A  pullback in streaming content and budgets will likely result in key investments in global hits, and Canada may reap the benefits, international media leaders told delegates at the Banff World Media Festival (BANFF).

During a panel discussion (pictured) about the state of the global market, Antony Fraser, managing director, ACF Investment Bank, said the deployment of capital amid an overall pullback will see streamers and other global players “make big bets and big buyouts of shows” in countries such as Canada.

“There are funding headwinds at the moment for a lot of the bigger media groups, so what we’re seeing is people looking for value for money for content, and they’re looking to de-risk and form coproductions and lower-cost productions,” he said. “I think it’s something particularly relevant to the audience today; we’re sitting here in Canada. I think there are some particular factors that make the Canadian market more interesting over the next few years.”

Those factors include a history and an infrastructure of coproduction as well as low-cost production, “a burgeoning talent base” and tax credits.

“You’ve also got legislative changes, which are driving change in the market. So for a Canadian producer, I think it’s really interesting times,” said Fraser. “I think we’re going to see more money flowing into the Canadian market, more value flowing to producers, and that’s just reflective of global trends. I hope that everyone agrees that Canada’s got a rosy future now.”

Canada may also have an opportunity amid the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike, said Kevin Johnson, CEO, GroupM Canada.

“This opportunity shines the light on something that we’ve also been been talking about here in Canada, which is specifically Canadian content and making sure that we’re leaving space for Canadian presences,” he said. “That’s a very important thing for us. I’m being asked a lot about how we plan to support responsible journalism, how we plan to support Canadian content. If this continues, therein lies a huge opportunity for Canadian content to step up, be created, and have a light that it may not have had.”

Scripted pressures

The WGA strike was also discussed in a panel on trends in scripted programming.

Jacqueline Sacerio, EVP and co-head, development, scripted television, U.S., Entertainment One Television, said “there’s not a lot going on” when it comes to selling shows or getting greenlights amid the labour dispute.

“Things that we pitched prior to the strike, we’re finishing up those deals and negotiating those, because we had already had deals done with the studio, but nothing new is going out the door at the moment,” she said.

Teza Lawrence, executive producer and co-owner at Toronto prodco Amaze, said “greenlights are hard to come by any day,” and now it’s even trickier amid the strike and other challenging market conditions.

“There’s obviously the strike going on that’s bleeding over into Canada a little bit, but also there are a lot of unknowns right now in Canada with Bill C-11,” she said. “In general, it just feels like everybody’s waiting for things to shake down a little bit. But people are still buying and there are still people putting things into development anyway. We’re optimistic but yeah, it’s tough.”

Lawrence said Amaze hasn’t been able to finance a show out of Canada completely since about 2016 and now always looks for ways to coproduce.

“We’re always weaving together our financing,” she said, noting “it’s not just about the great ideas — it’s about how are you going to finance it?”

“It’s like, ‘Here’s your bible, here’s your script, here’s the talent,’ and then you’ve got the back of a napkin going on about how you’re going finance it, and broadcasters want to know that now. We are looking now around the world for those opportunities, so it’s like all hands on deck to get shows made.”

Fremantle seeks Canadian partners

Global media group Fremantle is pitching itself as a potential partner for Canadian producers across a number of opportunities in production and distribution.

Speaking at the Spotlight: Fremantle panel, Michela Di Mondo, EVP, distribution and sales, Canada said the company is focused on localization of its formats, distribution, and coproduction.

A recent example of a Canadian localization is CTV’s dating series Farming for Love (Lark Productions), an English Canada take on the format Farmer Wants a Wife, licensed by Fremantle. Di Mondo said their partnerships with Canadian producers are “critically important” in making sure local versions for Fremantle formats are quality and reflect the regions they’re produced in.

The company is also a distributor of Canadian dramas Sullivan’s Crossing (Reel World Management) and Little Bird (Rezolution Pictures, OP Little Bird).

“If you have something that’s already done and it’s fantastic and has an international voice, we’re interested in talking to you and seeing how that could fit our international voice and be that catapult for your show,” said Di Mondo.

Fremantle can also come on as a shared owner in the early stages of development to help hone a format into something competitive in the global market. “We’re going to check how unique [the format] is and to what extent it fits into the trends of the time,” said Jens Richter, CEO of commercial and international.

There are other benefits of a Fremantle partnership as well. “We can give you our feedback from the international vantage point to tell you what we think would be the best shows, the ones that we can sell the best, and then that can sometimes help you prioritize your development slate,” said Lisa Honig, senior EVP, program distribution, North America.

“It’s such an exciting time in our market, because the game is open for you to be creative in your deal-making, and we’re ready to be creative with you,” said Di Mondo.

Written by Victoria Ahearn and Kelly Townsend

Photo by Kristian Bogner Photography