The Shooting Show

Future Publishing’s YouTube offering is under new management, so we spoke to Ollie Harvey to find out more…

The Shooting Show (TSS) is not new territory for Ollie Harvey. Though establishing himself in this very publication, before graduating on to Shooting Times, Ollie’s journalistic training actually covered broadcast journalism and video production. 

Having joined the TSS team almost four years ago, Ollie cut his teeth on the show by filming a range of product launches at the British Shooting Show and Game Fair in 2018. The aim was to continue the channel’s dominance in the fieldsports market. 

First airing in 2012, the show has gone from strength to strength. The addition of Mat Manning and The Airgun Show helped establish the channel as a market leader. It now boasts almost 250,000 subscribers, appealing to a range of shooters from pest controllers to aspirational stalkers.

“We have a great team of contributors—some of the biggest names in our industry. They are the best ambassadors for the show and I was keen to get the most from them,” explains Ollie.

“I’ve also spotted areas to improve. The show has been running for 10 years and it’s hard to keep that kind of momentum going. Even Game of Thrones peaked after about five series. We have been working on a fresh look for the show, and I’m looking forward to the channel’s rebrand, with the same great-quality content, of course.”

Another shift that Ollie has started to implement is a change in focus. “Previously the show was too focused on the kill shot; I want our shows to focus on why we shoot. A kill shot is an important aspect of what we do, and why many viewers enjoy our channel, but it can be off-putting for others,” Ollie admits. 

Important

“I’ve been asking our contributors—whether they shoot game, deer or vermin—to explain the importance of what they do. We need to strike a balance between educating the viewers who may not understand the work we do for conservation and land management and those who want to enjoy our experts in action.

“I really can’t sum it up better than Mat Manning, who said ‘we want to help people to be effective, responsible shooters and great ambassadors for our wonderful sport… anyone can get big numbers of views by making videos showing lots of animals being shot or shooters trying to be funny, but they’re not really helping anyone—least of all the long-term future of the sport and the industry it supports’.”

New faces

In order to educate and inspire a broader spectrum of the shooting community, Ollie was quick to enter discussions to add new contributors to the TSS roster. Thomas Nissen, Matt Hunt and Chris Parkin have already joined, bringing knowledge in their specific areas to broaden the appeal of the show. They join popular regulars Geoff Garrod, Chris Dalton, Mark Ripley and Gerwyn Jones, adding flavours of international hunting, shotgun shooting and optics respectively. 

Plans are also afoot to bring in experts on wildfowling and gundog training. Ollie explains: “Though the show always receives solid views, usually up to 15,000 a week, videos were in danger of becoming repetitive. Adding a few new faces will help diversify the content we are producing, and should create more opportunities to get involved with a range of disciplines.” 

Everyone who works on the show makes a vital contribution, from the guys on screen at the forefront of the action, to the guys behind the camera who do stellar work in editing the packages, and the digital editor who is responsible for promoting the show as widely as possible.

As well as orchestrating the growing team of contributors, Ollie is also responsible for liaising with the show’s sponsors. “We are very lucky to have attracted a great bunch of show sponsors over the years. It’s a great advert for the show when the biggest names in the market are signing up for another year,” he says. 

“Having our experts in a range of fields is also advantageous, as they help highlight the best products on the market and request them for inclusion. Whether it’s shooting glasses or stalking boots, our experts identify the best kit on the market. We want to incorporate these brands to attract the right kind of shooters—the ones who take their sport seriously.” 

Chris Dalton joined the show soon after it started and has always been pleased with the positive reception of his deerstalking segments. He has noticed an increase in the standards of the show in the past year. 

“The show is now far more professional. We now have more of a planned schedule and direction, which in turn has led to much improved quality and a good balance between shows alternating between game shooting, foxing and stalking.

“Our content is excellent and our message is right up there with the best in the industry. We promote the ethics of the sport and the reason why we shoot. I think we rightly concentrate on the message, and promoting all of the beneficial aspects of fieldsports in general. Where we can include some instructional material, or tips of the trade as it were. This naturally provides good content for the viewer. And if they are happy, then so are the sponsors.” 

