February 19, 2025 • 25 mins
Nabbing exclusive rights to the prequel to "Shtisel," the series Netflix made popular around the world, is more than just a financial opportunity for Izzy CEO Nati Dinnar to put his fledgling streaming service on the global map. "Kugel" represents a chance to advance the interests of his homeland's reputation amid war in the Middle East, not to mention its struggling TV industry.
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
Welcome to another episode of Strictly Business, the podcast in
which we speak with some of the brightest minds working
in the media business today. I'm Andrew Rollenstein, chief media
analyst with Variety Intelligence Platform. The Israeli TV show Stissel
found an international audience thanks to distribution on Netflix in
recent years, so when a Stistle prequel was announced, it
(00:31):
was quite a coup that the show ended up exclusively
on a relatively small new Israeli streamer called Izzy. For
Izy co founder Nati Dinar, the February twenty eighth premiere
of Kogel is a big moment for his venture, for
which success is defined by more than just commercial appeal.
(00:53):
It's about promoting positive images for his homeland. We'll be
back with him in just a moment, and we are
back with Nati Dinar, a veteran of the Israeli TV
(01:14):
business who was exporting the best of his country's TV
via Izzy all over the world. Nati, thanks for being.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
With us, Thank you, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
So let's get the elevator pitch out of the way first.
For those who don't know, explain to us what is Izzy.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Well, it's a string platform it's just focused on Israeli content.
We want to bring Israeli content to the world, and
that'd be dependent on what is selected by other media platforms.
We want to enhance the world's relationship with Israel, get
them connected with the Israeli storytellers, get an outlet for
(01:55):
the Israeli storytellers to tell their story beyond the borders
of Israel, and grow that as much as we can
so Izzy will have an impact on the world.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
And what kind of programming are we talking about here.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Well, we have almost everything on the platform. We're very
non selective for Israeli content. If something was produced for
Israeli audience, we believe that it's good content for the world.
So we have films, we have TV shows, we have documentaries,
we have some weekly podcast shows that we put on
(02:31):
with content that we think is relevant. We have short
films that we aggregated and brought to showcase them on
the platform. We have almost everything.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
And how many countries are you in? Obviously you and
I are talking about the US market, but I understand
you're more than just there.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Well, unfortunately, we only have one country where we're not
showcasing this content, and that's Israel due to licensing agreements,
but we're available worldwide. Last time I checked, we had
subscribers from over one hundred and ten countries, some very big,
some very small.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
And I assume the US is a key market. Are
there other markets where you are predominantly?
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Yes, US is key. You know, I think almost sixty
percent of our subscribers come from the US, partly because
when we started, we were focused on English speaking countries
because we subtitled all the content to English. But in
about eight months ago we added Portuguese, Spanish and French
(03:34):
and put some marketing efforts into Latin America and we're
growing there very nicely. So it is you know, it
is not for us to work locally where we can
find audiences. We do start where where we can find
audience that have a passion for Israel. And that's why
US is a big market. And also you know Canada, Austraila,
(04:00):
UK where we grew at beginning.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
And so who in those key markets is the market
for Izzy?
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Is this?
Speaker 1 (04:09):
You know? Uh? Israeli expats?
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Is it?
Speaker 1 (04:13):
You know, Jews who just have an affinity for Israeli programming.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
So I think the majority, the big majority of our
audience is not Israeli. Israelis outside of Israel want to
stay connected to the here now. They want to watch news,
they want to watch sports, maybe watch reality shows that
the Israelis are talking about. That's not our audience. I
would assume that the big majority of our audience are Jewish.
(04:40):
We don't ask that, so we don't know, but I
believe that's the people who want to be connected with
Israel maybe watch shows in Hebrew to improve their Hebrew.
I believe that's the audience, or or you know, audiences
that have watched shows from Israel on Netflix, on Apple
(05:02):
and just want to see more of that culture. So
I think that's our audience. That's why I like to
define on people with a passion for israel I believe
they want some connection to this country.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
I mean we should point out this is not a market.
You have to yourself. There are a number of other
streaming services that do this. What is your competitive edge?
How do you distinguish yourself?
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Well, as I said, I think we're focused about Israel.
That's our mission. It's not only about growing a streaming service.
