cable TV miniseries on the rise

[jefferiestubes8]

Cablers are more amenable to longform projects as loss leaders to generate buzz and viewer sampling, but there are clearly limits on the biz these days.

The miniseries form has long been out of favor for broadcast nets -- due to decreased ratings and hefty marketing expenses -- and now it's being reinvented as a business model for basic and pay cablers. The next generation minis may not be as mega, but a number of U.S. outlets and international TV players are experimenting with the form to keep it alive in a way that works for contempo auds and economic realities.

The new focus is on projects of shorter duration, tighter budgets and multiple international co-production partners to help shoulder the burden. The emphasis on international partners has an influence on the type of projects developed. Costume dramas rooted in European history are in; uniquely American stories, not so much.

That trend was evident last month at the Mip TV sales confab in Cannes, where several high-profile miniseries projects were unveiled and shopped to network partners around the world.

"The business of financing these things will be an important part of how we do the miniseries, so what Starz is looking at are international source partners for co-productions, and we're also looking at things that would spread across different cultures successfully."

Still, many foreign buyers are looking for shorter commitments than the10-hour-plus epics.

"People are curious about the four-hour formats, and I think we will see more of those out there," Albrecht says. "Whether we see more of those longer versions will matter on how much interest there is to produce them."

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118018939.html?categoryid=14&cs=1

A number of projects being shopped around this Spring are discussed at the link.

Hopefully we'll see some that have some scifi in them. Of course that would only be a part of them to appeal to a wider audience...

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Yeah, there's not a lot of sci fi mentioned in that article, There are several sci fi classics that would be optimal for a miniseries format.

Oh well, as long as HBO keeps up the good work, I'm happy. They're the ones who have really been producing the great mini's!