Here are my quick, top seven Takeaways from the very rewarding and compatible Sunny Side of the Doc: 1. BREXIT Several UK agents and producers reported that their fast-track projects were recently stranded due to BREXIT uncertainty. Trump wasn’t helping either. They said that many UK broadcast and satellite channels were in an “unofficial buying freeze.” …
YouTube Red is the new SVOD (Subscription Video on Demand) service that targets the booming market pioneered by Netflix, Hulu and Amazon. RED announced its first original documentary special and reality series at Sundance last month. That’s just the first step by the corporate Goliath which recently reported $21.4 Bn revenues for 4Q 2015. I …
I enjoy studying the life cycles of documentaries, factual specials and reality series. My goal is to uncover: The inside story: from development through funding, green light, production and distribution. The deal: budget, copro terms, box office, license fees and more. And, of course, Takeaways. For the holiday season, here is a selection of my popular and …
This week’s story is about how to succeed in the very tough world of independent production. Our case study is Hoff Productions, whose ups and downs we covered back in 2010 in a popular post titled A Preferred Producer: Hoff Productions between Basement and Buyout. Hoff was on a ride. But, as you can see from …
It’s no secret: celebrity cuts through the clutter on the TV schedule: That applies to documentaries: Nat Geo Channel just announced projects with David Letterman, Adrien Brody, Ron Howard and others. As well as to Reality TV. Marlon Wayans is the $1Bn+ box office earner who successfully launched the Reality production company, Workaholics Entertainment. Workaholics …
Can Reality TV be a force for positive social change? We invited David Rosen to survey the research findings that MTV’s 16 and Pregnant is a factor in the falling U.S. teen pregnancy and birth rates. by David Rosen. 16 and Pregnant has been a commercial and branding success for MTV and Viacom Networks. It generated high …
OnScreen Manitoba‘s executive director Nicole Matiation is leading a strong delegation of producers to Sunnyside. It’s Manitoba’s first trip to the compatible market-by-the-sea at La Rochelle. The build-up featured my all-day workshop in Winnipeg on how to approach an international market, plus one-on-one prep with the delegates. The Sunnyside team has been very supportive by …
A welcome new face at MIPDoc was Elizabeth Hendricks North, President of Curiosity Project LLC. She was in Cannes to promote the ad-free Subscription VOD (SVOD) service CuriosityStream, launched in March to focus on premium factual content. Elizabeth’s father is Discovery Channel founder and industry legend John Hendricks. Mission The CuriosityStream mission is to apply …