SVoD’s ‘slice of humanity’ offers alternative to copro

SVoD services can represent a global “slice of humanity” that offers an alternative to the traditional coproduction model. 

That’s the opinion of Secuoya Studios chief exec Brendan Fitzgerald, who was speaking at MIA Market in Rome today during a panel exploring the latest packaging and commissioning trends. 

The former Sony exec said that while financing a drama with multiple partners in different countries is still effective, the appetite of viewers around the world who are willing to pay for multiple SVoD services provides great potential. 

“I come from a world of co-productions, where you sell country by country and that’s the definition around a show travelling, but I think there is a new way to slice humanity. 

“That’s the SVoD slice: the people who can afford two or three streamer subscriptions provide a separate slice of humanity and if you can lift [a show] up into that global SVoD space then they can find that audience.” 

Fitzgerald made his comments following a clip of Faithless, a 6 x 45-minute adaptation of Ingmar Bergman’s script that is being produced by Fremantle’s Miso Film Sweden. 

The show is co-produced with SVT in Sweden and European broadcaster Arte, with the support of Nordic outfits DR, NRK, YLE, RUV, and Nordisk Film & TV Fond.  

Christian Rank, managing director and producer at Miso Film, said the series had been built for a local audience but offered global potential. “We have had many [international] success stories with shows from the Nordics but our local markets remain our strongest, so we build our series carefully and don’t overplay our cards,” he said, with the panel praising Faithless despite its tight budget. 

Steve Matthews, Banijay’s head of scripted, creative, added that he believes risk-aversity among commissioners is decreasing and urged producers to make bold plays. 

“When I was at HBO we were thinking about the art house space and how it works in Europe, and there is an audience that will like [those shows]. But whatever you are trying to do, just don’t water your ideas down.” 

Fitzgerald added that “financial limitations can create a better show because the writers know a plot point can’t be papered over with an explosion or a car chase,” pointing to the rise of smaller markets such as Israel and Flemish Belgium over recent years. 

Rank added that the market for non-English language dramas had become more competitive with “20 shows each” from regions such as the Nordics and countries like Spain competing for international acquisition budgets, against only a handful a decade ago. 

New Regency’s international TV head, Tesha Crawford, pointed to SVoD’s risk-taking capabilities with shows such as Adolescence, and Fox Entertainment Studios’ creative affairs exec Larry Grimaldi agreed that its “authenticity” was the key to its success. 

Federation Studios’ international originals and co-pro chief Leo Becker agreed that both the UK drama and Faithless were shows that necessitated a pure domestic focus, rather than attempting to move them into a co-pro model. 

In a far-reaching discussion, the execs also admitted exasperation at the rise of a “face on the box” approach to casting, as moderator Marike Muselaers from Nordisk Film put it.  

The trend, designed to provide a known face that encourages viewers to click through to a show, is reducing the ability of new talent to break through, said Grimaldi, who added that it was leading to “easy bets”. 

Streamers are also increasingly keen on producers to casting influencers on scripted series, panellists added, with mixed results to date.