Meet the Entertainment Commissioner: Mark Sammon, Virgin Media

Mark Sammon, Head of Commissioning at Virgin Media TV, recently outlined his commissioning needs to attendees of the Broadcast Entertainment Forum (as of September 2009). Mark commissions programmes for Virgin 1, Bravo and Living. Mark’s View on Living Living is aimed at young women; its competition is ITV2 and BBC3. Celebrities, dating, weddings and makeovers [...]

Meet the Entertainment Commissioner: Mark Linsey, BBC

Mark Linsey, Controller of Entertainment Commissioning at the BBC, recently outlined his commissioning needs to attendees of the Broadcast Entertainment Forum (as of September 2009).

Photo by Torres CC BY 2.0
Photo by Torres CC BY-SA 2.0

Looking For:

* Main agenda for the BBC is new talent.
* New talent can be given a platform on BBC3 – when pitching, think about the format that would best suit them.
* There is room on BBC2 for some more established talent.
* Need a chat show to replace Graham Norton’s show.
* Want some bold and ambitious new talent on BBC1
* Strong and distinctive formats.

How to pitch

* Likes to talk about an idea in its earliest stages, before it’s been too formatted.
* Likes regular dialogue with producers.
* When pitching, talk about the ambitious, bold and distinctive top line idea first.

(Photo by Torres CC BY-SA 2.0)

Meet the Entertainment Commissioner: Richard Woolfe, Five

Richard Woolfe, Channel Controller at Five, recently outlined his commissioning needs to attendees of the Broadcast Entertainment Forum (as of September 2009).

Photo by Torres CC BY 2.0
Photo by Torres CC BY-SA 2.0

Richard’s View on Five

* Five is looking for ‘fun’.
* Wants entertainment to be the flagship genre for Five.

Looking For:

* Programmes that will make the channel famous – noisy, talked-about programmes that have a life outside of TV eg. in the newspapers or on forums.
* Doesn’t want “me too” shows that feel derivative.
* Talent is important – has just signed up Justin Lee Collins. Generally wants established faces rather than new talent.
* Ideas for viewers aged 16-34 years.
* Big shows that resonate with the nation.
(Photo by Torres CC BY-SA 2.0)

Meet the Entertainment Commissioner: Andrew Newman, Ch4

Andrew Newman, Head of Entertainment and Comedy at Channel 4, recently outlined his commissioning needs to attendees of the Broadcast Entertainment Forum (as of September 2009). Andrew’s View on Ch4 Channel 4 offers an alternative to the mainstream terrestrial channels. It’s a channel for big and bold programmes that no other channel would dare to [...]

Meet the Controller: Richard Klein, BBC4

Richard Klein is Channel Controller for BBC4; he recently outlined his current channel strategy and needs (as of August 2009). Richard’s View on BBC4 BBC4 is challenging and intellectual but with a twinkle in its eye. Programmes should be thought provoking – it’s a place for diversity of opinion and controversy. Polemical pieces that make [...]

Meet the Commissioner: Claudia Rosencrantz, Virgin Media

Claudia Rosencrantz is director of TV for Virgin Media; she recently outlined her current channel strategy and needs (as of August 2009).

Claudia’s View on Virgin Media

* Virgin channels consist of Virgin1, Bravo, Living and Challenge. Trouble was recently cancelled as its audience was too niche (boys aged 12-14 years).
* Living is a channel for women under 44 years, with some shared viewing (budget £60-£120 per hour).
* Living 2 will be rebranded channel in autumn 2009.
* Virgin 1 is warm, smart, and mixes it up (and sometimes takes it too far) eg. The Naked Office, Sun, Sea and A&E, Trawlers, Rigs and Rescues
* Bravo is male skewed to younger men eg. Danny Dyer’s Deadliest Men
* Not currently commissioning shows for Challenge.
* Can often commission very quickly. Click through for more.
(Photo by Torres CC BY-SA 2.0)

Meet the Commissioner: Peter Fincham, ITV1

Peter Fincham is controller of ITV1; he recently outlined his current channel strategy and needs (as of August 2009). Peter’s View on ITV1 In factual programming, ITV1 is comfortable with authored celebrity journeys and in the ‘blue light’ genre. Coming Up Survival with Ray Mears Looking For: Formatted fact ent and entertainment in subject areas [...]

Meet the Commissioner: Stuart Murphy, Sky1

Stuart Murphy is director of programming for Sky1; he recently outlined his current channel strategy and needs. * Wants the channel to have style, humour and warmth.
* There should be more intelligence and curiosity across the factual programmes.
* Sky1 programmes need to be good enough to pull people away from Freeview on onto subscription TV. Sky1 needs to be loved in the same way that HBO is loved by its audience: there should be 8-10 programmes that viewers “will crawl over broken glass to watch”.
* There will be 3D Sky channel by the end of 2010, so is thinking about shows that look good in 3D and HD 3D. Click through for more.

(Photo by torrez CC BY-SA 2.0)

Meet the Commissioner: Janice Hadlow, BBC2

Janice Hadlow is Channel Controller for BBC2; she outlined her current channel strategy and needs at the recent Media Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival. Here are the notes from her interview with Kirsty Walk.
(Photo by Torrez CC BY-SA 2.0)

Greenlit: Bang Goes the Theory, BBC1

Bang Goes the Theory (10×30′) – Dallas Campbell (Gadget Show) Jem Standsfield (Scrapheap Challenge), Dr Yan Wong and Liz Bonnin (RI:SE) present a new science show that looks at “the world’s most advanced technological breakthroughs”and shows how you can test scientific theories in your backyard. There will also be free events, interactive resources and a [...]