Lionsgate’s Agapy Kapouranis

As president of international television and digital distribution at Lionsgate, Agapy Kapouranis has structured a broad range of complex global and regional licensing deals with digital and linear platforms around the world. She tells TV Drama about the bespoke approach to taking Lionsgate’s programming across the globe.

TV DRAMA: What’s driving Lionsgate’s strategy for 2023?
***Image***KAPOURANIS: Lionsgate is one of the leading third-party suppliers of premium scripted series in the world, and we are agnostic to platform, so we don’t take a “one-size-fits-all” approach. Our entrepreneurial nature enables us to be flexible and pivot when challenges arise.

This year, we will focus on continuing to open up new markets with existing platforms and those new to the international space. We closed a deal with Paramount+ for the streamer to acquire several of our shows, such as hit comedies Home Economics and Son of a Critch, for audiences in the U.K. and Ireland, and we will continue to create similar opportunities.

In addition, Lionsgate has become one of the few studios with series on every one of the main free-TV broadcasters in the U.K., placing the Emmy Award-winning series Ramy on Channel 4, the hit anthology series Love Life on BBC and more. We are now replicating this successful strategy across other European markets, including France and Germany.

TV DRAMA: What are buyers looking for?
KAPOURANIS: Buyers are always looking for premium content driven by strong storylines and acclaimed casts. We offer a diverse slate that includes some of our newer series, such as the CIA thriller Gray, starring Academy Award nominee Patricia Clarkson, and top films from our library, including The Hunger Games franchise.

We licensed a large package of premium films and series to support the European relaunch of MGM+, reaffirming the value of our content for buyers throughout the ecosystem. This deal made MGM+ the new home of Lionsgate and STARZ’s most popular series in key European countries, including the Power franchise, Mad Men, Nashville and Black Mafia Family, and hit movies ranging from Reservoir Dogs and Halloween to the John Wick franchises, Twilight and beyond. We are also now selling Power Book II: Ghost in Scandinavia and Japan and The Great in France.

TV DRAMA: How much more complex is the windowing you must work out with clients nowadays?
KAPOURANIS: Complex windowing remains key to our licensing strategy and provides the ability to maximize library value across multiple rights lines, including SVOD and AVOD. While streaming services within a company are often unable to share rights, at Lionsgate we’re able to work with each customer separately, creating value for both partners while addressing their respective windows and licensing needs.