Doc demand grows in China

NATPE: Demand for documentaries among China’s burgeoning middle class is outstripping supply, according to one buyer in the country.

Max Lee, screening manager at Beijing-based LIC China, which sells documentaries to around 400 local channels, claimed more Chinese-focused programmes are urgently needed.

“More of the middle class are looking for and viewing this type of programme,” Lee told C21 at Natpe Budapest. “We need to find more high-quality documentaries especially suitable for the Chinese market.

“We need some universal topics. Maybe some of the shows available are good, but they are too distanced for Chinese audiences. They are a bit local and aimed at just the European market. I want to find some that Chinese people will be more interested in and that they’re familiar with.”

LIC China recently licensed Animal Science from LA-based Rive Gauche Television, along with Spirit Level’s The Price of Kings, a three-part biopic on Simon Peres, Oscar Arias and Yasser Arafat.

Lee is currently looking to buy another 400 hours’ worth of content and said that much of this will be European.

“We’re in the market for all kinds of documentaries – wildlife, some nature, warfare and battles – but no religion or politics,” he said.

“I want strong stories and very striking scenes of the countryside. But the stories are the most important thing I am looking for. We need a large number of wildlife programmes, and we need high quality – I’m still looking for that.”