Compelling stories underpinned by relevance, a fresh angle, and diversity on both sides of the camera are at the heart of Paramount ANZ’s factual commissions, according to head of development Yeesum Lo.
Lo appeared as part of the Network 10 Industry Focus session at the Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC) on Tuesday, where she outlined the company’s strategy, as well as what prospective pitchers should be aware of.
The executive said Paramount ANZ (formerly 10 ViacomCBS) was more focused on the story than preferencing any particular genre but noted three selection criteria that were consistent across Network 10 and Paramount+.
“We always ask why are we telling this story now, especially when it comes to a historical incident or true crime, which may have happened in the past,” he said.
“The second thing we look at is what is the new information we are unearthing and what is the new kind of access we have. What are some of the wow moments that are going to make the audience go, ‘This is a side of this story I don’t think I’ve ever seen’?.
“Thirdly, we have a ‘no diversity, no commission’ policy, so for us diversity in front of and behind the camera are both really important, because a great part of diversity is asking whose story we are telling and who is telling that story.”
“So if we are talking about how a piece of content can make you feel things and think things, then diversity is part of that philosophy.”
The Network 10 factual slate includes ob doc series’ The Dog House Australia and Ambulance Australia, while on Paramount+, there is set to be a local version of the Showtime documentary series, Couples Therapy.
Lo said filmmakers shouldn’t be afraid to pitch short-form concepts, pointing to the success of advertising guru Todd Sampson’s two-part documentary on body image dissatisfaction, Mirror Mirror, which ended up being the companies highest rating local special.
“What was really heartening was seeing that the younger demographics respond really well to it and that’s something you can watch on free to air and then catch up on on 10Play and even catch up on Paramount+ as well,” she said.
“Being able to have that kind of coverage for a documentary is really important for us.”
Despite the synergy between the platforms, she said it was important to note the difference between Network 10 and Paramount+ when pitching.
“Paramount+ is actually a platform unto its own and I think for that we welcome pitches that you may not naturally think of as ’10 pitches’ because we are looking at content for a streamer,” she said.
“We are happy to take things that are more general but also things that may have a more specific audience and not just a broad family audience which is what we are looking for at 10.”
Paramount ANZ is preparing to unveil six new titles in the coming months as part of Pilot Week, which returns following a COVID hiatus.
Lo said while the company was “happy to hear pitches from everyone”, it tended to lean towards ideas that were “already at a production company”.
“We don’t tend to hear as many pitches from individual creators, who dont have production entities in place,” she said.
“We want to be able to get a budget from you and have further conversations with you from a production perspective.
“In every kind of pitch conversation, its about building a relationship and we can get to know each other better and that will help us understand where your coming from and what capacity you have, and what your strengths and weaknesses are as a production entity and at the same time hopefully you guys will also get to know us a little better because our brief does change from week to week.”