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8 November 2013
STEVEN D WRIGHT
MTV EMA
BEHIND THE SCENES
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We are artists by any other name
Creating the greatest show on earth
How to build a fantasy world from scratch
BBC puts talent to test over tax Top stars to lose benefits of using personal service companies following employment review BY JAKE KANTER
The BBC appears to be cracking down on avoidance where none exists Darren Fell, Freelance Advisor
Great Britain’s Great War: new rules mean Paxman could join BBC payroll
When a star’s contract is up for renewal, the BBC will assess how much editorial control it has over their activities. If the answer is a “significant” amount, then it is likely that the individual will be asked to join the corporation’s wage bill. But if the individual creates and delivers programmes, or has a more casual relationship with the BBC based on short-term appearances, then it is more likely they will be classified as self-employed. The BBC estimates that around 40 news presenters could be classified as employed under the new rules, which means names including Jeremy Paxman and Fiona Bruce may have to stop doing business with the corporation through their PSC and join the payroll. There is some concern that this will result in a pay cut for those
PSC S THE BACKGROUND The BBC launched a review of its contracts with freelancers and talent last year amid fears it was aiding tax avoidance schemes. It found: ■ 3,272 on-air freelancers were paid through PSCs ■ 124 stars, earning £150,000 or more, use PSCs ■ 5,319 off-air contractors engaged through PSCs individuals, but BBC commercial director Bal Samra insisted that any reduction in salary would mainly be because income tax and national insurance will be deducted by the BBC. “This is not an active strategy to get talent pay down,” Samra said,
adding that there will be no “special cases”. If it is determined talent should be employed then they must join the payroll or leave. Stars will not be offered “full fat” employment contracts, Samra explained, meaning they will be given the flexibility to work for other broadcasters if they wish. “I sincerely hope we won’t lose any talent and they appreciate the clarity we’re bringing,” he added. Freelance Advisor founder and freelance advocate Darren Fell said: “The BBC appears to be arbitrarily cracking down on perceived avoidance where none exists. They themselves admit there is nothing wrong with the employment arrangements of these freelancers, but overzealous politicians appear to have backed them into a corner.” The introduction of the employment test follows a BBC-commissioned Deloitte review last year, which found “weaknesses” in the corporation’s policies for engaging freelancers and “growing public concern” over PSCs. The BBC’s test could be used as the basis for HMRC’s new TV employment test, which could be introduced in summer next year. £4.99
The BBC is prepared to lose some of its key talent as it begins putting them through employment tests as part of a campaign to tighten up its tax arrangements. The corporation is attempting to clamp down on the use of personal service companies (PSCs) and is seeking to introduce more consistency to its contracting arrangements in a move that could force some its highest-profile stars to join the payroll, or leave the BBC. The employment test will be applied by the BBC to talent contracts that are up for renewal from next week (with the exception of non-news radio, where HM Revenue & Customs guidelines already exist), but the broadcaster has started briefing agents about potential changes to their clients’ deals. The BBC has already begun testing off-air talent, where it is thought that 20% – or around 3,000 – of more than 16,000 production freelancers and other contractors may be asked to become BBC employees. The corporation anticipates that around 80% will continue to be booked via PSCs. But it is on-air talent where the BBC faces its stickiest issues, with recent reports claiming that stars are in “revolt” over the changes. Many use PSCs as a legitimate means of securing work from the BBC, but Public Accounts Committee chair Margaret Hodge criticised them for raising “suspicions of complicity in tax avoidance” because income tax and national insurance contributions are not deducted at source.
Editor’s Choice
Broadcast, 101 Finsbury Pavement, London EC2A 1RS or email lisa.campbell@broadcastnow.co.uk
Online this week www.broadcastnow.co.uk
Lisa Campbell, Editor
Top News
Preserving the writers’ voice A good idea on paper, but will apprentice scheme work in practice?
T
he dearth of new writers in the TV industry is a sad truth recognised by many in the drama community. What is not universally acknowledged is an easy solution to the problem. Speaking at the Broadcast Production and Post Forum last week, Caryn Mandabach suggested a way forward: writers’ apprenticeships. Sitting alongside senior writers, she said, helps junior ones to learn the tools of the trade.
‘The unique writers’ voice is what singles out British drama. It’s paramount we find ways to preserve it’ With credits such as Roseanne and Nurse Jackie to her name, she has seen the benefits of the US system where the writers’ room gives new talent access to the ‘person holding the pencil’. Accepting that budget restraints and shorter runs in the UK make that impossible, Mandabach suggested the BBC and indies join forces to fund an apprentice writer on every big-budget production. The series’ writer would decide how much or how little they shared – whether drafts, rewrites or more. It’s an interesting idea that warrants further discussion, not least because the BBC disbanded the Drama Writers Academy after John Yorke left. In its place is a ‘shadow scheme’, offering a handful of writers the chance to produce an episode from which they will be assessed for a commission. They also receive “a little training” through writers’ workshops and exercises. 2 | Broadcast | 8 November 2013
ITV has a long tradition of bringing on new writers, and former Corrie writer John Fay (The Mill, below) is one of the few breaking out into the mainstream like predecessors Russell T Davies, Tony Jordan and Sally Wainwright, writer of Last Tango In Halifax (below right). So could an industry-led apprentice scheme work? Of the producers and writers I’ve spoken to, it has received a mixed reaction. Wainwright believes it’s worth pursuing, and it echoes her experience in the ’90s when, as a new writer on Families, she was paid to write a shadow script, with the best chosen to write the real episode. Another writer of high-profile BBC dramas is not convinced. Writing is a solitary occupation, he says – once you get into production, the demands of producers, directors and actors offer little space for an apprentice writer to be involved. A leading drama producer adds that many writers are not of the disposition to manage other writers, and believes the danger of the writers’ room is that it teaches craft but can suppress imagination and surprise in authorship. Another writer suggests a mentoring scheme, tapping into people willing to read and critique the early efforts of new writers. That could then be coupled with a festival of rehearsed readings. And Creative Skillset? Could it oversee a levy on production to allow for an apprentice writer, in addition to camera and art department trainees? The unique writers’ voice is what singles out British drama. It’s paramount that we find ways to preserve it.
è Coronation Street will air in the Republic of Ireland for the first time after UTV signed a deal with ITV Studios Global Entertainment to launch a TV channel in the country.
è The Secret History Of Our Streets, 7/7: One Day In London and Grayson Perry’s All In The Best Possible Taste (below) were among the winners at this week’s 41st Grierson documentary awards.
è Former BBC deputy director general Mark Byford has conceded that his near £1m payoff was “a lot of money”.
Ratings Top five 1 A Halloween special gave Strictly a series high – up 400k viewers on last week’s best. The episode peaked in the five minutes from 7.55pm with 11.1m (47.6%). 2 The second series of The Choir set sail with the staff of P&O Ferries. It won around 300k viewers more than the previous series opener. 3 The first episode in the third series of Fresh Meat (below) reached 1.05m (6.3%), slightly below the 1.1m (6.6%) overnight figure for series two’s opener.
Christine Bleakley’s travel doc Off The Beaten Track travelled to Derbyshire for its first outing with 3.2m (14.5%). 4
5 The penultimate episode of Downton Abbey drew 9.8m (37.9%).
Team Tweets è You don’t realise how ridiculous C4’s Fried Chicken Shop is until you’ve watched it in front of a group of foreign TV execs. #intv2013 @peterzwhite
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News & Analysis
C4 returns to Drugs and Yorks BY HElEn GilBErt
An Educating Yorkshire Christmas special, a return of Drugs Live and a new series in which motorcycle racer Guy Martin takes on daring speed records are among a raft of shows ordered by Channel 4. Chief creative officer Jay Hunt revealed the programming at C4’s Upfronts this week, where she also announced that factual drama hit The Mill, which averaged 3.2 million viewers during its fourpart run this summer, will return for a second series. Drugs Live: Cannabis, a 90-minute one-off will explore the effects of high strength ‘skunk’ cannabis on the brain. Scientific trials designed to test the hypotheses that skunk is far more addictive than other forms of cannabis and can provoke paranoid episodes and contribute to memory loss, will be investigated in the Renegade Productions programme, exec produced by Alan Hayling and due to air next year. “This is [a] hugely exciting and important research project which will show how skunk and resin produce different effects on the human brain, mind and behaviour,”
The Mill was a passion project... we are grateful C4 had the vision and courage to back it Emily Roe, DPS
Educating Yorkshire: C4 hit will return for a one-off Christmas special
psychopharmacologist Professor Val Curran from University College London, one of the experts featured in the programme said. “C4’s Drugs Live: The Ecstasy Trial was watched by around 2 million young people in the UK last year and many more across the internet. My hope is that this new programme will inform those who use, have used or are thinking of
using this drug about the effects of different types of cannabis.” In Guy Martin: Speed, a new North One Television four-part series exec produced by James Woodroffe, Ewan Keil and Neil Duncanson, the engineer and presenter will take on four speedbased challenges including a bid to break the 110mph British record for outright speed on a bicycle, riding a
motorbike across a lake and flying using muscle power alone. Meanwhile, DSP, an Endemol company, has been recommissioned to make a second longer series of historical drama The Mill. The six-part run, which will cover the period from 1838 to 1842, will be produced by Johnathan Young, and overseen at DSP by creative director Emily Roe. Roe said: “We are delighted that C4 has decided to recommission The Mill. It was a passion project for DSP from the start and we are enormously grateful that C4 had the vision and courage to back it.” Educating Yorkshire will also return for a Christmas Special, revisiting Thornhill Community Academy to catch up with some of the most popular characters in a one-off doc produced by Twofour.
Innovative short-form video hub to buoy 4oD Our next steps are to look at interestbased and behavioural targeting
BY AlEx fArBEr
Channel 4 is to beef up 4oD with a range of short-form content as research suggested the service’s demographic targeting is performing well for advertisers. The broadcaster is to launch 4Shorts, a hub for short-form videos hosted on 4oD next year, which will feature specially commissioned innovative programming. 4Shorts will be split into three sections. Originals will comprise new commissions designed for an online audience and also include C4’s first moves into digital-specific advertiser-funded programming. Extras will offer additional content related to C4’s most popular shows such as Made In www.broadcastnow.co.uk
Gill Whitehead, C4
4oD: hitting demographic targets
Chelsea and Educating Yorkshire. Finally, Extracts will showcase some of the channel’s mosttweeted about content soon after it has aired. The 4Shorts content will appear alongside flagship 4oD
content to help visitors discover the extra short-form films. C4’s head of digital and partnership innovation Jonathan Lewis said 4oD was generating more than 10 million visitors and 40 million views each month. “4Shorts breaks down some of the traditional conventions of television, removing entry barriers including high production costs and scheduling limitations to offer
brands an opening to create content for a premium TV platform,” he said. The launch, revealed at C4’s Upfronts event was backed by the results of C4’s first data-targeting initiative. The seven brands to take part in the trial, in which users were served specific ads based on their age and social demographic, generated more than double the clickthrough rate compared with a standard 4oD campaign. Director of audience technology and insight Gil Whitehead said: “Our next steps are to look at interest-based and behavioural targeting, which will enable advertisers to target categories such as food, health and technology.” 8 November 2013 | Broadcast | 3
News & Analysis
London Live signs up C4 and BBCW shows BY HeLen GILBerT
London Live has signed major output deals with Channel 4 and BBC Worldwide for a raft of shows that are based in the capital, as it gears up for launch next spring. The Evening Standard-owned TV channel has secured more than 150 hours of content from 10 drama and comedy series, for an undisclosed sum, designed to appeal to its core 16-34 urban audience. Smack The Pony, Spaced and Peep Show are among the awardwinning comedies that will be broadcast alongside dramas including Misfits and White Teeth, following a 100 hours-plus agreement with Channel 4. A BBC Worldwide deal, comprising 50-plus hours of content, will also result in the Olympic-themed Twenty Twelve comedy series being shown, together with dramas such as Spooks spin-off Code 9 and complex conspiracy thriller The Shadow Line. The shows, which have been picked in part because they are set in the capital, will air at 9pm and will also be available to view ondemand via London Live’s multiplatform catch-up service.
Twenty Twelve: the Olympic-themed comedy series ‘celebrates London’
The channel was unable to share details about how up-to-date the shows would be or if any further major output deals were planned. More details are expected to emerge in the next few weeks, along with news of the channel’s first original commissions. The deals with C4 and BBCW were secured by new head of programming Jonathan Boseley and programming manager Lucy Myers. Boseley said the quality of the content acquired proved the
channel ‘means business’. “These well-known and popular shows will draw audiences into our peak schedule and provide a halo for our own commissions,” he added. BBCW’s senior sales executive Kate Childs added: “The selection of comedy and drama series highlight BBC Worldwide’s commitment to premium broadcasting and Twenty Twelve in particular fits perfectly with London Live’s ethos of celebrating the capital.”
MasterChef exec to join Initial as creative director Mirella Breda, the BBC entertainment executive editor responsible for MasterChef and Dragon’s Den, is to join Big Brother-producer Initial next February as creative director. Breda, who replaces Nick Samwell-Smith following his promotion to managing director of the Endemol-owned indie in September, will aim to boost the company’s entertainment output. Reporting into Samwell-Smith, she will be responsible for creating and producing new formats for the UK and international markets. As well as this she will oversee the ongoing development of existing Initial shows including Channel 4’s The Million Pound Drop and ITV’s Your Face Sounds Familiar. Breda, who has worked in her current role since 2007, also counts Room 101, Mary Queen Of Shops, Comic Relief and Initial’s Total Wipeout among her credits. “Mirella’s instinct for what viewers want is underlined by her track record,” Samwell-Smith said. Breda added: “I couldn’t turn down a chance to work with one of the best creative teams in TV.” Previously Breda was executive producer, BBC features and factual entertainment commissioning, working across shows including Nigella’s Christmas Kitchen and Castaway 2007.
BBC to relaunch e-commissioning system by early 2014 The system will feed into Cohen’s strategy to improve dealings with indies
BY Jake kanTer
The BBC is planning to relaunch its e-commissioning system next year in a bid to improve the way indies submit programming ideas. The corporation has committed to getting the new technology in place in early 2014 following extensive consultation with the indie community, led by Pact. The BBC fired the starting gun on the project in February 2011 after criticisms that its existing system is difficult to use, and requires too much information. Although close to relaunch, the BBC is not yet in a position to 4 | Broadcast | 8 November 2013
Iceland Foods: online submissions
discuss the system, but a BBC Trust update on the Window of Creative Competition (WoCC) last week revealed the direction of travel.
The e-commissioning technology has been designed to make it quicker and easier for indies to submit ideas online, particularly in large volume genres. It will also help monitor how effectively commissioners are turning around programming pitches. The revamped system feeds into director of television Danny
Cohen’s strategy to improve how commissioners deal with the independent sector. He has pulled together a “charter of editorial commitments”, which is aimed at ensuring there is a better flow of communication to producers. In its update, the Trust also found there had been improvements in the way the BBC disseminates commissioning information. This includes more regular updates to the commissioning website and improved online development briefs. The corporation has also committed to increasing the number of commissioners working with indies in the nations from six to nine. www.broadcastnow.co.uk
For more projects in development and the latest commissions, visit
http://greenlight.broadcastnow.co.uk
News & Analysis
Grimsby sets local TV pace Emerging broadcasters aim to put critical financing in place as they prepare for national rollout
Grimsby will lead the rollout of local TV services later this month with the launch of a channel on Freeview – but question marks remain over whether some operators can fulfil their commitments. The Lincolnshire town’s Estuary TV will be the first licence-holder to begin broadcasting in the channel 8 slot on 26 November, more than three years after former culture secretary Jeremy Hunt fired the starting gun on his vision for local broadcasting. Estuary TV is already established in the Grimsby area, currently broadcasting on Virgin Media channel 879, having originally launched in 1997. It also secured the Scarborough licence last week as Ofcom began awarding a second wave of 12-year broadcasting rights. The broadcaster has stolen a march on the other 14 organisations awarded licences by Ofcom in the first tranche of the project last year. Most local stations are not expected to hit the air until spring 2014, with many eyes on London Live, the Evening Standard’s London station, which is due to debut in March. The rollout of the services is being overseen by Comux, the Canis Media-backed multiplex licence-holder which is using £25m of BBC licence fee money to build the transmission infrastructure for local TV to broadcast on digital terrestrial television. “There are still a few problems, but I can say with a good measure of confidence that we’ve pulled it off,” said Comux chief exec Ed Hall. “We have built the most advanced transmission network in the world.” Hall added he was “optimistic” that the costs of getting the first 19 licences on air will be delivered for less than the £17m budget. This includes building the Comux’s playout operation at Birmingham Science Park Aston, which will enable local operators to share content and offer a central point for advertising to be delivered. www.broadcastnow.co.uk
RogeR Damm
BY JakE kaNTEr
Grimsby: Estuary TV will lead the rollout following its launch in the Freeview channel 8 slot on 26 November
Furthermore, Comux is tasked with selling two additional channels that will figure in “the high 50s/early 60s” of the Freeview EPG after spectrum was freed up following the improvements put in place to deliver local TV. Income generated will be split between licence-holders, and Hall said he has had interest from “mainstream broadcasters” in the channels.
