Three years ago, I wrote here: “Discovery must be in play after AT&T’s recent takeover of Time Warner with its Warner Bros, HBO and Turner programming assets.” (Discovery for Sale, June 20, 2018) ATT confirmed today that it will spin off its renamed WarnerMedia unit into Discovery Inc. My Initial Takeaways: 1.Discovery Transformed A leading …
For all students enrolled in my NETFLIX 2021 COURSE with Desktop Documentaries, please join me for a LIVE Q&A Thursday, May 13 @ 1:00 p.m. EST. I’ll answer your questions about Netflix, the rapidly-changing streaming landscape, how to pitch Netflix, and any other questions you may have. If you are not enrolled, it’s not too …
Update: Mandy Chang is leaving her post as legendary BBC-STORYVILLE‘s commissioning editor. Last year she recapped her STORYVILLE strategy in detail for my panel at Taiwan’s virtual CCDF-CNEX Documentary Conference. Our fellow expert panelists were: Hong Kong-based, Phoenix TV exec Haibo Huang And from Washington DC, all-knowing veteran programmer and senior consultant Dan Salerno. Read on …
From a Baltimore childhood ripped from THE WIRE to the stage of the New Mexico Philharmonic, a musician shares his inspiring story in R.A.W. Tuba. Trailer: Concept The directors David Larson and Darren Durlac wanted to produce a film about Arts Education and how it’s under-appreciated and underfunded. When visiting the Baltimore School of …
BIG vs SMALL stood out at Sunny Side of the Doc 2019 as a pitch to watch. Last Friday, PBS‘s primetime NEWSHOUR dedicated a report to Director / Producer Minna Dufton‘s gripping feature documentary of Giant Wave surfer Joana Andrade. Below is the link to Stephanie Sy’s video report, and the transcript follows in case …
The U.S. premium SVOD market continued its unstoppable growth in Q1 2021: Total subscriptions were up 24% year-over-year (YoY). And +64% since 1Q 2019! Disruption: However, according to Antenna researcher Jonathan Carson, “the category has experienced a staggering amount of disruption in the 18 months since Disney+’s launch.” Netflix losing dominance Two years ago, Netflix …
Congrats to MY OCTOPUS TEACHER‘s extended family for winning the Best Documentary Feature award at last night’s Oscars. 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 Netflix, and then to Hollywood’s #1 stage: How It …
Rupert Murdoch stepped into his father’s shoes when he took aim at global power and profit. Rupert’s father Keith was the Australian kingmaker who taught the young Rupert how to blend media ownership and political influence. The son’s values differ from the father: Rupert promotes racial and class resentment saturated with bigotry. His objectives: Build …