www.broadcastnow.co.uk
18 July 2014
STEVEN D WRIGHT
PRODUCTION
BEHIND THE SCENES
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BBC shake-up: let the Masterclass: keeping TV Hunger Games begin health & safety simple
Around the world without a fixer
BBC in-house fallout continues Danny Cohen reveals more on plans as terms of trade and BBC Children’s enter the spotlight BY JAKE KANTER
Further details of the BBC’s radical production shake-up emerged this week, as some in-house producers voiced fears for their future in a commercial environment. On top of plans to scrap quotas and liberate BBC Productions, director of television Danny Cohen revealed that the corporation wants to overhaul the terms of trade, hinting that smaller, qualifying indies will get a better deal than their larger, non-qualifying counterparts, such as Shine Group and All3Media. Cohen told the Culture Media and Sport Committee that the BBC is working on plans to introduce “different terms of trade models for different-size organisations”. He added: “We don’t believe that the terms of trade for a global studio should be the same as for a small independent company.” Non-qualifying indies do not qualify for the terms of trade, but currently the BBC tends to do business with them on the same basis as qualifying producers. The BBC’s proposals will be discussed with trade body Pact and the indie community, alongside the wider plans to tear up quotas. Pact chief executive John McVay argued that Cohen had “misunderstood” the terms of trade, explaining that the BBC is free to negotiate whatever terms it likes with non-qualifying indies. He branded the wider ambition to overhaul the BBC’s supply model a “historic moment”, but told Broadcast that the corporation “jumped before it was pushed”
Celebrity MasterChef: in-house production is not equipped to compete with commercial rivals, argue some staff
The plans have unsettled many people and are fraught with practical difficulty BBC Productions insider
over the issue. He said caveats in the BBC’s vision, such as protecting in-house production outside of London, need to be “unpacked” because it would be “bitterly disappointing” if there were “preconditions” to the corporation’s move away from guarantees. Director general Tony Hall also revealed that BBC Children’s will be protected from the changes,
alongside news and sport. The corporation was unable to expand on its thinking, but it means that the Salford-based unit, which makes shows such as Blue Peter, will remain part of the corporation, even if BBC Productions becomes a standalone company. Cohen was grilled by staff at a briefing last Friday, where talent such as David Walliams and Brian Cox delivered VT messages backing the strength of in-house. But one production insider told Broadcast that many colleagues fear for their jobs and are worried about what the changes will mean to the terms and conditions of their employment. “It has unsettled many people and is fraught with practical difficulty. It’s going
to be tough to pull this off by 2017,” the source said. Another added that “the place has gone into meltdown”, arguing that in-house is not equipped to compete with commercial rivals because it is designed to fill specific BBC channel slots. A third insider, meanwhile, said: “This is a short hop, skip and jump to the BBC becoming a publisher broadcaster.” The uncertainty contrasted with the mood among BBC commissioners. One source said the current quotas have been a “nightmare” for some time, with commissioners only able to order the best ideas 30-40% of the time. “This gives us a blank page,” the insider said. ➤ See more coverage on pages 3 and 13
Editor’s Choice
Broadcast, Zetland House, 5-25 Scrutton Street, London EC2A 4HJ or email chris.curtis@broadcastnow.co.uk
Online this week www.broadcastnow.co.uk
Chris Curtis, Editor
Top News
BBC faces some tough questions How the corporation tackles them could decide its future direction
T
here should be no doubt about the amount of work the BBC needs to do around the overhaul of its in-house production. The proposals represent the kind of challenge that makes Eggheads (pictured) or Only Connect feel like The Guess List. Unlike the BBC3 online plan, there is no formal roadmap that details how the corporation will get to where it wants to be. That (perversely) is part of the plan,
‘What IP rights can it expect from UK rivals, especially as the BBC plans to get tougher over its own commissions?’ with Tony Hall and Danny Cohen keen to kick off a debate that can help shape the future of the corporation. You have to admire their bravery in grasping the issue of quotas and production – jumping before they have been pushed, according to Pact’s John McVay – but it inevitably means there is a degree of uncertainty. The implications of the changes are not lost on those working in-house, who are understandably nervous about their future. It might sound old-fashioned to the cynical indie sector, but there are those within BBC Productions who regard working there as a kind of civic duty. They tend to be long-term staffers who have no particular desire to work in the indie sector, and for whom public service is the important part of public service broadcasting. The challenge is to safeguard BBC values and bring 2 | Broadcast | 18 July 2014
them along on the ride, rather than just tell them to get used to the ‘real world’. Reading between the lines, making the standalone BBC Productions part of BBC Worldwide does not seem like the favoured option. That might prompt some slightly uneasy conversations with Tim Davie and his colleagues. As we report on page 13, BBCW’s origination strategy is already in full swing, and a rival organisation also trading on the BBC brand would be confusing. Director general Tony Hall told the DCMS select committee that BBC-originated IP is valuable and could “feed back to the licence fee payer” in a “virtuous circle”. Isn’t that exactly what BBCW does already? The BBC will also have to unpack just how commercial BBC Productions will be. If it makes a series for ITV or Channel 4, BBC Productions will presumably want to make a production margin – but will it if it is producing for the corporation? And what terms and IP rights can it expect from UK rivals, especially as the BBC plans to get tougher with big producers over its own commissions? The latter has the potential to get very complicated, very quickly. There is undeniable logic to offering smaller, domestic producers a better deal than global superproducers. But if the whole point of the in-house shake-up is to ensure the BBC offers licence fee payers the best programmes, that change might have the opposite effect. Answering some of these questions is the next step – but it won’t be easy.
è The BBC’s coverage of the opening day of the 2014 Commonwealth Games faces disruption after unions agreed to strike, rejecting a revised pay offer from the corporation.
è Pioneer Productions programming chief Jeremy Dear has left the business to set up his own indie, The Ideas Room.
è Simon Shaps (right) has left Core Media as the American Idol owner reins in its international business to focus on the US market.
Ratings Top Five 1 Germany’s World Cup triumph (below) over Argentina peaked with a combined share of more than 75% on Sunday as 20m viewers tuned in to the final on BBC1 and ITV. 2 C4 thriller Utopia returned on Monday with just over 500,000 viewers – its lowest overnight audience to date. 3 C5 ob-doc On The Yorkshire Buses drove off with an audience of 1.2m on Friday – outperforming the return of C4’s The Million Pound Drop. 4 ITV’s one-off doc Champneys, exploring the Hertfordshire hideaway, mustered just 2.2m on Thursday.
Silver River’s two-part BBC1 doc Too Many Immigrants? got under way with 3.5m on Tuesday. 5
Talking TV podcast è Visit broadcastnow.co.uk or iTunes to download Talking TV, which this week focuses on the BBC’s proposal to scrap its quota system – and goes behind the digital rig of C4’s The Secret Life Of Students.
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News & Analysis
BBC Productions eyes ‘creative headroom’ BY Chris Curtis
BBC Productions’ factual and daytime division hopes to revel in the “new creative headroom” afforded by the proposed quota overhaul, while remaining true to its traditional public service values. Controller Natalie Humphreys told Broadcast she was determined to strike the right balance and has spent the week in Glasgow, London and Bristol explaining the proposals to staff and gauging reaction. She plans to go to Salford, Cardiff and Belfast shortly. BBC Productions staff are already talking internally of “slipping the leash” and early ideas include selling spin-off series from established BBC brands to other broadcasters or developing online extensions. Asked about this, Humphreys said: “There are areas where our programme-making teams are hard to match, such as copperbottomed consumer programming like Watchdog. We know how to minimise risk when it comes to challenging production. “The BBC would continue to look to us for that, but these are
“The big idea, which is that there should be freedom of competition for the BBC to publish from all sources, will help Tony Hall argue with the government to keep the licence fee.” Steve Morrison, chairman, All3Media
Watchdog: team could take their ‘copper-bottomed’ skills to the market
also rare skill sets that we could take out to market.” Humphreys believes the overhaul will also give BBC Productions “more freedom when it comes to the types of deals and partnerships we can do”, and stressed that online and digital were areas for innovation. But she is determined to hang on to what makes BBC in-house distinctive. “The in-house guarantee is more than just a quota to people – it can represent their commitment to working for the BBC. I’m passion-
BY Alexandra Chapman
www.broadcastnow.co.uk
“It’s phenomenal to see the BBC making a bold move, which can only spell good news for TV audiences. A level playing field is better for all producers.” Alex Mahon, chief executive, Shine Group
ate about making sure we have the talent along with the distinctive values and heritage that make us stand out from the crowd.” Humphreys also said it was important that the industry understands the ambition for BBC Productions as an independent entity. “I don’t see a future in which every single thing we make will be an international, commercial money-spinner,” she said. “It’s about a range, carrying on taking risks, and innovating. Some things will be highly profitable and others won’t.”
Bectu seeks meeting with DG over BBC plans Bectu has demanded a meeting with BBC director general Tony Hall after raising concerns over the corporation’s plans to radically transform in-house production. General secretary Gerry Morrissey has written to the DG following last week’s announcement that in-house quotas would be scrapped, which will open up £400m worth of commissioning opportunities to the independent production sector. Morrissey requested a formal meeting with Hall and director of television Danny Cohen, which he hopes will happen in the next fortnight. He is concerned about
End of BBC quotas The Indie verdict
Gerry Morrissey: job cut concerns
potential job cuts and was dissatisfied with the way the BBC communicated its vision to staff. “Thousands of jobs are at stake if this happens,” Morrissey told Broadcast. “Legally, BBC Productions could not remain inside the BBC because of the licence fee.
This would mean staff are no longer officially BBC employees and would be guaranteed nothing.” He added that the plans could be a “disaster” for the BBC in the long term, effectively transforming the corporation into a “publisher broadcaster”. Morrissey added: “The justification for the licence fee becomes exceptionally weak.” The general secretary also criticised the way the message was communicated, claiming it was not the first time staff had learned about substantial changes to their future from the media. Hall announced the plan to a small industry audience at City University last Thursday and employees were fully briefed the next day.
“An open system should ensure that the very best creative ideas make it to the BBC screen. That’s great for the UK audience and the creative economy.” Debbie Manners, managing director, Keo Films “I welcome the principal that staff locked up in White City will become more entrepreneurial. We have to be prepared to up our game, and we won’t be intimidated by that.” Richard Farmbrough, managing director, Reef Television “The [quota] model was built for a time that has gone – the landscape has changed and you have to change with it.” Neil Duncanson, chief executive, North One Television “Overall this is a good thing, but it is better news for super-indies than for smaller companies like us. They will not be restricted [by the quota system] any more.” Nicole Kleeman, executive producer, Firecrest Productions “If the BBC is going to give its in-house producers freedom, it has to understand that the world of independent producing can be a dirty business. Some of the internal producers will be terrified; most should welcome it.” Wayne Garvie, chief creative officer, Sony Pictures Television
18 July 2014 | Broadcast | 3
News & Analysis
Garden lands access double We believe the repu tation we’ve built has encouraged Virgin and NatWest to open their doors
BY Peter white and Alexandra Chapman
High-street bank NatWest and airline Virgin Atlantic are the latest companies to open their doors for access documentaries made by The Garden Productions. The indie has been commissioned by BBC2 to produce The Bank (working title), while it will make Virgin series Up In The Air for its parent company, ITV. Both are 3 x 60-minute series. The Bank, which is being lined up for a 2015 TX, will take a closer look at the day-to-day workings at one of NatWest’s northern branches, focusing on the inter action between staff and customers. It was ordered by Emma Willis, head of documentaries for BBC1, BBC2 and BBC4, and BBC2 controller Kim Shillinglaw. The series is exec produced by Zac Beattie, with How The Other Half Live producer Heenan Bhatti acting as series producer and director. Elsewhere, The Garden will lift the lid on Richard Bransonfounded airline Virgin Atlantic as it turns 30 this year. The series will follow characters in the
David Wise, The Garden
Virgin Atlantic: Richard Branson’s airline will be focus of ITV access doc
company as it seeks to return to being a market leader, and will examine innovations including uniforms supplied by Vivienne Westwood and a new range of Dreamliner planes. The series comes hot on the heels of Lion Television’s BBC2 series A Very British Airline, which went behind the scenes at Virgin’s biggest rival, British Airways. It aired in June to an
average audience of 2.4 million (9.1%) over its three parts. Up in the Air was ordered by ITV director of factual Richard Klein and Jo Clinton-Davis, controller of factual. It will be exec produced by Magnus Temple and Lucy Bowden, while the series producer is Liz Collier. Simon Draper is the director. The Garden’s head of programmes David Wise told Broad-
cast it took two years to secure access to both brands. The indie is also making an access piece on Tatler magazine for BBC2. “We believe the reputation we’ve built through our other high-profile access series like 24 Hours In A&E and Inside Claridge’s has encouraged Virgin and NatWest to open their doors to us with a level of trust that’s essential to creating memor able and genuinely insightful television,” Wise said. Access docs are enjoying success across many UK channels, with other examples including Channel 4’s Liberty Of London and Sky 1’s Greggs: More Than Meats The Pie. “It’s a fascinating time to be making these documentaries, with such privileged access and with so much at stake for the companies,” added Wise.
