World Screen L.A. Screenings 2012

www.worldscreen.com

L.A. Screenings Edition

THE MAGAZINE OF INTERNATIONAL MEDIA • MAY 2012

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PublisherRicardo Seguin Guise

EditorAnna Carugati

Executive EditorMansha Daswani

Managing EditorKristin Brzoznowski

Contributing EditorElizabeth Guider

Special Projects EditorJay Stuart

Editor, Spanish-Language PublicationsElizabeth Bowen-Tombari

Executive Editor,Spanish-Language Publications

Rafael Blanco

Online DirectorSimon Weaver

Production DirectorMeredith Miller

Art DirectorPhyllis Q. Busell

Sales & Marketing DirectorCesar Suero

Business Affairs ManagerTerry Acunzo

Sales & Marketing AssistantVanessa Brand

Senior EditorsBill DunlapKate Norris

Contributing WritersChris Forrester

Juliana KorantengMihir ShahDavid Wood

Ricardo Seguin Guise, PresidentAnna Carugati, Executive VP & Group Editorial Director

Mansha Daswani, Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development

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departmentsWORLD VIEW 6A note from the editor.

UPFRONT 8New shows on the market.

IN FOCUS 30Telemundo’s Emilio Romano.

SPOTLIGHT 32Cisneros Group’s Adriana Cisneros.

MARKET TRENDS 34Televisa’s José Bastón.

NETWORK SCORECARD 151The top 50 shows in the U.S.

WORLD’S END 154In the stars.

in the newsENTERTAINMENT ONE’SJOHN MORAYNISS

The CEO of Entertainment One (eOne) Television shares insights into

co-financing formulas and the advantages of being an independent studio.—Anna Carugati

special reportWELCOME TOAMERICA

The major Hollywood studios continue to generate solid licensing fees from

their broadcast clients and are now eagerly exploring opportunities with new

platforms worldwide.—Elizabeth Guider

one-on-oneAMC NETWORKS’JOSH SAPAN

As the president and CEO of AMC Networks, Sapan has been raising the

profile of the AMC, IFC, Sundance Channel and WE tv channel brands.—Anna Carugati

on the recordLIONSGATE’SKEVIN BEGGS & SANDRA STERN

The president of Lionsgate Television Group and the COO of Lionsgate Television,

respectively, talk about pursuing quality and finding alternative financing models.—Anna Carugati

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4 World Screen 5/12

NEW STEPS Producers are adapting toys, games

and more for TV 120…INTERVIEWS

POW!’s Stan Lee 124…Disney Junior’s Nancy

Kanter 126…Studio 100’s Hans Bourlon and Gert

Verhulst 128…FME’s Sander Schwartz 130

These targeted magazines appear both inside World Screenand as separate publications.

FOCUSED MESSAGE This annual media-buyers survey looks at how brands and broadcasters are

riding the wave of increased adspend in Latin America 84…HISPANIC TREASUREThe U.S. Hispanic

channels are looking to thrive in the wake of the 2010 Census results 92…50 YEARS OF SÁBADO

GIGANTE Don Francisco on the anniversary of this landmark show 106…INTERVIEWS Televisa’s

José Bastón 112…Cisneros Group’s Adriana Cisneros 115…Telemundo’s Emilio Romano 133

MAY 2012/L.A. SCREENINGS & CABLE SHOW EDITIONcontents

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6 World Screen 5/12

A NOTE FROM THE EDITORANNA CARUGATI

There seems to be a particular demand for advice thesedays, as so many people need to reinvent themselves andlearn new skills in a tough job market. The issue was fasci-nating. Its eclectic mix of topics included “Set Your Employ-ees Free,” by Netflix’s CEO, Reed Hastings; “Make Coffeeat Home,” from Starbucks’ chairman and CEO, HowardSchultz; “Deal with Angry People,” from the Chicago PoliceDepartment’s Sergeant David Haynes; “Get People to Care,”from the World Wildlife Fund’s CEO, Carter Roberts;“Speed Through Airport Security,” from Michael Chertoff,the former Secretary of Homeland Security; and one thatwas of particular interest to me, “Work with Your Spouse,”

from the artist Christo.One item that could have been included is“Make a Successful Co-Production,” since somany producers and broadcasters on both sidesof the Atlantic are sharing the costs, risks andrewards of producing scripted drama. They arejoining up out of necessity since so few broad-casters or producers can afford to financehigh-end drama on their own. What everyone isstriving for is what Josh Sapan, the president andCEO of AMC Networks, calls iconic shows.Series that elicit such passionate engagement thatviewers will seek them out on whatever plat-form is available, often bingeing on episode afterepisode on DVDs or, increasingly, digital plat-forms, and then wanting to see what happensnext so badly that they will turn to the linearchannel to watch new episodes. We have a Q&Awith Sapan in this issue, and one with KevinBeggs and Sandra Stern of Lionsgate, the studiothat produces Mad Men, one of AMC’s iconicshows. AMC Networks is enriching all its net-

works with original series and many are co-productions. I have spoken with many production and commission-ing executives about co-productions. First of all, the term“co-production” has many different meanings, everythingfrom official treaties for the purpose of getting subsidymoney to purely commercial arrangements among broad-casters, producers and distributors. The general consensus isthat whatever the term, these partnerships will only growin number, and the most successful ones are those that arecreatively driven—where the most important aspect is thestory and the character development of the series, not assur-ing that as many passports as possible are represented in the

production (a German lead actor, a French director and anItalian director of photography).John Morayniss, the CEO of Entertainment One Televi-sion, is one of the leading experts on co-productions. Wehave an interview with him in this issue. I have learned fromJohn and other television executives that hammering outthe co-production deal and piecing together the financing,as detail-sensitive as that may be, is easier than the actual exe-cution of a co-production. If North American and Euro-pean producers and broadcasters want to work together,they need to learn more about the mechanics of producingin various countries. For example, a showrunner is a quintessential Hollywoodfigure. He or she is the creator and lead writer of a show,the boss, the one who calls the shots and holds the visionof the show. In Europe, the director is considered the boss onthe set. In the U.S., the showrunner works with a “writers’room,” a group of writers who generally all contribute tothe subject matter of each episode and are assigned certainparts of the script, which the showrunner then rewrites. InEurope, the writers’ room does not exist. One person—forexample, Julian Fellowes, the creator of Downton Abbey—writes each script in its entirety. This is one of the reasons thatEuropean series are usually short runs—six, eight, maybe tenepisodes—as opposed to the 22 episodes per season that arecustomary in the United States. Distributors who areinvolved in co-productions want long-running series.Europeans tend to “block shoot” as opposed to shootingone episode at a time. Say a series has a number of scenesset in a villa in Tuscany. A European production will shoot allthe scenes in the villa, regardless of their chronological order,because renting the villa once is more economical thanrenting multiple times, or building a set of a villa. NorthAmericans shoot episode by episode, regardless of the loca-tions, and have refined the process to the point that anepisode of a prime-time drama is generally shot in eight days.While independent producers and broadcasters aroundthe world continue to look for ways to work together, thismonth the American networks announce their fall sched-ules. Because of vertical integration, many of the shows theychoose will come from sister Hollywood studios. Our mainfeature, by Elizabeth Guider, looks at the production anddistribution strategies of the studios. Everyone, majors andindependents, is looking for the elusive breakout hit. TheBloomberg Businessweek issue doesn’t address that how-to.They can add that to next year’s list.

In a recent visit to a newsstand, I found a copy of Bloomberg Businessweek magazine

that was quite interesting. It was the second annual how-to issue and included tips

and insights from executives across a number of industries.

Working Together

world view

SO MANY PRODUCERS

AND BROADCASTERS

ON BOTH SIDES OF

THE ATLANTIC ARE

SHARING THE COSTS,

RISKS AND REWARDS

OF PRODUCING

SCRIPTED DRAMA.

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The products that Band Contents Distribution is launch-ing at the L.A. Screenings have all had “great impact andrecognition in Brazil,” according to Elisa Ayub, the com-pany’s director of international content. These offeringsinclude the fashionable reality show Rich Women, whichspotlights the luxurious lives of five super-wealthyfemales. It’s Too Late is a talk show hosted by Danilo Gen-tili, whom Ayub calls “one of the greatest humorists nowa-days in Brazil.” She adds, “He interviews well-knowncelebrities in Brazil and abroad, including Edgar Vivar(known as Mr. Barriga from Mexico’s El Chavo del 8), TonyKanaan (one of the greatest pilots from IZOD IndyCarraces) and Anderson Silva (the mixed martial arts fightercalled The Spider).” Band is also showcasing Threedom.

“Band Contents Distribution is aware of buyers’ par-ticularity and complexity and for this reason will bringinnovation and diversity in our catalogue,” says Ayub.

• Threedom• It’s Too Late• Rich Women

Bandeirantes Communication Groupwww.band.com.br/distribution

Video interviews with leading players in the media business, industry analysis and arecap of the week’s events—delivered to your inbox every Thursday.

For a free subscription, please visit www.worldscreen.com

Entertainment One (eOne) recently extended its first-lookdeal with producer Ilana Frank and her production com pany,Ilana C. Frank Films, for three more years. Frank is behindthe new original drama series Saving Hope, which is set forNBC and CTV this June, as well as Rookie Blue, which eOnehas sold to more than 200 territories. Saving Hope is at thetop of the eOne drama slate alongside The Firm, adaptedfrom John Grisham’s international best-selling novel. TheAMC originals Hell on Wheels, set in post–Civil WarAmerica, and The Walking Dead, which takes place in themidst of a zombie apocalypse, cap off the drama highlights.

There’s more than drama on offer from eOne, though.“Our overall slate is comprised of a variety of really strong,compelling programming: network drama and comedyseries, family,TV movies, reality, factual and documentaries,”says Valerie Cabrera, the executive VP of eOne TelevisionInternational. “We’re a one-stop shop—we’ve got it all!”

• Saving Hope• The Firm• Hell on Wheels

Entertainment Onewww.eonetv.com

“Broadcasters trust eOne to provide them withwhat they need based on the broad range ofprogramming we offer.”

—Valerie Cabrera

Saving Hope

“We truly feel that anincreasing number of clientsrecognize Band ContentsDistribution as a dignifiedcontent provider, able toreach all market needs.”

—Elisa Ayub It’s Too Late

upfronts

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10 World Screen 5/12

This June, the new half-hour comedy Anger Management,starring Charlie Sheen and produced by Lionsgate Television,hits the air on FX. The show has already generated quite abit of buzz ahead of its launch, given its high-profile leadingman. Another Lionsgate show with a well-known lead, Boss,starring Kelsey Grammer, is currently in production on itssecond season. Jersey Shore producer SallyAnn Salsano and495 Productions are behind the reality series Nail Files.

