{"id":21908,"date":"2024-12-10T08:50:34","date_gmt":"2024-12-10T13:50:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/worldscreen.com\/"},"modified":"2024-12-11T09:30:09","modified_gmt":"2024-12-11T14:30:09","slug":"dramatic-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/dramatic-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Dramatic Future"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the drama commissioning landscape undergoes a course correction, leading distributors weigh in about how financing and windowing strategies are evolving.<\/em><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve all seen the reports about the end of peak TV and the dramatic slowdown in commissioning across every sector, including what had been a severely overheated market for drama. The producers and distributors surveyed for this piece are employing a range of strategies to adjust to the new normal, including finding smarter, savvier ways to finance shows\u2014and fully mine their monetization potential across every window.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike a lot of businesses, we\u2019ve adapted and become more flexible in how we approach the financing of a series,\u201d says Tom Misselbrook, senior VP of scripted sales and development at Cineflix Rights. \u201cFor us, it all starts with the creative, and we take it from there, looking closely at the ambition and scale of a series to understand whether it fits within our model, and if so, plot out how to best piece it together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s more important than ever that your creative development is done in parallel with an executable business plan,\u201d says Dan March, managing partner at Dynamic Television. \u201cShows now tend to fall into one of two buckets: you can still swing for bigger-budget global streaming commissions or finance smart and efficient co-productions through multiple partners. But know what your plan is as early as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Boat Rocker Studios, the emphasis has been on \u201cbeing flexible in the types of deals we pursue and projects we make,\u201d says Nick Nantell, executive VP and head of scripted creative. \u201cDuring \u2018peak TV,\u2019 we were much more focused on the American market and cost-plus deals. We have been able to pivot in the face of the evolving market there and utilize our size, financing ability and incredible distribution team to find new opportunities throughout the world to make premium, high-end content.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miguel Garc\u00eda S\u00e1nchez, sales director at the distribution arm of Spain\u2019s Atresmedia Televisi\u00f3n, also emphasizes the importance of flexibility, \u201cadapting to the new times, strengthening international relationships and exploring new collaboration strategies with third parties through different formulas and agreement models.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carlos Garde, managing director of Onza, says the market\u2019s course correction has created new opportunities for the Spanish distribution and production outfit. \u201cIt may sound paradoxical, but we have seen growth opportunities in these times of budget realignment for content platforms. Onza has been a pioneer in finding creative financing solutions and taking advantage of the best tax incentives in the market. This, combined with our experience in closing sales in different windows to different clients, has allowed us to gain a competitive advantage in the market.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, at Electric Entertainment, despite the industry upheaval, the financial model behind that company\u2019s boutique stable of shows has largely stayed the same.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe budget will start with a domestic license fee and what you can get between a rebate and foreign sales,\u201d says CEO Dean Devlin. \u201cThat\u2019s been our model from the beginning. We\u2019ve also been fortunate enough to make \u2018traditional\u2019 television. The entire industry moved away from that toward dark, edgy, serialized, expensive shows. There\u2019s been a resurgence of blue-sky shows where bad guys get their comeuppance. We\u2019re doing more shows now than we\u2019ve ever done. It\u2019s because we\u2019ve been in this unique position of figuring out how to do more for less without it showing up on the screen.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Natalie Lawley, managing director of Escapade Media, one of the most significant shifts of the last few years has been the \u201cgreater need to \u2018package\u2019 each project well before it goes to market\u2014ensuring you have your cast and creative team attached and have sourced a percentage of your budget. The bigger, the better. We have looked at all sources of financing, from private funding, brand support and contra budget line items to presales to striking smarter deals with potential commissioners and platforms.\u201d<\/p>\n