Immigration to get Benefits Street treatment Like benefits, immigration produces a wide spectrum of opinion
BY Matthew Campelli
Love Productions wants to build on the success of controversial series Benefits Street by creating another UK-wide debate, this time around immigration. Immigration Street was unveiled by Channel 4 last week. The 6 x 60-minute series will adopt the Benefits Street formula, featuring key returning characters and thematic episodes depicting life on Derby Road in Southampton. Love creative director for factual Kieran Smith said inspiration came from the second episode of Benefits Street, when 14 Romanians moved into a house on the featured James Turner Street in Birmingham. “We had no idea that was going to happen, and Immigration Street 4 | Broadcast | 18 July 2014
Kieran Smith, Love Productions
Benefits Street: sparked debate
was born out of that,” said Smith. “We spoke to C4 and, like benefits, we agreed immigration produced a wide spectrum of opinion.” As well as depicting immigrants who have just arrived in the UK,
the series will explore the experiences of “second- and third-generation immigrants”. Smith wants Immigration Street to have a similar impact to Benefits Street, which provoked controversy for its portrayal of the lives of those relying on the welfare system, and averaged nearly 6 million viewers. It also inspired shows such as Channel 5’s Benefits Britain: Life On The Dole. “With Benefits Street, we’re pleased we made a documentary
with a story that made an impact,” Smith said. “However, there’s a section of society that can’t deal with big debates. Immigration needs debate, although you’ll always get people talking in inflammatory and aggressive ways.” The producer admitted that getting access to Derby Road was not helped by Benefits Street, but pointed to Ofcom’s ruling on the C4 show, which found that Love used “best practice” production techniques when dealing with James Turner Street residents. Love is also making a follow-up to Make Bradford British in Leicester for C4. Smith said there is some crossover between the shows, but made clear that Immigration Street is an ob-doc, while Make Leicester British is a format. www.broadcastnow.co.uk
News & Analysis
Surge in indie digital income Pact report outlines ‘credible’ money-making opportunities as ‘digital pennies’ come to an end BY MATTHEW CAMPELLI
The indie sector’s digital revenues tripled to £100m last year on the back of more “credible” moneymaking opportunities in the space, according to a Pact report. The trade body’s annual Independent Production Sector Financial Census and Survey revealed that turnover from new media activity increased by 203% in 2013/14 – adding weight to the argument that the era of ‘digital pennies’ is over. Pact chief executive John McVay said indies were benefiting from “more opportunities, more apps, more distribution and more places that are credible where you can actually make money”. The survey specifically pointed to websites and apps as being central to the revenue boost. Recent success stories include apps for Endemol’s The Million Pound Drop and Thames’ The X Factor, the latter of which incorporated paidfor voting for the first time last year. McVay said: “For a long time, we had a lot of what I call the ‘digirati’ telling us that television was dead and we might as well pack up and concentrate on the internet. I think some of that is coming true in terms of actually being able to make money out of it.” But he reiterated that the digital figures are still “modest” compared with the overall revenue of just over £3bn generated by the indie sector last year. The research, carried out by Oliver & Ohlbaum Associates, showed combined turnover leapt up 8.1% from £2.8bn in 2012. Total UK commissioning turnover grew to nearly £1.8bn last year, up from £1.6bn in 2012. The BBC and the three main commercial terrestrial networks accounted for 77% of this spend, but there was significant growth in multichannel commissions. Broadcasters including UKTV and Sky increased their programming spend by £141m, or 59%, to £381m in 2013. In contrast, the BBC’s commissioning outlay fell 7.1% to £476m over the same period, the report said. www.broadcastnow.co.uk
INDIE REVENUE AT A GLANCE
£3bn
Indie sector revenues up 8.1%
£939m
International revenues rise 12%
£100m
Digital turnover triples
£381m
Multichannel commissioning spend
53%
Medium-sized indies produce more than half of UK commissions
The Million Pound Drop: app for Endemol show has contributed to revenue
International revenues also continued to increase, jumping 12% to £939m. This means deals with overseas content platforms now account for 31% of UK indie sector revenue. McVay pointed to the surge in popularity of factual entertainment formats in the US as a major catalyst for the growth. He said British production companies had benefited from a change in viewing patterns in the US, where people had become “bored” of scripted television. “I don’t see the trend stopping,” he added. Revenue from direct
The ‘digirati’ have been telling us that TV is dead. I think some of that is coming true John McVay, Pact
international broadcaster commissions increased by 8.7% from £589m in 2012 to £640m last year – a statistic McVay attributed to the increased presence of British indies at the Realscreen Summit. Some 50 companies attended the Washington event in January.
“The US market is a very attractive place to get shows away that you might not be able to in the UK. It’s competitive and open, and primary commissions have experienced increases over a number of years,” said the Pact chief executive. The growth has helped fuel the trade body’s decision to launch a US app, providing details of commissioners in the country. Elsewhere, smaller indies continued to grow, as companies with turnover below £10m generated 26.3% of overall indie sector profitability last year – up from 21% in 2012. Producers with a turnover between £25m and £75m more than doubled their share of UK programming spend to 53%. McVay claimed the figures “blew a hole in the thesis” that broadcasters were being “held to ransom” by super-indies. He added: “Buyers control everything. Smaller indies are doing a lot of work for Channel 5, and a broad range of companies are winning commissions from Channel 4. If you look at the numbers, C4 is meeting its independent sector remit quite clearly.” 18 July 2014 | Broadcast | 5
News & Analysis In Brief £100K fine for Discovery Ofcom has fined Discovery £100,000 for broadcasting several episodes of Deadly Women, featuring reconstructions of torture, knife attacks and dismemberment, before the 9pm watershed. The broadcaster was found in breach of three rules of the broadcasting code and the penalty is in the upper bracket of fines levied by Ofcom. Discovery apologised for the breach.
BBC Store hunts head BBC Worldwide is hunting for a general manager of BBC Store ahead of the departure of Simon Danker (above) this autumn. Danker, who heads the download-toown portal alongside Global iPlayer and YouTube channels, is to leave the BBC after 14 years at its commercial arm. He will exit ahead of the launch of BBC Store, which the corporation has confirmed will go live in 2015.
BBCW inks Cuba deal BBC Worldwide has struck a first-look deal with Cuba Pictures, the TV and film indie backed by literary and talent agency Curtis Brown Group. The international arm of the BBC will provide investment for Cuba’s slate of television projects in return for first refusal on international distribution. Cuba was established in 2008 to collaborate with Curtis Brown’s authors, directors, screenwriters and actors.
Shaps exits Core Media Simon Shaps has left Core Media after 18 months, as the American Idol owner reins in its international business to focus on the US market. During his time at Core, the former ITV exec established a UK division of its US indie Sharp Entertainment. The strategy change comes as Core, which is owned by Apollo Global Management, prepares to become part of a mega-indie formed with Endemol and Shine.
For the latest breaking news www.broadcastnow.co.uk 6 | Broadcast | 18 July 2014
Amazon Prime to chase UK first-run acquisitions BY peter white
Amazon is ramping up its strategy to acquire exclusive, firstrun content for the UK market after picking up Halle Berry sci-fi drama Extant. The US retail giant is taking on UK terrestrial and pay-TV broadcasters, as well as online rivals such as Netflix, as it beefs up Amazon Prime Instant Video. “We are now competing with the terrestrial broadcasters for first- run content,” said Russell Morris, marketing and merchandising director of Amazon Prime. “Our focus is to dial up the quality. We’re able to do that because the response to Amazon Prime has exceeded our expectations, so we can invest even more in that quality content.” In addition to snapping up Steven Spielberg-produced Extant from CBS Studios International, the service has previously gained first-run rights to series such as MGM period drama Vikings. Also among Amazon’s 15,000 hours of movies, television and kids’ content is Tom Fontana-penned Copper and Starz Worldwide Distribution’s Michael Bay-produced pirate drama Black Sails.
Extant: Halle Berry drama is the type of content Amazon wants more of
“We have an appetite to find even better quality content, and Extant is probably the new frontier for that. Our teams were at the LA Screenings and there were many other pieces of content shown that we are very interested in,” Morris told Broadcast. It is understood that Amazon is running pay-TV broadcaster Sky close on Gotham, the Warner Brosdistributed Batman prequel. The drama, which will air on Fox in the US, was arguably the hottest series to be shown at the screenings in May.
Batman is already a popular figure among Amazon subscribers. Children’s series Beware The Batman, which airs on Cartoon Network in the US, is one of the most-watched kids’ shows on the platform. Morris added that children’s content is another key area of focus for its acquisitions team. It recently acquired a slew of kids’ series including Millimagesdistributed CBBC series 64 Zoo Lane, and Darrall Macqueen’s Bear Behaving Badly and Baby Jake.
BBC3 brings back C4’s Fulfords for doc series BY jake kanter
Aristocratic family the Fulfords are to allow television cameras back into their lives 10 years after Channel 4’s Bafta-nominated Cutting Edge doc The F***ing Fulfords. The broadcaster this time is BBC3, which has ordered a sixpart observational documentary series. Produced by Oxford Film & Television, it will be the family’s biggest TV project since Optomen’s film a decade ago. Since then, Francis Fulford and his family have appeared in shows including Discovery’s Dealers and C4’s Country House Rescue.
The F***ing Fulfords: previous doc
The new series will provide a sideways glance at the Fulfords’ lives and eccentricities. They provoked debate in 2004 when their foul-mouthed antics and complaints
about not being rich enough divided opinion. The family has occupied Devon estate Great Fulford for 800 years, but it has fallen into disrepair and they are raising money for refurbishments. The project, The Fulfords: Life Is Toff (working title), is being overseen by acting BBC3 controller Sam Bickley in her previous role as head of documentaries and features commissioning for the channel. Oxford Film & Television’s other recent projects include BBC2’s Simon Schama series The Story Of The Jews and David Starkey’s Music & Monarchy. www.broadcastnow.co.uk
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News & Analysis
BBC in battle to avoid strike during Games BY Alexandra Chapman
The BBC will sit down with the joint broadcasting unions this week as it bids to ward off strike action during the opening day of the 2014 Commonwealth Games. The BBC hopes that the meeting, which is expected to take place on 18 July, will serve as a platform to discuss what “room to manoeuvre” there may be in resolving the pay dispute. Last month, Bectu and the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) both rejected the BBC’s improved offer of a £650 salary increase for all staff earning under £50,000 a year. The unions then put the option of strike action to a ballot, the results of which were revealed this week. Around 42% of Bectu members voted in the ballot, with 80% backing a strike. Of the 44% of the BBC’s NUJ members that voted, 77% supported industrial action. The unions are now planning a 12-hour walkout on 23 July if the matter is not resolved. The timing of the strike will disrupt coverage of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow across radio and television.
Walkout: unions are to strike on 23 July, disrupting BBC Games coverage
In an email to all staff seen by Broadcast, BBC finance and operations managing director Anne Bulford expressed her disappointment over the decision made by the unions. “We respect your right to take industrial action,” Bulford said. “But we don’t believe it is in the best interests of those staff who strike and who will lose pay, nor is it in the best interests of our audiences, who may experience disruption to BBC services if industrial action goes ahead.”
Bulford also warned staff that the BBC had “made it clear that we don’t have a great deal of space to negotiate given our financial pressures” resulting from the 2010 licence deal. The unions rejected two pay offers last year, but withdrew the threat of strike action in August after claiming that director general Tony Hall introduced a “consider able shift in approach” to industrial relations. More recently, the unions have claimed that Hall’s honeymoon period is over.
Government and industry join up to fund training Creative industry firms and the government are to plough £37m into skills and training, with nearly 11% being used to boost diversity. Some 500 companies across sectors including film, television and radio will contribute £17m to the initiative, in what Channel 4 chief executive David Abraham described as the “largest collaboration” ever achieved. C4 is leading the Create UK scheme alongside Creative Skillset and will open a number of tele vision-specific opportunities. ITV is launching a production training scheme on Coronation Street and Emmerdale, while a studio management diploma will be made available at Pinewood Studios. Some £4m of the government’s £20m contribution to the overall investment will go towards diversity. It will fund 300 living wage internships for young black, Asian and minority ethnic people over a two-year period. Abraham said: “Through this co-investment, we can ensure that learning and training is of the highest quality and that we can open the doors of the creative industries to diverse new talent, voices and ideas, allowing us to own our own growth and collectively invest in skills.”
BBC to meet Channel 4 to discuss technology proposals BY Matthew Campelli
The BBC is ready to discuss sharing with Channel 4 its resources and expertise around developing video-on-demand technology in the UK. In January, C4 called on the corporation to partner with other public service broadcasters to develop and improve content distribution platforms. BBC director general Tony Hall has now said he would be “very happy” to sit down with C4 chief executive David Abraham to talk through the proposal. Hall extended the offer during a Culture, Media and Sport Com8 | Broadcast | 18 July 2014
Hall: happy to meet C4’s Abraham
mittee (CMSC) hearing this week, where he was asked about the idea of top-slicing the licence fee. C4 is unwilling to accept direct public funding because of the
danger that it may compromise its independence, but it made a nuanced case around co-developing technology in its submission to the CMSC’s BBC inquiry. It said this would save PSBs time and money, which could be put back into content budgets. “The BBC spends many millions of the licence fee on research and development, much of which is focused on their online proposition and iPlayer, while other PSBs develop broadly similar propositions in isolation,” C4 said in its five-page submission. It is not yet clear when Hall and Abraham will sit down, or how formal the discussion will
be, but C4 was upbeat about the development. A spokesman said: “We welcome discussions with the BBC about working together to share expertise and resources in areas such as technology and distribution. As we have made clear, C4 is not seeking public money to fund content, as we believe the independence of our commercially funded model is a better way to deliver our unique remit.” Hall told MPs that a more direct attempt to top-slice the licence fee would be “searching for a problem to solve”. He said: “We have a fantastic ecology in this country and this is not going to add to that.” www.broadcastnow.co.uk
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Commissioning News
Watch reveals Formats Lab pilots There’s potential to make the Lab a recurring event
BY PETER WHITE
Watch is helping first-time buyers get on the property ladder and pitting tradesmen against each other for its Formats Lab initiative. The UKTV-owned channel has ordered five factual entertainment pilots from Objective Productions, CPL Productions, North One Television, The King’s Speech producer Bedlam Productions, and Riverdog Productions, the Greenbird-backed indie established this year by Come Dine With Me creator Nell Butler. UKTV director of commissioning Richard Watsham unveiled the format-testing initiative at Broadcast’s Commissioning & Funding Forum in London last month. Honey I Bought The House, which is produced by Objective in association with Crook Productions, provides a couple with a £15,000 deposit to get them onto the property ladder. In a Don’t Tell The Bride-style twist, they are then separated and one is given three weeks to buy a house or the couple lose the money. In CPL’s Who Repairs Wins, tradesmen compete to win
Nina Conti hosts BBC2 variety show pilot BBC2 is piloting a variety show hosted by comedian and ventriloquist Nina Conti (pictured). Nina Conti’s Va-Va-Riety Show will include a mix of cabaret, burlesque, magic, musical comedy and circus performance. The non-TX pilot, produced by Burning Bright Productions, is due to be filmed on 28 July at London’s Theatre Royal Stratford East. It forms part of entertainment commissioning controller Mark Linsey’s plans to increase the number of female comedians on the BBC.
