ITV

Tag: BBC

  • BBC extending the public’s right of appeal for license fee

    MUMBAI: Following a review of how UK pubcaster BBC handles complaints it receives, the BBC Trust is proposing new ways to strengthen and simplify systems and, for the first time, is extending the public’s right of appeal to the Trust in serious cases of complaint about how the licence fee is collected.

    BBC Trust vice-chairman Chitra Bharucha said, “The Trust represents the interests of all licence fee payers and this includes ensuring that the process for collecting licence fees is efficient and fair. The public – including the very small number who choose not to own a television set – needs a simple complaints’ system to handle concerns when things go wrong. For the first time, this complaints’ system will include a right of appeal to the Trust in the event that a serious matter cannot be resolved by BBC management.”

    The Trust will be publishing its proposals for how the BBC should handle all complaints including plans to speed up the process for editorial and fair trading complaints. The Trust is inviting licence fee payers, the rest of the broadcasting industry, and anyone who’d like to get involved, to offer their views during a three-month consultation period.

    Under the Trust’s plans, complaints against the BBC would still be addressed in the first instance by BBC management. Final appeals to the Trust would apply only once all other avenues had been exhausted.

    Bharucha adds, “The BBC is owned by the people who pay for it and the Trust wants to ensure that complaints are received via a system which is open to everyone, consistent in its fairness to all, and simple to follow. For any complaints’ system to be effective, it must have the confidence of those who might choose to use it, and the Trust wants to hear from the public and the rest of the industry about the changes we propose to speed up and simplify the BBC’s complaints’ systems.”

    The Trust is proposing a number of changes to how the BBC handles complaints about how the licence fee is collected. Since the Trust’s review started, systems have already been simplified by reducing the number of stages in the management complaints’ process.

    In future, BBC management must account to the Trust for its complaints’ system and, although the Trust still expects most complaints to be resolved by TV Licensing or BBC management, it now plans, for the first time, to hear appeals in serious cases.

    These could include appeals from people who feel they have repeatedly received an unsatisfactory response from the BBC or TV Licensing to their complaints about unfair treatment. For example, members of the public who have received a number of letters or house calls after they believe they have demonstrated they already possess a television licence or do not own a television set.

    The Trust believes that reducing the period of time in which complainants can request an appeal to the Trust after receiving a response from BBC management from two months to one month would lead to a more efficient system, enabling appeals to the Trust to be taken more quickly than at present.

  • BBC’s ‘Panorama’ to expose unsavoury deals at Fifa

    MUMBAI: A British football chief has revealed how a Fifa VP asked him to pay Football Association money into his own personal bank account.

    The former chairman of the Scottish FA, John McBeth, has told UK pubcaster the BBC’s show Panorama that a top Fifa executive Jack Warner asked him to make the match fee cheque payable to him personally, following an international match in Edinburgh.

    It is one of a series of suspect dealings involving Fifa. Panorama asks why Fifa’s ethics committee – run by Lord Sebastian Coe – is not taking action.

    Other questions about foul play directed at world football’s governing body include:

    Why a FIFA official, branded a liar by an American judge, is now Fifa General Secretary; why no-one has been prosecuted after falsifying documents in the same case – a crime punishable by up to five years in prison; and why a Fifa executive committee member was allowed to pay his national team players only £500 each for their participation in the World Cup, despite securing lucrative sponsorship deals – and then blacklisted them from the national team when they complained.

    Panorama asked Lord Coe why the ethics committee was not looking into these issues. He declined to answer or give any details of his job, referring all queries to Fifa, the body he is supposed to be monitoring.

    McBeth first expressed concerns about corruption in Fifa after being chosen to fill Britain’s post on the Fifa executive committee in May this year. He pointed the finger at football officials in Africa and the Caribbean – but was dropped just days before starting his new job amid accusations of bigotry and racism from Vice-President Warner.

