Rive Gauche Revs its Factual Engine

Over the last few years, the two most recent spent grappling with a global pandemic and its many far-reaching effects, there has been a resurgence in the popularity of and demand for factual content. This content is “easier to produce, and turnaround time is quicker and more budget-friendly compared to scripted,” explains Marine Ksadzhikyan, COO and executive VP of sales at Rive Gauche, which has a portfolio of more than 1,700 hours of unscripted programming.

While recent developments in the industry have seen such positives as climbing demand, certain shifts in the global TV and media market like consolidation have presented challenges, which have led to key adjustments at Rive Gauche. “Many of our typical outlets/channels that we were servicing were forced to use inventory from their new parent company, in turn leaving smaller budgets for acquisitions,” says Ksadzhikyan. “Therefore, we needed to adjust and fine-tune the way we moved forward and conducted our business. The emphasis for us became finding projects that had a truly global appeal. Moving forward on fewer projects by focusing on content that we felt would become global brands and that our clients would embrace as a must-have for their channels became a priority.”

Determined to offer global stories and perspectives from its production partners based around the world, Rive Gauche hired acquisitions executive Justina Hemperek, who has since sourced such titles as In Their Own Words from Prospero Pictures in Canada.

Ksadzhikyan also notes the impact of the proliferation of AVOD platforms on Rive Gauche’s strategy. The turn to AVOD has “proved quite exciting for us, as this provided us an almost direct reach to our viewers all over the world,” she says. “Long-loved brands could find a new, wider audience. We recently launched multiple FAST channels with some of our major brands in several markets, with plans to expand further, all while still servicing our traditional clients.”

In terms of genres, factual crime has long been a top performer for Rive Gauche, which counts more than 500 hours in its library that includes a number of series with multiple seasons. “Notable bio docs, as well as current affairs, are subsets that our clients are expressing an appetite for,” says Ksadzhikyan. “We recently brought In Their Own Words, a high-end bio doc series featuring the likes of Elon Musk, Pope Francis, Princess Diana, etc., to the marketplace, as many of our clients are looking for recognizable figures. Rive Gauche also recently announced The Case Against Cosby, a two-part documentary that delves into the one-time icon’s rape accusations. The title “is an example of us reacting to the market’s current needs,” adds Ksadzhikyan.

When signing on to a project, the first things that Rive Gauche looks for are relatability and broadness, according to Ksadzhikyan. Pointing to the hit Dog Whisperer series, she credits its success to dealing with a subject—training a beloved pet—that people the world over can relate to. Ksadzhikyan also believes that “the less niche of a subject the factual title covers, the better when talking about making it a truly global factual hit.”

Looking ahead, Rive Gauche is poised to both grow its catalog of content and that content’s reach. “On the factual side, we have plans to keep diversifying our library and bringing some new genres to the market that Rive Gauche may not have been well-known for in the past but will definitely leave a mark going forward,” says Ksadzhikyan. “Rive Gauche is excited to pursue more bespoke channel launches within the AVOD space. The media landscape is changing so fast, we look forward to reporting back in the next year!”