TELENOVELA BLOCK.pages 24 - 30: - Discop

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portrait A GOOD FRIEND – MICHEL RODRIGUE By Bob Jenkins When it comes to doing business in the CEE, Michel Rodrigue, CEO and President of Canadian format distributor, Distraction Formats, is a man with form as well as formats. The company was founded in 1989, launching at MIPCOM in the autumn of that year. “And,” recalls Rodrigue, “the very first sale recorded by the then fledgling outfit, was to a Polish producer of a Canadian format, THE MAD DASH. The producer sold it on to TVP, and the show ran in Poland for a total of 115 episodes.” This might have been the first experience Distraction had in the region, but it was not Rodrigue’s first exposure to Eastern Europe. In 1989, just at the very moment communism was falling, Rodrigue was part of a Quebecois delegation that visited Czech Republic and successfully negotiated a co-production agreement between the republic and Quebec. Poland was Distraction’s first sale in the CEE, and despite the company now doing business, per Rodrigue, “in virtually every country in the region, Poland,” he says, “remains the company’s most important market in the region.” And it might be about to become more significant. One of the techniques which has been very important to Distraction‘s expansion in the region is one known as “carousel production.” This is the process by which one set is built in a chosen location for a given format, and one crew becomes versed in the techniques of the show, and then presenters and contestants are brought in from neighbouring countries and the same crew and set are used to produce several different versions, allowing the cost to be amortised over a number of different productions. Poland has run two seasons of what Rodrigue describes as, “a big, SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER style format from Italy called CIAO DARWIN”. As Poland is preparing to shoot its third season, there is a lot of interest from surrounding countries such as Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania, and possible interest from Russia as well. In many ways, this is the logical continuation of what Rodrigue sees as an ongoing process that started with the fall of communism. “Obviously,” says Rodrigue, “before communism was overthrown in this part of the world, there were no commercial stations, and, just as obviously, there were no independent producers. Once communism went, many western companies such as SBS and ViaSat moved in to open stations. But they needed a viable independent sector, and so, they set about helping to create one. And, they succeeded.” Although Rodrigue celebrates the successful birth of the independent sector in the CEE, it was not, he notes, without its birth pangs. “Initially,” recalls Rodrigue, “there was a question of technical and creative communication. The people of the region have always been very creative, but under communism, this creativity was channelled in a very specific manner. Also,” he continues, “this creativity was ope - rating with technology that was increasingly antiquated, film, and only the very earliest form of video. This led to a situation, once free enterprise was introduced, in which the new independent production sector in the CEE immediately upgraded the technology to state of the art, often putting them ahead of the West where conversion costs had to be amortised, but in which they were still imbued with the old creative styles.” But Rodrigue is insistent that all of that, “is now in the past,” and that there is now a vibrant and successful independent production sector which bodes well for the future of the region. In fact, one of the things he celebrates most in the region is that, “unlike many other parts of the world, when it comes to formats, they are not, unlike most other regions of the world, wedded to formats from the UK and the US; in fact, reports Rodrigue, “90% of the formats we sell in the region are from Germany, Italy, Canada and France.” Finally, and possibly most encouragingly, Michel Rodrigue believes that, in the format business, the CEE is laying the foundations of a solution to its biggest challenge. “That challenge,” insists Rodrigue, “is the successful export of their own formats.” But with the carousel production method Distraction has pioneered in the region, a healthy market in format sales is developing between various CEE countries and, believes Rodrigue, “it will only be a matter of time before that success begins to be exported to other countries around the world.” } 08 discop link 03 www.discop.com march 2006
