Kalle, congratulations once again on winning the PITCH & PLAY LIVE competition with Best Offer. Why did you decide to participate with this format? Did you expect to win?
Thank you very much! We didn’t know what to expect from this contest, who are the other participants, what are the expectations. We just felt that the show we were doing had some nice mix up of old and new technology and it should be easily adaptable to any country. We sent the materials and had no high hopes. Osakond has never taken part in any contest like that before – so it was pretty exciting, we didn’t need some big decision to take. Winning it was a big surprise!
What was the response after the format won the competition?
Of course Kanal2 here covered the event in its main news program, I gave an interview for a newspaper, and all major online press had it their main stories. The aftermath was pretty big. Osakond received interest from Italy and Germany.
What projects are you currently working on?
Osakond has produced Estonia’s Next Top Model for several seasons. This year it is not on air, but right now we are preparing an international cooperation with one main Nordic production company to shoot .........’s Next Top Model here in Estonia (I’m sorry, our partner asked us to be confidential).
Personally, my documentary project I shot in Ghana about rural life near the Burkina Faso border will premiere in the fall. This is a cooperation project with Estonian Public Broadcasting (ERR).
Nele, you presented Best Offer live at NATPE Budapest. How would you describe this experience?
It was a great honor to present our format Best Offer at NATPE. I think it is a great platform for smaller markets like Estonia to get recognition and exposure on this scale. The contacts and discussions with fellow TV specialists after the presentation were absolutely priceless. It was an exciting experience to talk about our accomplishments and to achieve this win was just the cherry on top.
In your opinion, what are the three most important features of a successful format?
I think a successful format has a clear and good idea, is easily adaptable and easy to relate in different countries and has great moments of suspense whether it be scripted or reality.
What kind of formats is Eesti Meedia looking for?
Eesti Meedia is mostly looking for fresh and exciting entertainment formats. We are a very small market and we are not afraid to take some risks. If we like the idea of the format and it has some kind of exposure and track record, we do not hesitate to take a chance. For example, our very popular format The Kitchen is a Russian format and we were the first to buy it from CBS. Another example is Comedy Combat from Finland. Those are not big well-known formats at all, but big hits for us.
Estonia is one of the smallest TV markets in Europe and that puts certain limitations to our programming. We do not have endless amounts of celebrities and/or talent so we have to be very selective with celebrity and talent based formats. This is probably why the universal hit The Voice is still not airing in Estonia. A few years ago, we acquired mainly reality and show formats but at the moment we are acquiring more scripted formats.
Amos, what impressed you personally with the winning format Best Offer?
What impressed me most was the well-integrated combination of traditional content with online activities.
With regard to the PITCH & PLAY LIVE competition, do you have a piece of advice to the format creators in the CEE region?
Don’t be afraid to dare, and be sure to find the good story – one that is relatable, valid, and has true emotions at its heart. In the execution, make the idea clear and simple and work to a production that is cost-effective. Specifically to the CEE region, I would say look to create content that fits your local market first, and only then will you be able to take it globally.
How competitive are the CEE formats on international level?
It doesn’t matter where the idea comes from if the execution is good. We see more and more successful formats coming out of the CEE region in the last few years because of the increased production value that enables the formats to go international.
What are your expectations for the global format business in the next two years?
The formats business is searching for new and interesting voices and new ways of telling stories, so as to intrigue viewers and make sure they’re not getting “more of the same”. At the same time, there is a fear of losing creativity and becoming overly risk-averse because of the increased consolidation in the industry, and the industry is finding the way to balance this fear with the need for proven and successful hits. ▪
