Do you have a program idea, but don't know who to contact at the appropriate network? You can search the network's web site, but that's not likely to have contact information about the specific people you need to pitch. You can send a blind inquiry to their mailbox, but you may not receive a response. LinkedIn can help you.
Linkedin is a professional social networking site: www.linkedin.com. Everyone who creates a profile can then link to people they know through the site. The beauty of linkedin is that it allows you to search by company and by name. For example, let's assume you have a show you'd like to pitch to Spike TV. You can search on Linkedin for people who work for Spike. You can view their profiles to see who works in programming. Once you've identified who you want to contact, you can also see if anyone you're linked to knows that person. Then you can ask your friend to send an introduction on line to the person you want to speak with. If they agree, you now have an introduction to the appropriate person.
Linkedin also has many groups that you can join to increase your connections and learn more about the media business. I'm a member of Media Professionals Worldwide and the International Television Experts Group, among others. These group sites often contain job leads and educational discussions. Remember to focus on specific goals while searching groups. It's easy to spend a lot of time surfing the discussions without advancing your projects and your career.
If you're not on linkedin, give it a try.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Late Night TV Wars Part Two
Some newspapers reported today that NBC and Conan O'Brien have reached an agreement on a contract buyout. The numbers that were reported estimate a $40 million payout to Conan and severance for his staff. Would you go back to work if your employer gave you a $40 million buyout? Regardless of what you might do, Conan apparently plans to take some time off, and return to TV on another network in the fall.
One thing we can all learn from this -- there's still a great deal of money to be made in television. Apparently, NBC believes they'll make so much more money returning Jay Leno to the 11:35 PM time slot it was worth paying Conan off. Therefore, it's worthwhile for you to spend your time making your own program idea as strong as possible before you pitch it to a network.
Our other lesson is a hard truth to swallow -- sometimes you can have a good idea that doesn't work. The people running NBC certainly thought moving Leno to prime time would make their network stronger -- at least that's what they told the public, their advertisers, and their affiliates. The Daily Show and the Colbert Report are two examples of topical comedy shows that succeed in prime. I'm sure NBC tested the concept on sample audiences and advertisers before committing to it. It just didn't work. As the saying goes, "That's show business." You need to be prepared for the fact that your idea may not become popular. Make sure you have more than one idea to pitch.
One thing we can all learn from this -- there's still a great deal of money to be made in television. Apparently, NBC believes they'll make so much more money returning Jay Leno to the 11:35 PM time slot it was worth paying Conan off. Therefore, it's worthwhile for you to spend your time making your own program idea as strong as possible before you pitch it to a network.
Our other lesson is a hard truth to swallow -- sometimes you can have a good idea that doesn't work. The people running NBC certainly thought moving Leno to prime time would make their network stronger -- at least that's what they told the public, their advertisers, and their affiliates. The Daily Show and the Colbert Report are two examples of topical comedy shows that succeed in prime. I'm sure NBC tested the concept on sample audiences and advertisers before committing to it. It just didn't work. As the saying goes, "That's show business." You need to be prepared for the fact that your idea may not become popular. Make sure you have more than one idea to pitch.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Late Night TV Wars
TV news, web sites, and blogs have been buzzing all week with the news that NBC is moving Jay Leno's program out of prime time to 11:30 PM, cutting it to a half hour, and placing The Tonight Show at midnight. Conan O' Brien's statement has been all over the internet, so there's no need to quote the entire thing here. This situation provides such a "teachable moment" that I am compelled to point out some sides of the issue that I haven't seen discussed in detail.
1. It's impossible to predict audience tastes five years in the future: NBC made the decision to re-sign Conan and promise him The Tonight Show in 2009 to solve a problem they had in 2004. They assumed that five more years of building an audience would allow Conan to slip easily behind the Tonight Show desk at a time when Jay Leno's audience would be leaving the show. It probably appeared logical at the time -- it was just wrong. Leno was still popular, and NBC, which had very few other hit shows, found themselves scrambling for ideas to keep Leno and honor their commitment to Conan. Had NBC remembered that it's impossible to predict audience tastes five years in the future, they might have left themselves more options.
