TLC is actively premiering new programs as we move into the Streaming Era! Discovery Networks US plans to order 4,500 new hours in 2023, according to Kathleen Finch, chairman and chief content officer at Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) US nets. What pitches do TLC decision-makers want to see from producers? The short answer: female-targeted Reality …
Are A&E and History Channel still buying programs as we move into the Streaming Era? What do they want from their producers? Unlike Nat Geo and Discovery, A+E Networks’ decision-making is not complicated by the need to synchronize with their corporate parent’s streamer. Veteran international programming executive and respected senior consultant Dan Salerno dives deep …
With Peacock’s Sex, Lies and the College Cult and Netflix’s Madoff we continue our coverage of the booming True Crime genre. Here below is Part 3 of Camran Shealy’s snapshot survey of 20+ recently announced or released projects. More: Part 1 includes The Tinder Swindler. Part 2 leads with Worst Roommate Ever. In my Pact …
True Crime Boom: “Sex, Lies…” and the Latest Commissions & Acquisitions Read More »
Are National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo Wild still buying programs as we move into the Streaming Era? What do they want from their producers? Veteran programming executive and highly-respected senior consultant, Dan Salerno dives deep into their programs schedules in today’s revealing webinar. This is episode #2 in a series produced by Pact, the …
A Sundance Film Festival award lags only behind an Oscar nomination as a measure of success for documentarians. 2.4%! Are those the odds that a documentary will earn a slot on the Sundance program? $852 million! Is that really the total production spend on all those submissions that missed out? Read on for my 2023 update on …
Sundance 2023: $852 Million Spent on Docs That Were Not Selected Read More »
What were the critics’ picks for Best Documentaries for 2022? Caitlin Cooper surveyed Variety, Deadline, Sundance and more to provide links to their selections. Among them are prize-winning indies such as All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, Bad Axe, and All that Breathes. Dominating the competition are Brett Morgen’s Moonage Daydream for HBO Max, and …
Best Documentaries of 2022: The Picks from the Players. The Oscar Noms & More Read More »
My unchanging editorial goals since launching my Documentary Business newsletter in 2011 are to: Capture in a few words how the ever-evolving unscripted ecosystem shapes opportunities for industry veterans and rookies alike, and Publish detailed Case Studies that reveal how productions that aren’t by award-winning A-listers are developed, funded and ultimately delivered to grateful audiences. …
Independent producer / director Ruth Berry creates for Terra Mater Studios and PBS’s NOVA series, a fast-track special that navigates the many cultural challenges to successful field production in Africa while revealing that space exploration is for everyone – not just for the wealthiest countries. Watch our MIPCOM 2022 Coproduction Case Study panel video here. …