Third Biennial Review of the Window of Creative Competition for Television - terms of reference

Date: 20.09.2011     Last updated: 23.09.2014 at 09.50
Category: Television

The BBC Trust is required to review the operation of Clauses 54, 55 and 56 of the BBC Agreement at least every two years. Clause 54 refers to the Window of Creative Competition (WoCC) for Television which is the part of BBC network television commissioning for which in-house and independent producers can compete on equal terms. Clause 55 concerns competitive opportunities for the production of non-network programmes, and Clause 56 concerns the arrangements through which a proportion of programmes must be reserved for in-house production (known as the in-house guarantee).

The WoCC for Television came into effect on 1 April 2007, with the Trust’s first review published in July 2008, and its second review in November 2010. The main findings to emerge from the first review were as follows:

  • Commissioners had clear incentives to pick the best ideas with no obvious bias towards in-house ideas over independent ones
  • The BBC had in general met the requirements of the WoCC and the in-house guarantee set out in the Agreement
  • No evidence was found that either commissioners or producers were pre- occupied with which processing route their ideas were following
  • Opportunities were found to be well publicised through the commissioning web site and briefings
  • Independent producers won three quarters of the opportunities under the WoCC, performing particularly strongly in children’s, knowledge, entertainment and comedy
  • The introduction of the WoCC had been a spur to in-house producers, who were adjusting to new structures and significant staff cuts
  • Independents welcomed the expansion of opportunity provided by the WoCC

The recommendations set out in the 2010 WoCC review included:

  • Providing clearer information about the operation of the WoCC
  • Making available more information about the scope and scale of opportunities
  • Considering how the principles of the WoCC might be best applied to sport
  • Considering whether emerging good practices of commissioning in certain genres could be more widely applied in other genres
  • The BBC should consider monitoring which programmes are commissioned through each of the commissioning routes
  • Making the e-commissioning system clearer
  • Considering steps to ensure that independent producers have a better understanding of audience response to programming
  • The BBC should review its complaint handling arrangements for commissioning with a view to streamlining the process and making it as accessible as possible.

Scope of the third WoCC review

The Agreement requires that the Trust must investigate thoroughly the BBC’s compliance with Clauses 54 – 56 and consider whether any aspect of the BBC’s arrangements for complying with them ought to be modified. Amongst other things, the Trust is required to look at:

a) whether an appropriately wide range and diversity of programmes has been made through the WoCC; and

b) whether the geographical location and size of external producers who made bids to make programmes through the WoCC suggests that the process of competition has been fair and transparent.

This is the third review of the WoCC. The first was a necessarily detailed investigation into the newly embedded systems and processes behind the WoCC. The second review was a more mature process of review and recommendation.

Our review for 2012 will focus on compliance and with progress made against the Trust’s recommendations from the second review, requiring a simpler approach from the Trust. Unlike the previous two reviews which have engaged external consultants, the analysis for this review will be coordinated and conducted by the Trust.

The review will broadly assess: (i) fulfilment of the requirements of the WoCC in practice; (ii) progress against recommendations from the previous review; and (iii) whether there are any new areas for the Trust to consider.

The review will not examine issues such as whether the WoCC should exist or whether the proportion of television hours currently allocated to BBC in-house producers or the independent sector as set out in the BBC’s Framework Agreement should be changed.

Terms of reference

More specifically, our review will focus on the following areas:

1. Has the relevant proportion of network television programming been the subject of competition as envisaged under the WoCC arrangements?

a and in particular, has an appropriately wide range and diversity of programmes been made through the WoCC?

2. Has the process of competition been fair and transparent?

a does the geographical location and size of producers who made bids to make programmes through the WoCC suggest that the process of competition has been fair and transparent?

b have sufficient levels of information/ engagement been provided with regards to commissioning opportunities?

3. What outcomes have the arrangements led to in terms of content commissioned in-house versus externally?

a have commissioning decisions being made on the basis of the best ideas winning?

4. Have previous Trust actions and recommendations been implemented?

5. Have the arrangements worked well in practice? Have there been any complaints?

Approach

The review will gather data and evidence from stakeholders within and outside the BBC.

The Trust will publish its findings.

The main data sources for the review will be:

 

  • A period of public consultation
  • Operational data supplied by the BBC Executive
  • Publicly available data concerning the BBC’s TV commissioning processes including complaint handling arrangements
  • Stakeholder research to be conducted by the Trust. Categories of stakeholder to be surveyed will include:

  - Commissioning staff

- In-house production staff

- Qualifying independent producers

- Non-qualifying independent producers

- Representative trade and professional bodies

- Relevant regulatory bodies.

The data and evidence submitted by the BBC Executive, drawn from the stakeholder research and other sources will be analysed and considered by the Trust before it publishes its final report. On the basis of its findings, the Trust may decide that the BBC should make changes to its commissioning arrangements.

Timetable

 

September  Fieldwork – data collection, stakeholder interviews, public consultation opens
November Public consultation closes
2012/13 Report publication

Public consultation

We are currently holding a period of public consultation between 20 September and 7 November 2012. If you would like to contribute your views on the broad questions outlined above or are interested in taking part in a stakeholder interview then please email us at [email protected] or write to us at:

WoCC 2012,

BBC Trust,

180 Great Portland Street,

London,

W1W 5QZ