Commissioning Brief 2019 -20 - bbc.co.uk/wales
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Commissioning Brief
2019 -20
bbc.co.uk/walesCommissioning Brief 2019-20
1. Introduction............................................................................................................. 3
2. Overall summary. . ................................................................................................... 4
2.1 Key dates and guide prices. . ........................................................................... 4
2.2 A brief guide to Proteus. . ................................................................................ 5
3. BBC Radio Wales in a nutshell. . ............................................................................ 6
4. Genres for commission.......................................................................................... 7
4.1 Highlights from 2018-19................................................................................ 7
4.2 Themes for 2019-20........................................................................................ 7
.
4.3 Comedy. . ............................................................................................................ 8
4.4 Science, Technology & ideas.......................................................................... 8
4.5 Arts. . ................................................................................................................... 9
4.6 Features. . ........................................................................................................... 9
4.7 Hour-long Programmes.................................................................................. 9
4.8 Sunday Morning With. . .................................................................................... 9
4.9 Rolling commissioning.................................................................................. 10
5. Working with BBC Radio Wales ......................................................................... 11
5.1 Delivering additional content for daytime ............................................... 11
5.2 It’s all about the pictures.............................................................................. 11
5.3 No paperwork, no programme. . ................................................................... 11
5.4 Delivery guidelines........................................................................................ 11
5.5 Technical guidelines...................................................................................... 12
6. Tariffs...................................................................................................................... 12
7. BBC Radio Wales and the audience................................................................... 13
2Commissioning Brief 2019-20
1. Introduction
BBC Radio Wales was established as a separate service in November 1978 – an event
which the BBC’s historian in Wales, Dr John Davies, described as arguably ‘…the single
most important happening in the history of Welsh broadcasting’. As we prepare to
celebrate our 40th birthday, the year ahead will be, I hope, one of our most exciting yet.
Collaboration has been at the heart of what we have done over the past 12 months, with
independent producers being at the centre of many of our developments. Our new
Sunday Morning with…. programme has heard a rotation of high profile presenters join
the station, including Keeping Faith star, Eve Myles, and broadcaster, Carol Vorderman.
All of these programmes have been delivered by independents, and have contributed to
significant audience growth in this time slot.
In comedy, 2018 started with the return of Ruth Jones to the station. Ruth was the
leading voice in original Welsh sitcom Splott. It’s an example of our ambition to work with
the biggest talent, relevant to Wales, for every genre. We also launched a partnership
with the Machynlleth Comedy Festival. The relationship saw BBC Radio Wales having the
naming rights for the main arena, and broadcasting more output than ever before from
the Festival, including Rhod Gilbert and Kiri Pritchard McLean.
We’re proud to cover Welsh arts and culture. This year we launched a new monthly arts
review programme, also an independent production, presented by Gary Raymond, Senior
Editor of the Wales Arts Review. Another new development, this time at the Hay Festival,
was Tonight at Hay, presented by the Editor of GQ Magazine, Dylan Jones. Both
programmes added to the breadth and rigour of our cultural output.
This November, we will take the radio station on the road. With our birthday bus, our lead
presenters will be travelling across Wales. At the same time, we’ll be part of the BBC’s
biggest product launch in over a decade. BBC Sounds will be our new digital home for
audio – listening live, listening again, podcasts and streaming. In October, we’ll launch
new transmitters, meaning, for the first time, we’ll reach over 90% of households in
Wales on FM. It is going to be a busy and exciting start to our 40th year. In 2019, the
station will have full coverage and commentary of Wales at the Rugby World Cup in
Japan and we’ll be making our final preparations to move to our new home, in the heart
of the Welsh capital, at Central Square.
Thank you for your support, ideas and creativity in the past year. I wish you good luck
with this commissioning round and the year ahead.
