TV Real MIPTV 2015

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APRIL 2015

MIPDOC & MIPTV EDITION

Lifestyle Shows / Science Docs / David Attenborough BBC NHU’s Wendy Darke / Brain Games’ Jason Silva

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CONTENTS FEATURES

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 Faustyna Hariasz Sales & Marketing Manager Dana Mattison Sales & Marketing Coordinator Erika Santana Sales & Marketing Assistant 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 © 2015 WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, #1207 New York, NY 10010 Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website: www.tvreal.ws

Smart TV

14 SCIENCE MATTERS

After countless shows featuring rednecks, hard-partying twentysomethings and catty housewives, it seems as though reality programming may be taking a turn for the better, and smarter!

20 THE GOOD LIFE

There had been a wave of unscripted series that (to put it kindly) were rather lowbrow in their subject matter—call it the Honey Boo Boo-ization of reality TV. Many of these shows featured central characters who were billed as “larger than life” and were often the type of people who exist on the outer fringes of society. It quickly became hard to tell whether viewers were laughing with them or at them.

Perhaps what audiences were drawn to is the authenticity that these people display on screen—sometimes, though, a little too much of their true selves came through. A few shows were forced to call it quits when they found themselves at the center of controversy over what their stars had said or done.

From this backlash, a more feel-good future for the factual genre appears to be blossoming. There are a number of recent docuseries that focus on people who are inspiring, who have overcome challenges and are living their lives to the fullest.

It’s becoming more about celebrating our differences than poking fun at those who are different.

General audiences are also embracing programming that is more intelligent. Take, for example, the global popularity of the series Brain Games. The show tackles a complex subject— how the brain works—in a way that’s entertaining and approachable. In this issue, Brain Games host Jason Silva explains how the show has struck a chord with audiences around the world.

TV Real also talks with Wendy Darke, the head of the BBC’s Natural History Unit, and legendary naturalist David Attenborough. Both speak to the power of exploring natural curiosities in the world around us. Indeed, many distributors cite categories such as wildlife, history and nature as being in high demand. With advancements in 4K Ultra HD technologies improving by the day, the appetite for these programs will undoubtedly continue to grow. Science is another genre that is getting a boost from technology and gaining in mainstream popularity. TV Real shines a light on the latest developments in science docs in this issue.

In addition to programming that’s more intellectually challenging, viewers are increasingly drawn to series from which they can learn valuable information. We explore the trend of do-it-yourself shows in depth in this issue. Let’s hope that audiences, producers and broadcasters continue to welcome programming that nourishes the brain, rather than numbs it.

—Kristin Brzoznowski

A spotlight on the latest developments in science documentaries.

Networks across the globe are seeking out reality shows that help audiences improve their lives.

20 INTERVIEWS

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David Attenborough

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BBC NHU’s Wendy Darke

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Brain Games’ Jason Silva

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A+E Networks Wahlburgers / The Curse of Oak Island / Tiny House Nation In the A+E Networks reality series Wahlburgers, Hollywood stars and brothers Mark and Donnie Wahlberg join forces with their brother Paul to run a hamburger venture. Joel Denton, A+E Networks’ managing director of international content sales and partnerships, notes that the show is performing particularly well in the U.S. on A&E, which helps to drive interest internationally. “We find that as our shows get into seasons two and three, they begin to get real traction in the international marketplace,” says Denton. He also highlights the success of Tiny House Nation on the FYI network, where it’s returning for another season. The Curse of Oak Island, meanwhile, centers on the Lagina brothers, who are hoping to discover treasure supposedly buried on an island.

“The Curse of Oak Island is breaking through in the States and doing really well for us.”

—Joel Denton The Curse of Oak Island

ARTE Sales You’ll Die Smarter / Football Rebels / Adventures in Animal Lands ARTE Sales is tackling the digital space by offering new, onlineonly content. “There is a real need for short programs, whether documentaries, educational or comedy… anything that can fit the [audience’s] mobile needs,” says Cédric Hazard, the head of international sales and acquisitions for ARTE France. To meet this demand, the company has added several web-only titles to its expansive factual catalogue, including the sciencethemed series You’ll Die Smarter. The distributor is also highlighting the award-winning docuseries Football Rebels. “[The program] is not so much about sports as it is about the lives of those big football stars you see on TV,” Hazard says. Rounding out the company’s slate is the travel/wildlife series Adventures in Animal Lands.

“We try to match every channel’s need, which is why our documentaries cover various topics.”

—Cédric Hazard Adventures in Animal Lands

Breakthrough Entertainment Nordic Lodge / Descending / Sticks and Stones Two young entrepreneurs trade their lives as ranchers to become the owners of a North Canadian fly-in fishing resort in the observational docuseries Nordic Lodge, a highlight from Breakthrough Entertainment. The company is also offering up Descending, which explores some of our planet’s submerged treasures. “An aquatic adventure series for a new generation, Descending is shot in stunning HD by award-winning cinematographer Andre Dupuis, and it pushes the boundaries of existing digital camera technology,” says Jodi Mackie, Breakthrough’s director of international sales and acquisitions. Then there is Sticks and Stones, which chronicles the history of the sport of curling and delves into the controversies and personalities behind the transformation of it.

“Descending is a spectacular global adventure series that pushes the boundaries of digital underwater photography.”

—Jodi Mackie Descending 406 World Screen 4/15

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Canamedia Wildside TV / The Hard Way / Jesus Meets the Gay Man This market will see several brand-new launches from Canamedia, including Wildside TV. Andrea Stokes, the company’s managing director of international sales and acquisitions, calls it a “new kind of television series that takes viewers to unique places and on amazing journeys, including swimming with whale sharks, zip-lining over alligators, extracting venom from deadly snakes, going face-to-face with wild gorillas and many more.” The Hard Way is a reality show that sets out to help struggling businesses with their problems. “Each week, a small-business owner is brought in front of a panel of experts for an intense question-and-answer session designed to uncover their key issues,” says Stokes. On the one-off documentary front, Jesus Meets the Gay Man is a comedic doc film.

