Ralf Blasius – In Memoriam: Our dear friend and colleague Ralf Blasius died unexpectedly on 9 January 2019 in Mainz, Germany. A highly-esteemed colleague, he played a crucial role in shaping ZDF‘s Natural History and Science programmes as a commissioning editor. He made successful documentaries such as “Armageddon” or “Tsunami – a wave moves the …
Dear Friends & Colleagues, It’s been a fascinating year to report on the online video tsunami that is restructuring our industry. As the New Year approaches, we often feel that Netflix and Amazon Prime in particular are changing everything, and at an accelerating rate… I hope that my analysis of the emerging ecosystem for documentary and unscripted programs helps you …
The 2019 Sweet Spots Study is out now! The Study is an invaluable guide to cost benchmarks for network commissions. What do 31 U.S. channels pay for original programs? For documentaries and specials? And for reality series? Does my pitch fall in the budget “Sweet Spot” for my target network? My interviews with executives and …
Netflix and Amazon Prime famously don’t disclose their viewing data. We don’t know how many subscribers are watching documentary and unscripted programs. Or how their audience breaks down, for example by gender, age, education and income. And how do the hit, binge-watched scripted series compare with the unscripted audience on the OTT/Netflix platforms? The lack of …
This week’s podcast covers Netflix. Our focus is on its deals with producers. And on how the channels’ deal terms are evolving in response to the rise of the online video platforms. Sharing his experience is veteran programming executive John Ford. John is an extremely well-placed analyst of the market in his current position as General Manager …
Our topic for this week’s podcast: Measuring demand for FOOD programs in the U.S., UK and Europe. Sharing her expertise and analysis is Karina Dixon, the Insights Director of Parrot Analytics. Karina Dixon, Insights Director of Parrot Analytics. Top Food Shows In the podcast, Karina surveys the top Food shows measured by audience demand in the UK, U.S. and Western Europe. PODCAST …
In my previous post, Byron Media’s Dr John Morse captured the year-to-year subscriber losses for a selection of U.S. Cable / Satellite channels. Nat Geo Wild and Smithsonian gained subscribers, though from smaller footprints than the major networks. Read the full report here. Lost Revenues: What is the revenue impact of these subscriber losses? Basic …
U.S. Basic Cable / Satellite channels are experiencing powerful headwinds from three sources: Households Using Television (HUTS) are in decline as viewers seek their entertainment from online platforms. The Distribution footprints of channels are shrinking as viewers cut the cord or switch to skinny bundles. And Ratings for the channels are falling as the audience shifts to …