My out-of-the-couch reaction to Mo Farah’s fantastic 10K win on Saturday was a reminder that there are three categories of Olympic Gold:
- Gold.
Your garden variety step to the top of the podium. - Solid Gold.
A win that captures very special athletic power and durability. - Heavy Gold.
The Chinese concept for a win that is a turning point for a people or nation. Farah’s 10K, Kathy Freeman’s 400 in Sydney and Liu Xiang’s 110 hurdles at Athens come to mind.
Antiques Roadshow
This Olympic weekend, we turn to the UK Hobbies & Leisure category where Antiques Roadshow earns my Solid Gold medal for placing #1 and #5 on the Top 100 list for 1H 2012.
- Why is AR such a dependable hit?
- How can a 35-year strong series be kept fresh?
- Read on…
Antiques Roadshow is one of the most successful franchises in the history of television:
- UK:
- It has enjoyed 35 years as a hit series.
- International versions:
- US: AR has been the #1 (or close) PBS show for 15+ years.
- Canada, Sweden and elsewhere.
- Arguably helped shape US #1 reality hit Pawn Stars and countless imitators.
Top 100, Hobbies & Leisure, 1H 2012
Viewers / ‘000
Title | Channel | Viewers | Share | |
1 | Antiques Roadshow | BBC 1 | 7,410.2 | 28.4 |
2 | MasterChef | BBC 1 | 6,269.0 | 23.3 |
3 | DIY SOS: The Big Build | BBC 1 | 5,424.3 | 22.1 |
4 | Top Gear | BBC 2 | 5,294.1 | 15.4 |
5 | Antiques Roadshow: Diamond Jubilee | BBC 1 | 4,807.2 | 18.7 |
6 | The RHS Chelsea Flower Show | BBC 1 | 3,498.0 | 16.3 |
7 | The Hairy Bikers’ Bake-Ation | BBC 2 | 3,220.8 | 13.0 |
8 | Love Your Garden | ITV1 | 3,215.5 | 14.1 |
9 | The Restoration Man | CH4 | 2,811.5 | 10.5 |
10 | Location, Location, Location | CH4 | 2,799.8 | 10.6 |
11 | Countrywise Kitchen | ITV1 | 2,715.3 | 12.2 |
12 | Bargain Hunt | BBC 1 | 2,539.0 | 22.6 |
13 | Homes Under the Hammer | BBC 1 | 2,430.9 | 26.2 |
14 | Springwatch | BBC 2 | 2,418.8 | 9.8 |
15 | Gardeners’ World | BBC 2 | 2,398.0 | 9.3 |
16 | Saturday Kitchen Live | BBC 1 | 2,370.5 | 27.0 |
17 | The Best of Top Gear | BBC 2 | 2,360.0 | 8.9 |
18 | Great British Menu | BBC 2 | 2,311.9 | 10.9 |
19 | Flog It! | BBC 2 | 2,285.7 | 10.3 |
20 | Antiques Road Trip | BBC 2 | 2,253.8 | 16.1 |
21 | Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is | BBC 2 | 2,202.4 | 12.4 |
22 | Gok’s Teens: The Naked Truth | CH4 | 2,162.0 | 8.9 |
23 | Hairy Bikers’ Best of British | BBC 2 | 2,155.9 | 9.6 |
24 | Come Dine With Me | CH4 | 2,083.0 | 14.5 |
25 | Our Food | BBC 2 | 2,058.3 | 8.3 |
26 | Celebrity Antiques Road Rrip | BBC 2 | 2,036.5 | 8.8 |
27 | Superscrimpers | CH4 | 2,014.6 | 7.4 |
28 | Britain’s Empty Homes | BBC 1 | 1,951.6 | 21.0 |
29 | Wanted Down Under | BBC 1 | 1,908.6 | 28.7 |
30 | Four In a Bed | CH4 | 1,900.6 | 12.2 |
31 | Nigel Slater’s Simple Suppers | BBC 1 | 1,894.4 | 23.7 |
32 | Come Dine With Me: Extra Portions | CH4 | 1,868.4 | 9.7 |
33 | Country House Rescue | CH4 | 1,860.1 | 7.6 |
34 | Gardeners’ World Live | BBC 2 | 1,818.4 | 6.7 |
35 | Rachel Allen: Home Cooking | BBC 1 | 1,810.6 | 21.3 |
36 | Little Paris Kitchen: Cooking w Rachel Khoo | BBC 2 | 1,770.4 | 6.8 |
37 | Four Rooms | CH4 | 1,728.6 | 6.7 |
38 | Gok Cooks Chinese | CH4 | 1,721.3 | 6.9 |
39 | Phil Spencer: Secret Agent | CH4 | 1,680.8 | 6.5 |
40 | Raymond Blanc: Kitchen Secrets | BBC 1 | 1,677.7 | 23.1 |
41 | Home Cooking Made Easy | BBC 2 | 1,632.1 | 6.2 |
