Commissioning News and Briefs

Green Lit 2: Northern Ireland Screen and BBC Northern Ireland Drama Initiative

Green Lit is a collaboration between Northern Ireland Screen and BBC Northern Ireland to support emerging Northern Ireland resident writing, directing, producing, and acting talent. Support will be via the production of three new standalone scripted comedies or dramas. They will be broadcast on BBC One Northern Ireland in 2026 and carried on BBC iPlayer across the UK.

In the first stage we’re looking for a two-page outline of the idea, including details of the proposed Northern Ireland resident writing, directing and producing talent. A variety of editorial proposals will be considered, including drama, comedy and comedy-drama. The projects will ultimately be considered as ‘proof-of-concept’ works for a longer one-off or series commission for BBC TV.

Submissions must be from production companies with a substantive base in Northern Ireland. Six projects will be selected for a phase of funded development (scripting/casting etc). Three of these will then be selected to proceed to production. 

We will be holding an in-person networking session at 6pm on Thursday 22nd January 2026, in BBC Blackstaff House, Belfast, and an online briefing session at 11am on Friday 23rd January. Please email Kerry Woods to secure your place, and see the briefing document below for further information.

UPDATED - BBC NI Ulster-Scots Commissioning Brief: October 2025

BBC Northern Ireland is now seeking submissions for our Ulster-Scots portfolio for 2026 and beyond.

The content will be produced by independent production companies based in Northern Ireland and will be co-funded by Northern Ireland Screen’s Ulster-Scots Broadcast Fund and BBC Northern Ireland.

Please contact Fiona Keane, Commissioning Executive, to discuss ideas beforehand.

The Commissioning Brief has been updated to include details of a Drama Development opportunity, and the deadline for the Animation Development opportunity and Drama Development opportunity will be Monday 23rd February 2026

The closing date for receipt of ideas for all other Ulster-Scots content remains 12 noon on Friday 28th November 2025

All ideas must be submitted via PiCoS

BBC Bitesize GCSE Physics Brief (Northern Ireland) - Oct 2025

BBC Bitesize is commissioning content for students studying GCSE Physics in schools in Northern Ireland.

The format for this content is short form animations 60-90 seconds in length which will explain key ideas, theories and concepts from the GCSE Physics curriculum which have been identified as challenging for pupils to grasp.

These animations will sit on existing BBC articles alongside text, infographics and interactives – and will serve to explain in an inventive, accessible and visually engaging way concepts that pupils would find hard to visualise.

This content will support pupils studying and revising for the CCEA GCSE Physics exam.

All proposals should be submitted via email to Peter Matassa and BBC Bitesize Producers Emma McIlveen and Louisa McCartney by 4th November 2025.

Please use Submitted Proposal: GCSE Physics as the subject line.

BBC Radio Ulster Specialist Music Commissioning Opportunity 2026/27

BBC Radio Ulster is looking for arts/music-based series. Our priority is to deliver audience on BBC Sounds both in Northern Ireland and across the UK, as well as on our traditional radio services. Either in presentation choice or subject matter, the series must make an impact. We welcome a blend of music and speech content, this may range from an “in conversation”, genre experts curating specialist playlists, a documentary series or recorded live performances.

The deadline for submissions is 23rd October, 2025. All proposals should be submitted via PiCoS. 

Any queries around this commissioning round may be forwarded to Paul McClean (Executive Editor, Music and Entertainment) and Nikki Gregg (Content Editor, Music and Entertainment).

BBC Northern Ireland Commissioning Brief: Autumn 2025

BBC Northern Ireland is now seeking proposals for programmes for 2026 and beyond.

As for 2025, our decisions will be guided by the BBC’s broader strategic priorities, which focus on three key public service roles:

• Bring people together by connecting everyone to unmissable content.
• Pursue truth with no agenda by reporting fearlessly and fairly.
• Back the best homegrown storytelling, by investing in talent and creativity.

In addition, we will be focusing on delivery dates, programmes that can deliver a strong monthly cadence, and will be looking to explore new approaches to social media.

The closing date for receipt of ideas on PiCoS is 12 noon on Friday 24th October 2025.

