Section 16: External Relationships, including Commercial Relationships, and Financing Part A

Guidelines for All Editorial External Relationships

16.4.1 Before entering into an external relationship it must be ensured that:

the third party is appropriate
the relationship is appropriate given the activities being undertaken
the BBC will maintain independent editorial control over its editorial content and output.

Appropriateness: third parties

16.4.2 An assessment must be made of the third party's objectives and aims, its activities, its financial soundness, who funds or sponsors the organisation and whether the organisation has been involved in any controversy which could have a material negative effect on the BBC's reputation.

16.4.3 It must be ensured that the external relationship will not conflict with the values and standards in the BBC Editorial Guidelines.

Due diligence must be carried out on the appropriateness of the external relationship, and a senior editorial figure, at least at head of department level, must take a decision in light of this.

There should be due diligence at the start of further projects or series of content with the same organisation to ensure that nothing has changed that could affect the appropriateness of the relationship. Consideration should be given to whether the cumulative effect of extending it is appropriate.

Appropriateness: relationship being undertaken

16.4.4 An external relationship with other parties must not be entered into if it would create a conflict of interest which could compromise the BBC's impartiality, editorial integrity or independence.

Appropriateness: editorial control

16.4.5 The BBC must have independent editorial control over everything it produces, broadcasts or publishes and must have the right to reject material supplied by any third party. Content created by third parties for the BBC must meet the standards in the Editorial Guidelines. The BBC must always retain the right to edit as it sees fit.

16.4.6 The BBC may license in or host content on its platforms which may not have been commissioned by the BBC. The BBC must retain the right to comply this content to meet editorial standards.

16.4.7 External relationships should normally match the editorial remit and audience expectation of the service. Editorial content must not be created solely to provide an opportunity for a commercial relationship, for example advertising, sponsorship or external funding.

16.4.8 Mandatory Referral: When procuring technology from third parties, including automated systems that involve artificial intelligence, any product that could impact editorial content must be approved by a senior product figure in consultation with a senior editorial figure.

Any use of technology in relation to BBC content or the creation of a BBC product must meet the Editorial Guidelines.

There may also be legal risks, including information security, data protection and rights issues, so further guidance should be sought. Any BBC use of software, including software and services that are accessed only through the internet ('cloud services') must be authorised through the software asset management process.

(See Software Asset Management Process)

Any product that could impact upon editorial content must be approved by a senior product figure who will consider:

the appropriateness of the use of the technology
in consultation with a senior editorial figure, whether the resulting content will meet the Editorial Guidelines or the resulting outcomes on a BBC product will meet the Editorial Guidelines.

16.4.9 The BBC must not accept money or other valuable consideration in exchange for editorial coverage, links, credits or publicity by the BBC. However, Commercial Services may make product placement and sponsorship arrangements.

(See Section 15 Independence from Commercial and Other External Interests: 15.4.32-15.4.37)

Any public reference to the BBC or to a relationship with the BBC which is made by the third party or parties in the external relationship should normally be approved by the BBC.

16.4.10 For transparency, departments and producers should keep records of any financing from an outside organisation and retain details of assessments conducted for due diligence purposes.

Editorial Partnerships

An editorial partnership is a partnership that is connected to BBC-commissioned editorial content or brand. As with all editorial content the BBC must maintain independent editorial control over its content and brands.

16.4.11 The BBC seeks to offer public value by working in partnership with others. Sharing common aims and ambitions should benefit audiences and the parties involved. By working with others, the BBC aspires to create a richer experience than might be achieved separately.

The partnership may involve complementary activities, such as a gallery mounting an exhibition on the theme of a BBC programme, or an education gaming challenge embedded into gameplay on a third-party games engine. In other cases, the partner and the BBC may jointly fund and create off-air activity.

The partnerships must be editorially justified, and the partner selected according to editorially appropriate criteria.

16.4.12 Partnerships should be fair and beneficial to all organisations in the partnership. An editorial partnership must not be limited to the BBC simply covering a partner's activities or promoting their campaigns. The BBC must not give undue prominence to third parties, their brands, products, organisation, services or trade marks.

