Can you tell the essence of your idea in two or three sentences? If you can't, you may not have as good an idea as you thought. You know your idea better than anyone. How do you expect the on-screen guide to summarize your show if you can't?
Your program pitch should be both familiar and unique -- something like "romeo and juliet (instantly familiar) but in outer space with competing sexy alien races (makes it seem like a unique program). That's a one sentence pitch -- it should interest the programmer, producer or audience member enough to want to hear more.
The best pitch ever for a show came from a Head of Programming, the legendary Brandon Tartikoff, to one of his producers, Michael Mann. Brandon Tartikoff was Head of Programming during NBC's glory years, when the network carried the Cosby Show, Hill St. Blues, LA Law, the A-Team, and many other iconic shows.
The story is that Tartikoff gave Michael Mann a piece of paper with two words -- "MTV cops." Those two words inspired Mann to create "Miami Vice," a show that changed not only the look of police dramas on TV, but also spawned an entire fashion look for that time.
When you read "MTV cops," did you think of "Miami Vice?" Do you see it now? Can you put your program pitch into two words? How about two sentences?
If you can't do this, keep thinking about your idea. Strip it to its essentials until you can. When you can create your pitch, write it down. Memorize it and try it on your friends and family until it sings. Then try it on a programming executive or producer.
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