discop link • #11

ming addresses the younger part ofthe audience. Firstly, they want toemphasise good, old series that theyounger generation haven't had achance to watch, until now, such asMARCO POLO (1982) and BONANZA(1959); as well as some series producedmore recently - BLUES (sevenseparate episodes about the history ofthe blues, directed by seven of themost famous directors in the worldtoday); The documentary seriesWORLD TOWNS (40 towns of theworld in 40 episodes) and MAFIA (thehistory of the mafia in 10 episodes).Strong old film titles will be in the focusof the programme schedule in 2008too. They have the pleasure of announcinga big cycle of westernmovies, starting on December 15 th2007 which should last until June 15 th2008. Within this cycle, the viewerswill have a chance to watch some ofthe most significant films of the westernfilm genre, created in the secondhalf of the twentieth century. Primarily,there will be films directed byJohn Ford, Sam Peckinpah, MichaelCurtiz and others, mostly starring thegreatest Western film actor of alltimes- John Wayne.In 2008, TV Metropolis plans tocontinue its business cooperation withthe distribution company TUCK, fromwhich their station usually purchasesbroadcasting rights for airing Hollywoodand French films, as well assmall author and festival films. Atleast once a week, TV Metropolisbroadcasts films produced by smalland lesser known cinematic traditions(Bhutan, Argentina, Iceland, etc).Once a week the audience can watchcycles of famous directors (LuisBunuel, Jacques Renoir, John Ford,etc) and actors (Jean Paule Belmondo,John Wayne, Alain Delon,Marcello Mastroianni, Romy Schneider,etc).As one of the few urban and musicalchannels in this region, TV Metroplisis doing its best to fulfil the expectationsof its audience and to keep theaudience, but also to present somenew trends and content and attractnew viewers. Film and serial programmes,as an important part of itsschedule as a whole, are a very importantmeans of achieving that, in tryingto indulge a wide range of viewers, butalso in understanding and penetratingthose specific prefernces of particlularsmall groups of the audience, concludesMr. Jankovic.SLOVAKIA - TV MARKIZA,BRATISLAVATV Markiza is a leading commercialTV channel targeting wide audiences(12+).“We are looking for commercialcontent including action, crime,thriller features, TV movies andseries, mainly for PT slots acquiredfrom US Studios, French, German andCzech distributors and Independents.We also air formats and locally developedseries. Singing and dancing formatshave been successful for TVMarkiza recently,” Peter Chalupa,Head of Acquisitions, MARKIZA-SLO-VAKIA Spol s.r.o. told DISCOP LINKTURKEY, GENERALfocus on CEEIn Turkey, for the last 2 years,morning programmes aimed atwomen at home, series and talentshows on televisions have had reallyhigh ratings. More than 300 privatetelevision channels have tended to airmostly series during prime time, andtalent shows at weekends.The authorities in one of Turkey'smost popular channels claim that the‘series fashion’ will go on during 2008too. They mention that the producers,the channels and the staff that workfor the series have benefited wellfinancially and there is no reason tostructure programming without them.The series mostly made up of storiesrelated to the inner circle of a family ora relationship. They tend to be structuredaround the leading actor andactress, and their relationships (mostlyregarding their lovelives). The programmersmention that they tooksome foreign films and series' storiesand will adapt them for Turkish television.This has happened before.Recently, a private channel, Star TV,has shown a series called FEDAI whichis adapted from THE BODYGUARD.CNBC-E is a channel that airs economicprogrammes during the dayand series in the evenings. At the beginningof this season they purchasedforeign series like HEROES, DESPER-ATE HOUSEVIWES and TUDORS. Theyintend to follow that strategy in 2008.Another important format alsowith relatively high ratings is the talentshow. In the past few years the formatsfor BIG BROTHER on Show TV,POP STAR ALATURCA on Star TV,DANCE SHOW on Channel D andDANCE ON ICE on Show TV have beenpurchased from foreign companies.The networks tell us that these showswill go on past their 3 rd seasons.More or less as happens aroundthe world, television channels inTurkey tend to invest in ‘easy going’and ‘quickly consumed’ programmes.During the 2008 season, Turkishviewers will mostly watch love stories,talent shows and foreign series. }14 DISCOP LINK • #11 • NOVEMBER 07