Editor’s Note: INTV Conference

NEW YORK: Anna Carugati, the group editorial director of World Screen, shares her experiences and insights from attending the recently wrapped INTV conference in Jerusalem.

While I am still trying to process the multitude of sights and sounds of historic Jerusalem and the ideas and discussions held at the INTV conference organized earlier this week by the Keshet Media Group, I would like to share what stood out most to me.

Without question, the highlight was the meeting the speakers of the conference had with Israel’s President Shimon Peres, a man who has battled for Israel’s right to exist while maintaining a moderate stance, and whose wisdom was inspirational. He told us Israel should be more concerned with spreading knowledge, science and technology than fighting for land. “Science cannot be conquered,” he said. “Lenin and Stalin killed and arrested tens of millions to impose communism, Mark Zuckerberg conquered the world without an army.” Peres then joked that the Jews' greatest contribution to humanity has been dissatisfaction. He considers himself a “dissatisfied optimist,” and without missing a beat, quipped, “If a Jew becomes an optimist, we have lost him!”

With my head and heart still reeling from the highly emotional experiences of vising the Holocaust Museum and touring part of the Old City of Jerusalem, INTV started its series of panels on Monday, and I will share some of what I heard. May I point out that I was not able to attend every panel, but the organization will be posting videos of each on their website.

In the keynote session, Bob Greenblatt, the chairman of NBC Entertainment, said he would like to return NBC to the status it once held as the most critically acclaimed broadcast network. He also said that he believes the new series The Blacklist represents a new model for broadcast networks because it combines the serialized elements of cable series and the self-contained episodes of broadcast franchise series. He also said that the name of the game nowadays is to be provocative. “If you are not provocative you will be passed over.”

Hulu is stepping up its offering, with 20 new titles planned for next year, “five or six of which we will produce or fund ourselves, the rest will be acquisitions,” explained Alex Kruglov, the head of content acquisition at Hulu. Kruglov is also focusing on children’s content.

Justin Gorman, the head of entertainment at Channel 4, told the audience that producers and broadcasters should take online—social  media, second-screen opportunities, etc.—seriously because they are the future of the television business.

Virginia Mouseler, the CEO of The WIT, gave us a rundown on the 20 most-talked-about shows in social media in the last few weeks. A new characteristic of shows is how “talkative” they are: how much social media water-cooler buzz they generate. This is becoming so important that it is not only measured but it is taken into serious consideration by producers and network executives.

That sentiment was echoed by Gary Carter, the chairman of Northern Europe for the Shine Group, whom I interviewed on stage in a session that focused on creativity and innovation. Carter believes that the next big game-changing format, in the vein of Survivor, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and Idols, will be about technology and the relationship between the show and technology. In a business that depends on creativity and innovation, he pointed out that the economic risk mitigation that drives so many broadcasters is a strategy that is “singularly unsuccessful when it comes to delivering real innovation.”

Nurturing creativity was also the theme of Mikkel Bondesen’s presentation. He is the CEO of UFUSE and served as executive producer on The Killing for AMC, Burn Notice for USA Network and The Good Guys for FOX. He pointed out the silos, hierarchies and structure necessary to organize networks and production entities are to the creative process. “You do want to throw yourself into the unknown,” he explained, in order to come up with new ideas, and scary as that might be, when you are in the unknown, “the one thing you can count on is your creativity,” he added. “Whereas if you throw yourself into the known, you will do the same thing over and over.”

Tim Kring, creator of Heroes and Touch, reiterated what so many were saying during the conference, that “nobody knows anything in Hollywood and that has never been more true than today.” He cited as an example the fact that two kids in a garage can make some goofy video, upload it to YouTube and it will go viral and reach millions, while Touch, with A-List talent such as Kiefer Sutherland will struggle to reach an audience. Kring went on to say multiplatform storytelling, in which the audience can participate and where all platforms tell the same story but each in unique ways, is the future. As a storyteller, he no longer wants to craft stories for the audience, but with them.

Of course, many sessions sited the phenomenon of binge viewing, seen as a great tool to bring more viewers to linear television, but John Morayniss, the CEO of Entertainment One Television, wasn’t sure binge viewing is the best way to create an audience for a show. He gave the example of The Walking Dead on AMC, where that network does not provide viewers the opportunity to binge but does offer catch-up episodes. He feels a slow build of airing weekly episodes and the resulting water cooler effect resulted in 16 million viewers recently for an episode of a series about zombies, which just a few years ago no television executive would have thought had a chance to succeed.

Netflix was naturally mentioned numerous times, as a new but now significant player in original programming. Interestingly, Sandra Stern, the COO of Lionsgate Television who was part of the groundbreaking Mad Men deal with Netflix, said that three years ago, the streaming service didn’t want original series, because it thought subscribers would binge on a show and then cancel their subscription, but the opposite happened. Stern says Lionsgate “works with networks today to create a business model.”

Another refrain during the conference was that we are living in the second golden age of television: film talent is flocking to TV shows, cable networks are allowing writers to follow their vision, new players such as Netflix are investing in original programming and limited series are becoming popular—and are ideal for actors who don’t have to commit a large portion of their time and for networks, as Stern explains, because they are looking for big noisy events, which limited series, often are.

Marc Korman, a packing agent and partner at WME Entertainment, pointed out that because of this new crowded yet dynamic environment, “today, we build a show and let the marketplace decide where it goes.”

Allen Shapiro, the CEO of dick clark productions and managing partner of Mosaic Media Investment Partners, mentioned that despite all the resources and preparation that goes into producing television, “You do the best you can and then you have to catch showbiz magic.” He added, “Showbiz is a meritocracy, just like sports, if you have talent there is an opportunity to rise.”

Lionsgate’s Stern summed up today’s television business environment.

“There are more opportunities for people who open their eyes and look for new paradigms.”