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Live/Late Programmes and OBs The Topicality Status status of your programme will be determined by the commissioner at the point of commission. The definitions below are additionally used to define the requirements for live and late feeds and Outside Broadcasts (OBs) Live Whole programmes played from a live source - e.g. OB, Studio, abroad Off-Site Programmes on tape, but which are not delivering to the London Playout area. This could include programmes transmitting from a Nation or Region, an outside facilities house, another BBC building, or an edit suite. Quick Turnaround/ Late Edits Programmes which are not live, but ’as-live’, with material being turned round immediately and sent down the line from an OB, studio or edit suite. Requirements differ for Network programmes and local programmes for BBC Scotland . Delivery Items In Advance Publicity Material Stills Production Script Promotions Billings On Delivery Date Compliance Form I&RP OFCOM Form Transmission Form Network TX Tape Standby Tape Final Steps P as C Music Reporting Indep. Contracts BBC Scotland TX Tape Open University Tape Package (OU) Final Transcript (OU) Terms Explained Delivery Date Topicality Compliance Transmission Review Programme Numbers BBC Wales Delivery Site New Compliance Policy e-Commissioning Member of the public with ideas can get information here Writers Room Link Durations - don't make your programme too long for your slot - check programme and credit durations here Interactive TV ideas are submitted to the normal genre teams
BBC Wales Delivery Site
New Compliance Policy
e-Commissioning
Member of the public with ideas can get information here
Writers Room Link
Durations - don't make your programme too long for your slot - check programme and credit durations here
Interactive TV ideas are submitted to the normal genre teams
Network Programmes
It is the responsibility of production to book all the required circuits.
The cost of lines, including communication circuits, and all other facilities deemed necessary by Television for safe transmission of these programmes, must be included in programme budgets.
You must know your commissioned format when booking feeds, and arranging off-air recordings for delivery to Playout, to ensure the correct circuits are booked and the right tape formats are used.
All programmes must supply a standby programme if requested - details here .
All programmes playing live into Network Playout (Red Bee Media) should run their titles (or recorded pre-title sequences) from minus 1" starts. NB This does not mean a clock should be present at -1" for ID purposes . Current best practice should be followed i.e. the clock should drop to black at -3" and early vision should appear at -1". This provides confirmation to both production & playout that the correct title sequence is loaded and the machine is ready to go.
Live productions recording 'PasBs' for subsequent scheduled repeats must ensure that a clock is present at the start of the recording. If the only way of guaranteeing this is for the programme titles to be played from a longer cue when played in live, Red Bee Media will accept this.
Please read the BBC's Specific Requirements for Programme Delivery from remote sources, including Outside Broadcasts in its Technical Standards (Chapter 9 Appendix 3).
Open Talkback should be offered to Playout (Red Bee Media) from 10 minutes pre TX and maintained throughout the duration of the live programme. If Production need to cut talkback at any time to maintain confidentiality, it should be restored as quickly as possible. Open Talkback during transmission allows Playout to quickly assess whether the production team are aware and reacting to any problems which may occur, and to help identify where in the transmission chain the fault may lie. For further information on working with the Red Bee Media Playout team click here (PDF format, 24Kb).
Production must ensure a master tape of the programme is made, and delivered to BBC Information & Archives after transmission.
The cost of this should be included in programme budgets (N.B. for Independent Entertainment and Factual programmes this will be organised by the Programme Delivery Unit on behalf of the production).
Production will ensure that a BBC representative is present throughout the transmission, at the agreed contact location from where the programme is being transmitted.
If a programme is planning to deliver their transmission tape to the London Playout Area, but it is still being edited at 1 hour before transmission then production have to make arrangements to book lines and circuits from their edit suite to the Playout Area.
If the tape is not likely to arrive in the playout Area 30 minutes before transmission, then the programme must transmit from the edit suite, and production are required to remain in the edit suite for the duration of the transmission.
Late deliveries and fast turnaround programmes may be recorded direct to playout servers - contact Red Bee Media for more information.
The International Unit or Satellite Bookings arrange all International feeds and UK programme feeds between BBC premises and also to/from other broadcasters and post production facility houses for independent producers.
Network Bookings arrange UK programme feeds on BBC circuits for in-house producers.
All paperwork is required as normal for live programmes with the exception of the Transmission Form which is not currently required.
Local programmes for BBC Scotland
The cost of lines, including communication circuits and all other facilities deemed necessary by the Commissioning Editor for the safe transmission of live or near-live programmes, must be included in programme budgets. The Production Team must budget and plan for the availability of the necessary main and reserve circuits to provide sufficient resilience for the OB incoming to BH Glasgow. Any live event must take into account the effects of Digital Delay when booking facilities, e.g. off-air cues will be inaccurate.
For live or vulnerable programmes i.e. programmes edited close to transmission, the Production Department will supply a standby programme on Digibeta at the request of Commissioning & Scheduling on terms to be agreed in good faith.
Production departments are responsible for arranging copies and delivery of live programme tapes after they have been transmitted. The delivery requirement is the same as that of recorded programmes .
BBC Scotland Guidelines for major OBs and events are available on request - contact us here.
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