BBC £1M World Cup Studio 1000 miles from Action

[Teddy Bear]

In their usual self aggrandizement and total disregard for the licence fee payer the BBC have decided to spend £! million on a fancy studio for themselves in Cape Town overlooking the sea to cover the World Cup.

What's wrong with that you ask, well it happens to be 1000 miles away from where the actual action will be taking place, but they justify this decision by say ing the view is better from Cape Town than from Johannesburg where the matches will be played. Bearing in mind they could use a backdrop for the presenters that could show them anywhere in the world, or for that matter - out of it. If it comes to it, they don't even need to be in Africa at all. For what the viewer gets out of it, the BBC could save lots of money by remaining in one of their studios in the UK.

What they must think of themselves to do this - and what they must think of us - pure selfish contempt!

[url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1257836/BBC-splash-1m-World-Cup-studio-Cape-Town-1-000-miles-tournament-hub.html

BBC to splash out £1m on World Cup studio in Cape Town... 1,000 miles from tournament hub[/url]

By Arthur Martin
Last updated at 5:24 PM on 14th March 2010

Given the choice between a shabby former mining district or a studio with stunning views of Table Mountain, it is easy to see why the BBC plumped for the latter.

But the corporation's decision to build a lavish, pentagon-shaped glass studio in Cape Town - almost 1,000 miles from the logistical centre of the Word Cup in South Africa - has raised some eyebrows.

It outbid rival TV stations for the right to use the roof of a hospital in Cape Town during the month-long tournament.
The BBC will broadcast the World Cup from a new £1million studio in Cape Town, with views of Table Mountain

The BBC will broadcast the World Cup from a new £1million studio in Cape Town, with views of Table Mountain

The prime location was chosen in favour of the tournament's main hub - a former mining area near Johannesburg where ITV and many other media outlets will be based.

Sources say that building the studio, winning the rights to the roof space and paying the extra cost satellite transmission from Cape Town could add £1million to the BBC's World Cup bill.

An insider said the corporation had chosen Cape Town because the skyline of Johannesburg was considered 'too ugly'.

The plans emerged two weeks after the National Audit Office criticised the BBC for spending £250,000 on building a studio in Vienna for the Euro 2008 football championships because it did not like the original view.

The scheme for Cape Town seems no less lavish.

Plans show that the BBC’s studio will have five walls 23ft wide and will be on the roof of Somerset hospital, a six-storey building near Cape Town harbour offering panoramic views of Table Mountain, Robben Island and the new city stadium.

Gary Lineker, the presenter, and pundits such as Alan Hansen and Alan Shearer will be ushered over a purpose-built footbridge that crosses a small road, to a specially constructed lift that will whisk them to the rooftop studio.

Cape Town will host eight World Cup games, but England is guaranteed to play in the city only once.

Within hours of the plans being announced on a BBC blog, the corporation was accused of wasting taxpayers money

One critic wrote: 'Basing your operations in Cape Town seems rather impractical, given that it is by far the most isolated venue of the 10.

'Most of the venues are toward the eastern side of the country, and locating your operations in Johannesburg would have greatly reduced costs and travel time for the production staff and presenters alike.

'No doubt you'd prefer a nice balcony view for Shearer and Co overlooking the ocean, at the expense of the license fee payer.'

The BBC is expected to send around 295 presenters, commentators, pundits and programme makers to cover the competition which will cost more than £2million.

It is officially sending 15 per cent fewer staff than went to the 2006 tournament in Germany, but the cost will be around the same due to the long-haul air fares, the expense of travelling long distances between stadiums and increased security.

The cost per person, which includes a sizeable contingent from Radio 5 Live, will average out at about £12,000.

Meanwhile ITV will be based at Soccer City, the main hub outside Johannesburg, with 140 staff.

Observers say that ITV's decision may prove to be the better one, partly because the tournament takes place in winter, when mists can often obscure Table Mountain - the BBC's vantage point.

Phil Bigwood, BBC's executive football producer, said: 'We chose those views because we believe they are the ones that will resonate most with UK viewers.

'We thought long and hard about hiring a main presentation studio at the International Broadcast Centre in Johannesburg, but Cape Town's backdrop won the day.