We don't license content that is not Israeli produced or
not Israeli oriented. We don't, so that's our focus. Our
(05:50):
focus is to get more of the Israeli storytelling out
there to the world. So I think if I look
at who else is operating in the space, that's not
their focus. So I think that differentiate us. But yeah,
there's there's other platforms that you know, kind of share
with us, not to say compete licensing Israeli content, but
(06:18):
I think, and I'll say this about ourselves, I started
easy with the idea that I'm not for exclusivity because
I want the content to be out there to as
many people as possible. If I license content exclusivity, I
kind of close it to just to my audiences. So
you will find that on the different platforms in the
(06:39):
space we share some of the content as well.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
Well. That's all well and good and nice, but exclusivity
is the thing that distinguishes yourself in the marketplace. So
you know, if you don't have exclusivity, how do you
distinguish yourself?
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Again, the content we bring, we don't cherry pick on
the content from Israel. We want every content that was made.
We bring old content to the platform because we think
it still resonates with audiences. So we might have stuff
that are exclusively on our platform even though we don't
(07:20):
have an exclusivity deal for licensing it, But that doesn't
mean that are the other players in the space would
pick up that content for their reasons. So that's true.
Having said that, you would imagine when we did the
Google deal, I did take it exclusively to make a difference.
(07:41):
So there will be occasions where we'll think exclusivity is right.
But with Coogle, I don't think that we are limiting
the audience that can see it. We're building such a
big campaign to such a big audience. They will find it,
and it will find it is the end they will
(08:02):
find Google.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
Well, let's of course talk about that. Google is the
prequel to Stistle, which was a show that obviously was
big in Israel itself on the Yes network and then
Netflix put it on its air worldwide where it got
a great international audience. How on earth were you able
(08:28):
to get this? I mean, I know you now currently
have the rights to the previous three seasons of Stissel,
That in itself is impressive. How on earth did you
do this?
Speaker 2 (08:40):
If I can take you through the long story, I
think the first time was when when I heard the
news that Netflix is not going to continue their deal
with Sticel after third year. I think it was somewhere
in twenty twenty two. The producer of Stil Abutamiri, who
(09:01):
are now a fre mental company. As a good friend
from the TV days, we worked a lot together and
and I called him right away and I said, they
can't stop this brand just by deciding they don't want
to continue. We need to continue this brand. Let's think,
you know, how do we continue this? How do we spinoff?
(09:21):
And his reply was like I have something in mind,
and that's where it ended, and I let it go jump.
I think two years later I saw a short video
that Yes put out with Sassong Gabay talking about Google,
the new spin off series that they're doing for Yes.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
I think they did interrupt you explain who Sassoon is.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
Oh Sassong Gabbai, who is the lead actor in Stisil
and one of the acclaimed actors in Israel. He they
made a clip with him talking in Hebrew that they're
making this spinoff. Verstle called Kogo and I said, well
(10:05):
it happened. I was, you know, I thought it was
just a conversation that died two years ago. So I
called up my friend again. I said, what is this?
He told me, yeah, we filled this, We filmed it
in Belgium. And I said, that's good. But who's going
to pick it up? If Netflix said no to the brand,
would they pick up that the spinoff? Would their competitors
(10:27):
do it? And this was twenty twenty four. We're, you know,
in the hardest year of Israel through October seventh, And
I said, and we felt that, you know, they're they're
picking up content from Israel these days is not a thing.
