BBC writers to get 10% payrise & improved residuals as WGGB negotiates new deal

L-R: BBC business affairs manager Julieann May, WGGB general secretary Ellie Peers & BBC director of commercial, rights & business affairs, Jo Korn (Source: BBC)

Writers working on shows commissioned by UK public broadcaster the BBC and for its commercial production arm BBC Studios have received a 10% pay increase and improved residuals, following a renegotiation of its deal with the Writers Guild of Great Britain (WGGB).

The WGGB said that it had clinched a “significant increase on minimum fees and compensation for the commercial exploitation of their work across a number of new platforms.” This update to the BBC Script Agreement for Television and Online covers work ordered by the BBC and BBC Studios, including shows produced for third parties.

The newly renegotiated agreement establishes a 10% rise in minimum fees, seeing the minimum rate for a 60-minute teleplay increase from £12,780 ($16,201) to £14,040 ($17,799). Series minimum rates will rise to £12,900 per 60 minutes, dramatisations to £9,360 per 60 minutes and adaptations to £5,760 per 60 minutes.

In addition, BBC sketch writers will see a rise of 4% on minimum fees, taking the ‘per minute’ minimum rate to £123.

The WGGB also negotiated increased residuals for UK writers, including the provisions of “extract fees”, where a writer will be paid a fee of £200 per 30 seconds for extracts over 30 seconds used in mediums such as video games or live events.

The renegotiated deal also enshrines a range of other protections for writers, including pension rights, repeat fees and an attendance allowance.

WGGB general secretary Ellie Peers said: “In television, screenwriters’ work is now exploited in ways that we would never have imagined a decade or so ago, so it is important that our collective union agreements keep pace. Our negotiating team have worked long and hard to achieve that goal and to ensure that UK writers receive a sizable pay rise that they deserve during such challenging economic times for our creative sector.”