BBC Re-Awards Weather Contract to Met Office

[Teddy Bear]

One has to wonder, following appalling weather predictions by the Met office over the last few years, and with their contract at the BBC finished, why the Beeb should decide to renew it with them.

There were other weather organisations who had shown a far greater accuracy that the BBC could have picked and gone with, yet instead they elected one that has become a laughing stock in the industry.

Confused?

As well you might be especially if you read the response from the BBC that justified this decision;

The BBC said it selected the organisation it felt could "best deliver the required services and offered the best value for money for licence fee payers".

I didn't know that paying any money for completely wrong weather forecasts could be considered 'value for money', but once they add 'for licence fee payers' it becomes clear, where those that fund the BBC are concerned, any rubbish will do.

The article from The Telegraph below links to other related articles that will also add to your understanding of why the BBC are so akin to the Met Office, and will go hand in hand together - no matter what the quality or service performed

Related Articles


*Bournemouth attacks Met Office for 'negative' forecasts
*Met Office chief receives 25 pc pay rise
*Met Office pays staff £1.1m bonuses despite 'barbecue summer' bungle
*Barbecue summer could return after rain, says Met Office
*Met Office revises 'barbecue summer' forecast as rain looms
*Britain to be hit by mini-heatwave as temperatures expected to top 80F

If you wish to read any of those article you can find the links by clicking here

Met Office wins new BBC weather contract despite 'inaccuracy' claims

The Met Office has won a new five-year contract to supply weather services to the BBC despite criticisms over the inaccuracy of its forecasts.

By Murray Wardrop
Published: 7:30AM BST 08 Jul 2010
The Met Office has won a new contract to provide weather forecasts to the BBC despite criticisms over the innacuracy of its forecasts
Snow and freezing temperatures in January made last winter the harshest in three decades. The Met Office had predicted a mild winter.

The state-owned forecaster was ridiculed for predicting that last winter – the coldest for 30 years – would be “mild” and that the washout of 2009 would be a “barbecue summer”.

It was feared that the BBC might drop the Met Office after it decided to put the contract out to tender for the first time to ensure “best value for money”.

Related Articles

*
Bournemouth attacks Met Office for 'negative' forecasts
*
Met Office chief receives 25 pc pay rise
*
Met Office pays staff £1.1m bonuses despite 'barbecue summer' bungle
*
Barbecue summer could return after rain, says Met Office
*
Met Office revises 'barbecue summer' forecast as rain looms
*
Britain to be hit by mini-heatwave as temperatures expected to top 80F

Despite having used the Met Office for 87 years, the BBC also held talks with Metra, the national forecaster for New Zealand, as a possible alternative.

However, it was announced yesterday that the Met Office has signed a new deal, although it is understood to involve a "significant" reduction in cost, according to BBC sources.

The BBC said it selected the organisation it felt could "best deliver the required services and offered the best value for money for licence fee payers".

It said the Met Office had demonstrated "its ability and commitment to deliver a high quality service – through accuracy, consistency of data and flexibility".

More data will be gathered for extra locations on a more frequent basis under the new contract, which is expected to make forecasts more consistent and accurate.

It covers not only the raw data but on-air presenters and forecasting services across BBC output on TV, radio and online.

Mark Byford, BBC Deputy Director General and Head of Journalism, said: "Weather is a key part of the BBC's news and information services, and, of course, is of endless fascination to us all across the UK.

"Not only do our audiences come to us in huge numbers for regular weather updates each day across all our platforms but they also turn to the BBC for accurate information and forecasts when big weather stories happen anywhere across the country."

John Hirst, chief executive of the Met Office, said: "The Met Office leads the world in broadcast meteorology and we are delighted to renew our weather broadcasting partnership with the BBC.

"This contract ensures that the BBC's UK and global audiences will continue to receive trusted forecasts and critical warnings from the Met Office."

The service went out to competitive tender in September last year at a time when the Met Office faced anger over the inaccuracy of some forecasts and the decision to pay £1.1 million in bonuses to staff.

