BBC Studios director tries to calm rivals' fears

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/sep/17/bbc-studios-director-tries-to-calm-rivals-fears

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BBC Studios director Peter Salmon has tried to calm rivals’ fears about the commercial aspirations of the new company saying it is more about “liberating” the corporation and that BBC programme makers should be allowed to “take off our shirts at parties from time to time”.

Salmon, who oversees the production of hit shows such as Doctor Who and Top Gear, said the BBC was still run pretty much the same way as it was 20 years ago and used the analogy of a child moving out of home to represent what he wants to do with BBC Studios.

Salmon rejected the word “commercialising” to describe director general Tony Hall’s plan to create a £400m production powerhouse that will be created first within the public service wing of the BBC but then move out to become a commercial subsidiary.

Speaking for the first time publicly since becoming head of BBC Studios, Salmon said: “My analogy I use is we’ve lived with our parents a long time and there’s a world of opportunity, we need to move out. “We don’t want to move too far away, initially into the basement flat and have our own front door key and then we just need to move round the corner and do what others are doing – take off our shirts at parties from time to time, have a few drinks, just stay out, explore the world a bit.”He went on: “I think it’s about liberating it. I genuinely think the business has remained pretty static not in terms of ideas but the way it’s been run – its structure and organisation. It still feels like the top down organisation I worked in 20-30 years ago and it needs liberating.”

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Salmon confirmed that BBC children’s will not become part of BBC Studios because, “it is an absolutely unique part of the BBC going through a huge amount of change”.Although Hall told a Commons select committee earlier this week that despite announcing recently the creation of a children’s iPlayer, called iPlay, “we don’t have proposals to take CBeebies and CBBCC, as channels, out of the environment” Salmon warned children’s is going to “go through a lot of change itself”.He said BBC children’s commissions “95% of all UK original productions. It’s in a very particular sector unique place and it’s going to move into a new on-demand world fairly sharpish.”

Speaking at the Royal Television Society’s biennial convention in Cambridge, Salmon said he looked forward to Hall’s expectation that the next big entertainment show would come from BBC production rather than be bought in, as The Voice was. “We want to create the big new entertainment format from in-house, we’re competitive I’m so proud of Strictly, it’s an amazing show it’s just rather brilliant. It’s the world’s favourite as well as Britain’s favourite.

“That’s the perfect virtuous circle isn’t it? It feeds back into BBC Worldwide as well as BBC public service kitty. I love that kind of pressure, that’s great. We can live with that.”

Responding to questions about how much impact the creation of BBC Studios would have on the market and independent producers, Salmon, who started his new job two and a half weeks ago, said: “I want to be part of a successful British creative ecology, there’s not a big axe to grind.

“We want to be a thriving success … but also want a thriving booming British independent sector too.”

In exchange for being allowed to make BBC Studios commercial the corporation has said it will open up more of its slots to independents, although its big shows such as Strictly Come Dancing will be made by BBC Studios.

All3Media chief executive, Jane Turton, when asked about what she would like Hall to say about the creation of the new entity in his keynote speech at the conference, said: “I’d love to have as level a playing field as possible and have the opportunity to bid for some of those lovely BBC shows, that’s what I’d love him to say.”

ITV Studios boss Kevin Lygo added: “We’ve not seen a lot of detail yet, competition is only good, that’s a good thing. I would just say we just don’t quite understand what it’s going to be so will have to wait and see.”