RADIO COMMISSIONING FRAMEWORK Commissioning Brief Ideas for BBC Radio 2’s Main Ad Hoc Round Round 1 2020/21 Commissioning Brief No: 20158 Ideas Welcome from April 2020 to March 2021 CONTENTS SECTION A: EDITORIAL OPPORTUNITY ................................................................................. 3 SECTION B: THE COMMISSIONING PROCESS ....................................................................... 6 1. TIMETABLE ..................................................................................................................... 6 2. THE FIVE STAGES ........................................................................................................... 7 3. ASSESSMENT CRITERIA .................................................................................................. 9 SECTION C: FULL PROPOSALS ................................................................................................. 10 1. WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU ....................................................................................... 10 2. WHAT TO EXPECT FROM US ........................................................................................ 11 3. IMPORTANT POINTS TO NOTE .................................................................................... 13 2 of 13 SECTION A: EDITORIAL OPPORTUNITY • 20158: IDEAS WELCOME Commission contact Robert Gallacher ([email protected]) Julian Grundy ([email protected]) Duration To be discussed – reflecting the agreed format Number of programmes available Dependent on editorial and financial agreement Transmission period To be discussed – reflecting the agreed format Guide Price per episode To be discussed – reflecting the agreed format Commissioning Year 2020/21 Commissioning Round Round 1 (Main Ad Hoc Round) Please note: • All Short Proposals must be submitted via Proteus before the deadline at 12 noon on Tuesday 10th September 2019. • The Short Proposal should be no longer than 250 words. It should be entered into the ‘short synopsis’ section of the Proteus submission form. BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a distinctive, mixed music and speech network, broadcasting to a broad audience which aims to appeal to all age groups over 35. The network offers entertaining, popular and specialist music programmes alongside speech-based content - including news, current affairs, documentaries, religion, arts and social action. The station boasts an award winning team of top name presenters including, Chris Evans, Steve Wright, Sara Cox, Trevor Nelson, Zoe Ball, Graham Norton, Jeremy Vine, Ken Bruce, Paul O’Grady, Vanessa Feltz, Dermot O’Leary, Simon Mayo, Elaine Paige, Craig Charles, Jo Whiley and Tony Blackburn. Network Strategy The network is aiming to grow reach and listening hours amongst the 35-44s, whilst retaining its already very broad audience appeal. Radio 2 will deliver great content to listen to, look at, and share, across all platforms, to drive digital take-up, and the broadest mix of popular and specialist music, presented and curated by the nation’s best loved musical experts. We will place distinctive programming at the heart of the 3 of 13 schedule, reflecting the diversity of the UK, whilst maintaining our reputation as the home of the biggest entertainment stars. Radio 2’s latest RAJAR figures are available here. The Opportunity This category allows innovative ideas, special events and seasons to flourish. If you have ambitious ideas that fall outside the existing commissioning briefs or programme concepts that don’t fit into the traditional schedule, please propose them under this banner. These ideas could be: • Seasons that add impact and range throughout the schedule, encompassing slots across specialist, documentaries, weekday and weekend output. • A series of OBs across the schedule over a day leading to an event later that same day. • A social action initiative that is highlighted and supported by a series of short 3-5 minute packages throughout a day or week around a Jeremy Vine editorial lead for example. • Over Easter last year, we scheduled an ambitious celebration of composer and theatre impresario Andrew Lloyd Webber, marking his 70th birthday. This mini- season included a range of programmes exploring and celebrating, through new interview, documentary, archive and live performance (re-imaging selected songs from his amazing catalogue) his contribution to musical popular culture. Past examples We have commissioned ideas of real scale and ambition from this brief over the past couple of years, including: • Our slate of ‘Minute By Minute’ programmes (covering in real time, the sinking of the Titanic, the assignation of JFK and the 1966 World Cup Final). • Social Action: Mental Health Week / Loneliness Week • Alone On A Wide Wide