by Bob Levy
Assessing Buyers by Target Demographics
No single network creates shows aimed at everyone – not even the broadcast networks. Netflix appears to be coming close. All shows are designed for some segment or segments of the audience, and we use Nielsen’s demographic categories to define those segments. (One dead giveaway that students haven’t picked up the walk-and-talk of TV industry lingo is when they reference non-standard demographic categories. If you’re going to talk or write about TV demos, it’s important to use the accepted industry demographic categories defined by Nielsen listed below.)
Below are scripted TV’s most commonly used Nielsen demographic categories:
▸ Boys, Girls, Kids 6–11
▸ Boys, Girls, Teens 12–17
▸ Men, Women, Adults 18–34
▸ Men, Women, Adults 18–49
▸ Men, Women, Adults 25–54
▸ Men, Women, Adults 55+
“Kids” (that’s Nielsen’s actual term) refers to the sum total of viewers 6–11 of both genders. The same with “Teens” and “Adults.” Network programmers will say that they’re targeting Adults 18–49 or Women 18–34. When written, these demos are often abbreviated as A18–49, W18–34, etc.
Another way networks refer to this is to say they “sell” a specific demo. Freeform, for example, “sells W18–34.” That’s their bottom-line business: They sell the attention of Women 18–34 to advertisers. Executives at Freeform, together with executives at their parent company Disney, determined that that’s the segment of the TV audience they want to target, their intended slice of the TV audience pie. Once the business minds of a network have determined which segments of the audience they want to sell to advertisers, the programming executives then translate that business strategy into a programming strategy. If we want to “sell” W18–34, in other words to attract an audience of women 18–34 years old and sell their attention (a.k.a. “eyeballs”; yes, that’s the actual TV industry shorthand for the viewers they sell to advertisers), what kind of programming, what kind of shows, will attract that demographic, will attract those eyeballs? Once senior programming execs at a network set a programming strategy, development execs are then tasked with finding and developing new shows to implement that programming strategy.
Non-advertiser-supported networks follow a similar process. What audience segment or segments do we want to target and what kind of programming will attract that audience? HBO traditionally targeted Adults 18–49 (a certain “quality” of A18–49 viewers actually, which I’ll get to momentarily) and created programming designed to attract and satisfy that target audience. In 2015 it expanded its demographic reach to include kids, and it made a deal to license Sesame Street and other kids’ shows. HBO did this in part to compete with Netflix’s strategy, which has been to target every demographic segment. Netflix targets Adults 18–49, they target Females 12–34, and they target Kids 6–11. And like the advertiser-supported networks, Netflix has created programming strategies their development execs follow to find and develop new shows designed to attract and satisfy those different audience segments (and many others).
Assessing Buyers by Tone
Another key way networks define themselves is by tone. The Disney Channel programs a female-centered half-hour comedy called Andi Mack, and Showtime programs a female-centered half-hour comedy called SMILF. The two networks both employ similar traditional TV formats, but no one’s going to confuse the two shows or their networks. The key difference is tone. Andi Mack is warm and safe and SMILF is super-edgy. If you think about the shows on the Disney Channel, all their scripted live-action shows have almost exactly the same tone. Tone is one of the defining elements of the Disney Channel’s programming strategy. Its programming tone might be described as “safe, fun, warm, a little silly, a little scatological, non-sexualized, but a little puppy-love romantic.” Tone is so fundamental to all the Disney Channel’s programming that executives and producers know it without even needing to talk about it. Variations to this tone might occur in very small degrees.
Showtime’s network tone isn’t as uniform as the Disney Channel’s, but it’s fairly consistent. The subject matter on Showtime varies enormously, but there’s a well-defined tonal range that all Showtime comedies and all Showtime dramas fall within. Terms to describe Showtime’s tone include “edgy, adult, smart, sophisticated, sometimes cynical and dark.”
Tone, notably, is largely a function of demos. The Disney Channel tone is designed to appeal to Kids 6–11. The tonal range of Showtime’s series are designed to appeal to Adults 18–49. But tone isn’t only a function of the age and gender of audience members.
Let’s take another example and compare the USA Network and AMC. They’re both basic cable networks that program the same format, one-hour dramas, and for the same demographic cohort, Adults 18–49. But the tonal ranges of these two networks are quite different. Why? Because AMC targets more upscale and more educated adults aged 18–49 than the USA Network. Nielsen’s demographic data don’t include just age and gender, they specify the relative affluence (defined by ranges of annual income) and education levels of viewers. This is what ratings analysts refer to as the “quality” of viewers. There’s a larger number of potential viewers with lower incomes and less education so that particular audience can deliver higher overall ratings (more viewers), but viewers with higher incomes and more education, while fewer, are worth more to advertisers (in part because they’re more scarce, in part because they have more money to spend), so networks can charge more for commercial time in shows that attract that audience.
