Born Once more’ Attracts Glowing First Reactions

Content material buyers, kings of the sport in immediately’s TV market are being rolled out the pink carpet at this week’s fifth London TV Screenings and first MIP London, touted by organizers RX France as an add-on to the indie distributors’ curated viewing showcase within the U.Ok. capital.

As greater than 900 consumers of scripted, non-scripted and codecs are taking the Soho venues by storm, 4 heavyweight gamers have shared with Selection their shopping for want checklist and methods to woo and entertain viewers amid tense international geopolitics.

Flagging the general public service views are Eva Kamin, VP acquisitions and co-productions at Germany’s ZDF Studios and Manuel Alduy, France Télévisions’ head of worldwide fiction and cinema. On the business facet are Spain’s José Antonio Salso, head of acquisitions and worldwide gross sales for Atresmedia and Sweden’s Cathrine Wiernik, director of applications and acquisitions for the Scandi group TV4 Media.

Some quick takeaways:

London Calling Out Loud

Regardless of being squeezed between Berlin’s Collection Market and Lille’s Collection Mania, the curated London TV Screenings showcase is a must-attend for the European consumers, “much more interesting now that MipTV Cannes is now not working,” says Salso. Bets are nonetheless out on how the inaugural MIP London will play out.

Crime, Feelings, YA

In a flattened market outlined by Ampere Evaluation’s Man Bisson as 75% peak TV, crime, which accounted for 25% of world scripted commissions in 2024, stays the No. 1 alternative for consumers as “it continues to be a key viewers driver,” says ZDF’s Eva Kamin. Different favourite program varieties are emotional and fascinating human tales, throughout scripted and non-scripted, “ideally with well timed attraction and a few information edge,” Wiernick observes. Flagship worldwide collection with A-list solid are additionally important for model worth and consumption throughout linear and streaming. France Télévisions can be searching for the perfect of the perfect in European younger grownup collection. Inside codecs, Wiernick has an urge for food for sturdy actuality reveals, key to attracting youthful demographics and English or Nordic variations of the large manufacturers corresponding to “The Bachelor” and “Love Island.”

International Picks Very important in Content material Combine

Inside scripted content material, acquisitions are an important a part of the TV gamers’ programming combine as a cheap complement to native productions. “Worldwide collection permit us to get extra variety in genres and tales, to focus on youthful audiences and/or scale back our programming prices,” says Alduy who’s needed to readjust his technique as France Télévisions’ total price range was axed by greater than $135 million over 2024-25. “We’re extra centered on pre-buys and acquisitions within the short-term to ship time-to-market collection to our audiences, he says. 

Steady Asking Costs

“Final yr’s costs had been notably excessive in some areas, however have remained largely steady resulting from a good provide state of affairs,” says Kamin. Wiernick concurs, though she feels it’s “for the reason that pandemic that value factors have come down normally.”

Flexi-Rights Coverage

At Göteborg’s latest TV Drama Imaginative and prescient, Morad Koufane, director of worldwide/younger grownup drama at France Télévisions urged all business gamers – producers, commissioners, distributors to follow their “yoga,” in different phrases to be as versatile as attainable in windowing. Right here his colleague Alduy says “we’ve turn into extra versatile on windowing, licence intervals and exclusivity,” though he insists on “one requirement: free VOD and linear exhibition.”

For all gamers, in a content material market converging in the direction of one dominating distribution channel – streaming – securing all digital rights – subsequent to linear rights – is a problem effectively price combating for on the negotiating tables.

Patrons Full Solutions:

Eva Kamin-VP acquisitions and co-productions, ZDF Studios.

How necessary is the London TV Screenings marketplace for you?

The London TV Screenings is a must-attend occasion that has established itself through the years as a useful early-year alternative to get an outline of all of the upcoming collection and to community with quite a few enterprise companions from around the globe.

What sort of content material are you searching for?

At ZDF Studios, we purchase a variety of content material on behalf of ZDF to satisfy the varied wants of ZDF’s distribution channels. On the fiction facet, crime dramas proceed to be a key viewers driver for ZDF. For ZDF neo, we’re in a position to purchase completely different genres and codecs that resonate with the ZDF viewers, and naturally we’re all searching for the large worldwide must-see high-end drama. On the factual facet, we’re notably searching for historic content material, one-offs for the primary ZDF channel and collection for the digital channels.

Has your acquisition price range been affected just lately if that’s the case, how has this impacted the kind and quantity of content material you purchase?

We’re at the moment navigating a really risky market, which presents challenges for each co-productions and acquisitions. Value strain has at all times been an element, but we’re seeing many fascinating tasks out there which might be accessible to us.

How do your acquisitions complement the commissions inside your group?

ZDF’s goal is to enhance their commissioned productions with acquisitions in each factual and fictional genres. This permits the ZDF Studios acquisitions staff to safe all kinds of applications for ZDF. Within the space of fiction, this primarily consists of worldwide tasks with various areas and casts.

What are your priorities when negotiating rights? Do you are feeling asking costs for collection have shifted within the final yr?

