[newsjunkie]

Always makes me laugh that this is still how it's done. Nearly every European country now has a fantastic central results website, detailing the count at the equivalent of ward-level as it comes in; we're still having people telephone into newsrooms to tell them seat level results, frequently ending up with small errors in vote tallies for broadcasters. I'm sure there are some who find it charming and quaint, not sure that's what I'd call it.

It is not just about passing on the result (PA do this anyway). They will also be tasked with alerting the broadcaster to when the result might come and which way the result is looking like it is going.

ITV has in the past 'declared' results before they are formally announced at the count. Also if a network is close to declaring the result, knowing that several seats are very likely to go one way or another may tip them over the edge in declaring a winner. That is all detail you wouldn't get from either PA or the council website - they will only give you the final result. It is not like the US and other countries that give running totals of the count as it goes on.