    However, he is adamant that this was a merely a smokescreen and that he was sailing far too close to the truth for some Fifa members. McBeth says, “There are one or two people on that executive committee that I wouldn’t trust as far as I could throw. I was talking about the football people that I’ve met and dealt with in Africa and the Caribbean. It was football people I was talking about. I wasn’t talking about the nation. I’m not a racist bigot and I think it probably says more about Jack and him trying to deflect away the criticism that I was making of corruption.”

    Speaking for the first time on the subject, McBeth has revealed how Warner, who represents Fifa in North and Central America and the Caribbean, asked him to pay a match fee directly into his personal account.

    Previously, Warner was found guilty by Fifa’s ethics committee of touting thousands of World Cup tickets through his family travel company in Trinidad. Yet he escaped with nothing more than a slap on the wrist. He was also accused of “ripping off” Trinidad and Tobago’s players following last year’s World Cup.

    The Panorama investigation has also found that some of Fifa’s actions in relation to a sponsorship deal amounted to criminal activity, punishable by up to five years in prison in Fifa’s home nation, Switzerland.

    FIFA attempted to drop its sponsor MasterCard and replace it with Visa, contrary to a long-standing agreement, and was taken to court in New York by MasterCard, where the judge condemned its actions.The man who led FIFA’s marketing team, Jerome Valcke, admitted lying to both MasterCard and Visa.

    The BBC adds that despite the serious nature of the case, Lord Coe’s ethics committee has took no action. And when Panorama asked Lord Coe why he was not looking into this case he declined to talk. Warner and Valcke also declined to comment.

  • BBC to be smaller but fitter in six years: DG Mark Thompson

    MUMBAI: UK pubcaster the BBC has unveiled a radical programme of reform which it claims will not only continue to deliver the highest quality content to audiences but will also make it available when and how they want it.

    Following approval by the BBC Trust, the six-year plan will deliver a smaller but fitter organisation. Every part of the BBC will be required to make efficiency savings, with every penny freed up reinvested in high quality, distinctive content and the way audiences consume it.

    The plan, ‘Delivering Creative Future’ rests on three fundamental propositions:

    A focus on quality – to provide fewer but better, more innovative and more distinctive programmes.

    A digital step change – to offer audiences programmes wherever and whenever they want them – from iPlayer to My BBC Radio, audiences will be able to find, play and share BBC content. To help deliver this ambition, largely separate TV, radio and web news operations will integrate into one of the world’s most advanced multimedia newsrooms.

    A smaller BBC – which will provide best value to audiences.

    BBC DG Mark Thompson told staff, “Media is transforming. Audiences are transforming. It would be easy to say that the sheer pace of this revolution is too fast for the BBC. That for us to do what other media players are doing – integrating newsrooms, mixing media, exploiting the same content aggressively across different platforms – is just too radical … but I think we can see both here and around the world the price you pay for taking what looks like the safe option.

    “I’ve devoted almost my whole working life to the BBC, much of that not as a suit but as a rank-and-file programme-maker. I love the BBC and what it stands for. I care too much to see it drift steadily into irrelevance.”

    Over the next six years, the BBC will focus particularly on enhancing quality output in journalism, drama, knowledge and comedy programming.

    The BBC claims that tough choices have been necessary, against the backdrop of the licence fee settlement, to deliver these plans. From the raft of detailed proposals, the headline efficiency savings and financial reprioritisation decisions approved by the Trust are:

    Meeting demanding efficiency targets of three per cent per year for the period.
    Making 10 per cent less originated programming in television by 2012/13, cutting lower impact programming to focus on fewer, higher quality, programmes.
    A radical reform of factual programme-making to ensure a sustainable in-house production base which will maintain this output at the heart of the BBC.
    In the Journalism group, which includes News, Nations and Regions, Global News and Sport, tackling duplication by bringing services together into a market-leading tri-media news production operation and promoting greater multi-media working.
    A decision, approved separately by the BBC Trust, to reduce the size of the property portfolio in west London by selling BBC Television Centre by the end the financial year 2012/13.
    A range of earlier proposals for new activities amounting to £1.5 billion over the next six years have been dropped, including four full new local radio stations, and there have been cuts to the budget for BBC Three (£10 million) and its new teen service.

