BBFC - Customer news

BBFC office opening times for Easter

Brittany Maher-Kirk — Thu, 09 Apr 2020 10:00:26 +0000

Our offices will be closed from 4.30pm, Thursday 9 April until 9.00am Tuesday 14 April for the Easter period.

2020-04-09T00:00:00

How we can support your streaming and VOD releases during coronavirus

Maggy Boatman — Mon, 30 Mar 2020 15:04:09 +0000

We know that coronavirus is currently posing challenges for many content distribution models, especially with regard to theatrical and packaged media releases. With this in mind, some of you may be wondering how best to get content ready for online release.

2020-03-30T00:00:00

To help you assess your options, we have put together this quick guide to getting the right BBFC age rating for your online releases:

If you already have a cinema rating

If we have rated your content for theatrical release, but not yet for DVD/Blu-ray, we can help you get it ready for online release faster. Your content will need a BBFC rating in order to be sold on many digital platforms, but we can prioritise classification of your digital release ahead of your physical release via our Watch & Rate service. If you then submit the identical work for a DVD or Blu-ray rating, your Watch & Rate cost is off-set against the new charge.

If you are also releasing on DVD

If we have already rated your content for DVD, Blu-ray or VHS, you can use your rating on digital video services licensed by the BBFC. This means that you can release your content, without getting it re-rated, on any of the services listed on our website.

For DVD/Blu-ray distributors in the VPRC packaging approval scheme: if you are not yet in a position to submit your DVD/Blu-ray packaging for approval but want to release the content online first, let us know and we will be happy to complete the classification process for it. That way, you can release the classified work online - and if you later decide to do a DVD/Blu-ray release, you’ll just need to remember to submit the packaging for approval before you release the DVD/Blu-ray.

If your content will premiere on streaming or VOD

You aren't required by law to have a BBFC rating for online release, but many VOD and streaming services require them.

You can submit your content for a cost-effective digital-only age rating using our Watch & Rate service, which costs around 57% less than having a work rated for DVD or Blu-ray release.

Submitting your content is easy and flexible. We can accept your content via a number of digital file formats, or we can view from your Media Asset Management system. You can use your existing account to make submissions, or you can request an account on our website.

We’re here to help. Please get in touch with the team to talk about options for your content, and about our digital services.

BBFC Online Services planned maintenance

Brittany Maher-Kirk — Fri, 06 Dec 2019 11:27:49 +0000

2019-12-06T00:00:00

The BBFC Online Services will be unavailable from Saturday 7 December at 8am unttil Sunday 8 December 2019 at 8pm, due to essential maintenance work. This means both the Extranet and Globus upload services to the BBFC will be unavailable. Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.

BBFC Online Services planned maintenance

Brittany Maher-Kirk — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 16:01:02 +0000

2019-11-12T00:00:00

The BBFC Online Services will be unavailable from Saturday 16 November at 8am unttil Sunday 17 November 2019 at 8pm, due to essential maintenance work. This means both the extranet and Globus upload services to the BBFC will be unavailable, Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.

New Zealand takes steps to bring consistency to age ratings on streaming services

megan.sutherland — Fri, 13 Sep 2019 08:31:22 +0000

2019-09-13T00:00:00

We welcome the steps being taken in New Zealand so that families there will benefit from clear and consistent ratings across platforms. In the UK, we’re pleased to be working with streaming services - such as Netflix and Amazon - so that UK families have ratings from the BBFC which they know and trust. Earlier this year we announced our new partnership with Netflix where we are working together to achieve the goal that 100% of content on the platform will carry a BBFC age rating.

We know from our own research here in the UK that 90% of parents believe it is important to display age ratings when downloading or streaming a film online, and 92% of parents think it’s important for video on demand platforms to show the same type of age ratings they would expect at the cinema or on DVD and Blu-ray.

BBFC Tariff Changes effective from 1 January 2019

Joe Slatter — Mon, 03 Dec 2018 11:09:04 +0000

2018-12-03T00:00:00

We would like to let you know that BBFC fees will increase from 1 January 2019.

In line with our commitment to setting fees at RPI -1% based on the September RPI figure from the Office for National Statistics, given that the September 2018 RPI figure was 3.3%, our fees will rise by 2.3% in January 2019. (Since 2008, inflation has totalled 31.9% while BBFC fees have increased by 6.6%, therefore presenting a real-term saving of 25.3% over that time period.)

