Commissioning Brief RADIO COMMISSIONING - Commissioning Brief No.: 107004
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RADIO COMMISSIONING Commissioning Brief Commissioning Brief No.: 107004 Sports Crime Podcast 2021/22
BBC Radio Commissioning Brief
CONTENTS
SECTION A: EDITORIAL OPPORTUNITY ........................................................................................ 3
Important Points to Note: .............................................................................................................. 3
1. Your Proposal ........................................................................................................................... 6
2. Editorial Strategy ..................................................................................................................... 7
3. Editorial Objectives ................................................................................................................. 8
4. Diversity & Inclusion ................................................................................................................ 8
5. Key Deliverables....................................................................................................................... 8
6. Success Measures .................................................................................................................... 9
7. Social Media / Marketing ....................................................................................................... 9
8. Risk Management .................................................................................................................... 9
SECTION B: PROCESS, EVALUATION & ASSESSMENT ........................................................ 9
1. Evaluation Panel .................................................................................................................... 11
2. Assessment Criteria............................................................................................................... 12
SECTION C: THE COMMISSIONING TIMETABLE.................................................................... 14
SECTION D: REFERENCE INFORMATION ................................................................................... 16
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SECTION A: EDITORIAL OPPORTUNITY
Commissioning Brief ID / Title: 2021 Ad Hoc Round
Commissioning Owner Dylan Haskins – Commissioning Executive
Commissioning Contact Dylan.haskins@bbc.co.uk
Commissioning Brief Title Sports Crime Podcast 2021/22
Network BBC Radio 5 Live for BBC Sounds
Guide Price £3k - £8k per episode.
Genre Speech Podcast
Duration Each episode approx. 30-50 mins
No. of Episodes TBC: approx. 8-12 eps
Transmission Period Summer/Autumn 2022
Slot Day n/a
Slot Time n/a
Production Location n/a
All proposals must be submitted via Proteus. Please make your short proposal
using no more than 350 words.
Important Points to Note:
• Short Proposals and your responses to the Production Questionnaire must
be submitted via Proteus before the deadline at midday, 15th December
2021.
• MAXIMUM OF 2 IDEAS PER SUPPLIER.
• During Stage 1 of the process we assess your Short Proposal.
• Shortlisted suppliers will be asked to submit a Full Proposal. This should not
exceed five sides of A4 when printed using Arial font, size 11.
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• These suppliers might be invited to a Zoom pitch with the Commissioning
Team, where they can use a power-point, but we request that they don’t play
any video content.
• Producers are not permitted to contact any on-air talent, without prior
approval of the commissioner. Any producer found to be in breach of this
will be excluded from the commissioning process.
• The BBC reserves the right at any time prior to the award of a commission,
and without incurring any liability to the affected suppliers, to accept or to
reject any proposal, or to annul the commissioning process rejecting all Full
Proposals. More information relating to all commissioning briefs and rounds,
regardless of Networks can be found on the Pitching Ideas page of the Radio
Commissioning Website:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4fC4NcVXqkZntJv8ZHpClD8/
pitching-ideas
We strongly advise you to submit your Proposals in good time to avoid the
possibility of difficulties caused by unforeseen network or transmission problems.
No late submissions will be accepted
About 5 Live
5 Live is the voice of the UK, bringing the most entertaining conversation,
gripping sporting events, compelling news stories and diverse opinions to over 5
million people every week.
The station aims to set the national agenda on big news and sport stories through
the ownership of key issues and we put the audience at the heart of everything we
do. Broadcasting from our base in Salford, we take our commitment to reflect
how the whole of the UK really thinks and feels very seriously. We tell more
stories from more places than any other broadcaster, capturing the widest range
of voices and views. We also travel the world to give our listeners insight into life
beyond our borders.
5 Live’s world-class sports coverage and commentary brings nation-uniting
moments to life across many different sports. We cover a minimum of 20
different sports a year, from broadcasting over 100 commentaries from the
Premier League each season, to the Olympics, Wimbledon, 6 Nations and Test
Match Special.
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5 Live’s commissions podcasts as part of the BBC Sounds commissioning
structure. While we do work closely with BBC Sport and BBC News, we also work
with lots of indies and commission a wide range of podcasts that usually fall
under one of these three categories:
Real-life storytelling – innovative formats that go deeper into journalistic stories
and people’s experiences, such as I’m Not A Monster (a co-production between
Panorama and PBS Frontline), Have You Heard George’s Podcast?, Ecstasy: The
Battle of Rave, Fight of the Century, Sport’s Strangest Crimes and Manhunt.
