WealthTV is changing its name. The upscale net is rebranding as AWE (A Wealth of Entertainment) starting October 1, a result of "misperceptions that the old network name was financial related or elitist," said network Pres Charles Herring. Programming will still feature "fast cars and expensive homes," promised Herring of the cable net, launched in 2004 (tag line: "It's your life, spend it well").

Kellan Media joined the good fight by volunteering to help produce an Anti-Bullying campaign. The project which is an original music video and PSA was created by Marcus Tyrell, Directed by Dominic Ross and Produced by Amanda Mahan.

Discovery Channel U.S. and Discovery Networks International announced a $500,000 fund to invest in daring ideas for programs about science, adventure, natural history and more. Exec VP and Chief Content Officer of Discovery Networks International Luis Silberwasser described it as a "challenge for producers to bring us ideas as ambitious and innovative as Planet Earth and North America. We have a unique opportunity to enlist the world's best production companies and make their most ambitious ideas a reality." Not to mention get first dibs on those bright new ideas.

It's time for a reality-TV reality check. Even top executives and producers admit that the genre has become tired — an overload of singing battles, food challenges, screaming housewives and dating competitions. "We've been in a huge reality drought," says Greg Goldman, the new president of Studio Lambert USA, which produces Undercover Boss.

The broadcast networks continue to coast on the enduring success of veteran franchises like Survivor, but they're not minting many new hits. In cable, the success of docuseries like the Real Housewives franchise and Love & Hip Hop has led to a glut of such shows. 
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Reality Show Pitch Proposals

Heather Hale shares these insights in Script Magazine:  



Do‘s and Don’t‘s of what ought to be in your pitch proposal.

DO:

• Know WHAT your show is. Is it a half-hour or hour show? If it’s a competition program – what kind? Elimination? Talent Search? Game Show? Social Experiment?
• Know what your format is. This is what you are pitching in reality programming. This is your protectable asset. Have it broken out and down. Know what it is. You can register your treatment or outline with the WGA. Or even work up a hypothetical pilot script and copyright that proposed execution of the idea.
• Know its milieu. Is it Fashion? Health? Science? Foodie? Travel? Know your world. 
• Know who your audience is. What are your likely demographics? (This is also your most obvious clue as to who your likely distributors or outlets might be).
• Give us an initial snapshot of the project: a quick, orienting overview so we can get on the same page with you, frame our expectations appropriately, not be confused – and be prepped to enjoy your passion!
• Have at least a ballpark idea of the show’s budget (or at least what’s realistic for your genre). Remember: reality is profitable because it is cheap.
• Have a great sizzle reel. But it is far better to have no sizzle reel than a cheesy one with marginal production values that could do more harm than good. If what I might imagine off your great pitch is better than what you actually got in the can? Cut your losses and leave the clips at home – no matter what it cost to shoot.
• If you claim to have a celebrity attached: have them attached. (Even better, have DE-tachable “attachments”).
• If your show is contingent upon specific talent, bring them with you into the pitch.
• If you are showing merely optional representatives of a “type” (a unique family, profession or lifestyle), then some tape of options is a better way to express the possibilities and keep the discussion open and flexible.
• Know your precursors. What is on the air right now that is comparable to the show you have in mind in one way or another? How is yours different? How is yours better? What elements does your idea share with successful similar TV shows from the past? all the better if they are from the network or cable channel you’re pitching to – or what they are currently competing against.
• Have a few great product placement, sponsor, ShowRunner or Co-Pro candidates up your sleeve.

DON’T:

• Oversell with superlatives. This isn’t your first born. Explain what your show could be (not the over-the-top ad copy of your wildest dreams of what the best in the business could do with a limitless budget and perfect conditions).
• Tell them how to do their job.
• Be derisive of the industry. If you think everything on TV right now is crap, then why do you aspire to write for it? And why would the people you’re pitching to want to work with someone who thinks their entire business and its output is beneath them? Think. Be smart. Be respectful and courteous. Sure, be creative and passionate – just don’t be rude and offensive.
• Over-encumber your project with a daisy chain of “attachments” that are just dead weight.

Reality TV is popular because it is high concept, easy to market – and cheap to produce!

Think: intriguing premises populated by unique characters in fascinating, unfamiliar worlds.

This year's Fortune Brainstorm Tech put much focus on television and how it will evolve in the future as it faces new competition from video services such as YouTube, mobile video, and over-the-top services. YouTube is gaining traction among younger viewers in particular, as are new services  like Aereo, but representatives from the traditional networks and cable companies were optimistic about both existing and new business models. James Murdoch, deputy chief operating officer of 21st Century Fox, declared, "it couldn't be a more exciting time to be in television."

Here are some of the sessions that talked about the transition TV and video brands are facing.  (more in FORTUNE)