BBC agreement near

Aunty agony over?

THE TALKS on Radio Features have reached a conclusion after more than four years. The BBC has dropped its insistence on taking copyright and, instead, contributors will be asked to grant a licence for the use of their work, exclusive for broadcast purposes for two years and thereafter non-exclusive. The author has exclusive right to use the material in printed media after one year, and in the first year requests to use the work in print will be considered in good faith by the BBC.

In addition, the BBC has offered to increase the fee from £25.50 to £35 per minute.

This is subject to ratification by the Freelance Industrial Council, which has been kept informed at each stage of the negotiation and has already indicated it would be prepared to accept an agreement along the above lines.

© 2002 John Toner
Freelance Organiser