The cost to the BBC of covering the event, excluding any fee paid to the organisers, is estimated to be £1.5 million.
The BBC confirmed that it had sent 27 television and radio presenters fronted by Roadio 1's Jo Whiley and Radio 2's Mark Radcliffe. They were supported by 68 strong editorial team and 160 technicians. A further 18 staff were sent to work on interactive content and employed 130 contractors to provide technical support and security. There were so many on the corporation's payroll that it had to block book hotels within a 10 mile radius of the event.
BBC chiefs attending the festival included Sir Michael Lyons, chairman of the Trust: Mark Byford, the depute DG: Tim Davie, the director of audio and music: Andy Parfitt, the controller of Radio 1 and popular music: Bob Shennan the controller of Radio 2 and 6 music and Alan Yentob, the BBC's creative director. Mr Yentob once hosted a Glastonbury festival reception at his nearby country home, paid for by the licence fee.
Sir Michael, Mr Byford and Mr Yentob were all given free passes to attend the festival in a 'work capacity'.
Tory MP, Philip Davies, a member of the Commons Culture Committee said, "It's yet another example of how the BBC is bloated."
TV audiences for the festival on BBC2, BBC3 and BBC4 reach a fraction of the number achieved by Wimbledon. There were 111 hours of festival coverage across BBC TV channel. That compares with 3,050 hours coverage for Beijing. On radio there were more than 60 hours on 6 Music, Radio 1 and 3 Live.
If I remember rightly only last week the head of the BBC, Mark Thompson, said the corporation gave value for money. He should be the first head to roll.
Source: Scottish Daily Express
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18 comments:
Fair point, although I would point out that Glasto is a teensy bit closer than Beijing so there might have been some saving on the old travel costs. But I'm also watching multi-platform Wimbledon right now ("Go Andy, etc.") and wondering how many presenters / staff / trucks are being gainfully employed there (UK tax money being spent in London).
The strategy of 'gold standard' media (pick a few quality strands then pile everything into it) is a good plan, but it relies on unlimited supplies of money. And I don't have that. So the plan only has one chance to work...
The days of the licence fee are over. We should get rid of it. I was appropriate when teh BBC was the sole provider of tv in the country. Now most people probably have the choice of 100 or so channels and many don't watch BBC much or even at all.
It's really unfair that it is paid for by a poll tax.
Mr Thomson seems to think that he and they are value for money, and could in fact earn a great deal more in the private sector. Frankly, I don't think that they are good value, and if indeed they could earn more, why on earth don't they?
Actually I thought the BBC did a seriously good job on Glastonbury this year - I would guess the viewing figures will turn out to be higher than you suggest and don't forget that it is all online too on a dedicated website.
I think some of the stuff the BBC does is questionable but no other broadcaster could have done Glastonbury better. It gets top marks from me.
Please allow me a grump. I'm a music fan. That means that I consider rock & pop to be just an atrocious bloody racket. I'm not at all surprised that the yanks used it to torture prisoners. It would break me, I can tell you.
Bit ironic that Mike Jackson died of painkillers - not only did he produce an atrocious bloody racket, he was cornering the market in the anaesthetic that's needed whenever you get trapped in the vicinity of this crap.
I understand that someone called Ringstein, or somesuch, played for two hours and forty minutes at Glastonbury. However, I happen to know that that is not a record for the longest time spent mindlessly thrashing out two chords. So why isn't the BEEB reporting from here?
The point is that in a Scottish context BBC Scotland fails completly to reflect Scottish culture and heritage as it is obliged to do in the charter.
BBC Scotland is just a large embarassing white box on Pacific Quay that is just a technical switching centre. It is stuffed to the rafters with administration staff who do sod all, except saying yes to London.
Scottish football, shinty, motorsport, religion, music, and the arts in general are ignored by them because the budgets have been squeezes so hard to prop up programmes from London.
We used for example to have a religious service broadcast live every Sunday from a Scottish church. If you spoke to people from these areas, and it was all over Scotland and the Islands, the one thing they said was that the boost it gave the economy was fantastic through people wishing to visit the beautiful parts of Scotland they saw. It also made these places feel they were part of something and not ignored, as they are now.
Religious broadcasting is now controlled from Manchester, Scotlands department was closed, when was the last time we saw a live Songs of Praise from Dornoch or Thurso.