And I said, you know what, put me in touch
with for Mental because we have to get this brand
(10:48):
out there to the world. We have to get it
out there quickly, not to let it you know, a
two year deal from now ors whatever. And started a
conversation with frementto. They also looked at me the same
way you just asked this question, how why would why
would a small streaming platform from Israel pick up you know,
a brand that's super strong, maybe the strongest brand that
(11:11):
came out of Israel. But luckily through conversation it took
a while I convinced them we are the right way
to go for the brand. We'll do everything for it,
We care about it. It's it's it's not a we're
not checking a box saying we have something from Israel
and uh, and we made it happen.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
That's amazing. But to be clear, though, are you suggesting
that the appetite for the Stitle or Google brands were
diminished because of the cloud that had sort of built
up over any sort of Israeli programming, that Netflix or
other streaming services were loath to go to even successful
(11:56):
content because of a sort of brand issue around Israeli.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
Well, you will have to ask them that question. But
I tell you what we feel, and you know, I
talk with all the producers and storytellers here in Israel
and creators. It's hard. It was. It was a hard
year and it's still not easy, not easy for for
for international conversations. Even though when they do have the
(12:22):
conversation with the executives, Uh, they like the Israeli content
and they like the brands. It's just decision making. And
that's why I thought we have to step up, and
I talk with you know, my partners and investors, says
this is this is our time. We have to do
this and make sure that Google, which at the time,
(12:44):
I didn't even watch an episode. I just nut believe said,
this is probably as good as Tisils, so we have
to make it uh a worldwide success. Now having watched
the series, you know doesn't fall short of this, so
maybe even better at some point. So so I think
this is this is this is the times we are,
(13:06):
This is where we need to step up. Israel has
to take care of Israel, and if that means we
need to you know, expedite Easy's growth, that's what we're
gonna do. And and and you know, Google is the
first stepping stone, and it's a big one.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
Well, and we'll get back to the implications for the
Israeli TV business in a moment, but to be clear,
this represents a big opportunity for Easy and its growth, right.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Yes, definitely. You know, when when I started exploring the
idea of you know, I was kind of dreaming, what
if I can get Google on Easy, I did a
small survey with our subscribers, not even you know, not
(13:56):
even telling anybody. I'll just send a question there and
we asked them a thousand subscribers, what did they if
they watched Kissel, if they watched it again on Eazy
would they watch a spin off if it was on
Easy And the results I got were like, you know this,
(14:16):
this is too good, this is we can't let this go.
And the funny thing is that the people Infrumental heard
about this questionnaire that I put out because I sent
it to subscribers, and probably some of the subscribers, you know,
our of our email list are here in Israel, and
the word got around and and the call I got was,
(14:39):
can you tell us the results of this survey that
you did? So they were very good. The results were
very good. So so I knew, you know, this is
this is a game changer. At least I felt it
could be a game changer. I believe, you know, even
though we don't know the numbers, we believe that over
a million people watched Netflix and watched Diesel on Netflix
(15:01):
all three seasons. We know they're diehard fans. You know,
there's two big series that they became big on on
on Netflix. It's Schiesel and Fouda. But we found the
connection the audience has with with Giesel. It is different.
I mean, I think they watch Fouda, but they feel sttl.
(15:22):
It's something about the storytelling. It's true that it's about
Orthodox Jews, but it's not. It's about family, it's about people,
and it's a very strong connection. So so it was
there that I thought, if we get it and start
telling people it's gonna be on Easy, we'll see they
they'll come. As they say, if you build it, they
(15:44):
will come. And and that's what happened. The minute, the
moment we started saying there's Google, It's it's the return
of the Thistles, it's gonna be on Easy, we started
to feel the hype, whether it's with people you know,
commenting on our advertising, signing up, you know, on the whole,
(16:06):
the whole range. But whatever you can expect with a.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
Hit, got it. We'll be back in just a moment
with more with Nati Dinnar of Izzy. And we are
back with the co founder and CEO of the Israeli
(16:29):
streamer Izzy, Nati Dinnaru. Nati, I've read Izzy's mission statement,
which is to quote, enhance the world's relationship with Israel
through entertainment, help talent and find an audience in the
world end quote. So this is about more than just
you know, financial success. How do you go about fulfilling
(16:54):
such an ambitious mission?
Speaker 2 (16:58):
That's a good question. I think the first step is
defining the mission and and it's exciting when it's a
very bold mission. H you know, she would pay us.
The late President of Israel I wrote a book called
There's no Room for Small Dreams. If you're going to
(17:18):
take on a mission, take a big mission. You know,
both it's the same work. But let's do something you know,
very big, successful. And I think this is very bald
to say this is what Israel needs. You know. Part
of my pitch is saying that if if Paris was alive,
we're alive today, this is probably what he would do
(17:39):
to make a change of how the world sees Israel.
You know, we feel that every day that that will
people see when they come here. It's not what they
see when they're not here, and and the only experience
they have to see Israel if they're not coming to
Israel is through media. It could be the internet, could
(17:59):
be news channels, it could be streaming. It's very hard
to compete in social and it's very hard to compete
in news. The whole world is you know, watching a Jazier.
It became a big success. Can we compete with that?
