The fourth International Drama Co-Production Summit at MIPTV, supported by the Canada Media Fund, Telefilm Canada & United Talent Agency will provide a semi structured networking to discuss international co-production opportunities and connect with potential new partners.
Global programme makers, distributors and talents – both behind and at the forefront of the cameras alike – are crossing borders and forging bonds in an increasingly international co-production landscape. Co-production in the U.S., Europe and Asia is kicking into high gear, continuing to play a crucial role in film-making. Driven by a growing appetite for big-hitting programmes, the dynamics of joint ventures are redefined. Film-making can be an expensive business and to make them happen, the financial burden usually needs to be shared between two or more well-resourced partners.
Once the domain of small subsidy-dependent territories, co-production now includes big global players.
“Financing is often the main factor. A bigger budget means you’re able to remain ambitious and uphold the level of quality central to the original ideas and that the programme needs,” said Jago Lee, Managing Director, for British Indie NERD TV.
Among the projects from NERD TV is a co-production between U.S. cablenet A+E and UK broadcaster Channel 4 – 12 Year Old Lifer.
The documentary tells the story of one of America’s youngest convicted killers who is now serving a life term for murder. NERD TV worked with Drive to secure the U.S. finance and pre-sold the documentary to Australia. “The U.S. cut ended up being significantly longer (full feature length) than the UK cut, but the film worked very well for both broadcasters at a relatively low budget,” said Lee.
While it is beneficial to share financial responsibility for some projects, there are also several other considerations that broadcasters are able to tap into by taking the co-production approach.
Animus Productions is also on its way to creating a new dynamic and quality in the global co-production scene. They worked on Catfish Colombia, a co-production between Viacom Americas and Channel 13, a public network in Colombia. Founder and Executive Producer of Animus Productions, Damaris Valero, said that the deal enabled the two parties to bring different strengths to the table. It balanced out the risk and uncertainty of creating something new as compared to just one party doing it alone.
“Ch13 provided the financing and the know-how of the market as it relates to capturing real-life stories about online romance in Colombia. Viacom Americas brought forth the knowledge and expertise of producing this format. As an exchange of knowledge from this co-production, Viacom transferred real on-the-ground knowledge to the local team from Ch13, who joined in to learn how to produce a docu-reality series,” said Valero.
Similarly, Technicolor looks for a partner that complements its team’s skill set and talents, therefore raising production values and making the entire project more efficient from a time perspective. Technicolor will be showcasing its new property – The Deep, which is currently in production – at MIPTV this year. It is a collaboration between Technicolor, Nerd Corps Entertainment (recently acquired by DHX Media) and Australia-based A Stark Production. Technicolor handles the distribution, while Nerd Corps and A Stark serve as co-production partners.
“We look at the factors which make the project viable for the partners. What talents, skills and expertise does each partner bring to the table?” said Alison Warner, VP, IP Sales, Acquisitions and Co-Productions.
Dinosaur Train, a co-production between Singapore’s Spark Animation and The Jim Henson Company is just one among the list of the latter’s long tradition of collaboration with other production companies. The Jim Henson Company also partnered Northern Ireland’s Sixteen South to produce Pajanimals as well as Doozers with Canada’s DHX and Hi Opie! with Canada’s marblemedia. The Jim Henson Company was instrumental in the creative aspects of the production, with the physical production undertaken in the country of the co-production partner.
This year’s MIPTV main Focus On the Nordics event will feature The Hottest Drama from the Cold, which examines the secret to the storytelling success that producers around the world are desperate to bottle. DR’s Piv Bernth, who produced the internationally-acclaimed series The Killing I-III and The Bridge, will be present to share his views. It has only been in the last few years that the Nordic territories have become serious about international co-production. As often seen in Benelux as well as the Nordic countries, there is a tradition of co-financing neighbouring projects.
Following the success of DR’s The Killing I-III and The Bridge, Yellow Bird Entertainment, Filmlance and Tre Vanner have since then become hot properties; Zodiak Media took Yellow Bird Entertainment under its wing; Filmlance, the driving force behind The Bridge, is now part of the Shine Group; Tre Vanner became part of Nordic’s Svensk Film industri in late 2013.
