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Tag: Idol

  • 21st Century Fox, Apollo combine Shine, Endemol and Core Media to create content powerhouse

    21st Century Fox, Apollo combine Shine, Endemol and Core Media to create content powerhouse

    BENGALURU: Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox and private equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC (Apollo) announced an awaited agreement to create a leading global multi-platform content provider. The agreement brings together Apollo’s Endemol and Core Media with 21st Century Fox Shine Group and to form one of the largest content creators in the world. Sophie Turner Laing, former managing director of content at BSkyB, will serve as the group’s CEO.

    Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, and completion of the transaction is subject to regulatory clearances and other customary closing conditions. Industry sources say that this is a 50:50 partnership between 21st Century Fox and Apollo.

    In 2011, Apollo bought Core Media, which owns the Idol franchise. Also, in 2011, Murdoch’s News Corp (now 21st Century Fox) paid $ 673 million for Shine Group, a UK producer of Biggest Loser. Elizabeth Murdoch then owned 80 per cent of the Shine Group.

     
    Prior to completion of the transaction, Endemol, Shine and Core will continue to operate as separate companies. Upon completion of the transaction, Core will retain its own capital structure. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the calendar year. AGM Partners is serving as financial advisor to 21st Century Fox.

     
    Current Endemol CEO Just Spee and Shine Group CEO Alex Mahon will remain with their respective companies for an extended period following the close of the transaction, working with Turner Laing on the transition and integration of business operations. Following the transition period, both will step down in 2015 to pursue new opportunities. Upon the transaction’s close Elisabeth Murdoch will step down as non-executive chairman of Shine Group.

     

     
    “This partnership advances our strategy of accelerating Fox’s growth in worldwide television production,” said 21st Century Fox president and CEO Chase Carey. “The combination of these assets will create a leading global format business with a deep and diverse portfolio of products, enhanced distribution capabilities, and world-class creative talent. We are extremely grateful to Alex Mahon for her leadership of Shine and are delighted to partner with Apollo in supporting Sophie Turner Laing, and the talent at Shine, Endemol and Core, in our shared mission to form an unrivalled team to lead this truly global content creation business.”

     
    Turner Laing said, “Content has never been more creatively vibrant and exciting and our exceptional production and distribution capabilities will be a magnet for talent to realise their creative ambitions across all platforms on a regional and global scale.”

     
    Apollo senior partner Aaron Stone said, “The group will have impressive capabilities to offer the creative community and to invest in all aspects of media’s future.  At the heart of this partnership are the businesses’ thousands of employees around the world.”

     
    The combined company will have disparate shows like the MasterChef which has more than 50 editions around the world, Big Brother, Hell on Wheels, Idol and So You Think You Can Dance properties.

    Turner Laing has spent the last decade at BSkyB, where she oversaw content strategy and was instrumental in the expansion of its portfolio of entertainment channels, including the Company’s partnership with HBO says 21st Century Fox.
     

     

  • ‘Like Latin America, Indian fiction can be sold around the world’ : The WIT MD Virginia Mouseler

    ‘Like Latin America, Indian fiction can be sold around the world’ : The WIT MD Virginia Mouseler

    As format shows have become globalised, India offers an interesting opportunity. The consumption of reality shows has gone up even as channels like MTV have changed their positioning.

    In fiction, India is also emerging as a powerful production force and has the potential to sell its products around the world.

    The Wit (World Information Tracking), an agency specialised in research and information on TV programmes worldwide, is looking at expanding in India.

    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com’s Ashwin Pinto, The Wit’s managing director Virginia Mouseler talks about the company’s plans and the kind of content that works globally.

    Excerpts:

    When you founded The Wit 15 years ago, what did you set out to achieve?
    We wanted to explore creativity around the world and explore new ideas. We realised that other countries had good ideas and in France nobody knew about it.

    Now formats have become globalised. They travel around the world. Earlier only game shows like Wheel of Fortune travelled. Now it is a world of formats. The same good idea that works in one country can go to another and be adapted to the local culture.

    How have you expanded?
    In the beginning, we started with eight countries like UK, the US and Germany. These are the big markets in the Western world. Now we cover 40 countries, including some smaller countries like Belgium, as they are dynamic and creative. We observe every day the new shows and
    programmes that are being launched.