Colin Paterson
Editor, BBC Radio Wales
3Commissioning Brief 2019-20
2. Overall summary
2.1 Key Dates and Guide Prices
Here are the key dates in this year’s commissioning timetable:
TUESDAY 23rd OCTOBER – MIDDAY: DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS
w/c Monday 5th November: notification of shortlist ideas
w/c Monday 19th November: interviews with shortlisted suppliers
w/c Monday 10th December: commissions published
Proposals need to be submitted via Proteus, the BBC’s commissioning and scheduling
system. If you don’t have a Proteus log-in, please see Section 2.2.
Proposals on Proteus are formatted to include a very short ‘headline’ summary and
then a longer synopsis in which you can outline the idea, treatment and tone of the
programme. Short, succinct pitches are appreciated. Please ensure that you have
approached your suggested presenters and have their agreement in principle.
If you need any further information about this document, please contact:
Jeremy Grange, Assistant Editor, BBC Radio Wales jeremy.grange@bbc.co.uk
Tel: 07764 335183
Guide Prices:
This year, rather than offering set tariffs for genres we are taking a different approach.
We are aware that not all half-hour programmes require the same amount of production
effort and we’re therefore introducing a range of guide prices to reflect that. Budgets for
shortlisted ideas will be subject to close scrutiny. Here are the guidelines:
Half hour feature: £1500 - £4000
Hour long feature: £3000 - £4500
Scripted comedy: £6000 - £7000
Unscripted comedy: £3000 - £5000
OFFERS NEED TO BE SUBMITTED VIA PROTEUS BY MIDDAY ON
TUESDAY 23rd OCTOBER
4Commissioning Brief 2019-20
2.2 A Brief Guide to Proteus
Proteus is a system which is owned and developed by the BBC. It is a ‘one stop shop’ for
all programme-related information for BBC Radio. It is used by internal BBC radio
departments and independent productions companies to:
• create and submit programme ideas
• complete programme descriptions and compliance
• create running orders (including contributors and music items)
Users in the BBC networks access the system to commission radio programme ideas,
create programme schedules, support play-out and generate reports.
New Users:
Independent companies who do not have a Proteus account and who wish to submit
programme ideas, must first contact Michelle Phillips (michelle.phillips@bbc.co.uk) and
Ceri Goddard (ceri.goddard@bbc.co.uk) with the following information:
• Name of company
• Address
• Contact Number
• Contact Name
• e-mail Address
They will register you with access, and you’ll then receive an email with log in information
and a helpcard for guidance.
Existing users: Log on to Proteus now
If you already have an existing account you will be able to select BBC Radio Wales from
the Network dropdown.
Proteus support
All of Wales radio’s programme paperwork will be managed through the BBC’s Proteus
system.
If your proposal is successful during the commissioning round, you will be expected to
attend a ‘Proteus for Independents’ training course. Your Proteus account will then be
extended enabling you to access the system in order to complete programme
descriptions, compliance and running orders.
To ensure knowledge of the system is retained and practically applied, you should attend
a course no more than three months before your programme(s) are due for transmission.
Ceri Goddard and Michelle Phillips will be in contact with training course information
nearer the time.
5Commissioning Brief 2019-20
3. BBC Radio Wales in a nutshell…
We are the national radio station for Wales. Our mission is to create radio at the heart
of life in Wales. We’re predominantly targeting the over 50’s, but we’re aimed at people
who are interested in the life, culture and affairs of the country – supporting our
national conversation.
And we aim to attract them by:
• News: outstanding news and current affairs, which really matters
to people in Wales.
• Sport: giving priority to the moments which bring Wales together.
Quality over volume.
• Live: speech led content which is distinctive, authentic, entertaining
and has substance. Supporting the national conversation.
• Comedy: winning hearts, not just minds. A mix of big names and
supporting new talent.
• Music, culture and events: supporting Welsh culture and entertainment
in its broadest sense. A platform to reflect and celebrate Wales.
• In-depth: features which provide deep-dive moments for our listeners.
