Flu struck the family, so no update for some days. Well, better late than never, eh?
7. Find a niche, if possible
There are about 3 gazillions of game shows on air throughout the world as we speak. Some have been around for aeons, some have just started, most are somewhere in between. We have all these experts on gameshows and quiz shows, Endemol being one of the foremost, that have enormous development teams involved in coming up with new ideas. And they do!
At any given gathering for the television industry, a buyer will be pitched a multitude of game and quiz show ideas. "Think Deal or No Deal meets Fear Factor!" or perhaps "Well, it's Millionaire meets Wife Swap" or whatever. Very, VERY few of these will be original and exciting.
The same goes for reality tv programs, makeover shows etc. These genres have been exploited for years and are extremely hard to be original in.
My suggestion then, is to go for originality. Find a niche where there is a bit more space. It could be educational or edutainment formats - like this one - or it could be cross media shows. It could be something with interactivity or perhaps a really really novel take on current affairs?
Whatever niche you choose to focus on, you will find fewer people to pitch to. On the upside, however, the queues leading up to these persons will be significantly shorter, and their attention will be all the greater.
And I probably shouldn't have to say this, but do a thorough market research of the niche you choose. What's out there, who's producing it, what kind of ratings do they have and whom should you pitch to?
Best of luck :)
Showing posts with label list. Show all posts
Showing posts with label list. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
The secret behind successful tv formats, no 8
Had a lot to do yesterday, adn the missus flew off to Vilnius, so apologies for not updating. Here, no 8 on the list of the things that IMHO are important when devising a new tv format.
8. Keep up with trends and anticipate them
The recent economic crisis in the US and worldwide wasn't that hard to predict. Everything that goes up must come down, at some point, which is just what is happening now.
The same goes for the television industry. Where we, some years ago, had the upswing of reality shows like BB etc, now we have for a couple of years seen the rise of feel-good formats, many with more of a family value to them.
Furthermore, looking at the technical evolution, we had the hype around interactive television some years back, which quickly changed to a hype around UCG (User Generated Content) which next year was the enormous hype around mobile television... none of which has really really taken off as of yet, at least not to the degrees that was predicted at the outset.
What can we learn from this? Well, a good place to start is to look at what formats channels are broadcasting and buying at the moment. Think one, or several, steps ahead from the current situation - what could be the next trend coming around the corner? Right now all sorts of feel-good shows are doing the rounds. Perhaps it's more green television shows? Some have already been made, but there's room for more, if they're done well enough. Or perhaps more elaborate cross media formats, integrating the Internet, television and mobile in new and exciting ways?
I have my ideas, but since you're not paying my wages, I won't reveal them here :) But the conclusions are there to be drawn - go to c21:s pages to look for the latest news from the television industry, to informitv to read up on the interactive and cross media field, and why not the different ratings institutes (like Nielsen) around the world to look at what's selling right now.
With regards to technical solutions, don't jump on bandwagons. It'll only end with a crash, most likely. As Bill Gates said in 1995 (I think) - "We ALWAYS overestimate the technical progress for the coming two years, but we always UNDERESTIMATE the progress for the coming FIVE years".
Once again, think ahead. Don't do what everyone else is doing - in 2001 it was thousands of rip-offs of BB, Survivor etc. In 2008, rip-offs of Strictly come dancing or Farmer wants a wife, or why not game shows like Deal or No Deal. You can find hundreds of them, just go to MIPCOM this year and you'll see.
If you need any further hints and tips, gimme a call :)
Tomorrow, number 7!
8. Keep up with trends and anticipate them
The recent economic crisis in the US and worldwide wasn't that hard to predict. Everything that goes up must come down, at some point, which is just what is happening now.
The same goes for the television industry. Where we, some years ago, had the upswing of reality shows like BB etc, now we have for a couple of years seen the rise of feel-good formats, many with more of a family value to them.
Furthermore, looking at the technical evolution, we had the hype around interactive television some years back, which quickly changed to a hype around UCG (User Generated Content) which next year was the enormous hype around mobile television... none of which has really really taken off as of yet, at least not to the degrees that was predicted at the outset.
What can we learn from this? Well, a good place to start is to look at what formats channels are broadcasting and buying at the moment. Think one, or several, steps ahead from the current situation - what could be the next trend coming around the corner? Right now all sorts of feel-good shows are doing the rounds. Perhaps it's more green television shows? Some have already been made, but there's room for more, if they're done well enough. Or perhaps more elaborate cross media formats, integrating the Internet, television and mobile in new and exciting ways?
I have my ideas, but since you're not paying my wages, I won't reveal them here :) But the conclusions are there to be drawn - go to c21:s pages to look for the latest news from the television industry, to informitv to read up on the interactive and cross media field, and why not the different ratings institutes (like Nielsen) around the world to look at what's selling right now.
With regards to technical solutions, don't jump on bandwagons. It'll only end with a crash, most likely. As Bill Gates said in 1995 (I think) - "We ALWAYS overestimate the technical progress for the coming two years, but we always UNDERESTIMATE the progress for the coming FIVE years".
Once again, think ahead. Don't do what everyone else is doing - in 2001 it was thousands of rip-offs of BB, Survivor etc. In 2008, rip-offs of Strictly come dancing or Farmer wants a wife, or why not game shows like Deal or No Deal. You can find hundreds of them, just go to MIPCOM this year and you'll see.
If you need any further hints and tips, gimme a call :)
Tomorrow, number 7!
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