    Overall the BBC will make approximately 1,800 redundancies by the end of the period. The BBC expects to close an estimated 2,500 positions between now and 2012/2013, with the areas of News and Factual production most affected. The impact on staff will be significantly lessened by fresh investment that will create new jobs and by natural staff turnover.

    Summarising what these plans would mean for the BBC by 2012/13, Thompson told staff that “there will be a smaller BBC, but one which packs a bigger punch because it is more focused on quality and the content that really makes a difference to audiences. And it will be a BBC which is fully prepared for digital”.

    BBC Trust chairman Sir Michael Lyons said, “All of us at the BBC have constantly to remind ourselves that the guaranteed and privileged funding at our disposal is coming from people who have no choice but to pay it. This is the public’s BBC and the public pays for it with the licence fee. And those same people have made it absolutely clear that they want quality, value and something a bit special in return. After six months of very detailed work by the management and rigorous testing and challenge from the BBC Trust, we are confident that the plans we have approved today will safeguard the core values of the BBC at a time of radical and accelerating change in technology, markets and audience expectations.”

    The BBC Trust says that it is confident that the management’s strategy should safeguard the core values of the BBC at a time of radical and accelerating change in technology, markets and audience expectations. Inevitably, there are difficult choices to be made, heightened by a tight funding settlement. But at the heart of the strategic plan remains a firm commitment to the delivery of the BBC’s public purposes through high quality and distinctive creative content. It includes efficiency savings to free up resources for programming and measures to reprioritise spend to extract greater value for audiences.

  • BBC to launch second series of ‘The Tudors’

    MUMBAI: BBC has acquired the rights of the second series of The Tudors. The second series will air on BBC2 next year.

    Starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers as a young Henry VIII, the series chronicles his life and that of his close coterie of advisors, minions and lovers.

    Shot in Ireland, the series will take in the English Reformation and the destruction of the Catholic Church in England. It will also feature Henry VIII’s marriage to Anne Boleyn, who delivers him a child and also the arrival of Jane Seymour in the Queen’s chamber.

    Creator Michael Hirst said,”At the end of the first series of The Tudors, we stood at the edge of the precipice; in the second series we jump right off it.There are old and new conflicts, both at court and outside it, where the rapid changes to social life bring turmoil and sometimes tragedy.”

    BBC controller of programme acquisitions George McGhee added,”We are extremely pleased with our viewers’ positive reactions to The Tudors and have subsequently acquired series two for transmission in 2008.”

  • BBC signs deal with Wi-Fi operator The Cloud

    MUMBAI: UK pucaster The BBC has become the first UK broadcaster to have all of its online content made available free via Wi-Fi. The non-exclusive venture enables the public to access all bbc.co.uk content for free through the UK’s largest network of hotspots, operated by The Cloud.

    The 7,500 hotspots are located at a multitude of locations across the UK, including McDonald’s, Coffee Republic and BAA airports (Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted), as well as a number of outdoor locations including Canary Wharf and the City of London.

    Users will be able to access bbc.co.uk via an interactive video highlighting a range of content available or via a BBC logo, both of which are located on The Cloud’s landing site.

    BBC director of future media and technology Ashley Highfield said, “We are delighted to be partnering with The Cloud in what we hope is the first of many such partnerships across the UK. This is a new environment for the BBC and one which we believe will be hugely important for our future success.

    “This venture enables us to offer free Wi-Fi access to BBC content on the high street, furthering the BBC’s commitment to make its content as widely available as possible to our audiences wherever they are. For instance, they can catch up on Strictly Come Dancing while having a caffe latte in Coffee Republic.”