“We continue to see dramatic increases in the demandfor our flagship series Mad Men and Weeds,” says PeterIacono, the managing director of international televi-sion at Lionsgate. “Mad Men, which recently had the pre-miere of its fifth season on AMC, continues to be oneof television’s most talked about returning series. With itsfourth consecutive Emmy Award win this past fall foroutstanding drama series, the show tied the all-timerecord for Emmy wins in the category, a testament to thebrilliance of the writing, cast and production team—welook forward to expanding its reach internationally.”

Lionsgatewww.lionsgate.com

Earlier this year, Irv Holender relaunched Multicom Enter-tainment Group, a distribution outfit originally formed in1995. The company made its formal debut at this year’sNATPE, and is now headed to the L.A. Screenings with araft of content to showcase. Holender, the chairman ofMulticom, says he’s “expecting a robust market.”

The highlights include Finding Hope, in which a 16-year-old is abducted and married into the cruel household of apolygamist cult leader. She escapes and finds herself lost andalone, in search of a safe place and living life as a runaway.There are also a number of documentaries in the catalogue,including one-hour biographies such as Madonna: The Nameof the Game and The Passions of Howard Hughes; music per-formances from legendary acts such as Johnny Cash andSammy Davis Jr.; and docs spotlighting, among other top-ics, the disco era, science fiction and the Bible. For theyounger set, Multicom is offering Wobworld, a TV showcomplemented by a fully interactive website. Topics of sci-ence, health and life lessons are covered on both platforms.

• Finding Hope• Documentary collections• Wobworld

Multicom Entertainment Group

• Anger Management• Boss• Nail Files

Anger Management

“During the Screeningswe are meeting with ourlongtime broadcast partnersand also look forward tomeeting new clients andforging new relationships.”

—Peter Iacono

Wobworld

Finding Hope

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Queen Isabella the Catholic has long been revered asone of the most important women in the history ofSpain. Her story plays out on the small screen in the his-torical drama series Isabel, an offering from RTVE.Rodolfo Domínguez, the commercial director ofRTVE, credits the prime-time series as having “a fast-paced narration, magnificent interpretation and a metic-ulous setting.”

Also among the RTVE highlights is Love in DifficultTimes, which Domínguez calls an “international starproduct.” The daily series features a cast that includessome of the biggest names in Spanish acting alongside acrop of fresh talent. “Painstaking, rigorous documenta-tion went into this series, setting a new standard for thequality one expects from TVE fiction,” Domínguez adds. He also points to the success of Remember When… withinthe company’s catalogue. The series has now reached its12th season. “These products are made with the highestquality,” says Domínguez.

RTVEwww.rtve.es

“[In Isabel,] oneof the most importantperiods of history iscaptured in 13chapters.”

—Rodolfo Domínguez

Produced in more than 35 countries worldwide, MasterChefleads off Shine International’s slate for the L.A. Screenings.“Our formats catalogue is packed with opportunities andincludes the top-rated Scandinavian formats The BattleFor…, Honey, You’re Getting Fat and The Truth About Us, whichis currently in production in Latin America,” says MattVassallo, the company’s VP of international sales for the U.S.,Canada and Latin America. Also offered in the way of for-mats is The Date Machine.

There are 50 hours of fresh scripted programming,including new seasons of FX’s Archer, BBC America’s TheHour and, fromThe X-Files’ writer Frank Spotnitz, Hunted.“We’re very pleased with our growing drama slate, as this isa genre many distributors struggle to supply,”Vassallo says.He also points to the growing demand for big-brand realityand factual titles, noting Bravo’s Around the World in 80 Platesand Lifetime’s One Born Every Minute. “We expect to closesome very interesting deals on factual titles with free-TVbroadcasters, a great reflection of our 2012 lineup,” he adds.

• MasterChef• The Date Machine• The Battle For…

Shine Internationalwww.shineinternational.com

“This market we will be launching over 450 hours of all-new and returning prime-time programming, produced by anexceptional list of TV’s most successful network producers.”

—Matt Vassallo

• Isabel• Love in Difficult Times• Remember When…

Isabel

MasterChef


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Last year TV Film International added productionsand formats from Chilevisión to its catalogue. Thisbrought to the company’s slate the telenovela Mujeresde lujo, which has already garnered success in theU.S. Hispanic market, Puerto Rico, Ecuador,Uruguay and the Dominican Republic, according toJuan Pablo Carpenter, the director and CEO of TVFilm International.

This year, the company is looking forward toshowcasing four new productions: the telenovelasInfiltradas and La doña and the youth-skewed Gordisand Vampiras.

In the way of animated fare, TV Film Internationalrepresents a catalogue of titles featuring Casper, thefriendly ghost. This includes classic Casper cartoons,a Christmas special and the series Casper’s ScareSchool, among others. Also on the animated slate are3-2-1 Penguins, George of the Jungle, Twisted Whiskersand Cosmic Quantum Ray.

TV Film Internationalwww.tvfilmcl.com

“We believe Latin America will be well poised [for good business] at the L.A. Screenings.”

—Juan Pablo Carpenter

The WWE brand is already widely known in LatinAmerica, with flagship programming airing on key free-and pay-TV platforms throughout the region. WWEexpanded its pay-per-view penetration from only beingavailable in Mexico in 2009 to pan-regional coverageas of last year. Mobile, online, home-video and licens-ing businesses continue to develop and mature forWWE throughout the region.

The WWE pay-per-view offerings feature emotionalstories mixed with athleticism and larger-than-life con-frontations, which are capped off by the annual Wrestle-Mania event. WWE also offers two weekly live-eventprograms that bring viewers the action from matches invenues around the world: SmackDown and Raw.

“Our overall goal is to reinforce the scope and size of theWWE business and attract new and upcoming players,across multiple platforms, with our extensive offering in TV,PPV, movies, digital and mobile,” says Ed Wells, WWE’s sen-ior VP and managing director of international operations.

• Raw• SmackDown• WWE pay-per-view specials

WWEwww.wwe.com

• Casper series & specials• La doña• Mujeres de lujo


Raw

WrestleMania

Casper


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Entertainment One (eOne) Television is a leading creator, pro-ducer and distributor of high-quality programming. From TheFirm and Hell on Wheels to The Walking Dead and theupcoming Saving Hope, eOne has sold original and third-partyprogramming to broadcasters around the world, includingmajor U.S. networks. CEO John Morayniss, who has acquiredexpertise in co-productions, talks about co-financing formulasand the advantages of being an independent studio.

WS: How important are co-productions nowadays? MORAYNISS: Television programming that arisesthrough partnerships with broadcasters, producers anddistributors from multiple territories is something thatwill continue to grow. But in this new world order, weare seeing more of these partnerships coming togetherwithout qualifying under an official treaty co-productionstructure. In other words, creative decisions are beingmade based solely on what works for the show, notwhat works to access subsidies or other soft-dollarincentives. These “co-productions” are purely creative-driven, not regulatory-driven, not driven by the rulesof a specific treaty where you have to have certain tal-ent from certain countries with certain passports; it’s allabout making sure that the best creative elements aredriving the project. Those kinds of co-productions arevery interesting to me because, as an independent, it’s away to get projects triggered or well financed withoutnecessarily relying on an initial U.S. sale. But, at the sametime, we are not saddled with creative restrictions thatmay impede an ultimate sale in the U.S. at a later date.For example, Haven, on Syfy, for which the first com-

missioning broadcasters were actually the international Syfychannels, not the U.S. Syfy channel, or a show like TheFirm, which was initially commissioned by the Sony AXNinternational channels and the U.S. broadcaster, NBC, wasthe last broadcaster in. In both cases, we received premiumlicense fees from our international broadcast partners inexchange for more editorial input. However, in both cases,these international buyers wanted series that “felt Ameri-can.”You are going to see more and more of those kindsof projects from us and from other independents.

WS: eOne is quite flexible in the way it approachespartners and constructs deals.MORAYNISS:The studios develop their own shows andproduce and finance them. They have production deals, theyhave pod deals and they will pick up distribution rights tothird-party shows. Certainly we act and look like a studioin that respect, but we take an indie approach to how weconstruct such arrangements. We tend to be more flexible

dealmakers and offer our partners moreupside and more control and auton-omy. Decision-making also tends tobe quicker.There is a growing list ofindependent studios that are infiltrat-ing the U.S. market and operate likeeOne in terms of offering the kind offlexibility that the major studioscan’t. But most of them have theirmain base of operation outsideNorth America. I think our significantU.S. and Canadian presence and ourlengthy track record of getting (andkeeping) shows on the air in the U.S.gives us an advantage over our com-petition. But what is also interest-ing is that indies are more open topartnering with their competi-tors. A prime example is eOne’sseries on AMC Hell on Wheels,where we ended up entering into adistribution partnership with Endemolwhere we split territories. With thegrowth of independent studios in thetelevision space, you are seeing morepartnerships and more co-financingarrangements, gap deals, etc., that aresimilar to what has been employed inthe independent film world.

WS: Is it very important for you to always have a U.S.broadcaster attached to a project, or to be one of the firstsales that you make on a given project? MORAYNISS: It’s very important to us but it’s not sacro-sanct. In other words, we have a really strong Canadiandevelopment team at eOne in our Toronto office andwe are developing shows for the Canadian market-place with all of the broadcasters, and those shows aretargeted and meant to be ultimately made for a Cana-dian audience. Then, of course, we are always lookingat a global market. Whether a show is developed in theU.S. or in Canada, we’re always looking beyond that onemarket, but first and foremost a show has to make sense forthe anchor channel that initially put the show into devel-opment. Do we want a U.S. sale? Of course we do, but it’snot necessary. There are some shows that we develop that aremolded to only make sense if they have multiple marketsinvolved, whether it’s because of the size of the budgets orthe nature of the deals or whatever it is that requires us toseek multiple channel partners in multiple territories.

