{"id":801399,"date":"2026-10-13T16:18:18","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T16:18:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/801399\/"},"modified":"2026-10-13T16:18:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T16:18:18","slug":"bbcs-kate-phillips-commissioning-by-algorithm-makes-broadcasters-creative-carcasses-mipcom-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/801399\/","title":{"rendered":"BBC’s Kate Phillips: commissioning by algorithm makes broadcasters ‘creative carcasses’ | Mipcom 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Kate<\/p>\n

Making greenlight decisions based on algorithms renders commissioners \u201ccreative carcasses\u201d, BBC content supremo Kate Phillips has claimed.<\/p>\n

The corporation\u2019s increasing presence on third-party digital platforms like YouTube remains driven by what audiences want, and that to pursue data-driven projects is creatively redundant, the chief content officer said.<\/p>\n

Appearing on a dedicated BBC Studios keynote panel at Mipcom today, Phillips said that with all the research in the world, a commission is still ultimately \u201ca punt\u201d by both the BBC and indies, so human expertise is paramount.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are moving onto other platforms and someone asked me recently: \u2018would you commission based on algorithms?\u2019 I would like to say very clearly: absolutely not,\u201d she told delegates.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust because the distribution mechanism is changing, doesn\u2019t mean that our creative goals have changed. YouTube is not a commissioner, it\u2019s a platform. If you commission based on algorithms, you\u2019re literally a creative carcass. You\u2019ve got to look at the audience needs. I really believe it strongly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phillips also advised producers to look at the economy, as its health is intrinsically linked to the type of content viewers want: when times are tough, people seek feel-good TV, when times are good they are more open to combative formats.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re creating formats, don\u2019t look at algorithms, look at the audience, look at what people want, look at the economy and don\u2019t think of it as a brand straightaway,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Acknowledging the BBC\u2019s own tightened purse strings, Phillips said fostering partnerships with other broadcasters is important in a turbulent financial landscape in which the BBC is looking to make \u00a3500m savings<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think [the market] feels more optimistic to me than it has for a while \u2013 people are investing in content,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re making savings at the BBC\u2026We are in tougher times financially, so then we lean on more partnerships, or other broadcasters, to help us get these shows to air. I don\u2019t want less money to make us more risk-averse or stop our ambitions.\u201d<\/p>\n

BBC chiefs on content and tech trends<\/p>\n

The content boss also revealed she is looking to tap into the trend of vertical dramas, as she is keen to make more content for viewing on mobile devices.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want more content that people are watching on their phones, definitely vertical. I wouldn\u2019t dismiss microdramas as a flash in the pan, they\u2019re really interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following a trailer for Blue Planet III, Phillips and her co-panellists were asked whether they were worried audiences might think the colourfal, fantastical scenes were created by AI.<\/p>\n

Zai Bennett, chief executive and chief creative officer of global content at BBC Studios, said real-life action is \u201cimplicit\u201d in natural history filmmaking. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe do that through our brand, also it\u2019s all entirely implicit in natural history filmmaking, is that we filmed real life. But there are partners we talked to around the world who sometimes go \u2018oh, can you put not AI in the pre-titles?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd markets might require different levels of explanation, but the trust [in the BBC brand] is the reason that I think we\u2019re less worried about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phillips added: \u201cAI is part of TV production now\u2026for the BBC, we have to be absolutely transparent when we\u2019ve used it.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it\u2019s more a research tool, an edit tool. We would never use AI on something like that [programme] because you\u2019re lying to the audience, and we can never do that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Making greenlight decisions based on algorithms renders commissioners \u201ccreative carcasses\u201d, BBC content supremo Kate Phillips has claimed. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":801400,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[96,391,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-801399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-tv","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=801399"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801399\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/801400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=801399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=801399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=801399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}