Frontrunner
Even though many Israeli producers are already selling their content internationally, formats distributor Armoza Formats is generally acknowledged to be the frontrunner.
“We were the pioneers who brought Israeli formats out of the local market to the international market because we believe in the creativity that exists within the Israeli market and saw the potential, by buying many international formats and creating a strong distribution platform that can take this content to the international market,” says Armoza. “We have a mix of cultures and this generates a lot of creativity that creates a high level of content.”
That high level of content was recently tested at this year’s Rose d’Or festival. Of the 400 entries narrowed down to 36 nominees – four were Israeli formats; and two, Connected, as well as Still Standing, are distributed by Armoza Formats.
Armoza is confident about the quality of Israeli content.
“Israel has a relatively young TV industry. Commercial television only started in 1993. So it’s still young, still fresh, but it has also reached a level of maturity. And also, Israel is quite open to the world in terms of what’s going on in the international TV market industry, and the productions here are of a high international standard. So I think it’s the level of creativity and the level of story-telling that are able to be adopted in other territories which give them the ability to travel,” says Armoza.
Harnessing talent
Today, Avi Armoza continues to harness Israeli talent and provide avenues for producers to showcase and eventually sell their content. In July, he will run his own pitch competition in Tel Aviv, called the Formagination 2012. The winning pitch walks away with a development fund and a deal with Armoza Formats.
“The potential to develop formats directly for the international market is generating a lot of enthusiasm,” says Armoza. “We are saying, there is a possibility that you are not only creating for the local market, but with a company like us, you can reach the international market. The ability to sell your creation elsewhere in the world extends or enlarges the potential.”
The Asian invasion
Asian buyers are starting to notice the potential of Israeli formats, and Armoza is ready to offer them – but not without assistance. Armoza says he “would like to find partners and to cooperate in every possible country.” As such, some deals have been brokered by third-party distributors, as is the case for the format Still Standing. In April, Armoza Formats announced that it partnered with NBCUniversal Formats to sell the title to China’s Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation. “We are excited that our cooperation with NBCUniversal has enabled Still Standing to travel to an emerging market like China, where we are confident that it will join the format’s international legacy of success,” says Armoza.
This legacy of success has seen Still Standing currently being produced in seven countries, including US, Spain and Turkey – with many versions in its second season. NBCUniversal has also recently sold the format to Brazilian Broadcaster, Bandeirantes. Beyond Still Standing, a string of Armoza products are also being sold to Asia. MIPTV 2012 saw South Korea’s Channel A ordering additional episodes of Upgrade, which it had already localised. MTV India’s The Chat House ended Season 1 in February with 50 million viewers. At press time, Armoza Formats has confirmed a sale in India for Connected and two more in China for The Package and Comedians at Work.
Challenges to selling formats On language and culture:
“We were looking to expand into the international market, and formats are a formula. When you sell a format, you can go over the barrier of language, the barrier of culture, because you’re selling a formula,” explains Armoza. “I think the key challenge with selling shows to Asia is our ability with our local partner, to allow an adaptation in a way that will keep the nature of the format and the essence of the format, but also, they will be able to adopt it to the cultural needs of each territory.”
On exploitation of rights:
“How much of the rights do you keep? What are you able to give?” asks Armoza. “The other thing is the ability to generate and to raise more funding in the development.”
On breaking into China:
“It has been a long process of two years, but eventually, once they realised and saw our level of production, they decided to move ahead. We believe that we will be able to cooperate more and contribute to the production side, bringing out our expertise and production as well as understanding of the content into making them a success, a local hit in China.”
The Israeli allure
“Culturally, we might be closer to the Asian market. Also in terms of nature and level of production, our productions are not only highlevel productions, but also, costeffective, because we come from a small country. So we have good ideas which are cost-effective,” says Armoza. “Our vision is to be leaders, in terms of creativity, and be able to create and produce cutting-edge formats; to take a leading role in generating and developing what we describe as the next generation of formats. This is where we are and where we want to be, to lead this process of change.”