    We have correspondents around the world that send us a weekly report about the new shows that are launching in that country with ratings. You can track our database if you are a subscriber. Television channels subscribe to us. They get to know about interesting ideas.

    What are the major trends that we are seeing globally?
    The most successful show is the music talent contest. Music is everywhere. You cannot have just a singer in front of an audience. There has to be a competition element. Last year the number of formats adapted globally was 10 times compared to five years back.

    People are buying more and more formats. The top formats adapted globally include Dancing With The Stars, Idol, Got Talent, X-Factor and who Wants to Be A Millionaire. Another trend is reality TV. This is everywhere. Another growing trend is factual entertainment.

    TV channels want to address serious social topics without being boring. They find a way to tackle important social issues like homelessness or being jobless or being overweight in an entertaining way. Instead of doing a documentary, they will create experimental shows where people can change their lives and change another life.

    Could you give me an example of this?
    Teenagers in the UK are difficult to handle. They do what they want. They do not go to school nor do they obey their parents. They are unruly. They are sent to another part of the world. In one example on a show called ‘World’s Strictest Parents’, two UK kids were sent to an Indian family in Rajasthan. They had to adapt to discipline. The father showed them what education means to him.

    Is the kind of content that works here different from what works abroad?
    I don’t think so. Of course, there are cultural differences. At the same time in India Big Boss has been a success as it has been everywhere. A good idea will work anywhere if it is not shocking or provocative. It should have universal and positive values.
    ‘The economic downturn has led to consolidation. Spain launched two new national channels and smaller thematic channels two years back; this year they merged. Consolidation has also taken place on the production front.‘

    How are drama and comedy faring?
    They are popular. The problem is that drama and comedy are more expensive than reality TV. Everywhere local fiction is the most popular. But some channels in the UK wanted to reduce costs due to the financial crisis. They are good at fiction and drama but it is expensive. They did more reality TV. It was not a matter of success but of cost.

    So the economic downturn impacted programme expenditure?
    Yes! The UK was hit. A lot of people lost jobs. Producers made less content due to less ad revenue. Channels decided not to buy big budget fiction. I hope that they will do it again. The crisis impacted budgets of channels. They couldn’t pay for big historical fiction.

    In Germany they decided to buy more American shows rather than produce quality local shows due to costs. Now the situation is getting better. Spain is producing good fiction but with less expensive budgets. We are also seeing more co-productions happen in Europe between countries. This allows for expensive historical series to be made. For one country to do it would be difficult. The budgets are less than what is available in the US. When there are only 50 million viewers, it is difficult to produce an expensive show.

    The other impact of the downturn is that it led to consolidation. Spain launched two new national channels and smaller thematic channels two years back. This year they merged. Economically they could not attract enough ad revenue.

    How has the production sector been affected?
    Consolidation has also taken place on the production front. Earlier there were 10 independent production houses in a country. Now most have been acquired. It is tough for independent producers as there are few independent formats. They cannot buy a format as the big production houses have the major formats. It is difficult for a new
    idea to go on air now if it was not a success elsewhere.

    Channels are afraid of making mistakes. They don’t want to take the risk of buying a new idea from an independent producer.

    Across Asia what has the scene been like?
    Fiction in Korea and Japan is a big success in terms of soaps and dramas. After that, you have music and dance. We cover those two markets in Asia. Now we are focusing on India.

    What are the plans for India?
    Until now we followed formats which were adapted from abroad to see how it was done and if it had different cultural values. We did not follow fiction as there was a lot of it. Now we see channels like MTV have interesting local reality formats developed here like Roadies.

    We will focus on this kind of creativity. We will also cover fiction shows on channels like Colors. We want to touch base with the people in these channels to understand what is important for them and their style of production. India is such a powerful production force in fiction. I think that Indian fiction can be sold around the world as has been the case with Latin America. Their telenovelas are sold globally.

    Are you setting up an office here?
    No! We have one office in Geneva. We have correspondents globally sending us reports. It could be a housewife who loves television and will tell us everyday what is going on. Local correspondents also tell us why a fiction show is successful. It could be that the host is popular or that nobody wanted to see competition. You could have a
    show that runs for three hours and which delivers good ratings.

    Only a local person can tell you why it is a success. You need background and gossip. Someone who loves television and is not judgmental makes for a good correspondent. Correspondents should be able to work with our schedule and way. They have to be people that I can trust. I have to count on them every week. In India at the moment the PR agencies of channels send us data.

