Viewpoints: acquisitions strategies

Laszlo Demeter
Director of Program Acquisition
Duna Television
Hungary

What are your acquisition strategies?

As a public channel, we try to show a colorful selection of genres from all around the world, and our mission is also to serve all age groups. We mainly acquire new European feature films, but also American classic movies, new independent films, art films, and filmographies. We also started to present some Bollywood productions. Every month we focus on a foreign culture from all around the world, or on a director, or on an actor/actress, or on a subject, mainly with social issue. That means, minimum 1 Year before we begin to collect the films for this thematic selection.

Master and Margaret (Central Partnership)

What programs are you looking for?

We acquire all genres, that means feature films (drama, comedy, art films, and family films), documentaries, lifestyle programmer, series, music, animation, children programs.

What foreign programs did you buy this year?

"Bitter Tropics", "My Mom the vet" (Bavaria), "Univerzum" (ORF), "The Wire" (Warner), "Master and Margaret" (Central Partnership), "Incantesimo", season 9. (RAI), "Enciclopedia" -10 Francs, "The Truth about Food" - BBC, "The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends" - BBC, "L'uomo della caritá" - Mediatrade, "Untamed Europe" - Parthenon Entertainment, "And Elle created woman", "Maria Callas" - Europe Images, "Espana entre el cielo y la tierra" - TVE, "500 Jahre Sankt Peter", "Persepolis" - Telepool, "Morricone conducts Morricone", "Anna Netrebko" - Euroarts, "Sympathy for the Devil" - BFI

Feature films: "The dreamers", "Young Adam", "The Door in the Floor", "Edukators", "2046", "Venus Beaute", "Luther", "Les Choristes", "Vatel", "Devdas", "Les Invasions barbares (Barbarian Invasion)", "Peuple Migrateur" /"Travelling Birds", "Marlene", "Don't Come Knocking", "De Zaak Alzheimer" /"The Case Alzheimer", "Musa", "Femme Fatale", "Shakespeare Re-told", "Madame De Pompadur".

What national programs did you buy this year?

We are buying every year more than 150 documentaries from Hungarian independent producers, to present our history, culture and environment.

What are your acquisition plans?

In 2008, we focus on the Olympic Games in Beijing that means, we acquire documentaries about China and about sports, and we buy Chinese feature films. We also do preparation for the 40th anniversary of 1968 revolution in Prague and universal movements with music concerts, documentaries, feature films and portraits.