ceetv.net continues with the series of interviews with some of the most interesting speakers taking part in the first ever MIP Academy DO, organized by Reed MIDEM. The event started yesterday in Moscow. CEETV and TVBIZZ are the official news suppliers to the conference.

Eli Uzan is General Director of The Box. One of the creators of the interactive international TV show CelebZ, when he was 21 Uzan founded The Box, a creative media agency specializing in the creation of cross-platform original content, and currently works with CTC Media, TF1 France and Red Arrow. The Box has developed projects for Disney, Nike, Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, Google, Orange, Doritos, Comverse, etc. , and has representative offices in Paris and Los Angeles to go along with its head office in Tel Aviv.

At MIP Academy DO Uzan is going to talk about the changing TV ecosystem and how the face of the entertainment industry will dramatically change in the next couple of years.

CEETV’s Maria Ruban did a quick Q&A with Eli Uzan:

ceetv: Israeli formats are highly in demand in CIS, what is the reason for this popularity?

EU: I don't necessarily think it's the Israeli formats being very popular in CIS territories particularly. I think it's Israeli formats being popular everywhere at the moment. Israel is a very small state and when it develops a format it thinks globally so from the get go it thinks how to write it so it is popular overseas.

Also, youth these days whether in Israel, Russia, USA or Japan are much closer culturally to each other than ever before due to all the social tools that we have gotten so used to. So the same content of formats can cross borders and cultures more easily. Specifically, in Israel there are over a million and a half Russian speakers in Israel and many content and format creators are of Russian roots. And I think that affinity comes across and maybe helps with them being so successful in CIS.

ceetv: What is cross-platform content? Can you give some examples of successful international projects?

EU: Let's first define it. I actually see three distinguished definitions here: cross-platform content which is content that's delivered on multiple platforms such as HBO Go and Netflix. Cross-Platfrom formats – which is a TV format that uses both TV screens and mobile devices integrated in the DNA of the show. For example, audience members voting live or playing live against a TV show. And cross-platform products – which are second screen digital extensions that are born with a TV show but have a life of their own and they continue well beyond the TV broadcast cycle, what I call digital assets. The trick is to deliver something that does all three in one. And I don't think anyone has done that quite yet to be honest.

ceetv: How does cross-platform content differ from other TV content? What does it have to have in order to be successful?

EU: Content itself is not that much different. It's the way it's consumed and what you can do with it. Cross-platform content doesn't have a beginning, middle and end. It starts when the user decides they want it to start and makes it completely immersive, shareable and engaging. It knows how to be fully targeted and emotionally fulfilling to the users. Users today want to broadcast thoughts and control what they consume. Successful content would know how to use all these tools effectively and provide the hook to the user.