Earlier this year, it was also disclosed that Mr Hirst received a 25 per cent pay rise in 2008/9, earning more than the Prime Minister, with up to £200,000 in salary and bonuses.

The Met Office suffered a further blow in May after Bournemouth Borough Council launched its own localised weather forecasting service claiming it was losing £2 million a year through “inaccurate” predictions. Officials claimed that pessimistic Met Office forecasts were damaging its tourism industry as thousands of beachgoers stayed at home.

[Teddy Bear]

The great decisions made by the highly paid BBC executives bear fruit as evidenced in this article.

The only problem with this fruit is it's completely worm ridden and rotten.

Remember how the BBC told you this in response to criticism in re-contracting with the Met Office: The BBC said it selected the organisation it felt could "best deliver the required services and offered the best value for money for licence fee payers".

New storm front appears at the BBC as now weather forecasters threaten strikes

By Nick Mcdermott

BBC weather forecasters have threatened to strike over changes which will see some of the corporation’s best loved presenters axed from TV screens.

The forecasters, who are employed by the Met Office, could walk out in the next few weeks after voting overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action.

They are angry over imposition of a new contract which will slash their pay by up to 15 per cent and cut their allowances.

Under the plans, the 23-strong team of weather presenters will be pared down, with senior weathermen, including Rob McElwee, Tomasz Schafernaker and Philip Avery, disappearing from news broadcasts and moved into back office roles as part of a money-saving drive.

The deal will mean that in the future, presenters will no longer need to be trained forecasters, raising fears the BBC’s weather service will be ‘dumbed down’.

A BBC insider said: ‘There is a great deal of unhappiness of the way the new contract has been imposed. As well as cutting their pay and allowances, the Met Office want to split their role into broadcasters, who will present on screen, and forecasters called ‘weather duty managers’, who will be pushed into back office roles.

‘Instead of using their skills, they are reducing their responsibilities. There is a general feeling that as well as saving money, the management are dumbing down a unique service to the British public.’

A spokesman for Prospect, the union which represents the weathermen, declined to comment on any potential walk-out, but said talks were ongoing with Met Office management.

The BBC is already facing widespread unrest, as militant staff have launched a work-to-rule protest in a row over pensions.

Bosses battled to keep programmes on air last weekend during a 48-hour strike organised by the National Union of Journalists, which is threatened fresh action in the run-up to Christmas.

The decision by the Met Office to move three of the highest profile presenters off-screen has raised eyebrows inside the BBC. Meteorologist McElwee is the corporation’s longest serving weatherman since the retirement of Michael Fish, while Schafernaker is popular with viewers despite courting controversy.

Their colleague Avery, who has been presenting for over a decade, was also an unexpected choice.

All BBC weather presenters were re-interviewed for their broadcast roles. But the three stars were told by management they would no longer be allowed on air after failing to impress with their ‘team leadership’ skills.

They will now be moved into behind-the-scenes roles as ‘weather duty managers’, alongside a further two presenters.

For more than 60 years, the Met Office has worked in partnership with the BBC to provide qualified meteorologists as presenters, a service which is paid for by the broadcaster.

Earlier this summer, the BBC announced the Met Office had won a five-year contract to supply its weather services following competitive tender.

There were fears the state-owned forecaster would be dropped following complaints about its inaccurate weather predictions. It had faced criticism for saying the previous winter would be ‘mild’, when the nation endured the biggest deep freeze for 30 years. And last year it infamously predicted a ‘barbecue summer’.

The changes are being implemented at a time of increasing austerity. Last month, the BBC licence fee was frozen for six years.

A spokesman for the Met Office said: ‘Together with the BBC, we will ensure the public continues to have access to the latest weather forecasts and warnings that are relied upon to plan ahead and keep safe.

‘We are delighted to have won the BBC contract. This does mean we need to make changes to continue to deliver high standards of accuracy and consistency within revised affordability levels. To achieve this we have employed a fair and open process to change Met Office staff roles and structure within the BBC Weather Centre and we will continue to discuss the implications with our staff.’