“We’re always looking for series and documentaries that have a human edge to them, with stories that are translatable and have appeal internationally.”

—Andrea Stokes The Hard Way

FOX International Channels Content Sales Brain Games / Megastructures / Science of Stupid The Emmy Award-nominated series Brain Games now has a fourth season, featuring all sorts of interactive activities and experiments designed to reveal the inner workings of the mind.

FOX International Channels Content Sales is making this latest season, with 16 all-new episodes, available for the international marketplace. There are also more episodes from the Mega structures series that buyers can pick up. “Having a proven track record of success is the best evidence that a slate of programs will be internationally relatable and feel authentic to audiences around the globe,” says Prentiss Fraser, the company’s senior VP, global head of content sales. “Our returning hits such as Brain Games and Megastructures prove just that.”

Science of Stupid rounds out the highlights.

“FOX International Channels Content Sales provides a global strategy as well as a local approach to content offerings.”

—Prentiss Fraser Science of Stupid

Gusto TV One World Kitchen / A Is for Apple Gusto TV is a new specialty channel in Canada dedicated to food and lifestyle, with the company launching its first original series at MIPTV. One World Kitchen, a 30x30-minute series with 120 webisodes, presents a new take on the conventional cooking series, featuring five global cuisines (Italian, Argentinian, Thai, Japanese and Indian) and five passionate hosts. A Is for Apple, which has 30 half-hour episodes and 100 webisodes, features three young hosts who explore the world of food and ingredients and offer lots of recipes and tips. “All of our series are available in HD, 4K and as formats,” says Chris Knight, the CEO of Gusto TV. “Both series feature fun and beautifully shot original webisodes designed for second-screen consumption, in addition to kitchen-tested recipes.”

“As a Canadian broadcaster, distributor and producer, Gusto TV is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the Canadian co-production tax-credit system.”

—Chris Knight One World Kitchen 4/15 World Screen 407

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NHK Enterprises Voyage Over Earth: Astonishing Images from Space / A Tale of Gentle Giants / The Plant Hunter The NHK Enterprises highlight Voyage Over Earth: Astonishing Images from Space presents 4K images of Earth shot from space for the first time. “Viewers can experience spectacular sights previously seen only by astronauts,” says Noriko Aratani, the deputy general manager of international sales for NHK Enterprises. From the company’s Wildlife strand comes A Tale of Gentle Giants, which features the first-ever 4K close-ups of two of the largest sea creatures: basking sharks and leatherback turtles. Tsukiji: Inside the World’s Largest Fish Market takes viewers into a labyrinth in central Tokyo where 10,000 Japanese fish professionals ply their trade. The humaninterest doc The Plant Hunter sees a Japanese plant hunter travel in pursuit of unique trees, shrubs and other organisms.

“Across a diversity of genres, we’re committed to offering programs unlike anything seen before.”

—Noriko Aratani The Plant Hunter

Off the Fence Extreme Science / Razzle Dazzle: The Hidden Story of Camouflage / Girl Eat World Straddling the worlds of extreme sport and civil engineering, Extreme Science travels the globe exploring the construction and execution of extreme-sports events. The series is among the top highlights being presented by Off the Fence, which is also promoting the documentary Razzle Dazzle: The Hidden Story of Camouflage and the series Girl Eat World. A food and travel series, Girl Eat World features MasterChef South Africa winner Kamini Pather on a journey to discover the inside story of the world’s top ten food destinations from the people who know them best: local food bloggers. “The beauty of these shows is their international appeal,” says Bo Stehmeier, the managing director of distribution at Off the Fence. “Regardless of where you are in the world, they will be of interest.”

“As a factual specialist, Off the Fence works hard to select projects that represent the quality, diversity and variety of content for which we are so well known.”

—Bo Stehmeier Extreme Science

Scripps Networks International Expedition Unknown / All-Star Academy / Tiny House, Big Living There are more than 2,000 hours of lifestyle and factualentertainment content on offer from Scripps Networks International. Highlights include Expedition Unknown, which investigates unsolved iconic stories across the globe; All-Star Academy, in which home cooks are paired up with some of Food Network’s biggest names; and Tiny House, Big Living, about prospective homeowners learning what it means to downsize. “As the leader in lifestyle programming and a trusted source of high-quality content, Scripps Networks fulfills our responsibility to infuse authenticity, aspiration and humor into all of our stories and characters, while making them as relatable as ever to viewers around the world,” says Hud Woodle, the company’s VP of program licensing and distribution.

“We continue to deliver on our promise to delight and entertain audiences with extraordinary stories of transformation and reinvention across the food, home and travel spaces.”

—Hud Woodle Expedition Unknown 408 World Screen 4/15

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TCB Media Rights What On Earth? / Wicked Inventions / Cowboys & Angels TCB Media Rights is eager to speak with buyers about the popscience series Wicked Inventions, which looks at everyday items and the surprising ways in which they began life.

“Wicked Inventions will appeal to both history and science buyers, for it has a base in both camps,” says Paul Heaney, the company’s CEO. Another science-based proposition from TCB Media Rights, What On Earth? uses satellite photography to try to solve bizarre mysteries back on Earth. “What On Earth? is a pop-science series with the twist, being that the mysteries [explored involve] images of Earth from space, rather than the other way around,” says Heaney. As for lifestyle fare, Cowboys & Angels watches as tradesmen respond to calls from distressed homeowners, then help fix botched jobs.

“We are searching high and low for shows that can attract ratings on broad-based channels, as well as some series that will have a more limited, but no less important, attraction.”

—Paul Heaney Wicked Inventions

Terranoa Superpowers: Boosting Our Senses / +/- 5 Meters / The Siege: Sarajevo Terranoa is looking to notch up presales on the 5x1-hour series Superpowers: Boosting Our Senses, which will be ready for delivery in the first quarter of 2016. Isabelle Graziadey, the company’s VP and head of sales and acquisitions, says the show is “perfect programming for pop-science slots.” The blue-chip wildlife series +/- 5 Meters, set for delivery late this summer, takes a look at marine life at 5 meters above and below sea level. “These types of series are expensive to produce and are very valued in the international market,” says Graziadey. The summer release of the documentary The Siege: Sarajevo is timed for broadcast alongside the 20th anniversary of the titular siege and the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement in the former Yugoslavia.

