Breaking Into Hollywood - How Do I Sell My Own Reality TV Show?
Posted: Tuesday, May 08, 2007
by Donna Michelle Anderson
http://www.planetdma.com
How do you sell your own reality TV show? If you're like most people who work in reality TV, you sell a show by working for some years in reality television, amassing good credits and production experience, building strong relationships with production companies, networks and vendors, running someone else's shows for trench education, then pitching your concepts and your solid reputation to make your first sale(s). If that doesn't sound like you, or even if it does, please read on.
The same process happens if you approach a production company yourself to bring your idea to a network for you. Your attorney will work with the production companies to hammer out a "deal memo" that spells out what involvement, if any, you will have in the show. The company will do their best to remove you from any control over the process...because you have no idea how to run a television show. They also will take most of the money involved...because you are bringing nothing to the table but an idea that they will have to do all of the work to develop then execute, as well as use their hard-earned contacts to sell. In their eyes, you are bringing nothing to the table.
If you are still reading this blog after that stunning statement, you are ready for the road ahead as you try to pitch a show. You understand now how the industry will perceive you, and you accept your own limitations as someone who knows nothing about making a show but has an entertaining spin on a popular concept. You also understand, because I'm about to tell you, that you are not going to become rich when the show is sold.
Don't confuse non-fiction TV with selling a movie or a sit-com or drama. "Back-end" and "created-by" fees and "residuals" are rare in this world. On your very first sale, be ready for some serious compromise if all you have is an idea. Your attorney is going to work hard enough just to keep you from being removed from the show entirely.
I'm going to write that again. YOUR ATTORNEY IS GOING TO WORK HARD ENOUGH JUST TO KEEP YOU FROM BEING REMOVED FROM THE SHOW ENTIRELY.
So how exactly do you sell your own show?
The smart way is to work in the biz and know that you are selling yourself and your experience and your reputation and your contacts far more than any concept itself. In fact, networks who have come to know you will call you and ask you to do a show for them! And you will be able control the production process and make the fees from it, because you've learned and earned you way into that position. Your agent is your best friend here because s/he is pitching you non-stop to the nets, setting up meet-and-greets with execs and keeping you up-to-date on how the net calls for content are shifting (and they always are shifting).
The fast way is to have a terrific concept and partner with someone else who can get it executed. You will have researched similar shows, checked out imdb.com for company and network information and approached the right people to match your genre and audience. If all goes well, you, indeed, will have sold a show, but often with limited involvement or reward! Your attorney will be your best friend here because s/he will need to be determined and creative to keep you a part of the process after the sale.
The back-door way is to know a person or property (like a popular book) that people want a piece of, develop a show with them attached to it, and have a written "option" that binds them to any sale. This is where having Paris Hilton as a close friend actually is a good thing. A hypothetical: Yes, she stole your boyfriend, but she felt so bad that she signed an option agreement allowing you to shop a makeover show with her as the host. Pretty much anyone will talk to you now, and you'll have a lot more power keeping yourself attached since you are, at last, bringing something bankable to the table!
Whatever way you try to sell your show, remember, as always, to do an "entitlement" check before you start the process. If you are not Tyra Banks, do not expect to get a deal like Tyra Banks. If your talent is not Donald Trump, don't expect to get a budget like Donald Trump's. And if you have never run a television show (I didn't say never written, produced, edited or shot, I said RUN), then don't expect to run even your own. Not the first season, at least.
And please don't go into reality TV to get rich. (Where are all of these Discovery Health- and Food Network-producing millionaires people think they're joining the ranks of?) If you want to get rich, please go back for your MBA and head to Wall Street and build and protect your stock options like everyone else does. There's way more chance you'll get a return on your investment - and in a far shorter period of time! If you want to get rich quickly, with minimal effort, keep buying scratchers and hope for the best. But if you really want to make reality TV, while there's no money at the start in this world, like almost everything else, working hard in this business ultimately has its own personal, professional and, yes, financial rewards. Plus sometimes, you get to make people eat bugs.
