Flu struck the family, so no update for some days. Well, better late than never, eh?

7. Find a niche, if possible

There are about 3 gazillions of game shows on air throughout the world as we speak. Some have been around for aeons, some have just started, most are somewhere in between. We have all these experts on gameshows and quiz shows, Endemol being one of the foremost, that have enormous development teams involved in coming up with new ideas. And they do!

At any given gathering for the television industry, a buyer will be pitched a multitude of game and quiz show ideas. “Think Deal or No Deal meets Fear Factor!” or perhaps “Well, it’s Millionaire meets Wife Swap” or whatever. Very, VERY few of these will be original and exciting.

The same goes for reality tv programs, makeover shows etc. These genres have been exploited for years and are extremely hard to be original in.

My suggestion then, is to go for originality. Find a niche where there is a bit more space. It could be educational or edutainment formats – like this one – or it could be cross media shows. It could be something with interactivity or perhaps a really really novel take on current affairs?

Whatever niche you choose to focus on, you will find fewer people to pitch to. On the upside, however, the queues leading up to these persons will be significantly shorter, and their attention will be all the greater.

And I probably shouldn’t have to say this, but do a thorough market research of the niche you choose. What’s out there, who’s producing it, what kind of ratings do they have and whom should you pitch to?

Best of luck 🙂