A few months after two years since the merger of the two entertainment giants, Warner Media and Discovery, was announced, giving rise to the company warner Bros Discovery, that promises to revolutionize the streaming business, Fernando Medín, president and general director of the company for Latin America and the Hispanic market in the United States, told EL TIEMPO about the plans they have for the region, including Colombia.
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He said that the country is one of the company’s focuses and is among the first markets where the multinational, present in more than 220 countries, will launch its new streaming platform at the end of this year.
What comes for the country after the Warner Media and Discovery merger?
The most important thing is the launch this year of the new streaming platform that will combine what the two companies have and believes that it will be the platform where people will consume everything. First for being present in all programming genres, from fiction to lifestyle programs, news, children’s programming, series, movies, cooking topics, lifestyles and documentaries, among others. That is a unique differential and that is what comes from our side for Colombia and Latin America.
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From when will Colombians have access to this?
Right now we are making the last adjustments, defining what it will be called and other minor details, but no less important. The United States will be the first territory where it will be. Then comes Latin America, including Colombia, by the end of 2023.
How to face that tough competition?
Launching a platform of these dimensions takes a very hard time, from the editorial to the technical, and we will have an intuitive one, easy to navigate and with all the virtues that the best streaming applications have today.
But, they will have an element that differentiates them from the rest…
Today there are many content offers and each one has an angle to show. But I think this combination of genre variety, content quality, bookstore, history and global presence gives us something that is unique and sets us apart from the rest, something that consumers will see in the product itself. For us the difference is in the product itself, we are convinced and at the end of the day that is what will make the difference.
Will there be room for local productions?
In the audiovisual we have a recognized strength. The Warner studio has quality and excellence in both series and huge movies, they are 100 years of existence with which we have a huge file to put on this platform. To this are added all the HBO productions, also with a historical tradition in the creation of content and the geographical reach that the company has results in a global presence that is unparalleled. We are present in more geographies (220) and on the most diverse platforms, which allows us to bring content from the most diverse places to Latin America. Without the appropriate combination of international and local products, it will not be possible and the region is key there.
content grid
How would that combination come about?
In this things come in three flavors. The first is that local product that only the Colombian will appreciate and will not travel anywhere else because it is a theme that is very typical of the country. The second is the regional one, a product that transcends the border of the country and is well received in the rest of the region. The third is what we call the ‘golden dream’, the product that travels around the world, our ambition is to find a bit of that. When we talk about Latin American drama has to be present, on our platform you will find soap operas. We want to make a Premium product, but one that is accessible to all, a mix of regional and international content, taking into account that all themes, genres and subgenres were worked on.
Will they add more allies?
We have to recognize that in this last operation the company contracted debt, with which there are priorities, how to pay it off, before going out to buy new firms. I think that beyond this strategy and what is added to it, all companies are analyzing similar characteristics make sense, because in the end, the more we simplify the equation for the consumer, the more successful we will be.
Does piracy affect them?
Yes and a lot, this is one of the big problems that has become more sophisticated with technology, it hits football more, movies and series. Part of what we have to do is organize as an industry and work more closely with governments to combat it and at the same time offer affordable products to all consumers, because if you put up barriers too high, in a region where power Purchasing is limited, a part of the population will be left out and in this it is important to have flexibilities, such as different subscriptions to the premium supported by advertising.
How affordable will this platform be for consumers?
There is a combination of several factors for setting rates, but the main one is the prevailing offers, because in the end I compete for that user’s wallet. What is offered to you that is compatible with what is there and at what price, those are elements, not only in streaming. Of all the variables that I have, it is necessary to determine what is the price that works, today one navigates within the waters that exist and all this must be added another element of how I make the product not only be seen but at some point begin to earn money.
How is the consumption of these platforms in Colombia and the region?
One of the things that is confirmed is that people consume more and more content and they do not do it exclusively on one platform, there is still a high market for pay television, open television for certain things that maintain their hegemony. Streaming for certain types of products also has these markets and this is good news because the appetite for content is growing steadily and Colombia is no exception. The multiplicity of platforms makes it possible to discover this content and I think that the biggest crisis that the consumer has is facing the enormous offer that there is. Whichever platform the person is on is invaded by an avalanche of offers and therein lies Warner’s first big differential. Today we have a streaming linear television platform, a social media presence that allows me to communicate everything that is going to come to theaters, linear television and streaming, and as I said, the brands and this knowledge that the audiences of franchises allow us to stand out in this world of offers.
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