The Netflix International Analysis

It's undisputable that Dominion has an extremely passionate (and deserved) following, even three months after cancellation.  Ever since Syfy announced it was not renewing Dominion, the fan base has kept the flame lit hoping that the show would be picked up.

The major focus of attention has been Netflix, as it has been in the eye of the public for its increasing velocity of expenditures on original programming.

A word on "Original Programming." Many fans have asked if a show is original programming if it is programming picked up from another source. Yes. Netflix considers programming it funds and arranges for to be "original programming."

There is valid debate over whether there was sufficient domestic viewers to warrant Netflix acquiring Dominion. As passionate as the current fanbase is, Netflix is a business. Accordingly, it is going to operate on knowns, not desires. One "known" is that the

Dominion Nielsen ratings were suppressed in 2015. This was caused by a combination of seasonal scheduling, timing and pairing, as well as lack of publicity support (lack of effort as simple as marathons and full presences at conventions, as well as advertising on multiple platforms). It appears to be a safe bet that Dominion could have achieved close to its 2014 ratings had it not been mishandled.

But, in reality, it's possible that Dominion's full domestic ratings potential might not have been enough to allow it to be picked up by another source.  After all, there have been shows with much better ratings which were not picked up by any of the cable networks who have picked up cancelled or discontinued shows or the streaming programmers (Netflix, Hulu or Amazon).

However, there's a new player in town, and that player is Netflix's International presence which has DRAMATICALLY INCREASED (#NetflixEverywhere). Netflix's CEO, Reed Hastings, made a surprise announcement at CES, that effective IMMEDIATELY, it was expanding into 130 new countries.  This was positive news for fans hoping that Netflix would pick up Dominion, because as is evident to the TWITTER and FACEBOOK fanbase, there are a LOT of international Dominion fans. Although controversial, clearly Dominion had a passionate following of international viewers who pirated the show.

As discussed in this very interesting Motley Fool investment article, Netflix will curate content BY REGION. This means that when viewed as a pool, not all Netflix viewers will see all Netflix original programming. Factors impacting what content is available include LICENSING, as well as consideration of what programming is desired in each country. An advantage that Dominion offers to Netflix is that there is already an established appreciation by a very wide variety of viewers in multiple regions for the show. (An informal statistic is that in Brazil, in the Sao Paulo region, there were 250K viewers alone and that was with the show airing very late at night).

It is impossible that Netflix is unaware of the desire of fans for it to pick up Dominion considering the constant attention spent on calling, visiting online, writing and using social media to bring attention to the fate of Dominion. Hopefully, the company has been considering the "bigger international picture" in its consideration of whether or not to acquire Dominion as original programming.  This would be attractive not only to domestic fans, but to a very wide international audience, particularly with proper publicity.  Fans everywhere will cheer (and subscribe)!

Kiddle Videos

I wanted to create a couple of things to remember the show by (while we hopefully wait for it to be picked up by some network or Netflix).

Dominion Retrospective (Ghost Lights)

This video is compiled from photos from SyFy's story recaps and the Dominion 101 collection. (See the website resources page for a link to the video spot on the site. The recaps are hilarious.)  It's so moving to see the arc of the show again through stills (with some kind of cool music).  It reminds me of just how good the acting was on the show and how interesting the special effects were, as well. 

Dominion Fan Art (I Can't Stay)

This video is compiled from fan art which was tweeted/retweeted by Vaun Wilmott.  Astonishingly, I believe Vaun collected maybe 1,000 pieces of individual fan art.  There were so many beautiful pieces, and this video showcases about 50, so maybe 5% of the total art.  For two years, I was amazed at the quality of created material for the show. It was nice to put this to music, as well. 

Dominion Fan Art 2 (Always with Me, Always with You)

Here is another compilation of lovely fan art, plus a few of the concept art pieces supplied by Vaun. Hope you all enjoy.   

I hope to add more pieces over time.

