was in his twenties when he left his native Slovakia in the 1970s, embarking on a career as a journalist before joining the German media giant Kirch Group and finally taking the reins of the Munich-based independent in 2004. Nearly half a century later, the 73-year-old admits a part of him has never left.
Distribution of content from the region, however, is just a small part of a blueprint that includes co-financing and co-producing prestige series, as well as taking stakes in outfits that share Beta’s core philosophy when it comes to the production of high-end content – as when the company bought a majority stake in Drugi Plan last year.
“Maria Theresa” is produced by Maya Production in association with MR Film and Beta Film for Czech Television, Austrian pubcaster ORF, Slovakia’s RTVS, and Hungary’s MTVA, with a writer’s room comprised of Czech and Austrian scribes and Emmy-nominated, Romanian-born helmer Robert Dornhelm attached as director.
“We have to rely on instinct. Obviously on experience,” he continues. “But it’s not about repeating yesterday’s success tomorrow.” Audiences in the age of global streaming can have fickle tastes, and the Beta topper calls it a “gamble” to try to predict viewing habits several months or years down the line. “How can you know today what people will be watching [in the future]?”
Though company execs are mum on whether a similar initiative might take shape in Central and Eastern Europe, Mojto notes that Beta’s strategy for the region is “to try to put together resources from those different countries and to make the best use of it for the national, Central European, and – if we are lucky – larger European and international market.”
That process led to Drugi Plan co-founder Nebojša Taraba, whom von Kruedener describes as an “extremely international, open-minded, creative player.” The Beta exec sees their partnership as a way to leverage the Croatian outfit’s creative capital and knowledge of the local market with Beta’s distribution muscle and international expertise. “It’s one way of getting close to the creative talent. And in this case, it’s probably a very good way for both sides.