BBC ALBA ? 2010/11 Winter Commissioning round.

BBC ALBA is a BBC licensed television service managed in partnership by MG ALBA and the BBC. At this point, the MG ALBA/BBC partnership would welcome the submission of programme and television production ideas, identifying any cross media ? online and/or radio ? potential as well as the delivery of accompanying learning resources from suitably qualified media production companies.


Winter Commissioning Round ? 2010/11. Deadline for programme ideas ? January 12, 2011 at 1pm.
Deadline for MG ALBA/BBC partnership decisions ? February 11, 2011.

Commissioning Round Winter – 2011.
Draft deadline for programme ideas – January 7, 2011 at 1pm.
Draft deadline for GMS/BBC partnership decisions – February 4, 2011.

Programme delivery will generally be for August 2011 onwards but may be earlier. Submissions for the re-commissioning of existing programmes or series will be accepted.

Budgets could include a co-funding element, ideally not from a competing broadcaster.

SCHEDULE OVERVIEW.
In general terms, BBC ALBA’s schedule has three key weekday slots:

8:30 pm – half hour programmes which attempt to cater especially for Gaelic-speaking communities and their interests
9:00 pm – hour-long programmes, both factual and entertainment aimed at a national audience (40 + demographic)
10:00 pm – half-hour programmes, mainly entertainment, aimed at a younger national audience.

This commissioning round will mainly deal with programming for these three key slots but also welcomes submissions for children’s programming.

PROGRAMME IDEAS
Submissions of programme ideas should state which programme they refer to in this round. They should include a brief creative summary , details of key talent behind and in front of camera and a budget . They should not exceed one A4 page per programme. The opportunity to develop these summaries may be given through interviews with applicants.

1.
The programme:  Distinctive factual programmes or short factual series aiming to create substantial popular and/or critical impact with audiences throughout Scotland.
First broadcast slot: Weekday, 9pm.
Format: Single documentaries or short series of 58-59 minutes duration each.
Audience: General, but especially women.

2.
The programme:  Factual entertainment or lifestyle series appealing particularly to female audiences Scotland-wide.
First broadcast slot: Various.
Format: Series of 2 - 6 episodes of either 58-59 minutes or 29 minutes duration each.
Audience: Female – various age demographics.

3.
The programme:  Programmes of special interest and value for the Gaelic-speaking communities, including children.
First broadcast slot: Various
Format:  Single programmes or short series of either 58-59 minutes or 29 minutes duration each.
Audience: Gaelic-speaking communities, including children.


Draft dates for further Commissioning Rounds.
The MG ALBA/BBC partnership envisages two further commissioning rounds during 2011.
Commissioning Round Summer – 2011.
Draft deadline for programme ideas – May 18, 2011 at 1pm.
Draft deadline for MG ALBA/BBC partnership decisions – June 17, 2011.
Commissioning Round Winter – 2011/12.
Draft deadline for programme ideas – January 11, 2012 at 1pm.
Draft deadline for MG ALBA/BBC partnership decisions – February 10, 2012.

Details of these commissioning rounds will be published closer to these draft dates.
The MG ALBA/BBC partnership will accept ‘time-perishable’ programme ideas at any time and endeavour to return commissioning decisions on them without undue delay.

Any questions on anything contained in this commissioning round should be addressed to Fiona Mackenzie, at fiona.mackenzie@mgalba.com

Page last updated 11 November, 2010.