GENRE REPORT
FACTUAL
could win a million pounds tonight?…” Netflix has, says Grouille, commissioned a lot
of UK companies over the last few years and if a UK idea feels as if it can be part of a broader conversation then it can work on the platform. Since a clutch of big global streamers launched
last year, they have increased original factual commissioning. At Apple, where former BBC controller of factual Alison Kirkham is now heading up unscripted in the UK, they’ve so far commissioned UK companies for natural history and travelogue. Amazon Prime’s UK-based team , including former BritBox exec Jonathan Lewsley, is looking to find stories routed in ‘fanatical worlds’, such as Amazon’s football documentary All Or Nothing. While HBO Max is working with a UK broadcaster on a reality competition show and looking to do co-pros. But for many UK indies the big streamers are
still a long shot. At Britespark, Godwin says, “we don’t have the level of dialogue with SVODs that we do with regular cable US networks or UK broadcasters.” They are mainly looking at projects in advanced stages of development and most approaches are through talent agencies. Britespark uses ICM.
THE MONEY PUZZLE The pressure for indies to find co-funding for productions is another position that has only increased since the pandemic began. Woodcut has had success with pre-sales to smaller broadcasters. “Sometimes the ones that go under the radar can be just as fruitful and open to having creative conversations,” says Anastasi, giving the example of AVODs such as Little Dot which has recently acquired UK platform History Hit, or Curiosity Stream, plus a number of nascent true
WHAT CHANNEL 4 WANTS "WE WOULD
LOVE TO FIND THOSE GIANT RESONANT
FORMATS" NAT GROUILLE NETFLIX,
Despite cutting the 2020 content budget by £150m when the effects of the pandemic became clear, Channel 4 had good news on ratings, with audiences for news and factual programming up 40% during lockdown, according to chief executive Alex Mahon. With green shoots of a recovery in ad revenue heading into autumn, the channel is forging ahead with commissions, including Workerbee’s version of reality format The Bridge. Channel 4 is also looking at injecting more escapism and joy into all genres, with shows such as newly-commissioned travelogue A Great British, Female, Gay, Disabled, Covid Compliant Adventure with comedian Rosie Jones (w/t). “I want the channel to be a place where people can come and get some respite from the grimness in life.” says Ian Katz, Channel 4 director of Programmes. After months of making a huge number of hours at £50K, Katz has promised that the channel will have “a more mixed economy of tariffs.“ But some cost-cutting is here to stay. “We have learnt about making things more cheaply including bigger shows…. There are things that we will take forward and bake into our productions.” With diversity high on the agenda, the channel is planning a Black Takeover Day for 2021, as a focus for some diverse content and filmmakers, and which will include new programming with life beyond the day itself. Head of Factual, Danny Horan is keen to shake up scheduling, looking at stripping shows across nights and thinking about how to keep viewers, especially young viewers, to keep coming back via catch up. Four–parter for All4 Missguided: Made in Manchester, from Pulse Films, has seen a younger audience build on catch-up. With budgets squashed, all forms of funding are being interrogated. One upcoming project is a co pro with Netflix which involves an American story. “We think it’ll resonate” says Horan. “It’s got celebrity and money and an amazing story at the heart of it.” Looking at the success of some of Netflix's factual titles, Horan is circumspect about similar treatments being made in the UK, given the different regulatory climate.
Autumn 2020
televisual.com 21
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