 LATAM | DISTRIBUTION |
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| Ellie Wahba: "There Are New Business Opportunities" |
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The SVP at 20th Century Fox Distribution Latin America and the Caribbean spoke to ttv about the company's current projects and the opportunities the region's new players bring to the table.
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Elie Wahba, SVP at 20th Century Fox Distribution Latin America and the Caribbean.
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20th Century Fox Distribution Latin America and the Caribbean has offices in San Pablo and Miami, from which they manage several markets from Mexico to Argentina. Their programming offer includes between 24 and 25 TV series and close to 40 movie premieres a year, in addition to one of the largest TV programming vaults.
"We continue to achieve excellent results in the region," Ellie Wahba, SVP at 20th Century Fox Distribution Latin America and the Caribbean, said to ttv in regard to the TV and entertainment distribution business.
Based in Sab Pablo, Brazil, Ellie Wahba -a renowned TV executive with over 40 years of experience working at Fox and 30 years in the Latin American TV business- is certainly a referent in the industry.
Wahba highlighted some of the main elements responsible for boosting the Latin American market. "In general, pay TV has grown notably, mainly in countries such as Brazil and Mexico. Meanwhile, the arrival of new streaming services such as Netflix and Terra, among other local providers in several countries, has opened a window of opportunity for new business; especially for reruns. And broadcast TV continues to be strong in every country," he said.
SOLID PORTFOLIO
As far as 20th Century Fox Distribution's business in Latin America and the Caribbean goes, Wahba stated its excellent position is due to outstanding products such as The Simpsons, which is celebrating its 22 anniversary: "The Simpsons continues to be extremely popular all over the continent," he said in reference to this animated series which has already become a worldwide sensation, and one of the company's main products.
In addition, he also highlighted the company's collection of feature films, with titles such as A Night in the Museum 2 and X-Men: The Last Stand. And of course, TV series such as Steven Spielberg's Terra Nova, which despite its disappointing performance in the US, "is achieving great success worldwide," he said. The company also has series such as Homeland and The Killing, which were presented at the LA Screenings 2011. During NATPE 2012, the distributor presented Touch, which was "acquired by most territories in Latin America." Meanwhile, Fox also continues to distribute hit series such as Bones and Family Guy.
20th Century Fox Distribution currently has volume deals with several companies in the region, such as broadcast TV networks Telefe (Argentina), TV Globo (Brazil), Monte Carlo TV (Uruguay), Unitel (Bolivia), Telefutura (Paraguay), Canal 13 (Chile), Teleamazonas (Ecuador), Caracol Televisión and RCN Televisión (Colombia), Televisora Nacional (Panamá), Televisa and Azteca (Mexico); as well as volume deals in Honduras and El Salvador.
"We are present in every country in the region with one or two channels," said Wahba. "In the countries we have volume deals, such as the one with Telefe in Argentina, it doesn't stop us from doing business with Artear. And the same happens on other territories. The only country where we have an output deal is in Mexico, since 50% of the product goes to Televisa and the other half to Azteca," he concluded.
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Radicado en San Pablo, Brasil, Elie Wahba, este reconocido ejecutivo de la industria, con una trayectoria de más de 40 años en Fox y más de 30 años dedicados al negocio televisivo en América Latina, es sin duda un interlocutor de referencia para el sector televisivo.
En este sentido, Wahba destaca algunos factores que han impulsado el negocio en América Latina. "En general, la TV paga ha tenido un crecimiento importante, particularmente en países como Brasil y México. Por su parte, el ingreso de nuevos medios de streaming como Netflix o Terra, entre otros proveedores locales en varios países, ha abierto una ventana de nuevos negocios en especial para los productos de librería. Y la TV abierta continúa fuerte en todos los territorios".
SÓLIDO PORTAFOLIO. En cuanto al negocio de la distribución de 20th Century Fox Distribution en los territorios de América Latina y el Caribe, Wahba subraya la sólida posición de la compañía a través de un producto como Los Simpson que este año celebra su 22 aniversario. "Los Simpson continúan súper populares en todo el continente", sostiene el experimentado ejecutivo acerca de esta serie animada que ya se ha transformado en un ícono cultural mundial y una de las cartas más infalibles de la distribuidora.
Asimismo, destaca el portafolio de películas cinematográficas como Una Noche en el Museo 2 o X-Men: The Last Stand, entre otros títulos. Y claro está. La series. Y entre éstos, títulos como Terra Nova de Steven Spielberg, que a pesar de su relativo suceso en EEUU, "está teniendo un gran suceso mundial", según comenta Wahba. En paralelo, también se destacan otras series como Homeland y The Killing que fueron presentadas al mercado en los LA Screenings 2011. Por su parte, durante NATPE 2012, la distribuidora presentó la serie Touch que "fue adquirida por la mayoría de los territorios de América Latina". A todo esto, se suman las antiguas series que continúan teniendo demanda como Bones o Family Guy, entre otras.
En la actualidad, 20th Century Fox Distribution en la región tiene volume deals los canales de TV abierta Telefe (Argentina), TV Globo (Brasil), Monte Carlo TV (Uruguay), Unitel (Bolivia), Telefutura (Paraguay), Canal 13 (Chile), Teleamazonas (Ecuador), Caracol Televisión y RCN Televisión (Colombia), Televisora Nacional (Panamá), Televisa y Azteca (México), y también cuenta con volume deals en Honduras y El Salvador.
"Prácticamente tenemos presencia en todos los países de la región con uno o más canales", subraya Wahba. Y añade: "En el caso de tener un volume deal como en que tenemos hoy en Argentina con Telefe, esto no nos impide hacer negocios con Artear. Y lo mismo sucede en los otros territorios de la región. El único país donde tenemos output deals es en México porque un 50% del producto es para Televisa y el otro es para Azteca", concluye.
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