Lasse Nikkari, Head of Formats & Branded Entertainment at Sanoma Media Finland, spoke to TTV+ about the content he’s looking for in the international market.

TTVMedia, through its TTV+ platform and backed by Calinos Entertainment, presents its Buyers: What Are They Looking For? initiative to find out more about international buyers’ programming needs.

The interviews were conducted through the base of over 5,000 buyers registered on TTV+, a 24/7 online marketplace where buyers can look through catalogs from thousands of companies, and in which distributors can contact them to close businesses.

This time, we present Lasse Nikkari, Head of Formats & Branded Entertainment – Sanoma Media Finland.

Which kind of content are you looking for? 

We commission scripted and non scripted titles, mainly entertainment titles that have the biggest possible upside. Less documentary series, less factual entertainment format.

What kind of ideas, stories or plots are you looking for?

We are in the middle of a digital transformation, so everything that we commission needs to work both on free to air and non-linear platforms of our own.

Scripted shows are known to be great non-linear platform drivers, so we are going to increase the number of those. When it comes to non-scripted commissions, we are likely to commission more of the shows that we know work as a total TV production, meaning they work well on non-linear platforms and free to air.

Is there any particular title that has caught your attention during the last 12 months in the international TV scene? 

There has been one particular title in the past 12 months that we have set our eyes upon, unfortunately I’m not able to say it yet because it’s pretty much a work in progress.

And any particular title that you’ve acquired that has worked especially well on your screen?

Looking back last season, one of the shows that is standing out for me is Beyond Entertainment’s Love It Or List It. This title has been anticipated in Finland due to its ready-made success, and now we were able to localize it during very demanding times, when everybody seemed to be renovating their homes or moving to a new one, so the timing for this format couldn’t have been any better.