international flavor

Although some Canadian producers say they missed a few familiar faces at this year’s natpe, the number of international buyers was up significantly at the late January market in Las Vegas. Traditionally a syndication market, natpe has, over the last few years, increasingly become another key loop in the series of international tv markets.

Alliance Productions president Steven DeNure was at natpe to talk production deals.

‘There’s clearly a big difference in the international presence and in the attitude of American syndicators to the international buyers,’ says DeNure. ‘Coproduction is one of the ways syndicators can afford to do first-run drama, and they have been quick to jump on the band wagon. So they no longer have this notion that they can’t make drama with European and Canadian partners.’

‘First-run syndication (in the u.s.) has really taken a hit this year,’ says Paul Painter, Telescene executive vice-president. Two new u.s. webs, upn and w.b., added to the existing four networks – cbs, nbc, abc and Fox – are further fragmenting the audience and affecting syndication ratings by as much as 20%, he says.

‘Where a syndicator was looking at a 4.0 rating, they’re now looking at 3.5 or 3.2,’ says Painter. A 15% reduction in a network-style budget means reducing the hourly price to us$700,000, but you can’t go lower than us$800,000, he says.

It means the syndicator is coming in for less, half of the us$700,000, and u.s. syndicators ‘are actively looking for partners,’ says Painter. ‘They’re looking to Canada, even if they hate sharing the back end with us,’ he says.

Aside from the u.s. contingent, key international players at this year’s gathering of the National Association of Television Production Executives included Germany, Spain, the u.k., Latin America, the Middle East, the Philippines and Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.

‘Best ever’

For Nelvana, the Latin American deals struck in Vegas were so abundant, ceo Michael Hirsh called this year’s natpe ‘the best market ever for Latin America.’

Sales were concluded with Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Chile, Colombia and Peru for Nelvana product, including Rupert, Jim Henson’s Dog City, The Magic School Bus and Tales from the Cryptkeeper. A major video deal was signed with Mexico’s Videovisa – a division of Televisa – for Dog City, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, Cryptkeeper, Jim Lee’s Wildc.a.t.s and Never Ending Story.

Neverending Story

On the American front, hbo in l.a., which airs Cadillacs, acquired Wildc.a.t.s and is currently concluding a deal for Never Ending Story.

Because Outer Limits, an Atlantis Communications/Trilogy Pictures coproduction was a hot item at the market, Atlantis Releasing president Ted Riley says the company’s connection to the show afforded him some good word of mouth that helped kick-start a couple of other major American coproduction deals for series. With u.s. and international distribution handled by mgm, the series has cleared 90% in the u.s. to date.

Riley says having an office in Europe makes for ‘pretty seamless business,’ so while natpe was a good market for Atlantis, it wasn’t a hotbed of deal-making.

Marnie Sanderson of Atlantis’ Amsterdam office pinned down a sale to France’s Canal + for the mow Following Her Heart and sold a package of more than 70 hours to Orbit, the satellite service covering the Middle East and much of North Africa. Pending is a package of five to eight tv movies to Spain’s regional broadcasters or to public broadcaster tve.

Atlantis also closed a deal with Disney’s new u.k. channel (which will run on Sky) for two mows: Lost in the Barrens and Brother by Choice.

Sullivan Entertainment arrived at natpe with a slate of in-house and acquired product to sell. coo Aldo di Felice says natpe is as busy as the mip markets in terms of international presence. ‘We’re getting Europeans (at natpe) that aren’t even going to Monte Carlo.’

In addition to Road to Avonlea and the recent hit mow Butterbox Babies, Sullivan brought Harmony Cats, the miniseries Eye Level, Cyberteens in Love and Circle Game to package with its own product. The strategy is working, says di Felice, and package deals are in the midst of negotiations with Australia, the u.k., Italy, Spain, Germany and Japan.

Sullivan also picked up a one-hour American drama, Ladies in Waiting, for international distribution.

Telescene reports offers at natpe for partnership financing from three syndicators for Divided Waters, a $1 million-per-hour international coast-guard action series, and down-to-the-wire negotiations with Viacom on Sharon McCone, P.I. a hard-boiled lady detective series set in San Francisco and based on the mystery novels of u.s. author Marcia Muller.

Jacques Bouchard, president of The Multimedia Group of Canada, says natpe expands every year, and attracted some 15,000 participants this year.

Bouchard does business with a growing number of South Americans, Asians, Europeans and u.s. cable services at the market. ‘As far as I’m concerned, natpe is as interesting as mip-tv,’ he says.

