MAJOR PROJECT: Channel / Platform

During my 1-2-1 tutorial after receiving feedback from the pre-production package, I was advised to review the channel / platform from our original Channel 4 target to something different. I was advised to think about how many comedic shorts are actually on Channel 4 compared to others, to really find out what channel VET-MAN can relate to most. I realised I hadn't actually conducted a lot of research into the channel, I had just continued with the channel we originally took inspiration from at the beginning of the project, which was Channel 4. Channel 4 may be the correct channel for VET-MAN, however I felt it was best to thoroughly research into the different channels to find which one fits the film the best.

Comedic sitcom shorts

Netflix
- Arrested Development (22 minutes)
- The Good Place (22-23 minutes)
- Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (24 minutes)
- Great News (22 minutes)

When I was advised to re-think the channel for VET-MAN. My first instinct for a 15-20 minute short was that it may be more suited towards Netflix. Most programmes are 30 minutes or an hour long ready for the next programme to start. However, as Netflix is a streaming service where once you finish a programme, you search to find another one to watch, I thought that it may be more well-known to have programmes that are shorter than the usual 30 minutes or hour long. However, all the sitcoms I found on the streaming site were above 22 minutes. As a result of this, I decided to look into other channels to see if VET-MAN would be more suited to them, rather than Netflix.

Channel 4
- Peep show (25 minutes)
- Speechless (30 minutes)
- Everybody Loves Raymond (22 minutes)
- Frasier (22 minutes)

Channel 4 invests in "cult sitcoms and cutting edge comedy projects" (British Comedy Style, n/d). As a result of this, it has broadcast many of the "darker and more controversial comedies" (British Comedy Style, n/d). We pitched VET-MAN from the beginning as a dark sitcom and due to the nature of our film, I imagine that it won't be everyone's preferred topic for a sitcom. Therefore, it could cause a bit of controversy with the fact that Tim kills the dog and owl but doesn't show a lot of emotion or seem apologetic about it. Channel 4 is also home to many hit sitcoms such as Father Ted, Spaced and The IT Crowd, as well as the ones listed above. Ideally, I'd like to match VET-MAN up with a different channel like I was advised to, however, if I can find the reasoning behind putting VET-MAN on Channel 4 then I will remain with the initial channel we pitched the idea for.

BBC Three
- Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps (26 minutes)
- This Country (21 minutes)
- Fleabag (27 minutes)

BBC Three is aimed primarily at 25 to 34 year olds, with much of its programming "experimental, either in format or in trailing and training new talent" (British Comedy Guide, n/d). BBC Three are more likely to show television shows which are just starting out to see if they are popular or not. As VET-MAN is essentially a pilot show, it may suit BBC Three quite well. On the other hand, BBC Three is aimed at the later ages of our target audience for VET-MAN. Our target age is 16-30 year olds, this means that typically VET-MAN would only be suitable for the 25-30 year olds of the BBC Three audience. As a result of this, I think VET-MAN is less suited for this channel. Ideally, I need to aim for a channel that has a similar to age range to ours.

BBC Two
- The Thick of It (29 minutes)
- Inside No.9 (30 minutes)
- Motherland (30 minutes)

BBC Two is the home to our first inspiration for VET-MAN, The Thick of It. So ideally, VET-MAN would make sense to suit that channel, especially as we have planned to shoot and edit it in a similar way. However, BBC Two "aims to deliver intelligent yet popular comedy shows" (British Comedy Guide, n/d) and therefore, is known for political comedies, such as Yes, Minister and Absolute Power and unfortunately, VET-MAN doesn't fit with this tone which means that it wouldn't be suitable with the other content on BBC Two.

Comedy Central
- The Daily Show (22 minutes)
- Broad City (22 minutes)
- Workaholics (22 minutes)
- Detroiters (21 minutes)

Comedy Central is known for "American sitcom imports, as well as re-runs of classic British series' and stand up shows like Live at the Apollo" (British Comedy Guide, n/d), however it is now expanding with original UK content. Throughout my research, I found that Comedy Central targets audiences from the ages of 18-49. This is closer than the age range for BBC Three, as it covers more of our age range for VET-MAN. However, it is also promoted to mainly focus on adults and male audience members. We want to hit an age as low as 16 years old, and although we have two main male characters, we want VET-MAN to be popular with females as well as males. Due to this statistic, I don't think Comedy Central would be suitable for the target audience we want for VET-MAN. 

