{"id":15989,"date":"2021-11-30T09:19:11","date_gmt":"2021-11-30T14:19:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev2.worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/rasis-rodrigo-herrera-ibarguengoytia-talks-euro-drama-trends\/"},"modified":"2021-12-01T09:33:05","modified_gmt":"2021-12-01T14:33:05","slug":"rasis-rodrigo-herrera-ibarguengoytia-talks-euro-drama-trends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/rasis-rodrigo-herrera-ibarguengoytia-talks-euro-drama-trends\/","title":{"rendered":"RASI\u2019s Rodrigo Herrera Ibarguengoytia"},"content":{"rendered":"

The European drama business is booming, and Red Arrow Studios International (RASI) is using its prime position to bolster its reputation as a key supplier of some of the region\u2019s best stories. Owned by ProSiebenSat.1 Media, with sister production companies under the Red Arrow Studios umbrella and trusted relationships with talented producers worldwide, Red Arrow Studios International has been rolling out local-language fare like Stella Bl\u00f3mkvist, <\/em>English-language co-pros such as Vienna Blood<\/em> and more to broadcasters and platforms across the globe. Rodrigo Herrera Ibarguengoytia, senior acquisitions and co-productions manager for scripted at Red Arrow Studios International, talks to TV Drama Weekly<\/em> about the latest trends in the drama business.<\/p>\n

TV DRAMA:<\/strong> What shifts have you seen in the European drama landscape over the last year?
\nIBARGUENGOYTIA:<\/strong> The expansion of the streamers has remained constant, and this is key. Regional European streamers have continued to grow, and many have ambitions to launch in additional territories\u2014as we\u2019ve seen with Viaplay, for example. As such, they\u2019ve become major players\u2014offering more financing power with a degree of flexibility. The advantage for us is that these local services are multi-territory, not global, which still allows us to build different financing models and put together diverse partnerships such as a combination of linear broadcaster and streamer.<\/p>\n

Some of our upcoming dramas have benefitted from that flexibility. For example, Stella Bl\u00f3mkvist<\/em>, which Sagafilm has produced for S\u00edminn (Iceland) and Viaplay (Sweden), has a second season. Then there\u2019s our new launch Blackout: Tomorrow Is Too Late<\/em>, an ambitious new thriller produced by Wiedemann & Berg for Joyn and ProSieben\u2014another example of a local streamer joining forces with a linear channel to finance high-end content. Using models like this, we\u2019re able to produce great series that compete internationally and make a difference in the marketplace.<\/p>\n

Over the last year, as everyone has been at home, there\u2019s been a lot more content consumption, and as a result, broadcasters are thinking differently about commissions and acquisitions. Rather than commissioning and acquiring for specific slots, it\u2019s more about finding shows they\u2019re enthusiastic about and then determining the best exploitation plan for that show across their portfolio of services.<\/p>\n

Finally, many projects have been developed over the last year, but everybody has been limited in terms of what they can get into production, so there\u2019s massive competition in the market right now. That\u2019s just the situation everyone is facing.<\/p>\n

TV DRAMA:<\/strong> I imagine studios and talent are booked up, given the delays of last year. Is it challenging to get things into production now?
\nIBARGUENGOYTIA:<\/strong> It is; there is still that bottleneck from productions that were delayed. They are the first in line. Also, broadcasters are still dealing with the financial impact [of Covid-19] and have reduced content budgets accordingly. It makes it a challenge to put all the pieces together.<\/p>\n

TV DRAMA:<\/strong> How will the new local content quotas for streamers impact your business?IBARGUENGOYTIA:<\/strong> Everyone is keeping a close eye on conversations around U.K. content. That could be a big shift. Aside from that, there are always individual projects that end up on the wrong side of quotas and struggle as a result. For us, it presents a window of opportunity because it offers a strong incentive to develop and commission local European content and to explore collaborations across territories to be able to finance this content. Red Arrow is well-placed to take advantage of this because although our business is global, we are a European partner first. The majority of our recent and upcoming scripted titles qualify as European, including Blackout: Tomorrow Is Too Late<\/em>, Stella Bl\u00f3mkvist<\/em>, Dignity<\/em>, The Bank Hacker<\/em> and Vienna Blood<\/em>. Vienna Blood<\/em>\u2014which has a second season [now]\u2014is a good example because it shows the importance of flexibility and the alternative financing models that can be put together. If the U.K. stopped qualifying as European quota, a show like Vienna Blood<\/em> would still qualify. Produced by U.K. producer Endor and MR Film from Austria, it was shot in English; however, because it was commissioned out of Germany (ZDF) and Austria (ORF), it qualifies as European. That\u2019s one of the key strengths of Red Arrow\u2014with headquarters in Europe, we have deep contacts throughout the continent and can act as a bridge to the U.K. and the U.S.<\/p>\n

