Lots of change going on in the Entertainment business! It will be interesting to see what happens this week at the upcoming Cannes Mipcom TV market. A lot of the big media conglomerates like Disney and Warner media are transitioning their business from producing and exhibiting content to a business model of third party licensing with a sharper focus on building subscribers for their new in-house direct to consumer platforms. Comcast recently expanded their reach into the UK and acquired SKY and merged it with NBC/Universal.
What does that mean for us filmmakers? The way of doing business and funding content has changed, but the good news is that between Netflix, Amazon, Apple, and all the other new online channels there is a whole load of new players in the game funding content. They are not just looking for US content but looking for ways to service the global market. Just recently NBC Universal brought on former Channel 4 and BBC alum Ed Harvard to look for co-productions and other partnerships opportunities in the UK. HBO’s Latin American arm is busy developing high-end series to serve the growing Latino marketplace. There is still a strong movie-of-the-week business going over at Lifetime and Hallmark, and limited series are also growing in numbers. Netflix and Amazon and other online platforms have also shown a voracious appetite for picking up quality indie films at some of the major festivals.
There are also new opportunities for short-form content with new players like Quibi entering the market place and aggressively commissioning series.
There is now a bigger demand for documentaries than ever before, audiences always love true stories.
The opportunities are still there, folks – there are just new ways of funding and putting these projects together, it is just a question of understanding what the market wants, the different ways of putting projects together and ways you could be flexible with your IP to get it made.
If you want to learn more
Join us at our upcoming Film/TV financing class
IN-PERSON ONLINE
TONIGHT 6 PM-8 PM ONLINE
Can’t make it – also avail on VOD