UPDATED: A Practical Guide to Distributing Your Film Internationally: Who Else is Out There in the International Digital Space Beyond the Global “Big Guns”?

Guest blog post by Wendy Bernfeld

Note: This article was originally published in May, 2020. We are updating it as of March 2021, since things continue to evolve at lightning speed in the digital sector. All March 2021 updates will be in red.

The ongoing mission of TFC’s Digital Distribution Guide is to list every platform one could possibly or reasonably be on. It’s a very ambitious list, but not necessarily exhaustive because there are thousands of tiny or not completely reputable platforms (and, conversely, channels with non-linear versions of their broadcasts on VOD) that we have chosen not to include, but striving as much as possible to list the most credible or key platforms where one’s film could possibly be.

But which platforms are actually good targets for arthouse film, especially the kinds of indie content that TFC normal handles, that pay enough money to potentially make sense in an international hybrid distribution strategy? And how do we look at the platforms and film sales in general in light of the “new normal” that we’re all in?

For this, we could think of no better person to ask than our dear friend and colleague Wendy Bernfeld, Founder and Managing Director of Rights Stuff and co-author of our second case study book in 2014 Selling Your Film Outside the U.S. (free on Amazon Kindle and Apple iBooks). Wendy specializes in Library and Original Content acquisition/distribution, international strategy / deal advice, for traditional media (film, TV, pay TV), digital media (Internet/IPTV, VOD, mobile, OTT/devices), and web/cross-platform/transmedia programming, and also active on various film festival / advisory boards, such as IDFA, Binger Film Institute, Seize the Night, Outdoor FilmFest, and others, including TFC! Follow her on Twitter: @wbernfeld. So without further ado, here is Wendy’s update:

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I’m not a distributor or sales agent, taking IP, but rather, a digital sector consultant. Most of the time I’m a buyer/biz dev exec for platforms, often before they launch, or afterwards when they roll out into new regions, genres, and biz models. The rest of the time I’m on your side of the table, helping rightsholders/producers/sales agents/festivals deal beyond the usual suspects.

Since my last TFC blog on the topic, the platform-buying sector has continued to grow and by now explode—particularly in SVOD and AVOD, along with a more recent upsurge in TVOD variations and innovations driven by COVID-19 (Premium VOD, virtual cinema, and festivals, both online and hybrid)u.

Explosion in the VOD Sector Pre Covid-19

This explosion came from various sources:

• the competitive appetites of mainstream “Big Guns,” i.e. Netflix, Amazon and now, the newer USA entrants, such as HBOMax, AppleTV+, Disney+/Hulu, Peacock, Viacom/CBS in SVOD, and Pluto.tv, TubiTV, Roku.tv in AVOD (most of which will also roll out internationally in 2020-21);
• Overseas demand from the scores of EMEA/International sector regional and multiregional VODs (via telecom, cable, OTT, TV networks, cinemas and consumer electronics types) who strive to be ‘head on’ competitors;
• and a wealth of complementary VODs, drilling down into a specific theme, genre, or niche target audience, which are lower-priced and positioning themselves as “stackable” add-ons for the household.

The beauty is, beyond the Global Big Guns, most of the VODs still license titles non-exclusively, so one can sell across multiple windows and regions, through TVOD, SVOD, and AVOD, balanced with traditional.

Although some of the earlier indie film and doc services sadly fell away since the last blog, more have stabilized, morphed, and matured.

• Some arthouse SVOD sites (Mubi.com, UniversCine and FilmIn Spain for example) have been around for more than a decade. Other new entrants have found a foothold, although are still in early days (e.g. Cinetree).
• Some were already credibly funding or co-funding Originals (Movistar+, FilmIn, Viaplay, Stan, Curiosity Stream).
• Others either went deeper into niches, or expanded to wider regions, (e.g. American sites adding international regions, or vice versa), and/or added more genres of buying, and/or added other business models—hybrids in TVOD, SVOD, and AVOD). Examples of these include Rakuten, Mubi, UniversCine/Uncut, All4/WalterPresents, SundanceNow/Shudder, and Acorn.tv.