MAKING HEADLINES IN THE MEDIA INDUSTRY BY ANNA CARUGATI

in the news

5/12 World Screen 17

eOne’s John Morayniss

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The major Hollywood studios continue to generate solid licensing fees from their broadcastclients and are now eagerly exploring opportunitieswith new platforms worldwide. By Elizabeth Guider

Welcome toAmerica

18 5/12World Screen

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Forget the wow factor. Whenit comes to Hollywood’s

international-television business,it’s the how factor that counts. As inhow to maximize revenues fromprogram sales when big-time broad-casters abroad are increasingly mak-ing their own first-rate (and highlyrated) local shows, when so many hitAmerican shows are getting long inthe tooth, and when newcomers tothe U.S. network schedules have notset the world on fire recently.Despite these and other chal-

lenges, the six Hollywood majors,who jointly account for the lion’sshare of the program-sales businessdone abroad, have adroitly managedto lock in healthy license fees fromtheir traditional broadcast clients andat the same time to get into bed, atfirst gingerly and now more eagerly,

with the SVOD platforms and nicheplayers popping up around theglobe. Overall revenues from the saleofTV shows and feature films abroadin 2011 will purportedly hit an all-time high of $8.5 billion, per sourcesthat track the financial performanceof the top U.S. content providers. The majors have pulled off this feat

during a stubborn recession acrossmuch of Europe, which in turn hasput downward pressure on televisionadvertising and on program-acquisition budgets. But even in astough a market as Germany, wherelocal shows are the mainstay of theschedules, the top commercial playersRTL and ProSieben went up againsteach other recently in what wasdescribed as “frothy bidding” towrest the latest multiyear packagefrom Warner Bros. (ProSieben willget the deal back from RTL in 2013.)“During one of the worst finan-

cial downturns in Europe, we haverenewed deals for high prices andfor long terms in France, Spain,Italy, Australia and Scandinavia, aswell as in Germany,” says JeffreySchlesinger, the president of WarnerBros. International Television,descr ibing just how counter-intuitive the international TVbusiness is. Downturn or not, acqui-sitions are cost-effective and in somecases can help brand a channel. “Granted, we haven’t heard a lot

of wows at the Screenings of late,but inarguably it’s been an unbe-lievably long run of global successfor U.S. shows abroad,” adds MarionEdwards, the president of TwentiethCentury Fox International Tele -vision. “If there’s not been a break-out drama in the last couple ofyears—and we can’t discount prob-lems in Greece, Italy and elsewhere—we’ve been able to take advantage ofnew developments and platformsaround the world. Five years ago theyweren’t even there, but now Netflix,Amazon and all sorts of new playersare changing the dynamics and open-ing up opportunities.” So, how do the big six Tinseltown

players do it? The heads of the distri-bution divisions all put the accent inthe same place. It’s about deliveringquality series that can be nurturedinto successes at home on the U.S.networks and that are targeted, pro-moted and made available astutelyby the acquirer abroad.

Even the majors’ definitions ofwhat seems to be working best inforeign markets display similarcharacteristics, whether the genre isaction, suspense, family, fantasy,romance or high concept:“Good strong episodic drama

with strong central characters,”says Warner Bros.’ Schlesinger.“Big promotable hours with

clear plots and relatively few char-acters,” adds Fox’s Edwards.

A-LIST CREDENTIALSAmong the 85 or so current pro -jects vying for a prime-time pick-up for the 2012–13 fall seasonStateside, a dozen have generatedconsiderable buzz, and boast A-listtalent attached in front of orbehind the camera—or both.Kevin Williamson is hatching a

drama about a serial killer withKevin Bacon (Warner Bros.), ShondaRhimes is doing a period piece setin 1890’s New York called GildedLilys (Disney), Shawn Ryan andMartin Campbell are readying asubmarine suspense series calledLast Resort (Sony), Bradley Whit-ford is top-lining a spy drama calledThe Asset (Fox), Dick Wolf is mas-terminding an action ensemblehour called Chicago Fire (NBCUni-versal) and an offbeat cop showcalled Widow Detective comes fromCarol Mendelsohn, starring JohnCorbett and Jennifer Beals (CBSStudios). Other über-producersin the thick of it this developmentcycle include Jerry Bruckheimer,J.J. Abrams, John Wells, Josh Schwartzand Greg Berlanti, who has threeshows in contention. And those arejust the dramas. No project is a shoe-in, however,

and no name producer is guaran-teed a slot. Even Hallelujah, a showfrom Marc Cherry, the forcebehind Desperate Housewives, waspassed over at ABC. What getsgreenlit depends on the specificneeds of each network and theanalysis of long-term value in anygiven piece of content. Still, barring the unforeseen,

Warner Bros. is poised to surfaceyet again as the biggest supplierboth of new comedies and of dra-mas to the five broadcast networks,boasting as it does first-look dealswith a number of key creatorsaround town. Schlesinger rattled

off the names of several con-tenders on his lot that he suspectswill go to series and will haveinternational appeal. Amongthem, he notes, is one for TheCW called The Selection, which hethinks captures the zeitgeist of themoment; he describes it as a crossbetween The Hunger Games andThe Bachelor. Admittedly, with so many new

outlets abroad and so much moreproduction from every entityimaginable, nonfiction fare, origi-nal and formatted, is playing agrowing role on schedules fromSlovakia to Singapore. Nonethe-less, it is still American drama thatpulls in the biggest bucks for thestudios, arguably 70 percent of theoverall haul from the licensing ofTV product. (Fees for feature filmsare not to be sniffed at, however.All told, American movies sold toforeign TV outlets, free, pay andwhat-have-you, still account forroughly half of the total $8.5 billionannual haul. Japan, Italy and Russiaare particularly movie mad at themoment.)

THE WOW FACTORAs to the gripe from foreign buyersthat nothing they’ve seen at the lastthree or four L.A. Screeningsmarathons in May have bowledthem over, Armando Nuñez, thepresident of CBS Studios Interna-tional, has a ready response:“[There’s] no sense in having awow factor in a show that goes foronly six episodes.” More impor-tant, he contends, is having what hecalls “a formidable studio produc-tion operation” and “a highly suc-cessful network” for which most ofthat studio’s pickups are ear-marked. (Thanks to the end offin-syn rules, the networks,including CBS, now notably relyon product from their own sisterproduction studios.)Nuñez’s portfolio has been the

slow-burn success story of thedecade in that both the tripartiteCSI franchise and the NCIS duohave done more to solidify theAmerican drama presence inprime time abroad than any othertwo shows, at least since the Disney-distr ibuted combo ofDesperate Housewives and Lost adecade ago.

5/12 19World Screen

ABC’s Modern Family,sold by Twentieth

Century Fox.

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“The thing about NCIS,”Nuñez adds, “is that it faced con-siderable skepticism initially amongforeign buyers.” As a spinoff of therespectable but hardly breakoutJAG (judged too military-orientedand too courtroom-centr ic bythe European clientele), the show,starring Mark Harmon, was slot-ted only grudgingly by CBS atfirst. Its delicate balance of seriousdrama and whimsy, Nuñez says,helped it find its audience, turn-ing the show into a hit in manymajor territories.

EYE ON THE PRIZEWith a slate that includes three otherhit CBS shows, Blue Bloods, HawaiiFive-0 and The Good Wife, CBS Stu-dios International in 2011 surpassedthe traditional top supplier toEurope, Warner Bros., with morehours aired in prime time (4,861)across 119 channels in 21 countriesthan its nearest rival. Warner Bros. wasin second place with 3,891 hours,according to a recent report out ofLondon entitled Imported DramaSeries in Europe.

In short, it’s not essential for a buyerto be wowed by one or more con-tenders during the annual unveilingof new prime-time fare in order forthe U.S. studios to actually go homewith (or eventually amass) a winninghand. Some shows strengthen intheir second or third season andare much preferable to somethingthat seemed a slam dunk on firstviewing but whose story lineeventually sagged.As one analyst who focuses on the

European market opines, “The smartprogram buyers are rarely drawn intobidding wars on the basis of a sexypilot or hype in the press. They wantto see and hear more about a series,they employ reps on the ground inL.A. for year-round intelligence-gathering, and unless competitionin their own market suddenly getsferocious, they take their time inmaking choices.” The sad news is that most shows

do not make it past the first year,which explains why most buyersdo deals for multiple shows withvarious Hollywood suppliers. Italso explains why those who have

the luxury of cherry-picking onthe open market, like the British,tend to wait months to sign on thedotted line, until they’re convinceda new American show is headed ina propitious direction. The currentseason has already seen severalhighly touted dramas struggle orfall by the wayside, includingFOX’s Terra Nova and Alcatraz,CBS’s A Gifted Man, ABC’s TheRiver and Pan Am and NBC’s PrimeSuspect and Awake.

SOPHOMORE RUSHAmong those series that appear tobe gathering steam heading intorenewal season are Person of Intereston CBS, Grimm on NBC and Scan-dal on ABC. NBCUniversal repsrecently dispatched several key castmembers of another of its froshcrop, Smash, to London for a pro-motional blitz ahead of the musicaldrama’s debut on Sky Atlantic andother Continental European sta-tions. During the promotionalstunt in Europe, word came downthat the series would be returningfor a second season on NBC.

Along with the abiding appeal ofAmerican drama abroad, otherchanges in global audience tasteshave benefited Hollywood produc-ers of late. One of them is a world-wide hunger to see talked-aboutmaterial in the most timely fashion,a shift that all the Hollywoodmajors have hastened to address intheir deal-making and partnerships.“One of the biggest changes is

how the distribution of our con-tent has quickened and how ourpartners are using new media toexpand viewership,” says BenPyne, the president of global distri-bution at Disney Media Networks.Pyne says the studio is findingincremental value in shows by slic-ing their windows more narrowly,in some cases making hot-ticketitems available abroad within 24 or48 hours of the Stateside release,and in a few others staging the pre-mieres abroad ahead of the U.S.debut. That’s what Disney didrecently with Body of Proof andMissing. Like his counterparts atother studios, Pyne is also findingways to boost the shelf life of series

20 5/12World Screen

A hot beat: CBS Studios International’s crime procedural NCIS: Los Angeles recently received the green light for a fourth season from CBS.


with services abroad like ABC TVOn Demand and Disneytek, whichallows for the downloading andviewing of full episodes after theirfirst broadcast.

For another thing, comedies, whichfor decades did not travel far beyondEnglish-speaking territories, arecatching on in the most unexpectedof foreign climes. The rise ininterest in “funny business”arguably started with NBC -Universal’s 30 Rock and TheOffice, but has since intensi-fied and spread. Two and aHalf Men is making themlaugh on Germany’s KabelEins (in a second window, noless), Scandinavia is titteringover 2 Broke Girls and NewGirl, and Happy Endings hasfound enthusiastic fans infar-flung parts of Europe.Part of the reason has to dowith Internet-attuned, glo -balized tastes among theyoung set wherever theyare and part has to do withthe revitalized strength anddiversity of sitcom story linesfrom ace writer-producerslike Chuck Lorre, SteveLevitan, Ryan Murphyand Michael Patrick King.Not to mention the universaldesire to laugh amid all thedepressing economic news.

BANKABLE LAUGHS“It’s not unheard of for a top-notch laugher to pull inupwards of $1 million anepisode from foreign [sales], asum unheard of just five yearsago,” says one analyst, who isnot authorized to give outspecific examples. That sumwould include the cumulativefees coming in for secondcycles of series on alternativeplatforms, which are enticingnew viewers to the genre.

“There are some wonder-ful new players out therewith whom we are nowdoing business in sync withour traditional broadcastpartners,” Fox’s Edwards

says. “In this new world, everything isopen to negotiation, and things likeexclusivity and early SVOD win-dows drive program prices higher.”

And as American television hasseen a proliferation of outlets thatare increasingly niche-specific andnarrowly targeted, new platformsabroad have followed a similar tra-

jectory. In so doing, these foreignoutlets have become highlyreceptive to edgy, alternative, up-market and/or challenging faremade for U.S. cable networks likeAMC, FX and USA Network, aswell as for the traditionallybuzzed-about premium pay serv-ices HBO and Showtime.

To take one example, Sony Pic-tures Television has carved out asizeable business abroad with suchcritical darlings as Breaking Bad,Justified, The Big C and Damages.