“After 15 years in business, Terranoa is coming to this MIPDoc with birthday candles and 40 hours of new programs, open for presales or completed.”

—Isabelle Graziadey +/- 5 Meters

Twofour Rights Impossible Engineering / Alex Polizzi: Chef for Hire / The World’s Best Restaurants Alex Polizzi, the star of Hotel Inspector and The Fixer, brings her business acumen to a brand-new food format, Alex Polizzi: Chef for Hire, distributed by Twofour Rights. In it, Polizzi seeks out new chefs for local restaurants. She uses her no-nonsense approach to put the candidates through their paces to find the perfect match. The World’s Best Restaurants, another Twofour highlight, opens the door to the secrets and history behind some of the most remarkable and exclusive establishments on Earth. “It’s decadent and beautifully shot, has stylish filmmaking and is a deliciously modern take on this genre,” says Anthony Appell, the company’s head of sales. A unique science brand with a touch of history, Impossible Engineering is currently airing in more than 100 countries.

“The expansion of the Twofour group has broadened the volume across our catalogue.”

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Off the Fence’s Your Inner Fish.

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SCIENCE MATTERS Jay Stuart puts a spotlight on the latest developments in science documentaries. cience made a splash in 2014. Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey was probably the factual television programming event of the year. The show brought back to life a documentary by astronomer Carl Sagan that was first shown on PBS in 1980. Last year’s new 13part series was on mainstream network FOX at 9 p.m. on Sunday nights in the U.S. The debut was simulcast on all ten FOX Networks Group channels, including National Geographic Channel, which was also the global broadcast partner.

“Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey was our most-watched series ever, seen by more than 135 million people all over the globe,” says Hamish Mykura, executive VP and head of international content at National Geographic Channels International (NGCI). “This kind of audience demonstrates that there are no geographic barriers to a show based on sound scientific principles told in an engaging manner with a likable host. As long as it entertains viewers’ brains, feeding their thirst for knowledge and understanding, which is sometimes imperceptible, you have a series that will translate into any language and appeal to any demographic.”

The success of the new Cosmos was a high-profile demonstration of the potential of science documentaries. But it should not give the impression that “science is back.” On the contrary, global demand for the genre has been steadily rising since the days of Sagan’s original Cosmos with the advent of channels devoted to factual and science programming.

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Discovery Communications launched the niche channel now called Science on cable in 1996. Now available all over the world as Discovery Science, it remains at the cutting edge of the genre. “We are now seeing a real push towards ‘citizen science,’ this natural curiosity of people who want to take things apart and see how they work—the makers and the tinkerers,” says Rita Mullin, general manager of Science. “Some of our most popular shows right now include How It’s Made and AllAmerican Makers, which capitalize on this idea. Also in this vein, user-generated content has been hugely popular for us.

We take the internet fails [videos or posts about something that went wrong] that seem to be everywhere on social media and explain the science behind them in shows like Outrageous Acts of Science and What Could Possibly Go Wrong?”

One thing that has not changed so dramatically over the decades is that getting more intellectually oriented programming on big mainstream broadcast channels like FOX is not easy, and in that sense the network’s commitment to Cosmos was truly groundbreaking. But, as in the days of the original Cosmos, PBS and license fee-funded public broadcasters are still the go-to partners for many big projects.

The range of topics generating interest is extensive, according to Hideki Tazuke, the head of the science programs division at Japanese broadcaster NHK. They include health science, food science and the science of accidents and natural disasters.

“There is interest in what I would call ‘intellectually exciting

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Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey was a huge event for NGC last year, and the channel is now working with host Neil deGrasse Tyson on a late-night talk show.

adventures’ like investigations into evolution and journeys inside the human body, and natural history.” Tazuke adds, “Emotionally moving dramas that play out in the animal kingdom are particularly popular.”

THE MAIN EVENT For sales potential, Tazuke mentions another very important factor: technological innovation. “We used specially developed gear to search for the giant squid and an unmanned aircraft to shoot a new volcanic island far out to sea. We even sent an ultra-high-definition camera into space.” It helps that NHK has its own Science & Technology Research Laboratories.

Isabelle Graziadey, the head of international sales and acquisitions at Terranoa, cites the recent production Super Fungi: Can Mushrooms Help Save the World? as a good example of the kind of imaginative thinking needed to make a big oneoff science documentary fly. “It combined an element of pure fascination with very old living things and the theme of sustainability by showing how bio-engineering can learn from giant fungi. It also had two features: it was about a subject that people don’t know much about, and there was a charismatic scientist as the presenter in American professor Paul Stamets.” The show was presold to major broadcasters around the world.

“Space science remains incredibly resonant and it has universality,” Graziadey continues. “When it’s done with the right tone and the right level of accessibility, it’s very attractive.”

Terranoa is offering Mission Rosetta, Comet Chaser at MIPTV. The program is about the European Space Agency’s effort to land a space probe on a comet for the first time.

“Among the many topics science docs can approach, the most popular in our distribution catalogue are the ones about health and well-being issues,” says Cédric Hazard, the head of international sales and acquisitions for ARTE France. A best seller last year was The Gut, Our Second Brain. “We are heading to MIPTV with a new documentary called Cancer: The New Trailblazers. Climate change and environmental issues such as nuclear concerns and new energy sources are strongly in demand, too. More generally, our films are aimed at a broad

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public with a general interest, rather than at a niche of experts.”

Getting the host of the show right is also an important ingredient in success, according to NGCI’s Mykura. “The challenge lies in packaging in-depth, complex topics in an appealing, accessible way that will be understood by a viewer in any country. National Geographic Channel established the ‘Entertain Your Brain’ strand for such programming, and we are always asking whether a show strikes the right balance between being entertaining and informative. Ultimately, that balance often rests on the shoulders of the host, who must engage the audience without jargon and make even the most complex ideas accessible without dumbing them down.”