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More commentsDonna Michelle Anderson,I very much appreciate this blog; I will likely read your book. First, I will see if my local library has it there. (;-)I have many years experience in video production (I have an animation program in distribution and a feature documentary financed and in post-production). I am very new to reality TV though I feel I could manage to leverage contacts and put together the team to shoot a pilot episode for a reasonable amount of money. That said, I’m certain I won’t maximize my costs and the quality of production quite like a seasoned production company with the experience. So, I’m considering now just selling the idea to either a production company or a network and trying to keep myself attached as a producer on the program for credit and experience and some pay.Steps moving forward/Questions:1. Should I try to attach (via letters of interest or intent) the talent to the project to make my concept “indefensible”? The project requires specific types of people (Subject Matter Experts) and I’ve done some research on some who would be great for the program. I figure this might demonstrate I’ve done the leg work, also that I’ve already tapped into the particular target market for the program concept and that I know something to contribute to the execution of the idea. What are your thoughts?2) Who is better to approach, the networks or the production companies with the idea/treatment/attachments/some video, maybe? I would imagine if I focus on a network they can have more flexibility with evaluating and deciding who would be perfect for the production. However, the production company could bring it to the networks and might be more likely to work with me.I know to answer this effectively you might need to know my overall career goals and my immediate goals with the sale, development and distribution of this reality TV program idea I have. So here it is:Career Goal: In short, be the next J.J.Abrams (sans his parental contacts). I’m not even a big fan of his work though I think he’s very talented. However, why I compare to him is because I’d like to sell a TV show idea and be a producer on it (I don’t have to be show runner) that is based upon a book I have written. However, I also want to continue to write and direct documentaries (I have one financed and in post right now). And, I want to write and direct feature films, eventually. I need to get an agent and manager but I have to see how well my documentary fairs first likely or get this reality TV show idea sold, or any number of other TV show specs, and feature script specs that I have written.That said, how best to proceed in the sale of my reality TV idea?Thank you for your note, and I would urge you to read my blog at Planet DMA for far more detail on getting started. I wrote the book specifically to lay out the process of selling a show, and it is too much to go into here. If your public library does not offer the book, do ask them to carry it! The most important thing to address immediately from your note is that you will not be paid for the sale of a show and that you will not need to produce a pilot to shop the pitch. A solid treatment and a talent reel go very far.Since you are excited about a career in the biz, if you are not already in Los Angeles, New York or even SF, Chicago, Philadelphia or Orlando, I would encourage you to check out conferences like NATPE and RealScreen Summit, network, keep learning, and join a professional organization wherever you are. All the best with your projects.
i would like to know how much they would pay for 1 episode of something like the real world.. me and a friend have came up with some great ideas for a show like that.
Hi Donna, i hope Am not late into the discussion. I just wrote a new game, awesome concept, sent it to a production company, after 3 weeks they come back saying that even though my idea is great, they cannot find a network to put the series on as "Game shows have no tax credits" I am sure they knew this all along, which makes me mad. But The other thing is that as i was designing the game concept, i approached some sponsors, and one of the "big bank in canada loves my idea and wants to be a sponsor. Am very new in this business, this is my first production, please tell me what to do. buying airtime to do my own production would be pretty expensive. Am stuck. I am sure its a very vibrant idea and would do well in terms of rating, but i dont know where to start anymore. I had too much hopes with this production company that i am stuck. Thanks
Hello Donna, I am new to reality television but I had this great idea for one. So, I pitched the idea to a contact of mine who pitched it to a contact of theirs at a network and the network immediately responded saying that they loved my idea. They even went as far to tell me what I could expect in the amount per episode if they bought x amount of episodes. All they ask is that I submit a 22 minute pilot episode. However, it will cost money and time to produce the pilot. I already have the subjects of the show ready to shoot. In your estimation how likely is it that our show will purchased? Is getting a response with such detail typical or is this a common "thing" in the industry. Suggestions?(Answered separately) One more thought, Jeff, be sure to read through my blog posts on reality TV, as well, at Planet DMA. More business model insight there that I think will be very useful.
