Before the 10pm bulletin, we saw what appears to be a rehearsal. Here’s a clip if you’re interested:
Yes I saw that and thought it was very odd! Especially as they did a headline sequence straight after the weather. I wonder what happened?
It was a ten-minute news summary as a filler between programme ending on BBC One and the News at Ten that's why
Ah I see, I think it just looked odd as there were a few long pauses and the Aston’s stayed on top of the countdown for a few seconds which rarely happens. Thanks for explaining.
Does anyone think the shows that disappeared during this terrible pandemic will come back again let’s say summer time, eg Live with Lucy Hockings, Impact etc, or has the damage been done with budget cuts/virus.
I think you are getting way too ahead of yourself. The UK is in the peak of the pandemic and BBC News operations for the last week or two are back to minimal/skeleton staff to remain safe at work while the south of England is currently in a 'Stay at Home' restriction.
I personally, don't think BBC News has even considered to return any branded programmes to the screen yet, that haven't been on since the pandemic began, because i'm sure they use many more crew to be broadcast, let alone do they know what Studio they will decide to use.
I think the main focus of BBC News and BBC World right now is for them to ensure they can continue to broadcast two channels 24/7 whether thats having to simulcast one show, and be able to run it with the reduced number of staffing needed. As i'm sure with many employers, just like my workplace, are struggling to keep the 'show on the road' with Track and Tracing notifications skyrocketing.
The simplified output is here to stay for a long while yet, even well into the new year. I don’t see any uniquely branded programmes returning anytime soon with the current restrictions for the meantime at least.
And who knows? Some fraction of the changes may even become permanent if that benefits on cost-saving.
There's one thing that I have found as a positive of the simplified output (ie the simulcasting): a lot of the original presenters from the BBC News Channel who moved over to World News and subsequently vanished from the eyes of domestic viewers, are now featuring more prominently on our screens (such as Tim Wilcox, Matthew Amroliwala and a number of others whose names evade me right now).
It provides a bit of "difference" from the usual daily consistency of schedules. I think that the News Channel can benefit from the increase in simulcasting: all they need to do is ensure that both sides are kept happy (and the intro where they say "for viewers in the UK and around the world" is a pretty good starting point). Of course, some will say that it means the "domestic only" presenters are getting less air time, but I'm sure that most of those presenters can easily present their bulletins in a simulcasted environment with no impact at all (such as when large breaking news occurs, a la Martine Croxall).
For branded programmes, things like Newsroom Live and Live with Lucy Hockings, even Impact, would work well in the simulcasted environment, with a mixture of stories that cover both the domestic audience and the international audience: if there are concerns about domestic stories being useless to the international audience, they just need to ensure that viewers are clear on the purpose of the story being only relevant to one party, or bring in the angle of the impact of that story to the international viewing audience.
Thats not to say "everything" should be a simulcast, but this pandemic has proven the two channels can simulcast easily wherever needed.