American Film Market Dailies

AFM's first-ever Television Conference was a sold out event with more than 600 attendees and featured executives from Disney, Lifetime, The History Channel, MarVista, and more and featured two session - We've included quotes below.:

Made-for-TV Movies: Expanding Opportunities for Independent Filmmakers

• Panellists:
• Paul Bales, Partner, The Asylum
• Pierre David, Chief Strategy Advisor & Producer, ReelOne/Lance Entertainment
• Brad Krevoy, CEO, Motion Picture Corporation of America
• Chevonne O’Shaughnessy, President, American Cinema International
• Tony Vassiliadis, Chief Operating Officer, MarVista Entertainment

Moderator:

• Michael Schneider, Senior Editor, Variety

Upfront: Presentation for Networks and Platforms

• The Disney Channel: Lauren Kisilevsky, Vice President, Original Movies
• Lifetime Original Movies: Tia Maggini, Vice President of Programming, Lifetime Original Movies
• The History Channel: Mike Stiller, VP, Development & Programming

QUOTES

Upfront: Presentations from Networks and Platforms

Lauren Kisilevsky, The Disney Channel- Disney Channel Original Movies (DCOM)          

“Relate-ability, optimism, wish fulfillment, and emotional impact are goals for a DCOM.”

“In an increasingly cluttered marketplace, we are competing for eyeballs against streaming services.”

“Made for TV movies is a clash of two cultures. We need to make content that appeals to both ends of our demographics.”

“We are looking to make 3x the amount of movies we have made in the past...There is a greater need for more content to remain competitive.”

Tia Maggini, Lifetime Original Movies

“Lifetime has been around for 35 years. We have a very strong brand. They [the audience] know what they are going to get when they go to Lifetime...We are looking for appointment viewers. We are still measured by what we can bring in on Saturday nights.”

“We are tasked with making up to 50 movies a year. Our target audience is women ages 25-54...they want to be inspired, they want to go deeper into the stories, they want to relate to the characters. They want to go on an emotional rollercoasters.”

Mike Stiller, VP, Development & Programming, The History Channel

“History Channel is 25 years old this year. It is a huge accomplishment in television. We originally started as a spin-off of A&E.”

“We have done research--our viewers see themselves as explorers...What History desires to be, is the little pop-outs you see in history textbooks.”

“Many networks have a dedicated development department and a dedicated production department … at History, they are one and the same.”

QUOTES

Made-for-TV Movies Panel

Brad Krevoy (Producer, A Christmas Prince franchise)

“There is a reason why the Hallmark Channel has increased ratings. Because they have a brand, and their movies fit that brand.”

“Because of the economics [in Canada] we can shoot more days at a time.”

[on the evolution of opportunities for made-for-tv movies]“In the 80s it was Pay TV, and in the 90s, there was the DVD, and now we have the streaming services…As a filmmaker you should assess each one of the streamers and see what each is looking for.”

“These 5 years are going to be boom time.  We have been spending a large amount of time researching to figure out what each of these streamers want and that's where you come in...Another benefit of the streaming services...there is a whole new opportunity for sequels because you have a whole new audience.”

Paul Bales (Producer, Sharknadeo franchise)

“Sharknado was made for less than a million dollars and we have made that movie over 20 times...For whatever reason, celebrities started tweeting [about Sharknado], and then there were five sequels because of that.”

“One bright spot in the streaming world are the ad supported platforms - the Tubi's and Vudu's.  They found that Millennials don’t mind watching commercials."

"With this kind of movie, the real question is 'how do you allow enough creative freedom, but still hit a certain budget number and still appeal to a certain audience at the end of the day?”

Chevonne O’Shaughnessy, President, American Cinema International

“What we found as a niche...for Netflix is urban titles.  They want thrillers.  Those stories that were already made with white actors, now for black audiences.”

Tony Vassiliadis, Chief Operating Officer, MarVista Entertainment

[on opening opportunities on streaming platforms]  “8-12% of the content on Netflix is Disney or Fox. That content that is going to go to Disney+. So we've been thinking how we fill those slots,  fill in the gaps that start existing when all the major start to take their content exclusively for their streaming platform.”

Pierre David, ReelOne/Lance Entertainment (major producer of movies for Lifetime)

“The good news is - you know ahead a time exactly what your movie is going to bring back so you know what you can spend.  Then you go foreign. You have a very specific marketplace and you have to make it with a certain margin of profit.”

“Its not that its difficult to break in [to this industry]...but if you only make one, two or three movies you can't make a living.  You have to be in that business...it's all about the formula and rules you have to follow.”

“Rom-Coms are very hot right now because international audiences loves them and Canada loves them.”

“For Lifetime, 50-75% of their viewers go for the title… the title makes the difference.”