Already, before the advent of COVID-19, the ‘Holy Grail’ of a Netflix or Amazon deal was increasingly challenging for most indies, since, in general:

• more focus was on platform Originals, and/or Series (rather than feature films or docs);
• and for features, more focus was on stars/recognition rather than niche films.
• Non-USA films became a bigger priority, as the platforms intensified EMEA and international localization and had to deal with regulatory/political content requirements (e.g. airtime and funding).

Thus, it had already been critical for indies to go beyond the Big Guns to see who else was out there abroad, buying and sometimes funding.

Since COVID-19

It is no surprise that audiences in lockdown globally have caused a dramatic surge in VOD/TV viewing. With production halted, and festivals and cinemas closed or morphing online, the platforms and networks have been rapidly running through their inventories. As an upside, domestically and abroad, more platforms are now more open to wider types of buying than before, including an enhanced appetite for festival, indie films, and docs.

“Big Guns”

Even the largest and mainstream players are turning now to select curated library and classics – for example, in recent weeks Netflix licensed packages of French/other auteur classics from MK2 France.

Assume for the moment you are in the lucky position to have interest in your film from a global Netflix or Amazon Prime type, from which the highest-priced deals can result. However, along with it comes restrictive exclusivity and various other window holdbacks. Heavier personal marketing is required to help viewers find your film and hear your message (assuming that is important to you, rather than just the large license fees).

As before, keep in mind the domestic deal offerings are one price tag, but do you agree to automatically tack on “ROW” (rest of world) to the domestic deal offer? Certainly easier and where the deal is non-exclusive, also an easier call—but if exclusivity is required, now more than ever it is key, if your film is in hot demand, to consider international possibilities/valuation from these competitors and complementary sites abroad, across different regions, multiple platforms, and successive windows.

That strategy, if you choose to follow it, is WAY more work, as there are a dizzying array of opportunities to explore. However, if you are willing to take the time and effort – whether directly, or via your agents or a combination (hybrid) of digital and traditional reps—to go beyond the usual suspects, you achieve a new pipeline for the longer term. At the very least, the intel from the patchwork of offers allows for better negotiation of the ROW deal requested back home.

Netflix has quietly and significantly launched a linear version of its SVOD service to SVOD subscribers in France. If this interesting trial (sort of like an ‘everything old is new again’ experiment) goes well, Netflix may well expand this linear programming approach to other regions. There is awareness particularly in some countries that consumers may be struggling with too many choices and would prefer to ‘lean back’ on a more curated programming experience that includes scheduled linear viewing, etc…and on a related note, some other SVODs, such as Docubay in India, have also launched a linear option for their viewers/subscribers. Let’s watch this space!

Netflix also announced recently in January that it will focus on premiering one new feature film per week (as opposed to earlier, where there was more of an emphasis on series originals).

As of late February 2021, Amazon just suddenly shut off ‘short form content’ and ‘documentaries’ from the self-upload Prime Video Direct program, causing great concern in the industry as to the fate of indie docs that are ‘unsolicited.’ We are looking into whether this also applies to distributors, aggregators, and other sources, as well.

TVOD sector: and newer festival streaming, PVOD, virtual cinema

The COVID-19 era has, on the plus side, mobilized the industry to break away from traditional assumptions and has rapidly sparked innovation (particularly in historic approaches to film distribution) for new releases.

Innovations: Although beyond the scope of this blog to detail this, I’ll note my KUDOS to the film industry in the face of these challenging times, for the recent resurgence in TVOD and related innovations borne out of COVID-19:

• Festival Streaming: Festivals/markets that were cancelled are moving commercially and creatively online (e.g. New Zealand International Film Fest)
• Premium TVOD: in lieu of cinema exhibition, some films are going straight to platforms (e.g. Never Rarely Sometimes Always, etc.) Although HBO Max and various other U.S.-based platforms are skipping theatrical and going straight to VOD releases—a sore point for some indie filmmakers in the U.S.—one should note that for HBO Europe, this is not expected to be the case until later in 2021 because HBO Max is not available yet in Europe. The first region in 2021 that HBO Max will launch internationally in will be Latin America. HBO Europe will still continue as it is until later this year.
• Virtual Cinema: in lieu of Theatrical, releasing Currents/events online and sharing revenues with Cinemas (e.g. ModernFilm UK, KinowMarquee USA,) and other innovations like Drive-ins! (Vilnius airport!)

