More than 600 industry professionals, including producers, actors and independent production companies, have signed an open letter criticising the BBC's commissioning process as "unaccountable, inexperienced and failing". Organised by campaign group Reform The Industry, the letter demands urgent reform of how the broadcaster decides which shows to greenlight, arguing there is a "disgraceful amount of wasted resource" at a time when the BBC is cutting content while asking licence fee payers for more money.

The letter, led by five producers with active BBC development work or commissions, calls for an independent body with power to scrutinise major commissioning decisions, noting that some senior commissioners earn six-figure salaries without published performance targets, and it also criticised regulator Ofcom as "toothless". The campaign is not a direct response to BBC cuts, but follows director-general Matt Brittin's announcement that 100 to 150 hours of originated programming will be cut by 2027-28 to save £500 million, a plan that has already seen Blankety Blank, Celebrity Mastermind and Live At The Apollo axed, along with BBC Breakfast's Sunday edition and several Radio 4 shows. Producers involved say many fear speaking out publicly in case it damages their future work with the corporation.