Documentary+ to share viewing data with producers in ‘industry first’

Ad-supported streaming service Documentary+ will share viewing data with filmmakers in what it says is an industry first.

The studio XTR-led non-fiction streamer said that filmmakers will be able to request personalized reports about the performance and viewing data of their films on the platform including insights like top cities, age group, platform, gender identity and related films being streamed on Documentary+.

The company specifically criticised major streaming services without naming names for their policy of withholding viewership data and sharing it sparingly. Documentary+ said that providing creators with a breakdown of viewing data will help them to understand their audience and ultimately inform long term roadmaps for future productions.

Bryn Mooser, Documentary+ and XTR CEO, said: “Corporate streaming platforms use the data from films to influence their content strategies – but they keep it away from the filmmakers. We believe filmmakers should have that same access and let them do what they want with it – hopefully even use it to influence what they think about their future art. We are the first platform to share data with filmmakers, I hope it creates a trend for the rest to follow.”