Our new fees will be as follows:

Theatrical submissions

£106.97 submission fee and £7.46 per minute

Video Recordings Act submissions

£80.10 submission fee and £6.40 per minute

Watch & Rate submissions (for digital platform release)

£26.08 submission fee and £3.03 per minute

As Live submissions

£106.97

Online music videos

£28.69 for first 5 minutes, thereafter remaining at £3.16 per minute

Distributor Change/Technical Comparison

Relevant submission fee and £160.19 (or the per-minute fee for works under 25 mins.)

Advice viewings

£80.10 submission fee and £5.60 per minute

Script advice

£7.46 per page (minimum fee: £106.97)

Licences for digital platforms

5,001 titles + = £4,591.22

1,001-5,000 titles = £2,295.61

251-1,000 titles = £1,147.80

101-250 titles = £573.90

1-100 titles = services must licence with us, but no fee is charged

Withdrawal fees for theatrical works

For standard film works (including all PBE and PPBE works): £208.69

For film trailers (PBE): £104.34

For film trailers (non PBE): £52.17

Withdrawal fees for video works

For PBE and PPBE works: £208.69

For all other withdrawals: £104.34

Please note, for home entertainment submissions, these fee increases will apply to all content delivered on or after 1 January 2019. For theatrical submissions, the new fees will apply to all works being viewed from 1 January 2019 onwards.

BBFC web services planned maintenance

Billie Morgan — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 13:39:42 +0000

BBFC web services will be undergoing scheduled maintenance and certain services will not be accessible to customers on specified weekends.

2018-10-04T00:00:00

To ensure we are providing the best possible service to our customers we will be undertaking scheduled maintenance of work on the following BBFC web services

BBFC Extranet
Globus uploads
Theatrical uploads

To minimise disruption, the work will take place from 00:00 GMT Saturday to 08:00 Monday on the following weekends:

Saturday 6/Sunday 7 October
Saturday 13/Sunday 14 October
Saturday 20/Sunday 21 October
Saturday 27/Sunday 28 October
Saturday 3/Sunday 4 November
Saturday 10/Sunday 11 November

If you have any questions or concerns please contact us Monday-Friday 09:00-18:00 on helpline@bbfc.co.uk or 020 7440 0299.

BBFC Tariff Changes effective from 1 January 2018

Joe Slatter — Wed, 22 Nov 2017 15:47:20 +0000

2017-11-22T00:00:00

BBFC Tariff Changes effective from 1 January 2018

BBFC fees will increase from 1 January 2018.

In 2015, having frozen fees for the previous seven years, and following consultation with the DCMS and industry, we introduced an annual fee formula of RPI minus 1% to ensure our long term income was on a sustainable footing. This sub-inflation formula also carried a built-in need to make annual cost savings in our business while still delivering an efficient service to industry.

In October 2017, the Office for National Statistics announced that September RPI was 3.9% which is higher than recent years. In light of this, and the fact BBFC fees have only increased by 2.3% over the last ten years, although we are keen to retain the RPI minus 1% formula going forward, for 2018, as a one-off good will offering to customers, we propose to deviate from the formula and clip the increase from 2.9% to 2%

We are therefore increasing the fees for our statutory services by 2%, as follows:

Theatrical submissions

£7.30 per minute and £104.57 submission fee

As Live submissions

£104.57

Video Recordings Act submissions

£6.26 per minute and £78.30 submission fee

We will also change our tariffs for non-statutory work and for other services, as follows:

Watch & Rate submissions (for digital platform release)

£2.97 per minute and £25.50 submission fee

Licences for digital platforms

5,001 titles + = £4,488

1,001-5,000 titles = £2,244

251-1,000 titles = £1,122

101-250 titles = £561

1 to 100 titles = services must licence with us, but no fee is charged

Online music videos

£28.05 for first 5 minutes, thereafter remaining at £3.09 per minute

Distributor Change/Technical Comparison

£156.59 (or the per-minute fee for works under 25 mins.) and relevant submission fee

Advice viewings

£5.48 per minute and £78.30 submission fee

Script advice

£7.30 per page (minimum fee: £104.57)

Withdrawal fees for theatrical works

For standard film works (including all PBE and PPBE works) £204

For film trailers (PBE) £102

For film trailers (non PBE) £51

Withdrawal fees for video works

For PBE and PPBE works £204

For all other withdrawals £102

This sub-inflation increase enables us to continue to achieve our core objective of protecting children and empowering families by providing trusted and well-understood BBFC age ratings and content advice to enable them to make fully informed viewing decisions.