Sports and sports entertainment – talent lead huge hits such as That Peter
Crouch Podcast, Match of the Day: Top 10, No Passion No Point with Eddie Hearn
& Tailenders, or sport obsessed titles like Football Daily and 5 Live Boxing.
Topical entertainment – upbeat and positive narratives such as Stacey Dooley’s
Fresh Starts, Teach Me A Lesson with Greg James and Bella Mackie. Tony Bellew
is Angry and How Do You Cope with Elis & John.
About BBC Sounds
BBC Sounds is the streaming media and audio download service from the BBC
that includes live radio broadcasts, audio on demand, and podcasts. The service is
available on a wide range of devices, including mobile phones and tablets,
personal computers, cars, and smart televisions.
BBC Sounds has an international roll-out plan working with global partners, and
is currently the biggest platform provider of podcasts in the UK. According to a
recent Reuters report 28% of podcast users now get their podcasts from BBC
Sounds, 26% from Apple and 24% from Spotify.
With over 80,000 hours of audio already available on BBC Sounds, we are
constantly striving to bring the biggest talent to the platform and work with
production companies around the world to create award winning content.
BBC Sounds’ target audience is under 35 years of age.
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The Opportunity
BBC Sounds is developing a series of new podcasts that will come under the
‘Sports Strangest Crimes’ podcast feed. We have already commissioned several
titles under this umbrella brand but are looking for one more title to add to this
slate. These titles combine a great sporting story with true crime. Previous titles
released under this brand include ‘Allen Stanford: The Man Who Bought Cricket’
and ‘The Real Story of Shergar the Super Horse’. Upcoming series relate to
American College Football and British football.
We are looking for a gripping and strange story about a crime within a sport that
either has never been told before, or re-visits a well-known story with new details
or a fresh approach.
Your story could be based within any sport, but must have a compelling narrative
with a true-crime story at the heart of it. It should be a fascinating story with
many twists and turns, but be as entertaining as it is enthralling. It could involve
humour, dramatic elements or new formats, but should be full of intrigue and
excitement.
The idea should have universal appeal and be relevant to an international
audience, as well as listeners in the UK. Your story does not necessarily need to
be set in the UK. The story could be told by a big name, ideally someone
recognised by the target audience in the UK and internationally, or someone with
a strong relevance to the story that brings an insider perspective. The target
audience for this podcast is in line with the BBC Sounds’ target.
Each episode should be between 25-50 minutes and then number of episodes
should ideally be in the region of 8-12, but this open to discussion. Radio edits
will also be required as the podcast will also be played out on BBC Radio 5 Live.
1. Your Proposal
You should be able to demonstrate extensive knowledge of producing podcasts
and be a great storyteller. Your story should fit the brief of “Sports Strangest
Crimes” and should ideally stretch to 8-12 episodes.
Your proposal should address the following topics:
• Your knowledge in producing story-telling podcasts: Have you made
similar podcasts in the past? How have you made them successful?
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• Episodic narrative of your proposed story: What is the story about? How
will you tell that story over the episodes? What twists and turns will the podcast
reveal?
• Key characters in the story: Who are they? What access do you have? Are
there any characters the telling of this story relies up?
• How will your story attract the target demographic? Who would you want
to present/narrate it? How will it stand out in the congested ‘true-crime’ market?
• Your creative plan for the podcast: What will it sound like? What new ideas
or formats might you use to create maximum impact?
• Supporting material: Can you supply photos or video to work as supporting
material for your podcast? What written articles could you create? How could we
use social media to promote the episodes or are there any partnerships that we
could create?
• Creative team: Who are your team and what relevant experience do they
have?
• Production Capacity: How will you make it? Do you have the necessary
equipment and resources to deliver your proposal? Can you provide a sustainable
business continuity plan?
• BBC standards and values – You’ll need to demonstrate an understanding
of our expectations at the BBC - including a thorough understanding of the BBC's
editorial guidelines, health and safety procedures and the BBC’s diversity and
inclusivity strategy.
2. Editorial Strategy
Your proposal should fit under the “Sports Strangest Crimes” umbrella brand and
attract new audience to BBC Sounds. It should create word-of-mouth excitement
and keep listeners hooked for the whole series, not just a couple of episodes.
It should be attractive to UK and international audiences and help grow BBC
Sounds as a destination for quality podcasts. The podcast will need to have some
element of exclusivity on BBC Sounds for at least an agreed period of time.