Can we you know through news try to tell a
different story. I believe that the best stories from Israel
(18:21):
coming in our our content creation, especially premium content. We
have great storytellers. It's been proven time and time again.
The only thing is we are dependent at this point
on you know, international platforms picking up content from us.
(18:42):
And I think if we're if we were independent in
its territory and say, you know, we have the platform,
let's just push all the content and then promote it
so people will come. You know, we have no no
barrier between us and the audience. And so I think
that's that's the ball mission I see in front of me.
(19:04):
But I always remind myself since I got out of
the you know, the Army, I had uh and and
playing a few years basketball professionally. When I started working
from Channel to in Israel, the commercial first commercial TV
station Israel, I was doing business. So that never I
never let that go. And I think when you challenge
(19:24):
yourself to do something important but make it a business
as well, that that's an exciting challenge. And I think
this is what we're doing with Izzy and and with
time I hope will make it, you know, successful and
prove that not only it fulfills the mission. It was fun,
(19:47):
you know, traveling this journey.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
You're also fulfilling this mission through something called the Israel
Entertainment Fund. Tell us how that works.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
Yes, well, probably early on when we started, as we said, okay, great,
we'll build this platform for Israeli content. But in order
to get the good content we want out there to
the world, we have to make sure that keeps going on.
And Israel in the past four years going through rough
(20:18):
times even before October seventh, of budgets being cut and
producing content. And when you cut the budget of a
TV show, usually the budget you cut is its chance
to compete globally. It's lowering the production value to a
level where it's hard for international executives to say I
(20:40):
want that, and for audience to feel they're watching, you know,
a feel competitive a TV show as they're watching from
other places in the world that the budgets are very high.
So the idea was, let's see if we can bring
support and bring money from people who care about Israel,
care about Israel storytelling, and set up a fund that
(21:04):
will co produce content. And that was the idea. It
took a long time until I managed to you know,
get the first funding for it, and that maybe did
change through October seventh, but but I did manage to
convince jennf you say to partner on this initiative and
(21:27):
commit to the first initial money. And we've already produced
one documentary series that we funded fifty and that's how
we fund the projects. The IF gives matches dollars a
dollar for Israelia TV stations or operators to fulfill their
(21:50):
goals and production. It's a documentary called Fighters. It follows
the soldiers who are wounded in the guy As a
war early on and follow their story, the rehabilitation and
how they are supported by their families and how resilience
they are about what they did and what they want
(22:12):
to do. Very very powerful. We're going to start distributing
this with a distribution company next month and hopefully get
it out there to the world. It is a different
point of view about the war that you will never see.
And we also got into a big drama again. It's
(22:34):
a five episode drama on October seventh about Israeli civilians
who saved lives in those twenty four to thirty hours
when the attack started. It's a very big production for
Israeli standards. Kesh It is one of the partners. We're
(22:56):
part of the funding with the Israel Entertainment Fund the
IF several investors from LA that are involved. Amongst them
is Laurence Bender, a big time film producer. So we're
very excited about that. Shooting is going to start this
March and with God's help, they'll be ready for October
(23:18):
twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
So it sounds like you're getting some real success finding
outside funding. In terms though, of changing hearts and minds
within the existing entertainment industry. Is that a.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
Challenge international industry?
Speaker 1 (23:39):
I would say both internationally and in Hollywood.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
Yeah, I think again, I don't know if we can
really make a change quickly. These things say take time.
We assume that's going to take about two or three
years until we're back to where we were before, which
was not you know, the best place in the world.
But we had success and and you know, Hollywood was
(24:06):
interested and Israeli storytelling and didn't shy away from that.
Now they kind of are things need to go back
or fall into place until things get back, That's why
we have an obligation to fulfill that void, at least
for these two three years. I see it as a
(24:28):
big opportunity for is It. But but that's something we
need to do and I can't tell you that there's
a change yet. I think Israel still feeling that people
are people are on the fence, and so it will
it will take time. And maybe you know, if we
(24:49):
do good work and bring more content there, that can
also speed up how quickly the Netflix, the Apple, et
cetera come back into the game, and you know showcase
Israeli content.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
Well, I wish you luck with that. I wish you
luck as well with Kogel, which is obviously going to
be transformative for the Izzy business. Nati Dinar, thank you
for coming on Strictly Business.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
Thank you very much, Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
Thanks for listening. Be sure to leave us a review
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from listeners. Please go to Variety dot com and sign
up for the free weekly Strictly Business newsletter, and don't
forget to tune in next week for another episode of
Strictly Business.