Please note, for home entertainment submissions, these fee increases will apply to all content delivered on or after 1 January 2018. For theatrical submissions, the new fees will apply to all works being viewed from 1 January 2018 onwards.

BBFC introduces discount for pre-school video content

Joe Slatter — Mon, 16 Oct 2017 15:10:57 +0000

2017-10-16T00:00:00

Following discussion with BASE and its members, we are pleased to announce a new 30% discount for children's pre-school content submitted for classification under the Video Recordings Act. The discount comes into effect on Monday 16 October 2017.

The basis for providing the 30% discount is that children's pre-school video content is the only content that is likely to be very straightforward to classify. This has allowed us to reduce the time we need to process the work, saving some internal cost that we can pass back to our customers.

This new discount further underlines the BBFC's responsiveness to customer needs and our commitment to providing the industry with an efficient and cost-effective service.

What qualifies as pre-school content?

Pre-school content is that which, in our view, is suitable primarily for children under the age of five.

How do I request the pre-school discount?

To indicate that your submission is pre-school content, simply tick the 'pre-school content' flag on the submission form. Subject to our compliance team verifying that the content is pre-school, we will apply the 30% discount. If we deem the content not to be suitable primarily for children under the age of five, we will remove the flag and apply the standard fee.

Can my work qualify for other discounts at the same time?

Please note that, in the event that a submission qualifies for other discounts, only the largest discount will apply.

If you have any queries, please contact us on helpline@bbfc.co.uk or 020 7440 0299 and we will be happy to help.

BBFC launches Premium PBE for theatrical trailers

Joe Slatter — Mon, 16 Oct 2017 15:17:23 +0000

2017-10-16T00:00:00

We are pleased to announce the launch of our Premium Pre-Booking Express (Premium PBE) service for theatrical trailers. Premium PBE allows you to book a theatrical trailer classification as late as 5pm on the day before you would like us to view it. This new service goes live today.

This service offers an ideal solution for last-minute trailer submissions. The major benefit of Premium PBE over regular PBE is that Premium PBE slots open for booking at 9am one working day before the viewing. This means that, subject to availability, you will be able to submit your work for a next-day viewing up to 5pm for the next working day.

We will accept up to six Premium PBE trailer bookings per day, and will deliver our rating decision to you by 6pm on the day of viewing.

NB. Bookings for works in languages other than English are subject to the availability of interpreters where required. All interpreters are organised by the BBFC.

To qualify for Premium PBE, your work must be:

a trailer,
non-contentious material,
a maximum of 5 minutes' running time,
booked in between 9am and 5pm the working day before the viewing,
to be viewed on our premises,
paid for by 9.30am on the day of the viewing, and
delivered by 11.30am on the day of the viewing.

Premium PBE Fees

Premium PBE offers you the chance to book later than ever before. As such, Premium PBE will cost 50% more than the standard fee, based on the running time rounded up to 5 minutes. We will draw on additional fast-track resources to make these last-minute viewing slots available and provide you with a decision as quickly as possible after viewing. This new service will not compromise our turnaround times for either the standard service or regular PBE.

Please note, we will charge a withdrawal fee:

a) if you cancel the submission any time after we have confirmed the booking, and or

b) if you fail to pay by 9.30am on the day of the viewing, and or

c) if you fail to deliver the content to us by that time.

Premium PBE Booking Deadlines

You must make your Premium PBE booking on the extranet between 9am and 5pm the working day before the viewing. You also have the option of upgrading an existing submission into the Premium PBE service – please contact us on the helpline to discuss availability. We will allocate all Premium PBE slots on a first-come, first-served basis.

This service is available for an initial period of six months. If you have any queries, please contact us on helpline@bbfc.co.uk or 020 7440 0299 and we will be happy to help.