TV Real MIPTV 2014

REAL_0414_COVER_KID_409_COVER 3/18/14 4:17 PM Page 2

TVREAL

WWW.TVREAL.WS

APRIL 2014

MIPDOC & MIPTV EDITION

Crime Docs / Fast-Turnarounds / Cosmos’s Neil deGrasse Tyson / Discovery’s David Zaslav

REAL_0414_BREAKTHROUGH_Layout 1 3/19/14 6:04 PM Page 1

REAL_0414_BREAKTHROUGH_Layout 1 3/19/14 6:05 PM Page 2

REAL_0414_TCB MEDIA SPREAD_Layout 1 3/14/14 12:54 PM Page 1

REAL_0414_TCB MEDIA SPREAD_Layout 1 3/14/14 12:54 PM Page 2

REAL_0414__Layout 1 3/18/14 3:01 PM Page 1

REAL_413_TOC_ASP_1206_MANSHA COLUMN 3/19/14 4:32 PM Page 1

TV REAL

7

CONTENTS FEATURES

Blurred Lines These are odd times for the factual content business, as the lines between doc and drama, factual and entertainment, are not anywhere near as clear as they used to be.

Ricardo Seguin Guise Publisher Anna Carugati Editor Mansha Daswani Executive Editor Kristin Brzoznowski Managing Editor Joanna Padovano Associate Editor Joel Marino Assistant Editor Simon Weaver Online Director Victor L. Cuevas Production & Design Director Phyllis Q. Busell Art Director Cesar Suero Sales & Marketing Director Faustyna Hariasz Sales & Marketing Coordinator Terry Acunzo Business Affairs Manager

Ricardo Seguin Guise President Anna Carugati Executive VP & Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development TV Real © 2014 WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, #1207 New York, NY 10010 Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website: www.tvreal.ws

You can find Hollywood heartthrob Rob Lowe on National Geographic Channel (Killing Kennedy). Australian film star Abbie Cornish on Discovery Channel (Klondike). A drama about vikings on HISTORY. Tom Hanks is making a documentary series for CNN (The Sixties). And the biggest factual event of the year so far, the reboot of Carl Sagan’s landmark Cosmos, is executive produced by a man best known for voicing a matricide-obsessed toddler and a foul-mouthed teddy bear (Seth MacFarlane).

Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey also has its first window on FOX on Sunday nights—right after MacFarlane’s own Family Guy—a seemingly strange place for a science documentary series. Indeed, the original aired on public broadcaster PBS in 1980. But as astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, the host of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, told us in this edition, “The word ‘documentary’ doesn’t even apply here. Yes, technically it’s a documentary, but we have access to people who help tell stories in Hollywood and now they’re helping us, the scientists, tell the story of the universe.” The team behind the FOX and National Geographic Channel event, which premiered in more than 180 territories in March, includes the likes of Bill Pope (The Matrix) and Brannon Braga (24).

The updated Cosmos has been years in the making; unlike the fast-turnaround documentaries we spotlight in this edition. We hear from producers, distributors and commissioners about how they mobilize quickly to make sure they have the first, and best, doc specials on current events—everything from the ongoing (at press time) Blade Runner saga in South Africa with Oscar Pistorius’s murder trial to devastating weather systems across the globe. In this edition, we also take a look at another lucrative arena in the factual space, crime docs, which continue to be strong sellers worldwide.

This MIPDoc and MIPTV edition also includes an interview with David Zaslav, president and CEO of Discovery Communications, discussing the strength of the company’s global platform and the role of event programming for the broadcaster. Discovery is celebrating a key milestone this year as it marks the 25th anniversary of its international business.

—Mansha Daswani

16 Crime Scene True-crime series are attracting viewers in a variety of time slots.

24 Fast Track Producers and distributors weigh in on the risks and rewards of making fast-turnaround docs.

38 UKTV Believes in Yesterday A look at the programming strategy at the UKTV history channel Yesterday.

24

INTERVIEWS 32 Cosmos’s Neil deGrasse Tyson

36 Discovery’s David Zaslav

REAL_0414_UPFRONT_Layout 1 3/18/14 4:20 PM Page 1

8

TV REAL

AFL Productions • Naked & Funny • Outrageous & Hilarious • 2Rude4UTube AFL Productions is best known for its international hit series Naked & Funny, a non-dialogue, hidden-camera comedy that has an adult twist. Other programs in its catalogue that have a similar proposition include 2Rude4UTube, Crazy TV Pranks and Outrageous & Hilarious. Each of these titles contains no dialogue.At this year’s MIPTV, AFL is promoting a branded block of programming.The company has built two- and four-hour programming blocks for daily and weekly airings to help broadcasters make the most of their late-night slots. Scott Hanock, the VP, international sales manager at AFL, assures MIPTV buyers that this is a “spectacular way for stations to capitalize on late-night time slots, earn great revenues, localize their productions, and keep audiences tuned in to AFL’s various but always hilarious shows.”

“AFL has content for all dayparts to make programmers’ choices easy, along with the ability to allow commissioning editors to localize with repackaging.”

—Scott Hanock Outrageous & Hilarious

ARTE Sales • World Medicine • A Season at the Juilliard School • Looking for Kate

In World Medicine, viewers get to take a global tour of ancestral medicinal practices, set against a backdrop of majestic landscapes. The 20x26-minute series takes top billing for ARTE Sales, which handles program distribution for the European public channel ARTE. Also on the company’s sales roster is A Season at the Juilliard School, which goes inside the prestigious performing arts institute. ARTE Sales’ Looking for Kate looks at who Kate Moss really is beyond her public persona. “We want to capture what is in the air, and we do believe that these three titles are just the perfect way of proving it,” says Cédric Hazard, the company’s head of international distribution. “They have modern topics, a lot of energy and offer viewers a world they haven’t seen before.”

“Our catalogue reflects our will to target a wide audience and provide high ratings for the channels that acquire from us: commercial channels, public channels—all of them!”

World Medicine

—Cédric Hazard

Australian Children’s Television Foundation • My:24 • Bushwhacked! • World Animal Championships (WAC) This year marks the first time that Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF) is taking part in MIPDoc.The company is using the occasion to launch My:24. Roberta Di Vito, an international sales executive at ACTF, says, “My:24 is quite a unique documentary series, as kids and young adults tell their own real stories in their own voices about a significant event in their childhood and how it shaped them. The result is a selection of very unique and personal stories told with universal themes.”

There’s also a new season of Bushwhacked! that ACTF will launch at the market. The series weaves together adventure, travel, food, wildlife, history and culture. World Animal Championships (WAC), meanwhile, is a wildlife series that puts the animal kingdom through its paces and has fun along the way.

“The breadth of the content, the style and the high production values of each series give them broad appeal.”

—Roberta Di Vito Bushwhacked!

358 World Screen 4/14

REAL_0414_NHK_Layout 1 3/13/14 12:38 PM Page 1

REAL_0414_UPFRONT_Layout 1 3/18/14 4:20 PM Page 2

10

TV REAL

Breakthrough Entertainment • The Motherload • Brojects • The Chef’s Bar The documentary The Motherload, a highlight of the Breakthrough Entertainment slate, presents the daily challenges facing working mothers today.The program’s subject is “current and relatable,” says Nat Abraham, the company’s president of distribution. “It focuses on why ‘women can’t seem to have it all’ as they struggle to maintain balance in the workplace while also raising their children at home.” Breakthrough is also showcasing Brojects, which follows two brothers who engage in DIY home-building projects, and The Chef’s Bar, featuring Rob Rossi and Craig Harding from Rustic Adventures Italy and Opening: Campagnolo. “There has always been a demand for food-related content of all genres,” says Abraham.

“We are excited to launch The Chef’s Bar, a traditional ‘stand and stir’ culinary series, to complement our food-with-travel programs.”

“We’ve had good traction with our maleskewed factual-entertainment series over the years and believe Brojects will appeal to these same audiences.”

