American viewers have long had deep appetites for TV shows imported from overseas — so long as the characters in those shows spoke British-accented English.
More than five years ago, a typical tape sale to a U.S. programmer would land producers five-figure dollar amounts per hour. But quality series now draw numbers in the mid- to high-six-figure range. Increasingly, competitive bidding situations can drive acquisition costs over $1 million per hour. Netflix has spent years building up operations on the ground in Europe, Latin America, the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East and Africa. With that has come skyrocketing investment in original local-language production. But the company also continues to pursue key acquisitions — such as “Call My Agent!” which originally aired on France 2 beginning in 2015, and found global acclaim after Netflix picked up the show. The fourth and final season premiered on the streaming giant on Jan. 21.
Dan McDermott, AMC Networks president of original programming, points to traditional content hotbeds such as the U.K., continental Europe and Latin America, but also emerging creative communities in places like Nigeria as targets of increased attention from U.S. programmers. But demand has its role as well. HBO Max, Apple TV Plus, Disney Plus and Comcast’s Peacock all entered the marketplace near the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, which forced a global interruption to television production. Though shooting has resumed in most production hubs, it is slow going, thanks to health and safety protocols and a string of false starts forced by fluctuating infection rates.
“Great content has no allegiance to international boundaries,” says McDermott. “The consumer wants entertaining stories and is open to wherever they hail from and whatever language they might be in.” Translation: Don’t spoon feed me; I know how to chew. ;-)