Pitching your Idea
Steps to submitting program proposal
Do you have any television ideas that you would like to pitch to us? There is a standard format for pitching ideas, and once you follow it, you are good to go. We expect that any program that you want to pitch to us should be in writing.
Suppose you are planning to submit a program pitch to the community TV. In that case, you need to first check out the Program Proposal Kit which explains in detail all the things you ought to know such as the average duration of an episode, the length of the series, application process, programme sponsorship, and many others.
Source of Programs
Channel 31 sources its programs from any of the following sources
Program Groups
These are affiliate and member groups that joined the Melbourne Community Television Consortium. They are not-for-profit organisations that have been incorporated as companies or associations. These groups produce at least one weekly program and belong to various diverse, cultural, and geographical communities. They pay an annual membership fee and do not have to pay broadcast fees. Each of these groups receives proposals for new programs as long as it will match their interest. However, if you want to make a program with a group, you have to join that group and pay a membership fee. All the sponsorship funds for programs through the Affiliate and Member groups are returned to the Groups.
Independent Producers
Production companies, independent producers, and any other organisation can provide programs to Channel 31 directly. They have to pay for the air time used for the broadcasts and can seek sponsorships for announcements that are linked to their program so they can recover the cost of production, promotion and broadcasting. The cost of air time for independent producers will depend on whether the producer is an individual, for-profit company, non-profit organisation, or a production house. Non-profit producers have to submit evidence to prove that status. The cost of airtime is based on discussion and negotiation after submission of a program proposal but before it is approved or broadcast. The air time fee must be paid before the program will be accepted and broadcast.
The Station
The station itself produces a limited range of material for broadcast, and this usually includes the station identification, news, weather service, program breakers, sponsorship and community service announcement.
There are three stages to every proposal. They are;
Submission of a comprehensive program proposal
The concepts and ideas for the program must be written in detail with all documentation attached and any question or issue fully answered, and this proposal will be assessed to see if the pilot should be submitted.
Submission of Pilot Program
Channel 31 will request for a pilot after pursuing the proposal and seeing that it is worth it. The pilot must be in a DVD
Approval to start production
Once the pilot has been approved, the producers can start production and all the significant dates and time are fixed.