I listed a few sitcoms above from each potential channel to see how long they were. I wanted to see if there was a channel that was more known to broadcast short sitcoms as our film will only be around 15-17 minutes when it's finished. I struggled to find a channel that had a sitcom shorter than 21 minutes. I previously researched into the conventions of a sitcom in the pre-production unit and I found out that a sitcom typically lasts for 30 minutes. As a result of this, I will struggle to find a sitcom a lot shorter than this. Although I have ruled out BBC Two, their sitcoms are longer than the other channels listed above, similarly to BBC Three. I believe that this is because the BBC don't show adverts, which means the sitcom can almost be a full 30 minutes, whereas, the other programmes are only shorter due to the breaks the channel would show throughout.

After looking into different channels, I believe that I was correct in thinking Channel 4 would be most suitable for VET-MAN, due to the dark comedy aspect to the film, and possible controversy with the nature that the film holds. However, as Channel 4 has a number of different channels in the corporation, before I confirm this channel as the one we want VET-MAN broadcast on, I looked at Channel 4's sister channels - E4, Film4, More4 and 4Seven. From first glance there will only be a couple of these sister channels that would be possible for VET-MAN to be broadcast on. 4Music and Film4 are relatively obvious to not be the correct type of channel for us, as their names suggest. Film4 can premiere British comedy films, but as we are creating a sitcom, this channel is still not suitable. After cancelling those out, there are three left - E4, More4 and 4Seven. 4Seven is home to repeats, showing the best of Channel 4, E4 and More4 at different times to the main broadcast. More4 is the channel's high brow digital channel. It mainly broadcasts documentaries but the odd comedy repeat from the network's back catalogue can be found in the schedules. Again, this isn't quite suited for VET-MAN. We want to aim for a channel that is well known for its comedic shorts and sitcoms. This leaves E4. E4 has commissioned various British comedy shows with it's most well-known sitcom being The Inbetweeners. Other sitcoms include Friday Night Dinner and Phone Shop.

As both the main Channel 4 platform and E4 both have sitcoms in common, I had to research further to find out which one would be most suitable. I looked on Reddit for some inspiration as suggested by Oscar in my Developing the Marketing for VET-MAN blog post. On this site, people discuss different things that they are interested in. I searched Channel 4 and E4 and I found that people were mainly explaining their preferences over the two channels. I noticed someone's comment - 'E4 makes most sense to watch from a story perspective. C4 is always left with a cliffhanger where as E4 actually depicts an entire story in one week'. This made me reconsider Channel 4 as they believe that E4 is known to show sitcoms that have already been broadcast so they can show a couple one after another in a story like fashion. Whereas, Channel 4 is more likely to show new sitcoms or one-offs and then the audience have to wait a week for the next one. As we have only created one VET-MAN episode, it is more likely to be seen as a one off like you would expect to see on Channel 4. If we had created a number of episodes and made a small series then it may have been more suitable on E4. 

The next thing I thought to look at was the age demographic for each platform to see if this persuaded me further towards either Channel 4 or E4. Where Channel 4 is "recognised as the original brand, with an edgier, more risk-taking image" (Kantar Media, 2017; 5), E4 can "appeal to younger viewers" (Kantar Media, 2017; 5). Channel 4's target audience is 16-34 year olds, whereas, E4's target age range is predominantly younger at 16-24 years old. Looking at this, E4's target range doesn't include the whole age range that we initially pitched for VET-MAN, but Channel 4 does. It actually caters for 4 years older than our age range as well as the entirety through from 16 years old. As a result of the age range, being known for the dark comedies, and the one-off shows or weekly episodes, Channel 4 seems to be the most suitable for VET-MAN. Now I have established this, I may start thinking of their marketing technique to give me inspiration for my own.

References:

- British Comedy Guide. (n/d). BBC Three. Available: https://www.comedy.co.uk/guide/channel/bbc3/. Last accessed 1st Feb 2019.

- British Comedy Guide. (n/d). BBC Two. Available: https://www.comedy.co.uk/guide/channel/bbc2/. Last accessed 1st Feb 2019.

- British Comedy Guide. (n/d). Channel 4. Available: https://www.comedy.co.uk/guide/channel/channel4/. Last accessed 1st Feb 2019.

- British Comedy Guide. (n/d). Comedy Central. Available: https://www.comedy.co.uk/guide/channel/comedycentral/. Last accessed 1st Feb 2019.

- Kantar Media. (2017). Channel 4 Corporation Remit. Research report produced by OFCOM. Page 5. Available at: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/104094/Channel-4-Corporation-Remit-Research-Report-2017.pdf. Last accessed 1st Feb 2019