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AMERICAN HEROES CHANNEL

AHCTV.COM
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SUBMISSION

Thank you for your interest in American Heroes Channel.

American Heroes Channel (AHC) is a network that tells timeless stories in which a challenge appears – be it a situation or a villain – and a hero arises. Currently in 60 million homes, AHC provides a rare glimpse into major events that shaped our world, visionary leaders and unexpected heroes who made a difference, and the great defenders of our freedom. For more information, please visit AHCtv.com, facebook.com/AHCtelevision, or Twitter.com/AHC_TV . American Heroes Channel is part of Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the world’s #1 pay-tv programmer reaching nearly 3 billion cumulative subscribers in 220 countries and territories.

If you are a producer who would like to submit a program proposal to AHC, you will find all the information you need here online. Please read our Submissions Guidelines that provide an overview of programs appropriate to the Network.

DEVELOPMENT PROPOSALS

All proposals must be submitted via the ESubmissions process; we will not accept proposals mailed to our offices. Proposals will be reviewed in the order in which they are received. If we have initial interest in your project, we will contact you for more information. If we decide to pass on your submission, you will receive notification via email. Please allow at least eight weeks for a response. Please note: All tapes will be discarded – do NOT send originals.

Please see our “Guidelines” page for more information.

COMPLETED PROGRAMS/ACQUISITIONS

We are currently accepting acquisition submissions of single hours (60 minute) or series (30 or 60 minute) in all areas of military and history programming. For more information on our current schedules and programming, please visit our website. Acquisitions should not be submitted through this website, see “Guidelines.”

Programming should be targeted to our current audience, which is approximately 60% male, ages 25-54.    

FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I submit a proposal?
Please review our submission guidelines and current schedule. Then use the eSubmissions process to send us your idea. We receive a very high volume of calls and emails and are unfortunately unable to respond to individual submission queries by phone or email. All contact will be initiated via our electronic submissions process.

What are you looking for?
Please watch the channel before submitting. In addition, please review our submission guidelines and our website for the most up-to-date information about our channel. If your proposal falls within those guidelines, we request that you submit a one- to two-page description rather than a full treatment. Please include the story line, visual approach or style, pertinent production details, and a rough budget and production schedule. You must include rough budget information for your proposal to be considered. Short bios of the production team (if we’ve not worked with you before) and a sample tape are also helpful.

Will my materials be returned to me?
No. Please do not send any materials aside from a supporting VHS tape. All materials will be discarded. Please do NOT send originals.

How long does it take to review a proposal?
It usually takes six to eight weeks for initial review of a project. However, that timing can change depending on where we are in our yearly budget cycle. If your proposal has a specific time constraint (for an example, a project at a particular time), please include that information in the Comments section. Please give us as much lead time as possible before production (usually 6 months minimum).

How long does it take to review a completed film?
Because of the high volume of tapes we receive, it usually takes 6-8 weeks for us to initially review a program. If we decide to pass, you will be notified at that point. If we are interested in the editorial content of the program, it then may take us a while longer to identify the financial resources to make you an offer. We appreciate your patience, and please rest assured that we will get back to you once a decision has been made.

Do you commission films or do I need a co-production partner?
The vast majority of our programs are co-productions. Please let us know whether you have co-production partners (or supplemental financing) when you submit your treatment.

May I submit a proposal to more than one of your networks at the same time?
None of the Discovery Networks will consider a proposal under review by another network. Please choose the most appropriate network and submit to them first. We will, however, review proposals that have been passed on by another network.

Can I just run an idea by you before submitting it?
We would like to talk with every producer personally. Unfortunately, we are unable to address individual questions by phone or email before you submit a project. Please use our electronic submissions process, and we will review your idea. Details can then be worked out if we are interested in the idea.

What if I’m not a producer, but I have a good idea?
We consider proposals from production companies only. If you are not a professional, established production company, we suggest that you interest one and together present the idea to us.

Do you consider completed films?
Yes, we also review completed programs for acquisition consideration. Please see our submission procedures, and note that we do not return tapes. Please include with your completed program a brief description of the program, your contact information, and where the program has aired before (worldwide).

