BBC History Strategy: Sunny Side interview with commissioner Simon Young, buyer of 70+ hours / year

For my Sunny Side of the Doc Meet the Executive interview, the BBC‘s Commissioning Editor for History Simon Young, shared his vision, priorities and three notable examples.

Pipeline

BBC History: 70-80 hours.
Specialist Factual: 400 hours.
History’s broad remit: Ancient to Early 21st century.
The BBC’s Documentary unit also commissions recent History programs.

Simon Young

Channels

Simon feeds three channels:

BBC1
Recognizable names and famous faces; very accessible to a wide audience
BBC2
Most BBC History is commissioned for BBC2; the home of specialist factual; targets experts
BBC4
The home for “unashamedly geeky History lovers;” the most intellectual channel for experts

Four Formats

Drama docs
High profile single docs: “Single films need to be journalistically strong, and have important stories to tell.”
Big returnable formats
Archive-based programs

Recent Hits & Notables

Simon pointed to several documentaries to highlight his strategy:

A House Through Time

Looks at a single property and tells the stories of everyone who has ever lived there
Returnable format
Rating extremely well:
- 3.8 million viewers / 17.5 share for highest-rated episode
- #3 among all BBC 2 Documentary / Lifestyle programs in 1st Half 2020
- Led only by Top Gear and Inside Monaco
Takes the place of soaps that are off air during COVID, because it has the same human drama and storytelling
Serialized storytelling, meaning four episode arcs that bring people back to keep watching
Intersection of little pieces of history that wouldn’t normally warrant their own documentary
The project came to Tom McDonald, the Head of Specialist Factual
It’s ambitious to spend a lot of time on each house to really resonate with the audience
(See video interview below)

The Unwanted: The Secret Windrush Files

Journalistic single
Scandal about immigrants from the 1960s-70s who fought deportation from the UK
The film revealed new information about an issue that has very deep historical roots
Highly relatable characters
Current story in today’s journalism: not everyone has received recognition or recompense
Broadcast last year, and repeated recently (637,000 viewers / 3.6 Share)
(See video below)

Britain’s Biggest Dig (working title)

Exclusive access
A series of archeological excavations in Britain during the construction of a railroad revealed two large cemeteries from 18th + 19th centuries
There is hope of finding named individuals
Attracts broadcasters and audiences
Hasn’t yet premiered
Simon shared a clip of the discovery of the grave of Matthew Flinders, an early explorer of Port Philip Bay where Melbourne is located

Covid-19

BBC ‘s commissioning process hasn’t been impacted much
Especially for independent producers
The situation “adds a degree of democratization”

It becomes a problem in the production slate (about 50-75% of the slate has been affected)

Anything that wasn’t already in the editing phase had to be put on hold
Very difficult to film in field or studio due to safety restrictions
BBC is re-prioritizing projects based on their status in the production/editing process
(For example, Britain’s Biggest Dig was pushed forward because it is local and involves a small crew)
History is a relatively viable category because it is supported by archive footage

Content Desert

There are two pathways for BBC History to thrive in the “Content Desert”:

Use the archive to tell stories: there was already a renaissance in archival storytelling
Develop shows with strong dramatic storytelling arcs to fill the space of COVID-delayed scripted dramatic series

COVID’s Audience Impact

“What BBC makes and what audiences will want to watch will be different in a post-Covid world because audiences appetites and preferences will be different.”
Documentaries about Covid are not always doing well because viewers are seeking escapism over reality.

Sources of Programs / Coproductions

Most producers who work with BBC are British, however…
They do also work with international producers
It’s all about ideas, i.e. who has an important story to tell, especially in the single journalistic format or when there is exclusive access

How to Pitch BBC

Visit the BBC commissioning website, which has info about factual genres
BBC Pitch website
Email Simon directly with top lines and ideas (both elevator pitch and/or more fleshed out ideas)

(Notes by Becca Wallance)

MORE

A discussion from the Bristol Festival of Ideas with historian and presenter David Olusoga about A House Through Time: