Leading Format Execs Talk Success Strategies at NATPE Budapest

Executives from Endemol Shine Group, ITV Studios Global Entertainment, Banijay Rights, all3media International and Viacom International Media Networks took part in a panel at NATPE Budapest, moderated by World Screen’s Kristin Brzoznowski, on successful format distribution strategies.

A World of Formats: Insights and Strategies for Global Distribution featured Natalie Bushaeva, sales executive for formats in CEE at Endemol Shine Group; Pascal Dalton, ITV Studios Global Entertainment’s (ITVS GE) brand-new VP of global format sales; Andrew Sime, the VP of format sales at Banijay Rights; Lucy Roberts, the sales manager for formats in Northern EMEA at all3media International; and Laura Burrell, the head of formats at Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN).

The panel began with a conversation about the current state of the global format market. “The format market is still incredibly healthy,” said all3media’s Roberts. “There’s always waves of conversation about how people are going to start locally producing their own ideas, which of course everybody does, but regardless, if an idea is successful in its original market and it’s a good idea, people want to buy it.”

Banijay’s Sime noted that genres in-demand include the “high-budget, big prime-time shows, but also the low-budget, high-volume stripped stuff. Where there’s a weakening is in the middle, where you’re asking people for medium-sized budgets or content that is going to get average audiences. People are going more one way or the other.”

Burrell said that VIMN has been able to grow its format business by working with “smaller, niche players,” such as NT1 in France for the dating show Are You the One? “It’s the type of format that we would never have been able to sell to TF1, but it has found a home on NT1.”

Endemol Shine, meanwhile, concentrates on big, prime-time shows, Bushaeva noted, such as Big Brother, Your Face Sounds Familiar and MasterChef. “We are introducing spin-offs of these popular formats.”

ITVS GE’s Dalton said that although drama is a buzzword at the moment, non-scripted remains a very important part of schedules worldwide, largely in entertainment and reality. “There’s definitely still a place for evergreen formats,” he added, “but at the same time it’s not one size fits all. It depends on the content. It’s got to be the right content for the right platform, the right time slot. There’s a mixture of opportunities. There are those big entertainment slots where broadcasters want to get a wide-skewed audience. But on the other hand, there are opportunities for daily access prime-time slots.”

Dalton also agreed with Bushaeva on spin-offs, which can be appealing to broadcasters who want to invest in proven brands. “Broadcasters are investing in brands for the long term, but there is some experimentation going on as well.”

For Roberts at all3media, a key trend, especially in CEE, is that budgets are not necessarily just going to big, shiny-floor brands anymore. “There are slots opening up in prime time and access prime time as well.” The company has fared well in the region with constructed reality shows, which can be stripped throughout the week. “You’re getting a drama, with a more cost-effective budget.”

The conversation then moved onto the scripted-formats business. “Scripted is very tricky,” said Roberts, as broadcasters will, more often than not, choose to invest in the original version of drama, especially the high-budget ones from the U.S. and U.K. Where she is seeing success, however, is on lower-budget titles out of all3media’s production company in New Zealand, South Pacific Pictures, such as Step Dave.

One area that is a challenge, VIMN’s Burrell said, is talent competition shows given how many of them are on the market. “It’s so hard to stand out… The key is to tackle a topic that feels fresh. Dating and survival are both very hot right now. Rather than survival being the main bit of a survival show, it’s maybe more about strategy or life choices.”

ITVS GE’s Dalton said that “there will always be a space” for talent shows, “but the question is, how do you listen to the broadcasters’ needs?… We have a responsibility on our side to come up with new content, something refreshing.”

Brzoznowski asked the panelists about how risk averse broadcasters are today. “Broadcasters can seem risk averse, but it’s important that we bear in mind that any decision they make is inherently quite risky,” Banijay’s Sime said. “The challenge for us is realizing that when there is that risk aversion, people need a track record to allow them to sign off on those decisions. One of the problems we’ve been trying to overcome is that the current system is based around, you go to MIP twice a year, you pick five new formats and all your marketing is geared toward the new stuff. Actually, we need to find ways of getting the right content in front of the right people.”

Burrell noted that Viacom has always been a risk-taker when it comes to generating new programming ideas, “so often we are the first in a space. Something like Catfish felt like a groundbreaking show at the time it arrived.”

Endemol Shine’s Bushaeva added that broadcasters are always looking for new concepts but are “afraid to invest, so they wait till the major countries produce a show.”

In terms of new opportunities opening up, VIMN’s Burrell identified late prime time and access prime time. “We have a number of weekly shows that are now being developed into strips. Often, because our shows are so associated with our brands, in order to sell them to another channel, we have to allow a certain level of adaptation. Often with an MTV show, it’s got to be broadened, aged up.”

Bushaeva noted the value of Endemol Shine’s back catalog, which continues to attract interest even though the company is continually launching new shows.

The discussion then honed in on the CEE region. Roberts at all3media said that until a few years ago, opportunities were mainly with big broadcasters. “Increasingly, secondary channels are now finding budgets for smaller formats.”

Next up for discussion was the subject of creative alliances. Dalton at ITVS GE said the mantra at the company is to “create worldwide for worldwide. That means we will do business with anyone from any region. We have a representation agreement with Magnolia in Italy. We’ve done development deals with CJ E&M from Korea. We’re looking to broaden our development scope from any market. A successful show can come from anywhere.”

Dalton went on to say that his recent hiring at the company speaks to its strategy for the next five years as it leverages the growth it has experienced through M&A activity over the last few years. “Part of my job is to look at more representation deals in the market, seeing where we can work closely with our partners, but also to work with the internal stakeholders across ancillary, the general format sales and on the creative level as well. Content is king, but production execution is queen and distribution is King Kong. That’s what businesses need in order to move forward.”