Conker looks for ways to score hit with youngsters

Sep 11 2008 by Alistair Houghton, Liverpool Daily Post

A SPIN-OFF company at Hollyoaks producer Lime Pictures is helping the BBC and Channel 4 develop pioneering new ways of attracting young viewers onscreen and online.

Conker Media, which is wholly owned by Childwall-based Lime, is working on a new comedy project with Channel 4, and developing a Hollyoaks spin-off music show that will be part-funded by commercial sponsors.

It is also working with BBC on its new Switch project to produce content aimed at teenagers and will in the new year unveil a major new project that will link television programmes with online games and social networking sites.

Television companies are keen to find new ways of engaging with young people who are watching less television but spending more time online.

Conker developed Channel 4’s Hollyoaks website, which has become the channel’s most successful online offering.

Lee Hardman, head of Conker Media, said: “These are all major projects that are coming out of Liverpool and the North West. There’s always been a focus on what’s happening in the South of England, but we’ve been innovative in cross-platform digital media up here for the past 10 years.

“We’ve started working with Channel 4 on a project called 4 Laughs.

“It’s a project that will grow in 2009 into something quite significant. It’s about getting new talent together to create short-form content for television, mobile and broadband – content that’s almost at the pre-pilot stage.

“It will bring talent together from across the UK. For example (comedy producer) Baby Cow, which is a partner of ours, will be mentoring talent in the North West.”

The Hollyoaks Music Show, which features bands performing at Hollyoaks locations, was first broadcast as a pilot in Easter.

Conker and Channel 4 are now planning a series to air next year.

He said: “The pilot in Easter got about 750,000 viewers, which is well in excess of what they’d expected.

“It’s part sponsor-funded. It will be a new project and a new business model.”

Details of Conker’s project with BBC Switch will be unveiled in the New Year.

Mr Hardman said: “They’re looking at new narrative forms, and how to tell stories across multiple platforms.

“We’ve got a project in the New Year that will tell a story on television, and also as a game online, and will also involve some social networking.

“It’s about how we work with writers and get them to tell stories across platforms. There’ll be elements of television, gaming, and geolocation – telling stories in different locations.

“We’re working with people such as Melvyn Burgess and Mark Ravenhill – high-profile storytellers who don’t necessarily work in television.”

alistairhoughton