On this episode of Inside Content, I am joined by Dermot Horan, Director of Acquisitions & Co-Productions at RTÉ, Ireland’s Public Service Media organisation.
At RTÉ, Dermot is responsible for creating partnerships with other broadcasters, platforms, and international distributors, with recent credits including 'Kin', with AMC, Viaplay and Bron Studios, 'Smother' with BBC Studios, 'The Gone' with TV New Zealand and Red Arrow, and 'The Dry' with ITV X and ITV Studios. As head of acquisitions, he negotiates with all the world’s major distributors and has been responsible for securing 'Killing Eve', 'The Handmaid’s Tale', 'Yellowstone', and 'The Big Bang Theory' for RTÉ, as well as key popular dramas such as 'Eastenders' and 'Home and Away'.
I last spoke with Dermot in March of 2022 on the advantages of partnerships and co-productions. This time, we discuss the changes that have happened in the industry since then for content businesses such as RTÉ, honing in on their changing approach to acquiring content, co-producing and windowing in 2024.
Topics discussed:
- The challenges that 2023 posed for content businesses
- Balancing third-party acquisitions vs originalproductions
- Changes in International co-production activity
- Studio’s shift to third-party sales
- The evolution of windowing / sequencing
- How the growth of RTÉ’s digital players has influenced their growth
- What RTÉ look for in content acquisitions
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