BB
I wonder what would happen if NBC's Today show suddenly relocated to Wisconsin, or for that matter to nearby New Jersey. Come to think of it, it's only a couple of years since MSNBC closed down their production facility in New Jersey and legged it back to Rockefeller Plaza in mid Manhattan. The main reason was to de-duplicate expensive facilities, but content was offered as a reason too. Guests would simply not make the trek through the tunnel out of town to appear on MSNBC. Much of what is going on at the BBC is box ticking and makes no earthly sense. The Weakest Link moved from Pinewood to Pacific Quay in Glasgow because of this infernal nonsense. Martin Kempton, the respected lighting designer and industry commentator, points out that this has actually added to costs. For example, some of TWL's specialist lights have to be trucked up from London, rigged, programmed de-rigged and trucked back again. Kempton also rightly queries why these expensive new BBC broadcast centres, especially Pacific Quay with its massive Studio A, are not making programmes for their regions. As a Scot I can tell you that there is a total dearth of programming for Scotland. Instead, they have to artificially fill their studios with network content, often emptying perfectly adequate facilities elsewhere to do so. And do audiences care where things are made at the end of the day? I would suggest that the answer is no, except when it comes to high profile shows like Breakfast, where regional audiences want a little bit of the 'bright lights' offered by our capital city.