    Why didn’t you focus more on India earlier?
    We focus on countries that want to export their formats. Japan and Korea are looking increasingly at exporting formats. India so far has imported formats. They did not export anything. Now local concepts are being created here that are worth exporting. Important people in television and media read the Wit. It is an advertising platform for channels.
    We are seeing many foreign companies like CBS and RTL in Germany coming in now and tying up with Indian media companies. How do you see this impacting the content landscape?
    They will try to widen their own sales catalogue and adapt it to the local market. It is good for viewers as they have more choice. RTL and CBS want to have more space to sell but they have to be an Indian channel first of all if they hope to succeed. RTL has been in Greece recently and they have to adapt to the Greek market. They have to develop local fiction with local producers.
    What challenges are content producers and distributors facing as they try to hold on to audiences?
    The most threatened are the bigger channels. In the US for instance, the big networks have lost their audiences a lot over the past five years due to newer cable channels that drew young viewers. Specialty channels came in that targeted young women.

    What they have to do is create new channels themselves that are niche. The needs of people are becoming more specific. If you like golf, you want a channel for it.
    What impact is new media having on time spent on traditional television?
    Statistics show that people watch more television. New media is another platform. It is a new possibility to watch television. The challenge is to do good stories, ideas. Young people can connect to Twitter and Facebook. This is why the industry is developing connected television. They can attract young viewers on the TV and use what they like on their computer. Channels are working with technology companies.

    Is research more important today in an increasingly fragmented television environment?
    Television is a cultural product. When you see a TV show, you want to see something that reflects your society. You want to find yourself or your neighbour. Television is an image of society. You have to look at social and cultural influences to do a good TV show.
     

    But did the downturn impact channel budgets on research?
    We are a research tool. We did not lose any subscribers. We are a necessary luxury as channels need to know what is happening in other markets. We do social research to watch the social images of other countries through television. Television teaches you about the social worlds in other countries.

    The youth is probably the most difficult demographic to capture. They also migrate across platforms. What can media companies do to hold their attention better?
    Channels spoke about multiplatform formats last year. I think though that just going multiplatform does not make a show. It has to be an interesting story, a good topic something that touches the life of a youth.

    The youth might want to interact with and control content. However this is only an additional tool. The core is to have a show that meets the youth’s issues in an innovative way. It could be in fiction, reality. One show that has worked is Young Dumb and Living Off Mum. It airs in the UK on the BBC and focuses on making youngsters who have been lazy more responsible. But it is done in an entertaining way.

    The series follows a group of youth who‘ve waited on hand and foot their whole lives. The series sees them living together in a house and fending for themselves. Each week they must compete against each other in tough work challenges set by their parents, designed to encourage them to become more independent. After each assignment, their parents meet to watch the footage of the task and decide who, based on behaviour and performance, should be eliminated from the competition.At the end of the series, the winner will receive a round-the-world trip for two people.

    In what way has the youth perception and expectations from television changed over the past five years in India and globally?
    The youth want to watch television everywhere. Earlier the family gathered at a certain time. That has changed. The youth want to watch it anytime and anywhere and enter it anytime. You cannot tell them that a show starts at 8 pm. They want to control television and not be in control of it.

    What are the mistakes that television channels catering to the youth should avoid?
    It should avoid giving them lessons. It should not talk down to them. Television is not a tool of power. Broadcasters should realise this. Television is a consumption good. Television should understand that it has to be attractive and at the same time offer flexibility. It should not be a big brother. The youth want information in an entertaining way.

    What lessons have come from shows that have worked for youth?
    Youth needs guidance and coaching. This is why there are so many coaching shows for the youth. Guidance can be given but not through lessons. It should be done through experiments like involving somebody’s life being changed for the better.

    The youth also want avenues that allow them the possibility show their talents. That is why talent shows are popular. However everything does not have to be about being a star. There are talent shows for ordinary jobs like a butcher, nurse. Television has to offer experiments on different worlds.

    What about content targeted towards women?
    There is an interesting show in the US that has been adapted in many European countries called ‘The Real Housewives of’. They follow real housewives from a neighbourhood. You can enjoy watching the life of a real housewife. It is not necessarily about the successful woman professionally. She can be middle class or upper class. You can see her daily life. The ideas came from the fiction show Desperate Housewives.

