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Radio 4 commissioning changes leave indies high and dry, producers claim

Published Tuesday 7 July 2009 at 13:25 by Matthew Hemley

Independent drama producers have criticised a new commissioning system implemented by BBC Radio 4, claiming it is putting their futures at risk and restricting opportunities for nurturing talent in the industry.

The complaints were made after the broadcaster announced the first set of winners under the new structure, which sees companies invited to bid for a two-year batch of commissions for the channel’s Afternoon Play slot. This replaced the twice-yearly, programme by programme commissioning rounds previously run by the Corporation.

Producers who have lost out under the new system argue that the two-year wait to bid again has closed opportunities for them and will impact negatively on their revenues.

One, who did not want to be named, said his company previously made up to three Afternoon Play productions for Radio 4 a year, representing more than £50,000 in income.

He said that, previously, even if he had not won commissions in one round, he only had to wait six months for another opportunity. Now, he complained, he will suffer a two-year “fallow patch” without the commissions.

The producer added that the bidding process was based on a “sell-yourself document” rather than being concerned with specific ideas for plays and said that being unsuccessful meant it was difficult for him to maintain or develop relationships with creative talent.

“We are having to have some really awkward conversations with some really talented people, saying we can’t work with them for the next two years on any of their stuff,” he said.

Another producer, who also worked regularly for Radio 4 under the old system, agreed, claimed the Afternoon Play slot was the best place to launch new writing talent.

She said new writers would now have to try and establish which companies had won slots in order to work with them, or apply directly to the BBC, which she claimed was already swamped with script ideas.

The producer added that Radio 4’s new system divided the number of slots, totalling 82 over two years, between fewer companies than before, and claimed the system had only been introduced by Radio 4 to reduce the administrative burden of dealing with a growing suppliers list.

She added: “Hopefully when they do recommission, if they still do the batch thing, they won’t say you have to give evidence of what you have produced in the last two years, because that would leave us in a catch 22 scenario.”

Jeremy Howe, commissioning editor for drama at Radio 4, said the 84 Afternoon Play slots given to companies over the next two years represented a “slight” increase in the number of commissions and it would give “writers, producers and actors an unparalleled opportunity for creative endeavour”, adding that it provided Radio 4 with the “scope to build more creative relationships with suppliers”.

Meanwhile, Denis Nowlan, network manager at Radio 4, insisted that the batch system was a pilot and said: “We will assess its effectiveness throughout the tender period.”

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