1.2 billion video subscribers by 2025. That’s the total global SVOD customer base estimated by leading U.S. platforms. Netflix tops the list at 341 million! Here are the numbers collated by leading industry analyst LightShed Research. Takeaways: Full Steam Ahead. Legacy studios and channels operators are now “ALL IN!” to the streaming strategy. Consumers are …
OSCAR nom for MY OCTOPUS TEACHER. Listen to executive producer Ellen Windemuth in our “Selling Octopus to Netflix” podcast

Congrats to MY OCTOPUS TEACHER‘s extended family for their nomination in the Best Documentary Feature category by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). I write “family” because it took a deeply committed and close-knit group of friends and colleagues to bring Craig Foster‘s unexpected subject from chilly False Bay to Hollywood’s #1 …
The Sundance Documentary Economy: The Odds for Feature Docs. The $806M Cost of Missing Out

A Sundance Film Festival award lags only behind an Oscar nomination as a measure of success for documentarians. But what are the odds that a U.S. or international documentary will earn a slot on the Sundance program? And what is the total expense on all those submissions that missed out? This year, the Sundance Film Festival screened 73 feature-length …
Disney+ with Nat Geo tops 100 million subscribers. Forecast: 230M+ by 2024. Podcast with Dan Salerno

The Disney+ streaming service roared past the 100 million subscriber mark. That’s according to yesterday’s investors’ call. Disney+ is the home of the National Geographic “yellow border” brand and programming from Nat Geo Channel and Nat Geo Wild. Veteran programming executive Dan Salerno follows our recent exploration of the launch of discovery+ by reviewing Nat …
discovery+ leads “Most Streaming Sign-ups” in January: 19% of all U.S. SVOD new subscribers

discovery+ tops the SVOD “Most Streaming Sign-ups” list for U.S. in its launch month. discovery+ accounts for a 19% share of US SVOD signups in January according to new data released by ANTENNA, a subscription insights provider. That puts d+ ahead of HBO Max (14%), Disney+ (13%) and Hulu and CBS All Access (each with …
discovery+ Report Card: 11 million subscribers. What does it mean? A Dan Salerno podcast

Discovery’s new streamer discovery+ released early subscriber data: 11 million have signed up in the few weeks after launch. I ask veteran programming exec Dan Salerno: What can we learn from the numbers? Is discovery+ ‘cannibalizing’ the channels’ program pipeline and ultimately revenues? Where are the documentaries that made the Discovery brand? Dan gives a …
Netflix Europe commissions ROOM 2806: THE ACCUSATION, an original documentary series from France’s CAPA Productions. Case Study

Room 2806: The Accusation is a 4-parter from France’s CAPA Productions that follows the sexual assault case in New York involving French presidential candidate and IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn. On May 14 2011, Nafissatou Diallo, a hotel maid reported that DSK had forced her to perform oral sex in his suite in the Sofitel Hotel …
Off The Fence execs reveal Sales, Acquisitions & Commissioning strategy at our Sunny Side Global Pitch. Webinar

Loren Baxter (Head of Acquisitions), Stefanie Fischer (MD of Sales) & Leila Monks (Head of Commissioning) joined me for a revealing Off the Fence webinar at Sunny Side’s Global Pitch. My key questions: What is your key focus in Sales, Acquisitions and Commissions? What is Off the Fence working on? How do you work together …