AIDC2020 -Passport to the Big Leagues: What's Next for International Networks

ACMI Stories & Ideas

BUSINESS Three major international cable networks discuss what worked in 2019, what's coming in 2020 and what they're looking for now. Discovery International, A+E, and ESPN – three heavyweight international cable networks discuss their big successes from 2019, what exciting projects they have in the pipeline, and what they are looking for from production companies. This session will compare and contrast their audiences and their needs. What brings in their audiences, what keeps them, what loses them? What are the differences between the US factual landscape and the UK one? Do US and UK audiences tend to favour different programming? What crosses over? What doesn’t? How does delivering to a truly international audience differ to focusing inside a specific national market? And in the bigger picture: How is the documentary series landscape changing in an age of instability. As streaming services rise, battle and consolidate, linear TV must shake itself up to survive. How does that impact us right now? How might it play out?