Hot Snakes Media

What Hot Snakes Media does

Hot Snakes Media is a privately held television production company founded by Eric Evangelista and Shannon Evangelista, operating from Stamford, CT with East Coast operations in New York. The company produces original reality, documentary, true crime, paranormal, and wildlife programming that it licenses to major television networks and streaming platforms, including Discovery, TLC, MAX, Netflix, Lifetime, Animal Planet, History Channel, A&E, MTV, National Geographic, VH1, Bravo, and Vice. Its content catalog includes the Breaking Amish franchise (11 ratings record-setting seasons on TLC), the Critics Choice Award-winning DeafU series on Netflix, Pig Royalty on Discovery+, Shark Week programming featuring wildlife biologist Forrest Galante, true crime series such as The Curious Case of Natalia Grace, and paranormal content on Lifetime and MAX.

The company's core product is unscripted and documentary television content created for broad consumer audiences. Its technology stack is content production-centric rather than software-centric — built around field production, editorial post-production, and talent/format development rather than proprietary platforms or AI-driven tooling. The business operates a single unified production studio model rather than a multi-product platform architecture. Go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven: Hot Snakes Media develops concepts, pitches networks, secures commissions or licensing deals, and distributes finished programming through its broadcast and streaming partners. Revenue is generated through content licensing royalties from these distribution partners, with Range Media Partners serving as its representation agency for business development.

Hot Snakes Media employs between 101 and 250 people and reports no external institutional investment, private equity backing, or venture funding. The founders — Eric Evangelista, a former broadcast news producer and newspaper journalist, and Shannon Evangelista, a former federal criminal defense attorney and Manhattan prosecutor — personally lead the creative and operational direction. The company has earned industry recognition including a Critics Choice Award for Best Unstructured Series and a Telly Award.

Name

Hot Snakes Media

Legal name

Hot Snakes Media

Website

https://hotsnakesmedia.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Hot Snakes Media is a privately held television production company that creates and licenses original reality, documentary, true crime, paranormal, and wildlife programming to major networks including TLC, Discovery, Netflix, MAX, and Lifetime.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Television Production

NAICS

Broadcasting and Content Providers (516), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (51621)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)

akta.pro primary industry

Reality & Factual Entertainment (Unscripted) (MPADADAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Pay-TV / Premium Window Distribution (MPADAJAH)

Keywords

• Television production
• Unscripted programming
• Reality series
• Documentary production
• Content licensing

Headquarters

HQ city

Stamford

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Television Licensing: Hot Snakes Media produces original content (reality series, documentaries, true crime shows) that is licensed to television networks and streaming platforms. Revenue is generated through licensing deals with networks such as Discovery, TLC, MAX, Netflix, Lifetime, and others. The company creates shows that set ratings records and generate significant viewership.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Hot Snakes Media is an independent television production company that develops, produces, and licenses original unscripted series — including reality, documentary, true crime, paranormal, wildlife, and Shark Week programming — to major U.S. cable networks (Discovery, TLC, MAX, Lifetime, A&E, Animal Planet, History Channel) and streaming platforms (Netflix, Discovery+, Amazon Prime, Apple, Vudu). The company creates finished programs as its core deliverable, with revenue generated primarily through content licensing deals rather than direct consumer sales.

