“The consumption curve completely altered, so the monetization curve has been destroyed… It’s a super optimistic view.”
Those were the ironic words of Alexander Marín, VP of Distribution of Estudios RCN, the Colombian network behind Ugly Betty (aka Yo Soy Betty, la Fea), at the fifth annual Iberseries & Platino Industria today in Madrid, Spain.
During a lively debate, he said distribution deals of 2025 do not include the “flexibility” of previous eras. Marín recalled when his former employer, Sony Pictures Television, was negotiating with Netflix around rights for Kevin Spacey- and Robyn Wright-starrer House of Cards well over a decade ago, and how the nascent streaming environment meant more returns for the U.S. studio and producer MRC.
Netflix had originally commissioned the political thriller for the U.S., but needed additional rights as it expanded internationally and grew its business. “It was an easy negotiation,” said Marín. “We said, ‘We want everything they [Netflix] don’t, and we’ll pay you this amount of money.’ Then, of course, Netflix said they needed download, and then 4K, Europe. Every time they came back, it was ‘ch-ching, ch-ching, ching.’
“Those sorts of opportunities don’t exist anymore because those learning curves have been learned. Now, you have very little room for flexibility in negotiation.”
Addressing today’s market, Marín said streaming has “materially changed what used to be a very traditional windowing strategy for film or television strategies.” While that’s not a new notion, Marín’s assessment is among the clearest reads on how the market has been impacted I’ve heard in some time.
The Miami-based Marín was joined on stage by David Atlan-Jackson, CCO of Belgium-based Vuelta Entertainment; Al de Azpiazu, SVP of Distribution French and German-Speaking Europe, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Israel at Fremantle; and moderator Karina Dolgiej, Head of International Business and Coproductions at Spain’s Izen Group.
Discussions about the fast-changing international TV distribution market are ten-a-penny at industry conferences, but the group made a lively and worthwhile contribution to the pantheon. Atlan-Jackson countered Marín’s assertion of doom in the market by saying, “The group I work with still believes in the windowing system, as it is the only way to make something stand out.”
Atlan-Jackson, the brother of Gaumont U.S. President Nicolas Atlan, who spoke at Iberseries yesterday, added that streamers’ focus on subscriber retention and profit-making meant the likes of Netflix and Prime Video were “functioning more and more like regular TV, accepting the windowing system.”
Windowing complications
Fremantle’s de Azpiazu said the complicated market situation was hitting distribution strategies. “In terms of the windowing, the big challenging from a financing point of view is we used to have many avenues like pay-TV and VOD, and now it’s harder to differentiate the windows we can monetize. In France, we’ve seen TF1 partner with Netflix and Amazon partner with France Télévisions.”
However, de Apziazu conceded streamers’ ambition and budgets are still leading to market-leading productions, even if fewer of them are made. He pointed to Netflix’s backing of Stephen Graham and Philip Barantini’s creative vision as a key reason for Adolescence‘s record-breaking success.
“Audiences know what they want and where they can find it, but ultimately the people we deal with the the program makers and the broadcasters who decide what they are commissioning, and there is more willingness at the platforms to take risks,” he added. “Netflix did commission Adolescence. Let’s imagine the BBC had decided to commission the show. They would not be able to fully finance it, so there would be pre-sales elsewhere.”
“Would there be those tracking shots? I’m not sure,” added Atlan-Jackson.
As the session drew to a close, Marín had the audience laughing out loud when he responded to a question about where TV distribution would be in 2030 by saying: “As they say in France, ‘Who the fuck knows?’”
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