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Miami — The best thing about the Miami Hilton Downtown is its vistas from above Biscayne Bay and opposite the city’s iconic serried strip of high-rises. Delegates at Content Americas, which begins its third edition this Monday, will be hoping that the market will afford an equally panoramic view of the international TV business.

That’s crucial. Few areas of the world became so dependent on global platform investment as Latin America during the pandemic. Bucking worldwide trends, series season orders actually soared in Spain over 2024, shooting up from 43 a year earlier to 75, according to Ampere Analysis.

“Content Americas is the first TV event of the year and, therefore, an opportunity to test, by talking to folks, your incoming hypotheses about how market trends will play out,” says Gaumont USA’s Christian Gabela.

As of Sunday, participation sits at just short of 2,000 delegates and 175 exhibitors, edging up from compared to...

Eze Olzanski’s Buenos Aires-based Eo Media has confirmed the Jan. 27 A&e Latin America debut for Argentine-Brazil series “Sumergidos” as it descends on Content Americas.

This follows a raft of various new movie deals that the production and distribution company sealed at Mip Cancun with the likes of Paramount, NBC Universal, Globo and Mvs. It also closed free TV pacts in Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Mexico, Brazil and Uruguay as well as inflight deals for several movies in its slate at the Mexico event.

“Sumergidos”is one of the latest additions to A&e’s catalog of crime drama series alongside titles led by “Narcos,” “Narcos: Mexico,” “El Chapo,” “Rosario Tijeras,” “El Patrón del Mal” and “Sobreviviendo a Escobar: Alias JJ.”

“When we sold ‘Narcos,’ ‘Narcos: Mexico’ and ‘El Chapo’ to A&e, not many believed that they could play on both a pay TV network and Netflix simultaneously. We proved...

Rio De Janeiro — Latin America’s largest creativity event, Rio2C, will gather over June 4-9 at the Cidade das Artes complex, in Rio de Janeiro, about 50,000 participants, up from 44,000 last year, including some 1,600 speakers and representatives of about 1,100 companies.

Modelled after SXSW, the fifth in-person edition of Rio2C will feature over 500 panels designed to promote the convergence of film/TV, music, innovation, tech, games, publishing, science, fashion, sustainability and sports.

Rio2C 2024, which has “The Age of Awareness” as the central theme, opens Tuesday, June 4 with five summits, followed by three days of conferences and the market. The event wraps on the June 8-9 weekend with Festivalia, majorly attended by music and tech fans.

Virtually all big international film and TV groups established in Brazil will be at Rio2C. Some of them will present sessions highlighting aspects of their operations and new projects, such as Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery/Max,...

Argentine bio series “Cris Miro” is slated to debut on TNT, Flow and Max across various territories in late June. While cable network TNT will be airing the series every Sunday from June 23 in Argentina, Uruguay and Chile, local platform Flow will stream the series in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay starting June 24.

Max launches it on June 24 across Latin America, the U.S. and in the European countries where it’s available, including Spain, France, Switzerland and Portugal.

The TNT and Flow Original, developed and produced by Buenos Aires-based Eo Media and Nativa Contenidos, traces the life of trailblazing Argentine trans artist Cris Miró who was selected in 1995 as the first trans vedette of the Teatro Maipo in Buenos Aires, marking a pivotal moment in her life. Embracing her true identity, she left her past behind to become a renowned figure in Argentine society. Miró’s fame brought visibility and...

When an estimated 1,000 international TV buyers descend on Los Angeles for the annual TV event known as the LA Screenings, they will see a contracted market still recovering from the twin Hollywood strikes of last year and, to a somewhat lesser extent, the pandemic.

It kicks off with the LA Screenings Independents, held May 15-17 for smaller studios and distributors at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel, which are then followed by screenings at the major studios’ respective lots across May 18-22 where they present their latest shows. They may also host a variety of events for their clients during those days, which may include cocktail receptions and luncheons or dinners with talent and executives.

While stalled projects ramped up as soon as the strikes ended, some delays were inevitable. “A couple of months ago I was wondering if we were going to be entertaining [buyers],” says Lisa Kramer, president, International Content Licensing,...

Argentina’s Eo Media, led by CEO Ezequiel Olzanski, has teamed up with Nicolas Aznarez’s Uruguay-based El Camino Films (“Blindness”) to co-produce murder mystery “Punta Blanca” (a working title) with a stellar cast led by Natalia Oreiro, star of Disney’s “Santa Evita” and Prime Video’s “Iosi, the Regretful Spy.”

The six-episode limited series is created by up-and-coming writer-producer Joaquin Romero Vercellino and penned by writers behind the hit Argentine series streaming on Netflix, “El Marginal”: Silvina Olschansky and Guillermo Salmerón, as well as Alejandro Aimetta (“Maradona: Blessed Dream”). Eo Media will also handle international sales.