    Another interesting thing is that shows that only targeted women earlier are also hooking on men. For instance, cooking shows are very successful. Here you have Masterchef India. This genre also targets men. Men and women compete to cook the best meal and welcome guests. Japan loves this genre. But what is interesting is that countries like France and Italy which are famous for food have less cooking shows.

    In terms of television consumption patterns, what differences are there globally?
    What we have seen is that it is often linked to when people have dinner. So in the UK the news is at 7 pm, in Germany it is at 8 pm and in Spain it is at 10 pm. In the UK the average length of a show is half an hour. In Italy it is three hours.

    In the first 20 minutes, the host is greeting the audience and saying nice things. In the UK it would be over. In Turkey, a fiction show is four hours. Turkish people like watching TV, going to eat and going back to watch the show.

    Are any genres becoming more popular?
    Hidden camera shows are making a comeback on television globally. This would work well in India. These shows have a lot of comedy. Big global events are becoming stronger drivers for channels like a world cup.
     

    In India we are seeing a trend where music channels to capture youth have moved away from music and doing different shows. Is this something being seen globally as well?
    Yes! They realised that they needed an identity. Music video clips can be found in many places. MTV realised that they had to be something else than just a music channel. When MTV started, it was the only place where you could find music clips. That is not the case now. They needed a clear personality. The music channels realised that they need to have a face, a real identity.

  • ‘Acquisitions, JVs – We mean business’ : Fremantle Media regional CEO Europe & Asia Pacific Simon Spalding

    ‘Acquisitions, JVs – We mean business’ : Fremantle Media regional CEO Europe & Asia Pacific Simon Spalding

    Simon Spalding is a bit of a homebody. When the Fremantle Media regional CEO Europe & Asia Pacific is not travelling around on business he likes to spend time with his family in Amsterdam.

     

    The 49 year old Spalding has close to a quarter of a century‘s experience in a career spanning toy marketing (with Hasbro Europe), licensing (Dreamworkz) and television (Fremantle).

     

    10 of those years have been spent in building Fremantle into the global TV powerhouse it is today. He set up the UK operations, built them up and, then moved onto Sydney Australia where he forged a merger between Grundy and Crackerjack to create Fremantle Australia. Today it probably is the largest Australian TV producer.

     

    He then moved back to Europe to oversee Asia and Europe, leaving the Asian operations in the able hands of Patrick Schult.

     

    Spalding was in India to touch base with the Indian operations of Fremantle India, which are headed by Raj Baruah and also meet up with broadcast executives at the leading Indian networks. The TV executive – who counts West Wing as one of his favourite TV shows – caught up with Indiantelevision.com‘s Ashwin Pinto on Fremantle‘s Indian initiatives and the vision for the production house.

     

    Excerpts:
     

    Was 2009 a difficult year due to the economic downturn?

    It was a better year than we expected it to be. We made our budget but in order to do that we took some things out that we had been saving for a rainy day. Last year we had a couple of rainy days. There has been a bit more of a time lag for producers as the first half of 2009 was committed in the second half of 2008. So the first half of last year was good and it got tougher in the second half. We are still feeling the impact this year.

     
    How do you see this year progressing?

    We have taken a more conservative position regarding our budget. We have recognised that we will be a slightly smaller company this year. But overall the interesting thing is that our big shows are getting bigger. So while everybody was concerned that shows like Idol or Got Talent would also suffer in the recession, the fact is that we are getting a larger audience share. It is also encouraging that more people are watching television than ever before. If you have the right content and can produce it at the right price there is market out there for it.
     

    At this point which are your top five formats?

    Our big three entertainment formats are Idol, X-Factor and Got talent. Our game shows are strong like The Price Is Right which has been around for 54 years. It was the number one daytime show in France after being reintroduced after an eight-year gap. This show has been reintroduced in nine other markets. Fremantle is also a drama producer. Our serial dramas do well.

     
    What additions have been made to your catalogue recently and are you looking at more genres?

    We look at new genres. We brought 10 new formats to MipTV. Some were reversions of existing catalogue. Some we develop ourselves and some we do in partnership with others. We have a show Push The Button which has been done with Gallowgate which is owned by the guys who host Got Talent for us in the UK. We constantly look for new ideas. We recently picked up a new cooking format from Romania. It is a reversion of a classic show called Give Us A Clue.

