German drama ‘keeps booming’

MIPTV: The recent surge in popularity of German drama on the international market was the key topic of conversation as delegates flooded the annual German cocktail event at MipTV last night.

From left: Elmar Giglinger (Medienboard
Berlin-Brandenburg), Christoph Fey
(Entertainment Master Class), Petra Müller
(Film- und Medienstiftung NRW)

The event was hosted by Elmar Giglinger of Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and Petra Müller of Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, along with Christoph Fey of Entertainment Master Class and partners MFG Medien- und Filmgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg, German Films, Berlin Partner and ZAB.

The cocktails, attended by companies such as Ziegler Film, Endemol Shine Group and Red Arrow, were sponsored by Audio Network and C21 Media was the media partner.

Müller spoke to C21 at the event about the current state of the German TV market, which she said was now producing several “high-class” series that were travelling globally.

“We are in a period where top-quality figures from the TV community are coming together to produce series such as Generation War and Babylon Berlin, and it’s an exciting time,” she said.

Fron left: Stefan Raiser (Dreamtool Entertainment),
Petra Müller (Film- und Medienstiftung NRW),
Eric Welbers (Beta Film), Quirin Berg
(Wiedemann & Berg)

“The competition from the likes of Netflix and HBO has put pressure into the German market and now we are starting to see some movement. The broadcasters are coming together, the big producers are coming together. Meanwhile, we have one of the most competitive video-on-demand markets around, so there is a great creative impulse in the German market.”

Like Müller, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg’s Giglinger said Germany’s public broadcasters were now starting to take more risks with drama commissions.

“Public broadcasters could take more risks, but they are starting to air a few good shows. But I would love it if they could take more risks,” he said. “In Germany, everybody has to pay for public programming and when you offer programming to everybody you usually don’t take great risks.”

Giglinger also praised Berlin Brandenburg’s strong digital media landscape, which has seen companies such as Studio 71, Divimove and Mediakraft Networks become established in the region.

Meanwhile, Müller said 15 of Germany’s top 20 companies are now based in the North Rhine-Westphalia region, with firms such as WDR, RTL and Vox all having a presence there. “On the international side, ITV, Endemol and UFA are also working there, and that contributes to the output,” he said.

Speaking about the merits of the cocktail event, Müller said: “When we started it, we thought it would be brilliant that all the German TV producers and distributors could have one point to come together at the beginning at MipTV.

“The business is very one-to-one and we want to give a community feeling for just two hours every MipTV on a Monday. It works perfectly.”

Other companies in attendance included: FremantleMedia, Beta Film, Talpa Germany, RTL, StudioCanal, Netflix and Sony Pictures Film & TV.