A program pitch I made to my electronic media class last year in a classroom simulation of pitching a television show idea to a studio.

1. Our America
Program Pitch
Dylan Lovering
Fall 2012
Yan Yang

2. Dylan Lovering
2 Millwood Road
Wolfeboro, NH 02894
(603) 651-5566
loverd10@highpoint.edu
November 14th
, 2012
Bill Howard
Director of Programming and Partnerships
Travel Channel
5425 Wisconsin Ave
Chevy Chase, MD 20815-3523
Dear Mr. Howard,
Within this document is my proposed television documentary series, Our America. A
show that will help breath life into your channel's 18-30 year old male and female demographic.
This hour-long travel documentary show will air episodes set in different places across the
diverse and beautiful United States of America. Shot largely with easily portable camera
equipment and natural lighting, this show will give viewers a first hand account of our two hosts'
travels. Central themes such as food, fun, music, culture, college, and the beauty of nature will
attract many young viewers.
Our young hosts (ages 23 and 22) Caleb Love and Luke Harris will have a relatively
small budget for each episode in order to make their travels realistic to appeal to a larger number
of viewers. Through meeting locals and college students they will learn the best spots to eat on a
budget, and where to go to have a good time after hours. Each stay will include brief tours of
local colleges and segments about the culture and music in the area. Caleb and Luke will meet
unique people, new friends, girls, and explore attractions, colleges, and the natural beauty each
setting has to offer.
One of the most important things about this show is that it should reveal how easy it is to
get yourself out into the world in order to expand you're horizons. Whether our hosts' are
jumping off cliffs into the cold mountain water of northern New Hampshire, or attending a music
festival outside of Chattanooga, Tennessee, they will unveil how much fun can be had in our own
geographical backyards. All we have to do is hit the road.
This show concept is extremely unique and filled with potential. The idea for this show
stems directly from my own experiences making trips to different parts of the country with my
own friends. College is a time of exploration and leaning inside and outside of the classroom.
Our college-aged hosts will lay out plans for viewers to go on trips of their own where budget
plays a central role. An easy to use website will also be launched, displaying an interactive map
of the United States with trips and attractions featured on the show. Functions and tools on the
website could also help users budget trips and give them ideas of how much things will cost
Thank you so much for your consideration of my program idea, I hope to hear back from
your station soon, as I have sent pitches to other stations as well. Feel free to contact me with any
questions or feedback you may have!
Sincerely,

3. The Program Pitch
Show Working Title: Our America
Genre: Travel documentary
Format: Hour-long on network television station (Travel Channel, National Geographic,
Discovery)
Show Concept: Two young hosts travels to different parts of the country, backpacking their way
from place to place. Tapping the knowledge of locals to reveal the best bars, places to eat,
festivals and concerts to attend, and discovering universities in the area. All the while unveiling
the beauty of nature and diversity of culture within our country.
Show Pitch: This show is centered around the lust for discovery. There is so much opportunity
for young, high school to college-aged people to travel and discover what our country has to
offer: Road trips, touring colleges, visiting friends. By encouraging travel within our own
country we can not only provide eye-opening entertainment, but provide much-needed boosts
throughout local economies who stand to benefit from public exposure on the television
platform. Our focuses will be on colleges, night-life, music festivals, food, the beauty of nature,
and the diversity and perseverance of the American people.
Logline: “Helping our young generation to discover the beauty and opportunity within America
through eyes that could be our own.”
Main Characters and Their Sketches
Caleb Love- A down-to-earth, intellectual 22-year-old from northern New Hampshire.
Caleb grew up skiing in the mountains of the Northeast every weekend and loves the outdoors.
Caleb is good looking and intelligent, loves to play guitar and attend concerts, and is always
down for a good time. He recently graduated with a film degree from NYU so is accustomed to
the city, but his heart lies in the more rural area in which he grew up. Caleb graduated with one
of the most impressive resumes in his class. He has recently returned from Europe after working
on a nature documentary with BBC. Caleb is well-traveled and has friends and connections
across the country stemming from his experiences at NYU. He is looking forward to working on
Our America as it will enable him to entertain another one of his passions; traveling.
Luke Harris- A wild, charming, and handsome 23-year-old friend of Caleb from Tennessee
Luke is a wild kid. He met Caleb while on a family trip snowboarding in Maine in 2002 and they
have been friends ever since. Luke is a semi-pro dirt biker and an amazing snowboarder and
wake boarder. When Luke isn't riding dirt bikes, he works for a skydiving company out of
Chattanooga. Luke shares a lot of common interest with Caleb but is definitely the wild card of
the duo. Luke is often needing to be kept in check by Caleb who is more of a safety-first kind of
guy compared to Luke. Luke never went to college but has extensive video experience recording
him and his friends snowboarding, dirt biking, skydiving, etc. Luke has a way with the ladies and
a sweet southern charm about him. The chance to work on Our America would be a dream come
true for Luke who is always in search of an outlet to do the things he loves.
Kelsey- Free spirited, smart, and beautiful 22-year-old friend of Caleb from New Hampshire
Kelsey grew up with Caleb and has known him since grade school. She just graduated from

