Monthly News Highlights: Documentaries in the Streaming Era. TIGER KING takes Wildlife genre to dark side

• TIGER KING directors tell all about their smash hit series  // The Hollywood Reporter
• Should we think twice  about Netflix’s Tiger King?  // Vox
• The wild story behind the making of TIGER KING   // The Washington Post
• ID network grabs TIGER KING territory with a True Crime spin-off series // The Sun
• The Truth About Tiger King and Cats in Captivity: Here’s a response from two journalists who’ve documented the captive tiger tourism industry for years. // PBS Nature
• The rise of the ‘ Backyard Nature ’ genre:  Winners & losers among documentary genres and formats  // DocumentaryBusiness.com

COVID-19 & the Documentary Eco-system

Sunny Side of the Doc today unveiled The Connected Edition , moving to an exclusively online format for the very first time, taking place on 22-25th June and streamed from La Rochelle, France Discovery ’s strategy is to run marathons of favorite series  // World Screen Pandemic spurs activity in the doc space  // Deadline Production disrupted by the lockdown  // Cineuropa Networks’ programming stockpiles  can outlast disruptions  / Variety BBC ’s Tony Hall fights for a place in the new eco-system  // The Guardian UK Film/TV Emergency Relief Fund set up: £1M donation from Netflix  // Deadline France’s CNC tweaks windows policy during the lockdown   // Variety [FR]  France Televisions supports independent producers   // Les Echos Crisis Footage Pool launched by German Documentary Association  // Sunny Side POV launches Fund for Documentary Filmmakers  // The Hollywood Reporter The must-see online exhibitions of the moment  // Vogue Platforms: Transformation + Uncertainty Documentary was the #1 category (31%) of all Netflix commissions in 2019. Reality is #2 and rising fast. // Ampere Analysis reported in Rapid TV News Netflix wants to become the new Discovery!   // The Motley Fool Backlash as Disney cuts salaries by 20-30%. Includes Nat Geo  // Variety How the Coronavirus will transform TV  Programming and Advertising  // Forbes Netflix tops Amazon in Originals in 2019: 2701 to 314 hours  // Rapid TV News Why Netflix should launch an advertiser-supported tier like Hulu  // VideoNuze Disney+ hits 50 million subscribers // The New York Times In-depth analysis of Disney+ launch in Europe & Covid-19’s impact   // TBI U.S. Cable industry  weathers crisis through profitable Internet services  // Fierce Video Quibi ’s mobile-targeted short programme strategy is upended  // Detroit News. Ratings Snapshot: Netflix’s Top 10 Most-Viewed SVOD Titles U.S. by Minutes (All genres) March 9-15 Spenser Confidential (Netflix) – 1.25 billion The Office (Netflix) – 1.23 billion On My Block (Netflix) – 1.14 billion Love Is Blind (Netflix) – 872 million Criminal Minds (Netflix) – 695 million Grey’s Anatomy (Netflix) – 653 million Hunters (Prime Video) – 612 million The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez (Netflix) – 572 million NCIS (Netflix) – 570 million Altered Carbon (Netflix) – 425 million Peter’s Takeaways It’s impressive that a documentary program ranks in the Top 10. (Source: Nielsen) So is the relative scale: Fernandez enjoys nearly 50% of audience of the #1 scriipted series. Amazon Prime Video is dominated by Netflix. Hulu is absent. Many of Netflix’s Top 10 are U.S. network shows that will shift to their owner’s new streaming platforms, like NBC’s The Office to Peacock. Read more about Netflix’s audience in my insider’s guide: NETFLIX: What You Need to Know Now! Ratings Snapshot: ZDF Germany’s Terra X Strand The Last Hours of Pompeii (Pompeii Rising) leads Terra X viewing in 2020 2020 // Top 4 (by title to date) The Last Hours of Pompeii – 16,7 % market share Fascinating Earth with Dirk Steffens – 16,6 % Anthropcene – The Rise of Humans – 15,3 % Seven Continents – One planet – 15,2 % 2019 // Top 4 (by title) Fascinating Earth with Dirk Steffens – 18,3 % Russia from Above – 16,9 % Expedition Europe – 16,3 % Seven Continents – One planet  – 16,1 % Peter’s Takeaways Listen to ZDF programming exec Ricarda Schlossan in our Sunny Side 2019 podcast. Read our detailed POMPEII RISING Case Study: A €1.6 Mn copro from France’s Gedeon Productions  More great reading! Confused by digital video terminology? Take a look at this useful dictionary of all the new terms and jargon  // Furious RealResources: Industry COVID-19 Info Guide  // Realscreen Educating future generations in an interconnected world  // World Economic Forum