Culture shows

Paid-for digital channels such as Sky Arts afford broadcasters a luxury that the terrestrials don’t have. We’re able to offer content specifically catered to what we know our customers want. One of the constant problems we face is the perception that the digital channels are a ghetto for audiences. While we don’t have the same reach of the terrestrials, the foundation on which paid-for TV was created was an offer that goes above and beyond terrestrial offerings. The reason we, and indeed any other non-terrestrial specialist channels, came into existence was to cater to a specific audience, and to ensure that underserved genres get the prominence they deserve.
This commitment to offering content that people are passionate about means tackling artforms that are often perceived to be ‘difficult’ – classical music and visual arts, for example. The challenge with these genres is to create engaging content for the audience. It is sometimes difficult to immediately understand how they translate to the screen. Fundamentally, though, it comes down to tapping into the audience’s passion for this type of content, and it is this passion that drives any commissioner. Ultimately, we all want to bring content to our viewers in a way that innovates or excites – and in the arts we have the advantage of already working with enormously exciting content. This in itself can be a challenge – an embarrassment of riches. If the wealth of pitches and programme ideas we’ve had recently is anything to go by, the appetite for arts on television seems to be matched only by the creativity of production companies, writers, directors and artists.
Above the parapet
Sticking to what is ‘safe’ is another criticism often levelled at arts coverage on television. At Sky Arts we try to think about what our customers want rather than what is considered safe. We’re streaming Antony Gormley’s ‘One & Other’ project live, 24 hours a day for the full 100 days. broadcasting 2,400 people, who each have an hour atop Trafalgar Square’s Fourth Plinth to do whatever they want (within the bounds of legality), isn’t what might traditionally be thought of as safe, but it is a thrilling project; it has created some incredible content and it has highlighted our commitment to bringing the arts to people on screen, online and on the streets. Working in the arts sometimes means taking risks that seem disproportionate, but we’ve found that they pay off often enough to justify that.
One & Other is a good example of how we are seeking to expand our reach beyond what we put on screen. It is the first project in a two-year partnership with arts producer Artichoke (who were responsible for La Machine in Liverpool ’08 and The Sultan’s Elephant in London 2007.) What excites us about working with Artichoke is the opportunities that the partnership affords to bring the arts to as many people as possible. We’ll be announcing details of the second project very soon. Additionally, we’re increasingly working with arts organisations across the country. We’ve recently expanded our 24 regional partnerships a year, ‘Sky Arts Ats…’, where we produce 10-minute behind-the-scenes documentaries at organisations and companies. Coming up in autumn, we’ll be previewing events at Cork Jazz Festival, Opera North and Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

Looking ahead
Finally, we continue to sponsor major organisations like the Hay Festival and English National Ballet. Sky is actually one of the largest corporate sponsors of the arts – a fact which continues to surprise people – and while we’re able to, we’ll continue to dedicate time and resources to widening access to the arts in the UK. The primary way we do this, of course, is with our programming. This autumn, we’re bringing back two of our flagship series – The Book Show, the only weekly television programme dedicated to all types of books, and Songbook, a series of interviews and acoustic performances with leading songwriters. We’re also working on a new series of ‘Tim Marlow On…’ which sees White Cube Gallery Director Marlow offer guided tours of some of the UK’s biggest art exhibitions, and the usual mix of classic rock concerts, documentaries and opera performances.
The challenge that all commissioners currently face is how arts on TV should be represented in the future. The appetite and potential scope for what could be covered is enormous, and it will be intriguing to see how other broadcasters commit to the arts in future. It still surprises us that we’re the only dedicated arts channels in the UK, but in our opinion there is no such thing as too much arts on TV. Frankly, the more arts on television, the better.