Lionsgate's Kevin Beggs Outlines Keys to Company's Success 11.17.2017 Los Angeles' Paley Center on Thursday night wrapped up its season of Paley Dialogues with a conversation between Lionsgate Television Group chairman Kevin Beggs and executive editor of Indiewire and Variety's editor-at-large, Michael Schneider. The discussion tackled the enormity of the TV landscape, which has paralleled the evolution of Lionsgate from a tiny independent production company to a (still) independent entertainment conglomerate with a booming film division and a TV wing that has produced 90 shows for 40 networks. Lionsgate's first foray into TV was the pilot for The Dead Zone, which was dead in the water at UPN when USA bought it as part of their initial push into scripted programming. Six seasons later, Lionsgate had a hit. Those kept coming with AMC's Mad Men and Showtime's Weeds. Ever since, the company has been in the right place and the right time as more and more cable networks (and then streaming platforms) clawed their way into the originals game. That game gets increasingly larger and tougher, with more and more buyers, as evidenced by 20th Century Fox's movie and TV branches up for sale.
"Everybody's goal is to get bigger. Medium-level entities are out of the game," said Beggs. "It reaffirms the value of content and the ever-growing value of content. Every one of these proposed acquisitions are distribution agnostic and content focused," he said. "With 16,000 titles, a robust TV business, and Starz in our family, it feels like we're uniquely situated to take advantage of any disruption." The key to Lionsgate's success is threefold: its ability to sell to whomever it wants, its willingness to explore new frontiers of programming, and its synergy between its TV and movie divisions. "We zig when everyone else zags. We can quickly get into new platforms and create models. We're out to the newest buyer. We were knocking on Apple's door two years before they came out [into original programming]." They have also been an early adopter of YouTube Red, with Beggs promising Step Up in 2018. "One of the reasons that we remain so fiercely independent and agnostic and sell everywhere is so we can take advantage of those opportunities," said Beggs. "As seller and studio, we're engaging the market at all times." Lionsgate can only hope their YouTube Red relationship is as profitable and successful as the chance they took on a little company called Netflix. Lionsgate was part of the first wave of Netflix's original series with Jenji Kohan's Orange is the New Black. "We've been the beta testers for changing brands or brands finding their way. Getting there first has been better for us overall," said Beggs. Lionsgate also targets networks that are in the midst of rebranding or changing their programming strategy. "Networks that are in-between, or have long-running franchises that have gone away, or are pivoting," Beggs added. "We have to forecast enough ahead to be in there with the right product." While working with Netflix has obviously changed over the years, but aside from the company being much bigger, Beggs indicates they've had a great experience with Netflix and continue to. Unlike many people in the industry, Beggs is not concerned with the lack of ratings for streaming shows. "It doesn't bother me. Honestly," said Beggs. "The currency in the auteur television space is not entirely ratings-driven. It's buzz. It's creative heat, it's 'is this being talked about everywhere you go?' When that's combined with huge
ratings, everyone's super excited. Game of Thrones didn't start that way, but it is that way." Beggs acknowledged the difficulty of becoming that undefinable hit, and sees a new benchmark. "To break out in a 450-show universe is incredibly difficult for any platform. For a show to get off the ground and make a determination about its longevity and platform, it needs two seasons," he said. "It used to be just one airing in broadcast." Beggs highlighted the importance of marketing from every side to get a show to the promise land. "The shows have to market themselves, the concept has to be noisy. Weeds and Orange is the Black had that. Jenji has that with whatever she touches," he said, referring to Weeds and Orange is the New Black creator Jenji Kohan, who just signed an overall production deal with Netflix. "You can't rely any more that the network will do everything. You really have to partner with them. We tap into all of our resources: the social media verticals of our theatrical partners, the Twilight, Hunger Games, Divergent brands, our shared assets with CBS and Pop, Tribeca Shortlist, and Starz, and tap into every aspect to potentially help push a show forward." It's Hollywood, so the discussion inevitably led to debating the importance of awards. "It's really important. In a sea of 450 shows, a nomination is like a win from 5 years ago," said Beggs. "Used to be, the Emmys recognized the staying power of shows. The Golden Globes were more about the new thing. Now I think they're all about the new thing and those cycles will be pretty quick." Unlike many executives, Beggs doesn't worry about the fate of broadcast. Indeed, it's still the most profitable, and given the mass exodus of high-profile names like Shonda Rhimes from broadcast to streaming, he sees an opportunity. "If some people are migrating out of broadcast, which is still robust financially, it's opening opportunities for people to get in," he said. "It's still the best." With the unceasing hunger for content has come a voracious appetite for stars and big name showrunners on projects, which poses a challenge for a company with limited pockets like Lionsgate. "We can't use billions to hold talent," he said. "One of our main jobs is to find emerging talents and support them, finance their shows, help their development or give them a mentor to partner with or whatever their path is."
