Anke Stoll, SVP of acquisitions and co-productions at Keshet International, shares with ScreenMDM her take on navigating the pain points and opportunities for distributors of factual programming.
How do you assess the overall state of the factual distribution sector right now?
It remains a challenging market, with buyers commissioning more local content and scrutinizing projects closely. But there is still demand for distinctive, accessible factual content. Distributors simply need to work harder and earlier, helping to shape projects, secure partners and build the financing needed to get them made.
What trends are you seeing in terms of what buyers are looking for? Are particular sub-genres popping?
Recognizable subjects remain important, but buyers want a clear editorial hook. Disaster content is in demand, which drew us to Disaster Decoded: rather than simply revisiting what happened, it investigates the decisions, failures, and missed warnings behind each catastrophe to ask the question: “Did we learn the lesson?”
True crime remains resilient, while history travels well when it combines familiar subject matter with premium talent and strong visuals, as Seven Wonders of the Ancient World does with Professor Bettany Hughes.
How important are co-productions to helping shows get off the ground?
They are increasingly essential as commissioning budgets come under pressure. Disaster Decoded shows how complementary partners can bring an ambitious international project to life—this ten-parter is commissioned by Radial Entertainment from Perpetual Entertainment, and we’re co-financiers in partnership Krempelwood.
Our role is often to assemble that financing puzzle through investment, presales and co-production partnerships. We hope to build similar relationships with Krempelwood and producers in the U.K.
How early do you need to board projects?
The earlier the better. Joining at development stage allows us to help shape a project for the international market and identify commissioners, presales and co-production partners.
Through our Greenlight: Factual and Formats initiative, we are actively looking to commission factual series and can also offer gap financing. We can also invest in early materials such as pitch decks, scripts and sizzles. We need a clear proposition, credible creative talent, and an indicative budget, but not necessarily a fully packaged project.
How are you approaching the D2C space, from FAST channels to YouTube channels?
We are looking at where our catalog has the volume, branding and audience proposition to support sustainable D2C offerings. In Australia, we’ve launched two FAST channels with Seven Network on 7plus: True Crime Files and Trucking Hell. We are now assessing the right content, partners and territories for further FAST, AVOD and YouTube opportunities.
How are you balancing demand for high-end, premium and limited series against the appetite for returnable volume and franchises?
There is a need for both. Premium series such as Seven Wonders of the Ancient World deliver talent, ambition and impact, while returning brands, including World’s Most Evil Killers and Casualty 24/7, offer consistency and long-term value.
Ultimately, the scale must suit the idea. We want premium projects with genuine international appeal, alongside repeatable concepts capable of becoming returning franchises.
