{"id":6462,"date":"2018-10-01T10:33:00","date_gmt":"2018-10-01T14:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/media-ranchs-sophie-ferron\/"},"modified":"2018-10-02T09:15:34","modified_gmt":"2018-10-02T13:15:34","slug":"media-ranchs-sophie-ferron","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/media-ranchs-sophie-ferron\/","title":{"rendered":"Media Ranch\u2019s Sophie Ferron"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sophie Ferron, founder, executive producer and president of Media Ranch, talks to <\/em>TV Formats about some of the company’s major milestones and her long- and short-term goals.<\/em><\/p>\n

It was ten years ago that Media Ranch launched as a player in the format arena, and over the last decade the company has gained a reputation in the marketplace as both a creator and distributor of original and existing formats.<\/p>\n

\"***Image***\"TV FORMATS:<\/strong> As you look back at the last ten years since launching Media Ranch, what have been some of the key milestones for the company?
\nFERRON: <\/strong>I used to represent Endemol as their agent for French Canada, and actually continued to do so until a year ago. That\u2019s how I became so heavily involved in formats, which naturally shaped the direction of my company. Wipeout <\/em>was our first series, and that was a huge success. One production that everybody talks to me about still to this day is Dining with the Enemy<\/em>. We did the first adaptation of the Norwegian format. It\u2019s a very compelling show that brings people who are involved in a conflict together to share a meal. I produced Baggage Battles <\/em>for Scripps. Business-wise, that brought us more into the international scene. Two years ago, we officially launched our distribution arm and set up our Amsterdam office.<\/p>\n

TV FORMATS:<\/strong> What was the mission when Media Ranch first launched, and how has that evolved into what the company aims to offer today?
\nFERRON: <\/strong>We started by producing locally, bringing formats into the local market. Things evolved, and now it\u2019s basically the other way around. We do produce locally, but mostly with the international market in mind. We\u2019re building global formats. We moved from being a production company that produces local adaptations of international formats for our local market to now being a global format company that creates, owns, produces and distributes formats for the local and international market. We\u2019re very IP-driven.<\/p>\n

TV FORMATS: <\/strong>Why was it important for you to launch your own distribution division?
\nFERRON: <\/strong>Since I had an expertise in formats, people had been asking me if I could represent them outside of Canada or help them with contracts or sell their formats. Even my competitors came up to me asking if I could represent them in a negotiation! Since I know all about these formats, and we have this big network of format expertise around the world, it was a natural step to launch this distribution arm. I still believe that the future in content needs to be global.<\/p>\n

TV FORMATS: <\/strong>In terms of distribution, what types of formats seem to be working best in the marketplace at present?
\nFERRON: <\/strong>The word that we keep hearing is \u201cauthentic.\u201d It needs to look and feel real; people know when it\u2019s not real. It needs to be authentic. You have to focus on what people want to know about or care about\u2014formats that people can identify with. It also has to be entertaining. Great characters are important as well. Our original format The Ex-pert<\/em>, which we\u2019re launching at MIPCOM, has exactly that. Anne-France Goldwater is a great character\u2014out of this world! She\u2019s the biggest character; she\u2019s the next Judge Judy, but even better. It\u2019s all about helping people resolve conflict around their separation or divorce.<\/p>\n

TV FORMATS: <\/strong>As creators, what types of concepts are you looking to deliver, and where are you scouting for ideas?
\nFERRON: <\/strong>We specialize in factual, reality and docu-reality. We always want to deliver content that is compelling, interesting, well-produced, entertaining and responsible\u2014entertainment with a conscience. As producers, we tend to produce content that has strong messages but that is also fun. People want funny! Right now, the world is a bit complicated. People want to feel good, they want to see a connection between themselves and their neighbors. It has to feel authentic, and it has to have a global reach. I won\u2019t take on a format if I don\u2019t see it as a global play.<\/p>\n

TV FORMATS: <\/strong>What are some of the partnerships Media Ranch has in place?
\nFERRON: <\/strong>We have a lot of partnerships. We have a strong partnership with Canadian networks, of course, and the Dutch indie production house Vincent TV; we represent two of their formats, which are selling quite well. We have aligned with Tanin Productions in Israel. Locally, we have partners such as Productions J and Kenya Productions. These are all partnerships where they trust that their content will be well represented by us. It\u2019s a big network and it\u2019s throughout the world. We don\u2019t only represent Canadian formats; we represent good formats wherever they come from.<\/p>\n

TV FORMATS: <\/strong>What new formats will Media Ranch be launching at MIPCOM?
\nFERRON: <\/strong>We\u2019re launching three new formats: The Ex-pert<\/em>, The Vault<\/em> and The Judas<\/em>. They are very good, compelling formats. The Vault <\/em>is a mix of Ocean\u2019s Twelve <\/em>and an escape room. The Judas <\/em>is a scripted format that is interactive. It can play on a lot of platforms. The Ex-pert <\/em>is a strong format about trying to settle issues between people getting divorced.<\/p>\n

TV FORMATS: <\/strong>What have been some of the bestsellers from the company\u2019s catalog?
\nFERRON: <\/strong>True Sex Confessions<\/em>, which is our own format creation, has been sold to multiple territories. Thunderstruck <\/em>is a studio-based dating show. We have a lot of developments from France and Germany such as Verdict on Demand<\/em> and Legal House Call<\/em>. We have Face It <\/em>in development in Spain, South Africa and France. Who Am I?! <\/em>just got picked up in Germany. There\u2019s a lot going on!<\/p>\n

TV FORMATS: <\/strong>As you look out at the next ten years for Media Ranch, what are the long-term and short-term goals the company is hoping to achieve?
\nFERRON: <\/strong>Long term, we\u2019re aiming to be a reference for good content. I want people to come to us thinking, They always have great content, they are great people with great expertise. I want us to be strong with our business and creative aspects. I strongly believe that we\u2019re a global company. The only borders that exist are the ones that we choose to see.<\/p>\n

In the short term, I think we\u2019ll have a couple of global hits coming. We\u2019re pretty confident. We have many deals pending.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The founder, executive producer and president discusses some of the company’s major milestones and her long- and short-term goals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":350,"featured_media":6463,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,69],"tags":[1480,1501],"class_list":["post-6462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-interviews","category-top-stories","tag-media-ranch","tag-sophie-ferron","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nMedia Ranch\u2019s Sophie Ferron - TVFORMATS<\/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\/tvformats\/media-ranchs-sophie-ferron\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Media Ranch\u2019s Sophie Ferron - 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