Big Mountain puts together C4’s Addicts Orchestra Northern Irish indie Big Mountain is to explore the lives of a group of 10 | Broadcast | 18 July 2014
Richard Watsham, UKTV
Seven Envelopes: contestants exchange envelopes of cash for experiences
unconventional but potentially lucrative jobs. Elsewhere, Memory Slam (working title) follows a group of gifted youngsters at the final of the UK Schools Memory Championships. The documentary, produced by North One and small indie Showem, will cover the live event and go behind the scenes to discover what it takes to become a champion. Bedlam’s Supersize My Job challenges people to take on new work
experiences, including a village pub pint-puller trying to cut it as a mixologist in a top London bar and a small-town lifeguard saving lives at one of Britain’s busiest beaches. Finally, Riverdog has been commissioned to make Deal Or No Deal-style Seven Envelopes. Over the course of one day, seven contestants must trade seven envelopes, containing an unknown sum of money ranging from £1 to £10,000, for an
10 classical musicians struggling with alcohol and drug addiction in a Channel 4 documentary. Addicts’ Symphony will follow musician and composer James McConnel, who lost his 18-year-old son Freddy to a heroin overdose in 2011, as he guides the group through to a live performance with the London Symphony Orchestra. The 90-minute film, ordered by C4 arts boss John Hay, will follow the personal journey of each orchestra member as they battle their addictions.
the ITV Studios-owned indie examines the diverse lives of dogs and their owners across the capital, and is expected to air later this year. It is the first commission for director Jenny Evans and was ordered by documentaries commissioning editors David Brindley and Amy Flanagan.
The Garden to examine London’s dogs for First Cut The Garden Productions is to make an ob-doc about London’s dogs for Channel 4’s First Cut strand. The untitled 1 x 60-minute film from
ITV Studios wins reality competition for TruTV ITV Studios has won a commission from US cable network TruTV for a competition reality series set in a bar. The Shake Up forms part of the Turnerowned broadcaster’s drive away from docuseries, led by recently installed programming boss Chris Linn, who joined from MTV. In the 8 x 60-minute format, two
experience. At the end of the challenge, they will be left with one envelope, which they take home as a cash prize. All of the pilots are 1 x 60 minutes, except for Seven Envelopes, which will air as a 2 x 30-minute series. They were ordered by UKTV commissioning editors Hilary Rosen, Iain Coyle and Catherine Catton. Watsham said innovative formats were “hugely underserved” and he wants Watch to take advantage. “There’s potential not only to take some of these ideas to series but also to make the Lab a recurring event for us,” he added.
For details of all commissions, see
http://greenlight.broadcastnow.co.uk
bar owners take over each other’s premises and try to make as much profit as possible. Gaspin Media is co-producing.
Challenge brings back TNA with an X-Factor twist Challenge has revamped TNA Wrestling: British Boot Camp for a second series. The first run aired in 2012 as a reality format following wannabe wrestlers, but the 8 x 60-minute follow-up will be an X Factor-style search for the next big UK wrestling star. Produced by TNA, the show will hunt for wrestlers across the country to compete for the prize of a TNA Wrestling contract in the US. Sky acting head of entertainment Chris Brogden ordered the series. www.broadcastnow.co.uk
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International News
Analysis: BBCW production base Overhaul of BBC Productions could tread on the toes of BBC Worldwide’s global strategy BBC WORLDWIDE: MAKING SHOWS AROUND THE GLOBE
TEMPLE STREET PRODUCTIONS (CANADA) BBC Worldwide owns 25% stake KEY SHOW Orphan Black (BBC America)
BBC WORLDWIDE PRODUCTIONS LOS ANGELES Jane Tranter’s division largely remakes BBC IP KEY SHOW Richard Hammond’s Crash Course (BBC America)
BBC WORLDWIDE PRODUCTIONS FRANCE French division run by Jean Louis Blot KEY SHOW Untitled Daft Punk Documentary (Canal+)
BBC WORLDWIDE PRODUCTIONS INDIA Indian operation run by Myleeta Aga KEY SHOW Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa (Dancing With The Stars – SET)
ADJACENT PRODUCTIONS LA-based indie, also run by Jane Tranter, producing original content KEY SHOW Da Vinci’s Demons (Starz)
BY PETER WHITE
International broadcasters have welcomed the idea of original pitches from an independent BBC Productions – but warned that it could impinge on BBC Worldwide’s existing global production strategy. BBC director general Tony Hall last week unveiled plans to liberate BBC Productions to allow it to pitch to other broadcasters, with the corporation’s attention initially being focused on serving commissioners overseas. “I want our in-house team to be able to compete fairly and globally to get the best ideas on screen,” Hall told the Culture, Media and Sport Committee this week. He and director of television Danny Cohen will spend the next year deciding whether to make www.broadcastnow.co.uk
MIR REALITY (RUSSIA) BBC Worldwide owns a minority stake in the producer, which is also part-owned by John De Mol’s Talpa Media KEY SHOW Detectives (Ren TV)
TOWER PRODUCTIONS (GERMANY) Cologne-based joint venture with All3Media KEY SHOW Verstehen Sie Was? (SWR)
BBC Productions a standalone company or roll it into BBC Worldwide. They are currently leaning towards the former. “It is an interesting development. Of course I would be very happy to receive pitches from BBC Productions,” said Jeff Ford, director of programmes at Irish commercial broadcaster TV3. A number of other European networks told Broadcast that theoretically they would be open to BBC Productions pitches, but
explained that they already had relationships with BBC Worldwide production entities. If BBC Productions doesn’t become part of BBC Worldwide, it will compete directly with the commercial arm, which has been ramping up its global production strategy in recent years. BBC Worldwide has set up production bases in the US, France and India, and has invested in indies in Germany, Canada and Russia (see map). While many of these businesses were initially established to produce local versions of BBC formats, they have all since evolved
Of course I would be happy to receive pitches from BBC Productions Jeff Ford, TV3
into standalone production companies, pitching original ideas to local broadcasters. BBC Worldwide Productions Los Angeles is perhaps the best example. Run by former BBC drama boss Jane Tranter, the unit produced 140 hours of programming last year. It has also set up spin-off indie Adjacent Productions to create original programming, such as Starz’s period drama Da Vinci’s Demons (left) and Bravo reality series Ladies Of London. 18 July 2014 | Broadcast | 13
Multiplatform News
MCN Videojug eyes comedy Young talent don’t care what the platform is and see TV as slightly limiting
BY Alex Farber
Former ITV comedy and entertainment boss Paul Jackson has commissioned a series of comedy shorts from the producers of rugby mockumentary Don’t Drop The Egg for emerging multichannel network (MCN) Videojug. Jackson has ordered 64 shortform episodes from Dan Jones, Tom Magnus and Orry Gibbens, as well as further content based on their original work and several new characters. Don’t Drop The Egg, which has gained around 380,000 views on YouTube, follows the fortunes of the Clapham Falcons amateur rugby team as they try to avoid relegation from South London Division Five. The freshly commissioned videos will be promoted on Videojug’s YouTube channel, as well as across its wider network of thirdparty publishers, including AOL, DailyMotion and Yahoo!, which combined generate around 22 million monthly views. The commission forms part of a bid by Jackson, who joined Videojug as a content and channels consultant earlier this month,
Paul Jackson, Videojug
Don’t Drop The Egg: mockumentary attracted 380,000 YouTube views
to transform the lifestyle network into an entertainment-led MCN. “At a time when the old gateways to broadcast TV are getting clogged up and it is harder than ever to secure a commission, we can help smaller producers and writers get their content seen,” said Jackson, whose comedy credits as a producer include Red Dwarf and The Young Ones. “A lot of young talent don’t care what the platform is, and see TV as
slightly limiting as it’s restricted to one showing at a certain time in one domestic market. They have a much more global view of the world,” he added Jackson is now on the hunt for more ideas from emerging talent to bolster Videojug’s “tens of thousands” of in-house-produced videos. While continuing to operate in the home, beauty and food genres, Jackson has said he is keen to work with more comedy producers.
Videojug launched in 2006 as an online how-to guide. Under content director Ben Sinden and commercial director Gareth Mugford, it has expanded to include video production, social media and distribution, talent partnerships and branded content work. Jackson said that while he would have some creative input into the videos, he was happy to remain one step removed from the traditional executive producer role. “The emerging crop of producers don’t want to be passed notes,” he said. “What you must not say is we love the show – are you able to do something different for us?” As well as “knowing about the funny”, Jackson will draw on his experience of managing companies, including Carlton and Eyeworks UK, to help with the operational side of Videojug.
S4C sport show to integrate Blurrt Twitter data BY Alex Farber
Blurrt, the Twitter analysis business backed by S4C, is to integrate its technology into the broadcaster’s sport magazine strand S4/ChwaraeON. The Cwmbran-based business, which launched last summer, is preparing to debut its Blurrt Live service via the Grandstand-style brand in late August. The service aggregates an array of live Twitter data about specific TV shows – including the sentiment of tweets, gender split and volume sent – onto an iPad mini dashboard. The show’s producer and presenter will be equipped with iPads showing the data, which they can then use to highlight comments 14 | Broadcast | 18 July 2014
LBC Radio: used Blurrt to select Twitter questions to put to Boris Johnson
posted on Twitter during the programme. The tweets could be used to form talking points during the live broadcast. Blurrt managing director Jason Smith said: “If you are getting
hundreds of tweets per minute about your show, it isn’t possible to keep up with what’s being sent – this tool does.” LBC Radio made use of the technology to select questions from
social media to put to London Mayor Boris Johnson during June’s State of London debate. Smith added that the data collected could also be used to inform marketing around future programmes. “A show that airs in the US may throw up some interesting insights that can be tapped into ahead of its UK launch,” he said. Blurrt is built around a sentiment engine that enables users to gauge the reaction to a show with a 70-75% accuracy level, according to Smith. Each of the shows that has been selected to be measured is given a ‘wordle’ infographic, which visually represents the specific words that are trending around it. www.broadcastnow.co.uk
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Post Silverglade Post Production Client Shiver Brief Provide post-production for the second series of the Ben Fogle-fronted show about Poole in Dorset. How it was done The eight-part series was acquired on various formats and cameras. The producer/directors were given access to logging and sync pulling two weeks prior to the edit commencing and were then joined by editors for the craft edit on Avid Version 7 with Boris FX. The tapeless process from ingest to online allowed for quick transitions and a flexible workflow through to final post. At picture lock, the files were moved into the Baselight grade suite for the stabilising of aerial shots. The challenging combination of self-shot and archive material was graded by colourist Mike Curd, with mix, SFX and Foley conducted by dubbing mixer Andrew Swallow using Pro Tools v11. Watch it Thursdays, 8.30pm, ITV
Post Timeline North Client Darlow Smithson Productions Brief Picture and audio post services for the drama about the lives of factory staff in 19th century England. How it was done Shot on Arri Alexa on location in Cheshire and MediaCityUK’s The Pie Factory, rushes processing and editing took place at Timeline North. Daily edits were uploaded to Aframe’s cloud, enabling production to view the edits from any location prior to finishing. Finishing was completed in Avid Symphony and mixed in Avid Pro Tools HD. Colourist Trevor Brown graded the series using DaVinci Resolve 10 to make it reminiscent of a classical painting. Online editor Sion Roberts tackled the added challenges associated with filming a historical drama in a working museum, which included removing light switches, TV aerials and other anachronisms. Richard Lee was dubbing mixer. Watch it Sundays, 8pm, C4
Post Prime Focus Client The Garden Brief Provide rushes management and audio and picture post for the eight-part series about two Yorkshire bus companies. How it was done Prime Focus provided its rushes management system Rapta, allowing rushes from the fixed-rig show to be viewed instantly. Given the nature of the series, this involved the added complication of the buses being on the move. Online editor David Sexton completed the online edit and grade in Avid Symphony, with a brief to enhance the locations in a vibrant way, working with the seaside, summer-time feel of the programme. Dubbing mixer Enzo Cannatella mixed the music, using quirky moments in contrast with more serious tones in the programme. Lucy Sheffield was post producer. Watch it Fridays, 8pm, Channel 5
You can view clips at broadcastnow.co.uk/techfacils/creative-review To include your work email george.bevir@broadcastnow.co.uk
Avid adds modules to MediaCentral Platform Avid has announced the avail ability of new modules for its MediaCentral Platform. Introduced at NAB earlier this year, MediaCentral sits at the heart of Avid’s range of tools for editing, distributing and storing video and audio content. New Avid Media Suite modules that operate on the platform include Media Direc tor, Media Index and Media Dis tribute, which was formerly known as Interplay Pulse.
Mark Cooke joins Ross Video EMEA sales team Mark Cooke (above) has left Tyrell to join Ross Video as a technical sales specialist for Europe, the 16 | Broadcast | 18 July 2014
Middle East and Africa. EMEA director of sales David Dowling said: “Mark is a strong addition to our team. Our EMEA team has grown by a factor of 10 over the past couple of years and that should send a strong message to the market about our intentions. We now have one of the leading EMEA sales and technical teams in the industry, and I’m proud of how we keep growing without losing our friendly, customerfocused approach.”