Meanwhile, First Hand Film’s Fonko, financed mainly in the Nordic countries and packaged into either a TV series or feature film, received pre-orders from SBS Australia and Yes Docu Israel for its TV series, while the feature film was picked up by WDR Germany, VRT Belgium, Kinosmith Canada and SRF Switzerland.
“Co-productions make most sense when they’re inherent in the project, when the partner countries all contribute to the content of the story. Cashflow-wise, it has been rather disappointing in recent years that broadcasters will not pay co-production fees out before full delivery of materials – but do require a say in content,” said First Hand Film’s CEO Esther van Messel.
First Hand Film’s other title, Through You Princess, pitched to overwhelming response at IDFA last November. It is co-produced by France Televisions, CBC Canada, VPRO Netherlands, SVT Sweden and Yes Israel and will be completed this year. Producer Liran Atzmor raised financing in Israel and also received support from the Sundance Institute.
ITV Studios Global Enterainment (ITVSGE) will be announcing a new programme at MIPTV this year. Titled Texas Rising, the series is directed by Oscar-nominated Roland Joffé and with an all-star cast including Bill Paxton and Brendan Fraser.
Texas Rising is co-produced by A+E Studies and ITV Studios America in association with Thinkfactory Media.
“The creative always comes first – everything must start with a great script. In the case of Texas Rising, many people have some knowledge of the historical events of the Texas Revolution,” said Ruth Clarke, EVP Global Content & Co-Productions, ITVSGE.
Cisneros Media is also no slouch when it comes to bringing co-productions together. The company recently signed an agreement with a Brazilian company to produce a local version of DeMente Criminal – a series based on the crime novel titled Sangre en el Diván, written by Ibéyise Pacheco and adapted by Rosa Clemente y Raúl Prieto. Brazilian producer IoIo adapted the script to give it a more local flavor. “If there is more synergy, you can adjust the same story to target an entire region that will attract different audiences, and sometimes you can accomplish this just by adding actors from different countries, or go extremely the opposite direction and go 100% neutral,” said EVP Marcello Coltro.
On the front burner for Israel’s Armoza Formats is building strategic co-development partnership with their partners. Armoza Formats’ CEO Avi Armoza said that it enables them to learn from the co-production process, adding, “With partnerships, we are looking for a mutual passion around the format idea and the desire to bring it to life in as creative and innovative a way as possible. We see it as opening up a world of possibilities, both creative and commercial, that might have never otherwise emerged. We strongly believe that combining Israeli creativity with key partners across the industry and different regions – such as we’re doing with TVA in Canada, TF1 in France, JSBC in China and Telefe in Argentina – enables us to continue with our vision of creating the next generation of content.”
Armoza recently launched high-risk primetime game show Babushka, developed in partnership with Ryan Seacrest Productions and TF1. The show combines knowledge, strategy and pure luck – contestants are presented with 10 giant Russian “babushka” dolls, and they must open 8 of them for the chance to win cash prizes. This MIPTV, Armoza Formats is looking to continue building on its partnership with TF1 and Ryan Seacrest Productions for its Babushka launch.
Last MIPCOM, Armoza launched its entertainment format The People’s Choice, co-produced with French broadcaster TF1, which was commissioned in over 10 countries, following its success in the CEE region. Last MIP, they launched dating reality show Flight 920 and late night celebrity show By Invitation Only, both of which had very strong launches in French Canada; Flight 920 achieved an impressive 34% share for the F18-49 target group, while By Invitation Only consistently won the night in French Canada. Both shows have been renewed for second seasons on TVA, and have now been taken in France too.
“It’s important to have a channel that is already invested in the format. We have a strong distribution partnership with TVA in French Canada,” Armoza said. “Crucially with distribution partnerships we look for fresh and creative thinking, and formats that will complement our catalogue. Given the success of our co-operation with TVA to date, we are now also looking to strategic co-developments in the near future.”
Arrow Media’s Tom Brisley is no stranger to co-production projects, if the success of ventures like Live from Space is any measure. Produced for Channel 4 and National Geographic Channel, the show visits NASA, following the astronauts’ out-of-this-world experiences of living in space – from eating, sleeping and science experiments to the consequences of a broken valve which could threaten their very presence on the International Space Station.
