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´óÏó´«Ã½ ALBA is a ´óÏó´«Ã½ licensed television service managed in partnership by MG ALBA and the ´óÏó´«Ã½.

´óÏó´«Ã½ ALBA & ´óÏó´«Ã½ Scotland Co-Commission Call-out for Short Form Drama

´óÏó´«Ã½ Scotland and ´óÏó´«Ã½ ALBA launch an exciting commitment to work together to fund new Gaelic-language production in Scotland. With a co-commissioning pot of £800k over two years, funded by the ´óÏó´«Ã½ and MG ALBA, these two distinct ´óÏó´«Ã½ channels will work together to source new projects that can work for all Scottish audiences, and which will be made available on a variety of platforms including iPlayer, YouTube, and TV. Producers will respond to genre specific content briefs over the two years with a view to making Gaelic content across different genres and which develops talent within the Highland and Islands creative sector.

The first production opportunity will be for digital-first drama skewed to younger audiences. Inspired by the success of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Scotland’s recent award-winning short-form dramas including Float and this year’s Royal Television Society Scotland drama award-winner Dog Days, the digital-first dramas will be pitched as short ten-minute episodes primarily aimed at ´óÏó´«Ã½ iPlayer and a window on ´óÏó´«Ã½ ALBA YouTube. After an initial phase of development, the ambition is that the successful project will go into production in 2025.

Unscripted opportunities will be announced later in the year.

This commitment seeks to build a production skill and talent base in the Highlands and Islands and to develop and feature young Gaelic-speaking talent.

New Gaelic-language digital-first drama opportunity

´óÏó´«Ã½ ALBA and ´óÏó´«Ã½ Scotland invite pitches for a new short-form episodic drama series aimed at younger audiences. In a similar format to ´óÏó´«Ã½ Scotland’s recent award-winning short-form dramas including Float and this year’s Royal Television Society Scotland drama award-winner Dog Days, the new Gaelic digital-first drama will be episodes of ten-minute durations primarily aimed at publishing on the ´óÏó´«Ã½ iPlayer with a window on ´óÏó´«Ã½ ALBA YouTube.

We are open to a range of idea types and drama genres. Stories should be fast-paced and hooky, tackling themes and exploring territory relevant to younger audiences of 16-24 years old. Whether coming-of-age, horror, sci fi or romance, producers should be clear on why their initial concept will cut through in a competitive drama market for younger viewers. Although we welcome wit and attitude, we are not looking for out-and-out comedy genres such as sitcom or sketch-based shows.

This drama opportunity does not support stand-alone stories or monologues and should be episodic in nature with cliffhanger episodes and captivating characters we will want to stay with across a series. We will, however, consider stylistic approaches to episodes that lean into the digital budget such as single takes, phone filmed dramas, Dogme 95 etc (although a more traditional television style is also absolutely fine!)

We are united in a desire to develop Gaelic-speaking talent so please keep this front of mind when looking at on and off-screen talent involved in the creation and realisation of the idea. Cultural and linguistic authenticity are really important. We are not looking for ideas that have been wholly originated in English, or that require translation. However, we are open to collaborations between Gaelic and English-language writers.

Pitches should come via any Scottish production company but must clearly state how the offer supports the development of talent and production in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.

Priority will be given to projects which have creative talent (writers, directors, producers) in, or from, the area.

We will also give weighting to projects which have two or more of the following elements in the Highlands and Islands.

• Stories

• Locations

• Production

• Company base

We will also welcome partnerships between production companies if one of them is not based in the Highlands and Islands.

Please note, if you are an emerging Gaelic writer interested in this opportunity but unsure of how to connect with production companies, please email Bill Macleod here - bill.macleod@mgalba.com - for support.

Final programmes can have a mixed language-scheme, but the predominant language should always be Gaelic.

Digital drama is a low tariff genre of circa £3k-£4k per minute and we would expect producers to shape their editorial ambition and crew scale to reflect this - or work with additional funders to increase the overall production budget.

Initial Ideas (short treatments) should be submitted before 6/1/25 with funded development available to support a number of projects before a production decision in Spring 2025. Please include information regarding the writer(s) and a writing sample in Gaelic with an English language transcript.

