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BBC4 originals at an end

BBC4 comedy Detectorists

The BBC in the UK is winding down commissions for BBC4, which will instead become the home of archive content, according to the pubcaster’s annual plan.

The BBC Annual Plan 2021/22 also warned of the threat posed by global SVoD players to traditional broadcasters and laid out a five-point plan the pubcaster aims to execute over the next six years.

The changes at BBC4 come as a result of plans announced last week to double investment in arts and music over the next two years at BBC2.

“This approach will necessitate a shift away from commissioning a high volume of lower cost programmes on BBC4, which are less effective at reaching audiences on the channel and on iPlayer,” the BBC said.

“Instead, BBC4 will become the home of the most distinctive content from across the BBC’s archive. It will also remain the home for performance such as the BBC Proms, BBC Young Dancer and BBC Young Musician, will continue to showcase arts and music acquisitions and maintain its unique role in partnering with arts institutions.”

The pubcaster added that BBC4’s current archive content offer already comprises 76% of its broadcast hours and 69% of its broadcast viewing hours.

BBC4 has previously commissioned series including Charlie Brooker’s Screen Wipe, comedy series Detectorists, Mark Kermode’s Secrets of Cinema and political comedy The Thick of It, which went on to spawn a feature film and US series Veep.

The news also comes after the Beeb confirmed it will re-launch online network BBC3 as a linear broadcast channel in January 2022.

Elsewhere in its report, the BBC warned on the challenges posed by the growth of SVoD services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Apple, coupled with the consolidation of traditional media players like Comcast and Sky, Disney and 21st Century Fox, AT&T and Time Warner, and CBS and Viacom.

“Together, these huge, global media giants are spending unprecedented amounts on content with spending power far in excess of smaller players,” the BBC said.

“This increased investment and shift to bolstering their video streaming services will bring significant challenges for smaller players like the BBC, who are unable to keep up with the growth of investment in online video services.

“As competition in the media market intensifies and as the sums invested in content by the global giants increase, we expect to see a continuation of the ‘super-inflation’ trend that has impacted the whole media industry over the last 10 years. In particular, there is a risk that costs in areas like drama, comedy and premium factual content continue to rise much faster than the rate of inflation.”

The pubcaster also accused the likes of Netflix, Amazon and Disney of “putting British storytelling at risk,” arguing that their shows rarely reflect UK culture.

“US-based video services are bringing audiences brilliant programmes but that content, while popular in the UK and sometimes made in the UK, is rarely about the UK nor primarily made for the UK audience,” it said.

“Of course, this is to be expected. The US SVoDs are primarily creating content for a global market – audiences in India, Brazil and the US matter as much, if not more than the UK. Their focus is to use the UK’s brilliant creative sector to produce globally appealing content, not to add to the cultural story of the UK. This has typically meant that their programme catalogues reflect US stories and settings. There are of course exceptions, like The Crown, but they are few.”

The BBC noted that while US-based SVoDs have in recent years increased investment in the UK’s production sector, this investment remains “relatively small,” with Ofcom figures showing around 32,000 UK-produced hours on the UK’s public service broadcasters, versus around 210 hours on the global SVoDs.

To combat these challenges, plus those created by the Covid-19 crisis, and in order to remain relevant to British audiences, the BBC has set out a six-year, five-point plan, which it said will deliver “the biggest programme of reform since the 1990s and help restore the UK’s creative economy after the pandemic.”

The first point is to “get closer” to audiences across the country, through a “bold transformation” to serve the whole UK, its nations, regions and communities, through which it will seek out and tell the stories that matter most to those communities.

In line with this, the pubcaster’s second point aims to stimulate the UK’s creative sector by spreading TV, radio and online production and commissioning across the UK, while building creative and digital partnerships. Through this it will invest at least an extra cumulative £700m across the nations and regions of the UK by 2027/28, driving an additional estimated economic benefit of around £850m.

The third point focuses on providing learning and skills to all in the UK, through an “ambitious” programme of formal and informal learning, career development and apprenticeships.

The fourth point aims to “protect and nurture” democracy and civil debate in the UK, by championing impartial news and reflecting all views, opinions and identities across the UK.

In tandem with this, the fifth point will focus on delivering impact across the world, tackling propaganda and misinformation and reflecting the UK’s culture and values.

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