Sourcing content Meanwhile, former ITV News At Ten editor Nigel Dacre has helped establish the Local TV Network, which represents the interests of all local TV operators. He chairs the organisation, while also backing Nottingham licence-holder Notts TV, and has appointed sales house Axiom Media as the preferred agency to sell national airtime across the network. Dacre is also in negotiations with the BBC over how it will acquire the £15m of content the government has said it must buy from local TV licence-holders. Chris Carnegy, BBC editor of local TV, is leading the talks for the corporation, replacing Simon Enright, who has joined the NHS.
Despite the progress, challenges remain for local operators. All have two years to get on air from the point they were awarded a licence before losing their right to broadcast, but questions have been raised over whether some have secured sufficient backing to launch. City TV in Birmingham, the second largest licence after London, has been hit by problems, with chairman Derek Inman and managing director Danny Brainin both stepping down this year. Neither brought critical financing to the table, but had good connections with local businesses. Chief executive Debra Davis remains bullish about City TV, pledging that financing will be in place ahead of a launch, timed to coincide with local elections in May 2014. Elsewhere, Made TV – which won licences in Bristol, Cardiff, Leeds and Newcastle – is seeking to raise £5m in financing after sending out an information memorandum to prospective investors. The organisation is pressing ahead with its plans, including the ambition to pilot indie-made formats across its stations.
We have built the most advanced transmission network in the world ed Hall, Comux
Some have also raised concerns about the Manchester licence, which was secured by the Sir Michael Lyons-chaired group YourTV. It bid for six licences, but emerged with only Manchester and Preston, denting the firm’s ambitions for a small network of local stations. Local TV has a strong history in Manchester through Channel M, but the station’s 12-year presence in the city ended last year after it claimed it could not propose a “commercially viable service” under Hunt’s vision. However, YourTV Manchester managing director Nicholas Wheeler said the business was “moving in the right direction” and although financing is not finalised, he is confident it will be secured. The channel is due to launch in October next year. 8 November 2013 | Broadcast | 5
News & Analysis
Israeli TV builds momentum UK broadcasters search for the next big hit from the country that brought us Homeland
UK broadcasters and super-indies including Channel 4 and Shine are scouring Israel for the next Homeland or The X Factor as the country’s TV business gathers pace. A number of deals are expected to be closed shortly after the UK firms joined international broadcasters including NBC and cable network TNT at this week’s IN TV Conference, organised by Israeli broadcaster and producer Keshet, in Jerusalem. “In the past, we only imported content from the UK and US, but now Israeli consumers are enjoying top-quality original productions,” said Israel’s minister of communications Gilad Erdan. “Whether you talk about drama, documentaries or reality TV, Israeli productions are no longer substandard.” C4 is leading the charge from the UK. The broadcaster has two drama projects in development with Keshet International, including a remake of Keren Margalit’s The A Word (below) which follows the story of an autistic child who is a talented musician. The broadcaster is also on the verge of remaking a number of entertainment formats, with Channel 4’s entertainment commissioner, Justin Gorman, meeting a number of Israeli indies at the international TV conference (see page 10). Rising Star, Israel’s biggest entertainment format in recent years, is among the shows understood to be in demand in the UK. The talent show, also produced by Keshet, gives viewers the chance to vote for their favourite acts in real time via a free app that is integrated in the show. It is already being remade in France, Germany, Russia and the Nordics. Rising Star is expected to be remade in the UK through Keshet International’s London-based factual boss Amelia Hann, who previously produced C4’s The Undateables, and in the US, through Keshet DCP boss Allen Shapiro. 6 | Broadcast | 8 November 2013
PIC CREDIT
BY PETER WHITE
Hatufim (Prisoners Of War): An Israeli production that was turned into Homeland by US network Showtime
Meanwhile, super-indie Shine is also developing links with Israeli producers and broadcasters. Shine boss Alex Mahon, Kudos Film and Television chief executive Dan Isaacs and Shine Northern Europe chief Gary Carter all travelled to Jerusalem this week in search of scripted and non-scripted ideas. Shine is hoping to find projects that it can adapt in several territories as it has achieved with The Bridge, the Danish and Swedish crime drama co-production that Shine America co-produced for Fox in the US and Kudos has remade in the UK and France. “Scripted formats are going to be the big boom industry of the next five years,” said Carter.
International Israel It’s not just UK companies that are digging for talent. Entertainment One, the US indie that produces and distributes series including The Walking Dead and Hell On Wheels, has acquired the international rights to Reaching for Heaven, a religious drama from TelAviv-based producer Norma Productions.
Entertainment One’s chief executive John Morayniss said that it was now shopping the series in the US. “It’s a new world order. We need the international business, that’s why we’re here. It’s not just about one market; you’ve got to work with producers and broadcasters from all around the world,” he said. “I don’t know how the Israelis do it; it’s such a small country.” Hollywood talent agents are also keen to represent Israeli indies’ writing talent to repackage their ideas. According to Marc Korman partner at WME Entertainment, as the number of US broadcasters that commission original scripted series grows, it becomes increasingly tough to secure the best writing talent. “The idea of taking formats from international markets like Israel is fantastic. We need them,” said Korman. “There’s more opportunity for people who open their eyes.” Hatufim (Prisoners Of War), which was turned into Homeland by US
It’s a new world order. We need the business, that’s why we’re here John Morayniss, Entertainment One
network Showtime, and CBS’s Hostages, based on an Israeli show written by Omri Givon and Rotem Shamir, are two of the country’s biggest dramas to have been remade in the US. The shows followed HBO’s psychologist drama In Treatment, an adaptation of Be Tipul, which kicked off the trend in 2008. Gideon Raff, creator of Prisoners Of War, is now writing Tyrant, a thriller about an American family drawn into the workings of a turbulent Middle Eastern country, for US cable network FX. He is also thought to be working on an international mystery thriller – The Dig – with Heroes creator Tim Kring, set to be shot in Jerusalem. In a bid to encourage more global producers to shoot in the country, the Israeli authorities are developing a tax incentives programme. Mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat said: “Hopefully in the next few years, we’ll see international producers coming to Israel.” www.broadcastnow.co.uk
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Commissioning News
ITV orders sleuth vicar drama James Runcie has created a brilliant character and a glorious world
BY Ann-MArie Corvin
ITV has commissioned a six-part drama series about the exploits of an investigative vicar, based on a novel penned by the former Archbishop of Canterbury’s son, James Runcie. Grantchester, to be made by Kudos Films’ sister company Lovely Day, is set in a small Cambridgeshire hamlet during the 1950s and focuses on the character of Sidney Chambers, a popular clergyman who turns sleuth when one of his parishioners dies in suspicious circumstances. The series, adapted from Runcie’s novel, Sidney Chambers And The Shadow Of Death, is made up of six standalone but connected hour-long stories. A film-maker in his own right, Runcie has made a string of acclaimed arts docs for the BBC as well as a profile on his dad, My Father, for Channel 4. Grantchester is being written for TV by Daisy Coulam, previously a scriptwriter on EastEnders and Casualty. While details of the cast have not been announced, filming of the
Diederick Santer, Lovely Day
Sidney Chambers And The Shadow of Death: inspired the six-part series
series will take place from March through to June next year in London, Cambridge and Grantchester. The show was commissioned for ITV by director of drama Steve November and controller of drama Victoria Fea and will be produced by Emma Kingsman-Lloyd, whose previous credits include DCI Banks. It will be executive produced by Diederick Santer, a former EasterEnders executive who left the BBC
in 2010 to start Lovely Day with the intention of creating popular returnable dramas for UK audiences that could attract international partners. The fledgling indie is managed, owned and operated independently but has the ability to tap into Kudos’ creative expertise, production and legal affairs teams. Santer said: “James Runcie has created a brilliant character and a glorious world, which Daisy
FX signs Sacha Baron Cohen deal to revive Ali G
MTV welcomes couples to Sleep With The Family
ITV commissions two-part murder drama from TXTV
US cable network FX is to bring back Ali G (pictured) after striking a first-look deal with Sacha Baron Cohen’s indie Four By Two. Baron Cohen, who created and starred in feature films including Bruno and Borat, will also develop new series for the edgy maleskewing network. The broadcaster will launch Ali G: Rezurection on its comedy network FXX at the start of 2014. The series is a compilation of every episode of Da Ali G Show, with new original introductions starring Baron Cohen. The deal was struck by Nick Grad and Eric Schrier, joint presidents of original programming at FX Networks and FX Productions.
MTV International has ordered Sleeping With The Family, a docuseries exploring how young couples cope when living with one set of future ‘in-laws’. The 8 x 60-minute series, produced by Pulse Films and shot in the US, will be screened on MTV’s international channels in spring 2014. It will follow the lives of young couples who choose to live with their boyfriend or girlfriend under their parents’ roof. The eight part series, currently in production, will not be aired in the US. Sleeping With The Family will be executive produced by Andrea SpezialeBagliacca and Ilya Colak-Antic for MTV and Thomas Benski and Misbah Alvi at Pulse.
ITV has ordered two-part drama Undeniable from The Reckoningproducer TXTV. The broadcaster will launch the series, written by Chris Lang, the producer of ITV drama The Little House, next year. The drama stars Casualty’s Claire Goose and Spooks’ Peter Firth and tells the story of a woman searching for the killer of her mother. It is being filmed in Ireland later this year. Undeniable was ordered by ITV director of drama Steve November and drama controller Victoria Fea.
8 | Broadcast | 8 November 2013
Dynamo goes back to his roots for Christmas special UKTV is to air two Christmas specials featuring Dynamo (pictured), one of which will involve the magician travelling back to his hometown of Bradford. The first show, Dynamo Top Ten Greatest Moments, will air on Watch and feature
Coulam is bringing to the screen in her wonderful and lavish scripts.” Sidney Chambers And The Shadow Of Death – which has been hailed as Cambridge’s answer to the Oxford-based Inspector Morse – is Runcie’s first novel in a projected series of six books, entitled The Grantchester Mysteries. The series has been commissioned by Bloomsbury which plans to publish a volume each year from 2012 until 2017. Runcie has a second novel in print – Sidney Chambers And The Peril Of The Night – with a third due for publication next year.
For details of all commissions, see
http://greenlight.broadcastnow.co.uk
favourite Dynamo moments of the past three series as voted for by fans on social media. The second special, Dynamo Revealed, will explore the magician’s roots. Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe will interview the magician in front of a studio audience to discover how he went from
being bullied on a housing estate to becoming one of the most celebrated magicians in the world. The festive shows, commissioned by UKTV’s Richard Watsham and ordered by Watch’s general manager, Steve Hornsey, will be produced by Phil McIntyre Productions and Inner Circle Films. www.broadcastnow.co.uk
For more projects in development and the latest commissions, visit
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Q&A SIoBhAn SInnerTon Siobhan Sinnerton Commissioning editor, news and Current Affairs, Channel 4. What’s your most recent commission? I have just commissioned 16 episodes of Unreported World for 2014. How much has it changed from what was initially pitched? The series continues to evolve. For example, on this series we worked with online commissioning to develop eight standalone, short-form films that pick up on the content of the longer films, but presented in digestible, fact-filled, two-minute bites. They aim to reach an audience that may not consume what we think of as traditional current affairs. What was it that grabbed you? The current run is getting the series’ strongest audience for several years and the emphasis on standout local characters alongside our reporters feels like we’re hitting a balance that people want to watch. The fact that it is one of the few programmes that is not geoblocked, and can be seen almost anywhere in the world, is an added bonus. What would you like more of? I’d like to be pitched more big, popular domestic investigations. Or popular approaches to current affairs. What’s a definite no for you? I’m a trustee of the Rory Peck Trust and inexperienced people wanting to go to very dangerous environments is a particular concern. What’s the best line you’ve heard in a pitch? A recent example is: “We follow the only midwife working in one of the most dangerous places in the world to give birth – the war-torn jungle of the Central African Republic.” The resulting film, reported by Seyi Rhodes and airing on 15 November, follows Olga the midwife as she delivers babies in the most extraordinary circumstances.
What’s the worst line you’ve heard in a pitch? “I don’t really like documentaries myself, but…” What’s your riskiest commission and why? Britain’s Sex Gangs and follow-up The Hunt For Britain’s Sex Gangs were risky on many levels. It’s hard to believe it now, but when Anna Hall and Tazeen Ahmad started making the first of these films for True Vision, no one was openly acknowledging the problem of Asian gang grooming, and it was a major struggle to get people to talk about it. We were also following one of the first big grooming cases, which ultimately collapsed. In the end, the film following the trial couldn’t go out for three years. So we made two films instead of one. What is the most important lesson life as a commissioner has taught you? I know that sometimes things just go wrong on productions, and it’s not anyone’s fault. How quickly do you aim to respond to an idea? Within a week. Who has final sign-off? On Unreported World it’s me, but we decide on the mix of things we are doing as a team in the news and current affairs department. How should producers pitch to you? For ideas, a short email in the first instance. But part of my remit on Unreported World is looking for new talent on both sides of the camera, so producers or journalists coming in to meet in person is great. What’s your top pitching tip for producers? Know our output – it’s amazing how often I get pitched things we have done very recently.
Further information and programming tariffs available at: http://greenlight.broadcastnow.co.uk
reCenT CoMMISSIonS
THe Jungle MidWife (paRT of unRepoRTed WoRld seRies)
THe HunT foR BRiTain’s sex gangs (dispaTcHes)
Production company Quicksilver Media Length 1 x 60 minutes TX 15 November 2013, 7.30pm Summary Reporter Seyi Rhodes and director Wael Dabbous travel with a local midwife into the jungles of the Central African Republic, where, after heavy fighting, rebels have overthrown the government and medical teams can reach areas that have been inaccessible for years.
Production company True Vision Length 1 x 60 minutes TX 23 May 2013 Summary Film about an investigation into the trafficking of underage girls in Telford.
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8 November 2013 | Broadcast | 9
International News
NBC on the hunt for remakes Programming boss Bob Greenblatt looking for mix of procedural and serialised storytelling The Blacklist is a bit of a hybrid that could be the next wave of a certain kind of programming
BY peTeR WhiTe
NBC is ramping up the number of international remakes it develops as it searches for the next wave of scripted content, programming boss Bob Greenblatt told delegates at Israeli TV conference IN TV. The US broadcaster is currently redeveloping Israeli thriller The Gordin Cell to air next year. The show, which will be called M.I.C.E in the US, is produced by Israeli studio Keshet and indie Tedy Productions, and was originally developed last year with Friday Night Lights’ Peter Berg. However, Greenblatt said that while the project didn’t make it past the pilot episode in 2012, he now plans to rework the series, which revolves around a decorated Israeli Air Force officer who discovers his parents are former Russian spies. “You have to find the right person to adapt it and the right environment,” said Greenblatt. The Gordin Cell is exec produced by Keshet chief executive Avi Nir,
Bob Greenblatt, NBC
The Gordin Cell: NBC is taking the series in a different direction
who added: “We’ve been working on it for a year and decided to go in a different direction.” Greenblatt, giving the keynote address at the Jerusalem-based conference, said NBC was looking to commission more series that
mix traditional procedural elements with serialised storytelling. He highlighted The Blacklist, the James Spader-fronted crime drama that mixes crime-ofthe-week storylines with a longer story arc.
“It’s a franchise show where we catch a criminal every week. That’s fairly familiar,” he said. “But we built in a back story for [James Spader’s] character, there’s a mystery, and we combined serialised storytelling. “It’s a bit of a hybrid that could be the next wave of a certain kind of programming.” Greenblatt acknowledged that broadcast television has become safe and, in a bid to compete with the edgier cable networks, needs to generate new ideas. “I’m in the process – with my development team – of trying to figure out what the next stage of broadcast TV is,” he said.
C4 in talks over Israeli entertainment formats I want the idea before ITV, the BBC or Sky, so we have to have an open-door policy
BY peTeR WhiTe
Channel 4 is searching for entertainment formats from Israel and has launched negotiations with a number of local producers. The search follows the broadcaster’s development of two Israeli scripted projects – including a remake of Keshet International’s autism drama The A Word. Speaking at the IN TV Conference in Jerusalem, C4 head of entertainment Justin Gorman said he was in talks with a number of Israeli indies about adapting formats for the UK market. “I’ve been really excited by a lot of the formats that have come out of Israel; I think there’s some extraordinary stuff. We’ve already engaged with some of the compa10 | Broadcast | 8 November 2013
Justin Gorman, C4
Rising Star: music talent show has been the subject of a UK bidding war
nies here and I hope we’ll get even more,” he said. Gorman added that it was essential for broadcasters to consider ideas from around the world. “We are supportive of anything that feels a bit out there,” he said.