Our major aim is to ascertain a complete rights framework that ensures early availability by means of all ZDF distribution channels whereas sustaining exclusivity. Final yr’s costs had been notably excessive in some areas, however have remained largely steady resulting from a good provide state of affairs.

How have you ever tailored your acquisition technique to immediately’s shifting international market?

All of us acknowledge that on-line availability is essential to reaching audiences. Accordingly, we prioritize negotiating complete rights for these distribution channels and are dedicated to not accepting any restrictions on this regard.

Manuel Alduy, head of cinema and worldwide improvement, France Télévisions

How necessary is the London TV Screenings marketplace for you and are you embracing the opening of MIP London?

London TV Screenings are an necessary milestone of the yr, as a result of France Télévisions prioritizes European collection acquisitions over US reveals. A month earlier than Collection Mania, we go to London with nice expectations to replace UK broadcasters’ methods and uncover new collection. So far as MIP London is anxious, it’s too quickly to know and remark.

What sort of content material are you searching for?

Our staff will search for high-end & excessive idea miniseries, a restricted variety of returning crime collection, and a few younger grownup excellent tales. In that individual discipline, we wish to choose the perfect of European YA collection.

Has your acquisition price range been affected just lately, if that’s the case, how has it impacted the kind -and volume-of content material you purchase?

Our price range is extra constrained. We lowered the quantity of licensed collection in favour of French collection re-runs in non-strategic slots. 

How do your acquisitions complement the commissions inside your group?

Worldwide collection permit us to get extra variety in genres and tales, goal youthful audiences and/or scale back our programming prices.  First, we’re dedicated to persevering with our worldwide co-productions as a result of they supply some “French contact” in areas, solid and/or storylines. Three examples in 2024: we’ve completed “Kabul” (2425 Movies and Cineteve), “The Kollective” (Submarine) and “Monte Cristo” (Palomar, DEMD) with our European Alliance companions ZDF and RAI.

However co-productions have turn into complicated to finance. We nonetheless have 15 developments within the pipeline, so we at the moment are extra centered on pre-buys and acquisitions within the short-term to ship time-to-market collection to our audiences.

What are your priorities when negotiating rights? Do you are feeling asking costs for collection have shifted within the final yr?

The market is ‘flooded’ with nice collection: unbiased distributors, studios, producers and even streamers are providing acquisition or pre-buy alternatives of nice high quality. So we will be very selective and never pursue a negotiation when the combination of rights and charges doesn’t make sense for us.

How have you ever tailored your acquisition technique to immediately’s shifting international market?

We’ve turn into extra versatile on windowing, license intervals, and exclusivity. In a nutshell, we attempt to be pragmatic and alter consistently to an ever-changing market. However we insist on one requirement: free VOD and linear exhibitions. That’s what our viewers wants. The shift to non-linear is so blatant and large: increasingly more prime-time collection now seize excessive volumes of non-linear viewership. We don’t license any collection when preview, replay and AVOD rights usually are not vital.

Cathrine Wiernik, director of applications and acquisitions, TV4 Media
How necessary is the London TV Screenings for you and are you embracing the widening of the market to MIP London?

London TV Screenings are crucial to us. Lately, it’s some of the precious occasions aside from Mipcom in Cannes and L.A. Screenings. It not solely provides us the chance to satisfy with everybody but additionally provides us a great overview of all the brand new reveals for the yr. It’s good to get the time to display content material and never solely rush from assembly to assembly. We’ve signed up for MIP London and are excited to attend and to see how that pans out. It stays to be seen what impression it can have because it could be difficult to coexist with an already very established and jam-packed week of screenings.

What sort of content material are you searching for?

We’re as at all times searching for reveals (each codecs and acquisitions) must-see prime cabinets titles, which have the potential to stay out and herald a giant broad viewers.

Close to acquisitions we search for English-speaking suspense drama/crime, a major a part of our content material combine which additionally drives a number of consumption in our service TV4 Play. We search for each serialized reveals and procedurals and maintain an additional eye out for shorter runs/occasion collection. US procedurals are trending in the mean time and though we’re eager to search out the following large procedural hit (with returning potential) it’s a large dangerous dedication as we’re effectively conscious of how difficult it’s to launch a brand-new title. It requires a number of work and promotional exercise and even then, it won’t find yourself delivering the viewers.

Our urge for food for non-English content material can be rising. We just lately launched our second Turkish cleaning soap “Daydreamer” after an enormous success with “Golden Boy”. Soaps are a great instance of excessive quantity, bingeable content material that drives consumption and retains the viewers coming again day by day. One other essential half -and a aggressive edge – of our acquisition combine is Nordic drama, particularly Danish crime, however we’re additionally seeing increasingly more thrilling titles popping out from Norway. We at the moment are trying ahead to launching new seasons of “Nora Sand” (a stand-out hit for us final yr), “White Sand,” “Sommerdahl Murders” and “Oxen”.

We’re additionally at all times looking out for sturdy human-interest tales, documentaries with the potential to stay out and seize the eye of a broad viewers. Ideally with well timed attraction and a few information edge. Profitable examples being “My Spouse the Abuser” from ITV and “Untold: Contained in the Shein Machine”. Documentaries are additionally a good way for us to usher in the youthful demos and assist constructing that very precious attain.

