Dealmakers


JOHN MORAYNISS Chief executive, Entertainment One Television


I CAREER


2008 Takes over as chief executive of the TV business after


Blueprint Entertainment becomes part of Entertainment One 2002 Co-founds


Blueprint Entertainment with Noreen Halpern and experiments with using international funding to create content targeted at the US. During its six years, Blueprint produces more than 200 hours of


programming with a production cost of $145m (£94m)


1998-2002 Head of Television at Canada’s Alliance Entertainment. Morayniss is present for the merger of Alliance and Atlantis, and


emerges as head of TV and development of the enlarged group


t’s hard to imagine John Morayniss ever being out of work. Even if E1 imploded (and no one is suggest-


ing it will) or was acquired (more likely), he has the blend of creative and commercial skills that would land him a new job before he’d cleared the junk from his desk. Although he is now based in LA, being brought up in Canada’s co-production culture prob- ably helped. What stands out about Morayniss


and E1 is the way they use inter- national funding models to create US-style content with global sales potential. He cites Haven (pictured, below) as an example: “It’s essentially a US show but was supported initially by NBC Universal’s international chan- nels. It was only later that it was sold to Syfy, an NBCU channel in the US.” There’s a temptation to think of


Canadian producers as being fi rst and foremost the benefi ciaries of tax breaks and treaties. But Morayniss distances himself from this image: “This isn’t about subsidies. It’s a more creative model based around the idea that if you make a good show, people will fi nd it.” It’s an approach he would have learned during the early part of his career at Alliance Entertainment, prior to its merger with Atlantis. But his fi rst real chance to explore this model in depth was at Blueprint, the Toronto-based TV production company he founded with Noreen Halpern in 2002. “We developed Blue- print over six years, doing deals with US cable networks for shows that were a little bit more challenging crea- tively and required an international co-produc- tion fi nancing model to launch them.”


In 2007, Blueprint became part of new entity Entertain- ment One, along with Barna- Alpa, Oasis and Con- tender – acquisi-


tions that created a


multi-genre studio with


muscle in TV production and distribution, DVD, music and fi lm. 42 | Broadcast | 30 September 2011


Hell On Wheels Now fi rmly in its stride, E1 is one


of a handful of leading independent studios with the ability to compete meaningfully with the Hollywood majors. “Because of the proliferation of channels in the US and internationally, there are a lot of people looking for quality content,” he says. “For E1, which knows the international space, it means opportunities for co-pros.”


Moving fast Despite having 20,000 fi lm and TV titles, 2,400 hours of television pro- gramming and 45,000 music tracks, E1 is not so big that it is cumbersome. “The studios are great at what they do, but can’t always move as fast as E1,” says Morayniss. “We build partner- ships with international channels, US cable channels and with companies that you might think of as our compet- itors. With Hell On Wheels for cable channel AMC, we shared the fi nancial risk and the rights with Endemol.” More recently, E1 has played its part


in developing a TV version of John Grisham’s The Firm. Intended as a 22-hour production, E1 is going to international buyers fi rst. Only if it raises the necessary fi nance will it pitch the show to the US. But backing global content remains


risky and expensive. E1 invests around $100m (£65m) a year in program- ming. After the problems faced by international co-production special- ists like Power and RHI, how does E1 avoid over-stretching itself in an unwinnable arms race with majors? “We’ve been doing this for a long time,


‘The studios are great at what they do, but they can’t always


move as fast as E1’ John Morayniss


so we are careful about our level of exposure,” says Morayniss, who still acts as executive producer on E1 drama output. “It’s about sharing risk on properties that have compelling elements like a great showrunner or a well-known book property that is going to be promotable to audiences.” Risk-sharing with other major


indies is something Morayniss sees as a market advantage enjoyed by the likes of E1, Lionsgate, Fremantle, Endemol and Zodiak. “Because we are lean and nimble, we can afford to lose some upside as part of a calculated laying off of risk. The major studios aren’t really in that position because they have such big machines to support. They don’t start out partner- ing because they need upside.” E1’s collaborative model has led


to some interesting deals in recent months. In a partnership with Twilight producer Summit Entertainment, E1 will produce and co-fi nance a TV series based on the feature fi lm Push. In the fi eld of distribution, E1 has signed a UK-based content deal with LoveFilm. Deals like this are important,


because E1’s prospects are inextricably linked with an open and competitive distribution landscape.


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