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Cracking Latin America: drama

As Natpe heads into its final day, C21 talks to four major drama distributors about how best to tackle the challenges presented by the Latin American market.

Maryann Pasante

Maryann Pasante

Maryann Pasante, senior VP of sales, Lionsgate-TISA TV International
“The entire region has a very strong advertising market on the channel side, especially in pay-TV. There has been a huge increase in buyers wanting not only new content but also library sales. The fact that many of these channels are running 24 hours a day means they need a lot of content to keep their schedules fresh.

“Channels are aware that securing rights to a new series can make them extremely popular in South America, so the competition to premiere new titles, such as our drama Nashville, in 17 countries across the region has been ferocious. However, the political problems some countries in the market are experiencing do pose certain challenges. There are always ups and downs but, despite this, it’s a region that’s growing tremendously.

“One of the upswings I’m currently seeing is that countries such as Brazil have developed a strong social middle class. Subsequently, the increase in pay-TV customers has been huge and the opportunity for growth in that area remains.

“Right now, we’re in the process of finding free-to-air broadcasters for Mad Men, which aired on pay-TV on HBO in Latin America. We’ve also partnered with the Latin American wing of Turner Broadcasting System on Anger Management and we most recently placed Nashville on Sony Entertainment Television in the region.”

Pepe Echegaray

Pepe Echegaray

Pepe Echegaray, president, PE Media Services
“You have to come to the Latin American market with an open mind. It’s very different to the European and US markets; the way you do business is different. If the contract says you are going to get paid on the 15th, people in Europe and the US are used to the payment arriving on the 15th. In Latin America, lots of times that doesn’t happen.

“Furthermore, the market for content not produced locally is very competitive so you have to be flexible on pricing. It’s also very important to know that most Latin American countries have limited slots for shows from external distributors because they have a lot of local soap operas, which are the bread and butter in Latin America. Some countries have four, five and even six soap operas during a single day. Then they have their own local variety shows etc, so you’re really competing with everyone.”

“These days, a standalone channel launching in Latin America will not survive on its own. If you get on the platforms at all, you’ll be way up there on the EPG where it is very difficult to get attention. You really have to partner with other people to be able to do it properly.”

Helen Jurado

Helen Jurado

Helen Jurado, VP of sales and distribution for Latin America, BBC Worldwide Americas
“A difficulty that all sales people have to deal with is the fact that the two biggest markets in Latin America, which are Mexico and Brazil, have their own very healthy local production factory system. Globo TV, the number one broadcaster in Brazil, produces around the same number of hours as the BBC does in telenovelas alone. That is our biggest challenge.

“In Mexico, Televisa’s channels air a lot of their own productions. The lion’s share of the television grid is taken up by soap operas, which are either locally produced or bought within the region. So the Colombians are buying the Mexican soap operas and vice versa; the Brazilians are buying the Chilean soaps and vice versa; so that’s a big chunk of the programming grid.

“Having said that, we still do a good job of getting our content out there. Having a large catalogue like the BBC’s is a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing because we can fulfil the various outlets – across cable, terrestrial, DVD as well as the digital OTT players. That, in a sense, gives us room to play in those various spaces. But, at the same time, having such a large catalogue can also be a bit cumbersome. How do we get as many eyeballs across as many of the programmes as we have?”

Maria Iregui Rodriguez

Maria Iregui Rodriguez

Maria Iregui Rodriguez, VP of programme planning and scheduling, Telemundo Media
“According to the 2010 Census, there are over 50 million Hispanics living in the US, with a media age of 27.6. Telenovelas continue to be the main driver of viewership. Demand continues to grow, not only on television but also through our digital platforms and our international business. We are about to deliver our best season ever, which clearly indicates there is a healthy appetite for this scripted format in the Hispanic market.

“Nevertheless, we are also bringing more variety to our schedules with new reality shows such as Yo Me Llamo, talkshows like Hablemos Claro con Cuauhtémoc and daytime programming including Virgen Morena. Our business model is an original content model rather than a content acquisition model. However, in some cases we are open to acquiring outside programming, providing that it’s in line with our current strategy.”

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