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Europe’s intermezo and media companies request to “bulk up” and “create gravity” to compete pinch American studios and tech giants, nan CEO of Greece’s Antenna Group told NEM Dubrovnik delegates today.
In a keynote reside successful Croatia followed by an question and reply hosted by Deadline, seasoned exec Henning Tewes outlined six main themes that would specify nan early of intermezo successful Europe. With Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery group to merge and U.S. tech and AI companies increasing astatine immense rates, location has been overmuch soul-searching successful Europe, and Tewes’ talk attempted to reside nan future.
Primarily, his thesis is that European companies “are, supra all, successful nan business of creating attention” done contented and experiences, which successful word produces nan “gravity” that pulls audiences successful and creates nan attachment to bring them back.
To execute that, Tewes echoed Central European Media Enterprises CEO Sam Barnett, who yesterday suggested standard was European companies’ only defence against nan likes of Netflix and YouTube.
“Netflix, Disney, YouTube, Amazon, Apple, Paramount, WBD and Live Nation are not simply contented companies,” he said. “They are ecosystems combining content, technology, data, advertising, nonstop user relationships, franchises, experiences and world capital. European players do not person this strength.
“We person culture, language, and proximity. We person news brands pinch civic importance. We person each sorts of different things. But we besides person nan problem that our markets are simply truthful overmuch smaller. Our regularisation has assumed for years that title is betwixt nationalist broadcasters, erstwhile nan existent competitory group now includes YouTube, Netflix, TikTok, Meta, Amazon and Apple. Luckily, nan position of what is nan competitory group is changing now.”
Tewes pointed to his erstwhile company, RTL, acquiring Sky Deutschland and Comcast-owned Sky’s pending woody for ITV successful nan UK arsenic examples of “inspiration” and a much unfastened regulatory situation successful Europe.
Next, he based on European companies would request to put “much much clip and astir apt money connected nan affectional attachment to our brands and our content,” earlier extolling nan virtues of unrecorded events and experiences successful building IP.
“We are successful nan process of creating attention,” he said. “The bad news is that our shows connected tv aliases streaming compete pinch experiences that are much immersive and much intense. The bully news is that a beardown IP tin create clips, conversation, talent, formats, podcasts, unrecorded events, marque partnerships and community.
“Not each show tin go a franchise, but much shows tin go flywheels than we presently allow. Hence my 3rd thesis: Creating gravity encompasses nan beingness world. The acquisition system is not abstracted from media. It is wherever media becomes physical, societal and premium.”
Tewes’ 4th constituent was that “cinema is live and kicking.” Besides owning 37 TV channels, 2 streaming services and accumulation companies among different assets, nan K Group-owned Antenna is besides progressive successful cinema successful Greece nan acquisition of Options & Town Cinemas.
“For america astatine Antenna Group, cinema is not peripheral,” said Tewes. “It is simply a strategical acquisition layer, different opportunity to link pinch our audiences. It is astir creating attachment. What we person created and are investing in, namely loyalty programmes, family offers, typical programmes dedicated to taste and acquisition content, section premieres, euphony events, and gaming, makes our cinemas portion of a broader relationship. The early of cinema is not simply much films. It is much reasons to time off nan house.”
Later asked by Deadline really accepted intermezo companies could tribunal nan likes of Markiplier and Kane Parsons, Tewes opined that attempting a top-down attack pinch integer and YouTube creators would person nan other effect and nan correct way would beryllium to connection distribution to their films.
As Tewes’ reside coiled down, he called retired those suggesting European news operations were waning. “News is simply a maturation business and accepted news organizations person plentifulness of opportunity up of them,” he said, citing that though nan likes of The Joe Rogan Experience and The Rest is Politics were “great” but “not re-creatable” successful non-English-languages.
He added: “If bequest media brands get their enactment together, they tin talk to their audiences connected an adjacent footing and very successfully too. Think astir The Daily. If nan NYT tin do it, why tin European media companies not, successful their ain languages and for their ain audiences?”
Tewes said each these points collectively near Antenna “in nan correct place, and fighting nan correct fight” successful news, unrecorded entertainment, cinema, TV and streaming.
He concluded saying: “Television creates reach. Streaming extent and data. News creates trust. Cinema, events and location-based intermezo create experiences and attachment.
“This is not astir pretending we are Netflix aliases Disney. We are not. It is astir nan reality of being a European, multi-market, multi-business intermezo group that understands what I would telephone nan caller logic: section roots positive location scale; free scope positive paid depth; screens positive real-life experiences. All of this, taken together, creates gravity.”
