Viewpoints: acquisitions strategies

Laurane Mansuy
Commissioning editor / Acquisitions Executive
ARTE FRANCE
France

Warrior Empire: the Mughals of India

What are your acquisition strategies?

I work for Arte France, the European public channel. Since the end of 2005, I provide the Unit Discovery and Knowledge with documentaries, focusing on acquisitions only, by doing the marketing research, the assessment, the editorial choice and the follow-up of the French versions (we acquire more than 70 % of our programs abroad).

I work with a team of commissioning editors, who focus more on co-production or pre-buys. My mission is to provide audiences with the latest discoveries and innovations in the fields of science, by developing innovating and accessible insights to current scientific topics; to introduce the viewer to grasp challenging topics such as the environment, fauna and flora, natural phenomena, medicine, nutrition, archaeology, prehistory; to enable the viewer to track the civilizations of the human community, around the world and through the ages, their history, their evolution, their customs and conceptions of our world; to gather a large family audience by following real live expeditions where the journey is a learning experience.

What products are you looking for?

Between 2005 and 2007, I bought around the world documentaries for the "Faraway places" slot diffused on the digital terrestrial television. Currently, I'm in charge of the acquisitions of the access and prime-time slots:

ARTE Discovery (Monday through Friday 7 pm ; 52'or re-edit 43') - In this time slot ARTE covers a diverse range of captivating topics, ranging from the search for the fountain of youth, to bamboo, to the most northerly island in the world.

Science (Monday 8:15 pm; 43') - Informative and entertaining, Science showcases the latest trends in science, technology and medicine. First-class documentaries allow viewers to grasp challenging topics such as neuroscience and alternative fuels.

The Human Adventure (Saturday 9 pm; 2 x 52'or 1 x 90'). The Human Adventure enables the viewer to track the civilizations of the human community, around the earth and through the ages, their history, their evolution, their customs and conceptions of our world. Human adventure also allows us to follow real life expeditions where the finality of the adventure overwhelms the performance.

What were your key acquisition deals in 2007?

For Science:

With BBC: "Moon for sale", "Human V2", "How to masturbate an elephant", "Six billion dollars experiment", "Five ways to save the world".
With Fremantle: "Secrets of the great plague".
With Media Video Compagnie: "Pierre- Gilles de Gennes, l'esprit en mouvement".

For The Human Adventure:

With A&E Television Networks: "China's First Emperor", "Warrior Empire: the Mughals of India".
With Trans World International: "The Pharaoh's lost city".
With Yao International: "Yuanming Yuan".
With Outright Distribution: "To be first".
With Channel Four International: "Challenger - countdown to disaster".
With Le Mirroir: "Coa, la riviere aux mille gravures".

For Discovery:

With RDF Rights: "Paranormal Pigeons".
With BBC: "My pet Dinosaur", "Survivor's guide to plane crahes"," The great sperm race".
With Granada: "Crash Science", "Natural Mysteries".
With Gaumont: "Planet Earth".
With Ampersand: "L'incroyable aventure du gorille Mabake", "Voyage d'automne", "Les nettoyeurs de la savane", "Paroles d'hommes memoires d'elephants".
With Off the Fence: "Streetwise".
With RDF Rights: "Paranormal pigeons".
With Terranoa: "Le tresor".

What are your plans for MIPTV?

As usual, I am going to spend two days viewing programs at MIPDOC, and I'll have about fifty meetings during MIPTV, in search of new programs and new providers.