BFI Launches Young Audiences Content Fund

The British Film Institute (BFI) has launched the U.K. government’s Young Audiences Content Fund (YACF), which will see £57 million ($74 million) delivered over a three-year pilot period.

The fund was conceived to support the creation of high-quality new programming for children and young audiences (up to age 18) on free-to-access Ofcom-regulated television and online platforms. It is financed by the U.K. government as part of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s Contestable Fund.

Now open for applications for production and development funding on a rolling deadline, the YACF is seeking projects that will entertain, inform and reflect young audiences’ experiences of growing up in the U.K. Applications for original programming with public service broadcasting values, in both live action and animation, and across all genres will be considered. Production funding requires a formal broadcast commitment from an Ofcom-regulated free-to-access channel or platform, while development funding will prioritize supporting new voices and emerging producers with projects intended for broadcast but not in a position to secure a commission.

BFI has appointed Jackie Edwards to serve as the head of the fund. Completing the team is John Knowles, the YACF’s executive of production; Harriet Williams, executive of development; Hesham Sabry, business affairs executive; Gill Biddle, project manager; Chandan Shergill, fund coordinator; and Aisha Jan, administrator.

Ben Roberts, BFI’s deputy CEO, said: “This fund has the potential to foster a step change in the creation of original content for young people in the U.K., particularly under the guidance of Jackie and her new team. The content we consume in our youth can have an enduring impact and contribute to shaping who we become. Technology and audience appetites are changing the way content is financed and consumed, and young people will continue to propel the industry forward in unexpected ways. That is why it is vital this fund creates quality content for them, accessible on a range of platforms.”

Edwards said: “I am thrilled to have recruited such a strong team—their experience and expertise will enable us to reach and support talent right across the U.K. This fund provides a fantastic opportunity for independent producers working in young people’s programming. I’ve had really positive conversations with the broadcasters, who are engaged and keen to commission new content, so I’m hugely excited about the potential of creating brilliant shows that will connect with their intended audience, who have for so long been underserved.”

Knowles added: “I’m very excited and proud to be involved in this immensely important project, which will forge a new direction for representative and informative content, reflecting the U.K.’s culture for our young audience now and in the future.”