COMMISSIONING BRIEF
Commissioning Editor - Grainne McAleer
Assistant Commissioning Editor - Sean MacGiolla Phadraig
UPDATED: Wednesday 23rd May 2012
We want ambitious formats and talent.
We want public service propositions, don't underestimate the pre-watershed audience. The time slot may put limits on their attention span but clever formatting can make big campaigns, subjects and transformations accessible at this time. Be ambitious.
Talent
Strong passionate presenters are a must. We want presenters who are at the top of their game and have a real desire to communicate with a mass audience.
Formats and Casting
Pre-watershed programmes need to be carefully formatted but the format needs to be at the service of the story and should enhance and clarify the underlying narrative.
Casting is paramount. We need you to find people that our audience can identify with and learn from.
All RTÉ One Lifestyle programs must tell great stories and engage and inform their audience.
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Daytime and Lifestyle Programmes are looking for an hour long series to play Sundays, post watershed on RTE 1
No. of Episodes/Duration: 6 x 52
Transmission: TX Sundays 2013
Budget: €90k
Daytime and Lifestyle Programmes currently occupy one post-watershed slot. This hour long slot will be filled in 2012 by Room to Improve however given the nature of the slot and the long gestational period for any hour-long, post-watershed series, we are now looking for ideas that may replace Room to Improve and fill this slot in 2013
This is a post-watershed slot so proposals will have to be ambitious and compelling and capable of holding an audience for 52 minutes. Lifestyle stories that merit this kind of duration and slot are likely to be filmed over a protracted period of time in order to follow characters as they develop and stories as they mature and resolve.
We would not rule out a big international format but our preference would be for a strong home-grown idea with big, credible talent that will play to a broad audience but that will be particularly attractive to younger demographics, as is the case with Room to Improve.
We need:
. Programmes with real public service values
. New talent, real experts with genuine passion and need to communicate.
. Casting is paramount. We need you to find people that our audience can identify with and learn from.
. Fresh formats.
. Big stories of transformation, stories followed for up to 18 months.
. Careful consideration should be given to the programme structure which needs to be able to deliver an engaging and substantial story over a TV hour.
Formats with genuine cross-media potential are particularly interesting here.
Submissions should be received before Monday 11th June.
We ask, in the first instance, that producers submit ideas into the eCommissioning system:
https://e-commissioning.rte.ie/SWIFT.Web/skins/rte/login.aspx
under the programme category "Daytime & Lifestyle - Sunday Post Watershed" The deadline for receipt of submission is close of business on Friday 08th June 2012
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Please note:
The discussion of, or initial interest in, a proposal does not represent a commitment to commission by RTÉ and should not be understood as such. Commissioning decisions will reflect the quality of proposals received and the scheduling priorities operating at the time. RTÉ's financial position will also be a factor.
Any proposals previously submitted to RTÉ in categories listed here, and which were rejected on a first reading in a previous Round, should not be re-submitted and will not be reconsidered.
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PLEASE NOTE THAT THE DEADLINE FOR THIS HAS NOW PASSED AND WE ARE NO LONGER ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS
FORMATS IN THE AREA OF FACTUAL ENTERTAINMENT, LIFESTYLE AND ENTERTAINMENT
RTE is seeking ideas for new formats, to play as a series of four or more one-off broadcast pilots for both 25 min and 52 min. slots.
The intent is to find new home-grown ideas with export potential that can challenge the best of international formats - Masterchef, Secret Millionaire, Don't Tell the Bride.
RTÉ will part-finance the series for up to €25,000 per pilot depending on duration and nature of production.
To participate in this series, we are asking producers to bring the balance of finance to the table, including a letter of interest from an international distribution company. Projects which do not have a distribution partner in place at application stage will be taken into consideration but will be at a disadvantage.
Budgets should reflect the needs of the production and take into consideration the finance available. In the case of studio programmes, if necessary and desirable, RTÉ could consider augmenting or offsetting part of the budget with the provision of RTÉ facilities.
