BBC Breakfast

And the reasons for the move weren't guest availability, they were because the Mailbox was a temporary installation and they had a more permanent facility (I can't remember what it did) at White City's Broadcast Centre. The move was opposed by staff but they were reshuffled and moved...

I don't see what they'd gain by moving back to London (just like they don't gain anything other than box ticking by being in Salford in the first place). Most of the guests they have on tend to be experts and they're right by Manchester Uni so won't struggle in that sense. As for celebrity guests, they seem to be doing OK but they aren't a pivotal part of its format. They could end BBC Breakfast at 8.30am and have a 'Lorraine' type show from London, but then they'd be accused of copying ITV and dumbing down. And if they did a full move back to London, there would be raised eyebrows from the public (wasting the cost to move there in the first place), not to mention they would annoy most of the staff who have relocated their whole lives to work on the show. Just leave it as it is, its doing fine and getting 2-3 times the audience of Daybreak.

Guests are a red herring. Advantages of being based in W1 with the rest of BBC News (once they've all moved) are numerous. Most obvious is not needing two studios manned for the news inserts into the Marr show on a Sunday. Having all BBC News output based in the same building makes it a cheaper and simpler operation, precisely why it was planned to be so, until politics got involved.

?? Most of the One show is an outside production. 90% of the films are made by independent production companies. It has a very small team, I thought everyone knew that.



?? In London as in Salford the vast majority of the production team working on BBC Breakfast only works on Breakfast. Which is why it was the ideal candidate to move in the first place.

Is that your best example of duplication. With Breakfast and The Politics show opt out recording from there within hours of each other I think you'll need to find a better example of inefficency!

In a digital age the main advantage of moving back to London would purely be for staffing issues, but even in Salford they can just double up with North West Tonight when needed. I'm sure I read somewhere that they can even control the autocue from London, so other than during a technical glitch, it can't operationally be that different to just having a separate studio for BBC Breakfast?

Why?

Currently
8.30-8.40 News/sport
8.40-9.00 guests
9.00-9.03 regional update
9.03-9.12 guest

They are not going to launch a second show in London for less than 30 minutes content, when the vast majority of the guests will happily go to Salford to plug their products. Oh and the current set up is absolutely walloping Lorraine in the ratings.

By 'Lorraine' type show I meant an extension to the main show to allow it to be more guest focused towards the end, but if you read the end of my post you'd see I don't think it needs changing at all anyway. Breakfast TV is notoriously hard to get right and the BBC is winning by a country mile. If its working in Salford, guests are happy to travel and its ticking boxes for the BBC, then is there really any need to unsettle it again? I wouldn't exactly say it's 'absolutely walloping' Lorraine in the ratings either; unlike Daybreak, Lorraine isn't that far behind BBC Breakfast at the same time.

The guests argument is rubbish in my opinion and the programme should stay where it is. If a celebrity wants to get on the telly, I reckon they will happily get the transport to Manchester to be on by far the most watched programme in the time slot. Also, it is easier for guests from, for example, Scotland to travel down as opposed to go all the way down to London.

I agree entirely. Also, it would seem that BBC Breakfast's presence in Salford is changing their news agenda. Coverage of the flooding and horrible weather in the North of the country has had more prominent coverage on the programme, rather than a London/South centricity, as well as a more representative coverage of Business and the UK economy/effects of recession across the country.

Short interview with the programme's deputy editor, Adam Bullimore, on these changes:

The Independent - Now we know how wet it is up north, admits BBC news chief

Also agreed. Well put, aconnell.

We've just had Ed Milliband on the programme. He's in Manchester, and so is the studio, yet we did it via video link. It works. This is the way of things.
Suppose it dumps all over the people that whine about the production being in the NW.

I THANK YOU.