NATPE: A+E CEO seeks more international control

Nancy Dubuc has said the group will seek to take greater control of its channel partnerships around the world in order to further boost its international business as a whole.

In a wide-ranging opening NATPE keynote session here in Miami, the A+E Networks chief (pictured) executive also said the unscripted business is challenged, and that high-end drama is increasingly only viable if a company can also make and distribute the project in question.

Internationally, A+E has a diverse channels business that was largely built on a joint venture basis with different partners in different regions. It has been moving to an owned-and-operated, or majority ownership, model in several territories – including Southeast Asia, Italy (as first reported by TBI), Japan and South Korea.

“For the last ten-to-fifteen years we’ve been in the international business we have mostly had a joint venture model, or worked with local partners,” Dubuc said.

“We’ve been pushing to have have that more owned and operated so that we can invest in our brands globally and make those critical business decisions for our brands. The biggest reason for the mission and the push to own our content locally, the reason for that is international.”

Speaking about scripted programming, Dubuc added: “The pure licensing model for the cost of what has rated has been a model that just doesn’t work for cable and you see a lot of companies have their own studios and we need to be able to control that back end.”

NATPE delegates were treated to a clip of new A+E Studios-produced Navy SEALs drama Six during the session.