“There were lots of shared common assets, like footage and Outside Broadcast trucks, but they ended up being completely different programmes, tailored to each broadcaster’s needs,” said Brisley.
“It’s important to state that it’s never just about ‘the deal’, but about the front end planning and finding broadcasters with similar ambitions.”
Likewise, Stephen Driscoll, Senior Vice President for all3media’s International Sales feels that the key to success with co-production partners has always been a shared understanding of the end goal, which is to see producers achieve their creative vision to the benefit of all parties. “Co-productions enable your producer to achieve their budget, while increasing your audience and chances of commercial success for all partners,” he said.
all3media worked with Masterpiece Theatre and WGBH/PBS for Indian Summers, the 10-part series by New Pictures. The deal enabled the production team to achieve a budget of £16 million. More recent partnerships include Starz to produce The Missing; and WGBH and RLJE to produce Agatha Christie and Partners in Crime.
Finding a partner to increase the production pipeline without taking on unnecessary overhead is just one part of the puzzle for executives like Hyun-Sung Kim, Head of Drama at CJ E&M. “We strategically focus on the globalisation of K-content through co-production projects. We want our creativity and production capability to be acknowledged globally through a more advanced way of exporting TV content and programmes. Ultimately, we plan to contribute to strengthening the competitiveness of K-content and to creating added value, by providing content that local audiences can enjoy.”
Co-productions continue to play a key role in the way CJ E&M conducts its business. The company worked on – among other projects – Love Through a Millenium, co-produced with Hunan TV-affiliated production company EE Media. The series is a remake of CJ E&M’s Queen & I, and was aired on Hunan TV. Meanwhile, CJ E&M is working to develop local versions of 20, Once Again! through partnership with companies in Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand as part of CJ E&M’s One Source, Multi Use strategy. The film was jointly produced and invested by CJ E&M and Beijing Century Media, and became the ninth top-grossing romantic comedy film in China, having earned around 364 million yuan (11.5 million viewers) at the box office. 20, Once Again! has been well received in Hong Kong, Taiwan, New Zealand and Australia, as well as countries in North America.
“Co-production doesn’t necessarily mean joint broadcasting for both countries. It can target a certain audience group in one country. It is important to produce content that local audiences want. Therefore, local partners play a critical role in reducing cultural barriers by actively participating in much of the planning stage,” said Kim.
CJ E&M has a rock-solid co-pro alliance with major drama production companies in China. However, this does not preclude the involvement of new partners, Kim said. “Digital players are increasingly producing original content, but they seem to prefer co-production with other platforms to reduce production costs.
Chinese online platform companies can collaborate with Korean production companies to target either the Chinese or Korean market.”
Echoing this, Nippon TV sees co-productions as a strategy to universalise the structure of their formats. “Many of our programmes often have storylines that may be difficult to understand outside of Japan. We look for the partners who have experience in producing format programmes and also have a wide distribution network throughout the world.” An example would be co-production with Sony Pictures Television for three titles – game show Out of Sight, dating series #Love and diet document-variety show I Know What You Ate Last Night.
Another company with a long standing history of co-producing with the big players in China is BBC Worldwide (BBCWW). BBCWW has been doing business in China for over twenty years and has established a strong relationship with CCTV. BBC Worldwide had previously brokered a co-production for Wild China (known in China as Beautiful China), between the BBC’s Natural History Unit and CTV, a production company under CCTV, and have continued inking co-production deals with CCTV for titles such as Hidden Kingdoms.
Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific has also worked with China on multiple projects. Recent productions include How China Works and Detox!, with China Intercontinental Press (CIP). “Co-productions are effective as they enable us to invest in rights and territories we require,” said Lynn Ng, Director, Programming.
“We are always open to other collaborators. If an idea is good, we would want to make it work and that may mean working with several partners.”
Discovery’s frequent partners also include government bodies, which make certain that the aim of providing meaningful localised content and be effective industry partners are in alignment. Discovery, utilising its stalwart First Time Filmmakers, worked with the MDA to produce the upcoming First Time Filmmakers: Singapore Stories in celebration of Singapore’s 50th anniversary.