Brojects

—Nat Abraham

Canamedia • Life with Alex • Cat Show • Sing for Your Supper

Canamedia has two new docs to present to buyers that focus on amazing animals and their relationships with humans. “Life with Alex is a fascinating documentary about the groundbreaking work of Dr. Irene Pepperberg and her African grey parrot, Alex, who is the first animal in the world to be taught meaningful English speech,” explains Andrea Stokes, the managing director of international sales and acquisitions at Canamedia. “Cat Show features Carly, an exceptional 27-year-old blind woman from Ireland who devotes every spare moment to traveling across the U.K. with her five Persian cats, participating in the high-energy world that is the British cat-show circuit.” Canamedia is also presenting Sing forYour Supper, which features chef Bob Waggoner as he prepares gourmet meals alongside the biggest names in music.

“Our new fare this year is light and fun, with engaging hosts and memorable protagonists.”

—Andrea Stokes Life with Alex

New Dominion Pictures • A Haunting • FantomWorks • Jump Shipp One of the longest running factual paranormal series, A Haunting features well-documented cases told by actual witnesses in their own words with high-end reenactments. “The shows are highly repeatable and constantly deliver ratings,” says Kristen Eppley, the seniorVP of international distribution at New Dominion Pictures.

“Buyers interested in the realms of the paranormal will love A Haunting.” The show is in production on its seventh season, while FantomWorks, a reality car show, is headed into season two. Eppley says that “authentic characters and amazing restorations” are the driving force of the show.The motivational speaker and Millennial guru Josh Shipp is at the center of Jump Shipp, which rounds out the highlights from New Dominion. “Jump Shipp is a reality lifestyle show that everyone can relate to,” says Eppley.

“It’s about great storytelling, entertaining television, high production value and authentic characters.”

—Kristen Eppley A Haunting 360 World Screen 4/14

REAL_0414__Layout 1 3/18/14 3:45 PM Page 1

REAL_0414_UPFRONT_Layout 1 3/18/14 4:21 PM Page 3

12 TV REAL

NHK Enterprises • The Origins of Disease • Sophisticated Farmers: Leafcutter Ants • Nuclear Plant Terrorism: A New Risk Facing the World NHK Enterprises’ catalogue includes The Origins of Disease, a four-part science series that explores the beginnings of humankind, the origins of illnesses, and reports on the cutting edge of modern-day medicine. Sophisticated Farmers: Leafcutter Ants is part of the company’s Wildlife strand. The installment reveals the tiny yet complex world inside the ants’ nest, depicting how the workers communicate with each other. Nuclear Plant Terrorism: A New Risk Facing the World shows how Japan changed its approach to nuclear security after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident. Fumio Narashima, NHK Enterprises’ senior corporate officer for international sales, says the title will stand out because nuclear accidents are a matter of concern and interest for people everywhere.

“We plan to find business opportunities for program production and distribution in 4K/8K.” —Fumio Narashima Sophisticated Farmers: Leafcutter Ants

Off the Fence • Your Inner Fish • Mystery of the Lost Ship • World’s Wildest Cities: Manaus

2014 marks a big year for Off the Fence, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary. The company will be present at MIPDoc and MIPTV with a slate that includes Tangled Bank Studios’ Your Inner Fish, which is based on a best-selling book by leading paleontologist Dr. Neil Shubin. “It takes science and makes it accessible to audiences around the globe,” says Bo Stehmeier, the managing director of distribution at Off the Fence. The latest in Off the Fence Productions’ successful Wildest… franchise is World’s Wildest Cities: Manaus, exploring the booming Brazilian city. Off the Fence is also offering Tile Films’ Mystery of the Lost Ship, a history/science docudrama. In it, a film crew follows a team of underwater archaeologists and scientists as they explore the hull of an ancient shipwreck.

“We are bringing our most diverse catalogue ever of nonfiction programming to MIPTV.” —Bo Stehmeier Your Inner Fish

Passion Distribution • Cold Water Cowboys • Restaurant Express with Robert Irvine • Skin Wars The factual-entertainment series Cold Water Cowboys follows the lives of a group of fishermen on four different trawlers over the course of one intense fishing season in Newfoundland, Canada. “With swells as high as houses and icebergs the size of small cities, the high-octane nature of the show means it will appeal to all male-skewing channels and audiences alike,” says Sally Miles, the CEO of Passion Distribution. Restaurant Express with Robert Irvine is described by Miles as a “competition series with an edge.” It sees nine aspiring restaurateurs travel the U.S. in a bid to keep their seats on the bus and ultimately win their own restaurant in Las Vegas. Then there is Skin Wars, which aims to find the most talented and versatile body painter in an elimination/competition format.

“We have over 500 hours of great programming available and so much to talk about with buyers.”

Cold Water Cowboys 362 World Screen 4/14

—Sally Miles

REAL_0414__Layout 1 3/18/14 3:46 PM Page 1

REAL_0414_UPFRONT_Layout 1 3/18/14 4:21 PM Page 4

14 TV REAL

TCB Media Rights • World’s Most Extreme • Age Gap Love • Ainsley Eats the Streets Using first-person eyewitness stories, rare archives and cuttingedge CGI, World’s Most Extreme takes viewers straight into the world’s danger zones. TCB Media Rights believes this title will grab buyers’ attention, and also has its bets on Age Gap Love to stir up interest. The company has also given Ainsley Eats the Streets top billing.The series is presented by Ainsley Harriott, who goes off the beaten path on a culinary adventure to explore the food of ancient cities.“All are immediate, easy to watch but with plenty of memorable moments within them, therefore easy to promote for the channels, and therefore potential slot winners,” says Paul Heaney, the company’s managing director. “These shows reflect viewing diversity across all of the buyers’ channels and also mirror all of the other new shows we have.”

“TCB is responding to the market as well as using our own gut feel for what we think will grab attention in a crowded marketplace.”

—Paul Heaney Age Gap Love

Terranoa • +/- 5 Meters • Mission Rosetta, Comet Chaser • Brazil’s Coastlines

The blue-chip wildlife series +/- 5 Meters takes a look at the interaction between the acclaimed wildlife photographer Joe Bunni and animals in the wild. “The program, supported by UNESCO, will premiere ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference in November 2015 and have a long shelf life afterwards,” says Isabelle Graziadey, the head of international sales and acquisitions at Terranoa. The company is looking for co-production partners, prebuys and acquisitions on that title, as well as for Mission Rosetta, Comet Chaser, an ambitious one-off film that seeks to reveal the origins of life on Earth. Securing additional acquisitions is the focus for Brazil’s Coastlines, according to Graziadey. “High production values combined with topical relevance and timely delivery are keys to the success of this series,” she says.

“Broadcasters are always on the lookout for new fresh ideas that film the natural world.”

—Isabelle Graziadey +/- 5 Meters

Tricon Films & Television • HitRECord on TV! • To Catch a Killer • Teach Through its agreement with Participant Media to represent shows made for the Millennial-targeted network Pivot,Tricon Films & Television is showcasing HitRECord on TV! The series was created by and stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt.“It recently premiered and has been very well received,” says Lia Dolente, Tricon’s director of international sales and communications. The company is also presenting To Catch a Killer, a factual crime series that reopens criminal cases that have previously been closed. The show was produced by Ocean Entertainment for OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network.Tricon also has the new documentary Teach to offer up.

The film is from Davis Guggenheim and is hosted by Queen Latifah. “All three titles have exceptional production quality and focus on topics that appeal to a mass audience,” says Dolente.

“We have a particularly strong slate this year and are focused on expanding relationships internationally.”

—Lia Dolente HitRECord on TV! 364 World Screen 4/14

REAL_0414_PASSION_Layout 1 3/12/14 1:30 PM Page 1

REAL_0414_CRIME2_REAL_408_NIGHT 3/18/14 4:22 PM Page 2

16 TV REAL

Beyond’s Addicted to the Life.