6Commissioning Brief 2019-20
4. Genres for commission
4.1 Highlights from 2018-19
Over the last twelve months we’ve had an exciting range of new commissions, seasons and
events on BBC Radio Wales. Our Sunday Morning With… strand has brought a series of
high-profile presenters to the station, including Carol Vorderman, Keeping Faith star Eve
Myles and brother-and-sister team Colin Jackson and Suzanne Packer.
In Comedy we commissioned new sitcoms such as Splott starring Ruth Jones and
Relocation with Steve Speirs. We’ve strengthened our links with the Machynlleth Comedy
Festival with the launch of the Radio Wales Mach Arena as the main venue. This year’s
Festival featured Radio Wales shows from Rhod Gilbert, our topical comedy The Leak and a
stand-up showcase hosted by Kiri Pritchard McLean. At the beginning of October, as part
of BBC Wales’ Comedy Season we’ll be broadcasting comedies across a week, including a
brand new sitcom, Home, and two specially recorded stand-up shows.
We devoted a week of our output in July to the 70th anniversary of the NHS, an
institution which affects us all and which had its origins in Wales. This included a
documentary about Nye Bevan; the series A Healthy Future which looked at advances in
medical research in Wales; and the hospital-based sitcom Bob Jones. On the day of the
anniversary all our daily strands came live from hospitals and health centres across Wales
and the day concluded with an hour-long documentary, The NHS and Me, a series of
personal stories from patients and medical staff reflecting the impact of the NHS on
everybody’s lives.
In Arts we launched a brand new monthly arts review programme presented by Gary
Raymond from Wales Arts Review. We commissioned documentary features about the
illustrator Ralph Steadman, an exploration of the song Delilah and the role of the art and
performance in the lives of people with autism. We also launched Tonight at Hay, a series of
nightly discussions from the Hay Festival hosted by Dylan Jones, Editor of GQ Magazine.
Commissions for our Science, Technology and Ideas strand included The Idea, a platform
for original thinking, Click for Cymraeg which explored the impact of Google Translate on
the Welsh language and Going Social, a revealing insight into the world of social media
analytics.
Another highlight still to come this year is BBC Radio Wales’ 40th Birthday. Throughout
the birthday week our presenters will be on the road with the Radio Wales birthday bus
and presenting their shows from communities around Wales. In I Was There we’ll be
bringing together some of the personalities - on-air and off-air - who launched BBC Radio
Wales in November 1978. And there’ll be a unique take on the station’s story with Gareth
Gwynn’s Twisted History of Radio Wales.
4.2 Themes for 2019-20
Next year will be a particularly busy and exciting year for BBC Wales behind the scenes
as we move to our new home in Central Square. On-air there’ll be plenty to focus on too,
with some key events and anniversaries which we’ll reflect both in our daily programmes
and in our commissions. We welcome ideas which could play into our coverage of these
events.
7Commissioning Brief 2019-20
The station will be carrying full coverage and commentary of the Rugby World Cup in
Japan and we’d be interested in ideas for programmes which we can build around that
coverage – particularly as it’s also the 20th anniversary of Wales hosting the event.
2019 also sees the 20th anniversary of the first Assembly Elections; 40 years since Wales
initially rejected Devolution; and the 50th anniversary of the Prince of Wales’ Investiture
in Caernarfon. And, from Michael Sheen to Tanni Grey-Thompson, several well-known
Welsh figures will be marking their 50th birthdays next year.
These anniversaries are of course just a starting point. There will be other, off-diary areas
which you think deserve a big treatment. These may be built around a theme, or around
an area of social interest or concern. In the past we’ve looked at education, dementia
and healthy eating with a series of different forms of programming across the schedule.
The bottom line is that we’re looking for big, bold ideas - ideas which surprise, intrigue
and excite us!
