Top Factual Buyers Talk Trends, Wish Lists at MIPDoc

CANNES: Smithsonian’s David Royle, Discovery’s Nesta Owens, RMC Découverte’s Corentin Glutron and ZDF/ZDF Enterprises’s Kristina Hollstein offered up insight into their programming and acquisition strategies at a MIPDoc panel moderated by World Screen’s Anna Carugati before receiving the inaugural World Screen Factual Trendsetter Awards.

“We live in an ever-changing, complex, sometimes dangerous world, but television, with its inimitable capacity to join images and sounds and special effects, is uniquely positioned to explain complex issues,” said Carugati, group editorial director at World Screen, in introducing the View From the Top: What Do Buyers Want? panel. “Complex issues are often the topic of the programming that [these channels] look into. Factual programming, of all genres, embodies the best of what television can offer. It can illuminate, it can educate, and hopefully it can be awe-inspiring too.”

Hollstein is the director of acquisitions and co-productions for documentaries at ZDF and ZDF Enterprises in Germany. Her team handles the business negotiation side of programming choices, while the editorial decisions are made by the 15 departments buying, producing and co-producing documentaries at ZDF. There is the main channel as well as digital channels like ZDFinfo, which buys around 450 hours a year, and ZDFneo, among others. “It’s a whole group of channels and there’s a big need for documentaries,” Hollstein said.

Royle serves as executive VP of programming and production at Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between Showtime Networks and the Smithsonian Institution. “The Smithsonian is a collection of 19 different museums covering a huge range of subjects, from history to music, natural history, science and aviation. That allows us as a channel to explore all the different areas of nonfiction,” Royle said. “We’re very involved in the co-production market. So having international co-production partners is at the heart of our DNA. We acquire programming, we produce original programming, and we look for programming that is not just informative but is also entertaining.”

Corentin Glutron heads up acquisitions at RMC Découverte in France, which has only been in operation for about three years. It is a free-TV channel in France specialized in factual. “We are buying around 1,500 hours a year,” Glutron said. “And we are also looking for entertainment in factual.”

Nesta Owens, as director of programs for Discovery Networks in CEEMEA, buys for at least 15 channel brands, among them the flagship Discovery, TLC, ID and Animal Planet.

Carugati asked the panelists about recent acquired or co-produced successes. ZDF’s Hollstein mentioned an Australian co-pro called First Flight, as well as acquired films on the British royal family and a special on the bombing of Auschwitz.

For Smithsonian, a key highlight has been Mayday/Air Disasters. “Wherever it goes out it does wonderfully well,” Royle said.

That series is also doing well on RMC Découverte, Glutron noted, but the channel’s breakout hit has been the French version of Top Gear, which doubled the ratings of the original British show.

Owens at Discovery highlighted Diamond River Hunters, which reflects a resurgence in the popularity of “dirty jobs/hard work” genre shows.

The conversation moved on to the role of co-pros for these channels. Royle noted that audiences don’t know the difference between acquired or co-produced programs, adding, “One of the great things about co-productions is you share the risk with an international partner. The other thing is that you have more people bringing perspective to a program, so when that collaborative process works well, you’ve got more input, more insights, and it just makes the whole project richer.”

Corentin noted that co-pros are important “because it’s not that easy to have a huge number of hours [of factual content] in French.”

Hollstein agreed with Royle that the audience shouldn’t be able to tell if you bought a program or co-produced it. “We have to find programs that feel like ZDF programs. It must feel like it corresponds to the needs of our brands. If we have a co-production for Terra X [a doc slot on ZDF], it may need a German perspective. It’s extremely important for us to have reediting rights for our version. The audience has certain expectations. To be honest, whenever it’s possible I would like to avoid a co-production. A co-production is extremely complicated. It’s a long and unforeseeable process. We can only enter an international co-production if we know the financing is completed. That means sometimes we have to wait a long time until the producer completes the financing. I would rather recommend that a producer comes to us as a presale partner.”

Discovery’s Owens noted that audiences are unforgiving. “Anything I buy, produce or co-produce has to comparable” to the high-end output coming out of the channel’s sister U.S. feeds.

Carugati asked the panelists about what audiences expect, especially when it comes to 4K, special effects and reenactments.