BBC Gaeilge Commissioning Brief September 2025

BBC Gaeilge is now seeking ideas for programmes for 2026 and beyond.

The content will be produced by independent production companies based in Northern Ireland and will be co-funded by Northern Ireland Screen’s Irish Language Broadcast Fund and BBC Northern Ireland.

The BBC Gaeilge Commissioning Strategy continues to build a varied portfolio of ambitious, relevant and high-impact programming. We are evolving our commissioning approach in response to changing audience habits, emerging industry trends, and the growing ambition of the Northern Irish creative sector.

Please contact Karen Kirby, Commissioning Executive BBC Gaeilge to discuss ideas beforehand. The deadline for the submission of pre-discussed proposals with detailed budgets on PiCoS is Friday 5 September 2025 at 5pm.

BBC Radio Ulster Specialist Music Commissioning Opportunity 2025/26

BBC Radio Ulster is looking for arts/music-based series. Our priority is to deliver audience on BBC Sounds both in Northern Ireland and across the UK as well as on our traditional radio services. Either in presentation choice or subject matter, the series must make an impact. We welcome a blend of music and speech content, this may range from an “in conversation”, genre experts curating specialist playlists, a documentary series or recorded live performances.

The deadline for submissions is 15th May 2025. All proposals should be submitted via PiCoS. 

Any queries around this commissioning round may be forwarded to Paul McClean (Executive Editor, Music and Entertainment) and Nikki Gregg (Content Editor, Music and Entertainment).

BBC Gaeilge Commissioning Brief January 2025

BBC Gaeilge is now seeking Factual ideas for programmes for 2026 and beyond.

This Commissioning Brief also provides details of the opportunities in the Gealán and Amharc schemes for feature-length Irish Language Drama and feature-length Arts documentary respectively. Please note, in the relevant brief, the deadlines for these opportunities and how applications are to be submitted.

Please contact Karen Kirby, Commissioning Executive BBC Gaeilge to discuss ideas beforehand. The deadline for the submission of pre-discussed proposals with detailed budgets on PiCoS is Thursday 6 March 2025 at 5pm.

Green Lit: New Northern Ireland Screen and BBC Northern Ireland Drama Initiative 

Green Lit is a new collaboration between Northern Ireland Screen and BBC Northern Ireland to support emerging Northern Irish writing, production, directing and acting talent, via the production of three new standalone scripted drama or comedy-drama films, which will act as proof of concept for a bigger TV production. These films will be broadcast on BBC One Northern Ireland in 2025 and carried on BBC iPlayer across the UK.

A variety of editorial proposals will be considered, including drama, comedy and comedy-drama. Proposals must be submitted by companies with a Northern Irish base, and we will be favouring projects where the writers and / or directors are resident in Northern Ireland.

We will host an online briefing session for producers, directors and writers at 1.30pm on Thursday 19th December 2024 to outline how this initiative will operate. If you are interested in attending this briefing, please contact Kerry Woods at [email protected] to register your place.

Further information on the scheme is available in the document below.

BBC Northern Ireland Launches Hot House 2 Development Scheme

BBC Northern Ireland is launching a second iteration of its Network-facing Hot House development initiative.

For the next phase, we want to build on the success of the first Hot House, again working with Northern Ireland Screen, to enhance the specialist genre skills and profile of the NI indie sector, with an eye on the evolving needs of audiences across the UK, and with a particular focus on BBC iPlayer. 

In this new phase, we will be changing the structure of the initiative to focus on three Network Unscripted Genres:

• Daytime & Early Peak
• Documentaries
• Factual Entertainment

We will be holding an online briefing at 11am on Tuesday 17th December. Please email [email protected] to reserve a place.

Deadline for submissions is 5pm on Friday 17th January 2025.

For further information, please see document below.

Prayer and Reflection: new commissioning opportunity for indies in the Nations

We’re seeking up to three production companies with a substantive base in Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales to deliver episodes for a new religion series to be broadcast on BBC One and the Nations in autumn 2025. There is potential for this to become a returning brand. The deadline for an initial eligibility form is 11 January 2025.

Visit the BBC Commissioning website to find out more.