     
     ‘Historically we have come in on the back of a successful show. Once that show fell away we did not invest in building infrastructure and a broader base to sustain our business (in India) . This time we have come in to build a base. We have a detailed business plan.‘

     
    What goals have been set?

    From a company point of view we are trying to do three things. We want to continue to build and develop our network. We have production companies in 22 countries. We want to strengthen those. If we have a strong entertainment business, for instance in Denmark, we focus on building a drama business. In Italy the situation is the reverse where our drama business is strong. There is already this piece going on as well as looking at new markets. Last year we opened offices in India and Brazil.

     

    The second part of what we are doing is to build and grow our creative pipeline. The content that we bring to the market is what is going to drive our business forward. So we have made significant investments in developing original content and also in partnerships with third parties.

     

    The third part of our strategy is building new capabilities. As the world changes, different platforms emerge and people want to use IP in different ways. We are looking at the skill sets and resources that we need available to help build that. This would encompass developing our live show business, gambling business. We want to grow in these areas too.
     

    How much business comes from Asia in terms of business generated? Which are your top three markets?

    Not enough business comes from Asia. I cannot give you a split though. India, China, Indonesia and Japan are our priority markets in Asia. These are the markets where we have production capabilities. In the other territories we have partnerships or licensing operations. We have nailed down

     

    what we want to do in the markets mentioned earlier. Where do we go next? Do we want to open more production capability?

    We have a strong licensing and co-production business in Vietnam. This is a market where at some point we should open a business. The Philippines is also important. We are trying to balance the benefit of having a local production capability against the cost of a startup. In the current economic circumstances it is a tough decision to make.

     
    Are you still an acquisition target? And how is the RTL ownership helping you?

    We are 100 per cent owned by the RTL Group. RTL is 91 per cent owned by Bertelsmann. They are happy with Fremantle as we have shown a compound annual growth of 9 per cent in revenue and 13 per cent in EBIDTA over the last six years. That makes for a happy shareholder. We can access investment funds. I just bought a company in the Netherlands as I want to strengthen our drama business there. We also made an acquisition in Italy which gives us more content. RTL Group CEO Gerhard Zeller has publicly said that Fremantle is not for sale.
     

    What is your vision for India?

    What I am looking for is a successful locally driven production company that takes full value from the Fremantle network and also contributes back to the network. The Indian group should take programmes and IP and bring them to India. Also over time they should develop things that travel broadly within the Fremantle network.

     
    Will Fremantle be open to considering paper formats from Indian creative professionals?

    We do look at them. Obviously they are much tougher to get to but you have to start somewhere. We would look at an original idea when we have identified a customer. A programme idea is only good if you have a customer to sell it to. Once we have found an idea that we can link effectively to a customer that is when we can offer support to bring that idea to a pilot or a series. Once we have tape then we can start pushing it around our network.

     

    An example is a format developed in France but we could not find the right customer for it there. We found a customer in Australia. On the basis of this successful launch we took it to other territories. The format is Take Me Out.

     

    You have made efforts to set up office in India earlier but retreated? What makes your current foray any different? What kinds of investments are you looking at pouring in here?

    Historically we have come in on the back of a successful show. Once that show fell away we did not invest in building infrastructure and a broader base to sustain our business. This time we have come in to build a base. We have a detailed business plan. We have a detailed idea of how much money we need to spend and when we expect ROI. The company has signed up for a longer term vision.

     

     
    Endemol has raced far ahead of you here. Zodiak is doing well with SOL. Disney has found customers for its products here. Are you coming in too late?

    The decision for us to withdraw from the market just before I took over the role was perhaps short-sighted. My ambition was to get back as the Indian market watches the kind of television that we produce. India has a range of free to air broadcasters who would want to buy our content. Why would we not want to be in India which is a growing market? The aim is to build a solid foundation and not try to run before we can walk. We don‘t just want to be in entertainment. We want to be in multiple genres.

     
    Is Fremantle also considering taking a stake in a local production house to complement your non fiction business?

    If there is a strategic fit we would look at it. There are other business models. It could be a JV or a partnership. It could be investing in creative people and giving them a place under the Fremantle umbrella. We don‘t have a one size fits all approach.