Welcome to another episode of Strictly Business, the podcast in
which we speak with some of the brightest minds working
in the media business today. I'm Andrew Rollenstein, chief media
analyst with Variety Intelligence Platform. The Israeli TV show Stissel
found an international audience thanks to distribution on Netflix in
recent years, so when a Stistle prequel was announced, it
(00:31):
was quite a coup that the show ended up exclusively
on a relatively small new Israeli streamer called Izzy. For
Izy co founder Nati Dinar, the February twenty eighth premiere
of Kogel is a big moment for his venture, for
which success is defined by more than just commercial appeal.
(00:53):
It's about promoting positive images for his homeland. We'll be
back with him in just a moment, and we are
back with Nati Dinar, a veteran of the Israeli TV
(01:14):
business who was exporting the best of his country's TV
via Izzy all over the world. Nati, thanks for being.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
With us, Thank you, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
So let's get the elevator pitch out of the way first.
For those who don't know, explain to us what is Izzy.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Well, it's a string platform it's just focused on Israeli content.
We want to bring Israeli content to the world, and
that'd be dependent on what is selected by other media platforms.
We want to enhance the world's relationship with Israel, get
them connected with the Israeli storytellers, get an outlet for
(01:55):
the Israeli storytellers to tell their story beyond the borders
of Israel, and grow that as much as we can
so Izzy will have an impact on the world.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
And what kind of programming are we talking about here.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Well, we have almost everything on the platform. We're very
non selective for Israeli content. If something was produced for
Israeli audience, we believe that it's good content for the world.
So we have films, we have TV shows, we have documentaries,
we have some weekly podcast shows that we put on
(02:31):
with content that we think is relevant. We have short
films that we aggregated and brought to showcase them on
the platform. We have almost everything.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
And how many countries are you in? Obviously you and
I are talking about the US market, but I understand
you're more than just there.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Well, unfortunately, we only have one country where we're not
showcasing this content, and that's Israel due to licensing agreements,
but we're available worldwide. Last time I checked, we had
subscribers from over one hundred and ten countries, some very big,
some very small.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
And I assume the US is a key market. Are
there other markets where you are predominantly?
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Yes, US is key. You know, I think almost sixty
percent of our subscribers come from the US, partly because
when we started, we were focused on English speaking countries
because we subtitled all the content to English. But in
about eight months ago we added Portuguese, Spanish and French
(03:34):
and put some marketing efforts into Latin America and we're
growing there very nicely. So it is you know, it
is not for us to work locally where we can
find audiences. We do start where where we can find
audience that have a passion for Israel. And that's why
US is a big market. And also you know Canada, Austraila,
(04:00):
UK where we grew at beginning.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
And so who in those key markets is the market
for Izzy?
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Is this?
Speaker 1 (04:09):
You know? Uh? Israeli expats?
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Is it?
Speaker 1 (04:13):
You know, Jews who just have an affinity for Israeli programming.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
So I think the majority, the big majority of our
audience is not Israeli. Israelis outside of Israel want to
stay connected to the here now. They want to watch news,
they want to watch sports, maybe watch reality shows that
the Israelis are talking about. That's not our audience. I
would assume that the big majority of our audience are Jewish.
(04:40):
We don't ask that, so we don't know, but I
believe that's the people who want to be connected with
Israel maybe watch shows in Hebrew to improve their Hebrew.
I believe that's the audience, or or you know, audiences
that have watched shows from Israel on Netflix, on Apple
(05:02):
and just want to see more of that culture. So
I think that's our audience. That's why I like to
define on people with a passion for israel I believe
they want some connection to this country.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
I mean we should point out this is not a market.
You have to yourself. There are a number of other
streaming services that do this. What is your competitive edge?
How do you distinguish yourself?
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Well, as I said, I think we're focused about Israel.
That's our mission. It's not only about growing a streaming service.
