Natural history is having a moment with audiences.

That was one of the messages from Howard Swartz (pictured top left), senior VP of docs and specials, factual networks & streaming at Discovery Channel, on the first of two days of a Banff Connect Virtual online event for delegates of the upcoming Banff World Media Festival (BANFF).

Swartz was part of an online panel discussion on programming trends and pitching tips, alongside Kathryn Tyus-Adair (pictured top right), SVP of original programming at Starz Media LLC, and Trish Williams (pictured bottom left), executive director of scripted content at CBC. Jenn Kuzmyk (pictured bottom right), executive director of BANFF and VP and publisher of Playback, moderated the panel comprising members of the 2022 Rockies Grand Jury and BANFF’s content advisory board.

Swartz said natural history content has been a big priority for Discovery and led to some successes in the last couple of years.

“Whether it’s pandemic-related or not, I think there’s this re-enchanting the world — everybody is looking for that escapism and the awe and wonder and beauty, and I think that’s really worked for us pretty well,” he said on the panel on Tuesday (March 22), citing programming on the Undiscovered premium doc series strand and feature docs on Discovery+.

Tyus-Adair said Starz focuses on creating character-driven programming for an adult audience that skews majority female and tells “real and honest stories” showing “the human spectrum of behaviour and experience.”

“We’re trying to — and I think, very successful in doing this — represent audiences that just have not had representation,” said Tyus-Adair. “We’re always looking for new voices for show creators, and to really support those voices in the storytelling.”

Starz has seen its biggest success in the one-hour drama arena but is interested in all genres and whatever format is right for the story, she added, citing the success of the half-hour comedy-drama series Blindspotting and the one-hour crime drama BMF.

Williams said CBC’s mandate “is to in enlighten, educate and entertain Canadians” with a broad range of material.

“We really want to reflect contemporary Canada back to Canadians in all of the ways that people live in Canada today,” said Williams. “Also, we want to see our programming and our lives on an international stage.”

Williams said CBC likes “stories that have a strong procedural engine,” like Pretty Hard Cases, and looks for diversity in all its programming, like The Porter. CBC wants dramas “that are propulsive” with a unique angle and well-developed, interesting characters as well as regional representation.

“When you’re looking for a drama, you do want something generally that’s continuing, that can go multiple seasons,” she said. “Although, of course, we do look for limited series as well.”

On the comedy side, CBC looks for a “unique comedic voice” reflecting what it is to be living in Canada today while bringing inclusivity, a warm-hearted tone and upholding the pubcaster’s programming values, said Williams. She cited Son of a Critch and Sort Of as examples.

The panel participants also discussed best practices for pitching commissioners. Knowing the remit, genres and audience of the broadcaster beforehand and being as prepared as possible is key, they said.

Swartz noted if Discovery has a relationship with a producer, he’s happy to discuss an idea via email first. With shows like those in Shark Week, he can greenlight from a verbal pitch over the phone. For feature docs and premium series, “it’s a pretty rigorous process” to pitch and he recommends having ideas fleshed out and to ensure a concept feels original beforehand.

“We are such a global company, that I think our first position is to retain all rights so things can travel internationally and we retain the IP,” he said, adding they do have coproduction partnerships around the world and have been making more acquisitions, especially with Discovery+ and on the feature doc side.

Tyus-Adair said Starz has a couple of upcoming scripted limited series but for the most part isn’t doing them “because the return is just not there and it’s also hard to program it into the rest of the schedule.”

Starz typically wants at least two scripts so they have a good sense of what the show is going to be before greenlighting, she said.

Williams said CBC generally likes writer-producer teams to pitch with a five-page concept argument describing the series and what makes it special.

The pubcaster likes to develop the script before giving it a creative greenlight, after which it would want producers to look for international partners.

“It can be a variety of different types of partners, but because of the cost of producing scripted content, we can’t afford the kinds of budgets that really meet audience expectations today in terms of production quality,” said Williams. “So we do like our producers to go and find partners.”