Described by the producers as a “thrilling whodunit that takes place in the glamorous coast of ‘90s Punta del Este, Uruguay,” it’s inspired by such pics as “Knives Out“ or “Murder on the Orient Express” “where the identity of the killer remains a mystery until the very end and includes...

Miami — Buoyed by a near celebratory inaugural edition last year – the first time many execs attending had seen one another post-Pandemic – the 2nd Content Americas neared its final bend to lift-off on Tuesday, with a bullish attendance and a market still reacting to the Netflix Corrective of 2022 when it began to measure the cost of its dramatic expansion worldwide.

Delegates, as of Monday, were approaching 2,000, nearly 25% up on 2023’s 1,600. That includes 150 exhibition companies and a significant increase on buyers – 950, doubled from last year.

Driving the spike in attendance is a sense of thanks and recognition of a generally happy experience last year.

“Content Americas saved the day, staging and covering the cost of the only Miami market in 2023, did very well last year, and immediately confirmed the date for a 2024 event before anyone else. Also, most experienced executives are part of the Board of Content Americas. I don’t know...

Continuing their alliance into 2024, Eo Media, led by Ezequiel Olzanski and Spi International, a Canal+ company, have secured all rights for Latin America, including Brazil, to a star-stacked slate of movies from topline talent such as Keanu Reeves, Kate Hudson, Nicole Kidman, Michael Shannon and fanbase stalwart Jean-Claude Van Damme.

As star talent continues to mark apart titles in a crowded marketplace, the new nine-pic distribution lineup also features Alec Baldwin, Diane Keaton.

Eo Media and Spi International’s expanding film catalog now includes “Cold Deck,” headed by Alec Baldwin and Tom Welling, alongside indie “A Little White Lie,” starring Kate Hudson and Michael Shannon, and “The Upside” with Bryan Cranston, Nicole Kidman, and Kevin Hart, a standout in the movie.

Additionally, the lineup takes in the family fayre “Secret Kingdom,” helmed by Matt Drummond. Rounding out the diverse offerings is an intense and bearded Guy Pierce in horror thriller “Sunrise,...

Content Americas, the fast-rising trade event in Miami, has unveiled the finalists for its 2024 Content Americas CoPro Pitch and Content Americas Hispanic Kids Programming Pitch.

According to event organizer C21, more than 80 submissions rolled in for the CoPro Pitch and over 50 for the Kids Pitch from seasoned producers across Latin America, Spain and Portugal.

Among the CoPro Pitch finalists are scripted series “Hot Sur,” an adaptation of the Laura Restrepo bestseller about an undocumented Mexican immigrant looking after her bipolar sister in the U.S. This hails from Chilean powerhouse shingle, Fabula, run by Pablo and Juan de Dios Larrain, in partnership with Fremantle. Spain’s The Mediapro Studio submitted “El mal,” an 8-episode thriller based on actual events. Set in Barcelona during the pandemic lockdown, a serial killer has been targeting those who literally have no refuge, the homeless.

Leading the Hispanic Kids Programming Pitch entries are animated adventure pic,...

A&e Ole Networks has acquired a seven-pic Christmas package from Argentine-based Eo Media Distribution. The Xmas-themed TV movies produced by Nicely Entertainment will be airing on Lifetime Latin America and the Caribbean during the holiday season.

The new pact, signed between A&e Ole Networks and Eo Media CEO Ezequiel Olzanski, comprises “Cloudy with a Chance of Christmas,” “A Merry Single Christmas,” “Saving Christmas Spirit,” “Love at the Christmas Contest,” “Old Flames Never Die,” “Lonestar Christmas” and the thriller “Killer Fan.”

“Our viewers will be able to enjoy more Christmas movies this 2023 season on Lifetime,” noted Carmen Larios, senior VP content of Lifetime Latin America.

Watching Christmas movies during the holiday season has been a long-held popular tradition for as long as they’ve been made. Psychology Today reports that the “familiar tropes, and simple, predictable and non-stressful stories of Christmas movies deliver comfort and improve mood.”

Last year,...

Latin American companies have descended on the 60th LA Screenings, mindful of the ever-shifting panorama in content distribution and production.

The ongoing writers’ strike is viewed by some as a boon for international content. Take what Netflix co-ceo Ted Sarandos said at the company’s first quarter financials report presentation when the writers’ strike was looming: “If there’s a strike — and we want to work really hard to make sure we can find a fair and equitable deal so we can avoid one — but if there is one, we have a large base of upcoming shows and films from around the world.”

“The global market is finally realizing that Latin America, with almost 700 million inhabitants that speak the same language, is a territory that has a huge penetration in terms of Ott and – still – pay tv subscribers,” says Mexico City-based Manuel Marti, Fremantle’s head of scripted development, Latin America.

Last October, the National Association of Television Program Executives – NATPE – filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, cancelling its January 2023 conference in the Bahamas.

Three conventions contend for NATPE’s crown: Content Americas, organized by C21 International; Discop Miami, announced in October by Basic Lead’s Patrick Zuchowicki, behind Discop Budapest; and January’s NATPE Global itself, bought this month by RealScreen owner Brunico Communications.