    The Cloud group director of business development Owen Geddes says, “Wi-Fi is emerging as the technology of choice for media and content owners wanting to extend their reach beyond traditional channels.

    “The explosion of media-capable devices, coupled with the high bandwidth and low cost Wi-Fi offers, means high-quality video and audio can be delivered to people wherever they are. The Cloud is leading the market, working with visionary thinkers like the BBC, in bringing content over wireless broadband to the mass market.”

    In this initial phase, visitors to bbc.co.uk via The Cloud network will be able to view BBC content on all Wi-Fi compatible devices. However, users will only be able to download programmes from BBC iPlayer via a laptop.

    In due course it is expected that the service will be available via mobile phones and other smart handheld devices.

  • ‘Challenges of cultural adaptability of international formats in India are tremendous’ : Siddhartha Basu- Synergy Adlabs CMD

    ‘Challenges of cultural adaptability of international formats in India are tremendous’ : Siddhartha Basu- Synergy Adlabs CMD

    Synergy Communications founder Siddhartha Basu shot to fame as the curt quizmaster in BBC’s Mastermind India. But he sure knows a thing or two about drama. And that comes across as no surprise since he has a background in theatre.

    No wonder then that Basu was able to blend drama and quiz in the immensely popular Amitabh Bachchan-hosted show Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) that turned around the fortunes of Star Plus.

    Post the acquisition of Synergy by Adlabs, Basu now plans to scale up operations to produce content across various genres. And he is already making inroads into the regional content market.

    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com’s Arcopol Chaudhuri, Basu speaks about how the Adlabs association has helped and shares his views on the rapidly changing Indian television scenario. He hopes the relationship between content providers and broadcasters will be redefined.

    Excerpts:

    How has the acquisition of stake by Adlabs helped Synergy grow its business?
    With the Adlabs association, we have the resources to specialize in various genres and programmes. We may not have been able to do this as we were a small production house. We were known for large productions, quality of content and conduct. But whatever new challenging projects we took up in the recent past, we did not have the resources. We needed the manpower and the infrastructure to strengthen our hands as content producers to make quality programming across all genres.

    The association with Adlabs, thus, gives us a more sound financial grounding and standing amongst the competition. It empowers us not only to grow creatively, but also as a business.

    Have you expanded your production facilities post the formation of Synergy Adlabs?
    It’s a developing story. We are already functioning through two production offices in Delhi and Mumbai. Adlabs has made substantial investments in high-end infrastructure and equipment, which we are using for Jhalak Dikhla Jaa and our fiction show Jiya Jale.

    Are you looking at producing regional content as well?
    We are looking at a couple of assocations down South. Synergy Adlabs has taken a strategic stake in Chennai-based production house Shri Om Comtech, which will serve as our hub for producing Tamil content, to begin with.

    Which shows are you producing on the regional front?
    Post our association with Shri Om Comtech, we already have two daily shows on air on Kalaignar TV. One is Manjal Mahime at 8:30 pm, while the other one is Akkatangai in the afternoon at 1:30 pm. Both the shows are doing well.

    In the coming days, we are also looking to produce regional content in languages for Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada. But we have done regional content before as well. That was before the Adlabs association. It was a cricket-based quiz show called Howzzat which aired on Tara. But then again, regional content is our secondary market. Hindi GEC programming still remains our primary interest.

    Will Synergy Adlabs make inroads into films and animated content?
    We are currently focused only on television. But we’re going to go deeper into providing dubbing services, creating promos and formats.

    How would you describe the existing equation between content providers and broadcasters?
    Till now, it’s been a very one sided relationship and the plea from broadcasters has been that you operate under slender margin of profits and be happy about it.

    There has been lack of accountability on key creative and programming decisions on many occasions. Often you have proxy producers and creative directors, who are arbitrary and unaccountable and it becomes a ridiculous situation.

    We fortunately have had cordial relationships with broadcasters, but that has been the generic equation between the channel and production house. They retain the IPR and we work on a commissioned basis. We are hoping to see that equation change and settle down into something that benefits both parties.

