Channel Information

Meet the Commissioner: Janice Hadlow, BBC2

By TV Mole ⋅ September 5, 2009 ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ ⋅Post a comment

Photo by torrez CC BY-SA 2.0

Janice Hadlow is Channel Controller for BBC2; she recently outlined her current channel strategy and needs (as of August 2009).

Profile

Personal Passions:

• Fashion, style and design
• National Gallery of Umbria, Perugia
• The Madonna – she has postcards all over her office

Watches:

• Family Guy – enjoys its quickfire humour
• Entourage
• The Thick of It
• The Fallen
• Five Minutes of Heaven

Janice's View on BBC2

• BBC2 is defined by its state of mind rather than an age bracket.
• It should never speak with one voice – it should be interesting and eclectic across the schedule.
• It is unashamedly ‘clever’ but there are many ways of being clever eg. Poetry Season = highbrow; Last Chance to See with Stephen Fry = interesting; witty + entertaining = clever
• BBC should hold a mirror up to Britain and the wider world – the audience has a hunger to understand the world in uncertain times.
• Seasons – with so much competition for a viewer’s time, seasons help to draw attention to programmes and make an impact. They can be stripped across a week or a weekend, and send the message to the audience that the channel really cares about the subject.

Coming Up

• A season of programming around the banking crash

Looking For:

• More comedic output, especially panel-type shows that appeal to women
• Presenters with authority. “Does this person open up the subject; do I value and respect this presenter?” Do they have an idea and something to say? Can they translate their expertise into something that 2million people can enjoy. Welcomes younger presenters.
• Science - looking for 24-carat, thoughtful, content-rich science programmes and programmes about how science is applied to everyday life eg. science of the mind and science of life and health, such as Prof. Regan programmes.
• Factual programmes with wit and warmth, like Mary Queen of Shops.
• Big ‘event’ docs that will define a night eg. The Fallen.
• Single docs for Wonderland strand.

How to pitch 

• Proposals need to demonstrate intellectual originality and originality of format. “Tell me something I don’t know.” A subject isn’t enough: “What’s the proposition, what’s the idea, argument or thought?” And “Why should I care?”

Source: MGEITF session

See also: Julian Bellamy, Ch4

See festival Highlights

Tags: BBC2