BBC RADIO ULSTER/FOYLE Station Sound Commissioning Brief SEPTEMBER 2020 1 Context: THE STATION BBC Radio Ulster/Foyle: • BBC Radio Ulster was established in 1975. Radio Foyle followed as an opt-out service in 1979. • Consistently one of the most listened to stations in Northern Ireland; it embraces every aspect of community and cultural life in Northern Ireland. Its reach and popularity makes it one of the BBC’s top performing stations, within its local and national portfolio, with community connection at the core of its appeal. • BBC Radio Ulster/Foyle's strength of reach is driven by news & current affairs, speech programming, sport and wide ranging specialist music, arts and entertainment. • The station is on air 06.30-00.00 each day. Broadcasting on FM, DAB and BBC Sounds. • Our core audience skews male, (55%) and older with an average age of 56 .The socio economic profile of the station is an even 50/50 split ABC1/C2DE. Whilst it remains a priority to maintain our unique connection with core audiences, facing forward we will make a determined effort to engage and grow listenership with audience in the 30-45 age range. 2 Context: THE STATION TODAY We have recently reworked the station schedule, introducing new programmes, strands and on air talent, alongside long running output and much loved presenters. Just a selection of these are… Good Morning Ulster Evening Extra The Nolan Show Connor Phillips Show Lynette Fay Show ATL: Introducing Talkback Sarah Brett & Chris Buckler Tara Mills & Declan Harvey Stephen Nolan Connor Phillips Lynette Fay Gemma Bradley William Crawley The John Toal Show Hugo Duncan Show The Late Show Mark Patterson Show Sportsound Extra Time Blas Ceoil Stephen McCauley Show Eve Blair John Toal Hugo Duncan Mark Patterson Nikki Gregg Caoimhe ‘Ní Chathail Stephen McCauley Local Voices Farming Matters Your Place & Mine The Breakfast Show Sunday with… Kintra Unfinished Symphony Ralph McLean Nicola Weir Anne-Marie McAleese Elaine McGee & Richard O’Reilly Steven Rainey Helen Mark Hannah Peel OUR BRAND VALUES: Distinctiveness , fundamental to BBC Radio Ulster/Foyle’s success as a public service broadcaster, it all starts from there! What distinguishes us from the competition is the multi-faceted nature of the station and its ability to engage with a wide range of audiences. What we promise: We are distinctive and unique. Quality is in our blood and our listeners are at the heart of everything we do. We have built a strong heritage and reputation, though we look forward always seeking out new ways to engage with our audiences and for new audiences to engage with. We are one of the most listened to stations in Northern Ireland and we intend to keep it that way. Who we are: We stand alone. No one sounds like us and no one else can do what we do. We thrive on reflecting the lives, stories and tastes of individuals and communities in Northern Ireland. BBC Radio Ulster/Foyle is for everyone in this place. Station Values: Accountable/Connecting/Fearless/Fun/Imaginative/Passionate/Questioning/Risk-taking 4 NEW STATION SOUND: PROJECT OBJECTIVES/AIMS: New Station Sound: We want to commission a new Station Sound package, to replace the current suite, introduced in 2008. We are looking for a fresh, contemporary, new sonic statement that is “unmistakably us”, and of this place, we call home. A sound that threads through the linear schedule, connecting distinct genres/programmes (across news, sport, live speech/topical, debate, drama, arts, comedy, entertainment, music and politics) with flow, transition, punctuation points, and mood matching sign-posts. It is imperative that the package takes into account the multiple ways in which audiences listen and connect with us across platforms, including BBC Sounds (app and web), BBC index pages and social media. Listeners may be more likely to dip in and out of content on BBC Sounds, than those on linear – hence the need for idents, sigs etc. to stand alone but be immediately recognisable as part of the Ulster/Foyle family. 1. Reflect our priority to engage and grow listenership with audiences in the 30-50 age range. 2. Create a new, contemporary audio imaging package for BBC Radio Ulster/Foyle that speaks to our target audience and ladders up to the wider BBC NI objective to be more loved and chosen more often. 