DISCOP FOCUS TEN PEOPLE TO MEET


Aoki Shigeru Corporate officer NHK Enterprises


The sales arm of Japanese public broadcaster NHK will be at Discop and is positive about prospects of doing more business in the region. A former secretary general of the Japan Prize, the annual award for


noteworthy educational content, Aoki Shigeru will be one of NHK’s representatives in Budapest.


He says: “The Central and Eastern European market pos- sesses business opportunities, with a high future growth


Helen Curtis Head of sales,


Scandinavia, UK and Central and Eastern Europe, Entertainment One


Helen Curtis is the woman oversee- ing hot Canadian producer and dis- tributor Entertainment One’s push into Central and Eastern Europe. The company is looking to ramp up sales of series including The Firm,


Rookie Blue and Call Me Fitz across the region. “Discop East is an important market for Entertainment One because it allows us to meet new and existing buyers from across CEE,” she says. “We look forward to meeting with existing clients and continuing to build relationships with them as well as meeting new international clients who are coming to us for the first time.” The Firm is one of the company’s hottest properties; the


show, which is a TV adaptation of the John Grisham novel and subsequent movie starring Tom Cruise, was picked up to series by US network NBC and Canada’s Global and will air later this year.


Curtis says the other priorities for Entertainment One at the market are miniseries Guns, starring 24’s Elisha Cuthbert, and TV movies Finding A Family, a Hallmark offering that follows a young Hungarian boy looking for a foster family, and mili- tary drama Conduct Unbecoming. Curtis, who is based in the company’s London office, joined in June 2010 from MTV Networks International, where she spent three years as a sales director. Before that she worked at Disney ABC Television Group (then known as Buena Vista International TV) for three years as a sales exec.


30TBI June/July 2011


potential that is generated by the good combination of the tra- ditional cultures and the active economies.” NHK will be selling new episodes of its nature series


Wildlife, which Shigeru says “depicts spectacular views of nature and unforgettable scenes of the vibrant life in the wild.”


The Japanese company also wants to use Discop as a test- bed for a new scripted offering. “We are also keen to investigate how the new drama series 47x43mins Princess Go will be perceived in the market, Shigeru says. “This popular historical drama is being made by the same producer that made 50x43mins Princess Atsu. It was widely sold across Asia and we expect to make its first appearance soon in Europe.”


Lisa Higginson Manager, interna- tional distribution, Shine International


Shine International is heading to Discop looking to build on the success of formats including MasterChef and Must Be The Music. The cooking format has been a hit in Croatia, while Must Be The Music has been a ratings success in Poland. Lisa Higginson, manager, international distribution at the News Corp-owned distributor, is leading this charge and will be in Budapest to talk to CEE broadcasters about these for- mats as well as The Magicians, The Biggest Loser and Got To Dance. “We also have a couple of really exciting new projects airing in the autumn which we’ll be discussing,” she adds. Higginson has highlighted Russia and Poland as two of its key markets. “Discop is a fantastic opportunity to catch up with developments in the Hungarian market. Outside of that, we’re really excited to extend our business into the Russian and Polish pay TV markets as well as to build upon our format business in territories such as Czech Republic, Serbia and Croatia where we can see great potential for format growth, “ she adds.


Shine International is also looking to boost its drama sales with series including The Hour, the six-part period drama for the BBC, and US animated series Archer, which is entering its third season.


“The market also gives us the opportunity to meet with new channels, which doesn’t often happen at MIP because of time restraints. This is really important because the digital business is growing so fast in CEE and the competition for quality con- tent is only getting stronger,” she adds.


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