Elisa Viihde, the leading VOD service in Finland has become a key partner to local producers, investing both in film and TV drama. 

The only two Nordic series that were selected for MIPTV Drama Summit - the crime drama Arctic Circle and thriller Bullets-are Elisa Viihde Originals. How important is this for you?
Ani Korpela: We are extremely happy as this proves the high quality of Arctic Circle and Bullets. We make our original series for a Finnish audience, but are naturally very proud when an international audience responds to them as well. We were very pleased with the Buyers’ Coup de Coeur Award for Bullets at MIPDrama and the response in Cannes has been extremely positive.

How long have you been Head of Content and when did you start investing more heavily into original series?
AK: I have been here almost four years and witnessed the business change a lot. Elisa Viihde was established in 2009, and from the start, we have focused on Finnish films. We started investing in our original series in 2014, as it seemed quite natural after seeing the interest in local content from local audiences. We were already an aggressive buyer of Finnish feature films and planted the seeds early for the good relationships that we have today with local producers and broadcasters.

How do you commission a series or a film?
AK: We have English and Finnish-speaking readers in our commissioning team. For series, we’re quite flexible, although we prefer the opportunity to get in on promising projects early in the creative process. We’ll help develop ideas from scratch with producers, but will equally consider projects that come in further along in the development process with more flushed out presentations, bibles, and scripts. The higher the budget, the more important it is to get several partners involved in the financing phase.

In the case of Arctic Circle and Bullets, we’re very pleased to have attracted leading European partners, on top of local broadcasters: i.e. Bavaria Fiction and YLE for Arctic Circle and Nadcon (Germany), Lumiere (Benelux) and MTV3 for Bullets.

For films, we come in either at script phase when a producer is looking for financing and distribution or when the film has already been shot and the producer or the distributor is looking for distribution channels.

How do you negotiate windows for TV drama and film?
AK: It depends. Obviously for Elisa Viihde Original Series we have the first window, and we negotiate second windows on a case by case with local broadcasters. Everybody is experimenting with windows these days. Regarding films, the traditional window is four months between theatrical and TVOD and 12 months between theatrical and SVOD. I love going to a movie theatre, but not all films last four months in theatres, therefore for those particular films, we hope to negotiate shorter windows.

What was your very first Elisa Viihde Original series, and what is your overall TV drama editorial strategy?
AK: We started experimenting with a small comedy Molton Klubi to see if our customers would be interested, and just grew from there. The first bigger Elisa Original that premiered in December 2015, was the drama comedy Downshifters, produced by Yellow Film & TV. We did two seasons and it is still very popular with our customers. After that, we had Mogul Media’s Ismo (the name of a Finnish comedian who won a prize as the funniest human being in the world!). We tend to commission mostly comedies and dramas but are open to other genres. Until now we have launched 10 original series.

Didn’t you also commission the remake of the cult BBC comedy The Office?
AK: Yes we had two seasons of Konttori, produced by Solar Television for us and Nelonen. It is very successful as the brand is very well known and the lead actor Sami Hedberg is a hugely popular Finnish comedian.

How many Elisa Viihde Original Series will premiere in 2018?
AK: This year we are launching five new Elisa Viihde original series: the two  internationally co-produced series Bullets and Arctic Circle, and three comedies. Supisuomalaiset from Bonzu Media and Jättekiva from Zodiak Finland that premiered respectively in February and March, and Sipoon Herttua from Yellow Film & TV that will premiere on May 18. The creator and co-writer is Atte Järvinen [winner of a Finnish Emmy for the animated sitcom Pasila]. Teppo Airaksinen directs.

How active are you in the acquisition of Nordic TV drama? 
AK: We keep an eye in Nordic drama and consider acquisitions case by case. I think that series like The Bridge has increased the interest of Finnish viewers for Nordic drama as a whole.

What are the biggest challenges ahead for Elisa Viihde?
AK: One of the most important things is to attract talent and keep them.

What tips would you give Finnish producers of TV drama?
AK: We are looking for fresh concepts that have unique voices, relatable and grounded characters, new approaches to story, and sharp writing that creates a nuanced and multifaceted world. Is it edgy? Is it bold? Are the storylines and characters nuanced and complex? Are there bigger themes and topical moral/ethical quandaries being explored? These are some of the key ingredients we’re looking for.