Want to pitch a TV Series to a network, but don’t know where to begin? The Annual Real Screen Summit may be the introduction producers, writers, and directors are looking for.

In last month’s Imagine, Paul Boghosian gave us a look at NATPE 2005, the annual conference of the National Association of Television Program Executives. Where NATPE’s theme was “Global R Us,” the 7^th Annual Real Screen Summit that followed two weeks later on February 7^th – 9^th, is an intimate conference, more focused on the needs of domestic producers.

Having attended both NATPE and Real Screen this year, as sort of a crash course in learning everything you need to know about pitching TV series, it’s hard to choose one over the other. However, if you’ve got an idea, a concept for a series and want to find out if anyone else thinks it might be a great idea, Real Screen may be the place to start.

NATPE is devoted to everything TV. You rub shoulders with Paramount, NBC, Discovery Networks, Anime Production Companies, distributors like Freemantle, alongside booths promoting a channel devoted to surgical procedures and “The Naked News.” Real Screen Summit has evolved from the eponymous international trade magazine that covers the “business of factual and non-fiction programming”. That doesn’t necessarily mean reality TV. More often it’s about documentary and non-fiction programming on networks like PBS, the BBC, Discovery, HGTV, TLC and Bravo.

NATPE is as large and glitzy as the city where it’s held – Las Vegas. Real Screen this year was held at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, DC, and it’s a much more sober affair. Where NATPE’s keynote speaker was Ted Turner, Real Screen featured director Boston-based Errol Morris (THE FOG OF WAR). At NATPE, a panel celebrated the future of Reality TV. At Real Screen they had a mock trial called ‘Reality TV on Trial.’ Guess who was convicted?

NATPE sprawls over several floors in a hotel, exhibition space and ballrooms. Real Screen is essentially two concurrent sessions. Three ballrooms feature panel discussions that look at the big picture, with titles like ‘Making International Coproduction Work’, ‘The ABC’s of Grassroots Marketing’, ‘Strengthening the Producer-Network EP Relationship’, or ‘The Festival Circuit’. The other track happens in four small rooms under the title of ’30 Minutes.’

The ’30 Minutes’ sessions are worth the price of admission. In small breakout rooms, no more than 20 to a room, you get to meet and question network executives with titles like Director of Program Development; VP of Production Development; Director, News & Public Affairs Programming. This year the line-up included executives from the BBC, Spike TV, National Geographic Channel, Court TV, Bravo, PBS, the Outdoor Channel, and about half of the Discovery Networks’ channels. It might take you months to schedule private audiences with these executives.

While you do have to share a room with several other hungry producers and production companies, there’s the opportunity to ask the basics: What type of programming are you looking for, do you commission work or make acquisitions, how much do you pay per episode, do you want us to find sponsors or product placement deals? And except for the guy whose cell phone kept pinging loudly during one session, you get to ask the questions with more anonymity than a one on one meeting.

So, other than getting to meet many of the people who will determine your personal success in the world of non-fiction series, were there any trends or topics that dominated the back and forth discussions? In no particular order, here are some observations that might serve you as you navigate the waters of pitch-dom.

Who’s in Charge here? For every executive that’s in charge of development or programming, there are usually a couple of other peers or subordinates who help make the decision. At Food Network for example, two people are focused on prime-time programming, one on daytime. There may be more than those three, too. Together, they make decisions about what gets on the network, and at what time of day.

Pitching a Program Proposal: Pitches come in all sizes and submissions. Some networks have a formal process for submission. Check out their web sites. You sign a release, (promising not to sue because a new show 4 months from now sounds similar to your concept), fork over your idea. At the Discovery Networks, they say you can follow where it goes on-line. Some concepts are on paper, some on video. I saw one that was a slide show. One three-part series, “The History of Islam in Spain” already had two-thirds of its funding in place. That got the folks at the CBC and PBS on one panel very interested.

