BBC has announced plans to significantly increase its investment in commissioning new television shows that highlight stories from Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The broadcaster will raise its spending on new content for TV and BBC iPlayer from around £50 million last year to over £100 million starting in the 2027/28 financial year. This funding will support projects in Drama, Comedy, and Unscripted genres.

The increased investment, which comes from the BBC’s existing budgets, aims to deliver more high-quality programmes that share authentic, local stories with audiences across the UK. This move builds on the BBC’s ongoing commitment to increase representation of communities throughout the country, including recent shows such as Blue Lights, Death Valley, and Only Child, as well as other series set in England like This City Is Ours, Riot Women, Smoggie Queens, and Ambulance.

In addition, the BBC will merge its Content and Nations teams under a new commissioning model. Starting in April 2025, commissioning for Nations and Genres will operate as a single, UK-wide strategy and process. This change is designed to create a more unified approach for audiences and simplify collaboration with production partners.

• The BBC is expanding its commissioning presence across the UK, with more roles in the Midlands and North of England.
• The number of network commissioners based outside London has nearly doubled since 2021.

Rhuanedd Richards, Interim Director of Nations at the BBC, stated that the organization aims to further improve its representation of people and communities across the UK. She emphasized the importance of investing more in homegrown storytelling and making decisions closer to local audiences. Richards also highlighted plans for greater investment in the creative economy in the Midlands and North of England.

Kate Phillips, BBC Chief Content Officer, said that accurate and authentic representation is central to the BBC’s mission. She noted that the new approach will help create a more relevant and distinctive slate of content, while also making the commissioning process clearer for external partners and producers. Phillips added that closer collaboration and consistent investment will help the BBC deliver content that reflects life across the UK with greater scale and creative impact.

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