Positive PR

Chris adds that viewing numbers and subscriptions matter to channels such as TSS, but sees that there is always room for improvement. “I still maintain that we don’t always need a kill shot in the stalk to make a package complete. Stalking is not about that. We are shooting selectively and ethically as part of a wider management strategy. It requires good fieldcraft, scenery and a fair chase, which we don’t always win.

“I have had this conversation with many of my clients and regular viewers, and all agree—most comment that it is the stalk, scenery, dog work and insight that they particularly enjoy. This can be expanded upon in the narratives, creating a more realistic and positive PR message.” 

One viewer, Joey Tiplady, has been inspired to visit Chris to complete his Deer Stalking Certificate Level 1—travelling all the way from Australia. He explained: “I’ve been watching The Shooting Show for years now and just wanted to let you know how much the improvement in the quality of the production hasn’t gone unnoticed. Chris’s segments on the show have truly inspired me to focus on getting back to complete my DSC2 once all travel restrictions have been lifted in my sheltered part of the world.” 

Driving factor

Mark Ripley is another long-time contributor and has been doing video with the channel since 2015. Again, he finds the foxing packages to be very well received. The highly competitive night-vision and thermal markets are a huge driving factor behind the success of these segments, with shows featuring the latest kit fully scheduled until August 2022. 

Mark says: “I’ve seen the show grow over the past few years with more subscribers. We have also had more sponsors coming on board, offering us the latest kit as soon as it comes out.” 

“TSS stands out from other channels by having various presenters and content each week, covering all aspects of shooting sports. Balancing sponsorship with content is always a tough job. Too much focus on product advertising and the viewer gets fed up with it. The trouble is that videos cost time and money to produce, so the cost of production falls on the sponsors, who naturally want some exposure for their investment. I think we strike a good balance between our sponsors and our audience.”

Future Publishing’s YouTube offering is under new management and, together with The Airgun Show, reaches a quarter of a million viewers

The Shooting Show (TSS) is not new territory for Ollie Harvey. Though establishing himself in this very publication, before graduating on to Shooting Times, Ollie’s journalistic training actually covered broadcast journalism and video production. 

Having joined the TSS team almost four years ago, Ollie cut his teeth on the show by filming a range of product launches at the British Shooting Show and Game Fair in 2018. The aim was to continue the channel’s dominance in the fieldsports market. 

First airing in 2012, the show has gone from strength to strength. The addition of Mat Manning and The Airgun Show helped establish the channel as a market leader. It now boasts almost 250,000 subscribers, appealing to a range of shooters from pest controllers to aspirational stalkers.

“We have a great team of contributors—some of the biggest names in our industry. They are the best ambassadors for the show and I was keen to get the most from them,” explains Ollie.

“I’ve also spotted areas to improve. The show has been running for 10 years and it’s hard to keep that kind of momentum going. Even Game of Thrones peaked after about five series. We have been working on a fresh look for the show, and I’m looking forward to the channel’s rebrand, with the same great-quality content, of course.”

Another shift that Ollie has started to implement is a change in focus. “Previously the show was too focused on the kill shot; I want our shows to focus on why we shoot. A kill shot is an important aspect of what we do, and why many viewers enjoy our channel, but it can be off-putting for others,” Ollie admits. 

Important

“I’ve been asking our contributors—whether they shoot game, deer or vermin—to explain the importance of what they do. We need to strike a balance between educating the viewers who may not understand the work we do for conservation and land management and those who want to enjoy our experts in action.

“I really can’t sum it up better than Mat Manning, who said ‘we want to help people to be effective, responsible shooters and great ambassadors for our wonderful sport… anyone can get big numbers of views by making videos showing lots of animals being shot or shooters trying to be funny, but they’re not really helping anyone—least of all the long-term future of the sport and the industry it supports’.”

