Say goodbye to the old ways of doing TV business and hello to new ones.
“We need to rethink everything. The business model we used to have, that’s gone,” said Silver Reel’s Claudia Bluemhuber, a panelist at this year’s TV Beats Forum at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.
“We’re going to see fewer shows. The costs have skyrocketed, we have inflation, and if you’re looking to attach a meaningful cast, there’s huge competition with streamers. At the moment, our industry is driven by fear. We need to overcome the fear of failure.”
And find new solutions. According to Meg Thomson, an executive at Globalgate Entertainment, there needs to be more cross-continental collaboration in the near future, as well as more focus on YouTube and TikTok, “where advertising is more targeted,” added James Copp, co-head of content at Night Train Media.
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“The idea of advertising nappies to an audience that’s watching a TV show seems hopelessly dated. We have to target our shows, too. Linear TV is pretty much dead, so it’s all about teaming up. You dig, dig, dig, and find these strange, weird and wonderful financing models. It’s hard work, but obviously, we’re not afraid of it,” he continued.
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Patrick Fischer, co-founder of Creativity Media and Creativity Capital, “would like to see more licensing from streamers.” He argued during the State of Play in Series Financing panel that broadcasters, like their platform counterparts, have significantly cut back on what they used to commission.
“We knew it was a bubble, and we knew it was going to burst,” he went one. “I would love for Netflix and other streamers not to look at themselves as an old-style Hollywood studio where they need to tell certain stories. Let’s face it: They are cable. You can watch unscripted content while you are doing the dishes, and you can watch an Oscar-winning movie from an auteur. I would love them to embrace it, saying: ‘Why don’t we pre-buy? Why don’t we act like cable used to?'”
Focusing on remake rights of shows and movies with a proven track record is also a way to go, as well as those going into production.
“The Dutch heard about the Danish show ‘The Shift’ and decided to share sets [while remaking it]. You’re giving your financiers a better chance at success, so they’re willing to bet on these programs quicker,” said Thomson.
Faith-based shows also continue to be a popular bet.
“It doesn’t really happen in Europe, but they travel to Latin America and parts of Asia. Religion is back, and it’s interesting to see how many financiers are looking for this kind of content,” said Thompson. “We’ve been taking a lot of Asian shows that have spiritual values that can be converted to Christian values. Maybe the original show isn’t about Jesus, but you can still sprinkle Jesus all over it. ‘Miracle in Cell No. 7’ has been remade over and over again. You can make this ‘miracle’ have whatever message you want.”
Sebastien Janin (Media Musketeers), while teasing the upcoming “A Prophet,” said that smaller territories creating content are forced to be more creative these days.
“Even if there’s goodwill from public broadcasters, your only chance is to go to a platform. ‘A Prophet’ is high-budget, and we took a risk. I’m more than happy with the end result, but when you go through a process like that, you make your investment decisions early on in a market that’s changing at light speed. I don’t expect to be back in the bubble anytime soon, but it can be promising if people are embracing technology and telling great stories. I think there’ll be a multiplication of channels, because there’s no one way of consuming content,” he said.
As noted by Fischer, “The only thing that has gone up in the last 24 months is the amount of soft money. The U.K. has launched an amazing independent film tax credit, and Germany is set to follow. You can now mix and match these things, and suddenly, you have half of your budget. That didn’t exist 10 years ago.”
Impact investment is another interesting trend.
“They want their money to go into things they care about, whether it’s the environment or women’s issues. I think these foundations are a new place to look,” said Thomson.
Bluemhuber added that “return can be measured in different ways… There’s monetary return, but also impact return. You just have to be more targeted. You have to demonstrate to the investors that you’re addressing their expectations. The time is over when you would just go say: ‘I have this amazing project.’ You have to do more research and you need to have all the data and a real plan in terms of the audience.”
These days, it’s necessary to “go the extra mile to convince people to invest in shows and projects,” said Bluemhuber. Still, it can be “fun” to learn about the viewers in a new way.
“I’ve never been on Facebook or Instagram, but here I am, diving into all these things. I want to understand what’s going on and how we can get close to them to really make things work.”
Also, simply focusing on what constitutes a “commercial” show can be short-sighted, said Copp.
“Good is always good. ‘Baby Reindeer’ came out when everyone was saying they look for crime dramas and nothing else. Then it exploded on everyone’s screen,” he said, using Netflix’s mega-hit as an example.