The explosion in new specialty cable services (home shopping, health, history) is an important niche market for Multimedia’s programming – series like Unforgettable Romances – as well as repackaging and library material. Segments covering issues such as health, high-tech, nature and cuisine are used as inserts in underfinanced domestic tv programs and for other platforms such as sell-through video and cd-rom.

Bouchard says the emerging trend with u.s. cable, as it moves worldwide, is to ask for more distribution rights while reducing all other players to the role of suppliers.

Multimedia used natpe to further talks on Unforgettable Romances, a 100% Canadian docudrama series produced with Pixart. Based on famous romances, 26 half-hours are planned at a cost of $6.6 million.

The financing comes from Germany, Australia, Spain and Canada, but Bouchard says he prefers to wait until the series is completed – in the spirit of the original concept – before closing a deal in the u.s. Columbia House has the u.s. home-video rights.

He says the financing climate in Canada is ‘basically morose.’ And, even if the new specialty channels represent new business for suppliers such as Multimedia, trying to match the multitude of available Canadian financing sources is a headache.

After an eight-month chase, Skyvision Entertainment secured international distribution and production rights to Universal Soldier from Carolco (Cutthroat Island) at natpe.

Skyvision and the IndieProd Company (Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the upcoming The Quick and the Dead) have agreed to coproduce 22 one-hour episodes based on the futuristic feature, which brought in over $100 million at the box office worldwide.

Skyvision’s biggest push at natpe was Land’s End, the action-adventure starring Fred Dryer that Buena Vista picked up for distribution in the States in mid-December and has reached 80% clearance in the u.s. to date.

The biggest sellers at the market were Baywatch Night, Outer Limits and Land’s End, says Ross. Sales to international territories for Land’s End had been primarily covered at mipcom, with the u.k. and the Middle East still pending.

Skyvision was not pushing fx at the market because of some serious interest from a major American network – known to be nbc, but not confirmed by Ross.

Catalyst director of program distribution Jill Keenleyside says the market was ‘fantastic’ and much better than she anticipated for international sales, especially compared to mip-asia. One piece of good fortune was the location of Catalyst’s booth – beside Court TV, holders of the O.J. Simpson Trial.

At the market, Catalyst placed FashionTelevision and sctv in Australia on a new pay cable service, sold sctv to rtp in Portugal and Ooh La La to the u.k.’s Sky Broadcasting satellite service. Keenleyside says Catalyst head Charles Falzon is in the midst of closing a major output deal that includes Four on the Floor, Shining Time Station, Waterville Gang and sctv with a new cable service that is starting up in Chile with 70,000 subscribers.

One major deal, which would see sctv in German territories, has yet to be signed, so further details were not available at press time.

On the Asian front, Keenleyside sold six children’s specials to a cable company in the Philippines, is working on a deal in Singapore, and is sorting out details of a large output deal with rjtv in the Philippines.

Paragon International president Isme Bennie noticed an increase in international buyers and a general boost to business due to an improved business climate overall.

Bennie says there is a lot to report in the way of interest but not a lot confirmed. On the table, among others, were the new series Guerilla Gardener (an alternative gardening show); the HandMade Films library, which got some interest out of Africa and offers from the u.s. for home video; the new kids’ series New Riverbank Tales, which sold to Singapore and some African territories; and a one-hour comedy special, A Tribute to Sam Kinison, which Bennie says has pending deals that are sure to close.

Trinome-Inter president Pierre Blais and vice-president, r&d Jean Tourangeau attended their first natpe this year.

Trinome is associated with children’s and infotainment programming, but Tourangeau says the eight-year-old company is making the move to family programming and tv series.

‘It was really incredible. It’s our first venture into the u.s. market, although we attended mip-tv and mipcom. We met with Asians, the Latino cable networks and some well-placed u.s. children’s networks. We can see a huge potential,’ says Tourangeau.

Trinome met with major syndicators including Fremantle, which expressed interest in the innovative tv quiz Shlak.

Canadian companies under the Telefilm Canada stand at this year’s natpe included Canamedia Productions, Cinar Films, Cochran Entertainment, Filmoption Internationale, Tele-Film, Ironstar Communications, Multimedia Group of Canada, Nelvana Enterprises, Paragon International, Sullivan Entertainment International, Le Tassili Productions et Distribution, Telescene Communications and Trinome-Inter. PC & LRB