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

BVITV is selling finished programs to these regions as well as closing deals for localized versions of U.S. shows. Hope & Faith and According to Jim are being produced in Turkey; The Golden Girls and Home Improvement are being made in Russia; and the U.S. version of Extreme Makeover is being localized in the U.K., Scandinavia, Belgium, Russia and in the Middle East.

While selling scripts of U.S. shows is still a very small part of BVITV’s total business, Toumazis sees considerable potential in getting more involved in co-producing customized versions with local broadcasters.

Beyond straight sales, what is becoming increasingly important in today’s highly competitive television market is the after-sales service and helping broadcasters market and promote the series they buy from BVITV.

“A free-TV broadcast network might acquire five to seven shows a year and in the end they [expect] two or three of them to work,” explains Toumazis. “The broadcasters don’t really care where the shows come from; they just want them to perform well. So what we’ve got to do is work incredibly hard to make sure our shows have the best chance of working versus the other studios’ and other content providers’ shows. And that only comes with great marketing people who are passionate about the shows and can get talent [involved in customized promos].

Lost is a huge show on Channel 1 in Russia,” continues Toumazis. “It’s stripped Monday to Thursday at 9:30 p.m. The Channel 1 production team visited the set of Lost and they shot interstitials. Almost every single actor did a specific Russian-language promo for Channel 1.”

Toumazis has already had members of the casts of Lost, Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy go on promotional tours of Europe and wants to do much more of that. “Post sale is an important component,” he says. “Five or six years ago, it was all about selling the programs. And now it’s so important for us to think about the life of a show—to think about DVDs, ancillary revenues and windowing.”