CRIME SCENE Whether using dramatic reconstructions, exclusive interviews or archive footage, crime programming has been attracting loyal audiences in a variety of time slots.

By Kristin Brzoznowski

F

rom The Wire to Law & Order to CSI, some of the greatest TV dramas have lifted plotlines straight from the police blotter. Crime stories are often so compelling that they make for great television even after you strip away the scriptwriters and enhanced-for-TV twists.

Sordid tales of fraud, theft, murder, jealousy and greed have formed the backbone of true-crime programming, which is seeing an increased demand from broadcasters in many parts of the world.

Among the companies that have benefited from the genre’s global popularity is ITV Studios Global Entertainment (ITVS GE), which has sold titles such as Louisiana Lockdown, Women Behind Bars and Frontline Police into a host of markets.

366 World Screen 4/14

“There is a growing appetite for crime programming,” says Ronan Hand, ITVS GE’s head of factual and entertainment acquisitions. “This genre has always been a significant part of our portfolio, but as a result of this rising demand we created a dedicated ‘Crime and Punishment’ section in our catalogue.We are seeing a number of international broadcasters consistently returning to us to find out about the latest shows in this area.”

Crime has also consistently been one of the most popular programming genres for GRB Entertainment and continues to increase in appeal, according to Mike Lolato, the company’s senior VP of international distribution. “The international broadcasters keep coming back to us looking for more and more crime programs. It is a fascinating genre and there seems to be an endless amount of interest from audiences worldwide.”

REAL_0414_TERRANOA_Layout 1 3/4/14 10:40 AM Page 1

REAL_0414_CRIME2_REAL_408_NIGHT 3/18/14 4:23 PM Page 6

18 TV REAL

Heaney points to TCB’s new series Handsome Devils.“It helps to have a killer title,” he quips.“This angle is something that will attract male and female demos, and that’s what you want.You want something that is broad profile-wise and demographicwise. These days, crime series don’t just have to be about murders; they can be about other crimes. Though murders do rate well, a lot of the networks are looking to experiment and see if other crimes rate as well. Handsome Devils looks at men who have used their looks and charm to commit heinous crimes.

We’ve got stories mainly from the U.S., as well as some from the U.K., told at a fairly fast pace with dramatic reconstructions.”

INSIDE ACCESS

ITVS GE has a wealth of crime programming from ITV Studios’ factual production arm Shiver, including Frontline Police.

A+E Networks has its own thoughts on what can make a factual crime show stand out in the marketplace. “For us, it comes down to one thing: access,” says Christian Murphy, the company’s senior VP of international programming and marketing. “We’ve been working with law enforcement in the U.S. for 20 to 25 years. We have incredible access, built up through established trust over a long period of time, to law enforcement—not just police, but drug units, FBI and all sorts of people. Our shows are unique in that we get you inside in a very unfiltered way, right to the very heart.”

Murphy notes the success of the long-running series The First 48, which offers an insider’s look at homicide investigations, and Beyond Scared Straight, which takes viewers behind prison walls to spotlight intervention programs for young offenders.

For Breakthrough Entertainment, Crime Stories and 72 Hours have been among the most popular picks. “Both of these series hit all the right notes with viewers, as they chronicle some of the most intriguing crimes in history,” says Nat Abraham, the company’s president of distribution. “Their firsthand accounts, coupled with dramatic reenactments, news footage and shocking revelations, paint a grim picture of a true crime scene. Crime Stories and 72 Hours deliver an intimate look from the other side of the police line.”

According to Abraham, 72 Hours is structured in a way similar to a crime novel, with compelling storytelling and captivating characters. “Each episode puts you inside the case from the actual detective’s point of view,” he adds. “Crime Stories engages the audience in real case-solving procedures, unveiling techniques used in solving a case and exposing the emotions experienced by those involved.”

Among the best-selling factual crime series in the GRB catalogue are American Greed, Crime Inc., Wicked Attraction, FBI: Criminal Pursuit and Police Women.

Canamedia, which represents titles such as Fraud Squad and Scammed, has found that buyers are interested in both series and one-off documentaries in the crime area.“Going forward, we’re making it a priority to acquire and produce more titles in this particular genre,” says Andrea Stokes, the company’s managing director of international sales and acquisitions.“Our latest crime doc that we’re excited to be taking to MIPTV this year, Wham, Bam, Thank You Scam, is a true story of deceit, theft, police incompetence and international loopholes. The narrator tracked down a sophisticated gang of fraudsters who scammed him out of over $100,000 in fraudulent investment. We’re interested in picking up similar docs of this nature with gripping stories.”

There are others in the market, however, who claim that there is an oversupply and under-demand when it comes to crimerelated content. Paul Heaney, the managing director of TCB Media Rights, is in this camp.

He believes that the way crime programming can break away from the pack is by delivering something slightly different within the genre.

“You really have to offer something that takes a unique perspective or has a very unique storytelling style,” he says. “In order to make noise, you have to have really high production New Dominion Pictures’ The New Detectives profiles the work of forensics experts and criminal investigators, featuring the techniques they use to solve crimes. values or a genre-busting type of show.”

368 World Screen 4/14

REAL_0414_OFF THE FENCE_Layout 1 3/14/14 11:59 AM Page 1

REAL_0414_CRIME2_REAL_408_NIGHT 3/19/14 2:56 PM Page 7

20 TV REAL

Handsome Devils, represented by TCB Media Rights, uses dramatization and first-person testimony to depict crimes of passion.

It’s this kind of raw, gritty, behind-the-scenes viewpoint that has also driven success for Tricon Films & Television’s sales of factual crime shows. “I Didn’t Do It and To Catch a Killer really resonate with audiences because they are true stories packed with emotion from those involved,” says Lia Dolente, the company’s director of international sales and communications. “It’s as though viewers are getting an inside look at each event.” Dolente adds, “Both use reenactments and exclusive interviews with family members, friends and, in some cases, those convicted.”

There’s a balance in many of the successful crime shows today between the use of dramatizations and the use of insider interviews.The result is a show that can tap into viewers’ emotions as well as their predilection for high drama. “Top-quality dramatic reenactments, exceptional production values and gripping story lines based on real-life crimes make for a deadly combination,” says Munia Kanna-Konsek, the head of sales at Beyond Distribution. “The serious narrations emphasize and help illustrate the victim’s tragic end and what led the perpetrator to this point in their life.”

BEYOND EVIL

For Beyond, the Deadly Women franchise and the Facing Evil companion interview series have been top performers, as have Behind Mansion Walls, Addicted to the Life and Fatal Vows.

“The Facing Evil interviews are mesmerizing,” says KannaKonsek. “Former FBI profiler Candice DeLong is given access to the real-life perpetrators of particular episodes’ crimes and interviews them to try and understand how they came to kill someone and why. It makes for riveting and emotional viewing and gives the audience a chance to listen to real-life criminals.”

Many of the shows in this genre rely on reenactments in some capacity because exclusive on-the-scene access can be rather tricky to secure. These dramatizations can serve a production well, if executed properly. This was the style used in 370 World Screen 4/14

many early crime series, and lately it’s having a resurgence in popularity. “I see a swing back to more docudrama-style programming, with high-end, stylized reenactments,” says Kristen Eppley, the senior VP of international distribution at New Dominion Pictures, which has had success with The New Detectives and The FBI Files. “Of course, it all starts with a great story.”

EXECUTIONERS

Even a great story can falter in the marketplace if the production expertise isn’t there to carry it through. The production standards expected of crime shows are higher now than they have ever been before.

“We look to work with producers with experience and passion for the shows they are making and compassion for the contributors they are filming,” says ITVS GE’s Hand.“They bring a developed editorial eye and an ability to create a narrative that can inform, emote and excite in varying ways so the content doesn’t feel derivative.”

