Where is the money? When is it coming back?
The truth is, it's not coming back. And we all know it. The current reset button is called the present and that's it. In Edinburgh, they were saying YouTube is now 35% of all viewing. We should be there and we're not in there yet and we should be. That’s revenue that we're leaving on the table.
The reality is that in TV terms the field is very narrow at the moment. There's not a lot of risks being taken. But what is clear is that the middle ground is gone. The 150K to 500k an hour budget has gone. It's only premium up or it's low price.
The big word is always access. Jo Clinton Davis in Edinburgh was saying, no more bimbly nice, oh, here we are in Claridges I wonder what's going to happen today. There have to be layers. Drive to Survive is a great example. Owners, drivers, engineers, layer after layer of talent. But the point is layers cost money and those shows cost upwards on 800K+ an hour to make.
Whatever the price point, no one wants a linear idea anymore. It has to work on lots of levels. Even if it's an access-driven border show, there's got to be jeopardy of all sorts coming at you, front and back, and that's what costs money. As a producer, you're often going to be taking it on the chin, money-wise because if you don't invest in the layers, you aren't going to get a real back end.
It’s obvious but the key thing is, if you can, build a franchise. They can be hard to get going but once you’ve hit volume, it’s the gift that keeps on giving. Once you're over 30 episodes the sales are exponential. I've seen shows not do much business up to 5 seasons and then from 6 upwards it really starts to pick up
Remember the key thing to building a franchise is only do it if you are experts in production and can make the show for next to nothing. I don't think budgets can go down anymore. But I have said that before…. We've already had a massive squeeze on the numbers and no other indies in the world are making shows as cheaply as we are.
On the upside, when it comes to factual and fact ent production in the UK, we are the best in the world because we can make the quality work on the budgets. A lot of the US production companies realise that and are looking more closely over here. US channels like Sundance and Discovery realise that UK indies can make these shows work really well on the money. And US money can be a game changer for any business.
What’s going on in terms of genre? What does the market want?
In terms of rich seams, we've got a good half of our revenue coming from border-related TV shows. They repeat view and they're still holding up. A bit like true crime, everyone thought that was going to go away, but that's still around. Every single commissioner, acquisitions person and every broadcaster has a true crime slot whether they're a streamer or terrestrial or digital.
The golden bullet still applies - if you have an amazing, you couldn’t make this stuff up true crime show - ideally a 4 parter - it will sell. But that's gonna be hard for you to pay the mortgage on for long.
The production companies I know that are thriving are either out in the regions where they're able to make shows for a ridiculously low budget, or they're diversifying into doing anniversary pieces, quick turnarounds, a long-running daytime as well as a specialist factual or some fact ent. Cross-pollination of ideas and talent with these production companies means they're doing all right.
In terms of development costs, this is helped because in some ways the streamers are almost mirroring what the traditional broadcasters are putting together. There's not a lot of difference anymore. You can't say that's streamer friendly and that isn't because they've both moved out of their original ground and come closer together. You have sports docs on terrestrials, you have makeover shows on the streamers. You can pitch it to both.
What Practical Leadership Tips Would You Give?
Creating New Revenue - Network your head off. Network, like you've never networked before. I'm always happy to always have a chat with anyone because if I can be that little branch that gets someone off on a new area of growth it's something. It's not easy but it really is one foot in front of the other. I came up with a rule of 12 about 20 odd years ago and I still use it now. If you create 12 new spinning plates, by law of averages you're going to get 4 proper conversations. From that you are likely to convert at least 1 to a sale.
How much risk to take? I have always thought if you're a small to medium company, in tricky times it's good to stay in the peloton. Let those with stronger legs do the front running. You can just see where the industry is going and time any bursts of activity well.