The challenge is for C4 to beat its terrestrial rivals to these key shows, Gorman continued. “My job is to sit at the channel and make people think that we are the best person to bring their shows to; I want the idea before
ITV, the BBC or Sky, so we have to have an open-door policy.” Keshet International, which organised the conference, produces a raft of non-scripted formats, including music talent show Rising Star, which has been the subject of a bidding war in the UK, comedy competition You Must Be Joking and kids’ singing format Master Class. www.broadcastnow.co.uk
For all the latest breaking news, updated daily, visit www.broadcastnow.co.uk
RTL locks up Wentworth deal BY peTeR WhiTe
Prisoner Cell Block H remake Wentworth Prison is heading to Germany after broadcaster RTL commissioned a local version of the Fremantle Media-distributed Australian drama. Fremantle Media-owned German indie UFA will produce the 10 x 60-minute series, which will start shooting in March 2014. The show, which airs on Channel 5 in the UK, tells a story of survival, rivalry, power struggles and unlikely allegiances in a female prison. The agreement could also lead to a number of other global remakes of the show. Wentworth, which is produced by Fremantle Media Australia, was originally ordered by Australian pay-TV broadcaster Foxtel. It has been a local ratings hit and has been sold to a raft of international broadcasters. C5, which picked up the drama earlier this year, has also found
The Weinstein Company acquires Peaky Blinders The Weinstein Company (TWC) has acquired the US TV and SVoD distribution rights to British drama series Peaky Blinders (pictured). The deal includes the first three seasons, with an option to acquire more, according to Broadcast’s sister magazine Screen International. The gangster drama is set in 1920s Birmingham and stars Cillian Murphy, best known for roles in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy and Inception, as volatile gang boss Tommy Shelby. Commissioned by the BBC, the series was created by Steven Knight and is produced by Tiger Aspect Productions and Caryn Mandabach Productions. TWC co-chairman Harvey Weinstein said: “We have always been big www.broadcastnow.co.uk
Wentworth will polarise and initiate discussions among the audience Barbara Thielen, RTL
year, behind Celebrity Big Brother, CSI and Under The Dome. The original Prisoner Cell Block H, known as Prisoner in Australia, was created by Crossroads pro-
ducer Reg Watson and ran for nearly 700 episodes from 1964. Barbara Thielen, head of fiction at RTL, said: “The stories and characters of Wentworth will polarise and initiate discussions among the audience. Many women whose fates we are telling are certainly guilty in a legal sense, but can you condemn them in a moral sense as well? Everyone will judge differently.” Guido Reinhardt, chief creative officer of serial drama for UFA, added: “Wentworth is dynamic, controversial as well as emphatic. We present an uncompromising world, where trust and loyalty mean everything and the question whether law and justice are actually the same is repeatedly raised.”
Hulu eyes UK in search for original content
TVF signs raft of deals for ice-skating doc
US online video service Hulu plans to launch 20 original titles next year, with the UK firmly in its sights as a primary source for content. Hulu, which has previously acquired British comedies and dramas including Misfits, Spy and The Only Way Is Essex, and co-produced BBC heist comedy The Wrong Mans, is keen to add to its portfolio as the VoD service prepares to double its investment in content. Speaking at Israeli conference IN TV, Alex Kruglov, head of content acquisition at Hulu, said he wanted to acquire more shows like Chris O’Dowd’s Moone Boy (pictured) to offer exclusively. “That’s really interesting for us; if we can be the only platform for these shows in the US, then we can take these risks,” he said.
Distributor TVF International has sold its ice-skating documentary Ice, Sweat And Tears to a raft of global broadcasters. These include Japanese public broadcaster NHK and Iranian network GEM Group, as well as a number of in-flight operators. It is also finalising agreements with broadcasters in China. The doc is produced by Markham Street Films for Canadian public broadcaster CBC and features ice-skating champions including Patrick Chan, as well as world-renowned Russian coach Marina Zueva. The company is also distributing Stephen Fry-fronted doc Today’s Russia: A Literary Landscape. The film, which will air on US network PBS, explores Russian literature.
Wentworth: Australian prison drama has been a big hit in the UK for C5
success with the 10-part series. It was viewed by an average audience of 1 million (6.3%), well above slot average, and has become one of the broadcaster’s biggest shows of the
fans of Steven Knight’s work and are excited to bring this show Stateside, where it’s sure to thrill audiences just as much as it did in the UK.”
Pulse Films links up with Vice Media for US push Pulse Films has struck a deal with Vice Media to boost the indie’s expansion into the US. The two companies have signed a strategic partnership agreement in which the youth publishing brand will co-produce some of Pulse’s scripted and unscripted US TV projects. Vice will also feature some of the projects on its VoD services internationally. Vice and Pulse have previously worked together on feature film Shut Up And Play The Hits, which documented the band LCD Soundsystem’s final show.
8 November 2013 | Broadcast | 11
Multiplatform News in brief YouView overtakes Sky YouView has overtaken Sky to become the largest catch-up TV provider in the UK, according to media consultant Decipher’s third-quarter VoD audit. The terrestrial broadcaster’s IPTV service grew by 24% on the previous quarter to offer 2,677 assets – slightly ahead of the 2,592 assets available via Sky. However, Sky was found to offer content from 32 channels, compared with YouView’s 15 partners.
C4 unveils Blap series Channel 4 has unveiled an entire series of Iota Films’ The Alternative Comedy Memorial Society Presents: A Board Meeting simultaneously via its Comedy Blaps portal. The four episodes that comprise the online series, starring Bridget Christie, Josie Long and Isy Suttie (pictured), were made available earlier this week after being commissioned by Nerys Evans, deputy head of comedy.
Base79 signs up Insanity Celebrities including Danny Dyer and The Only Way Is Essex star Lydia Bright are to establish their own YouTube channels after online video network Base79 struck a deal with talent agency Insanity. The Insanity Network is designed to develop an online community of fans for the agency’s roster by tapping into Base79’s existing network of 1,400 YouTube channels, which produce more than 700 million monthly video views.
Machinima set to stream Online broadcaster Machinima is to begin streaming its content via gaming website Twitch after the firms struck a distribution deal. Machinima’s Twitch channel launched earlier this week with a live Call Of Duty: Ghosts gaming marathon show. It will feature daily programming along with flagship events, such as the annual Inside Gaming Awards.
For the latest breaking news www.broadcastnow.co.uk 12 | Broadcast | 8 November 2013
Viral Spiral launches Vine multichannel network BY Alex fArBer
Social media marketing firm Viral Spiral has launched a multichannel network on Vine to aggregate the site’s top talent. The network will allow brands to target followers of the most popular users, or ‘Viners’, and create a new talent pool for indies to tap into. Viral Spiral, in which online video network Rightster bought a stake 12 months ago, has also signed a deal with US online video producer Collab to help grow the network – with the aim of reaching 20 million users. The top ‘Viners’ signed up to the network include Brittany Furlan, KC James and Eric Dunn, each of whom has more than 2 million followers. The Viners are among the service’s most popular contributors, posting six-second videos featuring comedy, magic, or opinions on subjects such as fashion. Viral Spiral founder Damian Collier said shifting focus to emerging platforms such as Vine and Instagram was a natural evolution for the business. “Our main role is to connect brands with popular, organically shared content.”
Vine: eric Dunn and Brittany furlan have signed up to the Viral network
It is vital for any media company to have a presence on these platforms in order to remain relevant Damian Collier, Viral Spiral
But, he added, the rapid growth of Vine presents opportunities for indies and broadcasters to work with an emerging crop of talent.
“Not everyone has the expertise to work at the coal face of social media marketing,” said Collier. “There’s a whole market of millennials out there who use these services daily, and it is vital for any media company to have a presence on these platforms in order to remain relevant.” Collier added that the recent steps taken by Twitter, which owns Vine, to make it easier to access video clips from within user feeds is likely to result in continued growth.
Web Watch Wuaki.tV
I
TV has signed a content partnership deal with TV and movie portal Wuaki.tv to make classic series such as The Royle Family, Cold Feet, Lewis, Law And Order and Prime Suspect available via the VoD service. The portal will offer the ITV content as part of its subscription streaming service, Selection, which allows viewers to watch entire series on demand for £4.99 a month, or for individual rental and purchase at a one-off cost. Jacinto Roca, who founded Wuaki.tv in Barcelona in 2009, said there was a “real hunger” among the portal’s 800,000 users for TV series that could be watched back to back on demand. He added: “ITV is a huge player in the UK and well known for quality drama and comedy programming. Having its catalogue is a great boost for our service.” Wuaki.tv, which was acquired by e-commerce giant the Rakuten Group in June last year, offers thousands of hours of content from major Hollywood studios and UK distributors.
URL wuaki.tv
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Technology & Facilities CREAtIVE REVIEw
Rugby League WoRLd Cup
goRdon Ramsay’s Home Cooking
JFk: 7 days THaT made a pResidenT
Animation Blue-Zoo Client Red Bee Media/BBC Sport Brief Design and animate a trail to promote the Rugby League World Cup. How it was done Stylised, low-polygon rugby giants invade the UK from all directions, playing a game of rugby across the countryside. The promo was designed to be reversioned, so a bespoke version can be created for the final match featuring the two qualifying teams. Without the budget for location shoots, the animators rebuilt landscapes in 3D using stock photography. These were relit to create a grandiose mood, adding in explosions and debris as the giants crash about. The sequence was modelled and animated in Maya and composited in After Effects by Charlie Batho. Dan Edgely was director, and Ben Mahon was the creative for Red Bee Media. Watch it Now across BBC channels
Post Evolutions Client One Potato Two Potato Brief Provide post-production for the 20-episode series in which Ramsay cooks some of his favourite breakfast, lunch and dinner recipes with the help of his family. How it was done To make sure all the sound effects were authentic, including those in the-slow motion stings, Evolutions dubbing mixer Michael Wood created his own FX to complement the visuals, purchasing ingredients used in the show. The sound of pouring coffee and orange juice was recorded to ensure Wood captured the bubbling sound of the cafettiere seen in the montage section. To reflect the family oriented nature of the show, colourist Tim O’Brien used Baselight to create a warm look with less contrast than the usual, cool, look of Ramsay’s restaurant-based shows. Online editor Jonathan Field finished the series in Avid Symphony. Watch it Weekdays, 12.05pm, Channel 4
Post Clear Cut Pictures Client Blast! Films Brief Picture and audio post for the feature-length drama documentary that marks the 50th anniversary of the former president’s death and tells the story of seven critical moments that shaped the man who became a 20th-century icon. How it was done Colourist Enge Gray used Nucoda Film Master to complete the grade, using seven different looks of stock emulation and accompanying palettes to take the viewer through the key moments in JFK’s life. Nucoda’s DVO toolset was used to recursively add grain and give a real film look to the final pass, and to restore some of the authentic archive film. An extensive tracklay using authentic sounds of the different eras was used to create a dramatic sound scape and dynamic filmic mix by head of audio Greg Gettens. Watch it Monday, 9pm, Nat Geo
You can view clips at broadcastnow.co.uk/techfacils/creative-review To include your work email george.bevir@broadcastnow.co.uk
Sony’s Malcolm Robinson joins Broadcast Networks Systems integration firm Broadcast Networks has appointed Malcolm Robinson (pictured) to the role of director of media and broadcast solutions. Robinson joins Broadcast Networks from Sony Professional Solutions Europe, where, as general manager of the company’s Live Production Solutions team, he was responsible for the design and build of more than 200 outside broadcast vehicles and studios.
Adobe offers 150 new Pro features via Creative Cloud Adobe has made more than 150 new features for its Premiere Pro, After Effects, SpeedGrade, 14 | Broadcast | 8 November 2013
Prelude, Media Encoder and Story Plus systems available via its Creative Cloud platform. Updates to Premiere Pro and After Effects provide users with tools such as Warp Stabilizer and 3D Camera Tracker. Adobe director of product management for Creative Cloud for video Bill Roberts said: “As the industry moves towards 4K Ultra HD content, we’re delivering not just great apps, but complete workflows.”
Video Europe flypacks arm to supply Globecast Video Europe has secured its first project for its recently formed flypacks division with a deal to supply Globecast with a range of kit to cover the Commonwealth
Heads of Government meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka. As well as the edit, distribution and conference equipment, Video Europe will provide a 10-camera production facility using Sony’s HDC2500 camera channels for live coverage of the opening ceremony on Sunday.
SIS Live installs iDirect hub at MediaCityUK SIS Live has installed a new iDirect hub at its MediaCityUK base in Salford to provide IP services to UK and overseas customers. The hub will run on multiple satellites, including a new SIS Ka Band service utilising an 8.1 metre antenna at SIS Live’s MediaCityUK teleport (above right). It will also work alongside the existing SIS Live iDirect services, which operate out of the company’s Milton Keynes teleport. SIS Live managing director David Meynell
said: “We have developed a bookings and IP proposition that is unique to the marketplace and will appeal to all serious broadcasters in the UK and beyond.”
Filmlight woos users with Baselight Plus package Filmlight has released a turnkey grading package that it hopes will make it easier for post houses to adopt the firm’s technology, and for existing users to increase capacity. The Baselight Plus package is made up of a Baselight One grading and finishing system, a Slate control panel, two licences www.broadcastnow.co.uk
For the latest technology and facilities news, updated daily, visit www.broadcastnow.co.uk/techfacils
wimbledon seeks backers for management buyout BY GEORGE BEVIR
Wimbledon Film and Television Studios is looking for investors to back a management buyout of the facility. The company wants to find an investor who is willing to pump £3m into the business, which it says will help it generate an estimated £20m worth of business over the next five years. Major shareholder Panther Securities, which has a 25% stake in the company and owns the freehold of the four-acre site, said the level of investment required was outside its remit. Panther Securities chairman Andrew Perloff, who has also backed Wimbledon Studios in a personal capacity, said the group was now willing to sell the freehold to encourage investors. The equity available to potential investors is negotiable, but at least Panther’s 25% and the freehold is available. The investment funds would be spent on kit to boost the studios’
Tipping Point: ITV gameshow was shot at Wimbledon Film & TV Studios
Kumeta steps down from Prime Focus Prime Focus London chief executive Bernard Kumeta has resigned from his role at the post-production company after completing its operational and financial restructure. Kumeta was appointed in April last year to oversee a restructure that included Prime Focus Broadcast being put into administration by the company at the end of October. The assets of Prime Focus Broadcast have now been acquired by Prime Focus Post Limited. Prime Focus Broadcast UK managing director Rowan Bray said the administration process was the last stage of consolidating the group’s various companies. “It was a complicated structure and this means we now trade as a single entity. We needed to make an organised transition and, in conjunction with our financial partners, it was decided that was the best way to do it. There are no job losses and there is no visible difference to the business.” Shareholders will vote on a proposal to delist the company from the London Stock Exchange in three weeks’ time.
current offering and “iron out inconsistencies” between the studios, said managing director Piers Read. “There is also the potential to build more studio space on the site,” he said. “We want to capitalise on the lack of studio space in London. This summer, we lost out on a couple of co-productions because they needed 30,000 sq ft of space. A year down the line, I’d like to
think we could facilitate a production like that. Our ambition is to attract large-scale shows like X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing – that is our target market.” Wimbledon Studios is the former home to The Bill. It was sold to Panther Securities for £4.75m in September 2010. Recent productions at the facility include Tipping Point, Episodes and Mrs Brown’s Boys: The Movie.
for the grading plug-in Editions for Avid or Final Cut Pro editors, a Supermicro tower including 24TB of internal RAID storage and 2TB of SSD, and software support. The package costs $65,000 (£40,000).
closely with some of the world’s leading media companies, Kaltura identified the need for an out-ofthe-box media application that makes paid OTT delivery simple and seamless.”
powerful Thunderbolt 2 computers on the way, video professionals will be able to work with multiple streams of 4K and get more layers of real-time effects and colour correction than ever before.”
Kaltura releases Ott video portal MediaGo
Blackmagic Design starts shipping UltraStudio 4K
Avison to manage clients and sales at 3 Mills Studios
Kaltura has released an OTT video portal to allow content owners to publish and manage content across multiple screens. Kaltura MediaGo is described as an out-ofthe-box, white-label “Netflix-like” video portal. “Viewers consume content from a variety of sources on multiple devices, at home and on the go. Media companies are faced with the challenge and opportunity of adjusting to this new digital world,” said Kaltura chairman and chief executive Ron Yekutiel. “Working
Blackmagic Design has begun shipping the new Thunderbolt 2-equipped version of its UltraStudio 4K (below). The UltraStudio 4K offers 20Gbps capture and playback of SD, HD, Ultra HD and DCI 4K. Priced at £625, the rack-mounted capture and playback device features a machined aluminium front panel with an integrated colour LCD screen. Blackmagic chief executive Grant Petty said: “With faster, more
3 Mills Studios has appointed Tom Avison to the role of client and sales manager. Avison, who has worked in production as a location scout and unit manager, joined 3 Mills in September 2011 as maternity cover for the marketing manager.