“I think the trend started withFX’s The Shield, which arguablypioneered the antihero genre andfound respectable, and receptive,

audiences abroad,” saysKeith LeGoy, the presi-dent of international dis-tribution at Sony PicturesTelevision. “Our foreignpartners are now findingdifferent ways to skin thecat with such shows as these,which tend to instill compul-sive viewing habits on thepart of core audiences.”

Similarly, Homeland, one ofShowtime’s most provoca-tive new series, is attractinga following abroad, becom-ing cult viewing, for exam-ple, on Sky in the U.K. Theseries is licensed by Foxinternationally and is basedon an Israeli format,another indication of justhow porous the bordersnow are for good ideas, inboth the fiction and non-fiction categories.

If, indeed, imitation isthe sincerest form of flat-tery—and also helps boostthe overall value of a seem-ingly largely exploitedcommodity—a plethora ofplayers in disparate territo-ries are paying Americancreators the compliment,trying their hand at local-ized versions of HollywoodTV fare. CBS’s EverybodyLoves Raymond, sold bySony Pictures Television, isgetting a Saudi makeover. InAsia, Fox’s 24will be reimag-ined in India with AnilKapoor in the Kiefer Suther-land role, and Disney’s realityjuggernaut The Amazing Racehas just clinched its ninthdeal for a localized competi-tion, this one in Vietnam andthe Philippines.

5/12 21World Screen

Serving up hits: While it’s often said that it’s hard for comedy to travel, shows such as Warner Bros.’2 Broke Girls have been delivering laughs in the U.S. and abroad.


osh Sapan, the president and CEO of AMCNetworks, is widely considered a pioneerand innovator in the U.S. cable industry. Inhis many years at the company, formerlyknown as Rainbow Media Holdings, Sapanidentified opportunities in the televisionlandscape, spotting underserved audiencesegments, and then, with his programmingteams, created channels that were destina-tions for avid fans of different types ofprogramming: AMC forenthusiasts of classicAmerican movies; IFC, the

Independent Film Channel;Sundance Channel for aficionados ofindependent films; and WE tv for women. He also over-saw the development of Bravo, which was sold to NBCin 2002.

One of Sapan’s most important accomplishments hasbeen the use of groundbreaking original programs, such asMad Men, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead and Hell

on Wheels, to transformAMC and propel it intothe public’s awareness,consequently attractingadvertisers and criticalacclaim. In fact, AMC,whose tagline is “Storymatters here,” is the onlycable network in historyto ever win the Emmy

Award for outstanding drama series four years in a row,thanks to Mad Men, which also garnered the GoldenGlobe Award for best television drama series for threeconsecutive years.

Sapan has applied this original-series strategy to the otherAMC Networks channels, enriching their offerings as well.IFC, with the tagline “Always on. Slightly off,” providesindie films, independent film news, interviews and film-festival buzz, as well as the popular series Portlandia.Sundance Channel, another home for independent films,

also offers blogs and original web contentall focusing on independent culture, aswell as original series like Girls WhoLike Boys Who Like Boys and theupcoming Rectify. Families, both ordi-

nary and celebrity, are the focus of WE tv, whose taglineis “Life as WE know it.” Among its original series areBraxton Family Values and Joan & Melissa: JoanKnows Best?

Sapan is now taking this programming formula that cen-ters on original programming and launching channelsaround the world. In addition to being widely distributed inNorth America, Sundance Channel is available throughoutEurope and Asia.

As Sapan explained in the question-and-answer ses-sion with World Screen’s group editorial director, AnnaCarugati, following his keynote address at MIPTV, iconicseries that create a lasting connection with viewers—keeping them coming back to see what happens next—make for a healthy channel business in the U.S. andinternationally.

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Josh SapanAMC Networks


WS: How did original productions helpchange the perception of AMC withinthe advertising community and amongcable operators?SAPAN: Advertisers found us quiteattractive, perhaps for obvious reasons,which is the [ratings] numbers weregood and inasmuch as they are interestedin engagement and pay a premium for it,the [ratings] were quite attractive.

What cable operators and satellitecompanies found was that people reallycared—they really, really cared—whathappened next [on our original series].So the anticipation of the coming sea-son of Mad Men or the coming seasonof The Walking Dead or what’s happen-ing on Breaking Bad, really grew [to avery high level]. And it’s not to dispar-age or minimize other channels, that are,of course, important, but when there islong-arc drama that people becomeinvested in and really care about, there’s a

connection. Cable operators in the U.S.saw very particular value in that content.

WS: Passionate engagement is the nameof the game.SAPAN: Right.

WS: You have developed passionateengagement with viewers not only onAMC. Let’s take Sundance Channel inthe U.S. as an example. How have origi-nal productions enriched that offering?SAPAN: Sundance Channel in the U.S.is focusing now on scripted drama. Thereare a number of [series] that are comingon the channel that we are actuallyvery excited about. Some series are co-productions and some are whollyowned by us. We are doing a seriescalled Rectify, which is executive pro-duced by Mark Johnson, who doesBreaking Bad, and we will own that show.Then we have a whole long list of co-

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productions. In combination withwhat I hope are the best-selectedand curated independent filmsavailable, those scripted dramas willadd heft and importance and con-nection to Sundance Channel.

Sundance Channel Global hasthe benefit of—depending uponthe window and the deal—all ofthe reservoir of content that comesfrom all of our channels.

WS: Let’s look beyond the UnitedStates. How does AMC Networksdistinguish itself in the global mar-ket? What is the competitive edgeof the channels you are offeringpay-TV platforms or cable opera-tors around the world?SAPAN: In the United States—Ihope this doesn’t sound like abrag—we are a big distributor ofindependent films. Probably, in termsof volume, the largest distributor. Wehave a pretty good sense of film andfilm programming, and particularlyindependent film programming, andwe have the benefit of RobertRedford, who is quite involvedwith the Sundance Film Festivaland is one of the great godfathers ofindependent film. Our film selec-tion and curation is appropriate foreach territory and country.

Beyond that, television competeswith alternative outlets. The web isgoing to continue to offer many,many, many options for people toget TV at their choice. These dra-mas that we are producing andacquiring will be consumed on alinear basis but also on an on-demand basis, and linear televisionwill need to be driven by [shows]that really matter.

We think that what SundanceChannel does globally matters,because the stories [of the series itairs] will continue and the materialwill be new and fresh. We hope thatif I ask you the question “Do youhave two or three favorite shows?”you have the right answer. But Iwould hope the answer would be,“They are stories that have a longarc and I really want to stay atten-dant to [them], and when I have

time on the plane when I’m travel-ing, I rack them up on my tablet andwatch them.” So we think that reallymakes for a good channel. It reallyactually fundamentally helps drivethe basics of the business.

WS: AMC Networks has not beenin the global business that long—only three years?SAPAN: Right.

WS: How did you decide that youwanted to branch out beyond theU.S., and what opportunities doyou see in the global market?SAPAN: We decided to in partbecause of a business opportunity, butI would also describe it as an impera-tive, because in order to have produc-tions that you can ultimately own, oneneeds scale, and the world is a biggerplace than the U.S., to say it sim-ply. We also thought that there wasopportunity. While there aremany, many channels in differentcountries, we hoped that wecould offer something that had aunique contribution to the suc-cess of the cable operators’ busi-ness or the satellite companies’business because [our channels]had this anticipation of whatwould come with dramas thatwere among the best developed.

WS: And programming that isn’tseen that much around the world.SAPAN: It actually significantlyisn’t, and so we’ve happily been metwith very good success. We are inmany countries now, on many plat-forms; it’s been a pretty fast-pacedgrowth. We have a wonderful staffwho is making it all happen,thank goodness!

WS: Back in the ’90s, when youlaunched the four channels, themedia landscape was much lessdeveloped than the one we live intoday. How do you find opportuni-ties in today’s landscape?SAPAN: It is undoubtedly morecompetitive. The pay-TV businesshas proven to be a great businessboth on the programmers’ side and


Heavy-hitters: Original series, including (top to bottom) Breaking Bad, Mad Men,The Walking Dead, The Killing and Hell on Wheels, have been key to AMC’s success.


on the distribution side. On thedistribution side you see namesthat you would not have thoughtlikely getting into 100 million U.S.homes, and, of course, hundreds ofmillions across the globe. It’s purelycompetition.You need to be some-thing different. You need to besomething meaningful. You needto be something that matters and isnot redundant and is not fungible.And you need to be somethingthat is not available on the webbecause the web does have a sortof imperative—almost by its naturewithout anybody deciding—which is that it’s available and itcan have a terribly [negativeimpact] on a paid system. We didsee it in the recording music busi-ness, we did see it in newspapersand we see it affecting other busi-nesses. To ignore it, I think, is atone’s own peril. We think we havefound a way to specifically andparticularly embrace the web andutilize it by actually having it driveto dramas, and familiarize peoplewith dramas, and make them want

the new episodes that are comingon the networks.

WS: Given the popularity ofscreening shows online, do linearchannels have a healthy future? Asoff-television-set viewing continuesto increase, what do linear channelshave to do to remain relevant?SAPAN: It’s a really rich questionand I don’t know that actually any-body entirely knows the answer.Certainly outside of our realm, innews and sports, live is live, and that,of course, is what it is. In the scriptedarena, it’s interesting because we havehad ratings success and havewatched ratings go up in seasonsfour and five of Breaking Bad andMad Men, respectively, which is ananti-television pattern. [Many serieson broadcast television experienceratings declines in series four andfive.] And so hopefully what it sug-gests is that there will be tons of on-demand viewing, both within a paidsystem—meaning through cableVOD or broadband VOD attachedto a satellite—and there will be

Internet on-demand viewing. Butit seems that if you have enoughjuice behind the story you aretelling, people will gather to havethe immediate experience of whathappens next.

WS: Tell us how your video-on-demand strategies have helped takelittle gems of independent movies,which perhaps don’t have a verylong run in theaters, and exposethem to broader audiences.SAPAN: In the U.S. we were thefirst com pany, I think, to offermovies on cable video on demandthe same day that they were avail-able in theaters, which was anath-ema to the exhibition communitybecause they thought it woulderode their business. For independ-ent films, we had hoped and weconjectured, and it proved to betrue, that the opposite was the case,that the films were small enough,they were often hidden gems, andputting them on VOD the verysame day they went to theatersactually had a beneficial effect onboth platforms. So we inauguratedvideo on demand the same day asthe theater and we priced thempretty close. Other distributioncompanies joined in and they cre-ated pricing even higher than the-atrical, sort of pre-theatrical, and ithas worked really quite well. So wenow see more revenue fromnontheatrical in aggregate than wedo from theatrical. In the U.S. theso-called cable VOD distributionplatform has become a pretty signif-icant platform, and big studios arenow [getting involved] with it. Weand other independent companieshelped inaugurate it and it’s been abit of a boon to independent film.

