What are networks not looking for?

Recently, I posted quotes from network execs speaking at Screen Forever about what they were looking for.

Today the flipside… what are they not looking for? Here were their answers….

ABC:

“We get a lot of pitches that sound like ‘It’s Gruen but for X’, or ‘It’s like Spicks & Specks but for Y.’ None of this is hard and fast because someone might come up with a Gruen or Spicks & Specks version, which is actually amazing, and we probably would make it. But for the for the most part, you need to look at what the output is already…. ..every pitch comes because someone is super passionate. You’ve just got to have an absolute banger idea because a good idea will travel and more importantly, an idea whose time has come. It’s the moment for it. They’re the ones that are irresistible.“

Foxtel:

“There is a plentiful supply of Unscripted content available from overseas. The UK in particular is an enormous producer of Unscripted content. So in that context, if we’re going to make shows, they must be ‘must watch.’ … They have to be just absolutely best in class and ‘must watch’ concepts.”

Paramount+ / 10:

“There’s no hard and fast rule. I will say that from an Unscripted perspective, we window our content in different ways across different genres. By and large Unscripted content that we’ve commissioned, will window on Free to Air on 10 at some point in time. So we are looking for broad appeal, so it’s got to work on 10 (and Paramount+). We secure a lot of pitches where people say ‘This is a very niche audience, so it’s perfect for streaming.’ We get a lot of kind of lines like that, but I think what we’re after is that it needs to work on a a lot of other platforms.”

NITV:

“People come to tell us their story about their wonderful Auntie or Uncle. We get a lot of those kinds of stories. Everyone deserves to have a story told about their family member. We want producers to come to us who tell a story that’s different from the way that other documentaries are told. How’s it engaging and tonally, what’s it going to look like? But also, who is our audience? We’re not just looking at one community. Where’s that story going to relate to other communities across the nation, but also, more broadly, how does that also tie in with other First Nations people?…. Look at what everyone else is doing and bring us something new.”