In the Press

Prensario Internacional - DISCOP 2006: Strong regional expansion - August 6th, 2006

By Nicolás Smirnoff

A successful Discop 2006 - the major trade convention focused on Central and Eastern Europe - has been held on June 22-24 in Budapest, Hungary; attendance is on the rise, the third floor of the Sofitel Hotel has been added to the show, and many important deals have been reported during the meeting.

The major trends forecasted prior to the show have been confirmed by practice: the global market keeps expanding and, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, new projects are popping out regarding production and developments of businesses ancillary to television: homevideo, mobile telephony, merchandising and Internet, among others.

Regarding attendance, the organizers reported more than 1,200 registered participants this year, against a bit more than 900 last year. On top of this, many others showed up, reaching a total of 1,300 to 1,400 people preset at the facilities during the three days of the powwow. The gain over previous years was visible at elevator lines and narrow aisles.

But quantity does not guarantee quality: per some exhibitors, there we no more broadcast buyers than in the past. The difference has been in a larger number of regional distributors and small- and medium-sized producers. If in 2005 participation was 80% focused on finished product and 20% on production chances, this time the proportion was close to 50%-50%, although licensing represented about 75% of the money value of the deals discussed.

This reflects an inflow of new people; but, most of these newcomers not always appeared to nail down the deals exhibitors expect. Anyway, they can do it in the future: local content production is the largest emerging business in the region.

Regarding broadcasters, attendance was strong: the major outlets from Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic and Slovak Republic, among other nations, did show up. The nations corresponding to former Yugoslavia were so not fully represented el licensing but sever of them did attend; and, there were buyers from Russian and Turkish broadcasters, who not always participate at Discop.

This, in addition to stronger attendance from Western Europe participants, both regarding buying and selling; France and Germany were the most represented countries. And, the purchase of Discop by NATPE resulted in higher U.S. presence, including buyers from Hollywood studios such as Fox. Regarding exhibitors, one of the most important news has been the presence of format heavyweights Endemol and Fremantle, their debut at this convention.

The convention itself appeared much better organized. In the past, anyone could grab a seat at the lobby and conduct business from there, depriving those in the suites from floor traffic. This time there were very few "stalkers" and most business was dealt with at the suites.

All in all, the conclusion about Discop 2006 is that the show has gained a niche in the international calendar of events, and chances are it will gaining a higher profile in the future. Several exhibitors that took "Viewing boxes" (small booths) this year have vowed to rent suites in 2007, considering the heavier traffic seen this time.

Business with Latin America

As is known, the telenovela appears to be a major trend in Europe and the U.S; this has allowed the genre to gain new force in Central end Eastern Europe, where it was being considered mature by the major broadcasters. Now, aside from the product originated in Latin America there are versions from Germany, Turkey, Serbia, Hungary and Poland. And, format powerhouses such as Fremantle are assigning priority to novelas among the product they offer. This helps increase its momentum.

While local production is hot - with Telefe in Russia, Televisa and TV Azteca in Romania, among others - licensing finished product is strong, too. In Armenia, Hidden Passion (Pasion de Gavilanes) has obtained a 73% share on Shant TV, in a market with 20 broadcasters in operation. And Dori Media, starting as new telenovela distributor, signed two deals at the Sofitel: it sold Sos mi Vida to Russian CTC (one of the three top broadcasters in that market), and a 1,000-hour package to Channel D, the Turkish broadcaster that is now launching a terrestrial channel in Romania.

These are two of many examples reported by the Latin distributors attending Discop; all of them asserted being satisfied with demand: the aforementioned plus Globo, RCTV, Venevision, Caracol, RCN, Premium Media, Xystus and others. And, Prensario also interviewed broadcasters and regional distributors that underscored that telenovelas remain among the most successful genres.

The production products in alliance with Latin providers are not only growing in number but diversifying, too. Genres such as reality shows are on the rise in several countries, and there are additional alternatives: Televisa is releasing on home video certain telenovelas that have not been aired so far; this opens a new window of opportunity. And there is merchandising, ringtones... an array of opportunities.

All this increased the presence of top executives from the major Latin players; in some cases, production executives attended the show for the first time. Still, the Latin industry has yet to assume a larger degree of commitment with the show, since local appropriation is strong and there is a danger of seeing the business snatched by others. As reported last year, there is a lot of work to do regarding the institutional aspects of this business.

Among the breaking news at Discop. there was a meeting hosted by Rick Feldman, CEO at Natpe, trying to change the minds of the Latin distributors and have them migrate from suites to the NATPE convention floor. New advantages were offered, but the job is tough.

The other news is that there will a new session of telenovela screenings at Mipcom 2006. While some distributors were reluctant on this, others —Televisa among them— told Prensario that they intend to be there , since research among their clients revealed that they are considered productive. Reed Midem, organizer of Mipcom, wants the screenings to be extended to two days —Saturday and Sunday prior to the opening of the convention— but it looks that there will be only one day, as in 2005.