This series of pilots will be broadcast on RTÉ TWO this autumn in a peak-time slot. An online vote will be held to gauge the public level of support for each transmitted programme
The series of programmes would be run under the banner "TV Labs", which is a European Public Service Broadcaster scheme - and as part of this, the pilots could be available for broadcast in other European countries, who participate in the scheme. Details of same to be further discussed with the producer and international distributor on a case by case basis so as not to conflict with the international commercial exploitation of the programme.
Projects must be submitted through the standard Ecommissioning system, and ideas that do not come through this system will not be considered. While the pilots will be broadcast initially on RTÉ TWO, we are looking for ideas that have the potential to play in a variety of time-slots on RTÉ ONE and TWO, should they go to full series commission. Proposals from companies with a strong track record in the production of high quality formatted television will be prioritised."
The ideas submitted can range in terms of genre, tone and target audience - from mainstream entertainment shows, to edgier or more challenging programming, from, family orientated studio entertainment programmes such as quizzes, to contemporary lifestyle formats, and more sassy late night programmes.
Ideas will be assessed by a cross-genre Formats Commissioning group, with representatives from Lifestyle, RTÉ TWO and Entertainment.
A briefing session for independent producers will be held where this group will more fully outline the commissioning processes and the ambition for this series on Tuesday 27th March in the AR4 Room, in the main TV building, RTÉ, Donnybrook at 10am.
Deadline for submissions: 20th April 2012
We ask, in the first instance, that producers submit ideas into the eCommissioning system:
https://e-commissioning.rte.ie/SWIFT.Web/skins/rte/login.aspx
under the programme category RTÉ Formats "Formats" The deadline for receipt of submission is close of business on Friday 20th April
Please post or email letters of interest from distributors to Gareth Williams in the IPU office (Gareth.williams@rte.ie) clearly marking them with the relevant e-commissioning number of the submitted proposal by the same deadline.
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Hour-Long Formats Mid week on RTÉ ONE
No. of Episodes/Duration: 6 x 52 minutes
We are looking for big ambitious formats which have strong public service values and which are capable of engaging a broad popular audience.
Programmes like Operation Transformation and Dirty Old Towns have made an impact in the schedule but have also left a legacy in the wake of the production. These are programmes with passion and purpose packaged in a way that engages and entertains a very broad audience in a pre-watershed slot. Other programmes, which traditionally played at half an hour, have moved to the longer duration by choosing stronger and deeper subjects but also by increasing the scale of their ambitions. When Off the Rails moved to an hour, it did so by producing a roadshow in shopping centres around the country. Not only did we get a fashion-packed, entertaining hour but we also had the feel of a live event. Crucially, the show travelled outside Dublin and the presenters and experts were available on the doorsteps of their audience.
Hour long shows need long gestation periods. We need to continually harvest from a pool of developed formats and we are dependent on production companies coming to us with original ideas and passionate, credible talent.
We need to find and develop the next batch of subjects, campaigns and presenters to bring us through 2012 and into 2013.
We need:
. Programmes with real public service values
. New talent, real experts with genuine passion and need to communicate.
. Productions that genuinely transform the lives of the people and communities they feature.
. Fresh formats and ideas that don't feel like versions of programmes available on other channels.
. Big stories of transformation, change and big decisions. Subjects may be traditional, like architecture, retail or interiors, but the scope must feel much more ambitious and the stories have much greater depth than those that would traditionally receive a 25 minute treatment.
. Careful consideration should be given to the programme structure which needs to be able to deliver an engaging and substantial story over a 48 minute duration.
Formats with genuine cross-media potential are particularly interesting here. If the campaign is big enough, it should spread through radio and the web and if the audience are sufficiently engaged they will be inspired to form communities outside the TV broadcast.