    With the huge demand for content coming from the existing and upcoming channels, how do you see the relationship evolve between the content providers and the broadcasters?
    I think content producers have a wonderful opportunity now by not only creating content for the new players but also for the existing players. We will now have to generate more, produce better and produce it on better terms. When I say better terms, I don’t just mean better financial terms, but with better control over the content. There is ownership of the formats we as content producers own and create and in our case, we are looking at associations and relationship, not only as a job shop where a network merely uses a content producer on a work-for-hire basis. Hopefully, you should see production houses literally work as producers, maybe get into a revenue sharing arrangement, or establish their presence as a production partner. And that’s the kind of association we are seeking.

    Which broadcasters have you really enjoyed working with?
    We’ve had a good working relationship with almost all broadcasters – Star, Sony and now even Sahara’s Filmy.

    Any shows that you’re doing for Zee?
    No shows for Zee at the moment.

    Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) really took Star Plus up the ratings ladder. Ironically, the channel, it seems needs another KBC to make it regain its lost audience share to Zee.
    I think shows like KBC and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa work as tent poles, since they lift the overall audience share. Indian Idol did something similar for Sony. So there are several non-fiction shows which act like that. But to really lift a channel, you need all kinds of programmes and a variety in programming, which creates a bandwagon effect.

    You have been largely associated with quiz-based shows. Until last year you worked on Jhalak Dikhla Jaa, which is a celebrity-dance show. What prompted the foray into this genre?
    We’ve been best recognized for our format shows. But it was always a desire to do a variety of genres. Today, we as a production house are looking to specialize in all genres – of which talent shows are one. We are also handling a couple of fiction projects. The motive will be to associate with every genre thoroughly and professionally. We somehow got linked to the quiz-based shows.
    ‘Till now, it’s been a very one sided relationship between content providers and broadcasters. We are hoping to see that equation change‘

    There were a number of quiz based shows that followed Kaun Banega Crorepati, none of which could replicate it’s success. Why do you think quiz-format shows have dried up now?
    I think it depends upon what the format is. In one sense, for some formats, the audience base is becoming much larger and on the other hand, some shows make it even more fragmented. So certain formats will appeal across segments and communities, like KBC did. That was a sort of tent pole effect it created.

    But as it happens in films and television, there were attempts made to replicate the format in some way or the other and they did not work. Some shows work, some don’t. It’s not necessarily the format that is to be blame. But we hope to tap popular genres for wider appeal. Bollywood Ka Boss is one such show – it’s a film based quiz show and we hope that it will catch up. At the end of the day, a show has to have a specialized audience.
    How much has KBC changed the profile of your company?
    The profile, I believe, changes with every new show that we do. With Jhalak Dikhla Jaa, the question mark transformed into an exclamation mark. A quiz master had now put on his dancing shoes. We are known for our thorough backend technological setup for the execution of television programming, a certain quality of content and class of presentation. That is the benchmark we will take to any genre we work upon.

    We have seen different phases in the Indian television scene. There was the time ofHum Log, Buniyaad and Mahabharat. Then there were the soaps which continue even today. Now reality TV and talent hunts have become popular. How do you view this change?
    I think Indian television is at the cusp of change. We’re still seeing the dominance of ultra-traditional soaps – a dulhan is titled bahu in one and lakshmi or a beti in another soap and there’s the saas that comes along as well (laughs). So we are becoming a nation of weepy family soaps.
    Which direction is Indian television moving in? Any genres of programming that are still missing?
    I don’t think it’s moving in one direction. I think we are still in an adolescent phase. The range within which we have been operating is still very limited. This is something that will now start finding definition. We are still a very amateur television watching community. We’ve been used to Doordarshan, which created a sort of a monoculture. Surprisingly we had a lot of variety then within those one or two channels of the public broadcaster, than we do now.