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The major trends forecasted prior to the show have been confirmed by practice: the global market keeps expanding and, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, new projects are popping out regarding production and developments of businesses ancillary to television: homevideo, mobile telephony, merchandising and Internet, among others. Regarding attendance, the organizers reported more than 1,200 registered participants this year, against a bit more than 900 last year. On top of this, many others showed up, reaching a total of 1,300 to 1,400 people preset at the facilities during the three days of the powwow. The gain over previous years was visible at elevator lines and narrow aisles. But quantity does not guarantee quality: per some exhibitors, there we no more broadcast buyers than in the past. The difference has been in a larger number of regional distributors and small- and medium-sized producers. If in 2005 participation was 80% focused on finished product and 20% on production chances, this time the proportion was close to 50%-50%, although licensing represented about 75% of the money value of the deals discussed. This reflects an inflow of new people; but, most of these newcomers not always appeared to nail down the deals exhibitors expect. Anyway, they can do it in the future: local content production is the largest emerging business in the region. Regarding broadcasters, attendance was strong: the major outlets from Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic and Slovak Republic, among other nations, did show up. The nations corresponding to former Yugoslavia were so not fully represented el licensing but sever of them did attend; and, there were buyers from Russian and Turkish broadcasters, who not always participate at Discop. This, in addition to stronger attendance from Western Europe participants, both regarding buying and selling; France and Germany were the most represented countries. And, the purchase of Discop by NATPE resulted in higher U.S. presence, including buyers from Hollywood studios such as Fox. Regarding exhibitors, one of the most important news has been the presence of format heavyweights Endemol and Fremantle, their debut at this convention. The convention itself appeared much better organized. In the past, anyone could grab a seat at the lobby and conduct business from there, depriving those in the suites from floor traffic. This time there were very few "stalkers" and most business was dealt with at the suites. All in all, the conclusion about Discop 2006 is that the show has gained a niche in the international calendar of events, and chances are it will gaining a higher profile in the future. Several exhibitors that took "Viewing boxes" (small booths) this year have vowed to rent suites in 2007, considering the heavier traffic seen this time. Business with Latin America As is known, the telenovela appears to be a major trend in Europe and the U.S; this has allowed the genre to gain new force in Central end Eastern Europe, where it was being considered mature by the major broadcasters. Now, aside from the product originated in Latin America there are versions from Germany, Turkey, Serbia, Hungary and Poland. And, format powerhouses such as Fremantle are assigning priority to novelas among the product they offer. This helps increase its momentum. While local production is hot - with Telefe in Russia, Televisa and TV Azteca in Romania, among others - licensing finished product is strong, too. In Armenia, Hidden Passion (Pasion de Gavilanes) has obtained a 73% share on Shant TV, in a market with 20 broadcasters in operation. And Dori Media, starting as new telenovela distributor, signed two deals at the Sofitel: it sold Sos mi Vida to Russian CTC (one of the three top broadcasters in that market), and a 1,000-hour package to Channel D, the Turkish broadcaster that is now launching a terrestrial channel in Romania. These are two of many examples reported by the Latin distributors attending Discop; all of them asserted being satisfied with demand: the aforementioned plus Globo, RCTV, Venevision, Caracol, RCN, Premium Media, Xystus and others. And, Prensario also interviewed broadcasters and regional distributors that underscored that telenovelas remain among the most successful genres. The production products in alliance with Latin providers are not only growing in number but diversifying, too. Genres such as reality shows are on the rise in several countries, and there are additional alternatives: Televisa is releasing on home video certain telenovelas that have not been aired so far; this opens a new window of opportunity. And there is merchandising, ringtones... an array of opportunities. All this increased the presence of top executives from the major Latin players; in some cases, production executives attended the show for the first time. Still, the Latin industry has yet to assume a larger degree of commitment with the show, since local appropriation is strong and there is a danger of seeing the business snatched by others. As reported last year, there is a lot of work to do regarding the institutional aspects of this business. Among the breaking news at Discop. there was a meeting hosted by Rick Feldman, CEO at Natpe, trying to change the minds of the Latin distributors and have them migrate from suites to the NATPE convention floor. New advantages were offered, but the job is tough. The other news is that there will a new session of telenovela screenings at Mipcom 2006. While some distributors were reluctant on this, others —Televisa among them— told Prensario that they intend to be there , since research among their clients revealed that they are considered productive. Reed Midem, organizer of Mipcom, wants the screenings to be extended to two days —Saturday and Sunday prior to the opening of the convention— but it looks that there will be only one day, as in 2005. Copyright © 2006 Prensario Internacional Magazine