FilmLight hires experts for Baselight customer team Daniele Siragusano and Ram Krishna Tripathi Samaveda have joined FilmLight to provide workflow information, consul
tancy and training to customers who use the firm’s Baselight grading system. “We’re deploying more experts in the field as we think it’s important to communi cate with our customers on how to build an efficient colour pipeline with our technology,” said Film Light co-founder Wolfgang Lempp. Siragusano joins Film Light from his role as workflow consultant at German post facility DVE (Digital Video & Effects). Colourist and editor Samaveda is currently working towards a doctorate in colour perception and management.
Halo hires Kate Robson as director of operations Halo Post has recruited Kate Robson to the newly created role of director of operations of its film and drama division. She joins the Soho post facility from Prime Focus, where she was head
of operations, broadcast UK. Meanwhile, Prime Focus has promoted James Creegan to head of operations to replace Robson (above).
The Foundry unveils Colorway 3D object tool The Foundry has launched Color way, an application for making changes to 3D objects and scenes. The company said the software would “give users access to a simple environment where they can develop looks of 3D objects and scenes, and then share a www.broadcastnow.co.uk
For the latest technology and facilities news, updated daily, visit www.broadcastnow.co.uk/techfacils
BBC launches file delivery push one thing we learned from DMi is to deliver one thing at a time
BY GEORGE BEVIR
The BBC has kickstarted its efforts to build an entirely file based delivery and archive system just over a year after scrapping the Digital Media Initiative (DMI). As part of the Digital Delivery and Archive (DDA) aspect of its End to End Digital project, the broadcaster has asked external sup pliers to pitch for a contract to build and support a system to receive file based programmes from inhouse and independent suppliers. The BBC also wants a system that will allow it to hold finished programmes until they are ready to be delivered and to store them in a central archive. The contract, which is due to start in May next year, could last up to 10 years, with an option to extend it by a further five. Its value was not disclosed. A “rudimentary” interim solu tion is in place at the broadcaster as it begins to shift away from tapebased delivery. This includes Fabric, the archive tool that was developed as part of DMI. Mark Harrison, business lead for the BBC’s End to End Digital
selection of iterations with clients”. A Colorway kit that enables users to import and export their files into The Foundry’s 3D model ling, paint ing and ren dering software Modo was released last week. Compatibility with Maxon’s Cinema4D will be available soon, the Foundry said.
EBU buys Snell Alchemist for Eurovision network The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has made a further invest ment in Snell Alchemist Ph.CHD standards conversion systems (above) for its Eurovision network. In total, the EBU has purchased 15 Alchemist Ph.CHD systems including Dolby E Authoring, 37 Alchemist Ph.CHD LIVE systems and one KudosPro MC500. EBU www.broadcastnow.co.uk
Mark Harrison
New Broadcasting House: need for file-based archive and delivery system
programme, said there is some overlap between DMI and End to End Digital, but the latter “starts at the point at which a programme is finished, and it is about getting video tape out of the BBC, whereas DMI was about maintaining metadata through the life of an asset”.
He added: “When the BBC closed DMI, it had to look at where it was in terms of digital. It became clear that there was a pressing need for our teams to be able to deliver programmes that they were making and com pleting in file format and store them somewhere.”
head of procurement and network partnerships Paolo Pusterla said: “With the growing demand for globally distributed live events, we’ve clearly seen a greater need for standards conversion. Quality is crucial and customers expect no visible degradation, and realtime transcoding of frame rates.”
Paul Clennell said: “This direct, dedicated connection gives Dock10’s post and studio clients all the cost and time benefits of a filebased workflow, with the added advantage of being con nected to the UK media’s largest communityofinterest network.”
Salford’s Dock10 to join Sohonet Media Network Dock10 has joined the Sohonet Media Network (SMN). The pro duction facility will migrate ser vices, including the sending of clients’ studio rushes to postpro duction partners and finished master delivery to DPP broadcast ers, to the Sohonet connection. Dock10 chief technology officer
imagineer releases Mocha Plus to replace Mocha AE Imagineer Systems has released Mocha Plus, which replaces the company’s Mocha AE product. Chief marketing officer Ross Shain said: “Now Adobe Creative Cloud customers have a clear distinction between Mocha AE CC, which is bundled free with After Effects, and Imagineer’s upgraded version, which adds advanced features and support for Premiere Pro.” Mocha Plus adds professional VFX modules including a 3D camera solver, lens correction tools for After Effects and support for
After the BBC pulled the plug on the £100m DMI project last year, outgoing director of opera tions Dominic Coles said that although there remained a need to work digitally, in future the BBC would “deliver this digital environment in more manage able stages”. Harrison said: “One thing we learned from DMI is to deliver one thing at a time, to make sure it works, and when it is business as usual, we can take on other pro jects that can extend the sophisti cation of the system. “There are other things on our wish list that we would like to add at some stage, but the funda mental principle of this project is that we could stop at the comple tion of DDA and it would still deliver good and appropriate value to the BBC.”
copying and pasting Mocha roto masks directly to the Premiere Pro timeline.
NEP Cymru comes on board Big Commonwealth Dance NEP Cymru will help facilitate coverage of international dance event The Big Commonwealth Dance: Beats for Peace, show casing dancers at London’s Trafalgar Square, outside the Sydney Opera House and at Glasgow’s Concert Hall. The outside broadcast firm’s involve ment is part of NEP UK’s wider support of the Glasgow 2014 Host Broadcaster Training Initia tive (HBTI), a scheme designed to help Scottish students gain practical training in live broad cast, creative production and tech nologybased roles. NEP managing director Tony Cahalane said he would like to see a similar scheme developed in Wales. 18 July 2014 | Broadcast | 17
Comment
The reality of filming in remote locations is this: visit a tribe, pay your money and they’ll obligingly remove their sunglasses George Pagliero, Behind the Scenes, page 24
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Buyout fever strikes online MCNs are hot property, but market is fragmenting, says Kate Bulkley
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s we recover from the illness known as World Cup Fever, the importance of all things digital has been emphasised once again. Lots of us watched at home or in the pub, but a staggering number were glued to their mobile devices. On 8 July, Germany v Brazil became the mosttweeted-about sporting event ever with 35.6 million tweets, while the final attracted 32.1 million. Digital activity is underlined by World Cup viewing activity but by no means limited to it. So it’s unsur prising that Rightster bought rival multi-channel network (MCN) Base79 last week. But the figures left many people (including me) wide-eyed: £50m for a company valued at £37.5m only eight months ago. Ashley MacKenzie’s Base79 has been Europe’s MCN frontrunner, raising £7.5m two years ago from ex-Fox supremo Peter Chernin’s investment arm and manag ing online content for the likes of Endemol and Syco. Rightster is in the same sort of game and buying Base79 adds scale to its publicly listed business. The two rivals were beginning to tread on each other’s toes. MCNs are hot property. Germany’s Mediakraft raised E16.5m (£13m) last week in new European venture capital and the big boys have caught MCN buyout fever: Disney paid $950m (£550m) for Maker Studios (home of PewDiePie); DreamWorks has snapped up kidfocused AwesomenessTV; Warner Bros has invested in video-gaming MCN Machinima; Red Arrow Entertain ment Group parent ProSeibenSat1 has a 20% stake in Collective Digital Studio; and Fremantle Media parent RTL Group controls 51% of Germany’s BroadbandTV. But the marketplace is starting to fragment. Right ster chief executive Charlie Muirhead thinks it’s about scaling up to make the online economics work (he’s
not wrong, particularly if you want to deal with YouTube). Others are focusing on nurturing You Tubers and other original-content creators. Shine Group bought ChannelFlip, which runs an MCN but mostly works with TV and YouTube talent and brands; All3Media spin-off Little Dot Studios focuses on original content, with a view to some of it ending up back on TV; while Diagonal View (part-owned by ITN) finds all kinds of ways to jump on the zeitgeist – its content includes Jack Harries of JacksGap (son of Left Bank’s Andy Harries) interviewing Ed Sheeran live on YouTube (pictured) and audience-grabbing fare like ‘Top Ten Most Shocking Moments in World Cup History’ videos. The latter content is cheap and gets lots of views – it’s the Buzzfeed-lists approach. The problem is that as media brands and talent get more experienced in how to navigate online, they can either do the job themselves (Endemol pulled channel management of Mr Bean back from Base79 earlier this year) and/or get more demanding (read: expensive). The minimum guarantees some of these MCNs are throwing about are outpacing the potential ad revenues. Nurturing new talent and owning content is a slower, riskier burn, but can build a more sustainable business. No wonder Rightster has bought up the rest of Viral Spiral, the online talent agency that represents the Charlie Bit My Finger YouTube child stars. As in TV, creative talent is the key to making it online as well. ➤ Kate Bulkley is a print and TV journalist and awards secretary of the Broadcasting Press Guild. Follow her on Twitter @katecomments
‘It’s unsurprising that Rightster bought Base79, but the figures left many wide-eyed’
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BBC must avoid repeating mistakes of the Birt era
Level playing field is good for BBC as well as indies
Splitting off BBC Productions is good in theory Removing the barriers to competition will – but pitfalls await, says Stephen Arnell create a stronger broadcaster, says Cat Lewis
B
Doctor Who: strategic review presaged the return of the sci-fi drama
F
or those of us old enough to remember John Birt’s BBC broad cast/production split of the 1990s, Tony Hall’s proposal to cut the Gordian knot of BBC Productions quotas sounds familiar. This is definitely good in theory – and not before time – but as someone who was part of the strategic/research team at the short-lived Neil/Bannister/Ben nett-headed BBC production arm, I’m aware there are certain pitfalls that can hopefully be avoided this time around. If due care is not taken, we may see an influx of highly paid con sultants and yet another top-heavy over-manned layer of manage ment to administer the new entity. If BBC Productions enjoys a flow ering of creativity and commissions inside the BBC and beyond, a man agement team overseeing finance and strategy might be a price worth paying – as long as producers can get on with making programmes. Birt’s virtually overnight split was a mixed blessing. Creatives were plunged into the unfamiliar roles of semi-executives. Produc tion, by necessity, built up ‘shadow’ functions of strategy and research to counterweight broadcast’s per ceived lock on these areas. www.broadcastnow.co.uk
‘A management team overseeing finance and strategy might be a price worth paying’ AIs, focus groups and audience data were the battleground where production would seek to justify a commission, while their broadcast colleagues were, naturally, keen to sweep out older shows and intro duce more indie productions. Production gained an increased awareness of the bottom line, though it was a lesson that could probably have been learned in other ways. But it was at least involved in some interesting initiatives, such as the strategic review of drama that presaged to a degree the return of Doctor Who and quality Saturday tea-time family fare like Merlin. The crucial difference between the Birt era split and the new pro posals is that now production would be able to pitch to UK broadcasters beyond the BBC. This should introduce a new vitality into an organisation that some times appears too set in its ways. ➤ Stephen Arnell is a channel strategist and a former ITV director of channel development For a longer version of this article, visit www.broadcastnow.co.uk
efore Tony Hall’s revo lutionary speech last week, I was concerned that he might not be the right person to run the BBC. My indie, Nine Lives Media, made its creative mark producing Small Teen, Big World for BBC3, a channel the industry has grown to love and respect. The decision to make it online-only from October 2015 seemed to suggest the current management didn’t recog nise the significance of the channel in nurturing young viewers and offering a springboard for talent. I worried that in the face of financial cuts, Hall and Danny Cohen were planning a protection ist policy to ensure BBC in-house production continued to make programmes, while indies would have less opportunity to compete. I decided it wasn’t worth the peaktime £150 train fare from Manchester to hear him speak. I had no idea he was planning to announce a creative revolution. Tony’s radical, forward-thinking proposal has transformed my opinion and made me think the BBC is actually in very good hands. To create a strong BBC, one that works as well as it possibly can within the highly competitive 21st century media industry, you have
to ensure a level playing field. Licence fee money must be spent on the best possible programme ideas, whether they come from inhouse or the independent sector. Freeing up frustrated BBC inhouse producers to pitch to other channels makes perfect sense. The BBC brand is one of the UK’s strongest internationally, so why would we not want to allow that to be fully exploited to the benefit of licence fee payers? There will be concerns about state-funded competition, but the
‘Freeing up BBC in-house producers to pitch to other channels makes perfect sense’ starting point has to be removing the current barriers to creative competition. This is Hall’s stated chief ambition from the start of the new BBC Charter in 2016. Hall has already stressed the importance of making pro grammes outside London and continuing to work with smaller indies, so hopefully the future will be bright for companies like mine. ➤ Cat Lewis is chief executive of Nine Lives Media For a longer version of this article, visit www.broadcastnow.co.uk
Small Teen, Big World: breakthrough Nine Lives series for BBC3 18 July 2014 | Broadcast | 19
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How to get ahead in TV Lesson 39
Let the indie Hunger Games begin BBC in-house must be prepared to ‘do or die’ in commissioning arena, says Steven D Wright
M
aybe it’s because I’ve had to endure weeks of non-stop sport – tennis, cycling athletics and, of course, football – with the mainstream channels abandoning any semblance of scheduling anything against the World Cup, but it feels like television is definitely going through one of its annual ‘shitty’ periods. Everyone seems to be unemployed, no one seems to be crewing up because there are few commissions starting, all the bloody commissioners are busy jetting off on their holidays again – and there’s been fuck-all to watch on TV. Luckily, E4 has served up one summer treat that’s quickly become an obsession. The 100, a glossy US teen series set in a post-apocalyptic future (97 years after the earth is destroyed by a nuclear war, the human race is living on a spaceship – except for 100 innocent teens sent to earth to fight for survival) is just as schlocky as it sounds. I love it already. As I sat there engrossed in this dystopian society, where unfeasibly good-looking actors fight to the death to survive, my mind turned to the TV industry. I began to watch in a new light: could this glamorous, yet gladiatorial, society be the future of the TV industry too – www.broadcastnow.co.uk
especially after the BBC’s shock announcement that it plans to remove protectionism and artificial quotas for in-house departments and allow anyone to compete for a commission? Is this really what Danny Cohen wanted – a “level playing field” that is actually a cruel Hunger Games-style competition where we all compete to the death for the amusement of the commissioning elite?
