WorldScreenings: Dori Media’s Nadav Palti on “Entertaining Together”

With its broad catalog, Dori Media Group is looking to meet the needs of broadcasters and platforms across the globe as overall media consumption increases amid shutdown measures, Nadav Palti, president and CEO, tells World Screen.

Dori Media Group’s channels in Israel have seen significant viewership gains since the start of the COVID-19 shutdown, according to President and CEO Nadav Palti, prompting the company to launch an additional channel on HOT and YES this month. This bump is in line with increased viewing time for broadcasters and platforms worldwide, Palti notes.

“People, staying at home, are likely to view more and more. Some watch more news, others watch series that allow them to be distracted from the situation and there are those who, despite the situation, still look for series regarding epidemics.”

Dori Media Group is confident its slate—encompassing 7,500 television hours across 100 titles, scripted and non-scripted, hailing from such markets as Israel, Argentina, Spain, Russia, Japan and China—can help meet the needs of clients eager for programming worldwide. Weekly and daily dramas, telenovelas, comedies, reality and game-show formats, kids’ series and feature films are on offer from the company, which is seeing increased interest in its back catalog, Palti says.

“Clients seeking more content these days, while productions are stopped or delayed, can easily find answers with us. In addition, many of our older titles are of dozens of episodes—over 100, as opposed to the new production trend of six to ten episodes.” For broadcasters with slots to fill, high-volume series are a tremendous advantage, Palti notes.

With commercial broadcasters under pressure as ad revenues fall, Palti says Dori Media Group’s priority is to “keep entertaining together with our clients, and together to offer their viewers the solutions they need. Our team—located in Israel, Argentina, Spain, Switzerland and Singapore—maintains a close working relationship within and outside the company. Our goal is to fulfill our clients’ requests and needs and find a way to work together on any project that may arise, especially during this complex situation. Together with our clients, we find the perfect match between our content and their needs, including any cost issues that may arise.”

Dori Media is already looking ahead to when production can resume again in Israel and the other markets it operates in. “Companies that are in advanced stages of production will have a significant advantage,” Palti notes. Shutdowns began at a time when Dori Media was “in a period of high production momentum, both in Israel and Latin America. Early-stage productions have stopped, and those in advanced post-production stages continue. When [the shutdowns ease], we will be able to continue productions that are stopped and answer the market needs relatively quickly.”

Palti also predicts that fast-turnaround, more cost-effective content, mainly in non-scripted, will have an easier time when productions resume. As for the lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global content sector, Palti says it is still too soon to tell. “In the long run, it appears that the market will return to the pre-corona times, but the pace is still unclear.

“At the same time, as a result of the processes companies are going through these days and how they are adapting to the situation, we believe that the ways of working will change. Work processes will be more efficient with the extensive use of technological means. I predict that the medium- and long-term productions will not change, but the return period will take time and is unclear. Productions, like the entire work process, will also be more efficient and effective. Companies with new content or content in advanced stages of production will have an advantage when coming out of the crisis, and will be able to meet the huge market demand for new content that will arise.”

See Dori Media’s Spring 2020 Showcase here.