Fremantle’s Bob McCourt Talks Euro Drama Trends

Bob McCourt, the COO of Fremantle International, discussed the opportunities the company is finding amid a renaissance in European drama production at the TV Drama Festival.

McCourt was interviewed for the European Might panel by TV Drama’s Anna Carugati. The session, which can be viewed here, began with a discussion about the rising profile of non-English-language drama, an area Fremantle International has had success in dating back to Deutschland 83 in 2014.

“We’ve seen a massive increase in production and distribution of drama at Fremantle since then and have now become one of the leading producers of non-English drama globally,” McCourt said.

Much of that demand has been driven by the streamers, McCourt said. “I understand that about 60 percent of Netflix’s TV and films are made outside of the English-speaking world now. Disney+, which only launched a couple of years ago, plans to commission 60 series from Europe by 2024. This increase in streamers commissioning content from Europe will really increase the competition with the linear broadcasters. I see the demand and quality increasing.”

New regulations requiring streamers to invest in local commissions have also had an impact, McCourt said.

On the challenges for the industry, McCourt said, “There is such demand for content and for great talent, behind and in front of the camera. Inevitably budgets are going up, which is making projects harder to finance. The budget levels of the broadcasters may not be able to increase to that extent. So more and more, we’ll have to look at co-production models to help finance these shows. Funding of shows can be an issue where you’ve got big, big budgets, and you’re trying to piece together the financing with three or four co-production partners and potentially taking a big risk by putting a big distribution advance in.”

McCourt then discussed funding models. “The straight distribution model is still around, where the broadcaster may be putting in 70 percent of the budget. You might get some tax credits, and then we can put a distribution gap in. Or there may be a co-production model where you have two or three broadcasters coming together and then still have a distribution gap. Or the rare occasion the show does come fully funded by a number of broadcasters, and they come to Fremantle just for the distribution capabilities. More and more, we’re needing two or three broadcasters to come in early to fund the show, or we take a big risk if we think we can sell it internationally and recover the advance.”