The scripted arm of BBC Studios is trying a different growth formula. In his first interview since becoming Scripted MD, Jamie Hall told Deadline that paying roughly £20M ($26.5M) for a production company is no longer the default. His team plans to build smaller, talent-led labels and “creative hubs” backed by the studio’s central services.
Why the £20M buyout is being parked
Hall said the market can no longer support the old acquisition model, or only in rare cases. Rather than buying a company outright, BBC Studios wants to invest in two or three new labels each year. The labels tap into in-house legal, HR, finance and production support while the creative leads focus on shows.
That pitch is designed for producers who don’t want to run a business. Hall recalled a conversation with Joel Wilson, the departing co-founder of Sex Education producer Eleven, who told him: “Towards the end of running the company I came to dread the pressure of running a business.” Hall said all Eleven wanted to do was build great shows.
Two new labels and a digital spin-off unit
BBC Studios unveiled the first proof points. Landed Productions, based in Bristol, will be run by Strike and Possession producer Jenny Van Der Lande and focus on premium genre. It is the scripted unit’s first label outside London. CliffEdge Entertainment, led by Deborah Sathe, moves across from BBC Studios Drama Productions and takes shows such as The Detection Club, Silent Witness, Father Brown and Shakespeare and Hathaway.
CliffEdge already has a greenlight. The Night They Vanished, an adaptation of Vanessa Savage’s thriller starring Callum Scott Howells and Gabrielle Creevy, has been pre-bought by Channel 4. A third, still-unnamed digital label led by Katy Karger will aim to attach digital spin-off components to conventional TV pitches.
- £20M ($26.5M): the old-school indie acquisition BBC Studios is moving away from.
- 2-3: the number of talent labels BBC Studios wants to add each year.
- Channel 4: pre-buyer of CliffEdge’s first greenlit show.
What it means for buyers and co-pros
For platforms and distributors, the label model points to a more regular pipeline of smaller bets rather than occasional big-ticket M&A. Hall said the co-production market is “picking up a bit” from the lows of 2025, but remains nowhere near its past peak and there is still oversupply. His fix: think about co-pro financing much earlier in development, not after a broadcaster has attached.
American appetite is already visible. Ann Droid, Diane Morgan’s comedy about AI anxiety, has become the BBC’s biggest new scripted comedy since Ludwig Season 1. Hall said there is real U.S. buyer interest, either for finished tape or a local commission.
The BBC backstop
Hall contrasted the BBC’s “patient money” model with his time at Vice Studios, where quarterly targets set the pace. With Banijay and All3Media merging into a super-indie of around 130 production companies, he argued BBC Studios’ structure allows faster decisions because leaders sit side by side rather than waiting for L.A.
Source: Deadline