“I think producers are finding more clever ways of telling stories,” says TCB’s Heaney.“They are combining dramatic reconstructions with other techniques; they might use a faux CCTV [closed-circuit television] to keep the story rattling along. It won’t just be, Let’s switch to the dramatic recon.There are other ways to tell a story now, whether it’s through CCTV, usergenerated or archive-driven footage, a straightforward procedural style with a present tense or interviews. When a show is done well, it’s what the buyers are expecting.”

The production style can also impact the market a show will play best in and the type of channel it will play best on, Heaney notes. “Blue-light series [which are centered on emergency services] tend to be high volume and can sell everywhere,” he says. “With some of the cheaper, more real series, they are produced by the bucketload and play very well in repeats. Dramatic recon, higher-end crime series don’t break out of the genre as much.”

REAL_0414_ARTE_Layout 1 3/12/14 2:32 PM Page 1

REAL_0414_CRIME2_REAL_408_NIGHT 3/19/14 3:01 PM Page 8

22 TV REAL

Wicked Attraction, sold by GRB, is a case-driven series that tries to bring viewers inside the minds of killers.

Heaney continues, “Border Patrol was the original bordersecurity series. It will break out because it’s robust, it doesn’t scare viewers off at certain times of the daypart and you can move it around the schedule.”

Heaney also highlights Surveillance as a show that’s a strong bet with buyers due to its scheduling potential. He explains, “Buyers want something that can play pre-watershed. Buyers will ask if they can show a program in the afternoon or daytime as well. It’s much easier to monetize that way. Ideally, you want to be feeding both needs—the need for the high-end stuff that will go out later in the evening, and for the lighter, easier viewing that can play earlier.”

AROUND THE CLOCK

number one [for time spent viewing] and it’s only been there since December. Once people find this programming, they can’t stop watching it. It’s hard to turn the channel off.That’s one of the major advantages of this style of programming: the stickiness of it.”

Another advantage of crime programming is that it often draws a large female demographic, which is particularly alluring for advertisers. According to TCB’s Heaney, female viewers tend to be drawn more to shows that have an investigative angle, which have a mystery to solve and present evidence along the way.

“There’s also a style that is slightly more male, which is more reality-based, grittier, harder, more violent and visceral,” he says.

ITVS GE’s Hand believes that buyers and commissioners are casting a wide net with this type of content. “Crime is a very broad genre and broadcasters are looking for content that covers the full spectrum—from hard-hitting access-led documentaries on prisons, to more entertaining observational documentaries on the agencies of law enforcement, to exposés on criminals and the criminal underworld.This variety means broadcasters have programming that is suitable for a range of slots and demographics.”

GRB’s Lolato agrees that the genre is broad in its reach.

“Crime shows appeal to both male and female audiences, which is gold for broadcasters. The crime genre also appeals to all age demographics, which lends itself to great advertising opportunities—this is another reason why the crime genre is so successful.”

Whether male or female, these loyal viewers are also looking to connect with the cases seen on TV on a deeper level. There are a number of tools that can take audiences further into the backstory of a crime or allow them to follow up on the latest developments and what happened next, and they’re becoming a bigger part of the overall offering.

“For the future of the crime series, interactivity is key,” says Canamedia’s Stokes.“Victim support networks that connect the viewer to real people in law enforcement and public awareness support groups operated through various platforms such as websites, apps and networks lend added value to the viewer and ultimately to the broadcaster as a whole.”

GRB’s Lolato has also noticed that viewers are looking to further their engagement with crime shows. “Audiences are becoming more sophisticated with [how they engage with] programming and this genre lends itself very well to apps and digital extensions, but at the core it is [about] the stories and how they are told, and that will always be the driving force to obtain the attention of audiences.”

GRB’s Lolato says that in terms of scheduling, he’s seen ratings success for crime programs in prime time, daytime slots and fringe. “They work everywhere,” he says. “The proliferation of crime channels that have launched worldwide is evidence that there is a huge interest with all audiences. In addition to on crime-specific channels, crime programs are successful on all types of channels—women’s, lifestyle, human interest.This is one of the few genres that really does fit on almost all program schedules.”

A+E Networks’ Murphy has observed that the shows that play better on broader general-entertainment networks tend to not be as hardcore or hardhitting.“They are more about mystery-solving, and they tend to have a bit more intrigue and emotion in them,” he adds. “A lot are about crimes of passion or infidelity. Those tend to play a bit broader.The action-oriented, Dog the Bounty Hunter-type shows are a bit more niche and cable-style.”

There are a number of niche outlets dedicated exclusively to this type of programming around the world, including A+E Networks’ Crime & Investigation (CI). One of the key things that this programming delivers is loyal viewership. “CI in Australia is the number one factual channel on the platform for time spent viewing,” says Murphy. “In the U.K., CI is the Murder, which is the central theme of Tricon’s To Catch a Killer, is among the number two factual channel. And in Italy it’s topics that rate best in the true-crime genre.

372 World Screen 4/14

REAL_0414__Layout 1 3/6/14 12:07 PM Page 1

REAL_0413_FASTTRACK_2_REAL_408_NIGHT 3/19/14 3:05 PM Page 2

24 TV REAL

Oscar Pistorius.

FASTTRACK

Producers and distributors weigh in on the risks and rewards of making fast-turnaround docs on breaking-news events.

By Juliana Koranteng

T

he world woke up on Valentine’s Day last year to hear about a true love story that had gone tragically wrong. On that day, handsome Paralympics and Olympics runner Oscar Pistorius was taken into custody and subsequently charged with the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in South Africa.

Less than a month later, Oscar Pistorius: What Really Happened? premiered on the U.K.’s BBC Three—only 19 days after it was commissioned. The one-off special nabbed 1.2 million viewers and was sold to 116 territories by Passion Distribution shortly thereafter.

As the world awaits the outcome of his trial, it is undeniable that millions of people around the globe have questions about the South African sports hero’s fall from grace. That is where fast-turnaround documentaries come in, triggered by 374 World Screen 4/14

major breaking-news events that have global implications.

They center on the catastrophic consequences of natural and man-made disasters like an earthquake, typhoon or nuclear meltdown; the global mourning that follows the death of renowned icons; or an unbelievably horrendous crime.

“There is something about stories that need to be turned around fast that says they need to be told internationally,” observes Mark Roberts, creative director at Mentorn Media, which produced the aforementioned Pistorius doc, The Batman Shootings (about the 2012 shooting in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado) and The Cleveland Captives:What Really Happened? (focused on the three young women kidnapped and held captive for ten years in Ohio).

For Emma Simpkins, Passion Distribution’s director of sales, the popularity of fast-turnarounds among TV networks makes strategic sense.

REAL_0414_TRICON_Layout 1 3/12/14 1:26 PM Page 1

REAL_0413_FASTTRACK_2_REAL_408_NIGHT 3/18/14 4:25 PM Page 4

26 TV REAL

Shine International represents titles from Dragonfly, which has developed expertise in rapid-response journalism like The Horsemeat Banquet, inspired by the U.K.’s recent horsemeat scandal.

“As long as the broadcasters trust the source, such as the commissioning broadcaster and the production company, they will buy from the international market,” she says. “The genre gives broadcasters something they want at the last minute, which will be promoted in the trailers a couple of days in advance and which competing broadcasters are unable to match. So we get good bidding wars for fast-turnarounds.”

She also notes that the genre can have a long shelf life with stories like The Cleveland Captives and The Batman Shootings.They will find a “true-crime” slot in future schedules. “With the trial [ongoing at press time], there is increased demand for Oscar Pistorius: What Really Happened?,” Simpkins notes.

