Queen Elizabeth‘s passing reminded me of our 2019 coverage of TRUE ROYALTY, the ‘mega-niche’ streamer for “the 150M people worldwide who are Royal super-fans.” TRUE ROYALTY now carries a library of “450+ constantly-refreshed quality titles about Royalty today, around the world and throughout history.” First published, October 2019 TRUE ROYALTY is a London-based subscription video …
The True Crime genre earns ever more attention — and greenlights, from platforms worldwide. My editorial associate Camran Shealy surveyed recently announced or released True Crime projects, summarizing of 20+ of them here. Everyone’s doing it: commissioners include Netflix, Discovery+, Peacock, ARD Germany and hulu. Netflix dominates Camran’s selection, as expected given its nearly $20 …
True Crime Boom: Recent Releases Spotlight What Platforms Want (Part 1) Read More »
Rupert Murdoch stepped into his father’s shoes when he took aim at power and profit. Keith Murdoch was the Australian kingmaker who taught the young Rupert how to forge political influence from media ownership. The son’s values differ from the father: Rupert’s incites racial and class resentment saturated with bigotry. His objectives: Build profitable audiences, …
The BBC dominates the Top 10 most viewed Factual programs in the UK for 2021. The mix of documentary and lifestyle programs is led by the Attenborough-narrated A Perfect Planet, with more than 7 million viewers and nearly 30% share. Storm Clouds: This week, the troubled Boris Johnson government announced an ominous overhaul of the BBC’s …
The COP 26 UN Climate Change Conference opens in Glasgow on October 31, bringing urgency to the race to save our planet. Documentary commissioners, producers and distributors have responded with lots of new orders. Does global warming have the urgent audience appeal of programs that address hot button issues like true crime, gender, and social …
News Roundup: Climate Change Documentaries Breaking Through? Read More »
Sean Bean is to lend his voice to a natural history documentary about Osprey. The Game of Thrones star is narrating Osprey: Sea Raptor, a one-hour doc for wildlife brand Love Nature that will also and Sky in the UK. The film, which is produced by Love Nature and CosmoVision Media Group, tells the true …
Essential Afghan Documentaries – War boosters & critics: 15 key documentaries about Afghanistan, From ‘Taxi to the Dark Side’ to ‘Hell and Back Again‘ // Variety ‘Pat Tillman‘ and other films both critical and supportive of the war // Washington Post Art Workers in France Mobilize to Help Afghan Creators // Artnet Women journalists fear brutal Taliban // Vice Director’s escape from …
Story of the Month: Investors Target Unscripted Production. There’s a frenzy of investment in unscripted production // Wall Street Journal. New SVOD’s fail to understand that success depends on streaming addiction // Lightshed Partners. Netflix Australia: Revenues surge but avoids taxes and local production // The Age + Documentary Business. Audiences want more documentaries in streaming libraries …
SUNNY SIDE OF THE DOC – NEWS ROUNDUP, June 2021: Unscripted Investment Frenzy & more Read More »