ABC heads of department and Screen Australia managers give you the lowdown on how to work with iview as a marketplace attachment for Screen Australia funding. And what type of content iview is looking for.
At our iview + You event in Sydney on 29 July 2015, panellists
Rebecca Heap, ABC Head of TV Strategy & Digital Products;
Steve Bibb, ABC Head of Factual;
Rick Kalowski, ABC Head of Comedy;
Liz Stevens, Screen Australia Senior Manager, Documentary;
Tim Phillips, Screen Australia Manager, Interactive & Multiplatform; and
Mike Cowap, Screen Australia Investment Manager
spoke about how to work with iview as a marketplace attachment for Screen Australia funding, and what type of content iview is looking for.
Here are the key takeaways from the event:
About iview
iview is Australia's most popular internet TV service
iview has 1 million plays a day and is breaking records every month
80 per cent of viewers watch videos all the way through
Viewers visit up to 10 times a month
40 per cent of the child audience visits 10 times a month
iview content strategy has four pillars
Digital first content
Comprehensive catch up
Live streaming e.g. Australia On Drugs
Stunts and binges e.g. Glitch released on iview in one go, taking advantage of major broadcast moments
What iview is looking for
iview has a growing commissioning budget and is looking for projects to invest in and show first on iview
Mainly interested in series with episodes 3-15 mins
one off programs could be packaged together as a collection
Target demographic is 18-34 year olds
iview is interested in reaching people who do not watch broadcast TV 14 per cent of 16-24 year olds do not watch broadcast TV.
A mix of established and emerging talent
Content that is cheeky, edgy, a little bit uncomfortable, a little bit different
A mix of content to binge and content that is rolled out over time, either daily or weekly
Episode lengths within a series can vary whatever best suits the story
If episode length vary, need to consider audience expectations
Content that is shareable content that people will share and talk about on social media
Strong concepts and ideas content that stands out
Projects that are specifically tailored for iview
1st class storytelling
New talent, diversity on screen and behind the camera
Comedy
Comedy works really well on iview and is a key part of ABC's content strategy
Looking for comedy content that targets 18-35s or that has a big and broad appeal
Factual
Not a lot of factual content commissioned for iview yet
Broadcast factual shows work well on iview 30 of the top 100 shows on iview in 2014 and 2015 to date are factual programs
Subject matter that is provocative and where the creator has an active position in the story
Indigenous
iview commission Black As from the creator of Bush Mechanics David Batty was supported by Screen Australia's Documentary Producer program. The project came in with a strong letter of interest from iview. Black As will be available on iview as a 20 x4 mins series and will be broadcast on ABC2 in a longer episode format. Note: not all content can be reformatted by combining episodes; it has to make sense for the story.
What iview is not looking for
Content that is already available for free e.g. on YouTube
Pitches that have been rejected for TV broadcast
ABC network benefits
iview commissioned content will be marketed across the ABC network including radio, ABC online and the homepage of iview. ABC marketing is used to make sure iview content can cut through.
Example: Noirhouse. ABC acquired the existing three episodes for iview and commissioned a second series. The second series was available on iview for an exclusive window and then on YouTube. Noirhouse attracted ten times the number of views on iview as on YouTube, despite having a separate dedicated budget for YouTube marketing.
iview is used as a content pipeline for ABC2 some iview first content is subsequently broadcast on ABC2 e.g. Freshblood and The Daters. ABC2 and iview have a similar demographic.
iview is an important talent escalator ABC is shooting a new series in Tasmania with talent from Noirhouse involved
Rights and Budgets
The rights that iview take varies this is new territory and the ABC is developing benchmarks
Some shorter run content can also be made available on YouTube
If we pay more then we will ask for TV rights too
Key talent will be paid properly but there isn't the budget for TV scale shoots
The production methodology has to suit the idea and the budget e.g. the size of the crew, time in post-production etc.
Come to iview early and talk about the production methodology
iview has a quicker commissioning and production process it is iterative, we talk about budget and the creative process at the same time.
How to pitch to iview
Develop a pitch like you would for TV look at what else is on ABC and iview
Go to the genre head e.g. indigenous, comedy, factual
If you have a strong track record, ABC may work with you from a concept
If you are emerging, you will need a video or other materials to demonstrate your concept
Screen Australia and iview
Screen Australia's Multiplatform Drama Program and Documentary Producer programs allow applicants to partner with a non-broadcast platform such as iview to apply for funding.
Screen Australia takes a letter of interest from iview very seriously.
Support from iview means that Screen Australia can be confident that content will reach a certain level of audience
Documentary producer fund has 4 rounds a year. Up to $700k is available but iview first productions are unlikely to be eligible for funding at the upper end of the range. There is a minimum budget threshold of $120k
Multiplatform Drama Program is open to comedy and scripted content in a range
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ABC heads of department and Screen Australia managers give you the lowdown on how to work with iview as a marketplace attachment for Screen Australia funding. And what type of content iview is looking for.
