In a series of posts, I’ll share the UK’s highest-rated documentary and unscripted programs for the half-year in which Covid struck. My ratings snapshot for 1H 2020 is comprised of: The Top 50 in the combined Documentary and Lifestyle / Hobbies category. My Takeaways. Then #51-100. Going deeper In future posts, I’ll share the Top 25 History and Wildlife …
CuriosityStream is the highly regarded streamer dedicated to traditional factual programs, and launched by Discovery founder John Hendricks: What is CuriosityStream‘s unscripted strategy? What do they want? What are examples of recent hits? For a Sunny Side Meet the Executive session, Jorge Franzini shared CuriosityStream’s vision and programming priorities. Watch our informative and exclusive Sunny …
France Télévisions is France’s multi-channel public broadcaster, buying 1,900 hours of documentaries / year. For a Sunny Side Meet the Executive presentation, Catherine Alvaresse shared France Télévisions’ vision. Watch my informative and exclusive conversation with Catherine Alvaresse: FRANCE TÉLÉVISIONS: CATHERINE ALVARESSE Recorded June 15, 2020 Overview What is the big picture for France Télévisions? Describe …
Independent filmmaker Pat McGee explores the fast track production of his feature documentary Bernie Blackout: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised . We discuss: The Concept: documenting Bernie Sanders’ campaign and the media bias against him. His unique access to the Sanders campaign. The High-risk decision to commit to the production without a buyer. The …
Happy New Year to all my friends, colleagues, clients, subscribers, readers, contributors and more! I’ve really enjoyed this year, using my industry knowledge and contacts to provide you with valuable information and context through my weekly newsletter, regular ‘pod-versations’ with experts, producing panels at major industry events like MIPDoc, and consultations with producers, platforms, nonprofits …
Are Netflix and the streamers killing the channels’ business? And thus are opportunities shrinking for producers at the end of the ’20-teens’? Sample – 12 Factual Channels: For my presentation to the upcoming New York State Bar Association annual conference, Nielsen aggregated the Primetime audience for 12 channels that focus on Factual programs. They are: …
STEVE BURNS has enjoyed senior management roles at Nat Geo, Discovery Networks and CuriosityStream. Our podcast topic: HOW THE DOCUMENTARY LANDSCAPE HAS CHANGED SINCE THE ‘EIGHTIES. First, Steve shares his shock and loss on hearing that Sunny Side’s Yves Jeanneau had passed away. We discuss the rise of big budget international co-productions, “Occu-soaps”, character-led Reality, and …
The audience for COUNTRY MUSIC extends Ken Burns‘ run as the high-performing PBS documentarian. The average audience over 8 episodes was 4.42 million. That’s more that 3x the PBS average for prime (1.24 million). And slightly higher than the average for the VIETNAM series (4.38 million). COUNTRY MUSIC maintained its audience, even returning to peak …
Ken Burns’ COUNTRY MUSIC triples PBS’s prime time average Read More »