The unscripted content showcase at the WAWA Business Forum 2024 featured Vanessa Velázquez from Spring Media, Audrey Kamga from ARTE France Développement, Michelle Wasserman from Banijay, Juan Fernández from BIG Media, and Katiuska Veliz from SPT
The unscripted content showcase at the WAWA Business Forum 2024 featured Audrey Kamga, sales manager of ARTE France Développement; Michelle Wasserman, Senior VP for Latin America, Hispanic USA, and Brazil at Banijay; Juan Fernández, Sales Manager for Latin America and Hispanic USA at BIG Media; Katiuska Veliz, Distribution for Northern Cone, Central America, and the Caribbean at Sony Pictures Television; and Vanessa Velázquez, Commercial Director for Latin America at Spring Media.
DOCUMENTARIES
Kamga from ARTE France Développement presented the documentaries Goodbye Roe (52′), available for sale in September; Women & Money, a two-part documentary series (2×52′), available in August; The Curse of Sugar (2×52′), ready for June 2025; and the docuseries The Thing, America’s Invisible Enemy (2×52′ or 4×35′).
REALITY SHOWS GAINING POPULARITY
Wasserman highlighted that in the past two years, reality shows have gained popularity in Latin America, while talent shows had previously taken the lead, and game shows “are like wild cards: sometimes they do well and sometimes not.” Taking this into account, Banijay’s latest bet is on the format Deal or No Deal Island (11×60′ + 1×90′), which recently premiered in the USA on NBC.
She recalled that Deal or No Deal is a format that has traveled to more than 80 countries, but the new version combines a game show with reality “because they are on an island, there’s strategy and chance, and it adds all the adventure and reality. We hope it will travel through Latin America,” she explained.
Two more reality shows that Wasserman presented were Big Brother, which has versions in “almost” all countries in the region, has been around for 25 years, with over 500 seasons in more than 70 markets and more than 40,000 episodes produced, and The Fifty, based on a French format, which Telemundo produced the first version in the USA and is about to start production of the second season. For The Fifty, Banijay is in talks with Amazon Germany for a version.
In documentaries, Wasserman mentioned that they have one about the tragedy of the Uruguayan rugby team, titled Alive, more than 50 years after the accident. “This documentary has been in the works for 10 years.”
WILDLIFE
Fernández from BIG Media presented two wildlife documentaries: Wild Assassins, which is in full production, with footage from BBC, NatGeo, and important wildlife photographers, and Wild Science with third-generation GCI. He emphasized that these documentaries are very suitable for coproduction in Latin America since they only need local narration and produce a graphic package.
SHARK TANK GUATEMALA COMING SOON
Veliz, from the SPT Distribution team, presented the formats: the game show Chain Reaction; the dating show Tunnel of Love; and the cooking and lifestyle show Gastronomic Adventure, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? which has been running for seven seasons in Costa Rica and two in Guatemala “with opportunities for new local versions,” and announced that Shark Tank, “which is the number one show for the company,” is about to reveal a new version for Guatemala. “Shark Tank is a format that supports making a better country,” she added.
EDUTAINMENT
Velázquez from Spring Media closed the presentation, offering a group of 11 edutainment shows for English learning at WAWA, “There are 500 episodes and 300 hours of content for learning English dynamically, with an appeal to families and suitable for free TV, pay TV and platforms,” she commented.
