"a more familiar feel". And therein lies the problem with specialty programming.
specialty shows designed to appeal to PDs, but not their audience......hmmm. I will never understand why would someone tune into a specialty show if it is "familiar". What's the point? I understand the real success of a specialty show is not only to appeal to the audience (I've hosted quite a few and aired quite a few more as a PD), and that PDs want a specialty show their sales staff can sell. But the specialty show is not a revenue generator, per se. It's a reward factor for your loyal audience that tunes in for a show that runs in a PD's least-listened to hour of the day on the least listened to day of the week.
Maybe your show was rejected because the PDs you sent it to don't know anything about what your were presenting. Appealing to their inexperience by making your show "more familiar" is not reaching that unique listener who does "get it". A listener who knows Bowie's Let's Dance most likely bought the album, and if you play it one more over-played-completely-burnt-out time instead of rewarding them with, say, Cat People, they won't even listen to your show. why should they? Why should they come back?
" a more familiar feel". stop listening to out-of-touch PDs and stick to your original mission statement. If your show is about "oh wow" then prove it to the PD. DO NOT ADJUST YOUR COMPANY BRAND OR BUSINESS MODEL TO APPEAL TO SOMEONE WHO WILL BE SELLING CARS IN THREE BOOKS.