All require open, nimble and flexible thinking, balancing traditional and digital sector audiences and stakeholders, windows, revenues, and marketing—all at lightning speed.

There is no doubt in my mind that some of these will continue, at least in modified form, post COVID-19…although we all acknowledge there is no total substitute for the cinema experience and in-person contact.

Traditional TVOD: For current and library titles, usually nonexclusive, and on rev share, the windows and strategies remain largely unchanged from our earlier blogs:

• DON’T STOP AT ONE DEAL – i.e. if doing an iTunes or similar TVOD deal, try to also go to as many of the rest out there that you can,
• Including TVODs from cinema-related chains (e.g. PatheThuis NL), telecoms/cable (e.g. Vodafone/Ziggo, Orange) PayTV and Free TV (e.g. Sky, RTL, All4, UniversCine, etc.),
• across many regions, and mainstream and niche/theme sites so the revenues (and marketing buzz) cumulates.

SVOD/AVOD Internationally

The PayTV/SVOD sector is still where most of the revenues for filmmakers arise. For library deals, usually the sweet spot for SVOD is for films 2-5 years old, and AVOD is usually older.

Although there are in theory over 3000 VOD platforms in the EU alone (not even considering the rest of the world), at Rights Stuff, we tend to focus on a curated fraction, e.g. those 50-100 that are reputable, and yet also commercial, paying proper flat license fees (the usual for SVOD/AVOD and ‘multimodel’ sites).

Of course, there are some exceptions where flat fees/MG’s are less customary or needed due to platform size/scale (such as for the larger USA sites like Hulu, Amazon, Tubi.tv, Pluto.tv). However, as a general rule in EMEA/international, one needs something more than a rev share in smaller SVODs and AVOD.

Platform Examples (a non-exhaustive list for Indie Films and Docs)

Below is a snapshot list of some examples of platforms (whether mainstream, or thematic: i.e. niche/genre specific) beyond USA. These have recently bought and are open to buying quality indie films, art house, or docs from USA indies, usually with some festival or other high acclaim – without necessarily having local EU releases, language versions, or big stars (although the latter helps elevate the appetite and deal size).

CAVEATS: This list is NOT exhaustive, but an illustrative snapshot at this time. There are many more, not listed below, including mainstream or very local language sites, or those in various niches not usually of immediate interest to TFC filmmakers.

To help bring it down to earth, I’ve used as one criteria: they have done a deal with a niche indie/doc filmmaker from the USA in the recent past.

Also keep in mind:

• Platforms tastes, needs, and appetites (and competitive positioning) are always changing.
  • So, on the plus side, even if a title is rejected now, one can circle back 6 months later (if the rejection reason was more that the platform was overstocked in a category or bad budget timing).
  • But obviously do not circle back if they rejected the film because they didn’t like it/not suitable for them.
• Your film benefits most overseas if it travels well culturally, has strong acclaim, or is particularly topical and/or other marketable appeal.
• Language is very relevant but does not have to be a barrier:
  • English OV films generally travel easiest first to other English regions/sites (Canada, UK, IE, AU, NZ, South Africa);
  • then next easiest, is subtitling-friendly regions (like Nordic, Benelux) as well as the pure cinephile arthouse and documentary sites (where audiences are accustomed to subtitles);
  • In other regions such as Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Brazil, dubbing requirements have to be factored in. That said, if you have a few potentially interested platforms in one region/language, it is easier to assess value of dubbing costs—no need to do in advance.
• Politically: USA films are, frankly, not at the top of some EU platform priorities at the moment – so be realistic in your expectations.
  • For example, EU platforms now have content country of origin quotas (official and unofficial) to balance, ranging from 20-50% in practice.
  • This means after a platform has first bought its MPAA studio major output deals (if applicable), and then bought from its own EU or local minimajor and indie distributors, and then bought its own direct local indie filmmakers, then and only then can they have room for ad hoc cherrypicked USA indie sector films.

