Stage 32 & Focus London Featured On IBC 365!

Stage 32 & Focus London Featured On IBC 365!

Stage 32 & Focus London Featured On IBC 365!

Hey, Creative Army!

Great news! Stage 32 and our wonderful Director of Education, Sam Sokolow, were recently featured in an IBC 365 article, “WHAT DO STREAMERS WANT? SITCOMS, POLICE DRAMA AND REALITY SHOWS”.

This article spotlighted Stage 32’s hit expert panel at last month’s FOCUS London Conference; FROM REVOLUTION TO EVOLUTION: What The Streamers Are Looking For Today. It was a phenomenal conversation moderated by Stacey Carr, Entertainment Consultant at Stacey Carr Consulting, and featuring Sam Sokolow, Executive Producer & Director of Education at Stage 32, Elizabeth Kormanova, Head of Business & Legal Affairs at Rocket Science Industries, and Tom Sherry, Managing Director at Headline Pictures.

You can learn more about the panel and some of the insights shared in the below excerpt.

Stage 32  Focus London Featured On IBC 365

An Excerpt From IBC:

“The word is out that streamers want comedies and police procedurals – formats that work with new ad supported models,” said Sam Sokolow, Executive Producer at Stage 32, a US-based social network for film and TV professionals. “Programming that fits with patterns we might have seen on TV 10 years ago.”

Sokolow was speaking at the Focus conference in London in December.

“The industry is in a significant period of change,” said Tom Sherry, MD, Headline Pictures (co-producer of Amazon Prime’s The Man in the High Castle), also on the panel. “This is a time when we cannot predict what a production will cost. Crew rates have changed [under new Bectu and Pact rules introduced at the beginning of the year]. Travel, accommodation and the basic cost of fuel have gone up. We’ve seen a spike in the cost of production and those spikes are increasingly difficult to sustain.”

The biggest reason for cutbacks in spending is due to the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes, which have caused some productions to be delayed or cancelled.

At the same time, the likes of Disney and Warner Bros are aggregating different DTC streamers and content divisions into one super-app in a move which is also intended to streamline production spend.

Disney will spend $25bn on content (including sports) next year which is $2bn less than 2023 and considerably less than the $33bn it spent in 2022. This reduction also fits with Disney CEO Bob Iger’s plan to create less content and focus on a more curated original programming lineup.

To continue reading the full article, click HERE!

Let's hear your thoughts in the comments below!

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About the Author

Richard "RB" Botto

Richard "RB" Botto

Actor, Producer, Screenwriter, Voice Artist

Richard "RB" Botto has created the online platform and marketplace designed to democratize the entertainment industry, Stage 32. By leveling the playing field for all film, television and digital content creators and professionals worldwide, Stage 32 provides networking and training opportunities as...

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7 Comments on Richard RB's Article

