BBCNI TELEVISION COMMISSIONING SPRING...
Transcript of BBCNI TELEVISION COMMISSIONING SPRING...
BBCNI TELEVISION COMMISSIONING
SPRING 2014
PART 1: WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?
PART II: FINANCIAL OVERVIEW
SUSTAINING CITIZENSHIP AND CIVIL SOCIETY
The BBC provides high-quality news, current affairs and factual programming to engage its viewers, listeners and users in important current and political issues
PROMOTING EDUCATION AND LEARNING
The support of formal education in schools and colleges and informal knowledge and skills building.
STIMULATING CREATIVITY AND CULTURAL EXCELLENCE
Encouraging interest, engagement and participation in cultural, creative and sporting activities across the UK.
REPRESENTING THE UK, ITS NATIONS, REGIONS AND COMMUNITIES
BBC viewers, listeners and users can rely on the BBC to reflect the many communities that exist in the UK.
BRINGING THE UK TO THE WORLD AND THE WORLD TO THE UK
The BBC will build a global understanding of international issues and broaden UK audiences' experience of different cultures.
DELIVERING TO THE PUBLIC THE BENEFIT OF EMERGING COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES & SERVICES
Assisting UK residents to get the best out of emerging media technologies now and in the future.
Priorities: The BBC’s 6 Public Purposes
Commissioning PrioritiesUnderstanding Our Past Finding a Wide Range of Stories about
Contemporary NI
Showcasing and Celebrating Creativity Supporting and Creating Events that bring NI together
Finding Ways of Developing and Using the Best Creative Talent
Delivering a Diversity and Range of Output – with an emphasis on Underserved Audiences
What are we looking for?
True NorthObservational DocumentariesLandmark/Seasons/Clusters
7.30pm Series IdeasTalent-led Ideas
Comedy/EntertainmentUlster-Scots related content
True North/Documentaries:a great start since our launch
• 18 slots for 2015/16• 3 series of 6 x 30• Now commissioning for: Spring 2015 tx• Next round for: Autumn 2015 tx• Bringing new audiences to docs• Pushing the boundaries• Creating a brand that is loved
Indicative Tariff is: £45k
"We want to commission programmes that are about this place: who we are, where
we've come from and where we're going. We are looking for stories to thrill us, to make us laugh, to make us weep, and to
make us think."
True North/Documentaries:what works?
• Honest: a slot for film-makers• Compelling other worlds• Needs a strong narrative to support 1 x 30• Of Us/Of Here• Unheard voices• Present-tense narrative
The Miraculous Tales of Mickey McGuiganThe WallTaxi TalesLove and Death at City HallSummer on Rathlin
True North – how a series works
• We look for themes and a build across a series
• Plus film-making skills/a unique take or style
• Plus an understanding of the audience we are setting out to target
• Plus Something Extra
True North - themes
• Impact – like The Miraculous Tales…• Gritty – like The Wall• Character-led – like Minding Our Manors• Super-local – like Summer on Rathlin• Unusual/hyper-unusual – like Run, Grandad,
Run• Joyful/Uplifting – like The Joy of Sets
The True North Audience
True North-Build of Reach 000s
Slide 18
% of programme reach unique within the strand
19% of the population
Core aged 45+. Latent aged 25-44, Younger aged 15-24
The Miraculous Tales of Mickey McGuigan
Core ABC1
Latent ABC1
Adults
19
Core aged 45+. Latent aged 25-44, Younger aged 15-24
The Wall
Core aged 45+. Latent aged 25-44, Younger aged 15-24
A Summer on Rathlin
Core aged 45+. Latent aged 25-44, Younger aged 15-24
Scoop
What are we looking for?