Caveats aside: Let’s look at some platforms who have, despite the above, bought USA indies selectively in recent past. The thematics (niches) are usually listed first, as sales to mainstreamers are less frequent (but some are still listed).

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Regions

UK/Ireland

Niche

Mubi
	curated art house	Multiregion • SVOD, some TVOD | Expanded most recently to India and ever-innovating, such as with its MubiGo cinema cross-marketing initiatives and its “Day and Date” or other theatrical partnerships with UK indie art cinemas. Expanded beyond merely day-and-date to include “virtual cinema” offerings. Mubi has also expanded their library, and expanded to more regions as well.
Curzon
	arthouse	date and date TVOD | Expanded beyond mere day-and-date to include “virtual cinema” offerings.
AMC’s Sundance Now
	indie series	SVOD | Has expanded beyond North America to the UK and Ireland
Shudder
	horror	UK, USA, some other EU • SVOD | Has moved also into Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. Later in 2020 it started funding Originals.
Docsville
	docs	UK | Nick Fraser (ex BBC Storyville). Although still live online hasn’t been actively buying or funding lately, unfortunately. We’ll watch this space as it morphs through different reorganization/investment stages.
Acorn.tv
	British	USA, UK • SVOD | Content that features British and English colonies, some exceptions. AcornTV has expanded beyond the U.S. and UK to also include Canada, Latin America, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, the Nordics, the Netherlands and South Africa. They also have been funding some Originals again. They are positioning themselves against the competitors in the Brit/Anglo space—such as BritBOX (BBC, ITV, Channel4) and are buying from wider sources and regions to differentiate themselves.

More Mainstream

All4
	occasional indie titles	multimodel | All4 / Film4 / Channel4
Walter Presents
	episodic	SVOD, AVOD | Walter Presents is mainly focused on episodic from outside UK, not films or docs. Channel 4’s Walter Presents series SVOD/AVOD has expanded regions beyond UK, Ireland, the U.S., and Australia to Belgium, Italy and New Zealand, as well.
NowTV by Sky
	mainstream	PAY/SVOD/TVOD | BSkyB/Sky/SkyNow. Rare, unless there is a location connection/rep/acclaim/release
Discovery+
	mainstream	SVOD | Now launched in the UK

Australia/New Zealand

Niche

iwonder
	docs	SVOD, AVOD • AU, NZ, Southest Asia | in 2020, iwonder also funded an Original during the pandemic that may be a one-off or may be followed by more, but it is still an interesting development for creators when buyers start to get involved in funding…we’ll watch this space.
SBS World Movies Network
	world cinema	AVOD and TV • Australia | AVOD arm of SBS TV / VOD. SBS World Movies is now only AVOD and TV, not SVOD anymore. They still focus on films from outside Australia (world cinema and foreign language cinema).

More Mainstream

Stan
	mainstream	SVOD • Australia | Channel 9’s SVOD. Stan SVOD in Australia has greatly increased both its number of subscribers and its competitive position, and continues to fund Originals. In early 2021, Stan announced a partnership with Walter Presents for an expanded drama slate.
Neon
	mainstream	SVOD • New Zealand | merging with competitor Lightbox. New Zealand’s Neon and Lightbox services have merged into one SVOD, still called Neon, run by parent Sky New Zealand. Neon is not to be confused with the Neon (Neon Rated) distributor in the U.S.
Lightbox
	mainstream	SVOD • New Zealand | merging with competitor Neon. New Zealand’s Neon and Lightbox services have merged into one SVOD, called Neon, run by parent Sky New Zealand.

