The BBC has put long running daytime series Bargain Hunt out to competitive tender as part of the Charter and Agreement requirement to open up more of the BBC’s TV programmes to competition.
An invitation to tender for BBC One’s daytime series Bargain Hunt to be produced in Wales will be published in March 2018.
BBC Commissioning will invite pitches from all producers and a full list of eligibility criteria and requirements for the show will be shared with all suppliers. The BBC will retain all Intellectual Property rights for the programme, which will continue to be shown on BBC One, but the tendering process will decide which supplier makes the series.
Richard Dawkins, Chief Operating Officer, BBC Content said: “Bargain Hunt is a mainstay of the BBC One daytime schedule and with its continued popularity we are pleased to be committing to the series for the next few years.
"In putting this title out to tender, we are continuing to make good progress towards our commitment to open up the production of more of the BBC’s existing programming to competition."
The first titles opened up to competitive tender were A Question of Sport, Holby City and Songs of Praise. The first two were retained by BBC Studios and the latter was awarded to two independent producers Avanti and Nine Lives. Horizon was also opened up to a competitive pitch process, with independent producers Windfall Films and Wingspan Productions joining BBC Studios to produce bundles of films for the BBC’s flagship science strand, as well as a number of single films placed into development with a range of independent producers. Daytime drama series, Doctors, was the fifth BBC title to be opened up to competition last September and was awarded to BBC Studios last week.
The tendering of returning series currently produced by BBC Studios forms part of the Compete or Compare strategy launched by the BBC in 2014. The BBC will be releasing further opportunities to the market across 2018, some of these will be further tenders for existing series, some will be specific invitations to pitch for new shows with a clear purpose, and others will be open to competition for the best ideas as part of the normal commissioning process.
Staff Reporter
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