MUMBAI: The UK pubcaster BBC has announced that following BBC Vision?s announcement to maximise on-screen spend by creating a single integrated business function across Production and Commissioning, Commercial Director Bal Samra has announced three new controllers of business for Drama, Film and Acquisitions; Comedy and Entertainment; Knowledge and Daytime, and the Controller of Legal and Business Affairs.

Samra said, "By creating one single operational spine for each of the genre groups and a more strategically focussed, smaller central team, we will reduce duplication and minimise internal transaction costs. I want to create a more effective business model that works today and is fit for the future, which supports commissioners and producers alike and which delivers to our ultimate aim of putting as much money back into content as possible.

"Through these appointments, together with the changes in the way we work, the savings will enable us to deliver the additional investment announced earlier in the year of at least ?27m for 2013/14."

The Controllers of Business will be responsible for all the key business functions within their genre. Drawing together slate management, business affairs, commercial, talent rights and production management, they will work alongside the editorial Commissioning and Production Genre Controllers, aiming to improve collaboration and driving best value from the in-house guarantee and provide a better service to indie suppliers too. These are significant roles and critical to the success of the Vision Change plan.

The four appointments are:

Nick Betts - Controller of Business, Drama, Films and Acquisitions. He is currently BBC Vision head of commercial and business development.

Lisa Opie is Controller of Business, Knowledge and Daytime. She is currently Twofour Digital MD, where she leads a team of content producers, web developers and account directors across centres in the UK and the USA. She has also held the position of Director of Branded Business for the Twofour Group.

Tamara Howe is. Controller of Business, Comedy and Entertainment. She is currently BBC Vision Controller Production Operations and, alongside Liam Keelan, has been leading the Vision Change programme. Prior to joining Vision, she was BBC Children?s COO and was responsible for overseeing the department?s move to MediaCityUK.

Roger Leatham is controller of Legal and Business AffairsIn this new pan-BBC role, he will be responsible for leading the engagement with the BBC?s rights partners and talent unions and be accountable for legal and business affairs standards across Rights & Business Affairs. Currently the Head of Talent and Rights Negotiation, he has worked across all the output divisions of the BBC, as well as BBC America.

MUMBAI: BBC Vision director George Entwistle has unveiled a reorganisation of BBC Vision and rights and business affairs that will stimulate new ways of working and help free-up significantly increased content spend.

Completing BBC Vision?s original ambition to unify all parts of the business, the new structures and new ways of working aims to benefit the audience by maximising on-screen spend, while reducing internal costs.

In the new business core, activity will be structured around three new genres: Knowledge and Daytime; Comedy and Entertainment; and Drama, Film & Acquisitions. Smaller central business teams will be retained in Vision and Rights and Business Affairs to ensure the genres are working to the same high standards.

Changes within the business already announced under DQF, and enhanced by Vision?s reorganisation, will free up ?27million for reinvestment in 2013/14. Simplifying the business should also ensure improved commissioning and business effectiveness for all suppliers, both in-house and independent.

The new genre-based working model will also allow better alignment with the emerging structures of BBC UK Network Production and will facilitate the creation and operation of genre boards, which will be used to align editorial and commercial strategy across BBC public service, BBC Worldwide and all other commercial partners.

As part of the restructure, three new senior Controller of Business roles will be created. Reporting to Bal Samra, each will lead on business affairs for one of the three main genre groups and will be responsible for all the key business functions within their genre. The Controllers of Business will work in new leadership teams alongside the Commissioning and Production Genre Controllers in each of the key genre groups.

BBC Vision director George Entwistle said, ?The key to the creative future of the BBC is to ensure good people and good money spend less time tied up in process and more time creating the very highest quality television programmes and multiplatform output. The hard choices we?ve already made through DQF, plus the radical new ways of working implicit in this reorganization, will help simplify what we do ? freeing people and money to concentrate on serving our audiences."

BBC Vision Productions director of vision operations and director of right and business affairs Bal Samra and chief creative office Pat Younge have worked with George Entwistle to help shape the future structure of the division.

Samra will continue to be responsible for all Vision Operations and Rights and Business Affairs, while taking full responsibility for the production management teams across the genres. He will also sponsor the changes required to create the new genre business teams and central roles.

Younge?s new role will see him freed up from operational obligations to focus on the creative leadership of all network TV production in Drama, Factual, Entertainment and Comedy.

Pat will continue to line manage the key production controllers and editorial staff in Vision?s in-house production teams, and will be responsible for driving creative standards and innovation in content creation for all platforms.

Vision?s new structure will be implemented in phases, with changes complete by 2013. The recruitment process for the new Controller of Business posts will start immediately, with appointments due in the summer.