How can television attract ever-elusive young audiences? For European public broadcasters, the answer is to focus on streaming, which offers much more flexibility in trying out different content strategies.
Gathered at Venice Production Bridge, the industry section of the Venice Film Festival, to discuss how platforms and broadcasters can aid the international circulation of domestic titles in a saturated market, industry heads circled back to the larger question of how to lure those young audiences, an issue that dictates much of their current acquisition strategies.
“We are actively finding audiences who don’t watch TV anymore,” said Diana Tabakov, who works in acquisitions for Ivysilani, the streaming platform of Czech Television. “We are very good at approaching millennials and older, but it’s difficult with Gen Z, which is a problem with all public service broadcasters.”
Ivysilani has a team that works on specific shows for Gen Z, including producing content for YouTube to entice viewers onto their streaming platform. “Our platform is trying to look for its identity. Young people think television is for their old grannies. I am okay in saying that, as a public service media, we will never be cool and sexy but we can try being an elegant lady and not the granny,” added Tabakov.
Maria-Pia Defourny, program manager at RTL Belgium, not only echoed Tabakov’s desire to ingratiate public broadcasters with Gen Z, but emphasized how valuable streaming can be in terms of allowing broadcasters to diversify their offering — something the rigid scheduling of television doesn’t cater for. ”Our platform allows us to test other content. It’s a luxury to be able to offer the possibility of discovery to our audiences.”
This flexibility is key to broadcasters not only in terms of attracting slippery demographics but also when it comes to taking a chance on content outside of the tried and tested. “The Belgium people are really focused on France, so we have to make a difference and it’s not easy,” continued Defourny, adding that their streaming platform makes it possible to acquire and program series and films outside of popular genres, like comedy and thriller.
In the Arab world, streamers have spent recent years acquiring highly successful American shows to populate their nascent platforms, a strategy that still works well for Rolla Karam, senior VP of content acquisition and head of Arabic Channels at Dubai-based OSN. “What differentiates us from other platforms in the region is that we stream series on our platform at the same time as the US. It’s about recency and exclusivity as well as a way to control piracy.”
OSN holds the rights to broadcast programming from Paramount Global, Warner Bros. Discovery, NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures and more, all on top of a wealth of Arabic, Turkish and Pinoy content. With a solidified catalog of international programming, OSN is now shifting its focus to production, with Karam keeping a close eye on the stories coming out of festivals like Venice.
“During COVID, we produced a few adaptations, scripted and unscripted, but we stopped because our focus shifted to major acquisitions. In 2025, we are looking at receiving pitches with a focus on producing short scripted series and movies. Because we have shows from the likes of HBO, I need content that sits well amidst that, but it has to be relevant for the region. We go to the festivals to look for these stories and we don’t have a rule that there must be a UAE co-producer so we are open to collaborations.”
Tabakov is also eyeing in-house production, with a special interest in non-fiction. “It’s hard to have local reality shows in the region so we need to buy formats. What we will do more and more is co-commissioning. It’s more useful for [broadcasters] because they don’t need to be there as a dramaturgical partner and it supports local filmmakers from the region. There are so many great documentary filmmakers out there and the series format is not a common one for them. It’s also, again, a great way of approaching young audiences.”
Source Agencies
