Wednesday 13 July 2005
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Good morning everyone and thank you very much for coming.
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I'm looking forward to hearing your questions in a moment and to meeting
more of you over drinks this evening.
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But before then, we've got a bit of catching up to do because a huge
amount has happened since we held the last of these briefings some 15
months ago.
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There are a few new ´óÏó´«Ã½ faces to introduce you to, and new opportunities
to tell you about.
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Key new appointments lining up alongside Stuart Murphy at ´óÏó´«Ã½ THREE
are Peter Fincham as Controller of ´óÏó´«Ã½ ONE, Roly Keating at ´óÏó´«Ã½ TWO,
Janice Hadlow at ´óÏó´«Ã½ FOUR and Jay Hunt at ´óÏó´«Ã½ Daytime.
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And someone you might just know… has just been announced as the Commissioning
Editor for Features and Factual Entertainment… congratulations go to
Elaine Bedell on her new role.
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In addition, Alison Sharman has taken over as the new Controller of
C´óÏó´«Ã½ and one of her first moves was to appoint C´óÏó´«Ã½'s first 'indies
champion', Anne Gilchrist.
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We've put in place some changes to the commissioning system, with
new streamlined teams in drama, entertainment and factual, simplified
our commissioning processes and made them fairer, more transparent and
more meritocratic.
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We've agreed important changes with Pact over intellectual property
rights - the new terms of trade offer tremendous commercial opportunities
to the independent sector.
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And the number of independent productions on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Television has reached
a new record. In fact we have broken through the 30 per cent level for
the first time - the latest figures from Ofcom (announced either today
or in the coming days) confirm that we've achieved 30.3 per cent.
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Last year we spent £329 million on TV programming from external producers.
We commissioned more than 250 companies to make programmes for our regional,
national and network television services, 25 more than the previous
year.
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"About time too," some of you may say about these developments,
and I'd be the first to admit that we've had some catching up to do
to ensure greater and fairer access to indies.
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But I hope you will agree - and I'm sure you'll tell me later if it's
not the case! - that the ´óÏó´«Ã½ is already a better place to do business
with…
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We have listened and we are making real progress in delivering effective
change.
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And I hope you will be as excited as we are about the opportunities
for working more closely together right now.
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Because the ´óÏó´«Ã½ depends on a thriving partnership with an indie sector
that is growing in strength, ambition and capability. Particularly if
we are to meet the challenge of the digital, multichannel, interactive
world.
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We need to harness all of your creative energy if we are to accommodate
the escalating needs and expectations of viewers in the years to come.
We want the best ideas, to deliver these to the widest audience, to
build the reach of ´óÏó´«Ã½s ONE and TWO and to continue the growth story
of ´óÏó´«Ã½s THREE and FOUR, C´óÏó´«Ã½ and CBeebies.
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Although you're going to hear from the channels and genres individually,
I thought I'd give you a quick upsum of what we're looking for as a
portfolio of channels to meet those needs.
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We're looking for a whole new generation of vibrant contemporary factual
programming, particularly for ´óÏó´«Ã½ TWO, to restore our reputation in
an area we've traditionally been dominant in.
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Comedy - ´óÏó´«Ã½ THREE has built a strong relationship with its audience
through innovative, ground breaking comedy… and we need more of it.
Some of it we can migrate across the channels to finally, like Little
Britain, end up on ´óÏó´«Ã½ ONE.
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But we also need to grow more mainstream comedy for ´óÏó´«Ã½ TWO and ´óÏó´«Ã½
ONE with a variety of voices, places and talents. Comedy drama is an
area we need to grow strength in across the whole family of channels
- with different tones and styles fitting the different personalities
of our channels.
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We're putting more investment too in all types of drama - from authored
pieces to topical, issue-based provocative stories - but family drama
is another area for growth. But we need strong contemporary family drama
that resonates with today's audience and the way people live their lives.
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And in a world where a lot of the commercial channels are narrowing
their range to focus on the most advertiser friendly pieces, we mustn't
forget our distinctive core genres.
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So we need big, bold factual series, arts and culture programmes which
add real depth and value to the audience.
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The priorities for each of these genres are going to be available to
view on the Commissioning website from Friday.
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Africa Lives on the ´óÏó´«Ã½ has been an important season for the family
of channels this year and 2007 is also a year without a strong summer
of sport, so we're on the look out for some ideas for build more big
events that can work across the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s services and cross media.
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The Think Big Fund exists to support big ideas - such as Live 8. And
thinking bigger and bolder than a single linear programme or series
- thinking how we can create maximum impact in a noisy world by harnessing
the full scale and ambition of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ - is also where we're turning
our attention.
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Just how quickly the audience has caught up with technology and how
they are using content in new ways was graphically evidenced by horrific
events of last week with the immediate use of mobile phone photography
to capture the appalling scenes.
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We must stop thinking in terms of linear broadcasting and prepare for
the world of digital television on demand - television that viewers
can download and watch on a range of mobile devices at a time and place
that suits them.
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I got a Sony PlayStation Portable a few weeks ago and the digital
widescreen quality, designed for games, is fantastic.
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So are the implications - imagine a world in which you routinely download
the TV programmes you want to watch and take them with you wherever
you go.
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Didn't someone say Apple are now looking at a vision version of the
iPod? That world is now upon us.
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We need to start commissioning our content with an eye to that world
- thinking up front (through development to commission) how we can use
all of the different media outlets now available - from mobile phones
to broadband, from interactive to video on demand, to enrich the experience
for the audience.
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But while the access to content and the technology may change exponentially,
what will remain a constant is the fact that the best creative ideas
are going to be the key to success in this new world.
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That's why we've made the Window of Creative Competition the centrepiece
of the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s commissioning reforms, which we announced as an outcome
of the Content Supply Review.
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The WOCC is a radical approach to getting the best ideas from both
in-house and indie talent. Over and above the current 25 per cent indie
quota, it opens up another 25 per cent of qualifying commissioning hours
to ideas from independent suppliers.
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It's going to be the most exciting creative competition we've ever
held and we are determined to ensure it results in selection of the
best proposals from whatever source.
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Quite simply, the best will win. The prize adds up to around 1,700
hours of new programming, worth around £260 million, and you will be
able to compete for all of this new business.
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We are determined that indies from all the UK's regions and nations
should gain their fair share, and we are giving them extra support for
development.
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Earlier this year Elaine Bedell announced a new fund worth £500,000
to nurture companies based outside the M25.
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The fund combines cash awards with faster access to commissioners (and
we all know how hard they can be to pin down!) plus regular meetings
to progress ideas.
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We've had a terrific response, with more than 110 applications, and
narrowed the list down to 11 to receive this year's awards.
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I can announce today that the development fund will now be made available
again next year for companies outside of London.
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That will give independent production companies from all over the UK
a regular opportunity to develop their ideas.
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One of the key aims is to increase network commissioning from Northern
Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the North of England.
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We will be working with you, with all kinds of creative talent across
the UK, to try and build a better industry outside the M25.
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That will benefit the ´óÏó´«Ã½, it will benefit the independent sector -
and above all it will benefit viewers.
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This is the essence of the partnership the ´óÏó´«Ã½ is building with the
independent sector - working with you to turn the best ideas into great
programmes and great content.
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I hope that today's briefing will encourage all of you to take full
advantage of the opportunities now on offer.