16.4.13 Editorial partners must be given due attribution and recognition, including in the branding and promotion of the output, and services and activities created or distributed. The BBC should seek to be innovative in how fair recognition for partners is delivered.

Credits for partners must be appropriate, fair and editorially justified.

(See guidance: Crediting and Labelling External Relationships)

16.4.14 Editorial partnerships should not jeopardise the good reputation of the BBC or the value of the BBC brand.

They should not be formed with:

political parties and political organisations
lobby groups
tobacco firms or those mainly known for tobacco-related or other smoking-related products
organisations involved in adult products or services
weapons manufacturers
on UK Public Services, with alcoholic drinks manufacturers or suppliers.

Relationships with any UK governments or departments, or religious organisations, charities, trusts, foundations and non-governmental organisations which undertake lobbying should not compromise the BBC's impartiality. Sponsored material must also not be broadcast or published.

The BBC should not be used by a government or campaign group initiative to launch or appear to endorse a government, political party or campaign group policy.

Mandatory Referral: The BBC should not normally enter into a partnership with any government. Any proposal to do so must be referred to Director Editorial Policy and Standards.

Any proposal for a BBC relationship with the National Lottery or other UK lottery organisations must be approved by a senior editorial figure who must consult Editorial Policy.

(See Section 2 Impartiality: 2.4.23)

Partnerships on UK Public Services and the World Service

16.4.15 On UK Public Services and the World Service the BBC must seek to enter into partnerships, particularly in the creative economy, where to do so would be in the public interest, and with a wide range of organisations.

Non-broadcast costs for editorial partnerships may be shared with suitable bodies such as arts and cultural bodies, charitable institutions, trusts or foundations and organisations including local authorities and government agencies where editorially justified. All partnerships must conform to the Statement of Policy on Use of Alternative Finance in BBC Content.^[12]

Mandatory Referral: The UK Public Services and the World Service may enter into editorial partnerships with a commercial organisation or a charity. Such proposals must be referred to Editorial Policy who will consider:

the positive benefits to the BBC and BBC output, services and platforms
whether the partnership would compromise the BBC's impartiality, editorial integrity or independence
whether the partnership conforms to the Statement of Policy
whether it would give undue prominence to the third party.

A UK Public Service editorial partnership must not give the impression that the BBC service is sponsored.

Editorial Policy will consult with, or inform the Charity Appeals Adviser as appropriate on new charity partnerships.

Joint Editorial Initiatives

A joint editorial initiative is where the BBC joins with another organisation for a one-off project or initiative, typically a programme or a specific piece of content.

It is not intended to be a long-term relationship and is not therefore a formal partnership. Rather it is where both organisations share a common aim, and it may be appropriate to share resources and reference each other to extend the experience for the audience.

16.4.16 When undertaking a joint editorial initiative:

the BBC must retain independent editorial control of any element of the project that refers to it
the initiative must not be used to promote the outside body
on the UK Public Services and the World Service, the BBC should not normally link directly to any page of the third party's site whose main purpose is to promote or sell any commercial product or service.

The BBC and the organisation may carry out other activities in relation to the project as well as producing content.

Co-Productions

A co-production is an arrangement where BBC output is created, commissioned or otherwise obtained by the BBC in co-operation with one or more appropriate third parties, and where funding is provided in exchange for broadcasting, publishing or other rights in the material.

16.4.17 A co-producer may have involvement with the editorial content. In some cases it may also be a partner. On UK Public Services and the World Service, credits for co-producers must be in line with the guidance on crediting and labelling external relationships.

A co-production agreement must not compromise the BBC's impartiality, editorial integrity or independence. Co-producers may include other broadcasters, production entities in any media, arts, education, science, sporting, cultural and charitable organisations, platforms, record labels and other suitable bodies.

(See guidance: Crediting and Labelling External Relationships)

Distribution

Distribution refers to making content available to viewers, listeners and other users. It can take a wide variety of forms across numerous different technologies and platforms and has to evolve constantly as new technologies and platforms are developed. It covers a broad range of activities including:

transmission of broadcast TV and radio signals received directly by audiences
syndication of services to managed platforms
publishing individual assets to open online platforms.