New faces

In order to educate and inspire a broader spectrum of the shooting community, Ollie was quick to enter discussions to add new contributors to the TSS roster. Thomas Nissen, Matt Hunt and Chris Parkin have already joined, bringing knowledge in their specific areas to broaden the appeal of the show. They join popular regulars Geoff Garrod, Chris Dalton, Mark Ripley and Gerwyn Jones, adding flavours of international hunting, shotgun shooting and optics respectively. 

Plans are also afoot to bring in experts on wildfowling and gundog training. Ollie explains: “Though the show always receives solid views, usually up to 15,000 a week, videos were in danger of becoming repetitive. Adding a few new faces will help diversify the content we are producing, and should create more opportunities to get involved with a range of disciplines.” 

Everyone who works on the show makes a vital contribution, from the guys on screen at the forefront of the action, to the guys behind the camera who do stellar work in editing the packages, and the digital editor who is responsible for promoting the show as widely as possible.

As well as orchestrating the growing team of contributors, Ollie is also responsible for liaising with the show’s sponsors. “We are very lucky to have attracted a great bunch of show sponsors over the years. It’s a great advert for the show when the biggest names in the market are signing up for another year,” he says. 

“Having our experts in a range of fields is also advantageous, as they help highlight the best products on the market and request them for inclusion. Whether it’s shooting glasses or stalking boots, our experts identify the best kit on the market. We want to incorporate these brands to attract the right kind of shooters—the ones who take their sport seriously.” 

Chris Dalton joined the show soon after it started and has always been pleased with the positive reception of his deerstalking segments. He has noticed an increase in the standards of the show in the past year. 

“The show is now far more professional. We now have more of a planned schedule and direction, which in turn has led to much improved quality and a good balance between shows alternating between game shooting, foxing and stalking.

“Our content is excellent and our message is right up there with the best in the industry. We promote the ethics of the sport and the reason why we shoot. I think we rightly concentrate on the message, and promoting all of the beneficial aspects of fieldsports in general. Where we can include some instructional material, or tips of the trade as it were. This naturally provides good content for the viewer. And if they are happy, then so are the sponsors.” 

Positive PR

Chris adds that viewing numbers and subscriptions matter to channels such as TSS, but sees that there is always room for improvement. “I still maintain that we don’t always need a kill shot in the stalk to make a package complete. Stalking is not about that. We are shooting selectively and ethically as part of a wider management strategy. It requires good fieldcraft, scenery and a fair chase, which we don’t always win.

“I have had this conversation with many of my clients and regular viewers, and all agree—most comment that it is the stalk, scenery, dog work and insight that they particularly enjoy. This can be expanded upon in the narratives, creating a more realistic and positive PR message.” 

One viewer, Joey Tiplady, has been inspired to visit Chris to complete his Deer Stalking Certificate Level 1—travelling all the way from Australia. He explained: “I’ve been watching The Shooting Show for years now and just wanted to let you know how much the improvement in the quality of the production hasn’t gone unnoticed. Chris’s segments on the show have truly inspired me to focus on getting back to complete my DSC2 once all travel restrictions have been lifted in my sheltered part of the world.” 

Driving factor

Mark Ripley is another long-time contributor and has been doing video with the channel since 2015. Again, he finds the foxing packages to be very well received. The highly competitive night-vision and thermal markets are a huge driving factor behind the success of these segments, with shows featuring the latest kit fully scheduled until August 2022. 

Mark says: “I’ve seen the show grow over the past few years with more subscribers. We have also had more sponsors coming on board, offering us the latest kit as soon as it comes out.” 

“TSS stands out from other channels by having various presenters and content each week, covering all aspects of shooting sports. Balancing sponsorship with content is always a tough job. Too much focus on product advertising and the viewer gets fed up with it. The trouble is that videos cost time and money to produce, so the cost of production falls on the sponsors, who naturally want some exposure for their investment. I think we strike a good balance between our sponsors and our audience.”