The Big Business of Translating Foreign Films
Even before “Parasite” won Best Picture, this was a very good time to be in the business of dubbing and subtitles. Hollywood is no longer a dominant international force, and as global markets grow, streaming is expanding the reach of foreign language films and TV series. In America, localization is no longer the sole domain of arthouse theaters; it belongs to streaming platforms that translate shows like “Money Heist,” with platforms like Netflix offering an English language dub for those who don’t want to read subtitles.
Chris Carey, chief revenue officer and managing director of Iyuno Media Group, sits at the center of the rapidly evolving localization business. Iyuno (formerly BTI Studios) is one of the biggest subtitling and dubbing companies, generating 44,000 hours of dubbing and 300,000 hours of subtitling in 2019 alone.
“Generally, our market is on the upswing, in terms of attention, dialogue, business potential, and growth,” said Carey. “Just the fact ‘Parasite’ was nominated and had gotten so much buzz increased the level of dialogue and discussion. There’s been momentum throughout the winter, we’ve seen it, and ‘Parasite’ was just one of a thousand data points of why.”
Learn more about this topic by reading this article on Indie Wire.
After reading “The Big Business of Translating Foreign Films” you can check important issues for ESL teachers on the section PDFs.