Commissioning

Welcome to the BBC Scotland commissioning page.

We are committed to commissioning content that reflects and celebrates Scotland, to itself, the UK and the rest of the world. Our programmes reach audiences in a variety of ways – through iPlayer and Sounds, on the BBC Scotland tv channel and BBC One Scotland, and through social and online. We need ideas that are distinctive within the BBC portfolio and the wider marketplace, and that reflect the diversity and the needs of our audience.

There are two main elements to our strategy – maintaining our strong performance on our linear services and growing our audience on iPlayer and Sounds.

On iPlayer, we are looking for high quality programmes that can sit on the front page of the service, with eye-catching title and imagery across all genres. Recent iPlayer hits for BBC Scotland have been Only Child, Inside Barlinnie and The Rise and Fall of Michelle Mone.

We are keen to continue our successful partnership with BBC Sounds and create more content that can span video and audio, like Inside Murder Trial, the companion podcast to the award winning tv series and Situationships, the podcast that’s also visualised for tv and iPlayer.

On linear, we need habit forming content that we can play in long runs and returnable series so we can build brands. Titles on tv that are working for us include Scotland’s Home of the Year, This Farming Life and Beechgrove. We also need live moments where everyone can gather and celebrate – for example, TRNSMT, Hogmanay, Burns Night and live sport - and topical content that reflects that mood of the nation like Debate Night. And don’t forget seasonal viewing. We are always in the market for shows that reflect the mood of our audiences, whether that be festive moments, spring renewal or moving into darker autumnal viewing.

We are growing the number of co-commissions with BBC Content across the genres - some recent co-funded examples are Dinosaur, Rebus, Murder Trial, Designing the Hebrides and Repair Shop on the Road. We are increasingly seeking international partnerships and building interesting collaborations with our commissioning colleagues in BBC Alba, BBC NI and BBC Wales.

Our current focus is on ideas that drive family and younger viewing, particularly in comedy and factual entertainment. We have ringfenced 300k development funding to find the ambitious ideas that can be on screen by 2027. Our aim is to commission the next big BBC hit returning format and BBC One family or younger skewing sitcom, so please help us with that challenge.

You can find more detail on our current opportunities across the genres on the commissioner profile pages, below. It’s rolling commissioning and we use PiCoS to log and track ideas, so please do reach out to the commissioners and use the system to pitch to us.

Finally, we are always keen to explore working collaboratively with other partners. Proposals that have finance attached or that have the potential to bring in other funders are also attractive.

Thank you for your interest in working with us.

Best wishes,

Louise Thornton, Head of Commissioning

NEW COMMISSIONING OPPORTUNITIES

Hogmanay Documentary

We are inviting proposals for a potential documentary for BBC One Scotland’s Hogmanay schedule.

Nostalgia continues to resonate strongly with audiences.  Previous successful films—including Selling Scotland, Jack Docherty’s light‑hearted history of Scottish advertising, and Rikki, our celebration of Rikki Fulton’s life and career—illustrate the humour, warmth, and emotional connection that strike a chord with viewers at this time of year but also the interest in the 2016 moment currently circulating on social media is an area we’re particularly keen to explore

With that in mind, we know that broad, mainstream appeal paired with a warm—and possibly, though not necessarily, nostalgic—tone works especially well in this slot.

This would be in a 45' slot with Tariff up to £150k cost per hour.

We would ideally receive ideas by the end of March.

BBC Scotland launches £50,000 diversity funding

In line with the BBC's Creative Diversity commitments, BBC Scotland is committed to improving representation within the broadcast industry and creating more opportunities for individuals from underrepresented groups in off-air roles. To support this, we are delighted to announce diversity funding of £50,000 for opportunities to actively develop off-screen production talent through targeted initiatives which cannot be covered by the business-as-usual production budget.

The funding only applies to commissions funded exclusively by BBC Scotland. Placements must offer opportunities for individuals who are currently underrepresented in the TV industry. We particularly welcome applications for candidates from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, working class backgrounds as well as individuals who identify as deaf, disabled and / or neurodivergent.

Applications should not exceed £10,000 per commissioned series or package of content as an absolute maximum, but this can be awarded to a single individual or split across multiple applications.

Speak to your commissioner for more details and how to apply for funding