Pitches should be submitted to gaelicdigitalcommissioning@bbc.co.uk

This opportunity forms part of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Scotland and ´óÏó´«Ã½ ALBA’s two-year commitment to support new Gaelic-language production opportunities with further unscripted opportunities to be announced later this year.

´óÏó´«Ã½ ALBA WINTER COMMISSIONING ROUND 2024/25

´óÏó´«Ã½ ALBA is a contemporary, forward-looking channel with Gaelic at its heart. Our outlook is broad, and our ambitions are big. We want to move, excite and inspire audiences across Scotland and beyond with strong human stories and unique perspectives. Authenticity, relatability and a willingness to take risks are key. Surprise us. Make us sit up and take notice.

This call-out is focused on factual content. We are seeking proposals for bold and brave programmes that can win a wide audience - as well as ideas that can achieve critical recognition for the channel. The quality of the core idea and its creative realisation are fundamental to us. Although co-funding isn’t essential, we welcome proposals which have other partners attached, or which have the potential to do so.

DATES FOR SUBMISSIONS

• This round is primarily for content which could deliver for the 2025 schedule.

• Deadline for ideas – Monday 6 January 2025, 5pm

• Deadline for MG ALBA/´óÏó´«Ã½ partnership decisions – Friday 24 January 2025, 5pm

Final submissions and any questions on anything contained in this Commissioning Round should be addressed to Jennifer MacKenzie: bbcalbacommissioning@bbc.co.uk

COMMISSIONING PRIORITIES

GENRES

• We are looking for high-impact factual and factual entertainment content. Programmes with compelling characters and contemporary issue-led stories would be particularly welcome.

• We are also looking for short-form factual and factual entertainment ideas targeting the 16-35 demographic for digital-first publication.

• Although the door is open to music documentaries we are not looking for proposals that are essentially performances with a factual wraparound. However feature-length, high-end music documentaries that deliver at both a theatric and broadcast level are welcome.

• In this round we are not prioritising historical subjects

SCHEDULE PRIORITIES

We’re looking for distinctive, eye-catching primetime content for the linear schedule which will also make an impact on iPlayer.

Short-form digital-first ideas are also welcome. We are seeking innovative approaches to how content is packaged and presented with younger audiences (16-35) in mind, be it as iPlayer-first content, for ´óÏó´«Ã½ ALBA YouTube or for the linear channel. Impact is key. Short-form programmes should be conceived as compelling content in their own right, not schedule-fillers. A clear articulation of the target audience, content style and other short form grammar will be a prerequisite for a commission.

FORMATS AND DURATIONS

We are open to proposals for single programmes and short series. Single programmes will need to demonstrate how they are distinctive with thoughts on strong marketing hooks.

We will take a flexible approach to durations. The key thing is that the format fits the core proposition and isn’t overstretched to an arbitrary length.

We will consider ambitious feature-length single documentaries (including music genre) that have a cinematic/festival life cycle before appearing on linear TV. It is expected that feature documentaries will either already have co-funding attached or will have a credible co-funding finance plan in place.

SUBMISSIONS

• Proposals should not exceed one A4 page per programme and include title (in Gaelic and English), log-line, format details and a mock-up of an iPlayer thumbnail.

• Please also provide a creative summary including interest from key talent, programme price, timescale for production and thoughts on digital media opportunities.

• Show that you have thought about how the programme can be promoted through the press, social-media or other broadcast outlets.

• We welcome video tasters – a requirement if new talent is proposed.

• The opportunity to develop your submitted proposal through discussion with commissioners may be given.

• Priority will be given to ideas that take into consideration further funding such as, but not limited to:

Creative Scotland's Broadcast Content Fund -

Tax reliefs (via BFI tax credits certification) - 

Who we are

• Head of Gaelic Services & Inclusion: Margaret Mary Murray
• Director of Content Additionality: Margaret Cameron
• Commissioning Editor: Bill MacLeod
• Commissioning Executive: Fiona MacKenzie
• Commissioning Executive: Calum MacConnell