The UK-headquartered company has been contracted by STV Productions to work on ITV’s revamped Catchphrase, the second series of which is now in production. The 3D graphics animations are managed and displayed on a rear projector by Ionoco. The company’s technology also drives the contestant’s score screens, the HD TX graphics and buzzers, sound and audio triggers. Under a deal with Whizz Kid Entertainment, Ionoco will also provide its technology and services to Timeline, a new quiz show for Sky’s Challenge, which is due to air next year.
Ionoco strikes deals for three gameshows
Avid bundles software to create 2D and 3D titles
Ionoco has secured three new licences to provide game-control technology for two UK gameshows and one from the US.
Avid has bundled NewBlue Titler Pro 1.0 with version 7 of its Media Composer software. The addition allows users to create “featurerich” 2D and 3D titles in any Media Composer project.
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8 November 2013 | Broadcast | 15
Comment
What’s the secret of producing an MTV EMA? Being technically tight while leaving room for spontaneity Richard Godfrey, In Focus, page 20
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Casting has to be colour blind The UK is lagging behind the US on diversity, says Marcus Ryder
A
fter this year’s Baftas, Lenny Henry said what many people were secretly think: “There was no black talent... There’s just not enough programmes with black people in them.” As he was speaking to a Telegraph journalist, pretty soon his words were reported across the national press. The fact is, he could have been talking about almost any British TV awards ceremony. No black actor ever won the Bafta for Best Actor, while only three black actors have ever won Best Actor, male or female, at the RTS Programme Awards. In each case, this was for a ‘black-specific’ role – two for Small Island (2009) and one for Babyfather (way back in 2002). There is a growing feeling among many who work in television, film and theatre that black actors are not being given the roles that will enable their talents to shine, and only get parts that are specifically written for black characters. The new director of the National Theatre, Rufus Norris, complained in an interview to the BBC that in Britain a person’s colour can definitely affect the roles they can go for. “The real issue is that if you look at American TV drama and theatre, there is much more colourblind casting,” he said. “In normal life, if you think of a businessman, a policeman or a gangster, there are certain clichés that go with all of those things, and none of them are true. We are very much behind America in that sense.” It would be churlish to suggest that there aren’t black actors doing great work on British television in non ‘black-specific’ roles; one only has to look at the success of Idris Elba in Luther (pictured). But the
argument put forward by many black actors is that they have to go to the US to get the breaks they deserve – look at David Harewood (Homeland) or Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Without A Trace) . The growth in opportunities for actors of colour in the US has not happened by accident. Keli Lee, head of casting for Disney ABC, is responsible for Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal and Modern Family. Just 15 years ago, approximately 6% of actors on ABC dramas were non-white; today, that figure stands at roughly 27%. This was achieved first by recognising the problem and the real business concern that they were losing large sections of the audience. Lee set up schemes specifically to identify actors of colour and showcase their talents. But even by her own admission, Keli feels that the US still has a long way to go. On 13 November, I am producing a discussion at Bafta, hosted by the RTS and Broadcast, on the ‘Flight of the black actor’ from Britain. Lenny Henry, actor and broadcaster Kwame Kwei-Armah and casting director Des Hamilton will all appear on the panel chaired by Lorraine Heggessey. I doubt any of them will suggest that the US is the great nirvana for black actors, but I suspect they will all be interested in drawing lessons from all over the world for how British television can increase its on-screen diversity. And with any luck, a few more Best Actor awards will be sitting on the mantelpieces in the homes of black British actors. ➤ Marcus Ryder is chairman of the RTS Diversity Committee. For more on the Diversify conference, email naziath.mantoo@emap.com
‘Black actors are not being given the roles to enable their talents to shine’
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Your saY
Bedlam: should delve deeper
Comment on broadcastnow.co.uk regarding new Channel 4 documentary series Bedlam I very much enjoyed last night’s Bedlam documentary, but as with many factual docs – and some of the critics have picked up on this – there should have been a few more questions asked about the deeper causes of OCD, or the thought that irrational fears move with the times. I listened to the argument (presented as an audio recording) between the mum and the young man (pictured above) and was worried that it had not been contextualised in any way. We were left to make up our own minds, but was this really fair on one or more of the parties involved? I realise this is not a current affairs documentary, but I do occasionally worry that factual film-makers are not quite curious enough. Either way, the subject matter and contributors were sensitively handled and, in the main, informative. Producer Response on broadcastnow.co.uk to the story ‘Grant Shapps: BBC right to licence fee not guaranteed’ Grant Shapps seems to have a short memory. Why was there no mention on the BBC of the 50,000strong protest about the NHS changes held in Manchester during the Tory party conference? Or what about the period immediately after the election in 2010 when BBC news ran a whole series of articles during its major news bulletins telling the viewers to stand by for austerity, what to do during the austere period to come and how to help the new government cope with austerity – all www.broadcastnow.co.uk
Comment
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In mY vIew masterminded by a news editor who subsequently moved to work for the Tories? Or perhaps Shapps might remember the corporation’s shameful behaviour during the miners’ strike? Just a few examples... Shapps need not wait for Charter renewal to remove the BBC’s exclusive right to the licence fee – no such right exists. Why else would Ofcom feel able to talk of a licence fee “surplus” after the digital switchover was complete? The BBC bashing has been building for a while – the constant mantra from Tory MPs (including the prime minister) about how the BBC does not broadcast the facts is nearly as tedious as blaming all financial ills on the actions of the last government. The attack on presenter salaries is part of the same process. Anonymous Responses on broadcastnow.co.uk to the story that Tony Hall says staff should spend licence fee money as if it were their own Staff members continue to have no clue about the difficulties freelancers face. The new freelancer payment system is in chaos. Many people haven’t been paid for weeks. Some of the new policies have been slipped in under the radar and are grossly unfair. Many freelancers weren’t even told of the new T&Cs until after they’d done their work. How is that fair? Freelancers are helping the BBC save money at personal cost. How many staff members can say the same? Anonymous I 100% agree with Anonymous. Freelancers and small companies are subsidising the BBC and it is putting many of us out of business. All the freelancers I know are being paid on average 50% less than they were 5 years ago. It’s a scandal. Anonymous I’m not sure that those who want the licence fee abolished are also therefore calling for an end to the BBC, as Lord Hall seems to be suggesting. They’re simply expressing a desire for a different funding model. If the BBC wants to win the argument for a continued licence fee, it needs to explain why this is a better solution than subscription or advertiser funding. Anonymous
This new wave of magic is capturing the zeitgeist Social media exposure is driving demand for magic among the young, says Danny Fenton
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recent trend in the content industry suggests that stand-up comedy is ‘the new rock ’n’ roll’. Well if that is the case, then surely magic is the ‘new stand-up comedy’. Right now, there is an incredible wave of new magic talent following in the footsteps of David Blaine, Derren Brown and, most notably, Dynamo. Zig Zag was fortunate in playing a part in taking Dynamo to UKTV when the broadcaster asked us to find a street magician. He had been working on the magic scene for a number of years, mastering his craft. Dynamo’s street smart, otherworldly brand of magic has since enthralled the public – his shows have been the among highest rating original commissions on UKTV, delivering audience figures of 1.7 million, more than 10 times the average audience for Watch in 2011. Ben Hanlin, Drummond Money-Coutts, Gerry Sims and our recent discoveries Troy von Scheibner and New York’s Close Up Kings are following closely in Dynamo’s footsteps, and all have been creating a stir with broadcasters. At this month’s Mipcom, Troy performed in Cannes, while a host of other British and international magicians vied for the attention of buyers, thrilling delegates up and down La Croisette. International distributors are currently fighting bidding wars for magic content. It is a global trend, and British producers are seemingly leading the way. For our part, we’re currently filming or in active discussions with US and UK broadcasters on four separate magic productions. So what is fuelling this new wave? Why is magic – whether of the street/hidden camera/undercover or illusion-based variety –
suddenly capturing the industry’s imagination? Well, quite simply, magic is among the purest forms of entertainment. Tricks and illusions take the audience on a journey through a natural narrative – they have a beginning, a middle and an end, culminating in a general sense of wonder for the audience. Magic’s ‘new wave’ also has a new energy and street style that has had a positive effect in attracting a new, younger audience that
‘Magic has the perfect ingredients to spark that water-cooler conversation’ shares YouTube clips through social media. Magic has the perfect ingredients to spark that water-cooler conversation, whether it be literally in the office, or virtually across social networks. The online world is a natural environment for the new wave magicians. As digital natives, they’ve long been creating short-form, low/no budget content to build and entertain their following and showcase their new tricks. It is against this backdrop that Zig Zag, together with Diagonal View, is launching the first fullyfledged YouTube magic channel. Diagonal View is one of the leading channel operators on YouTube and it, too, recognises the power of magic as a driver of online viewers. The channel’s business model is built on advertising and brand partnerships. It’s a way not only of generating revenue; it will also act as an incubator to new magic talent across the world. Could the first linear magic channel soon follow? That’s one trick I certainly would like to see. ➤ Danny Fenton is chief executive of Zig Zag Productions 8 November 2013 | Broadcast | 17
Comment How to get aHead in tV Lesson 32
we are artists by any other name TV is on a par with anything in a gallery – without the pretentiousness, says Steven D Wright
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ike most TV types, I possess a ridiculously high opinion of my own creative abilities and an unusually strong visual sensibility. So it was no surprise that I spent several hours last month at the Frieze Art Fair, wandering among the Old Masters and bright young things of the art world. But while discreetly elbowing Russian billionaires and their suspiciously scantily clad nieces out of the way so I could indulge in some nicely posed chin-scratching in front of the latest Takashi Murakami, I realised I was genuinely having an ‘artistic’ revelation. You see, as I gazed upon pretentious exhibits that only cost a mere million each, thinking “I could do that”, I suddenly realised that I – a humble TV producer – had hitherto ignored the truth about my métier. I was no downtrodden employee in a sausage factory, as previously imagined; I was actually an ‘artist’, and my years churning out gristle and fat in the light entertainment genre were, in fact, my ‘works of art’. I became even more convinced that telly is art when a top gallery owner showed me £250,000 car bonnet hoods while lecturing me on the rise of feminist art. This man once wrote TV theme 18 | Broadcast | 8 November 2013
tunes for trashy late-night shows back in the 1990s. Even more proof was that, like all the artsy crowd, he totally fawned over celebrity, telling me of Brad Pitt’s visit earlier that day. But despite my revelation, for all its disproportionate cultural power, TV is still not considered an art form, even though cinema is taken very seriously indeed. Why not? Why is The X Factor not quite as intellectually worthwhile as,
‘In television, we never use the nonsensical artspeak bollocks that is de rigueur in Cork Street’ say, David Shrigley’s bronze statue of ‘Lady Taking a Poop’, which drew an admiring crowd at the Frieze? One of the reasons we don’t take telly seriously is clear in the language we use to critique it. We never use the nonsensical artspeak bollocks that is de rigueur in Cork Street. Viewers and producers alike would never say that a C5 shock doc about a mad cat lady ‘powerfully reimagines and deconstructs the role of the female in modern society’. If only Sandra and Sandy used terms like that, while chomping on their takeaways on Gogglebox, eh?
Even though we hardly notice, TV is just as adept at revealing the truth about life as any masterpiece hanging in a museum. Picasso’s Guernica was once hailed for revealing the horror of the Spanish Civil War – but is that really as powerful at exposing the dark side of the human spirit as Naomi Campbell’s screaming fits on The Face? The fearful glances and broken body language among the models every time she speaks are pure psychological artistry. Or, if it’s merely aesthetic appreciation you want, how about the symbolism in the pairing of Abbey and Alijaž on Strictly Come Dancing? Their god-like blonde beauty is so ethereal, it lifts the show from the ridiculous to the sublime and makes me feel guilty when I imagine them shagging after their lovely Viennese Waltz. And if it is ridicule you want, TV is better than Banksy any day. Newsnight is currently a Dada-esque exercise in the absurdity of life, if Kirsty Wark’s genuinely frightening burst of zombie dancing to Michael Jackson’s Thriller the other night is anything to go by. So if we are, in fact, artists, what does it mean? Will my oeuvre one day get a retrospective at the Tate – and, most importantly, can I start massively bumping up my weekly rate? ➤ Steven D Wright is creative director at Whizz Kid Entertainment www.broadcastnow.co.uk
TIME IS mon£y
In our ever-changing industry, ongoing training is vital to your career. But taking time off work costs money, which is why Creative Skillset offers funding for training to support professionals from all backgrounds across the UK.
Time_Is_Money_Final.indd 1
TV freelancers can apply for up to £800 towards training in areas including production management, directing, sound, data wrangling, camera, hair and make-up. Film professionals can apply for up to £5,000 towards international scholarships, or £800 towards craft and technical or health and safety training. Funding is also available for organisations.
Find out more and apply at www.creativeskillset.org/funding @SkillsetSSC
05/11/2013 16:20
In Focus MTV EMA 2013
Creating a showstopper Mix together controversial moments, top-notch performances, audience participation and jaw-dropping staging, and you have ‘the greatest show on earth’, says Richard Godfrey MTV EMA Senior production team Richard Godfrey Executive producer Bruce Gillmer Executive producer Debbie Phillips Producer Russell Thomas Director Florian Wieder Designer Baz Halpin Consulting producer/ creative director Albert Schilcher Music talent producer Chloe Mason Co-producer Andy Derbyshire Production executive
The Killers’ performance at Liverpool EMAs in 2008; 2001 host Ali G (below)
Last five MTV EMAs 2013 Amsterdam, Ziggo Dome Host Redfoo from LMFAO 2012 Frankfurt, Festhalle Host Heidi Klum 2011 Belfast, Odyssey Arena Host Selena Gomez 2010 Madrid, Caja Mágica Host Eva Longoria
Richard Godfrey Co-executive producer, MTV EMA
2009 Berlin, 02 World Host Katy Perry 2008 Liverpool, Echo Arena Host Katy Perry
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f a production’s size can be best judged by its catering requirements, then MTV’s global music awards event, the EMA, is one big mother of a show. More than 1,000 production and support staff will be working in and around Amsterdam’s Ziggo Dome for this year’s show on Sunday, making the MTV EMA the biggest non-sport outside broadcast in Europe. Like any army, this one marches on its stomach and needs feeding several times a day. This is no standing army, but one that enlists annually. As its commanding officer for 17 years and 18 shows – a third of those in partnership with my fellow exec producer Bruce Gillmer – it’s a pleasure to re-recruit former
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comrades in arms, some after a gap of many years. While it’s reassuring to work with familiar faces, it’s essential that each show – staged in a different city every year – has a different flavour. That’s why we infuse new blood into our creative team, which this year includes Baz Halpin as consulting creative director, fresh from devising Britney Spears’ upcoming residency in Las Vegas. The creative team’s first task is to agree a theme. This year’s is ‘Out Of This World Party Alien’, which has allowed us light years of creative licence with set and costume design. Whatever the theme, a successful EMA relies on the antics of the host, the reactions of winners and losers and, above all, the quality of performances. This is where Bruce’s music industry relationships and MTV’s ability to attract the world’s hottest music acts come to the fore. With the MTV EMA broadcasting live or as live to 600 million homes in 170 countries, the choice of host is vital. Subtle, speech-based entertainment can get lost in translation
‘Success relies on the antics of the host, the reactions of winners and losers and quality of performances’ (remember Ali G meeting German incomprehension in 2001?), so physical, visual comedy can be the order of the day. This year, Redfoo from LMFAO will be our MC, while filmed inserts from Will Ferrell as legendary anchorman Ron Burgundy are sure to cross any comedic divides. Musical acts can be booked up to a year in advance. Or, like Amy Winehouse in Munich in 2007, they can confirm two days before the show. The 2013 line-up, including Bruno Mars, Katy Perry, The Killers, Kings of Leon and Miley Cyrus, has thankfully shaped up with time to spare. The artists are kept informed of the theme and creative execution. Some choose to incorporate it into their act, others don’t. Performers often have their own creative teams, www.broadcastnow.co.uk
For all the latest breaking news, updated daily, visit www.broadcastnow.co.uk
Magic moments Suppliers to the live events industry love to showcase their latest hi-tech toys at the EMA. I can’t reveal what this year’s ‘how-do-they-do-that’ moments will be, but we’ll aim to match the jaw-dropping highlights from the past, such as The Killers performing in an 80-foot high, graphicladen cube in Liverpool in 2008. We’ll have four OB vehicles serving separate production teams for the main show, the red carpet and pre-show, a simultaneous concert staged in Amsterdam city centre and for all our multiplatform content, plus a mobile editing facility. In total, 35 cameras, including a spidercam, will film at four locations. Material from the red carpet and the city centre gig will be sent via a 400-metre fibre bridge or satellite link to a digital server at the Ziggo Dome. There’ll be a dedicated audio truck to live mix the performances, plus a transmission truck. Transmitting the MTV EMA live, or as live, to so many countries is a technical challenge, with our in-house teams managing multiple distribution of the show to different required frame rates and complied standards. Any hitch in production can put a spanner in our schedules, although in the past we’ve managed to reshoot performances – such as Beyoncé’s in 2003, in response to an audio fault. Two days of run-throughs culminate in a full dress rehearsal on www.broadcastnow.co.uk
RYAN MCGINLEY
but they collaborate with EMA producers to ensure the parts add up to a coherent whole. We must also co-operate seamlessly with the venue and local authorities. We started working with the City of Amsterdam and the owners of the Ziggo Dome four years ago, when the venue was still on the drawing board. This phenomenal space is an audio engineer’s dream. Its vertigo-inducing auditorium should provide an intense atmosphere on Sunday night. The production crew gained access to this amazing venue nine days before the show and they’ve spent the subsequent week building the set, rigging lights and cameras and setting up our red carpet and backstage ‘village’. The set must accommodate nine distinctive performances. Previously we’ve opted for a revolving stage, but after the mechanism jammed at a recent awards show, I’m relieved we haven’t this year. Instead, for the first time, we’ll be staging in the round. Sunday. We’ll also hold auditions to find 3,000 fans for the auditorium floor, all cast for their ability to make noise and create atmosphere. I’ll spend the first part of the show in the auditorium and the rest in an OB truck, watching the camera feeds. Afterwards, there will be hours of checks for any problems – from transmission to security. What’s the secret of producing a successful MTV EMA? For me, it’s about being technically as tight as possible while leaving enough room for spontaneity. It’s about mixing a
Clockwise from above: Psy performing at the 2012 EMAs; 2013 venue Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam; 2008 and 2009 host Katy Perry
measure of fun with a dollop of controversy, whether it’s Madonna and Britney’s kiss or Kanye storming the stage as a losing nominee. It’s about creating the right environment where memorable moments can happen. Not every EMA can be equally memorable, but there are always standout moments. When the magic happens – like U2 and Jay-Z performing Sunday Bloody Sunday at the Brandenburg Gate on the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall – it feels like producing the ‘greatest show on earth’.