Why we need to give Dominion's cast and crew a "breather"

Who here wants to hear from every single person connected to Dominion? Who here felt like it was such a huge part of their lives for the past couple of years?

I'm one of those people. I said in a recent tweet that I thought it likely I'd never experience anything like Dominion again.  I think that's true primarily because of the interaction with a LOT of people connected to the show, but also because of making connections with other fans, some of whom I communicate with very regularly.  They are now pretty dear to me and I worried with the show ending that I'd lose that connection.  Thankfully, that does not appear to be happening any time soon. (Hugs Moaties).



But, let's step back and think for a minute.  For as much as this show impacted us, and we spent time and emotion on it (freely!), this cannot measure IN ANY MEANINGFUL WAY, to the involvement of the people who brought this all to life.


For a few people, and Vaun Wilmott is certainly the first example to spring to mind, this experience began three years ago. It is an incredibly complicated process to work with people, get selected to be responsible, wrangle (and wrangle and wrangle) the legal rights, start stocking up on the players that will perform all the functions (yet more wrangling), get permission and funding to make a pilot, wordcraft that pilot, MAKE the pilot, present the pilot and convince the network to let your pilot blossom into an actual show, get people back together, work on set for 5 months to complete the season, struggle with finite amounts of money, sit back and wait for renewal. Rinse and repeat. 

All the while, he was trying to accomplish something that's a little cutting edge, like establishing a twitter presence, contacting people, and being consistently present on social media. Layer onto that persuading members of the cast and crew to participate. Oh, and have a family life. 

That's just VAUN. For many of the actors, this was a BIG DEAL. They invested a lot of time and energy in this and they also were regularly making contact with fans. There are very few shows out there that have anywhere like this level of interaction. So, we fans were spoiled. 
I'm sure that Vaun is exhausted from over two straight years of producing the show. He needs to recharge and to focus on new projects, because he is NOT in control of any decisions that determine if the show is "saved." The reality is that the show is cancelled. He has to look out for himself, and so do the actors. To stay on Twitter, focused on Dominion, makes it hard for him to move on. And, I feel sure it's the same for the actors.

HOW FRUSTRATING!

Imagine that you went into work one day and you were told to clean out your desk and then all the people you tweet with wanted you to keep tweeting about your job you just got fired from and how great it was and how it sucked that you got fired when there was so much more work you could do. Honestly, would you go back to Twitter? Go back knowing that you would receive HUNDREDS of tweets, perhaps thousands, all of the time. Well-meaning tweets, mostly, but all re-opening that wound. Little wonder they all need time to lick their wounds.

So, let's spare some compassion for the folks associated with the show, and understand that they have to move on with their lives and find some closure. If we are VERY EXTRAORDINARILY LUCKY, and Dominion is picked up, then I expect we will hear from them. And as time passes, I expect them to reemerge. But not anytime soon. And, I'm OK with that.

What is Sci-Fi (Syfy) and Why Do I Care?

Or, Syfy: The Sharknado Channel

Fans are undeniably angry that the Syfy Network recently canceled not just one, but two shows: Dominion and Defiance. This has generated some very interesting conversations. I’m going to discuss one of them in this post:  What is Sci-Fi (Syfy)?

So, what is this science fiction stuff? This question has vexed readers and watchers of TV for decades, perhaps even longer. I went to that bastion of human knowledge: Wikipedia. I went primarily because I felt I knew what it was, but I was also interested to learn the most prevalent definition. Here are a bunch by people in the field: http://bit.ly/1KpD6We. Interesting.

But, Miriam-Webster’s dictionary definition of science fiction is: “fiction dealing principally with the impact of actual or imagined science on society or individuals or having a scientific factor as an essential orienting component.”

Why do we care? I care because it impacts the concept of what is appropriate programming on the Sci-Fi Channel, which morphed into the Syfy Channel.  For quite a while, people have blurred "true" science fiction with fantasy, set in a future or alternate reality.  Right now, people are angry because they feel that Syfy is not sticking with science fiction programming, at the expense of programming which is TRULY “real science fiction.”  

