About DocumentaryTelevision.com
“Quite frankly, Peter Hamilton is the smartest guy there is about the
whole business of unscripted television.”
Paley Center for Media, New York
“DocumentaryTelevision.com is indispensible for network buyers and producers.”
SilverDocs, 2010
‘No single website contains more information about license fees than DocumentaryTelevision.com.”
Westdoc, 2010
Welcome to DocumentaryTelevision.com, your new, free guide to the ever-changing business of factual television.
I’m Peter Hamilton. Born in Melbourne, based in New York, and serving clients worldwide.
Whenever I speak at industry conferences, attendees line up to express their thanks that someone is giving them ‘the hard facts’. Their gratitude evolved into the mission of this blog.
A classic hockey stick curve: ‘The Rise and Rise of Unscripted Television’
(Photo: Al Falcone, MDA Workshop ’11, Singapore)
Most multi-billion dollar markets – and that is the scale of today’s Factual niche worldwide – enjoy professional analysts who report on commercial trends.
Our sector has lacked that kind of service to date. We are working to fill the gap, one post at a time.
DocumentaryTelevision.com relies on our database, collected during 25+ years of service to clients in our industry, and updated almost daily in conversations with friends who are producers, network executives and experts. We also rely on a variety of publications, conference proceedings, and so on.
Priorities
Our initial focus is on U.S. networks:
- Their development processes for Documentary and Reality programs
- Budget ’sweet spots’ for commissions in various genres and formats
- Slates of new series and specials
- Their preferred producers.
We will soon move on to Case Studies of specific productions or of the careers of producers.
And we will cover other topics and territories, starting with Canada and Europe.
What They Say About Us
The feedback is very positive, as measured by trafic growth, informal recognition, and coverage like this from the Paley Ceter for Media and ITVS’s e-newsletter, Beyond the Box.
Why Free?
DocumentaryTelevision.com is a free newsletter. So why are we giving away such valuable information?
- Because it has been our experience that sharing information in the digital information economy expands networks and creates opportunities.
- These include consulting and speaking engagements, sales of special studies, sponsorships, and so on
We don’t know where this effort will lead, but one thing is for sure – DocumentaryTelevision.com will succeed if we create a service that throws light on the business of our business.
Peter Hamilton
New York
February 2010
Comments are closed.
Hello Peter:
I wanted to thank you for shedding some light on the business of factual tv. Your information is invaluable. Keep up the good work!
All the best,
Jonathan
Really great. All the info on network exec will ever talk about at conferences but the nitty gritty stuff everyone wants to and needs to know.
Thank you so much Peter for taking the time to do this. The information provided is priceless! Sending you lots of good karma!
Great site. Looking forward to the Cdn Channels info.
Great blog. Looking forward to reading more.
Thank you Peter for your efforts. Well done.
Peter-
Excellent site. Looking forward to your insights.
Thanks!
Christy
This site is fantastic. Thank you for providing such an invaluable resource!
My name is Piter Jankovich. oOnly want to tell, that your blog is really cool
And want to ask you: is this blog your hobby?
P.S. Sorry for my bad english
Thank you. Most interesting.
Great blog! Thank you!
Thanks for providing this resource.
Bravo, Peter. Excellent international resource. Looking forward to reading regularly.
This is an absolutely killer site. Thanks so much for sharing this essential info.
Thanks so much for sharing!
As a Freelance DP/Cameraman that Shoots Documentary and Reality TV, I find it invaluable to have a site like yours that gives me a better insight in the Business end – rather just from my perspective of the creative end.
At first I thought the email I got was going to be either spam or another “partner ad” from someone. SOOOO glad I didn’t delete and instead checked out your sites. This is EXACTLY the information I need at EXACTLY the time I need it. So thorough, so true and so helpful. Thank you!
Just found this site, love the content.
Thanks so much for sharing. Excellent site. How can I subscribe to your fantastic blog?
Ana Cristina
This truly is a sweet spot. Thanks for bringing it to factual.
Great site
Peter,
Pure gold mate.
Hi Peter,
Congratulations on a great site!
Helpful, informative and topical……
I am fascinated with doc filmmaking and this is a great resource.
Thanks and enjoy the rest of your summer,
Kevin
Just what I’ve been looking for over the years.
Thanks!
Thanks for the info, Peter! It’s a huge help! Keep it up man.
Hi Peter, love the blog, very useful! Do you think you could add a search function so the site could be searched for keywords (like BBC, or Argentina, for example).
Great work!
Hi Peter,
Congratulations on this great initiative. It took a Melbourne lad with the imagination to do it. Fantastic.
As an independent factual/documentary producer based in the NSW’s Hunter Valley, just keeping on top of the all of the extraordinary changes that have taken place in the last five years can be a full-time job in itself.
And given the pressure to create that high-quality content that is both entertaining and engaging plus appeals to a broad audience to make it economic sense to do it in the first place, your blog will form part of my daily reading.
Look forward to reading more….all the best
Greg – Newcastle, Australia
the previous comments are right on target
the internet sea brought me to your shore looking for information on live music shows shot on studio (not a thoroughly researched topic it seems) for my PhD thesis
just thought I let you know that starting today you have a new dedicated follower in the NW of spain
thanx for sharing!!!
carlos [galicia / spain]
Peter,
Thank you for your very frank and to the point information about an industry that I am working hard to break into. I am more in-tuned with generating pitch packages (vs. producing) and now feel as though I have an inside view that will help me create a realistic methodology to success.
Walt Marcy
Hey Peter,
A great site for documentary television news! My company and partners definitely appreciate your wisdom.
Regards,
Chris
Dear Peter,
thanX for the very interesting information.
Best regards from Berlin/Germany
Eduard