The BBC children’s department could be joining Panorama in being moved to the new commercial subsidiary for the corporation’s in-house production staff.
Despite the perception that children’s would not be part of a new stand-alone BBC programme-making business, it has emerged that, like Panorama, it is being “evaluated” as part of the proposal by director general Tony Hall earlier this year to shakeup in-house TV production.
Only BBC News is exempt from Hall’s “compete or compare” strategy – with “compete” meaning a move to the stand-alone production subsidiary.
During an interview at the Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival, BBC director of television Danny Cohen said that while areas such as natural history will win “huge amounts of business” in an open market, particular attention needed to be paid to genres such as children’s programming and sport. After that, it was thought that children’s would stay within the publicly-funded part of the BBC.
Details are still being discussed about which parts of the corporation will go into the production subsidiary – dubbed NewCo internally at the BBC.
However, the children’s department is now carrying out Project Green – the piece of work that evaluates whether or not a department is likely to be in or out of NewCo.
Cohen has been meeting with the corporation’s staff around the country to talk to them about compete or compare and, although executives are understood to be less inclined to move children’s than genres such as drama, it is understood that staff within the Salford-based department are now concerned that they could be transferred out.
It is also understood that the move of BBC in-house production departments to NewCo may be phased.
Some areas of the BBC, such as drama and the Bristol-based Natural History Unit, are more in favour of going into the commercial subsidiary – whereas others, such as current affairs, are less keen – so they could be transferred first.
It has also emerged that the corporation is looking into the possibility of NewCo being a joint-venture between commercial subsidiary BBC Worldwide and the corporation.
According to one insider, some staff have already been seconded over to BBC Worldwide to see how NewCo might work with it.
Producers’ trade body, Pact, and broadcasting union Bectu have been calling for more detail about NewCo.
Bectu general secretary Gerry Morrissey said: “We would like to see a lot more detail about this issue. The BBC has not told the staff anything – what the effect will be on their jobs and futures. That to me is completely unacceptable.”
James Purnell, the BBC director of strategy and digital, told Radio 4’s Today programme on Thursday that the corporation’s producers would “thrive” if they were allowed to make shows for other broadcasters.
“They can make programmes for other people, they can make more [programmes] around the world,” Purnell said.
However, he added that making shows for the BBC would still be the “vast majority” of what NewCo staff did.
“The BBC will still be their main client. But if they can make programmes for other people that saves money for the licence fee payer, that allows them to have more creative freedom [that will be beneficial].”
A BBC spokesman said: “We’re currently working hard on the proposal announced by Tony Hall in July and won’t be commenting on speculation at this stage.”
• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email media@theguardian.com or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly “for publication”.
• To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook.