We don't license content that is not Israeli produced or
not Israeli oriented. We don't, so that's our focus. Our
(05:50):
focus is to get more of the Israeli storytelling out
there to the world. So I think if I look
at who else is operating in the space, that's not
their focus. So I think that differentiate us. But yeah,
there's there's other platforms that you know, kind of share
with us, not to say compete licensing Israeli content, but
(06:18):
I think, and I'll say this about ourselves, I started
easy with the idea that I'm not for exclusivity because
I want the content to be out there to as
many people as possible. If I license content exclusivity, I
kind of close it to just to my audiences. So
you will find that on the different platforms in the
(06:39):
space we share some of the content as well.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
Well. That's all well and good and nice, but exclusivity
is the thing that distinguishes yourself in the marketplace. So
you know, if you don't have exclusivity, how do you
distinguish yourself?
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Again, the content we bring, we don't cherry pick on
the content from Israel. We want every content that was made.
We bring old content to the platform because we think
it still resonates with audiences. So we might have stuff
that are exclusively on our platform even though we don't
(07:20):
have an exclusivity deal for licensing it, But that doesn't
mean that are the other players in the space would
pick up that content for their reasons. So that's true.
Having said that, you would imagine when we did the
Google deal, I did take it exclusively to make a difference.
(07:41):
So there will be occasions where we'll think exclusivity is right.
But with Coogle, I don't think that we are limiting
the audience that can see it. We're building such a
big campaign to such a big audience. They will find it,
and it will find it is the end they will
(08:02):
find Google.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
Well, let's of course talk about that. Google is the
prequel to Stistle, which was a show that obviously was
big in Israel itself on the Yes network and then
Netflix put it on its air worldwide where it got
a great international audience. How on earth were you able
(08:28):
to get this? I mean, I know you now currently
have the rights to the previous three seasons of Stissel,
That in itself is impressive. How on earth did you
do this?
Speaker 2 (08:40):
If I can take you through the long story, I
think the first time was when when I heard the
news that Netflix is not going to continue their deal
with Sticel after third year. I think it was somewhere
in twenty twenty two. The producer of Stil Abutamiri, who
(09:01):
are now a fre mental company. As a good friend
from the TV days, we worked a lot together and
and I called him right away and I said, they
can't stop this brand just by deciding they don't want
to continue. We need to continue this brand. Let's think,
you know, how do we continue this? How do we spinoff?
(09:21):
And his reply was like I have something in mind,
and that's where it ended, and I let it go jump.
I think two years later I saw a short video
that Yes put out with Sassong Gabay talking about Google,
the new spin off series that they're doing for Yes.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
I think they did interrupt you explain who Sassoon is.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
Oh Sassong Gabbai, who is the lead actor in Stisil
and one of the acclaimed actors in Israel. He they
made a clip with him talking in Hebrew that they're
making this spinoff. Verstle called Kogo and I said, well
(10:05):
it happened. I was, you know, I thought it was
just a conversation that died two years ago. So I
called up my friend again. I said, what is this?
He told me, yeah, we filled this, We filmed it
in Belgium. And I said, that's good. But who's going
to pick it up? If Netflix said no to the brand,
would they pick up that the spinoff? Would their competitors
(10:27):
do it? And this was twenty twenty four. We're, you know,
in the hardest year of Israel through October seventh, And
I said, and we felt that, you know, they're they're
picking up content from Israel these days is not a thing.
