It sounds as if it could be a reality series: Earn money by creating your own TV format.
Producer John de Mol says it's the real thing. Deal or no deal?
De Mol, co-founder of the international media giant Endemol (Deal or No Deal, Big Brother, Fear Factor), says anyone can have a great idea for a reality show, and he's starting a website,TalpaCreative.com, to solicit concepts.
"Everybody watches TV. Everybody has an idea about TV. A doorman or waitress can have a good idea," he says. "We're looking for the next big thing."
Netherlands-based de Mol, who has the resources to get a series from concept to the TV screen, opened an office in L.A. a couple of years ago find program ideas in the USA for his Talpa Media Group, which develops TV shows. The latest concept is meant to extend that reach into "a big fishnet."
People can participate by submitting ideas or responding to focused creativity assignments. Talpa plans to buy the rights to concepts with promise and develop them. The originator, who can be involved in development, will be paid greater amounts depending on how far the project goes. People will be compensated fairly, de Mol says.
Any series generated by website proposals would first run in the Netherlands with successes considered for international distribution by Talpa and Endemol.
Producers generally avoid ideas from the public out of fear of being sued over ownership rights. People submitting ideas to Talpa will have to gain membership to the website, explaining why they want to join and agreeing to rules and restrictions regarding ownership and compensation. (There is no fee to join.) De Mol says he wants members to be active, committed and willing to contribute as a project proceeds.
"It's not for gold diggers," he says.
Talpa has been operating another website to find concepts, but it did not promote it or offer the resources of the new website and received only about 200 submissions, says Stéfanie Gélinas, Talpa's U.S. managing director. TalpaCreative.com includes a "trendletter," media links, techniques professionals use to generate their ideas and a form for pitching a concept.
"It's so hard when you're on your own at home," Gélinas says. "We want to help people be more creative."
De Mol recalls a person from outside the business providing "the first clue" for a concept that became All You Need Is Love, a reality series that has run more than a decade in Netherlands and Germany. That man is still earning money from the program.
"If someone brings us the next Big Brother or Deal or No Deal, yes, it could mean millions," he says. "I don't think we should cap it."
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