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We encourage partners to support the BBC’s ambitions to lead more sustainable
lifestyles and not promote carbon-intensive or unsustainable behaviours. For
example, we encourage production techniques that avoid creating environmental
harm.
3. Editorial Objectives
Our editorial objectives to resonate with under-represented audiences have five
key elements:
1. Presenters with warmth, character, humour and expertise.
2. Contemporary speech that is relevant, inclusive and entertaining.
3. Honest debate and strongly held opinion.
4. Distinctive and diverse sports coverage
5. Journalistic integrity that makes a difference to our audience.
4. Diversity & Inclusion
5 Live and BBC Sounds wants to reflect the diversity of the UK and the network is
looking for new approaches to evolve listener engagement – which will broaden
the appeal of the podcast to new audiences. We are interested to hear your
inclusive content ideas and how they might be expressed across the podcast. You
may wish to consider how this show might contribute to the expanded 50/50
Diversity initiative.
5. Key Deliverables
- Full production of the podcast
- Radio edits of the podcast
- Production paperwork
- Social media assets and supporting material as agreed with 5 Live’s Digital
Editor but to include: Photo and video footage, Written article.
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6. Success Measures
Success will be measured by download figures in BBC Sounds, including reach,
retention and activation in the target under 35 demographic and for ‘light-
listeners’.
7. Social Media / Marketing
The social media deliverables will be determined by your individual idea and will
be discussed with the winning applicant.
8. Risk Management
You should identify any specific risks e.g. production risk, business continuity etc.;
and the processes or systems that will be put in place to manage these.whose
SECTION B: PROCESS, EVALUATION & ASSESSMENT
The Five Stages
STAGE 1: SHORT PROPOSAL AND INITIAL SHORTLISTING
Step 1: SHORT PROPOSAL
Your Short Proposal should be no more than 350 words 1 and summarise
your specific idea for this podcast. It should demonstrate your ability to
produce the podcast, set out your editorial ambitions and address the
requirements set out in Section A of this brief.
Step 2: SHORT PROPOSAL SHORTLISTING
You will be notified of the outcome of Stage 1. Shortlisted suppliers will be
asked to make a Full Proposal. No feedback will be provided for unsuccessful
proposals at this stage.
1
Please note, only the first 350 words of your Short Proposal will be read.
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STAGE 2: FULL PROPOSAL
Step 1 Producers proceeding to this stage will be invited to provide a Full
Proposal, via Proteus, responding to this commissioning brief, which
includes all the elements outlined in Section C paragraph 1 (“Full
Proposal”). For guidance, your Full Proposal should not exceed five sides
of A4 when printed using Arial font, size 11.
Step 2 Producers will be offered the opportunity to discuss the programme brief
with the commissioning editor prior to submitting their full proposal.
STAGE 3: INTERVIEW / PITCH (IF NEEDED)
Step 1 You may be invited to an interview/pitch meeting on Zoom with the
evaluation team. We will notify you which members of the evaluation team
will be attending this meeting and you should expect to be asked to discuss
and elaborate on your proposal, and answer questions about it. It is also
possible we may ask you to share additional relevant material to this
meeting.
Step 2 Following the interview/pitch, the evaluation team will re-evaluate your Full
Proposal against the assessment criteria, taking into account the responses
given during the pitch, and any additional material requested. The
evaluation team may then decide to award the contract to the producer(s)
which best meets the assessment criteria;
Note: At any stage of the process, we may need to come back to you to seek
clarification. Your answers will be factored into the evaluation process as
appropriate.
Step 3 Or we may decide to hold second interviews, for example, in the event where
we need more information to be able to differentiate between proposals.
STAGE 4: CONTRACT SIGNED
STAGE 5: FEEDBACK
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If you’re unsuccessful after attending an interview / pitch meeting, you may request
feedback. Once notified you have two weeks to request feedback. Requests for
feedback should be made to Richard Maddock. Feedback will be provided within
two weeks of receiving the request.
1. Evaluation Panel
The following people may be involved in the evaluation of your proposal:
• Commissioning Editor: Richard Maddock
• Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins
• Controller: Heidi Dawson
• Managing Editor: Julie Cullen
• Senior Producer (Commissioning): Alex Entwistle
• Business Manager: Sarah McHugh
Subject matter experts (e.g. production experts, network management, finance,
etc.) may also be consulted.
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2. Assessment Criteria
We will assess your Full Proposal and pitch according to the main criteria below
(editorial proposal and capability, strategic priorities, value for money and risk).
