The BBC has unveiled the BBC Creator Lab, an initiative aimed at highlighting and celebrating the youthful social and digital talent across the United Kingdom.
Declared during the 2023 Edinburgh TV Festival, the BBC is set to collaborate with TikTok for the inaugural year of Creator Lab under this innovative program. The scheme’s primary goal is to offer 100 aspiring social and digital creators, who hold an ambition for a career in television, the chance to engage in a developmental scheme. Within this program, the BBC will conduct in-person sessions, equipping participants with tools to enhance their social presence and facilitate the progression of their media careers. This will be augmented by insights from experts and knowledge from TikTok. This partnership stands as one of the most substantial talent initiatives undertaken by the short-form mobile video application within the UK.
The intensive 2-day developmental initiative will be executed across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, offering creators an avenue to display their capabilities while working on a designated BBC project. Moreover, participants will have the occasion to meet with on-screen talents and Commissioning Editors, spanning various genres such as Daytime, Children’s, Sport, Unscripted, and Arts. Successful candidates will additionally gain insights into optimal practices concerning social media and television, alongside the opportunity to engage in collaborations with fellow social creators.
Fiona Campbell, Controller Youth Audience (BBC iPlayer & BBC Three) says: “The BBC is committed to developing new talent and voices across the whole of the UK and the Creator Lab Scheme promises to offer a unique opportunity for Content Creators to enhance their skillset whilst potentially having the opportunity to showcase their creativity to audiences across the BBC and iPlayer.”
James Stafford, General Manager, Operations & Marketing, TikTok UK & Nordics says: “We are thrilled to partner with the BBC on the Creator Lab initiative. Over the past 5 years on TikTok, we have seen a whole new generation of creatives thrive, from comedians and performers to editors and film-makers. We believe this creativity should be nurtured, which is why we’re excited to be partnering with the BBC to enable digital talent from all corners of the UK, to build the skills and expertise to turn this passion into a career”.
The application process will be open to social and digital creators that meet the following criteria:
Have a social presence across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and/or Snapchat
Are based in the UK and over the age of 18
Have a) over 50k following and/or b) developed, created and published at least two videos that have reached over 350k views
Made a positive creative or innovative impact across social platforms
Can demonstrate on-screen experience i.e. often feature on social video content
Applications for the scheme can be made via the BBC Commissioning website from autumn 2023 with information also available via the TikTok App.
Applicants can visit https://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/creatorlab from October 2023 to view full terms and conditions and apply to be part of the scheme.