Case in point: Justin Simien's Dear White People, a title they highlighted when considering TV projects. After a critically acclaimed first season and a second season pickup, it appears another wise choice for the company. Many wonder if the company can be so independent in the future, given that Lionsgate bought Starz for $4.4 billion last year. But nothing has changed, according to Beggs, aside from its glowing relationship with the pay-cable network. "They're now in the family, and part of our weekly programming development call," he said. "We have insider's access to what their programming strategy is." Lionsgate tells Starz about everything in development-and when Starz is interested, they'll obviously get a meeting. But beyond that, Lionsgate still sells to the partner that's right for the project. "The same discussion goes into where a show should live, even if we're under the same roof. They're a sister company, and we're super invested in their success, and in how we can be helpful." This strategy is another that seems unique to Lionsgate. Beggs repeatedly stated that when shopping around a pilot, the company doesn't go for the deal that promises the most money upfront. They look for a partnership that can last, even if that means more modest financials. Obviously a stronger partnership will ensure a better show and a better chance at more episodes, and more money in the future. But perhaps what's most integral to Lionsgate moving forward is its close relationship between their TV and movie branches. This is seen with the side-by-side development of a movie franchise and TV show based on the bestselling fantasy series The Kingkiller Chronicles (pictured in large illustration above). Indeed, that's what got them the property. "When going up against massive spenders, we have to figure out what's in our bag of tricks that can give us the advantage. One of our superpowers is the collaboration internally between the TV and movie group," said Beggs. The company has 15-20 projects with direct collaboration between the branches. This isn't simply the case of turning a Dear White People or Step Up into a TV show after the fact, but "simultaneous development." Lionsgate was able to offer Kingkiller author Patrick Rothfuss the promise of movies, TV and video games, all of which interested the creator. When Hamilton hero Lin-Manuel Miranda came calling, Lionsgate freaked out, thinking they would lose the property. Instead, he joined the project as an executive
producer, overseeing the creative. "Creating music whole cloth in a Middle Earth-like environment is a big challenge, but he's very excited about it," said Beggs. John Rogers (Leverage), the showrunner for the forthcoming Showtime show, works closely with the theatrical group. "The series is more of a prequel, and the movies are based on the books, so no matter what happens will be fine. Whoever comes to market first is fine," said Beggs. "That's rare, and hard to pull off, but it's a touchstone for us. It can only be additive." Lionsgate hasn't been coy about trying new things or engaging in unique models, as evidenced by its revival of Nashville. After ABC pulled the plug, Lionsgate managed to pull two competitors, Hulu and CMT, together to finance and distribute the series' fifth and sixth final seasons. "It wasn't at the top or the bottom of ratings, but in the middle, which is kind of no man's land in broadcast," Beggs said. "We weren't prepared to change the economics just when they were getting good, and we were passionate about the show and the world." Nashville was and is obviously in CMT's wheelhouse, and they had told them to call if anything happened with the show. But why Hulu? "Hulu did a fair amount of research on how it played in places where they want it grow. Most streamers are in blue coastal hubs," said Beggs. "They wanted to move into the middle. Without them, we couldn't have gone forward." Nashville's sixth season premieres in January. On Friday, Beggs announced that it would be the last for the show. But their gambit still managed to get two more seasons produced. RELATED: 'Nashville' to End on CMT After Season 6 As Lionsgate gets bigger and bigger, its process remains the same. "We produce a show we're excited about and then figure out where we can go and where it belongs," said Beggs. Of course, no discussion about the industry can be had without talking about the string of sexual harassment allegations levied against several high-profile male creators and stars, including showrunner Mark Schwann, creator of the Lionsgate property The Royals. Unsurprisingly, Beggs couldn't get into the specifics of the story, but talked about the situation as a whole.
"It's disillusioning and disappointing for a business that prides itself on being progressive and enlightened," said Beggs. "We have to not just try to do better, but dedicate ourselves to doing better and being more vigilant than perhaps we have been."