Developing Factual Ideas

Meet the Commissioner: Julian Bellamy, C4

Julian Bellamy is Channel’s 4’s Head of Programming. At the Media Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival he outlined what the channel is looking for (as of August 2009).

Most important news is that C4 have cancelled Big Brother,which has, according to Julian Bellamy, opened up 200 hours of primetime programming in the schedule from 2011 onwards. In other words, C4 have got at least £50million to spend on new programmes over the next eighteen months. This is a massive opportunity as Bellamy wants producers to start pitching ‘non-conformist, entertaining and brave’ shows to him right away. He said that this is “the biggest call to arms for the indie sector in the last two decades”.

He’s particularly keen to work more with indies in the nations and especially those in Northern Ireland. Two  commissioning editors will be tasked with building relationships with NI producers.

Coming up:

3-D Week including The Queen in 3D, which uses remastered 3d archive, which was originally shot in the 1930s.  There will also be a Derren Brown 3D spectacular.

Programmes that do well:

• Hospital
  
• Embarrassing Bodies
• Personal health is still a good area for them.

Wants:

• New faces who can front docs.

• Shows that challenge form and change the way things are done in documentary or natural history (eg. Dragons’ Den and Inside Nature’s Giants).

• An entrepreneurial spirit in producers – he’s looking for people who can find money from alternative sources to help fund programmes eg. ad funding.

See also:

Janice Hadlow, BBC2

© 2009 TV Mole.