ERIK JENSEN: “WE ARE TAKING IT DAY BY DAY AND ADAPTING ACCORDINGLY”

With a vast library of over 500 titles, CDC United Network is one of the top suppliers of independent content to the theatrical distributors, TV channels, and the digital platforms in Latin America. Erik Jensen, the company’s Managing Partner, explains why this is a time to listening to clients instead of aggressively trying to pursue sales, and gives his insight for the future after the pandemic ends.

- What is CDC doing to face this pandemic?

“It’s hard to really make any sort of fixed plan looking forward because it is hard to say what is going to happen not even six months ahead but even one month ahead. We are taking it day by day, seeing how things play out and adapting accordingly. One of CDC’s advantages is that we are very active in a couple of different fields, such as theatrical, SVOD, free TV and pay TV. Although some of them have been affected quite significantly, like theatrical, other parts of the business have increased, like the SVOD services. That is how we deal our problems with theatrical quite a bit. Planning ahead, we are not making any huge strategic position at this point; we are just taking it day by day and step by step, listening to our clients a lot, following based on the feedback we are getting from them and letting them know that if they need anything, we are there. We understand we are all in a difficult position. We are all in this together, that is how we see things at this point”.

- What are clients demanding during these times?

“We are obviously getting a lot of demand from the OTT services, and we have done a lot of deals in the last couple of weeks. Theatrical is completely done at this point. We had a couple of movies we were supposed to release, but we do not know what is going to happen with them. We are lucky that we could release ‘The Gentlemen’ just before everything shut down. In terms of pay TV, some channels are buying, because they are getting many more viewers. Obviously, the advertising money is not necessarily following, but some of them are low on content, so they are buying”.

- How much has your sales strategy changed during these times of isolation?

“We were in touch with our clients and partners quite a lot, so that has not changed. I still am in touch with them all the time, checking in, seeing how things are going. Although I let them know I am there, I am not so proactively pursuing sales. People have different priorities right now, and I am totally convinced that now is not really a proper time for me to be aggressively trying to pursue sales. I am just listening to people at this point”.

- How important video entertainment is in such a difficult situation?

“At this moment in time, entertainment in general is a comfort in people’s lives. A lot of people are nervous about where things are heading, when we are right know. Entertainment has always been an escape. It is a way of getting your mind away from this pandemic”.

- What is your insight for the future once this pandemic ends?

“In general, I am always an optimist. In this case, I do not know. I do not see it getting resolve too soon. I think we have a long road ahead of us. I do not see why things are going to get back to normal after the summer if we do not have a vaccine. Regarding the industry, it is difficult to predict a timeline of things getting back to normal. The next big thing should be Mipcom, which is a big question mark right now. Hopefully MIP Cancun will happen, but it is impossible to say. This is going to be a difficult year, for sure. I hope MIP Cancun happens and, for then on, things get normalized a little bit on the market. Although we are doing a lot of Zoom meetings, it is always nice to have that face to face contact, and that is why the markets are so important. Things are going to be different for a while, but they will come back because they serve a purpose”.

By Federico Marzullo