RSS13 SELLS OUT!

With more than 2,200 delegates registered, the 2013 Realscreen Summit has sold out, with a wait-list now in effect for those without passes.

The news marks the second consecutive year realscreen has sold out its flagship, Washington DC-based event.

Those without passes still hoping to attend the non-fiction industry's pre-eminent conference should email Joel Pinto as soon as possible, in order to be put on a wait-list in the event of delegate cancellations.

We have secured complete access of the Renaissance Washington DC Hotel, meaning security will turn away those not registered for the event.

Monsters of factual kick off 2013 Summit

To set the inspirational tone for the sessions at this year's Realscreen Summit, we've gathered together the producers behind several of unscripted television's most enduring hits and recent ratings smashes to share the stories behind their successes. Hear how the producers behind such modern classics as Top Chef, Jersey Shore and Deadliest Catch developed their game-changing ideas, overcame challenges, and created series that would transform television. And hear their tips on how to potentially follow in their footsteps and successfully navigate the wilds of the factual television world.

Phil Keoghan to host realscreen’s ‘So You Think You Can Pitch’, Tuesday, Jan. 29

Phil Keoghan, nine-time Emmy Award-winning host and co-executive producer of The Amazing Race, one of television's most enduring television franchises, is set to emcee Realscreen Summit's popular pitch competition, "So You Think You Can Pitch?" presented in association with CABLEready, on January 29, 2013.

Phil's life has been full of travel and adventure. He started traveling at the age of two accompanying his father, a plant scientist, and his mother who taught music, to third world countries. Phil started working as an assistant camera operator for Television New Zealand before being picked to host Spot On. He has gone on to work in over 100 countries around the world as a motivational speaker, author, television host, actor, producer and cameraman on thousands of program episodes.

No stranger to pitching himself, Phil co-created, co-produced and sold his first series, 'Keoghan's Heroes', at 23. He has since developed and sold original television programs to National Geographic, Bravo, Discovery, CBC, TVNZ, Miramax, Global, FOX, TV3, Sky and SHOWTIME.

Entertainment vs Altruism

While no one will deny that documentary film and television is an important and powerful form of media, there can be times when, with apologies to Marshall McLuhan, the message can overtake the medium. Today's documentary masters excel at the art of storytelling, not sloganeering. In a one of the Realscreen Summit's marquee sessions entitled Entertainment vs Altruism, filmmakers and commissioners will illuminate how to balance information with entertainment, and why, for commissioners and audiences, "passion" doesn't have to equal "polemic."

So You Think You Can Pitch deadline extended.. but only until Jan. 10th

Enter for your chance to be selected as one of our pitching hopefuls. Full submission details as well as the required electronic entry form can be FOUND HERE. Deadline for submissions has been extended to Thursday, January 10th.

So you think you can pitch? Here's your chance to prove it.

Realscreen Summit's popular pitch competition, "So You Think You Can Pitch?" in association with our friends at CABLEready, returns on January 29, 2013. Don't miss the chance to pitch your project to a panel of leading commissioners in the unscripted world and garner the attention of a ballroom packed with commissioners, agents and distributors. Prizes include a pass to the 2014 Realscreen Summit, a one-year subscription to CableU and a GoPro HD Helmet HERO Camera. See who is left standing! The session, always standing room only at the Summit, provides an invaluable experience for participants as well as great entertainment and learning value for producers and broadcasters in attendance. Meet our judges:

Global production: the pros and cons

As international cable networks ramp up their global footprints, they're looking for more and more content to feed into their international pipelines. But while that may mean more opportunities to secure commissions, producers may have less opportunities to exploit the programs globally, with the networks often retaining international rights. A high-level panel at the 15th edition of the Realscreen Summit will examine the issue of feeding the appetite for global content from the prodco, network, and distributor perspectives, and also uncover the creative approaches being utilized by all partners to arrive at deals that work. Is there room for compromise and collaboration in the global content game?

 

The hunt for the next big thing

Usually, when discussing what the next big thing in factual/unscripted programming will be, the party line is to say "If I knew that, I wouldn't tell anyone." In one of the Realscreen Summit's marquee sessions featuring some of the cream of the crop in factual production, we aim to find out what trends in non-fiction fare are on fire, which are bubbling under the surface and waiting to explode, and which are fizzling out. What genres, sub-genres and hybrids are networks and prodcos betting on to take factual/unscripted programming into 2013 and beyond?

Tackling the “constructed” conundrum

It's been called various things over the course of its history - hybrid reality, constructed reality, and among its critics, terms that aren't suitable for a family publication. But as proponents and producers are quick to point out, the numbers for constructed reality hits don't lie. So if audiences don't seem to care about a little bit (or a lot) of "construction," what's the harm? In what promises to be a great debate, expertly moderated by NHNZ's Phil Fairclough, the closing session at the Realscreen Summit will examine "the 'constructed' conundrum," taking a look at how the genre fares internationally, and how much audiences – and producers – are really concerned about the blurring of the lines between reality and drama.

Make ‘em Laugh

From Duck Dynasty to Honey Boo Boo, the trend towards "comedy reality" is accelerating, and more and more unscripted series are amping up the humor element in their programming - in some cases, resulting in serious ratings. And there are many ways to approach humor in unscripted entertainment, ranging from "real life sitcoms" to comical competitions. In a high-octane panel at the 15th edition of the Realscreen Summit producers and networks behind the humorous hits let us know what works in comedic reality and why.

 

Meet a Mentor

Examining the “Hatfields & McCoys effect”

Discovery’s Eileen O’Neill in conversation

Eileen O'Neill, group president of Discovery, TLC and Discovery Fit & Health Networks, will take the stage at the Realscreen Summit for a candid conversation in which she'll discuss the process of overseeing the networks behind some of the year's biggest non-fiction programming – ranging from TLC's Here Comes Honey Boo Boo to Discovery's Friday night hits Gold Rush and Jungle Gold – and offer her thoughts on where the non-fiction content industry is headed next.

The agenda for the fifteenth edition of the Summit, which takes place in Washington, DC January 27-30, is being added to daily and there are several more exciting announcements to look forward to in the next couple of weeks. Click here to see the list of speakers already confirmed.

Nick Fraser and Alex Gibney in conversation at the Summit

Agenda is live. Meet some of your hosts.

Registration open and advisory board revealed

Ready, set, register!

Registration is now open for the 15th edition of the Realscreen Summit in Washington DC, taking place January 27-30, 2013. The Summit is the definitive global market and conference for the business of unscripted entertainment, and a must attend for content creators, distributors, agents, commissioners and multiplatform broadcasters of unscripted and factual entertainment programming.

Last year's event sold out early, and it is anticipated that registration will reach capacity even earlier this year. Networking opportunities, insightful panels featuring the brightest minds in the business, stellar keynotes and great parties are staples of the event, and are all included in the basic registration.

This year's advisory board is helmed by Robert DeBitetto, President & General Manager, A&E Network and BIO Channel, and Eileen O'Neill, Group President for Discovery, TLC and Discovery Fit & Health Networks. The board (pictured below), is committed to helping shape a program to inspire and deliver meaningful results for your business.

Our host venue, the Renaissance DC Hotel, has once again been secured in its entirety, for use exclusively by delegates of the Realscreen Summit. Only those people who have registered for the benefits that go along with the conference will be able to enjoy them, and anyone who is not registered to attend will be denied access.

This also means that there are plenty of rooms available to our delegates at our preferred rate. There will be more to follow on the rates and room block in the coming weeks.