RICHARD GODFREY ON… ENGAGING THE FANS It’s not enough to produce a fantastic EMA show stuffed with laugh-out-loud moments and ohmy-god performances; it must be LOL and OMG as well. Major events are social currency for music fans who want to experience them via social and digital media in as much depth as being there. Ariana Grande (right) will be our EMA backstage host, with a dedicated production team filming the experience for live streaming and other exclusive content for our multiplatform Backstage Show. Fans want to share the experience, so social media is integrated into every aspect of the
EMA. Talent will post reactions and images to their own and MTV accounts. There is even an award for the act with the ‘Biggest Fans’, judged on activity on mtvema.com and MTV social media outlets. Last year, 183.5 million EMA votes were cast via MTV websites and social media. This year, we’ve allowed fans to announce the final nominees for Best Worldwide Act via their own accounts. Our digital media team has
even developed the Sing It! App, allowing users to record a lyric from a Best Song-nominee and submit it for possible inclusion in a mash-up of the winner. All this activity generates pre-show buzz and drives TV and online viewing. It also earns revenue through new forms of digital advertising.
8 November 2013 | Broadcast | 21
Expert Women ExpErt WomEn day makinG a diffErEncE
Dr Emily Sidonie Grossman
Giving women a voice Following the last of the BBC’s Expert Women Days, Adam Bambury looks at the impact of the events and speaks to some of the women whose media careers have received a boost
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xpert Women Cardiff on 10 October was a memorable event, partly because it was a resounding success, with 24 brilliant women identified as possible media presenters and contributors, but also because it was the last in the series. Seven Expert Women Days have now been held and a total of 164 women have taken part, with 56 making a combined 182 appearances on a wide variety of programmes across TV, radio and online. At the Cardiff event, academic Julia Jones was commissioned to record her upcoming research trip to Madagas car for BBC Wales News. Previous successes include science communi cator Dr Emily Sidonie Grossman, a regular onscreen expert on the first series of Sky 1 fact basedpanel show Duck Quacks Don’t Echo, which is due to TX early next year. Space scientist Natalie Starkey was all over the news in March talking about the asteroid flyby,
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‘Be bold and put yourself forward even if you don’t think you’re the most expert person in the world’ Dr Eugenia Cheng, mathematician
and continues to be a goto source for space stories, and historian Gillian Kenny has been on Radio 4 discussing medieval women. She also appears in a threepart series about the history of castles due to air on Ireland’s TV3. The list goes on.
Getting started Expert Women’s Day was born out of a negative. Research high lighted by City University and Broadcast had shown that there were far fewer female experts on air across UK broadcasting than their male counterparts. Could something be done to redress the balance? We weren’t sure, but we thought we’d try. The result was a series of events in London and around the country dedicated to introducing female experts to the media, and the media to them. Specialist subject areas, selected after indepth con versations with editorial teams, varied according to location. The
London and Salford events focused on science, business and history; Scotland wanted art historians/cura tors, natural history specialists and sports experts; in Belfast, it was envi ronmental/natural history pundits, political and social analysts and medics; and Wales wanted women knowledgeable in poetry and the arts, classical music specialists and engi neering/technology experts. For the first Expert Women Day in January, held in collaboration with Broadcast, getting the word out was a mammoth task. We started by target ing organisations and academic insti tutions relevant to the specialist areas of our search. We hit the phones and email, worked social media and spread the net as wide as possible. But we didn’t know quite what to expect. It was a free experience, of course, but would anyone be inter ested? Despite limiting applications to areas where women tend to be under represented in the broadcast media, www.broadcastnow.co.uk
EXPERT WOMEN
CAMPAIGN
To read other Broadcast Expert Women campaign features visit www.broadcastnow.co.uk
TAX BREAK
CAMPAIGN ExpErt WomEn day tHE ExpErt’S ViEW
Sally Marlow Alcohol and addictions expert, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London
Left to right: Dr Natalie Starkey on BBC Breakfast; live radio training in Cardiff
“The event helped me get on air in two main ways: first, it gave me the opportunity to meet commissioners and pitch ideas to them; and second, the training gave me the confidence to know I would be able to deliver the ideas I pitched. “My first commission, a package for Today on the science of problem drinking,
came directly from a pitch made on the day. The thing that surprised me was how much more difficult I found radio than television. “Listening back to the recording of the radio training, there are an awful lot of erms and errs. Thankfully, I was able to recognise that and do something about it before I got to make some actual radio programmes. “I also learned that if you want to be on air, you actively have to try to put yourself and your ideas in front of programme-makers. “My advice is: don’t just wait for it to happen. Put your ideas out there, and show why you’d be good at getting them across. Show that you’re passionate about your subject.”
such as politics, science and business, proved to be a useful template, and we received more than 2,000 applica with acting DG Tim Davie’s support, tions, which we whittled down to 30. we were able to hold a further six Obviously there was a real need for days, taking the event around the this sort of experience. country to Manchester, Glasgow, The training structure devised for Cardiff and Belfast.” that first day was replicated across all All of the industry people involved of the events. Attendees were inter with the days have been impressed by viewed on the sofa in a TV studio, the women and the range and reach of took part in a radio discussion round the different editorial stories they table, and tried their hands can offer to news editors and at the tricky art of deliver programmemakers. “It ing a walking and talking really felt we had tapped piece to camera. After into a very rich seam of wards, they received previously unheard Number of media appearances honest feedback from voices and stories that by 56 of the our experts. had been missing from women trained Importantly, they got our screens and air the chance to hear first waves,” says Wood. hand from commissioners, Today programme editor producers and presenters just how Jamie Angus, who attended the the industry works via sessions on recent Wales event, agrees, saying the ‘business of the business’. The it was a “fantastic opportunity to conversation continued in a network get out of London and meet a really ing lunch where execs from broad original selection of new voices for casters, indies and the wider industry our programmes”. could introduce themselves to the But although the Expert Women experts, and connections were made. team went around the UK and met “It was an exciting day with a tan experts in everything from architec gible buzz in the building as these ture to Islam, Wood was surprised at recognised experts in their fields, how often they heard similar stories bubbling with ideas and enthusiasm, about what held these women back. were introduced to the workings of “The issue of imposter syndrome is our industry, ” says Expert Women’s a very real one for a lot of the women Day executive producer Sarah Wood. we met,” she says. “It’s the feeling that “The huge success of the first day you are not expert enough in a subject
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‘It’s important to recognise that you’re there to provide your views because your views are valued’ Holly Cook, Radio 5 Live and Radio 4 regular
to speak about it on air, so turn down a potential offer to speak. In fact, it almost derailed some of the women from even applying for Expert Women’s Day.” Giving women the confidence to stand by their authority and expertise was an important part of the pro gramme, as mathematician Dr Eugenia Cheng, whose research into the mathematics of scones and cream earned her appearances on pro grammes from CBC in Canada to BBC Radio Gloucester, agrees. “Be bold and put yourself forward even if you don’t think you’re the most expert person in the world,” is her message to other female experts. “You are probably expert enough to explain something to a general audience. If you don’t do it, you might well be replaced by a man who is less of an expert, but more bold.”
Gaining confidence Confidence was a key issue for many Expert Women Day attendees. Some thought that appearing on a news related programme would open them up to aggressive interrogation that would expose them as illinformed frauds (imposter syndrome again). Our programmemakers pointed out that this would almost certainly not be the case – experts like them are gener ally invited onto the programme to explain a subject, not defend it. “I’d be lying if I said the first time on air wasn’t nerveracking and that I hadn’t sat up all night researching potential questions and answers – despite advice to the contrary,” says business expert Holly Cook, who has become a regular on Radio 5 Live and made many appearances on Radio 4. “But it all goes so fast when you’re in the studio, and of course the pro duction team and interviewer don’t want to trip you up – this isn’t Paxman time. It’s important to recognise that you’re there to provide your views because your views are valued.” The Expert Women days may be over but the impetus behind them remains. The database (free to all media professionals on application to Leni.Morris@bbc.co.uk) and You Tube channel (www.youtube.com/ bbcexpertwomen) are still available. The BBC is now looking at how to use the Expert Women Day format for other underrepresented groups and generally keep the flame alive. ➤ Adam Bambury is content editor at the BBC Academy 8 November 2013 | Broadcast | 23
Behind the Scenes yonderland
How we built a fantasy world from scratch Combining puppeteering, live performance and VFX, the scope and ambition of what we were attempting was frightening, says Sioned Wiliam Sioned Wiliam Producer
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icky Eyres, our production designer, is not a man who is easily frightened. But even he seemed a bit green about the gills as director Steve Connelly, co–producer Pete Coogan (aka The Puppet Master) and myself began to outline the sheer scope and ambition of Yonderland. “You want how many villages? A cannon big enough to fire a man into the sun? Raised sets for puppeteers? A spa? A treasure vault with moveable walls? And for how much?” Once he’d got over the shock, he was like a man possessed, and produced some of the most beautiful and flexible settings I have ever seen. Puppets don’t like rain so there was an added pressure to create all the exteriors indoors. A composite village set was redressed six times on Stage 5 at Elstree Studios, and replaced three weeks later by a magical living woodland built on moveable pallets. Stage 7 housed a dark mausoleum as well as a dazzling Elders’ chamber and an entire house was built in the Enigma building. All the sets were carefully designed to be reused several times, allowing us maximum flexibility and the ability to move around the kingdom’s many realms. Ricky’s amazing visual references (Moroccan souks, Mexican fabrics, medieval tapestries) were complemented by the work of costume designer Jacqueline Mills, who 24 | Broadcast | 8 November 2013
brought a steampunk sensibility to the clothes. Cheap white shirts were dyed in jewel-like colours, richly textured tweeds and velvets were combined with skinny jeans, Victorian corsets and flying goggles – think Olivier’s Henry V meets Blade Runner and chuck in a bit of Labyrinth for good measure. One of the joys of the scripts – penned individually and in pairs by the six core performers – is that although the worlds depicted are fantastical, they’re constantly undercut by more prosaic details: a puppet with two heads sounds a bit like Alan Bennett; the evil Overlord Negatus likes nothing better than an afternoon in front of the telly. All the visual details have to be properly ambitious for these sorts of jokes to work: the Mausoleum has to be grand and forbidding for us to find the inclusion of a Yonderland version of a telly funny; the puppet has to be beautifully realised for the vocal joke to work. This dynamic posed a constant challenge for our VFX crew, who provided amazing grandiose vistas (often in layers so that they could be altered and reused) as well as the magical portal that appears in the kitchen cupboard of Debbie, our heroine. At the heart of Yonderland are its writer-performers, who play all the main parts. This meant endless costume and make-up changes, as well as some ingenious shooting methods and clever staging by Steve. The schedule made enormous demands on the cast – Martha HoweDouglas, who plays Debbie, was in almost every scene. The other actors were constantly making cameo appearances in addition to their regular roles. Comic creations were
‘The phrase “string and sealing wax” – creating magic out of the most mundane elements, often in camera – was a constant mantra’ Sioned Wiliam
yonderland
Production company Working Title Television TX Sky 1, Sundays at 6.30pm, from 10 November length 8 x 30 minutes Commissioner Saskia Schuster director Steve Connelly Writer/performers Mathew Baynton; Martha Howe-Douglas; Jim Howick; Simon Farnaby; Laurence Rickard; Ben Willbond executive producers Lucy Lumsden, Saskia Schuster (Sky); Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Juliette Howell (Working Title) Producer Sioned Wiliam Co-producers Martin Baker; Pete Coogan associate producer Laurence Rickard Post-house Molinare Summary Family-friendly fantasy comedy series starring the cast of Horrible Histories and a host of puppets.
Sioned Wiliam My tricks of the trade n Never assume – it’s always worth
checking
n Keep talking and communicating n Get to know and value your team n Remember that it all begins with
the script
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For all the latest breaking news, updated daily, visit www.broadcastnow.co.uk
mastered at a staggering rate, each one a little gem. And then there were the puppeteers – shoved behind tables, covered with leaves and dirt, thrust into dark corners, bringing to life more than 50 different puppets with enormous skill and resilience. With so many elements to create, we recycled sets, costumes, puppets and actors wherever we could. Steve’s phrase ‘string and sealing wax’ – creating magic out of the most mundane elements, often in camera – was a constant mantra. I don’t think our designers and puppet makers said no to anything. Binoculars with moving arms, legs and a mouth? You got it. A radiocontrolled stick man with a gammy tooth and some belting one-liners? No problem. A camera made out of a snail? Where shall I put it? Best of all, everyone mucked in. My favourite moment of the whole shoot was seeing Steve on his knees chucking magical treasure (courtesy of Toys R Us) out of the way to make room for the collapsing walls of our recycled treasure vault – formerly Negatus’s mausoleum and demons’ torture chamber. And that cannon we needed to shoot a man into the sun? No worries. Ricky made it himself – out of cardboard. www.broadcastnow.co.uk
Clockwise from bottom left: puppet builder Adam Wright works on Demon Neil; puppeteer and puppet builder Andy Heath with Mojo; DoP Pete Edwards shoots Elf in the forest with puppeteer Steve Kyman; Debbie (Martha Howe-Douglas) in the Elders’ chamber; Wizard Bradley (Laurence Rickard) and Mojo; (below) The Cleaner
yonderland CreaTInG anoTHer World Ricky Eyres Production designer
Yonderland was an enormous challenge because of the huge demands placed on the budget. I had to create a range of flexible settings that could be easily dressed to ring the changes. Art director Ray McNally and his team haunted furniture sales and scoured Ebay for props to keep the prices down. I was inspired by Russian and Moroccan architecture but wanted to twist these familiar references, so I used bright fabrics and spices to give a flavour of the souk – mixing it up with medieval tapestries and pennants, and Mexican ponchos. To make the world seem lived in, I used a lot of plaster, sand and rough textures, both in the ochres and mustard colours of the Village and in the dank walls of Negatus’s den.
The main challenge was producing so many settings. We tore down many of the sets and reused flats, doorways and flooring. The Elders chamber became a white spa – disguised by yards of gauze complemented by rhododendrons and azaleas. I placed a water feature in both sets, which generated some amazing reflections, adding texture and life to the settings. The biggest headache was watering the forest. We had a hot summer this year and the trees and plants were wilting in the studio heat so we took them all outside to get a bit of light and sun. They perked up and when we moved them back into position, the whole forest looked brand new. Then there was the matter of finding places to hide the puppeteers: carts, tables, shelves, doors, fake rocks, wicker baskets – you name it, we shoved a puppeteer behind it.
