Executive Trends: From content packaging to original production

The Jornadas Internacionales pay TV venue held last week at the Hilton in Buenos Aires featured this year a new attraction: local satellite-distributed channels trade association CAPPSA hosted an intense two-hour session with ten production executives, six of them from cable networks (Fox, Turner, Disney, A+E, AMC Networks, Discovery), three from local production houses (Pol-ka, Underground, Kuarzo) and one from local broadcaster Artear, which produces several cable channels. Most panelists are actively engaged in the distribution of content to international markets.

Marcelo Tamburri, VP & Channel Manager for channels Space, I.Sat and TCM at Turner Latin America, defined the current pay TV situation from the pan-regional networks viewpoint: "we’ve changed from being programming packagers to content producers". And he asserted that, "by 2020, we expect that the top Turner channels will carry from 30% to 40% local content".

The panelists focused on several crucial aspects of content production, displaying various approaches according to the budget allotted and ratings expectation. This ranged from the need to deliver daily hours of lifestyle live programming (Verónica Rondinoni at AMC, Sebastián Beltrami at Ciudad Magazine channel) to huge-budget productions that take more than eighteen months to develop. These, for better results, are teaming up resources from a broadcast channel (Telefe or Eltrece, in Argentina), a cable network, a pay TV and SVOD platform (Cablevisión has taken part in several new projects) and digital platforms, considered increasingly necessary by the speakers.

The production houses firmly underscored the need to have a broadcast channel as a partner; this, in order to secure a promotion campaign with power to attract a critical viewer mass to the content and let it gain notoriety for further exploitation. Raúl Slonimsky, key executive at production company Kuarzo, (whose topper Martín Kweller has been formerly associated to Endemol), commented on the launching of KZO, a pay TV channel with programming starred by artists well known through broadcast television programming.

Manuel Marti (Pol-ka) and Pablo Culell (Underground) described the complex aspects of big-ticket productions such as "La Fragilidad de los Cuerpos" (The Frailness of Bodies) and "Un Gallo para Esculapio" (A Rooster for Esculapio) that aim at the international markets. These require special skills in order to reach overseas audiences that are not familiar with local customs. Germán Groba described the process at Disney with worldwide hits such as "Soy Luna" and their internal itinerary, starting from the initial concept and script to the final content being aired in dozens of countries, in different languages, and serving as foundation to live tours by the artists involved. Helga Lightowler (Discovery) and Mariana Pérez (Fox Networks Latin America) spoke about the programming and promotion aspects of delivering the content to the audience, a skillful task when it comes to flagship titles, while Lucas Rojo (A+E) covered other vital issues such as casting and postproduction an a digital era.

The debate resulted in a somewhat unexpected result arising from the vivid idea exchange: it looks like the pay television industry appears to be building up a sort of immunity system against changes in the viewing habits of the consumer. This is attained through a migration to must-watch content, which will bear any type of viewing device. Therefore, the linear aspect of the business loses its assumed frailty, since the consumer eyeballs are attracted regardless of the usage process. True, this is more expensive than just rolling out average footage, but the viewer is exposed to choice. And, the product quality is difficult to be imitated by sources lacking the financial clout the pay television industry retains at present.

Of course, not all the existing pay channels will have the chance to release big-ticket programming. Yet, at the same time the cost of shooting and airing live content has been slashed in the recent past through the availability of the new equipment and technology. The positive aspect is that the linear TV production executives appear to be quite alert about the audience migration to digital. On the other hand, it is also valid that the current monetization of standalone SVOD content is feeble. And, several interlopers are more interested in attracting consumer behavior through devices --from Amazon selling anything, anywhere, to Apple pushing iPhones-- that in winning Oscar, Emmy, or Cannes prizes. Of course, you have Netflix, but it is still to be seen if this company is able to keep a policy of spending on its content an alarmingly high percentage of its revenue.