Therefore, when you're creating your own program ideas, don't spend any time worrying about making them "commercial." No one knows for sure if an idea will become popular until they make it available to the public. The best thing you can in developing your idea is keep it as close to the core of what excited you about it as possible. A good television programmer will respond to your passion.
I'll point out more lessons we can learn from this in upcoming blogs.
1. It's impossible to predict audience tastes five years in the future: NBC made the decision to re-sign Conan and promise him The Tonight Show in 2009 to solve a problem they had in 2004. They assumed that five more years of building an audience would allow Conan to slip easily behind the Tonight Show desk at a time when Jay Leno's audience would be leaving the show. It probably appeared logical at the time -- it was just wrong. Leno was still popular, and NBC, which had very few other hit shows, found themselves scrambling for ideas to keep Leno and honor their commitment to Conan. Had NBC remembered that it's impossible to predict audience tastes five years in the future, they might have left themselves more options.
Therefore, when you're creating your own program ideas, don't spend any time worrying about making them "commercial." No one knows for sure if an idea will become popular until they make it available to the public. The best thing you can in developing your idea is keep it as close to the core of what excited you about it as possible. A good television programmer will respond to your passion.
I'll point out more lessons we can learn from this in upcoming blogs.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Look for What Isn't There
Some years ago at a television convention I attended a presentation by Marcy Carsey, the founder of Carsey-Werner Productions, producer of legendary sitcoms The Cosby Show, Roseanne, Third Rock From the Sun, and That Seventies Show, among other hits. Ms. Carsey said that her approach for finding ideas was to review the types of shows that were popular at the time and see what types of shows were not on television. Then she would create a program idea to fill that gap.
For example, some critics and even television executives in the early 1980s believed situation comedies were dying. Their ratings had been declining for years and it had been a long time (in television years) since there was a new hit. Bill Cosby had starred in the hit comedy/drama I Spy, but his subsequent prime time shows -- a sitcom and a variety show -- had much less success.
Ms. Carsey packaged a show idea for a situation comedy starring Bill Cosby and pitched it to all the networks. Any of them could have licensed it -- only third place NBC took a chance on the show. (I'm writing about a time when most of America got their television from the three major broadcast networks). There were no other shows like it on TV, and the Cosby show became one of the most popular situation comedies of all time. Yes, it was well written, acted and directed (see my previous posting about an idea only being as good as its execution) but if the Cosby Show wasn't unique for its time, it would not have been nearly as big a hit.
Her work is full of other examples -- Roseanne was the first show about a working class family to come on in a long time; Third Rock brought aliens back to prime time after a long absence; That Seventies Show was the only show set during that decade, etc. Yes, they were all quality productions, but they also appeared fresh and new.
So as you start 2010, look for the ideas that are not out there. Be unique and original, and your idea will receive more attention.
For example, some critics and even television executives in the early 1980s believed situation comedies were dying. Their ratings had been declining for years and it had been a long time (in television years) since there was a new hit. Bill Cosby had starred in the hit comedy/drama I Spy, but his subsequent prime time shows -- a sitcom and a variety show -- had much less success.
Ms. Carsey packaged a show idea for a situation comedy starring Bill Cosby and pitched it to all the networks. Any of them could have licensed it -- only third place NBC took a chance on the show. (I'm writing about a time when most of America got their television from the three major broadcast networks). There were no other shows like it on TV, and the Cosby show became one of the most popular situation comedies of all time. Yes, it was well written, acted and directed (see my previous posting about an idea only being as good as its execution) but if the Cosby Show wasn't unique for its time, it would not have been nearly as big a hit.
Her work is full of other examples -- Roseanne was the first show about a working class family to come on in a long time; Third Rock brought aliens back to prime time after a long absence; That Seventies Show was the only show set during that decade, etc. Yes, they were all quality productions, but they also appeared fresh and new.
So as you start 2010, look for the ideas that are not out there. Be unique and original, and your idea will receive more attention.
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