4.3 Comedy
BBC Radio Wales has a commitment to nurturing Welsh comedy talent and in the last
few years we’ve built strong comedy strands like our topical news quiz The Leak; Foiled,
our sitcom set in a Tonypandy hair salon; and The Unexplainers with the myth-busting
Mike Bubbins and John Rutledge. In the last twelve months we’ve launched new sitcoms,
including Splott starring Ruth Jones, Relocation with Steve Speirs and Bravo Two Charlies
set in the world of North Wales traffic cops. We’ve also commissioned stand-up shows
such as 3 Dads in which Leroy Britto explores his experience of fatherhood and Long
Division which considers Wales’ north-south divide.
We have a real ambition to build on BBC Radio Wales’ strong reputation for comedy and
we’re looking to commission comedy in a range of formats. We’re particularly keen to
explore ways of showcasing new Welsh comedy talent. The tone of the station’s comedy
is contemporary, irreverent, robust and distinctively Welsh.
4.4 Science, Technology and Ideas
The Tuesday 1830 slot focuses on Ideas. It’s a platform for voices from the worlds of
science, digital technology and entrepreneurship, medicine, the creative industries and
other fields - people whose ideas are shaping the future.
For 2018/19 our commissions included The Idea, a platform for thinkers; Click for
Cymraeg which examined the impact of Google Translate on the Welsh language and A
Healthy Future, a four-part series exploring advances in biomedical research in Wales.
Our regular science series Science Café runs in this slot for 26 weeks a year but we invite
proposals for returning series, short series and one-offs which explore ideas in the
broadest sense and introduce new and diverse voices to explore this theme.
8Commissioning Brief 2019-20
4.5 Arts
The Radio Wales Arts Show with Nicola Heywood Thomas runs in this slot for 26 weeks a
year. In April this year we launched the monthly Review Show presented by Gary
Raymond, a series which casts a critical eye over the arts in Wales and gives listeners a
sense of the must-sees and the also-rans.
Commissions for 2018/19 also included documentary features on arts and the autistic
mind, 50 years of the folk group The Hennessys and a tribute to playwright Frank
Vickery. We are looking for stand-alone feature ideas for this slot for 2019/20,
programmes which give an insight into the creative processes behind visual arts, music,
writing and performance -programmes which make the arts accessible and relevant to
our listeners.
4.6 Features
The Thursday 6.30pm slot is the home of great documentary storytelling and insights
into contemporary Welsh life. Commissions for 2018/19 have included Trust Me, I’m Your
Barber in which Matthew Pritchard highlighted a fascinating initiative to improve men’s
mental health; Grandparents are Great which examined the role of grandparents in 21st
century Wales; The Lost World of the Welsh Suffragettes; and Colin Jackson: 25 Years a
World Champion. We also re-commissioned long-running series including Jacko’s Sporting
Almanac, The Secret Life of Welsh Food and Jamie Owen’s Wales.
This slot covers a wide range of subjects: ordinary lives and extraordinary lives in Wales;
popular culture, from music to sport; journeys through our landscape; and in-depth
profiles of key figures in the life of our nation.
We’re looking for programmes which engage our listeners, surprise them, move them and
make them think. Above all, these programmes are about good storytelling.
4.7 Hour-long programmes
We have a very small number of hour-long slots and usually place these on Bank
Holidays and in the Christmas and Easter periods.
This year we’ve broadcast Commonwealth Dragons, the story of Welsh competitors who
have triumphed at the Commonwealth Games; 1968: The Year of Dreams, a look back half
a century to a turbulent and dramatic year; The NHS and Me, a series of personal stories
from patients and medical staff reflecting the impact of the NHS on our lives; and a
special programme for the end of the year, John Owen Jones: Home for Christmas.
4.8 Sunday Morning With……….
Our new strand, Sunday Morning With… has quickly established itself in the weekend
schedule with a series of high-profile presenters including Carol Vorderman, Keeping
Faith star Eve Myles, Connie Fisher, Lucy Owen and brother-and-sister team Colin
Jackson and Suzanne Packer.
This programme aims to provide a platform for big name presenters to attract the
attention of our audience. The format will remain fairly similar regardless of the
presenter – music and conversation for a Sunday morning. It’s all about the calibre of the
talent. If you’ve got a strong working relationship with the right person, and can deliver
in this key slot, we’re keen to hear from you.
