London TV Screenings Insights: Rick Barker, SVP Sales and Acquisitions, DCD Rights

Thou Shalt Not Steal

As buyers flock to the UK for London TV Screenings and BBC Studios Showcase this week, TBI talks to the bosses of more than 25 distribution companies to test the temperature of the global content industry and to find out how the next 12 months are shaping up.

In this latest installment we hear from Rick Barker, SVP Sales and Acquisitions, DCD Rights, about tried and tested shows and tight budgets.

What three words would you use to describe the state of the TV/streaming industry as a whole right now?

Evolving, consolidating, cautious

Rick Barker

What three words would you use to describe the state of the distribution sector right now?

Challenging, innovative,  transforming

What is the single biggest difference in the discussions you’re having with buyers today compared with 12 months ago?

In uncertain times, buyers can be risk adverse, so tried and tested shows, tent-pole and returnable franchises with earlier commitment are a must.

Tell us in no more than two sentences about the biggest problem facing the distribution industry and what needs to change so it can be overcome.

Buyers are adapting quickly as viewers needs and habits change in an on-demand landscape, but on tighter budgets due to pressure on advertising and an over saturated market place.  Distributors need to be nimble and flexible to react to a fast evolving distribution industry

Tell us about your top show at London Screenings & why we should buy it

Thou Shalt Not Steal is a road series set in Central and South Australia in the 1980s. On a search for the truth behind a mysterious family secret, Robyn, a young Aboriginal delinquent, escapes from detention and reluctantly teams up with awkward teenager Gidge. Together they flee her small central desert community on a perilous journey across the outback, finding answers and learning some hard life lessons along the way. Hot on their heels are Maxine, a sex worker whose taxi Robyn stole, and Gidge’s domineering father Robert, a fraudulent preacher. A good old fashioned road trip, a stellar cast and stunning vistas.