The Newsroom

BBC & ITV sign Memorandum of Understanding

to safeguard regional news (March 2009)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
PC
Philip Cobbold
This really seems like the BBC compromising the quality of their own bulletins just to help out ITV. Considering how little ITV care about regional news, surely this shouldn't be happening. Then at least we'd end up with one decent quality regional programme, instead of two poorer quality ones.
MA
Markymark
lovelight posted:
Tom0 posted:

However, with an ITV corporate look across regional news I don't think we'll be seeing shared sets but its referring to the studio as a building rather than the studios themselves.


You'll be seeing shared studios in at least 6 cases apparently. There will be a single gallery with the same staff (bar director/producer) putting out both shows on every site. ITV will be moving it's regional news to allow time for those sharing a studio to reset.
ITV Regional News at 5?


Virtual sets for BBC and ITV ? Just a click of a mouse !
GC
GaryC
It is typical big broadcaster smokescreen. It suits the BBC to play along and protect the licence fee and covers up a few PR issues for ITV.

5:30 PM is not peak, so ITV would need further relaxing of the rules from Ofcom. It is thought that this may be the straw that broke the camels back.

Also not all the BBC sites listed have the space to host ITV or ability to do fast turnaround shows back to back.

People inside ITV say that it is more likely that 'newer' sites like Whiteley, Birmingham and Newcastle will stay producing multiple shows. The news staff at remote hosted regions will work at the BBC sites - much like Thames Valley did in Abingdon.

Going would be ITV Leeds, Norwich, Cardiff, Bristol and possibly Manchester or Brum. Enhanced automation technology will be used to reduce the gallery crew (again!)

If they do go the whole hog, then yes virtual sets - ITN made a (unused?) version of the london region set with just a real bench and desk.
ST
Stuart
I don't see this becoming reality for actual regional bulletins. ITV have admitted they have no funding for regional news after the end of 2010. I could imagine almost "England/Wales Today' type broadcasts just using a selection of regional material from around the 'BBC regions', perhaps still with some pseudo-editorial independence.

Of course, ITV plc now have many redundant facilities around the country which are equal to, or better than, those available to the BBC. I doubt there is much of a market for selling them as their current function, so even renting/sharing with the BBC regional teams is preferable - and a potential source of income.

I could be wrong, and I hope I am: but there is no commercial interest in the regions for ITV plc beyond the 'gifted' DTT spectrum. The mutliple DSat feeds are essentially only maintained for the purposes of advertising sales - that can easily be reduced to the same as C4/FIVE once the news commitment has been dispensed with formally.

I don't think ITV plc wants to be a regional braodcaster in any shape or form; but initiatives such as this MoU keep the idea alive for when Grade next gets around the table with Ofcom.
LO
lovelight
Quite a lot goes on in a studio up till 1830. This would clearly have an impact on the ability of the BBC to pre-record graphics sequences or down-the-line interviews. It also seems to be hinted that BBC regional newsrooms may well have extra managers (of course this is the BBC!) to make sure this all runs smoothly. But it's hard to see how the quality of BBC and certainly ITV regional shows won't both suffer.
Is that a sacrific worth making for the sake of the BBC avoiding top-slicing?
BR
Brekkie
lovelight posted:
Tom0 posted:

However, with an ITV corporate look across regional news I don't think we'll be seeing shared sets but its referring to the studio as a building rather than the studios themselves.


You'll be seeing shared studios in at least 6 cases apparently. There will be a single gallery with the same staff (bar director/producer) putting out both shows on every site. ITV will be moving it's regional news to allow time for those sharing a studio to reset.
ITV Regional News at 5?


5 - I think they'll aim for around 4.30pm. It simply shouldn't be allowed - if Project Kangaroo fell foul of competition laws, how on earth can the only two TV broadcasters in a region be allowed to work together when it's already clear there will be a detrimental result to the consumer as a result.

Far from saving regional news this is likely to kill it - and not just on ITV either. The BBC are really compromising themselves in doing so.
DO
dosxuk
This may cause an interesting situation in Norwich, as the BBC currently have a more modern building, which is a fraction of the size of the facilities ITV have, but both having been new fit outs for production in the last few years. It may be in both their interests for the BBC to move to Anglia House (well, the bits of it that ITV still have), rather than ITV to the Forum. BBC East has always been a small operation, running in literally the smallest spaces they could get away with using. Meanwhile ITV have had an over supply of space and facilities.
NG
noggin Founding member
Couple of issues:

It says that BBC and ITV will share studios, not sets. It is possible that in some regions with decent studios built in the 70s and 80s will be able to accommodate re-designed BBC and ITV sets (Newcastle, Bristol, Southampton and probably the current Manchester studio all have capacity - though will ITV move to Oxford Road and then Media City?). The newer regions - Norwich in particular - will struggle with this. There is a note in the memorandum that ITV may have to change the transmission time for their bulletins to allow studios and galleries to re-set. (The BBC going second could be an issue as well...)

Of course ITV could chose to use newsroom presentation... (Buying three cheap cameras to shoot a newsroom set would solve some space issues...)

I doubt that the BBC will move into space currently owned by ITV - the proposal is very much driven by the BBC, it isn't a merger, it is ITV cutting costs and moving in with the BBC.

The memorandum is also very clear that ITV will have to use the technology solution the BBC chose for editing and playout.

Another question is how ITV and the BBC will manage studio time. If ITV need to do a 30 minute live show and one or two 15 minute recorded sub-opts, that gives them a bigger studio requirement than the BBC. It will also create questions about shared rehearsal time etc. - or else the show will have to be totally formulaic and unrehearsed...

One of the big questions for me is how this impacts ITV News (aka ITN) nationally. At the moment ITN and the ITV Regional operation have just invested in a distributed Avid system, and ITN can use ITV Regional pictures on their main network bulletins. Does this mean that the BBC will now be providing core coverage for ITV National news as well?

I've not seen any mention of live trucks being shared - but live camera positions and injects would be.
NG
noggin Founding member
Markymark posted:
lovelight posted:
Tom0 posted:

However, with an ITV corporate look across regional news I don't think we'll be seeing shared sets but its referring to the studio as a building rather than the studios themselves.


You'll be seeing shared studios in at least 6 cases apparently. There will be a single gallery with the same staff (bar director/producer) putting out both shows on every site. ITV will be moving it's regional news to allow time for those sharing a studio to reset.
ITV Regional News at 5?


Virtual sets for BBC and ITV ? Just a click of a mouse !


Possibly - or two smaller sets opposite/next to each other (though that would be impossible in the current BBC Norwich studio)

Virtual isn't that popular with audiences - it is distancing, cold and "artificial". You'd also want to change the furniture between bulletins - sharing desks, sofas etc. would be a bit of an issue even in virtual.

One option could be newsroom presentation for one channel?

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