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LA Screenings 2025: to adapt and evolve
LA Screenings 2025, the event where Hollywood studios introduced their new series and films to worldwide buyers, has finished this week after 6 days of ‘major’ presentations.An outcome? There are many, but most of them move to the same direction: content market is under deep changes, with strong optimization of costs, staff and deployments. Though, it has healthy future, with the social media -Youtube, Tiktok, etc.- and the new tech devices as a great fresh landscape to develop.
The attendance to LA this year experienced a strong reduction of attendees per company, with iconic channels that didn’t come. If 10 years ago there were 1500 worldwide buyers attending LA, now they have been about 650/700. Why? With the local production growth and the quality product that now may come from any origin, the core of content business moves from Hollywood studios to a multi-target scenario. Many buyers cannot come, and the event providers must update themselves, get more flexible, add new areas, to push their business.
The ‘major’ studios today generate exclusive series for its own SVODs, product for third parties, ‘direct to series’ projects for US networks, so there is less sole content to sell, and we see less pilots in most of the studios. But at the same time, there is strong local product to add, unscripted options, podcasts, interactive apps, tech services, etc.
In genres, we’ve seen two main trends at the studios offering: above all, ‘Crime’ fever, with all its options: true crime, procedurals, etc.; and also, franchise extensions, with spin-off, prequels, etc. of known brands. Buyers ask for innovation, but they like security. Other tips are the rise of Horror genre in series, and the return of comedies and good vives stories, as a reaction from so ‘dark’ predominant proposals. The curious thing is that when you ask buyers, especially European ones, they require mostly the same every year: broadcasters, free TV alike series, procedurals, dramas, true crime, etc. OTT platforms, all kinds of products but especially premium series that turn to event programming.
So, the best formula to surpass these so taught times, both for events and players, is to evolve, to expand, to segment, but at the same time respecting the historic basics. Two examples of successful evolution: the vertical microseries, that Reelshort has posted to the world, with one minute chapters to air on cells and social media; and the live streaming channels, that provide variety shows with influencers as panelists, that soon catch advertisers looking for sure segmentation and to be on ‘the new thing’.
LC