SVOD OPPORTUNITIES
FACTUAL TV
Channel 4. “We’re looking five years ahead, at a mixed economy,” says Kershaw. In the UK, as well as marked increases in
viewing of traditional broadcaster’s content via their on-demand platforms, Ofcom’s Media Nations report estimated 12 million adults gained access to a new SVoD subscription during lockdown. And it’s not just younger audiences: 15 per cent of over 64s used SVoD services in that period. “Viewing habits are changing rapidly,” says
BBC Studios, director of factual, Tom McDonald. While acknowledging the continued importance of linear viewing, he’s clear that on-demand viewing habits are now part-and-parcel of the development challenge. “It’s absolutely front of mind when thinking of ideas: either box-set because it’s an anthology you want to watch, or the hook is so gripping at the end of the episode that you want to go over onto the next episode…. It’s in the DNA of how we’re thinking.”
SVOD OPPORTUNITIES This thought process is becoming second nature as UK companies look to capitalise on the rising international investment in UK production. Pact’s most recent census showed international work generating £1.3 billion in 2019, a 30% growth over the past five years. Of course, not all of this is streamer, or pay-TV, money and much of it has been for genres other than factual, but there is money there. All3Media group companies have picked up more than 40 commissions for the SVoDs in the last two years. “The commercial opportunity is too exciting to ignore,” says Adam Bullmore, md of October
WE’D BE FOOLS TO IGNORE
GOING TO BE A PROBLEM.
“ADVERTISER FUNDING IS
THE STREAMER MARKET”
Films, which produced six-parter This is Football for Amazon Prime. “With more conventional broadcasters feeling the pinch on ad revenue and coupled with very exciting creative opportunities, it’s an irresistible combination for companies and film makers with ambition.” Bullmore describes Amazon as “a slightly sleeping giant in terms of factual content.” This is Football was a premium production, an anthology of football stories. “You might have been able to get one of those films away with a public service broadcaster, but I don’t think you’d have got six. And I don’t think it would still be sitting on the platform being talked about and shared, which is really exciting.” McDonald sees SVoD investment as one factor
behind a golden moment for factual. “This is a sort of brilliant, extraordinary, exciting boom time for unscripted programming.” Large scale shows are in the spotlight. “In the last year there’s been an increasing appetite from terrestrial in the UK and global players for premium factual.” Much of this is for natural history and BBC Studios is making high profile shows in this space for Apple and NBC, as well as Discovery’s upcoming streaming service (see box). But McDonald sees the appetite extended beyond natural history, to “box sets and broad factual.” Its first Netflix commission has been a science series, following leading surgeons. Having forged a reputation for stand-out docs,
Netflix has recently increased its investment in unscripted, with reality TV in the foreground. It’s found traction with two successful dating shows Love is Blind from LA-based Kinetic Content and Too Hot To Handle, made by Talkback. HBO Max is also working with a UK production company on
Winter 2020
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