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mark occomore
Joined: 07 Dec 2006
Posts: 9955
Location: UK
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 Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2011 5:19 pm Post subject: Radio 2 and 6 Music Commit To Independent Radio Companies |
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| Quote: | BBC Radio 2 and BBC 6 Music today announce that there will be an increase in independent production opportunities across Radio 2 and 6 Music with a number of productions being put out to tender.
In line with the BBC Trust's review of independent production to deliver the best ideas to listeners, Radio 2 and 6 Music are using forthcoming schedule developments as an opportunity to increase further the number of independent productions on the network through a window of creative competition (WoCC) – the opportunity for independent production companies to compete with in-house to make BBC programmes.
This will contribute to BBC Audio & Music's target of having a 10% independent production quota and 10% WoCC across the whole of Audio & Music by 2012/13.
The WoCC tender process is currently underway for the newly announced 6 Music Radcliffe And Maconie Show (weekdays, 1-4pm), The Nemone Weekend Breakfast Show (Saturday and Sunday, 7-10am), the 6 Music Interactive Show, a new Radio 2 Mark Radcliffe Show (Tuesdays 11pm-12), and also for several shows already on the 6 Music – Stuart Maconie's Freak Zone (encompassing the Freakier Zone), The 6 Mix, and Craig Charles' Funk & Soul Show.
In the summer, Radio 2 will be introducing a new weekly strand of specialist music short series featuring musical genres not already covered on the network, at least 50% of which will be put to tender though the WoCC.
Also, in the summer the WoCC will be opened up for Radio 2's midnight to 5am shows – Janice Long (Mondays to Fridays, midnight to 2am) and Alex Lester (Mondays to Fridays, 2-5am) – which will be put out to tender, as will the ever-popular Sounds Of The 60s with Brian Matthew (Saturdays, 8-10am).
Bob Shennan, Controller, Radio 2 and 6 Music, comments: "Independent production companies contribute hugely to our creativity at Radio 2 and 6 Music. Their ideas and passion are an essential part of the mix which keeps the networks vibrant and relevant.
"With these new commissions Radio 2 and 6 Music will continue to build on our strong relationships with the independent sector and provide our audiences with the range and quality of programming they can expect from us."
These shows are currently independent productions.
Radio 2
Pick of the Pops (Unique Productions)
Mike Harding, Radio 2 Folk Show (Smooth Operations)
Richard Allinson (Somethin' Else)
Dermot O'Leary (Ora et Labora TV)
Going Out With Alan Carr (Open Mike Productions)
Paul Gambaccini (Howlett Media Productions)
Johnnie Walker (Wise Buddah)
Russell Davies (Wise Buddah)
Jamie Cullum, Radio 2 Jazz Show (Folded Wing Productions)
Desmond Carrington's Music Goes Round (Foldback Media)
Trevor Nelson's Soul Show (Somethin Else)
Pause For Thought on Vanessa Feltz Early Breakfast (TBI).
6 Music
Huey Morgan (Wise Buddah)
6Mix (Somethin' Else)
Craig Charles (Demus Productions)
Dave Pearce (Somethin Else). |
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The Great Gildersleeve
Joined: 17 Sep 2010
Posts: 249
Location: North East England
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| Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2011 8:50 pm Post subject: |
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You saw that too Mark...
How does it save money especially if they use BBC studios and BBC staff? How is it officially the BBC when produced by an independent company?
Does it actually save money?
If more independents are to be used why should the BBC be building or moving to the media city in Salford or other places around the UK...the Independents could produce programmes in their own studios and feed them into the BBC... |
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ColinB
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| Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2011 9:41 pm Post subject: |
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Nice bit of research there, Mark. What a scoop. Your news agency is getting well established now! 
