What are the likes of Fox Entertainment Global, Fremantle, Banijay, A&E, and ITV Studios looking for in terms of content? Top executives discussed that question at Content London on Wednesday in a session entitled “Fundamentals: Show me the money – what content the majors are investing in and why.”
The speakers were Fox Entertainment Global president Prentiss Fraser, Jens Richter, CEO, commercial and international at Fremantle, Ruth Berry, president global partnerships & Zoo 55 at ITV Studios, Banijay Rights CEO Cathy Payne, and Patrick Vien, group managing director, international at A+E Global Media.
Procedurals, game shows, and reboots of such franchises as Baywatch are in focus for Fremantle. “Windowing is back big time,” Richter said, arguing that the walled garden approach of the early streaming days was behind us. And except for Apple, all big players sell ads now. “So, everybody needs mainstream shows that can generate big audiences” and feature them for a limited period, he concluded, meaning this is a time for “commercial, mainstream” programming.
“We are here shopping actively,” Fraser said about her team’s presence in London, mentioning one-hour procedurals, “returnable dramas” across genres, “great formats,” including in food, music, and dating, and “shows that have a central character or characters that are really strong” as being on Fox’s “extensive shopping list.” She concluded: “Fox is very ambitious, and there is definitely an appetite to grow.”
Payne highlighted a Fear Factor reboot for Fox that is in the works via Banijay, featuring “some pretty crazy people having a lot of fun.” Emphasized the executive: “This is a new take, so it’s not what you’ve seen before.” She noted that she and her team enjoy looking through the company’s catalogue and identifying ideas for new iterations.
Vien mentioned recent reboots of such hit brands as Dance Moms and Duck Dynasty, highlighting that they are as big, in some cases even bigger, than A&E’s network brands. He also touted an upcoming 20-episode History Channel World War II documentary series hosted and narrated by Tom Hanks, calling it “the most immersive experience I have seen” about the war.
Berry on Wednesday lauded ITV Studios‘ focus on starting with “great talent,” such as Harlan Coben hit series producer Nicola Shindler. And she highlighted a key recent change in the TV business, saying that content exclusivity is not as important anymore, with players willing to partner on programming.
Content London runs through Thursday.
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