The same fandoms tend to appreciate pure science fiction and at least some fantasy.  Syfy fans consider both Dominion and Defiance to be science fiction.  Really, sticking strictly to Miriam’s definition, Dominion is fantasy and Defiance is a combination of fantasy and science fiction. But, even at its inception, Syfy really never intended to be pure science fiction. It has always shown a blend of true science fiction, fantasy and horror (it is perhaps a little debatable if wrestling quite fits in there.)

I had a twitter discussion with a pal about the hate we love to heap on Sharknado.  Syfy continues to buy and show Sharknado, because (i) people watch it and (ii) it generates mounds of revenue for Syfy.  And, frankly, if you are a fan of wretched B movies – and there are tons and tons of those fans – then it appeals. I pointed out that I don’t like to call shows crappy, choosing instead to just not watch them – I don’t torch them (generally) in public. This is the case because what I like, others might not, and vice versa.  I don’t want to ruin entertainment for anyone else and I really don’t want them to ruin it for me. 

There is variety on TV because it would be boring if all programming was the same. Plus, if Syfy makes a bucketload of money off of Sharknado, THAT’S GOOD NEWS, because it should allow them to produce less profitable niche shows which improve the brand name.

In the summer of 2014, when there was concern that only one show would be renewed (between Defiance and Dominion) I tried to convey the concept that if the network was successful, we ALL would win, because the network could make and show more of what we like, so we didn’t need to choose if BOTH did well.

Vaun Wilmott said that he believed in the Big Tent concept. There is room for more than one good show. And, I totally agree. 

I think that the issue is not really WHAT Syfy shows, but HOW Syfy supports what it shows. We should be angry about that and not about a few cheesy movies or shows that we don’t like. Long Live Sharknado.

The Sticky Question of Rights (or Network Property Rights are a Real Good Sausage)

Dedicated Dominion fans are making a concerted push to try to get the show picked up by Netflix. Their goal is to have Netflix carry the show as well as produce new seasons of it. 

So, this begs the question: Who do the fans tell Netflix to talk to?  The quick answer to that is Universal Cable Productions, although likely the actual rights are handled by NBCUniversal Television Distribution because they are the arm that handles syndication.  But, Dominion was a co-production involving numerous other entities, who might hold rights to ultimate syndication or production agreements. (Full disclosure...I do NOT have copies of any legal agreements. This is based on informal information that I've been given or gleaned by research).

Does SyFy own the rights to Dominion? No. SyFy is an network within the NBCUniversal conglomerate, but it doesn't own the rights (it declined to ORDER a third season).

Does Vaun Wilmott own the rights to Dominion? No. He is considered the creator of the show, which is based in part on the 2010 movie Legion (another rights headache), but he does not own the rights to the show.

What is the difference between Universal Cable Productions (UCP) and SyFy? SyFy is a network. They order and broadcast shows. UCP creates content for distribution (they are a production company).

Why isn't/wasn't Dominion shown on ALL SyFy channels in other countries? Because those channels are actually independent and choose to order content. There is no one SyFy head that can order all the channels to carry the content.

Then, what is NBCUniversal? Besides having an incredibly boring logo now, it is effectively a joint venture and a conglomerate of associated businesses. See below for an illustration of all its businesses. This website explains this: http://www.nbcuniversal.com/who-we-are. Comcast acquired NBCUniversal in 2011, but it is a joint venture between Comcast and General Electric [Correction: as of 2013, Comcast purchased the balance from GE, so it solely owns NBCUniversal, who might want to correct its own website]. 

Netflix has the rights to show NBCUniversal shows. Doesn't that mean they can just choose to produce Dominion? No. Universal Cable Productions, or NBCUniversal Television Distribution is the entity which can decide the ultimate distribution and future production of the show. Netflix likely will have the rights to SHOW Dominion in the future, but would have to negotiate to obtain the licensing rights to MAKE or ORDER the show to be produced.