The programming strategy at USA Network is designed to attract a large number of middle-class, modestly educated viewers, and the programming strategy at AMC is designed to attract a smaller but more valuable audience of upscale, highly educated viewers. Nielsen and TV industry execs refer to this more affluent and educated audience as “higher indexing” or “over indexing.”
USA and AMC determined which audience segment – by gender, age, wealth and education – to target, and they defined programming strategies to appeal to those viewers. The senior programming and development execs at those networks then determined the kinds of shows and the tones of shows that would achieve that programming strategy. The USA Network programs one-hour dramas within mostly traditional genres like the legal show Suits, and the tones of their shows tend to be generally safe, sunny and not all that demanding. AMC programs less traditional drama genres like Mad Men, which might be described as a period/family/business/character study, and the zombie horror series The Walking Dead. The tone of AMC’s shows is much darker, edgier, more violent and generally more demanding and sophisticated than that of USA.6
The tonal range of these networks is a reflection of their business strategies, programming strategies and overall brands. It’s the job of their development executives, on the one hand, to find new projects that fit within their programming strategies and then, on the other, to guide the development of those shows to fit their company’s tonal zones. Sellers targeting these networks, conversely, assess the genre and tonal ranges of these buyers, then tailor their projects to meets their buyers’ creative expectations.
Assessing Buyers by Management
Another factor that often defines network tastes and that sellers keep a close eye on is personnel. Changes in network leadership can cue the marketplace that a network’s development strategy – and therefore its purchasing appetites – is changing.
In 2014, for example, TNT hired Kevin Riley as its new president. Many development professionals saw Riley’s hire as a signal that the network’s programming strategy and development tastes were about to change. Riley is known as the executive who developed The Shield and Nip/Tuck, two groundbreaking and sophisticated adult shows, when he was president of FX in the early 2000s, and as the network chief who ordered Friday Night Lights to series when he was the president of NBC in the mid-2000s. Unsurprisingly, after Riley came on board at TNT, word came from the net
work’s development execs that they were looking for more sophisticated, adult, edgy, smart shows. The era of shows like Rizzoli & Isles (sexy lady cops!) and the Dallas reboot (sexy primetime soap!) was over, supplanted by new shows like Animal Kingdom, an edgy family crime drama based on an award-winning foreign feature. Riley’s development tastes, the kinds of shows he likes, is well known in the industry, and development professionals throughout the industry knew what his hiring meant and responded in kind.
Network development execs typically announce major programming and development strategy changes like TNT’s as they disseminate their annual network needs to studios, producers and agents. However, changes can occur within network development suites between official network needs statements, and sharp-eyed sellers keep in touch with buyers to learn of new and changing needs. Networks sometimes change development goals midstream because new shows they expected to work don’t or shows they expected not to become hits do, because their competitors have breakout hits in unexpected genres or formats, or because of major personnel changes. The best sellers don’t leave good timing only to chance and work hard to stay as informed about the marketplace as possible.
Junior entertainment professionals making their way in TV development, including assistants, coordinators and entry-level executives, can earn the attention of their bosses by keeping an ear to the ground for network needs news. Typical conversations at the steady cycle of breakfasts, lunches, drinks and dinners among Hollywood development professionals at all levels are, “What are you guys looking for these days?” “Any new needs before your buying season closes?” “Anything you guys looking for you’re having trouble finding?”
The marketplace of information, like the development marketplace at large, works in both directions. Aggressive buyers quiz their seller counterparts about upcoming projects and packages. Network execs try to learn as early as possible what new projects agencies, producers and studios are preparing to bring to market.
Who’s looking for what and who’s got what is central to the daily stream of communication within the TV development business. The marketplace of TV development hums with constant chatter, connecting buyers and sellers year round and year-in and year-out.
Notes
1 Emphasis on “for the time being.” A seller finding the right buyer for a project is often a function of timing. If the timing isn’t right now, it might be better later.
2 WGN stopped developing original new programming and instead switched to licensing scripted series developed by foreign networks, like the Swedish series 100 Code and the Canadian Bellevue.
3 Author interview with Jay Sures.
4 Apple launches its online video distribution service and begins programming its first scripted series in 2019, but it’s been developing its first shows since 2017.
5 Disney launches its online video distribution service and begins programming its first scripted series in 2019, but it’s been developing its first shows since 2018.
6 Sometimes networks stray out of their defined programming lanes, however, as USA did with Mr. Robot, either by accident, intentional experimentation or programming strategy overhaul, which we’ll talk more about in this chapter.
7
Pitching New Pilots and Series
While American TV has changed significantly in the past 15 to 20 years, the way new ideas for TV series are bought and sold at most TV networks has not. Television programming has grown increasingly more sophisticated and complex over that period, but the way TV shows are pitched to networks, cable channels and streaming platforms has remained mostly the same for a very long time. In this chapter I’ll examine how Hollywood professionals pitch new shows, and I’ll drill down in detail on the typical pitch format that’s de rigueur in Hollywood today. This pitch format has remained fairly consistent over the past several decades (with minor adjustments) and network development executives have come to more or less expect it. I’ll also look at some of the strategies and techniques that development professionals use to create effective and successful pitches.
