Ben Simmons is an NBA All-star with a US$170 million contract. He sent a message to the Sports and Documentary worlds by signing on as an executive producer of THE AUSTRALIAN DREAM. Passion Pictures‘ feature documentary captures the struggle of Aboriginal professional footballer Adam Goodes. Goodes was driven from the local game by unrelenting racial …
This post covers the online demand for Netflix Original Documentaries in Australia. The Australian findings reveal an overwhelming similarity with the U.S. and UK, also English-speaking markets. Its as if Australia is a distant Wales or Hawaii with precious little national identity with respect to its Netflix audience’s appetite. Measuring Audience Demand The data is …
Discovery’s CEO David M Zazlav earned $128 million in 2018 That’s according to an executive compensation analysis published in today’s New York Times. Mr Zazlav’s 2018 payday was ranked #2 among all U.S. public companies. It was exceeded only by Elon Musk’s TESLA package ($2.8 billion). Context Discovery’s producers typically earn 10% of the …
Discovery CEO David M Zazlav earned $128 million in 2018 Read More »
UNITED SKATES is an exceptional feature documentary that combines pure and often hilarious entertainment with a hard-hitting expose of how race and class force their crushing ways into the most innocent American pastimes — even roller-skating. For this case study, which is published with Sunny Side of the Doc, I spoke with the co-producer / …
David Lyle: First Steps. I met David on his first visit to CBS International on Seventh Avenue. That was in the mid ‘Eighties. He was the rising star programmer on NINE network’s exec team, and NINE was CBS’s #1 buyer worldwide. I worked on the account. All the eyes of the younger ones in the …
David Lyle. A Wonderful Friend and Colleague. His ‘First Steps’ Remembered Read More »
Here are 6 reasons why the 2017 edition showed AIDC as rising towards the top tier of documentary conferences. “The Australian International Documentary Conference Board is delighted to announce that Alice Burgin, who programmed a very successful 30th anniversary conference in Melbourne earlier this year, has been appointed to the role of AIDC Director.” (May 1, 2017) …
AIDC #2: Australia’s Documentary Conference Was A Winner / Updated Read More »
Brian Beaton was a generous friend of this newsletter and of my consulting practice. I was so saddened to read of his sudden passing. I learned just this month that as a young man Brian was a leader of the anti-conscription movement that opposed Australia’s draft of young men to fight in Vietnam. That took real bravery! And …
Vale Brian Beaton, Documentary filmmaker, advocate, and friend Read More »
The SVOD market just became much more competitive. Amazon announced two new monthly subscription options for its Prime SVOD service: $8.99 monthly for a new video-only version of its Prime service. $10.99 a month for access to the full Prime service, including video streaming, free two-day shipping on Amazon orders, music streaming and other services. Refocus on …