WS: Is it nice to lead the way ininitiatives like that and in ground-breaking original programming?SAPAN: It’s nice when you areright; it’s horrible when you arewrong. We only talk about what weare right about; we don’t mentionall the wrong things! But yes, it feelsgreat when it goes your way.


Sharing insight: Sapan delivered a Media Mastermind keynote address atthe recent MIPTV, which was followed by a Q&A with World Screen’s groupeditorial director, Anna Carugati.WWE THINK WE

HAVE FOUND

A WAY TO...

EMBRACE THE

WEB AND UTILIZE

IT BY ACTUALLY

HAVING IT...

FAMILIARIZE

PEOPLE WITH

DRAMAS, AND

MAKE THEM WANT

THE NEW

EPISODES.

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WS_0512_NATPEBUDAPEST_Layout 1 4/27/12 3:29 PM Page 1


on the record

WS: What has driven LionsgateTelevision’s success?BEGGS: A lot of factors: timing,a little bit of luck, maybe a little bitof skill—and also, the companybuilding that Jon Feltheimer andMichael Burns have undertakenfrom the day they got here hasgiven the TV unit more ways tomonetize our content. When wewere a tiny little startup company,we had no distribution, no homeentertainment, digital wasn’t abusiness; we were just really a pro-duction company that happened tobe Canadian, and that was mean-ingful for a few networks thatneeded alternative financingmodels, like PAX and Fox Familyand Lifetime. But happily, as origi-nal series [caught on] in basic cable,some players got into the game,USA Network and then TNT, andinitially we couldn’t work on anyother model. It was really out ofnecessity, less than an elective for us,although it looks very brilliantnow! But at the time we couldn’tgo to broadcast networks becausewe couldn’t afford it—we couldnever deficit a pilot or an episodebased on their numbers or the wholecompany would collapse. So we didn’tpitch the networks. We went to cable andhad some success. We got The Dead Zoneoff the ground at USA, and then Monkhit for them three weeks later and USA,the one that we know today, was born.On the back of that, a lot of people werewondering how you can do shows eco-

nomically that look like broadcast quality,and we were one of the only ones doingit. Those models weren’t that interesting toall the other studios based on the muchgreater profitability of a network hit. Sowe played in the margins and even whenFeltheimer came along, which was rightwhen Dead Zone was getting going, themovie model and the TV model were

quite similar—don’t get ahead ofyourself, don’t go crazy. One ofthese shows will develop into some-thing that makes money. We’re notabout 30 or 40 projects, we’re about4 or 5 a year that look good andbackdoor pilots and things that wecan sell. So we stuck to our knittingand Dead Zone worked.

WS: And this success continuedwith Weeds.BEGGS: Weeds was the first showin which we had more tools towork with. We had acquired Tri-mark, which had a home-videobusiness that was quite substantial,and we had also started our owninternational distribution. Weedswas the test case. And if it workedon Weeds we’d keep doing it, andif it didn’t we’d say, “Scrap that.”Weeds took off and it was a suc-cess for Showtime, which hadbeen in a pretty fallow period forseries, and Bob [Greenblatt] hadcome, and this was one of his firstoriginals that were on his watch.The world loved Weeds because itallowed people to laugh with andat Americans for their insane kind

of schizophrenia about drugs. That wasgreat for us, and it’s gone on to be a giantsuccess, and one of its biggest revenuedrivers has been home entertainment.Then Lionsgate acquired Artisan andwe got even bigger in the home-entertainment space, and every step ofthe way, more assets have come in and wecan help monetize them together.

ionsgate Television Group’s pro-duction philosophy of less is morehas certainly paid off. At itsinception, with fewer re sourcesavailable than at the major stu-dios, Lions gate chose to focus ona lower volume of

shows, but ones ofhigh quality anddistinctive subjectmatter. This stra -

tegy has been rewarded with audienceappreciation, critical acclaim and net-work renewals: the multiple–Emmy

Award–winning Mad Men scored its highest rat-ings ever in March with the premiere of its fifthseason, Kelsey Grammer earned a Golden Globefor Boss, Weeds is in its eighth season and NurseJackie is in its fourth. Not a studio to shy awayfrom the provocative or controversial, Lionsgate is

now producing the series Anger Man-agement, loosely based on the featurefilm and starring Charlie Sheen. KevinBeggs, the president of Lionsgate Tele -vision Group, and Sandra Stern, theCOO of Lionsgate Television, talk aboutpursuing quality and using alternativefinancing models.

Kevin Beggs &Sandra Stern

Lionsgate

WS_512_RECORD_WSN_0406_RECORD 5/1/12 11:55 AM Page 3


If you skip all the way to [today]—we’ll come back to Mad Men—wehave Charlie Sheen and Anger Man-agement. That also was on the heels ofa really shrewd acquisition of ourfriends at Debmar-Mercury, whopioneered this 10-90 model, whicheveryone is pretty enamored withwhen it works. It’s done very well forthem, and Anger Management repre-sented the first time that both theirmodel and their unique distributioncapabilities merged up with our cre-ative team and production capabilitiesto do a show together, and that’s whatwe’re doing for FX.

WS:Tell us about the 10-90 model.STERN: Debmar-Mercury are very,very smart guys. They’re sellers. Andso the notion of taking a big risk—investing in a pilot and hoping thatpilot hits and then maybe you get sixepisodes or 13 episodes—never

worked for them. They’re syndica-tion guys. They’re used to taking 100episodes and selling them, andbecause they’re smart guys, they fig-ured out a model to reduce risk andget a big chunk of episodes: takingrisks up front but reducing risk downthe line. So instead of doing a pilot, asone would ordinarily do for a net-work, they came up with the con-cept of doing what is essentially aten-episode pilot, so you don’t havejust one shot, you have ten episodes.

WS: And you commit to ten fromthe get-go?STERN: We commit to ten, the net-work commits to ten from the get-goand there is no mystery; it is a for -mula. We do ten episodes, the net-work commits to airing the tenepisodes. And if those airings achievea certain rating, the network mustpick up 90 more. There was a little

twist on the Charlie Sheen AngerManagement deal, which was verysmart. The network felt that tenepisodes might not be as reflective ofsuccess for the series as it is with aregular show, because Charlie is notonly very well liked, but very con-troversial, and he’s going to be thesubject of great interest. Their feelingwas everybody was going to tune infor episode one, but they may not stay[for the rest]. So instead of the tenepisodes having to achieve a certainratings number, they threw outepisodes one and two—in terms ofthe calculation, not in terms of theairing—and the number has to beachieved based on episodes three toten. They wanted to make sure thatit was not just a curiosity factor, thatthe numbers would hold, so the laterepisodes had to retain 80 percent ofthe viewership of the early episodes.So even if the number is through the

roof, unless it continues to bethrough the roof, they don’t have tocontinue. The FX guys are very, verygood, talented, creative guys. Theywanted to make sure that they werenot simply filling space on their net-work, but that they would have ashow that would perform and con-tinue to perform and hold an audi-ence. We gave them a lot of researchon Two and a Half Men, of how thatshow sustained, and that’s what we’retrying to duplicate for them.

WS: Tell us a little about AngerManagement.BEGGS: We pitched it to Charlie.We got a great showrunner inBruce Helford, who did The DrewCarey Show and George Lopez. Theysaw eye to eye immediately. We havethe amazing title that Joe Rothbrought to the mix, along with hisproducing acumen. Anger Manage-

The man in charge: Kelsey Grammer scored this year’s Golden Globe Award for best actor in a drama series for his role in Boss, a Starz original that heads into itssecond season this fall.

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5/1228 World Screen

ment is based on the movie. It’s reallybasically just taking shades of theJack Nicholson character andadding them to a character that isvery Charlie-like. But it representsthe next evolution for him past Twoand a Half Men, personally, and alsowithin the show, and that will comeout, because he’s in anger manage-ment and needs as much or morecounseling as his patients. So there’sa certain self-awareness; we thinkthat’s relevant. And there’s a certainself-awareness that Charlie has thathe’s been quite clear about, aboutthe good, the bad and the mistakesthat were made in between, andeveryone loves a redemption story.

WS:And what about the phenom-enon that is Mad Men?STERN:When we first identifiedthe project at AMC, it was a chal-lenge. AMC was new to originalseries. Rob Sorcher, who was thenthe head creative guy at AMC, feltthat originals were a way to build hisnetwork. He recognized that he wasgoing to have to perhaps overpay a

bit. He was going to have to doprovocative programming—he wasgoing to have to make noise andconvince people that it was worthmaking noise with him. So becausewe did not have the ability to shootMad Men in some place that providedtax credits—it was a condition ofMatt Weiner’s deal that we shoot inLos Angeles so he could have as muchof a normal family life as possible—the network paid extra. They gave usrights that we might not otherwisehave had and we’ve done very, verywell on that show with a largebudget that was for us, at the time,20 percent to 25 percent higher thanwe had ever spent before. But wewere able to do that. We ultimatelymade a very nice Netflix dealbecause we had the right to do that.We made a very nice iTunes dealbecause we had the right to do that.

WS: How has Mad Men beenreceived by international buyers?BEGGS: All the buyers who had ini-tially seen or heard that we were get-ting involved were quite reluctant.

“Oh, this won’t work for us. No onecares about advertising. No one caresabout America in the ’60s. It’s soquaint. It’s slow.” All those things wereleveled at Mad Men in the first sea-son, and then the awards started toroll in and then there was somerethinking:“Well, maybe…I do like itmyself, I don’t know if my audiencewill like it but I’m willing to entertainthat they might.” And so on and soforth. A few more Golden Globes anda few more Emmys and it has becomea big international success for us. We wouldn’t have been able totake that swing on Mad Men had notDead Zone worked, had not Weedsworked, had not [Trimark and Arti-san] been in place, had we not seenwith Weeds and Showtime, Dead Zoneand USA, that being on the groundfloor of a channel launching arebrand around a show would bemeaningful. Because being one ofnine shows on another networkmight not have been as attractive forMad Men. Mad Men represented thereal launch of AMC’s original pro-gramming. People think AMC and

they think Mad Men at the same time.That’s great as a supplier because theyreally need you and you’re built intotheir marketing DNA, as opposed to“I’ve got 12 of these shows and I’mout after four seasons.” They’re in itfor the long haul. We’re doing sevenseasons together. STERN: One of the things that welike doing at Lionsgate is breaking innew networks. We like being the firstin. Sometimes when you’re the firstin you have the ability to shape yourworld a little bit better—you have alittle bit more control over it; you getto work more closely with the net-work because you and your networkpartners are all rolling up your sleevesand trying to figure it out, so goodrelationships develop.