He mentions Cosmos host Neil deGrasse Tyson as a good example of an accessible host, along with Richard Hammond (Science of Stupid) and Tim Shaw (Street Genius). “The host must be able to engage in a dialogue with viewers on- and off-screen that not only establishes trust and credibility, but that enables them to demonstrate real-world applications for their scientific learnings so people can relate to them.”

On presenters, ARTE’s Hazard says, “Having a host may seem to be a sort of pedantic ‘educational’ way of producing a doc, but it helps a lot to promote understanding, and it’s very reassuring for the viewers.”

NHK’s Tazuke notes, “We often use popular actors and comedians as presenters and guests. The programs need to generate a sense of excitement. We sometimes add excitement by broadcasting live. For instance, we included live nighttime aerial views of a futuristic-looking Tokyo (shot from a multicopter drone) in a future-predictions program. We also chose a live broadcast for a New Year geology program in which we included just-taken video (again shot from a multicopter) of the year’s first sunrise.”

SPECIAL EFFECTS Special effects and CGI are essential in high-end programs, “where viewers have come to take them for granted,” Tazuke says. “The quality and cost of CGI have a correlation but are not directly proportional. Striving to create high-quality CGI at a low cost is an important task for our producers. Also, technological advances throughout the computer-graphics industry have made it possible to create good-quality CGI cheaply. Consequently, we don’t feel that the cost of CGI is a hurdle in the production of science programs.”

Discovery’s Science carries a balanced mix of programming that includes CGI in some shows but not all. “CGI has certainly been a boon to programmers trying to explain worlds too small or large or distant to be perceived with the naked eye, but at the end of the day, CGI is only a tool,” Mullin says.

“Good science programs rely on great storytelling, which uses a broad range of techniques. In Through the Wormhole and in our space and cosmology programming, we incorporate CGI techniques. As long as the CGI enhances the story and helps to explain complexity simply, it can be a very useful tool.”

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things as clear as if the program had used huge 3D animation. The chief priority is to inform, not just to achieve an effect.”

SIMPLICITY SELLS

Science docs about the human anatomy, such as The Gut, Our Second Brain, have been top sellers for ARTE.

Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey was a CGI-driven series, and these sorts of big-banner shows are always going to be expensive endeavors, according to NGCI’s Mykura. “Because it was a crown jewel in both National Geographic Channel and FOX’s schedules, the combined financial backing was sufficient to get it off the ground, but it also had an extremely charismatic host which became the primary selling point of the show,” he says. “Big-budget CGI isn’t always necessary for scientific programming. Narrative and format are key. While special effects wizardry can be spectacular, it should never overshadow good old-fashioned storytelling.”

“There is no doubt that science documentaries need to be very visually compelling,” adds Terranoa’s Graziadey.

“The challenge can be achieving this on reasonable budgets.

Animation is coming back as a way to engage [viewers] visually. I don’t mean the CGI-driven kind, but simple, oldfashioned animation. This can be a good way to explain structures, and it works for young people.”

“Programs need to be made in a dynamic, catchy and entertaining way,” says ARTE’s Hazard. “Dramatic writing that can keep viewers hooked is a must. The primary objective is to ensure that all programs are like journeys of discovery. The opening of each film needs particular attention. It must clearly present the subject to be dealt with and awaken viewers’ interest using strong visual hooks, while at the same time appealing to their emotions. It should provoke curiosity.”

Hazard does not go overboard on the need for special effects and CGI. “They can enhance documentaries, of course. But you can be successful with a clear and attractive visual style, using simple graphics, archive material and excerpts from films to assist in clarifying more complex content. I remember our program Marie Curie, Beyond the Myth using a simple blackboard and chalk. Our presenter, Étienne Klein, made

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“Our starting point is that the science is the hard part,” says Michael Rosenfeld, the head of TV and film at Tangled Bank Studios, which was launched by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) in 2012. The outfit’s content is represented internationally by Off the Fence.

“We’re trying to push a little further in terms of the thought stuff, edging up to the line of adding more substance to an entertaining package without being too academic. Graphics can really make that easier.”

Tangled Bank’s Your Inner Fish aired on PBS and has sold to broadcasters across the globe.

“We explored a different way to do evolution, which is a contentious subject in our country,” Rosenfeld says. “It’s possible to have fun with complicated science. It helped that Neil Shubin, who wrote the book [on which the show is based], was a fantastic presenter. Graphics were very important. We created these wonderful critters that were our ancestors and we brought them to life with graphics. We wanted to go beyond the Walking with Dinosaurs paradigm.

Instead of creating hyper-realistic settings we had to do things differently because we just don’t know what things really looked like.”

CONTENT UNDER PRESSURE NHK makes and broadcasts nearly all of the science documentaries made in Japan. “Production of science documentaries demands a certain level of expertise,” says Tazuke. “The need to nurture program-makers by giving them experience over a long period gives rise to an invisible cost. The ability to nurture staff is a strong point of public broadcasters, but it may not make business sense.”

Moreover, the production quality of Discovery and National Geographic not only sets the bar high, the sheer clout of those providers makes it tough for smaller guys to make headway, according to Terranoa’s Graziadey.

Volume is another big issue, she says. “China has an appetite for science documentaries. Even Latin America will buy them.

But they want to see volume. Big one-offs are a different sort of sale. For example, ARTE is a big commissioner of science one-offs. NHK is close to ARTE in its approach and can be interested in projects, but they might want a Japanese scientist involved, for example, so it becomes a co-production. To get a big partner on board you need to start early.”

A big part of the appeal of science programming may be that it tries to go where other programs have not gone before.

When the challenge is tackled successfully, the sales rewards can be big and long lasting.

“Viewing habits vary by country, but science docs are hot property all over the world right now,” says NGCI’s Mykura.

“In Asia, for example, science docs are favored over reality docs as core family viewing.”

As ARTE’s Hazard puts it, “For a distributor, having a good science documentary in the catalogue is like gold.”

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Peace Point’s Colin & Justin’s Cabin Pressure.