As co-productions cut across different cultures and countries, the common aim is to offer content which is suitable for and adaptable to other cultures. Martha Contreras, Sales Asia at Comarex said that when it comes to production, Comarex focuses on being flexible and sensitive so as to target the wider audiences. Comarex recently signed co-production agreements with major broadcasters in Malaysia, China and the Philippines to co-produce and distribute telenovelas in the region.
The most recent co-production is the new version of Azteca’s hit telenovela Siempre Tuya (A Love To Remember) in Malaysia. The telenovela adapted for the Asian market under the title Memori Cinta Suraya is currently in production in Langkawi Island and is set to premiere on Astro – whom they have built a strong partnership with – this year.
“The production of local and high quality formats through collaborative working will create extensive opportunities such as holistic marketing, wider expertise and additional revenue streams both locally and internationally,” said Contreras.
For distribution entity Bromanbridge, co-production means looking for broadcasters, digital platforms, etc. and producers who can bring to the table effective ideas for financing and development. There is also focus placed on sourcing for concepts that have the potential to offer multiple revenue streams, capturing both TV screens and online activity.
With partnerships, productions can now be done direct with advertising partners to engage the targeted niche audience through specialty digital channels. Online OTT entities, such as Netflix, have been a game changer for the commissioning process. Producers no longer consider traditional broadcasters as the only source of financing and transmission. In China, there is an emergence of big online players such as Youku Tudou and Sohu co-producing their own programming.
“Co-productions, in the case of Formats, will absolutely permit the IP to explore new cultural and demographic facets, creating a perfect synergy with local audiences,” said Bromanbridge’s CEO Sonia Fleck. Bromanbridge will formally announce its new co-produced format based on technological gadgets at MIPTV.
Likewise, Irene Weibel, VP and head of Nelvana Studio said, “The emergence of digital players provides an exciting new array of co-production partners. We regard these new entrants as a welcome addition to the world of content, and we are in active dialogue with many of them to expand their business.”
With the rollout of OTT, VOD and other non-standard platforms, rights involved in co-production have gotten more complex. “We work very closely with our partners to ensure that our collective distribution rights are exercised fairly among all parties and we always explore ways to distribute our content both conventionally and in the digital space,” said Matt Hornburg, co-CEO at marblemedia.
The fourth International Drama Co-Production Summit at MIPTV, supported by the Canada Media Fund, Telefilm Canada & United Talent Agency will provide a semi structured networking to discuss international co-production opportunities and connect with potential new partners.
Global programme makers, distributors and talents – both behind and at the forefront of the cameras alike – are crossing borders and forging bonds in an increasingly international co-production landscape. Co-production in the U.S., Europe and Asia is kicking into high gear, continuing to play a crucial role in film-making. Driven by a growing appetite for big-hitting programmes, the dynamics of joint ventures are redefined. Film-making can be an expensive business and to make them happen, the financial burden usually needs to be shared between two or more well-resourced partners.
Once the domain of small subsidy-dependent territories, co-production now includes big global players.
“Financing is often the main factor. A bigger budget means you’re able to remain ambitious and uphold the level of quality central to the original ideas and that the programme needs,” said Jago Lee, Managing Director, for British Indie NERD TV.
Among the projects from NERD TV is a co-production between U.S. cablenet A+E and UK broadcaster Channel 4 – 12 Year Old Lifer.
The documentary tells the story of one of America’s youngest convicted killers who is now serving a life term for murder. NERD TV worked with Drive to secure the U.S. finance and pre-sold the documentary to Australia. “The U.S. cut ended up being significantly longer (full feature length) than the UK cut, but the film worked very well for both broadcasters at a relatively low budget,” said Lee.
While it is beneficial to share financial responsibility for some projects, there are also several other considerations that broadcasters are able to tap into by taking the co-production approach.
Animus Productions is also on its way to creating a new dynamic and quality in the global co-production scene. They worked on Catfish Colombia, a co-production between Viacom Americas and Channel 13, a public network in Colombia. Founder and Executive Producer of Animus Productions, Damaris Valero, said that the deal enabled the two parties to bring different strengths to the table. It balanced out the risk and uncertainty of creating something new as compared to just one party doing it alone.
“Ch13 provided the financing and the know-how of the market as it relates to capturing real-life stories about online romance in Colombia. Viacom Americas brought forth the knowledge and expertise of producing this format. As an exchange of knowledge from this co-production, Viacom transferred real on-the-ground knowledge to the local team from Ch13, who joined in to learn how to produce a docu-reality series,” said Valero.
