Commissioners say progress made on nations and regions and discuss priorities

While there has been a definite uptick in the number of commissions going to producers outside of London, many of those based in the nations and regions would argue there is still a long way to go.

That was the sentiment by leading commissioners from S4C, BBC Scotland, Virgin Media Ireland and Channel 5 last week when Broadcast Intelligence brought them together for a webinar to discuss the current state of play for commissioning in the nations and regions.

The assembled commissioners reiterated the feeling widely expressed at the Broadcast Indie Summit at the end of March when exec producers from indies including IWC Media, King of Sunshine and Boom Cymru all outlined several areas where they believe improvement is still needed.

At last week’s Broadcast Intelligence webinar, the commissioners agreed the industry has progressed significantly in relation to awarding commissions to production companies based outside of London – with each crediting their respective broadcaster’s own methods for democratising the industry across the nation.

Channel 5 unscripted commissioning editor Kit Morey pointed to their team’s success in organising “road shows” across the UK, which has enabled team members to meet companies they have not heard of before and arrange routine meetings to stay up to date with content pipelines.

Morey described producers based outside of London as “critical” to Channel 5’s programming output, and revealed that 2022 saw 41% of the broadcaster’s commissions originating from the nations and regions. The target for 2023 has been set at 45%.

BBC head of Scotland Louise Thornton said the launch of BBC Scotland has “cracked open the industry” in the nation and has enabled her commissioning team to work with new companies.

“Shows like Guilt wouldn’t have got off the ground if it wasn’t for the Scotland channel and now it’s a co-funded, award-winning drama with the network,” says Thornton.

Wales has always been home to a “vibrant production community,” says S4C’s Iwan England. However, he claims Wales has not always been respected by the wider industry in terms of its quality of talent.

Whilst England acknowledged the industry has progressed significantly since the nations and regions issue arose, he believes that there is still work to be done when it comes to celebrating the successes of unscripted commissioning.

“I’m thinking back 20-odd years ago when I was a relatively new PD and I was in Tasmania on a Welsh and Australian co-production, because it was far easier to have partnerships on the other side of the world,” says England.

Meanwhile, Anthony Nilan describes Virgin Media Ireland as being in a “unique position” compared to the other broadcasters.

The interim head of programming said there had been a “conscious effort” made in the last five years at the Irish commercial PSB to ensure programming is based in the nation and to work with production companies outside of Dublin, as well as Northern Ireland.

“If you’re only commissioning from voices within your capital or your base, you’re not representing your audience on any level,” Nilan said.

Commissioning

In terms of what the panel are looking to commission, Thornton is asking suppliers to “surprise” her with high-impact content that is also risky – she said she was particularly interested in finding the next BBC1 sitcom which feels Scottish but can also appeal to viewers across the UK.

Programmes with a “glint in the eye” are representative of Virgin Media Ireland’s channel strategy, and Nilan is targeting the peak and primetime slots with factual entertainment formats, akin to Eating With The Enemy which Nilan said felt “brave”.

For S4C, premium documentaries in the sports, popular culture or contemporary history spaces are sought, as England continues to target viewers aged between 24-45-years-old.

Meanwhile, Morey is searching for a new format or precinct that can be “endlessly cast into” and has a “huge story churn” for Channel 5, and advises regional producers to not limit themselves solely to where they are based.