Autentic GmbH, division Autentic Distribution is going from strength to strength

This week Mirjam Strasser, head of sales & acquisitions at Autentic GmbH, division Autentic Distribution, speaks to C21Screenings about their hit factual content like their Blue-Chip Nature series The Wild Andes. Strasser, also reviles their new program about a US financial investor Blackrock. Along with launching new episodes of their popular series Science Clips.

You can visit Autentic Distribution’s C21Screenings suite by clicking here.

C21: What is your mission in 2020?
Strasser: Growing Autentic Distribution further to expand our position as the key dedicated factual content provider in our region. We always aim to be the first choice for TV buyers and streamers from Europe and around the world.

C21: What have been your most successful shows of the past six months and why?
Strasser: Hit titles of our factual portfolio include our Blue-Chip Nature series The Wild Andes (3 x 52′, 90′, 3 x 45’) by producers Light & Shadow, which has sold extremely well around the world. The demand of channels for outstanding Wildlife and Nature titles is consistently strong. Another successful series in our slate is At Our Neighbour’s Table (130 x 30′) by Berlin Producers. We are very happy that the series is ongoing and new episodes are coming out of production very soon. Furthermore, we have enjoyed great success with our History series Terror! (6 x 50′) by Dutch producers Topkapi. The series digs, with the help of reconstructions, archival footage and interviews, into the complexities of 6 terror attacks that happened after World War II, trying to piece together what exactly happened during those horrific moments in history.

C21: How has your business changed in the past six months and how is that reflected in the programming deals you have done?
Strasser: We expanded our sales team to offer native language speakers in more international sales territories, and to become more customer focused. We have also built a strong acquisition task force to be able to respond to the increasing demand for content investment from production companies from around the world.

C21: What changes in programming strategy have defined your business in the past year?
Strasser: As every other distribution house, we are looking out for series and programmes that are suitable for streamers. They have a different search pattern and we have started to adapt our catalogue so it fits both TV slots and streamer slots.

C21: Outline your current catalogue and which shows are working best.
Strasser: For us, many genres are working really well. We are very strong in the People & Places and Current Affairs genres; many clients know that and come specifically to us when looking for programmes in that range. We have strong Science titles, mostly coming from our longstanding partnership with NHK, which is very important for us. History, especially World War II titles, have been working very hard in the past months due to the upcoming anniversary of the end of World War II. And, as I mentioned before, the appetite for top-notch Wildlife and Nature is unbroken.

C21: What does the next six months have in store and how are you developing your business to meet changing demands?
Strasser: We are currently developing a broad pipeline of signature factual series to address the increasing demand from streamers in this category.

C21: What new shows are coming down the line that you think will succeed and why?
Strasser: Our slate this year contains German pubcaster ARD’s most important title for the commemoration of the End of World War II in our portfolio: Berlin 1945 (3 x 50’, 1 x 180’, 2 x 90’). This series by award-winning producer Thomas Kufus and Zero One Film time-travels in cinematic style into the city’s most fateful year through the eyes of those who experienced it: the German population and Allied soldiers. We will show never before seen archive material; the series is visually very strong.

Furthermore, we are bringing to the market new programmes of all the important genres, e.g. a programme about the US financial investor Blackrock, and the increasing influence that this company has. We are launching new episodes of our popular series Science Clips (400 x 5-8′) and within our People & Places genre; we travel to Bali, Romania, Turkmenistan, Botswana and South Asia, some of the titles coming in 4k.

C21: Which markets have shown most success for you and how are you developing new business?
Strasser: Last year, we were very successful in the Asian and Middle East markets, but also in Central Europe and in the German speaking regions, as well as others.

C21: What are the biggest challenges going forward and how are you going to meet them?
Strasser: More and more, specialist distributors like us are taking on the role of editorial advisors. Platforms and streamers are counting on our expertise in these genres.

Working with our in-house production department and with our copro partners to better understand and anticipate what our customers want will be even more important in the future.