‘Is this what Danny Cohen wanted – a “level playing field” that is actually a Hunger Gamesstyle competition?’ Yet, as sensationalist, far-fetched and impossible as this sounds, this is what is already happening. Despite the absence of sci-fi gadgetry or CGI monsters, most indies now live the fate of The 100. While we choose to ignore it, the bodies are piling up fast. But, I hear you cry, if this is the hard-faced world that indies already inhabit, what about those poor ingénues at the BBC? You know, those innocent in-house workers who, like an over-emotive video on BuzzFeed revealing a ‘caged elephant finally tasting freedom for the
first time’, are about to set foot into the outside world. Will they be brutalised and beaten by the bullyboy indies? Or will a kindly old hand (me) take them aside and give them some friendly life-saving advice? Of course, as an avuncular character, well known as the ‘nicest man in tele vision’, I will always take some young naïve producer under my wing and help them survive in this cut-throat marketplace. The first thing the liberated BBC in-houser needs to know is that real-world budgets are tighter, teams are smaller, turnarounds are faster and no one cares a jot about BBC paperwork bollocks that drags everyone down. You are free and, like a young fledgling about to make a maiden flight, you’ll either soar or sink. My best advice is to get used to the feeling of being blown off by controllers who smile, shake hands and gush pleasantries but won’t give out special favours just because you are the BBC. That’s probably the hardest thing to face – contempt wrapped inside courtesy. But cheer up. Like a hackneyed Hollywood plot, there’s light at the end of the tunnel. A future of making BBC shows for the other channels is cool, fun and exciting – and maybe, just maybe, you will be lucky and won’t be eaten or killed before the end of the commercial break. ➤ Steven D Wright is an entertainment producer 18 July 2014 | Broadcast | 21
Masterclass safety training
Making safety less of a chore The BBC’s Nick Whatcott on how health and safety training is becoming easier thanks to shorter courses and more online options
T
he prospect of completing a safety course probably gets the blood pumping about as much as the thought of writing a risk assessment or filing an incident report. A whole day stuck in a room listening to someone talk about why we should fill in form after form for a whole manner of things. If not that, it’s 10 long hours spent at a PC going through online modules while it’s sunny outside. It’s fair to say, it’s not many people’s first choice of how to spend their day. Yet adequate safety training is an essential part of the programme-making process for a number of reasons. For those keen to know which box they’re ticking, it’s a legal requirement under Section 2(c) of The Health & Safety at Work Act, and Regulation 13 of The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations. It would be one of the first pieces of evidence looked at in the event of an incident or injury. As well as delays to production through injury or investigation, further financial penalties through fines or compensation payments are eye-catching in this age of austerity. Nobody wants to fork out thousands of pounds for an accident that could have been avoided. Ultimately, though, the training and arrangements exist to keep people healthy and safe, a fact often forgotten in an era when moral obligations are regularly lost in the shadow of the compensation culture, red tape and ridicule that has become synonymous with ‘’elf an’ safety’. 22 | Broadcast | 18 July 2014
Of course, there’s no smoke without fire, and poor safety management, increased insurance premiums and media coverage of big-money payouts has led to a stereotype of health and safety that persists in spite of widespread changes in approach across the industry. Processes are becoming clearer, forms less frequent and training more concise and informative. This can only be a good thing for all concerned.
Lessons learned The BBC online course really did use to be 10 hours long. It was an encyclopaedic guide to risk assessment, responsibilities and accident reporting in studio or location environments, including specialist topics such as filming with vehicles, boats or aircraft, door-stepping and covert filming. Excellent information, but a lot to take in, especially on subjects not likely to be relevant until a later date – at which point, a refresher or specific guidance from a safety adviser would be recommended anyway. Ten years on, the new BBC Production Safety Online course can be completed in about an hour. It hones in on the key areas of why safety matters, what risk assessment actually means, and who is responsible for which aspects of safety on a production. It’s aimed at production staff who don’t have to write risk assessments or have safety management responsibilities, and therefore only need a focused awareness of what health and safety is really about. A wealth of
‘Processes are becoming clearer, forms less frequent and training more concise and informative. This can only be a good thing for all concerned’ Nick Whatcott
talent and experience from across the BBC offer advice and anecdotes on how safety has helped them on productions such as Casualty, EastEnders, Human Planet and The One Show (below left), among others. Location scenarios and some quirky animation add variety to the learning. For those with more health-andsafety responsibilities, a day in the classroom on a face-to-face course is required. Although there will obviously be crossovers with the online content, being able to interact with the safety adviser and have opportunities to ask questions, share examples and practice completing assessments is essential. A big part of safety is learning from others, whether it’s good practice or mistakes. Accidents happen, but they happen more often if we don’t share the lessons and learn from them. A varied business like TV needs specific courses. BBC journalists attend a News Assignment and Location Safety course if they deploy staff or are deploying themselves; production staff generally attend Safe Management of TV Productions or Safe Management of Radio Productions www.broadcastnow.co.uk
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Creative Skillset Production Safety Passport The Production Safety Passport (PSP) is an industry-led scheme to support the mutual recognition of health-and-safety training in the creative media industries. The same health-and-safety skills are needed across a range of creative media sectors involved in film and television production. That’s why Creative Skillset has worked with the industry to create the Health and Safety Framework, an agreement across sectors about which qualifications or training courses are needed for priority production roles. It means that training and qualifications done with one employer will be recognised and valued by the next. The Production Safety Passport is a record of health and safety training at all the places a person has worked. Their employer can access the PSP Portal on the Creative Skillset website to view what risk assessment and healthand-safety training they have already done. courses. Specialist Events and Sports versions are also on offer. Refresher training in the form of a half-day faceto-face or a short online course is available to bring skills and knowledge up to date (usually required five years after initial training).
Freelancer training Keeping employees’ training up to date is a huge job and not without difficulties and frustrations, especially with the increase in freelance contracts. Fortunately, there are some tools available to assist on that front. More than 7,000 people are now on the industry-wide Production Safety Passport scheme. Hosted by Creative Skillset, the PSP is a co-operation of the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky, as well as the leading safety consultancies in the media sphere. Safety management courses, a range of which are offered by some of the organisations involved, have their content benchmarked against strict criteria to ensure that information is consistent across the board. Basic attendee information is stored on a central database and a unique ID www.broadcastnow.co.uk
Safety first: refresher courses or specific guidance from a safety adviser are advisable when a shoot involves new skills like filming from a height or on a boat
is issued to those who complete the data protection form on accredited courses. Individual training records can then be accessed by productions, as long as the individual provides their ID number and name. As well as regulating the standard of training delivered, freelancers should have far less need to repeat courses when they move from job to job, as any employer can access evidence of training regardless of where it was completed. A huge amount of time and money could be saved by reducing the need for employees to repeat safety training when changing employer. In addition, individuals won’t need to spend a day revisiting old ground, just to ‘tick’ the proverbial box. So what’s next in the development of health and safety training? Further improvements in online learning are sure to be developed, bringing new ways to educate the user. Indeed, the virtual conferencing capabilities of businesses are increasing, with programmes like Skype and Lync enabling people to ‘meet’ without leaving the office. At the BBC, this offers an exciting opportunity to connect with
some of the overseas bureaux that would otherwise be too remote or expensive to reach regularly in person. It’s not quite face-to-face training, but it’s certainly an improvement on what’s been possible previously. Working conditions and productivity can really be improved by having a good health-and-safety culture. A good culture begins with both management and training. Thanks to some dedicated work across the industry, the state of safety training has never looked better. With such a wide range of focused courses, it might not be that painful to keep your safety training current and valid. Even if it is sunny outside. ➤ Nick Whatcott is BBC project manager – health, safety and security training Full details can be found on the Creative Skillset website http://courses.creativeskillset.org/ creative_skillset_funded_courses/health_ and_safety/production_safety_passport For more information on Production Safety and the BBC Academy’s comprehensive portfolio of courses visit www.bbcacademy.com 18 July 2014 | Broadcast | 23
Behind the Scenes survive the tribe
To the ends of the Earth without a guide Travelling to remote places without a fixer made our job harder – but having to organise everything ourselves enriched our film, says George Pagliero George Pagliero Series director
I
t was a standard sort of brief: “Place our presenter at the heart of a tribe to learn ancient skills, before he embarks on a death-defying challenge in the bush/forest/wilderness/open ocean.” Luckily, Hazen Audel is a tireless adventurer, so the death-defying challenges were looking good. Finding suitable locations and tribes, however, would be a different matter. The reality of 21st century filming in remote locations is this: visit a tribe, pay your money and they’ll obligingly remove their sunglasses and T-shirts so you can pick up a camera and leave with an impression of the past. You’re as likely to enter the jungle and find a flat-screen TV and petrol engine as you are a bow and arrow or grass hut. But there are still people out there determined to educate their children in the old ways and shelter them as best they can from the new world. Finding such communities – with at least one foot in the past but a willingness to participate in filming – is not easy. We required a major portfolio of skills handed down by the ancients: boat-building and hand-line fishing for sharks, blow-gun manufacturing and tree-top monkey hunting – not to mention ice climbing in animal skins, big game tracking on foot and hunting with eagles on horseback. A tall order by anyone’s standards. 26 | Broadcast | 18 July 2014
In our quest to find these special people, we went to the very edge of the travelled world, and then a bit further. Every shoot was an expedition in itself, venturing far into the back of beyond with everything we needed to survive two weeks in the bush. Pelicases were crammed with bags of rice, packet soup, batteries and spare cameras. Flights and scheduled transport dried up quickly and we switched to canoes, 4x4s and skidoos. We dodged flash floods, armed bandits and rogue elephants to complete our journeys. Once there, we lived in the humblest of shelters, in which massive spiders came as standard. Probably the most challenging shoot was in the Reef Islands, nearly 10,000 miles from the UK at the far end of the Solomon Islands. We’re talking way out in the Pacific Ocean, on the fringes of Polynesia and Melanesia. Getting to Brisbane – a hefty journey for most people – was merely day one. Four further days of scheduled and charter flights, cars, trucks and opentop boats stood between us and our final destination. With more than 20 holdalls and Pelicases strapped down under tarpaulins, we endured several hours of stomach-churning rough sea that left the crew as green as the palm trees for which we so desperately scoured the horizon. But we made it. Waiting for us were extraordinarily friendly people, offering the warmest of welcomes to their heaven-on-earth island of white sand and clear waters. Nonetheless, it wasn’t just the journey that made this shoot difficult, nor our need to get Hazen to fell a tree, carve out his own dugout canoe and
‘We dodged flash floods, armed bandits and rogue elephants, and lived in the humblest of shelters, in which massive spiders came as standard’ George Pagliero
George Pagliero
Production company Icon Films TX 9pm, Thursday 17 July, Nat Geo UK Commissioner Hannah Demidowicz Series producer Nicholas White Series director George Pagliero Directors Alex Parkinson; Adrian Macfarlane; Stephen Shearman Executive producers Harry Marshall and Laura Marshall (Icon Films); Hannah Demidowicz, Kevin Mohs and Carolyn Payne (Nat Geo) Post house Films at 59 Programme summary Survival expert Hazen Audel travels to remote tribal communities to learn how they have survived for thousands of years in the planet’s toughest environments.
George Pagliero My tricks of the trade n Choose a team of people who don’t
mind roughing it but do everything you can to make sure they’re not roughing it too much – people will endure a lot, but don’t take the piss. n Invest in a good airbed – not the cheapest Argos has to offer. n A large ‘dry bag’ to cover the camera on the move is a godsend – not only for rain and spray but also for dust and sand. n Wicking clothing may not look cool but is worth every penny – it regulates your temperature and dries fast. n Take more than one back-up camera.
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then take it out hand-lining for maneating sharks. Then there was ‘island time’, which meant things usually started hours later than planned. But the real challenge was the lack of a fixer. In finding a community so far removed from the modern world, we had turned our backs on all the triedand-tested filming spots in the Solomon Islands. And all the known fixers. So we freestyled. It’s amazing how much can be communicated with gestures and a lot of smiling. We successfully negotiated a cook and kitchen helpers, fresh fruit for breakfast, fishermen to catch our dinner protein and porters to carry tripods and Pelicases. We found that fixing it all ourselves helped us engage with almost every member of the community. It also helped with finances: the community received every penny of our location budget and our costs were lowered. I wouldn’t recommend this route for every shoot, but on this occasion it enriched the production, the community and, indeed, our own personal experiences, in ways we could never have imagined. A potential nightmare became a film-maker’s dream. www.broadcastnow.co.uk
Clockwise from bottom left: filming with the San people in Namibia; fixing the octocopter with the Huaorani in Ecuador; Hazen Audel taking in the view in Mpagas, Kenya; hunting with a golden eagle in Mongolia; in a dugout canoe off Reef Islands; below: throwing an Inuit seal harpoon in Northern Quebec
survive the tribe A CAMerA FOr ALL seAsONs Alex Holden Production technical co-ordinator
One of the challenges of a series like this is ensuring the kit is versatile enough to shoot fastpaced action in some extremely demanding environments. We encountered temperatures ranging from -45°C in Northern Quebec (pictured) to more than 40°C in the sweltering Samburu County of Kenya; and from the 100% humidity of the Ecuadorian rainforest to the arid Kalahari Desert of Namibia, which coated everything in a fine layer of dust. Kit had to be tough, reliable and built to tolerate these conditions. We chose the Sony PMW F55 as a principal camera as we wanted some-
thing lightweight and versatile with a big dynamic range and a large, manage-able sensor. It was great in dark village huts and under the impressive jungle canopies, and its high frame rates helped us ramp in and out of action sequences. Due to the fast-paced action, our camera operators wanted lenses with large zoom ranges. One option was Fujinon Cabrios (19-90mm & 85-300mm) but they were prohibitively expensive and didn’t quite offer the zoom range of the older B4-mount Canon HJ14 and HJ21 lenses. One concern with the B4-mount lenses was the optical adaptor we would need to enlarge the image onto a Super 35mm sensor. After trying various options, I decided on the IBE HDx35 MkII. There is some chromatic aberration when the lens is fully wide, but it performed well and gave our operators confidence. To support the F55, we had a plethora of second cameras, presenter cams, underwater cameras, octocopter and quadcopter kits – and, of course, the seemingly allpervading GoPros.
