BBC News Channel/BBC World News Merger - Printable Version

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+--- Thread: BBC News Channel/BBC World News Merger (/showthread.php?tid=103)

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RE: BBC News Channel/BBC World News Merger - Technologist - 15-01-2023

(15-01-2023, 07:15 AM)Independent Wrote:  Going back to the topic of autocues. As someone who never worked in the industry I always assumed one of the producers would run the autocue while on-air. This might be a stupid question but are/were there actual positions where the only task is/was to run the autocue?

Before the patents ran out the only way you could get an autocue
(there were no other brands) was to hire it with its operator
…… who would type the script in alter it as required help to rig and pace the playout …
So no broadcasters staff needed

When others were able to offer the equipment they did so as did autocue,
but only  a few offered wet hire  but the role for the prompt system operator remained.
Going back to say 25 years there were attempts to put speech recognition in to pace the prompting
…..  some worked quite well.. .

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RE: BBC News Channel/BBC World News Merger - NickyBoy - 15-01-2023

(14-01-2023, 02:10 PM)DTV Wrote:  

(14-01-2023, 01:09 PM)NickyBoy Wrote:  Sorry for maybe asking a stupid question, why is that the majority of the domestic BBC News Channel is being dropped in favour for the BBC World News format? Why couldn't the merged channel be based on what the News Channel does, or did?

Because BBC World News makes money and the BBC News channel doesn't. Making that money is dependent on the channel being relevant to international audiences, with the profits the channel makes being used to subsidise the BBC's domestic news operation (also, even without the profits, the channel pays for a certain fraction of the BBC's newsgathering costs). Should BBC World News cease to make a profit, it cannot be sustained as the BBC cannot use licence money to subsidise its commercial operations. If BBC World News goes, the BBC News channel loses roughly half of its output anyway and would be unlikely to be able to survive.

I know there are loads of parochial 'the BBC should be British news for British people' concerns, but pretty much every function that the current BBC News channel does is also done by another BBC service or will still be done by the new BBC News channel. By losing the BBC News channel in its current form, you aren't losing a lot and are saving money. While losing BBC World News would a) take away a key revenue stream (at a time of budget shortages), b) put a massive dent in the BBC's international presence (key to both BBC finances and network news) and c) mean you probably lose the BBC News channel anyway.

As I've said before, it isn't ideal, but it is the better option. Though, to be quite honest, I feel like I've said a lot of this stuff before.

Thanks, that makes sense.

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RE: BBC News Channel/BBC World News Merger - Keith - 17-01-2023

Having been abroad for a few days last week it was interesting to watch a bit of BBC World News to see how/where the presentation differs from the UK.

For those not aware the back-half hours tended to go along the lines of...
- On screen caption "After the headlines", with the name of the programme being shown listed below.
- Short version of news ident
- Headlines given by presenter
- News sting
- Caption displaying programme category (e.g. 'Business') with the programme name below, accompanied by a continuity announcement to introduce the programme.

With this in mind it does make me wonder whether post-merger in the UK for the back-half hours on weekdays whether they could essentially do...
- Version of news ident long enough for international versions to insert their 'after the headlines' caption.
- Headlines given by presenter
- News sting
Then returning to the news presenter for news in the UK for the remaining 25-ish minutes.

That way it would at least allow for more UK related stories to be featured, which might not necessarily have featured in the first half hour or headlines. Arguably the ad-break point in the front half-hour could also be used for a quick roundup of UK specific headlines.

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RE: BBC News Channel/BBC World News Merger - DTV - 17-01-2023

That would be one solution, but World News don't go to non-news back half-hours every hour and I doubt there'd be much appetite for devolving the channel back to its early-2000s skint state. Plus some of the back half-hours (Business) are studio-bound and it wouldn't be possible to do business and UK news from the same studio at the same time. Though, I guess during WBR half-hours you could have UK take sport and world take business at xx:30 and then at xx:40 have UK take UK news and World take sport. Would be a fine turnaround, but doable.

As most of the full hours on World occur in the afternoon, it could be that a few separate hours using the One presenter and gallery team + separate back-halfs could be a solution. Then again, as I've tried to discuss numerous times, there are many solutions to allow greater UK news with little additional cost. It's mad that they wouldn't take any, though it does increasingly look that way after all...

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RE: BBC News Channel/BBC World News Merger - ALV - 17-01-2023

There's already a lot of room for improvements for the NC's weekday late night schedule...

Rather than airing pre-recorded documentaries at the BOTH, why not have Salford produce a 30 minute edition of Sportsday after the Ten, or simulcast Asia Business Report and Sport Today after Newsday at 2330, 0030, and 0130? They used to do this at 0130 before Covid...

Surely live business and sport programmes are WAY more interesting and relevant to viewers on weeknights than pre-recorded documentaries right? All of the suggestions above does not cost the NC a single penny. I assume Sportsday is produced using BBC Sport's budget, and ABR/Sport Today are already aired on WN anyways...

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RE: BBC News Channel/BBC World News Merger - DTV - 17-01-2023

Yep, pre-records have become a lazy and counter-productive fallback for both channels in the last few years. The kind of people who actively want to watch Click or The Travel Show are going to do so on its main weekend airing or on iPlayer, they aren't going to be seeking out its dozenth repeat this week. As with you, the decision not to show ABR/Sport Today (which they've gone back-and-forth over) is especially puzzling.

But the thing that gets me most about pre-records these days is that they must surely be not inexpensive to produce - like more so than more news. When BBC World used to use pre-records as cover for its financial problems in the early-2000s, it was understandable as they were largely edits of network BBC programmes that World only had to pay a 'fair use' fee for. But these days BBC News have about half-a-dozen non-studio based programmes on the go - they must add up.

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RE: BBC News Channel/BBC World News Merger - watchingtv - 17-01-2023

All these back half programmes have a greater value in £ because they can be repeated with no limits.
I think Sportsday needs to be utilised better, but I am sure they have their own budget restraints.

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RE: BBC News Channel/BBC World News Merger - News76 - 18-01-2023

https://deadline.com/2023/01/bbc-digital-journalism-head-saeed-ahmed-quits-1235226021/ 

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RE: BBC News Channel/BBC World News Merger - Newsroom - 18-01-2023

(18-01-2023, 07:48 PM)News76 Wrote:  https://deadline.com/2023/01/bbc-digital-journalism-head-saeed-ahmed-quits-1235226021/ 

Well that's a bit of a blow to say the least.

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RE: BBC News Channel/BBC World News Merger - News76 - 18-01-2023

(18-01-2023, 08:13 PM)Newsroom Wrote:  

(18-01-2023, 07:48 PM)News76 Wrote:  https://deadline.com/2023/01/bbc-digital-journalism-head-saeed-ahmed-quits-1235226021/ 

Well that's a bit of a blow to say the least.

And may well have just thrown a spanner in the works!

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