It does not include programme sales.

16.4.18 When distributing its content, the BBC must retain independent editorial control of the content.

The BBC must be able promptly to remove or block its content, and platforms must not edit BBC content or metadata unless otherwise agreed.

Users should be able to easily identify which content on a platform is provided by the BBC.

UK Public Services distributed within the UK must meet the BBC Distribution Policy.

16.4.19 On other services, the Advertising and Sponsorship Guidelines for BBC Commercial Services apply.

(See Advertising and Sponsorship Guidelines for BBC Commercial Services)

Live Streams from Third Parties

16.4.20 The BBC should maintain editorial control of a live stream on any service.

The risk of allowing a third party's live output to appear on a BBC service must be assessed before proceeding. The source of the live stream, the nature of the content and the format should be considered.

The BBC should not normally link to, or embed, live streams or any other form of continuous live broadcasting from personal or unverified social accounts. On UK Public Services and the World Service it should not normally link to, or embed, live streams from a sponsor of a third-party event.

16.4.21 Mandatory Referral: Any proposal to broadcast or embed a third party's live stream must be referred to a senior editorial figure or, for independent production companies, to the commissioning editor who must consult Editorial Policy.

Approval will only be given if:

it would not be possible for the BBC to obtain the content itself, due to its exclusive nature and/or the circumstances in which it was being live streamed
it would meet the Editorial Guidelines on privacy, harm and offence, due impartiality and undue prominence
on UK Public Services and the World Service the content would not contain any reference to its sponsor, or their brands, products, organisations, services or trade marks.

It is not normally appropriate to broadcast or embed a live stream from an event sponsor on a UK Public Service or World Service platform.

Mandatory Referral: Any proposal to link to or embed a live stream from the sponsor of a third-party event must be referred to Editorial Policy who will consider whether the proposal would compromise the BBC's impartiality, editorial integrity or independence.

(See Section 7 Privacy: 7.4.37-7.4.41, Section 15 Independence from Commercial and Other External Interests: 15.4.8 and Section 17 Competitions, Votes and Interactivity: 17.4.67)

Location and Production Incentives

16.4.22 Location and production incentives are often offered by film councils or governmental or regional organisations around the world for editorial content and are a permitted exception under Clause 49 of the Framework Agreement.^[13]

Any conditions made by the funder must not compromise the BBC's impartiality, editorial integrity or independence.

The source of the incentive must not have an interest in the content that would create a conflict if its funds were accepted.^[14]

Third-Party Advertising and the BBC Brand

16.4.23 The BBC brand must not be used to promote other organisations. This can be achieved by ensuring that advertising, promotion and press releases by other organisations do not give the impression of BBC endorsement, and advertising does not pass off BBC content.

The BBC name, logos, titles, channel names, programme titles, formats or characters, sets, music or catchphrases and any other identifiable BBC content and Intellectual Property should not normally be used by commercial advertisers, except in joint promotions or advertising for licensed BBC products.

For joint promotions and advertising for BBC licensed products, the BBC brand can be referenced within the advertising, if the number and prominence of references to the BBC across the campaign is proportionate to the BBC's involvement in the product.

Testimonials

16.4.24 The BBC may receive requests from past or current suppliers for permission to refer to their relationship with the BBC in promotional material for the goods or services that they have provided. There is a risk that these references may be misleading or imply BBC endorsement of that supplier. Contracts with suppliers should, therefore, normally include a clause which requires the supplier to seek BBC permission for all promotional material which references its relationship with the BBC.

16.4.25 Permission to enable a supplier to reference their relationship with the BBC may be granted as long as:

the BBC is a satisfied customer of the supplier's goods or services
the BBC has agreed in advance to, and retains independent editorial control over, such references
references to the BBC are factual, accurate, not misleading with respect to the nature and scope of the relationship and do not imply BBC endorsement of any organisation.