TV DRAMA:<\/strong> Amid the challenges of Covid-19, have financing mechanisms changed?
\nIBARGUENGOYTIA:<\/strong> To a certain degree, but the presence of Covid insurance production funds, like the ones in Austria and the U.K., have helped stabilize the situation. By now, there\u2019s enough precedent set from several productions going through the process to give financiers and broadcasters the confidence to invest again. We\u2019ve had the opportunity to go through that process with the second seasons of Vienna Blood<\/em> and Stella Bl\u00f3mkvist<\/em>, which were produced during Covid. Now we are more knowledgeable about the practical measures and how to implement the safety protocols effectively. That has provided us with the confidence to invest in projects. However, the added pressure of finding partners to share the burden of the costs remains.<\/p>\n

Everyone is dealing with different situations and challenges. Financiers have to figure out what works for every partner, on a project-by-project basis, while trying to maintain the respective proportions of each party\u2019s contributions to the greatest extent possible.<\/p>\n

Where there has been more of a shift has been on the content and production choices being made, companies are prioritizing content that sits firmly within their comfort zones, and in general, the market seems to be skewing more toward the more contemporary genres, with companies looking to contain more shooting in a studio versus on location. Being more reliant on postproduction and thinking about cast and crew sizes from the beginning are also trends and something we all have to consider when evaluating new projects. There\u2019s also a big appetite for shows that can be turned around and delivered quickly.<\/p>\n

TV DRAMA:<\/strong> Stella Bl\u00f3mkvist<\/em> came out of Iceland, which has only emerged as a powerhouse drama producer in the last few years. Are there other emerging territories you\u2019re keeping your eye on?
\nIBARGUENGOYTIA:<\/strong> A lot of markets have been emerging in recent years. Covid helped accelerate that trend because some smaller markets were able to step in to fill the gaps left by those U.S. and U.K. productions that were postponed or put on hold. We\u2019ve certainly enjoyed working with some of the best producers in those smaller countries, such as Sagafilm in Iceland for Stella Bl\u00f3mkvist<\/em>. Another market in focus recently has been Flemish-speaking Belgium, where we worked with De Mensen on The Bank Hacker<\/em>. The focus is on consolidating the presence of those secondary markets as they continue to deliver more. A very interesting territory for us is Central and Eastern Europe, which has a long history of production services. That has resulted in incredible production know-how\u2014the production quality there is fantastic\u2014and they are increasingly showing their caliber in storytelling and character development through local commissions. That is certainly a market of focus, and it\u2019s one we\u2019ve been very successful in with scripted remakes such as Einstein<\/em> and Danni Lowinski<\/em> traveling widely across that region. Faced with the twin challenges of Covid and quotas, there\u2019s a big demand for local-language content there, so if a broadcaster is presented with a drama that already has a successful track record, they will take a chance on a remake commission and put their own stamp on an existing title. We\u2019ve even seen that trend in the U.K. with the recent productions from Eagle Eye Drama.<\/p>\n

TV DRAMA:<\/strong> What are your priorities in the months ahead?
\nIBARGUENGOYTIA:<\/strong> We\u2019ve been working on an exciting development slate for a couple of years now, so going forward, it\u2019s about trying to find the best time to take those projects out into the market. And it all goes back to collaboration and finding the right partnerships internationally. The value and expertise each partner can bring in terms of tapping into alternative funding sources like tax credits and local subsidies and even additional presales in their territories have become increasingly key to getting new projects financed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The senior acquisitions and co-productions manager for scripted at Red Arrow Studios International on the latest trends in the drama business.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":15990,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[68,70],"tags":[2379,4776],"class_list":["post-15989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-interviews","category-top-stories","tag-red-arrow-studios-international","tag-rodrigo-herrera-ibarguengoytia","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nRASI\u2019s Rodrigo Herrera Ibarguengoytia - TVDRAMA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/rasis-rodrigo-herrera-ibarguengoytia-talks-euro-drama-trends\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"RASI\u2019s Rodrigo Herrera Ibarguengoytia - TVDRAMA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The senior acquisitions and co-productions manager for scripted at Red Arrow Studios International on the latest trends in the drama business.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/rasis-rodrigo-herrera-ibarguengoytia-talks-euro-drama-trends\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVDRAMA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-11-30T14:19:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-12-01T14:33:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2017\/07\/Rodrigo-Herrera-RASI-1121.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"319\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mansha Daswani\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mansha Daswani\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/rasis-rodrigo-herrera-ibarguengoytia-talks-euro-drama-trends\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/rasis-rodrigo-herrera-ibarguengoytia-talks-euro-drama-trends\/\",\"name\":\"RASI\u2019s Rodrigo Herrera Ibarguengoytia - TVDRAMA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-11-30T14:19:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-12-01T14:33:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/rasis-rodrigo-herrera-ibarguengoytia-talks-euro-drama-trends\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/rasis-rodrigo-herrera-ibarguengoytia-talks-euro-drama-trends\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/rasis-rodrigo-herrera-ibarguengoytia-talks-euro-drama-trends\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"RASI\u2019s Rodrigo Herrera Ibarguengoytia\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/\",\"name\":\"TVDRAMA\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad\",\"name\":\"Mansha Daswani\",\"description\":\"Mansha Daswani is the editor-in-chief and associate publisher of World Screen. 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