THE GOOD LIFE

Networks across the globe are seeking out reality shows that help audiences improve their lives.

By Juliana Koranteng eed advice on buying a home, where to go on your next vacation, sprucing up your living room or changing your fortunes at work? Dump the self-help books and Wikipedia; there are numerous channels across the globe that are happily stocking their grids, in daytime and prime time, with aspirational shows giving viewers advice on how to make their lives better.

Indeed, lifestyle programming is also transforming the fortunes of international distributors. Shows ranging from Property Brothers to Brojects, from Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives to Decks, Docks and Gazebos, are introducing viewers to new experiences via other people’s real lives. And the genre’s popularity is a thriving business.

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Jim Samples should know. As the president of international at Scripps Networks Interactive, he has seen networks’ demand for lifestyle content soar at home and abroad. The genre, from home improvement to personal development, rings true with audiences—even though it may not be as expensive and glamorous as prime-time event drama, or as controversial as reality TV shows that challenge the boundaries of taste.

A lifestyle show aims to leave the viewer feeling good about something positive that happened in real life to people who aspired to achieve something. With programming from HGTV, Food Network, Travel Channel and DIY Network in Scripps’ portfolio, Samples has something to grin about.

Despite a still uncertain global ad market, revenues for Scripps’ Lifestyle Media division rose 4.9 percent to $2.6 billion

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Danielle Bryk hosts a number of homemakeover shows in the Tricon slate, including A Bryk at a Time.

in 2014. This includes a 7 percent jump for HGTV, 4 percent for Food Network and almost 10 percent for DIY. “Our single most important competitive advantage is that we’re producing more than 2,500 hours of original programming each year,” Samples says. “Our programs celebrate universal themes of food, home and travel that resonate with audiences around the world. Lifestyle content continues to draw audiences because of its aspirational nature, inspiring audiences to live better lives with fresh ideas and authentic stories.”

He points out Travel Channel’s popularity in the EMEA region with shows like Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern, House Hunters International and Baggage Battles.

“In the past three years, Travel Channel’s viewership has grown by 260 percent in the U.K. Last year, Travel Channel was the second fastest-growing lifestyle channel in South Africa. And in the fourth quarter of 2014, there was increased viewership of 10 percent year-on-year in Poland,” he adds.

Les Tomlin, the president and executive producer of Peace Point Entertainment, whose distribution division reps an array of lifestyle properties, notes, “More channels are being launched in this space every month.” They include Food Network Brazil, Lifetime UK, H2, HGTV Asia and Lifetime Asia. Moreover, more broadcasters are giving lifestyle content primetime slots. With such demand, it is a distributor’s paradise.

TRUE INSPIRATION “Lifestyle continues to grow in popularity both in North America and abroad,” observes Andrea Stokes, the managing director of international sales and acquisitions at Canamedia.

“Be it revamping one’s home, culinary skills, career or wardrobe, audiences are increasingly looking toward new lifestyle series for unique characters they can identify with and situations that provide inspiration for their own lives.”

Vanessa Case, the executive VP of content at Blue Ant Media, is adamant about the role of authenticity in winning audiences over. “There has to be honest emotion. Even if the show has

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been done on a tight budget, the ‘wow reveal’ has to feel real to the viewer,” she says. “There is a time and place for shows that are merely entertainment; for lifestyle, the viewer has to get that emotion.”

“The key is to remain true,” Case states about standing out in what could be turning into an overcrowded market. “You need a unique spin on topics; you don’t want to duplicate.”

Elin Thomas, the global head of sales at the U.K.’s Passion Distribution, loves the flexibility that lifestyle programming offers TV networks. “It is reasonably affordable to produce in high volumes, it can be scheduled for daytime or evening, and it can be a brandbuilder for the channels,” she says.

“It is a very useful genre for distributors to have in their catalogues.”

As audiences identify with the real people in the show, they feel like they know them. This makes the lifestyle platform ideal for carrying audience interaction to new levels.

LET’S GET SOCIAL Jon Rutherford, the executive VP of distribution and business development at Tricon Films & Television, explains how Twitter, Instagram and Facebook have benefited the new show Off the Map With Shannen & Holly.

Produced for Scripps’ Great American Country (GAC) network, the series follows the adventures of two Hollywood best friends, Shannen Doherty (Charmed, Beverly Hills, 90210) and Holly Marie Combs (Charmed), to see what they learn about themselves and their country as they travel across the southeastern United States.

Fans are encouraged to engage with the two celebrities during their trip and the conversations are shared across social networks. Digital exclusives are available on GAC’s blog for fans to watch, in addition to sneak previews of the on-air show.

“Viewers have tweeted in their suggestions on what Shannen Doherty and Holly Marie Combs should do next on their road trip,” Rutherford says. “The genre is continuing to grow even more so with the use of social media. Not only can viewers watch and feel like they know the characters in a show, but they can now interact with them.”

The sub-genres of lifestyle programs include taking adventurous vacations, undergoing transformations, overhauling a business, refurbishing homes and having personal makeovers.

That variety is boosting the longevity of the genre.

“As a distributor, we are always trying to find programming that fits in with current trends or, better still, the next best thing,” Munia Kanna-Konsek, Beyond Distribution’s head of sales, states. “Our new series Game of Homes, being launched at MIPTV, takes the home-renovation genre to another level.

The episodes cover a renovation competition that sees four couples transform derelict dumps into stunning show homes.

The kicker? They get to keep the house and get a plot of land to put it on. It’s fast and there can only be one winner.”

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Selling Houses with Amanda Lamb, from Passion Distribution, was made for Channel 4 in the U.K.

In addition to gripping narrative and competitive participants, viewers take the roles of hosts and expert narrators very seriously. Whether or not these presenters are celebrities is immaterial. They just must know what they are talking about.

IN THE KNOW “If the hosts are dealing with real people, for example home owners, then they have to be likable, relatable and animated to a certain extent,” says Beyond’s Kanna-Konsek.

“If they come across like rabbits in headlights, then that episode is not one you send to a buyer to screen. Just having them narrate won’t necessarily get a deal signed.”

