Latin Americans Bids for Further International Market Impact at LA Screenings

variety.com:

Anna Marie de la Fuente Latin American companies have descended on the 60th LA Screenings, mindful of the ever-shifting panorama in content distribution and production.

The ongoing writers’ strike is viewed by some as a boon for international content. Take what Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said at the company’s first quarter financials report presentation when the writers’ strike was looming: “If there’s a strike — and we want to work really hard to make sure we can find a fair and equitable deal so we can avoid one — but if there is one, we have a large base of upcoming shows and films from around the world.” “The global market is finally realizing that Latin America, with almost 700 million inhabitants that speak the same language, is a territory that has a huge penetration in terms of OTT and – still – pay tv subscribers,” says Mexico City-based Manuel Marti, Fremantle’s head of scripted development, Latin America. “At the same time, it has a long history of producing local content with a distinctive genre that’s slowly being embedded into American culture via the 62 million Latinos that live in the U.S.,” he adds.

Pointing out the underrepresentation of Latino culture in the U.S., Marti notes that Latinos make up nearly 19% of the U.S. population but comprised only 5.3% of the share of broadcast TV roles in the 2018-19 season. “There’s a need for Latino content that could be easily fulfilled by Latin American content and producers,” he asserts.

With sub-titles no longer an issue among viewers, exemplified by such massive hits as South Korea’s “Squid Game” and Spain’s “Money Heist,” Latin American content has grown ever more attractive. “We don’t work with mega budgets but the quality of our shows is good,” notes