The BBC will no longer broadcast “high-risk” acts during its coverage of music festivals.
In a new statement issued Thursday, the BBC has given details on how a live stream by the punk-rap duo Bob Vylan was allowed to continue despite a series of anti-Jewish remarks.
Bob Vylan was one of seven acts at the Glastonbury music festival that were deemed high risk, though still suitable for live streaming with appropriate mitigations. The BBC has now admitted this was not the case.
“It is clear that errors were made both in the lead-up to and during Bob Vylan’s appearance,” the BBC said.
“During the performance, the livestream was monitored in line with the agreed compliance protocols and a number of issues were escalated. Warnings appeared on the stream on two occasions and the editorial team took the decision not to cut the feed. This was an error.”
Director-General Tim Davie was subsequently made aware of what had happened and instructed the team that none of the performance should feature in further coverage.
“The team prioritised stopping the performance from featuring on demand. This meant that no downloads of Bob Vylan’s set were available on iPlayer or Sounds. However, the live feed, which was showing subsequent performances from other acts on the same Glastonbury stage, remained up until it was amended shortly after 8pm while teams worked on a technical solution,” the BBC explained.
In a separate statement BBC Chair Samir Shah admitted the BBC’s actions on Saturday were an error of judgement, but gave his support to how Davie handled the matter.
“This was unquestionably an error of judgement. I was very pleased to note that as soon as this came to the notice of Tim Davie – who was on the Glastonbury site at the time visiting BBC staff – he took immediate action and instructed the team to withdraw the performance from on demand coverage.”
A BBC Board meeting took place on Tuesday and immediate changes made to its coverage of livestreaming music events:
- Any music performances deemed high risk will now not be broadcast live or streamed live;
- Editorial Policy support will always be available on site at major music festivals and events, to improve compliance processes and the speed of available advice;
- And we will provide more detailed, practical guidance on the threshold for withdrawing a live stream.
The BBC gas again reiterated its apologies to viewers and the Jewish Community. “We deeply regret that such offensive and deplorable behaviour appeared on the BBC and want to apologise to our viewers and listeners and in particular the Jewish community. We are also unequivocal that there can be no place for antisemitism at, or on, the BBC.”
