Event Preview: Brazil TV Forum


NEW YORK: São Paulo’s Centro de Convenções Frei Caneca is gearing up to open its doors for the 14th edition of the Brazil TV Forum, taking place June 4 and 5.

In line with past events, the forum is set to welcome producers, distributors, TV channels and content platforms from across Brazil, but also from other countries.

The growth and evolution of the Brazil TV Forum throughout the last 14 years has followed along with the development of the country’s audiovisual production market, according to André Mermelstein, the event’s director. “This market has grown steadily but moderately over the past few years. However, with the creation of the new law for Brazilian pay TV [which established quotas for local content on the pay-TV channels], this business has been changing quickly.”

The regulations of this law, known as Lei do SeAC, have been in place for one year. The implications have been that producers and audiovisual professionals have struggled to afford the costs that come with the demand for this content. So, the Brazil TV Forum has grown and generated interest about the country’s content-production sector since the law started to be discussed three years ago. This is in part why Mermelstein feels that this year’s event will be of keen interest to many in the industry.

The majority of the event’s participants hail from within Brazil, says Mermelstein. “However, every year the event brings panelists from other countries. This year, professionals like Daniel Heaf, the chief digital officer of BBC Worldwide, are already confirmed. He will present highlights of the opportunities available in the digital world to people who work with traditional media and content owners. Also present will be names like Alvaro Ceppi, the creative director of Zumbástico Estúdios in Chile; Jonathan Finkelstein, from Apartment 11 in Canada; Jan-Willem Bult, of KRO Youth in the Netherlands; and Chantal Bowen, from Canada’s Youth Media Alliance, who will talk about content production for children.”

Along with the above-mentioned speakers, the Brazil TV Forum will feature a presentation from a member of ANCINE—which is the regulatory agency of the national audiovisual industry—who will present a rundown of the first year since the new Brazilian pay-TV law was put in place. Public policies for audiovisual will be presented by the secretary of Audiovisual Affairs of the Ministry of Culture and the municipal secretary of culture of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The forum will also offer lectures that promote the growing professionalism of the local audiovisual market. For example, there will be discussions about the venture capital market and other forms of capitalization available to producers and distributors to increase their growth, workshops about the business model and trading strategies and two workshops about legal training. Another topic that will be discussed is the distribution of content for on-demand platforms. Additionally, representatives from TV channels will be available to explain to independent producers the type of content that is needed most in order to fit the interests of their audiences.

Above all else, Mermelstein says that he hopes attendees will use the event as an opportunity to conduct business, engage in professional discourse about timely issues and network with each other.