egion ARMENIAN TV MARKET AS IT IS By Anna Satyan For the time being there are about 45 private TV stations (including the regional ones) in Armenia. The broadcaster centres are mainly concentrated in Yerevan, the capital of the republic, and the audience has the opportunity to watch at least 21 local channels there. Most of them are private, except the National Public Television, which became a satellite channel, broadcasting almost all around the world. Armenia, Prome theus and ALM (Alternative Media) have national coverage. During the last two years, the problem of the broadcasting industry has been actively discussed in different professional circles. The most often regarded issues have been the following: problems of the domestic TV production quality, program formats, lack of ethical norms in journalism, and low standards of programming in general. Several surveys have revealed that the most popular media in Armenia is television, which is preferred by 85-90 per cent of the population and is considered to be their primary source of information. International experts discovered that during the recent years the situation in television market has changed. Three-four years ago, small local broadcasters were becoming weak due to financial problems. According to the sales managers, the volume of TV advertising in Armenia in the last few years increased for about 20 %. It is noticeable that the two leading national Russian TV channels (ORT and RTR) are quite popular among the Armenian population and have full retransmission of their programs over the most territory of Armenia. This service is provided by Armenia Public Television. The company providing the service (First Channel) inserts local advertising blocks and gets the main portion of the ad income of other TV channels. Several other Russian TV stations like TV Centre, Ren TV, Muz TV, etc., are also broadcasting in Yerevan but not all day through. According to the agreement signed between few Armenian television companies and Moscow channels, Russian programs are available only during the certain hours of the day; the rest is covered by the local production. Some TV managers say that it helps to attract the audience and to get higher ratings. “From the other point of view, it is a good way to ‘occupy’ the air and not to spend much money on producing shows. Retransmitting of the Russian channels is cheaper, especially when primetime is filled with local advertising,” managers explain. Another foreign broadcaster is CNN, but it covers only the capital, as well as Euro-News, which is also partly Armenian and is called Arm-News, with local headline news and political talk-shows. TV managers dislike questions about the financial side of their business due to several reasons, among them being the transparency of the tax responsibilities, though some of the “TV chiefs” anonymously agreed to provide approximate figures. So, summing up the results, we can make the following conclusion: The Armenian Public TV, the First Channel with Russian ORT and RTR, Armenia and Prometheus control about 70% of the advertising market. More precisely - Public TV with First Channel eats <strong>30</strong>% of this pie, Prometheus and Armenia about 20% each. On the whole, all private channels survive due to rich sponsors - politicians, parliament members, businessmen, etc. They have great expectations from the upcoming elections, so they need this, let’s say, megaphone. As in many Western countries, the main principle, actually, is “broadcasting is a business”, in most cases a political one. Armenian market is characterized by harsh competition and politicisation that increases on the eve of any election (local, presidential, parliamentary). The most remarkable example is the results of the first licensing competition announced by the National Commission for Television and Radio in 2002. According to the RA Law on Television and Radio Broadcasting license holders do not obtain the right to prolong the license after its expiration: they should take part in the licensing competition on a common basis once again, together with the new applicants. As a result, the A1+ TV Company, well-known for its oppositional attitude towards the acting authorities, left the market. Noyan Tapan TV Company did not get a license for the same reason. Going back to the viewers attraction, it is remarkable that some Armenian broadcasters, Shant TV, for example, started the practice of purchasing format licenses from international leading TV corporations such as Endemol (POP IDOL), Celador (WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE) etc. We can add to this list also world-title football matches, NBA basketball league live games, boxing and the like. According to several public opinion polls, conducted by local television companies, these shows have doubled the audience. } discop link 03 www.discop.com march 2006 09
Page 1: FREE COPY ISSUE 03, MARCH 2006 ISSN
Page 5 and 6: news FULL OF WESTERN PROMISE By Bob
Page 7: strategy in region ASIA HAS THE CEE
Page 11 and 12: egion THE CEE IS OF GROWING IMPORTA
Page 14 and 15: usa & cee UNITED WE STAND By Bob Je
Page 16 and 17: AMERICANS ON THE AIR By Anna Njemog
Page 18 and 19: programing tools PRODUCT PLACEMENT:
Page 22 and 23: telenovela block TELENOVELA AND AUD
Page 24 and 25: telenovela block TELENOVELA IN THE
Page 26 and 27: telenovela block DAILY INSTANT ROMA
Page 28 and 29: SHINE ON TV SCREENS IN FYR MACEDONI
Page 30: telenovela block DISCOP 06 CELEBRAT

TELENOVELA BLOCK.pages 24 - 30: - Discop

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