Reality TV throws away 99% of its footage

Quickture's pitch, relayed by The Ankler, is that one reality shoot could become five shows, but its documented use is casting reels and no network is reported making new TV from unaired footage.

Reality TV shoots somewhere between 150 and 250 hours of footage for every hour that airs, and an AI editing startup called Quickture wants to turn the leftovers into programming. That is the pitch in Erik Barmack's Reel AI column in The Ankler on Wednesday: one reality shoot producing four, five or more shows, built around whichever cast member, relationship or scandal viewers are obsessing over that week.

The idea is Quickture's, not an Ankler finding. The company was founded by Irad Eyal, creator of Bravo's Southern Charm, and former network executive Matt Hanna, and it has raised $6.4 million. Its documented use is narrower than the pitch: ITV says an editing assistant doubled Love Island casting clips from four to eight per session, and no network is reported making new episodes from unaired footage with AI.

The 99% figure needs a footnote too. It counts camera hours, and a reality scene is covered by four to eight cameras at once, so most of it is the same moment from another angle. Nobody has sized the slice that is genuinely unseen story.

In practice, the useful reading came from Eyal himself, replying to a showrunner under the column: the goal is to help story producers and editors "build their story faster and better, not make the decisions for them." A tool can find every clip of two cast members arguing across eight cameras, but deciding what that argument means is the job that gets more valuable.

Source: The Ankler, 23 Sep 2026; Quickture; ITV via Deadline.