This is a goof example:http://tinyurl.com/mpwbsx
I am no religious nut but religion is but one very good example where the BBC treats Scotland as a backwater or in their lingo a region.
BBC Scotland used to have 2 large outside broadcast units which covered such events every week. They now have none, as all the resources for live multi camera broadcasting now exists only in England. So for example during events like Murrayfield Rugby, and Golf events, all the outside broadcast hardware and staff travels up from London.
BBC Scotland used to have crafts people who staffed these units, such as Riggers and Drivers, Electricians, Scenic carpenters, Painters etc etc. Over 300 staff. Over the past twenty years all these jobs were slowly but surely got rid of or pushed into the casual market.
Any football that Scotland does manage to put on is covered by a unit from Wales called Sunset and Vine.
Aye, total overkill and a big fat waste of license payers dosh. How much coverage did the BBC give to RockNess? Zero bar some online stuff. Inverness isnae near enough London for the liggers to be bothered howffin their gear up. Key Bored Warrior's comments are bang on.
The system needs overhauled and made fairer but i'd hate to see the license fee abolished. The BBC is still by a country mile the best broadcaster in the world. And i hate what Rupert Murdoch's done to sport, journalism and tv in general. Actually, if i'm honest, i just hate Rupert Murdoch.
Hmmm....i'm so full of hate.
Mek from my wee bit of knowledge of the hospitality industry, accommodation in the likes of Beijing is far cheaper than the UK, unless of course folk feel they deserve to like to live in style.
The article said there were far fewer people involved with Wimbledon - I'll go and dig the paper out of the bin if you like to get the exact details.
Indy these figures are from the Scottish Daily Mail not mine. I would hate to go to Glastonbury nowadays as I was part of the initial crowd all these years ago, when it was music.
Doesn't that say at lot about me? ;)
Have to agree with you about Rupert Murdoch though - instant news without foundation, that's his theme.
Be a grump Vronsky, aren't I always?
I'm of the generation before electronic music myself when the only electronics involved the odd keyboard and guitar. Now it all sounds - I will upset many if I give my opinion, but even the Rolling Stones sound good to me these days and I was never a fan.
Vronsky, do tell me how you find these obscure but interesting websites.
Tris it's time they were transparent and accountable to their shareholders and they are the licence payers.
KbW, I'll reply in the morning if you don't mind. Too many emotions going through my head to make a reasoned response at present.
SR,
You ken how I feel about the EBC and they were at it again at 06:40 this morning trying to tell us that their wee shitey poll was factual and how all Scots felt - They then proceeded to spout propaganda about us not wanting Independence and wheeled out some crusty English academic from a Glesga polytechnic to try and justify their reasoning - bollox utter fuckin bollox.
Right have a nice day 32 degs here, nice feels like Italy!
Crazy D
Morning CD, overcast here again but it'll burn off.
Glad I'm not listening to the radio.
With CrazyD on Radio Freedonia this morning. The ICM poll is being presented as the definitive, "right that's it you can all go back to sleep, nothing to see here move along." barometer of Scottish political preferences. They tell us a paltry 38% want independence and assume that 62% don't. Where are the the 'don't know's?'
This is more or less the same figure we've had for the past year or so of polls. Yet the Unionists still shout out that it's only 23%, after David Murray's shopping survey told them so.
Grrr. I awake to Radio 3 these days as as the nasal whining and sneer of disc jockey Gary Robertson sets my teeth on edge. Grrr!
Monty I'm with you on Gary Robertson. BBC Scotland seem to have a department where they train their presenters with this special accent which they think is cool caledonian metro and hip. It is as you said nasal whining of the very worst kind. Kirsty Wark started it I think so all the little quislings follow her as she is the revered one, with her bingo wings skirts up her arse and a baldy patch, (on her heid.) Glenn Campbell makes me want to kill something when I accidentaly hear his voice, it is like a bloody dentists drill. There now I feel better already...
So glad I haven't listened to Freedonia this morning or I'd be biting on my leather handbag by now.
Glenn Campbell, oh dear KBW, you've just unmade my day. The man is unbearable.
FOI, just what 'work' did Sir Michael, Mr Byford and Mr Yentob do at Glastonbury and were they accompanied by family or friends ?
I don't have a telly and don't pay telly tax.
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