When producing for your channel, are there any standards, requirements or policies (packaging, breaks and timing, technical information, etc.) that I need to know?
If we accept your proposal, our Executive Producer assigned to oversee your project will provide you with information to answer these questions. There is no need to address these in your proposal, with one exception. DVCam or DVCPro cameras can only be used with prior approval. Beta-SP is generally the minimum technical shooting standard we accept, so please budget accordingly.

Can you recommend a production company that I can contact or let me know who you prefer to work with?
We work with hundreds of production companies and thus do not make recommendations. We suggest that you watch our programs (and credits) to get an idea of companies with which we work.

Is grant money or development money available for the production I’m researching?
No. We ask that you develop a project before you send it to us.

Do you have your own production teams or reporters to cover a story?
No, we do not have in-house production crews, reporters, or facilities. All production work is done by outside producers in close collaboration with our in-house Executive Producers. Please do not pitch us short stories or timely event coverage. We simply do not have the resources to cover those types of events.

What do you pay for an hour / a series? Can you give me a general figure?
We do not supply general figures because each series produced for our channel has unique production characteristics that make every budget different. We ask that you tell us how much it would cost you to produce the film. We also do not give out figures for our acquisition budgets. If we are interested in your program, one of our Business Affairs associates will be in contact to make you an offer.

Are you looking for timely programs?
No. All programs submitted to us should have an editorial shelf-life of two to four years. Acquisition submissions should be copyrighted 1999 or later.

Can I get a sample budget so I know how to put one together?
A full budget is not required at this stage of the process. Please estimate your production costs. Should we pursue your project, our Production Management department will provide you with detailed budget guidelines.

Do you air paid programming?
No, this channel does not air paid programming. For more information on advertising opportunities, please contact our New York Ad Sales office at 212-751-2000.

GUIDELINES

Please first review our programming needs on our network home page of ESubmissions as well as on our website to determine if your idea is appropriate.

Development Proposals

All proposals must be submitted via the ESubmissions process; we will not accept proposals mailed to our offices. Proposals will be reviewed in the order in which they are received. If we have initial interest in your project, we will contact you for more information. If we decide to pass on your submission, you will receive notification via email. Please allow at least eight weeks for a response.

Please note: All tapes will be discarded – do NOT send originals.

Please follow these guidelines when submitting an idea to us:

  • Please do not put your title in “quotes.”
  • Your Full Project Description should provide us with your idea as well as how you intend to approach the subject (style and execution).
  • Please indicate the number of episodes you intend to produce, as well as the length of each episode.
  • Your estimated budget should be a per episode estimate – this field is required. Detailed budgets will be requested if needed.
  • You must indicate whether you are requesting a commission, a co-production, or another type of deal. Please further address any deal issues in the comments section. If you are requesting a co-production, please indicate your partners in the comments section.
  • Please provide us with a rough production timeline for completion of the project. Do not include specific dates; rather, we would prefer to see how many weeks you would expect to spend on each stage of the project.
  • Address any additional issues in the comments section.
  • If you have not worked with Discovery Networks before, please send us a VHS copy of a long-form documentary project you’ve produced – not a demo reel. VHS tapes only (no materials), clearly marked with your submission ID, can be sent to AHC Submissions, One Discovery Place, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3354.

For more information, please see our “Frequently Asked Questions” (FAQ). Please note: do not submit your idea to more than one Discovery Network – it will be discarded. None of our channels review programs already under consideration by another. If one channel passes on your idea, you may then resubmit to another network.

Completed Programs/Acquisitions

Acquisitions should not be submitted through this website, see instructions below.

If you would like us to review a finished program, you may submit the tape to our acquisition review process. We only accept completed commercial length 30-minute or 60-minute programs for review. All rough cuts and programs shorter than 30 minutes will be discarded. Should we express initial interest in your project, you will be contacted for additional information. If we pass on your submission, you will be notified via email. Allow 8-12 weeks for notification of any sort. Please note that tapes will not be returned.

Please send completed tapes for acquisition consideration to:

AHC Submissions
One Discovery Place
Silver Spring,
MD 20910-3354

Please include with your tape a brief description of the program, your contact information (including email address), and where the program has aired before (worldwide). If this information is not included, your submission may be discarded.