After Madrid’s Iberseries and Mipcom in Cannes, who on earth would want to make another long trek to a third TV forum in less than two months?
Well, rather a lot of people. Two weeks out from 2022’s MipCancun, which runs Nov. 13-16, its organization confirmed an over 800 delegate attendance, which marks a return to pre-pandemic levels. Why is another matter. 10 takes on this year’s edition:
MipCancun’s Boom
Reasons for the attendance rebound cut several ways. “Europe and Latin America are no longer aligned. While Europe’s outlook is quite gloomy when it comes to developing scripted series with platforms, the boom in Latin America is still going on,” said Caroline Servy, The Wit managing director who will present at MipCancun overviews of both scripted and non-scripted trends across Spanish-speaking markets. “Our business is still thriving, especially in Brazil and Mexico, which are huge markets,” added Manuel Marti, Fremantle head of scripted development, Latin America. In January 2021, Netflix was reported to have already run up 19 million household accounts in Brazil, nearly as many as the streamer’s 25.49 million for the whole of Asia. With Korea, Spanish-language shows pack out nine of the slots on Netflix’s most watched ever Top 10 Non-English Series.
Evolving Business Models
Yet Latin America still has mostly the same global streaming as most of the rest of the world, Marti notes. So business models, likewise, are evolving. Globo hits MipCancun, for instance, promoting its telenovelas, led by “Pantanal” and “In Your Place.” “We’re internationally known for our telenovelas, especially in Latin America. They are the true apple of the eye of the Brazilian viewers and travel across borders,” says Pablo Ghiglione, Globo sales manager. “There’s been a rebirth of similar continental storytelling,” notes Martí, calling platforms’ mix of premium fare and long format originals a “good thing” for streamers,” bulwarking their reach. “As the platform getting a more general [TV] feel, they are going to attend all kinds of audiences,” he predicts.
Turkey To the Fore
Equally, the biggest marketing pushes at MipCancun won’t be on Spanish-language series but Turkish titles, which have an avid market in Latin America, especially on leading linear networks: Think Chile’s Mega or Argentina’s Telefe. As is their wont, Turkish international distributorswill be out in force, Inter Medya pushing recent hit big “Deception,” and ATV Distribution“The Father,” featured by The Wit at Mipcom, and both tales of males lies. “That Girl,” about young and beautiful Zeynap, who dreams about being a social media influencer, leads Kanal D International’s offer.
MipCancun: Movie Emporium
But as platforms mix it up, so will TV markets. Some of the biggest news at this year’s MipCancun turns on movies. Fremantle’s Sheila Aguirre will be introducing “Adolfo,” a feature film and relationship dramedy directed with panache by Mexico’s Sofía Auza and produced by The Immigrant. Erik Barmack’s Wild Sheep Content, which has a production alliance with The Mediapro Studio, is developing two new feature makeovers of Spanish crime novels, to be shot in Mexico: Carmen Posadas’ Planeta Prize-winning “Pequeñas Infamias,” her best-selling title, and “El Susurro del Angel,”from David Olivas. ““Cinema has always been at the core of why we do what we do,” says The Immigrant’s Camila Jiménez-Villa. Producers will follow top talent, whether they make series or films. “We continue to see enormous growth in taking big crime novels from Europe, especially Spain, and adapting them to global audiences,” says Barmack.
Co-Pros Bloom
The Spanish-speaking industry has been talking about co-pros for years. Conecta Fiction, Spain’s biggest first-half TV forum, was launched to facilitate Latin America-Europe link ups. Now however, they finally look to be booming. “For many years, we’ve been talking about co-production but not really observing the results. Now we are seeing a lot of very real and ambitious projects. It’s new and more vibrant,” says Servy, citing as just one example “Las pelotaris,” part of a strategic production alliance between TelevisaUnivision’s premium service ViX+ and The Mediapro Studio.
Goodbye to Volume
Why the drive into co-production is another matter.“The industry has changed quite dramatically in the last 12 months as has the economy in general has taken a downturn,” says Gaumont senior VP Christian Gabela, head of Latin America, Spain, and U.S. Latinx. “The era of volume is over. The streamers’ necessity to build libraries continues, but certainly not at the pace that existed before,” he adds. “When times were good, greater value was placed on volume and top-line growth (revenue and subscribers), and in some cases, to the detriment of quality and profitability.
“We have certainly witnessed a dramatic pull back in the last six months for commissioned projects. In the boom era of volume, both producers and distributors felt that licensing and co-production deals were harder to make since streamers required owning all rights in order to build their libraries.” The question now is whether these models will make a comeback and become a viable alternative again to the commissioned model. Perhaps this partly explains the surge in attendance at this year’s MipCancun.
The Age of Uncertainty
“In the short term, production budgets are certainly going to be under greater pressure”, Gabela predicts. “Adding another layer of uncertainty is the fact that the vast majority of bigger companies are consolidating or going through organisational changes, accompanied by a strategic shift in business models.” This leaves producers in a quandary. Gabela shares: “A subject we discuss internally is whether to hold on to projects until there’s a clear understanding of what the outlook is in terms of needs and appetite from the buyers. Or do we take projects to market as soon as they’re ready?” Gaumont itself will decide on a case-by-case basis.
Biopics Rule O.K.
How is Latin American drama series production trending, however? “Fiction based on true events is a global trend, but biopics remains a Latin American favourite within that trend,” says The Wit’s Servy. Much of the running at Madrid’s Iberseries was made by a brace of bio series: Paramount+’s “Bosé,” Prime Video-backed “El Presidente: The Corruption Game” and “Ringo,” a Star+ banner title. Expect more title announcements at or soon after MipCancun.
A Larger Inclusivity
But, yet again, the market is moving. What is new, The Wit’s Servy argues, is a larger inclusivity, such as series featuring senior 60+ lead characters such as Star+’s “El Encargado,” starring Guillermo Francella (“The Secret in Their Eyes”) or “El Buen Retiro,” a retirement home dramedy co-produced by Kuarzo and Argentine cable TV Flow.
The Killer Content
For Latin America, “the main trend is still melodrama. There’s been a comeback but with a premium feel,” says Martí, citing Netflix Top 10 show “Who Killed Sara?” which has “all the ingredients of melodrama, but put inside the typical thriller.” “Latino storytelling is based much more on characters because they let you build a long format. Narrative from the U.S. is more based on plots. So if you mix them, you have a killer content.”
