FACTUAL TV
GENRE REPORT
the big opportunities right now,” says Petterle. “Last year five streamers launched and all the predictions are that they will double subscribers in four years, whereas the US and UK is plateauing.” Distributor relationships are critical, as deficit
financing and co-pro, as well as programme sales, become fundamental to the language of factual TV. At the BBC, deals have risen up the agenda. “We’re looking at lots of different models at the moment,” says Kate Phillips. “We’re determined to keep putting great quality on screen.” It might be that the BBC can’t match the budgets of other services, but she’s bullish about the cache and hallmark that it provides for partners. While the BBC has had to reduce its spend,
editor, whatever it is, we will never break through meaningfully.” Streamers have turbo-charged the situation. “The
race for names has become even more acute and therefore the PSBs are racing to do the same.” At the BBC, Phillips points to the number of
quotas for diverse recruitment and commissioning and to the positive impact derived from more diverse teams. “It works so much better when you have a mix of commissioners from different backgrounds, from different classes, different races, different voices, because it makes it much more lively.” Finding talent - either A-list or with big appeal
on a particular channel - is another trend that just keeps growing. “Increasingly it feels like that is a way to reach audiences,” says Alf Lawrie, head of factual entertainment at Channel 4. He cites Freddie Flintoff’s BBC cricket documentary Field of Dreams. While Kathy Burke has drawn loyal audiences with her Channel 4 shows All Woman. Outline has developed a new 20-part daytime
spin-off of its Channel 4 peak series Sarah Beeny’s New Life in the Country with Beeny’s production company Knockers Group. “There’s a lot of interest in
how you build programme brands,” notes Outline’s Mansfield. Biopics continue to be very much in demand,
especially when they feature stars with international recognition. Netflix recently announced a Robbie Williams documentary, a first commission for RSA Films’ new unscripted division, to be directed by Joe Pearlman and executive produced by Asif Kapadia. UK unscripted – with or without a famous
name - has always travelled well. Ampere Analysis data that looks at UK unscripted running on SVOD platforms worldwide shows that, as well as English speaking territories, services in Nordics countries are carrying significant amounts of UK documentary programming. A snapshot of unscripted UK movie and TV seasons available on regional SVoD platforms in July of this year shows Australia leading the way with almost 2,500, the US with just over 1500. While Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark each clock well over 1,000. At Pulse, Petterle celebrates the growing
acceptance of subtitles. Since arriving at the indie at the start of 2022, she has driven an unscripted push into South America. “Latin America feels like one of
Phillips underlines its relative stability. “We now know how much money we’ve got until 2027/28, so the settlement does give us security.” But there is also inflationary pressure on production and an overarching need to drive value. “We’ve got to think carefully about what we commission…always putting audience needs at heart of commissions.” When it comes down to it, the cost of living crisis
is both good and bad for factual TV. “It’s affecting television as much as any other industry,” says Mansfield. “There is rate inflation in a range of job categories that isn’t necessarily being accommodated in tariffs that have been pretty fixed for a while now. So, there’s an increasing need to deficit finance.” With mounting pressures, there’s genuine concern about burn out, “we’ve been working on adrenaline to get through the last two years,” she says. On the other hand, “television is an extraordinarily resilient sector, producers are really imaginative and broadcasters have been – in the main – really supportive.” And with inflation soaring, cautious consumers
may well stay at home. “When everyone is not going out in the winter because they are trying to save money, we are going to watch telly,” says Petterle. “A monthly subscription is cheaper than a few drinks in the pub.”
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DATA SUPPLIED COURTESY OF AMPERE ANALYSIS
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