(AOF) – iZen, a subsidiary of Newen Studios in Spain, is launching production company CAPA Spain with Emmy and Peabody award winner Tomás Ocaña. Capa Spain will develop international documentaries in Spain and in the Hispanic market. Tomás Ocaña is an internationally renowned director, executive producer and investigative journalist.
Her latest documentary series “Lucy in the spiderweb”, produced for the new RTVEPlay platform of Spanish national television, was presented during the 24th edition of the Malaga Festival (2021). Since 2017, Tomas Ocaña has been running his own production company The Facto Productions. Established in Madrid and Miami, its primary vocation is to raise awareness among its audience around various subjects of public interest.
For Tomás Ocaña, director of CAPA Spain: “CAPA Spain was born from the desire to tell the best stories by combining journalistic rigor and scriptwriting. Our company wants to become a benchmark in terms of quality, rigor and storytelling in the production of its documentary-series.”
For Philippe Levasseur, International Director of Newen Studios: “It is a real pleasure to welcome Tomás to our teams. His arrival is part of the group’s strategic approach to develop on the documentary market in international. (…) His experience in Spain and Latin America represents an undeniable asset to increase our presence in these key territories.”
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Key points
– Leading French television group with 29.9% audience share among 25-49 year olds;
– Five free-to-air channels -TF1, TMC, LCI, TFX, TF SERIES FILMS- 4 thematic pay channels -TV Breizh, Histoire, Ushuaïa and SérieClub- and a digital replay platform, MYTF1;
– Turnover of €2.4 billion, 89% generated in France and divided into three sectors: channel advertising (76% of revenue), studio and entertainment activities (17%) with Newen and the “Digital Unify”, bringing together the activities carried out under the brands Aufeminin, Doctissimo, Gamned! Marmiton, MylittleParis, Studio71 and Digital Factory;
– Business model based on 4 strengths: human, intellectual (editorial, commercial and content producer know-how), financial (solid equity and cash flow) and physical capital;
– Capital locked by Bouygues (43.7%) and by employees (9.1%) and by the legislative impossibility of a takeover bid, Gilles Pélisson being chairman of the 11-member board of directors;
– Healthy balance sheet with shareholders’ equity of €1.6 billion and a net surplus of €379 million and free cash flow of €197 million.
Challenges
– Strategy in 3 points: reinforcement of the core business, growth in streaming, production via internal synergies, development of Tech Media;
– Innovation strategy declined upstream with the production of content, downstream with digital based on the FabLab TF1: expansion of Tech Media in OTT, AdTech, open innovation and the cloud / support for start-ups (more than 30), with acceleration program (from creation to distribution) via the One Inno fund, the Media Lab and 3 innovation hubs / focus on database authentication (23 million users) for a targeted offer, including on certain households, via precision and granularity;
– Environmental strategy: for 2030: 30% decline, vs. 2019, in CO2 emissions via co-production, digital sobriety, soft mobility and decarbonization of purchases, for 2025: 35% decline in the electricity consumption of the TF1 tower;
– Leading advertising agency in France, with remarkable multi-media expertise and the ability to maintain its market share;
– Preparation of the Reconciliation of audiovisual activities with those of M6, expected for 2022.
Challenges
– Highly regulated sector with limits to redeployments and external growth, uncertainties linked to the rise of video on demand, connected TV and the entry of new players – Apple TV, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Google TV and, in 2023, HBO Max;
– Reconciliation of television activities, expected for 2023: expectation for October of the opinion of the Competition Authority; after the purchase of France Télévisions’ stake in the audiovisual subscription platform Salto, held with TF1, success of the streaming project;
– Vigilance of costs in a context of slowdown in the European economy;
– Outlook for 2022: strengthening of the Services sector, driven by new services and accretive contribution from Newen Studios;
– 2021 dividend of €0.45.
Media: Gradual disappearance of the free press and m
regional press reports
The pandemic has heavily affected the free press, which is already struggling. The first title to collapse was the daily Metro, which ceased publication in 2015. The health crisis led to a drop in advertising spending for several months while the economic model of these titles is based entirely on advertising revenue. In addition, the disaffection of public transport, the generalization of teleworking in companies have further reinforced the unfavorable context. According to data from the ACPM (Alliance for Press and Media Figures), the free news press saw a drop in circulation of 54.3% in 2020, compared to the year 2019. The only survivor is now the newspaper 20 Minutes (created in 2002). Since June 2021, its paper edition has been distributed three days a week. After a 38% drop in turnover in 2020, it is banking on digital to bounce back.
As for the PQR (regional daily press), it is stepping up initiatives to boost digital subscriptions, after having long been spared the crisis in press distribution thanks to subscriptions. According to the ACPM Observatory, the share of digital versions on the Internet (individual and by third parties) represents 57.3% of the circulation of the national daily press, but only reaches 10% for the regional dailies. To retain digital subscribers, who are more volatile than paper subscribers, regional dailies are expanding their content offer. Thus five publishers (“Le Télégramme”, “La Voix du Nord”, “Sud-Ouest”, “La Nouvelle République du Centre-Ouest”, and “Ebra”, a subsidiary of Crédit Mutuel grouping together several titles) have joined forces in the television within a company, Territoires TV, to better monetize their digital audiences.