8 November 2013 | Broadcast | 25
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INTERVIEW
Bartlett on ITVS’sand Lewis ascension asc
BBCW hi ke k ssU UK K content
Commerc ial arm
Publication date 22nd November 2013
AUDIO PRODUCTION
www.broa
dcastnow .co.uk STEVEN D WRIG
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Pag Page age ag ge 23
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breaks £200 m
6 Septe mber 2013
IN FOCU S
Period dram gets gritt a y
Page 30
fund
mark fo fforr fi firrst time , with hom e-grown indies set to benefit
BBC Worldw W dw Worl dwi wiide de is to on UK up its content to £200m spend next 12 months over the t e th , the t e bulk th will be spent of which w ich wh with UK c ch The move indies. will w wi ll result comme rcial arm of the BBC in the ing the £200m breakbre r ak re akkfi figure gure f time, up the fir from f om £176m for fr first st as it acquires in 2012/13 2012/1 2 3, 2/1 internat er ional ernati to UK ional rights , program ming from penden f om indefr t produce rs as well house BBC w ll as we content in. This comes after aft f er ft restruct ure earlier the compan n ny y’s y ’s gav gave this a e individu av y ar, ye year, indiv r which r, ivid iv w ich wh vidual ic al power – a move regions more departu that t at led th re of a number to the t e th num er numb BBCW of key k staf sta staff. chief content ff.f. ff Helen Jackson offi f cer ffi told Bro the extra Broadca r adc ro dcas dc casstt that invest investm n nvest particul ment ent wo arly benefit w would benefit uld history drama, Atlantis A At lantis:: BBC r and fact ry a al ent produce natural W ldwide Wor Worldw “The fact ide is prov f rs. providin o iding ov significa significantly that we’re g fi Worldw W Wo financia nancial rldwide ant antl inve investin n sting nve ntlly more backing g sioner ide Channe year than ly in content for the BBC ls commis Tracy T acy Forsyth Tr w we we’ve this ’ve ’v ve ever F syth For Wales product e volume yth. This year, syt s,” said Jackson done speaks ion, as well ak aks r howeve r, howev “We “We’re increase w er, wev W ’re We . as War r r, putt putting its total And Peace t ing more tt wil wi ta content it will tal ill into program 14%. It The latest spend by mone money is providin me develop provid b deve v ing vid product ev lopmen eve two t g backing mentt and backi with Voltage such deal was ion – th ack ng acki BBC Wales tthat’s for f r fo Wal Wa a ’s at struck tion and a ’ BBC f fanta fantasy TV this indie set sy drama les productions: pro producindepen r ro week, the up dent productducas well Atlantis Atla tl nti Mis Mi Misfi isfi sfits tis ti is, s, created aging directorby ex-Dragonfl t creator tla creat a ed by at ion, y manb content as our selfHowa Howard and Merlin self-gen w rd Overma wa Sanjay f generat founded tthrough th M rl Me Ove Ov erated rough our fverman ri ate at ted the factual Singhal, who n produce tion netw Helen Jackson Capps and in o ow own network wn pro wn twor tw former work rs Johnny Jacks producork, r ducro k,,” k” indie with Julian Murphy BBC , BBC Worldwid n ny Last year, she added Andrew A rew And exec Steve Commercial h ; and hy; Davie Daviese r r, a avie t th the Agency BBCW s-penne £104.2m e penned Peace. P ace. Pe Nam. and develop respons inv invested nve nv W r And Wa veste Singhal in distribu t d series, It is also fundingd War te ible for as well ideas that was potentiaal tion rights Dragon includin as £72.2m non-BB includin al to have the fly series g The C grammi g Me Product in oth become anchor other t er pro th Every Minute, Hotel and ng, includin ions’ An & You provaluable r ro show shows One Born Yu Yo funded I Id Idiot off iot f ff and prepare g BBCWand the Abroad Abro T The has six brands. r ad spinro commis M ning Moa Moanin d to place W Wcompan projects sions Orphan Or Orp ing Of ing BBCW han Bla bigger bets I’m ment this,” added pl y O Life, Black, Bl Lif ife if ck, f Channe k the sci-fi such as k, for the BBC in paid develop to do Ja Jackson duced ls commise, and such as series pro . and BBCW by Te “Backin Temple T London promple r ro repre represen g UK talent,Channel 4. tions fo Cosmop Food F d Diarysions, 200-pl Foo 200-plu ts produce fforr BBC Street Pro content Producp pl r ducro olita olitan luss indies writers t n Cook, ta rs and and lus from Product A Am America and has and are fr k both k, erica,, ffronted we do and is a critical part onted by ions’ Best developm distr distribu of wh st ib str Mox w which b chef R i ution e In est of what ich th tion deals Product is certainly I T ent Town Rachel tthan “My M primary Rac My hel Kho n and 360 an 40. Jackson ion’s Really Tow K Khoo. the most with more and rewardi Jacks o. k on said ks of wh ng part,” Cool Stuff, fun working w which ffocus foc continu ich we us now Stu “Sanjay tuf tu BBCW would uff ff, f, both w were with produce e to tak re ord and Steve said Jackson. ta take ordered is r ere rd ke stakes ke and talent r d by re adding with b BBC rs, writers are in indies to at an earl five develop vve-stron – have really exciting brimming e early includin its fiv arly arl ly stage ment g portfolio g Clerk ideas and the Clerken of to dev rke rk kenwell , experien know-how, devise Bab Baby evi ev a y Cow ab vise shows Films and h ce to deliver energy and look deals Productions – “Nurtur them. are the current but firsting these and champi relation priority. is incredib oning British ships success ly importa nt to us.”
That we’r e inve more thansting ever done we’ve speaks volumes me
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sEnior Audio EnginEErs Minimum of 5 years experience in outside broadcast engineering. Capable of acting as outside broadcast facilities guarantee. Extensive knowledge of comms., routing programme audio systems, surround sound, Dolby-E, simple audio mixing. Audio EnginEErs Minimum of 2 years experience in outside broadcast engineering. sEnior Vision EnginEErs Minimum of 5 years experience in outside broadcast engineering. Ability to act as outside broadcast facilities guarantee. Extensive knowledge of vision mixers, routing systems, general video systems and VTR. Vision EnginEErs Minimum of 2 years experience outside broadcast engineering. The headquarters of the UK division is located in Bracknell and the successful candidates will be working on location and at our base there. Competitive salaries for all positions will be offered. If you are interested in any of the above posts, please send your CV, together with a covering letter to dianne.france@nepuk.co.uk Closing date for applications is 22nd November 2013
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8 November 2013 | Broadcast | 27
Ratings Mon 28 Oct – Sun 3 Nov
Murder most successful After damp squibs such as Breathless, drama takes flight with Ripper Street and The Escape Artist BY Stephen price
At school, I got into terrible difficulty trying to build a model Tudor house out of an old shoe box. After several hours, glue and goo was everywhere, the cat was stuck to plastic and the black-and-white house remained forlornly stuck fast to the kitchen table. These days, modelling has become rather more ambitious and on Sunday, sounding like the sort of project the education secretary thinks four-years-olds should be able to do, Richard Hammond took on building a planet. But viewers remained stuck in Downtown’s more familiar surroundings. And sashaying over yonder hill and out of view of its rival, dancing skips on. With the departure of ITV’s Doc Martin on Monday, BBC1 picked up the drama baton as the second series of 2013 for Ripper Street began at 9pm with 5.1 million/ 23%, just shy of the first series’ live average in January, but in line with the second half of the run. Opposite, ITV’s single doc OCD Ward netted 2.7 million/12% (214,000 +1). After Holby City’s 4.9 million/ 22% at 8pm on Tuesday, BBC1’s second drama launch of the week, The Escape Artist, began with 5 million/22% at 9pm, a solid enough start against slight opposition – ITV’s 1.5 million/ 7% (113,000 +1) for single doc On The Run, about criminals on the loose. This followed Looking For Love: A Tonight Special at 8pm with just 1.5 million/7% (92,000 +1). On Wednesday at 9pm, BBC1’s Autumn’s Supermarket 28 | Broadcast | 8 November 2013
Broadcast/BarB top 100 network prograMMes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 13 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 45 47 48 49 50
Title
Day
Start
Viewers (m) (all homes)
Share %
Broadcaster/ Producer*
Strictly Come Dancing: The Results Strictly Come Dancing Downton Abbey Coronation Street The X Factor Results Coronation Street Coronation Street Coronation Street The X Factor Coronation Street Countryfile Emmerdale Emmerdale EastEnders Emmerdale Emmerdale EastEnders EastEnders Emmerdale Emmerdale EastEnders BBC News At Six BBC News BBC News At Six Ripper Street BBC News At Six The Escape Artist Holby City BBC News At Six BBC News At Ten BBC News At Six The One Show The Paradise Agatha Christie’s Poirot BBC News At Ten BBC News At Ten Atlantis Have I Got News For You BBC News BBC News The One Show Watchdog Casualty ITV News & Weather P Morgan’s Life Stories: Michael Flatley Surprise Surprise Inside Out Match Of The Day ITV News & Weather Tales From Northumberland…
Sun Sat Sun Mon Sun Wed Fri Mon Sat Fri Sun Mon Tue Tue Fri Wed Mon Fri Thu Thu Thu Mon Sun Tue Mon Wed Tue Tue Thu Wed Fri Mon Sun Wed Mon Tue Sat Fri Sun Sat Tue Wed Sat Tue Fri Sun Mon Sat Fri Mon
19.20 18.30 21.00 19.30 20.00 19.30 19.30 20.30 20.00 20.30 18.20 19.00 19.00 19.30 19.00 19.00 20.00 20.00 20.00 19.00 19.30 18.00 18.00 18.00 21.00 18.00 21.00 20.00 18.00 22.00 18.00 19.00 20.00 20.00 22.00 22.00 20.15 21.00 22.00 18.15 19.00 20.00 21.15 18.30 21.00 19.00 19.30 22.25 18.30 20.00
10.12 9.98 9.59 9.00 8.69 8.50 8.35 8.23 7.87 7.76 7.53 7.43 7.11 7.11 7.08 6.97 6.96 6.94 6.54 6.43 6.42 6.02 5.84 5.34 5.08 5.03 5.02 4.88 4.86 4.83 4.80 4.75 4.73 4.70 4.69 4.65 4.63 4.49 4.48 4.37 4.27 4.26 4.17 4.03 4.02 4.02 3.89 3.87 3.83 3.81
38.74 43.79 37.52 40.03 32.96 38.34 38.31 34.83 34.10 34.65 33.99 34.68 33.69 32.12 34.89 33.57 30.01 30.99 31.78 34.06 31.55 30.65 29.17 28.66 22.77 27.68 22.23 21.59 28.24 25.62 26.51 22.18 17.95 21.21 25.72 26.11 19.93 20.56 21.40 22.62 20.25 19.21 19.13 19.89 18.95 15.92 17.30 27.00 19.79 16.41
BBC1 BBC1 ITV/Carnival Film & Television ITV ITV/Thames/Syco ITV ITV ITV ITV/Thames/Syco ITV BBC1 ITV ITV BBC1 ITV ITV BBC1 BBC1 ITV ITV BBC1 BBC1 BBC1 BBC1 BBC1/Tiger Aspect BBC1 BBC1/Endor Productions BBC1 BBC1 BBC1 BBC1 BBC1 BBC1 ITV/ Agatha Christie Ltd BBC1 BBC1 BBC1/Urban Myth Films BBC1/Hat Trick Productions BBC1 BBC1 BBC1 BBC1 BBC1 ITV/ITN ITV/Shiver ITV BBC1 BBC1 ITV/ITN ITV/Shiver
Figures include HD and +1 where applicable
ripper Street
the escape Artist www.broadcastnow.co.uk
All BARB ratings supplied by: Attentional
Source: BARB
51 51 53 54 55 56 57 57 59 60 61 62 63 63 63 66 67 67 67 67 71 72 72 74 74 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 83 85 86 87 87 89 90 91 92 92 94 95 96 97 98 98 100
Title
Day
Start
Viewers (m) (all homes)
Share %
Broadcaster/ Producer*
Autumn’s Supermarket Secrets ITV News & Weather BBC News The One Show Pointless Pointless The Graham Norton Show The Chase The One Show The One Show Pointless The Chase ITV News & Weather The Chase The Chase ITV News & Weather Pointless ITV News & Weather Party Political Broadcast: Labour Pointless BBC News At One Off The Beaten Track Tonight: Christmas Shopping Wars The Chase The Jonathan Ross Show BBC News At Ten F1: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Highlights The Chase: Celebrity Special BBC News At Ten The National Lottery Live F1: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Qualifying OCD Ward Panorama: Our Dirty Nation Autumnwatch BBC News At One A Question Of Sport Citizen Khan University Challenge Grand Designs BBC News At One ITV News & Weather Waterloo Road Britain’s Secret Treasures BBC News At One Final Score You’ve Been Framed! BBC News At One Gardeners’ World ITV News & Weather The Great British Bake Off Masterclass
Wed Mon Sat Thu Mon Wed Fri Mon Fri Wed Tue Fri Thu Thu Tue Sun Fri Wed Wed Thu Mon Fri Thu Wed Sat Thu Sun Sat Fri Sat Sat Mon Mon Tue Thu Fri Fri Mon Wed Tue Sun Thu Thu Fri Sat Sat Wed Fri Sat Tue
21.00 18.30 22.05 19.00 17.15 17.15 22.35 17.00 19.00 19.00 17.15 17.00 18.30 17.00 17.00 22.05 17.15 18.30 18.25 17.15 13.00 20.00 19.30 17.00 21.50 22.00 16.30 19.00 22.00 21.05 17.10 21.00 20.30 20.00 13.00 19.30 21.30 20.00 21.00 13.00 18.45 20.00 20.30 13.00 16.30 18.00 13.00 20.00 17.45 19.00
3.76 3.76 3.73 3.72 3.66 3.60 3.59 3.59 3.58 3.55 3.54 3.53 3.52 3.52 3.52 3.51 3.49 3.49 3.49 3.49 3.44 3.42 3.42 3.40 3.40 3.38 3.37 3.31 3.19 3.05 2.97 2.96 2.95 2.95 2.90 2.87 2.86 2.86 2.77 2.76 2.70 2.61 2.61 2.59 2.55 2.54 2.53 2.50 2.50 2.49
16.98 17.70 19.63 19.69 22.64 23.34 25.58 23.16 17.64 16.54 22.48 23.28 19.39 24.32 23.39 17.63 22.19 17.68 18.64 23.11 38.63 15.28 16.82 23.07 18.17 18.83 19.35 14.44 17.30 13.49 17.10 13.27 12.49 13.05 36.02 13.20 13.88 12.31 12.48 36.65 12.25 12.65 12.58 31.98 17.72 13.36 34.61 11.17 13.85 11.52
BBC1 ITV/ITN BBC1 BBC1 BBC1/Remarkable Television BBC1/Remarkable Television BBC1/So Television ITV BBC1 BBC1 BBC1/Remarkable Television ITV ITV/ITN ITV ITV ITV/ITN BBC1/Remarkable Television ITV/ITN ITV BBC1/Remarkable Television BBC1 ITV/Spun Gold TV ITV ITV ITV/Hot Sauce BBC1 BBC1 ITV BBC1 BBC1 BBC1 ITV/Minnow Films BBC1 BBC2 BBC1 BBC1 BBC1 BBC2 C4/Boundless BBC1 ITV/ITN BBC1/Shed Productions ITV BBC1 BBC1 ITV BBC1 BBC2 ITV/ITN BBC2/Love Productions
*To include producer credits email robin.parker@emap.com by noon on Tuesday. Tables exclude programmes timed under 5 minutes long and omnibus editions, eg soaps.
Off the Beaten track www.broadcastnow.co.uk
OcD Ward
Secrets stacked up 3.8 million/ 17% after Watchdog’s 4.3 million/ 19%. ITV’s ever-reliable Poirot, heading towards his swansong, achieved 4.4 million/20% (285,000 +1) overall from 8pm. On Thursday at 8pm, BBC1’s Waterloo Road achieved just 2.6 million/13% at 8pm, losing to ITV’s Emmerdale’s 6.3 million/ 31% (115,000 +1) but squeaking ahead of Britain’s Secret Treasures at 8.30pm – 2.5 million/12% (93,000 +1). At 9pm, the penultimate episode of BBC1 drama Truckers pulled in 2.1 million/10.4% as ITV’s Breathless, with two episodes left, only
‘Downton Abbey made short work of BBC1’s Richard Hammond Builds A Planet’ squeezed ahead thanks to +1: 2.1 million/10.6% (122,000 +1). In ITV’s 8pm economy slot, good ratings are an increasingly common sight and on Friday, Christine Bleakley’s new Off The Beaten Track achieved 3.3 million/15% (100,000 +1). Opposite, BBC1’s EastEnders drew 6.9 million/ 31%. On Saturday at 6.30pm, BBC1’s Strictly Come Dancing averaged 10 million/44% for the first time this series and pulled further away from its rival, ITV’s The X Factor, which suffered its lowest Saturday of 2013 with 7.6 million/33% (231,000 +1) from 8pm. At 8.15pm, BBC1’s Atlantis managed 4.6 million/20%, on par with last week. After The X Factor, ITV’s Jonathan Ross Show achieved 3.2 million/ 17% (222,000 +1) at 9.50pm. On Sunday at 7.15pm, BBC1’s Strictly Come Dancing broke 10 million for the first time with 10.1 million/39%. At 8pm, The Paradise nudged up from last week’s debut by 160,000, with 4.7 million/ 18%. Opposite, ITV’s The X Factor Results still won with 8.3 million/32% (333,000/1%). That’s still pretty good, if not as butch as times past; mind you, that probably helped negotiations on the new deal. At 9pm, Downton Abbey’s best this series (9.3 million/36%; 309,000 +1) made short work of BBC1’s Richard Hammond Builds A Planet – 2.1 million/8%.
