In the tradition of Public Service Media (PSM), French TV audiences have selected a cutting edge pilot of a new format to be produced and broadcast on France 4.

Lazarus lève le voile (Lazarus lifts the veil) and pilots selected by the audiences of PSM in Germany and Holland will be presented during his year’s Eurovision Creative forum in Berlin (10/9) as part of  Eurovision TV Lab 2013.

The pilot created by Anne-Laure Bonnel of the production house Black Moon was one of eight formats put to the public vote by EBU Member France 4, as part of a unique experiment originally created by NPO/Ned3 in Holland. 

TV Lab attracts younger audiences to sample PSM by challenging producers to develop new concepts for public review. Viewers use social media to assess the pilots and identify their favourites. In each territory, internet votes help to decide which of the formats shown during Eurovision TV Lab night should be turned into a series.

After two successful runs in the Netherlands, the TV Lab concept has been rolled out to EBU Members. This year, submissions rubber-stamped by the audiences of NED3, Holland, ZDFneo, Germany, VRT, Belgium, and  RTV, Slovenia,

Head of Television Bettina Brinkmann says this unique initiative offers the EBU Community an oasis of fresh  innovative pilots. 

“Whether current events, drama, music or chat shows, these formats will be  tested by real TV audiences to determine if they have what it takes to be a hit or not,” Ms Brinkmann said. “We’re not talking about focus groups. There is no better example of PSM responding to their audiences. What they want, they get.”

Lazarus lève le voile features an enigmatic and provocative character whose determined line of questioning explores controversial topics of interest to young audiences.

It was selected from an original pool of almost 200 submissions and will be soon produced and broadcast on France 4.

Pictures below left to right:

• France 4 TV Lab team and the team of the 8 selected pilots part of the contest
• Anne Brochot, Eurovision TV Lab Project Manager
• Patric Jean, Black Moon Production
  Nathalie Notebaert, Directrice de l’Unité R&D de France Télévisions
  Anne-Laure Bonnel, Auteur de Lazarus lève le voile