True NorthObservational DocumentariesLandmark/Seasons/Clusters
7.30pm Series IdeasTalent-led Ideas
Comedy/EntertainmentUlster-Scots related content
Observational Documentaries:harder to land & highly competitive
• Fewer slots: 2 series 6 x 30• Or 3 series 4 x 30 Ob Doc series each year• In-house and indie• No returning series• Now commissioning for: late spring or autumn
2015 tx• Next round we will brief for: winter 2015 tx
Indicative tariff is: £40k per ½ hour for 6 x 30 hours
Observational Documentaries:our big challenge
Observational Documentaries:our big challenge
• Too many pitched that are access and not story led
• These can seem easiest to land but are in fact the most difficult
• Fixed rig – not currently an option• Because of the time and money involved,
these need to have a landmark feel – too many simply come and go
• These take time, money and commitment -not for the faint-hearted
What are we looking for?
True NorthObservational DocumentariesLandmark/Seasons/Clusters
7.30pm Series IdeasTalent-led Ideas
Comedy/EntertainmentUlster-Scots related content
What we are looking for
• Big issues, new treatments and highly relevant stories
• Big ambitions and a high talk-ability factor eg. Dead Fat, 14 Days, The Disappeared, Paisley: From Genesis to Revelation
• All 1x60 films are aimed at 9pm
What we are looking for • Character or story-led; big-hitters eg. Paisley• Linked to a BBC or wider season with multi-
platform ambition eg. WW1• Social Issues eg. The Big C• Troubles/Legacy eg. Ceasefire• For 2015 we are particularly interested in
character/story-led docs eg. The Turbulent Priest
• We have approx 8 x 60 slots for 2014/15 across in-house and indie
The Disappeared had a UK and Republic of Ireland audience of around 1 million.
• BBC One NI – 162,000• BBC Four – 476,000 (46,000 watched in NI)• RTE One – 350,000• Overall AI was 91 • 100,000 iPlayer downloads across the UK
Screen grab/five fables
What are we looking for?
True NorthObservational DocumentariesLandmark/Seasons/Clusters
7.30pm Series IdeasTalent-led Ideas
Comedy/EntertainmentUlster-Scots related content
Series Ideas for 7.30pm
• 22 eps for 2015/16• 3 long or 6 short series• In-house and indie • Fact Ent series should be pitched with network
transfer in mind• Now commissioning for: May/June 2015 tx• Wide range already on offer• Next round we will brief for: Nov 2015 tx
What works at 7.30pm?
• Content that is easily digestible, flavoursome and matches the mood. Off the back of The One Show – build on that inheritance.
• There is massive competition from ITV/UTV with Coronation Street etc so in this slot
What works at 7.30pm?
• Something genuinely distinctive for soap-dodgers
• Possible male skew can work• A format that we can help to pilot for
network – this will be one series only with a network exec involved
• Genuine local flavour• Demographics: appeal to 35+/Core C2DE
Tariff at 7.30pm
• Tariff is especially important in this slot• Lower tariff shows do well when well
constructed• Co-productions are especially cost effective• We are using the slot to try things for a wider
audience – network or other audiences• Tariff drives whether a series is returnable • The tariff is: 40k/30k/20k
What are we looking for?
True NorthObservational DocumentariesLandmark/Seasons/Clusters
7.30pm Series IdeasTalent-led Ideas
Comedy/EntertainmentUlster-Scots related content
Story of a Lifetime
This programme attracted one of the biggest audiences of the year…
We like our stories to reflect our lives
Working with talent? Extend the brand…
Extending The Arts Show Brand worked well: since it began in September 2012 the series (including In
Conversation) has had a reach of 240,000. Across the two strands, the average AI is 87.
In Conversation strand has added 82,000 audience reach.
Arts Show only
In Conversationonly
Shared audience
Talent tape here
New talent slide(to follow)
What are we looking for?
