LA Virtual Screenings: global trends influence event stats

This is a very intense activity, almost 1000 video views per day, from +90 countries and +400 cities. And also, VS is a very rich experience to check global market trends, commented in previous ‘in person’ events.

For instance? The OTTs are the new thing at the content market worldwide, but while in the Americas and Western Europe this segment is led by the global titans, in APAC, MENA and CEE there are many very strong local players. Now the titans want to expand or even launch in some of these territories, so an original drama boom is taking place right after pandemic, a similar context experienced 1-2 years ago in the Americas and Europe. In the offering of this LAVS, we see a unique variety of dramas, with buyers testing new suppliers and origins.

While drama booms in APAC, in the Americas broadcasters look for unscripted formats to have local programming. The Celeb Challenge, from Spanish Onza, is one of the surprises in the Top 15 rankings. After the pandemic, more feel-good programming is requested, so soft TV series, factual & docs are better than in previous VS events. Also, telcos and e-tailers go deeper into content business, as we’ve seen yesterday many non-traditional buyers on board. 

The OTT drama explosion generates many trends: production must have high-end levels everywhere, and while the idea is to have local product, it has also to travel to complete business, as Netflix knows well. Distribution is more international than ever, with cases as Goquest from India, who handles fictions from Estonia, Czech Republic, etc, or the recent production alliance between Inter Medya (Turkey) with US Hispanic Telemundo. The Colombian fictions of Caracol and RCN are very international, and are having one of their best VS markets.

VS Next most preferred panels are on the same line, integrating all these trends. For far the top conferences are the ones dedicated to OTTs, and inside them, the AVOD and disruptive business model options, that usually push telcos and non-traditional players. A new global, very fragmented content market is taking shape.

Nicolás Smirnoff and Fabricio Ferrara