From MIPCancun 2021 to Kidscreen Summit 2022, Prensario offers the key international buyers’ highlights and their content needs. The line includes a diverse selection of executives from global, European, Latin American, APAC/Asian and MENA regions. It is also varied in the type of players, including linear and nonlinear players. While the different drama genres and origins prevail, feature films, formats, factual, sports and content follow.
Global
Verdell Walker, Head of Kids Audio Content, Spotify: ‘Spotify Kids offers appropriate audio content for children and parents. We want to be the #1 audio platform in the world, and a big part of that is making sure we have something for everyone. Kids were an overlooked audience, but we know there’s a lot of empty space in the world of spoken word audio for families’.
Camille Eden, VP, Recruiting and Talent Development, Nickelodeon: ‘Although content has been working on diversity for a few years, it was not the same within corporations. Today I noticed this is changing. We create a path within the inclusion of people, not only of color, but of other nationalities and sexual identities’.
Kim Berglund, VP Development, Disney Junior: ‘I’m always on the hunt for content with a little «Disney Magic» for kids 2-5. We are looking for creators with a “connection” to the programs they present: personal stories, dimensional characters and high values such as equality and diversity. We want rich narratives, including social and emotional learning, music, elements of fantasy and magic. Always aspirational and reflecting the world and its diversity.”
Phoebe Tsai, Country Manager, Tencent Video (China): ‘For the MENA and South America, we prefer finished products. For Taiwan, we prefer content in stages of development. As for genre, we are looking romance and comedy’.
Europe
Sarah Muller, Head of Commissioning & Acquisitions 7+, BBC (UK): ‘Since the COVID crisis, there has been a constant search for content with a particular focus on pre-school. Before COVID, we used to license content twice a year, now it is permanent. We want animation and live action especially in character-driven comedies for the 6–9-year-old block, as well as animated shows that feature action and adventure for the under-6 audience.»
Luisa Albers, Senior Editor, SuperRTL (Germany): ‘There is no single style for animation: we want to give a variety of themes, characters and values, so that children feel identified. We can summarize it as: international animation and high production values, although we also seek to increase the number of local gender-neutral productions’.
APAC
Abit Satya, Programming & Content Development Director, Transvision (Indonesia): ‘This 2022 we are looking to do things different, preferring a collaborative approach than the one-off buy. However, we are expecting to see the latest production content with fresh ideas, breakthrough concepts and shortest window’.
Yeni Priana Anshar, Director of Programming, NET TV (Indonesia): ‘We want to share that the company is looking to acquire content from all over the world for Indonesian audiences, and is open to exploring payment and licensing models’.
Zihar Zuhair, Head of Business / Consultant, Dhiraagu TV (Sri Lanka): ‘We are aim to acquire more content in the drama, crime, and kids’ genres. The preference is for revenue share models, but we are open to a one-off payment for a library of titles’.
Thao Nguyen, Content Acquisition, Galaxy Play JSC (Vietnam): ‘We are on the search for more partners that distribute Hollywood and Asian movies. Our top genres are action, adventure, and movies. We are looking for new and existing products in these genres’.
Lee Tae-hyun, CEO, Wavve (South Korea): ‘The core business of the streaming market revolves around subscriptions, so if we only compete locally, we would curtail opportunities for the future. We are looking to globally expand, by building a library with original content that is edgier and highly differentiated, in addition to acquired content’.
Ryan Lee, Content Acquisition Executive, Sarawak Media Group (Malaysia): ‘We are looking for fresh and inspiring contents that can increase the engagement and ratings of our television broadcast as well as digital platform. That’s why we are focused on content that showcases the beauty of Borneo, East Malaysia, and Sarawak’.
Vela Fidel, CEO, TV Channel Aqlvoy (Kazakhstan): ‘I hope to find new educational cartoons and TV shows that support children’s desire to learn about the world around them’.
Wang Xinyi, Chief Content Officer, BesTV+ (China): ‘Internet audiences are no longer satisfied with passively consuming content anymore. They want interactivity. We combine content + services, such as giving audiences to shop online unobtrusively while viewing content, to provide directions for eateries featured in food shows, and to let audiences quickly buy products featured in entertainment programs’.
Mansi Shrivastav, Senior VP & Head – Content Acquisitions & Partnerships at MXP Media (India): ‘Vicarious genres which offer an escapist entertainment like thriller, sci-fi, unconventional romances, or larger than life fantasies have worked well on our platform. We would also like to explore additional procedural dramas and look at stories that are appealing to female audiences as well’.
Libbie Doherty, Head of Children Content, ABC (Australia): ‘We primarily offer content from local independent producers, so international commissions are rare, but we frequently do deals when an Australian producer is involved. For co-productions, Australia must be represented in the production, as well as in the story’.
MENA/Turkey
Syed Ali, Head of Acquisitions, MBC: ‘People is moving away from American movies and TV shows, while there has been a huge increase in the demand for preschool content and family movies. Saudi Arabia is a huge consumer of anime and Korean content has done well’.
