Vibrant Television Receive Investment From BBC’s Small Indie Fund

We’re thrilled to announce that Vibrant Television has been selected as one of the companies to receive investment from the BBC’s Small Indie Fund. 

Launched in 2020, the Small Indie Fund allocates £1 million a year to support independent production companies across the UK with turnovers below £10 million.

There’s a special focus on companies with culturally diverse leadership working across entertainment, comedy, factual, children’s, drama, daytime, and this year, film.

There was also priority given to companies based in the Nations and Regions. 

This year, 67% of companies were based outside of London and more applications were received from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the West Midlands than have ever been seen before.

Various factors are taken into account such as the company’s creative potential and current commissioning opportunities. 

The BBC has ring-fenced more financial investment targeted at fewer companies this year.

The 2024 cohort features the highest ever number of producers from diverse groups, with 77% of companies having at least two people in a leadership role from a black, Asian, minority ethnic, disabled, or working class group.

As well as strategic investment, all recipients receive a BBC commissioning editor as a mentor to help their company grow.

The companies selected will receive approximately £1.5 million in investment.

Matt Travers, Head of Business, TV Commissioning, and Business Development, said: “We thank all producers who applied to the Small Indie Fund this year. We know it remains a challenging time for the sector, and the fund demonstrates our continued commitment to supporting smaller producers, right across the UK.”

The BBC had an unprecedented number of applications this year, and as a result, BBC Commissioning will be offering small indie prodcos additional insight sessions across all genres to support with future pitches.

Emma Kayee, Head of Production at BBC Film, said: “The sheer number of strong applications we received is testament both to the outstanding talent in our independent film sector and the unprecedented challenges so many producers are currently facing. We’re excited to be working with these ambitious, forward-thinking companies and we can’t wait to see what they do next.”

Other recipients of the fund include Afro-Mic Productions based in Belfast, Red Seam based in Cardiff, and Northern Heart Films based in Wigan, as well as many more indies across the UK.