> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.formatforward.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # How to Pitch a TV Show: The Unscripted Format Guide - URL: https://www.formatforward.com/how-to-pitch-a-tv-show-the-unscripted-format-guide/ - Published: 2026-10-15T09:05:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-15T09:04:59.000Z - Description: How to Pitch a TV Show: The Unscripted Format Guide - Author: Jonathan Glazier - Tags: ToolKit, TV format Development, TV Formats ## The short answer How do I pitch a TV show? Start by knowing what a pitch is for. It doesn't sell a show. It sells the next conversation. Your only job in the room is to make a commissioner want to see more, and to leave them able to explain your show to their boss in one sentence. I've sat on both sides of the table, as BBC Head of Light Entertainment and International Formats and now as a consultant hearing two or three pitches a week. The pitches that work are rarely the loudest. They're the clearest. This guide is for unscripted, formats, reality, quiz and game shows. If you're still at the stage of having an idea and no production company, start with I have an idea for a TV show. How do I get it made? ## 1\. Before you pitch, test it Most pitches are lost before anyone walks into the room. Answer these honestly first: - **Can you say it in one sentence?** If you need three, the format isn't clear yet. - **Why this channel, why now?** Have you watched what they've commissioned in the last year and what they've just cancelled? - **What's the repeatable engine?** What happens in every episode, not just the first. - **Does it survive episode five?** The opener is easy. The middle of the run is where formats sag. - **Can it come back?** Commissioners are buying a possible series two, three and four, not just one run. - **Why you?** Access, talent, track record or a funder. Something that makes you the right people to make it. If any of these is a shrug, fix it before you book the meeting. You usually only get one go with a commissioner on a single idea. ## 2\. The one-pager and the deck **The one-pager** is what gets forwarded after you've left. Write it for the person who wasn't in the room. - Title and logline - The hook, in two or three lines - How an episode runs, start to finish - The stakes, the jeopardy and the reveal - The series arc - Channel, slot and audience - Any talent, access or funding attached **The deck** supports you in the room. Keep it short, visual and in the order you'll talk. Images that show the tone and the world help. Pages of text you then read out don't. **A taster or sizzle tape** can win a room, especially for talent-led or access-led shows. But a weak tape does more harm than no tape. If it doesn't look like the show, leave it out. ## 3\. In the room 1. **The first 30 seconds.** Title, logline, and why it's right for this channel. Then stop. Let them react. If they lean in, you've earned the next ten minutes. 2. **Walk them through an episode.** Not the concept, the episode. What we see when it opens, what happens in the middle, how it ends. Commissioners buy what they can picture on screen. 3. **Land the moment.** Every good format has one image or one beat people remember, the reveal, the elimination, the twist. Build to it and make it vivid. 4. **Show the run.** How the series builds, how it ends, how it comes back. 5. **Then talk.** Leave half the meeting for questions. The conversation is where they start owning the idea. Keep it to ten minutes of you talking. If a commissioner interrupts with a question, that's a good sign. Answer it, don't push on with your script. ## 4\. The questions you'll be asked Have a straight answer ready for each of these. Most commissioners will ask at least three. - How is this different from the show we already have? - What happens in episode five? - Who's it for, and are they watching us at that time? - Who hosts it? Do you have someone in mind? - What does it cost per episode, roughly? - Can it come back for a second series? - Has it been made anywhere else, or tested at all? - Why should you make it? "We haven't thought about that yet" is an honest answer once. Twice and the meeting is over. ## 5\. Mistakes that kill a pitch - **Pitching the wrong channel.** A show that doesn't fit their audience or slot is a no before you start. - **Selling the concept, not the episode.** Big ideas with no clear structure leave the commissioner doing the work. - **"It's X meets Y."** Fine as a shorthand, fatal as the whole pitch. It tells them what it's like, not what it is. - **Ignoring what's already on air.** If they ran something similar last year, say so and say why yours is different. - **Too much.** Five ideas in one meeting, or one idea with five twists. Pick the strongest and commit. - **No answer to series two.** Commissioners want returners. A one-off that can't come back is a much harder sell. ## 6\. After the pitch Send the one-pager the same day with a short thank-you and one line on anything they asked that you can now answer better. Then wait. Chasing every week doesn't speed anything up. If the answer is no, ask why, briefly and politely. "Not for us right now" often means the slot is full, the budget's gone or they've something similar in development. That's not the same as a bad idea, and it may be right for another channel. If the answer is "develop it further", find out exactly what they want to see and whether they'll pay for it. Paid development is a very different commitment from a friendly "keep us posted". ## Hear the hard questions first The best preparation for a pitch is hearing the awkward questions before the commissioner asks them. That's what the Format Pre-Mortem does. It assumes your format has already failed, works out why, and gives you a clear Proceed, Fix or Kill verdict, so you walk into the room with answers rather than hopes. ## Common questions **How do I pitch a TV show?** For unscripted, pitch to a production company first, then they take it to the commissioner. Open with one clear sentence, walk them through an episode, and be ready to explain why it can return for a second series. **How long should a TV pitch be?** Around ten minutes of you talking, with the rest of the meeting for questions. The opening 30 seconds matter most. **What should a TV format pitch document include?** A one-pager with the title, logline, hook, how an episode runs, the stakes, the series arc, and the channel and audience it's for. **Do I need a sizzle tape to pitch a TV show?** No. A strong tape can help, especially for talent-led or access-led shows, but a weak one does more harm than none. **What do commissioners look for in a format pitch?** A clear, repeatable engine, a fit with their channel and audience, a memorable moment, and a reason to believe it can return for more series. **What does it mean if a commissioner says "not right now"?** Often that the slot is full, the budget is spent, or something similar is in development. Ask why, and consider other channels. --- **Jonathan Glazier** Format creator and executive producer, altmedia TV format consultant and former BBC Head of Light Entertainment and International Formats *I am dyslexic and AI helps me make this readable. The thoughts and opinions are my own. There are no auto-generated articles and I read and research with rigour.*