PRE-PRODUCTION: Broadcasting Channel Research and Choice: Netflix

For the production, I am to choose a Broadcasting Channel that would be suitable for the production. It should determine where the production would be made and the intended target audience, among other factors. I have already made the decision for this series to be an American drama as opposed to a British drama. I made this decision because I wanted the location to be set in a rural town with houses dotted around with an eery, secluded feel to it. I think the locations will be a key part to setting the scene and keeping it dark and mysterious. Other factors regarding the choice to make the series American included some of my early ideas for the plot of the story, which I think would lend themselves to an American series as opposed to a British one.
Finding the right American Broadcasting Channel is crucial to ensure that the series would reach the right audience and have the appropriate format.

NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcasting network and property of NBC Universal. It is one of the largest broadcasting companies in the US, reaching 97% of homes with a television. The company is headquartered at the Rockefeller Plaza in New York and is one of the three big networks also including ABC and CBS.
I have decided to look at this network as a potential as I would like to series to have international note and be accessed globally, being of industry scale.
The company itself broadcasts a huge number of shows of all genres including Dramas, Talkshows, Entertainment shows and documentaries. Although I think that the decision for this channel to broadcast a number of genres wouldn't limit the suitability of premiering Motherhood on this channel, I feel that it may be lost among the extensive network. I also think that the early creative style choices for Motherhood across the board including plot, characters and branding are all not overly suitable for this channel due to its commerciality. Although it is likely that the intended demographic for this production would be incredibly likely to watch it on this channel, I think that the channel itself is almost of too large a scale for the production.

FOX

Fox Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network that is property of the Fox Entertainment Group. They are headquartered at the 20th Century Fox studio in Los Angeles, with other major offices in New York. The network was launched in 1986 as a competitor for the three big television networks, successfully gaining a place as one of the five biggest networks in America today. The programmes they broadcast include several television Dramas, Comedies and Documentaries. Fox differs from NBC that broadcasts a huge range of genre types and television programmes and has a more narrow specification. I had decided that the NBC network was far too broad and that this production would get lost among them.
The dramas broadcasted on Fox include Gotham, American Horror Story, Empire and The Gifted. All of these dramas have elements of the Thriller genre which is an appeal for my production as I think that it will have suitability for the channel. However, I think that the channel is still rather commercial, being one of the biggest broadcasting channels. Fox have a typical scheduling process for any broadcasting channel which involves each programme having a specific day and time slot for release. I think that their fixed schedules won't give my production great accessibility for the audience and limits when they will be able to watch the series.


NETFLIX

Netflix is an American entertainment company founded by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in California in 1997. The business started out by selling and renting DVDs before expanding the business with the introduction to streaming. The company is now online based and has the biggest international presence for online streaming. The headquarters are based in California but there are offices in other countries including the Netherlands, Brazil and Japan.
I am particularly interested in the original content distributed by the channel, debuting their first original series in 2013 with 'House of Cards'.
As of 2016 the company have an estimated 126 original television series and films, which is more than any other network or cable channel.
The way the network distributes their material is through their website online, that can also be accessed by smart televisions for a fixed price per month. This is a huge appeal and selling point for the channel as audiences are able to have unlimited access to material for the same, reasonable price.

I have decided to choose Netflix as the broadcasting channel for the production. As the series is American, I decided to research some American broadcasting channels to make the decision, and think out of those researched, Netflix has the most suitability. I want the channel to be of international note so that the series has global presence and will be accessible to audiences all over the world, and Netflix have global interest. I have also looked at Stranger Things and 13 Reasons Why as inspiration for themes and character development, as well as branding. Both of these series are Netflix Originals and share similarities with Motherhood. As NBC and FOX are both within the 5 biggest television networks in the US, I think that in choosing either of those, my series will be overshadowed. However, Netflix is more exclusive, and chooses its material carefully, often favouring Thriller/Crime drama series for their original content.
I aim to look at the branding and visual styles of some the original series to gain some insight and inspiration for the branding for Motherhood, to ensure that it is suitable and in keeping with the platform.