WS: How have you looked for lessexpensive ways of producing, whilemaintaining quality on the screen?STERN: When we got an order forWildfire from ABC Family, the busi-ness model was very challenging, butI had a cousin who was a communi-cations director for Governor BillRichardson. My cousin got me ameeting with him and we con-vinced the governor that it wouldbe a good idea for the state of NewMexico to invest in its citizens bycoming up with tax credits. Heinsisted as part of the tax-credit leg-islation that we put a training pro-gram in place so that the people ofNew Mexico who would get jobscould then keep jobs. He was very,very focused on job creation and weput that plan in place. It’s now thriv-ing. Sony is producing Breaking Badthere and we did Crash in NewMexico. It’s a place we like verymuch. But it was a way for us to fig-ure out how to get money to put onthe screen so that we could afford todo a series that we very much wantedto do. Since then, most every otherstate has put tax benefits in place, and[they’ve] done very well for all oftheir people. But we try very hardto take shows to places where wecan get soft money and we canthen in turn take that money andput it on the screen.

on therecord

Green with envy: After a 17-month absence, Mad Men returned; its season five premiere garnered the show’s biggestaudience yet, with 3.5 million viewers tuning in to AMC.

WS_512_RECORD_WSN_0406_RECORD 4/30/12 6:05 PM Page 8

For more information, please contact Ricardo Guise ([email protected])

AT MIPCOM

Space Reservations . . September 11Ad Materials . . . . . . . September 13

MAKE A BIG SPLASH!MAKE A BIG SPLASH!

MIPCOM 2011_template 4/30/12 5:37 PM Page 1

Emilio Romano, the president of Telemundo Media, stressedthe role that original programming has played for the U.S.Hispanic broadcaster, during a One-on-One session atNATPE with World Screen’s Anna Carugati. Romano,who assumed the post of president in the fall of last year,says Telemundo will remain committed to producing high-quality telenovelas. They have been the pillars of thecompany’s growth strategy, attracting viewers, allowing forsuccessful product-integration campaigns with advertisers,and fueling very successful international sales.

WS: In 2011 Telemundo had some significant ratingsincreases. What were some of the shows and genres thatdrove that success?ROMANO: It’s all about the relevance that we put intocreating the most compelling content for our core audi-ence. 2011 was a banner year because we were able tocapture the content that is delivering passion to thelargest Hispanic audience in the U.S. We can produceprime-time programming, and we’ve done it for so

many years. We delivered in 2011 Lareina del sur, which was the mostsuccessful novela in Telemundo’shistory. But the good thing about itis that during the last months of theyear we saw all prime-time pro-gramming deliver consistently highratings. And it’s not only the factthat we’re creating this very rele-vant programming, it’s the fact thatwe are creating it consistently, andthat is really what’s driving thecompany going forward. We arevery excited. We also premieredRelaciones peligrosas.

WS: Tell us about the success ofsome of your co-productions, andis that a strategy you want to pur-sue in the future?ROMANO: Absolutely. Our strategyto be the most powerful producerof Spanish-language content for theworld brings us to a position wherewe must keep partnering with thebest producers that can help usbring the best stories, the best exe-cution. A great example was with

Globo on El clon, a very successful [co-production]. Sony Pictures [was ourpartner] for Una Maid en Manhattan,which got rave reviews and wonderfulratings. For La reina del sur we had apartnership with Antena 3 in Spain.We’re looking constantly to partner withthe best of breed, and this is clearly going

to increase going forward. We’re very flexible as well. Wedon’t have a preconceived model. We’re there to make surethat we are partnered with the best content possible.

WS: Telemundo Internacional has been very successfulat selling the novelas you produce. ROMANO: Telemundo Internacional is a cornerstone ofour long-term strategy. Marcos Santana [the president ofTelemundo Internacional] and his team have done agreat job taking our programming to more than 100countries. Our programs are being translated into morethan 40 languages and they are beating the competition’sprogramming in prime time, every single night aroundthe world. It’s really amazing what it has done. [Inter-national sales] is core to our strategy because it enhancesour ability to create even better programming—we canamortize it through a larger platform. That will increaseover time and [so will] the quality of our programming,and we will have more resources to invest.

WS: You’re not only selling finished product, you’re sell-ing formats, too. That’s a new business for you.ROMANO: Yes, we are recognizing that the success ofour partners and our clients [does not depend] on justselling them canned product. We have to make surethey’re the most successful [programs] to be a win-winsituation for us and for them. For that purpose, many ofour partners want to customize their programming andbring in their own casting. So we bring the TelemundoStudios’ knowledge and work with [our clients] andadapt the stories in a very seamless way and have themost relevant local content. Dónde está Elisa? has been avery nice success. Going forward, we think formats aregoing to be an additional opportunity for us.

WS: What have you learned about the effectiveness ofproduct placement and product integration? ROMANO: The fact that we [work] together withadvertisers and that that we activate their products in dif-ferent ways, not only the linear 15-second or 30-secondcommercial, but that we can bring the products and thebrands alive by integrating them into our content, is justa natural evolution of the fact that we are producingour own content. We can do it not only on our varietyshows but also in prime-time [novelas]. That has provento be a very efficient way to create [awareness] and tomake the cash register ring for the advertisers, which isreally what drives our business. We’ve done it with huge

in focus

Telemundo’sEmilio Romano


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success with L’Oréal Paris in Una Maid en Manhattan. Wealso did it with Los Herederos del Monte with Toyota. Andin Mi corazón insiste, we also had great integration withChase Bank. We are constantly looking at product inte-gration. One very important thing is that we are doing itin a way that does not change or alter or affect the qual-ity of our product or the natural evolution of the story.

WS: Speaking of advertising, given the size and theprowess of the Hispanic community—what’s their pur-chasing power? ROMANO: One trillion dollars, and growing.

WS: What have been your efforts to take some of theclients who are still advertising in English in the generalU.S. market and convincing them to come to Telemundo?ROMANO: [We want] to make sure that we bring themost compelling content to our viewers, because thatis, at the end of the day, what is going to convince theadvertisers that the only way they can deliver a power-ful message to the Hispanic community is throughSpanish media. We have data. We’ve worked withadvertisers to show them the power [they have] whenthey deliver their messages through culturally and[language-relevant] methods instead of going to thegeneral market and getting lost in a general-markettype of strategy.

We have made great progress in convincing adver-tisers that [the Hispanic market] is not going away. Onthe contrary, one out of every six people that lives inthe United States is now of Hispanic origin. We rep-resent 20 percent of the growth population. In 2050,one out of every three persons in the U.S. will be ofHispanic origin, so the numbers are just mind-boggling.We’re still getting half of what we deserve of the adver-tising pie. We should be getting around 8 percent; we’restill at 4 percent. So there is a way to go. We’re con-stantly convincing advertisers that there is no time towaste. If they really want to powerfully deliver the mes-sage to the Hispanic community, they must embraceSpanish media.

WS: News is another way you connect with youraudience. ROMANO: Right. That is the core broadcast. When peo-ple say broadcasting might be fading out, I think they aremissing the fact that stations have a huge content-generation capability of local content. That’s the won-derful ability that a broadcast network like ours has. Wecover in excess of 90 percent of the U.S. householdswith our own and affiliate stations that generate constantlocal programming that is relevant for the communi-ties. Clearly our strategy is to make sure that we have themost relevant content and news…and bring to eachcommunity the service and information [they need] toempower them to make decisions.

WS: Telemundo has made two key deals for the men’sand the women’s World Cup soccer matches. Why arethey so important for Telemundo?ROMANO: If there is anything in our industry that’s agame changer, it’s having the FIFA World Cup in ourcompany. There’s a clear message here that Comcast andNBCUniversal have a commitment to making sure thatTelemundo becomes number one. We are the leaders inour industry and the fact that we’re now going to bethe home of the World Cup from 2015 to 2022, it’s justan amazing feat for us because we are consistently goingto deliver the highest-rated content for the Hispanicworld. I don’t need to explain to you what soccer meansto us—it’s a religion, it’s a passion. We grow with it; webreathe it. The fact that viewers are going to be able tosee it here is just amazing.

WS: Will you provide coverage on the linear network aswell as online and on mobile? ROMANO: We say we are already training for the WorldCup and we have three years to get in shape! We’regoing to surprise our audience by using the expertiseof NBC Sports with coverage of the Olympics. By theway, don’t forget to tune in; we’re going to broadcastthe Olympics on Telemundo during the summer. We’regoing to provide linear coverage of the [World Cup]games, but we’re going to make sure that we bring thestories alive—the emotions, the struggles of every player.Sometimes we see the game and we’re all for winningbut we forget that there are family struggles, personalstruggles; there is a lot of emotion there. It’s a life-changingevent for each player and we’re going to bring it in waysthat our audience has never seen before. We’re going toprovide digital coverage as well, to make sure they cansee it anywhere they want.

5/12 World Screen

HIGHLIGHTING GAINS BY LEADING INDUSTRY PLAYERSBY ANNA CARUGATI

Rags and riches: Telemundo linked upwith L'Oréal Paris to include product

integration in its novelaUna Maid en Manhattan.

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Fans of popular TV shows nowadays wantmuch more than simply new episodes oftheir favorite series. They want to be con-stantly connected to characters and storylines through online and mobile content.Adriana Cisneros, the vice chairman anddirector of strategy for the Cisneros Groupof Companies (CGC), is a strong proponentof this new phenomenon of social TV. Shetalked about interactivity, the U.S. Hispanicmarket, popular novelas, product integrationand the possibility of producing in English,with World Screen’s Anna Carugati, duringa One-on-One session at NATPE.

WS: What have you learned about howviewers want to enjoy programming today? CISNEROS: The viewer now wants a per-sonalized experience—the whole social TVmovement is a big part of that. While they’rewatching TV they want to be able to inter-act with it. They want their friends to knowwhat they’re thinking, what they’re doingregarding that program, and the implica-tion of that change in behavior is great. It

means that you can no longer just produce a show and putit on the air. It means that you have to create a whole worldfor that show so that its interactive presence is interesting. Itgoes beyond asking people to comment on a show throughFacebook; it’s more about what material you can makeattractive and sexy that will be complementary to whatthey’re seeing on the screen. We had a very interesting expe-rience with the last program that we did in Venezuela, calledLa viuda joven. It was sort of a murder mystery show andthe interactive strategy was there to drive the content itself.We kept releasing clues and original material that was goingto help you as a viewer try to identify who the murdererhad been. All these special clues would give you moreinsight into the program itself. So that’s how we’re doingthings. It’s integrating social media, but also creating con-tent that’s very specifically designed for interactivity.

WS: Have you noticed that there are big differencesbetween audience behavior in Venezuela, where your com-pany has a network, and in other countries in LatinAmerica or even within the Hispanic market in the U.S.?CISNEROS: We’re very fortunate that we have a verystrong and creative office in Venezuela. Venezuela is a coun-

try that is very interactive. We rank third in the world interms of penetration for Twitter; eighth for Facebook. SoVenezuelans spend a lot of time online, a lot more timeonline than Americans do and than many Europeans orAsians do. That’s true for the rest of Latin America as well.In countries like Chile, where there’s higher Internet pene-tration, Facebook has 90 percent penetration. So what we’vedone is say, “This is an interesting phenomenon. How canwe use it to really understand what’s going on?”We testout all of our social interactive strategies in Venezuela,through the programming that we’re producing there, so wehave full control over the whole experience. It’s those lessonslearned that we then take [when] we’re producing in theU.S. for the U.S. Hispanic population, and that strategy isproving correct. In Latin America we seem to be ahead ofthe curve in terms of pushing for interactivity and content,which is a really nice advantage to have.

