Virtual Screenings 2020: Time for Binge-Screening!

The Asian buyers and the U.S. West Coast bed-late participants have been the first ones to enter, then the Europeans and let’s see the Americas, during the day. This daily newsletter is different from the usual Prensario ones. Instead of showing daily news of events, here we will generate the news, collecting the buyer interaction data of the VS system, making data mining and taking buyer testimonies. 

First figures: during the ten days of Virtual Screenings, it is expected to join about 2500 industry members, with from 1000 to 1500 buyers. They would be, following the 900 registered buyers till the weekend, 30% from Latin America, 15% from U.S. and Canada, 35% from Europe and 20% from Asia, Africa and Middle East. 

The executives are buying rights mostly for Linear TV, both free TV and pay TV (65%) but also digital rights (35%) for different types of platforms, including SVOD, AVOD and TVOD, among others. Considering the attendance to NATPE Miami, LA Screenings and the Cannes shows, Virtual Screenings has 70% of usual attending buyers, and 30% that are difficult to find at the physical markets. About 80% of them are programming and acquisition executives, while 20% are production and coproduction heads.

In terms of contents, there are more than 250 hours of content, whose 60% are fiction and 40% entertainment and others. About 70% of the offering is brand new and original, while the rest are recent productions, launched since Natpe Miami last January. Top fiction genres: 50%, one-hour dramas; 20%, films; 30%, others, as half-hour series, miniseries and specials.

Virtual Screenings has 51 exhibitors, including 13 Platinum, with 8 products to screen or more, 11 Gold --5 products--, 22 Bronze --two products-- and 5 are service companies. The exhibitors come 35% from North America, 25% from Europe, 20% from Latin America and 20% from other regions, including Japan, India, The Philippines, etc. All in all, mixing buyers and sellers, there have been till yesterday, 420 companies from about 100 countries.

The last two weeks the organization set up a survey between registered buyers, colleting till deadline +200 responses. ‘What platform are you buying for?’ They answered free TV 63%, SVOD 56%, Pay TV 53%%, AVOD --the new big trend-- 38%, TVOD 30%, telcos 9% and others 8%. Of course, buyers can acquire for many platforms.

‘Which contents are you looking for?’ 78% series, 72% movies, 53% miniseries, 39% telenovelas and 12% short formats. ‘Which genres?’ Drama got 73%, comedy/dramedy 67%, Thriller/suspense 63%, factual/documentaries 51%, Formats/entertainment 45% and Family/sports, 9%. The 200 answers came 32% from Latin America, 30% from Europe, 20% from U.S. Canada and 18% from Asia, Africa, MENA.

Comparing the results of the first 100 answers up to the 200, there are no big changes: dramas and one-hour series continue at the top, as Free TV and SVOD in platforms. AVOD promises to sensibly grow this year in the market.

Below these lines, you have a link to the User Guide, to run better the event. Though, the concept is to be very friendly, fast and simple. ‘Two clicks and screen’. And the offering of the 51 exhibitors is all-available from the beginning, just for ‘binge-screening’. There are no special events, panels or session. Just a lot of good product to watch and information to analyze trends.

Nicolás Smirnoff, Fabricio Ferrara, Alberto Buitron