42 | Wanted Down Under Revisited | BBC 1 | 1,619.6 | 29.1 |
43 | Britain’s Heritage Heroes | BBC 2 | 1,576.2 | 7.3 |
44 | Baking Made Easy | BBC 2 | 1,570.7 | 5.8 |
45 | Dickinson’s Real Deal | ITV1 | 1,561.1 | 19.4 |
46 | Two Greedy Italians – Still Hungry | BBC 2 | 1,512.1 | 5.9 |
47 | Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is | BBC 2 | 1,440.2 | 7.7 |
48 | The Hairy Bikers: Mums Know Best | BBC 2 | 1,422.8 | 6.8 |
49 | Antiques Uncovered | BBC 2 | 1,388.6 | 5.3 |
50 | Great British Food Revival | BBC 2 | 1,304.2 | 5.4 |
51 | Hugh’s Three Hungry Boys | CH4 | 1,285.7 | 4.6 |
52 | Flog it! Ten of the Best | BBC 2 | 1,196.4 | 13.7 |
53 | May the Best House Win | ITV1 | 1,183.8 | 15.3 |
54 | 60 Minute Makeover | ITV1 | 1,182.6 | 14.9 |
55 | Something For the Weekend | BBC 2 | 1,143.2 | 11.3 |
56 | Marco Pierre White’s Kitchen Wars | Channel 5 | 1,013.2 | 4.2 |
57 | Superscrimpers: Hot Summer Tips | CH4 | 904.8 | 3.4 |
58 | Sunday Brunch | CH4 | 859.7 | 9.3 |
59 | Saturday Kitchen Best Bites | BBC 2 | 737.9 | 8.1 |
60 | Chinese Food in Minutes | Channel 5 | 697.1 | 5.7 |
61 | Snog Marry Avoid? | BBC 3 | 666.1 | 3.8 |
62 | Timothy Spall: All at Sea | BBC 4 | 581.1 | 2.4 |
63 | Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals | CH4 | 552.5 | 3.2 |
64 | Meals in Moments | Channel 5 | 528.8 | 4.0 |
65 | Grand Designs | More4 | 526.6 | 2.3 |
66 | Timothy Spall: Back at Sea | BBC 4 | 518.7 | 2.0 |
67 | Holiday: Heaven on Earth | Channel 5 | 502.4 | 2.2 |
68 | Priceless Antiques Roadshow | BBC 2 | 479.9 | 3.8 |
69 | River Cottage Everyday | More4 | 473.4 | 1.5 |
70 | The Family Recipe | Channel 5 | 457.9 | 6.3 |
71 | Grand Designs Australia | More4 | 453.7 | 1.6 |
72 | Kirstie and Phil’s Embarrasing Bits | More4 | 452.4 | 2.2 |
73 | House Gift | ITV1 | 450.6 | 5.5 |
74 | Top Gear Vietnam Special | Dave | 449 | 4.6 |
75 | Relocation, Relocation | More4 | 424.4 | 1.4 |
76 | Auction Hunters (Series 2) | Quest | 420.7 | 1.6 |
77 | The Renovation Game | CH4 | 402.5 | 3.3 |
78 | River Cottage Bites | CH4 | 387.7 | 4.9 |
79 | Storage Hunters | Dave | 387.1 | 1.5 |
80 | The World’s Best Diet | ITV2 | 383.5 | 1.4 |
81 | See Hear | BBC 1 | 378.3 | 9.3 |
82 | River Cottage: Gone Fishing | More4 | 373.4 | 1.5 |
83 | Monty Don’s Italian Gardens | BBC 4 | 369.9 | 1.4 |
84 | Restoration Man | More4 | 365.1 | 1.4 |
85 | Three in a Bed USA | CH4 | 363.5 | 4.7 |
86 | Salvage Hunters | Quest | 356.2 | 1.7 |
87 | Jamie Does…Venice | More4 | 351 | 1.3 |
88 | Petworth House: The Big Spring Clean | BBC 4 | 345.8 | 1.3 |
89 | Three in a Bed | CH4 | 342 | 5.6 |
90 | Relocation: Phil Down Under | More4 | 335 | 1.2 |
91 | A Place in the Sun | CH4 | 333.6 | 4.6 |
92 | Beeny’s Restoration Nightmare | More4 | 332.5 | 1.8 |
93 | Secret Location | CH4 | 319.3 | 5.5 |
94 | A Million Pound Place In the Sun | More4 | 318 | 1.2 |
95 | Grand Designs Revisited | More4 | 317.9 | 1.3 |
96 | Phil’s Empty Homes Giveaway | More4 | 315.4 | 1.2 |
97 | A Place in the Sun: Winter Sun | CH4 | 313.8 | 6.8 |
98 | One Man and His Campervan | BBC 2 | 302.5 | 3.7 |
99 | Location x 3: A Decade in Property | More4 | 293.9 | 1.6 |
100 | Come Dine With Me Footballers Special | More4 | 290.5 | 1.5 |
Antiques Roadshow Profile
Format
- Hour
- Hosted
- Experts appraise objects brought to a location by the antique-owning public
- The owners are asked to guess the value of their piece?
