(Originally posted Sept 7, 2015) The head of a mid-sized U.S. network was searching for a breakthrough to the next level. I asked him: “What would be the answer to your prayers?” He replied: “A fresh, loud, buzzy show that feels unique and has breakout ratings potential.” “What Queer Eye was to Bravo or Ruby to …
In this post: more on Facebook’s Originals and a glance over at Apple. Mark Zuckerberg’s ‘Video-First’ strategy for Facebook’s 1.8 Bn active monthly users goes beyond Live video feeds and clips sent by your BF’s. 97% of the company’s $7 Bn in Q3 ’16 revenue (up 56% vs. Q3 ’15!) was advertising-based. To maintain that …
Amazon has officially launched Prime Video in 200+ countries and territories. Prime Video will be included for Amazon Prime members in Belgium, Canada, France, India, Italy and Spain. In countries with no “physical goods” or Amazon warehouse presence, Prime Video is being offered for either $2.99 or 2.99 Euros per month for the first 6 months. It …
Is the archive on the way back? We think so, and we explored the factors driving changes in the archive landscape with Footage.net‘s David Seevers in an interview with myself and Peabody Award-winning producer Tom Jennings. DocumentaryTelevision.com’s coverage of the archive is sponsored by ITN Source. FN: In a recent edition of DocumentaryTelevision.com, you noted that “History channel’s …
Recent press releases from Amazon, Netflix and Nat Geo reveal trends in the “Post-Schedule Economy”. I quickly applied several criteria to a sample of seven films, including Amazon’s 13-parter on Hugh Hefner. Five of them focus on Big Names (e.g., Hefner) and/or involve A-Listers in the production team (e.g., Leo Dicaprio). Four involve Crime, Violence …
Amazon announced last week the launch of Amazon Video Direct. Most analysts reported that AVD is an assault by the online retail giant on YouTube and its User-generated Video (UGC) platform. That, at best, seemed like half the story to me. Amazon’s strategy is to dominate Video the way it does book publishing and distribution. Just …
The SVOD market just became much more competitive. Amazon announced two new monthly subscription options for its Prime SVOD service: $8.99 monthly for a new video-only version of its Prime service. $10.99 a month for access to the full Prime service, including video streaming, free two-day shipping on Amazon orders, music streaming and other services. Refocus on …
“DEMYSTIFYING VOD” was the ambitious goal for our featured panel at this month’s excellent AIDC in booming Melbourne. The sparkling panelists were: Rebecca Heap, Head of Strategy and Digital, iView / ABC Australia Sharon Ramsay-Luck, Head of Sales & Business Development, ABC Commercial Roger Jackson, Co-founder and COO, Kinonation, Los Angeles The feedback was that it was ‘mission accomplished’ for …