A+E takes yet another step into owning its content future, wholly and completely, during MIP TV in April with the global premiere of high-end mini-series Roots.

Two years into his role as A+E Networks’ president, brand strategy, business development and A+E Studios, Bob DeBitetto, talks about the benefits of owning IP, control of distribution, developing global stories that make the investment in premium drama worthwhile, and “touching on themes making headlines every day”.

The eight-hour four-part Roots, produced by A+E Studios for History channel, premieres on History in the U.S. on 30 May, and will air day-and-date on History in Asia.

DeBitetto says A+E is “getting better at the big events and the big stories that have applications around the world”. Roots, he adds, was an “enormous undertaking”, involving 1,000 people on two continents and four months of photography.

A+E Studio’s reason for being also hinges on DeBitetto pulling it off. A+E’s plan to own rights outright will allow the company to sidestep traditional acquisition/licensing models for its channels, and avoid “not so great situations where we don’t own, distribute or have control over where the show ends up,” DeBitetto says. That includes no control over digital and SVOD, which are “very important today”.

Unlike competitors in the global event space, A+E isn’t necessarily going for simultaneous worldwide release dates – or even first-windows on A+E networks in every market – although it will be branded as a History event, DeBitetto says.

“We are not looking at [distribution] narrowly,” he says, adding that “we will window appropriately so that it will be available to the widest audience possible and to help build the History brand around the world... We see both as goals”.

The global distribution map for A+E Studios’ shows varies. What’s important, he adds, is that “we have the ability to monetise on leading channels in leading territories”.

If Roots’ appeal seems highest in the U.S. and Africa, DeBitetto says the theme – race relations – is timely globally.

“We asked ourselves whether this story has global relevance. All our research is that while Roots certainly is an African and American story, the themes it addresses are global – the themes of identity, who am I?, where do I come from? and does that matter?... it says something profound about family and survival – instincts that people can relate to and be moved by regardless of where they are from,” DeBitetto says.

“There are dynamics playing out all over the world every day. We felt confident that if there was ever a time to undertake this, it’s now,” he adds.

Roots, he says, “is not just a remake” of the original, which premiered on ABC in the U.S. almost 40 years ago and was seen live by 60% of the American population. The new Roots has been “reimagined for a new generation in a new world”, DeBitetto says.

Original source material was mined for the mini-series’ four parts, each of which is presented as a two-hour feature film with a narrative connection but a different director and “its own personality... Each night is a satisfying experience in and of itself”.

DeBitetto says the decision to schedule the series for four nights running was on some level shaped by binge-viewing trends. But more so by creating a groundswell for a “rare, must-see event” and to maximise marketing spend.

“While it’s a lot to ask, we think the material is worthy,” DeBitetto says, adding: “We feel if we have people, we don’t want to let them go.”

Published on ContentAsia's Issue One 2016, 23 March 2016