Sea • The Songs My Son Loved 4 of 13 COMPLIANCE AND BBC EDITORIAL GUIDELINES You will be required to deliver programmes that are in line with the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines and be able to adapt to the BBC’s changing editorial and business needs during the period of the commission. THE EVALUATION TEAM The following people may be involved in evaluating your proposal at various stages: Lewis Carnie, Network Head Robert Gallacher, Commissioning Editor Helen Thomas, Network Editor Julian Grundy, Commissions & Schedules Manager Raluca Albu, Senior Procurement Manager Subject matter experts (e.g. production experts, visual content specialists, network management or finance advisors etc.) may also be consulted. See Section B for information on the commissioning process, timetable and assessment criteria. 5 of 13 SECTION B: THE COMMISSIONING PROCESS 1. TIMETABLE The commissioning process consists of five stages, as set out in the timetable below: Stage Timings (all midday) Activities Launch Wednesday 31 Publication of commissioning brief documentation July 1. Short Proposal By noon on Deadline for submission, via Proteus, of Short and shortlisting Tuesday 10 Sep Proposals Thurs 19 Sep Producers shortlisted notified of outcomes, asked to prepare a Full Proposal and may be invited to an interview/pitch. 2. Full Proposal From w/c Mon 30 Opportunity to talk to commissioners about the Sep programme brief. By noon on Thurs Deadline for Full Proposal to be submitted via 17 Oct Proteus 3. Interview/ Pitch Oct/Nov 2019 All producers shortlisted and who submit a Full Proposal may be invited to attend an interview/ face to face pitch. These are due to be held in October 2018. th 4. Commission Thursday 5 Either: Commission award decision made, decisions made December commissioning specification completed and and contracts contract issued. signed Or: Producers invited to second interviews. To be agreed Agreement of all programme related deliverables and technical specifications (for further information on Radio 2’s requirements, please see the BBC’s commissioning website). Full contract signed. 5. Feedback Two weeks after Shortlisted producers may request feedback. publication of the results We will assess your proposal according to this timetable. Late submissions cannot be accepted. If you have any questions about these commissioning briefs that need answering before you submit your Short Proposal, please ensure you email them to either [email protected] or [email protected] by 6th September 2018 at the latest. 6 of 13 2. THE FIVE STAGES STAGE 1: SHORT PROPOSAL AND INITIAL SHORTLISTING Step 1 Via Proteus, you submit your 250 word Short Proposal. • Your Short Proposal should be no more than 250 words 1 and summarise your specific idea. It should demonstrate your ability to produce your idea, set out your editorial ambitions and address the requirements set out in Section A of the brief. Step 2 The BBC Commissioning Editor, Robert Gallacher together with others from the evaluation team listed on page 5 as necessary, will evaluate the Short Proposals against the editorial brief set out in Section A and a shortlist will be compiled. Step 3 You will be notified of the outcome of Stage 1. Shortlisted companies will be asked to make a Full Proposal. No feedback will be provided for unsuccessful proposals at this stage. STAGE 2: FULL PROPOSAL Step 1 We may issue further relevant programme production information to all producers proceeding to this stage. If sensitive information is being released then producers will be asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). Step 2 Producers proceeding to this stage will be invited to provide a Full Proposal, via Proteus, responding to this commissioning brief, which includes all the elements outlined in Section C paragraph 1 (“Full Proposal”). For guidance, your Full Proposal should not exceed five sides of A4 when printed using Arial font, size 11. STAGE 3: INTERVIEW / PITCH Step 1 Those shortlisted at Stage 1, who successfully submit a Full Proposal via Proteus before the closing date, may be invited to discuss their ideas at a pitching meeting. This may happen if your proposal is highly complex or high risk, if separate companies propose very similar ideas and more information is required or your proposal is over a financial limit. Should you be invited to a pitch meeting, we will notify you which members of the evaluation team will be attending this meeting and you should expect to be asked to discuss and elaborate on your proposal, and answer questions about it. It is also possible we may ask you to bring additional relevant material to this meeting – for example, a sample playlist. Step 2 Following any pitches, the evaluation team will score your Full Proposal against the assessment criteria