ĢƵ

ĢƵ Three partners with ĢƵ Scotland and Screen Scotland for a new collaboration

ĢƵ Three is partnering with ĢƵ Scotland and Screen Scotland for a new collaboration that will provide local companies with the opportunity to win a four-part series commission.

Published: 25 June 2020
ĢƵ Scotland is delighted to be partnering with ĢƵ Three and Screen Scotland on this ambitious drive for new formats. It’s a great opportunity for the creative sector here to reach young audiences across the UK with innovative new ideas.
— Steve Carson, Head of Multi-Platform Commissioning, ĢƵ Scotland

For this particular partnership, independent production companies based in Scotland are invited to pitch innovative, factual entertainment format ideas that reflect the life experiences of 16-24 year olds.

Ideas that are lighthearted and will help young audiences to wind down are of particular interest, and narratives centred around positivity, humour and playfulness are key considerations, alongside the inclusion of diverse talent.

The aim of the partnership is to champion Scotland-based companies, strengthen the delivery of more formatted factual programmes from Scottish producers to ĢƵ Three, and to reflect and promote local life experiences of 16-24 year olds on a local and national level via a guaranteed series commission that will be available to watch on both the ĢƵ Three rail on ĢƵ iPlayer and on ĢƵ Scotland.

Fiona Campbell, Controller, ĢƵ Three, says: “We’re really happy that ĢƵ Three is joining forces with ĢƵ Scotland and Screen Scotland for this collaboration. This, alongside our existing partnerships with ĢƵ Northern Ireland and ĢƵ England means we will be able to deliver on our strategy to highlight stories of young people from every corner of the UK and become even more inclusive.”

Steve Carson, Head of Multi-Platform Commissioning, ĢƵ Scotland, says: “ĢƵ Scotland is delighted to be partnering with ĢƵ Three and Screen Scotland on this ambitious drive for new formats. It’s a great opportunity for the creative sector here to reach young audiences across the UK with innovative new ideas.”

David Smith, Director at Screen Scotland, adds: “It is great to see Screen Scotland’s strategic partnership with the ĢƵ continue to drive new opportunities for production companies based here in Scotland. This joint initiative will deliver a new returning series for the ĢƵ from Scotland, generating creative jobs and developing talent.”

Expressions of interest will be accepted from 1 July and 14 August 2020. The ĢƵ teams will then begin a thorough selection process, prior to entering into a period of paid development and project scoping with up to eight indies. During this phase, ĢƵ Three will actively engage with the shortlisted companies, sharing insights and knowledge to help strengthen idea development.

Successful submissions will be notified before 4 September 2020 and invited to pitch in front of a team of ĢƵ commissioners in October 2020. After the pitching session, two indies will be shortlisted to receive further funding to produce a 20-minute to 30-minute broadcast quality pilot of their idea.  ĢƵ Three and ĢƵ Scotland will then choose one of the pilots to take through to series (4x30min format) for the network, to be featured on ĢƵ iPlayer and ĢƵ Scotland’s channel.

The full commissioning brief, details on the partnership, how to apply, guidance on pitching, selection criteria and the timeline are available via the ĢƵ Commissioning website.

As previously announced, ĢƵ Three is committed to running at least one creative partnership in each Nation or Region as part of ĢƵ Content’s package of activity to support the sector outside London during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

BW