Q: What was the inspiration behind Metan?
A: I always like to say I pick the places that Rupert Murdoch isn’t but that symbolic for finding markets where the big US media players are not as dominant as they are here and there is more of a level playing field. Also, it wasn’t hard to see that a fast growing economy, with over 1.3 billion people would be fertile ground for new ventures of every kind with media and entertainment touching on almost all of them.
Q: What challenges have come up working with the Chinese audience versus the audience here in the states.
A: The people with money in China are much younger than their counterparts in the West and they are more apt to consume media on their laptop or cellphone. As such, the big brands are much more open to putting money into Internet and mobile content. It’s not unusual to see a 25-year-old woman decked out in Chanel where her counterpart in the US is 45 or older. So if you had Chanel as a sponsor you would create programs that fit Lifetime or OWN, but in China, you would reach the likely buyer with much younger and hipper programming that is most likely on a digital or mobile platform. But beyond that life experience is quite different. For example, our crime shows are laden with guns and violence which is so foreign to the Chinese viewer because they can’t  imagine how an ordinary person gets any gun let alone a military assault rifle. Another is the relationship of teens to their elders. Chinese kids revere their grandparents and often grow up with them in the same household. Very different than the US where respect for elders seems to be the exception rather than the norm.
Q: What is the vision for Metan in the upcoming years?
A: Metan has moved from TV to Internet to film. We just started doing music concerts and also working with some theme park builders on the IP rights to certain properties. We have plenty in front of us.
Q: What would you say has been the key element of your success throughout your career?
A: I think I grew up in a great place, Brooklyn NY. My high school was a public school in a lower middle class neighborhood but is still the number one school in the US for turning our Nobel prize winners. We often joke that it must be something in the water but it probably has more to do with the fact we were all children of World War II parents who pushed us to become more than they ever were. Most of us were children or grandchildren of immigrants so we always had people behind us who devoutly believed in the American dream and instilled in us a feeling that anything is possible if you work hard enough and dream big enough.
Q: One last question.  Larry, you are one of the world’s leading experts on new technology and it’s role in international media and entertainment. What changes do you see in the future for the industry?
 A: I think we continue to see an incredible influx of talented people into the content creation business. As the technology makes production and distribution easier and cheaper, the barrier to entry disappears and talent wins out. The big question is marketing and distribution and how you cut through the clutter and let people know your content exists. There will be a new generation of platforms and smart agents that become the trusted friend of the viewer and let them sort through the content in logical and trusted ways. The thing I’m excited about is holographic content and what the possibilities are for creating new and unique forms of entertainment. The technology is almost here to have a Hamlet performance in your living room but I think the process of doing that creatively and within the framework of a viable business model is going to be a challenge (but a fun one).Â
Larry Namer, President/CEO, Metan Global Entertainment Group
An entertainment industry veteran with over 40 years professional experience in cable television, live events, and new media. Larry Namer is a founding partner of Metan Global Entertainment Group, a venture created to develop and distribute entertainment content and media specifically the China market. He is the co-founder of E! Entertainment Television, a company now valued at over $3.5 billion USD, and the creator of several successful companies in the United States and overseas.Â
Among those companies are Comspan Communications that pioneered Western forms of entertainment in the former Soviet Union and Steeplechase Media that served as the primary consultant to Microsoft’s MiTV for developing interactive TV applications.Â
He also serves as Senior Advisor, Strategic Development to Eurocinema On Demand and is the co-founder of MINGYIAN INC., a China brand management startup for Western celebrities and influencers. Recently, Metan and a coalition of North America’s top TV and film writers partnered to launch Metan Wen Zhi Ku, a joint venture linking Western writing talent with transmedia projects for China. Â
Nominated for several Emmy and Cable ACE awards, he is the recipient of the prestigious President’s Award from the National Cable Television Association. Most recently, Mr. Namer was honored with the “Outstanding Contribution to Asian Television Award” at the 19th Asian Television Awards in Singapore.
