Merlin Runs Up £46,000 For A Party
December 17, 2008 by Ewan
Corporation under fire for spending money to tell the press about new drama on the BBC
At which point does the argument ‘everyone else does it, and we spend a lot less than they do… honestly’ stop being sufficient? Channel 4 (with no conflict of interest at all) have made available the details of the four launch parties for BBC drama held this year, and their cost of £160,000 to the public.
Obtained under the freedom of information act, the parties were for the new series of Little Dorrit, The Passion, The Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency and Merlin. The sword and sorcery tea-time treasure was the worst offender with it’s almost £46,000 launch event at the Oxo tower in London.
“Launch events for major new drama series are standard across the television industry, but we have already significantly cut back the number we host,” said the BBC in response, and they are planning to cut back in 2009 on the scale and number of these events.
Depending on your view of the BBC, this is either a small price to pay for a good team spirit and a thank you to all those who work hard on a series, or a decadent extravagance at the taxpayer’s expense when thousands of staff are being laid off.
As another Channel 4 program would say… “you decide!”
(Hat tip to The Stage).
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