MGM: strong in films, TV series and now also in entertainment

What is the main challenge about digital revolution? Ottinger: ‘Content business is changing a lot, with more and more systems providing programming. New equations must be made. Big TV series are not watched just on live any more, now we talk about Live + 5, 6, 7…programmers must think about live and not live contents, there are some better for the first aim and some for the second’.

‘Especially on free TV, I see a future with more live entertainment shows, because free TV must be on live, in comparison with the on demand options. More live realities, live sports, live events in general… that’s why today we are betting strongly not only in films and series, but also in entertainment, with our Mark Burnett’s United Artists alliance’.

Netflix SVOD model is followed by most of the other VOD systems nowadays. ‘While the market evolves, new options will appear: high price/premium VOD services, very low price on demand options, services focused on certain genres, or content origins… there is a lot of work to do about innovating on the matter’.

About fiction, MGM expects to have a very good new season, with major theatrical releases as the new James Bond movie, Spectre, with Daniel Craig, and the new film of the Rocky saga, Creed, with Sylvester Stallone. Also, there are new seasons of very successful TV series as Vikings and Fargo.

Ottinger: ‘In entertainment, we have new big titles coming, that will consolidate our position in the segment. As big news, The Apprentice format saga is coming back from Fremantlemedia, and we will make strong focus on it with a celebrity version, including Arnold Schwarzenegger. We want to call the attention of the audience’.

Other entertainment formats with United Artists are The Bible, Expedition Impossible, Generation GAP, Generation Skate, The Casino, On the Lot, How’d you get so rich and Live for the moment.