18 July 2014 | Broadcast | 27
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Ratings Mon 7 July – Sun 13 July
BBC takes World Cup final glory BBC1 beats rival ITV 4-1 in ratings terms as broadcasters go head-to-head for first time in Brazil BY Stephen Price
As Alex Ferguson once said: “Football; by Jiminy.” And as the 2014 World Cup sambaed its last, the game’s byJiminy-ness was enhanced with record ratings across the world. This final week of football delivered the most shocking result since the last one, as some startled local schoolchildren took on Germany and were roundly, soundly and efficiently defeated. And to no one’s surprise, the nation turned to BBC1, not ITV, for the final. Squeezed in between were posh spas, benefits, some cooking and repeats. The Monday 9pm slot was won easily enough by BBC1’s new three-part comedic travelogue John Bishop’s Australia, which achieved 4.2 million/20%. Next came Channel 5’s Benefits Britain: Life On The Dole with 2.3 million/10% (250,000 +1), ahead of ITV’s The Cube (2.2 million/10%; 118,000 +1). On Tuesday, the emotion all got a bit much but at least it was over quickly. BBC1’s coverage of the Brazil V Germany World Cup semi-final averaged 11.5 million/ 51% from 8.30pm. By the time Germany’s fifth goal went in, 30 minutes after the 9pm kick-off, 13.7 million/55% incredulous viewers were watching. The peak arrived at 10pm with 14 million/58% as the second half of the shellacking got going. At 8pm, ITV’s Love Your Garden managed 2.6 million/13% (132,000 +1), followed by 9pm’s repeat of comedy Benidorm (1.4 million/6%; 96,000 +1). The more conventional semi-final on Wednesday, Argentina V The 28 | Broadcast | 18 July 2014
Broadcast/Barb Top 100 network programmes 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 (m) (all homes)
Share %
Broadcaster/ Producer*
MOTD Live: World Cup Final MOTD Live: Brazil V Germany World Cup 2014 Live: Holland V Argentina World Cup 2014 Live: Brazil V Holland Coronation Street Coronation Street Coronation Street EastEnders Coronation Street EastEnders Coronation Street Emmerdale Emmerdale Coronation Street Emmerdale EastEnders Emmerdale EastEnders Emmerdale Emmerdale BBC News At Ten Countryfile BBC News At Six John Bishop’s Australia BBC News At Six BBC News At Ten BBC News BBC News At Ten Celebrity MasterChef Celebrity MasterChef BBC News At Six BBC News At Six Casualty BBC News BBC News At Six The One Show BBC News The One Show Holby City Room 101 A Question Of Sport: Super Saturday The Cruise Ship Countrywise ITV News & Weather The National Lottery: Break The Safe You’ve Been Framed! Pointless Celebrities The One Show ITV News & Weather ITV News & Weather
Sun Tue Wed Sat Mon Mon Wed Tue Thu Mon Fri Mon Tue Fri Thu Fri Thu Thu Wed Fri Mon Sun Mon Mon Tue Fri Sat Thu Fri Thu Thu Wed Sat Tue Fri Tue Sun Mon Wed Tue Sat Fri Mon Tue Sat Wed Sat Thu Mon Wed
19.00 20.30 20.30 20.30 19.30 20.30 19.30 20.00 20.30 20.00 19.30 19.00 19.00 20.30 20.00 20.00 19.00 19.30 19.00 19.00 22.00 18.00 18.00 21.00 18.00 22.00 18.40 22.00 20.30 21.00 18.00 18.00 20.30 23.10 18.00 19.00 23.20 19.00 20.00 19.30 19.00 20.00 20.00 18.30 19.40 20.00 17.50 19.00 18.30 18.30
12.09 11.52 9.59 7.43 7.14 6.63 6.44 6.15 6.15 6.14 6.08 5.86 5.83 5.73 5.69 5.44 5.43 5.43 5.20 4.95 4.53 4.50 4.28 4.24 4.18 4.13 4.00 3.97 3.96 3.90 3.88 3.87 3.82 3.65 3.53 3.46 3.43 3.40 3.24 3.17 3.16 3.15 3.08 3.07 3.07 3.00 3.00 2.99 2.95 2.94
50.31 51.00 50.29 38.85 36.09 31.42 36.04 30.44 30.47 30.72 35.87 32.08 32.04 29.70 29.73 30.14 32.48 30.33 31.69 31.85 24.51 28.32 27.98 19.74 27.93 23.62 28.19 22.83 20.59 19.73 27.73 28.17 19.22 32.99 26.52 19.59 30.32 18.63 17.23 16.91 20.33 17.42 15.41 19.03 18.22 17.02 23.56 17.86 17.57 19.85
BBC1 BBC1 ITV ITV ITV ITV ITV BBC1 ITV BBC1 ITV ITV ITV ITV ITV BBC1 ITV BBC1 ITV ITV BBC1 BBC1 BBC1 BBC1/Lola Entertainment BBC1 BBC1 BBC1 BBC1 BBC1/Shine TV BBC1/Shine TV BBC1 BBC1 BBC1 BBC1 BBC1 BBC1 BBC1 BBC1 BBC1 BBC1/Hat Trick Productions BBC1 ITV/Pulse ITV ITV/ITN BBC1 ITV BBC1/Remarkable Television BBC1 ITV/ITN ITV/ITN
Figures include HD and +1 where applicable
John Bishop’s Australia
The Cruise Ship www.broadcastnow.co.uk
All BARB ratings supplied by: Attentional
Source: BARB
51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100
Title
Day
Start
Viewers (m) (all homes)
Share %
Broadcaster/ Producer*
The One Show ITV News & Weather Tipping Point: Lucky Stars World Cup 2014 Live: Germany V Argentina How Safe Is Your House? Love Your Garden Tonight: How Safe Is Your Beach? ITV News & Weather Pointless BBC News Pointless BBC News At Ten Question Time Traffic Cops The One Show BBC News At One Benefits Britain: Life On The Dole BBC News At One The Chase Doc Martin ITV News & Weather The Chase Inside Out London: Great Property Race The Cube: Celebrity Special Pointless The Chase Catchphrase Alan Hansen: Player And Pundit The Chase The Chase BBC News At One Champneys Death In Paradise BBC News At One Panorama: Bedlam Behind Bars Pointless BBC News At One Pointless BBC News Guilty By Association RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show OAPs Behaving Badly ITV News At Ten & Weather Bargain Hunt 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown The 100 You’ve Been Framed! The Big Bang Theory Celebrity Mastermind RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show
Wed Thu Sat Sun Mon Tue Thu Fri Tue Sun Mon Wed Thu Thu Fri Mon Mon Tue Wed Fri Sat Mon Fri Mon Thu Thu Sun Fri Tue Fri Fri Thu Wed Wed Mon Fri Thu Wed Sat Mon Wed Thu Tue Tue Fri Mon Sat Thu Sat Mon
19.00 18.30 19.30 19.00 19.30 20.00 19.30 18.30 17.15 17.35 17.15 22.00 22.35 20.00 19.00 13.00 21.00 13.00 17.00 21.00 23.15 17.00 19.30 21.00 17.15 17.00 18.00 22.35 17.00 17.00 13.00 21.00 21.00 13.00 20.30 17.15 13.00 17.15 21.20 22.35 20.00 21.00 22.00 12.15 21.00 21.00 19.00 20.00 17.20 20.30
2.91 2.87 2.86 2.86 2.83 2.79 2.76 2.62 2.61 2.60 2.57 2.55 2.55 2.54 2.53 2.52 2.51 2.49 2.44 2.42 2.41 2.41 2.36 2.34 2.34 2.32 2.29 2.28 2.28 2.25 2.24 2.23 2.21 2.21 2.20 2.18 2.18 2.17 2.15 1.89 1.89 1.89 1.76 1.76 1.75 1.74 1.74 1.68 1.67 1.66
16.97 19.12 17.11 12.13 14.31 13.45 15.44 18.58 22.25 19.82 20.82 11.33 21.50 12.94 16.30 36.35 11.69 39.13 23.11 12.59 20.93 20.46 13.91 10.91 20.88 21.55 14.43 18.42 20.17 21.70 36.78 11.27 9.32 37.31 10.43 20.37 33.35 19.59 10.33 16.20 10.07 9.55 7.55 31.88 9.13 8.13 11.29 8.76 15.30 7.87
BBC1 ITV/ITN ITV/RDF TV ITV BBC1/Lion TV ITV/Spun Gold TV ITV ITV/ITN BBC1/Remarkable Television BBC1 BBC1/Remarkable Television BBC1 BBC1/Mentorn BBC1/Folio BBC1 BBC1 C5 BBC1 ITV ITV/Buffalo Pictures ITV/ITN ITV BBC1 ITV/Objective Productions BBC1/Remarkable Television ITV ITV/STV Productions BBC1 ITV ITV BBC1 ITV/Platform Productions BBC1/Red Planet Pictures/Kudos BBC1 BBC1 BBC1/Remarkable Television BBC1 BBC1/Remarkable Television BBC1 BBC1 BBC2 C5/Barcroft Productions ITV/ITN BBC1 C4/Zeppotron E4 ITV E4 BBC1 BBC2
*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.
Champneys www.broadcastnow.co.uk
The 100
Netherlands’s goalless draw – two grown-up teams actually playing the same game, albeit dully – averaged 9.6 million/50% (48,000 +1) on ITV from 8.30pm, with a peak of 12.7 million/52% at 9.40pm. Even the inevitability of penalties failed to entice people back. Over on BBC1, at 8pm, Holby City achieved 3.2 million/17%, followed by a repeat of Death In Paradise at 9pm (2.2 million/9%). On Thursday at 8pm, BBC1’s Traffic Cops achieved 2.5 million/13% against ITV’s soaps; at 8pm, Emmerdale’s 5.5 million/29% (200,000 +1) was followed by Coronation Street’s
‘BBC1’s coverage averaged 12.1 million/ 50%; ITV’s averaged 2.8 million/12%’ 5.9 million/29% (209,000 +1) at 8.30pm. At 9pm, BBC1’s Celebrity MasterChef (3.9 million/20%) beat ITV’s fly-onthe-spa-wall doc Champneys (2.1 million/11%; 120,000 +1). This week’s best of BBC1’s Celebrity MasterChef was Friday’s 90-minuter, which achieved 4 million/21% from 8.30pm. Opposite, Coronation Street’s winning 5.5 million/29% (209,000 +1) was followed by 2.3 million/12% (160,000 +1) for a Doc Martin repeat at 9pm. On Saturday, 7.3 million/38% (109,000 +1) were somehow inclined to watch Brazil V The Netherlands in the third-place play-off from 8.30pm. ITV’s coverage peaked with 9.3 million/48% at 10.25pm, well ahead of its corresponding fixture in 2010, which averaged 5.4 million/28%. BBC1’s best opposite was honest oldstager Casualty with 3.8 million/19% at 8.30pm. On Sunday, and despite warm critical words, ITV endured its traditional pummelling in the World Cup Final with BBC1’s coverage winning 4-1 as it did in 2010 and after 5-1 in 2006. BBC1’s coverage began at 7pm and averaged 12.1 million/50% with a peak of 16.7 million/61% at 10.30pm. ITV’s coverage also kicked off at 7pm and averaged 2.8 million/12% (40,000 +1), peaking at 9.45pm with 3.9 million/14%.
See over for digital focus, plus channel and genre overviews 18 July 2014 | Broadcast | 29
Ratings Mon 7 July – Sun 13 July Channel Overview
C5’s OAPs kick up a storm BY Stephen price
Last week, I was nearly run down by a disability scooter driven, or rather aimed, by an elderly citizen. Judging by the audience for Channel 5’s Saga-louts doc, it seems I am not the only one to have had a close encounter with a peeved pensioner. Elsewhere, honourable or not, BBC2’s new drama slipped. The best of BBC2’s RHS Hampton Court Flower Show was Wednesday’s 1.9 million/10% at 8pm, ahead of Channel 4’s This Old Thing: The Vintage Clothes Show (900,000/5%; 107,000 +1) and C5’s Brand New House For £5k (600,000/3%; 91,000 +1). On Thursday at 9pm, C5’s OAPs Behaving Badly performed strongly with 1.7 million/8% (220,000 +1), beating C4’s Embarrassing Bodies (1 million/5%; 300,000 +1) and BBC2’s drama The Honourable Woman (1.5 million/8%, down from last week’s 2.1 million/11% launch.) Quiz show The Million Pound Drop returned to C4 on Friday at 8pm, only just breaking the million barrier itself thanks to +1: 800,000/4% plus another 250,000 an hour later. That’s 580,000 and 2.8 share points short of last year’s summer opener and fewer than C5’s On The Yorkshire Buses (1 million/6%; 150,000 +1). BBC2’s Athletics coverage, beginning at 6.30pm, averaged 1.2 million/7% for that 8pm hour.