WS: Over the years, it’s often been that the U.S. comes upwith trends that spread to other countries, but you’re tak-ing things from Venezuela and bringing them to the U.S.CISNEROS: We are. I think Eva Luna was the great exam-ple of how we took those lessons learned from Venezuelaand applied them here in the U.S. It’s a way of working ina more integrated fashion. Latin Americans and the U.S.Hispanic population are also very quick adopters of newtechnologies. The numbers are very interesting for us, sowe’re thrilled to be able to have the tools to play in the dig-ital field right now.Latin America in general has a 37-percent Internet pen-etration, versus 70 percent in the U.S. But between 2009and 2010, that grew by 50 percent, versus 8 percent world-wide or 3 percent in the U.S., so obviously it’s growing veryquickly. The number that is most interesting is that 100 per-cent of people in Latin America have access to mobilephones. So for anybody in the media world, Latin Americahas to be part of the strategy. In the U.S. Hispanic market it’s a little different. It’swithin the U.S. so penetration is higher, but Hispanics arespending much more time online than the rest of the pop-ulation and we’re doing a lot more transactions online.For the Spanish-speaking world, what was spent on adver-tising was about $2 billion last year, and we’re estimatingthat it’s going to go up to $4.5 billion in the next year ortwo, which is why we launched a digital advertisingagency called RedMas that is there just to target theSpanish-speaking world through digital advertising. Soit’s a really interesting time for us.

spotlight


Cisneros Group’sAdriana Cisneros

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WS: What opportunities do you see in the U.S. His-panic market? CISNEROS: The U.S. Hispanic market is 55 million strong,and we at Cisneros really believe that we understand whatthis market is about. It’s not about the race that we are; it’snot about the color of the skin. It’s not even about the lan-guage that we speak; it’s about the culture that we have cre-ated for ourselves here. And that’s what we cater to. We’regoing to continue producing content for Univision,which are great partners. Our content does very wellon their screen. We were the first ones that were able togive them the ability to do product integration to tapinto the U.S. Hispanic population, which was a very suc-cessful idea, and it’s something that we’re going to con-tinue doing closely with them. We’re also looking toevolve from that a bit. We’re considering very seriouslystarting to produce content in English that will appeal tothe general population, but also have a hook into theU.S. Hispanic population.

WS: Producing in English also helps you reach young His-panics who are bicultural and bilingual.CISNEROS: Exactly. When people approach me to under-stand this phenomenon of the U.S. Hispanic market, theysay, “What do you do? Is it Spanish? Is it English? Is itSpanglish?” And I say, Listen, you have to be OK with thefact that it’s all of that. Don’t try to come up with a verynarrow-minded formula. It’s an evolving population and Ilike the idea that I should be producing in Spanish for thedays that I prefer to see TV in Spanish and in English forthe days that I prefer to see TV in English. That’s the waythat you have to go about it. We can’t be too strict aboutthe way that we define Hispanics.

WS: Tell us about your partnership with Univision. CISNEROS: Our relationship with Univision is veryinteresting. We went from being the founders of Uni-vision—my father and Emilio Azcárraga, Sr., and JerryPerenchio were the three guys that decided to create thischannel for the U.S. Hispanic market. Then we soldUnivision a couple of years back but we still producedcontent for them and we’ve always been contentproviders for Univision. It’s great to be partners withthem; they’re the leading Hispanic channel in the U.S. byfar. It looks like we’re going to have competition nowfrom [Rupert] Murdoch, with the announcement ofMundoFox, but competition is good. The novelas thatwe produce do extremely well in prime time. We also dothe best programming that they have with talk showsand variety shows.

WS: So you see the relationship with Univision continuing?CISNEROS: Absolutely.

WS: Looking beyond U.S. borders, Venevisión program-ming is being sold around the world?

CISNEROS: Yes. We sold our first soap [around] 1960. Itwas a long time ago, when we were just the Venezuelanmedia network. That’s pretty cool, I think, and we alwayshad a lot of success. Having our content do well inter-nationally always pushes us. We have this tensionbetween either doing content that’s very localized ordoing content that is very international, and you don’twant to do either too much, because you don’t want todilute the effect that it could have. So we’re always push-ing ourselves to find the formula, to really have a feelingfor what’s going on worldwide. [To know] what theconsumer wants to be watching on TV, how they’regoing to react to certain story lines, and even [how theyare going to react to] the way that we’re dressing ouractresses and the way that we’re writing our scripts. It hasforced us to always be a very international-thinkingmedia company from the get-go.

WS: Tell us about China.CISNEROS: China is important. I think a lot of peopleare scared of China. It’s big and it’s far away and it’s com-plicated, but you can’t think like that. It’s not whetheryou want to work in China or not, it’s a matter of howyou’re going to integrate China into your daily life.We’ve been working with them for about a decade withour content; it does well there. The latest venture isfor documentaries and a cultural exchange expe-rience that they’re interested in. But [theMiss Venezuela contest], for example,recently aired on CCTV and it had veryhigh ratings. I would like to be the onethat organizes Miss China, but we’ll see ifwe can get there.

WS: You mentioned product integra-tion. Do you think there will bemore of it as the 30-secondspot is challenged by audi-ence fragmentation?CISNEROS: Product integra-tion is definitely the way to gofor both traditional program-ming on TV and very much sofor digital content. In Eva Luna,the way that we approached prod-uct integration was very advanced,and that will continue to evolve. It’sseamless product integration, becausewe control the whole sequence ofevents to produce a show. We havethe ability to introduce andintegrate products in a verysmart way. Advertisers are finallyrealizing the potential of the U.S.Hispanic market and we want togive them the best.

5/12 World Screen

A LOOK AT INNOVATION IN THE TELEVISION INDUSTRY BY ANNA CARUGATI

Embracing new audiences: The Venevision Productions novela

El Talismán, produced in collaboration with

Univision Studios, drew in record viewership with its premiere.

33

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A LOOK AT THE BUSINESS OF INTERNATIONAL MEDIABY ELIZABETH BOWEN-TOMBARI

The Televisa Group started 2012 with a raft of importantannouncements. It signed an exclusive deal with Sony Pic-tures Television to co-produce telenovelas both as formatsand as finished products. Televisa and Nickelodeon agreedto produce a U.S. adaptation of the Mexican telenovelaAlcanzar una estrella, which will air on Nick at Nite asReach for a Star. Sony is also participating in this pro-duction. Finally, Televisa and Lionsgate, already partners inthe joint venture Pantelion Films, will be producing English-language fare for the U.S. market. José Bastón, the presi-dent of television and content for the Televisa Group, talks aboutthe importance of co-productions and the international market.

WS: What is your strategy for serving the U.S. His-panic market?BASTÓN: The U.S. Hispanic market is by far the mostimportant international market for the television andcontent-distribution businesses at Televisa. We are verywell positioned because of the great results of our con-tent in this market. But not just that, we know that thepotential of this market is amazing, so we are concentrat-ing an important part of our resources on the U.S. His-panic market and we know that Univision will be anamazing line of revenues in the growth of our company.

WS: Where do you see opportunities for internationalexpansion?BASTÓN: Televisa Internacional no doubt has had anamazing success and great growth. If you compare the

revenues and the actual profits from five years ago totoday, we have actually doubled them. And the reasonwhy that has happened has to do with two main revenuelines. The most important one still is finished product. InLatin America, by far, the sale of finished product pro-vides the biggest source of revenue, and actually it is stillthe biggest source if you put the revenues of TelevisaInternacional all together, although finished product isthe most mature business in the Televisa Internacional plan.The areas where we have growth in the international arenais in the sale of formats as well as in co-productions. That’swhere we see a really important upside and that is wherewe see it in the future of Televisa Internacional.The dealwe signed with Sony is exactly about that.

WS: What do you consider to be the core strengthsof Televisa?BASTÓN: I believe it has to do with great financial dis-cipline. We are a company that really makes the best pos-sible use of its resources and we look after our moneyand our investments very carefully. This gives us greatpeace of mind. We are a financially sound company. Thisgives us the possibility to invest in the areas [where] weknow we are better than anyone else in the Spanish-speaking world, and that is the production of content.And since we know what our strengths are, that is whatwe concentrate on. This is what gives consistency to oursuccesses. The great network of alliances that we have builtover many years and [which is] strong enough in themedium and long term in some cases, gives us the peaceof mind to have options when we make decisions aboutwhat to produce and how to invest our money. This is anextremely important part of our success.

WS: How important are co-productions?BASTÓN: Co-productions have to do with differentlanguages and different markets. In the United Stateswe have a very important deal with Lionsgate wherewe are already in development of preproduction of someproperties that are basically either novelas or formats that wehave developed in Mexico to be produced in English for theAnglo market of the United States. And the deal with Sonyis basically for the European and Asian markets.

WS: Televisa is active not only in free TV, but also inpay TV. Where do you see the future of television, espe-cially in relationship to new media?BASTÓN: Without doubt, the free-TV business willcontinue to be the most important. We also see it as thebusiness with the least potential for growth. Where wesee important growth in the next five years is in pay TVand on the international side of the business. I believethat every new distribution platform [even the digitalones] provides new opportunities for producers of qual-ity content. I therefore see the future in terms of pro-ducing content that can be adapted to any platform.

market trends

Televisa’sJosé Bastón

WS_0512_MARKET TRENDS - BASTON_WSN_1207_IN THE NEWS 5/1/12 12:23 PM Page 2

Rank Program Network Distributor Average Share Kids Teens M18–49 F18–49 M25–54 F25–54 M50+ F50+