3. Ensure that the music and culture of this place is encapsulated in the package. BBC Radio Ulster/Foyle prides itself on championing new multi-genre music and new artists. The Station Sound package should give consideration to this. 5 STATION SOUND: TONE &TREATMENT: The tone for this work should be ‘Contemporary, Memorable and Younger’. • Contemporary: we are proud of Northern Ireland – a place of creativity, inventiveness and optimism for the future. • Memorable: At BBC Radio Ulster / Foyle we want to stand out and for our station sound to reflect our personality. • Younger: we are not Radio 1 but we are the home for lively debate, live sport, specialist music and immersive story-telling. The approach that should shape your response to this brief: The new station sound should be powerful yet with a warm and playful side, and have authority and gravitas alongside imagination and fun – just like the personalities and programmes across BBC Radio Ulster and Radio Foyle. Some additional information to help your thinking: BBC Radio Ulster / Foyle provides both light and shade - bringing joy and laugher as well as information. • Audiences are our priority; giving them a voice, bringing the companionship of our presenters and building a sense of connection across Northern Ireland. • Take account of the trusted and fearless role of our extensive news and current affairs content. It informs and educates audiences and plays a key role in telling the ever evolving story of Northern Ireland and beyond. • Deep and wide-ranging musical knowledge is important to us – we are a station where music matters. 6 COMMISSIONING - INITIAL PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS: Based on the commissioning brief, applications to tender must include: • Demo of a 4- 8 note sonic logo (you may wish to consider a logo which can be split at times so it can be used to top/tail content). We do not expect a full arrangement, although feel free to provide one if you wish. • An audio demo of a news jingle, a daytime programme theme and an evening indie music theme. • A written synopsis, of no more than 500 words, that details the thinking behind your creative approach. • Company profile, including the relevant skills and experience of those working on this commission and 2 to 3 tracks of previous work which demonstrates the range of your audio portfolio. • Details of your proposed production schedule, with top level milestones and proposed deliverables. Shortlisting Criteria for stage one: Submissions will be scored against creativity, quality of audio demos and ability to deliver this commission to deadline. Applications and any questions should be directed to the Station Manager [email protected]. We would also appreciate an acknowledgement of your intention to pitch. 7 COMMISSIONING & LAUNCH TIMELINE: Initial invitation for ideas: 1st September 2020 Deadline for first response: 18th September 2020 Companies informed of shortlist for 2nd round: 24th September2020 Shortlisted companies will be informed of pitch requirements and criteria at this stage. Pitches: 8 October 2020 Commission confirmed: 15 October 2020 Production period : mid Oct 2020s –Jan 2021 Final deliverable from company to BBC: 27 January 2021 Kit of parts implemented by BBC team: launch 29 March 2021 8 STATION SOUND: FULL PACKAGE DELIVERABLES The scope of the project with extensive and detailed. The package should be based on a Station theme and sonic ident that will be incorporated into a range of mixes of cuts of Idents, beds and stabs for a wide range of styles and genres : Daytime, Evening and weekend feel News and Current Affairs 10-15 specialist music genres Factual and Magazine Light Ents & Comedy BBC Gaelic's BBC Sport BBC Radio Foyle Cost & Rights: The package will be on an ‘all rights’ basis – allowing the BBC to fully own the package in perpetuity and exclusively. The composer will retain their composer rights and BBC Studios, on behalf of the BBC, will take its full available share of publishing rights (i.e. Rights split 50% to Composer: 50% to BBCW). There is no payment for demo delivery but all rights to demo material remain with you and no material will be used by the BBC unless commissioned. Please ensure your work doesn’t contain any non-cleared samples and is all original composition and any musician/vocalist performances contained within the demo are bought out for all rights in all media 9 Audiences appendix: AUDIENCES: Who do we want to talk to For Live Listening: BBC Radio Ulster/Foyle operate in a marketplace where reach and time spent are in decline. We must focus on protecting current audiences, and modernising our offer to them to ensure we don’t risk losing them. Therefore focus on increasing frequency and time spent with us. The predominate percentage of our live listening audience is 45+ and skews male. We want to protect this strong relationship with Radio Ulster/Foyle. The size of this segment in NI is 270,000 equating to around 17% of the local population aged 12 plus. They are more susceptible to commercial competition, such as Cool FM, particularly with our genre mix being more information led while their enjoyment is more from relationship focused content. This audience spend twice as much time with the station than the average NI adult and the station accounts for one third of their total live radio listening, so their media consumption is more traditional than some other segments For On Demand & live: There is an opportunity audience we want to grow our relationship with – in the replenisher 30-50 age range.