FUNDING JIGSAWS<\/strong>
\nAs Lawley indicates, there are a variety of funding routes to pursue, but co-productions and tapping into soft money remain key to most international drama distributors\u2019 strategies for getting shows made.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are still seeing the need to secure the anchor sale\/commission, preferably in a major territory, but then build the finance plan via an international co-production or multi-territory presales,\u201d Lawley says. \u201cEscapade is seeing a big appetite for presales in the scripted genre.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boat Rocker is tapping into the benefits of its home base of Canada, Nantell notes. \u201cWe are adept at tapping into the strategic soft money to help us keep our projects in the Canadian marketplace and make them more economically than elsewhere. Having said that, in this more international marketplace, we are looking for partners around the world to help tap into their local soft money to help make the best project possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Similarly, Onza is well-versed in accessing funding systems following its own experience in Spain. \u201cWe have always used them in most of our productions, and they have allowed us to develop productions with tighter budgets,\u201d says Garde. \u201cWe are producing a major series in Bilbao with incentives from the Basque Country, and we have several productions planned for the coming months. Onza is not only focused on taking advantage of these incentives in our productions\u2014we are also offering our production services to companies in the U.S., Latin America and other territories. We are offering them the opportunity to record part of their production with us in the Basque Country, the Canary Islands or other areas of Spain with incentives, which will allow them to save a lot of money on their productions, and thus be able to carry out projects that would otherwise not be viable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Misselbrook at Cineflix Rights explains that it has become \u201cmuch more common to pull together financing from multiple sources, be that local or state funding bodies, tax incentives, third-party financers or co-producing partners in which a specific project creatively lends itself to two or more territories.\u201d<\/p>\n

Misselbrook adds that multi-territory co-pros have been on the rise and notes that soft money tends to form a significant part of the productions the company invests in. \u201cWhen assessing new material, these types of incentives can make all the difference in closing the financing of a series and make the case for investment much more straightforward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Naturally, you have to look at those incentives carefully, Electric\u2019s Devlin explains. \u201cIt will always be a combination of the rebate versus the cost of shooting in that country. Some places have quite big rebates, but shooting there is so expensive that you lose most of the rebate due to the increased costs. We shot in Portland, Oregon, for 11 years. They only had a 17 percent rebate, but everything else was much less expensive. As we calculated it, even though it was only a 17 percent rebate, we saw a 30 percent reduction in costs from the show\u2019s first season, which was shot in Los Angeles. The rebate is super important, but it\u2019s not everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

LIBRARY CLOUT<\/strong>
\nWith commissions on the downswing, distributors are looking to drive additional value from back libraries.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re always on the lookout for series that can run for multiple seasons and have a long shelf life because that\u2019s how you maximize your return,\u201d Misselbrook says. \u201cLibrary offers buyers high-quality series, high volume and a strong track record at a more affordable license fee. In a time when commissions are down and budgets are tight for buyers, library series are a great option to offer our customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAtresmedia has an extensive catalog of series, including some of the biggest successes in Spanish-language fiction,\u201d Garc\u00eda S\u00e1nchez notes. \u201cOur library is a vital asset, allowing us to offer clients the opportunity to relicense beloved productions that continue to captivate audiences even years after their original release.\u201d<\/p>\n

And with the AVOD and FAST sector quickly becoming a critical window, having a solid back catalog of series can be an important advantage. \u201cNearly every distribution com\u00adpany is ultimately buoyed in challenging markets by its catalog,\u201d March says. \u201cWith the growth of AVOD, this is certainly applicable now.\u201d<\/p>\n

WINDOW WATCHING<\/strong>
\nThe emergence of AVOD and FAST is helping to change the conversation around holdbacks and exclusivity as IP owners look to expand the monetization potential of shows.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt Atresmedia, we always strive for maximum visibility and the best exploitation of our series,\u201d Garci\u00e1 S\u00e1nchez says. \u201cWe have historically negotiated exclusive and non-exclusive deals, depending on the specifics of each negotiation. This flexible approach allows us to adapt to the evolving conversation about exclusivity in the scripted space and optimize our content\u2019s reach and impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

Misselbrook adds: \u201cHistorically, there was much more emphasis on exclusivity in the scripted space, as platforms and broadcasters sought to take ownership of content in a more robust way. More recently, we\u2019ve seen a move away from this to an extent; the first window will always be key as this is where platforms and broadcasters realize the most value, but that window has become shorter for many ser\u00advices. There is evidence of more flexibility around secondary window exploitation. This works well for commissioners and distributors as they look more closely at cost and revenue potential. There is an ecosystem in which the same series can sit across multiple services at one time, that audiences can access on their preferred service and that these series can still perform well.\u201d<\/p>\n

