BBC RADIO 4 INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION TENDER

Programme title: SOMETHING UNDERSTOOD

Proteus reference number: 47907

Eligiblity: Independent companies which meet the criteria below Not open to BBC departments

Commissioning Editor: Mohit Bakaya

Commissioning Co-ordinator: Sara Sund

Slot: SUNDAY 0605 (rpt SUNDAY 2330)

Duration: 28’

Estimated number of programmes: 104

Transmission period: April 2016 to March 2018

Guide price: £5,100

PLEASE READ THE GUIDELINES CAREFULLY

We are looking to commission a company or companies to supply this long-running and popular weekly strand.

We are commissioning two years of business beginning in April 2016, with an option to extend for a further year.

Only independent suppliers are eligible to apply.

Radio 4 will take into account the demonstrable capacity of applicants to deliver effectively, on schedule and on budget across the entire period, as well as the editorial quality of the offer.

Applications should be made via Proteus in Round 3 2016/2017 brief 47907.

We are expecting up to half a dozen well-argued pages.

The deadline is NOON 06/10/15.

1 What is Something Understood?

Proposals are invited from companies interested in continuing and developing the early morning/late evening programme for Sunday. For many years Radio 4 has opened Sunday mornings with a meditative or religious programme. Something Understood has occupied the slot for over ten years and has been at its current duration since April 1998. The programme has a range of presenters.

This is admired and unusual programming. The tone is meditative and thoughtful. The content is a mix of ideas, readings, music, sometimes interviews built around a theme. The intention is to stimulate thoughts and responses beyond the purely temporal and to set the world in a spiritual though not necessarily always religious context.

High end production values and storytelling are especially valued here.

Tenders may wish to indicate changes to be made in delivery but the tone and intent of the strand remain unchanged.

Audience need and schedule context

The Radio 4 audience has an above average interest in spiritual and religious issues. This focus is on both organised religion and less specific ‘spirituality’. The interest in literature and music is also considerable. The combination of all these elements is a potent one. A relaxed beginning and end to a Sunday is also appreciated by many listeners at the older end of the Radio 4 demographic.

In the morning the programme is followed by On Your Farm. The sequence of the morning includes both the Sunday programme, which is a journalistic approach to religious affairs, and Sunday Worship. In the evening the programme follows The Film Programme.

However, it should be noted that, as the series has been running a long time, there is a danger that it can go over old ground. Also, there are many more programmes exploring spiritual and theological themes on Radio 4 now than when Something Understood was first conceived. Series such as Four Thought, A History of Ideas and The Philosopher’s Arms have raised the bar on the quality of thinking on metaphysical matters, and all proposals should take account of how Something Understood can remain fresh in this more crowded landscape.

Each episode of Something Understood gets around 782,000 listeners, of whom nearly 500,000 listen to the early morning origination. Just under 100,000 listen to both the origination and the repeat. The average age of a Something Understood listener is 65 – significantly above the Radio 4 average of 56.

Presentation

The authorial voice is critical to the success of Something Understood. The slot is currently presented by a number of people. All proposals should include an outline of the talent, new and existing, that you think would work well here. When mentioning names, you should indicate whether you have approached talent or whether names are indicative.

2 How do you win this commission?

Production criteria

Proposals should indicate the production team who will be working on the series and their track record. Please state whether the individuals have been approached and expressed an interest.

Producers should have extensive radio feature making skills and experience and an understanding of working with literature, music and religion.

Executive Producers should have extensive experience of managing strand output in these areas.

Suppliers must be able to demonstrate:  A high level of business competency.  An understanding of the audience and its changing needs, bearing mind the recent BBC Trust Service Licence Review http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/our_work/services/radio/service_reviews/speech_radio.  An understanding of the place of religion and spirituality in the UK today.  A sense of how you will manage within a tight production budget.  A detailed understanding of BBC Editorial Guidelines and how they would impinge on your management of the strand.

Editorial criteria

 Your vision for what this programme can offer the audience.  How you would interpret or develop the brief over a 2 year period.  Thoughts about how to ensure the strand sits comfortably in the current Radio 4 landscape.  Your approach to defining themes and topics for programmes.  Your approach to sources of literary and musical content that will be sustainable over multiple editions of the programme.  The balance of the elements in the programme as you envisage it.  Your strategy for the development of the spiritual and religious elements of the programme. This should offer a clear view on the faith elements and philosophical aspects of the programme.  Thoughts on any innovations you might seek over the course of the tender period.  Thoughts about new voices that might provide new possibilities for the programme.

Key dates

 15th September Tender guidelines published  6th October at noon Submissions deadline  Week of the 2nd November Interviews with shortlisted bidders  By 20th November Results communicated

3 Submissions should be entered in Proteus under:

 Network Radio 4  Year 2016/2017  Round 3  Brief 47097

If you wish to submit brief examples of audio, this should be sent, clearly labelled, via an online file sharing system such as www.wetransfer.com to Sara Sund [email protected].

On the basis of the Proteus proposal, short-listed companies will be invited to discuss their ideas in more detail with the Controller and Commissioning Editor.

We will not run pre-offers meetings or be able to offer a consultation with suppliers in the preparation of bids.

BBC Radio Business Affairs will issue a contract to the successful applicant(s).

Please do not ask current suppliers to provide archive recordings.

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