“We’re a huge believer in 4K,” Smithsonian’s Royle said. “We launched as an HD channel when there were very few HD channels out there. So yes we’re pushing it. People have larger and larger TV screens and expect higher and higher quality. But at the end of the day it’s not just about technology. The fundamentals remain absolutely key—great storytelling and the ability to capture great moments on film.”

Glutron agreed that great storytelling is paramount; 4K is not an issue yet for the channel, as not all channels in France have even made it to HD yet. “The most important thing is the story.”

For Hollstein, “Sometimes a simple film can attract a great audience, but depending on the slot our audience is spoiled and they expect reenactments and special effects. This has been true for the last ten years. In terms of 4K, my feeling is that the big projects are already being produced or proposed in 4K. The question is if the post-production takes place in 4K. ZDF switched to HD a couple of years ago. We reserve the right to have access to the 4K version in case we need it in a couple of years’ time, but it’s not necessary yet.”

Royle noted that people’s “tolerance of black and white has gone down. Colorization has become much more important. The pioneers of that are in France. Apocalypse was a worldwide success and it was a fantastically good acquisition for us. The colorization of black and white footage was done with enormous care and accuracy. Younger audiences today, certainly in the U.S., find black and white distancing.”

The conversation then moved to striking a balance between event specials and series.

Owens said that the move back to specials is being led by Discovery Channel U.S. chief Rich Ross. “I’m delighted. They’re a sprinkling of magic and they make viewers feel special and make the channel feel special.”

For Corentin at RMC Découverte, the balance between specials and series is easy, as it’s based on the channel’s programming slots. The building slot relies on series, and Top Gear has it’s own slot. There’s a Tuesday block for specials. The megastructure and history blocks also rely on one-offs or short-run series no longer than six episodes, as finding series for these strands is more challenging. “You don’t do 20 hours about World War I or the Paris subway.”

“For us, having a number of special programs every year that break through the media clutter is absolutely critical,” Smithsonian’s Royle said. “Sometimes it’s big, bold programs about discoveries. On other occasions they tie in with events.” One such example is MLK Assassination Tapes. “Series are key to any programmers’ schedule. Series are probably the most important thing we do.”

“Especially in daytime,” Glutron added.

“It’s true you need a balance,” Hollstein noted. “In general [on the main channel] it’s more difficult to have series. Every documentary we air on the main channel has to be a standalone documentary. Sometimes they are two- or three-parters. The longest would be six hours. We try not have series on the main channel. What is interesting for producers is that the digital channels have a big need for good programming. So we often combine the acquisition of the series for the digital channel with the right to do a special for the main channel.”

In discussing how audiences are accessing these channels, Royle said that an important issue for producers is rights clearances. “We don’t look at programs as delivering to audiences simply through television. We have to be able to deliver through multiple platforms. That means you need to clear rights for all sorts of uses.”

The defining message for producers from these programmers was: do your research. Fully understand what a channel’s needs are before you pitch. If you keep pitching shows that aren’t suitable for that channel brand, you run the risk of them no longer looking at any of your pitches in the future.

Owens, who has a broad remit, said, “bring us your best ideas. We’re excited to work with everybody.” She went on to note that one of her key requirements is companion pieces to new shows coming out of the U.S., such as Manifesto, about the Unabomber, and Harley and the Davidsons. “Companion pieces that explain what’s going on in our big blue-chip productions, that amplify what we’re getting from the States.”

Royle stressed relevancy. “An idea that is going to key in with something that they think will happen in the future or something that will capture the public’s imagination. Looking forward into the zeitgeist makes a huge difference for us.”

Hollstein’s focus is on historical and space docs, and “something that surprises me.”

The session wrapped with discussion about how Netflix and its buzz-generating Making a Murderer series has impacted the factual business.

“We are all attentive to see how Netflix may change the market,” said Hollstein. “We cooperate with them, as they have a need for local programming in the German market. On the other hand, we have to protect our rights and the programs we have on our channel. For factual Netflix is not a big competitor, but that will change. The market will change and we have to see what it will mean for us.”

Royle said he welcomes Netflix moving into nonfiction. “It says there’s an audience out there. People are turning to nonfiction in a big way. It’s commercial. Yes it’s more competition but it’s more money going into the genre we all care about and love.”