The audience’s association with a personality or two on these shows has boosted the lifestyle category’s reach internationally, which is why several programs come with the hosts’ names attached. From Tricon, you can get Danielle Bryk fronting the home renovation and restoration series A Bryk at a Time and Building Bryks. Peace Point’s Colin & Justin’s Cabin Pressure is getting ready for a second season. It follows the antics of Scottish designer duo Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan, who are celebrities in their own right. For this show, the two urbane urbanites must survive the arduous life in a rustic cottage.

Some presenters gain nicknames that become synonymous with the shows, such as barbecue champion Danielle Dimovski.

As Diva Q, she has become a household name on the program BBQ Crawl, sold by Beyond Distribution, which covers her travels to competition circuits seeking the best BBQs to taste.

Backroad Bounty, from Blue Ant, co-stars Peter “Bam Bam” Bamford in the search for unusual antiques in garage sales, private collections and old barns in Ontario.

Lifestyle programming can also lead to international fame. Peace Point’s Tomlin notes that “three years ago, we produced a baking show for Food Network Canada with master-baker Anna Olson. Although she was known in Canada, she wasn’t known at all in Asia or Latin America, markets where we subsequently licensed the series. Today, she has a huge following in those parts of the world.”

The formula of ordinary consumers as audiences and participants, plus famous hosts, has equaled a hot commodity for sponsors.

Tricon’s Rutherford believes that, when used selectively, brand owners can be good investors for lifestyle shows. “In some series, it only makes sense to have theme-related sponsors, but it doesn’t always have to be the case. Some-

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times, attaching a well-known brand that doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with the show but shares an appeal to a specific demographic can be equally effective.”

There are some productions where a sponsor’s role is unambiguously practical. “If the program covers holiday destinations, it is hard not to tell the audience how to get there or give an idea of the cost,” declares Beyond’s Kanna-Konsek. But she advises caution too, especially for international distribution.

“Programs with visual sponsorship throughout the show don’t sell or we have difficulty placing as there are stringent rules with regards to product placement in many countries. If there is any sponsorship involved, it would be very discreet with possibly just a logo in the tail credits.”

Yet, handled appropriately and made relevant, sponsorship can work in multi-territory distribution, says Blue Ant’s Case.

“These days, there is greater flexibility and creativity in how sponsors’ messages are integrated into shows, and viewers in several markets are more accepting of the format.”

UNIVERSAL APPEAL The developments in lifestyle production and distribution have never thwarted their global reach. Passion Distribution’s Thomas has noticed some interesting trends over the years. In Italy, “lifestyle has been a bedrock for distributors,” she says.

It is so popular in Central and Eastern Europe, local broadcasters are using their homegrown talent to create shows instead of only buying. There is a similar development in Germany. Nordic noir drama is still the most popular genre in the Scandinavian markets, but food- and propertythemed lifestyle shows retain large audiences. And networks in the Americas cannot get enough of the genre. “In Latin America, lifestyle programming is growing in importance, especially on pay platforms, as well as in some Southern European countries,” Thomas says. “And in the United States, lifestyle has always had a strong and loyal fan base and community.”

However, Thomas observes that these trends are not set in stone and distributors need to be on a constant lookout for what will next be in vogue.

Canamedia’s Stokes sees no end to demand for the category. “Lifestyle series have and will do well internationally long into the foreseeable future,” she asserts. “Many of our Canadian series have been sold globally because aspirational living is a universal theme. And channels see the value in long-running programs with an extended shelf life, which many evergreen lifestyle series can boast.”

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David

ATTENBOROUGH For Sir David Attenborough, a passion that began in childhood blossomed into a career as one of the world’s foremost naturalists and documentarians. Since the 1950s, Attenborough has been traveling to the far corners of the Earth, exploring all aspects of the natural world and passing on his enthusiasm for the animal and plant kingdoms to generations of viewers through dozens of splendid programs such as Life on Earth and The Blue Planet. One of his most recent projects is the three-part series David Attenborough’s Great Barrier Reef, which examines an area referred to by scientists as the rainforest of the ocean, given its unique status as the world’s largest living organism. The series marks Attenborough’s second trip to the reef. Great Barrier Reef is produced by Atlantic Productions for BBC One and is distributed internationally by Entertainment One Television.

TV REAL: You first filmed on the Great Barrier Reef in 1957.

Why have you always wanted to return there?

ATTENBOROUGH: One of the most memorable experiences of my life was when filming on the Great Barrier Reef and going under the water for the first time. Upon entering this new world, I was immediately struck by the amazing diversity that I found. Since my first visit, we have learned so much more about the reef; scientific breakthroughs have revealed astounding stories, and with new technologies we are able to explore the reef in ways previously thought impossible. I knew that there was such a trove of natural history here, and that I had to come back to continue telling the story that I started in 1957.

TV REAL: Why is the health of the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem so important?

ATTENBOROUGH: Beyond the inherent value of such an ecosystem, we can look at what the Great Barrier Reef has done for us. What we have learned from it, and what we are still learning, are irreplaceable pieces of natural science. But the Great Barrier Reef is more than just that—it is also a tourist attraction and an integral piece of Australia’s culture and history. Failure to preserve it, not just for intrinsic reasons, but for future generations, would be a true loss.

TV REAL: Where did your passion for natural history come from?

ATTENBOROUGH: I spent my youth in Leicester exploring the countryside, collecting fossils, bird eggs, anything I could lay my hands on. I was always fascinated with exploring, and with Charnwood Forest nearby, I had the ideal location to do so. I found that trekking through the woods and waiting hours, potentially, to hopefully catch a glimpse of something

instilled a passion in me that has continued to this day. We were far from London, but there were times when we would go to the city and visit the Natural History Museum, and every time I was more enthralled than the last. I would sit and stare at cases full of butterflies—electric blue butterflies, emperor butterflies—and I was captivated, utterly captivated.

Even closer to home was a talk I attended, at about age 10,

by Grey Owl, a man whose views on conservation were far ahead of his time, which left a lasting impression.

