Series Mania Forum 2023 is rich in big players telling their strategies and twists, facing OTT budget reductions and traditional TV constant player consolidation. Where is the content market going? To the basics on one side, to generate fresher high-quality content to make a difference, and to the next step on the other, with more new generation viewers in mobile platforms, asking for faster, shorter, more interactive programming.

Francesco Capurro, head of Series Mania Forum, stressed that the return to a full in person event after the COVID pandemic, has brought approximately 3,800 participants to the forum from all over the world. ‘This is our first fully global Series Mania event, with producers, buyers and sellers from far more territories and regions than in the past. We’ve received people from Brazil, Japan, Canada, Taiwan, when before we had 90% European attendees’.

The yesterday opening session was in charge of Avril Blondelot, head of global content & marketing insights at Glance / Mediametrie: 'The combined window strategy gave much success to British dramas like Death in Paradise and its sequel Beyond The Paradise. Meanwhile, the most watched series in the UK was Call the Midwife, the BBC drama which had more than 6 million free TV viewers’.

Later, the broadcater Mediawan, Disney+ and Netflix explained their European plans. Elisabeth d'Arvieu, managing director of Mediawan Pictures (France): 'We promote and take independent creators to another level, so we are not affiliated with any media group, commissioner or network, and we do not have any other exclusive deal in any other territory that we have not mentioned’. On company spot was the announce of co-production Mediawan/Elefantec Global/UnbeliEVAble Entertainment for the Spanish speaking version of Call My Agent.

Pauline Dauvin, Disney's VP Programming, Original Productions and Acquisitions, showed Les enfants sont roism (The Children Are Kings), which is currently in pre-production and is expected to shoot later this year and two original French films that are also set to debut on the streamer this year. And, Netflix highlighted forthcoming European titles, led by a panel with commissioners Katja Hofem (Germany), Damien Couvreur (France) and Jenny Stjernströmer Björk (the Nordics), who discussed these contents, but did not discuss streamer strategies in the region.

Also Marco Nobili, EVP and International GM of Paramount+, said: ‘We are combining global with local content production. For Paramount, building a franchise of developing IP for global markets does not necessarily jeopardize creativity; the art is to find the right balance and to know when to do one or the other’. Concluding, Catalunya Film Commission organized “Cataluña Loves Series”, a screening session where announced that they have increased their investment funding to €4 million to produce TV series in Catalonia, open to all production companies that wish to apply to boost the industry in the region.

Mariano Gutierrez Alarcon from Lille, and Alberto Buitron

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