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Programme Delivery
The Delivery section will provide information about our Programme Delivery requirements and should be viewed in conjunction with the answers below.
Common queries about Music Reporting are answered here .
PDF files to Download
I&A self notification guide (84Kb)
I&A sample reporting template (23Kb)
BBC Online Guidelines (23Kb)
Requires Adobe Acrobat Free Here
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
A. Nearly all TV programming produced in-house and the vast majority of TV programmes commissioned from independent producers will be covered under the BBC's various arrangements with music industry bodies.
The Music Copyright section of Talent Rights Group should be contacted for advice (primarily in respect of commercial discs a producer may wish to use in any programming) - and this applies to programmes made solely for UK transmission as well as to those where secondary exploitation rights are needed.
If you need further information/advice on these and/or other music copyright issues, please contact Music Copyright (020) 8576 7216 to obtain a copy of their detailed guide for television production staff.
A. The BBC has an agreement with Video Performance Limited (VPL) which enables in-house producers and independent producers commissioned by the BBC to use VPL product (which covers the vast majority of pop videos produced by the major and independent record labels) in programmes for domestic transmission without the need for pre-clearance.
The agreement requires full and accurate reporting of such usage (including the video's ISRC number). Secondary exploitation rights in such material is the subject of ongoing negotiations with VPL and advice should be sought from Music Copyright regarding this issue.
A: Information and Archives have a wealth of resources and services which stretch back over seventy years of broadcasting. The collections cover programme archive, photographs, music (both sheet and recorded), sound material and effects, document archives and research centres. There are similar services and archives available in the English regions, BBC Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
All use of archive material needs to be checked for 3rd party rights, and any identified, cleared appropriately.
I&A's services are also available to you prior to commissioning.
For more information or to place orders, please call (020) 8008 2288. For orders you will need your account number (Q code); if you do not have an account number, use the same number to get information about setting one up.
A: The cost of Information and Archive services will be cash flowed to independent production companies as part of the primary rights license fee and independent production companies will bear the cost directly for these services.
The cost will be in accordance with the rates charged by Information & Archives for BBC programmes at the relevant time.
In order to keep the process as simple as possible, the BBC will trial for 12 months (from April 2005), a quarterly 'self notification' of usage of Information and Archive services thereby reducing the amount of paperwork and process.
Note that these procedures do not affect any copyright costs within programmes.
A guide to explain this 'self notification' process in full is available here (PDF, 84 Kb) along with a sample reporting template (PDF, 23Kb). Please refer to your usual BBC business contact in relation to any queries about this.
PDF files require Adobe Acrobat, available free (External) here .
Open University Independent companies making programmes for the Open University are eligible to use BBC Libraries. BBC News Library will invoice the company for charges incurred. BBC Information and Archive Libraries will require the company to provide an Open Broadcasting Unit contact name for authorisation.
Charges will be passed to the Open Broadcasting Unit and an adjustment made in the final payment due to the Independent company. Whichever BBC Library you may use, costs should be anticipated and included in your programme budget.
(The following information is offered as GENERAL GUIDANCE only.)
A. If the archive is from a programme originally produced by a BBC in-house department for a BBC Public Service Channel then you should be able to use the clip without consent.
If the original programme is pre-cleared for BBC Public service Broadcast only then no payment is due to the BBC or BBC Worldwide library sales.
If the original programme is NOT pre-cleared for BBC Public Service Broadcast only then you will need to contact BBC Worldwide Library sales and negotiate and pay a licence fee for all additional uses of the programme and enter into a usage agreement.
In all cases you must obtain the PasC for the original programme to check if there are any underlying clearances to be made and make any necessary payments i.e. extract fees may be due to artist/presenters who appear in the clip.
NB. There may also be usage restrictions in the underlying agreements to be taken into account.
A. The Producer's Guidelines and other information are available here.
A. The Online Guidelines are available here in PDF format (57 pages - requiring Acrobat Reader, available free (External) here .)
A. Full information about widescreen production is available here.
A. Yes - ALL music needs to be reported.
A. The copyright collecting societies take the view that the BBC should not use music which it cannot report. Every effort must be made to contact the producer and if unsuccessful enlist the help of someone who may recognise the music used.
A. The composer is normally by the track title, with the Publisher (in brackets) afterwards. The Prefix and Suffix should be found on the spine of the CD.
A. Yes. There is no minimum duration.
A. Just the duration is needed. You may need to put the timestamp somewhere in your documentation, but it is not for the music reporting.
A. Yes, if they are from commercial recordings or Publishers Library music. Conversely BBC Sound Archives discs may contain effects music which needed to be reported.
A. We are obliged to make a negative return to the copyright societies. The MRS and copyright societies assume that a programme contains music unless it is told otherwise.
A. One music reporting form per programme is needed for all programmes.
A. Yes - ALL music needs to be reported for repeats.
Page last updated 10 December 2008
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