BBC ALBA DIGITAL COMMISSIONING, SUMMER 2026

BBC ALBA is looking for ideas for new digital‑first factual and factual‑entertainment series aimed at younger audiences (18–24), designed primarily for YouTube and BBC iPlayer.

With more choice than ever, it’s vital that this content stands out on digital platforms. Ideas should feel timely, contemporary and distinctive in subject, style and tone, and be clearly presented from a young point of view.Ideas should feel rooted in lived experience and reflect how young Gaels experience life today – across rural, urban and diaspora contexts.

We are looking to commission short‑form series, with episodes typically 8–15 minutes, custom‑built for BBC ALBA YouTube and BBC iPlayer.

Think returnable, hooky formats with a clear reason for audiences to come back. Tone should be fast‑paced, colourful and confident, with warmth, wit and personality at the centre (think previous series, such as Somhairle Spins, Rudan Beaga Bòidheach le Niamh Mackinnon).

We are particularly interested in talent‑led series, ideally fronted by Gaelic‑speaking creators, with an existing online presence among young audiences.

We are committed to developing Gaelic‑speaking talent on and off screen, and cultural and linguistic authenticity is essential. Gaelic should feel natural, confident and contemporary, not ornamental.  There is an expectation that key roles will be crewed with Gaelic speakers where possible.

We are open to a broad range of topics, but we are particularly interested in ideas that deliver clear audience value and encourage participation, conversation or connection. Ideas could fall into one or more of the below categories:

• Joy & Escapism
  • Formats that are fun, colourful and allow young audiences to ‘switch off’.
• Lived experience & identity
  • Stories rooted in everyday life, humour, relationships and personal experience – reflecting how young people navigate language, culture, work, creativity and belonging today.
• Learning, curiosity & “geek‑out” moments
  • Accessible, entertaining ideas that allow audiences to discover something new – skills, worlds, subcultures or perspectives, through a playful, personality‑driven lens.
• Community & connection
  • Content that invites participation, conversation or social spin‑off, encouraging audiences to comment, share and see themselves reflected.
• Coming of age / navigating adulthood
  • Observational or talent‑led storytelling that explores how young people are navigating life – including work, money, identity or creativity – grounded in lived experience and told with warmth, humour and insight.

We are not looking for traditional TV formats or production models. Successful ideas will be achievable within digital‑first budgets, have a strong visual style and offer multi-platform assets for content to live across BBC ALBA platforms.

Gaelic should be the predominant on‑screen language, however, we will consider mixed language formats.

Expected tariff will be circa £1k per minute and we would expect producers to tailor their editorial ambitions to reflect this, or work with additional funders, such as Creative Scotland’s Broadcast Content Fund, to increase the overall production budget: https://www.creativescotland.com/funding/funding-programmes/targeted-funding/screen.

We are using a new accompanying form which all producers must complete when submitting ideas. You’ll find the form by following this BBC ALBA COMMISSIONING, DIGITAL FACTUAL + FACT ENT CALLOUT, SUMMER 2026

This is in addition to the editorial pitch document which should also be submitted to bbcalbacommissioning@bbc.co.uk

Deadline for ideas: Friday 22nd May 2026 at 5pm

The Commissioning Team will discuss each idea received in detail and shortlist the most compelling and suitable ideas for this round.

Meetings will be scheduled with Producers of shortlisted projects. This will be an opportunity to explore the ideas in greater depth.

We aim to share final commissioning decisions by Friday 26^th June 2026.

Idea submissions, forms and any questions on anything contained in this Commissioning Round should be addressed to Claire MacDonald and Jennifer MacKenzie at: bbcalbacommissioning@bbc.co.uk