Know your Network. Every network has its core audience, a core strategy for programming. Seems simple enough, but when you consider that all of these networks get hundreds of submissions a week, you’ll begin to see why you need to be prepared. Consider that Food Network/Canada had a series on Spam Cook-Offs – with innovative ways to cook the substance. Spam is bigger in Canada in the USA. HGTV has a host of home make-over style shows. Discovery Home doesn’t do make-overs.

Product Integration. Sponsors and Product Placement: While the terrestrial networks (ABC, WB, etc.) entertained this concept at NATPE, many cable networks at Real Screen were still wary. First, they don’t want to conflict with their own sponsors (If Ford is a major advertiser, you don’t want to show up with GM as your partner). Second, if you do have product integration as part of the deal, you may have to sign over your deal to the sales department at a network. 

Which brings us to World Wide Rights: When a network says they own the world wide rights to your program, they own the rights for everything. If there’s a cable channel on Mars, they own the rights if it airs there, too. On the other hand, if you have good lawyers and a strong concept like QUEER FOR THE STRAIGHT GUY, you may get to share the rights.

Documentaries have an international market. There are channels devoted exclusively to current or public affairs programming, such as ones at BBC, the CBC, Discovery Times, or through the PBS affiliate at WNET in New York City. The CBC has a series called the Passionate Eye devoted solely to current affairs.  As one executive noted, “There’s 6 billion people in this world, 200 nations, and the networks are closing down their worldwide news bureaus.” This has opened up an opportunity. Co-production deals with international partners are a way to find funding. For example, the CBC got the first window to air a program, with PBS airing it at a later date. Both networks kicked in financing.

Story-Driven: I heard this over and over. A good story that fits the core strategy of a network is better than demonstrating, instructing, and educating, just about anything. It keeps people watching until the end of the program. Here’s a case in point. There was a panel called ‘Pitch It!’ where five producers got about six minutes to pitch a program before executives from PBS, CBC, France 5, Channel 4 International, and Discovery Networks. Here’s the rundown:

The History of Islam in Spain: Three sixty-minute programs. A stylish demo reel with re-enactments shot on location with a stedicam. The history of Islam as it relates to modern struggles.

 

The Restoration of the Gallery of Glass at the Versailles: This pitch started as a documentary, but it turned out to be a two film deal. The second was a docudrama directed by the Oscar-nominated director of the French film RIDICULE.

 

The Fringe. A proposed one-hour documentary about the Canadian Fringe Festival: This is one of many world wide festivals celebrating sketch and theatrical comedy.

 

Finding our Voices: A fairly rough pitch for a documentary about ordinary people protesting the Iraq war. When the producer said they already had shot 200 hours of footage most of the people let out a sigh. No one envied the editors’ job.

 

Jungle Soccer: 800 female soccer teams competing in the Brazilian jungle as part of competition that goes on for months. And did we mention the 800 beauty queens? One member of each team is part of a pageant competition, which figured into the soccer contest, too. What sounded sexist turned out to be a story of empowerment for women from the lower classes.

And the winner? Jungle Soccer had the strongest storyline, the most unusual concept and location. It also featured a tie in / proposed air date just before the 2006 World Cup. The producer didn’t even run his 3 minute trailer. In the end, the storyline was stronger.

One caveat. There’s an exception for every rule. For every executive who says they want stories, someone will be looking for a how-to concept. There are a lot of channels and a lot of hours of programming to fill.

So, if you’re considering any conference like NATPE or Real Screen Summit, consider a few tips. Be prepared. If you want to pitch a concept to network executives at these conferences, get on the phone months before the conference. One on one meetings are still the best way to make a pitch, but set them up way in advance. Sometimes at these conferences, you’ll see more people meeting in lounges, alcoves, or in hallways, than there are attending panels.

But, if you want to sit back, take in the panels, discussions and seminars – NATPE or Real Screen are a good place to start.

---

Dan Frank is a producer/director, who has been working with Moody Street Pictures to develop television programming. He’s worked on programs for PBS, HGTV, FX, FOX, among others. Last fall he produced the Red Sox segments for the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year on FOX, with DGA Productions. His two children thought this was cooler than anything else he’s worked on.