Benelux

Niche

Cinetree
		SVOD/TVOD • The Netherlands
Uncut
		PVOD/Virtual Cinema/SVOD/TVOD • Benelux | Uncut and Universciné have merged their SVOD offerings and rebranded into a new hybrid Benelux (Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands) service called “Sooner,” which is also in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. They also have been active in select virtual cinema offerings.
Universciné
		PVOD/Virtual Cinema/SVOD/TVOD • Belgium | Uncut and Universciné have merged into a new hybrid SVOD service called “Sooner” (see Uncut, above, and Sooner, below).
Sooner
		SVOD | Uncut and Universciné have merged into this new hybrid SVOD service in Belgium, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (see UniversCiné and Uncut, above).
OutTV
	LGBTQ	SVOD •The Netherlands | (separate from OUTtv in Canada). OutTV in the Netherlands (not to be confused with OUTtv in Canada) has expanded to wider regions (Benelux, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Israel, Spain, and Central/Eastern Europe.) The platform owners of OutTV in The Netherlands have also bought Cinemien, the local art house Benelux distributor, and will be consolidating offerings in platforms and content licensing in future. Watch this space.

More Mainstream

Proximus
		TVOD/SVOD • Belgium
RTLs4 / Videoland
	multimodel	TVOD/SVOD/AVOD and TV • The Netherlands | Also funding (local) Originals
Movies & Series
		SVOD/TVOD • The Netherlands | from Vodafone/Ziggo
Film1 (SPI International)
		PAY/SVOD • The Netherlands | now part of Central Eastern Europe/UK-related SPI International sites Filmbox and Filmbox Arthouse
Pathé Thius
		TVOD • The Netherlands | complementary spinoff Pathé brand cinemas in the Netherlands. Pathe Thuis in The Netherlands funded its first original. An interesting development from ‘mere’ buyer to now funder.
NPO+
	Dutch public broadcasting	SVOD • The Netherlands | only occasional non-Dutch buying

Spain

Niche

FilmIn
		SVOD, some TVOD | Spain/Mexico/Portugal. Also now funding select Originals.
Planet Horror
	horror	SVOD | via AMC

More Mainstream

Movistar (Telefonica)
		PAY/SVOD | Spain / Latin America
Rakuten (formerly Wuaki.tv)
		multimodel | Spain, Beneflux, other EU. Rakuten expanded its focus beyond SVOD, TVOD, to increased AVOD/OTT offerings (e.g., via connected TVs), and has funded a few Originals in more mainstream categories (previously, it had been ‘merely’ a buyer).

France

Niche

FilmoTV
	arthouse	SVOD
Universcine
		TVOD/SVOD
Trace.tv / TracePlay
		SVOD | Afro.urban theme, millennials, also in UK, Africa/global diaspora
La Cinetek
		SVOD
Tenk
	docs	SVOD | TENK docs SVOD is in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and (most recently) Quebec in Canada.

More Mainstream

Pluto.tv
		AVOD | France, Germany, US (now part of Viacom). Pluto AVOD (part of Viacom group) expanded to more regions, beyond Germany, U.S. and France to also include Latin America, Spain, Canada, the UK, and Brazil. It is expected to launch in Italy later in 2021.
Orange, OCS
		multimodel | mainstream multimodel but also selective higher-end arthouse and indies
MyCanal
		SVOD | CanalPlay SVOD has been discontinued, but they still offer CanalSERIES, which, in addition to France, has also since expanded to Poland.

Nordics

Niche

Curio
	docs	SVOD
Dplay
	docs	SVOD/AVOD | via Discovery Network. DPLAY SVOD has expanded to more regions, and also its new service brand variation SVOD, Discovery+, in the UK.

More Mainstream

Viaplay / Viafree
		TVOD/SVOD/AVOD and PAY/FREE | usually mainstream, and local, but some indie buying from abroad. Viaplay Nordics (SVOD and multimodel) announced a launch in the U.S. (and also in the Baltics, later in 2021). This will amount to a high volume of Originals deals and coproductions (digital) with other players, including series producers in the U.S. and Canada.
Cmore
		PAY/SVOD
HBO Europe
		PAY/SVOD | Central Eastern Europe, Nordics, Spain, Portugal. HBO Europe remains for the time being, as it is not yet the full-on HBO MAX that the U.S. is offering. As noted above, HBO Max’s first international launch will be in Latin America, and then other regions in the EU will follow later in 2021.

