[m_in_m]

Do they even need E now - surely B, C and D are sufficient? Is A still used as a backup?

I wonder if the One moving to Salford has resulted in them reconsidering what to do. It does seem logical to decommission a studio given the news channels are combined.

[interestednovice]

A is quite out of date now, as VR tech has moved on a lot since it opened (BBC Sport use far better VR/AR sets, for example).

B is not for use on the NC at all, but increasingly seems destined for all non-Salford network bulletins.

D gets little use now that BBC London generally shares B, but has been modernised with a tower screen. But D is quite small and not really suited to the NC, aspects of it are also quite old.

C & E are the most flexible studios and also most in need of upgrades. Unless they are doing to use D as a backup studio going forwards, I think they still need two studios so they always have a proper spare in case of equipment failure, obit rehearsals, cleaning, technical upgrades, fire safety inspections, etc.

Remember, back in the days of two news channels, the contingency plan if there was a studio issue was generally to (temporarily) merge the channels. Now that they operate like that all the time, there is no easy way to suddenly reduce studio requirements if one goes out of action. So I think two studios for the NC is probably best. But will they upgrade either or both of them?

[ginnyfan]

The only reasonable thing to do is to use E, or the new improved version of it, for the news channel while C can be a back up for the network bulletins.

Do at least something decent for this new, crippled news channel.

[interestednovice]

I tend to agree.

Use E for the channel, C as a NC backup (and, in my dreams, UK opts) with it also functioning as the network backup.

[m_in_m]

Is D the studio in a different fire zone? I think it's gallery is in a different place as well. It was the news channel and network back up studio for weekend bulletins I think with the few times it was used London decamping to A.

[Brekkie]

A is quite out of date now, as VR tech has moved on a lot since it opened (BBC Sport use far better VR/AR sets, for example).

B is not for use on the NC at all, but increasingly seems destined for all non-Salford network bulletins.

D gets little use now that BBC London generally shares B, but has been modernised with a tower screen. But D is quite small and not really suited to the NC, aspects of it are also quite old.

C & E are the most flexible studios and also most in need of upgrades. Unless they are doing to use D as a backup studio going forwards, I think they still need two studios so they always have a proper spare in case of equipment failure, obit rehearsals, cleaning, technical upgrades, fire safety inspections, etc.

Remember, back in the days of two news channels, the contingency plan if there was a studio issue was generally to (temporarily) merge the channels. Now that they operate like that all the time, there is no easy way to suddenly reduce studio requirements if one goes out of action. So I think two studios for the NC is probably best. But will they upgrade either or both of them?

Ideally of course E would be kept but if one studio is essentially little more than a backup surely a simple operation suits that best, which might suggest D. And of course Studio B itself is going to be used even less once the One moves to Salford so that can act as a backup during the day too. Things get more complicated in the evening when the Six, London and (World) News Channel need their own space, but even then with London sharing with the Six that would still be a studio spare. I guess at worse there is the UK opt position too and then Millbank as well. Keeping an entire studio spare just in case is likely a luxury the BBC can no longer afford.


As for Studio A - of course these things are always more complicated than they appear but if it's "out of date" surely that's the technology rather than the studio itself, or do more modern VR methods require a different backdrop?

[interestednovice]

D is the one in a different fire zone, and has the tower screen, so although it’s little used there’s no point mothballing it.

E & C are both much more similar and technically equivalent.

I’m not sure about the detail of Studio A, but modern techniques have camera tracking to “dots” on the green screen. I don’t think A does. This would likely necessitate a big upgrade to bring up to modern standards.

Also, one gallery is used to run the UK opt as the balcony studio J does not have its own gallery. So A’s gallery is generally used for that.

Keeping an existing studio that’s already there isn’t a huge luxury as it doesn’t really cost a lot just to have it.

[interestednovice]

I tend to agree.

Use E for the channel, C as a NC backup (and, in my dreams, UK opts) with it also functioning as the network backup.

[DTV]

Ideally of course E would be kept but if one studio is essentially little more than a backup surely a simple operation suits that best, which might suggest D. And of course Studio B itself is going to be used even less once the One moves to Salford so that can act as a backup during the day too. Things get more complicated in the evening when the Six, London and (World) News Channel need their own space, but even then with London sharing with the Six that would still be a studio spare. I guess at worse there is the UK opt position too and then Millbank as well. Keeping an entire studio spare just in case is likely a luxury the BBC can no longer afford.

I'd agree, you only really need B (network, London), D (London, HARDtalk?, back-up), C or E (channel). I mean, circa 2010, they were only using three studios at TVC and producing literally twice as much output per day as currently comes from the four in-use main studios at NBH. While you did technically have N9 as a fourth studio, I don't recall that ever being used for emergency contingency, only as cover for pre-planned maintenance.

[Chud]

I'd agree, you only really need B (network, London), D (London, HARDtalk?, back-up), C or E (channel). I mean, circa 2010, they were only using three studios at TVC and producing literally twice as much output per day as currently comes from the four in-use main studios at NBH. While you did technically have N9 as a fourth studio, I don't recall that ever being used for emergency contingency, only as cover for pre-planned maintenance.

Ah N9….. one of my favourites.