Wednesday, February 7th, 2018

New Content Production Formats and Trends

Jonathan Blum

What is next for television content? Have we seen it all? I don’t believe so. There is enough material to constantly create new stories and formats. Audiences will determine changes to be made in daily programming, and we, will be the medium for the evolution.

Market conditions began to change almost 10 years ago when independent studies suggested a need to create more original stories. Afterward, companies such as Netflix acquired them and secured a catalogue of unconventional offerings. Currently, the most successful shows are distributed via TV and internet.

Which will be the next big hit? Some believe the next trend will focus on exclusive and original IP. In other words, perhaps a single platform will have all the content—a prospect not far from reality, with many users having more streaming service subscriptions than favorite shows.

New content will focus on stories, which will be based on award-worthy scripts. Jeff Ford, content developer for Fox Network Group, says “if you have not written what you plan to do on paper, you won’t get anywhere.” The objective is to produce shows that can be watched all over the world, creating stories that are going to go global.

Fiction will not be the only trend. Talent shows are also gaining back some traction, as there is true talent in real people whose lives are very much like those of viewers—and because of the drama they offer. This format will continue to be globally popular, but should always have a local flavor.

There will also be more examples of collaboration and more influencers involved. If scripts can be developed collaboratively, the same can be done with producing. Sergio Sancho, founder of Phileas Productions, says the next frontier for entertainment shows is video streaming and persuading services such as Netflix to not use their entire budgets on developing scripts for drama series.

Work with influencers will also increase, because Generation Z prefers shows that feature their favorite internet star to ones with Brad Pitt, for example.

You will soon experience significant changes in television programming, all of which I am sure will be great. At Cisneros Media, we are certainly working to make sure they are.