[qwerty123]

There's speculation that they might be refurbishing studio A at the moment. It's not been used by Newswatch the past couple weeks. Additionally, it's apparently the same size as C.

Physically, A is an exact mirror image of C, though they are obviously kitted out very differently. But given we haven't seen A on air for only a few weeks and the launch is pencilled in for April, it seems unlikely (given the 8 months Studio B's reconstruction took) that they are decommissioning A's VR set-up and installing a new physical set in that time. Aside from its disappearance being unrelated technical work, I can think of three plausible explanations for what is going on with A:

- It is being used for pilotting the new channel.
- It is being prepped to be used for the UK breaking news team on the new channel.
- It is being prepped for being used as a temporary set while the new channel's main studio is refurbished.

If it is either of the latter two, I sincerely hope that A's VR engine is being upgraded. Having seen that temporary VR set that BBC Sport used for about a week, I will be fuming if we are subjected to another VR set of the same quality as we've had since 2012.

In terms of what will be the new channel's main studio, we don't know yet. My preference would certainly be E, purely because you'd be crazy to give up that backdrop. But the monoliths/towers have been such a focal point of the new set style and they'll be a little bit limited in E.

I don’t think it’s realistic that they would spend the levels of money that would be required to be spent on the levels of work that would involve the studio being out of bounds for several weeks on a studio that will be mothballed in the next couple of months so I expect that it’s either that A features in the plans for the new channel or that it has already been retired as part of the cutbacks prior to the merger.
Obviously that doesn’t mean that the long term plan is for A to be the main studio, as you point out it could also be the case that A is used for UK opts or as a temporary set whilst either C or E is refurbished- in fact in many ways it would suit that latter role rather well being as though the VR could be updated to be on brand with the current look much cheaper than a physical temporary set could be produced allowing the channel to look visibly different immediately at launch whilst allowing them to use E in the longer term if the physical newsroom view is the preferred option.