Itkin's golden rules for success: William Morris exec lays out what it takes to create a reality-TV hit.(Special Report)(Brief Article)

Broadcasting & Cable, August, 2004 by Downey, Kevin

Mark Itkin, a 22-year veteran of the William Morris Agency, comes as close to being a pioneer of reality television as you're likely to find. When he sealed the deal for MTV's The Real World in 1992, the concept was way ahead of the pack. It's still a franchise show at the network. He's had his hand in Road Rules, also on MTV, NBC's Fear Factor and CBS's Big Brother.

He knows reality. We count at least 14 reality shows that got picked up because of the Itkin touch. And so we figured he would have some no-nonsense rules for crafting a successful reality show. 1) Revenue Streams. "Think of a television show as a business. Think of as many revenue streams as possible. In today's day and age, where buyers control so many of the rights, you want to...

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