Nat Geo, which is a linear community and a part of the Disney+ universe, is just not “immune” to the present idiosyncrasies of the tv enterprise.
Courteney Monroe, president of National Geographic Global Television Networks, mentioned the corporate is “very well positioned” to sort out the present malaise.
“I think no one is immune to the marketplace. But we are very well positioned… number one, we are a globally distributed network. We reach over 300 million households around the world, which is pretty staggering. It is a declining business but the linear channels around the world still account for a large part of our viewership. But we are very well positioned with a branded tile on Disney+,” she mentioned, talking on the TCA press tour.
This comes after certainly one of her key lieutenants, Tom McDonald, EVP, Global Factual and Unscripted, just lately mentioned that “clearly, we have now much less cash to spend than once I joined 18 months in the past”.
Monroe, whose community was highlighting initiatives such because the Oscar-nominated Bobi Wine: The People’s President, Photographer and Queens at TCA, reiterated that it’s a “quality over quantity” technique.
She instructed Deadline that having much less cash hasn’t essentially necessitated any change in programming technique.
“I’ve been speaking about our fewer, bigger, better strategy for National Geographic for many years. I think while everybody is adjusting to the economic realities of the business, the quality over quantity strategy is not new to us. I feel really confident and excited about our pipeline, which is very robust and the extent to which we continue to invest in premium documentary and factual entertainment,” she added.
However, she was lukewarm on scripted. The community beforehand aired numerous scripted exhibits however in current instances it has paired this again with the one current scripted collection together with WWII drama A Small Light, which launched in May 2023, and Genius: MLK/X, which premiered final week.
The latter is the fourth iteration of the Genius anthology model.
Monroe mentioned that she was nonetheless specializing in this moderately than taking a look at future iterations.
“We are focusing our development on the areas that I think National Geographic can be most distinctive, both in the marketplace, but also inside the Walt Disney Company, which is around premium documentary storytelling,” she added.
Monroe additionally alluded to an curiosity in licensing Nat Geo exhibits to networks and streamers exterior of its Disney+ walled backyard.
Disney boss Bob Iger has talked up licensing alternatives in current months, in distinction to its earlier technique of conserving all the things inside its personal streaming universe, a technique that’s being employed by rival studios similar to Warner Bros. Discovery, which has been promoting exhibits to Netflix.
When requested whether or not she would really like Nat Geo exhibits to be licensed, Monroe mentioned that it was “more of a Disney question”.
But she added, “My feeling is the more audiences we can reach with National Geographic content, the better for the brand. We’ve reached so many hundreds of millions of people with our brand and our content, just in our brand environment. But I’m not off pursuing licensing deals on behalf of National Geographic independent of those conversations taking place at Disney.”