    The reason why I see the change coming is because broadcasters are actively seeking things that differentiate and mark them out. There are still so many genres that are waiting to be tapped – comedy in the form of sitcoms is something that’s missing.

    Do you see more of localization coming in?
    Definitely. I think Indian television will get intensely local. People with the raw, strong local cultures and flavours will see rapid growth. And these are audiences who are not looking at the Hindi GECs and English channels. Regional channels are more dynamic and they will experience a strong following. The storylines and concepts adopted by the regional channels are often more liberated and open-minded than the ultra-modern, regressive approach adopted by Hindi GEC programmes. Some trends will be borrowed across both genres of channels as a cross fertilization process.

    It is said that interactive TV is the key driver to the future of television programming?
    Interactivity of programming is important and they will drive key shows, but fatigues will set in after a point of time. Audiences will want to participate – maybe vote, for a dancer, a singer they really like. But you cannot build an entire programming strategy around that.

    What kind of associations or affiliations are you looking to build up internationally?
    We are looking to forge associations with various format owners and not merely confine ourselves to one. We have worked in the past with Endemol and even on Bluffmaster, but then how many of our broadcasters are keen on format shows? Very few.

    Why is that?
    Several factors account for it. It’s the cost, the complications, restrictions, adaptability and also the format that must deliver for them. In many ways, the Indian market is responsible for it. Here Thums Up outsells Coke, so you can’t have a McDonalds outsell the existing local delights. You cannot transplant a certain experience already tried in one country and hope that it will work. It’s a cautious decision. India is the only country in the world where Dancing with the Stars is Indianised, indigenised with the rules as well. So the challenges of cultural adaptability in India are tremendous.

    What are your views on the existing audience measurement practices?
    I think our advertisers and broadcasters are too heavily dependant on it. And I don’t think that’s a rational approach and I question it. Look at the number of SMS votes the talent hunt shows receive…they run into several lakhs. And the existing rating system merely confines itself to seven thousand boxes. So it’s far from a perfect system. And in a heterogenous demographic for a country like ours, the measuring system is full of ifs and buts.

    Okay. When are you getting back to hosting a show?
    Me as a host? No. I’ve never really fancied myself much in front of the camera. I’ve always liked to be involved in the conceptualization and execution of programming. I know the kind of effort that goes into it and there is enormous amount of satisfaction in putting a certain piece of communication together.

    How did you narrow down upon Boman Irani as a host for Bollywood Ka Boss?
    Boman is a fantastic host on stage. He’s also a national Bollywood buff. He can sing, joke, dance, do impersonations and can really perform. Having said that, it was the channel (Filmy) which really circled on him and was game for it. And I went along. Even the format of the show was something they were very keen on. The show aims to find the best informed person in the world of Bollywood.

    When is KBC back for its next season?
    Sometime next year. And Shah Rukh Khan’s hosting it. The agenda is different everytime. In KBC 2, it was about conquering the weekends. In KBC 3 it was about strengthening the 9-10 pm slot. You never know what they decide upon this time. Would you believe, once upon a time the Sunday 9-10 am slot was the most sought after slot since it aired Mahabharata!

  • BBC on FM in Maldives for first time

    MUMBAI: UK pubcaster BBC World Service’s English radio programmes can now be heard on FM for the first time in the Maldives capital of Male.

    BBC World Service news bulletins, sporting and current affairs programmes will broadcast daily on Capital Radio 95.6 following the signing of a new agreement with their owner Asna Maldives Pvt Ltd.

    BBC business development manager for the South Asia Pacific region Helen Kathuria said, “The BBC has a strong tradition of loyal listenership in this region so it’s great that we can reach yet more people in crystal clear FM quality sound. We are also delighted to be partnering with one of the first private radio broadcasters in the Maldives.”

    Asna Maldives MD Abdulla Nasheed added, “We are proud to be associated with the world’s leading international radio broadcaster and thrilled that our listeners can now enjoy the BBC’s unique mix of news, sports and feature programmes across the city.”

