Insiders at the BBC have lambasted the corporation for spending up to £10 million on a new ‘curvy’ studio, amid concerns that a merger of the corporation’s news channels could result in the loss of 100 jobs.
The newly rebuilt studio, which features a curved catwalk and a massive vertical screen to display social media postings, had been kept a carefully guarded secret for months before it was disclosed last week.
According to The Times, the BBC spent money on the makeover before deciding to merge its UK and international news stations.
The merger is expected to lead to redundancies and has left some insiders angry at the ‘obscene’ expenditure on the new studio.
A source said the backdrop ‘will be on air for three half-hour bulletins a day’ while harsh cuts are imposed on the rolling news channels.
The backdrop, dubbed ‘Studio B,’ will be used for BBC News at 6 and 10 p.m., as well as London bulletins. Later this year, it will air live election coverage as well as Laura Kuenssberg’s new Sunday morning politics show.
The exact sum spent for Studio B is unknown, and the BBC has not verified it.
It was formerly estimated to cost £5 million, but The Times just claimed that the cost is now £10 million, while Private Eye estimates it to cost £15 million.
During a video tour, presenter Huw Edwards said it will give stories more impact, while Jonathan Munro, interim head of news, said it was the ‘first big overhaul’ in a decade.
Supporters of the proposal point out that the New Broadcasting House in London hasn’t undergone an upgrade in over a decade and believe that the scheme is long-term value for money.
Swedish news channel Expressen TV is said to have inspired BBC management. It was founded by a newspaper and has won accolades for its video coverage. Its presenters are expected to be live on television within three minutes of a breaking story.
Reporters, on the other hand, are still unsure how the merger of BBC News and BBC World News into a single 24-hour operation would affect them.
There are fears up to half of the channels’ 200 staff workers could be made redundant, including presenters.
The plans being proposed form changes to the BBC’s content and services which it says will save £500million in its first phase.
The corporation needs to save an additional £285million after Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries announced the licence fee would be frozen for the next two years and scrapped by 2027.
As part of plans to become ‘digital first’ broadcaster, the BBC said it will cut up to 1,000 jobs from the public-funded part of the BBC over the next few years.
BBC Four and CBBC are expected to move online to the iPlayer, while Radio 4 Extra could become available on the BBC Sounds service only.
Regional TV news programmes South Today in Oxford and Look East in Cambridge are also among the services being scrapped as part of the ‘blueprint to build a digital-first public service media organisation’.