“The audience is as sophisticated as ever—they expect to learn more as soon as the event happens,” says Danny Tipping, the head of programming and development at Sky Vision. The company has been making and distributing must-have, quickly made documentaries about natural catastrophes.These include Typhoon Haiyan: Eye of the Storm for Sky 1 and PBS NOVA, about last year’s devastating tropical cyclone in the Philippines, and Superstorm Sandy, on the hurricane that left many fatalities in its wake, for HISTORY in the U.S. Once a cataclysmic story hits news headlines, specialist production companies like Mentorn, Dragonfly, Nutopia and Pioneer Productions, plus Sky Vision and the BBC, among others, hit the floor running to be the first to release the documentary that might explain the apparently inexplicable.

PITCH PRESSURE

“The real pressure begins when pitching the story to a broadcaster,” Tipping says. “Having a clear idea of what the story will be and getting the green light within a day or two can make a huge difference. The broadcaster might be approached by three to four competitors with the same story. You must respond the quickest with the best contributors and resources.”

For Typhoon Haiyan, Tipping adds, the production team searched for world-renowned meteorologists to talk about the science behind the storm, and worked very closely with Sky News’s correspondents, producers and camera crews.

376 World Screen 4/14

“It was the same for Superstorm Sandy,” he says. “We took the science angle to give the show a greater shelf life by answering how the perfect storm could cause such huge disasters, whether these storms were happening more often and when to expect the next one, while asking if this trend is due to global warming.”

FIRST RESPONDERS

The rivalry to get on air first is escalating, as Hamish Mykura, executive VP and head of international content at National Geographic Channels International (NGCI), discovered following the 2012 Costa Concordia cruise ship tragedy. Mykura understood that questions needed to be answered about the dream cruise that turned into a nightmare. More than 30 people died when the ship capsized near Tuscany. In addition to the incident being covered by the general news media, there were reports in the media trades about the fact that National Geographic Channel and Discovery Channel were competing to see who would get their documentary on air first. All Mykura wanted to do, however, was to make sense of the tragic accident as quickly as possible.The accident occurred on January 13; National Geographic Channel premiered Inside Costa Concordia:Voices of Disaster on January 26.

“There was a big engineering story to be told,” Mykura says. “After all, how could a modern vehicle of this size capsize? Engineering disasters and natural disasters, like the 2010 Icelandic volcano eruption, are the types of stories National Geographic audiences like.”

Viewers are equally compelled by the life and times of the famous—particularly, it seems, once we lose them. Sky 1, for example, aired The Struggle is My Life: Nelson Mandela only one day after Mandela’s death on December 5.The Sky News/Sky Vision co-production was the first of several Mandela-related documentaries broadcast in the U.K. that day. Thatcher: A Memoir, the hour-long documentary on Britain’s first and only female prime minister, by Brook Lapping Productions, received a similar treatment. It hit the screens of Sky Atlantic on April 8 at 8 p.m.Thatcher had died earlier that day.

“In Mandela’s case, we took the tribute-to-his-life approach and looked at his achievements,” says Sky Vision’s Tipping.“As opposed to the standard obituary, we used con-

REAL_0414_ACTF_Layout 1 3/17/14 6:14 PM Page 1

REAL_0413_FASTTRACK_2_REAL_408_NIGHT 3/18/14 4:25 PM Page 6

28 TV REAL

Just weeks after the massive Kumbh Mela religious gathering took place in India, National Geographic broadcast a one-hour special about the event, World's Biggest Festival: Kumbh Mela.

temporary music and excellent interviews, plus some fantastic archives of his early life supplied by Sky News’s research team.”

PAPAL TREATMENT

Broadcasters are also under pressure to feed audiences’ craving for forthcoming good news. The unexpected resignation of Pope Benedict XVI in February 2013 had the world’s 1.2 billion baptized Catholics, and others, waiting on tenterhooks for the identity of his replacement.

Pope Francis: Road to the Vatican, the one-hour documentary made by Mentorn Media, profiled the first Latin American pontiff.The program traced Argentinean Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s life up to the appointment, interviewed people who had worked with him and featured footage of his inauguration, interspersed with a detailed look at the daily life of a pope in the Vatican.

The documentary debuted on National Geographic Channels in 170 countries on March 29 last year, appropriately on the Easter weekend, and just 10 days after Pope Francis’s inauguration. This was achieved in part by updating another documentary in the waiting, called Vatican: Life Within.

Meanwhile, how do you sell a credible 75-minute factual show about the baby destined to be England’s future 378 World Screen 4/14

monarch—the first child of Prince William and Kate Middleton and third in line to England’s throne—when no one knows the gender, the name or even a date of birth?

BBC Worldwide leapt to that challenge. Born to Royalty, a celebration of the birth of Prince George, premiered on BBC Knowledge and on various other outlets very shortly after the birth on July 22, 2013, and was released theatrically in the U.S. “There was a pretty good idea of when the baby would be born, but not the exact day or time. We carried on making most of the film using archive material, and hand-picked a team that was well-connected in the royal circles,” explains Paul Hembury, BBC Worldwide’s director of entertainment talent.

Contributions came from people close to the British Royal Family, including biographer Ingrid Seward and veteran royal correspondent Jennie Bond. With the American audience in mind, the special was narrated by Hugh Bonneville, the star of the Golden Globe- and Emmy Awardwinning quintessential British drama Downton Abbey.

As soon as the baby was born and shown to the public a couple of days later, Born to Royalty was ready to go. “We left room for the opening and closing shots of the proud new parents, making sure we had some of the baby too,” Hembury adds.

Some fast-turnarounds, however, actually need more time to pull together after the event.Take the case of documenting the death of Osama Bin Laden, who was killed on U.S. presidential orders on May 2, 2011.Within days of the terrorist’s death, the 29-minute The Death of Bin Laden aired as part of Panorama, the BBC’s flagship current-affairs strand. Around the same time, Mark Reynolds, BBC Worldwide’s director of factual, was approached by independent producer Nutopia, which was working onTargeting Bin Laden for HISTORY in the U.S. and Channel 4 in the U.K. (which aired it as Bin Laden: Shoot to Kill). BBC Worldwide agreed to deficit finance the doc, which would include an interview with U.S. President Obama.

“We had started approaching the White House and that was a waiting game to determine whether he would actually speak on camera,” Reynolds explains. “Meanwhile, we carried on making the film and worked around his diary.”

The film debuted on September 6 in the U.S., just before the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 Twin Towers and Pentagon attacks that Bin Laden masterminded. It featured President Obama’s first interview on the subject.

“We couldn’t completely predict what he would say, but we knew his views on the matter and worked around that,” Reynolds adds. Targeting Bin Laden has been sold to more than 40 countries.

SPACE RACE

Another fast-turnaround that has literally taken years in the planning is Mission Rosetta, Comet Chaser, a 52-minute space-mission film commissioned by ARTE and produced by Look at Sciences, the international science and technology news agency based in France. Terranoa has global distribution rights to this documentary, which follows the European Space Agency’s (ESA) efforts to send a robotic spacecraft (called Rosetta) to carry out a detailed study of a comet by orbiting around it, landing on it and sending back images.

The mission began in 2004 and is scheduled to be completed in December 2015. In November 2014, the first images of the comet’s insides are expected to be transmitted back to Earth.

REAL_0414_TELEMUENCHEN_Layout 1 3/17/14 12:27 PM Page 1

REAL_0413_FASTTRACK_2_REAL_408_NIGHT 3/19/14 4:11 PM Page 7

30 TV REAL

Following the passing of Nelson Mandela and Margaret Thatcher, Sky Vision was able to rush to market the specials The Struggle is My Life: Nelson Mandela and Thatcher: A Memoir.

Until now, space explorations have only circumnavigated comets. ESA scientists hope that revealing the inside of the comet will help our understanding of the origins of life on Earth. Should all go as planned, Look at Sciences and Terranoa will offer broadcasters the first detailed documentary about the mission and its findings.

“If it succeeds, it would be the first-ever physical contact between a man-made machine and a comet,” declares Isabelle Graziadey, Terranoa’s head of international sales and acquisitions. “There is no equivalent anywhere else.”

