TV sales: Deal or no deal

There is so much television content generated around the world that if a program is to have a fighting chance in the marketplace, it needs a distributor who knows what they’re doing. Miguel Gonzalez spoke with a number of experts about what’s selling, and what they need to do to get the interest of broadcasters.

Each television program needs a good distributor in order to travel the world. Production companies and networks entrust their creations to these experts, and they discussed their current challenges
with .
Endemol Worldwide Distribution represents product such as Packed to the Rafters and Home and Away (Seven Network), Hi-5 (Nine Network), Bananas in Pyjamas (ABC) and Southern Star’s Rush and Rescue: Special Ops, in addition to all international Endemol brands. While the company has positioned Australian content in a number of countries, it has found resistance trying to place home grown drama in markets such as the UK and the US, where local product dominates the screens.
According to marketing manager Shannon Becker, the key is the three ‘knows’: “Know your product, know your market and know your client”, “Develop the relationships and always give them what
they’re looking for; not what they don’t need. To build a healthy relationship with a client takes time and, as with anything, it gets better with age. Most people in this industry are time-poor, so making each meeting count and following up is incredibly important,” she said.
Becker also advises agents – and content producers – to stay on top of broadcasters’ needs and the changes they may be making to their schedules.

Fiona Crago is the general manager of Beyond Distribution, whose Australian slate includes What’s Good for You (Nine Network), Snake Tales (Westside Film and Television), Dirt Game (Harvey Taft Productions) and the company’s own output – Mythbusters, Taboo, etc. In her opinion, most executives “can sort the wheat from the chaff quite quickly and efficiently”, but that doesn’t mean that strong programming will always succeed in the marketplace.
“The main difficulty is if the international sales potential of the program is not as great as the producer might have assumed. A very strong program can still be difficult to sell internationally for a wide variety of reasons,” said Crago.
The public broadcasters have their own sales divisions to place most of their content internationally. According to Karen Dacey, ABC TV’s manager for program sales, the public broadcaster’s bestsellers are its children’s drama series, documentaries, comedies (Princess Pictures’ 2007 show Summer Heights High is still one of its highlights) and lifestyle programming.

In her experience, Asia “has an appetite for Australian content”, while countries that are more prolific producers of content, such as the UK, Canada and Germany, acquire very selectively – but on a positive note, they are willing to co-produce when the opportunity comes along.