And I said, you know what, put me in touch
with for Mental because we have to get this brand
(10:48):
out there to the world. We have to get it
out there quickly, not to let it you know, a
two year deal from now ors whatever. And started a
conversation with frementto. They also looked at me the same
way you just asked this question, how why would why
would a small streaming platform from Israel pick up you know,
a brand that's super strong, maybe the strongest brand that
(11:11):
came out of Israel. But luckily through conversation it took
a while I convinced them we are the right way
to go for the brand. We'll do everything for it,
We care about it. It's it's it's not a we're
not checking a box saying we have something from Israel
and uh, and we made it happen.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
That's amazing. But to be clear, though, are you suggesting
that the appetite for the Stitle or Google brands were
diminished because of the cloud that had sort of built
up over any sort of Israeli programming, that Netflix or
other streaming services were loath to go to even successful
(11:56):
content because of a sort of brand issue around Israeli.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
Well, you will have to ask them that question. But
I tell you what we feel, and you know, I
talk with all the producers and storytellers here in Israel
and creators. It's hard. It was. It was a hard
year and it's still not easy, not easy for for
for international conversations. Even though when they do have the
(12:22):
conversation with the executives, Uh, they like the Israeli content
and they like the brands. It's just decision making. And
that's why I thought we have to step up, and
I talk with you know, my partners and investors, says
this is this is our time. We have to do
this and make sure that Google, which at the time,
(12:44):
I didn't even watch an episode. I just nut believe said,
this is probably as good as Tisils, so we have
to make it uh a worldwide success. Now having watched
the series, you know doesn't fall short of this, so
maybe even better at some point. So so I think
this is this is this is the times we are,
(13:06):
This is where we need to step up. Israel has
to take care of Israel, and if that means we
need to you know, expedite Easy's growth, that's what we're
gonna do. And and and you know, Google is the
first stepping stone, and it's a big one.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
Well, and we'll get back to the implications for the
Israeli TV business in a moment, but to be clear,
this represents a big opportunity for Easy and its growth, right.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Yes, definitely. You know, when when I started exploring the
idea of you know, I was kind of dreaming, what
if I can get Google on Easy, I did a
small survey with our subscribers, not even you know, not
(13:56):
even telling anybody. I'll just send a question there and
we asked them a thousand subscribers, what did they if
they watched Kissel, if they watched it again on Eazy
would they watch a spin off if it was on
Easy And the results I got were like, you know this,
(14:16):
this is too good, this is we can't let this go.
And the funny thing is that the people Infrumental heard
about this questionnaire that I put out because I sent
it to subscribers, and probably some of the subscribers, you know,
our of our email list are here in Israel, and
the word got around and and the call I got was,
(14:39):
can you tell us the results of this survey that
you did? So they were very good. The results were
very good. So so I knew, you know, this is
this is a game changer. At least I felt it
could be a game changer. I believe, you know, even
though we don't know the numbers, we believe that over
a million people watched Netflix and watched Diesel on Netflix
(15:01):
all three seasons. We know they're diehard fans. You know,
there's two big series that they became big on on
on Netflix. It's Schiesel and Fouda. But we found the
connection the audience has with with Giesel. It is different.
I mean, I think they watch Fouda, but they feel sttl.
(15:22):
It's something about the storytelling. It's true that it's about
Orthodox Jews, but it's not. It's about family, it's about people,
and it's a very strong connection. So so it was
there that I thought, if we get it and start
telling people it's gonna be on Easy, we'll see they
they'll come. As they say, if you build it, they
(15:44):
will come. And and that's what happened. The minute, the
moment we started saying there's Google, It's it's the return
of the Thistles, it's gonna be on Easy, we started
to feel the hype, whether it's with people you know,
commenting on our advertising, signing up, you know, on the whole,
(16:06):
the whole range. But whatever you can expect with a.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
Hit, got it. We'll be back in just a moment
with more with Nati Dinnar of Izzy. And we are
back with the co founder and CEO of the Israeli
(16:29):
streamer Izzy, Nati Dinnaru. Nati, I've read Izzy's mission statement,
which is to quote, enhance the world's relationship with Israel
through entertainment, help talent and find an audience in the
world end quote. So this is about more than just
you know, financial success. How do you go about fulfilling
(16:54):
such an ambitious mission?
Speaker 2 (16:58):
That's a good question. I think the first step is
defining the mission and and it's exciting when it's a
very bold mission. H you know, she would pay us.
The late President of Israel I wrote a book called
There's no Room for Small Dreams. If you're going to
(17:18):
take on a mission, take a big mission. You know,
both it's the same work. But let's do something you know,
very big, successful. And I think this is very bald
to say this is what Israel needs. You know. Part
of my pitch is saying that if if Paris was alive,
we're alive today, this is probably what he would do
(17:39):
to make a change of how the world sees Israel.
You know, we feel that every day that that will
people see when they come here. It's not what they
see when they're not here, and and the only experience
they have to see Israel if they're not coming to
Israel is through media. It could be the internet, could
(17:59):
be news channels, it could be streaming. It's very hard
to compete in social and it's very hard to compete
in news. The whole world is you know, watching a Jazier.
It became a big success. Can we compete with that?
Can we you know through news try to tell a
different story. I believe that the best stories from Israel
(18:21):
coming in our our content creation, especially premium content. We
have great storytellers. It's been proven time and time again.
The only thing is we are dependent at this point
on you know, international platforms picking up content from us.