Source: BARB
WEEK 28 Average hours per viewer Daytime Share (%) Peaktime Share (%) w/c 07.07.14 Peaktime share (%) w/c 08.07.13 Year to date Average hours per viewer Audience share (%) Audience share (%) 2013
BBC1 5.43 17.75 26.28 21.85 BBC1 5.69 21.98 21.23
BBC2 1.09 4.02 5.75 6.94 BBC2 1.64 6.32 5.76
ITV1 4.00 13.85 20.66 19.35 ITV1 4.09 15.80 16.14
C4 1.17 5.50 5.07 5.47 C4 1.47 5.66 5.78
Start
Viewers (m) (all homes)
Share %
30 | Broadcast | 18 July 2014
Total 23.54 100.00 100.00 100.00 Total 25.91 100.00 100.00
Top 30 bbc2, channel 4 and channel 5 Title
Day
Broadcaster
1
Benefits Britain: Life On The Dole
Mon
21.00
2.51
11.69
C5
2
RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show
Wed
20.00
1.89
10.07
BBC2
3
OAPs Behaving Badly
Thu
21.00
1.89
9.55
4
8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown
Fri
21.00
1.75
9.13
C4
5
RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show
Mon
20.30
1.66
7.87
BBC2 BBC2
C5
6
Gardeners’ World
Fri
21.00
1.65
8.63
7
Mock The Week
Thu
22.00
1.61
9.34
BBC2
8
One Born Every Minute
Wed
21.00
1.57
6.60
C4
9
The Honourable Woman
Thu
21.00
1.54
7.78
BBC2
10
RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show
Thu
20.00
1.51
7.66
BBC2
11
Kirstie’s Fill Your House For Free
Tue
20.00
1.46
7.05
C4
12
George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces
Thu
20.00
1.46
7.42
C4
13
Dad’s Army
Sat
20.30
1.43
7.49
BBC2
14
University Challenge: Class Of 2014
Tue
20.00
1.42
6.83
BBC2
15
Big Brother
Thu
22.00
1.41
8.87
C5
16
Big Brother
Mon
22.00
1.37
8.37
C5
17
Scotland: For Richer Or Poorer?
Mon
21.00
1.36
6.32
BBC2
18
Embarrassing Bodies
Thu
21.00
1.32
6.66
C4
19
University Challenge: Class Of 2014
Mon
19.30
1.31
6.59
BBC2
20
Shall We Dance?
Sun
19.20
1.29
5.45
BBC2
21
The Dog Rescuers
Tue
20.00
1.28
6.18
C5
22
QI
Mon
22.00
1.27
6.95
BBC2
23
Big Brother: Live Eviction
Fri
21.00
1.25
6.73
C5
24
On The Yorkshire Buses
Fri
20.00
1.19
6.37
C5
25
Catch Me If You Can
Sat
18.15
1.18
7.63
BBC2
26
Shopgirls: True Story Of Life Behind The Counter
Tue
21.00
1.17
4.74
BBC2
27
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Tue
21.00
1.17
4.74
C5
28
Coast Australia
Wed
21.00
1.17
4.91
BBC2
29
Big Brother
Wed
22.00
1.17
5.45
C5
30
The Simpsons
Mon
18.00
1.16
7.59
C4
Figures include HD and +1 where applicable
Multichannel 38.06
C5 edged out C4 at 8pm on Friday with the first part of ob-doc series On The Yorkshire Buses
Others 10.87 54.62 38.06 41.39 Others 12.00 46.32 47.04
Daytime is 09.30-18.00. Peaktime is 18.00-22.30. Figures include HD and +1 where applicable
daytime share (%) w/c 07.07.14
peaktime share (%) w/c 07.07.14
1.2m
C5 0.98 4.26 4.19 5.00 C5 1.02 3.93 4.05
BBC1 26.28
ITV 20.66 C5 4.19 C4 5.07
BBC2 5.75
Multichannel 54.62
868k BBC2’s The Men Who Made US Spend struggled opposite the World Cup third-place play-off (Sat, 9pm)
BBC1 17.75
ITV 13.85
C5 4.26
BBC2 4.02
C4 5.50
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
How To Be Epic @ Everything Topsy And Tim Topsy And Tim Topsy And Tim Blow Your Mind: Amazing Animals Rocket’s Island Sarah & Duck Topsy And Tim Newsround Rastamouse
Top 10 Factual programmes
Day
Start
Viewers (Age 4-15)
Share (%)
Channel
Mon Tue Mon Wed Mon Mon Fri Fri Mon Thu
16.30 17.20 17.20 17.20 16.45 17.25 17.35 17.20 16.20 17.00
193,000 187,800 184,900 182,300 179,600 176,600 167,600 161,800 156,200 150,600
17.20 16.01 13.35 15.73 14.99 12.80 18.09 18.40 15.31 12.76
CBBC CBeebies CBeebies CBeebies CBBC CBBC CBeebies CBeebies CBBC CBeebies
Blow Your Mind
Title
Casualty Holby City Doc Martin Death In Paradise The 100 The Honourable Woman CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Midsomer Murders Midsomer Murders The Night Watch
UP Question of Sport: Super Saturday up 620,000
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
MOTD Live: World Cup Final MOTD Live: Brazil V Germany World Cup: Holland V Argentina World Cup: Brazil V Holland World Cup: Germany V Argentina Tour De France 2014 Live Athletics: Glasgow Grand Prix Athletics: Glasgow Grand Prix Cricket On 5 Tour De France 2014 Highlights
Start
Viewers (millions)
Share (%)
Channel
Sun Mon Fri Thu Tue Mon Fri Mon Thu Wed
18.00 21.00 20.30 21.00 19.00 19.00 20.00 20.00 19.00 19.00
4.50 4.24 3.96 3.90 3.46 3.40 3.15 3.08 2.99 2.91
28.32 19.74 20.59 19.73 19.59 18.63 17.42 15.41 17.86 16.97
BBC1 BBC1 BBC1 BBC1 BBC1 BBC1 ITV ITV BBC1 BBC1
Top 10 Entertainment programmes
Day
Start
Viewers (millions)
Share (%)
Channel
Sat Wed Fri Wed Mon Thu Tue Sun Tue Sun
20.30 20.00 21.00 21.00 21.00 21.00 21.00 15.30 20.00 21.00
3.82 3.24 2.42 2.21 1.74 1.54 1.17 1.11 0.98 0.87
19.22 17.23 12.59 9.32 8.13 7.78 4.74 10.15 4.29 3.11
BBC1 BBC1 ITV BBC1 E4 BBC2 C5 ITV ITV3 BBC2
DOWN Countryfile sheds 2.2m
UP National Lottery: Break The Safe gains 520,000
Title
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Room 101 Question Of Sport: Super Saturday National Lottery: Break The Safe You’ve Been Framed! Pointless Celebrities Tipping Point: Lucky Stars Pointless Pointless The Chase The Chase
DOWN The Honourable Woman loses 590,000
UP MasterChef adds 360,000 on Friday
Day
Start
Viewers (millions)
Share (%)
Channel
Tue Sat Sat Wed Sat Sat Tue Mon Wed Mon
19.30 19.00 19.40 20.00 17.50 19.30 17.15 17.15 17.00 17.00
3.17 3.16 3.07 3.00 3.00 2.86 2.61 2.57 2.44 2.41
16.91 20.33 18.22 17.02 23.56 17.11 22.25 20.82 23.11 20.46
BBC1 BBC1 BBC1 ITV BBC1 ITV BBC1 BBC1 ITV ITV
DOWN Casualty drops 1.3m
UP The Chase wins 170,000 on Wednesday
Top 10 Current affairs programmes Day
Start
Viewers (millions)
Share (%)
Channel
Sun Tue Wed Sat Sun Mon Sat Fri Sat Thu
19.00 20.30 20.30 20.30 19.00 12.00 14.00 18.30 19.00 19.00
12.09 11.52 9.59 7.43 2.86 1.12 0.95 0.93 0.79 0.76
50.31 51.00 50.29 38.85 12.13 16.90 11.61 5.55 5.01 4.39
BBC1 BBC1 ITV ITV ITV ITV BBC1 BBC2 C5 ITV4
next week Comedy and Music & arts www.broadcastnow.co.uk
Countryfile John Bishop’s Australia Celebrity MasterChef Celebrity MasterChef The One Show The One Show The Cruise Ship Countrywise The One Show The One Show
Day
Tonight: How Safe Is Your Beach?
Top 10 Sport programmes Title
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Room 101
Top 10 Drama programmes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Title
Title
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Tonight: How Safe Is Your Beach? Question Time Benefits Britain: Life On The Dole Panorama: Bedlam Behind Bars The Andrew Marr Show Scotland: For Richer Or Poorer? This Week Black Market Britain… Dispatches: Great British Break-Up Newsnight
Day
Start
Viewers (millions)
Share (%)
Channel
Thu Thu Mon Mon Sun Mon Thu Thu Mon Fri
19.30 22.35 21.00 20.30 09.00 21.00 23.35 20.00 20.00 22.30
2.76 2.55 2.51 2.20 1.42 1.36 1.04 0.89 0.72 0.67
15.44 21.50 11.69 10.43 21.73 6.32 15.88 4.54 3.59 4.73
ITV BBC1 C5 BBC1 BBC1 BBC2 BBC1 C5 C4 BBC2
See over for demographic and digital focus 18 July 2014 | Broadcast | 31
Ratings Mon 7 July – Sun 13 July Demographic Focus Channels
Individuals Share (%)
Source: BARB
Adults ABC1 Share (%)1
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
23.55
27.97
50.18
17.07
13.16
24.39
48.46
22.80
51.54
ITV
17.34
16.88
41.13
15.24
15.95
16.16
43.59
18.38
56.41
C4
4.86
5.09
44.21
6.71
25.06
4.40
42.39
5.26
57.63
BBC2
4.55
5.64
52.35
2.12
8.47
4.77
49.06
4.36
50.95
C5
4.35
3.96
38.46
4.41
18.40
3.49
37.53
5.11
62.47
ITV3
2.57
2.34
38.44
0.50
3.52
2.07
37.67
3.01
62.33
ITV2
2.37
1.75
31.24
4.05
31.04
2.02
39.89
2.67
60.12
E4
2.24
2.01
37.91
6.14
49.80
2.23
46.59
2.24
53.41
ITV4
1.88
2.21
49.69
1.54
14.88
2.52
62.56
1.32
37.44
Dave
1.68
1.47
37.01
2.57
27.80
2.23
62.02
1.20
37.98
Film 4
1.60
1.34
35.49
1.56
17.74
1.96
57.30
1.28
42.70
BBC3
1.13
0.95
35.50
2.70
43.35
1.21
50.14
1.06
49.86
More 4
1.10
1.08
41.49
1.13
18.57
1.05
44.62
1.15
55.38
5 USA
1.08
0.76
29.92
0.56
9.38
0.96
41.64
1.18
58.36 49.10
BBC4
0.82
1.15
59.10
0.26
5.70
0.90
50.86
0.76
Sky 1
0.74
0.71
40.63
1.62
39.56
0.84
52.82
0.66
47.18
Yesterday
0.70
0.59
35.53
0.27
6.88
0.88
58.80
0.55
41.27
Drama
0.66
0.73
46.44
0.20
5.52
0.63
44.28
0.69
55.72
Sky Living
0.53
0.46
36.58
0.70
23.74
0.38
33.66
0.67
66.34
33%
One in three viewers of Channel 5’s OAPs Behaving Badly was over 65 – up from the 27% slot average (Thurs, 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
100 scores best ever E4 launch BY Stephen Price
Conversations with teenagers: “How are you?”, “Urrgh, stop getting at me.” It’s terrifying to imagine 100 of them dropping from the sky, as they do in E4’s new show; but it was enough to make viewers watch it in droves. E4’s latest US import, sci-fi series The 100, launched with an epic 1.7 million/8% on Monday at 9pm; indeed, as Broadcast’s overnights coverage reported, it’s E4’s best ever launch. The four repeats added another 907,000, with the best being Saturday’s 391,000/2% at 8pm. And that’s all before recording. A hit to rank alongside the channel’s previous US successes with Glee and The Big Bang Theory. Opposite, and about as contrary as you can get, BBC4’s Tales From The Royal Wardrobe With Lucy Worsley was the channel’s best with 800,000/4%. Two repeats added another 219,000. ITV4’s best of the week was Thursday’s highlights of the Tour De France with 800,000/4% at 7pm for an hour. 32 | Broadcast | 18 July 2014
Source: BARB
digital homes
Top 30 multichannel programmes Title
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
The 100 The Big Bang Theory How I Met Your Mother Midsomer Murders Hollyoaks Hollyoaks Tales From The Royal… Only Connect Hollyoaks Hollyoaks Lewis Tour De France 2014 The Big Bang Theory Tour De France 2014 A Touch Of Frost Foyle’s War The Only Way Is Essex Tour De France 2014 Endeavour Tour De France 2014 Jurassic Park III The Only Way Is Essex Endeavour The Big Bang Theory Storage Hunters Family Guy Hollyoaks Family Guy The Big Bang Theory Family Guy
Figures include HD and +1 where applicable
Day
Mon Thu Thu Tue Wed Mon Mon Mon Thu Tue Wed Thu Wed Tue Mon Thu Wed Wed Sun Mon Thu Sun Sun Thu Wed Tue Fri Thu Sat Tue
Start
21.00 20.00 20.30 20.00 19.00 19.00 21.00 20.30 19.00 19.00 20.00 19.00 18.30 19.00 20.00 20.00 22.00 19.00 19.00 19.00 20.10 22.00 21.00 18.30 20.30 23.25 19.00 23.25 19.30 23.00
Viewers (millions)
Share (%)
Channel
1.74 1.68 1.14 0.98 0.92 0.88 0.83 0.83 0.81 0.79 0.77 0.76 0.75 0.74 0.73 0.71 0.71 0.70 0.68 0.67 0.67 0.66 0.66 0.65 0.65 0.65 0.64 0.62 0.61 0.61
8.13 8.76 5.66 4.29 5.62 4.81 3.87 3.94 4.87 4.46 3.61 4.39 5.05 4.05 3.48 3.61 3.22 4.09 3.00 3.55 3.37 2.51 2.46 4.36 3.24 6.58 4.09 7.28 3.76 4.51
E4 E4 E4 ITV3 E4 E4 BBC4 BBC4 E4 E4 ITV3 ITV4 E4 ITV4 ITV3 ITV3 ITV2 ITV4 ITV3 ITV4 ITV2 ITV2 ITV3 E4 Dave BBC3 E4 BBC3 E4 BBC3
Channels
Share (%)
BBC1 ITV C4 BBC2 C5 Total multichannel ITV3 ITV2 E4 ITV4 Dave Film 4 CBeebies BBC3 More 4 5 USA Sky Sports 2 Pick
23.55 17.34 4.86 4.55 4.35 45.35 2.57 2.37 2.24 1.88 1.68 1.60 1.25 1.13 1.10 1.08 1.06 0.93
Figures include HD and +1 where applicable
830k Audience for BBC4 doc Tales From The Royal Wardrobe With Lucy Worsley (Mon, 9pm)
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 (all homes)
Share %
Storage Hunters Storage Hunters Storage Hunters Storage Hunters Storage Hunters Storage Hunters Storage Hunters Storage Hunters Storage Hunters Storage Hunters Live International Cricket Live International Cricket New Tricks Storage Hunters Storage Hunters Storage Hunters Storage Hunters Storage Hunters Storage Hunters Death In Paradise Storage Hunters Storage Hunters Storage Hunters Live International Cricket Storage Hunters Live International Cricket The Simpsons The Simpsons Storage Hunters Top Gear Africa Special Storage Hunters Storage Hunters The Simpsons The Simpsons Live International Cricket Storage Hunters The Simpsons Bones Megatruckers The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons Storage Hunters Storage Hunters Mock The Week The Simpsons The Simpsons Mock The Week Live International Cricket Have I Got A Bit More News For You
