Main content

BBC World Service International Podcast Competition: Terms and conditions

1. The competition is open to people aged 18 or over who are normally a full-time resident in Kenya, Nigeria or South Africa.

2. You warrant that you have the right to live and work in the country of residence you have entered on this application for the period specified [up to and including the proposed podcast publication date] and are free to undertake the contractual obligations set out should you win the competition.

3. Employees of a BBC Group company or the BBC, as well as their immediate families, are not eligible to enter.

4. Entrants, anyone listed as creatively participating in the pitch or who creatively participates in the submitted audio must not be a professional – whether as a broadcaster, vlogger or posters of audio-visual material. For the purposes of this competition, a professional will be considered to be someone who makes more than half their income from presenting or any kind of production role or sharing audio-visual material with the public - including but not limited to those working in traditional linear radio and television broadcasting, on-demand services and video sharing on platforms like YouTube, Instagram or Facebook. Plus, you must not already have a credit on a ‘commercial’ podcast i.e. one that receives income through advertising and/or sponsorship, or is funded by a media organisation or other company.

5. The number of creative participants attached to an entry is capped at a maximum of one.

6. Entrants must complete the online entry form, including: a summary of the podcast in no more than 50 words, a proposal of no more than 500 words detailing the podcast title, format idea and those who would be creatively involved in the podcast, and no more than 2 minutes of audio uploaded in which the entrant explains what makes their idea distinctive. The pitch must be written, and recorded, in English. The idea must be original - existing podcasts are not eligible for entry. You may only enter once. Your first entry will be accepted. Any subsequent entries will be disregarded.

7. The competition closes at 1300 GMT on 22nd January 2021. Entries received after this time will not be considered.

8. Entries will not be returned so please remember to keep a copy. Unsuccessful entrants will not be contacted and we will endeavour to provide feedback for the entries that make the final shortlist of 10.

9. Entries will be judged on the following criteria:

  • Suitability to work as a podcast - first and foremost, will the idea work as a podcast? Does this idea have the ability to become a brilliant podcast? Podcasts aren’t the same as radio programmes – does the idea have the correct tone and feel to work as a podcast? Will it attract a podcast audience?
  • Distinctiveness - how original and creative is the idea? Is it unique?
  • Resonance for international audiences - to what extent will the idea appeal to audiences around the world?
  • Resonance for women - how successfully and creatively does the idea reflect women’s lives? Is it likely to appeal to women?
  • BBC Editorial Guidelines – does the podcast meet the BBC’s editorial standards, including impartiality?
  • Retention – is the idea likely to retain an audience? Will listeners be compelled to listen to episodes through to the end and to return for subsequent episodes? Will they want to recommend it to friends?
  • Practicality – how likely is it the podcast will be possible to make in terms of access required or whether it works to a realistic timescale?
  • Still relevant - the podcast mustn’t feel dated by later this year or beyond
  • BBC World Service – does the podcast fulfil the BBC World Service’s global remit?
  • Potential to be more than one season - does the idea have longevity?
  • Scripted comedy or drama ideas will not be considered for this competition
  • The entry must fulfil the Terms and Conditions

10. The panel consisting of BBC judges will create a longlist of up to 60 entrants using the criteria above.

11. These entries will be judged by a panel consisting of BBC judges, again using the criteria above. A shortlist of 10 will be created and those entrants contacted. These finalist entrants may be asked to submit additional information, for example, more words or audio demonstrating their podcast concept in further detail.

12. The shortlist of 10 will be judged by a panel consisting of BBC and non-BBC judges, who are experienced podcast and broadcast professionals. They will judge against the criteria above. One winning entry will be selected. The winner will be contacted. The judges' decisions will be final and no correspondence not expressly referenced in these Rules can be entered into.

13. The prize is the opportunity to develop the winning podcast idea with the BBC. The winner will be paired up with a BBC production team to develop and release a podcast series for BBC WSE. During this phase the BBC will have discussions regarding production of the series.

14. The winning entrant will be paid a fee based on the BBC’s existing rates and the market landscape, and in accordance with the BBC’s commitment to fair pay.

15. All entries must be the original work of the entrant (i.e. the listed creative participant) and must not infringe the rights of any other party (including music not cleared for use in podcasts). Finalists must ensure that all necessary consents have been obtained from those in the audio clip submitted. Entrants must not have breached any laws in the creation of the pitch or audio submission. The pitch, audio submission and final podcast must be suitable for the BBC’s use and subject to the Editorial Guidelines.

16. If the winner is unable to be contacted after reasonable attempts have been made, the BBC reserves the right to offer the prize to a runner up.

17. The BBC reserves the right not to award a prize if no entries meet the selection criteria.

18. The winner (and any relevant creative participants in the winning entry) will be required to enter into additional agreements with the BBC in order to progress the development and creation of the podcast. Failure to agree terms will bring the prize fulfilment to an end. Those agreements will include the following terms:

  • The winner (“You”) will develop the idea for production with the BBC but You will retain all intellectual property rights in the podcast. You will licence it exclusively to the BBC for a period of 10 years for worldwide use on public service radio, online and RSS feed and non-exclusively thereafter (it being acknowledged that the BBC will close the RSS feed after this period unless otherwise agreed) and grant to the BBC an exclusive right to recommission the podcast for a second or subsequent series on terms to be further agreed.
  • BBC will retain the right to edit, alter and adapt based on needs of programme suitability and optimisation of the content for each platform and the BBC will have final editorial control on all content broadcast or otherwise released on any BBC owned or controlled platform
  • You will be paid a per episode Fee based on the BBC’s existing rates and in accordance with the BBC’s commitment to fair pay;
  • You will warrant that your ideas and submission do not infringe the rights of any third parties;
  • If requested, You will agree to press and promotional commitments including (but not limited to) interviews and use of Your own social media platforms
  • You will agree to a period of exclusivity following the release of the finished podcast over any non-BBC podcast work; and
  • In addition to the Fee, You and the BBC will share any commercial revenue but during the licence period the BBC will control the distribution/further exploitation rights in the content, subject to Your approval and, where relevant, involvement.

19. By entering, entrants will be deemed to have agreed to be bound by these rules and the BBC reserves the right to exclude any entry from the competition at any time and at its absolute discretion if the BBC has reason to believe that an entrant has breached these rules, acted fraudulently or has done anything which, in its sole discretion, brings the BBC into disrepute.

20. The BBC reserves the right to amend these Rules. The BBC reserves the right to cancel this competition or alter any of the rules at any stage, if deemed necessary in its opinion, or if circumstances arise outside of its control.

21. The BBC, its subsidiaries, sub-contractors and/or agencies cannot accept any responsibility whatsoever for any technical failure or malfunction or any other problem which may result in an entry not being properly registered.

22. To the extent permitted by law, the BBC will not be liable for any loss or damage (whether such damage or losses were foreseen, foreseeable, known or otherwise) including financial, reputational loss or disappointment.

23. The BBC’s code of conduct for competitions applies to this competition. You can read more about it here.

24. These rules are governed by the laws of England and Wales. This competition is administered by the BBC.

25. The BBC’s Terms of Use apply to this competition. For the avoidance of doubt, for the purposes of the Terms of Use, entries to the competition are not considered a creation.