'The IBC is sited near Soccer City stadium, in a former mining area with the city skyline in the far distance. Once the competition is over, the Cape Town studio will be flat-packed with a view to reusing it at other events.' [/quote] [/size]

[Teddy Bear]

The continuing saga of the BBC ego using licence-fee money to feed their egos regardless of real necessity.
Lest you think this studio has a practical purpose, when it's referred to as overlooking the adjoining stadium, here's a picture that shows just how much it 'overlooks' it.

High Spot: Somerset Hospital with the BBC rooftop studio (boxy structure on top) and the new Cape Town Stadium nearby on the left

Take three flights of stairs? Not us: BBC spends thousands on lift to whisk World Cup presenters to studio

By Barbara Jones In Cape Town
Last updated at 5:46 PM on 6th June 2010

The BBC has spent tens of thousands of pounds on a new lift for its World Cup studio to save its star presenters from having to climb an extra three flights of stairs.

Former footballers Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, Alan Hansen and Lee Dixon will be whisked to the top floor of Somerset Hospital in Cape Town, where a presentation suite has been built, without having to mingle with members of the public using the stairs.

The move has prompted accusations that the BBC is wasting public money on cosseting its commentators.

The hospital was happy to let presenters and their guests – including Gordon Strachan, Jurgen Klinsmann, Clarence Seedorf, Emmanuel Adebayor, Harry Redknapp and Roy Hodgson – use the stairs.

But the BBC is understood to have been concerned about the hospital’s reputation as a leading centre for the treatment of gun crime and other violent attacks.

The building has several internal lifts but they only reach the fourth floor. By building a new lift to the roof, the BBC has ensured that its staff will be separated at all times from the public.

Dr Jacques Hendricks, the hospital’s acting medical superintendent, said: ‘I was at one of their planning meetings and the emphasis was always on security for BBC staff and presenters.
BBC footbridge and lift

Ivory Tower: The new lift during construction, with the footbridge to right of picture

Maybe that is because this is a state hospital where many poor people come to our emergency centre, often with gang-related and alcohol-related injuries like stabbings and gunshot wounds.

‘The idea of a footbridge and an exterior lift seemed to come directly from their security worries. Or perhaps the BBC guys just don’t want to walk the extra three flights of stairs.

‘They could have used our lifts like everyone else, but they insisted on building their own on the outside of our main building.’

He added: ‘We understand that about a million pounds has been spent on the rooftop studio and it is impressive.’

The pentagon-shaped glass studio, which overlooks the new Cape Town Stadium where eight matches, including the semi-final, will be played, is to be flat-packed and removed after the tournament ends.

All live studio coverage will be based there, despite most major matches, including the final, being played 1,000 miles away in Johannesburg.

It is understood that the BBC chose Cape Town because the Johannesburg skyline was considered ‘too ugly’.

Hospital workers watched in astonishment last week as the final touches were put to the exterior lift. The footbridge and lift are expected to be completed only days before the first matches start on Friday.

Presenters and their bodyguards will be driven from their hotels to the BBC’s broadcasting centre, which occupies a large section of the hospital car park.

After briefing and make-up they will cross the footbridge and enter the lift.

One ward sister told The Mail on Sunday: ‘There are so many lifts inside the hospital building, we can’t understand why the BBC needs to build another one.’

Somerset Hospital has a catchment area encompassing three volatile townships racked by poverty and gang warfare. About 40 per cent of the children in its intensive care unit, paediatric and neo-natal wards are HIV positive.

At the nearby Cape Royale Hotel, managing director Nathan Schmidt said he has a rooftop viewing studio, similar in size to the BBC’s.

‘We have a better view of Table Mountain and the new stadium from here, as well as state-of-the-art security in the hotel, and we built our studio for a quarter of the BBC’s budget,’ he said.

‘The BBC never approached us. They could have saved themselves a lot of money.’

The Corporation is sending 295 staff – double that of ITV – to the tournament and has shipped over an open-top bus to use for outside broadcasts.

It also has a block booking for 45 key staff at Cape Town’s Mandela Rhodes Place hotel, where rooms cost up to £500 a night.

A BBC spokesman said: ‘The hospital is really pleased the BBC are there. Both parties worked together to ensure there will be no disruption to patients.

'That was our primary motive in building the lift.’
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A BBC spokesman said: ‘The hospital is really pleased the BBC are there. Both parties worked together to ensure there will be no disruption to patients.

The BBC could have moved their studio 1000 miles away to Jo'burg, where most of the matches and final are being played, which would have made even less disruption to any patients, but the surrounding scenery is not as fancy for their licence-fee paid jaunt.