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Impact of new lockdown measures on broadcasting

Posted on 3rd November 2020 by Andrew Nairn
Last updated on 25th March 2021 Filed under Opinion

It’s the last thing anybody would have wanted. Circuit breakers in Wales, Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland have been followed by an impending 4-week lockdown in England.

But will the effect on broadcasting be as great as in the spring? In short, the answer this time is no.

In the spring, broadcasters faced the worst peacetime crisis they had ever contemplated. Productions shuddered to a halt. Emergency rotas were compiled to allow news programmes and a few other programmes deemed essential – such as This Morning and The One Show – to stay on the air using staff considered to be key workers.

Emergency plans were drawn up in case national news programmes could not be broadcast from London. Emergency transmission arrangements were put on standby – the sort of disaster recovery plans normally used for power cuts, the effects of terrorism or truly exceptional weather.

This time round, the effects of new restrictions and the English lockdown on TV will be much more limited.

It’s been made clear that TV production can continue – there will be genuine practical problems for producers to face but I’m a Celebrity, Strictly and the soaps will not be coming off air.

The new English lockdown allows people to leave home when work cannot be done from home. That means there is no need to reduce gallery or production staff – one reason why ITV daytime dropped Loose Women and merged Lorraine into Good Morning Britain in the spring.

There was also a real concern that so many staff would fall ill or have to self-isolate that working would be impossible in some locations.

This time, the new normal of Facetime interviews and distanced hosts will continue but fundamental fresh disruption is unlikely.

However there is one important exception – studio audiences are out of the question. The atmosphere on Strictly may seem very different.

Those of us who remember Wogan decamping to the tiny Pres studios normally used by the weather presenters, Barry Norman and But First This may chuckle at the memory of comments that his chat show was better without a large audience. A few chuckles and claps from the crew seemed much more genuine in some respects.

And, before anyone asks, the latest restrictions do not provide a straightforward reason why UTV branding could not have been reintroduced by now if there was a desire to do so. By now, homeworking and workarounds are in place for many other eventualities in many businesses.  Rather this is about an individual company’s priorities and what they consider to be important.

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PICTURED: BBC news gallery. SUPPLIED BY: Online. COPYRIGHT: Unknown.

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Tags: BBC, BBC One, Good Morning Britain, I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!, ITV, ITV plc, Loose Women, Lorraine, Strictly Come Dancing, The One Show, This Morning, UTV, Wogan

Dates for the Diary

30th January: BBC Reporting Scotland moves to a temporary set. The programme will move back to a refurbished Studio C in the summer.

30th/31st January: BBC One East HD and BBC One East Midlands HD launch on satellite.

6th/7th February: BBC One West Midlands HD, BBC One East Yorkshire/Lincolnshire HD and BBC Alba HD launch on satellite. BBC One/Two Wales SD services close on satellite.

13th/14th February: BBC One West HD, BBC One South West HD, BBC One Channel Islands HD, BBC One London HD and BBC RB1 HD launch on satellite.

20th/21st February: BBC One North East and Cumbria HD, BBC One North West HD, BBC One Yorkshire HD and BBC Parliament HD launch on satellite. BBC One Scotland SD and BBC Scotland SD services close on satellite.

22nd/23rd February: BBC One South East HD launches on satellite.

February 2023: new set for BBC Midlands Today goes live.

13th February 2023: Sky Kids launches.

Q1 2023: BBC Chameleon branding introduced on air for BBC Weather, CBBC and CBeebies.

April 2023: BBC News Channel and BBC World News merge.

November/December 2023: World Radiocommunications Conference (WRC-23).

Q1 2024: SD versions of BBC channels close on satellite.

2024: BBC Four and CBBC go online-only.

2024: BBC Radio 4 Extra goes online-only.

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