Independent production companies will have the opportunity to develop a homegrown show for Irish and British audiences as RTÉ and BBC call for television show proposals under a new joint funding initiative.
If an idea for a show is commissioned, it will be the first commission under the recently announced partnership between RTÉ, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland.
Producers are asked to submit their ideas, which should cater for all three regions, before November 9. RTÉ has said there is no restriction on the format of the idea, but the ideas should reflect the strong historical, geographical and cultural connections between Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
RTÉ said the new show will provide scope for “new faces, new production techniques and imaginative story-telling”.
The new funding initiative was first mentioned at the Celtic Media Festival last June. BBC Northern Ireland exclusively confirmed the details with IFTN last May. The partnership marks the first time all three broadcasters have teamed up to commission a show, and is aimed exclusively at independent production companies.
As all three broadcasters call for proposals, RTÉ said they are looking for “high-quality, creative ideas that can also deliver financial benefit for the broadcast partners.” Ideas will only be commissioned if they meet the criteria for all three broadcasters.
RTÉ Television’s director of programmes Steve Carson said: “We have already had success working with independents to co-produce with the BBC and we are looking at how we can build on that model. This is an exploratory initiative and we are interested to see what ideas are out there that could appeal to the audiences on the island of Ireland and in Scotland.”
The most notable RTÉ/BBC Scotland collaboration is Brendan O’Carroll’s hugely popular ‘Mrs Brown’s Boys’, which has gone on to win an IFTA Award, a BAFTA Award, and is currently being developed for a feature film as well as a gameshow.
Producers should submit their ideas for the new commissioning round via RTÉ’s e-commissioning system in the programme category under which your programme submission falls, i.e. drama, documentary, young people’s etc. (ref: Joint RTE / BBC NI & BBC Scotland initiative).
Budget ranges are not included at this stage.
Closing date for receipt of applications is 12 noon on November 9.