Jenean McBrearty
Screenwriter, Author, Researcher
I read the entire article. When will those in the business realize there is no magic formula for a "global" product? Didn't Stage 32 just have a long conversation about the demise of the Super-hero genre? The tried, true, and lucrative formula is: give the people what they want. Comedies? Comedians will tell you "woke" nonsense has killed comedy clubs and movies. Reality shows that everyone knows are about as real as Leprechauns? The day of Big Brother (that has become blacks against whites), Survivor, and Keeping up with Housewives of big cities, Kardashians, and Baby Mamas is coming to a close. Why? BORING. On the other hand, "B" pictures were cheap to make and popular...and were surprise! good stories. What these moguls haven't figured out is that good writing is the key to entertainment. Films like Avatar, Star Wars (now crap), special effects (thank heavens for CGI & AI) can still be made, but movie theaters are probably on their way out for good ....so, why police procedurals? Take a lesson from the Brits. Midsomer Murders is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the Chief Inspector Barnaby book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of ITV since its premiere on 23 March 1997. (Wikopedia) It had enough balmy characters to fill a circus. America has tried to emulate the style in Law & Order and spin-offfs (L&O, like the Catholic Mass, is playing somewhere in the world 24/7), but have become nothing more than "woke" vehicles that can bore the dead. In our household, we have dropped streaming services that offer thousands of versions of the same thing (I can anticipate the dialog so well, I can sing-along), mostly horror & witchy stuff which it also repetitious and predictable. We mostly, turn off the TV altogether and watch old movies on DVDs. Or ... enjoy well-made commercials. Yep, some of the commercials are better than the programming. Liberty Insurance's Emu & Doug are really entertaining. I suggest writing for grown-ups as kids, don't have a lot of $$$ unless their parents do and are generous. Why not entertain the people with the $$$ who buy the products? Here's the thing: America is a divided country. Deal with it. You can't please all the people all the time. You have numb-skulls, and you have thinkers. (My judge-show loving daughter who watches reruns of Judge Judy (and has learned about the law in the process) just binged on Downton Abbey. Now she's learned about the stratified class system in Britain, too, and loved every minute of it. I think she's ready for The Jewel in the Crown, Brideshead Revisited, and An Englishman Riding By. OMG! It's white culture. So what? The stories and production values are good. And if producers want "inclusion" start writing stories about something other than victimhood ghetto junk. How about a series called: Mexican-Americans Hate Illegal Immigration as Much as Other People, and feature the vets of the Imperial Valley who fought in WW II? Or how the Mexican-American community worked with the small business commnunity (that included a gay couple) to get the first municipal initiative passed in Brawley requiring a vote on police/fore consolidation? That's a story worth telling. With all the opportunities and technology available, the bilge that passes for entertainment is criminal. Cost-cutting doesn't have to mean skimping on good story-telling.
a year ago
Pamela Jaye Smith
Author, Director, Producer, Screenwriter, Acting Teacher, Script Consultant, Story Analyst
While in Texas a few months ago my friend watched the British mysteries every day and I so enjoyed seeing lots of the Midsommer Murders again, including the new seasons. That shire has more murders per day than...who knows what. But it's always entertaining. Thanks for your comments; definitely things creatives need to keep in mind as the bean-counters definitely keep in mind the numbers and unless one is totally indy and self-financed, you have to deal with the system. Good luck with all your creative projects.
a year ago
Richard RB Botto
Actor, Producer, Screenwriter, Voice Artist
So...to each their own
a year ago
Robin Gregory
Author, Screenwriter, Graphic Designer
Congratulations, RB and Sam! This info is quite surprising. Little chance for romantic comedy, fantasy, or sci-fi? Yikes. Not so surprised by this though: "the reality is you do need to be repped [by an agent] and in association with a credible experienced production entity before you get in front of any commissioner. I have to ask if it sometimes works the other way around. Can't interest from a credible producer open the door to an agent?
a year ago
Richard RB Botto
Actor, Producer, Screenwriter, Voice Artist
Absolutely, Robin Gregory. Happy to help.
a year ago
Robin Gregory
Author, Screenwriter, Graphic Designer
Richard "RB" Botto That's good to hear! Thank you kindly for clarifying.   
a year ago
Ashley Smith 23
Creative Executive, Script Consultant, Producer
Amazing!! I'm so glad that the panel was such a hit and got such great attention!
a year ago
Richard RB Botto
Actor, Producer, Screenwriter, Voice Artist
Lots of international love for Stage 32 and especially our Certification Program
a year ago
Maurice Vaughan
Screenwriter
Congratulations on being featured in IBC 365, Sam, RB, and Stage 32! “‘The word is out that streamers want comedies and police procedurals – formats that work with new ad supported models,’ said Sam Sokolow, Executive Producer at Stage 32.” That’s great news for anyone who has a Comedy or Police Procedural and anyone who’s planning to write them (like myself). I have the ideas for both already.
a year ago
Richard RB Botto
Actor, Producer, Screenwriter, Voice Artist
They'll never go away. Might ebb and flow - like everything else - but they're here to stay.
a year ago
Maurice Vaughan
Screenwriter
Yeah, things change so fast in this industry. I'm working on a sitcom. I'm not chasing a trend though. I was already planning to write it.
a year ago
Harri-Pekka Virkki
Author, Stunt Performer
Love it!
a year ago
Richard RB Botto
Actor, Producer, Screenwriter, Voice Artist
Thanks, Harri-Pekka Virkki 
a year ago
Tom Stohlgren
Author, Researcher, Screenwriter
This all sounds very hopeful for content creators... I'm optimistic! Thanks for the news, RB.
a year ago
Richard RB Botto
Actor, Producer, Screenwriter, Voice Artist
Much more to come. You're welcome, Tom Stohlgren 
a year ago
Love it!
a year ago
Richard RB Botto
Actor, Producer, Screenwriter, Voice Artist
Thanks, Wendy
a year ago
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