RTÉ are currently looking for proposals for Comedy, Talent Development and Music across RTÉ One, RTÉ2, and online to build on recent successes at the broadcaster.
The brief comes from Head of Comedy, Talent Development & Music, Eddie Doyle and Executive Producer Justin Healy.
Comedy production has generated some of the biggest wins for RTÉ, such as channel defining content (‘Damo & Ivor’, ‘Mrs Browns Boys’). It can also discover new ways of reaching audiences, especially on-line (‘Republic of Telly’, ‘The Mario Rosenstock Show’), and can make strong youthful public service statements (‘Savage Eye’, ‘Irish Pictorial Weekly’) as well as generating additional commercial revenue.
RTÉ are now looking for proposals that can build on recent successes and state they want ideas that break new talent, or generate new opportunities for existing talent. Coherent development phases will be prioritized, as will pragmatic budgets and finance plans - including BAI and Co-production Opportunities (especially with the UK Comedy Industry). Projects that maximize RTÉ's cross-platform offering will be of particular interest.
On RTÉ One, RTÉ Comedy has stated that output can build an emotional connection with mainstream audiences, helping to give the channel a lighter, contemporary feel, to augment the more heavyweight News, Current Affairs and Factual programmes. They are looking for proposals that can bring large audiences with strong writing, warm tone and family appeal, but which also help reposition RTÉ One as a confident, modern brand at the heart of contemporary Irish life. RTÉ have had success in the recent past with a mix of big, broad family friendly comedy (‘Mrs Browns Boys’, ‘Killinaskully’), topical and satirical comedy (‘Irish Pictorial Weekly’, ‘Mario Rosenstock Show’), alongside some comedy formats and quirky comedy and comedy drama (‘Trivia’, ‘The Walshes’) and they are interested in finding and developing new projects in these spaces.
RTÉ2 has refocused on the 15-34 audience, and the programmes commissioned in recent years, such as ‘Damo & Ivor’, and ‘The Republic of Telly’ are at the core of the channel's brand. These are high quality Irish comedy statements, aimed definitively and unapologetically at this youthful audience. RTÉ are interested in new scripted, formatted and talent-driven comedy for this audience, focusing on the core channel brand.
Both channels are interested, on an ongoing basis, in comedy projects that can be co-produced by RTÉ and another broadcaster - following the financing model of projects like ‘Mrs Browns Boys’ and ‘The Walshes’. In these cases, RTÉ partnered with the BBC to develop, produce and fund the projects.
This has influenced RTÉ’s overall comedy strategy, and one of RTÉ’s core ambitions is to act as a bridge and partner for Irish comedy talent, into larger marketplaces - primarily the UK.
Separately, on both channels, RTÉ are interested on an ongoing basis, in projects which provide an opportunity to innovate with new or existing talent (primarily comedy talent), for example placing a high profile individual in a new format or talent vehicle.
Proposals for both will be accepted on a rolling basis.
Alongside this, the broadcaster are interested in new Comedy, Music or Talent Development proposals for the next BAI Sound & Vision round, for RTÉ One or RTÉ2. These proposals should fit with the overall brief for each channel as outlined above.
On all BAI projects, RTÉ state that they are happy to discuss a variety of budgets and production timeframes, on a case-by-case basis.
Closing date for submissions is Thursday 28th July. For more information and to apply, click here.
