FACTUAL TV
DOCS WITH GLOBAL APPEAL
DOC DEMAND GOES GLOBAL
D
As streamer demand grows, so too does the need for docs with global appeal. And UK producers are well equipped to supply it. Pippa Considine reports
espite Covid, despite the rich flow of content now circulating internationally, demand for serious documentary with global appeal is still rising.
“Docs are now placed alongside scripted content.
If you look on Netflix thumbnails, documentaries are sitting alongside fantastic films and are seen in the same light,” says Figs Jackman, head of global development at Werner Herzog production company Spring Films, behind Apple TV + feature documentary Fireball. UK producers are behind some of the biggest
and most impactful feature documentaries and series. As more streamers have entered the market, indies such as Raw TV, Lightbox and Spring Films, are providing high profile content. BBC Studios has become a go-to supplier. Arrow Media is behind true crime series JonBenét: An American Murder Mystery for Discovery+ and docuseries Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom on Disney +. The latter joins Blink Films’ Meet the Chimps on the platform. Meanwhile, Wall to Wall, Offspring and Plimsoll are all behind new factual series on Apple TV +. Lockdowns have accelerated digital viewing:
Disney has hit almost 100 million subscribers, three years ahead of target and Netflix has broken the 200 million mark. While viewers are watching high profile drama, they are also selecting documentary. Tiger King rubbed shoulders on Netflix’s most- watched shows of 2020, alongside Stranger Things and Ozark. Apple made a fanfare with its trilogy of three natural history shows. Amazon has found a rich seam with sports docs. Disney + and Nat Geo are scaling up productions to land on their global platform, as is Discovery. And Sky’s three new documentary channels launched in 2020 and are already being supercharged. “The key word is global,” says Jonathan Stadlen,
managing director at Knickerbockerglory, which made hit doc feature American Murder: The Family Next Door. “For anything to work on Netflix it has
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