For January 2023 at least, only one event has made it across the starting line: Content Americas, which runs Jan. 24-26 at the Hilton Downtown Miami. Following, 10 takes on this year’s inaugural event.

Content Americas: A Pre-Market Take

Founded in 1963, NATPE was born and boomed as a U.S. TV syndication emporium. Moving to Miami in 2011, many of its overseas delegates instantly came from Latin America. Their presence came to dominate the event. Now the tail isn’t just wagging the dog. It’s nearly the whole beast.

All3Media To Begin Shopping ‘The Kardashians: A Billion Dollar Dynasty’

All3Media International will begin selling Channel 4’s two-part doc The Kardashians: A Billion Dollar Dynasty. The series, which launched in the UK last week, follows how the reality TV royal family exploit every situation to turn them into money-making ventures. All3-owned Optomen produced the show, which is billed as a “balanced account” of how the family became one of the world’s most recognizable brands. Optomen’s documentary is told with impressive journalistic rigour, featuring incredible archive footage and new insights from high-profile contributors, offering an illuminating and refreshingly unbiased take on the Kardashian’s journey,” said Rachel Job, SVP Non-Scripted at All3Media International.

BBC Vet Bob Shennan To Depart After 36 Years

BBC veteran Bob Shennan is exiting the corporation after 36 years. Shennan was most recently Director of Audio, BBC Studios and held a number of senior...

In the run-up to Content Americas, Eo Media, headed by Eze Olzanski, former Gaumont VP Latin America, has clinched all rights for Latin America on a slate of star-driven movies from Canal+ company Spi International.

Movies take in titles starring “Mad Men” and “Top Gun: Maverick’s” Jon Hamm (“Corner Office”), “The Princess Switch” double or triple lead Vanessa Hudgens (“Full Moon Retreat”), Diane Keaton and Casper Van Dien (“Battle for Saipan”), still memorable from “Starship Troopers.”

Acquired after November’s American Film Market, the new titles will be presented to potential buyers at the new trade fair and conference Content Americas, which runs Jan. 24-26 in Miami.

The Eo Media-spi Internacional deal builds on past acquisitions by Eo Media from Spi Intl, including “American Traitor,” starring Al Pacino. Movies will feed into the catalog of titles – mixing action films, dramas and family movies – that Eo Media is now selling...

“There’s an old Chinese curse: ‘May you live through interesting times.’ The sector is now going through very interesting times indeed,” Fremantle’s Manuel Marti reflected to Variety as Madrid’s 2nd Iberseries & Platino Industria, a TV-film forum, wound down on Friday, running Sept. 27-30.

Three large table talk topics were the fall out from the planned merger of HBO Max and Discover+ by Warner Bros. Discovery – with the removal of more than three dozen titles on HBO Max in August alone – Netflix’s reconfiguration of its business model and galloping inflation in Europe, threatening streamer subs, They also played out, if sometimes indirectly, at the Iberseries & Platino Industria panels.

Overall, the bigger picture was of a still vibrant but now challenged TV industry in Spain, Latin America and Portugal.

Iberseries’ mood was still upbeat, however. “Creators are enjoying freedoms, Americans are reading subtitles, the only stories which work...

Exclusive: London’s Blackbox Media and Latin American firm Eo Media have paired up to develop a drama series based on a novel about the origins of famed Spanish video game company Dinamic Software.

The pair has optioned Jesús Martínez del Vas’ La History de Dinamic from Madrid-based agency Scenic Rights and has signed Javier Olivares, know for creating Tve and Netflix time travel comedy series El Minister del Tiempo (The Ministry of Time), as showrunner.

Del Vas wrote the novel in association with the Ruiz brothers, who as teenagers created a video game empire from their parents’ home in the early 1980s as Spanish tech companies began to boom internationally, before it crashed into bankruptcy. Del Vas spent ten years researching his book and interviewing those involved with creating Dinamic.

The 1980s became known as ‘the Golden Era of Spanish Software,’ with Dinamic’s rise occurred alongside Spain’s...

Late Chilean author Luis Sepulveda‘s short novel “Diary of a Sentimental Killer,” about a globetrotting hitman with a broken heart, is being developed into a TV series that will be sold by Latin America’s Eo Media Distribution, the company that recently handled multi-window distribution of high-profile titles such as “Narcos” and Amazon’s “El Presidente.”

London and Rome-based production company BlackBox Multimedia, Eo Media and Italy’s Leader Produzioni have teamed up to adapt “Diary of a Sentimental Killer,” which is described in promotional materials as an action-packed atmospheric noir laced with dark humor. The plan is for a limited series primarily in Spanish.

The high-profile project marks the first television adaptation of Sepulveda’s work, which has sold millions of copies worldwide, and the first adaptation of the bestselling author after his premature death from coronavirus in April 2020 at the age of 70, one of the first coronavirus fatalities in Spain.