The BBC is providing a further boost for the digital and creative sector in Greater Manchester by moving the production of BBC Children In Need and Comic Relief to MediaCity in Salford.
These special television events, broadcast live on BBC One and made by BBC Studios Entertainment Productions, are two of the biggest nights in the BBC’s calendar.
BBC Children in Need is the BBC’s UK corporate charity that exists to change the lives of children and young people across the UK and Comic Relief is a major UK charity with a vision of a just world, free from poverty, with both of these charity appeals culminating in a live TV broadcast on BBC One.
Beginning in November with BBC Children in Need, the live show will come from Dock10, the biggest multi-camera purpose-built TV studio in the UK.
Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day broadcast will also come from Salford. Salford has been home to The Sport Relief show in aid of the same charity for several years.
Salford is already home to some of the biggest and best-known programmes on the BBC including A Question of Sport, Dragons’ Den, Football Focus, Match of the Day, University Challenge, BBC Breakfast, North West Tonight, BBC Radio Manchester and Blue Peter, with BBC Children in Need and Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day now also making Salford their new permanent production base and broadcast location.
The move of these additional major shows to Salford will also further enhance the BBC’s commitment to the nations and regions, as outlined in the proposals set out by the Director-General in the BBC’s blueprint for the future entitled The BBC Across the UK.
Greater Manchester is building on a fast-growing £5bn digital economy and 2021 marks the tenth year of BBC operations at MediaCity, which is also home to ITV, the University of Salford and tech businesses including TalkTalk and Tech Mahindra.
The economic impact of the BBC’s move to MediaCity was highlighted in a report from KPMG earlier this year.
MediaCity in Salford