First, let’s begin with “who?” In Hollywood the writer delivers the pitch. This has been true in feature films in Hollywood since before television, and it has always been true in TV. The writer does the pitching. Not the producer, not anyone else. The writer looks the buyers in the eye and talks uninterrupted for 15 to 25 minutes pitching her vision of the show.
Pitches for feature films in Hollywood are generally quite simple. The movie writer pitches the story of the movie from beginning to end. He may dedicate some portion of his pitch to discussions of character, theme and tone, but the vast bulk of his pitch is “telling the movie” from fade-in to fade-out. The feature film writer might begin his pitch:
“We fade in on a star-filled night sky. Trumpets announce an epic fanfare. A title rolls up the screen, ‘A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away …’.”
And we’re off.
TV pitches are generally more complex. One very common TV pitch format includes eight major sections:
1. Personal Way into Series
2. Concept of Series
3. World of Series
4. Characters
5. Pilot Story
6. Arc of First Season/Arc of Series
7. Tone
8. Sample Episodes.
Most TV pitches in Hollywood utilize this format or one very similar to it – or consciously depart from it for effect. The writer, accompanied by his producers, and studio development executives (if they exist, which may or may not be the case at this stage), sits down in a conference room at the network’s offices and pitches the idea to the network execs.
The network development executives have the option to say yes to (to “buy”) the pitch, or to say no to (to “pass on”) the pitch. If the network chooses to buy the pitch, they’ll typically make a deal to pay the writer to write just one script, the pilot episode. (This deal is known as a “pilot commitment” even though the network is actually committing to order only a pilot script. The decision on whether the pilot script will be ordered to pilot production won’t be made until later.) If the writer pitches the project to several networks and more than one decides to buy the project, bidding for the project can become competitive, and the writer (and his partners) can demand more than just payment for the pilot script. They could demand that the network commits in advance to spend millions of dollars to actually produce the pilot episode. This is known in Hollywood as a “put pilot commitment” (pronounced like the verb “put,” as in, “She put him in his place.”). Beyond that, the sellers could demand that the network not only commits to buy the pilot script and produce the pilot episode, but also commits to produce and air a specific number of episodes of the series. This is known as an “on-the-air commitment.” These two larger production commitments are rare, however, and most successful pitches result only in the sale of a pilot script.1
“Straight-to-series” orders, an even greater level of network commitment, are becoming more common, especially at the streaming networks. However, network commitments for one or even two full seasons of episodes generally occur in response to more than simple pitches, and I’ll discuss that level of network commitment in more detail in Chapter 10: “Other Development Strategies.”
If the network buys the pitch and orders a pilot script, the writer is paid in a few installments to write the pilot and the producer is paid nothing. As mentioned earlier, the producer may work for many months (or even years) to develop the pilot script but is only paid if the project moves beyond script development and into production (pilot production and/or series production).
Before there can be a pilot or series to produce, however, there has to be a pitch. Let’s get back to looking at the pitch and examine the eight sections of the typical Hollywood TV pitch format in detail.
Section 1: Personal Way into Series
Most Hollywood TV pitches begin with a personal way into the series. In this section the writer begins the pitc
h by relating a true anecdote from his life that explains to the listeners why the writer has a special interest in the project. For example, a writer might begin a pitch by saying:
When I was growing up my dad was a high school chemistry teacher. My dad loved teaching chemistry, and when he got home from work he would explain to us kids that everything we encountered was composed of chemicals. He would explain that the water in the swimming pool in our backyard was composed of chemicals and that we had to add more water to the pool each week because of a chemical process called “evaporation” – water turns from a liquid state to a gas state. Years later, as an adult, as I thought about my dad, I wondered what would happen if a high school chemistry teacher, who loved chemistry as much as my dad and who was as knowledgeable about chemistry as my dad, chose to use his expertise for bad instead of for good. What could he do? What could he be capable of? And I realized he could use his expert chemistry knowledge to make very, very good illegal drugs.
As far as I know the creator of Breaking Bad, Vince Gilligan, did not open his pitch with that story, but he could have.There are several reasons why most American TV pitches begin with a Personal Way into the Series section.
First, a personal anecdote helps breaks the ice. The pitch meeting is a very tense situation. The writer is very nervous about getting his pitch right and talking for 20 minutes or more in front of a room full of people he may not know very well. A lot is riding on this meeting. The pitch meeting is also essentially a “sales call.” One party is trying to sell a product to another party. It is not that dissimilar from a vacuum cleaner salesman trying to sell his wares. “Look at how well it cleans! This new vacuum cleaner is the best vacuum cleaner ever made!” To reframe a sales call into a more human interaction, the writer can use the “personal way in.” It shifts the dynamic of the meeting from a transactional one to a personal and human one. It’s a way of saying,