Argentina - TV for export

The growth of tv as a major global cultural industry has been indeed dramatic and is under constant renovation. The essence of its production wich calls for continuous updating: creating cultural and information contents which may be entertaining, profitable and high-quality all at the same time is no easy task for anyone.

In this scenario, the never-ending demands for big hits along with the changes in viewers’ preferences and customs, the proliferation of over-the-air and cable tv channels and the continuous search for sponsors have led tv broadcasters to delving into foreign contents in an attempt to spot fresh ideas which may secure a certain degree of stability in a dramatically evolving industry.

In this sense, Argentine creators seem to have achieved a privileged position, and they have been large-scale exporters of tv contents for over a decade now. The innovative and creative proposals, along with a favorable economic cycle for international markets, has caused local tv programs to be requested by broadcasters all over the world: Israel, Spain, France, Chile, USA, Brazil, Russia, Panama, Colombia, India or Portugal, among others.

Argentine TV features a predominantly local production programming, according to a study by the Cultural Industries Laboratory under the National Bureau of Culture. The number of audiovisual production companies has shown a substantial rise over the last years, in response to the increasing demand for audiovisual contents intended not just for domestic consumption. Both independent and large channel ventures have progressively made the trading of its products abroad a source of growing profits and widespread artistic prestige.

In broad terms, exported tv programs fall into these three categories: pre-recorded shows, formats, and particular productions. “Pre-recorded” shows are those sold exactly as they were first produced for airing on local tv, except that they are either dubbed or subtitled into the mother tongue at destination. In turn, exporting “formats” implies selling the program’s idea, logistics and management so that it may be subsequently and entirely produced by the buyer. When exporting formats, the original concept may require certain modifications according to the specific features or needs at their new destination. The last category involves developing contents on demand, this not implying local tv airing of those contents.

Local productions encounter no genre limitations either: ranging from fiction to news programs, through children and teens proposals, comedies, soap operas, miniseries, journalism or humor shows, they are all highly welcomed by the most disparate and far-away audiencies.

The key to this high acceptance levels lies in the ability to conceive projects based on entertainment structural patterns easily recognizable and adjustable to a global culture like the present one, while still displaying certain local features. This couples with well-known qualified scriptwriters, directors, producers, actors and technicians. And last but not least, there is a further assurance for importing tv channels when selecting products with satisfactorily guaranteed and proven levels of success and popularity at their origin.

Some leading argentine production companies exporting their ideas are:
Cuatro Cabezas, Pol-ka, Ideas del Sur, Pramer, Promofilm, Cris Morena Group, Telefé Contenidos, PPT, GP Producciones, among many others.