Channels ditching imports for local drama – study

Local dramas are increasingly pushing imported programmes off channel schedules, a new report suggests.

Eurodata TV Worldwide’s Scripted Series Report 2016 shows that of the top 15 primetime shows from 103 channels polled, 84% are locally-produced series.

Imports appear less on schedules as a result, with Eurodata’s international research manager, Avril Blondelot, saying “true international hits are appearing less and less in the national top rankings”.

However, Eurodata noted that some international shows were cutting through. The X Files (pictured), for example, was rating well on M6 in France, ProSieben in Germany, TV3 in Sweden and Channel 5 in the UK.

Furthermore, “the international stage is playing a growing role in the development of local series”, according to Léa Besson, a media consultant cited in the report.

“More and more new series have been adapted from foreign imports,” she added.

Overall, scripted series comprise 32% of primetime schedules of the polled channels, with the programmes in general increasing average market shares.

Around 15% of networks broadcast a “significant” number of American imports in prime, especially in small territories and with thematic or niche channels.

Meanwhile, scripted series are now distributed through more platforms in individual territories than in the past. Eurodata noted traditional channels and OTT services “play with the various windows” and are finding a multiplatform strategy is “often winning one”.

Eurodata gave the example of RTL4’s new NL Film-produced Dutch drama Zwarte Tulp, which is the top linear launch of the 2015-16 season locally. It had debuted on RTL’s SVOD service, Videoland, five months before debuting on the flagship TV network.

Black Widows, meanwhile, broadcast simultaneously on TV3 and its SVOD platforms in Sweden and Denmark, and is a top three series in both territories.

Eurodata noted scripted series’ volume and performance had seen “a slight dip”, but still “represent a good compromise for production”.