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Our content

Â鶹Éç viewers spend more time with daytime and early peak than any other genre outside News, enjoying a wide mix of content-rich programmes aimed at the broadest possible audience. Recently we’ve had awards success with titles including Scam Interceptors, Animal Park and Morning Live, sometimes outside of the specific daytime categories.

We’re after ideas that don’t feel like stereotypical daytime formats but could earn a place in the schedule at any time of day. Crucially they must attract viewers on iPlayer too. On-demand performance is increasingly key for our shows and as much of a factor in recommissions as linear success. The shows that have done particularly well on iPlayer for us generally have a clarity of purpose which is clear from the title, with eye-catching photos and well thought out and enticing programme descriptions.

So, while we do have opportunities in a number of slots please focus less on time slot and more on the idea feeling fresh and distinctive. We’re looking for ideas that will have a real impact and expand our existing mix of shows – whether that’s due to their stand-out originality or the use of talent that really leaps out of the listings and iPlayer. Authenticity, relatability and heart underpin all our best shows, with talent that’s trusted and good company.

We have a great track-record of transitioning our programmes to peak time schedules, from The Repair Shop to Garden Rescue, The Bidding Room and - last Christmas - a new celebrity version of Escape to the Country. So, to be in with the best chance ideas should always have the potential to be reshown in evening slots.

Our opportunities for commissions of volume can be fantastic for producers, and we’re passionate about strengthening our connection with audiences across the UK by continuing to increase the geographical breadth of our supply base, with occasional targeted invitations to pitch for indies in specific Nations and English regions. We’re particularly keen to explore ideas from local companies we could co-commission with Â鶹Éç Nations.

In all our shows, representing contemporary Britain onscreen is key, with ideas featuring talent, contributors and places that clearly reflect this diversity in all its facets.

Although we do have available slots the competition is fierce, so in the first instance please bring us top line ideas that we can develop with you further, rather than spending too much time and resource in the initial stages.

Opportunities

Early-afternoon

With Morning Live now 75-minutes and perennial favourites like Bargain Hunt and Homes Under the Hammer continuing to draw big audiences there are fewer gaps for new shows on weekday mornings. However, there are opportunities in the afternoons – particularly straight after the lunchtime news on Â鶹Éç One at 2pm. We’re looking here for factual or factual entertainment shows that can kick off the afternoons in fresh, innovative ways. New series Lost and Found in the Lakes and an have been commissioned with this slot in mind: both are strong formats with popular, trusted talent, plenty of heart and a genuine unforced premise rooted in relatable, real-world situations.

The lunchtime news is one of the most watched programmes on Â鶹Éç One, so to follow it, and potentially keep its audience, think about topics and formats that – like our morning shows – are full of useful, informative content that will appeal to the widest possible mainstream audience.

In general we’re looking for 30-minute shows after lunch but wouldn’t rule out 45-minutes if the idea genuinely warrants it.

Traditional subject areas such as consumer and crime will always be key, but ideas in those spaces need a clear and distinct top line that will bring something different to popular returners like Rip Off Britain, Scam Interceptors, and Crimewatch Live. We don’t want to replicate established formats found elsewhere, whether that’s on other channels or iPlayer.

Think about engaging ways to tell these stories, not necessarily wholly retrospective. For example, Scam Interceptors feels like a thoroughly modern take on the consumer genre by immersing viewers in the drama of stopping an unfolding scam.

Likewise, blue light or observational documentary series will only appeal here if the access is something we’ve genuinely never seen before. Even then, access in itself isn’t enough: we want to know what it can tell us about modern Britain and why viewers will want to see it now.

Mid-afternoon

Mid-afternoons on Â鶹Éç One typically focus on quiz and compelling factual entertainment.

The Travelling Auctioneers and Make It at Market are good examples of shows that work well in the afternoons, with great storytelling and warm, trusted talent. Ideas at this time of day should feel uplifting and positive, perhaps helping people achieve untapped potential. While they’re typically as full of content and take-home advice as our output earlier in the day, they may have a more escapist tone. Many of the recent titles here have been recommissioned for next year, so immediate opportunities are slightly less frequent, but we’d welcome ideas for 45-minute formats with potential to be the next big afternoon hit, or that could grow into peak.

Again, it’s important that ideas in this space are distinctive or bring a new spin to any well-trodden territories. While we wouldn’t turn away a brilliantly original idea involving property or antiques, both of these feel like territories we already have well-covered. We would particularly welcome ideas that will appeal to underserved audiences as much as heartland viewers, to give our ideas the broadest possible appeal and not super-serve particular groups.

Quiz remains a key part of our afternoon schedule and an opportunity to bring in audiences. New format The Finish Line, hosted by Roman Kemp and Sarah Greene, brilliantly combines both the play-along and the warmth that works so well in this slot. This year we’re also excited to be launching new quiz hosted by Jason Manford.

We’ve recently completed a targeted initiative to develop new quiz ideas and are looking to pilot some of these soon. However, we’re still keen to hear ideas for further new formats, particularly those that could also have a Saturday night iteration. A great example of that is the Ross Kemp-fronted Bridge of Lies, which came out of a similar initiative and is currently on its third series with additional celebrity episodes for Saturday teatimes.

Early peak

On Â鶹Éç Two early evenings our year-round hit Richard Osman’s House of Games sits alongside high-impact series at 6.30pm. Our most successful shows at 6.30 are often talent-led, featuring big names that reveal previously unseen sides to their personalities, as in Robson Green’s Weekend Escapes, Clive Myrie’s travelogues, and Sir David Jason in David & Jay’s Touring Toolshed, or showcase their expertise and talent, as in our new series with Rick Stein and .

Slots here are especially competitive, so concentrate on people who really feel a treat to watch (and might even get the show the cover of one of the weekend supplements) or are genuinely integral to the premise of the show. We have new ideas coming up here with some really big names, so ideas for our remaining slots need to feature talent who could be surprising, relatable but also plausible in the factual space. Importantly they need to ensure the programme really stands out on iPlayer and entice viewers to watch.