Pivot Vs Diversity V Specialise? Everyone keeps talking about pivoting but I think it’s also important to stick to your knitting. Do what you do well, really well. And yes, diversify as much as you can, but your risk profile has to match your ability to cover it. Under developed revenue streams are often underdeveloped for a reason, it can be too expensive or too big a risk, so choose the areas of focus very carefully
We all know we've got to investigate and take more of a leap and maybe spend some money in making sure that our content is ready for the AVOD fast market more than it has been before. That may mean some financial outlay, but I think that ground is already developed and level and it's just a question of accessing it now. My advice would be really have your own mission statement. I do think specialising is the safest bedrock to grow from.
How to build sustainable growth? Growth for growth's sake can be dangerous. It’s a really narrow field so if you are purely focused on growth, you can start cannibalising your own content. Once we went over about 20 million turnover, we started cannibalising our own content.
This time, having learned from before, we're set up to create brands where you can sail across 20 million and you're not cannibalising but it does need you're constantly trying to broaden your base.
For those old dogs out there like me my advice is keep learning new tricks. Working with new people and collaborating more outside your own circles. That goes for everyone really. Having said that us oldies often hold a fair bit of wisdom. We’ve often been through it already. Sam Barcroft said when I set up the latest company - "whatever you do don't spend any money." It was blunt but really good advice.
What is Bossa Nova Doing To Respond To The Market
From a distributor perspective we're focused on content creation, getting it commissioned, creating brands. It's unlike what we did before where you are trying to grab everything you can. It works for others, but it doesn't work for us.
In any business, the more content you've got out in play, the more relationships, the more reports, the more agreements, the more, sales team – it’s obvious that the risk and exposure is much higher and your focus thinned.
Thankfully we are currently bucking the trend. According to Andy Fry, who did his Broadcast distributor survey recently, our revenue this year is going to be between about 11.5 to 11.8 million pounds. We did 7.8 last year. We did 4.2 the year before so we're growing.
I think the key is that we've been a bit lucky in the US market. If you're in the US market you're doing well, if you're not in the US market then you're struggling. It makes such a difference to your revenue. So, focus for us is key. At MIPCOM 2019 in my previous company we had 55 new and returning series and this year we've got 8. It works for us because you're not dragging yourself through the mud just to get the turnover. This is a different model.
On one level we are playing it safe and staying in the Peloton for a reason. We're playing to our regular audience but at the same time we’re innovating in terms of mitigating risk by creating content we think enough buyers in the room will vote for so our % of revenue from streamers increases. It’s all about that balance of safety and risk.
What if the worst comes to the worst and a business can't be saved?
It sounds simple but the main thing that helped me was telling everyone from the start how tough it was. True to form, I overshared, but a problem shared is a problem aired after all. The best advice I was given was dig down and really know yourself. We have to learn how to help ourselves, in our own unique ways. You are the only expert on you.
To be honest, I think of my experience as a badge of honour. I wouldn't wish it on anyone but if you haven't been through it, you're missing out in a certain way. You know there are certain times in our lives, I don't know, a wedding or a big birthday, where you feel your senses are really heightened. Sometimes that's an incredible feeling.
I do believe that the old Irish phrase, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Along with necessity being the mother of invention. But if it lasts too long it can become destructive, you can't sleep, you can’t think straight, you literally can’t breathe properly. That's because on a physical level your body is stuck in constant fight-or-flight.
It is all those things about cortisol we now know - about why you're not supposed to chase it, particularly in periods of medium to long term instability. It leaves you less equipped to deal with problems rather than empowered or enabled.
While it's best to calm your mind and body, that's easier said than done. Exercise is great but before I was doing crazy hit exercises now I balance it with a bit of yoga, practising meditation. Sorry, I’m sounding a bit like a Sunday supplement but on day one of BossaNova’s launch I lay down next to my desk and slept for 45 minutes. I woke up refreshed and ready to go. That was new for me.
Ultimately you just need to get a head of steam going again. Mine was created by those who joined me. Their enthusiasm, drive, ambition, skills and competency were key. It humbles you and gets you out of bed. Before you know it you have an excellent team of motivated people and this pulls you along.
Four years later I’m in the best company I’ve ever had, with the best people, doing my best work. Things break, things die but with the right help, you can always repair and regrow.