1 NCIS CBS CBS Studios Intl. 12.1/19 1.1 1.7 3.6 4.5 5.0 6.2 12.6 15.12 Dancing with the Stars ABC BBC Worldwide 12.0/18 1.7 1.6 2.0 5.1 2.6 7.3 7.6 18.23 American Idol (Wednesday) FOX FremantleMedia Enterprises 11.7/19 3.3 4.1 4.8 8.0 6.3 9.8 7.8 11.64 American Idol (Thursday) FOX FremantleMedia Enterprises 11.1/18 3.1 3.8 4.3 7.2 5.6 9.0 7.4 11.25 Dancing with the Stars: Results ABC BBC Worldwide 10.6/16 1.3 1.4 1.9 4.5 2.5 6.4 6.9 15.96 NCIS: Los Angeles CBS CBS Studios Intl. 10.1/15 0.8 1.5 3.2 3.8 4.3 5.2 10.4 12.27 The Big Bang Theory CBS Warner Bros. 9.7/16 1.4 2.5 5.3 5.9 6.8 7.4 7.7 8.28 The Voice NBC Talpa Dist. 9.6/15 3.0 4.1 4.8 8.2 5.5 8.9 5.1 7.49 Two and a Half Men CBS Warner Bros. 9.4/14 1.1 2.5 5.3 5.6 6.3 6.9 7.5 7.810 The Mentalist CBS Warner Bros. 9.2/15 0.6 1.4 2.7 3.7 3.8 5.0 9.1 11.311 Person of Interest CBS Warner Bros. 8.8/14 0.7 1.4 3.2 3.5 4.4 4.9 9.3 10.012 Criminal Minds CBS Disney Media Distribution 8.6/13 0.8 1.6 2.8 4.8 3.7 6.0 6.7 9.413 60 Minutes CBS CBS Studios Intl. 8.5/14 0.7 0.9 2.7 2.3 3.8 3.4 10.0 10.214 CSI CBS CBS Studios Intl. 8.1/13 0.6 1.2 2.6 3.9 3.5 5.0 6.9 9.415 Modern Family ABC Twentieth Century Fox 7.9/12 1.5 3.0 4.8 6.5 5.5 7.3 3.8 5.515 Blue Bloods CBS CBS Studios Intl. 7.9/14 0.5 0.7 1.6 2.5 2.3 3.7 7.9 11.115 Unforgettable CBS Sony Pictures Television 7.9/13 0.5 0.9 2.0 3.0 2.8 4.2 7.6 9.818 Castle ABC Disney Media Distribution 7.8/13 0.5 1.2 2.0 3.6 2.6 5.0 5.7 10.319 The Good Wife CBS CBS Studios Intl. 7.7/12 0.5 0.7 1.7 3.1 2.4 4.5 6.4 10.220 Survivor: South Pacific CBS CBS Studios Intl. 7.6/12 1.4 2.1 3.5 4.5 4.7 5.9 6.1 7.421 Hawaii Five-0 CBS CBS Studios Intl. 7.5/12 0.6 1.4 2.9 3.7 3.8 4.8 6.6 7.822 The X Factor (Wednesday) FOX FremantleMedia Enterprises 7.4/12 2.4 3.0 3.5 5.3 4.2 6.2 4.4 6.622 The X Factor (Thursday) FOX FremantleMedia Enterprises 7.4/12 2.4 3.0 3.3 5.1 4.0 6.1 4.5 6.824 Mike & Molly CBS Warner Bros. 7.3/11 0.7 1.4 3.3 4.5 4.4 5.7 5.8 6.925 ¡Rob! CBS CBS Studios Intl. 7.2/11 1.0 1.6 3.5 3.9 4.7 5.1 6.6 6.825 2 Broke Girls CBS Warner Bros. 7.2/11 1.0 1.9 4.0 5.0 5.1 5.9 5.2 5.325 Grey’s Anatomy ABC Disney Media Distribution 7.2/11 0.9 1.1 2.0 6.2 2.4 7.2 2.7 6.828 CSI: Miami CBS CBS Studios Intl. 7.1/12 0.6 0.9 2.0 3.0 2.6 4.1 5.9 8.829 Once Upon a Time ABC Disney Media Distribution 6.9/10 1.9 2.6 2.8 5.4 3.4 6.3 4.1 6.329 Desperate Housewives ABC Disney Media Distribution 6.9/10 0.9 1.5 2.1 5.1 2.7 6.2 3.6 6.931 Survivor: One World CBS CBS Studios Intl. 6.8/11 1.3 1.8 3.0 3.9 4.2 5.1 6.0 6.831 CSI: NY CBS CBS Studios Intl. 6.8/12 0.6 0.7 1.5 3.9 2.0 3.4 6.2 9.333 Amazing Race 19 CBS Disney Media Distribution 6.7/10 1.2 1.6 2.7 3.8 3.6 5.1 5.0 7.434 Body of Proof ABC Disney Media Distribution 6.6/11 0.4 0.7 1.3 2.8 1.8 4.0 4.9 8.935 Undercover Boss CBS ALL3MEDIA Intl. 6.5/11 0.9 0.9 2.2 2.8 3.1 3.8 5.8 7.836 Rules of Engagement CBS Sony Pictures Television 6.2/10 0.8 1.3 3.1 3.5 4.3 4.6 5.6 5.636 How I Met Your Mother CBS Twentieth Century Fox 6.2/10 0.9 1.6 4.0 4.5 4.6 5.0 3.8 4.038 Touch FOX Twentieth Century Fox 6.1/10 1.2 2.0 2.4 3.6 3.0 4.6 4.3 6.438 Smash NBC NBCUniversal 6.1/10 0.7 1.5 2.0 4.6 2.4 5.3 3.1 5.740 Amazing Race 20 CBS Disney Media Distribution 6.0/9 1.2 1.4 2.4 3.5 3.3 4.6 4.7 6.640 Terra Nova FOX Twentieth Century Fox 6.0/9 1.3 2.5 4.0 3.2 4.6 3.8 5.0 4.140 Missing ABC Disney Media Distribution 6.0/10 0.6 0.7 1.3 2.4 1.8 3.4 5.3 8.140 The Bachelor ABC Warner Bros. 6.0/9 0.8 1.3 1.4 4.4 1.8 5.2 2.4 6.644 Alcatraz FOX Warner Bros. 5.8/9 0.7 1.4 3.4 3.4 4.0 4.1 5.0 4.644 Revenge ABC Disney Media Distribution 5.8/10 0.5 0.8 1.8 4.0 2.2 4.9 3.2 6.046 The Voice: Results NBC Talpa Dist. 5.7/9 1.5 1.9 2.4 4.9 3.0 5.6 2.9 4.646 Last Man Standing ABC Disney Media Distribution 5.7/9 1.0 1.3 2.4 3.0 3.0 4.0 4.4 6.046 Harry’s Law NBC Warner Bros. 5.7/9 0.3 0.5 1.1 1.7 1.6 2.5 5.6 8.346 A Gifted Man CBS CBS Studios Intl. 5.7/10 0.5 0.6 1.0 1.7 1.4 2.6 4.9 8.546 Private Practice ABC Disney Media Distribution 5.7/9 0.5 0.6 1.3 4.8 1.6 5.8 1.8 5.7

For a complete list of the top U.S. network shows, visit www.worldscreen.com.


Source: The Nielsen Company, September 19, 2011, to April 22, 2012A rating point represents 1,147,000 TV households; shares are the percentage of sets tuned to a particular program or station.

Courtesy of ABC.

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world’s endIN THE STARS

Mel GibsonGlobal distinction: Fallen Hollywood heavyweight.Sign: Capricorn (b. January 3, 1956)Significant date: April 13, 2012Noteworthy activity: Gibson’s in-the-works film aboutJewish hero Judah Maccabaeus is shelved. The projectfaced heavy opposition from Jewish groups, who wereoutraged by the actor’s previous anti-Semitic comments,and screenwriter Joe Eszterhas pulled out after makingnew claims that Gibson “hates Jews.” Eszterhas says he hasa recording of the actor on a vile rant, caught on tape byEszterhas’s 15-year-old son. Horoscope: “You stand to generate a high level ofincome, if you desire. You need to control youranger and impulses to get the maximum possibleprogress this year.” (indastro.com)

Jennifer Love HewittGlobal distinction: Voluptuous TV actress. Sign: Pisces (b. February 21, 1979)Significant date: April 9, 2012Noteworthy activity: In the ads for her newLifetime show The Client List, Hewitt appears inbosom-baring lingerie. However, newer spots forthe series reduce the size of her breasts and covermore of her cleavage. Even before the first episodeaired, Hewitt said she was hearing conservativebacklash over the show’s racy plot line.Horoscope: “Make the most of a lucky streak by put-ting yourself out there. Experiment with seeing your-self in a dynamic new light, this is your self image forthe year.” (astrology.about.com)

Hillary Clinton Global distinction: Former first lady turned politico.Sign: Scorpio (b. October 26, 1947)Significant date: April 15, 2012 Noteworthy activity:While in Cartagena, Colombia,for the sixth Summit of the Americas, the Secretary ofState is spotted at the nightlife hot spot Café Havana.Photos are snapped of her drinking beer from the bot-tle and doing the rumba after midnight. Horoscope: “You’re serious about work, but some-times, you simply must let your hair down a bit and getout there and have some fun.” (gotohoroscope.com)

Angelina Jolie

Alec BaldwinGlobal distinction: Hot-tempered Hollywood star.Sign: Aries (b. April 3, 1958)Significant date: April 12, 2012Noteworthy activity: A frequent Twitter user, the 30Rock star unleashes a series of tweets that indicate he’snot pleased with the show’s network, NBC. His Twittertirade included attacking the Today show for stakingout his apartment. “I think I’m leaving NBC just intime,” read one tweet, implying that his days at the net-work may be numbered. Horoscope: “Aries will act first, and think about theconsequences later. Aries is prone to emotional out-bursts and short-lived, but frequent, flares of temper. Youwill need to do quite a bit of adjusting in order to har-monize with others on a daily basis.” (cafeastrology.com)

Angelina JolieGlobal distinction: Actress, humanitarian, director.Sign: Gemini (b. June 4, 1975)Significant date: April 13, 2012Noteworthy activity:The mother of six, who’s beentogether with Brad Pitt since 2005, is photographedwearing a big rock on her ring finger. Pitt’s rep laterconfirms the engagement. The pair previously saidthey would not marry until it was legal for all cou-ples to wed. Horoscope: “In keeping with the Gemini extrovertside, if you think you have fallen in love with some-one, you should not waste a second in telling thatperson that you love him/her.” (ask-oracle.com)

Kelsey GrammerGlobal distinction: Award-winning TV actor.Sign: Pisces (b. February 21, 1955)Significant date: April 15, 2012Noteworthy activity:The 57-year-old Boss star is spottedat a tattoo parlor getting his very first ink. Currently onhis fourth marriage, Grammer gets the first name of hisnew 32-year-old wife, whom he married in February just15 days after his last divorce, tattooed on his waistline. Thetattoo reportedly cost $60, the cheapest the store offers.Horoscope: “Pisces act impulsively and change theirmind quickly. Use this self-awareness to avoid apotential downfall.” (horoscopes.syl.com)

Almost every national constitution

forbids the establishment of an

official state religion. But this sec-

ular bent doesn’t stop people from

looking to the heavens for answers

to life’s most troublesome questions:

Will I succeed? Will I find love? Will I

get drunk with Hillary Clinton?

Every day, papers and magazines

worldwide print horoscopes—projec-

tions for people born in a specific

month, based on the positions of

the stars and planets. While many

people rely on these daily, weekly or

monthly messages for guidance in

their lives, some readers skip over

them entirely.

The editors of WS recognize that

these little pearls of random fore-

sight occasionally prove pro phetic.

But rather than poring over charts

of the zodiac to predict world events,

our staff prefers to use past horo-

scopes in an attempt to legitimate

the science.

As you can see here, had some of

these media figures remembered to

consult their horoscopes on signif-

icant days, they could have avoided

a few surprises.

Jennifer Love Hewitt Alec BaldwinMel Gibson

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World Screen L.A. Screenings 2012

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