More details on how we will make our assessment will be given to all those
shortlisted at the same time they are asked to submit a Full Proposal.
Assessment Criteria Weighting
15%
Planning, Management & Production Capacity
➢ Ability to deliver the podcast
➢ Recruitment and management of key production talent
➢ Technical ability and knowledge to meet the key
deliverables
55%
Editorial proposal
To include indicative elements such as:
➢ Format and structure of the Podcast
➢ Innovation and freshness
➢ Audience appeal/Ability to appeal to target audience
➢ Track record and experience of key production talent
➢ Ability to work with and attract big name talent.
➢ Creativity
➢ Strategies to evolve listener engagement including
diversity in its broadest sense
➢ Digital innovation across multiple platforms and social
media (achievable within your proposed price)
Strategies to evolve listener engagement 20%
➢ Appeal to new diverse under-served audiences
(podcast content & digital content)
➢ Diversity of ideas and people (on-air (interviewees,
presenter/narrator etc.) and off-air (production team
etc.))
➢ Strategy to engage with black and minority ethic
audiences, disability audiences, LGBTQ+ and audiences
of all socio-economic groups across the UK.
➢ Ideas for contributions to 50:20:12 strategy
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Assessment Criteria Weighting
Value for Money 5%
➢ Financial plan and budget breakdown
➢ Efficiency of production process
➢ Acceptance of key contract terms (which includes
compliance with all applicable UK law)
Risk 5%
➢ Production Risk
➢ Business Continuity (incl. Delivery)
➢ BBC Reputation
➢ Conflict of interest
➢ Ability to comply with all relevant UK legislation and
BBC Policies (not limited to Editorial)
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SECTION C: THE COMMISSIONING TIMETABLE
The commissioning process for this brief consists of a number of stages, as set out
in the timetable below:
Stage Timings Activities
(all midday)
Launch Wed Dec 1st Publication of commissioning brief
documentation and round opens in Proteus.
Short Proposal Wed Dec 15th Deadline for Short Proposal to be submitted
and via Proteus.
shortlisting
Fri Dec 17th Suppliers shortlisted, notified of outcomes
and asked to prepare a Full Proposal.
Jan 5th – Jan
Full Proposal Opportunity to discuss commissioning brief
14th
and with Commissioners prior to submitting Full
shortlisting Proposal.
Wed Jan 19th Deadline for Full Proposal to be submitted
via Proteus. Evaluation panel shortlists Full
Proposals.
Mon Jan 24th Successful suppliers may be invited for
interview / pitch.
Interview / w/c Jan 31st Interview / face-to-face pitches with
Pitch shortlisted suppliers.
(if needed)
Conditional w/c Jan 31st Commission award decision made,
Commission commissioning specification completed and
and Contract contract issued.
tbc Agreement of all programme related
deliverables and technical specifications (for
further information on requirements, please
see the BBC’s commissioning website).
Full contract signed.
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w/c Jan 31st Feedback on rejected Full Proposals,
Feedback
provided in Proteus. Suppliers have two
weeks to request further feedback.
We will assess your proposal according to this timetable. Late submissions cannot
be accepted.
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SECTION D: REFERENCE INFORMATION
Proposals must be submitted in accordance with any instructions and information
contained within this commissioning brief and on the Commissioning website (via
links below). Proposals not complying may be rejected by the Commissioner whose
decision in this matter will be final.
The BBC reserves the right at any time prior to the award of a commission, and
without incurring any liability to the affected suppliers, to accept or to reject any
proposal, or to annul the commissioning process rejecting all Full Proposals.
By submitting your proposal, you confirm acceptance of the key contract terms.
Please refer to the information below to support your proposal submission:
1. What We Need From You:
Your Full Proposal must be entered into the main ‘Synopsis’ section in Proteus by
noon on 19.01.22 - late submissions cannot be accepted. It should adopt the
structure below and, should not in total exceed five sides of A4 when printed using
Arial font, size 11.
Part 1 – Your detailed Full Proposal, showing your response to the BBC’s
requirements outlined in Section A of this commissioning brief.
Part 2 – A section containing the following information:
(i) The name and contact details of your nominated representative (a single point
of contact within your organisation who will be responsible for all
communication related to the commissioning brief).
(ii) The planned location for the production team who will produce the content
should you be successful.
(iii) Evidence that you have the skills to deliver, or the ability to acquire the skills to
deliver, the production of the programme in line with this commissioning brief.
