BBC in-house quotas should be cut back or abolished with independent producers behind shows such as The Great British Bake Off and Sherlock given free rein to make programmes across the whole of the corporation, the BBC Trust said on Friday.
The trust’s verdict may pave the way for director general Tony Hall’s “competition revolution”, outlined last year, introducing an unprecedented free-for-all in the way the BBC makes and commissions programmes.
The trust, which did not formally take Hall’s proposals into account in its review of the BBC’s programme supply arrangements, said changes in the independent production sector meant there was a “strong case for reducing or even removing the 50% currently guaranteed for in-house commissions”.
It said the so-called Window of Creative Competition (WoCC), in which in-house suppliers compete with independent producers for 25% of the BBC’s output, and is currently dominated by producers outside of the BBC, was also “not sustainable in the long term”.
The abolition of the WoCC and the in-house quota were both part of Hall’s “compete or compare” proposals unveiled last year.
Hall’s plan was intended to unshackle the BBC’s 2,000 strong in-house team, to make programmes for all-comers, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky included.
In return, independent producers, currently prevented by the quotas from making more than 50% of its TV output, would be free to pitch for the entire schedule (news, sport and a few other areas excepted) for the first time.
It was regarded as both an opportunity and a threat to the BBC’s in-house team, home to Top Gear, Doctor Who and Strictly Come Dancing, which made 77% of the BBC’s TV output in 2000, excluding news.
By 2013, in the face of a burgeoning and rapidly evolving independent sector, it had fallen to 52%, or 2,000 hours a year, generating turnover of around £400m.
But an abolition of the quota and the WoCC would be warmly welcomed by the independent production sector.
John McVay, chief executive of Pact, the trade body for independent production companies, said: “The BBC Trust’s decision that the current 50% in-house guarantee is no longer tenable vindicates Pact’s long-held view that the guarantee has become contrary to the interests of the BBC licence fee payers, who deserve to get the best programmes regardless of who the supplier is.
“This is good news too for BBC commissioners whose primary focus should be on working with the best creative ideas without worrying about meeting an in-house guarantee.”
The independent production sector has been transformed in recent years, with many “independents” gobbled up by broadcasters and huge global production companies.
ITV has bought a number of production companies responsible for high profile BBC shows, including Poldark producer Mammoth Screen and So TV, which makes The Graham Norton Show.
The UK arms of these so-called super-indies or “mega-indies” – those even bigger – have come to dominate the market, accounting for total revenues of £1.4bn, according to the BBC executive.
BBC management, in its submission to the trust, warned that this trend could affect the ability of public service broadcasters “to secure the range of programming that UK audiences expect at a fair price” especially if they began to focus on providing programmes to their parent companies and not broadcasters such as the BBC.
BBC Trustee, Suzanna Taverne, said: “The current system has brought much-loved programmes from [Great British] Bake Off to Line of Duty onto our screens.
“However, it was made for a production market that’s since undergone a transformation, and we believe that the evidence points towards making changes and increasing opportunities for competition.
“We are expecting the BBC’s detailed proposals in this area and will assess them robustly; our focus will be on ensuring that audiences continue to be best served and the best ideas make it onto the BBC.”
