CuriosityStream to boost exclusive originals

SUNNYSIDE: US factual streamer CuriosityStream is looking to build on its slate of exclusive original content and focus on engaging and insightful factual content.

Jorge Franzini

The streamer’s director of content and development, Jorge Franzini – who spoke at the digital version of the Sunnyside of the Doc festival this week – told C21 the company is looking to bolster its slate of originals via in-house commissions and coproduction partnerships.

Franzini said CuriosityStream is seeking “mid-form programming” that is approximately “nine minutes-plus” in length, though added the focus is on the quality of the content as opposed to its length.

“The lovely thing about being a streamer is it allows us to break the rules of traditional broadcasting, meaning that we can do things like what we like to call ‘mid-form’. I always say let the content dictate the length, let the visuals and the story tell you how long something needs to be,” Franzini said.

He added that the upsides of being a streamer are also reflected in his commissioning strategy, as he is not confined by the conventional structures of a fixed schedule. The exec added his commissioning strategy has not varied greatly, explaining the focus still lies on engaging and creative factual content.

“We’re still after the same things, we’re after all factual: science and history do really well for us, technology, wildlife, those things do really well for us as well. But those aren’t the only things. This goes to that whole core of being a streamer, we do things a little bit differently.

“We don’t have, like the broadcasters, a schedule that we need to fill out, so it’s not like we’re after one particular thing. We think a great idea is a great idea. We always encourage producers and distributors to really poke around the site and see what it is that we have.

“We’re always looking for what’s new, so maybe it’s new camera techniques and new technology that are telling stories that we may already have. Maybe it’s a new perspective on a story. Maybe it’s a whole new story that we don’t have,” he told C21.