Kikim Media
Kikim Media is a private, Emmy and Peabody award-winning documentary production company founded in 1996, producing science, health, climate, and social-issue films for PBS, NOVA, foundations, and educational institutions.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1996
- HeadquartersMenlo Park, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Kikim Media does
Kikim Media is a private, full-service documentary production company founded in 1996 by Kiki Kapany and the late Michael Schwarz in San Francisco, California. The company produces documentary films and series for national public broadcasters (primarily PBS, NOVA, FRONTLINE, Discovery Science Channel, and HBO), philanthropic foundations (Skoll Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation), non-profit and educational organizations (National Science Teaching Association, The Climate Initiative, UCSF Diabetes Center), and corporate clients. Its catalog spans more than 30 productions over nearly three decades, including feature-length science documentaries such as Weathering the Future (2023), Secrets in our DNA (2021), Look Who's Driving (2019), and In Defense of Food (2015), as well as the multi-year Our Beautiful Planet climate series comprising 14 short films distributed with K-12 educational curriculum.
The company's core craft is documentary filmmaking using high-definition video, animation, and multimedia storytelling techniques, with projects typically bundled with educational outreach components including lesson plans, community screening toolkits, and discussion guides. There is no proprietary software platform or technology product; the value lies in creative talent, editorial credibility, and distribution relationships rather than technology assets. Workflow involves pitching documentary concepts, securing commissioning agreements, and producing broadcast-quality content under tight public-television-style budgets.
The business model is project-based with four revenue streams: broadcast commissioning and licensing fees from networks; professional services contracts with foundations and non-profits; educational content distribution licensing through NSTA, PBS Learning Media, and partner institutions; and direct consumer sales through Amazon, Apple TV, and PBS Shop. Pricing is custom-quoted per project with no public pricing. The company is privately held with concentrated founder ownership—Kiki Kapany assumed sole control following Michael Schwarz's death in December 2019—and has no institutional investors, PE, or VC backing. Customer mix skews toward a recurring set of broadcast and foundation anchor clients, with PBS representing the dominant long-tenured relationship.
Kikim Media firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Kikim Media
- Legal name
- Kikim Media
- Website
- https://kikim.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1996
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Kikim Media is a private, Emmy and Peabody award-winning documentary production company founded in 1996, producing science, health, climate, and social-issue films for PBS, NOVA, foundations, and educational institutions.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Kikim Media industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Documentary Production Services
- NAICS
- Broadcasting and Content Providers (516)
- SIC
- Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Docuseries & Episodic Nonfiction (TV/Streaming) (MPADADAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Social Issue & Advocacy Documentaries (MPADADAG), Business, Politics & Current Affairs Documentaries (MPADADAJ), Short-Form Documentaries (MPADADAC), K–12 Instructional Video & Multimedia (EDAGALAA), Public Media Partnerships & Content Co-productions (NGO/Cultural) (MPABADAN)
Keywords
Where Kikim Media is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Menlo Park
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Kikim Media business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Broadcast Commissioning: Production of documentaries commissioned by national broadcasters including PBS, NOVA, Discovery Science Channel, and HBO. Revenue generated through production contracts and licensing fees.
- Foundation and Non-profit Contracts: Producing videos and documentary series for foundations including Skoll Foundation (social entrepreneurs series), Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and University of California organizations.
- Educational Content Distribution: Distribution of educational curriculum, discussion guides, and community screening toolkits to schools and educational organizations. Revenue from licensing educational materials.
- Consumer Sales: Direct sales through platforms like Amazon (rent/purchase), Apple TV (streaming/rent), and PBS Shop for DVD purchases.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels7 records
Kikim Media product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Kikim Media is a full-service documentary production company that develops, produces, and delivers films and series for national broadcasters (PBS, NOVA, FRONTLINE, Discovery, HBO), foundations, non-profit organizations, and corporate clients. Each production is paired with outreach components such as community screening toolkits, educational curricula, and discussion guides to extend reach into classrooms and communities. The company also distributes finished documentaries via Amazon, Apple TV, PBS Shop, and PBS Learning Media.