True NorthObservational DocumentariesLandmark/Seasons/Clusters
7.30pm Series IdeasTalent-led Ideas
Ulster-Scots related contentComedy/Entertainment
Ulster Scots-related content – we are looking for
• 3 x 60 landmark ulster scots ideas• history, identity, politics, culture,
counterfactual • 4 x 30 biography for ground-breakers series 2• 8 x 30 magazine – commissioned• 4 x 30 one-offs or mini-series – we will brief
for this at a later stage • Timing to be co-ordinated with USBF
Ulster Scots-related content – what’s worked
• Content that cuts through• High production values, creativity and
editorial ambition• Solid underpinning academic or new research• Specialist interest as well as programmes for
the generalist• Biography enhanced with creative treatments
or top flight presentation talent
Groundbreakers – a strand that cut throughBuild of Reach 000s
Slide 55
% of programme reach unique within the strand
8% of the population
Ulster-Scots Content Considerations
Interested in new academic research, with a particular focus on treatments that link personal stories with social and cultural themes
Portfolio programming which mixes different styles/approaches and subject matter, and which is characterised by high production values, creativity and editorial ambition
Opportunities around language – including links with Scots and exploring the work of different organisations and individuals and the variety of work that is on-going in this area
Programming which explores the development of Ulster-Scots identities, through references to literature, music and the arts and which explains (and contextualises) the re-kindling of interest in Ulster-Scots heritage
Ulster-Scots Content Considerations
Accessible content which respects the potential of its subject matter and which engages audiences with specialist knowledge or a more general interest in Ulster-Scots
Need for thorough underpinning research and for Ulster-Scots themes to be a developed and credible feature of commissioning proposals
There is flexibility on % investment – the USBF Committee recognises that Ulster-Scots themes may sometimes be best approached within the context of larger/wider programme proposals
Online or multi-media content is commissionable as an accompaniment to landmark programmes or series – where it adds depth and value
Irish Language
Irish Language – recent commissionsDocumentaries/Factual Landmark Factual
What? How?
Drama
Taisce Shean Uladh/Treasures of Ancient Ulster (4 x 30’), Doubleband
Cónaí I gCarn (2 x 30’), Indee Productions
Ar Bhealach na Gaeltachta (4 x 30’), Imagine Media
Gaeilgeoirí An Chogaidh Mhóir (1 x 60’), Big Mountain Productions
Aistear Na nGael (1 x 60’), Imagine Media
Bronntanas Na Beatha (1 x 60’), Below the Radar
Imirce (1 x 60’), Clean Slate
Enigma De Blaghd (1 x 60’), Scunscan Productions/Imagine Media – co-commission with TG4
Oíche Na Gaoithe Móire (1 x 60’), Lagan Media – co-commission with RTE
Hunting the Hound of Ulster (1 x 60’), Below the Radar
Scúp, series 2 (6 x 25’), Stirling Productions – co-commission with TG4
What are we looking for?
True NorthObservational DocumentariesLandmark/Seasons/Clusters
7.30pm Series IdeasTalent-led Ideas
Ulster-Scots related contentComedy/Entertainment
TV series
Radio series
Call for Comedy
We enhanced our Comedy
slate by £450k in 13/14
For 14/15 we will continue to enhance investment
We will also work closely with Radio Ulster
to gain best value
TV series
Radio series
Call for Comedy
TV series
Radio series
Call for Comedy
Call for Comedy results• 25 proposals• 6 shortlisted• 3 x funded scripts• 2 x radio pilots• 1 x funded read-through• 1 x radio series: Number 2’s
• 2014/15 – further investment• Comedy Showcase in May• Further call for comedy Sept 2014
NI Screen/BBCNI Joint Initiatives
Our Aims• To combine resources where there is strategic
alignment around particular projects• To stimulate creativity and the creative sector• To shape part of the local portfolio for