Terranoa’s Mission Rosetta, Comet Chaser should be available by spring 2015, just a few months after the ongoing space mission is due to send back the first images from the comet.

TECH TALK

Combining journalistic skillsets and computer-generated images to help the audience visualize the solar system and learn why comets matter, Terranoa and ARTE will be on a tight deadline to deliver Mission Rosetta, Comet Chaser in the spring of 2015. By then, they should have a documentary that captures the suspense experienced by the scientists as they waited to know whether or not the ten-year outer-space exploration was successful.

From 21st-century spacecraft to the iPhone, digital technology has enabled fast-turnarounds to become a genre in

380 World Screen 4/14

their own right. “There’s been a revolution in the way people use mobile phones and cameras in big news stories,” says NGCI’s Mykura. “The user-generated content (UGC) can be turned around to build a personal point of view into the programming. When the terrorists attacked the Twin Towers on 9/11 in 2001, mobile phones had no cameras. In less than a decade, things have changed beyond recognition.”

Melding a personal story with digital technology can make a massive difference in producing an effective fast-turnaround documentary, says Georgia Brown, the senior VP of acquisitions at Shine International.

“It is always a delicate process when you first approach a victim to see if they will tell their story,” she says. “This process notoriously takes time to win trust and time is the one thing you don’t have on a fast-turnaround. Dragonfly [a factual production company owned by Shine Group] has found that it is essential when looking for eyewitnesses or victims to put a carefully worded shout-out on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, as well as to explore YouTube for all UGC footage of the event. With The Sinking of the Concordia: Caught on Camera, [Dragonfly] was able to trace UGC owners and eye witnesses and send messages to them through YouTube channels.”

Shine International also has a first-look deal with Barcroft Productions, the outfit behind fast-turnarounds like Pistorius Trial: The Key Questions.

“A number of people on the production team at Barcroft have journalistic and research backgrounds that they use to find people,” Brown says. “The Internet is usually the first resource used, but they also visit locations to talk to people and make contacts.”

Those involved in fast-turnarounds also need to have the skills to deal with high-pressure deadlines, challenging locations and, oftentimes, highly emotional situations, all while retaining premium production values.

“It’s a high-risk situation,” says Sky Vision’s Tipping. “So, on the personal-safety side, it pays to have experienced production teams who understand the risks and responsibilities involved. There’s no cost savings in cutting corners.”

Ultimately, “The audience doesn’t care that you made the documentary fast,” observes Mentorn’s Roberts. “They will not excuse you for not doing it well; you will be judged by the same standards as a documentary that took six months to make.”

REAL_0414_CANAMEDIA_Layout 1 3/17/14 1:15 PM Page 1

REAL_0413_TYSON-W/AD_REAL_408_NIGHT 3/18/14 4:31 PM Page 2

32 TV REAL

By Mansha Daswani

First broadcast by PBS in 1980, Carl Sagan’s Cosmos: A Personal Voyage was a watershed moment in science documentary filmmaking, using special effects, a “Spaceship of the Imagination” and relatable concepts to explain the history of the universe. This spring, in a partnership between FOX and National Geographic Channel, Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey is bringing contemporary audiences on a new journey into the wonders of our planet and beyond. The 13-part series is executive produced by Seth MacFarlane, of Family Guy fame, and Sagan’s widow, Ann Druyan, with astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson as host. Fox Networks Group lined up its first-ever simultaneous cross-network global premiere event for Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, debuting the series on ten networks in the U.S. In partnership with FOX International Channels and National Geographic Channels International, meanwhile, the show is available on 220 channels in 180-plus countries. Just before jetting off on a global tour for the show, Tyson spoke with TV Real about making science matter to a new generation of audiences.

382 World Screen 4/14

TV REAL: What did Carl Sagan’s Cosmos mean to you when you first saw it?

TYSON: I already knew what I wanted to do professionally at the time, so I’m not one of these people who say, I was lost and then I was found, or, that science meant nothing and then it meant everything. But I knew it had the power to create those people. For me, it was, as we say in mathematics, an existence proof. An existence proof is when you don’t really know in advance whether something is possible, but then something demonstrates that it can happen. With Cosmos, it was an existence proof that science can be brought into your living room, and you will welcome it there. How is that even possible?

Science was something that a lot of people just didn’t really do well at and wanted to avoid at all costs. Science was what people at cocktail parties would chuckle over [when talking about] how badly they did in it [at school].Yet here was this program that seamlessly blended biography, chemistry, geology and astrophysics into one series of epic stories about how we found our place in the universe. It was captivating, mesmerizing even.

REAL_0413_TYSON-W/AD_REAL_408_NIGHT 3/19/14 4:20 PM Page 4

TV REAL 33

And I said to myself, wow, that’s how you do [science programming]. You don’t just park a camera in front of a scientist in a lab and get him to talk about his work. You want to stitch together reasons why the viewer should care about science, why science matters for life, for the world, and for understanding our place within it.

TV REAL: Science programming is much more prevalent today than it was back in the early ’80s. Are people more informed now, and therefore have to be approached in a different way?

TYSON: In 1980, you could go for months before you would land on a science show. There was PBS NOVA and there was Wild Kingdom, but I never thought of that as a science show, that was more a travelogue. The real science documentary, you’d go days, weeks, months before you’d land on it. Now, no matter what time you turn on the TV, channel surf and you’ll land on a documentary. People have way more access to science. But do they avail themselves of it? They simultaneously have more access to that which isn’t science, to that which is pseudoscience, to that which is the opposite of science. It’s not a given that just because there’s more of it that more of it actually filters into the world. The value of Cosmos is that it’s airing in prime time, on a Sunday night, and on a major network, FOX, that has a huge range of demographics crossing their portfolio of programming.

ple countries with many, many locations, so it all adds up. It included Iceland and England and France and Germany and Canada. My favorite was Iceland. I had never been there. It is otherworldly. Just walk around for ten minutes in Iceland and you’re going to stumble on some gurgling soil with black craggy rock surrounding it and you’re going to say, yup, I don’t know where I am, this is no part of Earth I’ve ever seen! We took advantage of the fact that many locations had many different kinds of looks, to serve different needs for the entire show. So it was shot out of sequence for that reason. As a scientist, I don’t do this all the time—or ever. I have to keep the exact same weight for six months? [Laughs] It was hard. Plus my ability to perform in front of a camera lens got better over the months. We actually reshot the beginning at the end, because I got so much better—it’s really [about reaching] a comfort level in front of a lens and a script. To be able to read a prompter as though [the words are] coming out of my head on the spot, that took some real effort. So the whole thing was novel for me. Damn near killed me! And there’s the make-up person and the wardrobe person and the sound person always fussing with [me]. I’d have my iced tea and I’d never have to go anywhere to put it down because someone was going to take it from my hand for me. You get completely spoiled.

[Laughs] That doesn’t play well at all at home! The novelty of it never wore off for me.

“You want to stitch together reasons why the viewer should care about science, why science matters for life...”

TV REAL: The show is also airing on National Geographic Channel, reaching a different audience.

TYSON: These are different demographics. What almost defines cable today is, here’s this niche, we’re going to own that niche.

Mainstreaming is no longer the priority, it seems.We have a show on the universe. We are relying on the fact that everybody at some time in their lives has looked up and wondered, what is our place in the universe? There’s enough commonality to that emotion. If you begin there, you’ve got everybody.

TV REAL: How important was it to have Seth MacFarlane on board?

TYSON: We could have landed this on TV without him, it just would have never come anywhere near FOX.There are the usual outlets: PBS, Discovery Channel, Science, National Geographic.

Seth judged that what we were creating was deserving of a very broad audience, broader than what you would otherwise get if you allocated it to the PBS universe or the world of people who already know they like science. If you tune in to Science, you already know you like science. If you don’t know you like science, or you know you don’t like science, you’re not tuning in.

So it is his brokering the encounter with FOX that gives us a chance of actually mainstreaming what it is to think as a scientifically literate person would.

