The BBC and NBCUniversal are looking for new format ideas for the next stage of their unscripted development partnership, building on the success of The Traitors and the launch of Destination X in the US and UK.
Independent UK production companies are invited to pitch “original ideas designed to captivate audiences on both sides of the Atlantic,” whether hubbed or co-produced through other collaborative production models.
The partnership welcomes submissions across a wide range of genres, including arced reality competitions, dating and relationships and talent or performance shows.
The BBC and NBCUniversal have worked together over the years on a number of hit unscripted brands and formats, including The Traitors, The Weakest Link, The Wall and The Americas as well as the upcoming launch of Destination X on the BBC, and their ongoing partnership builds on this track record of joint success.
In the U.S., Destination X has reached 6.7 million viewers across NBC, Peacock and all other platforms since its May 27 premiere, more than tripling its initial live-plus-same-day audience and is NBC’s top alternative series launch on Peacock based on 35-day average audience viewing.
Details on the process for submissions, timelines and selection criteria are available on the BBC website at https://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/news/bbc-nbcuniversal-unscripted-opportunity-july-2025 The process will be overseen by Michael Jochnowitz, Editor of Unscripted (Interim) and Jason Emerton, Head of Business, Unscripted for the BBC and Ed Havard, Senior Vice President, Alternative Programming and Steven Bercovitch, SVP, Business Affairs from NBCUniversal.
Syeda Irtizaali, BBC Director of Unscripted (Interim), and Ed Havard, Senior Vice President, Alternative Programming, NBCUniversal said: “The BBC/NBCUniversal partnership has been a thrilling ride so far, bringing The Traitors and Destination X to our audiences in the UK and US. Now we’re after the next tranche of ambitious, groundbreaking ideas which move the creative dial again. The relationship between the BBC and NBCUniversal has been extraordinarily innovative and our shared DNA creates a rare opportunity for British producers to develop at scale for two of the largest broadcast ecosystems in the global market.
“So, we encourage indies to challenge us with bold and original thinking that builds on the success of our global hits and helps us create the next one.”
The NBCUniversal and BBC partnership was forged by Syeda Irtizaali and Ed Havard.
Pippa Considine
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