Unscripted TV Producers List Showtime, CBS, A&E Among Top Networks

According to a new survey from NPACT, producers of nonfiction entertainment content have ranked Showtime as their favorite network/platform to deal with overall.

CBS, A&E, HISTORY, ID, DIY, CNN, E!, ABC and Hulu round out the top 10. Amazon and MTV were at the very bottom of the list.

Among all networks and platforms, A&E and ID were cited in the top 10 across more categories than any of the other networks, followed by HISTORY, then DIY and then CBS. A&E, ID and Netflix were tied as the networks that producers most respect, with HISTORY and Bravo very close behind. Producers named Oxygen as the network that most improved its processes in the last year.

NPACT, formed in 2017 through the merging of the Nonfiction Producers Association and PactUS, surveyed 48 production companies—both members and non-members of NPACT—and had them rate 46 networks/platforms in 11 categories.

John Ford, general manager of NPACT, said, “This latest survey offers detailed, comprehensive information about producers’ perceptions of networks and OTT services amidst a climate of unprecedented change. From pitch to post-production, a broad swath of producers—large and small—rates the vital production process; NPACT’s goal is to improve that creative process, however, we can, and our surveys aim to do just that.”