TV REAL: What role can television play in passing information on to younger generations about the dangers of climate change?

ATTENBOROUGH: With a program such as this, there is a responsibility to talk about the dangers of climate change, and a part of that is to involve the next generation in the discussion. The young understand this—they are idealists. But as people age, other facets of life start to take priority, so there is as much responsibility to involve the parents [as the children].

What is important is to find a balance between reveling in the beauty of nature and portraying the hard facts of climate change. However, the best advice I can give to children is: Explore the natural world. Dig a hole in the woods and hunt for fossils. Television is a fantastic tool to spread information, but to go deeper into the natural world one must experience it in all its wonder.

TV REAL: Is there any part of the planet that you would like to explore or revisit?

ATTENBOROUGH: I’ve been lucky enough to have visited places all over the planet, but the one place I’ve always wanted to go is the Gobi desert.

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By Anna Carugati

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As much as our audiences love the images, they’re also really curious to know the tricks of the trade, how we get those amazing shots. So in Skyworld, we’re using our high-end technology to fly alongside animals.

Just to give you a sense of scale, we’re in production with 200 hours of original content, and we deliver 150 hours a year.

That is across all platforms. So there are the big BBC One landmarks and BBC Two live shows like Springwatch and Natural World. Natural World is the longest-running wildlife documentary strand on British television. We produce for BBC Four.

And we also have a lot of radio content. In the U.K. people can get woken up every morning to a [bird] tweet of the day! David Attenborough did robins on Christmas Day. And we have [the podcast] Shared Planet, which is a series looking at people living alongside nature.

In the children’s area we’ve had huge success with Andy’s Wild Adventures and Andy’s Dinosaur Adventures on CBeebies. We’re using green-screen technology to film the presenter, and then we embed him with Walking with Dinosaurs footage or, in Andy’s Wild Adventures, Planet Earth footage.

WENDY DARKE BBC NHU

By Mansha Daswani

For almost 60 years, the BBC’s Natural History Unit (NHU) has been making content that celebrates the wonders of the planet, and audiences have been tuning in in droves across the globe. Signature bluechip events like Planet Earth and Life Story have shored up slots on broadcasters everywhere. And while those mega productions are perhaps what the unit is best known for, there is much more coming out of the NHU, including long-running series, kids’ content and podcasts. As the head of the NHU, Wendy Darke is ensuring that the division continues to innovate, delivering new ways to present the natural world to audiences of all ages, across all platforms.

TV REAL: Tell us about some of NHU’s new projects.

DARKE: We’ll have for the very first time a blue-chip documentary on sharks. It’ll be the definitive piece on sharks, bringing our high-end, high-quality approach to revealing an amazing number of surprising stories. Everything from shark courtship to sharks giving birth to even sharks cleaning their teeth! We’ve been filming Greenland sharks that live deep under the Arctic ice, swell sharks that can glow in the dark and even tiny epaulette sharks that can walk on land.

We’ve got David Attenborough in Patagonia to film the excavation of the biggest creature that has ever walked the planet—a huge dinosaur—in Waking Giants for BBC One. I don’t think even David or I could have imagined in our lifetime that [paleontologists] would excavate the largest living creature that has ever walked the planet.

And then in terms of our big landmarks, we’ve got Oceans for 2017. The amount of scientific discovery in the last ten years has completely changed our understanding of oceans. Those scientific revelations, coupled with filming in 4K and Ultra HD with remotely operated vehicles, means we’re getting to parts of the ocean that we have simply never seen with the human eye.

We’ve also got a brand-new innovation series, Skyworld.

One of the USPs [unique selling points] of natural-history filmmaking is innovation and the technology that we use.

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And we’ve got Deadly 60, where Steve Backshall travels to six continents tracking down 60 of the deadliest animals.

We can have up to 50 crews on location on any given day, covering all seven continents in a month, catching all this amazing content.

TV REAL: How long do you spend working on the big bluechip events?

DARKE: Those big pieces—like Africa, Life Story, One Planet in 2016, Oceans in 2017 and Dynasty in 2018—are each about four years in the making. Usually year one is intensive research, working with scientists, local field guys and fixers. As always, the challenge is to come up with never-seen-before stories and footage. [We don’t want viewers to say], “Haven’t I seen it all before? Isn’t a lion a lion?” More and more we’re working with scientists. Perhaps they have witnessed some new behavior but they need to observe it in high speed. So we turn up with a high-speed camera, 20,000 frames a second, and we’re able to capture the new behavior they’ve observed. The scientists help us to understand the behavior to make sure we’ve got the cameras in the right place at the right time. They can write the scientific papers and we’re using the technology to reveal the natural world in a way that people have never seen before. Usually there’s a two-year period of filming and that’s often because, as you can imagine, the animals never write the script! And because of the seasonality of behavior, having a second chance to go back the next year is incredibly valuable. And then the final year is the postproduction—the edits and the finessing and the music, pulling the whole story together.

Increasingly we’re thinking about how our audience is engaging with our content in a digital space. We launched BBCEarth.com last autumn. The puffer fish clip from Life Story has been viewed globally 18.5 million times and shared 587,000 times. We have phenomenal stats in terms of audiences engag-

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ing with our content in short form in a digital space. We have 50 crews on location filming all sorts of things and they’re posting pictures or blogs or stories. We’re only just beginning to learn how to build a new relationship in that much more immediate place with our audience.

TV REAL: It’s interesting that content that really is made to be enjoyed on big screens is still resonating with audiences on their mobile devices.

DARKE: It is, isn’t it? We very much think about capturing footage now in a way that can go onto a big screen—and a lot of our content is being made for the giant screen, for 3D—and can be looked at on your mobile. I find that incredibly exciting, to think that you can be taking a brilliant idea to anybody, anywhere, and they have a different sort of experience with it. Obviously what’s so fantastic about mobile is this ability to share on social media.

