Documentary Business Archives - Documentary Business

GREAT INVENTIONS: The development, production & distribution of a 35-episode Science series. A Podcast with ZDF Enterprises’ Nikolas Hülbusch & WMR’s Alan Griffiths

2020 April 7 / Case Study, Commissioning Process, Distribution, Documentary Production, Funding a Documentary, Internet Economy, Interviews, Off The Fence, Podcast, VOD, ZDF-E

About the Series: A special quality that attracted me to cover GREAT INVENTIONS in my newsletter and podcast is that this 35-episode series was developed and funded by the distributor, ZDF ENTERPRISES without the typical building block of a financial commitment from a key buyer, usually a major network. ZDF Enterprises invested heavily in the …

GREAT INVENTIONS: The development, production & distribution of a 35-episode Science series. A Podcast with ZDF Enterprises’ Nikolas Hülbusch & WMR’s Alan Griffiths Read More »

Case Study, Commissioning Process, Distribution, Documentary Production, Funding a Documentary, Internet Economy, Interviews, Off The Fence, Podcast, VOD, ZDF-E

The Rise of Netflix Increases Pressures on Producers. My Big Takeaways for 2018

2018 December 27 / Amazon, Commissioning Process, Conferences & Markets, Digital Video, Distribution, Documentary Production, Facebook, Internet Economy, Netflix, Pitching

Here are my key Takeaways for 2018. It was the year in which Netflix accelerated its challenge to the entire film and television eco-system, with the Amazon behemoth adding to the disruptive force of online video. 1.Channels Under Threat. Factual commissions boomed since the mid-Eighties. A tiny documentary market exploded into the global Unscripted industry …

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Amazon, Commissioning Process, Conferences & Markets, Digital Video, Distribution, Documentary Production, Facebook, Internet Economy, Netflix, Pitching

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PBS History Programming: Audience & Pipeline. Top 5

2017 November 28 / Archive, Commissioning Process, Conferences & Markets, Distribution, Documentary TV, Network Profile, Pitching, Producers' Tool Kit, Public Television, Ratings

This post continues my coverage of the PBS audience for History and Science for delegates attending WCSFP Congress in San Francisco. The focus here is on the strands American Experience, American Masters and Secrets of the Dead. Also profiled are the highest-rated PBS History specials and limited series outside the strands. Next post: The Vietnam War. …

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Archive, Commissioning Process, Conferences & Markets, Distribution, Documentary TV, Network Profile, Pitching, Producers' Tool Kit, Public Television, Ratings

Audience Ratings Information for Producers: Arming Yourself for Negotiations

2017 November 22 / Commissioning Process, Pitching, Producers' Tool Kit, Public Television, Ratings, Reality Television, Theatrical Documentary, UK, Unscripted TV

Producers are at a big disadvantage in negotiations with U.S. networks because they lack industry information such as program ratings, network distribution trends, and network revenues. Best Deal We create customized reports for each producer that provides the knowledge that they need to get the best deal in the US marketplace. The reports include complete …

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Commissioning Process, Pitching, Producers' Tool Kit, Public Television, Ratings, Reality Television, Theatrical Documentary, UK, Unscripted TV

Facebook’s Video Strategy: “Throw Lots Of Video Against The Wall. See What Sticks!”

2017 November 6 / Amazon, Commissioning Process, Documentary Budget, Documentary Production, Documentary TV, Facebook, Funding a Documentary, Internet Economy, Netflix, Unscripted TV, VOD

Wall Street to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg: “You have 2 billion monthly users and immense monetization capability. “Your move into video will have big knock-on impacts on producers, channels and others in the video ecosystem.” “So tell us: What is Facebook’s video strategy?” Zuckerberg: “Well, I think the answer to that is we don’t know …

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Amazon, Commissioning Process, Documentary Budget, Documentary Production, Documentary TV, Facebook, Funding a Documentary, Internet Economy, Netflix, Unscripted TV, VOD

“Hands & Pans”: Tasty’s Cooking Format Burns the Food Network in the Online Video Economy

2017 October 31 / Amazon, Commissioning Process, Facebook, Internet Economy, Network Profile, Producers' Tool Kit, Valuations

Tasty is enjoying a meteoric rise driven by its low budget, fixed-camera cooking format and Facebook distribution. It is a Case Study in how viewing on Facebook is hurting leading cable channels like the Food Network, and in turn, damaging Discovery‘s valuation. Hands & Pans: Tasty is a BuzzFeed division that produces and shares content related to comfort …

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Amazon, Commissioning Process, Facebook, Internet Economy, Network Profile, Producers' Tool Kit, Valuations

Facebook Dominates While Newspaper Publishers Pivot to Video: Takeaways for Channels?

2017 October 4 / Facebook, Funding a Documentary, Internet Economy, Ratings, VOD

Print publishers like The Washington Post, The New York Times and The Guardian are pivoting to video. However, their turn to video fuels Facebook‘s dominance of Social Media while adding costs to the suffering newspaper business model. Strategy: The strategy of former print media players is to: Integrate video into their online reporting, and Commission short-form documentaries …

Facebook Dominates While Newspaper Publishers Pivot to Video: Takeaways for Channels? Read More »

Facebook, Funding a Documentary, Internet Economy, Ratings, VOD