Jérôme Alby: “Classic properties help to minimize risks”

Mediatoon Distribution, part of Media Participations, a European leader in entertainment which owns more than 80 companies in creative industries, manages and markets iconic shows worldwide, with a varied offer that balances classic titles with innovative and modern shows. In dialogue with Señal News, Jérôme Alby, Managing Director, Worldwide Presales and Distribution, and Solène Crepin, Sales And Business Affairs Executive at Mediatoon Distribution, highlight the importance of classic titles.

▸  How would you describe the company's distribution strategy?

JA: “One of the main aspects is that we continue to do a lot of direct distribution. For many years we had partners – Americans, for example – who helped us selling our content in North and South America. Now, we do it directly, which is very important in our strategy. Another focus continues to be on family content, seeking to generate an alternative product to the offer of American and Asian studios. We also invest heavily in languages in many countries, mainly in Latin America and the United States. In fact, all the series we produce are in English and in some other language. We invest a lot in this so we can then place the shows in more territories.”

SC: “Neutral Spanish is one of the most popular languages. In fact, we have more than 500 half hours dubbed in neutral Spanish, something that, compared to other languages, is quite large. This helps us to offer packages of classic series but also of new series with the same characters. For example, regarding 'SamSam', which launched at the beginning of the year on TV Ciudad, in Uruguay, we are about to release a reboot for a slightly higher target.”

▸  How is the process of twisting classic properties into something new?

JA: “I think the writing is the most important thing. Classic properties help to minimize risks, but you have to make sure that the storytelling is perfect and fits the needs of the market. For us, sometimes the IPs we have help us make the IPs of tomorrow known. That is a nice combination we managed to make."

▸  How important is having classic titles in the catalog?

JA: “Risk is something we all fear. When you are a buyer, a broadcaster or a platform, you always want something completely new and original. But you have to defend that with whoever is going to invest in it. The risk exists and it is high, because it may not work. After all, the buyer usually comes with the idea of something new and ends up going with a classic.”

▸  How much do ready-made dubbing help when closing a sale?

SC: “It helps a lot. Except in some very specific countries, like Argentina, for example, which seeks dubbing to have an even more local flavour, it helps a lot. There are channels that do not have enough investment funds to be dubbing, buying and acquiring. In those cases, the dubbing ends up being strategic.”

JA: “When you come in with something already folded, the message you are giving your partner is that you trust that show is going to be a success. If not, you would not have invested in doing the dubbing. That way, you are almost halfway there."

▸  Do you feel that children's content has gone from being just for kids to also being for the family?

JA: “If you have the whole family, you have co-viewing. If you have more people in front of the screen, your core target is much bigger. We have 'oldies but goldies' shows, like 'Asterix' or 'Garfield,' which are clear examples of co-viewing shows, because they have a double reading level, which means that the whole family can like them.”

SC: “‘Living with Dad,’ for example, is a series that we want to be seen by everyone. If you are in the market proposing disruptive content, that disruption has to be all around the content and also target all generations. In ‘Living with Dad’ we present a family with a single father, which is a hot topic not only for children but also for parents.”

By Diego Alfagemez and Federico Marzullo