Sunny Side of the Doc | 19-22 June 2023

Documentary Business

Peter Hamilton Consultants, Inc

Shedding Light on the Business of the Documentary Business. 2022 Report Card. Mission for 2023

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.

Most Widely Read Posts

Like much of my analysis since the mid ‘teens, the fifty posts published in 2022 often returned to the  #1 trend:  How Netflix and the streamers are upending the documentary economy by “putting a blowtorch to the cable model.”

Among the most popular posts in 2022 were:

Case Studies

My year’s podcasts included:

Partnerships

I’ve been blessed with many partnerships, notably

  • Faith Fuller’s Desktop Documentaries for co-publishing my detailed courses on how to develop and pitch unscripted projects.
  • MIPTV for conference planning and session production
  • Sunny Side of the Doc, for many years my valued conference programming and publishing partner.
  • Pact, the UK producers’ association, for co-producing webinars.
  • Keith Ochwat’s Show&Tell for webinar co-production.

Pact Webinars: Industry Trends

Pact has teamed up with Documentary Business‘ Peter Hamilton to present Industry Trends, a new Pact Growth Accelerator series exploring key industry trends in handy bite-sized chunks.” Read Pact’s press release here

Initial webinars are:

Sponsors

  • Many thanks to last year’s sponsors, including Terra Mater Studios, RX France (MIPTV), Sunny Side of the Doc and Blue Ant International.

Editorial Contributors

  • I’m very thankful to Ed Hersh and Dan Salerno who regularly contribute their unique industry insights in posts, podcasts and webinars, as well as in conversations that never fail to light up the key issues of the day.
  • Byron Media’s John Morse for brilliant audience and related analysis.
  • Tom Jennings and Michael Hoff are invaluable advisors.
  • Gregory Crofton contributes on the “rightwing documentary ecosystem.”
  • My editorial associates are Camran Shealy, a rising senior at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School, and Mexico City-based journalist/writer Caitlin Cooper.

Netflix 2023 What You Need To Know Now