Blue Peter and Eurovision Song Contest put out to competitive tender

The programmes will go from being in-house BBC productions to indie produced.

The BBC today announced that key brands Blue Peter, Cardiff Singer of the World, Eurovision Song Contest and Sports Personality of the Year will be put out to competitive tender.

The BBC will retain all rights for the shows and they will continue to be shown on the BBC, but the tendering process will decide which producer makes the programmes. BBC Commissioning will invite pitches from producers and a full list of eligibility criteria and requirements for the shows will be openly shared with all suppliers.

Invitation to tenders will be published for Blue Peter, Eurovision Song Contest and Sports Personality of the Year next month, with the invitation to tender for Cardiff Singer of the World to follow later this year.

Blue Peter with King Charles III and Queen Camilla

David Pembrey, Chief Operating Officer, BBC Content:

“These four brands are hugely important and represent the distinctive range which the BBC offers – and in tendering them we are underlining our commitment to securing the very best programmes and value for audiences.”

The tendering of returning series forms part of the Charter and Agreement requirement to open up more of the BBC’s TV programmes to competition, following the launch of the BBC’s Compete or Compare strategy in 2014.

BBC Sports Personality of the Year was previously put out to tender in 2019 as part of the BBC’s contestability obligations and was awarded to BBC Sport’s in-house production team. BBC Sports Productions will not be competing this time, thereby supporting the BBC’s wider commitment to the UK’s creative production sector.

The requirements for each programme will be communicated in the published invitation to tender, with enough time for suppliers to do appropriate research and preparation.