ORF Enterprise’s approach to market changes, shifting to audience needs

ORF-Enterprise kicked off the year attending Berlinale/EFM and the annual music market Avant Première in Berlin, the inaugural edition of MIP London, followed by Series Mania. “Since MIPTV celebrated its dernière in 2024, we looked for options in the first half of the year where we could present our content,” said Armin Luttenberger, Head of Content Sales. The distribution arm of public broadcaster ORF not only presented a line-up of brand-new fiction and factual series with new episodes and seasons, but also titles from its consolidated catalog. “We’re happy to have been attending Series Mania. We shared the stand with the Austrian Business Agency, representing FISA+ to represent the entire ecosystem, from production funding to distribution,” Luttenberger added.

Following Series Mania, the sales team is preparing for a series of upcoming summer markets, including Seriencamp, Sunny Side of the Doc, NEM and NATPE Budapest. “Our team members will attend the events most relevant to their specific territories, allowing us to effectively maximize our presence,” comments Luttenberger. “We are always looking forward to expanding our reach and strengthening our industry relationships.”

In recent years, public service broadcaster ORF has been evolving its content strategy aiming to reach younger audiences through its own platform and linear channels. “Within this strategy, fresh programs are also emerging, and we as the distribution arm are doing our best to pick up those titles, find their market, and place them,” the executive noted, while acknowledging that they are in a transition phase after some of the long running series have been replaced by brand new products. “We are lucky enough to have brand-new series targeting young audiences with fresh faces and young talents, like ‘School of Champions’ or ‘Glambitious’. The challenge is to find suitable media outlets for this specific type of content, targeting audiences in between the ‘usual suspects’ broadcasters have been serving in the various time zones of the day,” he reflected.

On the other hand, Luttenberger highlighted the company's strong position in the field of blue-chip nature and wildlife documentaries: “We have a big catalog of beautifully produced factual products which are relevant as well as convenient to place because they easily cross cultural borders. They find their audiences all over the globe,” he added.

In recent years, even ORF’s scripted content (TV movies and series) has grown in popularity, especially in major European markets. “We have sold our crime series to various European territories, for instance our best sellers ‘Soko Linz’, the Vienna-based ‘Tatort’ movies and ‘Fast Forward’. Austrian shows tend to have a strong focus on crime, and this genre has proven to be immensely popular not only within the country but also internationally. Our crime catalog is really selling fast worldwide,” he said.

CURRENT CHALLENGES
Luttenberger emphasized that the audiovisual industry has been talking about “times of disruption” for many years, and that each year the sector revisits the same discussion about how audience behavior and the market are constantly evolving. “We’re not living in the ‘90s or even early 2000s anymore, where the market was dominated by linear broadcasters. Today there are so many different options for audiences to choose from, that remaining a relevant player is challenging for everyone,” he affirmed. The executive also noted that Austria is a small country with a “big sibling” like Germany, with whom it shares a language, but still maintains its own culture and original productions—something that “comes with challenges.” “As a distributor, it’s quite interesting to find the sweet spots in the market where you can place your content,” he added.

FUTURE PLANS
Luttenberger confirmed that several ORF Original series have been renewed, including “School of Champions”, “Glambitious” and “Days That Never Were”. “There’s a full line-up of renewed titles, which is amazing for us as a distributor being able to offer a certain amount of volume to the market,” he said. “We’re looking forward to MIPCOM in the fall, being the big content show in Europe. We expect to continue presenting a lot of super attractive content, particularly on the series side,” he concluded.