When I took on the job of head of the NHU three years ago I set out my mission statement, which was to build lifelong relationships with and between people by generating world-class natural-history content. I’ve spent a lot of time building a creative culture based on collaboration, support, trust and respect for each other and for the natural world. [Social media allows us] to permeate that and interact with those who want to engage in their passion for the natural world as well. We can talk to anyone now through the convergent world. It’s not inconceivable to think that you can unite 500 million people in a moment in space and time who are excited about the natural world.

TV REAL: What are some of the advancements in filmmaking technology that you’re most excited about?

DARKE: The concept of immersive experiences. Planet Earth was brilliant at the aerial perspective. One Planet is very much an invitation to see eye-to-eye with the animals. So we’re using cutting-edge stabilization systems, things like MoVI’s Octocopter steadycams, which are like mini-cameras on mini-helicopters that you can remotely fly into the jungle, as though you’re flying alongside the animals. Looking at some of the footage that’s coming back from the field using this kind of technology, it’s so close it almost feels like you can touch the animals. The green-screen technology we’ve been using in Andy’s Dinosaur Adventures is now Hollywood-style quality. You don’t just slap the presenter on the front of the image—you can embed him in the middle of [the footage] seamlessly. With Oceans, we’re developing underwater tracking systems and time-lapse systems and special underwater lenses that will reveal animals in that low light that we haven’t been able to see before. We work closely with the technology companies. That’s a big part of what keeps us on the front edge of innovation.

We’re conservationists and naturalists at heart, and we do care a lot about the planet, and we’re acutely aware of our carbon footprint when we travel around the world and film all this content. So we’ve been doing a lot of experimentation with more sustainable ways of working, using methane fuel cell technology that is virtually carbon free for remote cameras and solar-powered sys-

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tems for filming kits in some of the more remote locations.

We’ve still got a long way to go, but that’s another area of technological advancement that we think is important for us to continue to pioneer and develop.

TV REAL: What are you looking for in a new generation of presenters?

DARKE: That’s an area that is so important to me. We’ve been making huge inroads in a much more diverse range of presenters. We’re filming with Freida Pinto [Slumdog Millionaire, Rise of the Planet of the Apes] on Wonders of India. Another good example is Tigers About the House, with Giles Clark, where for the first time ever we took quite a hard-core conservation story in a very popular way by filming him with two little baby tigers growing up in his house. That was another huge step forward in terms of new approaches to natural-history storytelling, where we make conservation mainstream and very popular.

TV REAL: What attracted you to natural-history filmmaking?

DARKE: When I was little my mum and dad used to take me to Bristol Zoo on my birthday. There was an elephant there named Wendy who I fell in love with! [Laughs] And then like many people, in 1979 I watched David Attenborough’s very first blockbuster, Life on Earth. I’m a very visual person and I love colors, so the coral reefs straightaway became like a treasure chest of natural wonders for me. I studied geology and zoology at university. I did my PhD on coral reefs and spent three years on the Great Barrier Reef. Storytelling through making naturalhistory programs is by far the most powerful way to share what I love with other people. These big shows, they sell to 195 territories. Planet Earth reached 500 million people. It’s not difficult to wake up in the morning and feel inspired about what I do at work every day!

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Several years in the making, Life Story, a six-part blue-chip series narrated by David Attenborough, was a major programming event for BBC One in 2014.

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their own results at home. We talk to you: Did you see this?

Did you have that response? The show is non-threatening, and yet you’re learning about science. We’re giving you a lot without asking for too much in terms of complexity from you. I would encourage people to think of this [new] season as the one in which we took you out of your brain and into the world, so lots of hidden cameras, less theory, more realworld examples.

TV REAL: In the hidden-camera setups, are you often surprised by how individuals react to a situation? You had one setup where a wallet was left on the street and people walking past would inevitably spot it and pick it up, but once you drew a red circle around it, it was completely ignored. You seemed pretty surprised watching that happen!

SILVA: I’m always fascinated when theory is proven in the real world. [In that episode] we were told that humans respond to boundaries. Now, if you throw something in the street, somebody’s going to pick it up. If you throw something in the street and draw a circle around it, you’re literally giving a neural instruction that tells people subconsciously that there are borders around it. The fact that that works is astonishing.

TV REAL: You’re also still making your Shots of Awe viral videos.

Is it a challenge to jump back and forth between the two shows?

JASON SILVA

BRAIN GAMES

By Mansha Daswani

Now in its fourth season, Brain Games has emerged as one of National Geographic Channel’s biggest and most-buzzed-about hits. Hosted by Jason Silva, the show uses games, hidden-camera setups and insight from neuroscientists to explore how the brain works. Airing on National Geographic Channel in 170-plus markets in 45 languages, Brain Games has come to exemplify the brand’s approach to making science entertaining.

SILVA: Brain Games, because it’s television, is a little more preplanned. It has a bigger crew. In Shots of Awe, what you’re getting is something that’s closer to Jason off-script. These are my reflections and ruminations and explorations, but there’s a poetic freestyle quality to them. If you think of me as kind of a philosophical beat poet, that’s Shots of Awe. If you think of me as a TV personality, that’s Brain Games.

TV REAL: Why do you think Brain Games has struck such a chord with audiences across the globe?

SILVA: It’s a show that hits all demographics. Kids love it.

Parents love it because they watch it with their kids or they’re interested in science. Anybody who is frustrated with the state of reality television today I think appreciates a non-scripted reality series that’s smart, challenging and also fun. Rather than being a race to the bottom, as a lot of other reality shows are, Brain Games takes the high road, which is wide open. [Audiences are also responding to the] participatory nature of the show, the fact that they can engage in a very different way than they normally do with TV. They have a say in the outcome of every game by having

TV REAL: Do the two shows influence each other?

SILVA: Yes, 100 percent. Brain Games is a show about perception and misperception. So we might focus exclusively on the science of that, and we’ll do these little games to show you the ways your brain perceives reality or the way your culture and prejudices color and condition your perspective on the world.

Then I might have a Shots of Awe episode that is a more philosophical take on the notion that reality is coupled to perception and that if you’re able to change your perception, you can actually change your experience of reality. It’s just that one is polished, in a TV science-y format, and the other is a more psychedelic art film about the notion that perception can change reality.

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