TV REAL: Tell me about the filming process. I read that you went to 30-plus locations.

TYSON: Probably more than that. Somebody lost count at some point. It felt like a thousand! [Laughs] We were in multi-

TV REAL: How much did you draw from the original Cosmos?

TYSON: Think of this as a continuation of the journey. Ann

[Druyan] likes referencing the original Cosmos as an attempt to show the viewer how we came to discover where we are in space and when we are in time. So this is a continuation of that story through other kinds of lenses we’re bringing to bear on the storytelling. There are people who taught us how old the Earth is. But in the process they discovered that there are unsafe levels of lead in the environment. How did that happen? Well, lead is a key ingredient in determining how old meteorites are.

That’s kind of interesting! So it’s not just the science [helping us] learn about science, it’s the science [helping us] learn about ourselves. That is the hallmark of Cosmos. It’s not about, here’s the latest discovery on the latest thing and I’m going to tell it to you. You’ve got documentaries to do that. In fact the word “documentary” doesn’t even apply here. Yes, technically it’s a documentary, but we have access to people who help tell stories in Hollywood who are now helping us, the scientists, tell the story of the universe. Our director of photography is Bill Pope, who is perhaps best known for being the director of photography for the Matrix trilogy. He also did the Spider-Man movies.

These are films that required innovative camera angles and camera movement. These are talented people telling stories.

Now their talents are being tapped for the universe. So when you see it, it’s not just, “That was interesting information,” it is, “Wow, I feel that.” It affects people not only intellectually but culturally, spiritually, because the camera angles, the visual effects, the scripts and the music all come together to influence the viewer.

4/14 World Screen 383

REAL_0413_TYSON-W/AD_REAL_408_NIGHT 3/18/14 4:32 PM Page 6

34 TV REAL

TV REAL: In the original, Sagan explores the universe via a

backdrop called the Spaceship of the Imagination, which many people at the time were quite critical of. What led to the decision to bring it back for the new Cosmos?

TYSON: I applaud any attempt to do something as no one had done it before. If it’s not as successful as they had hoped, well, I’m glad they tried it. That’s really how I view experiments. So what audacity would we have, given the mixed reviews of the original, to bring it back? Well, because it got reimagined and, there’s no other way to say it, it’s badass! [Laughs] My favorite scenes were on the Spaceship of the Imagination. All the surrounding imagery is green-screened in later, but I know what I’m looking at—I’m an astrophysicist! When, in the script, we’re going into the sun, I know what it looks like, what it feels like, and I’m at the helm and I’m taking you there. There are no knobs, there’s no throttle, the ship emanates from my very thoughts. The surrounding deck is where we are in space, the floor opens up and you see the timeline into the unlimited past and the ceiling opens up and we go into the future. The ship has access to anywhere and any when in the universe. So as I talk about the extinction of the dinosaurs, I just walk to the side of the ship and the ship dissolves and it becomes a primordial forest where we look up and see the asteroid ready to take out the dinosaurs. I walk in and off this ship simply by the act of speaking where I need to be and when I need to be there. It is a stunningly fluid vehicle—literal and figurative vehicle—to help us tell the stories we need to tell. Some view of the spaceship appears in every episode.

TV REAL: What led to the use of animated sequences?

TYSON: In the original, as is done in many documentaries,

if there was some historical recreation, you would get some British actor and glue on some muttonchops and have him go at it! FOX and Seth were concerned that that might be a little too tired or too overdone or too Masterpiece Theatre.

So Seth recommended [using animation]. I was indifferent to it at the time—I’m the scientist, what do I know?—but now it has so grown on me that I can’t imagine the series without it. We have recreated the historical bits with animation that would be deserving of a graphic novel. It allows you not to have to argue about what the detail on the shelf was. The moment that it becomes something that pretends to be real, then it has to be exactly real. That can be a distraction from the message that you’re trying to deliver. When it’s animated, then the animator can put the essence of what matters there and not worry about the rest. As a result, the storytelling becomes purified.

TV REAL: With the involvement of NGCI, Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey is being seen by viewers in 180-plus countries. Is that daunting for you?

TYSON: It is a little scary. On the street today I get ID’ed by a total stranger maybe 50 times a day, up to 100 times a day.

It’s three or four times per block! My big regret is, now I have to leave home a little more groomed than I otherwise would have been. [Laughs] There’s a bit of a loss of privacy. I don’t know that the international numbers will change how I am viewed domestically, but if it means I get some invitations to visit places I’ve never visited before, I’m on it!

REAL_0414_AFL_Layout 1 3/13/14 1:48 PM Page 1

REAL_0413_ZASLAV-SPREAD_REAL_408_NIGHT 3/18/14 4:34 PM Page 1

36 TV REAL

DISCOVERY’S

By Anna Carugati

Discovery Communications’ portfolio of channels reaches more than 2 billion cumulative subscribers in 220-plus countries and territories. The bouquet of brands is headed

by Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Science and Investigation Discovery, and includes the U.S. joint-venture networks OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, Hub Network and 3net, the first 24-hour 3D network. Discovery has broadened its international footprint by investing in freeTV and pay-TV channels in Europe with SBS Discovery Media in the Nordic region and the sports platform Eurosport, among others. President and CEO David Zaslav talks about these investments, additional growth opportunities and the programming that has been fueling the success of the group’s networks.

TV REAL: Looking at Discovery’s international

businesses, starting with Europe, tell us about the integration of the SBS networks. How has that process been?

ZASLAV: We have made significant strides integrating our 2013 SBS Nordic acquisition. The joint ad-sales team we’ve assembled is closing deals in the spot market while preparing upfront presentations during the first quarter that showcase the compelling content offering and value proposition we can deliver to ad clients. Our programming teams have also identified thousands of hours of content that can be shared across the combined portfolio.

On the cost side as well, we have carefully eliminated any redundant positions and consolidated physical locations where appropriate. It is still early days, but we remain certain that the combined entity of SBS Discovery Media further strengthens the unmatched platform Discovery has built for 25 years and helps to bolster the long-term growth outlook of our international portfolio.

TV REAL: What growth opportunities do you see

in the free-TV business in Europe? How are you combining free-TV and pay-TV assets in your international portfolio?

ZASLAV: Free-to-air is a limited strategy for Discovery on a market-by-market basis.The company always will be primarily focused on dual revenue stream businesses. We have pursued free-to-air opportunities in mature markets such as the U.K., Italy and Germany, where pay-TV penetration is limited or there is very little competition among distributors. In these cases, free-to-air enables us to reach a wider audience and increase advertising revenue. More importantly, we can launch these channels quickly and at a very low cost, because we already have a library of inlanguage content. That gives us an advantage over other broadcasters. While there are some additional 386 World Screen 4/14

REAL_0413_ZASLAV-SPREAD_REAL_408_NIGHT 3/18/14 4:34 PM Page 2

TV REAL 37

DAVIDZASLAV markets where free-to-air channels might make sense, our primary focus is dual revenue stream channels.

TV REAL: Discovery has acquired a controlling interest in TF1 Group’s sports platform, Eurosport. How has the Eurosport deal been for Discovery so far? What added benefits does this majority stake bring?

ZASLAV: Eurosport is one of the strongest, most dynamic sports platforms in the world. Over the past year, as we have been working directly with our partners from TF1, it became clear that combining the power of Eurosport’s brands and audience reach with Discovery’s network portfolio, boots on the ground and country-specific expertise creates an unrivaled and powerful offering for viewers, advertisers and affiliates.The decision to take a controlling interest underscores Discovery’s strategy to support already strong organic growth with targeted acquisitions and partnerships. This deal will enable our industry-leading international team and its new leader, JB Perrette, to create new value for our business partners by developing and sharing programming across channel brands, and by building a stronger and more diversified network portfolio. We are privileged to continue our successful relationship with TF1 Group and look forward to growing Eurosport for many years to come.

