{"id":24372,"date":"2026-01-07T08:30:55","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T13:30:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/worldscreen.com\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T01:35:50","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T06:35:50","slug":"2025-the-year-in-factual","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/2025-the-year-in-factual\/","title":{"rendered":"2025: The Year in Factual"},"content":{"rendered":"

The industry has dealt with a host of challenges throughout the past couple of years, but if there is any genre that has figured out how to weather the storm, it is factual. At our second edition of the TV Real Festival<\/a>, various producers, distributors and programmers told us how they are tackling the challenges of budget constraints, shifting viewer habits and other strategy changes with innovative approaches.<\/p>\n

FAST remained an important piece of the puzzle for the factual industry throughout the year, especially for companies with long-running IPs or big-name talent. BBC Studios has an array of FAST channels on offer that found takers around the globe. Its dedicated Top Gear<\/em> channel found particular success, finding buyers in LG TV<\/a>, Tivify<\/a> and Xiaomi TV+<\/a>. Fremantle placed 19 new FAST channels<\/a> on Samsung TV Plus across the U.K., Ireland, the Netherlands and the Nordics, including channels dedicated to Family Feud<\/em> with Steve Harvey, Project Runway<\/em> and Jamie Oliver. Curiosity signed an agreement<\/a> with DIRECTV for the FAST channel Curiosity NOW. A+E Global Media expanded its FAST footprint<\/a> with channels for Ax Men<\/em> and Swamp People<\/em> in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Multiple-IP channels found success as well, with Autentic launching Wheels & Steel<\/a>, showcasing the world of heavy machinery and engineering; Blue Ant Media introducing Declassified<\/a>, featuring programs that delve into the secrets behind stories that have shaped the world; and wedotv and ZDF Studios teaming up for wedotv get.factual and Time2Rlx<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Speaking of teaming up, there was a wave of consolidation, with new investments and acquisitions. BBC Studios invested in Samphire<\/a>. Avalon acquired a minority stake<\/a> in It\u2019s All Made Up Productions. Off the Fence entered bankruptcy proceedings<\/a>, but Insight TV reached a deal<\/a> to acquire its assets. The two united under<\/a> the new World Storytelling Media Group banner. Blue Ant Media picked up MagellanTV<\/a>. FOX Entertainment took an equity stake in B.J. Novak\u2019s Chain<\/a>, with the investment including a first-look development deal between Studio Ramsay Global and Chain Media. And Fremantle combined the Danish production labels<\/a> Blu and Strong Production under the name Blu.<\/p>\n

Several new players came onto the scene as well. David Olusoga launched Hillgate Films<\/a>, which has already struck a development deal with BBC Studios. Daniel Clarke opened Unfeatured Films<\/a>, with its first project to hit the festival circuit in 2026. Peter Wyles partnered with Blink Films<\/a> to introduce the new label Nuntius Studios, with a focus on creating content across history, science, true crime and factual entertainment. Beyond alum Sherry Fynbo established Last Word Entertainment<\/a>, dedicated to investigative storytelling. Plus, Pig & Horse Productions opened a documentary division<\/a>.<\/p>\n

AI dominated a lot of conversations throughout the year, with everyone debating its application in documentaries. FilmRise launched an initiative<\/a> to use AI to convert standard-definition content to high definition, which it first applied to Forensic Files<\/em>. Plimsoll Productions tapped Ged Mansfield to lead a new digital division<\/a>, which will develop new formats and explore emerging technologies, including gen AI. Hearst Networks commissioned the AI-powered production company<\/a> Particle6 to produce Straten van Toen<\/em> (Streets of the Past<\/em>), with historical scenes created by AI using archival materials. ZED began production on Knut, the Viking Emperor<\/em><\/a>, narrated by international historical experts and produced by AI.<\/p>\n

Though there was a blow to the industry with the cancellation of the 2026 edition of Sunny Side of the Doc<\/a>, there were other efforts to promote and support the growth of the factual industry. The Monte-Carlo TV Festival partnered with 1895 Films for a pitch contest<\/a> focused on factual storytelling. Autentic announced the creation of Autentic Matchmaking Day<\/a>, an international pitching event for documentary and factual series and multi-part formats currently in development.<\/p>\n

In terms of genre, true crime remained popular with broadcasters and streamers. To name just a fraction of the true-crime news stories: Disney+ unveiled The Devil in My DMs<\/em><\/a>; Hulu debuted Death in Apartment 603: What Happened to Ellen Greenberg?<\/em><\/a> and Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke<\/em><\/a>; MGM+ greenlit The Hillside Strangler<\/em><\/a>; and Sky premiered Polk: The Trial of Philip Polkinghorne<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Natural history and wildlife titles remained popular as well. BBC picked up the NBC docuseries The Americas<\/em><\/a>. BBC Studios secured presales for Kingdom<\/em><\/a>, narrated by David Attenborough. National Geographic (and Disney+\/Hulu) premiered Ocean with David Attenborough<\/em><\/a> and Underdogs<\/em><\/a>, among others. And All3Media International scored deals for the Attenborough-narrated Parenthood<\/em><\/a> in Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and Latin America.<\/p>\n

History, sports, current affairs and culinary documentaries were made in abundance as well.<\/p>\n

All in all, those in the factual industry continued to find ways to adapt to the ever-evolving TV landscape throughout 2025, and that worked will continue to pay off in 2026.<\/p>\n

Catch up on all the factual news of last year and stay up-to-date on this year\u2019s biggest stories by visiting TVReal.com<\/a> and subscribing to TV Real Daily<\/em> and TV Real Weekly<\/em> for free here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A look back at last year\u2019s biggest news stories out of the factual sector.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1412,"featured_media":24373,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,69],"tags":[12075,12076],"class_list":["post-24372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-features","category-top-stories","tag-tv-real","tag-tv-real-recap","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\n2025: The Year in Factual - TVREAL<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/2025-the-year-in-factual\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"2025: The Year in Factual - TVREAL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A look back at last year\u2019s biggest news stories out of the factual sector.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/2025-the-year-in-factual\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVREAL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-07T13:30:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-09T06:35:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2026\/01\/2025-year-in-review.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"395\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jamie Stalcup\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jamie Stalcup\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/2025-the-year-in-factual\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/2025-the-year-in-factual\/\",\"name\":\"2025: The Year in Factual - TVREAL\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-07T13:30:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-09T06:35:50+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#\/schema\/person\/0da12602224807cc7b179b8405018deb\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/2025-the-year-in-factual\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/2025-the-year-in-factual\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/2025-the-year-in-factual\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"2025: The Year in Factual\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/\",\"name\":\"TVREAL\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#\/schema\/person\/0da12602224807cc7b179b8405018deb\",\"name\":\"Jamie Stalcup\",\"description\":\"Jamie Stalcup is the executive editor of World Screen. 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