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Documentary Business

Peter Hamilton Consultants, Inc

Commissioning Process

How do channels commission new factual programs?

A Preferred Producer: Hoff Productions between Basement and Buyout (Part 2/2)

In this week’s DocumentaryTelevision.com – we continue our detailed profile of Hoff Productions’ path from freelancer to a leading supplier to U.S. factual channels, including Discovery and NGC. The story so far: Michael Hoff begins from a base in a spare room. He develops a respectable client list for Hoff Productions. But catastrophe always lurks around the …

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A Preferred Producer: Hoff Productions between Basement and Buyout (Part 1/2)

The scale of factual producers ranges from basement operators to ‘Super-preferred Producers’ like Pilgrim Entertainment. We continue our case studies of the U.S. production sector by focusing on Hoff Productions, which represents the tier below the ‘Super’ category. Hoff Productions is based in the Bay Area, with a recently opened office in New York, and is …

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U.S. Cable Networks: Which Ones Commission Factual? How Many Homes Do They Reach?

      Commissions  Factual?    U.S. TVHH  Genre TBS  100,608 Entertainment   CNN / HLN  100,370 News Yes DISCOVERY CHANNEL  100,101 Factual/Reality Yes NICK-AT-NITE  100,064 Entertainment   NICKELODEON  100,064 Kids    THE WEATHER CHANNEL  100,054 News Yes FOOD NETWORK    99,934 Lifestyle Yes CNN CABLE NEWS NETWORK    99,640 News Yes TNT    99,630 Entertainment …

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Netflix 2024: What You Need To Know Now!


The Documentary Channel: Cash Positive and a Sweeter ‘Sweet Spot’

At Westdoc, we met with James Ackerman, president and CEO of the Documentary Channel (DOC). We knew James in a previous life, when he was a respected executive at Sky UK. Documentary Channel is a 24-hour niche television network ‘devoted to documentary films and the independent documentary filmmaker’.  The tagline is Lights. Camera. Action. History …

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The Style Network: Clear Brand + Distribution Upside, Backed by Family Revenues of $36+ Billion!

At Westdoc, DocumentaryTelevision.com caught a rewarding presentation about Mission, Filters and ‘Sweet Spots’ by Renee Simon, The Style Network’s vice president, Current Programming. According to the Westdoc guide: Renee Simon oversees series, specials and interstitials for The Style Network, including the Emmy-nominated series Ruby, as well as the popular franchises Too Fat for 15: Fighting Back, …

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Why Marry Up with Pilgrim? A ‘Super-Preferred Producer’ at WestDoc

Last week’s Westdoc Conference was a great success for attendees due to: the quality of the speakers and panelists the easy access to buyers and experts and the very friendly environment Johnny Gould, Pilgrim Films and Television’s vice president for Programming & Business Development gave a stimulating presentation. Pilgrim is a powerful player in the …

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Desktop Doc Netflix course


How to Pitch & Sell Your Project. A&E, #3/3. “Seven Key Takeaways”

Part 3/3 Click here for Part 1/3.: A day in the life of a developer, and more  Click here for Part 2/3: A&E’s four filters: “Death is the ultimate high stakes”, and even more By Erin Essenmacher A&E director of Development Stephen Harris spoke at Silverdocs and WIFV panels that were moderated by DocumentaryTelevision.com editor Peter …

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How to Pitch and Sell Your Project to a Network. A&E, #2/3. “Death is the Ultimate ‘High Stakes'”

By Erin Essenmacher Part 2/3. Click here for Part 1/3.   A&E director of Development Stephen Harris spoke at Silverdocs and WIFV panels that were moderated by DocumentaryTelevision.com’s Peter Hamilton.     Will It Really Matter in 18-Months? Harris emphasized that the best ideas aren’t necessarily the most controversial: “We’re looking for programs that aren’t just topical …

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