REELZ commissions around 200 originals each year and acquires another 50+ programs.
The focus is on:
- Celebrity, particularly from the world of entertainment, and
- Notoriety, in the True Crime genre.
Unlike most platforms like Netflix or U.S. cable nets, REELZ acquires only U.S. rights, allowing producers to profitably exploit rest-of-world in a popular genre.
I recently chatted with Steve Cheskin, REELZ’ veteran programmer. Steve was one of Discovery’s earliest employees, and a key player in creating Discovery’s game-changing SHARK WEEK.
Steve pointed me to Saturday Night Fever: The Ultimate Disco Movie. Its an absorbing deep dive into the magic brew of music, dance, stardom and production decision-making that made pre-hipster ’70’s Brooklyn the pop culture center of the universe.
Read more below about REELZ’ programming strategy and budget sweet spot…
REELZ: The Sweet Spots
| Corporate |
|
| Tagline | Real Lives. Real Stories. Real Celebrities. |
| Link | https://www.reelz.com/ |
| Company Messaging | “REELZ is a leading independent cable and satellite general entertainment network that is home to factual entertainment, television events, miniseries, movies and series featuring big stories and big stars. Programming ranges from the critically acclaimed and award-winning miniseries The Kennedys to Autopsy: The Last Hours of… , Scandal Made Me Famous, Behind Closed Doors, Geraldo Rivera’s Murder In The Family and much more that connects directly to the world of entertainment. REELZ also provides specific on-air recommendations for movies viewers can watch at home.” |
| Unscripted Focus | Documentary storytelling. Celebrity-focused: famous & infamous. Hollywood-related examples include a true story that motivated a movie, or celebrating a hit movie with the original cast. |
| Program Category | Celebrity / Notoriety. True Crime |
| Target Audience |
|
| Base Demographics | 60%F / 40%M |
| Distribution | 51.4 million U.S. HH (June 2020) |
| Key Programming Contacts | Steve Cheskin, Rob Swartz |
| Competition | “Female-skewing, non-scripted networks is the easy answer, but it really is broadcast, cable nets, streaming, video games. We know our viewers watch/use all of these.” Steve Cheskin |
| Rating: Average Prime Time |
|
| Programming Pipeline | 250 hours:
|
| Sweet Spot |
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| Producer Equity |
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| Producers (Select List) | Hoff Productions, Potato/ITV, AMS, Buck, Espiritus, Honeybee, Big Media, Muse, Viacom, Treadmill, Pyramid Productions |
| Content Buckets |
|
| Looking for | “Projects that have something “special” attached to them. For example, it could be a celebrity who is participating in a program, or a unique archive, or exclusive interviews.” Steve Cheskin |
| Not Looking for | Reality. Game Shows. Scripted. |
| Recent Coverage |
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| Recently on Air |
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Key Takeaway
- The relentless focus on Netflix and the streamers obscures the continuing opportunities to supply traditional channels.
- The Cab/Sat model still drives the commissioning and acquisition of cumulatively tens of thousands of hours of programs worldwide.
Listen
- Podcast with Reelz supplier Hoff Productions‘ Michael Hoff: Getting ready for the ‘Content Desert’
Sweet Spots 2021 will be published soon. Buy Sweet Spots 2020 and you will automatically receive the 2021 update with new strategic insights, contacts, programming trends, budget information, and more.