Cohack at the BBC!

Hang on a minute.. when were you down there? That's the next building to me!
(looks quite similar inside too: see here.)

Today! This afternoon! 14:30. Probably should have mentioned it really, you could have come along. The Media Centre is the nicest building I've seen in a long time. It's lurrvely.

We gave a learning lunch presentation, halfway between lecture and pitch basically.

Damn you! I finished work at 14.30 today. In fact, I may well have been walking along that courtyard around that time.
It's called "the network", which is a bit of a pretentious name, really.

Woot! Well done lads, and JC looks all teh dashing.

Arsenuts, sorry dude, didn't think that one through :-(

Hopefully they'll invite us back to do it again.

Alf: Yeah, he's the hunky one, I'm the brainy one.

I'll let you off, but next time..

I'll need to find out if I'm allowed to bring visitors into the building. The broadcast centre is just as stunning as the media centre, if not more. But if I'm making use of the cycle park, then I need to show my pass 6 times before I get to my workplace. It's just a tad secure.. :)

Hey Tef, you never attended any of the 'Broadcast Assasins' learning lunch debates did you?

Only started working here a month ago, so, no.. :)

(And I was only working there for a week before my department got sold off, so I don't even work for the BBC)

wha? So hang on, you're looking for a job AND an apartment? :s

nope, I still have job; when I started, I was working for a company wholly owned by the BBC; but from the start of the month, it was owned by a bunch of aussie bankers.

weird isnt it - it's part of the 60% outsourcing regimen?

something like that. wierder still when you realise how dependent the BBC is on this company's existence..

really? Are you Under NDA? ;)

Not that I know of.

I think it's pretty public knowlege that the BBC have a 10-year contract with BBC Broadcast for channel playout.

Public knowledge and ostensibly totally insane. I'm sure they have their reasons though. Things get complicated when you're a fat momma like auntie.

At least you get to hang out in the sexy buildings though.

we did get a half decent explanation the other day, though: it costs a lot to buy the tech to transmit channels in a new-fangled way; there's a lot of kit to buy. the bbc, being a public chartered organisation can only borrow money through the government, so it's a lot easier for a private company (bbc broadcast ltd) to borrow money to buy kit. and, i guess, not a lot harder for that company to be sold off, thus reducing the beeb's headcount, and making it easier for the charter to be renewed.

I still can't see how it makes financial sense, but I get paid all the same, so I'm keeping quiet.

Actually that does make a lot of sense. Borrowing through the government is very cheap though. But borrowing is one of those things that behaves completely differently on a corporate level than on a personal level. Borrowing of that kind is great, really good for everyone's numbers. You've got to spend money to make money at the end of the day.

ah, bbc broadcast ltd being the umbrella makes sense - and yes, broadcast is an expensive business, have you ever been to a dish farm? Amazing sight.

noon: I tried counting up the number of digibeta decks our department has (at £40k a pop or so), and lost count.

I really should see if I can get to the "Teleport" at TV Centre and try not to fry myself on all the dishes. Although it's probably owned by Siemens these days, not the BBC.

yah, Siemens have all the dinner...

Yay! Well done!

You guys look very dapper.

Nice one!