See over for digital focus, plus channel and genre overviews 8 November 2013 | Broadcast | 29
Ratings Mon 28 Oct – Sun 3 Nov Channel Overview
BBC’s seasonal outlook a hit BY stephen price
You can tell autumn’s here because the council’s leaf blowers are out scarring the air with their small loud motors, which is in no way annoying. As the devices are wielded about with military-like imprecision, it strikes me that blowing leaves is the wrong thing to do; surely they should be sucked in rather than blown hither and thither. Blowing leaves sounds as productive as fog knitting. Still, as usual, BBC2 is here to mark autumn’s arrival – sans motors. The best of BBC2’s Autumnwatch was on Tuesday at 8pm. With 3 million/13%, it defeated Channel 4’s new Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners (2.1 million/ 9%; 309,000 +1), Channel 5’s Cowboy Builders (930,000/4%; 139,000 +1) and also ITV’s Looking For Love: A Tonight Special (1.5 million/ 7%; 92,000 +1). On Thursday, BBC2’s new World’s Busiest Maternity Ward (1.8 million/9%) was ahead of C4’s Bedlam, which launched with 1.5 million/7% (195,000 +1). C5’s Countdown To Murder achieved 1 million/5% (89,000 +1). On Friday at 9pm, C4 Eight Out Of 10 Cats hit its second lowest so far (0.9 million/4%; 264,000 +1), while at 9.30pm sitcom Man Down slipped to its lowest episode – 0.8 million/4% (172,000 +1). BBC2’s Autumnwatch Unsprung raced past with 1.7 million/8%.
Source: BARB
WEEk 44 Average hours per viewer Daytime share (%) Peaktime share (%) w/c 28.10.13 Peaktime share (%) w/c 29.10.12 yEAr TO DATE Average hours per viewer Audience share (%) Audience share (%) 2012
BBC1 5.85 18.83 22.79 22.98 BBC1 5.59 20.89 21.47
BBC2 1.52 3.88 7.68 7.77 BBC2 1.53 5.70 6.06
ITV1 4.37 13.71 21.11 22.24 ITV1 4.30 16.07 15.59
C4 1.52 5.41 6.05 6.01 C4 1.55 5.80 6.53
30 | Broadcast | 8 November 2013
Total 27.60 100.00 100.00 100.00 Total 26.77 100.00 100.00
Day
Start
Viewers (m) (all homes)
Share %
Broadcaster BBC2
TOp 30 BBC2, ChAnnEL 4 AnD ChAnnEL 5 Title 1
Autumnwatch
Tue
20.00
2.95
13.05
2
University Challenge
Mon
20.00
2.86
12.31
BBC2
3
Grand Designs
Wed
21.00
2.77
12.48
C4
4
Gardeners’ World
Fri
20.00
2.50
11.17
BBC2
5
The Great British Bake Off Masterclass
Tue
19.00
2.49
11.52
BBC2
6
Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners
Tue
20.00
2.43
10.76
C4
6
Autumnwatch
Thu
20.00
2.43
11.74
BBC2 BBC2
8
Strictly Come Dancing – It Takes Two
Wed
18.30
2.33
11.81
9
Strictly Come Dancing – It Takes Two
Mon
18.30
2.24
10.54
BBC2
10
Autumnwatch
Fri
20.30
2.23
10.10
BBC2
11
Iceland Foods: Life In The Freezer Cabinet
Mon
21.00
2.16
9.70
BBC2
12
Strictly Come Dancing – It Takes Two
Fri
18.30
2.11
10.90
BBC2
13
Tom Kerridge’s Proper Pub Food
Mon
20.30
2.09
8.86
BBC2
13
The Great British Bake Off Masterclass
Wed
19.00
2.09
9.75
BBC2
15
Strictly Come Dancing – It Takes Two
Tue
18.30
2.06
10.18
BBC2 BBC2
16
Autumnwatch
Wed
20.00
2.00
9.04
16
The Great British Bake Off Masterclass
Thu
19.00
2.00
10.18
18
Homeland
Sun
21.00
1.97
7.65
BBC2 C4
19
Strictly Come Dancing – It Takes Two
Thu
18.30
1.95
10.76
20
QI
Fri
22.00
1.92
10.48
BBC2
21
The Great British Bake Off Masterclass
Fri
19.00
1.88
8.94
BBC2
22
2012
Sun
21.00
1.84
11.03
23
The Wrong Mans
Tue
21.00
1.83
7.85
BBC2 BBC2
BBC2
C5
24
Africa 2013: Countdown To The Rains
Sun
20.00
1.79
6.79
25
World’s Busiest Maternity Ward
Thu
21.00
1.75
8.73
BBC2
26
George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces
Thu
20.00
1.73
8.38
C4
26
Eggheads
Wed
18.00
1.73
9.53
BBC2
28
Mercury Prize: Live Winner Announcement
Wed
22.00
1.72
8.72
C4
28
Autumnwatch Unsprung
Fri
21.30
1.72
8.35
BBC2
30
Grease
Sun
17.50
1.68
7.34
C4
Figures include HD and +1 where applicable
Multichannel 38.90
Audience for BBC2’s Saturday night extravaganza Live From The National Theatre: 50 Years On Stage
Others 13.30 54.23 38.90 37.28 Others 12.70 47.43 46.11
Daytime is 09.30-18.00. Peaktime is 18.00-22.30. Figures include HD and +1 where applicable
DAyTiME ShArE (%) w/c 28.10.13
pEAkTiME ShArE (%) w/c 28.10.13
950k
C5 1.05 3.94 3.47 3.71 C5 1.10 4.10 4.25
BBC1 22.79
ITV1 21.11
C5 3.47 C4 6.05
BBC2 7.68
Multichannel 54.23
285k Opposite Emmerdale and Corrie, C5 could only muster a 1.4% share for Chris Tarrant Goes Fishing
BBC1 18.83
ITV1 13.71
BBC2 X3.88 C5 3.94 C4 5.41
www.broadcastnow.co.uk
All BARB ratings supplied by: Attentional
Genre Overview
Source: BARB
top 10 cHildren’s proGraMMes Title
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Grandpa In My Pocket Mike The Knight Octonauts Dragons: Riders Of Berk Show Me Show Me: Autumn Spec Old Jack’s Boat Grandpa In My Pocket The Lingo Show Mister Maker Around The World Old Jack’s Boat
top 10 factual proGraMMes
Day
Start
Viewers (Age 4-15)
Share (%)
Channel
Wed Sat Mon Wed Sat Mon Mon Thu Thu Tue
17.30 09.00 17.00 09.35 09.10 17.45 17.30 15.00 15.10 17.45
212,300 205,200 202,300 200,500 197,800 196,900 195,500 195,200 194,400 190,700
11.82 16.25 12.45 16.64 14.60 10.57 11.18 16.20 15.58 10.42
CBeebies CBeebies CBeebies CBBC CBeebies CBeebies CBeebies CBeebies CBeebies CBeebies
Title
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Countryfile The One Show The One Show Watchdog PM’s Life Stories: Michael Flatley Tales From Northumberland… Autumn’s Supermarket Secrets The One Show The One Show The One Show
Day
Start
Viewers (millions)
Share (%)
Channel
Sun Mon Tue Wed Fri Mon Wed Thu Fri Wed
18.20 19.00 19.00 20.00 21.00 20.00 21.00 19.00 19.00 19.00
7.53 4.75 4.27 4.26 4.02 3.81 3.76 3.72 3.58 3.55
33.99 22.18 20.25 19.21 18.95 16.41 16.98 19.69 17.64 16.54
BBC1 BBC1 BBC1 BBC1 ITV ITV BBC1 BBC1 BBC1 BBC1
➤ It was a near-CBeebies whitewash in the children’s table as the preschool channel grabbed nine of the 10 available places on half-term week. Grandpa in My pocket was the best effort with 212,300 viewers, beating CBBC’s dragons: riders of Berk.
➤ In the absence of the Great British Bake off, countryfile was restored to the top of the line-up. Its audience was 170,000 up on last week, meaning the competition was trailing by nearly 3 million viewers. Otherwise, ITV grabbed two places.
top 10 draMa proGraMMes
top 10 entertainMent proGraMMes
Title
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Downton Abbey Ripper Street The Escape Artist Holby City The Paradise Agatha Christie’s Poirot Atlantis Casualty Waterloo Road Breathless
Day
Start
Viewers (millions)
Share (%)
Channel
Sun Mon Tue Tue Sun Wed Sat Sat Thu Thu
21.00 21.00 21.00 20.00 20.00 20.00 20.15 21.15 20.00 21.00
9.59 5.08 5.02 4.88 4.73 4.70 4.63 4.17 2.61 2.24
37.52 22.77 22.23 21.59 17.95 21.21 19.93 19.13 12.65 11.16
ITV BBC1 BBC1 BBC1 BBC1 ITV BBC1 BBC1 BBC1 ITV
➤ ripper street returned with 1 million fewer viewers than last year’s debut, while the escape artist managed a solid start with just over 5 million viewers. Neither could beat the imperious downton abbey, which continued to outshine the competition.
up Countryfile gains 170,000
down Ripper Street loses 1m on 2012
up Sunday’s Strictly gains 560,000
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 9
Citizen Khan Fool Britannia The Wrong Mans The Big Bang Theory The Simpsons The Simpsons Bluestone 42 The Simpsons Dad’s Army The Sarah Millican TV Programme
Strictly Come Dancing: Results Strictly Come Dancing The X Factor Results The X Factor Have I Got News For You Surprise Surprise Pointless Pointless The Graham Norton Show The Chase
Day
Start
Viewers (millions)
Share (%)
Channel
Sun Sat Sun Sat Fri Sun Mon Wed Fri Mon
19.20 18.30 20.00 20.00 21.00 19.00 17.15 17.15 22.35 17.00
10.12 9.98 8.69 7.87 4.49 4.02 3.66 3.60 3.59 3.59
38.74 43.79 32.96 34.10 20.56 15.92 22.64 23.34 25.58 23.16
BBC1 BBC1 ITV ITV BBC1 ITV BBC1 BBC1 BBC1 ITV
➤ Another week and the familiar pattern of strictly come dancing on top continued, as the BBC1 show registered a series high on Sunday. the x factor remained steady, but its audience is relatively low compared to previous years.
up Downton Abbey adds 310,000
down X Factor Results stumble 400,000
up Atlantis rises 240,000
top 10 Music & arts proGraMMes
Day
Start
Viewers (millions)
Share (%)
Channel
Fri Sat Tue Thu Wed Mon Fri Fri Sat Tue
21.30 18.30 21.00 20.30 18.00 18.00 23.20 18.00 20.30 21.30
2.86 2.26 1.83 1.73 1.56 1.50 1.37 1.36 1.35 1.35
13.88 10.42 7.85 8.35 8.60 7.63 13.57 7.50 5.81 6.18
BBC1 ITV BBC2 E4 C4 C4 BBC1 C4 BBC2 BBC2
➤ the wrong Mans bowed out with 1.8 million viewers, but was just edged by ITV’s fool Britannia and citizen khan on BBC1. the Big Bang theory returned with an impressive 1.7 million for E4. Elsewhere, a BBC1 repeat of Bluestone 42 performed well. next week sport and current affairs www.broadcastnow.co.uk
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 9
down Monday’s One Show down 350,000
top 10 coMedy proGraMMes Title
Title
Title
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 10
Mercury Prize: Live Announcement Imagine... Jimi Hendrix Live From The National Theatre Later Live... With Jools Holland Pink Floyd: Wish You Were Here Pink Floyd: A Delicate Sound… Later... With Jools Holland Talking Pictures Pink Floyd Miscellany 1967-2005 The Culture Show: S Johnson Prize
Day
Start
Viewers (millions)
Share (%)
Channel
Wed Tue Sat Tue Fri Fri Fri Sat Fri Wed
22.00 22.35 21.00 22.00 21.00 22.00 23.05 12.45 23.35 22.00
1.72 1.45 0.95 0.71 0.43 0.40 0.38 0.31 0.31 0.30
8.72 14.88 4.97 4.01 2.03 2.63 3.84 3.22 4.14 1.61
C4 BBC1 BBC2 BBC2 BBC4 BBC4 BBC2 BBC2 BBC4 BBC2
➤ Channel 4 revealed James Blake as the winner of the Mercury prize in front of an audience that topped last year’s showing of 975,300 (5.1% share). Elsewhere, imagine… Jimi Hendrix was not far behind, topping a slew of BBC2 and BBC4 entries.
See over for demographic and digital focus 8 November 2013 | Broadcast | 31
Ratings Mon 28 Oct – Sun 3 Nov Demographic focus Channels
Individuals Share (%)
Adults ABC1 Share (%)1
Source: BARB
Adults ABC1 Profile (%)2
Adults 16-34 Share (%)1
Adults 16-34 Profile (%)2
Male Share (%)1
Male Profile (%)2
Female Share (%)1
Female Profile (%)2
BBC1
21.37
26.11
47.58
13.14
10.44
21.62
45.88
21.17
54.12
ITV
16.06
15.24
36.95
12.25
12.95
12.73
35.94
18.83
64.06 54.43
BBC2
5.45
7.35
52.53
3.11
9.70
5.48
45.57
5.43
C4
5.45
5.86
41.87
7.01
21.83
5.30
44.09
5.58
55.92
C5
4.18
3.65
34.03
3.93
15.96
3.84
41.65
4.46
58.35 63.49
ITV2
2.54
2.11
32.36
4.22
28.19
2.05
36.52
2.96
ITV3
2.42
2.17
34.90
0.73
5.15
2.06
38.55
2.72
61.45
E4
1.77
1.75
38.41
4.82
46.11
1.78
45.42
1.77
54.58
Sky Spts 1
1.54
1.90
47.99
2.36
25.98
2.38
70.10
0.84
29.90
Dave
1.50
1.48
38.49
2.78
31.52
2.02
61.25
1.06
38.74
Film 4
1.41
1.14
31.48
1.54
18.60
1.68
54.28
1.18
45.72
BBC3
1.36
1.19
34.14
3.47
43.23
1.51
50.25
1.24
49.76
Mpre 4
1.29
1.47
44.36
1.23
16.23
1.21
42.52
1.36
57.48
ITV4
1.07
0.87
31.39
0.86
13.60
1.55
65.37
0.68
34.66
5 USA
1.00
0.88
34.22
0.84
14.30
0.84
37.84
1.14
62.17
BBC4
0.85
1.17
53.75
0.28
5.63
1.04
55.46
0.69
44.54
Sky 1
0.77
0.73
36.87
1.44
31.67
0.95
55.87
0.62
44.13
Yesterday
0.67
0.59
34.27
0.20
5.11
0.83
56.69
0.53
43.24
Drama
0.65
0.53
31.85
0.34
9.03
0.63
44.14
0.66
55.90
11%
Channel 4’s mental health doc Bedlam beat the channel’s AB slot average of 8.7% (Thursday, 9pm).
Share covers all hours. Figures include HD and +1 where applicable 1: Each channel’s share of total demographic. 2: Demographic as a percentage of the channel’s total viewers.