NBC Universal Companies

  

Piracy - how it might help Dominion

Anyone who has followed SyFy's original series Dominion over the last two seasons is FULLY AWARE that the show is pirated by a strong and dedicated contingent of fans who aren't able to watch the show concurrently, but still
love it.

Who can blame them? It's an intriguing show, with a strong social media following. These aren't fans who want to get the show on the cheap - they genuinely love it, and they want to interact with the cast and crew - who are fabulous with their time, but are typically only able to support the US broadcast.

CNET took note of the fact that Netflix pays attention to what shows are pirated in order to determine if they are worth acquiring. http://www.cnet.com/news/netflix-follows-the-pirates-to-decide-which-shows-to-pick-up/ 

So, Netflix - take note! Dominion has a pretty significant contingent of ARRRGGGH viewers.

Boycott or

Flaming Bags of Dog Poo?

In the wake of the carnage of SyFy cancelling its two 2014 top-rated shows, many dedicated viewers are asking themselves “Should I boycott SyFy?”  They think “why should I dedicate ANY time or effort in a network that treats its shows so poorly.” It's a fair question.  I think the answer is NO, because boycotts hurt workers, not executives.

Make absolutely no mistake about it. I’m really angry (think Marvin the Martian level anger) about SyFy canceling Dominion – shocked really.  Short of having the show go way off of the rails, a decently performing sophomore show should be renewed. And, there was NOTHING wrong with Dominion’s production this year. It was undeniably superior to Season 1 in pretty much every way.  Worse, as it had virtually no reason to anticipate cancellation, Season 2 was a blast, but left us in suspense for a Season 3 that will never come (at least on SyFY).

I was happy that Dominion, Defiance and Znation were all renewed last year. And, despite its low ratings (that I frankly found somewhat unfathomable, considering the quality of that show), 12 Monkeys was renewed this spring. Then came the summer line-up. With Defiance, Dark Matter and Killjoys all starting one month earlier than Dominion, we had time to hear the happy renewal news for the two Canadian co-productions (Dark Matter and Killjoys).  So, now I was in the position of being a firm fan of Dominion, Znation, 12 Monkeys, Killjoys and Dark Matter. Then, the killing blow arrived for Dominion.

I recently wrote an open letter to SyFy in which I identified the scheduling flaws which contribute to overall ratings decline, but specifically impacted Dominion.  In it, I described that, as a viewer, I would find it very hard to commit to new shows on SyFy with the level of uncertainty in the support for its current shows. That position has solidified.  I won’t emotionally invest myself in a new SyFy show without some assurance that it will continue AND be fully supported by SyFy executives.  For example, the network should increase its convention support and cross-publicity on sister NBC Universal network channels, as well as some channels outside the parent company.

Here is why boycotts are a problem in this industry.  When SyFy cancelled Dominion, I set about sending condolence and "thank you" tweets to groups of people that I knew were connected to its production.  Included were: directors, writers, actors, photographers, musicians, editors, and armorers.  But that is the merest tip of the iceberg.  There are special effects, costumers, make-up artists, set constructionists, dressers, craft/support services, prop masters, security, accountants, and ALL of the local services which support the production.  If everyone decides RIGHT NOW to not watch the existing shows they already support and encourage a lot of other people to boycott the network, ratings will fall. ONE or more executives may or may not lose their jobs. But that’s nothing compared to the hundreds of people who did NOTHING WRONG who would be devastated by further show cancellations that would result from the reduced ratings.  

Having said this, I might still wait to watch SyFy’s newest unaired shows. But, I won’t abandon the ones I already watch. I’m still thinking of effective ways to make uncaring, incompetent executives pay for the poor decisions they’ve made.  If I come up with a brilliant plan <snort>, I’ll share.