TV REAL: What other geographic areas and international businesses have you been focused on?

ZASLAV: Discovery is a truly global company, reaching 2.5 billion subscribers with more than 190 networks in more than 220 countries and territories, and we are focused on growing in all of those markets. Over the past few years, we have rolled out TLC as an international flagship network across Europe, Latin America and the Asia Pacific. It is now the most widely distributed female-targeted lifestyle brand in media.

More recently, we’ve begun rolling out Investigation Discovery around the world, launched the Oprah Winfrey Network in South Africa and expanded our successful Discovery Kids channel beyond Latin America and into the Asia-Pacific region.

TV REAL: What potential do you see in Latin America?

ZASLAV: Latin America has huge potential with some of the

fastest growing pay-TV markets in the world, including Brazil and Mexico. Discovery is very well positioned to take advantage of this growth, with 12 brands in 49 countries and territories across the region. Discovery Channel has been the number one factual channel across the region for ten years, Discovery Kids continues to rate as a top channel for kids and women, and Discovery Home & Health is the top network for women. With this strong presence and growth still to come in the region, we expect Latin America to be a significant growth engine in the years ahead.

TV REAL: What opportunities are you seeing in the U.S. Hispanic market?

ZASLAV: The U.S. Hispanic market presents a tremendous opportunity for programmers as it continues to expand and

grow in economic clout. Discovery currently has two Spanishlanguage channels in the U.S., including Discovery en Español, which is the number one pay-TV network among Hispanic men. Going forward, we will be focusing on how we can further nourish this audience and attract them to both our Spanish-language and English-language networks.

TV REAL: How have your scripted shows been received so far?

ZASLAV: Discovery’s first scripted program, The Challenger

Disaster, aired in November on Science and Discovery Channel.

The program attracted nearly 2 million viewers and was the mostwatched telecast of the year for Science. Klondike, our first scripted miniseries, which premiered in January in the U.S. and in several markets across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Canada, helped deliver Discovery Channel’s most-watched Monday prime time in history.We see scripted as a tentpole strategy, with one or two events a year.While Discovery Channel and the majority of our networks will always be primarily nonfiction, programs that are on brand, like Klondike, give us an opportunity to create buzz and bring new creative partners to our portfolio.

TV REAL: With a large portfolio of networks, ratings fluctuations are to be expected. How has the Discovery portfolio performed recently?

ZASLAV: Animal Planet was the breakout network in 2013, delivering its best year ever. Animal Planet is now a top-20 cable network.

In the U.S., Discovery Channel had its highest total viewership in 12 years in its key demographics in 2013. Skywire Live with Nik Wallenda was also the number one live program of the year, and Shark Week had its best year ever. TLC also delivered its best third quarter in a decade last year and was a top network for women.

Our emerging nets continue to drive viewership—OWN was up double digits in 2013 in its key demos and the two Tyler Perry series, Love Thy Neighbor and The Haves and the Have Nots, were number one programs in all of television with African American women on their respective nights. Our newer brands also continue to perform well, including Destination America and Velocity.

We feel we have a strong slate of new and returning programming for 2014, and we are confident that ratings will continue to grow.

TV REAL: As viewers continue to watch on demand more and more, what do linear channels need to do to remain relevant?

ZASLAV: Linear channels need to continue to invest in producing great content and provide viewers with a reason to tune in. The success of Skywire Live with Nik Wallenda demonstrates that viewers will tune in for live television events.There are also tremendous opportunities to leverage the power of social media to drive live tune-in. It is much more fun to tweet about a show when everyone is watching than when you are the only one watching.

4/14 World Screen 387

REAL_0414_CHANNELS_DOC_0407_NIGHT 3/18/14 4:36 PM Page 2

38 TV REAL

Forbidden History on Yesterday.

UKTV BELIEVES IN YESTERDAY

By Joanna Padovano

In 2009, the UKTV History channel was rebranded as Yesterday. At the time, the network had a specific focus on war programming. “It performed extremely well but over time we began to see that the success of commissions such as Cilla’s Unswung Sixties and Mafia’s Greatest Hits were suggesting that there was a strong appetite amongst our viewers for shows that were fresh, entertaining and had a contemporary twist,” says Adrian Wills, the general manager of Yesterday.

“We therefore decided to broaden Yesterday’s channel proposition in 2012 to make more room in the prime-time schedule for programs that had an entertaining, contemporary and accessible viewpoint.”

Yesterday is currently home to such series as Raiders of the Lost Past, which just concluded a successful sophomore run.

“The show, which is a co-production with World Media Rights, explores the true stories behind the quests to discover legendary objects and brings to life some of the greatest unsolved myths on screen,” says Wills.

388 World Screen 4/14

Also on the schedule is Treasure Detectives, led by fakes and forgeries detective Curtis Dowling, who, along with his team, evaluates the authenticity of items for collectors.“They trace not just where an item came from, but how it was made and, in many cases, how it was faked,” says Wills.

Another highlight is CIA Declassified, which uses a combination of interviews, dramatic reconstruction and declassified documents to tell the real-life tales of the CIA’s covert operations.

“Each episode reveals different hidden secrets from these documents, including how the CIA let off a bomb in Beirut and how Osama bin Laden’s hiding place was tracked down by a group of female agents,” says Wills.

On weekdays,Yesterday typically offers a stripped lineup comprised of war programming; factual franchises such as Coast and Time Team; and Flog It!, a traveling road show hosted by Paul Martin. “In peak, we showcase more original content, premiering our key acquisitions and co-productions,” says Wills.“On the weekends, we tend to stack short bursts of war content alongside series like Who Do You Think You Are? and a blend of other factual fare like railways and classic music shows.”

Every year, the channel tries to find at least 12 series that can fill peak slots, generate buzz and keep viewers engaged.“We particularly like ideas that contain a sense of mystery or intrigue, that are uncovering something new, or that take the viewer on a journey of discovery,” says Wills. “It’s unusual for us to invest in one-off episodes—[we prefer] series of between 3 and 13 parts.”

The majority of Yesterday’s programming comes from the BBC, with which the channel has an output agreement. “We also source third-party acquisitions from the likes of DRG, all3media, FremantleMedia and Channel 4,” says Wills.

“However, our key focus is pre-invested or co-produced shows which we can broadcast as U.K. premiere content.”

Earlier this year, Yesterday launched a catch-up service on YouView that makes the channel’s content available through a Yesterday-branded on-demand portal and through YouView’s seven-day scroll-back programming guide. “Viewers can also catch up on Yesterday programming via UKTV’s own Yesterday On Demand player, which provides viewers with access to a mixture of popular catch-up and archive programming that can be viewed via the channel’s own branded website,” says Wills.

Upcoming content for Yesterday includes a new season of Black Ops, which looks at how elite special units in different territories complete dangerous assignments. There will also be the exclusive debut of World Media Rights’ Ancient Black Ops, an extension of the Black Ops franchise. “The series brings to life compelling real-world ancient conflict stories, through credible historians and exciting reenactments,” says Wills.

In addition, the network has lined up a second season of Forbidden History, which is a co-production with Like A Shot Entertainment. The critically acclaimed show, presented by Jamie Theakston, examines various secrets from the past.

Regarding the future of the channel, Wills reveals that Yesterday is looking to expand its catalogue to include a wider selection of factual programming. “This could include sub-genres like earth science (weather, earthquakes, etc.) or natural history (everything from fossils and evolution to animal behavior and habitats),” he says. “Initially, we will trial this type of content in the spring, and depending on its success, we plan to develop specific strands and zones in the schedule to accommodate these more diverse genres.”

lemur_bw_Layout 1 3/19/14 5:31 PM Page 1

g n i d a e R n e e B e v a I Should H

. . . y l k e e W l T V Rea

FOR A FREE SUBSCRIPTION, VISIT www.worldscreen.com/pages/newsletter

REAL_0414__Layout 1 3/18/14 11:52 AM Page 1