4. Plymouth State College in northern New Hampshire with a history degree and will be featured
on a two hour pilot episode of Our America which will introduce our hosts' and their home states.
Kelsey has a profound love for nature and the state of New Hampshire. She will guide the boys
through the college town of Plymouth and take them to nearby state-parks Livermore and
Franconia Notch. Kelsey develops a small crush on Luke leaving Caleb rolling his eyes. Kelsey
is outgoing and knowledgeable of New Hampshire history.
Jenny- Sweet, hilarious, deeply southern-rooted 57-year-old mother of Luke
Jenny is a true southern belle. Born and raised in Tennessee, this mother of five is as sweet as
could be. Jenny can dish out some amazing southern cooking and is filled with knowledge about
the beautiful city of Chattanooga even though she lives with her husband on a ranch in nearby
Jasper, TN. Jenny will share pictures and stories about Luke in the pilot episode. Audiences will
love her reflection of local pride and the example she sets as a loving, caring mother and
grandmother.
Setting- Various settings in the United States in the present day. For the pilot episode the main
settings will be on location in Jasper and Chattanooga Tennessee, and Plymouth and Franconia
New Hampshire. Stock footage will be shot at other places in the state in proximity to these
towns. The end of the Pilot episode will be shot at Bonnaroo music festival in Manchester, TN,
not far from Chattanooga.
Target Audience
Males ages 16 and up
Females ages 16 and up
This show will easily gain following from a younger demographic simply because that's
who the show is about. Our generation. But that does not mean it will not be intriguing to older
viewers as well. Traveling is something that older viewers have a lot more time for than younger
viewers. Although the show is going to work towards appealing more to a younger demographic,
older viewers will enjoy a peak into the lives of our handsome young hosts. Value and costs of
travel will be addressed frequently in this show, and who doesn't like to travel for less?
Anyone who appreciates traveling and discovery will find this show entertaining
informative and motivational. People who are frequent concert-goers, like to go out to bars, or
love extreme sports will also find appeal in the show through the personalities of our hosts. I
believe the cornerstone to this show's potential is its mass appeal comparatively to other shows
on your network.
Synergy and Promotional Opportunities
To accompany the show's launch we will create a website dedicated to providing our
audience everything they need. I would suggest making episodes available online in order to
make a bigger splash and gain viewers. As Luke and Caleb go to more and more places to shoot
episodes, we could let viewers follow them on an interactive map on the Our America website.
This map could also provide tools to allow viewers to budget trips and give them tips about the
best bars, restaurants, and venues in the area.
Advertisers will love Our America. Caleb and Luke would make great promoters for

5. anything from outdoor gear to beer. Travel makes up one of the biggest advertiser markets;
airlines, cars, and hotels all pay a big role in our show and I expect them to do the same when it
comes to advertisements on television and online. The music and ticketing industries may also
want to hop on board with our show as Caleb and Luke will attend concerts and festivals.
As this show develops and we get more episodes under our hypothetical belt, we can start
to integrate social networking into our show. Facebook and Twitter (#ouramerica) will help kick
start this show virally. Fan pages and twitter accounts for Caleb and Luke can be set up so they
can give viewers live sneak-peak updates of episodes to come that are currently being shot. The
popular music identification app Shazam can be used to identify songs in each episodes'
soundtrack and perhaps unlock further promotional offers from our sponsors. Since Our America
is set to attract a new generation of viewers, it is important for us to be innovative in the
department of social networking and online expansion.

6. anything from outdoor gear to beer. Travel makes up one of the biggest advertiser markets;
airlines, cars, and hotels all pay a big role in our show and I expect them to do the same when it
comes to advertisements on television and online. The music and ticketing industries may also
want to hop on board with our show as Caleb and Luke will attend concerts and festivals.
As this show develops and we get more episodes under our hypothetical belt, we can start
to integrate social networking into our show. Facebook and Twitter (#ouramerica) will help kick
start this show virally. Fan pages and twitter accounts for Caleb and Luke can be set up so they
can give viewers live sneak-peak updates of episodes to come that are currently being shot. The
popular music identification app Shazam can be used to identify songs in each episodes'
soundtrack and perhaps unlock further promotional offers from our sponsors. Since Our America
is set to attract a new generation of viewers, it is important for us to be innovative in the
department of social networking and online expansion.