Wed Wed Sun Sun Tue Sat Thu Sun Sun Sun Sat Sat Thu Sun Sun Thu Sun Fri Tue Mon Sun Sun Mon Sun Sat Sun Sun Mon Sun Sun Sun Fri Mon Sun Fri Mon Thu Wed Thu Thu Fri Wed Mon Sun Fri Mon Wed Sat Thu Sat
20.30 20.00 19.30 15.00 20.30 19.30 20.30 14.30 12.30 13.30 14.30 10.30 21.00 12.00 11.30 20.00 14.00 20.30 20.00 21.00 13.00 11.00 20.30 14.30 19.00 10.00 19.00 19.00 19.00 16.30 10.30 20.00 19.30 19.30 14.00 20.00 19.30 21.00 19.30 19.00 19.30 19.30 17.30 10.00 22.20 18.30 19.00 22.55 14.00 22.00
646,400 528,400 506,300 483,400 474,600 468,500 451,100 450,200 450,000 425,600 421,300 419,400 417,000 410,700 406,300 403,700 402,400 399,200 393,000 388,300 379,900 377,700 366,400 358,200 350,100 346,800 346,600 344,200 336,600 336,500 334,800 322,900 319,000 318,600 316,800 313,300 310,500 304,900 303,800 302,600 301,800 301,300 287,900 287,400 286,300 282,000 278,500 272,300 270,300 269,800
3.24 3.00 2.45 5.05 2.23 2.87 2.24 4.99 5.67 5.02 4.26 6.52 2.17 5.41 5.46 2.11 4.65 2.07 1.94 1.87 4.61 5.06 1.74 3.31 2.28 4.45 1.90 1.89 1.85 2.46 4.61 1.79 1.61 1.54 3.74 1.57 1.73 1.28 1.70 1.81 1.78 1.69 2.24 4.08 1.90 1.68 1.70 2.14 2.99 1.41
Figures include HD and +1 where applicable
Banshee www.broadcastnow.co.uk
Megatruckers
Broadcaster/ Producer* Dave/T Group Dave/T Group Dave/T Group Dave/T Group Dave/T Group Dave/T Group Dave/T Group Dave/T Group Dave/T Group Dave/T Group Sky Sports 2 Sky Sports 2 Drama/Wall To Wall Dave/T Group Dave/T Group Dave/T Group Dave/T Group Dave/T Group Dave/T Group Alibi/Red Planet/Kudos Dave/T Group Dave/T Group Dave/T Group Sky Sports 2 Dave/T Group Sky Sports 2 Sky 1 Sky 1 Dave/T Group Dave Dave/T Group Dave/T Group Sky 1 Sky 1 Sky Sports 2 Dave/T Group Sky 1 Sky Living Dave Sky 1 Sky 1 Sky 1 Dave/T Group Dave/T Group Dave/Angst Sky 1 Sky 1 Dave/Angst Sky Sports 2 Dave/Hat Trick Productions
188k True Blood outperformed both series six’s debut (133,000) and slot average (128,0000) on Fox
Dave’s Storage packs them in BY Stephen Price
At college, the best home-made entertainment was corridor cricket, which was a bit like being trapped in an out-of-control pinball machine. A glance at this week’s table reveals the possibility of a frightening new game: cricket in a cupboard. So while the thesaurus is thumbed once more in search of another word for ‘storage’, murderous dramas punctuated the cricket/ depositary alliance as wailing spirits of doom returned to haunt Sky Atlantic’s small-town sheriff. This week, more than half of the top 50 programmes were Dave’s Storage Wars; 26 to be precise, including the entire top ten. The best was Wednesday at 8.30pm with 646,000/3%. The best non-storage show of the week was Sky Sports 2’s coverage of England’s heroic batting on Saturday in the International Cricket, with the morning session’s 419,000/7% from 10.30am just behind the afternoon’s 421,000/4% – when England were all out. Sky Atlantic’s dark drama Banshee returned on Monday to a live rating of 74,000/0.5%, about half of the 2013 series average of 148,000/1% across its 10 episodes. That series went on to average 535,000/3% after recording. The best non-sporting, non-storage silo of the week was Drama’s New Tricks, which achieved 417,000/2% on Thursday at 9pm. 18 July 2014 | Broadcast | 33
Ratings Mon 30 June – Sun 6 July
All BARB ratings supplied by: Attentional
Consolidated Ratings
ITV produces the goods Whenever I walk past the bronze sculpture of Franklin D Roosevelt and Winston Churchill chatting for eternity at the confluence of New Bond Street and Old Bond Street in Mayfair, the luxury-o-meter waggles madly. I feel like a Dickensian street urchin peering in through the plate-glass windows of the royallyappointed jewellers and purveyors of leather goods established in long-gone centuries while scowling at the Rolls-Royces parked on yellow lines. Then I remember I have an Asprey wallet and stroll on, barging oiks out of the way and waving cheerily at the chauffeurs. ITV found some traction in this gawp factor in its single documentary, while elsewhere, some drama emerged through the heat haze of the football fandango.
Source: BARB
BBC2: The Honourable Woman The Honourable Woman is BBC2’s latest drama from the nib and director’s megaphone of Hugo Blick and stars US actress Maggie Gyllenhaal in the lead role. It got going at 9pm on a rare non-football night, Thursday 3 July. It achieved a live rating of 2.1 million/11%; not at all bad. It was then recorded by more than 1 million, the best of the week and a 51% gain, to deliver a final rating of 3.2 million/14%. It was packed to the gunwales with ABC1s: 2.1 million/19% after 770,000 recorded and watched.
BBC1: Common BBC1 played Jimmy McGovern’s single film Common, about the increasing use of the 300-year-old common law offence of joint enterprise, on Sunday 6 July at 9pm. Over its 90 minutes, it achieved a live rating of 4.4 million/21%. After nearly 710,000 recorded and watched, it was lifted to 5.1 million/22%, with an ABC1 share of 2.7 million/25%.
ITV: Inside Asprey: Luxury By Royal Appointment ITV’s trip to Old Bond Street with Inside Asprey: Luxury By Royal Appointment served the channel well on Thursday 3 July. That most uncommercial of things, a single doc, enjoyed a live rating of 3.1 million/15%. After more than 525,000 recorded and watched, it finished on 3.6 million/15%, and 1.4 million/ 13% of its viewers were ABC1. Even the counters of beans might consider that to be an RoI winner.
Channel 5: CSI While not the power it once was, Channel 5’s CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, the original CSI franchise, can still pull them in. The latest episode on Tuesday 1 July, the fifth in the current batch of 22, achieved 2.1 million/9% after more than 790,000 recorded and watched. This is the second best rating episode of the latest series, and the year so far. The best was 24 June’s 2.2 million/9%.
Top 30 Consolidated Ratings: ranked by gain
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
3.6m
Consolidated audience for ITV’s Inside Asprey: Luxury By Royal Appointment after adding 530,000
UP Episodes up 110,000
DOWN Friday Night Dinner down 200,000
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Title
Day
Start
Viewers (m) (all homes)
Share %
Gain (m)
Gain %
The Honourable Woman Coronation Street Casualty CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Coronation Street EastEnders 24: Live Another Day Common The Only Way Is Essex Celebrity MasterChef Coronation Street The Big Bang Theory Coronation Street The Only Way Is Essex Celebrity MasterChef Episodes Celebrity MasterChef Inside Asprey: Luxury By Royal Appointment EastEnders Friday Night Dinner EastEnders Bones New Girl Emmerdale Benefits Britain: Life On The Dole Unforgettable NCIS: Los Angeles One Born Every Minute 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown Emmerdale
Thu Fri Sun Tue Thu Mon Wed Sun Sun Fri Wed Thu Mon Wed Thu Wed Wed Thu Thu Fri Fri Wed Tue Fri Mon Mon Sun Wed Fri Thu
21.00 19.30 20.10 21.00 20.30 20.00 21.00 21.00 22.00 20.30 19.30 20.00 19.00 22.00 21.00 22.00 21.00 21.00 19.30 22.00 20.00 21.00 21.00 19.00 21.00 22.00 22.00 21.00 21.00 20.00
3.21 7.58 5.91 2.07 7.16 6.99 1.26 5.10 1.56 4.23 7.70 2.33 7.29 1.45 4.15 1.20 4.37 3.63 6.06 1.40 6.23 0.82 0.92 6.03 2.63 0.60 0.78 2.32 1.98 5.08
13.66 37.11 26.15 8.82 32.44 30.90 5.23 22.34 7.51 19.80 37.77 10.19 34.54 7.50 17.71 5.90 18.41 15.44 29.46 6.39 30.85 3.42 3.97 31.11 10.49 2.80 4.01 9.73 8.46 22.27
1.08 0.84 0.81 0.79 0.74 0.74 0.74 0.71 0.70 0.65 0.64 0.63 0.61 0.61 0.57 0.57 0.54 0.53 0.52 0.51 0.50 0.49 0.48 0.47 0.47 0.45 0.45 0.44 0.43 0.41
50.60 12.50 15.90 61.80 11.50 11.80 141.70 16.20 82.10 18.20 9.10 37.10 9.20 72.90 16.00 90.40 14.00 16.90 9.40 57.60 8.80 146.50 106.60 8.40 21.50 309.70 137.10 23.50 28.00 8.80
Broadcaster BBC2 ITV BBC1 C5 ITV BBC1 Sky 1 BBC1 ITV2 BBC1 ITV E4 ITV ITV2 BBC1 BBC2 BBC1 ITV BBC1 C4 BBC1 Sky Living E4 ITV C5 Sky Living Sky 1 C4 C4 ITV
Figures include HD and +1 where applicable
34 | Broadcast | 18 July 2014
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13-16 October, 2014, Cannes – France MIPCOM_Broadcast_210x297.indd 1
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Off Cuts
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ALL A TWITTER
9.55am, as one eager group did, will go far in this industry. Our annual pick of the rising stars of TV will be published on 22 August.
Day 1 of #utopia rehearsals. The props have yet to arrive… Neil Maskell soldiers on.
Denmark’s next top model
@marcmunden (Marc Munden) Director, Utopia
Prosecco: not too early for a tipple
Hot Shots raise a glass
This #universitychallenge doc has taken a lot of styling tips from #W1A
Holidays cut short, work trips rebooked… Off Cuts was impressed by the commitment of this year’s Broadcast Hot Shots at our photoshoot last week – not least the director who made it to our EC1 venue for 11.30am on Friday despite filming in Coventry until gone 4am. And anyone who’ll say yes to Prosecco at
@northernbetty (Jane Atkinson) Line producer, BBC
Mark Lawrenson again sounding like he would rather be sat in his loft dismantling a photocopier #WorldCupFinal @RealBobMortimer (Bob Mortimer) Writer/performer
@BBCOne going for the ‘serious’ tone. Pundits look like they’re just back from a funeral. @ITV going more for joy and entertainment. @James_Payne_ (James Payne) Writer
Dutifully tuning in to this week’s Culture, Sport and Media Select Committee lunchtime hearing into the BBC, Off Cuts nearly choked on its sandwich to hear Labour MP Paul Farrelly ask Tony Hall (pictured): “Are you familiar with the Danish model?” Turns out he was asking about the structure of its TV industry, but Hall left a pause just long enough to have tabloid hacks salivating before drily responding: “You’re probably more familiar with Danish models than I am.”
Tiger Aspect and Fifty Fathoms treated a group of TV journos to a tour of the small Arctic town they have created in a warehouse in Hayes for upcoming big-budget Sky drama Fortitude. But, as our features editor Robin Parker discovered, there was precious little warning of the terrifyingly realistic autopsy taking place in the research centre within…
AND FINALLY ... Nicholas Ashe Dubbing mixer, Molinare
Tell us one of your most hilarious faux pas Me and a mate broke into a garden jacuzzi. I swear we got let off because the police thought we were lovers. Which TV or radio programme would you resuscitate? Eurotrash (pictured). Who would you least like to share a taxi with? Nigel Farage. Though at least his expenses would cover the ride. Who would you be on Stars In Their Eyes? Tonight Matthew, I’m going to be Frank Zappa. What would you do with a million quid? Play elaborate pranks on my mates. What law would you most like to break? It’s illegal to impersonate an OAP in Chelsea. I’ll have a go at that. Where would you put a webcam? In my dubbing theatre. I want to find out who keeps changing the settings on my mixing desk. ■ Nicholas won the Sound Post category at last year’s Broadcast TECH Young Talent Awards. To enter 2014’s awards, email jane. maguire@mb-insight.com
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36 | Broadcast | 18 July 2014
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