In light of the global crisis caused by the coronavirus outbreak, Mediaset Italia continues to support its clients by maintaining a strong connection through new ways of communication and offering a catalog of successful ready-made series to make up for the lack of new productions.
Based in Italy, one of the countries that has been hit the hardest by the spread of the coronavirus, Mediaset has had to adapt fairly quickly to the situation and find innovative ways to continue working closely with its clients and partners.
“As everybody knows Italy was the first country in Europe to be affected by the Coronavirus outbreak. It has been tough since the very beginning”, said Claudia Marra, Sales Manager at de Mediaset Italia. “But our Milan headquarters took immediate action allowing us all to stay safe at home experiencing smart working.”
Through “new ways of communication”, she explained, the company is making the most of email and phone conversations, as well as tools such as Whatsapp, Skype for business or Teams, as well as “virtual meetings to replace market cancellation”.
“Of course, this affected our business relations, with markets closed and no travelling,” she said, “but we do our best in order to support our clients around the world”.
The distributor’s main focus, in this regard, is to provide its clients with series that can cover the lack of new programming caused by the halt in production due to the coronavirus crisis.
“We are observing an increase in the demand for ready-made series, dramas, long-running series. Clients need programs now! So, the challenge is to get those masters delivered while respecting lockdown regulations”, the executive explained.
“We are also focused on offering our dubbed catalogue. With dubbing studios closed and no possibility to dub because of the global shutdown, we are offering the series we have dubbed in the past. This seem to be an appreciated strategy and a good response to the actual situation”, she added.
The distributor is offering the hit series The Silence of the Water, whose second season will premiere soon on Canale5. “This series is having a great success”, she said.
“The disappearance of a young girl in a little community by the sea, where nothing ever happens, will give start to an investigation. Beautiful locations in northern Italy and profound psychological depth of characters make this a good series, with all the necessary ingredients to compete on the international market”, she added.
The distributor has already closed several sales for the series in France, Georgia, Armenia and Latin America, with other deals currently in the works. ”It’s strength is that of being a universal story, fit for all our clients.”
In addition, Mediaset is offering its period drama Love and Sacrifice, a passionate and impossible love, set in the historical period time before the First World War. The series was sold in Albania, Romania, Montenegro, Croatia and Latin America.
“We will continue to support our clients around the world with the hope that pretty soon this will all be over”, she concluded.
