It’s that time of year again. L.A. Screenings time. And as usual, the U.S. studios will welcome buyers on their lots, while the independents will operate out of a new hotel home base — the SLS hotel — this time in Beverly Hills, strategically located between last year’s Hollywood venue and 2024’s Century City locale.
Let’s start with the studios. Paramount is set for Saturday, May 16, and Sunday, May 17 (with the 16th also including Latin America). NBCUniversal will screen May 16, 17, and 18, with the Latin American contingent at NBCU on May 17. Sony Pictures TV will have a presentation and an event on May 17 and its LatAm screenings on May 19. Warner Bros. Discovery will screen May 18 and 19. And Disney is screening on May 18, 19, and 20, with Wednesday, as usual, reserved for LatAm buyers. Distributor Fifth Season is inviting buyers to screen on May 17. Lionsgate is having its event on May 18. Amazon MGM is screening in the morning on May 15 and in the afternoon on May 18. Fox Entertainment will have its traditional party on the Fox studio lot on Sunday, May 17, and Argentina’s Telefilms has scheduled its traditional screenings and cocktail party for the evening of Saturday, May 16, at the SLS Hotel. That same evening, however, Disney will host a screening of Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, followed by a reception on its lot, starting at 5 p.m. and ending past 9 p.m.
The Indie portion of the L.A. Screenings will start on Thursday, May 14, and run for two full days at the five-star SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills. This new venue was suggested to Isabella Marquez, the L.A. Screenings’ indies organizer, by Ramona Burns, a hotel expert who once served as a Sales director at the now closed InterContinental Hotel in Century City, which was a favorite of L.A. Screenings participants.
According to reports, many participants found last year’s L.A. Screenings hotel (The Roosevelt in Hollywood) to be insufficiently accommodating, while the previous venue, the Fairmont Century Plaza hotel in Century City, was considered too expensive.
The response for the new hotel has been described as phenomenal. Less than a week after the announcement of the new venue, all 45 hotel suites had been sold out to international content distribution companies, and the initial 15 tables on offer were expanded to 20.
By mid-April, the SLS was sold out, and Marquez added two additional nearby properties — the Sofitel and the AC (Marriott) Hotel — so that more sleeping rooms would be available.
“Based on our pre-scheduled meetings for the L.A. Screenings,” said Muge Akar, head of Sales and Distribution at Turkey’s ATV Group, “we are receiving notably more positive feedback compared to last year.”
In addition to ATV, other exhibitors at the SLS Hotel include Disney Entertainment, NBCUniversal, Caracol Television, Inter Medya, Madd Entertainment, TV Azteca, Fremantle, Telefilms, and Record TV, reported Marquez, who added, “This year, the L.A. Screenings independents is also counting on the participation of 13 Korean companies brought by KOCCA, the South Korea Creative Content government agency.” It is expected that, ultimately, the indie portion of the L.A. Screenings will have 60 exhibitors (versus 57 in 2025).
It should also be noted that some content distributors don’t officially register with Marquez, which tends to be a security problem for hotels, but they still actively attend the independent L.A. Screenings, spending their time lounging at the indies’ hotel bar, in the lobby, or at the restaurant, and hold meetings with buyers, producers, distributors, and the press.
When asked how many of the expected 1,000 total buyers attending the L.A. Screenings will visit the SLS Hotel, Marquez answered: “From a minimum of 100 to a maximum of 200.”
In terms of this year’s network upfront expectations, early predictions for the U.S. TV networks’ content output see ABC’s lineup emphasizing dramas, reality franchises, and medical procedurals. CBS is predicted to maintain its strength in procedural dramas and sitcoms. Meanwhile, NBC will lean toward sports and reality competitions, and FOX will blend sports, reality shows, and scripted content. Finally, The CW is expected to continue its shift toward reality, sports programming, and an overall reduction in scripted content.
All in all, the U.S. studios are expected to screen a good amount of new content, mixing broadcast, cable, and streaming output that might not bring new revelations on the road to Damascus, but will surely serve as indications to international content buyers of paths to follow to reach more broadcast TV audiences in their domestic markets.
Don McGregor, president, Paramount Global Content Licensing, said that he’d be “welcoming over 700 international clients across the two days.” He also added that Paramount will be “bringing both drama and comedy from CBS Studios this year, including The F Ward, a six-part medical drama from Australia, and Eternally Yours, a new half-hour family comedy.” And, he added, “We still have more titles to announce ahead of L.A. Screenings.” McGregor also explained, “following the L.A. Screenings, we’ll take our titles directly to clients with local screenings across Europe this summer, before joining the industry at MIPCOM in October.
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