VANESSA CASE, VP, CONTENT

WHAT SHE’S LOOKING FOR:
True to form for a cable net with the tagline “My vice is Slice,” Case says she’s looking for content that “delivers on guilty pleasures programming” for women – entertaining slices of life featuring huge personalities and relatable circumstances.

In 2010, the Canwest-owned specialty channel is producing over 100 hours of original content, and with a requirement from the CRTC to air 82.5% CanCon, most of that comes from original productions.

WHAT’S WORKING NOW:
Slice’s key demo is the 18-49 age group, with an eye towards the “30-35 sweet spot” and the lifestyle sub-genres that seem to be clicking with it are weddings and finance.

Case says the net is also mindful of co-viewing with its programming: “We’re very aware that a woman in that age range has other people in her life, be they kids, be it the boyfriend, be it the husband.”

As for one-offs vs. series, Case says that while she never wants to say “never” regarding one-offs, right now the focus is on drawing people to the net with “series that have a long standing life to them, that have an ongoing story.”

HOW TO PITCH:
Producers new to Slice should offer up a breakdown of a typical episode, a show summary and a tagline.

“If it can’t be explained in two lines or less, it’s probably too complicated an idea,” Case says.

Pitches can be sent to Lisa Godfrey, director of original production, via lgodfrey@canwest.com. Note that Godfrey will be on maternity leave starting in October; direct pitches to Case from that point on via vcase@canwest.com.