Same as it happened at the beginning of the week, Turkish companies were once again in the spotlight in Miami, and Content Americas 2024 closed its doors with very good comments from distributors and producers gathered at the Hilton Miami Downtown.
By Luis Cabrera, with production by Ana Paula Carreira, Agustín Aguiar and Fernando Moreno
The second edition of Content Americas demonstrated a notable improvement compared to the inaugural one – a logical fact given that the previous one was miraculously organized in just one month – and left the almost 2,000 attending delegates very satisfied, who enjoyed agendas full of meetings and very high level conferences.
The deafening murmur that dominated the first days of the event – and the panic generated by the treacherous elevators of the Hilton Miami Downtown, which as a location can and should still improve – decreased significantly on this third and final day, but it was not felt on the agendas of the companies present, who held meetings until the last hour of the day, something unusual for a closing day of an event of this nature.
The Turkish companies, which had already captured the attention on Monday the 22nd thanks to the Turkish Drama Gala organized by Universal Cinergia, were once again in the spotlight, although it is fair to say that they never left it thanks to their participation in different panels and events.
This Thursday morning MISTCO took the lead by organizing a networking breakfast that brought together many of the Turkish companies present, including distributors, producers and localization and technology companies.
“We had the idea of doing this breakfast to see our customers, to spend a little more time with everyone here in Miami,” said María Espino, Sales Director for Latin America and Iberia at MISTCO. “We had the opportunity to see each other at the gala, but we wanted to have a more intimate moment with everyone. We are happy with our first sponsorship.”
Later it was the turn of Spotlight in Turkey, a panel that once again analyzed the current state of Turkish content, not only traditional dramas, but also emerging genres. The panel was attended by Erdem Seçkin, CEO of OGM Pictures; Deniz Sasmaz Oflaz, CEO of BluTV; and Kerim Emrah Turna, managing director of MediaHub, among others.
One of the leading Turkish titles in the market is One Love, which has a great presence on local TV: “In the middle of the first season it managed to place itself at number one in the commercial rating and in the second season it has become number one in all the demos,” said Iván Sánchez, sales director of Global Agency for Latin America.
“It was our second year at this event and we are very happy,” commented Beatriz Cea Okan, VP and Director of Sales and Acquisition at Inter Medya. “We have had new contact with our clients and friends of Turkish content, and what they are asking for the most are classic Turkish dramas.”
In addition, OGM came to Miami to celebrate the success of Lost in Love, and present it to buyers in the international market. “Lost in Love started 12 weeks ago and the results have been fantastic. Not only with Turkish audiences, but also international ones,” said Ekin Koyuncu, Global Distribution & Partnership Director of OGM.
Mediahub, meanwhile, is celebrating the recent end of production on its first title, Alaca: “Alaca is a drama that we have been working very hard on, to create a story with all the perfect elements of a Turkish drama. With Emrah’s experience we were able to investigate and bring together all the essential elements of Turkish telenovelas: love triangles, love-hate relationships, revenge… that’s why we have very good expectations for Alaca,” said Elif Turna, Director of Sales and Business Development of the company.
Returning to the panels, the keynote of the day was also highlighted, given by the executives of Warner Bros. Discovery Latin America & US Hispanic, led by the company’s president and managing director, Fernando Medín.
THE RETURN OF PEDRO EL ESCAMOSO
Caracol Televisión presented this morning the sequel to the successful Pedro el Escamoso, produced in association with Disney+, with an event held in the Colombian company’s suite.
«We have already finished the production process, we are at this moment with everything that has to do with post-production. And I truly believe that this second part is going to honor that character that is so iconic for us,” said Dago García, VP of Production and Content at Caracol Televisión.
RCN Estudios, for its part, also enjoyed a great Content Americas, in part due to its wise decision to occupy a space next to the conference room and close to the market floor, from which the delegation, headed by Alex Marín, VP of Distribution of RCN Estudios, maintained a great dynamic of meetings.
«I think that in terms of creating original content, one of the things that is difficult is finding something that everyone likes. I think that distinction is the most important, we are characterized by understanding what the market is asking for,” highlighted the executive.
The also Colombian CMO Producciones faces the year 2024 with the expectation that 70% of the company’s income will come from its original content, and 30% from production services: “It does not mean that we are not willing to produce good and great projects, but it is also important that we like it. It is a very difficult and competitive business, but we want to have a good time and do things that we are passionate about,” said Ana Barreto, CEO of the production company.
FROM CHILE TO THE WORLD
Megamedia made a strong presence in Miami in the journey of its internationalization, one of the main objectives that the company led by Javier Villanueva has already advanced: «We have created a hybrid model, different from the sale of finished titles and formats. We created an intermediate product that has to do with the direction and executive production of Mega, which is made available to clients and partners – platforms, channels, whoever – to produce a script and a story that was born in Chile. We make available our stories, the team that created them, and based on that we are going to produce these stories wherever in the world the client needs them,” explained the CEO.
With an equally solid strategy is CDC United Network, which is close to premiering its first film co-produced in Latin America in Mexican theaters, Todas menos tu, whose premiere will be on February 14 and will reach more than 1,000 Mexican theaters on Valentine’s Day: “We are very excited and have high expectations for the film,” shared Erik Jensen, managing partner of CDC United Network.
Israel’s Dori Media, meanwhile, moved towards important agreements for its powerful catalogue, with titles like Indal, series in post-production like AMIA, and its demanded formats: «We brought two new cooking shows to Miami. We believe that there is a very high search for entertainment formats in LatAm, especially for formats with simple rules. Audiences want to relax, get away from reality a little and be entertained,” said María Pérez Campi, director of US Hispanic & Latam Sales.
THE INDUSTRY DEMANDS A CHANGE IN THE CALENDAR
Beyond the limitations of a hotel that is already showing its age, such as the Hilton Miami Downtown, the second edition of Content Americas can only be considered a success.
Many attendees who chose between Natpe Global and Content Americas this January saw their faith rewarded, while those who attended both markets urge organizers to find a solution that makes it easier to attend both, without such a long stay and, To make matters worse, with days without activity between one and the other. Or, the most suggested, that one move its date to another time of the year.
What is known is that the Content Americas organization promises to return in 2025, from January 23 to 25.
