Studio Hamburg’s playlist targets global demand

Christiane Wittich of Studio Hamburg Enterprises showcases the Hamburg-, Berlin- and Munich-based distributor’s cross-genre playlist on C21 Digital Screenings and discusses the importance of being open to investment in compelling content.

 

Studio Hamburg Enterprises (SHE), part of Studio Hamburg Group, a subsidiary of German public radio and TV broadcaster NDR, has curated a playlist that covers multiple genres. The aim, says director of international sales Christiane Wittich, is to tap into the industry trend for variety.

 

“There’s a high demand for drama and comedy, factual and entertainment programming,” says the 30-year industry veteran. “The demand for all types of programmes is because there are so many thematic channels and on-demand platforms.”

 

Wittich has also seen an increase in demand for non-English-language content, fuelled by the emerging platforms. “There’s a much higher demand in English-speaking countries for subtitled fiction for SVoD,” she says. The increase in buyers has created a boom in German programming, which is “produced differently to the mainstream American or British one-offs and series, and a larger variety of platforms is emerging to serve other groups of viewers.”

 

For Wittich, interest in European drama is also growing as a result of the Hollywood studios pulling their shows out of the market to drive their own direct-to-consumer plans, with high-end local content filling the gap. “German productions are known for high budgets and consequently high production values,” she says.

 

Covid-19 has also increased this SVoD-driven appetite for new content. “We have experienced a high demand from online platforms worldwide, more than the linear channels,” which Wittich says SHE has met with “ready-made programmes and re-runs, as everybody needed content quickly to fill gaps due to cancelled sport events.”

 

SHE itself has weathered the Covid storm well: “There were problems in starting, continuing and finishing various shows. But we are on our way to catch up on delays and will have a good output during next year. All our main productions are back on track,” says Wittich.

 

SHE’s first playlist title, Marnow Murders (4×90’/8×45′) is a thriller based on true events, produced by Polyphon Film and made in Munich for NDR and ARD. “Our German portfolio, especially when it comes to crime content, is very successful in the US and Canada on VoD platforms and in the Eastern European territories,” says Wittich.

 

The crime drama follows two detectives on the trail of a serial murderer who apparently chooses his victims at random – but nothing is as it seems. Set against the backdrop of a “West German pharmacological company and an East German hospital, the crime series explores the long-lasting secret connections between the former states,” says Wittich, adding that the show is perfect for audiences that demand “gloomy, thrilling and nerve-wracking” content.

 

“Marnow Murders is our top title of this season; it has been pre-sold into the US market and we already have numerous interested broadcasters in the Eastern European countries, Scandinavia and Benelux,” says Wittich. She adds that it follows in a similar vein to other 90-minute police dramas on SHE’s slate including Baltic Crime (11×90′) and North by North West (11×90′).

 

It’s not just crime thrillers from SHE’s German portfolio that are doing well internationally; lighter police dramas also successfully travel, including SHE’s next playlist choice. WAPO Berlin (8×50′) is a police drama with a broad age appeal – timely as more of the world goes back into lockdown. “This light crime show serves the whole family, which is useful in these times when families are spending more time together,” says Wittich.

 

Produced by Saxonia Media for ARD, the series follows a female police inspector and her water-based team, which includes a drug-sniffing dog. “Berlin, with twice as many bridges as Venice and consequently lots of waterways throughout the capital city, guarantees thrilling stories with fascinating pictures,” she says.

 

For Wittich, lighter crime series, such as SHE’s Murder in the North (95×50’), are a safe bet when it comes to selling internationally. “Soft crime shows work very well in various time slots, whether it’s daytime, access primetime or primetime,” she says.

 

SHE’s next playlist title is a female-driven family drama. Red Roses – This is my Life (more than 3000×50′), produced by Serienwerft for ARD/NDR, is Germany’s most successful daily telenovela, amassing millions of viewers since it first aired in 2006 on Germany’s ARD. The first German series to feature a woman in her mid-40s in the lead role, the show focus on her relationships, lovers and friendships. “Every season of 200 episodes represents a new principal actress and her social environment, her family, friends and enemies,” says Wittich.

 

Staying with romance for the next playlist choice, Practice by the Sea (9×90’), produced by Real Film Berlin for ARD, is a feel-good drama that follows the ups and downs of a doctor as she embarks on a new life and job at a surgery on an island off Germany’s Baltic coast. The drama unfolds as she tries to balance suspicious islanders who refuse her treatment and problems with her landlord, teenage son and ex-husband.

 

For Wittich, this show also taps into a trend for lighter television. “Feel-good content is currently doing very well. This 90-minute format is meant for the whole family, with great pictures of the Baltic coast, a young cast, love affairs between the adults and romantic flirting between teenagers making it a strong format for an international audiences,” she says.

 

More light relief comes in the shape of SHE’s eye-catching title My Dad is a Sausage (1×90’). The one-off family drama, produced by A Private View, follows a depressed banker who decides to become an actor. His CEO wife is concerned about his plans but his 11-year-old-daughter realises she has to help him to succeed with his new life. “We learn about supporting all family members in critical times. With funny and serious moments, this is exactly what is wanted internationally,” says Wittich.

 

Too Far Away (1×90’), produced by Weydemann Bros, is another one-off family drama. This touching story follows an 11-year-old as he and his family move home. The boy is bullied at his new school but things improve when he makes friends within the football team – until another outsider, a 12-year-old Syrian refugee, shows up and turns out to be a much better player.

 

For Wittich, it’s important that children’s programming is inclusive. “Diverse characters in kids’ TV are the key to success,” she says, also citing the next playlist choice, The Peppercorns (208×30′), one of the longest running live-action children’s series in Germany.

 

“From the start of this series 20 years ago, the main characters have come from different cultural backgrounds, including Turkey, China, Russia, Nigeria, Italy, Scandinavia, Poland and Brazil. And they change the cast every 26 episodes,” says Wittich. A Letterbox Film Production for NDR/ARD, the show has travelled to territories including Scandinavia, Italy, Slovenia and Benelux. Aimed at ages six to 12, the show follows five young sleuths as they bring thieves, polluters, crooks and drug traffickers to justice.

 

Moving down the age demo for SHE’s next title is Dusty & Mop (39×4′), from Trikk 17 for NDR. The two lead characters appear in the human world and see it as an enormous playground. “These two fluffy, happily chattering creatures perform in a fantasy language, meaning it fits without dubbing into any children’s programme time slot,” says Wittich.

 

Animated series Hug Me (52×6’), produced by Animoon, also comes from SHE’s younger-focused slate. It follows Father Bear and Teddy as they explore their forest home and lend a helping paw to many forest animals, learning about friendship, openness and responsibility.

 

Moving to factual, mareTV, produced by Nonfictionplanet for NDR, is a travel and adventure series, which since 2001 has amassed more than 288 episodes, each 45 minutes long.

 

“This is more feel-good, entertaining travel and adventure. It guides the viewer into all parts of the world, featuring stories about people and the seas with captivating pictures of clarity and depth,” says Wittich.

 

“Our new blue-chip productions Secrets of the Mediterranean (2×52’) and Realm of the Robber Crab (1×52’), produced by doclights, chime with a bigger focus on environmental sustainability. Due to high production values and being available in 4K, these programmes have been bought by networks and channels including Nat Geo and NHK in Japan,” she adds.

 

SHE is looking to invest in more big-budget content. “The market is booming due to competition between local and international streaming platforms with extremely high budgets. Therefore, we are focusing even more on making development funds available and are ready to invest, co-finance, coproduce and license strong and compelling content,” says Wittich.