Outside interests: Making money from great ideas
Colman Hutchinson has been executive producer on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and Surprise, Surprise and knows what it takes to turn a game show idea into reality. "You could go straight to a broadcaster with an idea - but you would probably find it hard to get a meeting."
December 01, 2012 / 17:30 IST
Colman Hutchinson has been executive producer on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and Surprise, Surprise and knows what it takes to turn a game show idea into reality. "You could go straight to a broadcaster with an idea - but you would probably find it hard to get a meeting."
He advises anyone with a great game show idea to take it to a production company - they are the ones with access to the right people and know how to pitch the idea in the right way.More News From Financial Times
Steps on the wine learning ladder All the world's a gallery The Diary: Edmund de Waal Emergence of a new movement Take one start-up, add expertise and grow with care The idea itself must also be fully formed: "Often, people pitch an idea without a beginning, middle and end. You need to think about what happens in round two when the second player couldn't possibly win," he says.And it has to be good to watch, rather than play. Being able to say "we play this at home all the time and it's great fun," is no premise for a show, says Mr Hutchinson. "Scrabble's fun to play but not to watch."Christoph Fey, a lawyer and author of Trading TV Formats (published by the European Broadcasting Union), says a mere idea cannot be copyrighted, only the expression of that idea: "Write down all ideas, the more detailed the better. Number and date all creative material, name the creators and include a copyright symbol; keep a diary and record minutes of all development meetings and keep a copy file of all material that has been submitted while noting the recipient and the date." It's also worth setting up a domain name and website.Once the idea is accepted, it will need nurturing and the originator should consider setting up a company or employing someone to handle basic administration. A production company would expect to share the rights with the creator - usually 50-50. This fee can be quite small initially but if the show is successful, this would increase. If licensed to other territories, there is a chance for serious money, as in the case of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, which was licensed to 107 territories and made millions for the creators. Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
