October 5, 2007
VOD to the rescue for television
Finally, the article I have been waiting for that addresses the European issue. By Steve Brennan for The Hollywood Reporter
"To combat foreign piracy and to attract younger audiences abroad who, like their American counterparts, want their shows whenever and wherever, Hollywood studios are increasingly focusing on VOD, like the recent trial by French network TF1 who is offering video on demand pay-per-view episodes of Heroes (French viewers only)."Such deals with foreign broadcast partners may not only create a new revenue stream but also keep their traditional output and volume deals with those broadcasters from taking a hit. The trend promises to be front and center in Cannes at MIPCOM, which begins Monday.
... One of the first to raise the red flag to fan-based piracy was Marion Edwards, president of international television at 20th Century Fox, who revealed that this season's premiere of Prison Break was on the Internet within 11 minutes of its broadcast.
"A year and a half ago at the NATPE, we saw a demonstration that revealed that 24' was up on the Internet almost simultaneously with its U.S. broadcast, and that is a big challenge for us all," she said. "The difference today is the proliferation of the problem. That's why you are seeing so many VOD deals being done, and that's why broadcasters want free on-demand catch-up. If we do nothing and just throw our hands up, our business will be gone," she warned.
"In the past, international broadcasters have had the luxury of deciding when they want to put shows on, and it could be six months or a year after the U.S. premiere," said Jeffrey Schlesinger, president of Warner Bros. International Television Distribution. "That window has changed, and the current situation is not unsimilar to that of features, where the solution was to release day-and-date or close to the U.S. release date.
That could mean with broadcast (that) it would be a day-and-date airing with the U.S. in English-language territories or at least much closer to the U.S. broadcast.Non-English-language territories would still broadcast programs on a delayed basis, to allow for dubbing.
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