Maurizio Colombo is head of Scheduling Coordination and Acquisition Planning for 11 free– and seven pay-TV channels belonging to Italy’s Mediaset. His responsibilities include deciding on what content to acquire and which license fees to pay, but not actual negotiations with suppliers, which are conducted by Mediaset’s Marco Leonardi. Colombo (pictured above) sent his answers from his office in Milan.

Water Cooler: Have you been acquiring additional programs during this lockdown period?

Maurizio Colombo: Luckily, we bought new TV series for our spring and summer seasons before the pandemic outbreak. So we haven’t been acquiring additional programs. Moreover, we have a library with more than 5,000 movies and 400 TV series, so we don’t need additional acquisitions.

WC: What genre of programs did you buy?

MC: We bought some new European TV series for primetime, including Time is a Killer and Olivia, and two Turkish series: one for primetime, Sisterhood, and one for daytime, Daydreamers. [Our] audience will be able see, for the first time on a free channel, the Spanish drama La Catedral Del Mar, a very successful Netflix series.

From the U.S., we’ll have new episodes of New Amsterdam, Manifest, the Chicago brand, and the first seasons of Baker and the Beauty, Lincoln, FBI: Most Wanted, and Prodigal Son.

We also have a new TV movie collection, At Home in the Mountain, and the last chapter of Windstorm. Last, but not least, we have new chapters of Rosamunde Pilcher’s collection.

WC: With your library material how long could you go without acquiring additional fare?

MC: Without counting domestic series and self-produced movies, we have a library with more than 5,000 movies and 400 TV series. We don’t need additional acquisitions.

WC: Are you looking forward to seeing the new U.S. TV season?

MC: Of course I am.

WC: When do you expect production to resume in Europe?

MC: In Italy, production will resume in a few weeks. I hope that the rest of Europe will soon follow.

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