New TV channels boost DISCOP market.

"It's like a big family event," said Helge Kohnen, head of Eastern European affairs at Bavaria Media Television, about DISCOP--the TV market dedicated to Central and Eastern Europe. The entire market will, once again, take place under one roof--at the Sofitel Atrium Hotel in Budapest--June 23-25. "It is smaller and less hectic than the Cannes markets; you get to meet with different buyers, who you often miss in Cannes. [The market] has definitely grown, but has a smaller feel [than the other TV gatherings]," said Kohnen.

For the first time this year, DISCOP will feature a telenovela awards ceremony, which will bestow trophies upon the best telenovelas airing in Eastern Europe. This year, buyers and sellers can learn from the masters at the "DISCOP '05 Campus Conferences," where industry trendsetters will expound on licensing, the future of television-viewing, format production, interactive television, DVDs and more.

And there should be a lot to talk about--both at the seminars and on the floor of the market--as the state of Eastern European television continues to fluctuate, mature and get thrown some curve balls. The history of satellite platforms in Eastern Europe is a rocky one--with MultiChoice closing suddenly in 1997--but now the region seems to be back on track, with DTH platforms popping up all over. Poland boasts the most developed satellite market in the region, with two digital DTH platforms, which together claim around 1.1 million subscribers: Cyfra+ (created out of a merger between Canal+ and UPC) and Cyfrowy Polsat. Russia's NTV-Plus boasts a success story--it currently claims 350,000 subscribers and has become a program aggregator, producing a variety of thematic channels and selling them to other pay-TV companies. Bulgaria has launched platforms Bulsatcom and iTV. Romania has launched the first two of what will be four platforms. In the countries that made up the former Yugoslovia, Croatian company Oiv operates DTH service Seemore. UPC has operated its UPC Direct platform in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia since 2000; the company recently made a deal with SES ASTRA, providing it with a fourth transponder on SES ASTRA's satellite system and allowing it an additional seven channels.

Peter Kolosi of RTL Klub, one of the largest commercial free-to-air networks in Hungary, explained the following scenario, which is taking place throughout Eastern Europe: "Fragmentation and the proliferation of cable channels are major issues in Hungary. When RTL started, there were 15 Hungarian-language channels; now there are about 50. We need to have the right shows to compete," said Kolosi. Providing the distributors' side, Helge Kohnen explained, "Even though it looks great [for distributors] that there are more channels, they actually make for a more difficult market." He clarified: "What ends up happening is that we have to do more work and we get reduced licenses. The output is less than before, but we have to do more work."

RTL Klub's Kolosi explained that, since U.S. programming is used mostly as filler for Hungarian television, it is locally-produced fare on which he relies to fill up the most coveted time slots. It is this trend toward localized programming that is occurring throughout Eastern Europe. Bavaria Media's Kohnen said, "There is a growing demand for formats across Eastern Europe, a lot of buyers have asked for those. They are very interested in creating their own localized versions with a little bit of structure," said. He mentioned that buyers have been interested in a wide range of formats--including fiction and game shows.

In terms of which territories are hottest for business, Robert Kennedy, evp at Alfred Haber Distribution said, "We see an increase in business particularly in Romania." Kohnen said, "The market has been stable and especially good with countries that have entered the EU, like the Czech Republic and Hungary. Poland is still difficult for us--the structures are different. As a company that distributes German-language programs, it is particularly difficult because they don't dub, but do voiceovers instead, so they prefer English programs."

Iryna Kostyuk, acquisitions executive at Inter TV Channel in the Ukraine, said, "recognizing the importance of this market in terms of the development of Eastern European markets, and being aware that new areas are being represented at DISCOP every year, we will be sending some managers (who did not attend DISCOP before) who deal with new areas of business for us--mobile content, interactive technologies, etc.--as well as managers dealing with formats acquisitions." In terms of the mobile technology of which Kostyuk spoke, Helge Kohnen said his company is not yet ready to take that leap, "It's an area that is just beginning. I just received my first request, but the legal situation is not clear in terms of whom the rights belong to, and no-one seems to know. The mobile market in Eastern Europe is not active enough revenue-wise at the moment to get too involved in it."

About DISCOR Alfred Haber's Robert Kennedy added: "We used to go every other year, but now we will be attending for our third consecutive year, because the [Eastern European] markets are really opening up," he said. "Every year, we seem to come back with new customers. It will go on our schedule, like a MIP-TV, a NATPE or a MIPCOM."

Monica Veiga, sales executive at CCI, said that she has noticed an increasingly high demand from buyers in Eastern Europe. "We see that Eastern Europe is looking for Canadian product especially," she said. "I've always traveled to offices of Eastern European clients, but I've heard a lot about DISCOP and the importance of attending it in the last few years." She added, "The timing is particularly good ... right before the fall season starts, with enough time post-MIP. We will be trying to push Harry and his Bucket Full of Dinosaurs. We hope to benefit from the major broadcasters who have signed on (in Canada, Europe, U.S.), and then go on to close deals with the Eastern Europeans at DISCOP."