New Season, New Deals for the Studios. Stars Galore.

Following the Los Angeles Screenings, critics were predicting a formidable new U.S. TV season. The season began on September 17. Wrote Howard Rosenberg in the Los Angeles Times: "The fall promises an unusually strong lineup of new series. Who'd have thought that possible nowadays?" Commented Marc Berman, senior television writer for Mediaweek: "This year, we'll see more theatrical stars heading to the small screen, more legal-oriented hours, an emphasis on reality and two shows -- Buffy, the Vampire Slayer and Roswell -- flipping networks [from the Warner Bros.' The WB to Paramount's UPN]."

The Screenings also emphasized that business is no longer "usual" for the studios accustomed to nice, plum output deals.

For those programmers looking to acquire video-on-demand (VOD) rights -- "abandon all thy hopes before entering the Hollywood Freeway" -- at least for those who seek DSL (telephone connection) systems VOD rights.

According to Carlo Macchitella, chief program buyer for Italy's RAI, broadcasters have a new business model to face: the fact that studio's output deal no longer works for them. "We're getting away from the logic of output deals in favor of package deals," stated Macchitella. This, explained Macchitella, is because of the studios' recent trend of pre-selling the full rights of the best theatrical movies, which empties the output deal of its most desirable product. In addition, the strong dollar has forced broadcasters to better amortize program acquisitions. "At this point," he said, "it is convenient for us to seek pre-production deals for all rights and then maximize product exploitation through our outlets: RAI-Cinema for theatrical, home video, Pay-TV and free TV."

Naturally, pointed out Macchitella, "with fees that vary from seven to 10 percent of the cost of the negative, the presale fees are higher than those charged by the output deal, but the advantages with the pre-sale are greater." While output deals give broadcasters four runs in four years, pre-sales offer 20-year deals. Macchitella also stated that, this year, RAI will invest $175 million in program acquisition, a figure that has remained stable for the past five years.

Diane Davidson of German-based Media Net Corn went to the Screenings to acquire VOD rights. The problem facing Davidson was that rights were for a DSL-based VOD service. With a cable-TV system, there would not have been a problem.

Because DSL-based services fall under the Internet category; no studios or major independents (such as Hearst, Hallmark, Fremantle, et at) for that matter, were willing to concede the rights to their programs. Better to see what the studios are going to do, and follow their lead," warned Hearst's Tom Devlin.

Nevertheless, the indies fared very well at the Screenings, with most of the 100-plus companies that were screening reporting good traffic and brisk business. The 91 distributors that exhibited at the Park Hyatt Hotel were mostly happy with the accommodations. Initially there was some trepidation about the switch from the nearby Century Plaza Hotel -- the traditional headquarters of these informal events for the past 36 years.

On the fun and recreational side, there were fewer parties than last year. Those that rolled out the red carpet: CBS International's party at the "W" Hotel gardens, the Latin Americans' independent party at the Hyatt Hotel, Universal's party at the Egyptian Theater and the princely Paramount bash at the studios. The soccer match between the studios and the international broadcasters held at the Beverly Hills High School field drew a nice crowd.

Returning to the programs, 33 sitcoms made the U.S. networks' selection followed by 28 dramas and 23 reality/documentary series.

MTV's three new shows still defy classification. The large number of reality series was developed to front the looming possibility of an actors' strike. This year, cable networks such as MTV E!, USA, FX and Showtime flexed their programming muscles with 22 new series. In addition, U.S. Spanish-TV Network Univision, unveiled its own season with a few gems for some of the 850 international buyers (versus 610 last year) attending the Screenings.

Among the theatrical stars dotting the television horizon, Mediaweek's Marc Berman noted Richard Dreyfuss, Marcia Gay Harden, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips and Sally Field (in midseason).