- The antiquarians provide their estimate, often to the shock of the owner
Production Cycle
- 26 episodes / year
- 14 locations / year
- 20+/- pieces / episode
- 8PM Sunday slot on BBC1
- 2 specials in past season
- Remembrance Day
- Queen’s Diamond Jubilee
Clip: The Vase/Junk
(Test your ear for British accents)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYmz-qMvXIQ
Why a Dependable Hit?
We asked several UK programming experts: ‘What makes AR the BBC’s most durable hit nonfiction format?’
Here are some of their answers:
- ‘Huge charm.’
- ‘Full of eccentric but relate-able British characters who are owners of pieces or experts.’
- ‘A guilty pleasure.’
- ‘Gentle and easily-watched.’
- ‘Familiar and cosy.’
- ‘Perfect for 8PM Sunday before the stressful work week begins.’
Genre-blender
AR is a hybrid that involves:
- ‘Travel to lovely places.’
- ‘A History series that engages people with the buried treasures of British life.’
- ‘For several moments each week, a suspenseful guessing Game Show about the value of pieces.’
Talent
- BBC news reader Fiona Bruce is ‘very likeable and enthusiastic, yet authoritative.’
How does the BBC team keep AR fresh?
- Evolving Tone
- The exchanges between public and experts are less formal.
- Experts are ‘slightly less academic’ and more relate-able.
- But NOISY characters are not invited!
- New Features
- More ‘change pieces’ (40-50 seconds) are being added before the ‘value surprise’ segment.
- Example: a sharp exchange of views between two experts about the value of a piece.
- A Guessing Game Segment, in which viewers guess the very different values of apparently similar objects.
- Specials
- The Remembrance and Jubilee specials were ratings and critical successes.
- New Platforms
- A new AR app will engage live audience in the Guessing Game, and more.
- Release date: October 2012.
- Social Media
- AR is one of the most talked about UK TV series on Twitter.
Spinoff: Fake or Fortune
- Experts analyze alleged fake works of art and antiques
- Also hosted by Fiona Bruce.
- BBC1 Sunday night lead in to AR.
My Big Takeaway: AR Delivers Value!
- Antiques Roadshow is a ROI (return on investment) powerhouse!
- It anchors the highly-viewed Sunday night schedule, delivering a massive if older skewing audience, decade after decade.
- Yet AR‘s production costs are a fraction of BBC Blue Chip factual specials or drama.
- And AR doesn’t require the higher cost and maintenance demanded by the talent that typically drives hosted cooking and lifestyle programs.
Biggest Challenge
- Like most public broadcasters, the BBC is cutting budgets across all program categories.
- Antiques Roadshow currently delivers 26 episodes from shoots on 14 locations.
- The trick will be to maintain a fresh viewing experience in the face of any future pressures to further cut the # of locations.
More Reading / Videos
- Our Globe Trekker Case Study: Another great public television franchise analyzed from the inside.
- History US executive producer Mary Donahue discusses AR and the development of the hit series Pawn Stars.
- What did Brits watch before the Olympics? Part 1. Top 100 Factual shows, 1H12.
Editorial Assistance: Alexander Watson
—————————–
WORKSHOP AT WESTDOC
What Do U.S. Networks Want?
How Can You Get It?
Sunday, September 9
Come to my one-of-a-kind intensive workshop with charismatic reality TV series developer and executive producer, Stephen Harris.
The topics
- What do US factual channels want?
- For docs? And Reality?
- How do programmers make decisions?
- How much do they pay producers?
- Who gets the work?
- Why?
- When?
Your Takeaways?
- A grasp of how the nonfiction business works.
- Really valuable data and contacts.
- Constructive pitching guidance.
- Assessments of your projects.
- Knowledge of how to go forward!
- All this, plus two gurus, and much, much more.
Registration
- Click here to register
- Workshop attendees earn a 10% Westdoc Conference and Workshop discount using the registration code: HAMILTON12