Autentic Distribution
Patrick Hörl, founder and MD of Munich-based factual content company Autentic, discusses the rise of D2C and FAST, new Mipcom titles across science, factual and wildlife, and how AI is reshaping the business.
What are the biggest changes in the distribution industry and how is Autentic responding to them?
The factual distribution business is a good reflection of the wider changes our industry is facing right now. Currently, 40% of Autentic’s revenues already come from digital direct-to-consumer (D2C) platforms. Traditional licence deals and revenue-share models now exist side by side, and increasingly it’s the combination of both within sophisticated windowing strategies that creates the greatest value. It has definitely paid off that we started building meaningful relationships with digital partners early on. Today, we understand both the needs of the broadcast market and the specific requirements of those who built their business in the digital platform market.
What can you tell us about your FAST activities and how this is changing your business?
We are currently operating 12 channels in four languages and across 18 countries around the world. Our domestic German-speaking market still accounts for roughly half of our FAST business, but international markets are becoming increasingly important. We love FAST as a medium because it still offers significant growth potential. At the same time, it’s a business that requires constant attention. Not every channel works in every market. You cannot afford to be hesitant about pulling the plug on certain playouts or feeds if they don’t perform well enough. For us, FAST has become a core pillar of our business strategy. It helps us attract strong brands and premium content partners, while also giving us a direct relationship with audiences.
What is your original commissioning strategy for your FAST channels?
Our commissioning strategy is not focused on producing content exclusively for FAST. Instead, we are building chains of exploitation windows that support our content investments and generate value across different platforms and business models. Within this strategy, our FAST channels play an increasingly significant role each year. A good example is our series Ports of the World. Beyond its international distribution potential, it’s also a perfect fit for our Wheels & Steel FAST channels.
What other D2C initiatives are you undertaking in the near future?
D2C has become an integral part of everything we do. Even the broadcasters we produce for now expect us to deliver specific D2C strategies with every proposal for new films and series we develop for them. In our channel business, we’re focused on growing our FAST and social media channels, while continuously optimising their monetisation.
What’s often overlooked is that D2C isn’t just about building audiences. It also requires a sophisticated targeting and advertising strategy. That’s why a significant part of our effort goes into identifying the right technology partners to help us reach specific audiences more effectively. At the same time, we’re continuously optimising our ad sales partnerships. The market for selling ads on FAST hasn’t fully evolved yet, but ultimately, even the best content can’t come to life without future-proof targeting instruments and a convincing monetisation strategy.
How does YouTube play into your content distribution plans?
YouTube plays a significant role in our distribution strategy because, in many cases, it can be integrated without limiting other exploitation opportunities. Unlike some licensing models, YouTube allows us to maintain flexibility around language and territorial rights.
Overall, we have found that the most effective approach to YouTube for us is to follow different strategies at the same time. We monetise our content through established international partners that have built successful YouTube businesses over many years, while also operating our own YouTube channels and working with technology-driven companies to reach specific target audiences more effectively. Given YouTube’s constantly evolving algorithms, this multipath strategy gives us greater flexibility and allows us to adapt quickly to changes on the platform.
How is the funding of high-end documentary content changing?
International collaboration has become key for most high-end documentary producers. Not many market players can afford to finance high-end docs entirely on their own any longer. As a result, funding models are becoming increasingly diverse, and it often takes a painfully long time to structure complex financing plans. A single production may combine funding from broadcasters and streamers with non-commercial partners, such as foundations or even private backers. Our documentary Olof Palme – Vision of a Just World, which we are producing for SVT in Sweden and ORF in Austria with the support of the Olof Palme Memorial Fund, is a good example of this trend.
At the same time, there’s also a clear trend to fully commission certain high-budget shows, particularly when they are of primary interest to a local audience. That’s why Autentic’s production unit makes sure to serve all potential models. As a distributor, we’re also commissioning and investing more heavily in productions ourselves when we see strong global potential. Recent examples include The Archipelago by Borealés, The Sum of All Cities by DBcom Media and Secrets of Cold War Ruins, the latest addition to our ongoing slate deal with Go Button Media.
What new Autentic Studios productions are in your Mipcom line-up?
We’re excited to bring more than 20 hours of new Autentic Studios productions to Mipcom this year, spanning a range of genres. In science, highlights include Ecosystems Unraveled: The Keystone Effect, produced with DBcom for ZDF, Arte and Radio-Canada/Explora; The Secret Lives of Parasites, which reveals the surprising role of some of nature’s most misunderstood creatures; and Without Limits, following extraordinary athletes pushing the boundaries of human performance.
In our people and places genre, we’re showcasing Pakistan Express, a spectacular rail journey across Pakistan, and Born to Climb, about inspiring women in the Karakoram who are breaking barriers both on and off the mountain. These are just a few examples of what Autentic Studios is producing today. We’re looking forward to sharing more details with buyers at Mipcom.
What can buyers expect from your wildlife slate this year?
Our wildlife line-up is particularly strong this year. Alongside a slate of premium productions from Terra Mater Studios, our acquisition of Albatross World Sales has further expanded our offering with outstanding titles from some of the industry’s leading natural history producers.
Among the many highlights in our slate, we’re bringing new seasons of two successful series produced by Längengrad Filmproduktion: Wild Faces of Switzerland and Good News From Planet Earth. Another standout is Wild on a High from In One Media, which explores the intriguing question of whether humans are the only species that enjoys getting high. A further highlight is The Treasure of Newfoundland, where acclaimed filmmaker Didier Noirot uncovers extraordinary marine life and fragile ecosystems in the iceberg-filled waters of the North Atlantic.
