Current Speech opportunities

BBC Sounds 

BBC Sounds Audio Lab commissioning brief

BBC Sounds Audio Lab is looking to grow an 'always on' title for new audiences - with content that celebrates its mission whilst championing fresh on and off-air talent.

Deadline for initial ideas: 22 September 

*Please note updated deadline

Download the full Sounds Audio Lab brief (Word).

Radio 3 

Please see the Music opportunities page for our latest commissioning briefs: Between the Ears, The Essay, Music Matters and Sunday Feature.

Radio 4

Radio 4 BBC Sounds Technology and AI brief

Radio 4 and BBC Sounds are seeking proposals for a new weekly podcast and programme strand about how we live, love, work, think, parent and play in a world that is conditioned, underpinned, saturated andincreasingly determined by innovations in technology and the growing influence of artificial intelligence. The opportunity is for 50 episodes of 28 minute duration.

Deadline for short proposals: Tuesday 10 November at noon

Download the Technology and AI brief (pdf).

Radio 4 and BBC Sounds Ideas brief

Radio 4 and BBC Sounds are seeking proposals for a new weekly podcast and programme strand about ideas to help audiences find the connections between the turbulent world they find themselves in, and the ideas that lie behind it, helping them understand the frameworks below the surface, explore the big questions, and decipher the major theories. The opportunity is for 50 episodes of 28 minute duration.

Deadline for short proposals: Tuesday 10 November at noon

Download the Ideas brief (pdf).

Radio 4 44' drama singles brief

The deadline for initial submissions is 10 September 2026.

Please note, the publication date for the final results will now be early November.

Download the 44’ Drama singles brief (pdf).

Radio 5 Live & 5 Sport Extra

There are no rounds currently open.

Radio 4 open round 

What we are looking for

The majority of our business is conducted through commissioning rounds and regulated by detailed commissioning briefs (see Coming Up), but registered suppliers can pitch to us outside of commissioning rounds if:

• an idea is a reaction to news events or current trends and has a short lead time. Reactivity, generally through non-fiction long form audio, is an important part of what we do. The audience needs us to explore subjects and stories in more depth than news programmes often have time for. This is also where we can examine history, experience and analysis related to news events.
• an idea is topical or talent dependent.
• the short proposal stage of a commissioning round has closed. 

How to pitch

If your idea meets the criteria above, email a paragraph outlining your idea to pitchtospeechaudio@bbc.co.uk, marking it for the attention of the relevant Commissioning Editor. You can find details of Commissioning Editors and their specialisms here. If you are not sure which is the right Editor for your idea, don’t worry, we will make sure it goes to the person best suited to commission it.

What happens once I have pitched my idea?  

• You will receive an automated email acknowledgement on receipt of your submission.
• Your idea will be read by a Commissioning Editor, working with the wider commissioning team.  
• If the Commissioning Editor wishes to progress the idea, you will be asked to enter a proposal under the Radio 4 Open Round in PiCoS. NB: The Open Round may be closed for 24 hours ahead of a large commissioning round. Please do not put any pitches into PiCoS unless it is requested by a Commissioning Editor.
• The idea will be rejected, commissioned or shortlisted in PiCoS, typically within a couple of weeks. An idea might be shortlisted to give the commissioning editor more time to work with the supplier, or to consider the idea against other factors.

You will be contacted by the Commissioning Editor with a no or with a request to put the idea into PiCoS within a maximum of 14 weeks. You will receive a Yes or No via PiCoS within a maximum of 20 weeks. These are our maximum guarantees - we expect to respond much more quickly. There will be some rare occasions where a Commissioning Editor will need more time to make a decision. In this case, the Commissioning Editor will write to you, explaining the delay and setting out a new timetable.

Podcast open round 

What we are looking for

We're looking for big, bold, bright ambitious ideas - the ones that will help us grow new communities of listeners.  We don’t commission a huge number of podcasts but, when we do, we back them 100%, from commission to delivery and promotion.  Once commissioned we’ll love your idea just as much as you do. 

Often, we want ideas that are perfect for returning series.  

In addition: 

• we like to work with big names who can bring new audiences with them, especially in the entertainment genre; 
• we want to work with great new journalists and producers whose ideas and treatments will take us to new listeners; 
• we love ambitious formats and approaches that reimagine Radio 4 and 5 Live values and journalism for a different audience; 
• We are interested in ideas that reach beyond current BBC audio listeners, to audiences who love podcasts but haven’t found them at the BBC yet; 
• We’re definitely in the market for your take on where the gaps are.  What have you spotted that no one else has?

The door is always open for these podcast ideas, via the Open Round.  Sometimes ideas commissioned here find their way on to Radio 4 or 5 Live speedily, while some take more time, and others will work best as podcast only. 

We are also interested in a limited number of ideas that are not focused on a specific BBC radio network.  These are likely to be titles with a broad appeal for audiences who haven’t yet discovered BBC podcasts.  They will be podcasts that are talked about and shared.  What can we offer this audience to make them fall in love with the medium? 

We will also advertise tenders where you can pitch for specific podcast briefs.  Details of current tenders can be found under Current Opportunities.  

How to pitch

• Email a paragraph outlining your idea to pitchtospeechaudio@bbc.co.uk, marking it for the attention of the relevant Commissioning Editor. You can find details of Commissioning Editors and their specialisms here. If you are not sure which is the right Editor for your idea, don't worry, we will make sure it goes to the person best suited to commission it.

What happens once I have pitched my idea?

• You will receive an automated email acknowledgement on receipt of your submission.
• Your idea will be read by a Commissioning Editor, working with the wider commissioning team.
• If the Commissioning Editor wishes to progress the idea, you will be asked to enter a proposal under the OD Speech Podcasts - Open Round in PiCoS. 
• The idea will be rejected, accepted or shortlisted, typically, within a couple of weeks. (Commissioning Editors sometimes shortlist ideas to give them more time to work with suppliers, or to consider these ideas against other factors.) 

You will be contacted by the Commissioning Editor with a no or with a request to put the idea into Proteus within a maximum of 14 weeks. You will receive a Yes or No via Proteus within a maximum of 20 weeks. These are our maximum guarantees - we expect to respond much more quickly.