US media group and the British pubcaster teamed up to find unscripted shows that can work both in the States and UK, informed an article published by Deadline.com. The partners will hunt for shows from British producers and will look to co-commission pilots or develop projects with series potential.
NBCUniversal and BBC agreed terms for producers, based on the BBC’s existing terms, which will be a boon for producers as the BBC has much more favorable terms that USA networks. BBC Entertainment’s Syeda Irtizaali and Ed Havard, VP, Creative Partnerships for Universal Studio Group, sealed the deal. Submissions will be overseen by BBC commissions Pinki Chambers and Neil McCallum and Havard and Sharon Vuong for the American company, added the article.
Jenny Groom, EVP, Entertainment Unscripted Content, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, commented: ‘We love the idea of amplifying our audiences and creative output in partnership with the BBC. There is no better partner for us and with Vuong and her team helping to lead the charge for us, we look forward to bringing the next great wave of unscripted formats to viewers across the globe’.
Kate Phillips, Director of Entertainment, BBC Commissioning, added: ‘This is such an exciting opportunity for UK-based producers. We want to lead the way in finding and investing in high impact, returnable British ideas and formats from all nations and regions, and this collaboration with NBCU will enable producers to develop their ideas at scale and win commissions on both sides of the Atlantic’.