Content Americas 2025 took place last week in Miami with a good outcome: there were full agendas with top executives of US Hispanic, Latin America and Iberia, assuring the position of the event as the regional referent for the 3rd week of January hot plaza. Nobody already doubts, when one year ago there were disputes vs. NatpeGlobal, which keeps on its own the US domestic side and other niches of the international market. About content and Pay TV businesses in the region, the situation continues very complex as worldwide, with traditional ventures being reduced and new ones pending to monetize. The global decision is to keep moving forward, intending to find solutions on the road.

David Jenkinson, CEO Content Americas: ‘The main thing is that we’ve finished the discussion about which event in January to attend. Everybody chooses CA. From now, we expect to grow with three key communities: the creatives of the new media (Youtube, Tiktok, Spotify, etc.), Artificial Intelligence and Advertising/Branded Content’.

Figures and conclusions of Prensario: the event had about 2000 attendees as the organization said, with 350 pure buyers and 600 all in all, including broadcasters and platforms, 95% from Latam/US Hispanic plus punctual but good ones from Spain and Portugal. Three main engines, from the exhibitor/production side, were Mexico, Brazil and Spain, including public entities promoting tax credits, film commissions, etc.

There are tips to improve -the focus on taking exhibitors to the floor weakens tower suites traffic- but the whole is very well considered by the attendance, due to friendly details -lunches free, etc.- and especially, the Latin industry feels good with an event just for itself, vs. old NATPE hostile costs and restrictions.

Though, it is good that the organization looks for communities to expand. The risk of a just Latin event is not to have new faces, when the industry consolidates itself: now Televisa buys for Univision and VIX, in a high-impact optimization move. NatpeGlobal for instance, provides Latin and Turkish distributions, the chance of connecting the new for them US domestic platforms.

Business trends? The flat or down free TV advertisement and OTT incomes, plus the problems to monetize new digital ventures, keep the region in a dual mood: very active having meetings to find twists on one side, but feeling blue on the other, more with staff cuts that appear from time to time. Prensario made a survey at Content Americas and the solutions for the main consulting companies, are around streaming, FAST channels and co-productions. For the broadcasters, they are on co-productions for fiction and production hubs for realities, plus a lot of live programming to make a difference.

For OTT platforms, solutions are to develop new niches as live sports, for SVODs to develop AVODs. For everybody, to imbibe the new media, from launching FAST channels to enter Tiktok, Youtube, Instagram, which are the digital media getting most of the advertisement pies. The studios -the evolution of producers, more flexible and with expertise to get financing partners, etc.- are playing a key role in the region, developing projects especially for big SVODs.

Success cases that lead the good roads? Alex Marin, head of RCN Studios (Colombia): ‘We have good demand because we produce with the same or better quality but at lower costs. We know where to cut and not having bad effects’. Adrián Ortega, CCO TV Azteca, Mexico: ‘We are the broadcaster with more live programming of Mexico, and the channel of the realities at the same time. We have 6 from 7 days of the week, plus many sports and news’.

Javier Villanueva, CEO MegaMedia Chile: ‘We’ve got another year of free TV ratings leadership + financing health. We are improving our international business and we have events as "Viña del Mar Festival" (music) where we generate 360 spots, customized per every sponsor’. Michelle Wasserman, VP Latam at Banijay Rights: ‘We take our formats to social media making them shorter, with partial hooks often. With ‘My name is’ in Peru, we made spin-off from TV to social media, with the couples winning extra prizes due to their followers’ votes. In ‘Los 50’, at NBCUniversal Telemundo, we made influencers compete and they needed social media votes to surpass the challenges’.

Nicolás Smirnoff, Alejo Smirnoff, Francisco Ferreyra

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