Unscripted series the wave of the future for streamers, CMPA conference hears

OTTAWA–Streaming is the way of the future, a panel told the Canadian Media Producers Association with tweaks to the way content is produced. The Prime Time conference held a session on Thursday called Global Perspectives: Key Industry Trends. Moderator Jordan Pinto, North American editor of C21 Media, spoke with three experts in the fields of subscription video on demand (SVOD) and advertising-supported video on demand (AVOD). The vice president and head of content for Roku Media David Eilenberg is bullish on the future. “I think the thesis of the company is that all television will be streamed and therefore all television ads will be streamed and I think that broadly still holds true,” he said. The firm is working with several Canadian content producers, including Entertainment One Ltd., Blue Ant Media Inc. and Lionsgate Films. Katrina Kowalski is VP content for Paramount+ and for Pluto TV Canada. She noted that her companies are also working with Canadian producers to produce content. Over the past five months, the firms have put together projects they expect to announce soon. “We really want to be able to tap into something that relates broadly. We call ourselves a mount of entertainment, we really pride ourselves on having something for everyone in the household,” she said. Paramount+ is concentrating on scripted and unscripted material. It is not doing much in children’s or young adult programming, she noted. Pluto TV is much more diverse and was “an incredible experience to launch,” Kowalski stated. The AVOD service features 117 channels including 14 news channels courtesy of its partner Corus Entertainment Inc. “I think Canadians are really ready for it,” she predicted. Seneb Dhab, VP streaming drama for France Televisions gave the European perspective to the audience. Streaming is a natural evolution of the way consumers access content, he stated. “Our competitors today are not the other linear channels, it's very much the international platforms,” he noted. He estimated that eight to 10 streaming channels launched in France over the past two years and that a third of them have ceased operations since then. Lionsgate’s platform lasted roughly a month. There are new requirements on streaming platforms coming into France, he told the delegates. While France Televisions used to be the first investor in projects, streamers now must feature 20 per cent French content. This will mean investment of €350 million this year, rising to €600 million by 2025. He said streamers are more and more mimicking traditional broadcasters. “That’s where the subscribers are.” Eilenberg said he expects AVOD to be the dominant means of consumption for viewers going forward. The platform will tilt towards unscripted material while SVOD transitions into using more sport content. Dhab echoed that, saying in France Amazon Prime has stopped ordering scripted content and is concentrating on unscripted, sports and feature films. Eilenberg said exclusivity is falling by the wayside. “I think everybody in this next phase is going to question some of those theories about owning everything for yourselves forever in all territories is necessarily the optimal business model,” he asserted. Kowalski agreed. “We’re open to non-exclusive 100 per cent,” she said. Paramount Global, which owns Paramount+, recently ended its deal with BCE Inc.’s Crave for content from its Showtime channel. Kowalski expects some of that material to migrate to her channel. Eilenberg told the crowd that Roku is picking up the cancelled TBS series Chad. It will rebroadcast the first season and debut the second season which the American station chose not to air. Asked to predict what the state of the industry would be in 2030, the panelist took cautious views. Dhab said he expects to see more consolidation. Kowalski wants more original programming on Paramount+. “It’s so dangerous to look into a crystal ball these days,” she warned. Eilenberg said he hopes creative communities will flourish and continue to bring content to carriers like his. But the prospects for the future were best summed up by the French representative. “When I see what has happened in France on the audio visual and TV markets in the last six months I think that anybody thinking or saying with any form of seriousness what this world or what this industry is going to be in seven years is either a time traveller or completely nuts,” Dhab stated. –Reporting by Paul Park at ppark@thewirereport.ca and editing by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca

Unscripted series the wave of the future for streamers, CMPA conference hears

Broadcast | February 6, 2023

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Unscripted series the wave of the future for streamers, CMPA conference hears

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