[oscillon]

What does the autocue operator do when they aren’t operating it for the nationals?

One would suggest they operate it during the rehearsals of the nationals.

Then there is WBR which is still done by the catwalk and apparently the business presenters do not operate the autocue themselves. UPD. No, WBR presenters seem to operate it with a remote, by themselves as well. Makes you wonder if News Channel presenters could do that on the catwalk as well.

[Rolling News]

One would suggest they operate it during the rehearsals of the nationals.

Then there is WBR which is still done by the catwalk and apparently the business presenters do not operate the autocue themselves. UPD. No, WBR presenters seem to operate it with a remote, by themselves as well. Makes you wonder if News Channel presenters could do that on the catwalk as well.

Samantha Simmonds did it on the catwalk this week when she did a 5:30am edition of WBR and seemed comfortable enough. 

I guess it also depends if they can afford to pay someone to put graphics up on the catwalk screens these days, which probably explains why they stay the same generic graphics during the opening shot of News Now, Verified Live and The Daily Global.

[London Lite]

I've seen Victoria Valentine use a remote to operate the autocue. Sometimes you'll see it on the desk.

[ALV]

Sportsday now uses an autocue remote too~ They're using the Autoscript WSC-A Handheld Scroll Controller which has a very long antenna sticking out at the tail, like a walkie talkie:

[Brekkie]

As much as AI taking jobs isn't a good thing although it would undoubtedly go wrong from time to time surely there is a way of the autocue keeping up with the newsreader rather than vice versa.

[Stockland Hillman]

As much as AI taking jobs isn't a good thing although it would undoubtedly go wrong from time to time surely there is a way of the autocue keeping up with the newsreader rather than vice versa.

Indeed there is voice controlled prompting available 

www.autoscript.tv 

Autoscript Voice | The Next Generation Of Prompting
Autoscript Voice Uses Revolutionary Advanced Speech Recognition Technology To Fr…
  Source: www.autoscript.tv

A few others as well where the software provides the "speed" in place of a controller to third party prompting kit

[TVenthusiasm]

Sportsday now uses an autocue remote too~ They're using the Autoscript WSC-A Handheld Scroll Controller which has a very long antenna sticking out at the tail, like a walkie talkie:

Quite weird for her to hold what is essentially a walkie talkie to control the autocue - people may be thinking "what is she holding?". I'd prefer her use Autoscript Voice.

[m_in_m]

Quite weird for her to hold what is essentially a walkie talkie to control the autocue - people may be thinking "what is she holding?". I'd prefer her use Autoscript Voice.

They've used this type of control at the BBC Sport Centre for a very long time. Not sure if they implemented it from day one of launching in Salford or later on but its use is certainly not new.

[Spencer]

Given how small a lot of wireless technology is these days, they strike me as surprisingly large and bulky. Having an aerial on it like that seems very like a 90s mobile phone.

[SuperSajuuk]

They've used this type of control at the BBC Sport Centre for a very long time. Not sure if they implemented it from day one of launching in Salford or later on but its use is certainly not new.

I can remember when I started seeing BBC Sport using this on Sportsday, it was around about the rebrand in 2016/2017 [yellow, blue and white colours]. They might've been using it earlier than that though, but thats definitely when I saw the remotes myself.