Max Einhorn
FilmRise attended last Mipcom with two big coproductions: "Statue of Limitations" and "Not Like Mama," along with its latest acquisitions: "Hot Ones" and "The Wiggles." Max Einhorn, Senior Vice President, Acquisitions & Coproductions at the company, spoke with Señal News about the strategy to create a robust catalog and the growth of its FAST channels business.
FilmRise content strategy is based on two areas: content acquisition and coproduction. What are the latest acquisitions to your catalog?
"We've continued to execute our strategy in terms of acquisitions. We recently picked up Buzzfeed and Complex Library, two of the leading digital publishers worldwide. The deal includes the famous' Hot Ones' interview series, a top-rated and known digital show. We also finished a deal with 'The Wiggles', the beloved children's brand, and we're very excited to be rolling the classic series out digitally across the globe."
Is it the first time that FilmRise is involved in kids' content?
"No, we've been focusing on the most beloved franchises, which have been a singular part of our strategy because the kids' space is extremely competitive. You need to be paying attention to brands that are household names."
How would you describe FilmRise's coproduction strategy?
"On the coproduction side, we delivered ten new shows in 2023. It's about 120 hours of content, and we will continue to expand on that next year. We're renewing shows that have succeeded in distribution over the last year but are also green-lighting new formats and continuing to be strong in the true crime genre. We're also looking for ancient history and mystery titles and productions about the American West. We brought two big coproductions to Mipcom, 'Statue of Limitations,' hosted by Mike Sorrentino, a confessional type show where people talk about non-violent crimes they have committed. The other big new show is 'Not Like Mama,' starring Tia Mowry and Terrell Grice, a notable YouTuber and musician. The show's concept is that every family has a recipe passed down through generations and is never written down; it's always been memorized. The show consists of a member of the family who challenges the 'torchbearer' of that recipe, believing that they can make it better or put their unique spin on it. It's a very wholesome show."
FilmRise has also added a creator partner program to its strategy. How important is that part of the strategy?
"Our creator partner program is our partnerships with major YouTubers, those of the size that command viewership as high as network television in the U.S. We partnered with a few management companies and a couple of production companies, and YouTubers themselves, to take the library content that they publish to YouTube and repackage it into half-hour formats, then bundle those into seasons and shows that we syndicate widely. It's one of the fastest growing parts of our content business; entrenching this content onto streaming services with traditional film and television is a unique approach because most people typically watch it on their mobile devices or YouTube, and now they can watch it on the couch."
What are the company's main achievements in the FAST business model?
"We're the leading FAST channel operator with about 100 truly unique channels that are syndicated multiple times. There are almost 300 access points for our FAST channels worldwide in different territories and on different platforms. We have a footprint over twice the size of anyone playing in the FAST space. It's fascinating because it allows us to work with people worldwide who have content in different languages to acquire in multi-territory capacities and take new risks like coproductions."
By Romina Rodriguez
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