The creation of the commercial production division of the BBC, BBC Studios, will lead to 100 per cent competition between in house and independent producers; BBC producers will be free to pitch to other broadcasters, and external producers can compete for more content on the BBC. Mark Linsey has recently been appointed as Director of BBC Studios. He talks to Steve Hewlett about how the new model will benefit the market, when tendering out will begin, and why he thinks it will mean better value for money for licence fee payers.
More than a year after Jeremy Clarkson left Top Gear, the BBC's long-running motoring show is back. The first episode of the new series aired on Sunday and garnered 4.4 million viewers. Critics noted that this was below the audience achieved by the 2015 series but Chris Evans and the BBC were quick to point out that in terms of share, the re-launch surpassed the first episode of the previous series. Joining Steve to give their verdict on the post-Clarkson incarnation of Top Gear is Mark Wells, former Controller of Entertainment at ITV, and Quentin Letts, critic and sketch writer of The Daily Mail.
Reality TV success Geordie Shore is celebrating its 5th birthday. With 12 seasons under its belt, it now has more than a million viewers and 16 million followers across social media, making it one of MTV's most successful programmes. Following a group of friends living together in Newcastle, it's known for showing drunken antics, rows and sex scenes, leading to controversy - it's been labelled by some as bordering on pornographic. Steve Hewlett talks to Kerry Taylor, Viacom's Senior Vice President of youth and music and an executive producer of Geordie Shore, about why the programme works so well on MTV.
Producer: Katy Takatsuki.