Germany

Niche

Realeyz+
		SVOD/TVOD and broader OTT
Flimmit
		SVOD | Austria. Removing this from the active interest selling list for U.S. indies, as their programming model has recently narrowed/intensified to films specific to the Austrian region rather than from wider sources abroad. They are very active and good quality but not buying (much) in terms of U.S. indies these days.

More Mainstream

Joyn / Joyn Plus
		SVOD/TVOD and broader OTT | Germany. Maxdome is merging into it. Joyn+ SVOD has begun funding German Originals, not just ‘buying.’

Central Eastern Europe / Middle East / Russia

Niche

Filmbox / Filmbox Arthouse
		PAY/SVOD | Central Eastern Europe, UK. Filmbox Live has now evolved as of Feb. 2021 to Filmbox+, replacing FilmBox Extra and expanding their service offerings in content (film, docs, etc.) and tech variations (apps, channel). Filmbox ArtHouse continues, as do other thematic channel strands.

More Mainstream

StarzPlay Arabia
		SVOD | StarzPlay MENA has expanded to OTT in other EU regions, some that are direct-to-consumer (e.g., apps and online), and others via telecom/cable carrier partners. Overall their total reach as of Jan. 2021 is 55 regions.
Mnet Movies
		PAY/SVOD | Africa
Multichoice
		TVOD | Africa
Showmax
		SVOD | Africa. In 2021, there will be increasingly African-focused content, and therefore less appetite for internationally-sourced indie material, although there will be some exceptions (e.g., for African-filmed or coproduced content).
IVI
		SVOD | Russia

Asia

Niche

Crunchyroll
	anime	SVOD, AVOD | Crunchyroll has added AVOD in addition to SVOD, and is now global.
Docubay
	docs	SVOD, Linear | India. As noted above, DocuBay has added linear channel option beyond mere SVOD.

More Mainstream

Alibaba / Youku
		multimodel | China
Viu
		SVOD/AVOD | Asia

Canada

Niche

OUTtv
	LGBTQ	SVOD | (different from OutTV Netherlands). Canada’s OUTtv, beyond North America, is also in South Africa and New Zealand. It also has begun funding Originals.

More Mainstream

Crave
		SVOD | Canada. Crave has added a French language (Québécois) variation.

OTHER: Note there are many other international micro-niche sites you can sell to non-exclusively, such as kids, short form episodic/webseries, wildlife, expats/diaspora, lifestyle, gardening, dance, millennials, reality, hobbies, and series, but as they are generally not applicable for most TFC filmmakers, I don’t list them here.

In 2021, more micro-niche thematic sites continue to abound, such as children’s content (Hopster, with multiple competitors around the world), wildlife specialized sites (Love Nature), expats/diaspora (Afroland, ZeeTV), nonfiction reality entertainment (Insight.tv), performing arts (Marquee.tv), and others including gardening, dance, millennials, and other hobbies. Many OTT box offerings are also curating theme channels and microthemed channels, such as Pluto, Roku, etc.

Takeaways

As before, our basic rules have not changed:

• Act quickly and work collaboratively (filmmakers + agents/distributors) to seize timing opportunities.
• Balance traditional and digital to best capture cumulative and incremental revs in the non-exclusive deal sector, while also developing a longer term platform pipeline.
• Be aware many platform buyers rarely attend markets/festivals and instead work virtually (even pre COVID-19, as I did) to better allocate their leaner budgets towards programming spend, rather than markets.
• Don’t stop at just one deal, unless exclusivity or funding elements are in play and worth it.
• Don’t be blocked per se by rights issues. Pragmatic business deals where others are “cut in’’ can help make those melt away.
• Consider hybrid distribution: traditional and digital specialists sharing the job for maximum bang for your buck: “100% of Zero is still Zero”
• After the deal is done – Help audiences know where to find your film!

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I look forward to seeing more of your films and docs here and in other parts of the world!
— Wendy Bernfeld, Rights Stuff • @wbernfeld

David Averbach March 1st, 2021

Posted In: Uncategorized