  • BBC expanding channels presence across Europe

    MUMBAI: BBC Global Channels – one of six BBC Worldwide businesses – has chosen Poland as the first European territory to launch its new suite of BBC-branded thematic channels. Its partner is Polish satellite platform Cyfrowy Polsat.

    Poland was identified by the business as a priority market for channel expansion and, teaming up with Cyfrowy Polsat, represents the first time that all four new channels – BBC Entertainment, BBC Knowledge, BBC Lifestyle and CBeebies – have rolled out in one market at the same time.

    The channels will debut in Poland on 2 December and will be available on satellite exclusively for subscribers of Cyfrowy Polsat as part of the platform’s Family package.

    BBC Global Channels senior VP Europe, Miiddle East and Africa Dean Possenniskie says, “I am delighted with the long term carriage agreement we now have in place with Poland’s most successful DTH platform, Cyfrowy Polsat. With this partnership in place I’m very confident we will quickly demonstrate the positive impact our channels can make in a highly competitive market through strong localised brands and programming of the highest quality across all four channel genres.”

  • Alan Johnston to tell story of kidnap ordeal on BBC

    MUMBAI: UK pubcaster the BBC has announced that its former Gaza Correspondent Alan Johnston is to tell the story of his kidnap ordeal in a two-part special BBC programme on 25 October.

    An hour-long Panorama special on BBC One will feature an extended Jeremy Vine interview and in From Our Own Correspondent, on BBC Radio 4 and BBC World Service, Johnston will tell his story in his own words.

    He spent 114 days in captivity after being abducted at gunpoint by militants on 12 March in Gaza City earlier this year. Panorama will feature reports from the Middle East, the US and the UK as well as interviews with those involved in the efforts to free Alan.

    In From Our Own Correspondent, listeners will hear him make a return to the programme to tell his story in detail.

  • BBC Vision launches new multiplatform strategy

    MUMBAI: The BBC has announced that its integrated multimedia broadcast and production group BBC Vision will have a new strategy for multiplatform commissioning, content creation and delivery.

    BBC Vision is looking to double investment in multiplatform, with an additional £30 million in funding over the next three years, subject to the BBC’s reprioritisation plans. A new architecture has been created for BBC Vision on the web.

    For the first time, every television programme will have its own website with web support provided at three prioritised levels: Basic (created automatically), Enhanced (for 50+ programmes a year) and 360 (rich content for 15+ programmes a year);

    There will be a new suite of user tools for rating and sharing content, improved search and navigation for users. There will also be a new, simpler commissioning process for multiplatform initiatives with a single point of commission (ie one genre commissioner for both TV and multiplatform elements), and one commissioning route via a standard e-commissioning system.

    BBC Vision will also organise new, ring-fenced investment for mobile commissioning in three areas: Mobile television (clips and broadcast TV), social media, and location specific initiatives.

    To craete awareness there will also be a year-long communication campaign to share audience research, market knowledge and BBC Vision’s requirements in-house, across the BBC, and with the wider independent sector. BBC Vision director Jana Bennett says, “BBC Vision was created in part to place the BBC at the heart of the multimedia landscape. We have a real advantage that’s born out of our scale and the range of our talent and skills here. I believe that together we can define this new creative space in terms of public service content and populate it with ideas that are distinctive and innovative.”

    BBC Vision controller of portfolio and multimedia Simon Nelson says, “It’s too easy to dismiss the multiplatform opportunity as simply getting our programmes onto new devices or creating websites alongside programmes. The lack of a commercial imperative and the privilege of licence fee funding oblige [the BBC] to drive innovation and break new ground in attempting to serve all audiences in the UK. We will be able to liberate our content from the limitations of the live linear schedule…

    “We can use the two-way nature of new media platforms to transform our relationship with licence fee payer collaborating with audiences in the creation of content and participative experiences.”