     
    ‘What I am looking for is a successful locally driven production company that takes full value from the Fremantle network and also contributes back to the network.‘
     

    For this year what is your priority?

    We have to deliver shows that we already have an order for. Indian Idol was our number one priority for Sony. We also focussed on getting our relationship with Colors correct for Got Talent. We want to establish our credibility as a serious content producer in India. You can talk about lots of things but until delivery happens it is only talk.

     
    Do you think the Indian broadcasting and production business is receptive to formats as it is in other developed markets such as the US, the UK, Australia, Malaysia? Are they willing to pay for formats or are they more prone to rip-offs?

    There are examples of formats being ripped of here. Once a successful format is launched there is a temptation on the part of other broadcasters to put something similar into the market. Indian Idol success is a testament to the strength of the IP. Viewers feel that it is worth sticking with. Broadcasters know that they can get away with ripping off stuff once in a while however, they also know that they need the best content and to get that they need to find a way to work with the people who own that content.

     
    American Idol has lost share in the US partly due to the fact that the format has gotten stale. How is Indian Idol faring?

    This year we have made a significantly better show. The talent is stronger and the production is better than it has been for a while. We had a strong launch. The numbers dipped. The test is if we can deliver what Sony expects and what viewers want.
     

    What new formats are being brought to India?

    We are meeting broadcasters. We are trying to fit our shows with the specialities of broadcasters. Every network wants differentiated content. Our entertainment shows have a lot of potential. We are sure that X Factor will be in the market soon. Historically our game shows have done well. So we will bring in some of those. Comedy will be more challenging as it may be tough to translate but I want to do this genre in India. We have some factual content that we feel the market is increasingly ready for. I want to do drama but we are not yet ready.

     
    Are you going to be going into the languages area? Tamil, Telugu? Endemol has done that well.

    This is an area that we have identified and it is a question of building the organisation so that when we make this approach we are capable of delivery. A number of game shows would work here. They are cost effective to do in multiple languages. For instance for Family Feud you could build one set and then bring in different hosts, different families, audiences.
     

    Has there been any learning from other Asian markets that you would look to apply here?

    We have to accept shorter pre-production times. We have figured out how to produce formats that have worked in Europe here though the cost structures are different and circumstances are different. We have learnt about cultural sensitivities. We make three versions of a dating show in Indonesia. We have figured out how to do it in a way that is culturally appropriate. You also figure out when something is culturally inappropriate as opposed to something that they do not want to do.

     
    Most of your shows are upscale. India is discovering rural, massy content. What plans does Fremantle have here?

    We have IP. What our Indian team has to do is sift through them and decide what could work depending on the environment. They have to identify gaps that can be filled locally. That is what we do in different countries. Americans do not just pick up everything that is developed. They pick up some stuff and develop other content that is appropriate. This is also true for the UK, Germany, and France.

     
    Also, there seems to be no differentiation among the Indian general entertainment channels. Nobody wants to take a leap. Do you see innovation happening?

    I am optimistic that it will happen. What we have seen globally is that companies which have innovated and done different stuff have step-changed their position in the market. For us, I accept that we will need to create formats here that travel. That will be a step-change for us.

     
    In the format business what trends are we seeing?

    We are seeing more uplifting themes being popular. So if it is a reality show then one about success works rather than celebrating disaster. In drama the themes are not as dark. There is more comedy coming through. There is more subject matter considered niche like cooking that is growing. They do well not just on lifestyle channels. They have gone mass market.
     

     

    Could you elaborate on the plan for the production services division and what is its USP vis-a-vis what is already available?

    The combination is that we have a huge catalogue of IP coupled with a group of people that can produce it as they are linked in to the Fremantle network. Our team understands how to produce shows here and the shows have worked well abroad. Talent, IP and international support are what we offer.

     

    The market consists of local companies which are developing their own IP or buying IP and produce it here. Fremantle is unique in terms of how it is networked. No other company comes close to our ability to move information around and support productions apart from the BBC. They are obviously very different. Endemol and we are the main global players.
     

     ‘What we have seen globally is that companies which have innovated and done different stuff have step-changed their position in the market. For us, I accept that we will need to create formats here that travel. ‘
     

     
    The Indian television general entertainment market has seen growth and also some consolidation. How do you see it progressing and what are the challenges that general entertainment broadcasters will face?