Recent Commissions in this slot: Operation Transformation; Off the Rails On Tour, Dirty Old Towns and Room to Improve (Tx Sept 2011)
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LIFESTYLE and DAYTIME PROGRAMMING
RTÉ ONE - Midweek, 20:30
No. of Episodes/Duration: 6 - 10 x 25 minutes
This remains a staple for Lifestyle Programmes. Our preference in 2012 and 2013 is for formats that leave something behind with the communities and individuals that they feature.
Programmes should be story driven and formats, particularly at this duration,. should always serve the story and not be a substitute for strong characters and content.
. We are not interested in Food, unless the approach is really original and capable of working on lots of levels.
- We are not looking for docusoaps in 2012.
. We remain interested in health, parenting, interiors, consumerism, architecture, gardening and design.
We won't necessarily take a gamble with completely new talent for hour-long formats but we are keen to develop new talent and experts for half-hour shows.
We are also keen on finding formats that can be extended or developed to hour-longs and at finding series that make the transition to Sundays.
Formats with genuine cross-media applications are particularly attractive. All programmes must primarily work for TV, but Lifestyle series' should build a relationship with the audience through social media, radio and web-development.
Briefly, we want:
- Stories with broad appeal
- That can be delivered satisfactorily within a half-hour and that don't feel like a compressed hour;
- Cosed narratives - stories that work best have a weekly reveal;
- New talent with genuine expertise and energy;
- Stories that leave something behind and engage in a really meaningful way with individuals and communities;
- That offer real tips, advice and take-away.
Recent commissions in these slots: Off the Rails, Health of the Nation, The Consumer Show, Dermot's Secret Garden
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LIFESTYLE and DAYTIME PROGRAMMING
RTÉ ONE - Sundays 19.00 & 19:30
No. of Episodes/Duration: 6 - 8 x 25 minutes
We are looking for Fact Ent formats that will sit well in the Entertainment driven Sunday evening schedule.
Strong stories with universal appeal work here. They may be based loosely on traditional lifestyle areas but engagement here is with character and story and both have to contain a real sense of fun.
Really great personalities and high production values are key. We need family friendly formats with a sense of humour. but we also need to be mindful of the fact that all channels are saturated with Big Entertainment at this time and the shows which distinguish themselves from these offerings and which appeal to men are also interesting.
In general, we want
- Big personalities
- A real sense of fun and drama
- Real emotion
- Great production values, this is a glossy slot, lifestyle programmes shouldn't stand out for the wrong reasons.
- We won't rule out competitive formats, but only if they're really clever.
We are also open to immersive formats. Is there a great personality who wants to get stuck in and make big changes, Pony Kids and Ballet Chancers worked well here.
Recent programs in this slot include: The Restaurant, At Your Service, Retail Therapy; Franc's DIY Brides will TX here in January 2012.
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LIFESTYLE and DAYTIME PROGRAMMING
RTÉ ONE - Weekdays 19:00
No. of Episodes/Duration: 6 x 25 minutes
Transmission: RTÉ ONE, Weekdays.
Programmes at this time skew older and are more likely to appeal to an audience outside Dublin.
While the 20:30 slots must appeal to an extremely broad church, the 19:00 slot affords us the opportunity to take a few more risks. There's a smaller audience available at this time and it does skew older.
Ideally we would also look to use this slot to grow formats and talent which could transfer to the later slot with bigger available audience.
Docu-soaps could work here, genealogy, popular history and regionally based programmes will also appeal to this audience. Cookery is strong in this slot but we're not looking for straight cookery shows. Again think about themes of community, authenticity and quality of life. Think too about the relevance of timeworn knowledge and wisdom to contemporary problems.
Dealers worked well in this slot as did 'Living Lightly'. 'Dermot's Secret Garden'
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Please note:
The discussion of, or initial interest in, a proposal does not represent a commitment to commission by RTÉ and should not be understood as such. Commissioning decisions will reflect the quality of proposals received and the scheduling priorities operating at the time. RTÉ's financial position will also be a factor.
Any proposals previously submitted to RTÉ in categories listed here, and which were rejected on a first reading in a previous Round, should not be re-submitted and will not be reconsidered.