Product overview

Hot Snakes Media is a television production company that produces reality and documentary content across multiple platforms and networks. The company operates as a single unified production studio rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. Its core offerings include reality franchises (Breaking Amish with 11 seasons, DeafU), true crime series (The Curious Case of Natalia Grace), wildlife programming (Shark Week content with Forrest Galante), paranormal documentaries, and general documentary series. Content is distributed through major streaming platforms including Discovery+, Netflix, MAX, TLC, Lifetime, and others.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Breaking Amish Franchise Reality documentary franchise following Amish individuals exploring the outside world; the most-watched first-season series in the 50-year history of TLC, with 11 seasons and licensed to TLC and MAX.
• DeafU Critics Choice Award-winning reality docu-series following college students at Gallaudet University in Washington, DC; streaming on Netflix.
• Pig Royalty Reality series following a multi-generational rivalry between Texas pig-breeding families; distributed on Discovery+ and described as one of its most-binged original series.
• Shark Week programming slate Wildlife and adventure programming centered on biologist Forrest Galante, including Extinct or Alive and other Shark Week titles streamed on Discovery+ and broadcast on Discovery Channel.
• The Curious Case of Natalia Grace Six-part true crime docu-series examining the Natalia Barnett case; aired on ID/MAX and Discovery+.
• Paranormal documentary slate Paranormal documentary programming including haunted house investigations and Amish supernatural storytelling; airing on Lifetime and MAX.
• Documentary series slate Documentary programming covering social issues, cultural topics, and human interest stories (including an Afghanistan gender-inequality series), distributed across Refinery29, TLC, and MTV.
• True crime and documentary specials Standalone true crime and documentary specials covering organized crime, spy families, COVID-19 first responders, superfans, and global wet markets; licensed to VH1, A&E, MTV, and Vice.
• Pioneers (homesteading families) Documentary series about homesteading families; licensed to National Geographic.
• Amish: Out of Order Reality series following those who protect and police the secretive world of the Amish; the most-watched first-season series in Discovery Channel history, streaming on Discovery+.
• Bitten Two-hour paranormal special about a family in Jasper, Alabama dealing with a mysterious bite; the highest-rated entry in Animal Planet's Monster Week.
• Face the Beast Wildlife documentary series probing historical mass killings by predators using new technology to investigate dangerous creatures in their own habitats; aired on History Channel.

Named customers14 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Range Media PartnerscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerRange Media Partners serves as the representation for Hot Snakes Media. They handle business development and representation services for the production company.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• ITV Studios America: ITV Studios America produces Hell's Kitchen, The Four, and Love Island US, and has acquired several US independent producers (e.g., Leftfield, High Noon). It is a direct competitor in unscripted and a likely acquirer profile for a scaled independent like Hot Snakes.
• Fremantle North America: Fremantle produces American Idol, Family Feud, and The Price Is Right, and is a leading global unscripted format house. It competes head-to-head with Hot Snakes for network and streamer commissions and has the scale to outbid on formats and talent.
• Leftfield Pictures: Leftfield Pictures produces unscripted hits including Pawn Stars and The Curse of Oak Island for History Channel. It is a direct competitor in the same network (History) and in the same reality/historical/oddity genre lane as Hot Snakes.
• 44 Blue Productions: 44 Blue Productions produces Locked Up Abroad, Wahlburgers, and other unscripted series for Discovery, A&E, and Netflix. It is a direct comparator in size, genre mix (true crime, lifestyle, docu-series), and buyer footprint.
• Endemol Shine North America (Banijay): Banijay's North American operations (formerly Endemol Shine) are among the largest unscripted producers in the US, creating Big Brother, MasterChef, and Wipeout. It is a direct competitor for network commissions in reality, competition, and lifestyle formats.
• Discovery Studios (in-house): Discovery's in-house production arm produces Shark Week, 90 Day Fiancé, and other unscripted hits directly for Discovery's linear and streaming channels. It is the closest direct comparator because it produces the same buyer (Discovery) the same genre mix (wildlife, reality, true crime) Hot Snakes is built around.
• Magical Elves: Magical Elves produces Top Chef, Nailed It!, and Cold Justice, and is a long-standing independent unscripted producer. It is a direct competitor in the same mid-sized independent production segment, with a comparable mix of reality, competition, and true crime.
• Original Productions: Original Productions produces Deadliest Catch, BattleBots, and other high-end unscripted series for Discovery networks. It competes directly with Hot Snakes on Discovery+/Discovery Channel commissions and shares the wildlife/adventure/male-skewing unscripted lane.
• All3Media America: All3Media America owns labels such as Lionsgate's unscripted group and produces Undercover Boss, The Profit, and Married at First Sight. It directly competes for unscripted commissions and shares Hot Snakes' reality and documentary footprint.
• Vice Media (Vice Studios): Vice Studios produces documentary and docu-series content for Vice's own channels, Netflix, and others. Hot Snakes has licensed documentary content to Vice, and the two compete in the same factual/documentary space for streaming commissions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/hotsnakesmedia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hot-snakes-media

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hot Snakes Media