Virtual documentary festivals and markets are here to stay! Online offerings won’t replace LIVE events after Covid. But virtual formats and features will enrich live programs and can dramatically extend their reach. Two Different Documentary Events: Distribution consultant Peter Broderick has written the definitive special report on CPH:DOX, the Copenhagen-based documentary festival. I helped with …
Veteran media industry consultant Ed Hersh returns to my podcast platform to explore the multiple seismic changes shaking the Documentary / Unscripted sector and what producers need to know. We discuss how the term ‘Perfect Storm‘ captures the confluence of: Covid impacts, The shift by viewers from channels to direct-to-consumer (DTC) platforms like Netflix and …
Dr John Morse likens the consumer’s COVID experience to living thru an episode of “The Twilight Zone”. He analyzes U.S. lifestyle and media usage trends during the pandemic in a PACT (UK Producers) webinar/podcast hosted by Dawn McCarthy-Simpson. John takes us on a deep dive into the data, highlighting the Big Trends: Viewing has become …
Here is the audio / podcast of the webinar moderated by PACT‘s Dawn McCarthy-Simpson with veterans — programming exec Dan Salerno and prolific producer Michael Hoff. We explored the COVID-disrupted condition of the production and programming pipeline for U.S. Factual networks. The big question: Are we heading into a “Content Desert?” Listen to the May …
SUNNY SIDE OF THE DOC is France’s great international documentary market. My guest is MATHIEU BÉJOT, Sunny Side’s strategy director, who is locked down and safe in Paris. Sunny Side 2020 is branded “The Connected Edition” to capture the many layers of digital Content, Trend-spotting and Networking that delegates will experience from June 22-25. Podcast …
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 …
In these hectic early weeks of the crisis, I thought that it would be helpful to take some time out to reflect on the seismic changes that our industry is experiencing. Veteran consultant Ed Hersh joins me in a pod-versation to provide a cautious snapshot for our colleagues. We focus on three questions: Is there …
How is Canada’s documentary sector navigating the Netflix Era? I turned to Stephen Ellis who I first met in the ‘Eighties when he was a high-volume program supplier to my client, the fledgling Discovery Channel. Stephen was CEO of Ellis Entertainment which he sold in 2011 after 47 years in the business. He is now …