91Èȱ¬

XM25, the 91Èȱ¬'s Out of London Independents' creative network initiative, launches this month, following the huge success of the 2008/09 scheme.

Now open for new applications, the scheme was created to support the independent sector beyond the M25 and aims to strengthen producers' relationships with 91Èȱ¬ commissioners.

The current XM25 scheme, which was launched in November last year, and runs to September 2009, gave 15 outside-London production companies, from across the UK, access to 91Èȱ¬ Commissioners in Factual and Entertainment through a series of intensive workshops.

A number of projects for 91Èȱ¬ network have been developed by participating companies; Burning Blue Media in Bath had its first network commission with Around The World In 90 Minutes, a science programme for 9.00pm 91Èȱ¬ One; and Truevision North won its first commission with A Year Of Change (working title), a 91Èȱ¬ One film for 10.30pm. Other projects from the scheme are in active development.

91Èȱ¬ Independents Executive, Krishan Arora, who heads up the scheme, said: "The first year of XM25 has been very exciting – we had a great response and I'm really pleased with the projects and the relationships that have come through the scheme.

"Winning commissions in such a competitive market is a lot to do with building creative relationships so I'm looking for companies with great ideas that we can really engage with in the long term. I am delighted to be launching the scheme for a second year and look forward to bringing producers from around the UK closer to 91Èȱ¬ network commissioning."

A representative of each indie attended two-day sessions in London and Glasgow, with 91Èȱ¬ commissioners and other executives from areas such as multiplatform, scheduling and marketing.

91Èȱ¬ executives taking part in the sessions included Jay Hunt, Controller 91Èȱ¬ One; Richard Klein, Controller 91Èȱ¬ Four; Danny Cohen, Controller 91Èȱ¬ Three; Anne Morrison, Director 91Èȱ¬ Academy; and commissioners, Charlotte Moore, Martin Davidson, Jo Ball and Mark Linsey.

Feedback from the participating indies includes:

"There is a palpable feeling that XM25 is providing the very practical 'coal face' for the corporate ambition articulated in the 91Èȱ¬'s new out of London strategy. This is an incredibly rare opportunity." Dermot Lavery (Doubleband, Belfast)

"I can't recommend the scheme highly enough and I feel extremely privileged to be part of the first one. Thank you for the opportunity." Matt Pinder (TrueVision North, Glasgow)

"The scheme has been of enormous benefit to North One TV's relatively new Birmingham development office. The 91Èȱ¬ is often referred to as a citadel, but XM25 has enabled me to scale the walls and meet face to face with major players." James Woodroffe (North One Midlands, Birmingham)

The 2010 scheme opens for application on Friday 26 June and closes on Friday 24 July. For more information and application form visit bbc.co.uk/commissioning/xm25.

Notes to Editors

XM25 2008/09 Participants:

Wales
Telesgop – Branwen Davies
Rondo – Tom Ware
Presentable – Martyn Ingram

Northern Ireland
Waddell Media – Jannine Waddell
Doubleband – Dermot Lavery
Green Inc – Stephen Stuart

Scotland
Truevision North – Matt Pinder
One Eyed Dog – Ishbel Hall
Hand Pict – George Cathro

England
Talent TV South – Kate Beal
Avatar – Deep Sehgal
True North – Andrew Sheldon
Burning Blue Meia – Nick Watts
Available Light – David Parker
North One Midlands – James Woodroffe

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