Similarly, Technicolor looks for a partner that complements its team’s skill set and talents, therefore raising production values and making the entire project more efficient from a time perspective. Technicolor will be showcasing its new property – The Deep, which is currently in production – at MIPTV this year. It is a collaboration between Technicolor, Nerd Corps Entertainment (recently acquired by DHX Media) and Australia-based A Stark Production. Technicolor handles the distribution, while Nerd Corps and A Stark serve as co-production partners.
“We look at the factors which make the project viable for the partners. What talents, skills and expertise does each partner bring to the table?” said Alison Warner, VP, IP Sales, Acquisitions and Co-Productions.
Dinosaur Train, a co-production between Singapore’s Spark Animation and The Jim Henson Company is just one among the list of the latter’s long tradition of collaboration with other production companies. The Jim Henson Company also partnered Northern Ireland’s Sixteen South to produce Pajanimals as well as Doozers with Canada’s DHX and Hi Opie! with Canada’s marblemedia. The Jim Henson Company was instrumental in the creative aspects of the production, with the physical production undertaken in the country of the co-production partner.
This year’s MIPTV main Focus On the Nordics event will feature The Hottest Drama from the Cold, which examines the secret to the storytelling success that producers around the world are desperate to bottle. DR’s Piv Bernth, who produced the internationally-acclaimed series The Killing I-III and The Bridge, will be present to share his views. It has only been in the last few years that the Nordic territories have become serious about international co-production. As often seen in Benelux as well as the Nordic countries, there is a tradition of co-financing neighbouring projects.
Following the success of DR’s The Killing I-III and The Bridge, Yellow Bird Entertainment, Filmlance and Tre Vanner have since then become hot properties; Zodiak Media took Yellow Bird Entertainment under its wing; Filmlance, the driving force behind The Bridge, is now part of the Shine Group; Tre Vanner became part of Nordic’s Svensk Film industri in late 2013.
Meanwhile, First Hand Film’s Fonko, financed mainly in the Nordic countries and packaged into either a TV series or feature film, received pre-orders from SBS Australia and Yes Docu Israel for its TV series, while the feature film was picked up by WDR Germany, VRT Belgium, Kinosmith Canada and SRF Switzerland.
“Co-productions make most sense when they’re inherent in the project, when the partner countries all contribute to the content of the story. Cashflow-wise, it has been rather disappointing in recent years that broadcasters will not pay co-production fees out before full delivery of materials – but do require a say in content,” said First Hand Film’s CEO Esther van Messel.
First Hand Film’s other title, Through You Princess, pitched to overwhelming response at IDFA last November. It is co-produced by France Televisions, CBC Canada, VPRO Netherlands, SVT Sweden and Yes Israel and will be completed this year. Producer Liran Atzmor raised financing in Israel and also received support from the Sundance Institute.
ITV Studios Global Enterainment (ITVSGE) will be announcing a new programme at MIPTV this year. Titled Texas Rising, the series is directed by Oscar-nominated Roland Joffé and with an all-star cast including Bill Paxton and Brendan Fraser.
Texas Rising is co-produced by A+E Studies and ITV Studios America in association with Thinkfactory Media.
“The creative always comes first – everything must start with a great script. In the case of Texas Rising, many people have some knowledge of the historical events of the Texas Revolution,” said Ruth Clarke, EVP Global Content & Co-Productions, ITVSGE.
Cisneros Media is also no slouch when it comes to bringing co-productions together. The company recently signed an agreement with a Brazilian company to produce a local version of DeMente Criminal – a series based on the crime novel titled Sangre en el Diván, written by Ibéyise Pacheco and adapted by Rosa Clemente y Raúl Prieto. Brazilian producer IoIo adapted the script to give it a more local flavor. “If there is more synergy, you can adjust the same story to target an entire region that will attract different audiences, and sometimes you can accomplish this just by adding actors from different countries, or go extremely the opposite direction and go 100% neutral,” said EVP Marcello Coltro.