Has your acquisition price range been affected just lately, if that’s the case, how is that this impacting the kind -and volume-of content material you purchase?

No not just lately.We’re nevertheless at all times centered on being cost-effective and ensuring we preserve a wholesome sustainable steadiness on the subject of our investments. We’ll in fact go the additional mile for that must-have title however normally, we is not going to overpay or get into large bidding wars that are likely to escalate value factors past cause.

How do your acquisitions complement the commissions inside your group?

As we’re a giant nationwide broadcaster, serving all of Sweden, it is very important present a broad content material palette, one thing for everybody. So far as complementing our native commissions/codecs we increase the universe by buying the worldwide variations -mostly English-speaking and Nordic variations – of our large manufacturers corresponding to “The Bachelor,” “Love Island,” “Survivor,” “The Farm” and so forth, to be able to maintain followers staying within the service after the native model involves an finish. A great way to spice up consumption all yr spherical.
We’re additionally at all times looking out for extra sturdy actuality reveals as that’s a part of the DNA of TV4 Play and key to attracting youthful demographics.

So far as native shows-formats goes, we’re at all times on the hunt for the following large stand-out hit that brings one thing new and recent to the desk. We wish to discover one thing that stands proud, and that isn’t yet one more tackle already present codecs. It requires a full bundle with a definite universe, on prime of a recent premise and a intelligent sport motor. Similar to “Traitors” (an enormous success for us) offered a brand new thrilling world and a recent technique sport play, we have now excessive hopes for our launch of “The Fortune Resort” this fall.

What are your priorities when negotiating rights? Do you are feeling asking costs for collection have shifted within the final yr?

There hasn’t been a giant shift within the final yr, however for the reason that pandemic, value factors have come down normally because the output is greater and there may be extra content material obtainable. Rights are in fact important, and today we require the complete set of rights for all our titles (AVOD/SVOD/HVOD) as content material parity between the tiers within the service is essential.

How have you ever tailored your acquisition technique to immediately’s shifting international market?

Exclusivity shouldn’t be as essential anymore (relying on the title) however fairly discovering inventive options on the best way to window reveals. We’re open to all fashions and have had nice success with second home windows with reveals corresponding to “Yellowstone”. The worth of the window is in fact outlined by what platform the content material has been on first. One other good instance of immediately’s complete new sort of [windowing] dynamic is the collection “From”that advantages from earlier seasons being provided on different platforms because it will increase attain and consumption for the brand new season printed on TV4 Play.

We’re additionally at the moment in discussions round potential partnerships and co-production alternatives with our rivals, which might have been inconceivable only a few years in the past. This reveals how rapidly the market is evolving, and the way essential it’s to be agile and get onboard. We’ve additionally seen a giant upswing in consumption of sturdy library titles and have had nice success with each “The Fjällbacka Murders” and “Worlds Aside,” a TV4 cleaning soap which has delivered implausible numbers, even in youthful demos. That is in fact one thing we’re eager to discover extra.

José Antonio Salso, head of acquisitions and gross sales Atresmedia, Spain

How necessary is the London TV Screenings for you and are you embracing the widening of the market to Mip London?

London TV Screenings have turn into a key market within the international audiovisual panorama offering worldwide consumers with a possibility to take a deep view into the brand new upcoming titles within the UK and past. This yr is much more interesting as MIPTV Cannes is now not working.

What sort of content material will you be searching for at London TV Screenings?

In Atresmedia TV we’re at all times searching for common tales for a broad viewers however being able to embrace with our native viewers. We’re notably eager about dramas that evoke sturdy feelings, that includes all of the compelling components that captivate viewers—romance, betrayal, friendship and love.

Has your acquisition price range been affected just lately if that’s the case, how is that this impacting the kind -and volume-of content material you purchase?

N/R

How do your acquisitions complement the commissions inside your group?

Commissions in Atresmedia are key for our management in free TV in Spain with day by day collection corresponding to “Desires of Freedom,” being essentially the most watched drama collection in Spain Monday to Friday and prime time collection corresponding to “Eva & Nicole” or “What are you ready for?” which were prime collection in Atresplayer for the previous months. Along with such astonishing native collection lineup, acquisitions are a great complement for our viewers delivering prime quality worldwide prime content material.

What are your priorities when negotiating rights? Do you are feeling asking costs for collection have shifted within the final yr?

Our priorities in our acquisition technique is to amass a mix of digital rights for Atresplayer along with lineal rights for our channels, which isn’t a simple activity resulting from worldwide and native rivals.

How have you ever tailored your acquisition technique to immediately’s shifting international market?

We constantly adapt each our acquisition and gross sales methods to satisfy market calls for and align with the evolving international market. Because of this, Atresmedia has turn into the main media group in Spain for the third consecutive yr, and we’re very optimistic in regards to the future.

Moreover, the urge for food for Spanish content material, particularly from Atresmedia, stays excessive, and worldwide audiences proceed to embrace our productions.

Elsa Keslassy contributed to this report.