BBC Studios sales chief Rebecca Glashow eyes new models amid cool market

The Famous Five

BBC Studios distribution chief Rebecca Glashow has said the Planet Earth III and The Famous Five producer is looking at new models and windowing opportunities amid the cooling market.

Glashow, who took the top sales job at BBCS last year, said the “extreme growth” of recent years had been replaced by commissioners focusing “on return on investment, on profitablity and on audience”.

She added: “I love moments like this in the industry where we get back to the table, whether it’s talking about windowing or about exclusivity. These are the moments when we go back to working out how deals work for everybody, it’s exciting times and there has to be a lot more listening to make sure it works for all sides.”

Glashow was talking during a keynote here at MIPCOM and said that BBCS remained well positioned despite the contraction of the market.

Rebecca Glashow

“Sometimes we get caught in these wildly exciting moments where the business grows extremely quickly, but we have the brands and we know how to deliver on content that works for our customers.”

‘Forensically scrutinised budgets’

BBCS Productions CEO Ralph Lee added that there is “a lot more discipline” from commissioners, discussing a recent trip to LA with Glashow.

“They are forensically scrutinising budgets, they want to see what their commission will do. People talk about risk aversion and it is about, there a lot of broadcasters and streamers going back behind know IP,” he said.

“We hear this regularly from commissioners, that they need something that will have a hook of familiarity,” added Lee, who said that BBCS’s production and distribution arms are working “in a much more joined up way” than previously.

“If producers are asked then of course they just want the biggest budget possible… but they know we now have to work within budgets. And the biggest budget won’t necessarily deliver the biggest result, it needs to be sustainable and we are taking that into account when developing.

“That joined up approach is critical in a market that is a bit less – or quite a lot less – hot than a few years ago.”