Kate Phillips, the controller of BBC Entertainment, was interviewed by Endemol Shine Group\u2019s CEO of creative networks, Lisa Perrin, at MIPFormats, where she discussed her content remit and the challenges and opportunities in the sector.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to take risks,\u201d said Phillips of the BBC\u2019s approach to programming. \u201cWe\u2019re not a commercial channel, we can probably try things out, and I think I\u2019ve taken a lot of risks since I started. I have a team who feel passionately about new ideas. When I started the job, we put over 50 ideas into development at all levels and worked hand in hand with the indies of all sizes in bringing those shows to life. I will always take risks. I will always commission from paper, tape, whatever grabs us. There\u2019s nothing that gets me more excited than a new idea that feels distinctive and fresh.\u201d<\/p>\n
On her remit, Phillips said, \u201cWe\u2019re looking for big Saturday night shows. We\u2019re looking at 2020, because it takes a good year and a half to get these shows up and running. I am slot-focused. I don’t want to be really slot focused. I still want people to bring us ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n
On competing with FAANGs, Phillips said, \u201cI think it\u2019s brilliant that there are people putting this amount of money into our industry. From a point of view of my friends running indies, great, there\u2019s another outlet. In the factual-entertainment space, they are definitely tough competition. [Fact-ent shows] work on these platforms because you tend to binge factual entertainment. In terms of our big Saturday night shows, I don’t see [online platforms] so much as competition. It’s like with sporting events. Sporting events are live, shared experiences. No one knows what\u2019s going to happen. That\u2019s what it\u2019s like with big talent shows. You\u2019re watching it together, you\u2019re waiting for the result, and you go into work the next day and everyone is talking about it and you\u2019re waiting for next week. Those big, special, appointment-to-view pieces sit very well on terrestrial channels.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the SVOD services haven\u2019t changed her editorial remit, Phillips said that she has to move quickly if she sees a factual-entertainment title she likes \u201cso it doesn\u2019t go elsewhere.\u201d The SVODs often offer bigger budgets, \u201cso what can we offer them that they won\u2019t get on Netflix and Amazon, and often it\u2019s a rights thing. We do act quicker in that space now.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the flip side, she said, it\u2019s important \u201cnot to rush things to air. Take your time, pilot it, try it out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perrin asked Phillips which show on another broadcaster she wished she had commissioned. \u201cI love so many shows! Hunted<\/em> I thought was a brilliant way of moving on that on-the-run fact-ent format. Britain\u2019s Got Talent<\/em> on ITV is great. Internationally there are some brilliant formats out there as well. In the U.K. there is a kind of snobbery that the U.K. does it best and we come up with the best formats. Of course, we have that heritage, but I do see a lot of great international formats, often made for a fraction of the price, that are really well done.\u201d<\/p>\n On the parameters presented by public-service-broadcast commissioning, Phillips said, \u201cWe couldn’t do Love Island<\/em> on the BBC, it wouldn’t sit as well there, but we have The Apprentice<\/em>, which is a massive fact-ent format dominated by young people. It\u2019s just thinking of different ways to do [young-skewing shows] on the BBC. There are certain things we wouldn\u2019t do.\u201d<\/p>\n She said she\u2019s also limited in how many heritage formats, like Generation Game<\/em>, she can bring back if she wants to try fresh and new ideas. \u201cThat\u2019s something as a public-service broadcaster we need to do.\u201d<\/p>\n In terms of measuring success, overnights remain essential, but live plus seven is also crucial, as well as live plus 28. \u201cIt\u2019s also the breakdown within the ratings. Does it appeal to young audiences, underserved audiences? It\u2019s not one simple figure [that] dictates all.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Kate Phillips, the controller of BBC Entertainment, was interviewed by Endemol Shine Group\u2019s CEO of creative networks, Lisa Perrin, at MIPFormats, where she discussed her content remit and the challenges and opportunities in the sector.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":6202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[1351,375,402,993],"class_list":["post-6201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-top-stories","tag-bbc-entertainment","tag-endemol-shine-group","tag-kate-phillips","tag-lisa-perrin","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\n