Adrenaline-driven factuals are in demand on National Geographic’s global channels, and while documentary remains a hard sell in China, in Australia, confrontational reality docs on topical issues do the business for SBS. National Geographic International’s global Acquisitions Manager, Ben Noot said that he buys for the fast-paced male-skewed core channel where the target viewer is a taxi driver who likes facts. All National Geographic content must be in HD, he said, with 4K an added bonus where available. Canada’s Blue Ant Media acquires over 500 hours of Nat Geo’s content a year for eight channels according to its Director of Acquisitions, Andrea Harrick. “The trends for us are history, paranormal, cryptozoology and natural disasters,” she said.
LIC China produces, distributes and syndicates factual programming in China, and currently has shows on more than 550 local channels. Even so, said its CEO Leland Ling that documentary does not rate well on Chinese television. His solution is to brief local documentary producers on what will sell, and seek advertisers to help fund them. He recently sold natural history documentary The Hidden Monkeys to National Geographic in the U.S.
On a positive note from China, CCTV’s Managing Director for documentary Liu Wen said, “We have seen rapid development beyond our expectations.” The channel has increased audience by 50% in the past year, to 900 million viewers, and has a 61% market share. This year has also seen the launch of the Chinese Documentary Union, uniting more than 100 domestic stations and 150 production companies. “It is a milestone in the Chinese industry,” said Liu.
Aside from the above deals, the Chinese could be watching more BBC Worldwide programming thanks to deals with two of the country’s media powerhouse: TVB, Hong Kong’s biggest free-to-air broadcaster; and internet service giant Tencent.
BBCWW will supply a range of natural-history and factual titles to TVB, including How To Build A Planet, Supergiant Animals and Deadly Pole To Pole. Also included in the package are Sherlock, Michela’s Classic Italian and Show Me Show Me.
“TVB has been a trusted partner of BBC Worldwide for many years and this deal has cemented our relationship,” said Pierre Cheung, BBCWW’s Vice President and General Manager of Greater China. Under the Tencent deal, more than 60 natural-history and factual titles, including Frozen Planet and Penguins: Spy In The Huddle, will become available on the Chinese ISP’S VOD service. Cheung said, “With Tencent, we have had immense success with drama titles in the past, with series one of primeval raking in its highest ratings at eight million views by the end of March last year. Now we are eager to explore new grounds with tem and expand our offerings on their VOD service.” Suman Wang, chief editor of Tencent Video, added, “With the growing demand for factual content coupled with BBC Worldwide’s reputation for quality, we are confident that these titles will receive that same or even greater traction with our users.”
Surprising facts linking the fish to man is revealed in Your Inner Fish (3 x 60’), the first projects from Tangled Bank Studios which was launched in 2012 under the leadership of Emmy Award winning producer, writer and documentary specialist Michael Rosenfeld.
The three-part scientific adventure story, based on the book by palaeontologist Neil Shubin and distributed by Off the Fence, sets out to answer how the human body became the complicated, quirky, amazing machine that we all inhabit, Rosenfeld said. To achieve this, the series travels back to the sawn of time, tracking various human features and peculiarities – including skin, hair, hearing hiccups, hernias and bad backs – to an ancient cast of characters.
“I have been involved in a number of human-body films, but this one tells a very different story,” Rosenfeld shared.
“It uses multiple scientific disciplines to show how the human body carries the legacy of animals that lived millions of years ago. For example, we trace the hand back 375 million years to an ancient fish that had fins that were part way to becoming limbs.” Rosenfeld believes Your Inner Fish, which was launched last year on PBS, is a universal concept. “It’s got a real combination of attractions. It’s ground-breaking science, it offers a new perspective on the body, it gives real insight and it supplies answers. It’s also got a great presenter in Neil Shubin and the most eye-popping graphics I’ve seen in my 30-year career,” he added.
Off the Fence CEO Ellen Windemuth said initial market reaction to Your Inner Fish had been positive. “The market loves it,” she said. “It’s a highly visual approached to a complicated subject, but the story is very individual, because it’s about where we all come from.”
UK-based distributor DCD Rights has a raft of sales for its music and documentary programming. George Michael: Live At The Palais Garnier Paris, which were snapped up by AXS TV (U.S.), Foxtel (Australia), Globosat (Brazil) and Phoenix Satellite Television (China). Also on the move is Jessie J: Alive At The 02, which was secured by DirectTV, Globosat and PST.
Nicky Davies Williams, CEO of DCD Rights said, “The multiplatform accessibility of concerts and documentaries makes them particularly interesting to content buyers looking for ways to build their brand with a specific audience demographic.” In a separate development, DCD Rights has won the tender to represent the Open University (OU) programming catalogue. The deal will add 188 hours of BBC-produced factual content to DCD’s portfolio, as well as further 40 hours of new programming over a two-year period. OU series covered by the deal include Coast, Bang Goes The Theory and Volcano Live.
Caroline Ogilvie, OU’s Head of broadcasting said, “We are very proud of our programming and are sure that DCD Rights will give it the hands-on attention it deserves, enabling more viewers around the world benefit from both its educational content and its entertainment value.”
Archive-based history documentary is big business for French producer Louis Vaudeville, with the third season in his Franco-Canadian Apocalypse franchise launching internationally, and series four and five – respectively focusing on Stalin and the Cold War still in development.
Apocalypse: WW1 (5 x 52 mins), co-produced with France 2 and TV5 Quebec Canada, is also a transmedia phenomenon. Vaudeville, of CC&C, has entered into a new partnership with game developer Ubisoft. “It’s a way to bring the property to younger audiences,” he added.
The series has also generated an interactive animation called 10 Lives, website, books novels, graphic novels, educational lines and a console game and live performance commemorating the Canadian fallen. Josette Normandeau of Ideacom International in Canada brought 30% of the TV and half of the digital budgets, in line with the Canadian government’s push on digital creativity.
“Some 650,000 young Canadians fought in WW1,” she said. “In a country of eight million, that was a huge proportion.” Apocalypse: WW1 is distributed by France Television Distribution.
