U.K. distribs weigh in on MIP.

Once again, Brit-based distributors and buyers will have a strong presence at MIP. Despite hailing from the same geographical origin, each company faces unique challenges and sees varied opportunities.

Emmanuelle Namiech, director of Acquisitions and Co-Productions at Granada International, predicted a challenging market for all distributors of drama product. She attributed this to "broadcasters' desire to create a closer connection with their audiences through localized shows." But Namiech was quick to point out that, for a major originator of drama such as Granada, this is not necessarily a problem. "We are keen to sell scripted formats and remake rights in addition to our drama sales," she said.

But an increased desire for localized programming is not the only emerging trend Namiech observed. "Programming that can successfully appeal to both adults and children is becoming increasingly important to broadcasters," she noted. "As audiences fragment, programming that [reaches] across all age groups is certainly becoming more valuable," she insisted, adding that, "this is true of drama, factual and entertainment genres."

This was the thought behind new Nigel Marven series Micro Safari with Nigel Marven, which Granada will launch at MIP. In it, acclaimed wildlife expert Marven is shrunk to 15 mm high and explores the rarely-seen micro world of a suburban garden. The series, said Namiech, "will grab the attention of all family members, each of whom will take something different from the show."

Mark Gray, vice president, Programming at FremantleMedia Enterprises endorsed the importance of appealing to all age groups; however, he contended that broadcasters have a strong desire to attract younger demos. This is a twin challenge he feels is perfectly met by Falcon Beach--which launched at MIP in '06--a second season of which will bow at MIP this year. Set in a beach community in North America, all the principal characters are in their late teens to early twenties, so Falcon Beach is very much a "coming of age" piece. However, Gray pointed out that, "although the central characters are young, their parents are also a strong set of characters, which means that Falcon Beach appeals to all generations."

There is a very broad generational spread in Fireworks' new offering, Blood Ties. Based on a successful series of novels by Tanya Huff, Blood Ties features Vicki Nelson, an ex-cop now working as a private investigator, her former lover Mike Celluci, who still carries the badge and a flame for Vicki, and Henry Fitzroy, a 450-year-old vampire, and the bastard son of King Henry VIII. The 22-episode, one-hour series, which launched at NATPE, is described by Fireworks International president, Greg Phillips as, "very much in the tradition of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed, and fits with our philosophy of offering the market something they can't get elsewhere."

Fireworks' other new offering, Whistler, could hardly be more different, telling the story of three families battling with each other to get ahead in a glitzy ski resort. "It has all the usual trappings of such a saga--wealth, sex, intrigue, power, betrayal and revenge," said Phillips. "We were attracted to it because we realized that following the success of Desperate Housewives, there really hadn't been another ensemble piece [with that much guilty pleasure and interpersonal drama]. Also, Whistler has a lot in common with classic episodic dramas such as Dallas, in that it allows overarching storylines and characters to develop week by week while still having a self-contained storyline in each episode," he said.

Another stand-out trend Granada's Namiech noted is, "the demand for big event entertainment formats." Granada has several on offer, including Dancing an Ice and Surprise, Surprise, which has been a hit in Belgium and Spain, where a second season has been commissioned.

"Big" and "event" are two words at the forefront of Justin Bodle's thinking. The Power chairman and CEO said that, since "the European market is currently in a state of flux and U.K. broadcasters, like those on the mainland, are facing real challenges in drama, the way to resolve these challenges is through big event television." Bodle offers a number of arguments in support of this contention. "Firstly," he insisted, "drama and comedy are two genres that most define a station, and in the case of high-end, big-budget drama it has the twin merits of being something that terrestrial stations can do and cabsat can't, so it makes cabsat channels have to compete with terrestrial, not the other way around. Also, it is more economically viable."

Superficially, this last claim might seem odd, but Bodle makes an interesting case for it. "As European nets are starting to realize, share and earnings are not directly correlated because advertisers are willing to pay a premium for a hot event on flee-to-air--much more than what they will pay for a mediocre performance in a longrunning cabsat series. Additionally," he continued, "it is much easier to get third parties to share the risk, in a way that they will not with lower budget, longer running and more parochial series."

A good example of this is Power's new offering, Fload starring Robert Carlyle, Jessalyn Gilsig and David Suchet. Flood which will be both a miniseries and a theatrical movie, is the story of the flooding of London, which occurs when a huge wall of water surges up the Thames from the English east coast, coinciding with a deluge of rain. "It has a very good script, amazing special effects and a great cast. It is, simply, a very big show," enthused Bodle. With a budget of $30 million, that is easy to believe. Flood is a co-production between RAI, TFI, ITV, CBC, 7 Australia, RTL and Spain's Quatro, and, as Bodle pointed out, "ITV put up just 22 percent of the budget, but when they play it, they'll get 100 percent of the impact."

When asked whether he predicts a difficult market for distributors, Phillips begged to differ with Namiech's bleak view of the prospects for straight licensing of drama. "While I wouldn't deny that we face competition from increasing local production," accepted Phillips, "if we continue to offer quality and originality, there will always be a place for our shows."