BBC chief calls for more reality pitches at MIPCOM
The BBC wants more reality TV, and it wants producers to pitch it.
Content chief Kate Phillips made the call at MIPCOM, the international TV market in Cannes where broadcasters buy and sell show ideas. She was speaking at a BBC Studios session billed as Reality Check, according to Deadline.
Her message was direct. Reality TV and unscripted programming, meaning shows built around real people rather than actors and scripts, need more ideas. Phillips said reality is the hardest genre for the BBC to get right, crack and execute.
She put numbers on the demand. Around 6 billion hours of unscripted content were watched across the BBC last year, Phillips said. She added that 70% of the BBC's content mix is now unscripted.
Big hits are lifting the rest. Phillips said brands like The Traitors are causing a halo effect, giving other programmes around them a boost in viewing.
Entertainment boss Ed Havard joined Phillips at the session. He said the BBC currently has the best ecosystem to back an unscripted show, citing flexible rights deals and scale. Rights deals here mean the agreements that decide who can show a programme, where and for how long.
Havard has history with the BBC's biggest reality hit. He was one of the architects behind the BBC-NBC deal for The Traitors, the format, meaning a show idea that can be remade country by country, that started in the Netherlands.
He also addressed the BBC's Top Gear reboot. Havard said he forwards emails from people pitching to present Top Gear to producer BBC Studios, which makes the motoring show.
The pitch to producers extends beyond the session. BBC Studios said ahead of the market that it would unveil its next generation of reality formats at MIPCOM 2026, covering reality, dating and game shows, according to the BBC Media Centre. Those formats were made available to international buyers.
MIPCOM Cannes 2026 ran from 12 to 15 October at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes. The BBC's leaders behind Bluey, Doctor Who and Top Gear were billed to headline the event.
For viewers, this means more slots to fill. A call for pitches today is a commission, meaning a formal order for a series, months down the line and a crew of dozens or hundreds if it gets made.
