James Ross, CEO of Lightning International
Thoughts about this year’s Filmart:
“It’s a useful market even though there’s an emphasis on film, but I’m pleasantly surprised that TV content is in demand as well. There are quite a few major TV content distributors based in Hong Kong but I am surprised that they’re not here. For us, it’s been tremendously useful; and it helps we’re based here.”
Buyer sentiment:
“Buyers are looking for unique programmes, something different. Some might not know exactly what they’re looking for (till they see it), but they’re definitely in the market for something different.”
“We are meeting quite a lot of buyers from Southeast Asia; Vietnam and Cambodia in particular. Some of the genres they expressed interest in include Chinese and Korean drama, among others.”
Genres of interest:
“We still get Chinese buyers who are looking for so-called “traditional” docs. We’re also offering World Cup-related content, not the live matches but complementary programming that is especially useful for broadcasters who might not be airing the matches but are looking for Brazilian content that might coincide with the World Cup.”
Recent deals:
“We just concluded a formats deal with a broadcaster in the Indochina region. Regarding budgets, we recognise that some broadcasters in this region might not be able to match the production budget of the original, so we have adjusted our expectations so as to cater to local budgets and local requirements.”
On Mezzo Live HD Asia, the latest channel that Lightning is distributing:
Mezzo Live HD Asia is a new around-the-clock TV channel for the Asia-Pacific region dedicated to classical music, jazz and dance, and the channel will broadcast some of the world’s most prestigious concerts, operas, jazz and ballet.
“That’s the reason why we’ve got Julien Dutronc on board, to distribute Mezzo across the region. We’ve been travelling quite a bit to meet operators in the region to gauge their interest. This is a channel of 100% native HD content. We do think it can go beyond basic tiers and sit on operators’ premium tiers to help them generate additional revenue. We will soon be able to announce our first raft of deals in the region.”