On the front burner for Israel’s Armoza Formats is building strategic co-development partnership with their partners. Armoza Formats’ CEO Avi Armoza said that it enables them to learn from the co-production process, adding, “With partnerships, we are looking for a mutual passion around the format idea and the desire to bring it to life in as creative and innovative a way as possible. We see it as opening up a world of possibilities, both creative and commercial, that might have never otherwise emerged. We strongly believe that combining Israeli creativity with key partners across the industry and different regions – such as we’re doing with TVA in Canada, TF1 in France, JSBC in China and Telefe in Argentina – enables us to continue with our vision of creating the next generation of content.”
Armoza recently launched high-risk primetime game show Babushka, developed in partnership with Ryan Seacrest Productions and TF1. The show combines knowledge, strategy and pure luck – contestants are presented with 10 giant Russian “babushka” dolls, and they must open 8 of them for the chance to win cash prizes. This MIPTV, Armoza Formats is looking to continue building on its partnership with TF1 and Ryan Seacrest Productions for its Babushka launch.
Last MIPCOM, Armoza launched its entertainment format The People’s Choice, co-produced with French broadcaster TF1, which was commissioned in over 10 countries, following its success in the CEE region. Last MIP, they launched dating reality show Flight 920 and late night celebrity show By Invitation Only, both of which had very strong launches in French Canada; Flight 920 achieved an impressive 34% share for the F18-49 target group, while By Invitation Only consistently won the night in French Canada. Both shows have been renewed for second seasons on TVA, and have now been taken in France too.
“It’s important to have a channel that is already invested in the format. We have a strong distribution partnership with TVA in French Canada,” Armoza said. “Crucially with distribution partnerships we look for fresh and creative thinking, and formats that will complement our catalogue. Given the success of our co-operation with TVA to date, we are now also looking to strategic co-developments in the near future.”
Arrow Media’s Tom Brisley is no stranger to co-production projects, if the success of ventures like Live from Space is any measure. Produced for Channel 4 and National Geographic Channel, the show visits NASA, following the astronauts’ out-of-this-world experiences of living in space – from eating, sleeping and science experiments to the consequences of a broken valve which could threaten their very presence on the International Space Station.
“There were lots of shared common assets, like footage and Outside Broadcast trucks, but they ended up being completely different programmes, tailored to each broadcaster’s needs,” said Brisley.
“It’s important to state that it’s never just about ‘the deal’, but about the front end planning and finding broadcasters with similar ambitions.”
Likewise, Stephen Driscoll, Senior Vice President for all3media’s International Sales feels that the key to success with co-production partners has always been a shared understanding of the end goal, which is to see producers achieve their creative vision to the benefit of all parties. “Co-productions enable your producer to achieve their budget, while increasing your audience and chances of commercial success for all partners,” he said.
all3media worked with Masterpiece Theatre and WGBH/PBS for Indian Summers, the 10-part series by New Pictures. The deal enabled the production team to achieve a budget of £16 million. More recent partnerships include Starz to produce The Missing; and WGBH and RLJE to produce Agatha Christie and Partners in Crime.
Finding a partner to increase the production pipeline without taking on unnecessary overhead is just one part of the puzzle for executives like Hyun-Sung Kim, Head of Drama at CJ E&M. “We strategically focus on the globalisation of K-content through co-production projects. We want our creativity and production capability to be acknowledged globally through a more advanced way of exporting TV content and programmes. Ultimately, we plan to contribute to strengthening the competitiveness of K-content and to creating added value, by providing content that local audiences can enjoy.”
Co-productions continue to play a key role in the way CJ E&M conducts its business. The company worked on – among other projects – Love Through a Millenium, co-produced with Hunan TV-affiliated production company EE Media. The series is a remake of CJ E&M’s Queen & I, and was aired on Hunan TV. Meanwhile, CJ E&M is working to develop local versions of 20, Once Again! through partnership with companies in Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand as part of CJ E&M’s One Source, Multi Use strategy. The film was jointly produced and invested by CJ E&M and Beijing Century Media, and became the ninth top-grossing romantic comedy film in China, having earned around 364 million yuan (11.5 million viewers) at the box office. 20, Once Again! has been well received in Hong Kong, Taiwan, New Zealand and Australia, as well as countries in North America.