greater UK and worldwide impact and value• BBC – to make best use of the licence fee• NI Screen – to support projects with other
sources of funding outside NI – matching UK and Ireland money
Landmark Documentary Scheme• We are looking for either a 1 x 90 or 1 x 60 • We want documentaries that foreground the
Northern Ireland talent for storytelling and that use the raw material of real life
• We want stories that explore issues relevant to an international audience but that are rooted in and exemplified by characters from Northern Ireland
• We want docs that have the potential to create a wider cultural/creative dividend
• We want to create projects that warrant inclusion in NI’s film archive
Landmark Documentary Scheme
• We support diversity, of form, of style, subject-matter and talent
• We need evidence of talent attached and an NI talent dividend
• We expect films to showcase at Festivals• We will prioritise universal themes, global
interest/resonance and projects that offer the widest creative dividend
• Projects must have international finance to qualify
Landmark Documentary Scheme
vCharacter-led, non-Troubles, NI-related 1 x 60 docvLooking for: universal themes: Stories We Tell,
Sarah PolleyvExceptional stories: Waveriders; Road; Werner
Herzog & Grizzly ManvGlobal interest/resonance: My Brother, The
Islamicist, Bowling for Columbine, Man on WirevFestival potential & wider creative dividends: The
Disappeared
A different way of commissioning
• For high-end projects, the editorial can be driven in a variety of ways eg. Dig WW2
• Local funding does not always mean hyper-local programmes eg. Titanic with Len Goodman
• Joint editorial influences can be accommodated eg. The Galways
• Applies to a small % of the overall local slate
Animation• We want to build storytelling skills in NI’s
animation sector• We intend to link short animated content to
existing BBC priorities or content in one of the following:
– Radio archive– Documentary– Narrative history– Real peoples’ stories
• 10 shorts – 3 potential new talent slots • On The Air/Five Fables/Wonderland: The Trouble
with Love and Sex
Commissioning now for BBC 1 tx slots April-Aug 2015
Month April May June July AugWeek 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34
Monday 12th
July
Sunday
Monday 19.30
Mon - Fri 21:00 LF F
actu
al
LF F
actu
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Monday 22.35 True
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Tuesday 22.35
Wednesday 22:35
Thursday 10.30
Friday Peak EVEN
T 1
EVEN
T 2
The View 12 x 30'
Comedy Series 1
Spotlight 6 VT & 1 Live Disc
Nolan 6 x 60min
Ob Doc Series 1
Politics ShowPolitics show
Month Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb MarWeek 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Monday
Sunday
Monday 19.30
Mon - Fri 21:00 LF F
actu
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LF F
actu
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actu
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LF F
actu
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LF F
actu
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LF F
actu
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Monday 22.35 True
N 7
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0
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Tuesday 22.35
Wednesday 22:35
Thursday 10.30
Friday Peak CIN
Xmas
Eve
nt
Prom
s
EVEN
T 3
The View 12 x 30' The View 12 x 30'
Comedy Series 2 Sit-Com x 6
Spotlight 6 VT & 1 Live Disc
Spotlight 6 VT & 1 Live Disc
Nolan 6 x 60min Nolan 6 x 60min
Fact Ent Series 1 Fact Ent Series 2 Fact Ent Series 3 Archive series
Ob Doc Series 2
Politics show Politics show
Commissioning later for BBC 1 tx slots Sept-March 2015/16
Overview – some recent commissionsFactual Landmark/Seasons/Clusters
Comedy, Entertainment,
Drama
True North:I Love LarneThe Last MinyanRun, Grandad, RunChildren’s Hospice DiscriminationThe Joy of SetsBuses on the Frontline5 Get Ready For Big SchoolThe Longest Night