Product overview
Kikim Media is a full-service production company with over 35 years of experience producing documentary films and series for national broadcasters, foundations, non-profit organizations, and corporate clients. The portfolio includes major PBS NOVA documentaries (Weathering the Future, Secrets in our DNA, Look Who's Driving), the climate-focused Our Beautiful Planet initiative featuring 14 short documentaries with educational curriculum from NSTA, feature-length documentaries like Wired for Connection and The Ornament of the World, and historical/science documentaries (Silicon Valley: The Untold Story, The Botany of Desire, In Defense of Food). The company produces content for broadcast on PBS, Discovery Science Channel, and HBO, with extensive outreach components including community screening toolkits, educational curricula, and discussion guides.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Wired for Connection Documentary film exploring the biological imperative for social bonding, contrasting evolutionary need for connection with modern isolation in the digital age. Features groundbreaking research from primate field studies to advanced neuroscience. Produced for PBS and WORLD Channel.
- Weathering the Future Documentary produced for PBS NOVA exploring how extreme weather in the U.S. affects communities through longer heat waves, intense rainstorms, megafires, and droughts, and how Americans are fighting back.
- Secrets in our DNA PBS NOVA documentary exploring the power of direct-to-consumer DNA testing and the unintended consequences of sharing data with rapidly growing online databases.
- Our Beautiful Planet Multi-year climate science initiative comprising a series of 14 short documentaries highlighting cutting-edge climate research by climate scientists. Accompanied by lesson plans from NSTA and community outreach guides from The Climate Initiative, distributed to middle and high school science teachers.
- Look Who's Driving PBS NOVA documentary taking a balanced look at the current state of self-driving cars, examining the technological, engineering, legal, and regulatory challenges of autonomous vehicles.
- The Ornament of the World Two-hour animated and live action PBS documentary depicting the story of Muslims, Christians and Jews who forged a common cultural identity in medieval Spain, featuring location cinematography and dramatic animation.
- Silicon Valley: The Untold Story Three-hour documentary series for Discovery's Science Channel exploring the cultural, technological and intellectual history of Silicon Valley.
- In Defense of Food Documentary based on Michael Pollan's best-selling book investigating what to eat to be healthy, examining faulty nutrition science and deceptive marketing practices in the food industry. Emmy-nominated.
- The Botany of Desire Documentary based on Michael Pollan's book examining the co-evolutionary relationship between plants and people.
- Capturing Grace Observational documentary documenting the intersection between those who live with a movement disorder (Parkinson's Disease) and those who move for a living.
- My Father, My Brother and Me PBS FRONTLINE documentary chronicling Parkinson's disease and its impact on families.
- Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet Groundbreaking PBS documentary about Prophet Muhammad, honored with a Special Jury Award from Ciné Golden Eagle and a Bronze World Medal from the International Film and Video Festival of New York.
- Hunting the Hidden Dimension PBS NOVA documentary telling the story of fractal geometry and its applications.
- Ending AIDS: The Search for a Vaccine Documentary chronicling one of the world's greatest biomedical research challenges in the search for an AIDS vaccine.
- Naked to the Bone Hour-long PBS documentary about medical imaging technologies that have transformed the way we see inside the body.
- In Search of Law and Order Three-part PBS documentary series on effective ways of dealing with kids and violence, aired nationally on PBS and on England's Channel Four.
Companies that use Kikim Media
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Kikim Media technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Kikim Media partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, key and minor.
- National Science Teaching AssociationcorePartnership to increase student and public understanding about climate issues. NSTA develops lesson plans accompanying each Our Beautiful Planet film, distributed to middle and high school science teachers.
- The Climate InitiativecorePartnership to educate on climate solutions, inspire curiosity and galvanize grassroots action. TCI develops community outreach guides accompanying each Our Beautiful Planet film.
- PBS / NOVAcorePrimary broadcast partner for multiple documentary productions including Weathering the Future, Secrets in our DNA, Look Who's Driving, and Wired for Connection.
- WORLD ChannelcoreBroadcast partner for Wired for Connection, reaching nearly 70% of US households. Premier public television destination for documentary storytelling.
- Skoll FoundationkeyProduced series of 27 short videos about social entrepreneurs for the Skoll Foundation.
- Gordon and Betty Moore FoundationkeyProduced three short videos for the foundation.
- Discovery Science ChannelkeyBroadcast partner for Silicon Valley: The Untold Story, a three-hour series about the history of Silicon Valley.
- KQEDkeySan Francisco broadcast partner for Wired for Connection premiere on June 1, 2026.
- HBOminorProduced special features for HBO's DVD release of Deadwood.
