Good idea for a tv show

cormie

Hi,
I've got a good idea for a tv show/series. Who do I speak to so I can make millions off it? It's a reality show I'm afraid

FX Meister

Speak to me, tell me your idea and I'll let you know if it's worth millions.

aidan_walsh

ITV are making a load of them these days. You'll have to have "celebrities", and exotic locations though.

cormie

No it's not that kind of reality show :rolleyes:

It'd be good though, I watch maybe an hour of tv a month, if even, but this would be one of the things I may actually sit down and keep watching.

So who would I talk to besides Mr. FX:D

FX Meister

Is it a poker show? Send me a PM with some info and I'll tell you if it's a good idea. I'm the guy who coined the phrase reality TV, I invented MTV's The Real World and Big Brother. I also wrote the theme tune for the Harvey Norman ads.

But seriously, do let me know. If it's a good idea I could help you with a pitch to a few TV stations. I've had successful pitches with TV3 as well as another channel on Sky Digital.

cormie

I know you're reefing my leg, but nope, it's not a poker show at all. Hmm, would I have to go out and make the thing myself and come to a station with the recording or can I just give the idea to someone with a contract and all that? It will cost a few hundred grand to get going actually. Of which I have about €8.72 so far.

FX Meister

You need to pitch the idea to a TV station, RTÉ are a pain in the ass but TV3 are quite good. They are not always looking for new programmes though. There is no way they will put the kind of money you are talking in to it though. I take it you have no film or broadcasting experience. As I said, send me a PM with some clearer details. I'm not going to steal your idea.

monkeyfudge

You can write your idea down in detail and then seal it in an envelope and then send it to yourself and don't open it. The letter will be stamped with the date so that you can prove when you came up with the idea. Then you can go and talk to some stations.

cormie

That seems like a really easy way monkeyfudge, will that definitely hold up in court though?

I have no broadcasting experience or anything like that. I think they would invest that kind of money to my idea, if done correctly it would be a really good programme I'd say.

Can't share my ideas FX sorry, all I need to know is how I can give the idea to the right people, it doesn't really make a difference what the idea is Thanks for your help though:)

sceptre

cormie wrote:

That seems like a really easy way monkeyfudge, will that definitely hold up in court though?

Almost certainly not - it's a conveniently cheap way of proving that you're the author of something for copyright purposes but in this case given that what you have is an idea it won't prove that you sought advice from someone who went on to steal your idea or pitched it to a station or production company who went on to steal your idea. Unless your idea is laid out in painstaking detail (and I do mean painstaking) and they go on to take your idea including the odd things you threw in as something of a bitcheck and they steal the lot. I've seen this advice tossed out even on relatively reputable websites and it still fails to take into account the possibility of sending yourself a blank unsealed envelope or sealing it with a paperclip. It's been part-used as a date establisher in some cases I'm aware of (not Irish cases, though they may or may not exist) but it's not to be relied upon as the lynchpin of any intellectual property case, should a need for such a case arise. Common sense really.

As for who to contact about your idea, here's probably a good place to start (and a broadcaster and distributor list here). Oddly enough the Irish company most responsible for that pesky reality TV stuff and hence possibly your best chance has an old address on the list - Coco Television are currently working out of Dublin 6 AFAIK and you'll get their address in the phone book.

byte

Either way, let us know how you progress through the stages. It could be a useful reference for others in future...

Best of luck.

dearg_doom

cormie wrote:

ge, will that definitely hold up in court though?

Nope - well it might, but since you haven't a clue what - and who - you're going to be dealing with in the entertainment industry you shouldn't even think about it.


In the industry it's known as "poor man's copyright"!

But as sceptre says, you will be dealing with people who know what their doing, and they will know how to rip off your idea by adding a new spin; just look at how many similar programs there are.

And no court would side with you - a normal person with little experience - over whoever rips you off, who would undoubtedly have ****loads of experience and influence in the industry, purely on the grounds that it is entirely possible for two people to have exactly the same idea if nothing else.


But if you do a bit of googling for info on intellectual property (the infamous 'IP') rights you will find out how to protect yourself.

You'll probably just have to get it witnessed by a lawyer maybe?

Good luck anyhow:)

monkeyfudge

Yep. Just look at the example of poor old Antonio Meucci. He was only recently recognised as the inventor of the telephone.

Alexander Graham Bell had some dodgy connections with the US Patent office so he was able to lay claim to the invention.

Capt'n Midnight

And the French guys that invented cinema got shafted by Edison and Co.
And Joseph Swan invented the light bulb.

BolBill

If its a reality show, keep it to your f-ing self !!!!!

trajan

I've got an idea. It's called 'Celebrity Puzzle maze'.
What happens is that loads of celebrities like Eamon Holmes and Jane Middlemiss and vermin like that are rounded up and dumped into a special set full of puzzles that they have to find their way out by solving them one after another. The puzzles are designed by Cambridge and Harvard scientists and no one televises it.

dearg_doom

lol! Sounds like a cross between the crystal maze, some random 'sleb party and Running Man.

I'd watch it!