At Tallinn Black Nights, the expert explained how AI-driven insights are set to reshape the sector, enhancing strategies in all fields from development to distribution

Rémi Tereszkiewicz during the talk

On 19 November, the Industry@Tallinn sidebar of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival hosted a keynote speech by Rémi Tereszkiewicz, CEO of Paris-based firm Betaseries, one of Europe’s leading platforms for series recommendation and home to the largest community of series fans. Tereszkiewicz was introduced on stage by moderator Marike Muselaers.

In his talk, Tereszkiewicz explored how AI can enhance TV series sales by focusing on discovering and understanding content. He explained that TV series are undergoing a revolution in consumption, prompting the development of new business models.

The primary challenge, he argued, is for market players to capture the attention of connected viewers in a “dynamic, platformised market”, where non-linear viewing is increasingly outpacing linear formats. He noted that the post-pandemic peak in TV production is now behind us, while OTT players have heightened competition. This has compelled series to adopt more precise strategies, making investors more cautious about budgets and experimentation.

The SVoD sector is also grappling with “streamflation”, as subscription prices continue to rise. At the same time, the role of AVoD is being debated as the “new Eldorado” for retaining or attracting consumers.

Betaseries collects extensive market insights. The firm has surveyed over 31,000 titles, amassing data on platforms, talents and genres to offer marketing solutions that support the development, pitching and sales of new TV series. The data transcend demographics, focusing instead on retention metrics, such as how many viewers stay until the end. “If they do, then you can sell season 2. It’s important to understand the power of your story and how to keep your audience hooked from episode to episode,” Tereszkiewicz emphasised. Betaseries’ market solutions cover the entire lifecycle of a project, from creation to catalogue integration.

Tereszkiewicz also highlighted that audiences are becoming increasingly curious and eager to understand society, rather than solely seeking entertainment. As a result, they gravitate towards shows like Dopesick, Black Mirror and Homeland, which are increasingly being produced outside the USA, particularly in Europe and other regions.

AI’s contributions, as harnessed by Betaseries, include document analysis during development, benchmarking for sales and pre-production, promotion analytics during production and release, as well as fingerprinting and benchmarking for catalogue titles.

“A piece of content is not only a story; it’s made up of its plot, themes, characters, comedic elements, setting, visuals and so on. What differs is the proportion [between these components],” said Tereszkiewicz. A richer and more nuanced way of describing and labelling projects helps in understanding and selling them more effectively. For instance, a series like The Penguin matches 50 different parameters, “not just three tags”. AI provides a comprehensive description, enabling the rewriting of synopses to boost discoverability.

AI also assists in creating curated lists of projects ready for sale and identifying gaps in the market. “If you don’t find something, maybe you should go for that and produce it,” Tereszkiewicz suggested. These AI-generated insights can benefit producers pitching projects, distributors selling catalogues, institutions tackling topics like diversity and climate change, and buyers managing large acquisitions.