Markets

The second days of MIPFormats and MIPDoc 2018 yielded plenty of talking points about formats, factual and digital trends, including a MIPFormats keynote led by Kate Phillips , controller at BBC Entertainment. She was interviewed by Lisa Perrin, CEO of creative networks at Endemol Shine Group.

Phillips’ career, like many in television, has meandered. “I never had a strategy; I’m sure no one here does, you never have a strategy in television,” she said. Today her slate is formidable, with hits that include Strictly Come Dancing, The Apprentice and Dragon’s Den.

Asked by Perrin how she perceives critiques about the BBC’s capacity to innovate quickly, Phillips said it takes “balls, really. As a public service broadcaster, we have to take risks. I think I’ve taken a lot of risks since I’ve started and I have a team who feel passionately about new ideas. We work hand in hand with indies of all sizes; I will always take risks, and that won’t stop.”

A pertinent example of this is the just-commissioned All Together Now, distributed by Endemol Shine and airing on BBC One on Saturday nights:

“That was pitched as a paper treatment, on a side of A4,” Phillips revealed. It was explained as a singing contest where “there’s no panel of judges; it’s a panel of people where if you like it you stand up and sing along.” She called this pitch a perfect example of KISS, or “Keep It Simple, Stupid.” Phillips greenlit the show because it felt fresh, funny and distinctive.

“We’re always going to be looking for big Saturday night shows and that continues. Now we’re looking at 2020 because it takes 1.5 years to get a show like this up and running.”

Asked by Perrin how she feels about growing competition from sites like Amazon and Netflix, Phillips openly admitted she loves the Netflix format Nailed It.

“I think it’s brilliant that people are putting up money to commission indies,” she said. “In factual entertainment, they’re definitely tough competition because people tend to binge factual. But in terms of our big Saturday night plays, I don’t see them so much as competition. Saturday night shows are more like sporting events: A live sharing experience.”

For the future, she encourages people not to be too slot-focused. “I still want to bring ideas that don’t fit a model,” she said. She also revealed a lesson, hard-earned over the course of an illustrious career: “Don’t rush things to air too soon. Take your time, pilot it, try it out.”