Call for projects requesting Virgin Media Television support into BAI Round 34

Virgin Media Television is looking for strong, new Factual Entertainment Formats and Factual Documentary Series for the 2020 schedule across their Virgin Media Television brands.

Virgin Media Television channels represent informative, entertaining programming with broad appeal reflecting life in contemporary Ireland. They tackle difficult subjects with realism and warmth, making programmes that speak to the nation, reflecting their concerns and interests. They continue to be interested in the milestones of modern living, the issues and dramas of life, and the major changes occurring in our society right now.

Of particular interest are:

• Returnable “brand-defining” fact ent formats and series, focusing on noisy and topical ideas in hour-long slots. Exciting formats like ‘Gogglebox’ and ‘Living With Lucy’, and new formats have been recently announced including ‘First Loves’, ‘Generation Dating’ and ‘OAP B&B’. Virgin Media Television would like to continue this trend of developing formats which examine important trends and themes without lecturing the audience or bombarding them with facts and figures. They are interested in the people behind the statistics, want to survey their lives and get to know more about the subject matter through their struggles.  
• Unique access opportunities. Virgin Media Television wants more exceptional access, as demonstrated by series like ‘Inside Ireland’s Biggest Prison’ and ‘Inside St. James’s’. They’ve just announced another access series, ‘Inside The Guards’ and they want more of this deep, honest access that gets to the core of institutions across the country. Who are the human beings that run these places and who are the people who avail of these services? What new access can be offered?

In all cases, the emphasis should be on compelling and gripping factual series which shine a light on areas that we seldom see on television. Virgin Media Television is seeking a range of powerful and captivating stories emerging from modern Irish life.

For those submitting documentary series or formats, a track record of great casting and confident storytelling is essential.

Virgin Media Television submissions must meet the criteria as set out in the Virgin Media Television Commissioning Guidelines.

All applications should be submitted through the Commissioning Portal.

PLEASE NOTE: Deadline for submissions regarding Round 34 of the BAI Sound & Vision Fund for Virgin Media Television is Monday, 23rd September 2019.

Note to Producers:

1. Eligible Submissions: Virgin Media Television is currently inviting submissions from Producers or Production Companies only at this time. If you are not a producer or submitting through a production company, and have a general query, feel free to contact info@virginmediatelevision.ie.  
2. Re-submissions: Producers or production companies that have recently submitted ideas to the portal are invited to review the call out document and new guidelines, and revise their ideas based on this. In addition to new ideas, producers and production companies are welcome to revise their previous submissions if they feel they may be applicable to our call out. In this instance Virgin Media Television would ask that these re-submissions be clearly labelled as ‘re-submission - revised for call out'. For more information about submissions visit the Commissioning section of the Virgin Media Television website.