Weekly: Six key takeaways from RealScreen

It was unseasonably cold in Miami for this year’s Realscreen, with iguanas falling from the palm trees as they tried but failed to brace against the chill.

Unscripted producers inside the Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Miami were proving more successful at holding on against budget freezes of their own, but the travails of the genre were inescapable as execs gathered at the bar to download their activity at the end of each day.

There are signs that the sector is shifting the way it works quickly to adapt, whether that’s adopting AI into workflows or buyers moving away from inflexible rights models. All3Media chief Jane Turton was in bullish mood around M&A and a smattering of new projects emerged across the week, reflecting an industry working hard to adapt. And if you do want a new job, Amazon might have just the thing.

Gen-AI jobs at Amazon up for grabs

Albert Cheng was in town to discuss how Amazon MGM Studios is looking to bulk up its nascent AI Studio division, but fears that gen-AI creations could replace human actors on streamer Prime Video were put to bed.

The former Prime Video US boss, who shifted to an overarching role leading AI investment last year, said the tech would speed up production but that he viewed it as “an enhancement not a replacement” for humans both infront and behind the camera. 

“That really is the north star for us at Amazon,” he continued, adding that AI was “very good at mimicking” but would not replace authentic human creativity. 

The comments came as Amazon’s AI Studio started a hiring spree for the division’s ‘live action’ unit, with US-based creative executives across all experience levels sought.

“Technology-forward creative and production leaders responsible for the production of GenAI live-action projects” are being sought, according to a job advertisement seen by Broadcast International. The creative executive roles require “deep traditional production experience with cutting-edge GenAI artistry”, with annual salaries of up to $183,900 (£135,000) available.

Key responsibilities include supervising “the end-to-end creative production process” to turn creative visions into on-screen content using Gen-AI tools, as well as managing workflows and experimenting with new tech.

M&A focus for All3

All3Media boss Jane Turton chooses her words carefully so when she chose to say her RedBird IMI-backed group is “back with a vengeance” when it comes to M&A, it’s worth taking note.

Just how that plays out given that All3 is in the midst of merger talks with Banijay remains to be seen, but Turton used her keynote to address what she admitted had been a “less busy” period on the M&A front over recent years, following the RedBird IMI takeover in 2024.

All3’s relative lack of activity over recent years has been in contrast to wider consolidation across the sector, with European rivals such as Paris-based Mediawan growing quickly via deals for See-Saw Films and most recently The North Road Company, the latter made up of Red Arrow Studio entities that All3 had once looked to buy.

“We have been less busy over the last few years because it was a time when we were going through a sales cycle ourselves,” Turton said. “During those periods it is always harder to acquire and make a commitment to individuals that you’re there for the long run with a stable platform, that’s more difficult with more sensitive conversations.”

Turton pointed to ‘organic’ expansion in the form of recent US activity - including deals with doc producers Barnicle Brothers and development pods within Studio Lambert - but said that larger scale ‘inorganic’ M&A is now a focus. “We have done less of that, but we are now back with a vengeance and looking again at potential acquisitions and start-ups.”

Pragmatism takes centre stage

The unscripted sector in the US - and probably the world - is no place for inflexible deal-making right now, and Warner Bros Discovery’s Betsy Ayala was happy to share that networks “can’t just own all the rights anymore” as the cable landscape continues to shift.

Ayala, who heads up Food Network at WBD, oversees shows ranging from Chopped, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives to 24 in 24: Last Chef Standing and Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking. And while Food Network, like almost all US cable operators, had previously taken all rights to series, Ayala admitted a new mindset had taken hold.

“We are flexible for sure, we have a couple of different deals that we are working on right now where we are licensing [a show] for a period of time and then giving rights back,” she said. “We are open. If there is a project we really want then we will work it out. We have to be more creative, we can’t just own all the rights anymore.”

Ayala added that Food Network, which will become part of the standalone Discovery Global business if WBD’s sale of its studio and streaming assets to Netflix moves ahead, is looking to be pragmatic when it comes to securing IP.

“We will still want to take all rights for the biggest shows that we love and that we can build IP from, but we’re definitely now looking for interesting and new ways of doing business.”

Channel 4’s in-house plan defended

The nascent in-house production strategy at Channel 4 in the UK has proven controversial but specialist factual chief Shaminder Nahal defended the move as a way to “shore up” the broadcaster so it can better support the UK indie sector.

Sarah Dillistone - whose appointment as creative lead for C4 Productions was revealed by Broadcast last week - is to lead a new production division that will develop in-house shows, while the broadcaster will also buy indies as part of its Creative Investment Fund.

The strategy was labelled “short-sighted” by UK trade body Pact, but Nahal took to the stage at Realscreen to defend the plan, saying that it is focused on diversifying revenue streams for C4. 

“It’s only going to be a small part of the overall target and the argument is that if Channel 4 is strong, growing and stable, it is better for all the indies,” she said.

“One of the reasons Channel 4 was set up was to support a vibrant independent production sector and that will always be the main thing that it is trying to do. This [in-house production move] is a small part of that and the intention is that it shores up Channel 4 so it can be resilient and support the sector.” 

Self-funded & AI-assisted projects emerge

A flurry of new projects emerged across the week reflecting new ways of working, with Cineflix Rights diving further into the commissioning game via a deal with Canada’s Cream Productions and Hearst Networks UK/EMEA.

Deep Water Secrets uses new tech and unseen footage to reveal little seen sea-creatures, unexplained natural anomalies, sunken cities and lost monuments.

Cineflix’s sales arm co-financed the show and struck a pre-sale with Hearst Networks, with the agreement part of the distributor’s broader gap-financing strategy.

Germany-based Quintus Studios, meanwhile, partnered with Vice TV on a six-part unscripted series exploring some of the world’s most dangerous jobs. Danger Play is being produced by Adventure Alliance Films in partnership with Quintus Studios, which commissioned the 6 x 45-minute series for its AVOD-supported Quintus Channel Network.

Quintus has also pre-sold the show to Vice TV for the US, Caribbean (English-language only), Australia and New Zealand. Quintus retains IP ownership and holds global sales rights to the series, underlining the shifting strategies to get shows onto screen.

And last but not least, LA-based generative AI studio Gennie partnered with UK producer Phoenix Television and distributor BossaNova on a docuseries exploring modern conspiracy theories. Birds Aren’t Real, which is being coproduced by Gennie and Phoenix, takes its name from the viral ‘birds aren’t real’ phenomenon, which began in 2017 as a satirical joke about conspiracy culture but gained traction and became seen as an example of how misinformation can spread.

Global sales are being handled by BossaNova, with commissioning broadcasters and streamers being tapped at Realscreen. Max Einhorn, chief exec and co-founder of Gennie alongside Chelsea Durgin and Tejas Shah, said his company’s AI tech would “dramatically enhance these stories, guiding viewers through the evolution of conspiracy theories and providing a deeper understanding of how these movements originate and take hold.”