Major BBC Brands ‘Antiques Roadshow’, ‘Songs of Praise’ Tendered

British indies will soon have the opportunity to compete in a tender process to produce three of the BBC’s biggest shows: Antiques Roadshow, Songs of Praise and Young Musician of the Year.

Antiques Roadshow and Young Musician of the Year are being tendered for the first time while Songs of Praise was issued in 2016, with BBC Studios losing out to independent producers Avanti and Nine Lives Media.

After five years, those producers have brought their partnership to an end, according to the BBC, which will now have the opportunity to win the show back.

The tendering process began several years ago when the BBC’s in-house producer BBC Studios was commercialized. The process is a trade-off for the outfit being allowed to produce shows for third parties for the first time.

All BBC Studios-produced shows have to be put to tender by 2027, although none have been tendered since 2019.

More information will be released soon regarding the three announced today and, during the tender process, competing producers and BBC Studios have to prove how they would refresh the programs.

Songs of Praise first aired in 1961 and is the BBC’s flagship religious program while Antiques Roadshow has been on TV screens for more than 40 years, as contestants bring in items that are then valued by experts and sold. Young Musician of the Year is a competition format to seek the next great classical musician.

BBC stalwart such as A Question of Sport, Holby City and Bargain Hunt have been tendered and retained by BBC Studios, while the likes of Mastermind and The Proms have been lost to independent producers.

BBC Content Chief Operating Officer David Pembrey said: “These programmes are important brands for the BBC and valued by audiences. The three tenders form part of our commitment to competition, and alongside our rolling commissioning briefs provide a significant range of opportunities for producers to pitch for.”