Adham Nasrallah, Content Manager, Safe Media (Lebanon): ‘Indian content is a mainstay and Turkish has ‘capitalized on their opportunity’. Sharon Moverman, VP, Acquisitions & International Operations, Hop! Media (Israel): ‘We are seeking for pre-school shows that are entertaining, fun and carry a social, emotional or education angle. This strategy is due to why we are expanding our content catalog with fresh and new content’.
Ceren Ergenekon, Managing Partner at HECE Medya (Turkey): ‘We are in search of television series, films, and unscripted formats with spot for female-centric melodramas. As for films are concerned, every genre is welcomed’.
Rabia Asif, Director, Strategy & Business Planning at Dot Republic Media (UAE): ‘We are looking to acquire Korea & Chinese dramas. We would like to explore revenue share models for YouTube and other AVOD platforms, where we will invest in dubbing and marketing of the content’.
Nermine Mohamed, Head of Programming at Abu Dhabi Media Company (UAE): ‘We are looking to acquire animation, features, and games of the adventure, action, and comedy genres, for audiences in the 6 to 12 years demographic. At the same time, it is welcomed titles in all languages, with those dubbed in English a plus’.
Tugba Bozkurt, Deputy Producer, TRT World (Turkey): ‘We want to acquire documentary films and series for two programming slots on our platform. Our priority for content that covers human interest, social impact, or environmental issues’.
Nazli Akaktan, Head of International Content, GAiN (Turkey): ‘Our content strategy is to bring innovative, brave, and fast-paced programming produced with [an] intelligent, artistic approach. We’re interested in series with well-known actors, series of broad genres from drama, action, comedy and fantasy, preferably not older than four years, targeting millennials and Gen Z’.
Americas
Sara DeWitt, SVP and managing director, PBS KIDS (USA): ‘We strive to be wherever kids are, even on older devices, so that we can be accessible to kids who don’t have the latest technology. We are always looking to bring new voices and new platforms into the fold. All our series include a cross-platform strategy from the start and offer constant engagement with our characters, regardless of the device or platform used’.
Mario Almeida, Head of Content, PantaYA (USA): ‘We increased the production of series with key partners: Señorita 89, El Refugio (Fabula, Fremantle, StarzPlay), Líos de Familia (Caribbean Films) and Toda La Sangre (Spiral, Fremantle, StarzPlay). We will have comedies, period thrillers and dramas’.
Sandra Smester, Chief Content Officer, TV Azteca (Mexico): ‘This year we return to fiction with the first novel for Azteca Uno. We are looking for the right story to produce and announce it this year’.
Marcos Román, programming manager, Telefuturo (Paraguay): ‘We managed to consolidate our own talent program, Canta Conmigo Paraguay, which leads the prime for 7 months on the air.’ Ángel Laureno, Color Vision (Dominican Republic): ‘I have 12/13 meetings scheduled and I am looking for animated content, soap operas, movies, series and formats.’
Karina Medina, programming manager, Ecuavisa (Ecuador): ‘We had about 15 meetings last week. And we will have another 10 this one and the next one. So we have more time each time. We are looking for multi-origin soap operas: Turkey, Philippines, India. And also reality shows.
Ana Carolina Lima, head of content, Globoplay (Brazil): ‘What distinguishes us is the Brazilian content and the great investment in originals. We will have more than 40 premieres in 2022, between docs and dramaturgy.
Juan Ignacio Vicente, CEO, Chilevision (Chile): ‘We seek to generate synergies as much as possible. To accelerate the streaming boom in Chile and to develop more local content to the world’.
Gabriela Rodríguez, commercial director, Canal 11 (Honduras): ‘With the national production we inject fresh programs and new talents that cross over from open TV to digital. The experience that crosses screens. Héctor Arosemena, head of content, TVN Media (Panama): ‘With TVN Pass we position ourselves as a multimedia option, adding TVN Radio and the second leading channel TVMAX in local and international sports (Champions League and Qatar 2022)’.
Mariano Mosca, head of content and marketing, Canal 4 (Uruguay): ‘We have 20 meetings scheduled with a focus on content from Turkey, formats and some film. Without a doubt, searches have changed from 5 years to the present’. Mercedes Feü, Paramount South Cone: ‘We are looking above all for big shows, entertainment and global stories that can be displayed in our first digital ecosystem: OTT (Paramount+ and Pluto TV), free TV (Telefe and Chilevisión), pay TV (MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon) and Digital (Mitelefe, Chilevision.cl and Chvnoticias.cl)’.
Flavio Medeiro, director, Programming and Acquisitions, Discovery Kids: ‘We seek for animated and live action TV series, and movies aimed at children aged 4-8 for linear and digital platforms. Comedy shows with a heart work well, as do shows that incorporate magic and music’.
