AMC Networks International Central and Northern Europe is largely reliant on its US parent for scripted series but is dipping its toes in homegrown originals, where its heritage in unscripted remains strong, according to VP of programming Katalin Radóczy.
Fata Morgana is a period drama set in the early decades of the 20th century on the ‘cursed plains’ of Hungary – a little-known mystical wasteland where a woman disguises herself as a man and goes on a killing spree to avenge oppressed women from her village.
Katalin Radóczy
The show, which has its roots in real events and was first pitched as part of C21’s Content Budapest last year, is notable in many ways, not least for its ambition in flipping classic western movies and series on their head to create a new genre, dubbed ‘feminist eastern.’
It’s also a rare scripted original from AMC Networks International Central & Northern Europe (AMCNI CNE).
“We chose Fata Morgana from several other promising scripts because we believe that, in addition to our locally developed series, there is a potential in scripted reality to further enrich the palette of our original productions,” says AMCNI CNE’s VP of programming Katalin Radóczy.
“The story is a true eastern wild romance with its implied horrific nature, yet it tackles important questions about womanhood, stopping abuse and taking responsibility. Although based on a true story from the beginning of the last century, it still has relevance for today.”
AMCNI CNE is collaborating on Fata Morgana with Paris-based producer and distributor Oble, which is also in talks with potential coproduction partners and talent.
AMC’s Walking Dead spin-off The Ones Who Live
Radóczy is keen to point out, however, that the project is a “special one-off” for the business. As a subsidiary of AMC Networks, it relies on the US cable operator for its scripted fare – hits like The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad and recently renewed The Terror.
“We picked it up a couple of years ago and decided to invest some money in it. We felt the scripts were strong and it’s a local story. We’ll see how it goes,” says the exec, who has been with AMCNI CNE since its foundation 10 years ago, following AMC’s acquisition of Chellomedia. The previously Liberty Global-owned European broadcaster houses kids’ net Minimax, which Radóczy helped launch in Hungary in 1999.
These days, Budapest-headquartered AMCNI CNE comprises the likes of AMC, Film Café and Film Mania; kids’ brands Minimax and Jim Jam; documentary channel Spektrum; lifestyle channels Spektrum Home and TV Paprika; and sports channels including Sport1.
Radóczy is responsible for programming strategy, content acquisitions, local content development and planning across all of these, bar the sports outlets. Meanwhile, the nine channels she handles are available across Central and Eastern Europe as 34 different feeds.
Blue Ant licensed AMCNI CNE a package including Greatest Discoveries with Dan Snow
Fata Morgana, therefore, while an interesting development, is a small part of the AMCNI CNE story, with the business largely reliant on its US parent’s output for scripted, such as the recent debut of latest Walking Dead spin-off The Ones Who Live. The company is extremely active on the acquisitions and local production side of things in unscripted, however.
“Most of our content on these channels is acquired, not only from the US but also from Europe; and not only from Hollywood studios for the film channels, but also from European countries, as well as from Canada,” says Radóczy.
Last year, the company secured a multi-title factual deal with Canada’s Blue Ant International for Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The package included shows such as Greatest Discoveries with Dan Snow, from Little Dot Studios-owned History Hit; Born to be King, a special on King Charles III from Touchdown Films; and award-winning doc 9/11 Kids, from Saloon Media.
But unscripted local production is also an area of significant focus. “On the factual side, for our lifestyle and documentary channels, we produce about 100 to 150 hours per year,” says Radóczy, noting that AMCNI CNE runs annual pitching events for producers across the CEE region as part of its outreach efforts.
The company last year launched its Spektrum Home lifestyle channel as a free-to-air network in the Czech Republic and so this has been a recent focus. It aired three local productions last year and Radóczy is on the hunt for more for this year and beyond. Bolstering homegrown programming in Slovakia and Romania is also on the agenda.
Doc coproduction Born in Auschwitz from Spot Productions
Past local productions include Taboos Without Taboo and feature documentary coproduction Born in Auschwitz, from Spot Productions. The latter title, produced with cultural channel Arte and NDR of Germany with Off the Fence distributing, told the extraordinary story of the only Jewish baby to be born and survive in the Auschwitz concentration camp before its liberation.
Radóczy stresses the film will always have a special place on AMCNI CNE’s documentary channel. However, highlighting a shift in priorities, she adds: “Currently our focus is more on edutainment – that is, [programmes that are] entertaining as well. It means we can run [a show] not only in the evening but also in daytime and we can repeat it.”
Citing Fortresses of Hungary (Várfoglalók), which has already had two seasons, as an example, Radóczy continues: “We did that with a radio host [János Vadon], who has a passion for the castles and fortresses. He’s going to a different part of Hungary every weekend. He’s not just the host or the talent in the show but also an editor, and his passion comes through on screen. It is so entertaining and gives some education or knowledge about [the subject].”
The economic climate has led to many commissioners trimming budgets or pausing projects, with AMC Networks, under CEO Kristin Dolan, among the US players making deep cuts in a bid to reduce costs and tackle declines in advertising.
Radóczy says that despite this restructuring, AMNCI CNE has not scaled back its original programming yet, but notes that the firm is having to be “very smart” when it comes to its content pipeline.
“We try to focus on really passionate talent who would advocate not only for the project but also for the channel,” says Radóczy. “It’s really hard to have outstanding programmes or projects or even local productions if you consider how many players are producing different shows, not to mention the big-talent shows on the free-to-air channels. So we try to be very smart with our investment on our channels and we try to look ahead, not just to the next half-year or one year, but to work with someone longer-term.”
Fortresses of Hungary (Várfoglalók) is fronted by radio host János Vadon
In common with other execs, Radóczy agrees that local players in CEE are less likely to enter coproduction partnerships with each other than they are with firms in other regions, like Western and Northern Europe. “Everyone wants to have the exclusive rights for a long term, so that makes it really hard to have a coproduction opportunity for the same territory,” she says.
“We have certain territories where we want to have or where we need to have exclusive rights. In the case of Born in Auschwitz, the production company managed to find the funds from France, Germany and other countries. There wasn’t any clash with the broadcasters, so it was easier to make the project happen because each and every broadcaster had their own exclusive rights for that given territory.”
Asked whether AMCNI CNE would like to cooperate more with other local partners in the region, Radóczy replies: “On one hand, I would say yes, we would be interested in it. However, we have channels in the very same genres, so we are competitors.
“When we talk to [distribution] platforms about our linear channels, what we have and what we can offer, such as local platforms Hungarian Telecom or Vodafone, they always want to see what we have as an exclusive project on our channel. So we would really need to figure out the right model for this in the CEE region and how to team up with each other. But theoretically, I would say yes, we could make more projects together.”
Radóczy also says AMCNI CNE is open to taking ready-made premium content from Spanish-speaking countries. “We have channels in both in Spain and Portugal, and also in Latin America – not only AMC but also Cocina and many others,” he says. “We’ve tried to do some, mostly cooking, and that works well. We haven’t tried other genres they’ve produced. It depends on the project or the show, as not everything travels or works in this region.”
