A Gardening show with Monty Don was commissioned because he such a star in the Far east. Talent that are also experts in their field are quite acceptable. Food shows are hard to sell because there area lot of them. Distributors funding shows s not seen as a viable idea, they will give an advance to a Producer but you should think of that a your money. This is an interesting concept, a bit like Factors in “normal” business. A Factor may give you money but you still have to pay them if sales don’t appear. It really is just an advance – you haven’t sold your Rights (and the related risk).
They showed a clip from “Empires of Silver”, which was distributed by TVF International and made by Matchlight [now in Administration]. It being a great show, funded in China, and it works worldwide.
There is interest in SVODs and Streamers as they seem to want all the Rights. There is conflict between Distributors and their need for Rights. It is becoming more difficult to navigate the new world. He did mention Windowing which is related to how Streamers and SVODs work. They want to show you program for a set period. For example iPlayer puts on shows that are currently being broadcast. Another article mentioned the conflicts this can produce, they may broadcast a show they are only paying streaming rights for. There now worldwide broadcasts from AVODs (Audio Video on Demand).
It is also a good idea to work with several Distributors. However it can depend on Producer needs.