Event Preview: Realscreen Summit

The 18th edition of the Realscreen Summit is taking place January 31 to February 3, 2016, at a brand-new home: the Marriott Marquis in Washington, D.C. The event, which is dedicated to the nonfiction and unscripted content industry, is expected to welcome upwards of 2,500 buyers, creators and distributors from all over the world.

The Summit kicks off on Sunday, January 31, with three master classes. The Real Deal: How to Negotiate a Hit Show will feature mock negotiations (and renegotiations) to spotlight reality-television dealmaking. Saving Money and Sanity: All You Need to Know About Production Services will see a panel of experts giving production advice. During Pitching, Packaging and Producing for Digital, attendees will hear from a producer, an agent and a digital network about what is needed to successfully launch a show online.

The first day of the Summit will also feature a keynote from Courteney Monroe, the CEO of National Geographic Global Networks, who will discuss the evolution of NGC’s programming strategy, among other topics. Marjorie Kaplan, the president of content at Discovery Networks International, will deliver a keynote on Tuesday, February 2, in which she will share her thoughts on current trends in the linear, nonlinear and factual/unscripted content space. The same day, Jana Bennett, the president and general manager of HISTORY, will take part in a one-on-one discussion with Abby Greensfelder, co-CEO and executive producer at Half Yard Productions, about the importance of creativity in driving innovation within the content industry.

Among the high-profile panel sessions are Working with ‘The New Normal,’ which will feature Nancy Daniels, the president and general manager of TLC and Discovery Life Channel, and ITV America CEO Brent Montgomery, alongside executives from Scripps Networks Interactive, 495 Productions and United Talent Agency; and Disruption as a Catalyst: How to Ride the Waves of Change, with former Endemol Shine exec Gary Carter. Revenge of the Doc, which counts National Geographic Channels’ Tim Pastore among its panelists, shines a light on the renaissance of premium documentary content. There are panels on keeping up with 4K, sports docs and virtual reality as well.

There are a host of speed networking and speed pitching events, luncheon roundtables and coffee with commissioners opportunities. The Summit Showdown: International Pitch Competition returns, giving delegates the chance to pitch their nonfiction or unscripted program to a panel of network development executives live at the Summit. The judges for the 2016 competition are Discovery Channel’s Denise Contis, Corus Entertainment’s John MacDonald, Food Network’s Bob Tuschman and TV hosts Drew and Jonathan Scott of Scott Brothers Entertainment.

“Our delegates are keen to learn as much as they can about the changing mediascape and how those changes impact their businesses, so we try to balance the topics that are currently at top of mind for many of them—ratings measurement and how it is evolving, for example—with forward-thinking discussions and sessions highlighting innovations in the screen-based content industry and the nonfiction/unscripted genres,” says Barry Walsh, Realscreen’s editor and content director.

“It’s definitely a time of change in the content industry, and the agenda for Realscreen Summit 2016 will meet that head-on with discussions about how to adapt to and thrive within the disruptions that are shaping media.”