Ob Docs:Belfast City: Mud, Sweat and 400 YearsBarristersArmagh: City of FaithMinding Our ManorsBeing James GalwayUndercover NI
Factual Series:The Nolan ShowThe Arts ShowStory of a Lifetime
Watch Over MeDead OldThe Man Who Shot the Great WarIreland’s Great WarRoadPaisley: From Genesis to RevelationCease Fire: Victims of PeaceCeasefire: The Fight for PeaceFind Me A FamilyGreat Irish Landscapes
The History of an IdeaHomelandsAfter BraveheartIn Search of Richard HaywardBrave New WorldThen Sings My Soul
MonumentalThe Blame GameThank You Very Much Mr EastwoodNumber 2s on Radio UlsterOn The Air Season 3
Ulster-Scots related
Coming Up …
True North – continuedThe Big CJigs and WigsMichael Smiley: Something to Ride Home AboutIreland and The Iron LadyGiro d’ItaliaNW200Ulster Rugby - continued
Financial Overview
200 hours of Opt Content - 80 hours are commissionable
A Mixed Genre Portfolio:
• Sport makes up 33% of the total Genre Slate & accounts for 49% of in-house production
• Current Affairs and Politics makes up 14% accounts for 21% of in-house production
• 80 hours commissionable content across all genre• 80 hours = approx 130 programmes or slots• Ulster-Scots related – up to10 hours• Irish Language – 20 hours min
Genre breakdown 2015/16 – by hours
Genre breakdown 2015/16
• 2014/15 £10.8m delivering 195 of content
• £5m indie slate focuses on factual, factual sub-genre and comedy
• £5m in-house slate more traditional in-house genre: sport, current affairs, live, events and some factual
The mixed genre portfolio
• We require a mixed-genre portfolio therefore a range of suppliers
• A wide range of potential subject-matter and topics required
• Sustainability of sub genre is a factor
There has been a steady decline in commissioning funds over the past decade
Licence Fee Settlement and Savings have had an impact on all output, including Nations
Opts:
• 2014/15 - £10.8M• a reduction of 20+ hours from 2010 • a reduction of almost £4M in 8 years
And in the TV solar system…
…we are on Mercury
BBCNI funding for the independent sector can bring in other partners
BBC NI indie funding £5m
Other Funds £3m
ILBF £1.6mUSBF £0.76mTG4 £0.22mRTE £0.12mBBC Net £0.2mOther £0.1m
Pre-Proteus: 500+ ideasProteus: 346 Ideas submitted
48 Companies 52 Ideas commissioned
27 Companies successful
Commissioning Activity – 2012/13
Pre-Proteus: 500+ ideasOn Proteus: 346 Ideas submitted
48 Companies 52 Ideas commissioned
27 Companies successful
There is limited competition from other broadcasters in Northern
Ireland with a few notable exceptions.
e.g. ‘4thought’ strand from Channel 4 and HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’.
A key area of growth will be supply to BBC network. Producers in NI now compete with producers across the UK. As few companies in NI have a
significant track record with the network it will take time for business
to grow.
The NI sector has a significant number of smaller companies who are infrequent suppliers to BBC NI
In BBC NI’s experience, smaller companies can lose editorial focus as they concentrate on the concerns of running a small company. Infrequent
suppliers often do not have the business expertise to deliver without
assistance or risk.
The sector is still expanding with at least five new entrants to the BBC NI slate over the past four
years.
BBC NI’s aim is to work with fewer ad hoc suppliers to
encourage consistency of supply, value for money, editorial
excellence and indie sector robustness and sustainability
BBCNI and a changing marketplace
Future Commissioning
New TalentWe want to encourage talent and so we will recommend new directors and new talent to our regular suppliers and await pitches via that route.
New CompaniesIf you are a new company, we may ask you to co-produce with one of our existing suppliers.
Small CompaniesIf you are a small company (turnover under £1 million and/or a sole trader) who has delivered to us before, we may ask you to co-produce with a larger company rather than commission you direct.
