Channel 5 Commits to Student-Produced Project

LONDON: Channel 5 has struck a partnership with the National Film and Television School’s TV entertainment department that sees the broadcaster commit to commissioning and broadcasting a show that has been developed and produced by students.

Channel 5 will work with the school’s staff and students to nurture a new TV project or format. The broadcaster will also offer a series of work-placement opportunities to provide experience for students and cultivate talent.

Ideas will be developed over the coming months and will be pitched to the channel in the fall for a potential 2013 broadcast. The opportunity is open to second-year students as well as alumni who have graduated in the last two years.

Richard Desmond, a chairman of Northern and Shell, said: “When I visited the NFTS I was hugely impressed by the skills and opportunities it offers its students, and by the efforts that Nick Powell and David Croft go to give them the best chance to break into an incredibly tough industry. I thought a great way that we could do our part to help was to take some of the best students and show them how to get their ideas on air. There’s no substitute for real experience—and they will learn a huge amount from working with Jeff and his team. The pitches I saw from first and second-year students were original, dramatic and exciting ideas, just the sort of projects I can see having a future on Channel 5.”

Jeff Ford, the program director for Channel 5, added: “It’s crucial the TV industry nurtures new talent and this partnership does exactly that. My team and I are looking forward to seeing some really interesting and innovative program ideas from the students.”

David Croft, the head of television at the National Film and Television School, commented: “This partnership is a fantastic opportunity for our students and a massive vote of confidence in what the NFTS TV department is doing—training the TV talent of tomorrow. We know our students are very talented but getting their first step into the industry is always the hardest part. I applaud Channel 5 for reaching out to young people to develop ideas for the next generation of TV entertainment.”