The BBC will have 15% less crew to cover the upcoming FIFA World Cup in South Africa than it had at the previous event in Germany in 2006. In all, BBC staff will number 295.
As readers of the March issue of the Screen Africa print magazine will know, the BBC has built a glass studio on the roof of a Cape Town hospital as its World Cup base. Other global broadcasters will be using the International Broadcast Centre in Johannesburg.
According to The Guardian, the BBC’s reduced World Cup staff number is due to the fact that the broadcaster’s budgets have been under close scrutiny by politicians and competitors of late.
By comparison, some 437 BBC staff members covered the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