- Laurie M. Tisch Center for Food, Education & Policy at Columbia Teachers CollegekeyDeveloped the In Defense of Food Curriculum comprising ten sequential two-hour lessons for middle school after-school programs.
- PBS Learning MediakeyEducational platform distributing film clips and curriculum materials for classroom use.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Kikim Media competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Kartemquin Films: Chicago-based independent documentary producer (Hoop Dreams, The Interrupters) with similar PBS broadcast focus and award-winning social-issue storytelling. Comparable mission-driven, foundation-supported production model and roughly similar team size.
- Vulcan Productions: Paul Allen-founded documentary production company behind climate, science, and social-impact films (e.g., Racing Extinction). Highly comparable foundation-backed, science-and-society documentary focus, though operates from a much larger endowment-funded base.
- Participant Media: Mission-driven film and documentary producer behind An Inconvenient Truth, Food Inc., and An Inconvenient Sequel. Closely comparable to Kikim's social-impact, science-and-policy documentary model and foundation-funded commissioning strategy, though Participant operates at significantly larger scale.
Emerging players
- Sandbox Films: Science-focused documentary producer and financier with PBS distribution ties (e.g., Fire of Love, Particle Fever). Overlaps directly with Kikim's science-documentary niche and PBS/NOVA positioning, but with more emphasis on theatrical/streaming release.
- XTR: Documentary streaming service and production company distributing socially conscious nonfiction films. Partially comparable as a documentary commissioning and distribution counterpart to Kikim's broadcast-led model, but with a more direct-to-consumer streaming focus.
- Concordia Studio: New York-based documentary and impact-media studio behind Dick Johnson Is Dead and Collective. Comparable impact-driven documentary production model and foundation/corporate commissioning approach, but with stronger streaming-platform orientation.
Broad incumbents
- WETA: Major public-broadcasting production house behind Ken Burns documentaries and PBS NewsHour. Comparable PBS commissioning and distribution infrastructure, but operates as a much larger, station-affiliated incumbent rather than an independent producer.
- National Geographic Studios: Documentary production and distribution arm behind science, nature, and culture programming (Cosmos, One Strange Rock). Overlaps with Kikim's science and culture documentary focus and could plausibly commission from Kikim; operates as a much larger network-owned production entity.
- WGBH: Boston-based public broadcaster and major PBS production facility (Frontline, NOVA, American Experience). Direct commissioning counterpart to Kikim's PBS work, but operates as a station-affiliated incumbent at substantially greater scale.
- Discovery (Warner Bros. Discovery): Global broadcaster and documentary commissioner that aired Kikim's Silicon Valley: The Untold Story. Acts as a customer/distribution partner for Kikim, but at vastly larger scale and with broader entertainment portfolio.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Kikim Media social profiles
Digital presenceKikim Media financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Kikim Media leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Kikim Media funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Kikim Media M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Kikim Media
What does Kikim Media do?
Kikim Media is a full-service documentary production company that develops, produces, and delivers films and series for national broadcasters (PBS, NOVA, FRONTLINE, Discovery, HBO), foundations, non-profit organizations, and corporate clients. Each production is paired with outreach components such as community screening toolkits, educational curricula, and discussion guides to extend reach into classrooms and communities. The company also distributes finished documentaries via Amazon, Apple TV, PBS Shop, and PBS Learning Media.
Is Kikim Media a public or private company?
Kikim Media is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Kikim Media founded?
Kikim Media was founded in 1996. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Kikim Media based?
Kikim Media is headquartered in Menlo Park, United States, in the North America region.
How does Kikim Media make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Broadcast Commissioning is the primary driver. The others are foundation and Non-profit Contracts, educational Content Distribution and consumer Sales.
Who are Kikim Media's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Kartemquin Films, Vulcan Productions and Participant Media. Emerging players are Sandbox Films, XTR and Concordia Studio. Broad incumbents are WETA, National Geographic Studios, WGBH and Discovery (Warner Bros. Discovery).
Does Kikim Media have an API?
No public API is recorded for Kikim Media.
What industry is Kikim Media in?
Kikim Media's product category is Documentary Production Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPADADAB, Docuseries & Episodic Nonfiction (TV/Streaming), with a secondary code of MPADADAG, Social Issue & Advocacy Documentaries. Its NAICS code is 516 and its SIC code is 7812.