Small Producers Can Reach Global Audiences

It's a challenging but manageable process if you know how

Imagine this scenario. You're a small production company, and you've just spent the last couple of years developing a series you're confident has international reach. Produced in the US in English, the story is an engaging drama, although a little edgy, with serious and comedic moments. The cast includes a broad mix of characters that reflect modern communities. Your lead character is a bisexual woman of color played by an up-and-coming actress who isn't yet a household name. The rest of the characters are a mix of adults, seniors, and children spanning many ages, races, identities, and religions. In each episode, renowned actors and actresses are cast as protagonists to attract viewers. Cultures typically portrayed as "the bad guys" are depicted positively.

Because it's a drama, some scenes include adult language, depictions of drug use, gun violence, physical abuse, harassment, and romantic and sexual situations. These events aren't gratuitous, but some people may find them disturbing. Parents will want to be alerted as certain storylines are unsuitable for children.

The production and cast are constructed purposefully: to reflect real life while respecting cultures and beliefs. The stories and actions aren't overly sensational but realistic. Your limited audience testing indicates viewers are connecting with the cast and stories and audiences continue to discuss episodes long after they've ended. It's the kind of reaction producers and directors dream of getting. Now comes the fun part.

Global Distribution Challenges

Producers must address several challenges before a title is ready for international distribution (not including finding a distributor). For example, which markets should you target first? How will different cultures react to your cast and characters? How can you ensure audiences won't be offended by mistranslation or cultural misrepresentation? How do you identify countries that accept "controversial" stories and those that may request or require edits or cuts?

We've written about the challenges encountered with titles like "Squid Game," the last five MCU titles, Disney's "Lightyear," and others while trying to get released in other countries. It's easy to imagine how our hypothetical series above would run into many of the same issues those titles have. The question then becomes, how do smaller companies with controversial stories or casts navigate regulatory concerns so they can be released and enjoyed by audiences?

Finding The Answers

Established studios and producers have a process for managing global title distribution, but many smaller or new companies do not. The good news for those firms is there are tools available today to guide you down the correct path. Best of all, you don't have to spend a lot of cash hiring consultants to help you navigate the process of bringing your titles to market. It is possible to economically develop a viable strategy of country selection, risk identification and mitigation, localization, and create an achievable release timeline.

Services such as Spherexratings™ and Spherexgreenlight™ are expert-in-the-loop AI/ML services that analyze your final cut once and provide the market and content intelligence you need to identify the best markets for your titles. This market-proven technology has helped some of the world's largest content creators and distributors with millions of titles reach new markets more quickly, effectively, and without regulatory risk. Soon, you'll be able to do it yourself from your desktop.

Contact Spherex today and learn how you can share your content with the world!

Related Insights

Spherex Classification Tool Now Approved for Home Entertainment Content in Australia

Spherex

Regulation

Classification

The Albanese Government has updated the Spherex Classification Tool approval to include ratings for theatrical releases, home entertainment, and streaming content in Australia. Spherex was previously approved to classify online films.

The update underscores the Australian Classification Board’s confidence in Spherex as a tool to help Australian viewers make informed choices about the content they consume. This means Australians can now access a range of new films sooner than they might across all formats and windows.

Spherex has a longstanding relationship with the Australian Classification Board. Since 2020, Spherex has collaborated closely with the Australian Government to ensure its technology reliably generates classification decisions that meet Australian standards and viewers' expectations.

As the world’s only commercial provider of local age ratings, Spherex has successfully produced classification decisions for high volumes of online content in over 100 countries. Since 2018, Spherex has issued over one million age ratings for digital content, including films, TV shows, and trailers, distributed by its clients worldwide.

Spherex customers, including Umbrella Entertainment, Madman Entertainment, and Sugoi Co., rely on its AI-based platform to obtain local age ratings in Australia and significantly improve efficiency, cost reduction, and market reach.

Discover how Spherex's cutting-edge AI-based platform can streamline your content classification process and enhance your market reach while reducing costs.

Visit spherex.com today and see how we can support your content distribution needs.

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nScreenNoise - Interview Spherex: Avoiding the cultural dead zone

Spherex

Culture

One of the conundrums of streaming is that although a service can deliver content globally, it is not guaranteed to be acceptable in a particular local market. Netflix found this out when it announced global availability in 2016 at CES and was quickly banned in markets like Indonesia, where some of the content was deemed too violent or sexual. In 2016, without boots on the ground in a local market, it wasn’t easy to assess whether a show or movie would be culturally acceptable.

Today, global media companies are acutely aware of the importance of their content’s cultural fit. Moreover, they have a company like Spherex to help them prepare their content to ensure it fits with any country of interest. I interviewed Teresa Phillips, the Co-Founder and CEO of Spherex, at the recent OTT.X Summit in Los Angeles. She explained how the company is leveraging AI and its massive cultural profiling database to help companies prepare content for target markets. She also explained how, in the near future, AI would aid the company in measuring a movie or show’s cultural distance from a regional market and help it avoid falling into the failure zone between cultural fit and novelty interest.

Listen to the full interview here.

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Spherex Featured in the DPP's IBC 2024: Demand versus Supply Report

Spherex

Industry

Spherex was featured in the DPP’s IBC 2024: Demand versus Supply Report, a comprehensive look at how the M&E industry is meeting key customer demands. The report focuses on the topics of empowering creators, understanding audiences, engaging users, and innovating the newsroom. It also highlights many of the technical innovations seen at the recent IBC Show.

An article by Spherex’s CEO Teresa Phillips titled "Navigating Cultural Resonance in Global Media: The Art and Science of Culture Mixing" was featured in the report, exploring how Spherex is pioneering the future of culturally informed content.

Teresa shares how cultural mixing has become a critical strategy for creating content that appeals to diverse audiences in today's global media landscape. This phenomenon involves blending elements from different cultures to craft films and television shows that resonate globally while adhering to local regulations.

However, the process of culture mixing is fraught with risks. Superficial or stereotypical representations can lead to accusations of cultural appropriation or insensitivity, alienating audiences and damaging a company's reputation. For example, imposing Western concepts on Eastern content without proper context can feel inauthentic and jarring to local viewers. These missteps highlight the need for a nuanced understanding of cultural elements to ensure that content is respectful and engaging.

To address these challenges, M&E companies are increasingly turning to data-driven solutions. Platforms like SpherexAI utilize artificial intelligence to analyze visual, audio, and textual elements, providing insights into how well content aligns with cultural and regulatory standards across over 200 countries and territories. This approach helps media companies understand the "cultural distance" between a title's origin and its target market, enabling them to make informed decisions about global distribution.

By leveraging these advanced tools, M&E companies can go beyond traditional content localization. They can create media that actively engages and resonates with diverse audiences. As the industry continues to evolve, those companies that embrace culturally informed, data-driven approaches will be better positioned to succeed, fostering cross-cultural understanding and trust while delivering globally appealing content.

Download the report here.

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