Because on the "Pilot": REN TV has become a leader in ordering documentary content

Of the more than 8,000 hours of documentary content that federal channels have ordered over the past year, more than a third belongs to REN TV. The interests of the general audience have changed a lot over the past few years, they don't want to watch classic documentaries. Documentaries, like entertainment films, have become nostalgic, and historical films and TV series should have investigative elements. This and much more is evidenced by a new study, the results of which were announced at the Pilot Festival. For more information, see the Izvestia material from the festival.

NMH DOCK on the "Pilot"

How to create a documentary that can compete with entertainment projects in prime-time television? What topics do viewers care about today, and how to engage them? These issues have become one of the key issues on the agenda of the first day of the business program of the Pilot TV series festival, which takes place from June 19 to 22 in Ivanovo. A presentation of a new research on the documentary film market from NMG DOC took place on its site. Yulia Zasko, head of the cluster, told the guests about the experience of producing non-fiction projects that became hits and led to the largest deal with VK Video.

The Pilot festival in Ivanovo officially opened on the evening of June 19, but in the morning the participants changed from evening dresses to jackets and cheerfully launched the main program, in which, in addition to watching TV series, the business part took a significant share. One of the first events on the schedule was a large-scale presentation by NMG DOK (a cluster of the National Media Group), dedicated to the latest research on the documentary film and television market.

Broadcast channels are a key market for representatives of the genre today. Over the past year, they have ordered 8,396 hours of non-fiction content, which is significantly higher than production for online platforms. The leader in terms of volume is REN TV (3,165 hours). This is followed by TV Center (1,685 hours) and Zvezda (1,357 hours). Experts note the growing interest in the dock, but the concern of the public, spoiled by a large volume of diverse content, is far from what it was a few years ago. For example, the topics of health and cooking have faded into the background.

— Interest in documentary and non-fiction content has increased by 40% over the past four years. And this is far from the limit. The request will grow. Channels and platforms that will increase the number of such products will benefit. Few people think about it, but a young audience that is actively being hunted needs a completely different non-fiction product. This audience does not perceive classic documentary films," Yulia Zasko, head of the NMG DOC, explained to Izvestia.

In documentaries, as well as in entertainment films, a trend towards nostalgia has come — for example, crime with a historical background. Scientific sensations and stories with investigative elements are also at the top. One such film, for example, is devoted to the rational explanation of the most tender feelings and the exposure of pseudo-gurus who profit from those who suffer from loneliness.

— In the film "Where does Love Live?" by NMG DOC, it was the investigation that was the connecting link of the narrative. We were really looking for where this feeling lives, and at the same time we explained love from the point of view of anthropology, psychology, and neurophysiology, thereby combining the genres of detective and science fiction," said Yulia Zasko.

VK and NMG DOK have announced a deal

Biographies of iconic personalities are also in demand today. Another project of the cluster, the documentary feature film "Alexander III" from the cycle "The Great Ones", showed record views — almost 8 million viewers of REN TV (premiere 5.8 million, repeat 2.4 million). The tape not only introduces facts from the emperor's biography (for example, it was Alexander who launched the Russian submarine fleet and made military uniforms more convenient and practical), but also refutes stereotypes about the emperor.

— They believed that he was a retrograde, a counter-reformer, and narrow-minded. He ruled for only 13 years and, it would seem, did not remember anything. But when we were working on the film, this man opened up to me in an amazing way. He really loved Russia and was an amazing businessman, diplomat and tough ruler," Yulia Zasko shared.

The film also found its audience online. The VK Video has been viewed by more than 5 million users. The result of this successful collaboration was the largest deal in the documentary film market between the service and NMG DOC. As part of this agreement, 52 films produced by the cluster will appear on the platform in the near future. The portfolio of the deal includes projects from the series "Scientifically about the unscientific", produced by Natalia Bilan and Alexander Dashko, "The Big Hunt" in the genre of true-edge, two works from the historical line of "Great": "Columbus" and "Da Vinci", the techno-popular films of Anton Wojciechowski "What they make of rockets?" and "Electricity from Water", as well as films under the brand "Legends and Myths" about the cultural code of Russia.