Fast-Turnaround & Back-Catalog Factual Fills Linear’s Content Void

Armin Luttenberger, head of content sales international at ORF-Enterprise, talks to TV Real about the increased demand for factual content from linear channels and what’s needed to meet it.

Factual content of all sorts has increasingly found a home on streamers in the years since they began storming into the content landscape, multiplied and taken up a large part of the conversation in the industry. Now, with a pandemic disrupting how people live their lives across the globe, viewing habits are changing, as are the needs of the broadcasters looking to cater to them. While streaming platforms remain a big part of the factual industry, according to Luttenberger, it’s the linear channels whose demands have ramped up in recent months.

“During these times of crises, the relevance of well-selected programming on curated, linear channels as a source of reliable information has become more than apparent,” Luttenberger tells TV Real Weekly. ORF-Enterprise has benefitted from being able to offer titles from its deep catalog of blue-chip programming. Further, it has had public-service journalists covering the pandemic for new titles that offer viewers on-the-ground insight into the health crisis sweeping the world. “Broadcasters have been craving fresh content while their own production efforts have been halted,” he says. “We have been able to deliver stable output during the first months of the year for all kinds of programming gaps.”

While the quick-turnaround programs documenting COVID-19 and the many relevant angles that pertain to its various effects—from health to economics to sociological shifts—have proven attractive, and projects that had been near completion will be ready to land on channels in the coming months, there remains concern about larger-scale projects moving forward.

“The quick turnaround of current affairs pieces, news segments and reportages have provided orientation in uncertain times,” Luttenberger explains. He adds that “while the creators of our factual lineup for the autumn season 2020 have successfully remained on schedule, titles that are at early stages of production will face challenges while shooting. Closed borders [and] restricted travel regulations are only a few examples of the limitations facing filmmakers traveling the world and working on factual excellence.”

At ORF-Enterprise, the company has been fielding requests for documentaries from the recently relaunched blue-chip slates UNIVERSUM Nature and UNIVERSUM History. There are currently three new titles from each strand on ORF-Enterprise’s lineup for the fall: Big Bend—America’s Wildest Frontier, Bears of the Karawank Mountains and Leopard Legacy for the former; and Charles V—The Emperor, Victims of the Vikings and The Salt Saga for the latter.

ORF-Enterprise has also moved to revamp its screening platform with its Berlin-based tech partner mediafellows. “We will offer our clients a modern environment for browsing our colorful catalog with intuitive features such as personalized wish lists and recommendations and direct communication with our sales team,” says Luttenberger. “In a year of canceled trade shows, we are happy to have invested in an improved screening experience—it allows us to stay in touch and communicate efficiently while keeping physical distance.”