MUMBAI: UK pubcaster the BBC has announced that to celebrate the third birthday of BBC Three the channel has launched an online campaign in the UK. The aim is to find the next generation of comedy writers and creators from amongst its audience, to launch in early March.
The campaign is to be overseen by BBC Comedy North (led by Kenton Allen, the BBC's Creative Head of Comedy Talent and Comedy North), supported by BBC New Talent and bbc.co.uk/soup.
The BBC Three campaign, which will be promoted on-air, invites users to submit their comedy sketches via bbc.co.uk/bbcthree, where comedy masterclasses from some of the biggest names in comedy will be available to view and the best submissions will be showcased, alongside information about the initiative.
The writers and performers of the best sketches will be invited to attend comedy workshops given by leading comedy talent and BBC Comedy North in Manchester in June. Ultimately, if the campaign is successful in uncovering a diverse range of new talent then it is envisaged that a half-hour comedy pilot could be produced for transmission on BBC Three.
The campaign follows a string of other BBC Three talent initiatives such as award schemes for new animators and film-makers (which are showcased on bbc.co.uk/bbcthree), as well as The Last Laugh, which the BBC claims is the UK's largest-ever sitcom-writing competition. It airs on Saturday nights over eight weeks.
Allen says, "BBC Three continues to be the standout channel for launching new British comedy talent. This is a major campaign that will run over several months, which we hope will extend and complement the more traditional ways in which we discover and engage with the next generation of comedy programme makers.
"It's part of BBC Three's DNA, and builds on our ongoing commitment to exploit broadband and mobile platforms to engage audiences, offering them wider access to and involvement in our programmes. Now, we're beginning to put a new generation of media and technology-aware viewers in the driving seat of new comedy content."