9Commissioning Brief 2019-20
4.9 Rolling commissioning
We are not at this point intending to commission any programmes beyond March 2020.
However, we know that sometimes golden opportunities arise outside of the
commissioning window and we do hold a small pot of money open to allow us to consider
these. The contact for these ideas is: radiowalescommissioning@bbc.co.uk
10Commissioning Brief 2019-20
5. Working with BBC Radio Wales
5.1 Delivering additional content for daytime
The content we commission needs to make a real splash and capture the imagination of
our audiences. We therefore look to maximise the impact of our features in as many ways
as we can. Examples range from day-long specials around a theme, cut-down features in
our weekday strands or supporting interviews in the daytime strands. This joined-up
thinking helps promote your programme more effectively and generally enhances the
quality of our daily strands. Please outline how your material might be used in order to
achieve this when submitting your offer, and be proactive in offering this material when
you deliver your programme.
5.2 It’s all about the pictures
Good visual imagery to accompany programmes is now an essential part of delivery.
This means that images and, where appropriate, video must be supplied to represent
your programme on BBC iPlayer – whether those images are from the production/
content itself, or appropriately cleared existing /archive images. The specifications for
image content are outlined on the BBC website. Guidance and best practice in this area
can be provided by our Radio Wales digital team. Please seek their advice, if needed,
before production.
Additional information or content (where appropriate) for the website is also appreciated.
This may include video; written material; suggested clips. These images and clips are also
useful for press releases and on air trails. The contact for all iPlayer and website issues is
dylan.dawes@bbc.co.uk
5.3 No paperwork, no programme
While the delivery process works on the whole, we have had the occasional programme
delivered without the appropriate paperwork, in the wrong format, not properly
numbered, and so on. If programmes and their accompanying paperwork are not
delivered to the required specifications we are likely to refuse them. Everything you need
to know about our delivery and technical guidelines is available on our website – link
below – with examples of best practice. In summary, this is what that we’re expecting
from you. These can all be completed on Proteus:
illing – 4 weeks in advance of tx – This is absolutely essential because all billings
• B
are now automatically made public 3 weeks before tx
• Compliance Form – when the tx copy is delivered
• Continuity Announcement Form – when the tx copy is delivered
• P as B (Programme as Broadcast) form – when the tx copy is delivered
• Music Reporting form – when the tx copy is delivered
5.4 Delivery Guidelines:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/cymruwales/commissioning/eldelivery/radio
Everything you need to know is here.
11Commissioning Brief 2019-20
5.5 Technical Guidelines:
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/wales/radiotech_2013.pdf
This document can be found on the right hand side of our delivery page under Guidance
and Specifications. Please be sure you read it before delivering your finished programme.
6. Tariffs
Our ambition is to commission the best ideas. We also have to consider cost and value for
licence fee payers. Therefore we negotiate price on a case-by-case basis and budgets for
shortlisted ideas will be subject to close scrutiny. Here are the guideline prices:
Half hour feature: £1500 - £4000
Hour long feature: £3000 - £4500
Scripted comedy: £6000 - £7000
Unscripted comedy: £3000 - £5000
12Commissioning Brief 2019-20
7. BBC Radio Wales – our audience
8.3
HOURS
367,000 adults listen The average amount 49% 51%
to BBC Radio Wales of time spent listening
each week. each week is 8.3 hours
Age profile – BBC Radio Wales audience (%)
50%
40%
40%
30% 23%
20% 12%
10.40%
7.10% 7.30%
10%
0%
15 – 24 25 – 34 35 – 44 45 – 54 55 – 64 65+
How people listen
100%
80% 68%
60%
40%
23%
20%
5.30%
0%
Analogue radio Digital radio Digital TV
Where people listen
100%
77%
80%
60%
40%
18%
20%
0%
At Home In Car
Source RAJAR / Ipsos MORI Quarter 2 2018 13You can also read