Gilders, you're right. It's all barmy. Of course, it was Channel 4 that kicked off this whole "commissioner/publisher" status for a broadcast channel, and then stupid politicians (Thatcher comes to mind, silly cow) who used this as a device to cut the BBC down to size by forcing John Birt to impose the ill-fated "Producer Choice" policy back in the late 80s and early 90s. Thankfully, Greg Dyke did manage to reverse this idiotic policy after it was realised that BBC TV productions were being made in independent studios (such as LWT's South Bank Centre) whilst BBC TV Centre studios were lying empty.
It's been happening with BBC Radio on recent years, and for the life of me I can't understand the basis of it. As you rightly say, indies make commissioned programmes but they still use the live studios at Western House. All that happens is that production staff have desks elsewhere and arrive at the studio to do the prog.
So now we have the utterly ridiculous situation where the corporation spends a small fortune on white elephant centres like Salford Quays and require whole production teams like BBC Breakfast, Question Time, Blue Peter and others, to completely decamp to Manchester for no justifiable reason at all.
No wonder David Dimbleby went ape when he learned of the QT decision - and why there's so much malcontent in the 100+ "BBC Breakfast" team"!
What a nonsense it all is! |
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mark occomore
Joined: 07 Dec 2006
Posts: 9955
Location: UK
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| Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 8:18 am Post subject: |
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| Does outsource save money for the BBC and paying the presenters? |
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ColinB
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| Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 10:18 am Post subject: |
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| mark occomore wrote: | | Does outsource save money for the BBC and paying the presenters? |
In theory it does because the whole production is contracted out to a third-party supplier who delivers the final product at an agreed price. It then means that the organisation doesn't need to maintain the facilities or personnel resource itself. Usually, presenter contracts are operated directly by the BBC's HR department, however.
Of course, where it starts getting silly is where the contractor then buys back in to the BBC's own studio facilities and personnel in order to deliver live, as opposed to pre-recorded and edited - programming. It could be done live in third-party studios, of which there are many, but it wouldn't make economic sense when the output has to be routed back to WH, plus the fact that the Beeb's digital music library would then need to be remotely accessed using a compatible system. And the BBC's new radio facilities are state of the art (and expensive to build and maintain).
This was highlighted by Greg Dyke when he became the BBC's DG a few years back; he thought it complete nonsense that BBC TV producers were given production budgets which enabled them to buy studio facility time anywhere whilst the BBC's own studios at Television Centre were sitting unused. Even dafter is that indies commissioned by Channel 4 to make shows like Paul O'Grady's teatime chat show were renting studio resources from the BBC at TVC.
Thankfully, thamks to Dyke's intervention, that stupid situation has been corrected to a degree - they have to justify buying outside - but it's still all a bit of a mess.
It's no wonder there's so much malcontent at the BBC these days - and this enforced move of hundreds of production and technical staff to Manchester is making it worse. I know a few people in the BBC who have told them to stuff it - after all, lots of people not only have homes to maintain but kids at school/college and maybe partners who themselves have careers.
It's ridiculous!
Still, won't be long before the Tories' secret plan to privatise many BBC units will come into effect and Murdoch will be waiting to buy them up. In that context, the rumours about an impending merger between Radio 2 and 6Music gain validity....... |
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aviddiva
Joined: 11 Oct 2008
Posts: 1135
Location: Wakefield, West Yorkshire
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| Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 10:57 am Post subject: Radio 2 & 6 Music commit to independent companies |
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Don't you just love these acronyms that business types use - WOCC had me singing 'I am a WOCC, I am an island', much as CIEIO at another meeting made me think of 'Old MacDonald Had A Farm'!
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mark occomore
Joined: 07 Dec 2006
Posts: 9955
Location: UK
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| Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 12:56 pm Post subject: |
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| I guess it's also about trying to save waste on BBC own production staff who will eventually be all moving up North or too other posts in the BBC. So most of the Radio 2 output could eventually be produced by outside production companies. I'm sure Wrighty show has been Copyrighted in one way? I wonder if those presenters the station hire to cover the shows will eventually be independently produced? |
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The Great Gildersleeve
Joined: 17 Sep 2010
Posts: 249
Location: North East England
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| Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 2:01 pm Post subject: |
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Is it really BBC Radio anymore?
