How do I start my own cable channel?

Factual Questions
1

I have an idea for a channel I think might work. So how does one go about getting a cable channel?

Hope this is the right forum. I assume there must be a factual answer.

Thanks

2

The same way you make a small fortune, start with a large fortune.

I was serious. You should probably start by making a business plan for your channel and then use that to attract investors.

3

There are conferences in the cable industry at which entrepreneurs go to pitch ideas for cable channels.

Something like this one, although I don’t know if it is the best example.

You’re betting tens of millions of dollars so have a professional-level presentation.

Also be aware that most new cable channels start out by having to pay the cable operators to carry them until they become popular. So also be sure to have those tens of millions already in your pocket when you walk in.

4

This is a better one to pitch an idea. Plus you’ll get to meet me if you go :smiley: . But be warned, there is a lot of competition out there.

5

Thanks. Very interesting info.

I doubt my idea is original so I may as well spit it out.

My idea is for a sitcom/drama type channel. (yeah I know, it’s called nick @ night). Actually, it’s quite different from that. I wouldn’t want any of the kid stuff Nickelodeon plays, and I would want the shows to reflect the best of those catergories. Seinfeld, ER… things of that type.

So I imagine, along with the other things mentioned, I would also have to negotiate to get the shows I want. True?

6

If by “negotiate” you mean “pay out enormous sums of money to outbid every other cable channel,” then yes, you would have to negotiate.

Most shows (well, their producers) sign exclusive contracts for x number of years with cable channels as soon as they have been on the air for - usually - four years or sufficient shows to make them viable to stripping (playing in the same time slot five days a week). So all the shows you want are not available. Unless you’re talking about really old shows, and even those are already playing somewhere.

Real world example: TBS paid $180 million for the rights to Seinfeld in 1998. Say that you run it four times a day. That’s 10 hours with 158 more hours of programming a week to fill before you’ve sold your first advertising dollar.

If you’re thinking of putting together a dream lineup of the shows you love, you have to ask yourself - if multi-billion dollar international corporations can’t do this, how would I do so?

xizor, thanks. I knew what I wanted to point to but couldn’t quickly Google it.