Dori Media inks with Televisa

Deal supplies at least 5 telenovelas to conglom

By CHARLES NEWBERY

BUENOS AIRES Dori Media Grouphas signed a five-year contract with Televisa to supply at least five telenovelas to the Mexican media conglomerate for distribution in that territory, part of a $9.5 million deal reached at the April 7-11 Mip TV content mart in Cannes.

The Tel Aviv-based company will deliver at least one, 150-hour novela between 2009 and 2013, says DMG prexy and CEO Nadav Palti. DMG produces most of its products, like womanizer comedy "Lalola," in Buenos Aires.

Palti estimates income of at least $1 million a year from the deal, more if Televisa picks up more than one novela per year.

"They are counting on us to produce good content," Palti says.

Televisa also bought the tapes and/or remake rights for products including private school-set "Rebelde Way" (The Rebels) for Brazil, "Lalola" for Mexico and teen drama "Patito Feo" for several undisclosed countries in Europe, Palti says.

Increasingly, buyers are picking up tape and format versions so a competitor cannot buy the ready-to-roll version that may hurt the airing of the remake in a territory, he says.

The tape version also is being used as a teaser for the costlier reproduction.

These are the latest deals with Televisa, which is looking to Argentina for fresh stories. Argentina has one of the largest concentrations of indie producers in Latin America.

Deals with other companies are expected to close in the coming weeks, Palti says.

DMG plans to increase its production of telenovelas to 800-1,000 hours this year and to more than 1,000 the following year, up from 600-800 hours a year in 2007, to help expand sales. Its production is centered in Israel and Argentina.

It will work with Argentine toon pic producer Illusion Studios on two 150-hour novelas that use animation: a musical version of "The Wizard of Oz" called "La Maga de Oz," and "Olivia & Yo," the story of an animator who must learn to live with her own caricatures.

"The combination of animation and fiction will be the next thing in telenovelas," Palti says. "We always want to produce new things and not just remake traditional telenovelas."

Company is also working on an interactive novela starring Natalia Oreiro ("Wild Child") for the Internet, mobile phones and possibly TV. Viewers will be able to send messages and influence the story of each nine-minute episode.