Sales Talk: Banijay Rights CEO Cathy Payne on rising FAST & poignancy of ‘The Crown’

Cathy Payne

Buyers, hungry for new content, are making their way to the UK capital for meetings, presentations and drinks – or logging on from across the globe – all this week, as London TV Screenings gets underway tomorrow.

With so many new productions being showcased, TBI has been checking in with execs from international distributors of all sizes as they share the best new shows on their slates, along with the top trends to watch out for in 2022.

Starstruck

CATHY PAYNE, CEO, BANIJAY RIGHTS

What’s your standout show for London TV Screenings and why?
We have a slate of outstanding shows – both returning series and new releases – so it’s difficult to pick just one. In terms of new scripted fare, we have Rogue Heroes, Then You Run and Marie Antoinette, while on the formats side we have new primetime titles Limitless Win and Starstruck.

What show are you most looking forward to in 2022 (not including your own)?
I’d have to say The Crown on Netflix – a return that will be made more poignant in this special Platinum Jubilee year, plus special mentions go to My Brilliant Friend and the new season of Billions.

What single distribution trend will define the next 12 months?
The ongoing competition for eyeballs between the global OTT offerings versus the linear broadcasters and their bespoke VOD domestic services – the latter of which have developed into deep VOD offerings in their own right. But watch out for the rise of linear programmed channels (FAST channels) on VOD platforms.

The Crown

Three words to describe the global distribution industry right now are…
Evolving. Opportunity. Complex.

Which country’s programming will boom this year & why?
The UK will continue its worldwide programming dominance in 2022 – but this won’t be to the detriment of non-English language content, which will be buoyed by a larger number of commissions from new global markets.

Rewind to this time in 2018. You have the same knowledge as you do now – what would be the first thing you’d do?
I would ensure I had the best rights management and content operations systems in place to support the evolving market – I am glad we did and still have those.