From Terra Mater Studios, we’re especially excited about Willow – Secret Diary of a Mountain Lion, a stunning blue-chip wildlife documentary that offers a rare and intimate look at mountain lion behaviour through an extensive network of trail cameras. We’re also presenting Lemur Diaries, a heartwarming and entertaining three-part series that showcases the remarkable lives of Madagascar’s most iconic primates.
How is Autentic using AI, and how do you see the new tech impacting the industry?
We see AI as a valuable tool across both production and distribution, from streamlining workflows to AI dubbing. As part of the Beta Group, we benefit from a strong network that helps us stay on top of the latest developments.
That said, AI raises questions that reach far beyond our industry. How we use this technology responsibly will be one of the key debates of the coming years. The topic is also reflected in our catalogue. One of our Mipcom highlights is AI – Humanity’s Final Invention? The film brings together the three so-called ‘godfathers of AI’ for the first time, and explores what is arguably one of the most important questions of our time: where is this technology taking us? It’s a thought-provoking documentary that doesn’t offer simple answers but encourages a much-needed conversation.
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Mirjam Strasser, director of sales and acquisitions at Autentic, explains what the German company’s acquisition of fellow German distributor Albatross World Sales will mean, how its FAST strategy is evolving and what’s on its slate for Sunny Side of the Doc this month.
What is the rationale behind Autentic’s acquisition of Albatross World Sales?
At the core, it comes down to a commitment to quality and scale. For us it is about joining forces to become bigger, stronger and better positioned for the future. With the rise of streaming, FAST channels and data-driven distribution, the market has evolved significantly. Scale has become critical. Staying competitive now requires greater volume.
A larger catalogue enables sustained investment in systems and data infrastructure, which are capabilities that today’s market increasingly expects. [Albatross MD] Anne Olzmann, who we’ve known closely for more than 10 years, has built Albatross into a strong, carefully curated catalogue of more than 600 hours of high-end factual content with particularly strong focus on wildlife, which is an excellent fit with Autentic’s positioning.
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Julian Althaus, recently appointed director of channels and digital sales at Germany’s Autentic, outlines how he’s planning for the transformation of the company now that digital sales have overtaken traditional broadcasting for the first time.
What can you tell us about your new position at Autentic?
For many years, I’ve overseen the digital distribution of our catalogue and the FAST business of our four channels outside German-speaking Europe since their launch. Now I’m excited to take the next step: leading Autentic’s channel division globally, also including our three German-speaking FAST Channels, with more to follow next year. My focus will be on strengthening the company’s channel strategy and partnerships, while building on the strong foundation we’ve established in digital distribution and FAST in the last few years with our great team.
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Mirjam Strasser, head of sales and acquisitions at Germany’s Autentic Distribution, puts the spotlight on new ways of financing documentaries, plus renewed demand for current affairs and natural history content.
How is the role of distributors changing in the factual space?
It is evolving significantly. In the past, distributors primarily came into action after a project was completed, but now our involvement begins much earlier in the process. For example, we have recently acquired the worldwide distribution rights to The Sum of All Cities, produced by the acclaimed Canadian production company DBcom Media. Our decision was made solely based on a treatment and a teaser.
The eight-episode series isn’t expected to be completed until fall 2025. Early involvement allows distributors to provide strategic input that shapes the content to ensure it resonates with as many international markets as possible. We can bring invaluable insights into what works in different markets, helping tailor projects to maximise global reach and appeal. And we are there early enough to secure the content for our catalogue and outlets, as the fight for content is still going strong.
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Mirjam Strasser, head of sales and acquisitions at Germany’s Autentic Distribution, discusses the state of the market and outlines the company’s distribution, production and FAST strategies, as well as the highlights from her Mipcom slate.
How would you describe the state of the factual content market?
There is a continued high demand for factual content across all platforms and channels. The popularity started with the pandemic, when channels filled up their schedules with factual content to replace the programmes that could not be produced during lockdown, like sporting events, for example. Broadcasters and streamers’ search for premium content has not decreased since. Producers have become very creative with using archives in innovative ways, cooperating with remote filming crews, and are coming up with globally relevant stories and engaging narratives.
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Mirjam Strasser, head of sales and acquisitions at Autentic Distribution, explores how the market is changing for factual content and discusses the new shows the German company is showcasing via C21’s Digital Screenings this week.
What are the big trends in the factual sector right now, in particular the rise of ‘premium factual’?
First of all, blue-chip nature programmes are still the content that can achieve the highest licence fees. Lots of clients are eagerly looking for the next big natural history hit. Climate programmes and conservation topics are getting more and more popular. Apart from that, ancient history is working well for a broad range of clients that are looking for more programmes about Ancient Egypt, the pyramids and the Romans.
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Mirjam Strasser, head of sales and acquisitions at Germany’s Autentic Distribution, showcases the new factual titles on the company’s playlist for C21’s Digital Screenings this week, and gives her views on the changing market for documentaries.
Can you tell us about the shows on Autentic’s playlist this week?
Our selection of programmes actually reflects our whole catalogue very well. We are very diversified, whether that’s in terms of genre or production style, or whether it’s a series, a one-off or a feature documentary. With our current highlights The Apennine Mountains and Europe’s Forgotten Pilgrim Routes, we provide lightweight travel content that everyone is looking for. Stone Men II and Heroes of the Deep are our new male-oriented factual entertainment series, and Wildlife Diaries Australia and Rewilding: Back to Nature are destined for our clients looking for wildlife conservation programming.
A special programme is The History of Camping, which traces this popular form of travel back to its origins. The documentary is visually great; we see archive footage of a VW Bulli in the African savannah fighting its way through mud – hardly imaginable travelling today with such an old car. Meanwhile, the three Empire Builders miniseries in our playlist are looking at the empires of China, Greece and the Netherlands, respectively, from their inception to their impact on the world until today. High-quality CGI brings these past empires back to life.
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