SVOD streamers, in particular, are starting to be less insistent on being the exclusive home of titles; that strategy helped drive\u00a0Suits<\/em>\u00a0to the top of streaming charts in the U.S. with its homes on Netflix and Peacock.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll always have full ownership by the platforms, especially on the bigger-budgeted shows,\u201d Devlin says. \u201cBut if they want to have enough new content that their subscribers feel good about paying a monthly subscription all year, they will have to maintain a certain level of new product. If they want to do that on a budget that\u2019s not going to continue to give them crippling debt, they\u2019re going to go back to the license deal. It makes it a little bit trickier for us because now we\u2019re not just selling it to one person in one territory, but it allows us as an independent to create more realistic modeling on the value of our library. If you\u2019re not reselling the library\u2014if you\u2019re just letting it sit on a hard drive\u2014you\u2019ve lost an enormous amount of that value. It makes more work for us, but it\u2019s better for us at the end of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Electric Entertainment made an early bet on AVOD and FAST with its ElectricNOW app, delivering access to some of its key franchises. The monetization aspect is important, but Devlin highlights that the service does more than just generate additional revenues. \u201cWe need to aggregate our fans. We need to create a place where, if you like our stuff, you can come to this home and feel like it\u2019s yours and have a sense of proprietary involvement. That\u2019s been successful for us. When we launch a show on SYFY or TNT, we can communicate to [our fans]. It\u2019s been working at a level that\u2019s been surprising.\u201d<\/p>\n

FAST TIMES<\/strong>
\nCineflix Rights operates a portfolio of FAST channels in the unscripted space and has seen their value, especially when it comes to data and analytics.<\/p>\n

\u201cAVOD and FAST provide an exciting opportunity to exploit series in our library that, for whatever reason, we may no longer have a home for through a traditional licensee,\u201d Misselbrook says. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing very strong engagement from audiences on these services being reconnected with their favorite series in a free environment, and this area of business remains a real growth engine for us and an integral window in a show\u2019s lifespan. What\u2019s also particularly interesting is the rich level of data we get from these platforms, which we can feed back into the business to inform broader editorial decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n

AVOD and FAST aren\u2019t teeming with originals yet, with just a few of the major players\u2014among them Roku, Amazon Freevee and Tubi\u2014commissioning their own productions. But producers and distributors are eagerly watching this space.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve seen impressive growth of AVOD services in recent times, and we\u2019ll continue to see expansion,\u201d Misselbrook says. \u201cAVOD services are already investing in the scripted space, albeit it\u2019s quite limited when compared to SVOD or broadcast, but with the continued trajectory of AVOD, my feeling is we will see an increase in investment across both film and scripted series.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Leading distributors weigh in about how financing and windowing strategies are evolving.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":21909,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[77,70],"tags":[2439,2534,6101,3462,4339,5759,628,3014,728,10078,8187,10077,4057,4986],"class_list":["post-21908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-features","category-top-stories","tag-atresmedia-television","tag-boat-rocker-studios","tag-carlos-garde","tag-cineflix-rights","tag-dan-march","tag-dean-devlin","tag-dynamic-television","tag-electric-entertainment","tag-escapade-media","tag-miguel-garcia-sanchez","tag-natalie-lawley","tag-nick-nantell","tag-onza","tag-tom-misselbrook","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nDramatic Future - 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\/dramatic-future\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dramatic Future - TVDRAMA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Leading distributors weigh in about how financing and windowing strategies are evolving.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/dramatic-future\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVDRAMA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-12-10T13:50:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-12-11T14:30:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2024\/12\/SATRESMEDIA-ANTUARIO.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"359\" \/>\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=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/dramatic-future\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/dramatic-future\/\",\"name\":\"Dramatic Future - TVDRAMA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-12-10T13:50:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-12-11T14:30:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/#\/schema\/person\/83da304c8bad8bfdb3edd7eb47cfe5ad\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/dramatic-future\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/dramatic-future\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/dramatic-future\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Dramatic Future\"}]},{\"@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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