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(iv) Details of third party suppliers. You may want to work in partnership with third
parties to deliver the brief. If so, you should include:
o responses on behalf of each partner
o details of the responsibilities of each partner
o an outline of the main personnel who will be responsible for the
production and delivery of the programme
o an explanation of how working in partnership would be successfully
achieved, including a proposed legal structure (e.g. one lead
contractor and sub-contractors).
(v) Details of your proposed total programme and per episode cost, broken down
by price to BBC Public Service and any other funding sources. As part of our
strategic priorities the BBC is making a commitment to the real living wage (as
described by the Living Wage Foundation – see livingwage.org.uk). The per
episode cost of the programme should be budgeted to account for the real
living wage and the Full Proposal should include details of how compliance
with the real living wage will be achieved.
(vi) Depending on the detail of your proposal, if you are successful in your bid to
produce the programme, TUPE – Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of
Employment) Regulations 2006 – (and/or any superseding or amending
legislation) may apply. If this is the case, we will need additional information
from you (See Section D, paragraph 10, “Transition”).
Please note, the contract will be offered as a “fixed price” deal, with you being
responsible for any overspend and entitled to keep any underspend. Whilst you are
welcome to include proposals to deliver levels of content over and above that set
out as required in Section A, this will need to be funded from within the published
guide price.
If you have any questions regarding the submission of your Full Proposal, please
ensure you email them to Dylan Haskins by 14.01.22 at the latest.
What To Expect From Us:
NOMINATED REPRESENTATIVE
The BBC’s nominated representative for this commissioning brief is Dylan Haskins.
No individual other than the BBC’s nominated representative (or his delegates as
advised by the BBC) is authorised to discuss the contents or the substance of this
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commissioning brief with you. We’ll let you know of any change or addition to the
BBC’s nominated representatives.
RESPONSES TO YOUR QUESTIONS
In the interest of fair competition, where we feel it’s appropriate, anonymised
questions and responses will be circulated to all producers.
COPYRIGHT
The BBC is a signatory to, and will abide by the principles of the APC Code.
CONFIDENTIALITY
Subject to Section 2, paragraph 5 (Freedom of Information Act), the BBC will keep
confidential all commercially sensitive information included in responses to this
commissioning brief and will only use this information for the purposes of
evaluating the Full Proposal, provided that you have identified the confidential
nature of any such information in your response documents.
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT
As a public authority, the BBC is required to comply with the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (“FOIA”), which came into force on 1 January 2005. The FOIA
is intended to deliver greater accountability for decisions and spending across the
whole of the public sector. It requires public authorities to strike a balance between
achieving transparency and protecting genuinely confidential or commercially
sensitive information.
You should be aware that, under an FOIA request, the BBC may be required to
disclose information contained within the Full Proposal or future contractual
information. Following a request, the BBC may take the views of organisations
submitting proposals into account when deciding what information will be
disclosed.
For more information on the Freedom of Information Act see bbc.co.uk/foi.
COSTS
You submit responses to this commissioning brief and take part in this process at
your own cost.
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A FIXED PRICE DEAL
The contract will be offered as a “fixed price” deal; with you being responsible for
any overspend and entitled to keep any underspend.
More information relating to all commissioning briefs and rounds, regardless of
Networks can be found on the ‘Pitching Ideas’ page of the Radio
Commissioning Website:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4fC4NcVXqkZntJv8ZHpClD8/pitchi
ng-ideas
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APPENDIX 1: Strategic Priorities
Diversity & Inclusion
Diversity & Inclusion is a priority for ALL of us. We want the BBC to be demonstrably the
best organisation in the audio sector to work for and with. We are fully committed to
making this a place where people feel welcomed, appreciated, respected, and that they
can be themselves and produce their best work.
We commit to diverse teams, representative programmes and inclusive culture and will
ensure that in-house leadership and workforce D&I representation meets the BBC’s
targets. We will work also with the Indie sector to increase the diversity within our indie
suppliers.
To support this, we are committing £12 million of the R&M annual competed programme
commissioning budget over the next three years from 21/22 to commissions that create
content across the following priorities:
i. diverse stories and portrayals, covering the nine protected characteristics plus social
mobility
ii. diverse production leadership - where “diverse” includes ethnicity, socio-economic
background and disability.
iii. diverse company leadership - where “diverse” includes ethnicity, socio-economic
background and disability.
Our D&I commitments will help create an inclusive culture for all, increasing gender,
ethnicity, LGBTQ, socio-economic and disability diversity, and helping to deliver on the
BBC's new 50:20:12 diversity targets for Gender, Ethnicity, Disability, LGBTQ+ and Socio-
economic diversity.
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