Hans Andreas Fay on VGTV’s doc acquisition strategy and expansion plans

VGTV - part of Schibsted-owned VG media outlet - is one of the key commissioners of Norwegian - and Nordic documentaries and a partner to Nordisk Film & TV Fond.

Since 2014, the Oslo-based online TV station has become a key partner to Norwegian and Nordic documentaries. Head of Acquisition Hans Andreas Fay explains the uniqueness of VGTV and pivotal space of documentaries on the web TV’s offer.

(The interview has been edited for clarity)

What is VGTV’s core business and DNA?
Hans Andreas Fay: Here’s just a bit of background. VGTV is the video spin off of Norway’s leading tabloid newspaper Verdens Gang (VG), which has been a pioneer in online news reporting since 1995. Its news website vg.no has a dominant position in the Norwegian media landscape, as more than 2.5 million Norwegians [out of a population of 5.3 million] use it on a daily basis. When VGTV was launched [2007], the service relied mainly on the videos created internally by our journalists, then 2013 was a pivotal year as we started acquiring documentaries.

I joined VGTV late 2013. At the time, we were 10-15 people. Now we are almost 80. The core of our programming is news, entertainment, live sports and documentaries. Docs are actually a major pulling force behind VG’s premium subscription service VG+ which counts over 250,000 paying customers which is enormous!

I acquire around 100 documentaries a year-Norwegian and international.

Typically at what point do you board projects?
HAF: We are flexible in terms of when we come in-from development - which is rare -, production, post, rough cuts, to finished films. The majority of films are bought finished. We travel to festivals - Sundance, Hotdocs, SXSW, Nordisk Panorama, IDFA, BIFF in Norway etc. We watch films, or attend pitching forums. We try to understand what’s in production and collaborate with festivals, who help us connect with producers at the top end of documentary filmmaking in Europe and across the world.

How do you curate your documentary offer? What genres/types of films are on your priority list?
HAF: We usually look for docs most likely to be on the top list of titles that VG’s news outlet vg.no would cover themselves. It can range from hardcore investigative journalism, current affairs, consumerism, life-style, but we don’t do a lot of art, nature, historical docs. We look for quality, entertaining storytelling, personal stories and very importantly, award-winning films. For instance, we have on our slate Flee, Sabaya, For Sama, The Red Ring and The Painter and the Thief.

What is the share of Nordic/international documentaries?
HAF: Our focus has been on acquiring the best films in the world that fit our profile, with Sundance, Oscar-winning films being on our priority list. Like any other Northern European country, we have a strong relationship with English language content, therefore we carry mostly US/UK/Australian films, followed by Norwegian and Scandinavian-language films.

The closer we are from home, the more we have to pay. But our audience is hungry for local and Nordic films and the quality is very high compared to other territories. We decided to join Nordisk Film & TV Fond [in 2019] precisely to widen our offer of Nordic titles, despite the premium price that we often have to pay.

How do you negotiate rights?
HAF: We have the first TV window for most of the titles we acquire. That said we are flexible and don’t have strict views regarding exclusivity and length of rights exploitation. Sometimes films that have been on NRK or Netflix, still work on VGTV so we negotiate second windows for a lower fee. It depends if the film is big enough. Sometimes it’s key for us to have a specific film in our server.

With a film like Searching for Sugarman, we’ve had non-exclusive rights for a long time. It’s a flagship doc and always on people’s top documentary list. It defines the type of films we acquire.

What is the next step of your documentary strategy?
HAF: We are gradually taking more risks in our acquisition strategy, coming in at an earlier stage. Now we are ready for the next step which is to coproduce and cooperate with production companies, instead of just acquiring rights. Our intention is to invest in a few productions against co-ownership of rights, to lift the titles and flag up on VGTV the fact that we were co-producers at an early stage.

We are also considering co-producing doc series. A flagship production such as Scandinavian Star about the 1990 ferry disaster that we covered extensively by our news service, would be the ideal project for us to co-produce. Unfortunately, we weren’t yet in a position to do this when the series was being financed. Being Co-producer on stories that are relevant for Norway and Scandinavia makes sense.

What are the biggest challenges for you today?
HAF: The US streamers’ global expansion and the way the industry is handling them is quite challenging. I think we should welcome more platforms and innovative ways of displaying content, but the big festivals, award events, are more and more ‘in the pockets’ of the big players - i.e. sponsored by the likes of Netflix. This is questionable.

Docs are moving from true indie productions, to more commercial fare. This is where mistakes, and wrong steps are being taken. The industry should be careful to what incentives we give the big players and the demands made upon them.

Norwegian docs are enjoying high festival visibility and a creative boom. How can this be sustained?
HAF: It’s super thrilling to see the boom of high-quality Norwegian documentaries and the industry’s focus on festival selection at the top platforms in the world. We’re going in the right direction. All Nordic public funders-including Nordisk Film & TV Fond-play a major role in keeping the standards high, and in Norway, filmmakers have a variety of funders they can approach. But I do believe that the market would be stronger if more broadcasters would put an emphasis on docs, and bet on other genres than true crime.