All3Media International Bets Big on Premium Factual

The All3Media International team identified a need to rebalance the catalog with the addition of strong factual programming that buyers would acquire at premium rates. To deliver this change in strategy, the company appointed Rachel Job to head up its premium factual drive.

“Rachel’s vast experience in the unscripted market, her passion for the genre and excellent contacts in the production community made her a perfect fit for this role and has enhanced All3Media International’s position as a go-to destination for innovative, compelling and unique factual content,” says Maartje Horchner, executive VP of content.

All3Media International is now approaching the fifth year of implementing this strategy and is seeing the benefits. “Our premium factual catalog has grown remarkably, and we are proud to work with so many genre-leading, multi-award-winning producers,” Horchner says. “Recently, it was fantastic to see industry recognition for our documentaries, including HOYO Films’ Ukraine: Enemy in the Woods, Roast Beef Productions’ Spacey Unmasked, Story Films’ Accused: The Hampstead Paedophile Hoax and 72 Films’ Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius receiving nominations for the prestigious Grierson award. As the growth and quality of our premium content continues, we look forward to expanding and developing this strategy.”

Horchner adds that finding a balance between premium content and long-running returning programs is important across all genres in the company’s catalog. “Our goal is to ensure we have content for all appetites and all budgets, and so we look to offer a true cross-section across our content,” she says. “To be able to achieve this properly, we try to work with a wide range of producers (inside and external from All3Media) and broadcasters, across all time slots.”

The company has, indeed, amassed a diverse and rich raft of content that sits under the premium factual banner. “We are extremely protective of this label,” says Job, senior VP of unscripted content. “Only content that is truly premium makes the cut, and we look at every aspect—from approach, research, on-screen and off-screen talent to, of course, budget level—before we attach the label.”

“From first-look development deals with the multi-award-winning team at Roast Beef, behind high-profile documentaries such as Spacey Unmasked, Who Is Ghislaine Maxwell? and The Accidental President, to HOYO Films, the production company set up by Emmy-winning filmmaker Jamie Roberts, we’re extremely proud to partner with so many genre-leading producers and filmmakers,” she adds.

The premium factual focus for unscripted has also allowed the company to support producers from within the All3Media Group, such as a number of Raw’s notable true-crime box sets like The Body Next Door, Dead in the Water and The Man Who Played With Fire. Also in the premium factual space, All3Media International has contemporary factual programming from Lion TV, including Pompeii: The New Dig, a three-part documentary revealing a once-in-a-generation excavation. Later this year, also from Lion TV, the feature Irresistible: Why We Can’t Stop Eating will premiere on BBC and is set to reveal the shocking secrets behind the ultra-processed-foods industry.

“Landmark natural history programming from the genre-leading producers at Silverback Films elevates our premium factual offerings,” Job adds. “The team there has an unrivaled legacy for creating some of the most successful natural history series ever made, and we are honored to be taking Parenthood, a definitive natural history series about life’s greatest challenge—raising children—to a global audience. Narrated by Sir David Attenborough and crafted with Silverback’s trademark epic storytelling, breathtaking moments and a universal message about the importance of preserving the natural world, Parenthood delivers awe-inspiring and essential viewing.”

The company is on the lookout for documentaries that explore “buzzy, contemporary topics that have global resonance,” says Job. For example, Barbie’s Dirty Secrets from ZANDLAND and Trump: The Criminal Conspiracy Case from 72 Films are both timely and cover topics in the public psyche after the box-office success of the Barbie movie last year and the upcoming U.S. presidential election.

Along with premium natural history content, All3Media International offers a number of long-running, high-volume and returnable animal and wildlife programs. “From the heartwarming Secret Life of the Safari Park and beloved human-hound matchmaking show The Dog House to the adorable Fur Babies, this distinct slate of programming across the genre continues to appeal to global buyers,” says Amber Richardson, unscripted content executive.

True crime remains popular, Richardson adds, and the high-volume, high-profile content from Bright North Studios in FBI True and PD True makes for a compelling new addition to the company’s slate. FBI True reveals exclusive insight into stories of FBI agents and the infamous cases they handled. PD True focuses on American police officers recalling their most shocking and compelling cases. All3Media International currently has 70 stand-alone case episodes from FBI True available, covering cases such as Whitey Bulger, the Boston Marathon Bombing and Waco Massacre, and ten from PD True, with more to follow.

All3Media International’s lifestyle content, meanwhile, covers a raft of titles, including the BAFTA-nominated feel-good home renovation show Sort Your Life Out and Alan Cumming’s Paradise Homes, “which takes viewers inside some of the most aspirational, breathtaking and picturesque properties around the U.K.,” Richardson says. “Olivia Attwood’s frank and revelatory investigations such as Getting Filthy Rich, exploring new ways people sell sex online, and Olivia Attwood: The Price of Perfection, which lifts the lid on our search for the perfect body, have both been popular with clients around the world.”

Richardson adds, “Distinctive factual programming includes the phobia-facing reality series The Fear Clinic, which follows people with debilitating phobias as they attend a special clinic for cutting-edge psychological treatment and face their worst fears.”

Highlights from All3Media International’s travel catalog include the hit BAFTA-winning series Race Across the World, “which has captivated audiences by showcasing the highs and lows of adventure on an epic scale,” Richardson says. “The competition element remains a hook, but ultimately, it’s the sense of discovery that makes this travel show stand out. Inspiring, heartwarming and, at times, tearjerking, we offer a high volume of content with four civilian and two celebrity seasons available. Additionally, travel series like Travel Man and Big Adventures provide entertaining, escapist and high-volume offerings that are perfect for travel slots.”