Digital focus
Big impact for E4’s Big Bang BY stephen price
Apparently, at the time of the much ballyhooed Big Bang, there was no bang, just expansion. But The Big Expansion Theory just sounded like elasticated slacks, which is not a great brand image. E4 won’t care, though, as its acquired sitcom continues to expand. The Big Bang Theory began its new series on E4 on Thursday at 8.30pm with its best figures yet – 1.7 million/8% (inc +1) was not far off C4’s George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces (2 million/10% in its second half, incl +1). It was also too much for C5’s Benidorm ER: 1.1 million/6% (incl +1). ITV2 took second spot – Celebrity Juice: Halloween Special spooking 1.5 million/9% from 10pm, following the fourth episode of Tricked, which achieved its best yet – 1 million/5% from 9pm. BBC3’s best performer was a Family Guy on Sunday at 10pm (1.1 million/5%), but its best commissioned show was the penultimate Don’t Tell The Bride (0.9 million/4%). 32 | Broadcast | 8 November 2013
Source: BARB
DiGiTAl HomES
Top 30 mulTiCHAnnEl pRoGRAmmES Title
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 12 12 15 16 16 18 18 20 20 22 23 24 24 26 27 28 28 30
The Big Bang Theory Celebrity Juice: Halloween Live Saturday Night Football Live Capital One Cup Live Ford Super Sunday Family Guy Live Ford Super Sunday Tricked Foyle’s War Don'’t Tell The Bride The Xtra Factor Lewis Live Capital One Cup The Only Way Is Essex Midsomer Murders Family Guy Only Connect Peter Andre: My Life Hollyoaks Inspector Montalbano The Only Way Is Essex The Big Bang Theory Agatha Christie’s Poirot Family Guy The Moaning Of Life Hollyoaks Family Guy Family Guy Don’t Tell The Bride Casper
Figures include HD and +1 where applicable
Day
Thu Thu Sat Tue Sun Sun Sun Thu Sat Tue Sun Sun Wed Sun Tue Sun Mon Mon Tue Sat Wed Mon Thu Sat Sun Wed Mon Tue Wed Sat
Start
20.30 22.00 17.00 19.30 15.30 22.00 12.30 21.00 19.55 21.00 21.00 19.00 19.30 22.00 20.00 22.25 20.30 21.00 19.00 21.00 22.00 18.30 20.00 24.00 21.00 19.00 23.20 23.25 20.00 17.15
Viewers (millions)
Share (%)
Channel
1.73 1.49 1.38 1.31 1.27 1.08 1.07 0.99 0.94 0.93 0.90 0.87 0.87 0.87 0.85 0.83 0.83 0.80 0.80 0.75 0.75 0.73 0.71 0.69 0.69 0.67 0.66 0.65 0.65 0.64
8.35 8.93 6.91 5.80 7.64 5.38 9.62 4.95 4.12 4.10 3.47 3.39 3.93 4.87 3.78 5.24 3.50 3.61 3.80 3.65 4.31 3.45 3.43 9.07 2.70 3.23 8.58 7.95 2.92 3.33
E4 ITV2 Sky Spts 1 Sky Spts 1 Sky Spts 1 BBC 3 Sky Spts 1 ITV2 ITV3 BBC 3 ITV2 ITV3 Sky Spts 1 ITV2 ITV3 BBC3 BBC4 ITV2 E4 BBC 4 ITV2 E4 ITV3 BBC3 Sky 1 E4 BBC3 BBC3 BBC3 ITV2
Channels
Share (%)
BBC1 ITV BBC2 C4 C5 Total multichannel ITV2 ITV3 E4 CBeebies Sky Sports 1 Dave Film 4 BBC3 More 4 BBC News ITV4 5 USA
21.37 16.06 5.45 5.45 4.18 47.49 2.54 2.42 1.77 1.62 1.54 1.50 1.41 1.36 1.29 1.10 1.07 1.00
Figures include HD and +1 where applicable
614k Episode one of E4’s Drifters beat the Thursday 9pm slot average of 434,000.
www.broadcastnow.co.uk
All BARB ratings supplied by: Attentional
NoN-PSB toP 50 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Title
Day
Start
Viewers (000s) Share (all homes) %
Broadcaster/ Producer*
Live Ford Saturday Night Football Live Capital One Cup Live Ford Super Sunday Live Ford Super Sunday Live Capital One Cup Karl Pilkington: The Moaning Of Life Jonathan Creek Live Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix Storage Hunters Storage Hunters Dracula Elementary Mrs Brown’s Boys Live Newcastle United V Chelsea Abu Dhabi F1 Gp Qualifying Ross Noble: Freewheeling Storage Hunters Lizard Lick Towing Arrow Live Championship Storage Hunters Storage Hunters Live International Rugby Union The Simpsons QI XL New Tricks What’s The Story? Not Going Out The Simpsons Lizard Lick Towing The Simpsons Storage Hunters Storage Hunters Storage Hunters Mock The Week Gillette Soccer Saturday Storage Hunters The Simpsons Storage Hunters Storage Hunters The Simpsons Not Going Out Not Going Out Gillette Soccer Saturday The Blacklist Mrs Brown’s Boys Mock The Week The Simpsons The Walking Dead The Simpsons
Sat Tue Sun Sun Wed Sun Fri Sun Wed Tue Thu Tue Sun Sat Sat Tue Fri Wed Mon Mon Thu Mon Sat Mon Tue Thu Wed Thu Wed Wed Wed Thu Wed Tue Wed Sat Tue Tue Mon Fri Tue Thu Sat Sat Fri Wed Wed Mon Fri Fri
17.00 19.30 15.30 12.30 19.30 21.00 21.00 11.30 19.30 19.30 21.00 21.00 21.00 11.30 12.00 22.00 19.30 20.00 20.00 19.30 19.30 19.30 13.30 19.30 21.00 21.00 22.00 21.00 18.30 20.30 19.00 19.00 19.00 15.30 22.40 12.00 19.00 19.00 19.00 19.00 18.30 21.40 21.40 15.00 21.00 21.40 22.00 19.00 22.00 19.30
1,381,900 1,305,500 1,274,900 1,072,100 870,600 690,500 535,800 534,800 505,800 479,600 476,400 472,500 460,200 429,500 426,000 420,200 418,600 409,500 403,900 400,000 396,000 391,300 389,200 384,100 383,000 382,400 377,500 376,800 376,000 370,800 369,200 368,200 365,400 361,400 357,500 355,200 346,400 343,900 342,400 340,600 335,700 332,100 318,100 316,500 316,200 315,700 314,700 314,400 313,000 312,000
Sky Sports 1 Sky Sports 1 Sky Sports 1 Sky Sports 1 Sky Sports 1 Sky 1/Me & You Productions Drama Sky Sports F1 Dave Dave Sky Living Sky Living Gold/Boc-Pix/RTÉ BT Sport 1 Sky Sports F1 Dave/North One/Stunt Baby Dave Dave Sky 1 Sky Sports 1 Dave Dave Sky Sports 2 Sky 1 Dave/Talkback Drama/Wall to Wall Sky Sports 1 Dave/Avalon Sky 1 Dave Sky 1 Dave Dave Dave Dave/Angst TV Sky Sports News Dave Sky 1 Dave Dave Sky 1 Dave/Avalon Dave/Avalon Sky Sports 1 Sky Living Gold/Boc-Pix/RTÉ Dave/Avalon Sky 1 Fox Sky 1
6.91 5.80 7.64 9.62 3.93 2.70 2.60 4.89 2.28 2.17 2.37 2.09 1.77 4.59 4.51 2.67 1.92 1.88 1.72 1.76 1.95 1.74 3.34 1.71 1.70 1.95 2.26 1.87 1.91 1.64 1.78 1.95 1.76 4.44 2.88 3.00 1.64 1.63 1.60 1.68 1.66 1.74 1.56 2.50 1.49 1.53 1.74 1.47 1.87 1.43
Figures include HD and +1 where applicable
Dracula www.broadcastnow.co.uk
Ross Noble Freewheeling
91k
Sky Atlantic’s Jews On Bikes was almost three times the 31,000 slot average
Dracula has bite for Living BY stepheN pRice
In 1898, Bram Stoker penned a romantic novel called Miss Betty. Little did he know that he had spawned a monster; decades later a comedian in a beret would make the name Betty synonymous with calamity. Oh, and his gothic yarn of lust and death did well too. On Thursday at 9pm, Sky Living launched UK/US co-production Dracula to 476,000/2%. Recording will be strong and old red eyes will hope to replicate the likes of Living’s other dramas Elementary and The Blacklist, which can more than double via PVR. Live, the second episode of the new series of Elementary on Tuesday at 9pm scored 473,000/ 2%, while The Blacklist achieved 316,000/1.6% on Friday at 9pm. At the other end of the glamour scale, Ross Noble’s Freewheeling debuted on Dave on Tuesday at 10pm with a decent 420,000/3%. The channel’s best non-storage programme this week, it gathered another 220,000 from three repeats. Storage Hunters still lords it, however, with 506,000/ 2% on Wednesday at 7.30pm. The best non-sport programme was Sky 1’s Karl Pilkington: The Moaning Of Life with 691,000/3% on Sunday at 9pm. The next best was Drama’s persistent high flyer Jonathan Creek, with his best performance yet, 536,000/3%, on Friday at 9pm. 8 November 2013 | Broadcast | 33
Ratings Mon 21 Oct – Sun 27 Oct
All BARB ratings supplied by: Attentional
Consolidated Ratings
Living success: it’s Elementary BY Stephen price
There’s a spot in Iceland where, you can, geologically speaking, simultaneously have one foot in America and one in Europe. The steam rising from the vented ground makes it feel rather medieval and easier to understand why it’s one of the locations for Game Of Thrones. Speaking of imported stories, some UK channels have much more than one foot in the US side of the drama divide and its beginning to pay, while for others proclaiming originality and Britishness might not necessarily be enough. Elsewhere, dead people returned just as the window closed on education, Yorkshire-style.
Sky Living: Elementary Sky Living’s rollout of new or returning drama post relaunch
Source: BARB
continues apace. Of the titles to be consolidated, US dramas are drawing the bigger audiences. On Tuesday 22 October at 9pm, the second series of Elementary, the American take on Sherlock Holmes, began with a live audience of 521,000/2%. After more than 700,000 recorded and watched, it finished on 1.2 million/5%. The Blacklist (Friday 25 October at 9pm) consolidated to 1.3 million/ 5% after 800,000 watched via PVR. On Wednesday at 9pm, UKproduced Mount Pleasant achieved a consolidated rating of 631,000 /2% after just 313,000 watched via PVR. It’s interesting that both The Blacklist and Elementary, neither of which are available on Freeview, were recorded more than BBC1’s Truckers (2.7 million/11% after 386,000 recorded) and ITV’s Breathless (3 million/13% after 684,000 recorded), both of which were universally available at 9pm on Thursday 24 October.
Fox: The Walking Dead Fox’s The Walking Dead returned
for a fourth season on 18 October at 10pm with 793,000/4%, after more than 470,000 recorded and watched. The second episode topped that with 819,000/4% after adding more than 520,000. Three consolidated repeats have so far boosted the total to 1.2 million.
BBC1: Atlantis This week, BBC1’s adventure serial Atlantis achieved a live rating of 4.4 million/19%, its lowest yet. It was still the third most recorded show of the week, but ending on 5.6 million/22%, it became the first episode not to break 6 million. So far, the series is averaging 6.3 million/24%; at this stage last year’s final Merlin series was just ahead on 6.9 million/26%.
ITV’s Poirot added almost 1.2 million viewers including PVR and catch-up
UP Great British Bake Off ends on 9.5m
Channel 4: Educating Yorkshire Channel 4’s Educating Yorkshire ended on 24 October at 9pm with 4 million/17% after more than 900,000 recorded and watched. Overall, the eight-part series averaged 4.2 million/17% with 5 September’s 4.8 million 18% the best.
TOP 30 CONSOLiDATED RATiNgS: RANkED BY gAiN
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 9 11 12 13 14 15 15 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
6.1m DOWN Breathless down 700k
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Title
Day
Start
Viewers (m) (all homes)
Share %
Gain (m)
Gain %
Downton Abbey Doc Martin Atlantis Poirot By Any Means The Wrong Mans Strictly Come Dancing The Great British Bake Off Casualty Educating Yorkshire Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Under The Dome Coronation Street CSI: New York The Blacklist The Paradise Eastenders CSI: New York Coronation Street The X Factor Elementary Eastenders Breathless Coronation Street Have I Got News For You Citizen Khan Celebrity Juice Person Of Interest Coronation Street Grand Designs
Sun Mon Sat Wed Sun Tue Sat Tue Sat Thu Fri Mon Fri Tue Fri Sun Fri Tue Wed Sat Tue Tue Thu Fri Fri Fri Thu Thu Mon Wed
21.00 21.00 20.15 20.00 21.00 21.00 18.30 20.00 21.15 21.00 20.00 22.00 20.30 22.00 21.00 20.00 20.00 21.00 19.30 20.00 21.00 19.30 21.00 19.30 21.00 21.30 22.00 22.00 20.30 21.00
11.54 9.05 5.61 6.06 4.07 2.93 10.66 9.45 4.76 4.02 2.82 2.00 9.07 2.46 1.31 5.44 7.13 2.49 9.96 8.92 1.23 7.45 3.03 9.19 5.25 3.50 1.92 1.71 10.15 3.49
38.33 32.70 22.00 23.68 13.64 10.71 45.30 33.84 19.17 16.57 11.48 10.02 35.95 12.50 5.50 19.07 30.23 9.33 43.24 34.77 4.62 31.28 12.54 41.59 21.75 15.46 10.07 9.14 37.77 13.39
1.96 1.42 1.24 1.16 1.05 0.99 0.97 0.96 0.91 0.91 0.90 0.89 0.87 0.86 0.80 0.80 0.79 0.75 0.74 0.72 0.71 0.69 0.68 0.67 0.66 0.64 0.62 0.61 0.60 0.59
20.50 18.60 28.50 23.60 35.00 51.10 10.00 11.30 23.80 29.10 46.90 79.90 10.60 53.80 157.20 17.20 12.40 43.60 8.00 8.80 136.50 10.20 29.10 7.80 14.30 22.60 48.00 54.80 6.30 20.50
Broadcaster ITV ITV BBC1 ITV BBC1 BBC2 BBC1 BBC2 BBC1 C4 C4 C5 ITV C5 Sky Living BBC1 BBC1 C5 ITV ITV Sky Living BBC1 ITV ITV BBC1 BBC1 ITV2 C5 ITV C4
Figures include HD and +1 where applicable
34 | Broadcast | 8 November 2013
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Making peace with Peres?
ALL A TWITTER
This week’s odd couple: Channel 4’s Justin Gorman and Israeli president Shimon Peres, who met this week in Jerusalem at Keshet’s IN TV Conference. Rumours of an 8 Out Of 10 Cats special on the Middle East peace talks have yet to be confirmed.
I’d like Saul from Homeland to get his own spin-off show with Saul from Breaking Bad. Called Saul To Saul. @OC (Christian O’Connell) DJ, Absolute Radio Portas: Homeland selfie
Dramaface shares TV gold
Security at NBH [New Broadcasting House] a bit much. Full airport protocol just to use the toilet. Maybe put one in the lobby?
Mary Portas appears to be enjoying episode five of Homeland, and the self-styled queen of shops has shared her reaction with the nation – via Freesat’s #dramaface. The site, which launched on Halloween, invites viewers to upload their reactions to shows as they’re watching them. The campaign kicked off with a Halloween competition, the winner receiving a year’s supply of chocolate. Future competitions include Doctor Who, The X Factor and the ongoing #dramaface of the week.
Fiendish fun for film buffs Virgin Media took an unorthodox approach to Bonfire Night, with staff donning V For Vendetta masks for a fiendish movie quiz. Our own team, The Broadcast and The Furious, finished third, with the Shortlist team winning the quiz for the second consecutive year. Happily, both were ahead of the host’s own team, the Virgin Cocktails.
@rpg3000 (Robert Goldsbrough) Writer, Casualty
I am actually quite liking Gogglebox. Hard to believe they aren’t all Peter Serafinowicz characters though, tbh. @james_blue_cat (James Henry) Comedy writer
Could all the #Bluestone42 cast please stop tweeting lovely photos of S. Africa? It’s pissing down in Shepherds Bush. @NigelWilliams99 (Nigel Williams) Editor, Bluestone 42
Congratulations to Broadcast illustrator Kipper Williams, who has picked up a prestigious gong. Williams, whose work has also graced the Guardian and Spectator, walked away with the ‘Joke Cartooning Award’ at the 2013 Cartoon Art Trust Awards. He remains an ideal joking partner for Steven D Wright’s barbed view of TV – as his take on Vicious proved.
BIGBIGBIG
AND FINALLY ... Jessica Knappett Creator/star, E4’s Drifters
What’s the biggest lie you’ve ever told? Blagging my way into ‘Tim’s’ party by pretending I knew Tim. Chatting to someone, I asked him how he knew Tim. He was Tim. What’s the cruellest thing you’ve ever done? My friend was arguing with her boyfriend on the phone. I snatched it and told her boyfriend to stop being a c*nt. What TV channel would you most like to launch? The sexist channel. Loads of girls in bikinis with men dancing round singing and degrading and objectifying them… Oh no, that’s MTV. Who is your pin-up? Mr Mitchell from Educating Yorkshire (pictured). Is that bad? What TV shows would be in your fantasy schedule? The big three: Game Of Thrones, Made In Chelsea, Louie. The best and worst things about working in TV or radio? Best: being spoilt as an actor. You get picked up from work, someone does your make up, and you get given lovely food. Worst: this treatment tricks people into thinking they actually ARE special. Where’s the best place to do some ‘meeja’ networking? I prefer accidental networking. I was offered a job while drinking at the Sun & 13 Cantons in Soho.
www.sohonet.com www.sohonet.com
www.sohonet.com
WHEN YOU WHEN NEED YOU ITWHEN NEED TO BEIT YOU TONEED BE IT TO BE
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36 | Broadcast | 8 November 2013
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