Credit:BBC/Mentorn/Des Willie. © BBC
In its submission to the DCMS Charter review the BBC has proposed a radical plan to hive off the greater part of its programme production, taking some 2,500 television programme-makers out of the public service part of the Corporation to put them in a stand-alone commercial entity to be called BBC Studios. The BBC Trust in turn has announced a stakeholder consultation on the proposal due to close on November 20th.
The new body BBC Studios would continue, as at present, to be able to pitch to the BBC, but its producers would also be free to pitch to other broadcasters in the UK and abroad. Some people call that commercialising production, I don’t necessarily think so. I see it as being about liberating BBC production. In return the BBC is offering to remove the quota which currently guarantees 50% of all BBC programme hours to its in-house producers. That protection would go and BBC in-house producers would compete on a level playing field with independent producers for every hour in the schedule.