I mean if Tony is presenting POTP's on equipment in a BBC Studio and playing music from the BBC Record library what exactly is that independent company supplying? It might be different if that independent company was feeding a show in from their own building.
It might be different more if a company came to the BBC TV and said here's our idea and we can supply it all in at this price.
And there's not much evidence of independent productions being used in commercial radio. Why? |
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mark occomore
Joined: 07 Dec 2006
Posts: 9955
Location: UK
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| Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 3:00 pm Post subject: |
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| I bet most presenters could present there shows from home? Zoe Ball and Chris Evans what I gather have studio equipment to do it. It the set up which costs, and if they lose the link could be risky. |
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ColinB
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| Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 3:10 pm Post subject: |
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| mark occomore wrote: | | I bet most presenters could present there shows from home? Zoe Ball and Chris Evans what I gather have studio equipment to do it. It the set up which costs, and if they lose the link could be risky. |
They could only feed it in if their home systems were able to process the metadata associated with each piece of information in the programme - eg: the embedded info in music tracks which identifies what it is, etc. Just giving a straight feed over ISDN isn't enough. That's why I mentioned earlier about a remote studio needing to access the BBC's own digital media storage system. |
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Fred
Joined: 04 Apr 2007
Posts: 225
Location: Cirencester, Gloucestershire
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| Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 3:24 pm Post subject: |
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| mark occomore wrote: | | I bet most presenters could present there shows from home? Zoe Ball and Chris Evans what I gather have studio equipment to do it. It the set up which costs, and if they lose the link could be risky. |
Why would they want to?
It would mean that the whole production team - often people who work on other shows as well (I believe that Chris Evans' producer also works on the Janice Long's and Richard Allinson's shows) - have to make their way to Chris' house/Zoe's house.
And then they'd have to go somewhere else to work on their next task for the day - whether its general office stuff or producing another programme.
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mark occomore
Joined: 07 Dec 2006
Posts: 9955
Location: UK
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| Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 4:58 pm Post subject: |
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| Fred wrote: | | mark occomore wrote: | | I bet most presenters could present there shows from home? Zoe Ball and Chris Evans what I gather have studio equipment to do it. It the set up which costs, and if they lose the link could be risky. |
Why would they want to?
It would mean that the whole production team - often people who work on other shows as well (I believe that Chris Evans' producer also works on the Janice Long's and Richard Allinson's shows) - have to make their way to Chris' house/Zoe's house.
And then they'd have to go somewhere else to work on their next task for the day - whether its general office stuff or producing another programme. |
You are true, but they can invoice the BBC for travel and time. Maybe this idea could also help bring better shows to Radio 2, with researching of the music so that the presenter sounds knowledgable. Although some presenters on Radio 2 already sound knowledgable than others. |
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The Great Gildersleeve
Joined: 17 Sep 2010
Posts: 249
Location: North East England
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| Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 5:30 pm Post subject: |
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It only works(maybe)in the case where we are told that a particular presenter/DJ is using their own record collection(Desmond Carrington)and I assume Bob Harris could but once you start having people turn up to do live sessions etc...and as Colin says if you are using BBC facilities(their equipment, their record library etc...)why should you pay for an Independent company?
If that was the case you could argue why relocate or spend all that money upgrading the BBC studios and buildings? Let the Independents do all that for themselves and absorb the costs. I assume the BBC still is who pays the royalties on the music played. I'm not sure what the BBC gets out of the agreement...
Documetaries or feature programmes possibly I can understand the reason but for an ordinary basic programme with presenter and music I don't get it.
And if the BBC has to do this, so should commercial radio.
And the worry over being too London centric or radio 4 not appealing to people oop North etc...plenty of material is produced from around the UK...from Wales, N. Ireland, Scotland and a variety of studios around England. |
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