    The economic circumstances will continue to be a challenge. How the advertising market responds to the economic environment, the shift in advertisers‘ priorities between television and other media is a concern. Secondly, they have to remain distinctive and at the same time attract the broadest possible audience. A balance has to be struck. You need to have a personality while not alienating people whom you want to attract.

     

    Channels have to figure out how to get high quality content whether it is sports rights, news etc. They have to maintain the right relationships to deliver desired content.

     
    You see foreign players actively looking at India, the latest being CBS. How will this change the market dynamics from your point of view?

    Competition is healthy. But is enough investment being made to train people who you will need to run businesses? This is a concern. If this is not looked after then staff will be poached and there will be unpleasant salary inflation. If international companies bring in expats then it would be a step backwards.

     
    Could you talk about the strategy that Fremantle follows in exploiting brands beyond the television screen?

    We look at it in terms of what we term the wheel of value. The hub of the wheel is content. We look at spokes that can be used to exploit that property. Is there a format, a tape sale, home entertainment piece, an Internet experience, a mobile experience? A brand like Idol fills in most of the spokes. The Price is Right also lends itself to various activities. However, a factual entertainment show may not fill many spokes. You can sell this show in many territories but you do not get the mugs and T-shirts part of the business or the live show.

     

    For The Price is Right we sell the American version in some territories. We also have a DVD. We have multiple online versions where you can play for prizes, fun, and money. We have lottery scratch card elements. We have merchandise like a board game, mugs and T-shirts. We have a gambling version through slot machines in casinos. We have a live version of the show in America. We have sold it to a casino in Belgium. We have also developed a mobile application which has had 500,000 downloads on the iphone. The only thing that we have not done is a film.

     
    Are you looking at creating content for the mobile in India with 3G coming in?

    We have done a number of shows specifically for the mobile or net. The challenge is to create a business model. We have experimented. We have an online comedy service Atomic Wedgie in the US. It has translated into a TV show. We have done other stuff like cut down versions of Baywatch on mobile.

     

    We are not making much money but we are learning. We are investing rather than losing money. We did a show for MySpace where we went to find interesting people on this social network.

     
    How is the iCount viewer research panel helping Fremantle understand viewers better?

    We rolled this out in Germany. We are about to launch it in the US. It allows us to get very fast feedback from engaged viewers. It does not substitute other forms of research that we do. It allows getting a fast read on what would engage viewers. We can do more pre-testing. So for instance, if you want to look at a storyline in Neighbours, you can talk to those engaged viewers and get a read on whether they think that it is something they feel that we should be doing or not.

     

    We can test out casting, validity of characters and get a read on other things going on in the market. We get feedback on where people are watching stuff, what they are listening to and how they spend time. It gives us a more complete viewer of the consumer at a reasonable cost.

     
    Are you planning to introduce this for India?

    We will roll it out on a territory by territory basis. Australia is probably going to be the first place in the Asia Pacific region where we will roll this out. In India and Indonesia do we have enough shows where the iCount panel could influence? If you only get feedback on stuff already done it is interesting, but may not be useful beyond a point. I probably will not roll this service in China.
     

     

    Has Fremantle cracked the social media puzzle and taken advantage of the buzz going on there?

    I will go back to the point about developing new capabilities. There are processes and techniques going on in that world which need skill sets that are different. What we have to figure out is what we can contribute from our existing skill set to the party. We are playing around the edges of social networking, social gaming. We realise that we as a company need to take more positive steps in this direction. For us gaming is a separate skill set.

     

    It is a big move for a television production company to say that it also wants to get into gaming. Similarly gaming companies like EA took a while before deciding to enter the entertainment business. Gradual steps were made and now there is more cross over. While the Tomb Raider and Prince of Persia games were made into movies, it took quite a while before that crossover happened.

     
    Four years down the line will Fremantle be among the top production companies in India or would it have wound up?

    India is a territory that we will never be able to not be in. I want us to be a production company that people trust to bring them high quality content. We need to have a range of customers providing a range of genres across a range of price points. We have to be a full service production business.

     

    The more interesting question is whether we will just be a production company? How will we characterise ourselves three years from now? We already talk about being an entertainment business and not a production business. How we evolve will impact the way in which we develop here.