(18:42):
And I think if we're if we were independent in
its territory and say, you know, we have the platform,
let's just push all the content and then promote it
so people will come. You know, we have no no
barrier between us and the audience. And so I think
that's that's the ball mission I see in front of me.
(19:04):
But I always remind myself since I got out of
the you know, the Army, I had uh and and
playing a few years basketball professionally. When I started working
from Channel to in Israel, the commercial first commercial TV
station Israel, I was doing business. So that never I
never let that go. And I think when you challenge
(19:24):
yourself to do something important but make it a business
as well, that that's an exciting challenge. And I think
this is what we're doing with Izzy and and with
time I hope will make it, you know, successful and
prove that not only it fulfills the mission. It was fun,
(19:47):
you know, traveling this journey.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
You're also fulfilling this mission through something called the Israel
Entertainment Fund. Tell us how that works.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
Yes, well, probably early on when we started, as we said, okay, great,
we'll build this platform for Israeli content. But in order
to get the good content we want out there to
the world, we have to make sure that keeps going on.
And Israel in the past four years going through rough
(20:18):
times even before October seventh, of budgets being cut and
producing content. And when you cut the budget of a
TV show, usually the budget you cut is its chance
to compete globally. It's lowering the production value to a
level where it's hard for international executives to say I
(20:40):
want that, and for audience to feel they're watching, you know,
a feel competitive a TV show as they're watching from
other places in the world that the budgets are very high.
So the idea was, let's see if we can bring
support and bring money from people who care about Israel,
care about Israel storytelling, and set up a fund that
(21:04):
will co produce content. And that was the idea. It
took a long time until I managed to you know,
get the first funding for it, and that maybe did
change through October seventh, but but I did manage to
convince jennf you say to partner on this initiative and
(21:27):
commit to the first initial money. And we've already produced
one documentary series that we funded fifty and that's how
we fund the projects. The IF gives matches dollars a
dollar for Israelia TV stations or operators to fulfill their
(21:50):
goals and production. It's a documentary called Fighters. It follows
the soldiers who are wounded in the guy As a
war early on and follow their story, the rehabilitation and
how they are supported by their families and how resilience
they are about what they did and what they want
(22:12):
to do. Very very powerful. We're going to start distributing
this with a distribution company next month and hopefully get
it out there to the world. It is a different
point of view about the war that you will never see.
And we also got into a big drama again. It's
(22:34):
a five episode drama on October seventh about Israeli civilians
who saved lives in those twenty four to thirty hours
when the attack started. It's a very big production for
Israeli standards. Kesh It is one of the partners. We're
(22:56):
part of the funding with the Israel Entertainment Fund the
IF several investors from LA that are involved. Amongst them
is Laurence Bender, a big time film producer. So we're
very excited about that. Shooting is going to start this
March and with God's help, they'll be ready for October
(23:18):
twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
So it sounds like you're getting some real success finding
outside funding. In terms though, of changing hearts and minds
within the existing entertainment industry. Is that a.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
Challenge international industry?
Speaker 1 (23:39):
I would say both internationally and in Hollywood.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
Yeah, I think again, I don't know if we can
really make a change quickly. These things say take time.
We assume that's going to take about two or three
years until we're back to where we were before, which
was not you know, the best place in the world.
But we had success and and you know, Hollywood was
(24:06):
interested and Israeli storytelling and didn't shy away from that.
Now they kind of are things need to go back
or fall into place until things get back, That's why
we have an obligation to fulfill that void, at least
for these two three years. I see it as a
(24:28):
big opportunity for is It. But but that's something we
need to do and I can't tell you that there's
a change yet. I think Israel still feeling that people
are people are on the fence, and so it will
it will take time. And maybe you know, if we
(24:49):
do good work and bring more content there, that can
also speed up how quickly the Netflix, the Apple, et
cetera come back into the game, and you know showcase
Israeli content.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
Well, I wish you luck with that. I wish you
luck as well with Kogel, which is obviously going to
be transformative for the Izzy business. Nati Dinar, thank you
for coming on Strictly Business.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
Thank you very much, Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
Thanks for listening. Be sure to leave us a review
at Apple Podcasts or Amazon Music. We love to hear
from listeners. Please go to Variety dot com and sign
up for the free weekly Strictly Business newsletter, and don't
forget to tune in next week for another episode of
Strictly Business.
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