Our Audience
The top things people most value from the BBC
Slide 89• Ipsos MORI, June 2013
Rank All UK
1 No advertising
2 BBC One
3 News
4 Drama
5SoapsSerious factualComedy
8 Sport
9 Entertainment
10 iPlayer
11 High quality
Rank Northern Ireland1 No advertising
2 BBC One
3 Soaps
4 News
5 Sport
6 Comedy
7 Local news / local programmes
8EntertainmentRadio 1More of what I want
11 Make me / my householdthink and learn new things
Slide 90• Accountability and Reputational Tracker
Slide 91• Accountability and Reputational Tracker
6Degrees
Bright Brand New day
Groundbreakers: Amy Carmichael
Groundbreakers: The Man Who Shrank The World
Groundbreakers: Ulster's Forgotten Radical
Maiden City Voyage
Music City
Nolan and Hector Break for the Border
Other Voices
Seamus Heaney: A Tribute
Spotlight
The Blame Game
The Disappeared
Grounbreakers: The Extraordinary Life of Castlereagh
The Far side of Revenge
The Farm Fixer
The Legenderrys
The Nolan Show
The Travelling Picture Show
Those Were The Days
True North: Mickey McGuigan
True North: A Summer on Rathlin
True North: Scoop
True North: The Wall
No opts skewing under age 45
Recent BBCNI Opts Reach Age Profile
Programmes skew 45+
Slide 92
Recent BBCNI Opts Reach – Gender
The portfolio is evenly balanced
Slide 93
6Degrees
Bright Brand New day
Groundbreakers: Amy Carmichael
Groundbreakers: The Man Who Shrank The World
Maiden City Voyage
Music City
Nolan and Hector Break for the Border
Other Voices
Seamus Heaney: A Tribute
Spotlight
The Blame GameThe Disappeared
Grounbreakers: The Extraordinary Life of Castlereagh
The Farm Fixer
The Legenderrys
The Nolan Show
The Travelling Picture Show
Those Were The Days
True North: Mickey McGuigan
True North: A Summer on Rathlin
True North: Scoop
True North: The Wall
Recent BBCNI Opts Reach Socio-demographics
ABC1s are twice as likely to watch
Slide 94
% BBC ‘Underserved’ Audiences
With the exception of black, Asian and minority ethnic audiences, Northern Ireland has higher proportions of underserved audiences than the UK average. Almost one third of the NI audience is classified in socio-economic group DE compared to just over one quarter in rest of the UK.
Source: BARB 2012 Individuals 4+
More ‘Underserved’ in NI
Correlation of DE socio-economic proportion in the population versus BBC TV Portfolio Share
Co-efficient of 0.84
Source: BARB 2012 Individuals 4+
Northern Ireland performing lower level than expected given DE population proportion
Slide 97
iPlayer – BBC One and Two opts total downloads (millions) Jan to Oct
2010 to 2013
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Seamus Heaney: A Tribute
True North: The Wall
The Nolan Show
The Legenderrys
Maiden City Voyage
The Farm Fixer
The Far side of Revenge
The Travelling Picture Show
Nolan and Hector Break for the Border
Bright Brand New day
Music City
Linear 'As Live' Time-Shifted iPlayer
Linear versus time-shifted viewing of recent opts
Slide 98
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
6Degrees
Grounbreakers: The Extraordinary Life of Castlereagh
The Disappeared
Groundbreakers: The Man Who Shrank The World
True North: A Summer on Rathlin
The Blame Game
Groundbreakers: Amy Carmichael
Groundbreakers: Ulster's Forgotten Radical
True North: Scoop
True North: Mickey McGuigan
Linear 'As Live' Time-Shifted iPlayer
Linear versus time-shifted viewing of recent opts
Slide 99
Nations-to-Network Initiatives
The Disappeared Danny Boy
The Undertones
Music City/Take the Stage (CBBC)
Heaney –Tribute Night
The Return of Colmcille
Being James Galway
Shame of the Catholic Church
History• Dig WW2 NI, with Dan Snow• Dive WW2: Our Secret History• The Man Who Shrank the World: Lord Kelvin
Fact Ent• The Farm Fixer
Factual Doc• Love & Death at City Hall• Dan Cruickshank’s Written in Stone• How the North West Was Won• The Estate• Shankill Butchers