{"id":8059,"date":"2015-12-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-12-09T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/scorpion-tv-fills-factual-gaps\/"},"modified":"2016-01-26T17:50:39","modified_gmt":"2016-01-26T22:50:39","slug":"scorpion-tv-fills-factual-gaps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/scorpion-tv-fills-factual-gaps\/","title":{"rendered":"Scorpion TV Fills Factual Gaps"},"content":{"rendered":"

David Cornwall, the managing director at Scorpion TV, talks to <\/em>TV Real\u00a0about topics attracting buyers\u2019 attention in the factual world and how the company\u2019s offering of third-party titles brings something new to the table.<\/em><\/p>\n

London-based Scorpion TV represents a library of content that falls under the categories of current affairs, music and pop culture, history and human-interest stories, among others. Touting the catchphrase \u201cTV with bite!,\u201d the company focuses on \u201cculturally diverse, thought-provoking, intellectual documentaries and series,\u201d says David Cornwall, managing director.<\/p>\n

\"***Image***\"All of Scorpion\u2019s content comes from third parties, and that has been its modus operandi from the beginning. According to Cornwall, \u201cproducers appreciate this because there\u2019s no competition between our own content and theirs.\u201d Scorpion works largely with independent film and television companies, though it also represents films from the BBC and Channel 4.<\/p>\n

The company\u2019s remit includes raising funds for projects that require backing. \u201cIf someone has an idea that needs financing, then we can go to the international marketplace and try to raise [funds] and match projects to relevant broadcasters,\u201d Cornwall explains. \u201cWe can do that through presales or co-productions, and that\u2019s something that we hope to focus on more in the coming months.\u201d<\/p>\n

Top sellers for Scorpion are primarily in the human-interest vein and include movies such as A Goat for a Vote<\/em>, about school elections in Kenya, and How to Be a Billionaire<\/em>, which examines the world of the ultra rich. So-called \u201cproven\u201d films are also popular fare, according to Cornwall, who notes, \u201cFilms that have already aired in the U.K. tend to sell better in general.\u201d<\/p>\n

While he acknowledges that \u201call buyers are different and each has different needs,\u201d Cornwall has noticed some trends in terms of what buyers in the international marketplace are looking for. He has found that history content with a mysterious element sells well, especially titles about ancient civilizations such as Scorpion\u2019s Mayan Revelations<\/em>. These types of programs \u201cseem to be evergreen\u2014people are always interested in those kinds of subjects,\u201d says Cornwall.<\/p>\n

Another specific topic buyers are interested in is World War II, though Cornwall explains that the key in this instance is to offer a concept that hasn\u2019t been done before. \u201cBuyers are looking for a different treatment now,\u201d \"***Image***\"he says. The executive believes the film There Is Many Like Us<\/em> fills this gap. Created by Josh Webber, the docudrama tells the true story of his grandfather, who was reunited with the woman he fell in love with in a World War II prison camp 30 years after they were separated.<\/p>\n

Additionally, Scorpion TV is riding the \u201cwave of transsexual content\u201d with the documentary film Transsexual Stories<\/em> from the BBC, which follows five transgender women in various stages of transition from male to female.<\/p>\n

Another type of programming currently generating buzz is 4K content. Cornwall reports that buyers in Asia are particularly interested in this type of content. While Scorpion TV does not have any 4K titles on offer at the moment and has no immediate plans to acquire any, Cornwall says that if a title has been shot in 4K, it\u2019s \u201cdefinitely a bonus.\u201d Yet he adds: \u201cWe\u2019re going to tread the proven ground for now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scorpion TV is dedicated to offering content that buyers are searching for, which is why Cornwall and his team keep their eyes open to help inform the company\u2019s strategy. \u201cA buyer said something interesting: \u2018Documentaries are things that people say they watch, but they actually don\u2019t watch them in reality,\u2019\u201d the executive explains. \u201cSo, we need to appeal to [both] buyers\u2019 public service and commercial responsibility. That\u2019s why we\u2019re looking for these quirky, interesting films [with] unusual subject matter that can attract an audience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, Cornwall notes: \u201cOur priority is to get the best quality documentaries we can that bridge the gap between compelling commercial titles while also being intellectual. We\u2019re trying to walk that line.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll also be looking to do more in the area of co-productions and presales, and we\u2019ll start looking at festival sales as well. That\u2019s an area that we\u2019re just starting to investigate and we\u2019ll likely be doing more of that in the coming months.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

David Cornwall, the managing director at Scorpion TV, talks to TV Real\u00a0about topics attracting buyers\u2019 attention in the factual world and how the company\u2019s offering of third-party titles brings something new to the table. London-based Scorpion TV represents a library of content that falls under the categories of current affairs, music and pop culture, history …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8060,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[107],"class_list":["post-8059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-profiles","tag-scorpion-tv","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nScorpion TV Fills Factual Gaps<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Scorpion TV Fills Factual Gaps. 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