With the shift from linear to streaming, we’ve seen a gradual change in how National Geographic operates its television division.  What used to work when it was owned by 20th Century Fox and prior to the existence of Disney+, no longer works in the same way.

Over the past few years, we’ve seen National Geographic slowly pivot away from long-running series, which were low cost, but also filled the linear channels schedule regularly with new original content.

But under Disney, that model no longer works, and we’ve seen National Geographic slowly cut back on its output, in addition to cancelling many long-running shows such as “Wicked Tuna”, “Life Below Zero” and “The Incredible Dr. Pol”.

During a recent interview at the Content London event, Disney’s EVP Programming, Christian Drobnyk, who oversees National Geographic, FX, Freeform and Disney Branded Television, explained that “economics” of high-volume shows like “Wicked Tuna” needs to be “far more efficient given how much the industry has changed since they were greenlit.” 

“We need to start to look at how those shows are built and what their price points are.  Those shows were greenlit when we were a linear-only platform and that world has changed dramatically.”

With Disney, on the whole, focusing more on creating more original content that is good, rather than just trying to create as much as possible, as quickly as possible, this has also resulted in a change at National Geographic.

“We still want to program our linear networks with a strong slate and high volume of content. The global commissioning team now focuses more on fewer, bigger, brand-definitional projects for which we own most of the rights if not all. With that and some of the changes in the industry on the business side we thought, ‘How do we look at this in the best way possible?,’ and the best way is to look at acquisitions and co-pros.”

One noticeable difference in National Geographic’s strategy is creating new documentaries with higher profile presenters such as Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, or Ryan Reynolds, which have a much easier job of pulling in the more mainstream audience, which is what Disney wants.

Over the past year or so, we’ve seen National Geographic also generally release their new documentaries across linear channels, including both Disney+ and Hulu, to reach a larger audience and offer more value to Disney.   They’ve also moved away from creating drama series like recent shows like “A Small Light” and “Genius”, leaving its scripted content to Disney’s other studios, 2oth Television and FX. 

Roger’s Take:  In the past five years, National Geographic had to adapt to not just a new owner, but a massive shift to streaming.  What worked when shows like “Wicked Tuna” and “Life Below Zero” were initially commissioned probably wouldn’t get the go-ahead now.  On the one hand, this is a shame since there are plenty of interesting stories about people to be told, but at the same time, tastes and habits change.  I do think National Geographic offers Disney plenty of value with its documentaries for both linear and streaming, but as with most cable channels, it adapts or dies!

What do you think of Nat Geo cancelling its long-running shows?  Let me know on social media!

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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