James Purnell has pledged to accelerate the creation of BBC Studios – and revealed that the corporation will begin tendering contracts for in-house programmes this summer.
The director of strategy told the Media Summit that the white paper demonstrates there is now “a strong consensus behind Studios” and that the BBC is “committed to getting on with it”.
He said: “There is no value to us or to the industry to have BBC Studios half in and half out, preparing to compete, but not yet able to do so. We want that period to be as short as possible.”
However, Purnell did flag up that BBC Studios still requires what is known as “4Cs approval”, which includes fitting in with the BBC’s public purposes and avoiding distorting the market.
Asked by Zodiak Media UK chief executive Rod Henwood whether the planned growth of BBC Studios would have an impact on the indie sector, Purnell said the winners would be producers with the best ideas.
He added that a key driver in the removal of programming quotas had been that licence fee payers would not always get the best shows under the old system, highlighting the “overcrowding” in the 25% window of creative competition (WoCC).
Purnell said the creation of BBC Studios would help grow the “programme-making team and tradition of the BBC”, and that the freedom to pitch to other broadcasters in the UK and overseas would help it to “build careers and attract the best people”.
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