Wait didn't south park creators make it rich. And are all the people who got into selling ideas for shows all have experience in the field? I agree with most of what you say, except truth be told I'd take money over knowing people. If your Bill Gates, or even a multi millionare you could easily get the people you need money speaks. Might not be hits, but then are most shows that start and fail? A business run by money and who you know. Don't agree. I have seen it. I knew these dentists 5 of them in my city who came up with a basic idea for a movie. They pooled there money together a lot of it, were able to pay for the right people in hollywood, they in turn got Jeremy Pivens and some other stars, it became a movie and went to dvd, etc. I'm not saying it's wrong necessarily. But money rules the world. If your rich or know someone who is they rest isn't that hard. Fair or not that is how it works. If your trying to make the next titantic with 10,000 dollars or any movie good luck. Make big money, or find someone who has it, better route than begging your way in hollywood on a one in a million chance that they'll take your idea, and give you nothing in return bad route. And no comments about how this is about selling movie ideas etc, not about being rich etc. Bottom line money rules the world.
Oh, and another thing, mba isn't necessary. If you want to work on wall street than yes. But most brokers aren't rich. And they don't get rich by picking the right stocks, they get rich by servicing rich clients such as hedge fund managers, you think getting rich in movies is hard, try getting rich by becoming a hedge fund manager. Most people who make it rich in stocks and options do it over decades, and they are committed. They put away ten twenty thousand a yr over 40 years or so. Most people don't have the money or discipline to do it that way. The other small percent who get rich a lot of them are just lucky, they throw there life saving 160,000 etc, and make 20 times there money pure luck in 5 years for example. It take money to make money. Again, money rules the world. The rich get richer.
I have a concept of a reality tv show which i think will make a great impact on the airwaves when it get to be aired,but the problem is how do i get it to the right production company.Some one help me out
Concept: a reality show about amatures pitching tv program concepts to tv execs. winner goes on to help create future projects. seriously, look at network tv, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to weed out good from bad, and in the television industry, there doesn't seem to be a lack of qualified creative individuals in charge of what they are exposing the public to!
I believe your advice here is not suitable for your headline, Your headline states "Break into Hollywood How to sell a reality show". You talk nothing about that, Your opinion is your opinion, There plenty of new producers that start with their own hit reality show and make millions. Your basically dismotivating people with your post, We all know Tv Makes Money, American Idol started Low Budget look at the first season. Now they bring 800 million each season, Now i know all shows can't be as successful as american idol but even doing 10% of their revenue is 80 million. I think most people that want to get into the business are in it for the experience and money. Your opinions are basically dont think by selling a show you will make money. Most creators get atleast 15% revenue. So i disagree with you completely, I dont know you so i dont know if your in the business or not, you can have 10yrs experience if your not creative enough to make the big hit reality shows your shows will make no profit. Your comments are for failed reality tv shows. Dont dismotivate other people that have great ideas for big hit shows. Have a nice day. P.S. I am a Tv Producer and My Hit reality show is on a Nationawide Network.I agree with the TV producer, this world is already dismotivating. There are dreams coming true everyday and people need hope to get through the day sometimes. Just because you might have had some bad experiences doesn't mean someone else can't make it. I am a Chef, went to a very prestigous culinary art school, have auditioned for numerous of cooking reality shows, been homeless, and after all of that, I'M STILL HERE. I love the camera and have done a couple of Chef demonstrations in crowds. I have a really good cooking reality show idea that will not only educate, but will give people hope in the end. P.S. Who ever reads this, remember, it can only get better and keep the dream aliveHi, I noticed you said you were a producer. Can you please give me some kind of advice on how to pitch my show to a network? I don't even know where to began, all I know is that this is my dream and I belong on television ! Thanks
Hi everyone, Im trying to find out how I can possibly get my own reality t.v. show on a network ! My concept is simple : Young Black Love-basically three married black couples (including myself) living their lives on camera the ups and downs of being married young. Age group- 20-29. In return showing viewers how difficult a successful marriage can be. Please, please if there are any producers or people who are interested in helping me I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks
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