What Do UK Viewers Watch? Top 100 Factual Programs: Broadcast, 2H 2012

Below are the Top 100 Unscripted Programs on broadcast television in the UK during 2H last year.

• The scale of these audiences is astounding, at least compared with the appetite for comparable nonfiction programs in the U.S.
• So is the wonderful diversity of sub-genres and formats.
• We particularly enjoy the Brits’ loyalty to classic, content-rich docs like Supersized Earth and Rome’s Lost Empire. Specials like these are increasingly rare on US schedules outside PBS and the Smithsonian Channel.
• Channel 4’s gripping Plane Crash was also a hit for C4’s equally brave/crazy copro partner Discovery US.
• Programmers everywhere are looking for risky but doable ‘Event Specials‘ like Crash and Felix Baumgartner’s Space Dive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tm68PK8GCuk

The top of the UK list includes:

• I’m a Celeb – a survival elimination format in its 12th season. Celebs are pitched into a jungle wilderness that is in fact located outside Murwillumbah, the old spiritual home of Aussie hippies and a short drive from the barista-filled surfing paradise of Byron Bay.
• Countryfile  – a magazine show that captures British nostalgia for village life.
• Season 3 of BBC2’s Great British Bake Off is a huge hit that combines the elimination format with a rediscovery of Britain’s love for baking, bakers and bakeries.
• Food-related formats and specials were frequent Top 100 winners.
• It was a royal anniversary year, and the Top 100 is sprinkled with Windsor family nostalgia. And BTW, why the Queen’s Christmas greeting is classified as a ‘Factual’ program is a mystery.

Antiques Roadshow:

• We wrote a case study about #5 Antiques Roadshow, a dependable BBC hit for 35 seasons!!!
• Can you imagine the value of AR if it had been a commercial enterprise?
• AR is an inspiration if not step-parent to a torrent of valuation-based series led by A+E Networks’ global hit Pawn Stars. 
• Check out our video on the origin of Pawn Stars here. Scroll down to video #4 in Anatomy of a Hit Reality Series.

To round out the UK picture, we recently published:

• The Top 100 programs on UK Digital Channels, 2H 2012.
• An earlier post listed the comparatively midget-sized audiences for satellite channels like History and Discovery UK. (Gold Rush topped Discovery’s list with 416,000 +/- viewers).
• And here is a link to our report and Takeaways on the Top 100 Broadcast, 1H, 2012.

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Top 100 UK Factual Programs
Broadcast, 2H 2012 

Viewers /‘000

Speaking Engagements

MIPDOC
Saturday, April 6, Cannes

THE FUNDING WORKSHOP
Do’s & Don’ts of Getting the Right Partners on Board

Speakers
David Royle, EVP Programming and Production, Smithsonian Networks, USA
Peter Hamilton, Founder, Editor & Publisher, DocumentaryTelevision.com, USA.
Twitter: @doctvdotcom

NEW FRONTIERS IN ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE

Speakers
Tom Jennings, Executive Producer & Founder, 1895 Films, USA @1895films
David Royle, EVP Programming and Production, Smithsonian Networks, USA
Moderator: Peter Hamilton

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WHITE PAPERS & INDUSTRY GUIDES
e-Publications for Executives and Producers
From DocumentaryTelevision.com

Sweet Spots: U.S. Factual Networks’ Production Cost Benchmarks
What do U.S. networks pay for unscripted and documentary programs? Production Cost Benchmarks for 29 U.S. Networks. Documentary and Reality. Plus key contacts. Includes a private consultation. Read more here.

International Documentary Buyers’ Guide
An invaluable resource for producers who are seeking international partners. Profiles 37 channels and slots in 17 countries. Includes the filters and key contacts. Created for Hot Docs. Read more here.

Production Budget Template for a Documentary Special
Our comprehensive production budget package and schedule saves producers time and uncertainty by immediately establishing professional credibility with network production managers. Developed by veteran budget consultant Elizabeth Ventura. Read more .

Diary of a U.S. Reality Network Program Development Executive
Veteran network executive and producer Stephen Harris describes how U.S. networks take pitches and make decisions to commission unscripted programs. Read more.

The Rise & Rise of ‘Pawn Stars’ and Leftfield Pictures
Analysis of the key success factors for History Channel’s breakout hit show and the hot production company that created it. Read more.

Crowd-funding for Documentaries – Case Study: Kickstarter & Plimpton!
Learn the secrets of Kickstarter from a successful documentary fundraising campaign. What is the expected payoff? How much work is involved? Read more.

China’s Documentary Market: Development, Coproduction and Sales
How to approach the expanding Chinese nonfiction market. Our interview-based white paper provides valuable data and key contacts and more. Read more.