“Co-production doesn’t necessarily mean joint broadcasting for both countries. It can target a certain audience group in one country. It is important to produce content that local audiences want. Therefore, local partners play a critical role in reducing cultural barriers by actively participating in much of the planning stage,” said Kim.
CJ E&M has a rock-solid co-pro alliance with major drama production companies in China. However, this does not preclude the involvement of new partners, Kim said. “Digital players are increasingly producing original content, but they seem to prefer co-production with other platforms to reduce production costs.
Chinese online platform companies can collaborate with Korean production companies to target either the Chinese or Korean market.”
Echoing this, Nippon TV sees co-productions as a strategy to universalise the structure of their formats. “Many of our programmes often have storylines that may be difficult to understand outside of Japan. We look for the partners who have experience in producing format programmes and also have a wide distribution network throughout the world.” An example would be co-production with Sony Pictures Television for three titles – game show Out of Sight, dating series #Love and diet document-variety show I Know What You Ate Last Night.
Another company with a long standing history of co-producing with the big players in China is BBC Worldwide (BBCWW). BBCWW has been doing business in China for over twenty years and has established a strong relationship with CCTV. BBC Worldwide had previously brokered a co-production for Wild China (known in China as Beautiful China), between the BBC’s Natural History Unit and CTV, a production company under CCTV, and have continued inking co-production deals with CCTV for titles such as Hidden Kingdoms.
Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific has also worked with China on multiple projects. Recent productions include How China Works and Detox!, with China Intercontinental Press (CIP). “Co-productions are effective as they enable us to invest in rights and territories we require,” said Lynn Ng, Director, Programming.
“We are always open to other collaborators. If an idea is good, we would want to make it work and that may mean working with several partners.”
Discovery’s frequent partners also include government bodies, which make certain that the aim of providing meaningful localised content and be effective industry partners are in alignment. Discovery, utilising its stalwart First Time Filmmakers, worked with the MDA to produce the upcoming First Time Filmmakers: Singapore Stories in celebration of Singapore’s 50th anniversary.
As co-productions cut across different cultures and countries, the common aim is to offer content which is suitable for and adaptable to other cultures. Martha Contreras, Sales Asia at Comarex said that when it comes to production, Comarex focuses on being flexible and sensitive so as to target the wider audiences. Comarex recently signed co-production agreements with major broadcasters in Malaysia, China and the Philippines to co-produce and distribute telenovelas in the region.
The most recent co-production is the new version of Azteca’s hit telenovela Siempre Tuya (A Love To Remember) in Malaysia. The telenovela adapted for the Asian market under the title Memori Cinta Suraya is currently in production in Langkawi Island and is set to premiere on Astro – whom they have built a strong partnership with – this year.
“The production of local and high quality formats through collaborative working will create extensive opportunities such as holistic marketing, wider expertise and additional revenue streams both locally and internationally,” said Contreras.
For distribution entity Bromanbridge, co-production means looking for broadcasters, digital platforms, etc. and producers who can bring to the table effective ideas for financing and development. There is also focus placed on sourcing for concepts that have the potential to offer multiple revenue streams, capturing both TV screens and online activity.
With partnerships, productions can now be done direct with advertising partners to engage the targeted niche audience through specialty digital channels. Online OTT entities, such as Netflix, have been a game changer for the commissioning process. Producers no longer consider traditional broadcasters as the only source of financing and transmission. In China, there is an emergence of big online players such as Youku Tudou and Sohu co-producing their own programming.
“Co-productions, in the case of Formats, will absolutely permit the IP to explore new cultural and demographic facets, creating a perfect synergy with local audiences,” said Bromanbridge’s CEO Sonia Fleck. Bromanbridge will formally announce its new co-produced format based on technological gadgets at MIPTV.
Likewise, Irene Weibel, VP and head of Nelvana Studio said, “The emergence of digital players provides an exciting new array of co-production partners. We regard these new entrants as a welcome addition to the world of content, and we are in active dialogue with many of them to expand their business.”
With the rollout of OTT, VOD and other non-standard platforms, rights involved in co-production have gotten more complex. “We work very closely with our partners to ensure that our collective distribution rights are exercised fairly among all parties and we always explore ways to distribute our content both conventionally and in the digital space,” said Matt Hornburg, co-CEO at marblemedia.
